Tomorrow marks an important morning for Australian rugby union fans. At 5:00am (AEST), the British and Irish Lions will take on Argentina in Dublin.

It’ll be the first time the Lions (a team made up of players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) have played since losing 19-16 to South Africa in the series decider of their 2021 tour.

More importantly, it’ll give us an idea of what to expect when the Lions arrive on Australian soil later this month.

22
The number of years since the Brisbane Lions have beaten the Geelong Cats at GMHBA Stadium, the Cats’ home stadium. The last time the Lions beat the Cats at home was in Round 6, 2003. Current Geelong coach Chris Scott kicked the winning goal for the Lions. The two sides will meet tonight in Geelong at 7:40pm. The Cats are currently second on the ladder, while the Lions are in third.

"Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn't been at the level we, or he, expects.”
George Bailey, the selection chair of the Australian men’s Test cricket team, in a statement regarding the selection committee’s decision to drop batter Marnus Labuschagne ahead of a series against the West Indies. Labuschagne was ranked as the world’s top Test batter for the first half of 2023 but has struggled to retain that form. The last time the 30-year-old made a century was in late 2023. With Steve Smith also missing the series because of a finger injury, batters Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas will step into the side.

Jed Stuart, the son of Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, will make his NRL debut for the Raiders when they take on the Wests Tigers tonight. It’s not the first time an NRL coach has fielded a side with their son in it (think Ivan and Nathan Cleary) but it is the first time it’s happened at the Raiders.

🏟️ Channel Nine has bet on teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout by securing the TV rights for the track and field world championships for an estimated $500,000. The event is already being broadcast by SBS, but since the public broadcaster had not secured exclusive rights, Nine was able to buy its way in. The world championships will take place in Tokyo in September. It will mark 17-year old Gout’s first senior world championships after a whirlwind year which has seen him set the Australian record for the 200m and put the sprinting world on notice by running two wind-assisted 100m under 10 seconds.

⛳ Australian golfer Minjee Lee is second on the leaderboard after the first round at the Women’s PGA Championship, behind. Lee hit seven birdies to finish three under par, one shot behind Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul. It’s a promising start to the third women’s major of the year for the 29-year-old, who is looking to add major title number three to her golfing resume this weekend. 

🏉 West Coast Eagles star Jeremy McGovern has been forced to retire after an assessment by the AFL’s concussion panel. The 33-year-old had several concussions throughout his 197-game career, with the most recent in round eight against Melbourne. McGovern won a premiership with the Eagles in 2018 and retires as a five-time All-Australian. He said: "It's been an absolute honour to pull on the West Coast jumper for the past 15 years and it's something that I will forever be grateful for. As much as this isn't the way I would have liked to go out, I respect the decision.”

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The NBA Finals are headed to a Game 7 series decider, after the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 in Game 6. 

It marks the first time an NBA Finals series has required seven games since 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors. 

Game 7 will be played on Monday (AEST). 

The Pacers started slowly, letting the Thunder get away to a 10-2 lead. They then came roaring back, outscoring the Thunder 68-32 in a 24-minute period. When the Pacers had a 30-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder conceded, pulling their starters off the court and resting them for an almost certain series decider.

Obi Toppin starred for the Pacers from the bench, scoring 20 points. Toppin is the fourth Pacers player this series to lead the team in scoring, demonstrating the team’s versatility. Toppin’s effort also saw him become the second bench player after Robert Morry to record at least 70 points, 30 rebounds, and 12 threes in a Finals series. 

The Thunder have been considered the favourite for the entirety of the series but the Pacers have continued to find ways to win as the underdogs.

After Game 6 was played in Indiana, both teams will now head to Oklahoma for the decider. 

Of the 19 NBA Finals series that have gone to Game 7, the home team in the series decider has won 15 times.

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Super Netball matches are set to  be shown in over 65 countries worldwide over the next three years, after the league signed a groundbreaking deal with the All Women Sports Network (AWSN), a broadcast network founded by American actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg. 

Here’s what you need to know about the deal.

Super Netball will be available to stream for AWSN audiences through to 2027, with 41 matches between now and then set to be broadcast on the network. 

AWSN is a broadcasting network which is dedicated exclusively to streaming women’s sports. The network recently had its own channel added to Pluto TV, which means that Super Netball (along with the other sports on AWSN) will reach more than 900 million households. 

Super Netball will continue to be streamed on Kayo, Foxtel, and Binge in Australia. 

Goldberg addressed the league in a video statement: “I am so proud to be thanking you for joining us on AWSN. I see that your fans are really loving you, so we want to make sure that we put you everywhere in the world so that everybody knows about you.”

Netball Australia CEO Stacey West said: “This breakthrough deal puts netball on screens across the globe and cements our place at the forefront of women’s sport. AWSN shares our vision of taking women’s sport to new heights. Together, we’re creating a platform for our athletes and game to shine like never before.”

Round 11 of Super Netball will get underway tonight with the West Coast Fever (2nd) hosting the Adelaide Thunderbirds. A ninth straight win for the Fever would see them leapfrog the Swifts on the ladder, while the Thunderbirds will be playing to keep their finals hopes alive. 

On Saturday, the Sunshine Coast Lightning (3rd) will play the Melbourne Vixens (4th). Sunday will see a derby between the NSW Swifts (1st) and the Giants (6th). The final match of the round will see the two bottom teams in the competition, the Queensland Firebirds (8th) and the Melbourne Mavericks (7th), take each other on. Tied on eight points, the match could determine who gets the wooden spoon.