🏆 Six Aussie athletes inducted into Hall of Fame

Plus, Diamonds lose second Test to NZ

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Geoff Capes, a British three-time Olympian, died today aged 75.

Aside from being an Olympic shot-putter whose British record is still intact after 44 years, Capes won the World’s Strongest Man competition twice.

Remarkably, he was also a world-class breeder of budgies and was at one time the president of a Budgerigar Society. A big man with a big heart - may there be more athletes as multi-dimensional as Geoff Capes.

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Stat of the day

344
The number of runs scored by Zimbabwe’s men’s cricket team in a T20 international against The Gambia – the highest ever in a T20I match. That’s an average of 17.2 runs per over. Zimbabwe also set the record for most sixes, with 27. 

Quote of the day

"I don't want to say it's a long time coming, but this has been a dream of mine for forever... I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to try NASCAR. I wanted to do it. I grew up watching NASCAR. I was a huge fan, but it's not something I necessarily thought that I'd ever get the opportunity to do."
Former ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star Frankie Muniz to People magazine after he officially secured a spot as a driver in the NASCAR Truck series for the 2025 season. The 38-year-old will drive for Reaume Brothers Racing. 

Yep, that’s Malcolm from ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (Getty)

Random fact of the day

German Birgit Fischer is considered the greatest female canoeist of all time. Fischer won eight Olympic gold medals in kayak events, with the first and last ones being 24 years apart. 

Birgit Fischer in the K4 (Getty)

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In case you missed it…

🏐 The Silver Ferns, New Zealand’s women’s netball team, have beaten the Diamonds again to take a 2-0 lead in the Constellation Cup. Goal shooter Grace Nweke once again starred for the Silver Ferns, scoring 47 goals from 51 shots and leading her side to a 63-52 win. After losing the first two tests in New Zealand, the Diamonds will need to win the final two in Perth and Melbourne to give themselves a chance of retaining the Constellation Cup. 

The Diamonds Keira Austin (Getty)

🏆 Sport Australia has named six athletes and two general members to join the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, with an official ceremony to be held next month. The athletes who will be inducted are three-time surfing world champion Mick Fanning, Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Sally Pearson, Bathurst 1000 champion Mark Skaife, dual-sport Paralympics champion Liesl Tesch, Kookaburras hockey captain Mark Knowles, and lawn bowls legend Karen Murphy. The two to be inducted as general members are businessman Gerry Ryan and late basketball administrator Betty Watson. 

Mick Fanning at the 2018 Quicksilver Pro (Getty)

⚾ The baseball hit by LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to reach 50 home runs this season sold for $US4.39m ($AU6.61m) at auction. The price is a record for any sports ball. This ball is so highly prized because of Ohtani’s historic year, which has seen him become the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. A legal dispute as to who owns the ball is ongoing in Florida. Until that is resolved, the money will stay with the auction house.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored two goals in his side’s 5-0 defeat of Czech club Sparta Prague in the Champions League. One of his goals was an unfathomable backheel volley. Meanwhile, for the first time in Liverpool’s 132-year history, the club has won their first six away fixtures. They beat RB Leipzig 1-0.

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Djokovic after winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024 (Getty)

Djokovic’s season in doubt after Paris Masters withdrawal

Novak Djokovic will not defend his title at the Paris Masters, leaving doubt over the rest of the Serbian tennis star’s season. Djokovic has won the competition seven times.

What happened

Organisers said on Wednesday that the 37-year-old had withdrawn from the tournament but did not provide a reason. Djokovic’s withdrawal may impact his eligibility for next month’s ATP Tour Masters, an end-of-season tournament contested by the world’s top eight players. He currently sits in sixth position. If Djokovic also misses the ATP Tour Finals, which he has also won a record seven times, he could be seeded lower than eighth at the Australian Open. That would see him face the likes of Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.

This season was the 24-time slam winner’s first without a grand slam victory since 2017. He did, however, clinch one of the very few things missing from his resume — an Olympic gold medal.

What they said

In a post to social media, Djokovic said: "Unfortunately I won't be playing [at the Paris Masters] this year. Sorry to everyone who was hoping to see me play there. Wishing all the players, sponsors, organisers and fans a great tournament. I have a lot of great memories winning seven titles there and hope to be back with you next year."

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Millie Elliott of the Sydney Roosters (Getty)

RLPA asks NRL to compensate women’s players for Thursday night matches

The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) has asked the NRL to compensate NRLW players for Thursday evening matches, given that many players are sacrificing their primary income to play during the week.

The NRLW is a part-time competition and many of the players have day jobs to supplement their income.

Details

The RLPA has also urged the NRL not to schedule women’s games before midday on Saturday and Sunday so junior players, who tend to play in the morning, can spectate.

The consequence of moving NRLW games later is that they may clash with the men’s games, which could impact the growing viewership of the NRLW.

The RLPA is also open to the NRL creating more double-header fixtures. A double-header in this context is when NRLW and NRL matches are played on the same field one after the other. Typically, the women will play before the men, as they did on the Grand Final day this year.

The NRLW is set to expand from 10 to 12 teams in 2025. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will join the competition for the first time, and the New Zealand Warriors are rejoining, having not played since 2020.

What they said

RLPA general manager Jamie Buhrer said: "Thursday fixtures remain a long-term concern for NRLW players if they are not compensated for needing to take more time off work from their primary income. Players have no issue with playing Thursday night games in theory… [but] we believe that compensation needs to be secured and guaranteed."

A message from our sponsor

The Matildas take on Switzerland this weekend in their first match since the Olympics. It’s been just over a year since the Matildas made the semi-final at the 2023 World Cup and re-ignited Australia’s passion for football. Since then, 14 straight sold-out Matildas matches have been set. Here are two continuing impacts of the ‘Matildas Effect’.

The government announced the Play Our Way grant program which was designed to provide opportunities for women and girls to participate in and benefit from sport. The program will run over three years and offer $200 million in funding with the goal of fostering safe and inclusive environments as well as encouraging women to remain involved in sports and physical activity for life.

Following the success of the Matildas in 2023, Australia has been awarded the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Over 24,000 international visitors are anticipated to travel for the tournament, which is expected to boost the economy by $260 million. Expect the Matildas Effect to be back in full swing for the Asian Cup with games being played in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.

Think Beyond The Field. Study Sport at Deakin.

Looking forward…(All times are AEDT)

AFLW (Indigenous Round)

Who: Hawthorn v Narrm

Time: 7:45pm

Where to watch: Foxtel, Kayo

NBL

Who: New Zealand v SE Melbourne
Time: 5:30pm tonight

Who: Illawarra v Melbourne 
Time: 7:30pm tonight

Where to watch: Foxtel, Kayo

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