Category Archives: Australia sport

Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix grind out draw in A-League Men semi-final

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  • Victory and Phoenix locked on 0-0 after first leg at AAMI Park
  • Hosts had 20 shots to the Nix’s six but could not break deadlock

Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix have it all to play for after a cagey 0-0 draw in the first leg of their A-League Men semi-final at AAMI Park. In a clash of two styles, the Victory were allowed to control the tempo and territory for much of the contest but were unable to create enough clear-cut chances to unlock a determined Phoenix defence on Sunday.

The hosts were the more positive throughout with 20 to six attempts, and five shots on target, while the Nix were content to sit back and play on the counter without managing a single shot on goal. The Victory pushed hard in the dying stages to find a goal to take to Sky Stadium as the Phoenix all but settled for a stalemate from halfway through the second half, with the return leg to be played in New Zealand on Saturday 18 May.

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Tayla Vlaeminck returns as Australia thrash Bangladesh in opening T20

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  • Australia’s quickest bowler has been out more than two years
  • Legspinner Sophie Molineux also impresses

Tayla Vlaeminck celebrated her return to international cricket by taking with a wicket with her fourth ball, as Australia thrashed Bangladesh in their series-opening Twenty20 international.

Playing her first game for Australia since January 2022, the Victorian quick beat Sobhana Mostary for pace, splattering the stumps and finishing with 1-30 as Australia restricted Bangladesh to 4-126, before chasing the target down without loss and with seven overs to spare.

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Former AFL player Eddie Betts shares video of racist abuse hurled at children playing in yard

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Victoria police launch investigation after Indigenous star posts CCTV footage on Instagram and states ‘Aboriginal kids deserve to be able to play safely’

Victoria police are investigating after Indigenous AFL great Eddie Betts shared footage of children being racially abused in their own yard while stating “we are not even safe in our own homes”.

Betts shared security camera footage on social media on Thursday night showing a white car driving down a street before slowing down in front of a home. A person then yells out racial slurs.

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Reported plan to move Rosehill racecourse to endangered bell frog habitat surprises conservationists

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Horse racing industry insiders said to be pushing for Sydney track to be relocated to former brickpit in Olympic Park – a sanctuary to an unlikely urban survivor

Conservations have expressed surprise at reported plans to move Sydney’s Rosehill racecourse to a historic brickpit at Olympic Park, which is home to a colony of endangered green and golden bell frogs.

The plan has reportedly been devised by racing bosses, alongside the deal between the Australian Turf Club and the New South Wales government to redevelop the famous track into new housing, as well as two additional metro stations.

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Cricket Australia cancels men’s T20 against Afghanistan due to concern over women’s rights

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  • Australia postpones a second series in as many years
  • It comes amid fears conditions under Taliban are getting worse

A second Australian men’s cricket series against Afghanistan in as many years has been postponed due to the country’s poor record on human rights for women and girls.

Australia had already cancelled a one-day international series to be played in the United Arab Emirates in March 2023 due to “a marked deterioration” in the treatment of females in the country.

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Rohan Dennis, husband of former Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, faces court charged with causing her death

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Former cycling champion Rohan Dennis charged with recklessly striking his wife with his car in Adelaide’s inner north on 30 December

The husband of former Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins has faced court for the first time after allegedly striking her with his car and causing her death.

Rohan Dennis, a former world champion cyclist, was arrested in January and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life.

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Ads for gambling company forced to leave Australia digitally imposed on overseas A-Leagues broadcasts

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Digital ads for 8XBet inserted into matches played by clubs that rejected money from gambling companies

An offshore gambling company that breached Australian law and was forced to withdraw from the country has paid the national football league to promote it overseas.

The Australian Professional Leagues has digitally imposed ads for the gambling company, 8XBet, on to international broadcasts of A-Leagues matches. The company’s logo can be seen in 10 locations simultaneously during some games.

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Amy Gillett Foundation for cyclist safety to close after federal funds cut off

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Set up to honour the Australian national team cyclist killed by a car, the group was behind the successful A Metre Matters campaign

The Australian cycling safety advocacy body behind the successful A Metre Matters campaign is being wound up after federal government funding was discontinued.

The Amy Gillett Foundation was established in 2006 after the death of Gillett, a former Olympic rower who had switched to track and road cycling. The 29-year-old was training with the Australian national team in Germany when she and her teammates were hit by a car.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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‘Absolute tragedy’: Murray River waterskiing race called off after death of sixth competitor in 18 years

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Man succumbs to serious injury suffered during fall while skiing, with paramedics declaring him dead at the scene

Police say the death of a man while waterskiing at an annual event on the Victoria-NSW border is a tragedy that will affect the community for months to come.

It was the sixth fatal accident at the Southern 80 waterski race since 2006.

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Brisbane v the Olympics: Gabba shambles shows people power is hitting the 2032 Games

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The speed of recent pivots reveals there is genuine concern that people are uneasy about the Games amid rising housing and cost of living pressures

Denver, Colorado, is the only place to ever cancel the Olympic Games. The city had won the right to host the 1976 Winter Games, but withdrew amid mounting local opposition.

“We ought to say to the nation and the world, ‘We’re sorry … we made a mistake. Take the Games elsewhere,” state representative Bob Jackson told the Associated Press in 1971.

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Socceroos goalkeeper Joe Gauci joins Aston Villa in record-breaking Australian transfer deal

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  • Keeper leaves Adelaide United for record fee for A-League player
  • 23-year-old to be understudy to Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez

Australian goalkeeper Joe Gauci has sealed a dream move to Aston Villa, amid a rush of transfer activity in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup camp.

The Premier League side have reportedly broken the transfer fee record for an A-League Men player heading overseas to secure Adelaide United’s Gauci on a deal until 2028.

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Pat Cummins says he supports changing the date of Australia Day

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  • Cricket Australia not branding Gabba Test for public holiday
  • Men’s cricket captain says country could ‘choose a better date’

Pat Cummins has called for a change to the date of Australia Day, backing the decision for the term not to be used in marketing for the Brisbane Test.

Cricket Australia (CA) have chosen not to brand this week’s second Test against West Indies as “the Australia Day match”, or use the term at the Gabba on day two on 26 January.

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A wild baggy green chase? The mystery of David Warner’s missing caps

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After the cricketer made a nationwide plea for their return, the caps were found in a ‘half-coffin’ cricket bag. But how did they get there?

The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of David Warner’s “missing” baggy greens has been solved – or has it?

The retiring batsman sparked an intensive manhunt, and national discussion, after he appealed for the return of his prized baggy greens on the eve of his last Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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Rohan Dennis charged over death of wife, fellow cyclist Melissa Dennis

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Reports name Melissa as woman who died after being hit by car in Adelaide and Rohan as the driver

Two-time Olympian and Two-time Olympiancyclist Melissa Dennis has died after she was struck by a car in Adelaide’s inner north.

Dennis’s husband and fellow Australian Olympic cyclist, Rohan Dennis, has reportedly been charged in relation to her death.

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NRL player Troy Dargan dies after motorcycle crash in Cook Islands

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Canberra Raiders recruit dies aged 26 while holidaying with his family at Christmas

The NRL player Troy Dargan has died in a motorcycle accident while holidaying in the Cook Islands.

Dargan played two NRL games, both for South Sydney in 2020, and had joined Canberra on a two-year contract for the upcoming season.

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South Asian fans in Cricket Australia’s sights as it strives to be a ‘sport for all’

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Multicultural action plan seeks to remove barriers to players and volunteers from diverse communities

Two-thirds of south Asian-Australian cricketers find it challenging to find a club, according to Cricket Australia’s multicultural action plan, which calls for the body’s staff to undergo unconscious bias and cultural awareness training.

The plan – which was released on Friday in Melbourne in the lead-up to the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan – is the result of thousands of hours of consultation with members of local communities.

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No UK rescue for 2026 Commonwealth Games after Gold Coast withdrawal

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  • British government rules out stepping in to save 2026 event
  • Original hosts Victoria pulled out in July due to prohibitive costs

The British government has told Commonwealth Games organisers that the UK will not step in to rescue the event again after the Gold Coast withdrew its bid for the 2026 event.

Substantial UK government support allowed Birmingham to ride to the rescue of the 2022 Games after Durban was stripped of the event in 2017.

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Peter V’Landys accuses politicians of ‘outright lies’ as plan to extend Racing NSW chair Russell Balding’s tenure fails

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Racing body will need to scramble to replace chair after Coalition and crossbench team up to try to strengthen oversight

The Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’Landys, has accused politicians of spreading “outright lies” and “mainly wrong diatribes” during the parliamentary debate that ultimately resulted in the loss of his chairman.

One of the most powerful men in Australian sport, V’Landys is overseen by the Racing NSW board. He has held the position of chief executive for nearly 20 years, 12 of those with Russell Balding as chair.

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Plan for 20,000-seat stadium to temporarily replace Gabba kicks off Queensland funding row

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Labor announces it will commit $46m towards $137m cost of upgrading Ekka showgrounds

A proposal to upgrade Brisbane’s showgrounds with a temporary 20,000-seat stadium – to act as the city’s home of AFL and cricket while the Gabba is rebuilt – has quickly become a political football.

The Queensland government announced on Friday it would commit $46m to create the temporary stadium but requested the remaining $91m cost be shared between Brisbane city council, AFL and cricket authorities and the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, which runs the annual Ekka show at the venue.

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