With 2022 nearly done and dusted, and The Gurgler website based mostly on sport, we thought there we should sign off the year with our 2022 Sporting Review of the Year.
Now our 2022 Sporting Review of the Year won’t be like many others, as it will be heavily biased for the sports and people we love, and will exclude sports and people we can’t stand or like a Victorian and rugby league simply don’t have the time to follow until the biggest games.
So if you’re wondering where the Tennis, Athletics, or US sports nominations are while you wait for the final 30 seconds of an NRL game to take 5 minutes, sadly we haven’t had the time to follow it properly. It’s not you, it’s us.
Anyways, if you’ve made it past the intro without clicking on a Boxing Day sale ad or moved onto a more respectable website, here is our 2022 Sporting Review of the Year.
2022 Sporting Review of the Year Awards
2022 SPORTS PERSON / TEAM OF THE YEAR
MAX VERSTAPPEN
Won 15 of 22 races in a car that was good, but not Mercedes-win-everything good. He didn’t even take the most poles in the 2022 season. But he simply found his way to the front and stayed there with a combination of speed, improved racecraft (as in he stopped running into Lewis Hamilton) and his rivals (mainly Ferrari) throwing away wins with childish strategy.
READ: Our 2022 F1 Driver of the Year
ERLING HAALAND
Moved from Dortmund to Manchester City for the 2022-23 Premier League season and not only adapted, but scored at an even faster strike rate than he did in Germany. His career curve is so steep one wonders if there will be anything left in football for him in three years time.
LIONEL MESSI
Although he hasn’t done that much with PSG, the team that pay him Hollywood type money, his heroics for Argentina are enough to make our list here. And win.
PENRITH PANTHERS
Won every major grade in the NSW/NRL competitions for the first time ever, and it was achieved mostly from the ground up through their academy.
WINNER – LIONEL MESSI
SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR……..
ADEBAYO AKINFENWA
Adebayo Akinfenwa, aka ‘bayo or The Beast sadly hung up his boots in 2022, and very few, if any, third division sports people would have got the send of and love that Akinfenwa got. Hell, he even had an Amazon Prime documentary made about him.
Thankfully he’s not lost to football, as he is doing some media work, and his Twitter account is always worth a follow, but it isn’t going to be the same as seeing him boss several defences, and his sublime dance moves when scoring.
Then there’s his infamous post match interviews. We guess, we’ll have to settle for the Beast to entertain on the other side of the mic these days.
WINNER – ADEBAYO AKINFENWA
2021 Winner: Dean Boxsall
2022 SPORTING JERK OF THE YEAR
NICK KYRGIOS
His run to the Wimbledon final was great, as was his Australian Open doubles win, but he certainly has a style as he does it, and that style is pure jerk.
JAROME LUAI
A real polariser in rugby league. Full of lip when he’s winning, he’s had plenty of opportunity to give out lip in 2022. Most of it looks pretty ugly, but not as bad a s Paul Kent says. But he does carry on like a complete jerk a lot of the time, which doesn’t help Penrith’s image in the eyes of some, or Penrith’s fans defending their team when it is usually only Luai that people don’t like.
GREG NORMAN
Former amateur nude model, beach walker and World Number One golfer has made the list in his capacity as the boss of LIV golf. We still love you Greg, but you have been a bit of a jerk this year.
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP BOSSES
For booking the New Zealand rugby league team’s flights for the day after a scheduled semi final match v Australia. We mean, it was likely, and ended up 100% correct, but still. It’s plenty rude. And jerk-worthy.
AFL BOSSES
For constant trying to catch up to other sports, or especially for releasing their Round 1 draw for 2023 as the Socceroos kicked off their knockout final match, like the older sibling still trying to gather attention with a new baby in the house.
FIFA
Because they are pure evil and it’s a World Cup year.
GIANNI INFANTINO
For most of his World Cup, but in particular an extraordinary press conference where he claimed to be many things. Sane was not one, or a jerk, but we’ve addressed one of those here.
QATAR WORLD CUP COMMITTEE
For their responses when challenged with anything off script during the World Cup.
PAUL KENT
An angry man who seems to hate rugby league like his colleague Buzz Rothfield, but doesn’t yet have the Hans Moleman look and age to be that cranky old man. Seems to particularly not like certain players and teams.
FOX LEAGUE WRITERS
For continuing to bash certain players or teams, but being too cowardly to put their own names to it and going under the title of Fox League writers. The Wests Tigers were particularly smashed during the year, but you know when you see the Fox League writers attribution that it will be rubbish.
WINNERS – FIFA or GIANNI INFANTINO
2021 Winner – Buzz Rothfield
SPORTING NEWS OF THE YEAR
SAMOA RUGBY LEAGUE
The sight of seeing cars and trucks driving around the streets of Australia with Samoan flags was heartening to see, genuine passion for a sport without alcohol or betting. Sadly, the bosses have canned most international rugby league for 2023, to ensure the NRL competition is ruined for more weeks because of State of Origin.
SOCCEROOS AT WORLD CUP
With probably the nudest team to ever represent Australia at a World Cup, they made it all the way to the knockout stages, where once again we were beaten, and only just, by the eventual winners of the tournament.
PENRITH PANTHERS
Setting aside the perceived arrogance for a bit, winning every grade available for the NRL and NSWRL is a fine achievement, and mostly through the grassroots of their own area.
WINNER – SAMOA RUGBY LEAGUE
SPORTING DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR
DANIEL RICCIARDO
And we thought 2021 was bad. Sadly Ricciardo’s move to McLaren never worked out, but what a shame to see such a great F1 pilot reduced to the lower midfield at best in most races. It saw him replaced by a first year rookie for 2023.
FERRARI F1 TEAM
Arguably had the fastest car to begin the 2022 F1 season, and threw it away with absurd race strategy and errors. By the end they were barely faster than the Mercedes which at stages in 2022 was break dancing and driving at the same time.
NICK KYRGIOS
We really wanted Nick Kyrgios to win Wimbledon, because it would have sent the media into a meltdown and would have set a wildfire of disapproval throughout social media. He did well to make the final we stress, just disappointed for our own sake he didn’t win.
WINNER – DANIEL RICCIARDO
2021 Winner – F1 Stewards
2022 CHOKE OF THE YEAR
NSW ORIGIN GAME THREE
After belting Queensland in Perth in Game Two like they usually do when the Origin heads west, somehow the start studded Blues failed to show up for game three and allowed a Queensland side that featured Kurt Capewell to steal the series after Queensland took an excellent win in Game One. It did help that Kalyn Pnga saved his one good game for the season for Queensland.
BRISBANE BRONCOS
Went from top four late in the season to outside the top eight in a dreadful end to the NRL season. The form slump didn’t seem to affect the Friday night coverage of the team in a comforting way.
WORLD CUP PENALTY SHOOTOUTS
Some big teams bowed out of the World Cup after some ordinary attempts at taking penalties.
SYDNEY SWANS – AFL GRAND FINAL
One of the most one-sided AFL Grand Finals we can remember, and thus the Swans are charged with choking for failing to show up on the big day.
WINNER – BRISBANE BRONCOS
THE WHITE NOISE “IS THAT STILL ON? AWARD
BIG BASH CRICKET AFTER A WEEK
The Big Bash used to be exciting with big names and exciting clashes, now it’s summer time background viewing at best. And since they continue to play it when most of the good teams are playing elsewhere, and extended it so team play even more games, it has become even more pointless.
MOST BRISBANE HEAT GAMES FOR THEIR FANS
Further to the above, the Brisbane Heat game are particularly hard to watch for Brisbane Heat fans, as they tend to surrender quite meekly quite often.
SYDNEY TO HOBART AFTER FIRST 15 MINS
It’s an Australian tradition on Boxing Day to tune in for the annual serving of sailing for the year, and it’s also an Australian tradition to stop giving a stuff about it after 10-15 minutes. Until same time next year.
BATHURST 1000
Much like the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, many sports fans tune into the first 15 minutes of the Bathurst 100. But after the first two safety cars, many tune out, or just leave it in the background for the Repco or Super Cheap Auto ads.
CRICKET TEST AT THE GABBA ON DAY THREE
The Australia v South Africa test at the Gabba saw a pitch that required special new technology glasses to differentiate the pitch from the rest of the ground. The game ended within two days, which seems awfully convenient given that the Test started on a Saturday…..
RUGBY UNION
The ultimate in white noise, occasionally watching sports bulletin you’d be made aware that there was some rugby being played somewhere.
F1 SEASON AFTER MAX VERSTAPPEN WON TITLE
The F1 season did kind of drag out after Max had won everything. They tried to squeeze out as much excitement over a battle for second in the championship as they could. Thankfully Verstappen refusing to help Perez to that award did liven up one of the raced.
WINNER – BIG BASH CRICKET
2021 Winner – Rugby Union
2022 SPORTING SHOCK OF THE YEAR
KEVIN MAGNUSSEN TAKES BRAZIL GP POLE
It was sort of a shock that Kevin Magnussen was driving at all in 2022, as he replaced fan favourite Nikita Mazepin at the last minute due to special operations elsewhere. But it was a genuine sporting shock to see the Haas take the number slot in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The weather was helpful, but the same for all at the time, and he nailed the lap fair and square.
WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE UPSETS
Saudi Arabia beating Argentina was a huge shock, then not long after Japan beat Germany, and then Spain a week after that. It was a group that almost seemed like anyone could beat anyone. Pity FIFA are going to ruin that by expanding to 48 teams.
MOROCCO FOOTBALL TEAM
The didn’t give up much, and that took them all the way to the World Cup semi finals against the expectations of just about everyone.
SOCCEROOS BEAT ANYONE
The Socceroos looked reasonably week ahead of the World Cup, but they defied most people’s pre tournament expectations by winning not one, but two games in the group stages.
ANYONE DARED TO PROTEST AT THE WORLD CUP
There were a few protests at the World Cup, and we are surprised there was any. We are still wondering where the guy who ran onto the pitch with a few different causes ended up.
WINNER – WORLD CUP UPSETS
2022 UNDER-RATED SPORTS TOURNAMENT OR EVENT OF 2022
EUROPEAN CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPS
We did a length piece on why the European ricket Championships are great. So not only should you read that article to boost our numbers, it explains why it is such a simple pleasure. And the use of Maximo.
MOTO GP
We don’t tune in for every race, but when we do we wonder why we don’t. Proper motor racing with proper nutbags on board the rocket ships.
FORMULA 2
Close enough to F1 without the experience and in some cases talent to match the ambition. Some races tend to be boring, but you’re more likely to see some decent racing than F1.
NRLW
A competition expanding in teams and quality. The NRLW features a type of rugby league that takes you back to good old days without too much wrestling or other rubbish.
WINNER – EUROPEAN CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPS
2022 MARKETING FAIL OF THE YEAR
MANLY’S RAINBOW JERSEY
It may have been conceived with the best of intentions, but the fallout was extraordinary and damaging for Manly. Which isn’t really a problem for us and many rugby league fans in the case of Manly losing all their games afterwards, but the way the whole dragged on was a terrible thing for rugby league and life in general.
AFL’S “GATHER” ROUND
AFL finally came up with a rival for the NRL’s super successful Magic Round – the Gather Round. So bad.
1ST CRICKET TEST IN PERTH v WEAK INDIES
When a test match crowd is struggling to beat an A League crowd there’s something wrong. Perhaps people were cricket-ed out and simply not aware that there was a Test to be played. But obviously the timing didn’t work.
FOX LEAGUE CONSTANT BASHING OF WESTS TIGERS
Surely driven by some SEO marketing genius to get Fox League writers to continue churning out clickbait garbage. But it turns rugby league into a game of hate and negativity.
WINNER – MANLY’S RAINBOW JERSEY
2022 Sporting Review of the Year Alternative Awards
THE IPSWICH TOWN AWARD FOR MOST MEDIOCRE SPORTING TEAM IN THE WORLD…..
IPSWICH TOWN
Always. Although they are threatening to achieve something in 2023 by finally looking to get out of the third division of English football, they were as mediocre as ever in 2022 in their second attempt.
THE JOHNNY DIESEL AND THE INJECTORS CRYING SHAME OF THE YEAR……
NICK KYRGIOS NOT WINNING WIMBLEDON
For the sh!tstorm it would have created for winning Wimbledon.
BEST TOILET WORK FOR 2022….
Normally this is an award that exclusive to the NRL, and 2022 proves no different.
Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann
BEST HUNGOVER PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE YEAR……
JAI ARROW
For the post Origin win presser where he was still wearing the cane toad hate he got when he swapped his origin shorts.
