Good afternoon!

We are so excited to launch our first-ever sport newsletter!

To put this newsletter together, we identified four key areas that we wanted to improve in the way sport news was reported: sport should be social, inclusive, cultural and make sense. The aim of this newsletter is to do all four for you every weekday evening.

One request from us: If you enjoy the newsletter, send it to your friends, family or work Slack/Teams/email groups. That is the single most effective thing you can do to help us grow. Send them this link to sign up!

Now, let’s jump into it.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Quote of the day

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould telling the Today Show he’ll challenge a $20,000 fine issued to him by the NRL after he called it a “stupid” game. The NRL said the comments were “detrimental to the best interests of the game [and] in contravention of the NRL Rules”.

Stat of the day

42.83 seconds
The new Australian record for the women’s 4×100m relay. The team, anchored by Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis, finished second in their heat at the World Athletics Relays on Sunday morning, confirming their spot at the Olympics. It means Australia will compete in the women’s 4×100m relay for the first time since 2000 at the Sydney Olympics.

Random fact of the day

When AFL started in 1858, there were no time limits on the games. Instead, the first team to score two goals was declared the winner.

I’ve got 1 minute

British race car driver Lando Norris has won his first victory in Formula 1 at the Miami Grand Prix. This is one of 24 races in the F1 calendar this year.

It comes after Norris, who drives for McLaren, had competed at 110 grands prix and finished on the podium (placed second or third) 15 times. Norris is one of five drivers ever to score that many podium finishes without a win.

It is only McLaren’s second Grand Prix win in the last 12 years.

What he said:

After his win, Norris said: “It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally managed to do it. I’m so happy for the whole team, and what we’ve achieved together… The car was great, the strategy was perfect, and I’m over the moon.”

I’ve got 2 minutes

Sydney FC has become the first club to win five A-League Women’s championships after defeating Melbourne City 1-0 on Saturday night.

Background

The A-League is the top professional men’s and women’s soccer league in Australia.

The A-League Women’s Championship was established in 2008. From 2008-2021, it was called the Westfield W-League (because of commercial naming rights), before becoming known as the A-League in 2021.

There are 12 teams in the competition.

The game

Over the weekend, Sydney FC became the most successful club in A-League Women’s history.

Sydney took the lead in the 69th minute with a goal from Shea Connors (you can watch the goal here). It was the first goal for the 28-year-old all season - and she’d only come off the bench two minutes before.

Sydney’s coach Ante Juric said “this current group… is the best team in history in terms of how long they’ve done it and the success they’ve had.”

It’s important to note that while Sydney won the ‘championship’, they did not win the ‘premiership’. That is awarded to the team that wins the regular season tournament, which in this case, was Melbourne City.

Spectator numbers

Sydney FC and Melbourne City played off at AAMI Park in Melbourne in front of 7,671 fans. It was the second-highest attended A-League Women’s final in history.

It comes after the A-League announced last month that this season had become the most attended season of any women’s sport in Australia.

A message from our sponsor

Introducing Deakin University

Welcome to our brand-new sport newsletter! We figured it was only fitting that we partner with an organisation that really gets it – so who better than the world’s best sport science school?

With access to an MCG-sized AFL oval, FIFA-grade soccer pitch, clinical exercise centre, a climate chamber and more, Deakin University’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences is ranked #1 for a reason.

Whether you want to improve athlete performance, help others live healthier lives through exercise or make an impact behind-the-scenes, Deakin can help turn your passion for sport into a career.

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

Here are some scores we think you should know about from the last 24 hours. There’s always a lot of sport, so this is just a selection.

Looking forward…

Here are some things to watch in the next 24 hours. Again, there’s always a lot of sport - this is just a selection.

TDA asks