🏉 Nothing Finer Than An Origin Decider

Good morning, it's Wednesday, 13 July. Someone once said failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Apparently it was US President Benjamin Franklin, and we're pretty sure he was talking about State of Origin... so in preparation for tonight's big footy match between the Blues and Maroons, the pizza has been ordered, the beer is on ice and all you need to know about the Origin decider is waiting for you below. Footy!

⏱ 1184 words = 7 minutes

👀 There's a beach volleyball rally you just gotta see

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 STATE OF ORIGIN DECIDER TONIGHT!

Sorry for yelling. It's just that we're very, very excited for Game 3 of State of Origin. There's still like 13 hours to go so we've gotta settle down or it's gonna be a loooong day.

Golden points: It all comes down to this. The Maroons caused an upset to win Game 1, then the Blues made it even-stevens with a big win Perth. Now the series heads to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane where NSW have a ... bad record.

• In 59 matches at Suncorp Stadium (the old Lang Park), the Blues have won only 20, and in deciders, they've won just twice - in 1994 and 2005.

• But records are made to be broken, right? Well, the Blues have made only one change from the team that blitzed the Maroons 44-12 in Game 2. Prop Payne Haas is out, debutant Jacob Saifiti is in.

• Queensland have a few more changes. Felise Kaufusi, Murray Taulagi and Game 1 man of the match Cameron Munster are absent, so in comes Tom Gilbert and Tom Deardon to make their debuts, and Broncos winger Corey Oates.

The stat: If that Suncorp Stadium stat above doesn't scare Blues fans, these should do the trick. Queensland have won the past 5 deciders played in Brisbane and under Brad Fittler, NSW has never won there as coach. He's 0-3. Records are made the be broken, right?!

They said it: "I’ve seen the way they (NSW) have trained, the preparation they’ve put in ... I just can’t see any other result," Fittler is confident of a Blues win.

Key click: The team from the Don't Forget Your Tips! podcast have previewed the heck out of tonight's game in a special episode. Listen to it on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.

Watch it: The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:10pm AEST on Channel 9, but these things have a knack of starting a bit late.

QUICK SINGLES

🏉 AFL: North Melbourne's search for a new coach starts this week. The Roos and David Noble mutually parted ways yesterday after 14 losses in a row and just 5 wins in 38 matches in the past 18 months. So now they've gotta find a new coach, and names like Alastair Clarkson, Nathan Buckley and Ross Lyon are a few of the ones being thrown around. But it's a tough gig. North have been in the bottom 2 on the ladder the past 3 seasons and have gone through 3 head coaches since 2019.  

⚽️ Football: Melbourne Victory have signed Portuguese football star Nani. This is one of the biggest signings in A-League Men's history, right up there with Dwight Yorke, Alessandro Del Piero and Usain Bolt (okay, Bolt not so much for his soccer skills, but still, massive name). Nani, who is still in good nick at 35, has won the English Premier League and Champions League with Manchester United and the Euro with Portugal. He's a winner, so sounds like a great match for the Victory.

🏉 'The Cheese' is gonna spend 3 weeks on the sidelines. Melbourne Storm star Brandon 'The Cheese' Smith has been suspended for 3 matches by the NRL judiciary for calling referee Adam Gee a "cheating bastard" in last Thursday's loss to the Sharks. Smith apologised to Gee after the match and agreed that he set a terrible example for kids. The Storm don't need this right now having lost their past 2 matches.

🏃‍♂️ Long-distance running legend Mo Farah has revealed he was trafficked to the UK as a child and given a new name. In a BBC doco called The Real Mo Farah that airs on Wednesday in the UK, Farah explains his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, and when he was 9 he was flown to London from Djibouti in the north of Africa, given the name of another child and was forced to work as a domestic servant. But he says running saved his life, and went on to win 4 Olympic gold medals and be knighted in 2017.

⛳️ Tiger takes a swing at the Shark. That's figuratively speaking, there were no actual punches thrown or clubs swung in anger, but Tiger Woods agrees with the decision not to invite Greg Norman to The Open's 150yr celebrations this week because he's the boss of the rebel golf tour. Tiger said: "Greg has done some things that I don't think is in the best interest of our game. I believe it's the right thing."

LEFT OF FIELD

🎾 Cricket: If you've got a contact at Netflix here's a story worth passing on that would make a brilliant series. A group of Indian men staged a dodgy version of the Indian Premier League, streamed it on YouTube complete with sound effects and commentary, and somehow convinced Russian gamblers to bet on it. About $6k was wagered and the 'comp' made it all the way to the quarters before the police cottoned on and arrested the Indian men. How can this not be a Netflix series?! Check out some of the vision and count how many red flags you spot.

📽 Highlight reel: Now this happened a little while ago at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome but it's been doing the rounds on social media. It's an epic beach volleyball rally between Ecuador and the USA that goes for 26 touches. You'll get tired watching it.

📸 Photo finish:  

Climate change protestors caused last night's stage of the Tour de France to be paused for 10 minutes. Activists set off flares, chained themselves together and almost caused a crash before they were removed and the race was restarted.

THE POLLING BOOTH

Yesterday's result: 56.92% believe Roger Federer is the GOAT of men's tennis.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• 🏀 11:00am - NBA Summer League - Warriors v Celtics - Las Vegas - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 8:10pm - State of Origin 3 - Queensland v New South Wales - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane - Channel 9

All times AEST

THE MANAGER'S OFFICE

There's only one thing the manager hates more than a bunch of wet towels on the floor, and that's a referral that's gone missing... Tell your teammates, supporters, and physio about us. No one likes a ball hog...