Good evening!

Ahead of this weekend’s Formula One race at the Qatar GP, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen commented that he would have found it much easier to win races this year if he had been driving a McLaren.

Whether that’s true or not is up for debate, but his rival and McLaren’s lead driver this year, Lando Norris, wasn’t too impressed.

In response, Norris suggested that Verstappen "should start doing comedy".

For some reason…I’m not sure Verstappen’s comedy career would take off.

Anyway, he’s a great driver and he’ll be in action on Monday at 3:00am (AEDT).

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

1 month
The length of Polish tennis star Iga Świątek’s suspension after failing an anti-doping test in August. The 5-time Grand Slam winner and world no.2 tested positive for trimetazidine (also known as TMZ), a heart medication that can enhance athletic performance. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITTA) announced that Świątek had accepted her suspension on Thursday. The organisation accepted her explanation that the positive test was unintentional and due to contamination with melatonin she was using to sleep.

Quote of the day

"It's so special for me to be here and to celebrate in front of my home fans, in a city I grew up [in] and in a stadium that I absolutely love. And this team has been everything to me. And it's been a hell of a journey and I'm very thankful for everything that everyone has done along the way. So thank you very much and let's get on with it."
Clare Polkinghorne speaking to a sellout crowd at Suncorp Stadium before her final match at her home stadium last night. The Matildas played Brazil and lost 3-1. Polkinghorne was substituted after an hour in her 168th match for Australia. Despite earlier reports, the 35-year-old said she’ll actually remain within the squad for the Matildas’ three remaining fixtures this year against Brazil and Taiwan, saying last night was her “celebration game”.

Random fact of the day

On March 2 1962, Wilt Chamberlain set the record for the most points scored in an NBA game. Chamberlain, playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, scored 100 points. That season, he averaged over 50 points a game, also a record.

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

🏉 The Wallabies will play Ireland on Sunday at 2:00am (AEDT) in the final Autumn Internationals fixture of the year. Australia will be looking to bounce back after losing to Scotland last week, while the Irish are hoping to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Irish rugby in style. ​​Props James Slipper and Taniela Tupou and flanker Fraser McReight have all returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s match. After leaving the field with injury concerns last week, code-hopping centre Joseph Sua'ali'i will play against Ireland. Playmaker Tane Edmed has been named on the bench and could be the 19th Wallabies debutant to take to the field under coach Joe Schmidt. 

🏏 The Sri Lankan cricket team has recorded its lowest-ever Test score, making only 42 runs in the first innings of a Test against South Africa. It only took 83 balls for the entire team to lose their wickets and five of Sri Lanka’s eleven batsmen scored zero runs. The match in Durban is the first of two Tests being played between the two sides. At stumps on Day Two South Africa lead by 281 runs.

🏏 The WBBL Challenger match will be played tonight between the Sydney Thunder and the Brisbane Heat at 6:15pm (AEDT). The winner of the match will advance to the Final, where they will face the top-of-the-table Melbourne Renegades. The last time the two teams played each other, the Thunder triumphed by 19 runs. Since that match, the Heat have won their last five. Both teams are yet to be crowned WBBL Champions. The Heat lost last year’s Final to the Strikers by 3 runs and will be determined to go the distance. The Thunder are also on a redemption arc given they haven’t played in the Final since losing in 2020.

⚽ Sydney FC have advanced to the Knockout stage of the AFC Champions League Two after beating Hong Kong’s Eastern SC 4-1. German midfielder Anas Ouahim starred for the Aussie club with three goals. Sydney has one more group-stage game remaining, against Philippine club Kaya Iloilo FC next week. The competition will then continue with the Round of 16 in February.

I’ve got 1 minute

The AFLW Grand Final is tomorrow night - here’s your preview

Tomorrow night the North Melbourne Kangaroos take on the Brisbane Lions in the 2024 AFLW Grand Final. The clash is a rematch of last year’s grand final, which the Lions won 44-27.

Lions v Kangaroos

The Lions came out on top in 2023, but the Kangaroos have had a stellar undefeated season and will head into this Grand Final as the favourites. The two teams met once this season in round one and the Kangaroos won. The 78-34 scoreline was the heaviest defeat in the Lions’ history. Ultimately, the Lions picked themselves up and finished the season third on the ladder.

Tomorrow’s match will be the Lions’ sixth AFLW Grand Final in the eight years since the inaugural AFLW Grand Final in 2017. Of their five previous appearances, the Lions have won the title twice before. Meanwhile, the Kangaroos are playing in their second Grand Final and seeking their first title.

First night-time final

This year’s ALFW Grand Final is the first to be played in the evening. The first bounce is set for 7:45pm at Princes Park in Melbourne. The game will be played in front of a sellout crowd of 12,500. The league has been criticised for not holding the match at a larger venue after tickets sold out within 24 hours. You can watch the AFLW Grand Final on Channel 7, Fox Footy, or Kayo.

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I’ve got 2 minutes

An interview with Harry Potter after his Wallabies debut

This morning TDA Sport had the opportunity to interview rugby union player Harry Potter. The 26-year-old made his Wallabies debut against Scotland last week and was Australia’s sole try-scorer. Potter has been named on the bench for this Sunday’s clash against Ireland. 

George: Harry, thanks for joining. It's been almost a week since you debuted for the Wallabies. How was that experience? 

Harry: Unbelievable. In terms of places to debut, having only played one game and having one reference point, Murrayfield was unbelievable. Listening to the [Australian] National Anthem and then going into the Scottish National Anthem with a packed house at an iconic rugby venue, it was special. A tough result, unfortunately, but I had some time to smell the roses even if we did lose the game.

George: And how were the nerves on the day of your debut? 

Harry: Nerves…excitement - you get a bit of both. Having played in a couple of big games, no games as big as that of course, it's important that you just relish the excitement and park the nerves as much as you can.

George: And how about the try? You just managed to get that ball down before the deadball line. Do you remember that or was it all just a blur? 

Harry: I remember confidently getting the ball down and then [the referees] checking the try for about five minutes. So it was all a little bit of a blur. But it’s funny, in such a sort of flash of a moment I did feel quite confident I’d scored the try and then it was in the hands of the referees. I was grateful they made the right decision there. 

George: How sick of the magic and wizardry puns are you? 

Harry: Well I’m not that sick of it. In making a debut for the Wallabies your name pops up in a few more places, and you get a whole influx of Harry Potter jokes. It's always interesting to see what jokes are repeated and what’s new. There's been a few moments in the last week where I've gone “tough joke” (rolls eyes) but some I've got to tip my hat to. 

George: Have you got an example of one you could tip your hat to? 

Harry: Oh I think “You're a winger Harry” from a long time ago was funny and now it’s just absolutely been slaughtered. And then more novelly this week someone wrote “The Boy Who Debuted, Come To Try” which of course is similar to the famous line. 

George: Have you read the books?

Harry: Nah I haven't read any of the books. I watched the movies when I was young and then a few weeks ago my housemates forced me through all eight movies and I was pretty impressed. They're actually not bad to be fair. I can't resent it too much.

A deep dive powered by Deakin University

Helping athletes get back to their best

Deakin University research is changing how we think about athletic development. Led by Associate Professor Steve Swanson, the study looks at how sports can support athletes during their return to play after injury.

The work is part of the Australian Institute of Sport's "Win Well" strategy, which emphasises that success in sports needs four key elements:

• Physical - Bodily functioning, positive health, energy, absence of illness

• Mental - Cognitive functioning, meaningfulness, life satisfaction

• Social - Positive relationships, culture, functioning members of groups

• Emotional - Positive feelings, absence of negative feelings, happiness

The study focuses specifically on athletes who are returning to play after injury or surgery.

Research shows that well-being issues increase during recovery times. There's an important difference between an athlete simply getting back to play versus returning to their previous performance level.

Through interviews with psychologists, coaches, physios, and wellbeing managers, the research team is learning how sports staff can work together better. They've found that:

• Recovery timing creates pressure

• Mental readiness matters as much as physical healing

• Support staff need to work as a team

• Coach and support staff wellbeing also need attention

The goal is to help athletes succeed both in sport and life while making sure the people supporting them have the resources they need.

Looking forward…(All times are AEDT)

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