Harbhajan Singh Press Conference

HS: Good Day sirs, I have invited you here to make a public apology for the incident in the recent 20-20 match with Sreesanth.

Journalist: Can you guarantee that it will never happen again?

HS: In public. I can truly tell you that I will not strike another player. Let me also say this. Sreesanth: You have been warned. The next one will be in private. And it will be a monkey-slap.

Journalist: What's a monkey slap???

HS: Well, you take off your trousers and...

Journalist: oh... a turkey slap.

HS: See, I don't know what a monkey is. Clearly I was calling Symonds a turkey - that is not racist at all, right???

Editors Note; Here at WHAB, we wish to mark the momentous occasion of Harbajhan Singh Turkey Slapping Sreesanth with a limited edition Franklin Mint (only 100 will ever be made) T-Shirt. We thought about making a shirt for Adam Gilchrist's 200th IPL run, but Channel Nine will probably beat us to the punch!

- Impress your friends!

- Show your support for slapping Sreesanth!

- Have an icebreaker shirt for the ladies...

- Piss off the Stasi/Fun Police at Australian cricket venues with a shirt that must violate one of their ludicrous fan laws!

Anyway, you can view the shirt here. Get in FAST, this is truly a limited edition lithograph, I mean: shirt.

QLD Origin Team

What the hell? Thats about the best way I can vent my frustration for the selectors, what the hell. I do believe that Hunt should find himself in a Qld jersey, but with 6 on the back, surely not. Without even considering the players not selected, you would go with Inglis over Hunt as five-eigth every day of the week and twice on origin. Despite the media hype surrounding Prince being left out over Hunt, the real mystery of selection is how did Brent Tate get any sort of look in, let alone a jersey.

Well considering the almost inevitable loss in Sydney, this is the attacking line up that you would want to see coming into the Brisbane leg:

1. Karmichael Hunt
2. Israel Folau
3. Greg Inglis
4. Justin Hodges
5. Billy Slater
6. Darren Lockyer
7. Johnathon Thurston
8. Brad Myers
9. Cam Smith
10. Petero Civoniceva
11. Michael Crocker
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Dallas Johnston
Bench
14. Tonie Carroll
15. Nate Myles
16. Scott Prince
17. Matt Bowen

Brad Myers is a more modern forward than Webb, who to be quite frank, looks lazy and unispiring this season. The absolute strength of the NSW team is there ball playing second rowers. Sending sluggish forwards in will play into NSW hands who will look to run the ball up two wide of the ruck and get away the offload. Civoniceva is a relic of the game gone by, but who wouldn't want him in the first 15 mins of an origin.

I don't believe in having a second hooker in a side ala PJ Marsh (who can't get a start in the Brisbane team behind Michael Ennis), especially when the starting hooker for Qld is the best in the game at the moment. Having a second hooker really started with Craig Wing on the bench for NSW a few years ago, but Wing isn't a stand and deliver hooker, he's a strong running, ball player. Even in the current side, to go with Hunt over Prince in the run on side and then to have PJ Marsh on the bench over Prince, one really has to wonder.

Bowen, if uninjured, is pretty much your first pick for any Qld side and despite being left with only two forwards on the bench, the size of Folau and Inglis gives you the potential to slip one of them into second row with Myles, Thaiday and Carroll able to give the props time on the bench.

The Qld selectors are questioning whether Thurston can work with Prince, well if that's the case, and you know the WHAB position on Thurston, Prince has been bent over thrice by selectors out of touch with the game. Tate, I mean really.

QLD Origin team announced

1. Billy Slater
2. Brent Tate?!
3. Greg Inglis
4. Justin Hodges
5. Israel Folau
6. Karmichael Hunt?!
7. Johnathon Thurston
13. Dallas Johnson
12. Sam Thaiday
11. Michael Crocker
10. Petero Civoniceva
9. Cameron Smith (C)
8. Carl Webb

14. PJ Marsh
15. Ben Hannant
16. Nate Myles
17 Jacob Lillyman?!

New South Welshmen are over the moon with the inexplicable selection of Karmicheal Hunt over Scott Prince for the QLD five eighth job. "I was thinking of throwing myself off the Harbour Bridge today, but then I heard the news!" one lucky Blues fan was quoted as saying as WHAB hit the streets of Sydney for response to the selection. "It's better than sex!" claimed another mulleted Sydneysider. The choice dramatically reduces QLD's attacking options and weakens their kicking game. In the handful of games where Hunt has played the position for the Broncos he has looked ordinary and uncomfortable to say the least. Speaking of ordinary, I can't help but wonder if Jacob Lillyman is the second most ordinary player ever picked for Origin football. If you can think of anyone else more ordinary (other than Ben Ikin) please leave it in the comments with your name and contact details.

"I'm a genius Tooves. I've just invented a double quarter pounder with cheese!".


The best/worst answer will receive our WHAB pack. To Brent Tate. Okay out of dummy half...yep that's about it. "Why don't we get him across the ditch for 400k a year? We've had such a hard time finding wingers in New Zealand". He's in very average form for the Warriors and is very lucky to make a QLD team not coached by Wayne Bennett. Just reiterating, Scott Prince is the form half in the NRL and Karmichael Hunt is not a five eighth! Unfortunately for Blues fans the QLD selectors will no doubt realise the extent of their stupidity after Game 1 and we can expect a dose of Prince's tricks for Game 2.

NSW Origin Team Announced

Blues
Fullback: Brett Stewart
Wing: Jarryd Hayne
Centre: Mark Gasnier
Centre: Matt Cooper
Wing: Anthony Quinn
Five-eighth: Greg Bird
Halfback: Peter Wallace
Front Row: Brett White
Hooker: Danny Buderus (C)
Front Row: Ben Cross
Second Row: Ryan Hoffman
Second Row: Willie Mason
Lock: Paul Gallen

Interchange
Anthony Laffranchi
Anthony Tupou
Craig Fitzgibbon
Ben Hornby

What to say about this team?? The backline looks relatively solid. Matt Cooper is the usual automatic choice at Centre - and a roundly uninspiring one. Lawrence may have been a more useful selection here. The halves Bird and Wallace are certainly better than the Finch-Anasta combination or Anasta-Gidley combination. Bird will play solidly and Wallace was probably the best choice out of a mediocre bunch at 7. Days out from the selection today, most were suggesting that this battle was between Finch and Gidley - which never rang true. Choosing between Finch and Gidley is not too dissimilar from being in a smoky nightclub at 4 am and there only two girls left. One is very large and one has a Sarah Jessica Parker face. You also know that one of them has syphilis. You aren't sure which. You can take your chances there if you want! Wallace then makes a lot of sense. Apache Cat: Doomben 10,000 Favourite

The pack looks okay, Laffranchi is a pig of a man though. It's great to see that even though he looks 55 years old that Craig Fitzgibbon's season has been rewarded. Having Fitz and his massive work rate back to its best has been the biggest reason for the Roosters revival this year.

Thurston

Was looking long and hard on Youtube for the try that the Kiwis scored in the last minute of Friday night's Centenary test.



With Australia up by 22 points, you can afford to lounge around in defence and let a try in. No-one really gives a toss if Johnathon "The Matador" Thurston misses a tackle to let the Kiwi's score in the corner. Misses is maybe an inadequate statement here. The Johnathon Thurston Matador{OLE!} waved his red rag, ran the other way and the try was scored unopposed.







But no-one cared. Least of all the man who thought that Australia could cover the 17.5 point start pretty easily and invested accordingly. At least Thurston directed the play into the corner with his red rag. Oh.. they converted. That certainly sucks.

Until the Matador learns to defend, he slips beneath the Prince in the best halfback in the NRL discussions - no doubt. In the space of one post, welcome Thursto to the Hall of Schrutebaginess and the Hall of the Overrated {MEMBER NUMBER ONE!}

EPL final week

Manchester United proved our pollsters on this site right this week with a win to take out the Premier league crown. Their 2-0 win sealed the deal unless Chelsea could beat Bolton by a cricket score. Chelsea could not muster the needed score, let alone the win drawing 1-1 with Bolton.



My beloved Rovers had the chance to eke out an UEFA cup birth but were slaughtered. By Birmingham. By Birmingham. Wow. At least the Rovers managed to slip past the Captain's Man City as Man City were sodomised 8-1 by Middlesborough. Seriously. Birmingham managed to drop out of the Premier league in spite of their last day win as Fulham defeated the Smouth 1-0 and Reading were obviously too strong for Derby.

A Lament to Jimmy, Dougy and the Bear

You've been out with your mates on a Saturday arvo watching the races and drinking beer. A few winners later you're ready to kick on. But that taste in your mouth...that "I've had a thousand beers today" taste. So you and your "Average Joe" mates head to your local bottleshop to pick up some tasty pre-mix beverages to sip on while watching some footy. You look at the six pack prices; Jim Beam $27. Black Douglas $25. Bundy $25. For a six pack. And then you remember watching the news a couple of weeks ago. The Prime Minister crapping on about how all the teenagers get smashed on pre-mix drinks every weekend. And he's gonna tax the shit outta them. And you remember thinking "I could count on one hand the pre-mix drinks I had when I was a teen". You also muse that maybe now the kids will get more smashed because their big brothers are buying them bottles of straight spirits. And you think to yourself "this doesn't make sense, this guy must have been fumbling for an excuse to tax something because mostly 20-40 year olds drink pre- mixes". And then you wonder to yourself "Why am I getting punished? Why not tax something else? What about the most poverty stricken of all recreational drugs? Whipped creme bulbs! Tax them you do-gooding, char-do-nnay quaf-fin', think you're awesome cause you can speak Chinese, uppity tosser!". You are a right turd!

What to do with my last $50 trackside.

Well bugger me, I'm not usually up this early on a Saturday but these are the sacrifices we here at WHAB are prepared to make. My racing tips for this week:

$20 on Ortensia in MR4

$14 on Acorns in BR4

$8 on Babinda Half in BR5

$8 on Fulmonti in BR6

A can I just say go the Cat! Everyone loves the Cat.

What to do with my last $50...

Back the Kangaroos in the Centenary test into the Chiefs to beat the Lions in Super 14 into the Roosters to beat the Raiders in the NRL. In what is possibly a WHAB first, though possibly not, we are whacking the whole $50 on at $2.32 to return $116.

Racing tips for this week will be posted by 10am AEST tomorrow as I haven't managed to snaffle a form guide as yet and couldn't even tell you who's racing other than the almighty Apache Cat!

The Professors rushed weekend betting thread!

Sick in bed today, but there is work to be done!

Anyway, a little rushed. $50 for Sports seems best to put on the following:

$20 on the Panthers
$20 on the Waratahs
$10 on Australia to cover the start tonight (17.5) - into the Brumbies - into the Waratahs.
Payout on that is $14.10

For the races!

Two quick bets. $15 Each way on Sir Sensible and $20 the win on Sectagonal.

Best of luck with your punting!