With just over two months remaining until the first whistle blows at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the time for selectors to name the last team is inching closer. Decisions in the defensive end are clear cut, with only five players named in the wider squad to be reduced to four before the Games begin. The issue in the mid-court is ...
Winter has come. And with it, the A-Leagues’ season has come to a close. Western United’s 2-0 victory over Melbourne City in Saturday’s grand final provided the final chapter for the 2021-22 campaign as John Aloisi’s side won a championship in just their third season, going a long way towards establishing them as a true player in Melbourne’s ALM scene. ...
Less than a month ago, Essendon president Paul Brasher said the club would not bow to pressure and conduct a review into its football operations. But after a third loss in as many weeks to turn the season halfway at two-and-nine, Brasher announced to members that the club has decided to take a deep dive into its operations. It would ...
The Socceroos came dangerously close to a feel-good story in 2021. World Cup qualifying had resumed after a lengthy Covid-enforced layoff, and the team was rollicking through Asia’s second phase. Hockey scorelines had become the norm, Harry Souttar was having a pre-ACL field day, and other newcomers offered glimpses of a greener and more golden future. The emphatic results felt ...
Jackson Irvine hopes Australia can reward fans who get up early to watch their World Cup playoff against Peru and inspire the next generation of Socceroos with victory. The one-off clash for a spot in the Qatar finals kicks off in Doha at 9 pm on Monday, meaning fans in Australia will need to rise on Tuesday morning to catch ...
It’s Sunday, 7 am, and I am about to swim out from Coogee beach to Wylie’s Baths and then across the length of the bay and back again with a group of others, some in just their swimsuits, some in full wetsuits, and some (OK – just me) in a full wetsuit with neoprene booties and fins. Wadingintoo the ocean ...
It is said that elite athletes have to be incredibly selfish to succeed. I was thinking about that as I wheeled my bike out the door and said goodbye to my pregnant partner, who was due in a few days, and our two-year-old son, who was screaming “I want Daddy”. It was early Friday morning and I was driving one ...
It is an oft-repeated expression that “opinions are like arseholes, in that everyone has one”. During a speech to university graduates, Tim Minchin used this once and then clarified that “opinions differ significantly from arseholes, in that yours should be constantly and thoroughly examined”. The comedian-composer said we should be hard on our beliefs, “take them out onto the verandah ...
The Cook Cup, a 25-year-old trophy contested by Australia and England, will be renamed after the two countries’ rugby unions agreed to drop the reference to the British explorer before the upcoming Test series. A new trophy is set to be unveiled in the build-up to the first Test in Perth on 2 July and will be named the Ella-Mobbs ...
Nick Kyrgios has roared into the semi-finals of the Halle grass-court tournament with no histrionics and no dramas, just pure, no-nonsense enjoyment. The Australian, so often sidetracked from his brilliance by unnecessary distractions, was the model of businesslike concentration on Friday – with just the odd showman’s trick chucked in – as he blew away Top 20 baseliner Pablo Carreno ...