Australia’s men’s and women’s hockey teams, the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos, both opened their World Cup campaigns with victories over the weekend. 

The Kookaburras defeated Ireland 3-1 while the Hockeyroos beat Japan 2-0 in the first of three pool stage matches for both teams. 

The tournaments are being played between two stadiums in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

The Hockeyroos will continue their campaign tonight at 2am when they take on reigning champions and nine-time winners, the Netherlands. 

Here’s a bit of trivia to get you thinking on a Monday. The Netherlands are the most successful women’s hockey team at the World Cup, but which country has won the most men’s titles?

The answer is at the bottom of the 2-minute. 

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The number of drawn matches in the AFL over the weekend. On Saturday, Collingwood and Hawthorn drew 92-92 at the MCG. Remarkably, it was the second time this season that the two teams had drawn against each other. Meanwhile, Carlton booked its spot in the wildcard round of the AFL Finals after an 82-82 draw with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. It was also reported today that interim coach Josh Fraser will be appointed to the full-time job this week.

"Today is the most nervous I've ever felt in my entire life. I was just so locked in and I've been really focused on what I want."
Australian swimmer Lani Pallister after winning the women’s 800m freestyle at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California. In the process, Pallister beat American swimming legend Katie Ledecky, who had never lost an international-level 800m freestyle final, and only lost one 800m final overall since 2010, when she was 13. Pallister also won gold in the 400m freestyle and silver in the 1500m, behind Ledecky. Meanwhile, Sam Short won three individual gold medals in the men’s 400m, 800m, and 1500m.

British sprinter Amy Hunt won four gold medals at the European Athletics Championships last week, winning the women’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and 4x100m mixed relay. She is the first athlete in the event’s 92-year history to take home four golds in the same year. 

🏉 The Wallabies defeated Japan 56-17 in Townsville on Saturday, improving significantly on their three-point win in Osaka a week earlier. In the side’s second match under new coach Les Kiss, Australia led 21-17 after a tough opening half before scoring 35 unanswered points in the second. All eight of Australia’s tries were scored by members of the forward pack, with Massimo De Lutiis, the 1000th player to become a Wallaby, scoring a try on his debut. Meanwhile, the All Blacks continued their ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ tour of South Africa, beating the Pretoria Bulls 50-19.

🎾 Four Australian men are through to the Round of 32 at the Cincinnati Open, where players are sharpening up ahead of the U.S. Open beginning later this month. Adam Walton, Chris O’Connell, Rinky Hijikata, and Alex de Minaur all won their Round of 64 matches, while the last remaining Aussie in the women’s singles draw, Talia Gibson, lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka. Tomorrow, fifth-seeded De Minaur will play French Open runner-up Arthur Fery before Hijikata takes on 14th seed Jakub Menšík. 

🏉 The Sydney Roosters have maintained their unbeaten record in the NRLW this season, defeating the Brisbane Broncos 34-20 in a grand final rematch on Saturday. The Roosters have now won seven from seven, while the Broncos, last year’s premiership winners, have lost two on the trot and slipped to third on the ladder behind the Gold Coast Titans.

🏉 Ryan Matterson, a rugby league player who represented NSW in State of Origin and won the 2018 premiership with the Sydney Roosters, has medically retired due to concussion. Matterson, who was on loan from the Parramatta Eels to the Warrington Wolves in England’s Super League, had not played since September 2025. In a post to Instagram announcing his retirement, he said: “For many years, I’ve battled the effects of concussion and the symptoms that have come with it… the symptoms have become harder to live with and unfortunately, they’ve continued to get worse.”

Worksite safety, redefined by Claude

Aussies are transforming safety for construction workers using AI. Presien, a physical AI company for heavy industry, used Claude to develop an agentic platform that analyses worksites around the clock - cutting critical safety events by over 70% in three months.

Several Sydney Swans players were involved in an alleged incident at the team’s hotel in East Melbourne on Sunday night. 

Police say they are investigating a report of sexual assault.

Here’s what to know. 

The Herald Sun broke the news on Monday, reporting three women were seen having discussions with Sydney coach Dean Cox and other club officials in the foyer of the hotel that morning. 

A statement from Victoria Police said: “Police are investigating a report of a sexual assault in East Melbourne on 17 August. The incident occurred at a hotel on Wellington Parade in the early hours of the morning. The exact circumstances are yet to be established and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.”

The Swans were staying in Melbourne following the club’s 112-76 defeat of Essendon at the MCG on Sunday. The team is second on the AFL ladder. 

The club’s statement said: “The Sydney Swans can confirm several players were involved in an alleged incident in Melbourne last night. The Swans have notified the AFL and relevant authorities and cannot provide further comment at this stage.”

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Bangladesh defeated Australia in a Test cricket match by nine wickets on Sunday in Darwin. 

It’s just the third loss for Australia, the world’s top-ranked Test cricket side, in its past 14 Tests. Meanwhile, Bangladesh came into the match having lost 22 of their past 26 Tests outside Asia. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto described the victory as the country’s “biggest win so far in any format”. 

The result marks a disappointing start for the Aussie men’s 20-Tests-in-12-months schedule.

The Test started last Thursday, with Australia winning the toss and electing to bat first. Australia managed only 198 in their first innings, with several top batters failing to fire. Steve Smith was the highest scorer with 71 runs. Bangladesh then posted 426 in their first innings, with Tanzid Hasan Tamim scoring 101 runs and Australia dropping five catches.

Australia responded with 284 runs in their second innings. Cameron Green scored 104 runs, his first Test century on home soil. Bangladesh needed just 57 runs in the fourth innings and reached it easily, losing one wicket. Bangladesh bowler Hasan Mahmud was named player of the match after taking nine wickets across the Test.

The Test was the first of at least 20 for the Aussie men’s side over the next 12 months. The result is being described as a historic upset. Bangladesh are the ninth-ranked Test team in the world and had never beaten Australia on Australian soil before this. 

The visitors had not shown any serious form in the lead-up to the match. In their most recent Test in June, they were thrashed by world no.10 Zimbabwe. Bangladesh were also missing one of the country’s best bowlers, Nahid Rana, due to injury.

The Queensland city of Mackay will host the second Test, starting on Saturday. It is not yet clear whether or not Australia will make changes to its starting side. Pressure is on top-order batters Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne, with neither scoring the runs expected of them. 

Captain Pat Cummins said: “We’ll sit down and have a think, selectors will have a think...is it starting to become a trend that we think needs to be changed.”

Trivia answer: Pakistan have won the most men’s hockey World Cups, with four titles.