Teams: Walsh axed, Anasta at No.7

Dropped ... Luke Walsh will run out with Windsor in the NSW Cup this week. Source: Grant Trouville / AAP

Wests Tigers coach Michael Potter's patience has taken just four weeks to wear thin, with young halfback Jacob Miller dumped and back-rower Braith Anasta pitched into the No.7 jumper.

Just weeks after pleading for Tigers fans to give the 20 year-old time to find his feet in the NRL, Potter punted Miller to the NSW Cup as he attempts to turn around a 1-3 start to the season - which included last week's 26-0 shutout by Manly.

He has plumped for experience in the form of Anasta - who last month admitted to enjoying the role of playing in the back-row and being free of playmaking responsibilities after spending much of his time at Sydney Roosters playing five-eighth.

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"Milky (Miller) has been up now for four weeks and he's had some good football up there, but we've decided to send him back to gain a little bit more experience," Tigers assistant coach Royce Simmons said.

"We're hoping Braith helps steer us around the park with his experience, a lot of football and representative football in the halves."

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Miller wasn't the only No.7 to feel the axe with Penrith halfback Luke Walsh also dumped - with 22-year-old local junior Blake Austin to play his 15th top grade game against North Queensland on Saturday night.

Cowboys coach Neil Henry has resisted the urge for change despite three straight losses for the pre-season fancies, with only a positional change seeing Glen Hall move from the bench into the starting back row.

Parramatta winger Vai Tautai has survived despite a horrible night against the Sydney Roosters in which he was peppered under the high ball.

He is likely to be targeted again when Cronulla - who will have Chad Townsend in place of the injured Todd Carney in the No.6 jumper - visit Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night.

Canterbury have named Tim Lafai in the centres for the suspended Krisnan Inu, with skipper Michael Ennis needing to pass cognitive tests before he is cleared to face Manly on Friday night.

Brisbane are hopeful of having Josh Hoffman (Achilles) and Justin Hodges (hamstring) available for the local derby against Gold Coast, who have named Ashley Harrison (concussion) at lock after he missed the win over Penrith.

The Warriors have named big winger Manu Vatuvei (ankle) on an extended bench for the home game against South Sydney, while Canberra will be without Blake Ferguson for between 3-6 weeks with a fractured cheekbone.

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Glory out to halt Brazil-like Victory

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Deadly duo ... Melbourne Victory's Marco Rojas (C) and Archie Thompson (L). Source: Joe Castro / AAP

Perth Glory are confident they possess the right tactics to thwart Melbourne Victory's Brazilian-like attacking mentality in Friday night's A-League elimination final at Etihad Stadium.

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The Victory boast one of the best attacking outfits in the competition, with the likes of Archie Thompson and Marco Rojas wreaking havoc on opposition sides.

The star pair were on international duties a fortnight ago when Glory stunned Victory 3-2, and Melbourne will start hot favourites in the re-match.

Perth defender Michael Thwaite said his side were well aware of Victory's attacking prowess, and was confident the tactics employed two weeks ago would work wonders once again.

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"It's probably like the olden-day Brazilian mentality - if they score four, we'll score five,'' Thwaite said of the Victory's attacking flair.

"Ange (Postecoglou) is a very switched on coach and it's going to be like a chess match out there.

"We've got our ways to stop it. It worked last time, so why can't it work on Friday?

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"It was obviously other players for Melbourne, but the guys that come back like Mark Milligan, Rojas and Thompson will be doing the same movements that Ange is trying to teach."

Perth will be boosted by the return of Liam Miller from suspension and striker Shane Smeltz from injury.

Japanese speedster Ryo Nagai and defender Steve Pantelidis looked sore as they left the training track early on Tuesday, but they didn't seem overly concerned.

Perth only scraped into the finals courtesy of a superior goal difference to Sydney FC.

But Thwaite said the confidence gained over the past seven weeks under new coach Alistair Edwards would prove vital in the finals.

Edwards guided the team to four wins and a draw to secure sixth spot, and the Glory are now hoping for another inspired run in the finals after their surprise appearance in last season's decider.

"The two teams with a bit of momentum are us and Brisbane, so it could be a bit of fate,'' Thwaite said.

"It's probably the first time in a long time where the whole of Perth Glory Football Club is one unit and everything's working and ticking quite functionally."

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'Family was disappointed with humanity'

Bitter ... Mick Malthouse won't be forgiving or forgetting any time soon. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

The bitter fallout from Mick Malthouse's Collingwood departure continues, with the veteran AFL coach saying the saga left his family bitterly disappointed.

Malthouse will be the centre of attention on Sunday when he coaches Carlton for the first time against his old club in their MCG blockbuster.

He left Collingwood after they lost the 2011 grand final, having earlier agreed to a contentious succession plan engineered by club president Eddie McGuire.

Nathan Buckley took over as coach and Malthouse was supposed to stay on in a coaching director role, but negotiations broke down.

After he left Collingwood, Malthouse said his family thought he would not coach again.

"They were bitter in many respects, the way it (his time at Collingwood) finished," Malthouse told the Carlton website.

"They were really done with football, really quite disappointed with humanity if you like.

"I like to build things on friendship and they go along with that ... when it's broken, it's broken - and badly broken."
Malthouse's wife Nanette said she was dreading the match.

"I will just be glad for it to be over," she said.

"It's all everybody talks about ... I'd like to go and hide away somewhere."

Malthouse also said on Tuesday that Sunday's match would not be about him, but had no problem if the media's focus took pressure away from his players.

"If I draw the attention and it helps my team, so be it," he said.

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On Monday night, Malthouse also said he had no plans to reconcile with McGuire, who had indicated the Magpies would eventually want to honour their former coach.

That prompted McGuire to say he did not understand why Malthouse remained upset.

"Hand on my heart, I have no idea what he's on about,'' McGuire told Channel Nine.

Carlton defender Michael Jamison said the drama surrounding the match would not affect his new coach.

"Mick's been around long enough not to let emotion get in the way of preparation," he said.

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'Mum's putter does trick for Points'

Secret weapon ... D.A. Points celebrates victory with his mum's borrowed putter. Source: AFP

There is a great saying out on Tour and one that I and every professional believes in repeating over and over and over again and that is, "there is always next week!"

When things aren't going good and you seem to be stuck in a rut, just keep repeating that saying plus work hard, believe in your ability and sooner or later something will click.

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Well it did for Darren Andrew (DA) Points on the weekend at the Shell Houston Open. The 36 year old was going through one of those stretches where everything was seemingly going wrong on course.

He started the year off making the cut at the Sony Open only to finish in a share of 63rd and from then on it was all downhill.

In his last eight events he has made just one weekend and that finish was hardly awe inspiring: a tie for 68th at the Honda Classic.

If you ask a player a change of good fortune generally starts with looking at something that has given you confidence before and for Points it was his mum's old Ping Anser putter. In the first round he needed only 23 putts and then on the final day had 26 putts including a pressure packed 13 footer to win. Thanks MUM!

Points' victory in Texas continued a hot streak for the Americans. That now makes it 14 straight winners in 2013 for the old red white and blue, that is something that hasn't happened since 1989 and the player to break it back then, Nick Faldo at the Masters.

And talking of the trip up Magnolia Lane, the field is now set for the first major, except for the winner of this week's Valero Texas Open, provided he's not already in the field.

From an Aussie point of view we have four players that will be there next week, Adam Scott, Jason Day, John Senden and Marc Leishman.

Unfortunately Geoff Ogilvy will be watching from home. The Victorian has played 10 out of the last 11 weeks on tour trying to get his world ranking inside the top 50. Unfortunately he missed the past two cuts and fell from 50th to 55th in the rankings.

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Scott Hend claimed his third win on the Asian Tour last week and what a way to do it, coming from six shots back on the final day to run over the top of the field. The Queenslander fired 8 birdies and an eagle in his final round 64.

Hendy's always been a monster driver of the ball and any time he gets a course with a little room and width off the tee, look out. And that's exactly what the Alpine Resort in Thailand offered. He played the par fives in 14-under par for the week and on Sunday was five-under for the four of them. How unreal is that?!

The US Tour remains in the Lone Star state this week for the Valero Texas Open. The Greg Norman/Sergio Garcia AT&T Oaks course will host the event for the fourth time and what a terrific track this is. Last year the scoring average around here was 73.9.

The late addition of Rory McIlroy has added some depth to the field and now boasts four of the top 15 players in the current world rankings. McIlroy will be joined by No. 9 Matt Kuchar, No. 12 Ian Poulter and No. 15 Charl Schwartzel.

Not only have I backed Schwartzel to win this week but I think he will be in the thick of it at Augusta next week. Remember he has already donned a green jacket back in 2011.

I also think Cameron Tringale is ripe and ready to break out with a win. He played well around here last year (T8) and is playing well at the moment.

Fourteen Aussies are teeing it up this week. Because it's a tight course I like Nick O'Hern but I'm not very confident.

Also this week is the first major of the year for the women, the Kraft Nabisco which will be played at the Mission Hills Golf Club in California.

Back to defend her title is South Korean Sun Young Yoo but she will be hard pressed to repeat with the likes of World No.1 Stacy Lewis absolutely on fire at the moment, winning two of her last three events.

Also in the mix are two time Kraft Champion Karrie Webb who showed some good signs a fortnight ago in finishing T6th at the Kia Classic.

Have a great golfing week everyone!

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PSG confirm interest in Rooney

Great player ... PSG's president is an admirer of Wayne Rooney. Source: Martin Rickett / AAP

Paris Saint Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has confirmed that the club are interested in Wayne Rooney - but has denied making a formal approach.

The Champions League returns on Wednesday morning (EDT), and there is quite a game in store in France as big spending PSG take on Barcelona.

Ahead of the clash with Barca, Al-Khelaifi spoke with Sky Sports News' (UK) chief news reporter Bryan Swanson, and he revealed that he is happy to see big-name players linked with the club, as it highlights their progress.

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"Thankfully there is a lot of players really interested in the club, this was not the case when we bought the club," he told Sky Sports.

Quizzed about their reported interest in Rooney, he admitted to being a fan of the Manchester United forward - but denied making any approaches.

"I think we didn't talk honestly, he is a great player, he is one of the best strikers in the world," he said.

"I think everyone would like to have him but if you want to talk about the fact, we didn't approach him."

PSG have also been linked with the possible appointment of Arsene Wenger, but he also played this down.

"Arsene Wenger is a great manager and has done a great job with Arsenal," he said.

"But he has a contract for another year I believe I heard in the media and so he is I think staying in Arsenal but I cannot talk on his behalf, I don't know what he will decide but we have Carlo and we are very satisfied with Carlo Ancelotti."

Al-Khelaifi says the club's owners, the Qatar Investment Authority, will continue to 'invest' in PSG.

"We invest some money in the club, but we have to if we want to be in the top five clubs in Europe, we have to invest," he said.

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/8612951/PSG-chief-Nasser-Al-Khelaifi-denies-making-move-for-Wayne-Rooney

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Liverpool to confirm Aussie visit

Heading Down Under ... Stevie G and co. will reportedly come to Australia in July. Source: Kirsty Wigglesworth / AAP

The Victorian Government will on Wednesday officially confirm that English giant Liverpool will play in Melbourne in July, according to a report in The Australian.

The Reds will play A-League club Melbourne Victory at the MCG on July 24 in front of a crowd officials believe will be in excess of 80,000.

The match will come four days after Manchester United play an A-League All Stars selection at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

Liverpool's visit, first mooted in January, will be part of its preparation for next season's Barclays Premier League.

The Reds, currently in seventh spot in this season's EPL, will also play a game in Bangkok on July 28 as part of a tour of Asia.

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