Luke Beveridge’s side were lopsided, occasionally astonishing and frequently bewildering – and now rue another lost yearIt’s no way to live your footballing life. You’re being well beaten at half-time. You trail the tackle count 43 to 23. You’re lucky not to be further behind. You send Rory Lobb, who’s no Gary Dempsey, into the ruck. You kick three goals in two minutes. You overrun your bogey side and get the four points in Geelong for the first time in twenty years.You then have to wait. You stew for 20 hours. Your finals fate, for the second year in a row, is wedded to Carlton. You look at their outs – Cripps, Docherty, Pittonet, Motlop. You gather as a playing...
If Eddie Jones’s young team can challenge the World Cup hosts, Australian rugby may just get the ‘historic reset’ it needsThe French invented the amuse-bouche and aperitif to prime the palate before a great feast. The Wallabies will be of similar service when they whet local appetites for the Rugby World Cup in the one-off warmup Test against host nation France on Monday.The Stade de France clash is the fruit of a deal hatched over lunch between the RA chair, Hamish McLennan, and former French rugby boss and World Rugby vice-chair Bernard Laporte in 2021. On the menu in Saint Germaine that day was hare-in-hare-blood-gravy. But the rabbit in the headlights this weekend is Eddie Jones who needs to improve...
Derailed by injury after her triumph that ended Serena Williams’ career, the 30-year-old returns to lead charge for Australia’s womenA year after excelling as the spoiler to a legend in New York, Ajla Tomljanović will make another comeback at the scene of her greatest triumph when she resumes at the US Open next week. The Australian earned rave reviews when ending the career of 23-time major champion Serena Williams in an enthralling third-round encounter at last year’s US Open.On a night like no other at Arthur Ashe Stadium, given the fervour sparked by the farewell to Williams, Tomljanović was pitted against an icon and a capacity crowd. The quality of her tennis was brilliant as she outlasted the American in...
Goal review debacle and shock results killed off some suspense but last weekend’s upheaval shows nothing is certain in footballAs the AFL was reminded again last weekend, to its significant chagrin, there is no such thing as a certainty in sport after a round that damaged reputations and decimated finals hopes. Not only did a goal review farce sink Adelaide and further dent the battered commodity known as the integrity of the competition, a string of shock results in the penultimate round has largely robbed the AFL of a fairy-tale lead-in to the finals series.The suspense is not completely killed off as flag contenders jostle for position but the final round of the season is not the blockbuster envisaged earlier...
After the huge success of the Women’s World Cup, there may not be a better time to bid for the biggest event on the planet After the huge success of the Women’s World Cup, there may not be a better time for Australia to bid for the biggest event on the planet – the men’s edition. This time however, help will be needed and not just from New Zealand and not just because there would be 48 teams instead of 32 and more stadiums required. South-east Asia is the key and having the continent involved and onside means that there should be no need for animated kangaroos in last-ditch pitch videos.It is often forgotten that, in football terms, Australia is...