I’ve come to the TDA Sport audience once again to settle an office debate.

Is dancing a sport?

Either way it’s the topic of today’s intro because Robert Irwin has been crowned the champion of ‘Dancing with the Stars U.S’.

The title comes 10 years after his sister, Bindi, also won the American version of the show.

After reviewing some footage, I can confirm that it looks to be no walk in the park (the jury’s still out on whether that’s a sport or not).

4 
The record number of times that golfer Minjee Lee has won the Greg Norman Medal, an annual award for the top Australian male or female professional golfer. Lee was named the 2025 recipient after a superb year, which saw her claim her third career major title at the Women's PGA Championship and finish the season ranked No.4 in the world.

"What we're doing at North Melbourne and Brisbane is setting the standard and we need the other teams to come up to that standard. I'm happy being up the top for now. We'll keep trying to get better [and] it's now up to the other teams to work out how to get to our level."
North Melbourne Kangaroos star Emma Kearney speaking about the standard of the AFLW. The two teams playing in this Saturday’s Grand Final, the Kangaroos and the Brisbane Lions, have dominated the competition for several years now. This Grand Final will mark the third consecutive season decider between the two teams, while Brisbane also appeared in the 2022 Grand Final. The Kangaroos have been especially impressive this season, as they sit on an unprecedented win streak of 26 matches. 

State of Origin, the annual rugby league series between NSW and Queensland, has only ever been played outside of Australia once. In 1987, the two teams played a fourth, non-series-deciding exhibition match in Long Beach, California. NSW won the game 30-18. 

⚽ Melbourne City has taken a major step toward reaching the AFC Champions League Elite knockout stages after a 2-0 win over Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta’zim in Melbourne. The result means City has now won three straight matches in Asia after losing their first two, putting them firmly back in contention to progress. Young striker Max Caputo scored early before 18-year-old Medin Memeti sealed the victory in stoppage time, while goalkeeper Patrick Beach pulled off several key saves to protect the lead. The AFC Champions League Elite is Asia’s top club competition.

🚣 Australia’s coastal rowing team has smashed the Commonwealth Beach Sprint Championships in Barbados, winning seven gold medals from eight events. Oceane Jeannerat claimed the U19 Women’s Solo, Samuel Forbes won the U21 Men’s Solo, and then paired with Calli McRae for the U21 Mixed Double. In the Open races, Elizabeth Newell and Blake Whyatt both secured solo gold before combining to win the Mixed Double. Australia finished the regatta with victory in the Team Relay, a strong sign ahead of coastal rowing’s debut as an Olympic event at Los Angeles 2028. 

🏏 The Adelaide Strikers beat the Brisbane Heat by six wickets in a WBBL thriller, handing the Heat a sixth straight defeat. Chasing 170, South African star Laura Wolvaardt smashed 51 from 33 balls before Bridget Patterson steered the Strikers home off the final delivery with two leg-byes. Earlier, Brisbane posted a total of 169 through strong batting performances from Lauren Winfield-Hill, Jess Jonassen and Georgia Redmayne. It wasn’t enough as Adelaide secured its second win of the season.

🏀 Townsville have cemented their status as the WNBL title favourites after a dominant 90-64 win over the Adelaide Lightning. Captain Alicia Froling was unstoppable, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Miela Sowah added another 21 points as the Fire blew the game open with a 22-9 third quarter. Adelaide stayed competitive early through import Sania Feagin, but Townsville’s full-court pressure proved too much as the Fire notched their fifth straight victory.

Fluffy sleep = better recovery

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Elite athletes obsess over sleep for a reason, and honestly? A proper doona is a total game-changer.

Canada’s most decorated female Olympian, swimmer Penny Oleksiak, has been suspended for two years for an anti-doping rule violation linked to missed drug testing requirements.

Here’s what to know.

The Aquatics Integrity Unit confirmed that Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within 12 months, triggering an automatic sanction under global anti-doping rules. She did not test positive for a banned substance. 

Whereabouts rules require athletes to make themselves available for drug testing for an hour a day, wherever in the world they might be. Oleksiak failed to keep her daily location information updated and missed the one-hour testing window that athletes are required to nominate each day three separate times in one year. 

In a statement, Swimming Canada CEO Suzanne Paulins said: "While we accept Penny's explanation these were inadvertent errors and she has not used banned substances, anti-doping regulations are in place to ensure a level playing field for all athletes.”

Her ban began on 15 July and will run until 14 July 2027.

Oleksiak became an Olympic champion at 16-years-old, winning the 100m freestyle at Rio 2016 and claiming Canada’s first women’s swimming gold since 1984. In total, she has won seven Olympic medals across three Games.

The 25-year-old withdrew from July’s world championships while the case was ongoing and stated on social media that she “always has been a clean athlete”. 

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FIFA has confirmed the seeding for next year’s expanded 48-team men’s World Cup, with Australia receiving a major boost by landing in Pot 2 for the tournament draw.

Here’s what to know.

Pot 2 is the second-highest group of seeds for the World Cup draw (there are four pots in total). For Australia, it means two important things. First, the Socceroos will be the second-best team in their group on paper, improving their chances of progressing to the knockout rounds. Second, they cannot be drawn against other Pot 2 sides, avoiding strong mid-tier nations such as Croatia, Morocco and Colombia.

At this stage, 42 of the 48 teams for next year’s tournament have qualified. The six teams that emerge from the remaining playoffs will not affect the seedings of nations that have already qualified. That means teams such as Italy, currently 12th in the world, are expected to fall into Pot 4. That pot typically contains the lowest-ranked qualifiers, which could create several difficult groups.

Each of the 12 groups at the 2026 World Cup will contain one team from each pot. Australia will face a Pot 1 opponent, which will likely be one of the tournament favourites. That list includes hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States, along with Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and England.

Possible tough opponents from Pot 3 include Scotland, returning after a 26-year World Cup absence, Paraguay, who finished level on points with powerhouse Brazil in South American qualifying, and Côte d’Ivoire, the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions.

Australia has reached the knockout rounds twice in six appearances, in 2006 and 2022. Both times, the Socceroos were eliminated by the eventual champions (Italy and Argentina). 

With the expanded format allowing 24 of the 48 teams to progress, expectations will be higher for Tony Popovic’s side to qualify from the group stage again. Despite recent losses to the United States, Venezuela and Colombia, Australia sits 26th in the world rankings.

The draw will take place on 5 December in Washington D.C, with Australian fans able to watch from 4am AEDT on 6 December on SBS.

FIFA will release the full match schedule the next day, setting the stage for Australia’s seventh appearance at the men’s World Cup.