This weekend (a long one for every state except Queensland and WA) will answer lots of important sporting questions.

Who will be crowned French Open champions in 2025?

Is Lachlan Galvin going to debut for the Bulldogs on Monday?

Will the NSW Swifts stay unbeaten through nine matches this season?

Will there be any Australian teams in the Super Rugby semi-finals?

Will Orla’s lead in TDA’s footy tipping comp shrink?

So much history to be written… enjoy!

16
The number of years since the Socceroos beat Japan. The Aussies broke the drought last night with a last-gasp victory against the Samurai Blue in Perth. With scores deadlocked at 0-0 for the vast majority of the match, Aziz Behich scored the matchwinner in the 90th minute. The 1-0 victory means that Australia have all but secured World Cup Qualification. For Saudi Arabia to clinch the second automatic qualification spot (Japan already have the first one), they must beat the Socceroos 5-0 on Tuesday night in Jeddah.

"Why everyone wanna be so serious, bro can't have fun."
Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in a post to X after his side’s 81-59 victory over the Western Bulldogs last night. Ginnivan taunted his opponents by showing them the ball as he ran in clear space on the way to scoring a goal. Former footballer turned commentator David King said: “Don’t belittle your opponent because there’s always a return fight – and it could be a bigger game than Round 13.” The Hawks are now in sixth on the AFL ladder while the Bulldogs are in ninth with more matches to come this weekend.

The first person from the Southern Hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics was New Zealand’s Annelise Coberger in 1992. She took silver in the slalom at Albertville in France. 

🏉 Mal Meninga has been appointed as the coach of the Perth Bears, the rugby league team set to join the NRL in 2027. As one of the game’s ‘Immortals’, Meninga has extensive experience in rugby league, both as a player and a coach. He captained the Raiders to three premierships and has coached the Raiders, Queensland Maroons, and most recently the Kangaroos (Australia’s men’s team). 

🎾 The women’s final at the French Open is set after Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka both won their respective semi-finals. Gauff, the second seed at this year’s tournament, beat French wildcard Lois Boisson in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) to reach her second French Open final. World number one Sabalenka faced a tougher assignment in Iga Świątek, eventually beating the four-time champion in three sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-0). Neither Gauff nor Sabalenka have won the French Open before. Tonight, the men’s semi-finals will see defending champ Carlos Alcaraz take on eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti before the highly anticipated match between world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-time slam champion Novak Djokovic. 

🏀 Tyrese Haliburton was the hero once again for the Indiana Pacers, scoring with just 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock to snatch Game 1 of the NBA Finals from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers trailed for the entire match and were down by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before Haliburton’s match-winner. Oklahoma will retain its home advantage for Game 2 on Monday (AEST) before the teams relocate to Indiana for Games 3 and 4. 

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Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have become the co-owners of Australia’s SailGP team. ‘The Flying Roos’ compete in SailGP, a fast-paced international sailing league founded in 2018. 

The new co-owners of the Flying Roos were announced this morning, with the team set to race this weekend at the New York Sail Grand Prix. 

Australia are one of the most successful teams in SailGP, having won the league in three of its last four seasons. 

The CEO and driver of the Australian team is veteran Olympic champion Tom Slingsby. 

This is not the first professional sports team Reynolds has become involved with. 

The actor and entrepreneur became a co-owner of Wrexham AFC, a Welsh football team, in 2021. 

Since Reynolds has become involved, the team has gone from strength to strength with three successive league promotions and attracted a global following through its spin-off documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’. 

Jackman and Reynolds said in a statement: “We’re incredibly excited to set sail together in this new adventure. Hugh brings a deep love for and pride in his home country as well as being an avid fan of sailing. He will also be bringing his overly clingy emotional support human along for the ride. Apologies in advance to Australia.”

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The Super Rugby Pacific Finals begin this weekend, with six teams battling it out for four spots in the semi-finals. 

The ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds are the only two Australian teams in the final six, while the other four are all New Zealand-based. 

Here’s what you need to know before the action begins. 

The three winners of the qualifying finals will automatically advance to the semi-finals. 

The final spot in the semi-finals will then be awarded to the highest-ranked losing team (known as the ‘lucky loser’) based on where they finished on the ladder after the regular season. 

The winners of the semi-finals will earn a spot in the Grand Final.

The Reds face a tough assignment in Christchurch tonight, as they seek to become the first Australian team in Super Rugby to win a finals match in New Zealand. 

The Crusaders finished second on the ladder this year after missing the finals last year. 

The Reds finished fifth this season and will be looking to go one better after losing in the quarter-final last year. 

When these two sides met during the regular season, the Crusaders won 43-19. 

The Crusaders are especially formidable in the finals, having won all 16 finals games they have been in since 2016.

This qualifying final is a rematch of last year’s final, which saw the Blues claim the 2024 title with a 41-10 victory. 

This time, the Chiefs will host the Blues in Waikato as favourites with an opportunity for redemption. 

The Chiefs finished the 2025 season on top of the table, while the Blues began the season slowly, before finding some form and finishing in sixth position to scrape into the finals. 

The Chiefs and Blues played each other twice this season, with the Chiefs winning both matches (25-14 and 32-31).

The Brumbies will host the Hurricanes in Canberra on Saturday night. 

The Brumbies finished third on the ladder this season and are looking to build on last year’s finals series, where they were eliminated in the semi-final by the eventual champions, the Blues. 

The Hurricanes finished fourth on the ladder but finished their Super Rugby season strongly with six straight wins. 

The only time these two sides played against each other this season was in Canberra in April, and the Hurricanes won 35-29.