Geoff Parkes's Blog, page 5

McGee magnificent in NBL debut but Tassie get the jump on Hawks

Three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee has starred on debut for the defending NBL champions Illawarra, but Tasmania still answered his brilliance to win a thriller 91-86. 

In the opening game of their championship defence on Saturday, the Hawks raised their championship banner at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong but The JackJumpers spoiled the party. 

They have added quite an imposing new piece for their title defence too with monster 983-game NBA veteran centre McGee, who more tha...

More woe for Ange after ref makes ‘absolute howler’, Palace shatter Reds’ perfect start and United misery worsens

Ange Postecoglou had hoped that “home comforts” would finally help him get off the mark with a win for Nottingham Forest. 

Instead, the frustration goes on for the 60-year-old Australian boss after his first match at his new City Ground home in Nottingham ended with Forest succumbing 1-0 to Sunderland in another Premier League match they really ought to have won.

Omar Alderete’s first-half header helped Sunderland clinch their first away win of the season and consigned Postecoglou to a fif...

Grand Final Fix: Fagan’s finest hour! The six brave, brilliant coaching calls that earned Brisbane a flag for the ages

It’s the dying minutes of the third quarter, and the 2025 grand final hangs on a knife’s edge.

A handball into disputed territory at half-back for Geelong is pursued by Bailey Smith, the man who in so many ways has defined the Cats’ season. Time and again this season he has received the ball in such a position, and with his neverending run and willingness to follow up to contest after contest been able to surge his team towards their dangerous forwards.

On this occasion, though, as the ova...

Geelong Cats grand final player ratings: Brutal blow sums up nightmare day as Dangerfield goes from best to worst

Favourites heading in, Geelong’s grand final started hot, and ended as an absolute nightmare.

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Cats, with a 47-point loss to reigning premiers Brisbane finishing a season in which they have consistently looked the best team in the competition.

Jeremy Cameron battled through an arm injury, Patrick Dangerfield was barely sighted, the Cats’ menacing midfield was taken to the cleaners, and there were few winners against a Lions outf...

‘I know this voice’: ‘Crazy’ Bledisloe moment All Blacks star broke down as his dad sang the national anthem

All Blacks star Caleb Clarke appeared as shocked as everyone else when his old man, and former All Black, Eroni Clarke stepped forward to sing the natrional anthem ahead of the Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies.

Eroni Clarke, 56, played 24 times for the All Blacks and 51 times for the Auckland Blues.

Standing on the firmest of home turf, Eroni sang the English and the Māori versions of God Defend New Zealand.

How special is this ????

An emotional moment for Caleb Clarke as the n...

VOTE: Wallabies DIY player ratings vs All Blacks, Bledisloe 1

Another year, another Bledisloe Cup win for the All Blacks.

The Wallabies fought bravely at Eden Park, but were always chasing the game as New Zealand secured a 23rd straight Bledisloe Cup with a 33-24 win.

Whether it’s enough for the All Blacks to take another Rugby Championship title remains to be seen, but the Wallabies’ task just got a whole lot tougher.

So it’s with sadness that we hand the baton over to you: who shone and who failed to live up to the occasion in Auckland?

If you’re new...

Brisbane Lions grand final player ratings: Champion winds back the clock, and the star who ‘cost himself a Norm’

Brisbane have secured their place in football immortality, claiming a second successive premiership after a second-half masterclass blew through favourites Geelong for a famous 47-point grand final win.

In front of 100,022 fans at the MCG, the Lions needed to overcome a menacing start for the Cats in an extraordinary, high-octane first quarter, before legs meant to be tired after three consecutive finals without a break saw them produce a blitz on either side of three-quarter time to turn the...

Heartbreak again! All Blacks star returns to kill off Wallabies’ Bledisloe Cup hopes

Heartbreak again.

The All Blacks’ Eden Park fortress remains after holding off a brave Wallabies side 33-24 in Auckland on Saturday evening.

Joe Schmidt’s men trailed by just two points in the 70th minute after Carlo Tizzano scored, but the men in black landed the match-winning blow five minutes later as Cam Roigard returned from injury to score under the posts and kill off the Wallabies’ Bledisloe Cup hopes.

By winning, the All Blacks extended their winning run at Eden Park to 52 Tests...

Five and a Kick: Hughes’ huge effort in broken arm propels Storm into grand final as Sharks fall short yet again

Jahrome Hughes was belted black, white and blue in his early comeback from a broken arm but the Storm star’s courage shone through to eliminate Cronulla in Friday night’s preliminary final at AAMI Park.

Hughes was targeted by the Sharks in defence and attack but the Kiwi international, wearing an heavy guard, to protect his forearm, not only manage to repel their onslaught but guide Melbourne to a 22-14 victory.

The Dally M Medal winner scored a try and repaid the faith shown by coach Crai...

AFL GF News: ‘Mad not to pick him’ – Fagan has no doubts over Neale call, Lion excited at role of closing down Dangerfield

Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan is adamant there is no risk in playing Lachie Neale in the AFL grand final just three weeks after injuring his calf.

The dual Brownlow medallist will feature against Geelong at the MCG on Saturday – his fourth premiership decider after making an extraordinary recovery to be fit.

Neale’s season appeared over when he hurt himself in the qualifying final against Geelong on September 5.

But after spending two hours a day in a hyperbaric chamber, the Lions co...