A short but pivotal period of time that saw the Vixens edge the Giants 55-54 to reach the grand final epitomised the 2022 seasonSeventy-five seconds is not a lot of time. It’s not enough time for the world’s fastest runners to finish an 800-metre race. It’s barely enough time for an NRL team to score a try. Maybe if someone was really committed to saving water they could squeeze in a shower in that time.However, the last 75 seconds of Saturday night’s Suncorp Super Netball preliminary final was long enough for hearts to break, find hope and then explode with joy. Long enough for fans to scream in excitement, then in anguish, despair, belief and finally in agony. Long enough...
The Australian doubles act offer one of the wildest rides in tennis but it remains to be seen how they will be received on the genteel lawns of SW19The rowdier the crowd, the better. Such a plea would usually be as welcome at Wimbledon as Russian and Belarusian players in 2022. But it is the ethos that drives the Special Ks show, coming to the All England Club over the next fortnight and featuring bullet-like serving, blistering forehands and bombastical quotes.The Australian double act of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have played to full houses in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Miami this year, drawing crowds with their thrill-a-minute routine. A doubles match featuring the duo provides one of the wildest...
NSW coach Brad Fittler will be under the microscope in Game 2 against Queensland, who can no longer enjoy the element of surpriseBrad Fittler is all-in. He is not going to die wondering. It has been relatively uncommon over the last decade for coaches to make mass changes at State of Origin level, but the New South Wales coach saw little choice after a terribly disappointing opener that saw the Blues lose on home turf. In doing so, Fittler has not only admitted he got it wrong in Game 1 but has put his reputation well and truly on the line.Fittler was widely criticised for the team he sent out in Sydney. While many factors contributed to the Blues’ defeat,...
The Australian great is back in the Opals squad for the first time in nine years and potentially in with a shot at another World Cup titleThe last time Lauren Jackson pulled on the green and gold and stepped out on court for the Australian Opals, the year was 2013. Kevin Rudd was contesting the election as prime minister, having wrested power from Julia Gillard only months prior. The youngest member of the current Opals squad, Jade Melbourne, was 11 years old. You couldn’t walk down the street without inadvertently buying a frozen yoghurt and the Harlem Shake craze was taking off. The world was a very different place.When news of Jackson’s recall to the Opals squad for the upcoming...
West Coast dismiss pressure to ‘earn’ hosting rights with comfortable win over Vixens who will now play Giants for place in Perth grand finalThere is a moment in the Hunger Games – before a group of tributes are sent into the arena to fight to the death – where they all stand united before the crowd, holding hands in an unusual show of solidarity. But when they enter the arena and the games commence, they dutifully begin to fight to the death. What else could they do?The Suncorp Super Netball finals were the culmination of weeks of animosity building up between the playing group and administrators. After the decision to sell the hosting rights to the grand final to Perth...