Category Archives: Australia sport

‘Our game is in tatters’: Australian football reacts with shock to Melbourne derby violence

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Australian football has reacted with a mixture of shock, anger, sadness and disbelief to the chaotic and violent scenes that resulted in the abandonment of the A-League men’s Melbourne derby on Saturday night.

City’s goalkeeper, Thomas Glover, was left bloodied after he was hit by a metal bucket allegedly thrown by a Victory fan as supporters stormed the pitch midway through the first half of the match at Aami Park.

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Australian denied gold at world short course swimming after bizarre re-run of final following technical error

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  • Isaac Cooper swam initial 50m backstroke in junior world record
  • US’s Ryan Murphy took gold in re-run in slower time

A shattered Isaac Cooper fought back tears after he was cruelly denied a backstroke world short course swimming gold medal in bizarre circumstances after the final had to be re-run.

Cooper was first home in the 50m final in Melbourne on Friday night but less than half the field completed the race after an alarm sounded due to a “technical error”.

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Former NSW premier Mike Baird appointed chair of Cricket Australia

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Baird will take over from February with his predecessor stepping down and taking the chief executive’s job with HBF

Former New South Wales premier Mike Baird has been appointed as the new chair of Cricket Australia.

Baird will take over as the organisation’s new boss from February, with his predecessor Lachlan Henderson stepping down after moving back to Perth.

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Nathan Lyon’s landmark wicket helps Australia tighten grip on second Test

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  • West Indies reduced to 109-4 after career-best 175 by Travis Head
  • Spinner surpasses Shane Warne’s wicket tally for Adelaide Oval

Travis Head registered a career-best 175 at Adelaide Oval on Friday, run out just as his home crowd began to anticipate a Test double century. Nonetheless, he was the major contributor to a score of 511 for seven, the declaration coming shortly before the end of the second session in order to give Australia’s bowlers the evening portion of play with a new ball. They made good use of it, having West Indies four wickets down with 102 on the board by stumps, adrift by 409 runs.

The bowling performance with the pink ball was the big point of interest for the home side, with Patrick Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing with minor injuries. That brought in two different fan favourites. Michael Neser’s first and only Test appearance to date had come in Adelaide a year ago, after he had long been the subject of the online #NeserMustPlay campaign. After that breakthrough he was unlucky to slip from his perch as Australia’s first reserve when Scott Boland did even better, 18 Ashes wickets at 9.55 after being picked in Melbourne.

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Cricket Australia boss criticises David Warner for outburst on captaincy ban

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  • Nick Hockley unhappy Warner made comments on social media
  • Boss rejects claim review would have hurt batter’s reputation

Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley advised David Warner against his social media bombshell on Test match eve, adamant a review of ball-tampering sanctions could go ahead without reopening old wounds.

Warner’s lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday evening set the scene for a dramatic week in Adelaide, with the opener lashing out at the process an independent panel appointed by CA’s integrity commission wanted to take.

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David Warner withdraws bid to have lifetime captaincy ban revoked

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In a lengthy Instagram post, Warner claimed the review panel wanted to ‘conduct a public trial of me and what occurred during the third Test’

David Warner will withdraw his bid to have his lifetime captaincy ban lifted, accusing the independent panel conducting the review of wanting to publicly lynch him.

In a bombshell development on the eve of the Adelaide Test, Warner also claimed counsel assisting the review had made offensive and unhelpful comments about him during the initial process.

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Australia cricket great Ricky Ponting in hospital after heart scare

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  • Former captain was commentating on West Indies Test
  • Ponting left Optus Stadium after feeling unwell

Ricky Ponting was taken to hospital on Friday after the former Australia captain suffered a heart problem while commentating during day three of Australia’s first Test against West Indies in Perth.

According to the reports, Ponting left Optus Stadium around lunchtime after feeling unwell. The 47-year-old is part of the Seven Network’s commentary team for Australia’s two-Test home series against West Indies.

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‘It’s awakened a consciousness in me’: Collingwood urges AFL clubs to conduct racism reviews

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Magpies implement 14 recommendations of Do Better review with four in progress as president Jeff Browne says new systems will build inclusive club

Collingwood says it is making strides to remove the stain of racism and wants other AFL teams to learn from its lessons, two years after an external review found systemic racism within the club.

The Do Better report, the result of an independent review in 2020 by the Jumbunna Institute, outlined 18 recommendations for Collingwood to transform its processes, values and culture to become a more inclusive workplace – all of which were adopted by the club.

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Socceroos to face Argentina in World Cup knockouts after Australia’s famous win over Denmark – live reaction

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Australia’s 1-0 win sends them through for first time since 2006, as Mat Leckie’s 60th-minute goal proves decisive in Qatar

Calls for public holiday

Admittedly these calls are coming from the football establishment, but still, surely something for Anthony Albanese to consider.

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Concussion and head trauma in contact sports to be examined by parliamentary inquiry, Greens say

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Lidia Thorpe says Labor and Coalition back hearings while ‘sports organisations need to be transparent about evidence that informs concussion policies’

A federal parliamentary committee will examine concussion and repeated head trauma in contact sports, with the Greens saying they have the support of Labor and the Coalition to establish the inquiry.

The push follows growing concern about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head trauma and concussion that has been increasingly linked to contact and collision sports.

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‘A magnificent win’: Australia’s World Cup victory sparks wild celebrations back home

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PM Anthony Albanese leads the applause for the Socceroos, who were also cheered on by huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney

Australia’s historic World Cup win over Denmark sparked wild celebrations across the country in the early hours of the morning as the team progressed to the knockout stages of the finals for only the second time.

Thousands of fans had gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to watch the match in the middle of the night and erupted in ecstasy when Mathew Leckie scored to put them into the lead after an hour.

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Australia into first Davis Cup final in 19 years as Lleyton Hewitt’s team defeat Croatia

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  • Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat Olympic doubles champions
  • The Australians will face either Canada or Italy in the final

Australia’s tennis men have defied all the odds with a makeshift doubles pairing steering them to victory over Croatia and into their first Davis Cup final in 19 years on a nerve-shredding evening in Malaga.

After more heroics from Alex de Minaur had pulled Lleyton Hewitt’s team back from the brink with his consummate tie-levelling singles win over Marin Cilic, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat the Olympic doubles champions to seal Friday’s exhilarating 2-1 semi-final win.

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Police allege Sydney woman was choked, sexually assaulted by Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka after meeting on Tinder

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NSW police facts sheet filed with Downing Centre local court alleges woman feared for her life during alleged attack in Rose Bay home

A Sydney woman has said she feared for her life on a date after meeting Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka on Tinder.

The woman, who cannot be identified, was allegedly sexually assaulted four times in her Rose Bay home on 2 November after going out for drinks and pizza with the international sports star.

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Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka denied bail in Sydney court on rape charges

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NSW police want details of case suppressed while Gunathilaka’s lawyer has suggested T20 World Cup player could appeal bail decision

Sri Lankan international cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has been refused bail by a Sydney magistrate after he was charged with raping a woman in the city.

Gunathilaka, who is in Australia for the T20 World Cup, was arrested at his central Sydney hotel in the early hours of Sunday and refused bail by a court later that day.

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Australia triumph at Hong Kong Sevens for the first time in 34 years

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  • Nathan Lawson scores thrilling late gold medal-winning try
  • Maurice Longbottom named player of the final against Fiji

Australia’s rugby men have earned a remarkable triumph at the Hong Kong Sevens, winning the global circuit’s blue riband event for the first time in 34 years.

Coached by John Manenti, the side proved their world series triumph may be just the start of something big on Sunday as they began their 2022-23 campaign by beating Olympic and World Cup champions Fiji 20-17 in the final after a nail-biting finish.

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Interest in Melbourne Cup slips with more than half of Australians uninterested, poll suggests

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Nearly half of those surveyed (45%) believe it promotes ‘unhealthy’ gambling and a third (34%) say it normalises animal cruelty

Australia’s love affair with the Melbourne Cup appears to be waning, with a new survey finding more than half have “low” or “no interest” in the race that traditionally stops the nation.

Amid growing support for the Nup to the Cup movement, the latest Guardian Essential poll also suggests almost half of those surveyed (45%) believe it promotes “unhealthy” gambling behaviour, with a third (34%) saying it normalises animal cruelty.

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Hancock Prospecting withdraws from $15m funding deal with Netball Australia after players revolt

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Gina Rinehart’s mining company instead offers short-term funding until the organisation finds a new sponsor

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has withdrawn a lucrative funding deal from Netball Australia after a players’ revolt against the company.

The mining company announced on Saturday that it would withdraw its $15m funding from Netball Australia. It has instead offered short-term funding until the organisation finds a new sponsor.

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‘Now is the time’: Richard Marles has met NRL to push for Papua New Guinea team

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On visit to Port Moresby, defence minister says ‘it would be so meaningful’ for PNG to become National Rugby League’s 18th team

Australia’s deputy prime minister has held talks with National Rugby League officials to push the case for a Papua New Guinea team, declaring “now is the time” to expand the competition.

Richard Marles, visiting PNG in his capacity as defence minister, said on Thursday that he had “personally spoken with the NRL a number of times about this”.

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More sports could be free to watch on Australian TV as anti-siphoning review kicks off

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Streaming services on standby as review expected to recommend changes to the number of games broadcast on free-to-air television

More elite sports could end up on free-to-air television in Australia and streaming services such as Stan or Kayo could face increased regulation when bidding for broadcast deals, as the federal government looks to modernise rules governing which events can be shown on Foxtel pay TV.

“Every Australian deserves the chance to enjoy live and free coverage of events of national significance, regardless of where they live or what they earn,” the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said.

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Andrew Thorburn resigns as Essendon CEO after one day over links to controversial church

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Essendon says City on a Hill’s values are in ‘direct contradiction’ with its own, as Daniel Andrews labels its views on homosexuality and abortion ‘appalling’

Andrew Thorburn has resigned as Essendon chief executive 24 hours after being appointed because his links to a church condemning homosexuality and abortion were in “direct contradiction” to the values of the AFL club.

The Bombers announced on Tuesday afternoon that Thorburn, despite not holding the same personal views as the City on the Hill movement for which he is chairman, felt he could not serve in both roles and had offered his resignation.

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