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Quote of the day

“I'm really sorry for my family, I've embarrassed myself and them. I was there as a family man and I left a broken man.” - Collingwood fan Justin Witcombe, who has been banned from attending AFL matches for the rest of the year after leaning over the fence and grabbing a West Coast player on Sunday afternoon. The AFL recognised the “innocuous” nature of the incident, but said “these types of interactions should not happen”.

Stat of the day

17
The age of Caitlyn Halse, who will make history this week when she plays for the Australian women's national rugby union team, the Wallaroos. Halse will be the youngest-ever Wallaroos player to take the field in a Test match.

Random fact of the day

Yellow tennis balls were only introduced into the rules of tennis in 1972. Historically, balls were either black or white, depending on the colour of the courts. The fluorescent yellow ball was officially adopted by all majors in 1986, as it was more visible to television viewers.

I’ve got 1 minute

This morning, NRL player David Fifita announced he is staying with the Gold Coast Titans, just one week after he said he was leaving to play with the Sydney Roosters instead.

What happened last week?

Last week, Fifita told the Titans he was leaving the team to take up a four-year deal with the Roosters worth $3.3 million.

The signing was thought to help the Roosters who are about to lose some of their best players in veterans Luke Keary and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

What has happened now?

This morning, the Gold Coast Titans announced Fifita will remain part of the club until at least the end of 2026.

The Roosters’ own statement about the surprise decision said it withdrew its offer after Fifita had “expressed doubt about his decision”.

Fifita said: "I’m extremely grateful for the time and interest shown in me over the past two weeks, but upon further reflection, I have made the decision that I want to remain a Titan beyond 2024."

"I’m excited about the direction the team is taking and being close to home, and my family has been central to helping me make this decision."

I’ve got 2 minutes

Last night, the Federal Government delivered its annual budget.

The Government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, had two big decisions to make: what to spend money on, and where to get that money from.

Here, we will look at what the budget has promised for sport in Australia.

Brisbane 2032

The Federal Government has announced $2.2 billion to fund transport projects in southeast Queensland – ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As part of a 2023 deal with the Qld Government, the Federal Government agreed to contribute funding towards helping the region build new venues to host the Games.

AIS upgrade

Almost $250 million will be spent on overhauling the Australian Institute of Sport – a national centre in Canberra for high-performing athletes.

This was a measure flagged by the Government earlier this month.

The investment is expected to fund a new multi-storey accommodation facility, a multi-sports dome, and a high-performance training and testing centre.

Grassroots

The Australian Sports Commission and the Department of Health will receive nearly $133 million over the next three years to support community sports.

This includes $63 million to fund an ongoing program encouraging sports participation among schoolchildren.

$17 million will go towards junior (aged 12-24) athletes competing at state, national and international competitions.

Sport integrity

About $94 million will be directed to Sports Integrity Australia.

This will include $17 million over the next two years to ensure the national body’s ongoing drug testing of elite athletes.

Some funding has been directed to investigating alleged corruption and bribery in Australian sports.

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