Alpha Magazine

Want to top up your finances? Then go to the bottom of the alphabet, and almost to the bottom of the field, and back Zagreb to win the Caulfield Cup tomorrow. This beautifully weighted David Hayes commodity is a stayer on the rise. Have a look at its run in…

Who said draws were drab affairs? There mightn’t have been a result in Bangalore but the first Test in India was memorable for a number of reasons. Number one being that the players passed their first challenge by playing intense and at times brilliant cricket and, despite it threatening to…

Let’s momentarily leave aside the issue of the lack of a quality spinner. Yes, that clearly looms as a problem. Instead, let’s concentrate on Australia’s strengths. The obvious strength is the batting. In pure statistical terms, no other team in world cricket has so many players with averages near or…

Going into the first Test of an intriguing series against a very experienced India side, there are more question marks over the Australian line-up than in many years. The past decade and a half has seen players slot almost seamlessly in and out of a mighty, functioning machine, but now…

Manly 1. Brett Stewart – A bit shaky under a towering Greg Inglis kick early but put it behind him to totally outplay Billy Slater in the battle of the fullbacks. A month or two ago he told Alpha he wasn’t a natural ball player but he could have fooled…

Reckon the Cats were their own worst enemies? Congratulations, welcome to Australia. Remember to leave those oranges in the quarantine bin. Here, have some sunscreen and a cork hat. I mean really, anyone who’s seen even a single AFL game before Saturday’s grand final would surely understand that the Hawks…

Well, what else would you expect a cat to win by? I must confess, I flirted with the generous odds of $3.50 or thereabouts for Geelong to win by 40+. Then I slapped myself across the face and said, “whoa boy, these Hawks ain’t pushovers like Port Power.” I mean,…

Cameron Smith is clearly a great player. Even a Tigers/Robbie Farah fan like me has to admit that the Storm, Queensland and Australian hooker is probably the best man in his position since Steve Walters. He may even be as good as Benny Elias. Hang on, getting a bit carried…

OK, so we all know Geelong, Hawthorn and the Bulldogs are entrenched in the top three. But what about the five teams? NORTH MELBOURNE: Really need to smash an under strength Port by 50 or more to give themselves some sort of confidence going into week one of the finals…