Latrell Mitchell chases inner peace while Nathan Cleary’s return signals the real start of Penrith’s pursuit of back-to-back titlesLatrell Mitchell is unlikely to view Friday’s clash between the Rabbitohs and Panthers in a re-run of last year’s grand final as a chance to provide any kind of atonement but deep down the emotional fullback will feel an added responsibility to carry South Sydney on his broad shoulders.Mitchell missed last year’s decider after he was suspended for six weeks following a shocking incident when Souths met rivals the Sydney Roosters. Mitchell aggressively hit former teammate Joey Manu high, leaving the mercurial Roosters centre with a facial fracture that ended his season. Continue reading...
The Swans star cements his place in the annals of AFL history amid wild scenes that, like his 1,000-goal mark, are unlikely to be seen againI’ll never forget the first time I saw Lance Franklin play football. Hawthorn was playing at the MCG and I was there under extreme sufferance. The Hawks were unspeakably bad that year. My eyes were glazing over when this beanpole of a second gamer suddenly swooped on a loose ball, shoved Brent Hartigan aside, gathered it one handed, and threaded a left foot goal from the forward pocket. It all happened in a tick over two seconds. He waltzed in and out of the stoppage like he owned the sport, like the MCG was his...
Throwing off the burden of 44 years of history with a little help from the crowd, Ash Barty rose to the occasionThe cameras follow her every move, close to 100 lenses all expertly trained almost singularly on the star of this show. Court-side, the photo pit is full to the brim, its occupants either sat on chairs or crouched on their haunches, each with their assigned sliver of space through which to document their protagonist.Ash Barty stands at the baseline, steals a quick glance up and over the net towards her waiting adversary, then bounces and tosses the ball. Most photographers capturing what they see work for different publications but the process is always the same: bodies lean slightly forward...
Dramatic rivalry should have been rekindled in Brisbane though England’s batting is so bad it would not have changed the resultWhen Stuart Broad took David Warner’s edge on the first day of the Sydney Test, into the slip cordon to be safely clasped, it felt like something clicked into place. This was the scent of a familiar dish, or YouTubing a favourite scene from a movie. The reassurance of the familiar, and the rightness of something that should be just so.At the same time, there was the unmistakable sense that thousands of people across the world were shouting at their television sets that they had told you so, or told someone so, and why had nobody listened? Continue reading...
This one-sided series will not be remembered as a classic but Australia’s threatening bowling in Melbourne stands outIt is safe to say that the current Ashes series will not be remembered as a classic of the genre. We follow sport for the contest, and the total lack of one is the reason there is so much consternation from wider English cricket quarters, even as the team tries to apply blinkers to get through two more Tests. There have been plenty of one-sided Ashes series, and most teams struggle away from home, but this has been another level.When the tiny trophy has been played for in England in modern times, the contests have been closer. There is 2005, of course, the...