🏉 Dream Team Returns To Tigerland

Thank God, it's Friday, 15 July. It's been a big week. It started with Novak Djokovic beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final. Then the Aussies lost the cricket. Then Queensland beat the Blues in an Origin epic. Then the Hockeyroos made the World Cup semis. Now the British Open has begun, Le Tour is ongoing, the Euros are getting to the business end and the Wallabies play tomorrow. So much sport and you know what? WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH. Let's go! 

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👀 Ever heard of a guy named Count Manfred von Hoffmenstal?

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 It's Throwback Thursday as Wests turn to club bests 

The Wests Tigers have put the club's father figure in control and its 2 favourite sons are waiting in the wings as part of their succession plan. All that's missing is Cousin Greg. 

Golden points: Sitting at the bottom of the NRL ladder and in desperate need of some change, the Tigers announced their premiership winning coach Tim Sheens will take over as head coach next year, and the club's greatest player, Benji Marshall, will succeed him in 2025.

• Sheens coached the Tigers in 250 games between 2003-2012 and won the comp with a mix of seasoned pros and exciting youngsters, like Marshall and Robbie Farah, in 2005

• He didn't leave the club on great terms but time heals all wounds. He was brought back last year to help the struggling Tigers, who were going backwards under coach Michael Maguire

• Sheens backed Maguire, but with only 3 wins from 13 rounds, a change was made and Maguire was gone as coach after 3.5 seasons

• The Tigers offered Panthers assistant Cameron Ciraldo a 5-year deal that was knocked back, so Wests went internal and landed on 71yo Sheens to return as coach from next year with Marshall and Farah as his assistants

• Then, after 2 years learning from one the NRL's most experienced coaches, Marshall will get the top job in 2025 for at least 3 years.

They said it: "I am one of those guys who is quite honest and upfront. I will know if I am terrible. But I will work hard. I will back myself. I always have, I always will," Marshall is all in. 

They said it: "This is about having Wests Tigers DNA surging through the club, and it's about putting together a rock-solid coaching plan for the next five years," Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe on the hiring blitz.

The stat: The Tigers have been through 4 head coaches since Sheens left in 2012, which is one year after the Tigers last made the finals. Who was in the team? You guessed it: Marshall and Farah. 

QUICK SINGLES

🏉 AFL: No jab, no play is no more in the AFL. The league has removed its vaccine mandate for all players and staff to line up with the policies of the states and territories. It means unvaccinated players who retired or were cut by clubs because of their vax status are back in the mix, players like Liam Jones and Georgia Patrikios.

🏉 Rugby: A couple of code-hoppers look set to make their international debuts this weekend. Former Melbourne Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu has been named on the bench for Wallabies for the series-decider against England on Saturday night. Across the ditch, former Dally M medal winner Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is on the bench for the All Blacks for their series-decider against Ireland. Three deciders in one week! Which one will you decide to watch?

• 📺 Por que no los dos! The All Blacks-Ireland game starts at 5.05pm then it's the Wallabies-England match from 7:55pm AEST.

⛳️ Golf: No ifs or putts, Cameron Smith is in contention at the British Open. Smith had his radar working on the huge greens at St Andrews to cart a 5-under 1st round round of 67. He's in 3rd, 3 shots back of clubhouse leader Cameron Young and 2 behind 2014 winner Rory McIlroy. Smith had an injury scare with a dodgy knee on the 14th, but later said: "I'm a Queensland man, I'll get over that pretty quick."

🏑 Hockey: The Hockeyroos are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Renee Taylor scored both goals from penalty corners in Australia's 2-0 win over Spain in the quarters. They'll now play Netherlands in the semis, the team that beat them in the 2014 World Cup final and the 2018 semis. Time for some payback. 

• 📺 Watch the semi-final from 2:30am AEST Sunday morning and the final will be played at 5:30am AEST on Monday morning on Foxtel and Kayo.

🏉 Origin: State of Origin 3 was a hit both on and off the field. The brutal match made for compelling watching, which is probably why an average of 3 million tuned in to watch Queensland regain the shield. Of that 3 million, 463k watched on streaming service 9Now, which makes it the most-watched live streaming event ever in Aussie TV history. That is a big hit. 

LEFT OF FIELD

🏉 Golf: Seeing as it's the 150th anniversary of the British Open, here's a snapshot of a guy by the name of Maurice Flitwick, once dubbed the 'world's worst golfer'. Flitwick wanted to have a crack at winning The Open in the 1970s, only problem was he had no clubs, hadn't played golf and was 45yo. So, a couple of hurdles. But he sorted that out and entered a qualifying tournament in 1976 were he got unlucky and shot a 49-over par score of 121. He was so bad he was banned. That didn't stop our man Maurice. He kept entering tournaments under different names, names like Gene Pacheki, Gerald Hoppy, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmenstal. It... didn't work. His last attempt was in 1990 as Gene Pacheki but was caught on the 3rd hole, where he says he was looking good to make par. 

📽 Highlight reel: Check out some of the best shots of the opening round of The Open, including a putt so long Ian Poulter needed a telescope to see if it went in. Spoiler alert: it did! 

📸 Photo finish: Let's finish with golf because Aussie Lucas Herbert has a cracker of a yarn about Phil Mickelson autograph snubbing from 2011. In short: Lucas reminded Phil, told Phil he hates him, Phil apologised, Phil signed his glove. 

THE POLLING BOOTH

Yesterday's result: 68.52% reckon Greg Norman's LIV Golf Series is bad for the game.  

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• ⛳️ Friday 3:30pm - British Open - 2nd Round - St Andrews, Scotland - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 Friday 6:00pm - NRL - Cowboys v Sharks - Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 Saturday 7:25pm - AFL - Blues v Cats - MCG, Melbourne - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 Saturday 7:55pm - Rugby - Wallabies v England - SCG, Sydney - Channel 9, Stan Sport

• 🏑 Sunday 2:30am - Hockey World Cup - Australia v Netherlands, semi-final - Spain - Foxtel, Kayo

All times AEST

THE MANAGER'S OFFICE

If you want to avoid being called into the manager's office for an honest conversation (it'd probably be over Zoom to avoid confrontation)... tell your mates about us so we can grow big and strong. Thanks in advance 🙏