Drama, drama, drama: that’s all the sports world has to offer these days apparently.
The menacing threat of Zika virus is looming over the Rio Olympics like some sort of doomed bogey man, turning athletes away in droves. Apparently no one likes the sound of either having to abstain from sex or wear condoms and lighting a couple of citronella candles.
The threat of rigging games has reared its ugly head in the NRL with allegations of match fixing being targeted at six members of a certain club.
On top of that a ghostly figure from the Wallabies’ past has come back to haunt them in the worst way.
So here is the look from the outer…
Immortal denies being a bad influence
The NRL has been plagued by bad news and scandals throughout 2016. Parramatta has been the lead instigator, with its wide-spread salary cap rorting, loss of competition points, Keiran Foran’s personal dramas and injuries, the loss of Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo and Corey Norman’s drug charges and association with underworld identities.
Clearly the Manly Sea Eagles felt left out of the limelight. But that has changed now with the Sea Eagles coming under the scrutiny of the NSW Organised Crime Squad with allegations of match fixing in at least two games during 2015.
Several Sea Eagles players have been accused of being in cahoots with former brothel owner Eddie Hayson in throwing games. Hayson is a good friend of NRL Immortal, Andrew Johns, who was an assistant and halves consultant to Geoff Toovey during the time of the alleged match fixing.
Johns has come out strongly-denying he was the root cause of a gambling and partying culture that saw Manly descend into a decadent state not seen since the French libertines. Johns has previously come under scrutiny along with Eddie Hayson for bets on a Newcastle Knights game in 2006.
Manly player David Williams was banned in 2014 for betting on Sea Eagles games.
But I agree, how could a simple bloke like Andrew Johns, an immortal of the game who has owned race horses with Eddie Hayson, confessed to rampant ecstasy use and seems to get himself in strife every month or so for being a drunken mess, contribute to a culture of gambling and partying at a club?
How?
WilliamHill.com.au has Manly ($2.35) as gross outsiders in their Round 15 match against the Gold Coast Titans ($1.57).
Zika strikes again
It is growing to be a common story ahead of the Rio2016 Olympics: athletes refusing to commit to the Olympics because of Zika fears or any other range of weird and colorful reasons.
The American basketball team has players pulling out left, right and center. A shopping list as long as a bad work day of NBA stars have already ruled themselves out of the Olympics. Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook have all ruled themselves out of representing Team USA.
I don’t get the big fuss over Zika, all you need to ensure you stay free of the disease is a carton of condoms, some Aeroguard and a couple of mosquito coils: problem solved!
Despite all this drama, Team USA are still hot favourites to take out the gold medal in the men’s basketball at $1.12. Their nearest rivals are France @ $8 and Spain @ $9.50.
Aussie leads Poms to a win in Australia
Former Wallabies coach, Eddie Jones, has whipped the English Rugby side into shape quick smart. In just seven short months Jones has lead the English side, which was dumped from their own World Cup last year, to a record-breaking win over the Wallabies in Brisbane last night.
Since their abysmal showing at their own 2015 World Cup, Jones has lead the Poms to a Grand Slam, beating all their opponents in the 2016 Six Nations.
Their 39-28 win over the Wallabies in Brisbane broke a 105-year record by chalking up their biggest score against the Wallabies.
Despite the Poms win Crownbet.com.au has Australia as slight favorites on $1.80 to overcome the English Roses in game 2, who sit at $2.
