Miracle workers,
Didn't see a frame of the Swans match, not even the highlights reel, so in no position to offer much comment.
Found myself at a surprise 50th birthday party at the Duke of Wellington Hotel in New Lambton in the company of a mob who don't mind a drink, and hardly need any excuse to have a few.
Newcastle, being the friendly town it is, saw the publican refusing point blank to put the Rules game on a spare screen that no one was watching with a stern "nah, mate" - not even a "sorry".
But did have two spies in Surfers Paradise.
Soon after the Swans kicked five goals in nine minutes shortly before three-quarter time, two almost simultaneous telegraph messages came through, both saying words to the effect of "Swans have taken to mid-way through The Champo to get going, but the floodgates have now opened."
The usual suspects turned up the "best" lists in the Monday morning fishwraps...Jack, Kennedy, O'Keefe, Roberts-Thomson, Bolton, McVeigh et al
The mid-field brains 'em week to week to week.
Thanks to some excellent work from Geelong at Kardinia Park to do a job on Adelaide, Sydney are now a game clear on top, with five regular season games to play.
Simply unheard of in the modern era.
The Stats Guru also pointed out the unusal fact that the Swans are the first team since the Sainters back in 2000 to win a game in every state in the same season.
Another example of the supreme advantage of winning away.
Seems Sam Reid will be out three weeks, after doing himself a mischief.
No great loss, at this stage, for mine, with the kiddie being a model of inconsistency all season.
It was reported that the coach chastised him mid-season for just that, reminding him that there is a clause in his contract that requires him to "kick goals" week in week out.
It's no use kicking six one week, then SFA the next.
Mr Ed is becoming more and more taciturn as the season wears on - as all good coaches should be - when quizzed on interview after the game re the eight game winning streak, he said only "there's no satisfaction just at this point".
Sydney should be able to account for Carlton fairly comfortably away this weekend - but it's not a game where they can allow any kind of complacency to sneak in.
Then it's the Pies blockbuster at the Bush for the chance to do the extremely rare double purple patch - ten in a row.
But best not to get ahead of ourselves here.
What more is there to say?
GOLD COAST: 2.1, 5.2, 7.4, 8.6 (54). Goals: Matera 3, Smith 2, Brown, Ablett, Lynch.
SYDNEY: 6.3, 8.7, 16.9, 19.12 (126). Goals: Roberts-Thomson 4, Goodes 3, Bolton 3, Jack 2, Dennis-Lane 2, Bird, Hannebery, Kennedy, McVeigh, Jetta.
At Gold Coast Stadium.
Crowd: 11,169.
Pains me as it does to say, but Balmain are shot birds.
Taking a full 65 minutes score their only try to narrowly avoid being beat to zip, says it all.
Weakness in defence down the middle of the ruck with missed tackles galore was there for all to see.
They stood around and looked at each other in attack, as if waiting for someone else to do something.
The two marquee players, Best Leb in the Game and The Great Benji, by their own admissions, had poor games.
The ranks are now so thin, the two young kids who were brought up from reserve grade [or maybe they were picked up at random at a bus stop on the Balmain Road mid-week], who were charged with guarding the left and right edges, found themselves out of their depth and were done like dinners by a Souths attack that's playing at its best in at least four years.
The child who played on one wing is a chappie called Marika Koroibete.
Who?
The hell is he exactly?
Things are not helped by blokes like poor old Matty Utai and That Bloody Adam Blair playing career-worst football.
Confidence, if there was any scrap of it left, has now gone right out the back door.
SC Sheens had that "what do you expect me to do?" look on his face as he sat in the sideline truck seat during the second half, and didn't hold back on interview after the game, describing the Tigers as "brain dead" at half time and "looking like a suburban park footy team".
He could have left it at that, but went on to add "you only have to look at other teams in our position; they have that desperation -- that 'we've got to win, we've got to win' mentality. We haven't. But that's where we need to be right now."
After being confomortably ensconced in the top four seemingly only yesterday, Balmain has made an ignominious exit from the top eight, slipping to 10th on the ladder, and being in the negative percentage area.
The Club Secretary would be apoplectic.
Despite the very, very good crowd [it is, after all, a traditional grudge match that goes back to the dawn of time], the Rabbitohs would have taken the lion's share of the gate receipts and the Secretary's got a stack of medical bills to pay for all those first graders who are malingering in Sick Bay waiting for miracle cures while not earning their keep, as he watches the wheels fall off the wagon and the prospect of making the finals receding out of view over the horizon.
At present, the team is probably beyond help down at The Room Full of Mirrors, so there's not much point going there.
They could do worse than start thinking outside the square again, to get themselevs out of this one.
They're going to need a few good ones.
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 32. Tries: Peats (2), Merritt, Farrell, Clark. Goals: Reynolds (6).
WESTS TIGERS 6. Tries: Marshall. Goals: Marshall (1).
At Olympic Stadium, Homebush.
Crowd: 29,863.
