Good morning!

Sport is often about symbolism - and there was some marvellous symbolism on the streets of Sydney today as fans discovered that the NSW State of Origin side (who face Queensland in Sydney tomorrow night) were staying at the same hotel as the Matildas (who beat China last night).

The moment was captured perfectly by Sydney photographer Christian Nicolussi, who watched on as the NSW squad left the hotel as throes of Matildas fans waited for a glimpse of their heroes.

How times have changed!

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Stat of the day

104
The number of games retiring goalkeeper Lydia Williams has played for the Matildas. Williams received an emotional send-off from her teammates in front of 76,000 fans at Accor Stadium in Sydney last night, her last game for the Matildas in Australia. The Aussies beat China 2-0 in their final game before the Paris Olympics. Williams will travel to Paris as a reserve after coach Tony Gustavsson announced an 18-woman squad this morning with Mackenzie Arnold and Teegan Micah named as the two goalkeepers.

Quote of the day

“There’s one white b**ch for the Indiana team who is a superstar."
ESPN commentator Patrick McAfee speaking about this year’s number one WNBA draft pick, Caitlin Clark. After significant backlash, McAfee apologised. Nicole Auerbach, a sports reporter for The Athletic, described it as “beyond unacceptable.”

Random fact of the day

Two Japanese pole-vaulters, Shuhei Nishida & Sueo Oe, tied for second place at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Instead of competing again they decided to cut the silver and bronze medals in half and fuse them together to create ‘friendship medals’.

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Australian tennis player Alex De Minaur came back from a set down to defeat fifth seed and grand slam champion Daniil Medvedev last night in four sets. He is the first Australian man to reach a French Open quarter-final since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.

De Minaur will play fourth seed Alexander Zverev tomorrow (AEST - time TBD). Zverev, from Germany, defeated 13th seed Norwegian Holger Rune in five sets.

Around the grounds

Defending champion Novak Djokovic won in five sets, defeating Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, while playing with a compromised right knee. Djokovic secured a spot in a record 59th quarter-final at a grand slam and will play seventh seed Casper Ruud tomorrow if he is healthy.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva won her fourth round match against Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva last night. Remarkably, the teenager is the only unseeded player left in the tournament (on both the men’s and women’s side). She plays second seed Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow (AEST).

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Rugby league takes centre stage this week as the Men’s NSW Blues and Queensland Maroons prepare for State of Origin game one tomorrow night, while game two of the Women’s State of Origin series takes place on Thursday.

Men’s Game One

Injury has impacted both sides’ preparations for the series opener.

Penrith Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards, who was set for a State of Origin debut, has been sidelined for up to three weeks following a quadriceps injury. Fortunately for NSW, Edwards’ replacement is 11-time NSW captain James Tedesco who was initially left out of the squad but will now play in his 23rd consecutive game for the side tomorrow night.

Also missing from this year’s series opener due to injury are two State of Origin incumbents in NSW’s Nathan Cleary and Queensland’s Cameron Munster. Replacing Cleary is Cronulla star Nicho Hynes who will be seeking redemption after a shaky start to his Origin career in last year’s series. North Queensland Cowboy Tom Dearden takes the field in place of Munster for just his second Origin appearance.

In the coaches box it will be Michael Maguire’s debut as coach for NSW while Billy Slater brings experience as Queensland’s coach for the third year in a row.

Maguire has named Manly Sea Eagles’ Jake Trbojevic as captain of NSW. Trbojevic’s teammate and Origin veteran Daly Cherry-Evans will captain Queensland. It is the first time two club teammates will captain opposing Origin sides since 2000.

NSW will seek to take advantage of their only home game tomorrow night in Sydney at Accor Stadium as game two and three of the series will be played in Melbourne and Brisbane respectively. Game one kicks off at 8:05pm (AEST).

Women’s Game Two

Game two of Women’s State of Origin will be played on Thursday night. NSW goes into game two with the series lead after upsetting Queensland 22-12 in game one at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

The NRL announced over the weekend that the 30,000-plus tickets for Thursday night’s clash at Newcastle’s McDonald-Jones Stadium have sold out, marking the NRLW’s first ever sell-out crowd. Game two will kick off at 7:45pm (AEST).

In a year of firsts for women’s rugby league, it is also the first year that the NRLW will play a three-game Origin series. Game three will be played in Townsville on 27 June.

A message from our sponsor

In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete: Jo Weston

Jo Weston is a professional netballer with Melbourne Vixens and the Australian Diamonds, with two premierships and two gold medals (from both the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup) under her belt. She is the President of the Australian Netball Players Association and is currently studying a Master of Communication at Deakin.

What’s your sporting schedule like?

We currently train about four times a week and play either in Melbourne or interstate on weekends. In preseason we train more, with 7/8 sessions a week.

What is one of the hardest aspects of studying and being an elite athlete?

Time management is very challenging especially with travel and some commitments being added last minute. I also find the physical nature of training draining which means concentrating in class can be more difficult.

What appealed to you most about the Deakin Elite Athlete program and how has it helped you?

The understanding and flexibility offered to me is what was most appealing… I have received help finishing assignments to the best of my ability with the flexibility offered through the program.

Looking back…

Looking forward…

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