The results are in from yesterday’s poll, and it seems the TDA audience is pretty evenly split when it comes to NRL or AFL. 

Given the choice of the two, 60% of you said you’d be tuning into the AFL, with the other 40% opting for the NRL.

Have an epic weekend!

P.S. We are very sorry if you woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to catch the Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony as yesterday’s newsletter suggested. That was in fact, a typo, and the Opening Ceremony will take place at 6am tomorrow (AEDT). You can read more about it below.

🏉 The Melbourne Storm began their NRL season by thrashing the Parramatta Eels 52-4 at AAMI Park. Captain Harry Grant starred with two tries as Melbourne ran in nine overall to extend their remarkable round-one winning streak to 24 games. The Storm have not lost their opening match of the season since 2001.

⚽️ The Matildas secured a place in the Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over Iran on the Gold Coast. Amy Sayer, Mary Fowler, and Alanna Kennedy were among the scorers in a dominant performance. Australia now sits level on six points with South Korea atop Group A, with the teams set to meet in Sydney on Sunday to decide top spot.

🏏 India advanced to the men’s T20 World Cup final after a seven-run win over England in Mumbai. Sanju Samson starred with 89 runs as India posted 7-253, before holding off a late charge led by England’s Jacob Bethell, who scored 105. India will face New Zealand in Monday morning’s final in Ahmedabad.

🏉 The Sydney Swans opened the AFL season with a commanding 63-point win over Carlton at the SCG. After trailing 28-18 at half-time, Sydney unleashed a stunning 12-goal third quarter to seize control before running out 132-69 winners. Charlie Curnow kicked three goals against his former side as Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden led the Swans’ dominant second-half surge.

🏀 Melbourne United have kept their NBL season alive with an 82-68 win over the Tasmania JackJumpers in last night’s Play-In qualifier. Finn Delany starred for United with 33 points in a standout finals performance as his side pulled away late. While Tasmania’s season is now over, Melbourne will face the Perth Wildcats in a do-or-die Play-In game on Saturday. The winner will then face the top-of-the-table Sydney Kings in a best-of-three playoff series for a place in the finals. 

Talking points: Australia and India meet in a day-night Test in Perth, where Alyssa Healy will lead Australia for the final time after announcing her retirement. Australia hold an 8-4 lead in the multi-format series after sweeping the ODIs, but India can still draw the series with a win. Australia are still weighing selection options, with Ellyse Perry still being monitored for a quad injury and changes possible to balance the attack. India, encouraged by their recent T20 success, are focused on adapting to Perth conditions as they chase the outright result needed to salvage the tour. 

How to watch: Coverage will be available on Channel 7, Kayo and Foxtel. 

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

Talking points: The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics officially begin tomorrow morning with the Opening Ceremony in Verona, marking the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympic Games. Australia will send a 14-athlete team, one of its largest ever, competing across four of the six available sports. Para snowboarder Ben Tudhope and para alpine skier Georgia Gunew will carry the Australian flag. The squad spans generations, from 16-year-old Liana France, the country’s youngest female Winter Paralympian, to 52-year-old Michael Milton, Australia’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, returning after two decades away. Amanda Reid will also make history as Australia’s first Indigenous Winter Paralympian.

How to watch: The Opening Ceremony begins at 6am (AEDT) on Saturday. Coverage will be available on Channel 9, 9Now and Stan Sport.

Talking points: The 2026 Formula One season begins this weekend at Melbourne’s Albert Park, offering the first look at the sport’s sweeping new regulations in action. Some of the changes include redesigned cars that are smaller and lighter, active aerodynamic wings, and a new electrical boost system to replace the overtaking aid DRS. On track, all eyes will be on Australia’s Oscar Piastri, who won seven races in 2025 and finished third in the championship behind his McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The grid has also expanded to eleven teams, with Cadillac and Audi joining, and 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad making his debut.

How to watch: Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 4pm (AEDT), with the race starting at 3pm on Sunday. In Australia, the Australian Grand Prix will be broadcast on Channel 10, Foxtel and Kayo.

Canberra is calling 

The Canberra Times Marathon Festival is back 11–12 April 2026 – and it’s bigger than ever. Australia’s oldest city marathon is entering a bold new two-day era, with 5K, 10K and Kids 2K races on Saturday, and the Half (21.1K) and full Marathon (42.2K) on Sunday. Expect closed roads past Parliament House and Lake Burley Griffin, plus a buzzing event village celebrating the best of Canberra.

Register now at canberramarathon.com and join @solemotive.

Behind every great Formula One driver is a team principal, who plays an important public-facing role whilst acting as a critical behind-the-scenes negotiator. The man leading one of F1's most storied teams, Frédéric ‘Fred’ Vasseur, joined Scuderia Ferrari HP in January 2023. As Team Principal and General Manager, he oversaw one of the biggest driver signings in F1 history, bringing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton over from Mercedes.

After a disappointing 2025, Ferrari is now one of the most talked-about teams in the paddock, with both Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc impressing during pre-season testing. TDA Features Editor Emma Gillespie sat down with Vasseur trackside in Melbourne at Casa Ferrari ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix. 

TDA: Scuderia Ferrari HP is arguably the most iconic name in motorsport. How do you navigate that pressure as a leader and stay focused when the whole world is watching?

Vasseur:  The legacy is huge. You can't forget it, you can't avoid thinking about it, but the focus is always on the future, on the development… [but that] doesn't mean that we don't have to keep in mind what we did in the past.

TDA: Drive to Survive opened up the personalities of F1 to the world, but what's something people don't know about you? 

Vasseur:  I always try to have a kind of wall between my life and my job. I never open the door to my house, to Netflix, or to someone else, and I will never do it. It’s also because I want to protect myself and my family.

TDA: Your drivers put it all on the line every race. How do you support them to reset after a tough weekend? 

Vasseur:  After a difficult weekend, we are probably over-motivated to come back… I’ve never had to push someone; it's more sometimes saying ‘guys, stay calm’... I never see someone with a lack of motivation. Even the drivers, sure, sometimes they can be a bit down after the weekend, after the race, after [qualification] when the result is not the result that you were expecting. You go, ‘ok’, but this is for the next 10 minutes, and then you are back to racing, back to the factory. We want to do more next week. 

TDA: The team exists at this unique intersection of sport, luxury and heritage, but there's a growing wave of younger and more global F1 fans. How do you protect the Ferrari DNA whilst innovating for the future?

Vasseur:  We don't have to oppose legacy and innovation. In the past, Ferrari was always innovating a lot. [Now] we just continue the process. You can have in your mind that Ferrari is a mega iconic, historic brand, with a huge legacy behind it. But to be focused on the future has always been a characteristic of Ferrari…  For the young generation… if they want to [play a part] in F1, this is something they all can do if they're motivated. If they are in love with what we are doing, they can be part of it. 

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.