South Sydney Rabbitohs star Brandon Smith will not be subject to the NRL's no-fault stand down policy, after it was revealed yesterday he is facing drug supply and betting charges from Queensland Police.

The NRL's decision means the hooker is eligible to play for Souths in the club's final match of the season against the Sydney Roosters on 5 September.

The no-fault stand down policy applies to players who are charged with serious criminal offences.

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The age of Rio Ngumoha, who scored a 100th-minute match-winning goal for Liverpool against Newcastle United in the English Premier League overnight. Liverpool led 2-0 before Newcastle (who were down to just 10 men) levelled scores to send the match into extra time. Ngumoha turns 17 on Friday and became the fourth-youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, and Liverpool’s youngest scorer. 

"I have given all I can to the game at the highest level. I made up my mind a couple of weeks ago that this would be my last season. I want to see even more opportunities given to our young, talented small forwards at Port Adelaide in Joe Berry and Tom Cochrane. They're the future of our club. It's time for me to step aside."
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli in a statement announcing his retirement from the AFL. The 31-year-old, who won a premiership with the West Coast Eagles in 2018, played 109 games in the league. Rioli had one year on his contract remaining.

In the women’s all-around gymnastics event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the vault was mistakenly set 5 cm too low. The mistake caused several gymnasts to fall, including the event favourite, Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina. The error wasn’t noticed until Australian Allana Slater raised the alarm during warmups of the third rotation, and by then half the field had vaulted.

🏅 Belinda Clark and Andrew Gaze have been elevated to Legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, becoming the 52nd and 53rd athletes to be granted the honour. Clark was the first woman inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame after she led the Australian team to two World Cup victories in 1997 and 2005. Gaze is a basketball icon and five-time Olympian with a record NBL career, having scored close to 19,000 points across 600-plus games and winning the league’s MVP award a record seven times.

🏉 Four men have been formally charged after a years-long investigation into a Brownlow Medal betting scandal involving leaked vote information from the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The charges include using insider voting details to place bets, offences that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. All four men are due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 11 September.

🚴‍♂️ French cyclist David Gaudu won the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana, Spain’s grand tour cycling race, in a stunning sprint finish. Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, who finished second in the Tour de France last month, retains the overall lead. Australia’s Jai Hindley is in sixth position, 16 seconds behind Vingegaard. 

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The opening round of the U.S. Open continued overnight in New York with three Aussies advancing. Here’s what to know. 

15th seed Daria Kasatkina made a strong start to her 2025 U.S. Open campaign, defeating Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse in straight sets. Meanwhile, Priscilla Hon and Adam Walton both claimed their first-ever wins in the main draw of the U.S. Open. Hon, who won a spot in the main draw through qualifiers, beat France’s Leolia Jeanjean, and Walton upset 22nd seed Frenchman Ugo Humbert. 

Tonight, five Aussies will play their opening round matches, including Australia’s top-ranked player and the tournament’s eighth seed, Alex de Minaur. Ajla Tomljanović will start her campaign on centre court in prime time as she faces home favourite and world number three Coco Gauff. 

The biggest upset overnight was the early exit of American sixth seed Madison Keys. After winning the opening set, the Australian Open champion was beaten in three sets by unseeded Mexican Renata Zarazúa. Former world number one Venus Williams was also knocked out of the draw in her first match after becoming the oldest player in the tournament since 1981. 

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Australian Test captain Pat Cummins spoke at Parliament House on Monday night, urging the Government to support a $100 million fund to help grassroots sports clubs deal with the growing costs of climate change. 

Here’s what to know.

Cummins is fronting the initiative, called Sport Forever, which aims to raise $100 million over the next five years. The money would go towards projects at local sport clubs to fight the rising costs of climate change. 

Examples include installing solar panels, adding shaded areas, improving drainage at waterlogged grounds, and building lights so games can be played at night. 

The organisation has said the initiative could save local clubs up to $10,000 a year.

“It’s getting harder and harder, not only with extreme weather events, flooding recently, droughts throughout the summer, which makes running community sport harder, but also rising costs,” Cummins said. 

Cummins has been one of cricket’s leading voices on climate. In 2021 he co-founded Cricket for Climate, which has supported solar installations at hundreds of local clubs.

While the Sport Forever fund would not just be helping cricket clubs, the sport is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, with the bulk of cricket seasons being played in the summer.