A couple of weeks ago this list would have had Russell Wilson for sure but they’ve started to struggle in the last 2-3 weeks. You’ve got Rivers but not Antonio Gates? Surely he has been as much a part of their success so far? Always hard to narrow down just 10 player this early in a season so though pretty decent list!

I think both of these guys have been very lucky this season to have the team they have around them in both attack and defence. As a Seahawks fan, I think any quarterback will be successful when they have Chancellor, Thomas and Sherman running their defence and then have the option the throw to Golden Tate or hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch if there’s nothing on. In saying that, I think the composure and the running game they both possess has been critical at times this season, but I give the edge to Wilson and expect to see a Hawks v Broncos Superbowl.
In the debate about young quarterbacks, they all could shine in great teams but I see Newton and maybe Luck as having the most potential to become superstars. Hopefully Wilson can prove me wrong though and have a stunning career with Seattle!

Thankyou. I did remember hearing something about that but it didn’t come up in the list of transfers I was using so I must have overlooked it. That looks like a much more solid, well-rounded side.

I think this would be a great idea! It gives some of the younger players the opportunity to play with the stars they wouldnt normally associate with and it would give the NRL a much needed image makeover if they are supporting charities so strongly! I don’t think this will happen but I still think it’s brilliant!

I did have the Gold Coast rated higher originally but couldn’t leave Melbourne and the Roosters too far down the list, plus I think this competition will really suit the Panthers attacking players.

This was written in the last few days but I did forget that Hodges was out for that long. Most of these predictions are based on the current teams that clubs are fielding in the Telstra premiership and the players they have signed for next season. Do you mind my asking where you think more research was needed?

I did consider that and the early betting has Raiders as second favourites but I didn’t think he would have the players to go with him. They don’t really have any mobile, ball playing back rowers and I don’t think this style of game really suits their halves either. I would love to be pleasantly surprised and see some Raiders success though.

So would be telling Rafael Nadal that his career has been as successful as Djokovic because they have both only won 1 Wimbledon title? The tennis works completely different as their format all year is knockout, except for year end finals (yes, tennis has finals too) and the 100m final is first past the post and the Superbowl is first past the post in the two conferences?

I don’t like the idea of having everyone playing each other twice as the season then becomes too long and as someone already mentioned, the last month would only get interest from 4 teams. The most excitement at the end of the season was looking at which team would make the Top 8 from the 5 or so that contested those last couple of spots. We lose this if we go first past the post. And I think 2009 is the best example of leading after 26 rounds not meaning much as the Dragons lost to Parramatta (would made the grand final) and the Broncos in the first two weeks of finals.

I’m a bit confused where the NRL and refs have been showing these biases? The most penalised team all season was the Roosters and the least penalised team was the Dragons. Surely this goes against all the people arguing that the refs are helping to put certain teams in the finals? So which team are the refs showing bias towards?

I mainly posted this to get a discussion started and see what people’s thought were on the teams. I don’t believe this will be a long term solution to growing the game but I still think it will be an exciting spectacle to start the year with and a good chance for teams to test out new combinations where they will have a bit more time and space compared to trial games which really mean nothing, as demonstrated last year by the players that played the trial game in Bathurst!

The latest I have heard is that Tomkins has all but signed a contract. If he isnt there then Manu back into starting side and possibly Tuimavave-Girard comes onto the bench.

This is the way Australia should be heading! These poilicies mught actually finally make us a competitor in the global market!

This is a strong looking side but I agree with Brett about Tamou. I would start with Tamou and move Merrin to the bench for Scott. I’m glad to see someone finally picking Hoffman again and although Merritt would not be out of place in a Blues jumper, if they were going to pick him they would have done it by now.
Brett Stewart is my only other concern with this side but at the moment I don’t know who could take his place…

You sound very confident about Stosur and Gajdosova in the Fed Cup. I’m not totally convinced. They are both very mental players and coming into the next couple of months with pretty bad runs of form. I don’t see Stosur threatening at the French this year either but more trying to build toward the US Open. I think the player to watch in the Fed Cup will be Ash Barty and how she performs on clay!
As for the men, I don’t see Tomic doing much as he isn’t mobile enough and his style is too flat for clay, it’s more suited for Wimbledon which is where I see him making a charge this year. I’m hoping to see big things from Ebden this year too, he is probably one of my favourite Australian players and I want to see him come back!
They have built new clay courts at the National Tennis Academy though so hopefully in the next few years we can improve and get some of our younger players some clay experience!

I agree with a lot of these as great signings. I think Lima and Te’o will be great to fill the void left by David Taylor and Eddy Pettybourne. Maloney will give a bit of structure to the Roosters but may be a liability in defence as previously mentioned.
I never really rated Anasta when he was at the Roosters but he could be handy to fill a gap in the 2nd row now that Ellis and Heighington have left but it won’t really help cure their overuse of flair.
I really rate Scott Prince. He is unlucky that he is playing at a time when Thurston and Cronk are ahead of him for rep duties. The Broncos are in dire need of some stability and direction and his experience might be what they need.
Segeyaro I see as a great signing from the Cowboys perspective as they’ve freed up money for someone who won’t always be suspended for discipline reasons and they’re new hooker, Scott Moore, from England could be one of this year’s guns.

A signing that many are overlooking which I think could be great is Darcy Lussick going from Manly to Parramatta. He struggled for game time with a strong Manly second row but could be just what the Eels are looking for to step into the massive shoes of Nathan Hindmarsh.

I think it is a good indication as to why Novak Djokovic enjoys coming back to play the Hopman Cup every year. It is a far more fun environment where he guaranteed some solid matches but still knows that the points aren’t really necessary as he can make those back at other tournaments during the year.
The credibility of Kooyong was brought into question last year for me when Bernard Tomic won, similar to this year’s Hopman Cup I guess, as I think a lot of players only treat it as an exhibition because they know it isn’t worth ranking points, unless they are sacrificing some from the previous year.
Compare this with the grit and determination that has been seen recently in Brisbane and Sydney by players who know this could be their last hit out before the open.
I definitely think the risk outweighs the reward when choosing to play Sydney or Brisbane rather than Kooyong as, for most at least, the points are far more important to start the year and could put you in a good position to defend them next year anyway.

Feel free to rubbish my opinion’s like you have with the earlier ones, I don’t really care but I do like that you gave the best team award here to the Wanderers, although I do think it’s close between them and the Swans.
I also think Phelps tarnished his “greatest Olympian” tag when he got caught up in his drug scandal. I like the suggestion of Anna Meares too and, although she didn’t win a gold medal, Leisel Jones competing at five Olympics I think was a great achievement too.

I did enjoy reading this and I do agree with you that Ferrer is one of the fittter players in the game and keeps going with his defensive game. However I also have to agree with the other comments. I looked through the tournaments different players had won last year and most of the tournaments Ferrer won were all lower level tournaments while the others focused on 1000 events and slams.
In saying that, I would love to see him go further in some of the higher level competitions and it will be interesting to see how he goes with the higher seeding for the Open and being guaranteed to avoid the top guys until the semi’s.

As much as I agree with almost all of the points in this article, I hate the idea of tennis players being allowed to have their coaches courtside. The use of this in the WTA is ridiculous in my opinion. It also annoys me the whenever this topic is raised, it is always compared with a team sport, in this case rugby. Tennis is an individual sport (obviously not including doubles) which should be played in this manner. If a player cannot execute a plan worked out during their practice sessions it should be on them to adapt and find something else that will work. We don’t see coaches running beside athletes on the track or swimming in the next lane in the pool.

I was excited when Tomic came onto the scene as Australia were in need of a new star and he looked the goods after his junior form. In saying that, I haven’t been a huge fan of Tomic up to this point but I still want to hold off my judgment until the end of this year. Seeing how he bounces back from last year’s efforts and whether he can find that form and keep it going for 12 months will be the real test. If he can manage this then he might change my opinion of him.

I think the style of tennis that he plays has drastically shortened his career but at the same time, it has helped him become successful faster than many others. It is disappointing to have an Australian Open without Nadal after some of the epic matches he has played here (Verdasco and Hewitt are two that come to mind) and I really hope that he can be healthy again by the time the clay season comes around, it just wouldn’t be the same without him! Even if he does drop down the rankings a bit he would become a very dangerous floater for some other guys.

I didn’t think much of South Africa at the time of writing this as I didn’t know much about Scheepers and Anderson wasn’t coming in with great form but he definitely seems to have turned that around! It is unfortunate they had both of there matches so close together and so early in the week. I have to agree about Australia though. Even with the 3-0 last night I don’t see them doing that against Italy or Serbia who I think will both be far too strong in the mixed.

I definitely agree that if Tomic is coming in with a bit of form, he could really cause some problems for the other guys! Haas finished last year strongly too so is coming in with form but personally I think Seppi should be a walkover for Tomic and he has pushed Djokovic before so that could be a really good contest. In terms of the mixed doubles, I think Serbia have played together too much and have enough experience in this format to handle most of their group but the mixed double with Germany and Italy should be really good to watch and a good chance for Australia to pick up some handy wins!

The way that Nadal plays I will be surprised if his body can continue for more than maybe 2 more seasons, but that won’t take anything away from his clay court ability which will still make him very hard to beat. Personally I didn’t think Federer would last this long but to still be at number 2 at 31 years of age is a credit to his competitive nature and fighting spirit that has made him the best of the last decade.
No one man has dominated this year which has made it far more exciting than previous years and although I am not really a fan of Andy Murray, I think under Lendl he has the game that could take him to more majors, probably not in 2013 but in the next few years. I also think the chase group is becoming a lot stronger and starting to make a few more holes in the big 4. I’m not sure Novak will ever be able to complete his career slam due to the guys coming through. Even if there is no Nadal at the French, he will have to deal with the other clay courters, such as Ferrer and Almagro, who in my opinion are only ranked so highly due to the amount of clay tournaments/matches they win each year.