Category: Sports

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size The Melbourne Storm have been heavily criticised by Indigenous groups, with the club accused of cancelling a Welcome to Country ceremony before their Anzac Day clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the last minute. According to The Age, Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy was told midway through an on-field dance rehearsal from Indigenous performers at AAMI Park that there would be no Welcome to Country ceremony, with Storm CEO Justin Rodski allegedly telling her it was a board decision. As a result, the ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size Only weeks ago, an exciting new future beckoned for the Wests Tigers where their sole headache was getting better dunnies for Campbelltown Stadium. With a stable administration and an exciting spine spearheaded by Penrith premiership stars, the joint venture brimmed with hope of a return to the glory of ninth place – maybe even higher. Once the season began with a handful of encouraging wins and a newfound defensive resolve – plus reversing years of pilfering on the Roosters by getting the best of ... Read more

There is no time like football season, and this AFL season has largely had an amazing start. This season, we are seeing incredible crowds with both round one and Gather Round breaking attendance records. Higher scores with an exciting brand of football are a regular feature. Brilliant individual performances like the return of Marcus Bontempelli on the weekend, and the youngsters and rookies are firing, performing at a level much higher than expected. More AFL The bad, the ugly and the simply inexcusable: The AFL’s biggest disappointments of 2025 so far ‘As helpless as I’ve felt’: Scott, McRae react to ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size It’s hard enough for any expansion team in any Australian sport to establish itself, let alone become successful, particularly when you are forced to take on elements of a team from the other side of the country.  The people of Perth, the world’s most isolated capital city, have an in-built cynicism about anything that comes from “over east” and making them inherit the North Sydney Bears’ DNA may be a popular decision in some sections but it’s not the right one. Increasingly, the ARL ... Read more

Sometimes, the greatest players of our game find their hype outmatching their own performance. Commentators gush over every simple moment, their name is mentioned at every turn, and even the most humdrum display in which ten teammates had a superior imput gets rewarded with medals, Brownlow votes, and general acclaim. But sometimes the opposite is true – players become so great that outstanding displays become par for the course, the incredible standards they’ve set for themselves a barrier to receiving their just desserts for meeting them yet again. If you read the headline, you can probably see where I’m going ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size On the back of a quick-fire double to Tom Lynagh, the Queensland Reds have got their season well and truly back on track after taking down the reigning champions, the Blues, in Brisbane on Friday night. Despite only leading 14-7 at half-time, the Reds started the second half like they did the first by scoring two converted tries to blow open the score. While the Blues responded by scoring two of the next three tries, Vern Cotter’s men couldn’t repeat their heroics from 12 ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size Sandon Smith has led the Roosters to a commanding ANZAC Day victory with a dominant five-eighth performance. He scored two tries and produced a great try assist, scoring 22 points, almost half of his team’s total in the 46-18 victory, with the win getting the Chooks off the bottom of the table. It took less than two minutes for players to let off steam, as things got fiery when Tyrell Sloan slammed Billy Smith into the ground over the sideline. It even led to the ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size Having never made the Super Rugby finals, the fifth-placed Western Force went across the ditch hoping to make a statement against one of the competition favourites six weeks out from the finals. But despite going toe-to-toe with the Chiefs in the first half and some magic from Harry Potter, the wheels fell off in the second half as the home side recorded a 56-22 win. The turning point in the match came late in the first half as Kaylum Boshier was awarded a try ... Read more

A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size Wet weather at the MCG left Essendon at a ‘significant disadvantage’ at a crucial stage of their Anzac Day loss to Collingwood, with a communications blackout at the venue forcing the Bombers and the AFL to resort to drastic measures. The Bombers took the lead amid a stirring comeback midway through the third quarter, but gave up five of the next six to the Magpies to eventually succumb by 41 points. However, they were severely impacted after the rain ‘sparked out the communications’ at ... Read more

One hundred and ten years after he was killed on the opening day of the Gallipoli landings in 1915, Blair Swannell – one of only two men to have played for the British and Irish Lions and the Wallabies – will be remembered and celebrated during this year’s series for the first time. Rugby Australia and the British and Irish Lions announced on Thursday morning that the player of the match in the AUNZ invitational and Lions fixture in Adelaide on July 12 will be awarded the inaugural Blair Swannell Medal. Swannell, who was 39 when he was shot down ... Read more