Australian Archie Wilson has gone viral in the past 24 hours after he broke down in a press conference speaking about how much he misses his family. Wilson is in the U.S. playing college football for the Nebraska Huskers.

It’s amazing to see how much more athletes are willing to share about the impact of the sacrifices they make and the pressures they face in this day and age.

P.S. It’s a Thursday so I am obliged to remind you to get your tips in!

186
The number of games that rugby league forward Shaun Lane has played in the NRL. The 30-year-old, who most recently played with the Parramatta Eels, announced his retirement from the sport earlier today. Lane was contracted through to the end of 2026 but took a break after the fifth round of this season as he decided on his future.

“It was sick. So nice to make a few waves and not get so flogged. I feel like I’ve earned my stripes in this event. What a special place, you just feel the energy, the dream comes alive and Fiji next.”
Australian surfer and world number one Molly Picklum after winning the Tahiti Pro at world-famous surfbreak Teahupo’o. Picklum was part of a victorious Aussie double as Jack Robinson won the men’s event. Tahiti was the final stop of the regular season, with the World Surf League finals now set to take place in Fiji. Both Picklum and Robinson will be part of the five women’s and men’s surfers who compete in Fiji for a world title.

Ron Clarke was an Australian middle and long-distance runner who set seventeen world records in the 1960’s. This didn’t translate to results at the Olympics, where he only won one medal (bronze in the 10,000m at Tokyo 1964). After the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, legendary Czech runner Emil Zápotek gave Clarke a gift to open on the plane. The gift was one of his Olympic gold medals, accompanied by a note which read: “Because you deserve it”.

🏀 The Boomers have cruised through to the semi-finals of basketball’s Asia Cup, defeating the Philippines 84-60 in Saudi Arabia last night. Owen Maxwell led the Boomers attack with 15 points. Australia will now take on Iran in the semi-final on Saturday. The Boomers have never lost at the Asia Cup since joining the competition in 2017 and are seeking their third straight title. 

⚽ Tottenham Hotspur were beaten in a penalty shoot-out by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup. Spurs were leading the match 2-0 during regular time before PSG levelled the match and forced a penalty shootout. It marked the first high-stakes match for the club since Ange Postecoglou was sacked and replaced by Thomas Frank. The UEFA Super Cup is an annual match played between the winners of the Champions League (PSG) and the winners of the Europa League (Spurs). 

🏉 Papua New Guinean rugby league fans have been given two weeks to help come up with the name for the PNG-based NRL club set to join the competition in 2028. A strong contender could be the ‘Hunters’, given that a PNG team already competes in the Queensland Cup under that name. At the end of the month, a second phase will see the top five names put out to the public to be voted on. 

🎾 American tennis star Venus Williams will make her return to grand slam tennis later this month at the U.S. Open after she received a wildcard entry to the women’s singles draw. The 45-year-old will be the oldest singles player at the tournament since 47-year-old Renee Richards in 1981. Williams will also play in the mixed doubles alongside fellow American Reilly Opelka. 

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Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old from London, has become the youngest ever female player to defeat a chess Grandmaster. 

Sivanandan defeated 60-year-old Peter Wells in the final round of the British Chess Championship in Liverpool. 

She broke the previous age record, held by American Carissa Yip, by more than six months.

‘Grandmaster’ is a title awarded to the world’s most accomplished chess players. There are around 1,700 people with the title worldwide. 

Sivanandan’s performance at the tournament earned her the rank of International Master, one rank below Grandmaster. 

The youngest-ever Grandmaster is Abhimanyi Mishra, who was 12 at the time.

Sivandan told the BBC that her ultimate goal in chess was to become a grandmaster.

UK Junior Chess director Tim Wall said: "Bodhana is an inspiration to girls. The way she exudes calmness and maturity on the board… she clearly has a very strong work ethic. She certainly has a very high ceiling."

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The AFLW season kicks off tonight with a traditional season opener between Carlton and Collingwood at Princes Park. Here’s what to know. 

This marks the 10th season of AFLW and the first to feature a 12-round regular season over 12 weeks, followed by four weeks of finals. 

In previous seasons, the AFLW scheduled midweek games to condense the season. This meant players were becoming more fatigued and susceptible to injury closer to finals. 

This season is also the first to overlap with the AFL. Organisers hope the overlap will give AFLW teams a better chance of engaging fans who are already watching football. 

The AFLW Grand Final will be held on Saturday 29 November.

The reigning premiers are the North Melbourne Kangaroos, who secured their first premiership last year with a 39-9 victory over the Brisbane Lions in the grand final. 

The Kangaroos went through the 2024 season undefeated and will have a target on their back as premiership favourites this season. Brisbane has played in the past three grand finals and will also be expecting to contend for the title again this year. 

Other threats to the Kangaroos' supremacy include Hawthorn, who finished second on the ladder last season, and the Adelaide Crows, who have won three AFLW titles and also finished in the top four last year. 

After reports that the league was losing $50 million a year in July, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said: "We have a big investment in AFLW, but it's an investment absolutely worth making." 

Dillon pointed to the indirect benefits, adding: “The increase in women and girls coming to our games, increasing women and girls playing our game, the opportunities that it opens up for our clubs in terms of infrastructure, the opportunities that it opens up for the clubs in the AFL in attracting and retaining broadcasters, commercial partners and just attracting fans.”

You can watch the opening match of the AFLW tonight at 7:15pm on Channel 7, Foxtel, and Kayo.