Scotty on Sports

Hi all just to let you know I wont be posting for a couple of weeks as there is a bit happening that will take up my time. catch you all again first week of November, all the best Scotty on Sports

10/10/2022
The chequered flag has fallen, and the results have been confirmed, and it was another great day for SVG and Garth Tander, but what a race. The weather had been the man concern for the whole weekend and caused the cancellation of the top 10 shootout for the first time since 1972.
The practices and qualifying times had all runners in with a chance and gave the armchair punter and full-time participant no real indication of form for the weekend. Also throwing a spanner in the works was SVG getting a 3-place grid penalty for an incident with McCauley Jones during qualy.
The Qualy results were deemed the starting grid and the penalty meant that SVG and Tander started 7th, with Cam Waters (who finished 3rd) taking the pole for his Qualy time. The front row saw Lee Holdsworth, last years winning co driver, who put in a impressive effort in qualy.
Safety cars were always going to be the order of the day, weather and track conditions being what they were , however the first one coming out in the first 30 seconds , before the lead cars even made turn 2, was truly mind blowing. The second came out no long after the restart and at that point meant that less than ten laps had taken place in 30 minutes, meaning full race distance would have taken close to 13 hours at that rate.
Greg Murphy Summed it perfectly as he got out of the car for his first stint, when he told reporters how crazy the opening laps had been, and asked had no one learnt anything from past years, a reminder that the race cannot be won on the first lap, with commentators also noting the folly of getting the co drivers to start the race.
The first 2 incident saw 4 cars out of the race for good, which was heart breaking for teams who have invested so much time and effort into preparing car and drivers for this enduro.
The race as such never really settled and a total of 8 safety car periods were seen over the course of the day, however this did lead to a thrilling last 15 laps in which the top 3 threw all they could at it and set up a grandstand finish with a 1.1 second winning margin. Fantastic day.
Meanwhile I Japan, where it also rained and had a first lap safety car, Max Verstappen sealed his 2nd world title with 4 races left in the season. To be honest it is getting a little ho hum and the back-room politics is starting to drive me nuts. Well done, Max, I am not taking anything away from your on track efforts, and your radio feed back is stellar and entertainment all on its own, but something has to change in F1 soon or they just might lose me for good (I first started watching and following F1 seriously 42 years ago)
The women’s rugby world cup got under way with a classic trans-Tasman match, which needed the Black Ferns had to fight back from being down at half time to get the win and that they did in style. Fantastic opening to this tournament, and in front of a record crowd at Eden Park, will keep a weather eye on this over the next few weeks.
Now as all I watched over the weekend was the Motor racing and snippets of the WRWC, and the cricket from Christchurch, which is just a warmup for the T20 world cup later this month, I don’t really have much else to add this week.
So I will sign off with again congrats to SVG, GT and the Triple 8 crew for the win at the mountain, a go get em, to the Black Ferns, and bring on the T20 world cup, and catch you next week.
PS Good luck to all those competing in the VAGO this weekend swing well.

3/10/2022
What a weekend what a final, who saw that coming, well if you were a Panthers Fan, I guess that was easy, and lets all be honest with ourselves, the Eels were the underdogs, and the Panthers were red hot favorites. Congrats to the Penrith faithful and commiserations to the Eels supporters, maybe next time.
The game unfortunately did become, as I mentioned last week, a little one sided and again does beggar the question, of whether the Eels played their final a week early to get to the big dance. The other thought could simply be that the Panthers who have won the last 2 grand finals and been in 3 in a row, just might be that one in a generation team that is just extra special. I wonder how many in a row you have to win to claim that? Anyway, Mad Monday for them and the Eels, although slightly different celebrations I guess, and bring on NRL 2023
On the other side of the Tasman a young (ish) Kiwi bloke named Shane was getting ready for the annual assault on the Mountain in a rather unusual way, by taking part in rally New Zealand. This is the first time in a decade that the event has been run in NZ as a round of the WRC and has been welcomed back by drivers and Fans alike.
SVG has been competing in the WRC2 category, and really is there anything on four wheels this guy can’t drive, I think he could race a bulldozer and get a result if he put his mind to it. In his first outing at the very top level, he scored a podium 3rd finish n his class and a 9th overall which actually is a points scoring position in the main game, not bad at all SVG, not bad at all. Now to the mountain with you there is 1000Km’s awaiting your attention.
Yes, that’s right folks this week is all about the Bathurst 1000, one of the greatest car races in the world, the 6.2-kilometer course has made heroes of some and tarnished the reputation of others. The field of 28 cars and 56 drivers this year will farewell the Holden for good and also farewell the current Gen2 cars, as we look forward to the Camaro V Mustang battle in gen 3 which kicks off next year. Will Holden have the swansong they so desperately want or will the mustangs and the ford fans get one more over the erstwhile rival, bring on Sunday this petrol head can’t wait.
Things to watch for if you are taking in the race, Craig Lowndes starts his 29th Bathurst and his 675th supercars race. All kiwi wild card with Greg Murphy and Ritchie Stanaway could be a bit of a surprise package , Murphy the 4 time winner a the mountain knows it better than most anyone and Stanaway has a record in endurance races in Europe which much belies his efforts in supercars to date, Strong contenders SVG and Garth Tander take to the mountain again to make amends for last year and for SVG to take a strangle hold on the overall title defense. After being thrown to the curbside for the 2022 season Fabian Coulthard will have something to prove as he teams up with current Bathurst champ Chaz Mostert. These and many other tantalizing scenarios will play out over 6.5 hours on Sunday afternoon. Oh, it’s my favorite Sunday of the year.
So settle in turn up the sound pull the belts tight and enjoy, catch you next week.

26/9/2022
Mission accomplished, all regular service has been restored, and a clam has come over the doubters and the true believers but was it really enough one year out from the world cup.
The performance in of itself was nothing short of fantastic, and just as importantly in this day of professional sports and marketing, highly entertaining. But the niggles of the season as a whole will leave a few with a nervous twitch. Has foster and his team been vindicated, or are we left with more questions than answers. And I say Yes, the end to this years Rugby Championship got the desired result, but the road taken to get there, it was a rough and furrowed path to say the least.
The question of the captaincy is still wide open, and that’s not necessarily Sam Canes fault, but the fact that others have covered this role for him during the season shows we have plenty in the offing there and Sam Whitelock on Saturday night was brilliant to say the least, and possibly beggars a question as to why he isn’t the incumbent.
Positional changes in the midfield have reaped rewards but haven’t actually solved the burning issues. Jordie at second Five on Saturday was a master stroke and he looked more than comfortable, will we see more of this in the end of year tour, and then if so, ultimately at who’s expense. What impact on player retention do these types of changes have to the Squad as a whole? I am unsure, but I feel RTS may have a lot to think about over the winter, and as some pundits have already postulated, we may see him return to the NRL in the not to distant future
Anyway, those are just a few points I raise, the key thing I think is a corner has been turned and the AB’s will have a bit to prove when they head north to take on, Japan, Wales, Scotland and England to close out the year.
Controversy is nothing new in sport and in recent weeks there has been plenty, from the call in Melbourne during the first Bledisloe, to forward passes in the NRL leading to tries given, to incidents that have had to go to judiciary and resulting in player bans. But the thing that has been getting my attention of late has been the interesting interpretation of rules, and players and non-players alike reaction to them.
The first thing is of course the interpretation, and the effect of a call to a rule can depend on what side of the supporters fence you are on or what jersey you are wearing on the field. This is where more often than not all the emotion comes from. The rule allegedly are rules, and occasionally a new rule or and obscure rule comes into play and has an impact on the final result, Melbourne’s Bleldisloe, a classic point in case. The rule is there that the referee call time wasting, its there he made the call. Now whether you know or understand the rule is irrelevant, clean out rules in Rugby union are always being bought to task and the rules around head clashes etc. seem have far bigger impact than the armchair critic would like, however they are the rules and ultimately the referee is the final arbiter here, but more and more all we see is brazen arguments and comments hurled at match official’s, and not just rugby, I see it week in week out in League , cricket , even in Motorsport, where contentious , but to the rule book accurate calls are constantly called in to question. And much to my distaste in an unsporting fashion.
While it is true that the referees and other officials in the professional sports are paid, but they still deserve a modicum of respect, they have dedicated their lives to this part of the game and more often than not do a damn fine job. A referee ultimately has no vested interest in the result of the game, and I know some of you feel different, but none of them even if they do get something wrong, they are only human after all, deserve the abuse that often get directed their way. Opinions are one thing; abuse is abuse and needs to be stamped out.
The AFL Grand final, a showpiece in the Australian sporting calendar resulted in a very one-sided affair with the Geelong Cats taken the honours on the day with a comprehensive 81 point win, 133-52 over the Sydney Swans.
This result made me wonder about an anomaly that I have noticed in a few events of recent times, and that is playing your final one week early.
The English did it at the last Rugby world cup. They paled a magnificent semi final against the All Blacks but had nothing a week later to combat the south Africans who took the title seemingly at a cantor, Several AFL finals over the past 5 years have seen similar result to Saturdays with one finalist seemingly totally out of sorts come the big Dance. And more often than not it has been due to the efforts put in the week before to get them there. I am sure Collingwood would have been watching that final saying “what if” after losing to the Swans in their semi, by just the one point in the dying minutes. Just an observation.
Now time to take a breath and get ready for the NRL final next weekend, Penrith, Parramatta, and interesting matchup, did the Eels play their final a week early , have the Panthers got what it takes to take the title again, all will be revealed next Sunday night and I will have my say on it sometime not to soon after that, enjoy your sporting week.

19/08/2022
What a result, what a drama, what a crazy situation we are all left with. The referee made a decision and divided those on either side of the Tasman more than the body of water itself does.
No matter what I say here I will draw an argumentative e comment, and I could go into all the times these types of things have gone against us for us and sideways, and as I have said before in past postings, who would want to be an international referee anyway it is truly a hiding to nothing job these days. So again, I simply say a good contest probably ruined, and to be fair quite few times before the last 90 seconds, let’s leave it there for now. Oh so many emotions.
So where does that leave us in the week of sport just passed.
Roger Federer announced his retirement this week from the game at the very top end , Arguably the GOAT there is no doubt that the very amicable Swiss has done more than his share to forward the image of tennis even while a few up and commers are trying their very best to bring back down again, I personally have always admired Roger as someone who set very high standards for himself and never wallowed in the down days and showed the way to have a raft of top flight competitors bring the very best entertainment wherever they played, Roger you will be missed.
The AFL grand finalist have been decided and you could not have had 2 differing semifinals, the Brisbane loins and Geelong was for the want of a better expression a one sided affair , where the Sydney Collingwood match looked to be one sided for a large part , then came down to a nail biting last 4 minutes where the Sydney Side held i=on for 11 point lead, it was one of the more entertaining games I have seen in some time. Go the swans for the big one.
NRL finals are getting juicy as well, after a bit of a stumble in the first week the Eels came back and smashed the Raiders and move on to the next stage where they come up against a motivated North Queensland this weekend, come on you good Eels a real chance for glory this year. Meanwhile South Sydney put away the Sharks and move on to meet Penrith in their match this weekend, I think it might be a hard ask for the Rabbitohs as Penrith have looked the good for the past few years, but then again stranger things have happened.
Good news after the Supercars round that the Will brown car from team Erebus will be rebuilt in time to start at Mount Panaroma, there was some concern that the car would not make it and that Will Would move to the spare , which has been earmarked for the Murphy Stanaway wildcard entry that was supposed to run last year but got caught in Covid travel issues.
Boost Mobile owner and sponsor of this entry Peter Adderton , was adamant that no matter what the Kiwi pairing would be on the grid, even if he had to and buy a car to make it happen, the Erebus spare car has already been set up and tested by the pair and it would have been a shame not to have had that car for them after all the efforts that have gone in to making this wildcard happen. Roll on the Bathurst 1000.
So ahead to this weekend and the AFL final is probably the event of most importance to the Aussies out there, and the Kiwis well all attention will be on Eden park in Auckland to see of the fortress can be upheld one more time, the cup itself is safe, but the reputation of the venue is still very much up for grabs and to be fair so is the championship itself. Stay tuned more to come next week

14/09/2022
And what a send off it was, no not the Queen, that’s still underway, rest in peace dear lady your service is done, god save the King. No, I was referring to the last round of Supercars at Pukekohe, a fitting farewell with all the drama and action worthy of a last Harrah.
SVG held up his end of the deal with a fantastic from 8th to first in the final race that saw the crowd on their feet cheering him past a luckless, albeit worthy Cam Waters in the final laps to not only win the race but secure the Jason Richards trophy for the round. This had been a bit closer at the start of the race as Pole sitter and race one winner for the weekend Will Davison gapped the field at the start and was looking comfortable until a pit stop that just went horribly wrong for the usually perfect performing Dick Johnson racing team. The left rear wheel was not completed properly as the car was dropped off the jacks leaving the rattle gun and operator still attached as the car started moving. Conformation came that the wheel was more than likely not fully fastened so a lap at slow speed was completed to get the 17 car back into the lane wheel nut tightened and send him out a gain.
With Pukekohe being a high speed 2.95 Kms and a race lap at 63-65 seconds this delay put Davison back in the back, then a pit lane penalty for an unsafe release imposed on them a few laps later meant that Davison’s day and weekend were gone, and SVG had a clear run for the round win but being SVG that was never going to be enough.
SVG had a Saturday he would rather forget and not being on the podium or near it meant that he had a point to prove as the current points leader to not only the crowd but the rest of the field as well. And also, a subtle reminder that while there aren’t too many Kiwis in the field, when we do send one over to compete in this series, they are usually something a little bit special.
On that point a few interesting stats about the Kiwis in the supercars, of the 1100 plus races in the V8 Supercars era Kiwis have won 230 of them yet there has never been more than 5 kiwis on the grid at anyone time, in more recent times Kiwis have won, or including this year about to win, 6 of the last 7 championships, if you look at qualifying and race lap records, SVG and Scott Mclaughlin own a very large percentage of them, the 2 most talked about flying laps of Bathurst are the famous Murphy “lap of the gods” and Scotty Macs tyre in the grass lap record from a few years ago. From Jimmy Richards, Robbie Francovich, Greg Murphy, Fabian Coulthard and SVG And Scotty mac to name a few we have sent our best to race against the best and held our heads high, well done lads.
The other note was the real feelings from the teams, drivers and commentators over the weekend, the genuine love of the New Zealand circuit and also the importance and respect given to the Kiwi fans was amazing, and I do hope that we don’t have to wait to long to find out where the next Kiwi event is going to be held.
Speaking of Kiwis versus Aussies, the cricket has me stuffed, I can’t get my head round how a team that can do so well everywhere else in the world against all comers, but the minute the opposition is Australia we will find every way under the sun to put ourselves in a winning position and the blow it. Well done to the Aussies 3 from 3 I tip my hat in respect I truly do; I am truly at a loss for words on this one.
Well now comes the scary part of this week’s missive, Thursday night will see the first of this year’s Bleldisloe cup matches in Melbourne, and for the first time in a long time, I am not as C**k a hoop about the All-Blacks chance s as I normally would. This season has been difficult to absorb as the AB’s have genuinely struggled at times and others been nothing but the excitement machine we know and love. With the unavailability of Ardie Savea, I see a critical cog missing from a machine that is faltering at the worst possible moments, and while I know one man does not make a team, he still has so much to offer that it will be interesting to see what his non presence does to the psyche of the team. Looking a the squad I don’t see anything wrong with it , each and everyone of them is a worthy call up, I just hope that we don’t put ourselves in the position of just hoping the Eden park record is what we need to save a season and a series, as I am sure should the Wallabies win on Thursday they will go to Auckland the following weekend inspired to do something that hasn’t been done in some time. Perish the thought, but folks it could happen.
Now I mentioned Scotty Mac earlier and I put a comment, or rather a reply to a comment during the week that I hadn’t mentioned the efforts of the two Scotty’s in IndyCar last week as I was waiting to see what happened this weekend, well not quite what I was hoping to report, but still pretty good all the same. Firstly, congratulations to Will Power on his series win, congrats to Penske racing for 1st second and fourth in the series and well-done Scott Dixon for third in the series. With the 2 Scotty’s and Will, that’s the ANZACs doing rather well in this series, which I have mentioned before is actually better supported internationally than F1.
Scotty Mac’s win a couple of weeks ago gave him a chance at the title albeit a slim one and Scott Dixons win the week before that had him well within striking distance of his 7th title. Not bad for a couple of boys from little old NZ. And watch out for Scotty mac going forward as he has now signed a multiyear deal with Penske so he is there for a while, and I am sure will continue to make his presence felt on the series.
Well that it for this week, there is a lot of other things to go over, but it’s been a weird old week and I have to go brace myself for the Bledisloe, catch you on the other side of that.

6/09/2022
I write a late post this week as I process the happenings of the last, what a week , what a set of results
The elephant in the room last week woke up shook off the shackles and went rogue, and the unfortunate Argentinians had nothing left in the arsenal after last week to fight it off. The All Blacks were nothing short of magnificent, and the 53 -3 score line took them to the top of the table in the rugby championship with just 2 rounds left to play, and a what a couple of rounds that will be.
South Africa returned serve to the Australians, and now all teams have a won 2 lost 2 result, however the bonus points the AB’s have been able to secure even in matches lost, puts them on the top. The South Africans will head off to Argentina, where a passionate home crowd will welcome both teams with great gusto and be looking for the Pumas to produce the magic that got them the much valued away win in New Zealand 2 weeks ago.
The trans-Tasman end of the table is even more tantalizing, with a home and away series starting next Thursday at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne and then concluding at Eden park 9 days later. Depending on what happens in the Pumas Springboks Matches, there is a chance for the Wallabies to take home 2 trophies after Eden Park, who am I kidding, the AB’s would have to suffer their first loss at Eden park in nearly 40 years for that to happen, not likely, But, Possible.
The 2 big points from the weekend was firstly the totally different plan the all Blacks seemed to have after the previous weekends effort, and to be fair probably the whole season to date, they actually looked dominant from the get go, something we haven’t really seen a lot of this year, the stars of the team stared, the engine room did their thing and the Barret’s , were just the Barret’s we know and love. A nice cameo from Coles, Ardie just being sensational, and all looking like a team that had confidence in each other a pleasure to watch, in fact I have watched the replay twice already and it is only Tuesday.
The next thing I want to comment on is not so good. The mele in Sydney after the Mapimpi try was, well entertaining at one level and disgraceful at another. To score a try and then do something that ends up getting you immediately sent off is just stupid. Now I know there is a lot going on in the mind of a rugby player and the hits are hard and the tension grows, but when you have scored the try, when your team is in the lead, a hand into the face of the guy that just failed to tackle you before the line is unnecessary indeed. The blow up of players after that did nothing more than exacerbate the situation, and really turn a good game into a bit of a farce. And again most of this still stems from this contact with the head rule that is dominating the game. Now don’t get me wrong here I am all for player safety, and forceful contact with the head is dangerous, but all of this must be put in context. In my era, which was a while ago, the old face rub was part and parcel, not liked, not needed, but did release a bit of pent-up pressure. What Mapimpi did was not needed but was hardly dangerous, was it worthy of a yellow card, I have seen worse go unnoticed and unpunished, I leave it to you to decide. But I think context needs to be bought into the decision and I think the overreaction of the other players caused more harm than the face rub on Korobeti.
Bring on the next 2 matches for the AB’s
As I type this evening, I am watching the first of 3 ODI’s between New Zealand and Australia, it seems weird to be talking about the All Blacks about to paly in Melbourne and the Black Caps playing in Cairns, but such is the world of professional sport that these overlaps will be more and more common. It’s not uncommon at the other end of the cricket season to have the Black Caps overlapping the start of the Super Rugby season, but to have what are traditionally Winter and Summer sports being played at international level in the same country does seem strange. The pity of this series is that this will be the last between the 2 cricket teams, outside of world cup meetings, for some time as the future tours program for the next cycle 23-27 does not have NZ and Aus. meeting each other, such a shame for teams from countries so close to each other, and with such a rich and entertaining rivalry.
In the coming weekend one of the more entertaining trans-Tasman sporting events will say its farewell to a venue that has produced some exciting moments over the years.
The V8 Supercars are set to lap the Pukekohe raceway for the final time. The course which like Sandown in Melbourne surrounds a horse racing track is about to make way for expanded Equine activity, this is a shame for motor racing fans on both sides of the Tasman as “Puke” ( pronounced Poukeee) as its fondly referred to, provides one on the best whole race track views there are on the circuit, back in the day when I lived in NZ , the Thursday run up the country from Wellington , staying with Family or friends in Auckland and heading out to the Pukekohe course for the 3 days of racing was a hell of a road trip. I did the trip twice with my old mate Ron, who passed away a few months back, and those memories of him and I in Petrol head heaven watching Greg Murphy dominate will be treasured forever.
The end of the Puke era will be and encouragement for the Kiwi drivers in the field who will want to send the circuit off in style, non-less than current series leader, who as an Auckland lad, SVG will relish the chance to be the last name in record books. But don’t despair Kiwi V8 fans I am sure that either Hampton Downs or the Highlands will be high on list of options to keep a round In NZ going forward, and don’t rule out Taupo, as Tony Quins investment in that circuit, will make it worth looking at as well, and don’t forget TQ is heavily involved in the series in Australia, so watch this space as we learn more.
Well that’s all for this week I need to get back to the cricket, 2 more matches this week before I post again after this coming weekend, enjoy your sport , have great time and don’t forget to tell your friends about my posts.

29/8/2022
Hi all, how did your sporting weekend go?
Did your team win, did your favorite sports star rise to the top, did you do Ok in what ever sport you were involved in. I am hoping that most if not all were in the positive.
An update first up on the post from last week. The worst keep secret in sport, Daniel Ricciardo is out of the McLaren seat next season. McLaren have agreed to pay out his 2023 contract and more importantly have put no restrictions on him driving elsewhere in F1. Now this is interesting as there are potentially 2 places he could go, Haas or Alpine, but as stated last week there maybe issues with both, although the Haas situation is now less as there is no come back to McLaren so Daniel could take a pay cut there to keep racing. Alpine might be a better option as far as overall grid performance is concerned but as this is the team he left for McLaren, how comfortable are all parties going to be.
There is as I predicted a hearing to be had over the whole Piastri scenario, and whether he drives next year or not could also predetermine his future as teams might become wary of him regardless of his obvious talent.
Pierre Gasly appears to be the next driver in focus now as the Alpha Tauri drive has been let go for next year and young Mick Schumacher looks to be on the move after Haas has finally confirmed he will not be driving there next year. Legacy is one thing Mick; performances are another I do hope that the time at Haas is an apparition, and he gets an opportunity to carry on the Schumacher Name in the sport.
Anyway, enough of all that we have to address the elephant in the room, and the there are actually a couple of them after the weekends Rugby Championship round. First and foremost, the All Blacks being beaten at home 3 times on the trot, this has never happened before. And all credit must go to Argentina for the well exercised game plan and the final result.
Once again, the AB’s looked in disarray at that point in the match when they needed steely resolve and seemed to lack a plan B, again questions must be asked of the leadership of the team, its now close to year away from a world cup, that with each outing this year looks less likely going back into the hands of the men in black.
Australia on the other hand came out and showed what dark horses they can be, with a resolute win over the South Africans at the Adelaide Oval. The only blot on the copy book was Nick whites farcical Hollywood after what appeared to be a tickle of him Moustache from the South African half back which led to a yellow card. The Aussie social media have been having a field day with this and really it was nothing, but his reaction was worthy of a call up the EPL.
The NRL is getting interesting for the resting spots on the ladder with this week offering up the very tantalizing Storm v Eels for the 4th spot, this should be a ripper and the winner of this game gets the spot, there is still a chance the final 8 hasn’t been decided yet with the Broncos still a chance to get in but need a few results to go there way, but you just never know.
AFL finals kick off this week as well, after a week off, and looks likely to be a very exciting series with any of the 8 teams good enough to go all the way, I wait with eager anticipation on that.
Rory McIlroy pulled off a stunning win in the FedEx golf final with a 6 shot deficit going into the final day to beat out 2022 Star Scottie Scheffler for the top prize, well done Rory.
And in F1 racing, not driver seat musical chairs, Max Verstappen came from a engine penalty 14th spot on the grid to win the Belgium GP at Spa Francochamps, and extend his lead in the series.
Well, that’s it for this week short and sweet, and I won’t bore you with story of my winning net 68 on the golf course on Saturday, needless to say that handicap is taking another belt, well so it shall be
Have a great week and look forward to catching up next week.