The 'Chiefy' way is set to bring Finals football to Wellington

All hail the Wellington Phoenix, I say while definitely keeping my shirt on at the 80th minute, but with no less of a sentiment.

What a performance that was Saturday night under all sorts of pressure and scrutiny. They calmly went about their business, as it seems is the 'Chiefy' way. They put Macarthur FC to bed, winning 3-0, and let their growing legion of supporters know that there will now be playoff action at Sky Stadium and there might be quite a bit of it too.

15,000 last Saturday will grow to 25,000 I'm picking when it comes to the real business end of the A-League.

There is a very professional look about them, isn't there? And a feel too, on and off the park, no frills. Clearly this comes from the office and the boss, Chief Italiano, with a very successful flow-down effect.

And in Super Rugby Pacific, the Crusaders are back! Blanking the Melbourne Rebels 39-0, and in the process becoming just one win out of the top eight in this ridiculously easy to get into eighth place. That won't have gone unnoticed and coach Rob Penney can escape the sights of criticism for just a little bit longer.

The Hurricanes, though, were less than impressive and may have shown the first of these speed wobbles, losing 29-19 to the Brumbies, their first loss of the season.

Canberra is not only the most boring place to visit, I mean Palmerston North is Disneyland in comparison, but it's a tough place to conquer if you don't have all your clubs in the bag.

On that subject, the Cronulla Sharks took the full set. Does anyone give the Sharks a bolter's chance in the NRL race? In the last two weeks they've scored 82 points, conceding only six, including shutting out the Raiders yesterday.

If Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes stay fit, they'll be right there.

And finally, they might have been short in stature, but the racing industry lost a very tall tree a few days back.

The legendary, and it's a word that's easy to use these days, but deserved in this case, Dave O'Sullivan.

The don of a dynasty, a true horseman, and a terrific industry man to boot. Truly there is a lot to thank him for, including standards and principles. A small but giant footprint in racing terms.

Rest In Peace, Dave O'Sullivan.