Ranking Some Of The Australian Cricketers, 2017-18

Two years ago I ranked all the current Australian cricketers, following the 1st test of the summer.

Last year, I did it again.

This year, I just couldn't bring myself to do it a third time.

It just didn't seem fun. And I didn't start writing things of very limited appeal for a tiny audience with no monetary reward to not have fun.

I think the main reason it was no longer fun lies in this question: how can you make sense of Australian cricket currently? 

Stuff My Kids Say, Part Nine

This edition includes takes on comedy, fish, home design and footy teams, amongst other hot topics.

Older stuff my kids say is here.

My kids, from left to right: J, O, and R.

New stuff below!

Melbourne Cup Bets 2017: A Post-Mortem

This is the short version of my Melbourne Cup betting:

And here is the slightly longer take:

Melbourne Cup: Understanding the Odds

If your betting experience for The Race That Stops A Nation involves picking jockey colours, lucky numbers, or funny horse names, you don't need to read this.

Actually, read it anyway. I need the hits.

For everyone else, this is basically how it all works.

Also how it works.

Official Unofficial Rugby League World Cup Predictions

International rugby league gets a bad wrap. And you can see why...

What if I told you an Australian national team had won 10 of 14 World Cups outright, never finished lower than 2nd, and in their last tournament success beat teams by 67, 65, 55 and 37 points. Also their main rivals New Zealand had never finished lower than 3rd, and the other major power in the sport England had never finished lower than 4th. Two other teams had never finished lower than 6th.

But enough about netball, let's get back on topic and into the Official Unofficial Rugby League World Cup Predictions!

With news this week that rugby league is not a sport, but pole dancing and foot golf are, there's never been a better time to be a fan of international rugby league!

Where I predict teams to exit at the same stage of the tournament, I have ranked them by who I think will perform better at that stage. For example, I think that Italy are more chance to win Group D than the United States, so they are ranked higher of the two. Sorry about the spoiler there.

Here are all the other predictions...

A Quick Note on the Legacy of the ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand

This is actually not about politics.

Instead, it is about food.

Tinned spaghetti pizza. With pineapple.

NRL Grand Final 2017

The NRL Grand Final this year wasn't an all-time classic like in 2015, nor did it come down to the wire and deliver a fairytale ending like 2016.

The best team all season clinically beat the outsider that had defied the odds to get there. There were no surprises.

In that sense, it reminded me a lot of the 1994 Grand Final, where Canberra beat Canterbury. Also the 1998 Grand Final, where Brisbane beat Canterbury. And of course, the 2014 Grand Final where Souths beat Canterbury.

That isn't to say there weren't some memorable moments in the game. My favourite moment from the 2017 Grand Final was this...