Australian basketballer Davo Hickey has once again saved the day for the Boomers, nailing a three-pointer on the buzzer to help his side to a 79-77 win over New Zealand last night.

The match was part of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers and sees Australia sitting on top of Group A after two wins over the Kiwis.

The next window of qualifiers will be played in February.

Meanwhile, you can catch another Australia v New Zealand showdown tonight as the Matildas take on the Football Ferns!

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The number of teams there will be in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) when the Tasmania Jewels join the competition in the 2026/27 season. The WNBL is Australia’s top professional women’s basketball league. WNBL CEO Jennie Sager said: “This is the beginning of something truly special, not only for Tasmania, but for the continued rise of the women’s game across the country.”

“For reasons I suspect relate to antics within the Holman Barnes Group and the desire for people to get to the top there, we’ve had yet another brain fart affecting the club.”
Former Wests Tigers board member Barry O’Farrell speaking to ABC Radio after he and three other independent directors (Annabelle Williams, Charlie Viola, and Michelle McDowell) were all removed from their roles by the NRL club’s majority shareholder, The Holman Barnes Group. O’Farrell, a former NSW premier, first took on an administrative role at the club in December 2023 as interim chairman. Since the 1999 merger of the Wests and Balmain rugby league clubs, the resulting entity, the Wests Tigers, has battled administrative instability. Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said today: “We have been approached by a number of parties to look into the situation and we will.”

In 15th-century Scotland, the government officially banned the playing of both golf and football. King James II feared that men were spending too much time playing games instead of honing their archery skills in order to defend the country from invasion.

🏉 The Wallabies will discover their 2027 Rugby World Cup path on Wednesday night, with the draw in Sydney expected to hand the hosts a favourable route to the quarter-finals. Australia has been put into Band 2 following a tough 2025 season, which saw them finish with a world ranking of No.7. Being in Band 2 means the Wallabies will be in a group of four teams alongside one Band 1 team (e.g South Africa or New Zealand) and two lower-ranked teams from Bands 3 and 4. The expanded 24-team format (up from 20) introduces an extra knockout stage, which means Australia is likely to secure a favourable knockout path even if they finish second in their group. 

🏏 The Hobart Hurricanes cemented their spot atop the Women’s Big Bash League ladder with an 81-run victory over the second-placed Melbourne Stars. Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the player of the match, hitting 71 runs as the Hurricanes set a total of 176. Hurricanes spinner Molly Strano then tore through the Stars’ batting order, claiming a stunning five-wicket haul and conceding just 16 runs. The Stars never recovered and were bowled out cheaply for 82 runs. Tonight, the Perth Scorchers take on the Melbourne Renegades at 8:10pm. 

🏉 The Perth Bears have made their first official signings ahead of their inaugural 2027 NRL season, securing halfback Toby Sexton and England international Harry Newman. Sexton helped the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs reach the top four in 2025 and is now contracted with French club Catalans Dragons. Newman, who has made seven appearances for England, is a centre for the English club Leeds Rhinos. The Bears will look to continue building their roster, with reports suggesting that Melbourne Storm’s Tyran Wishart and Gold Coast Titans’ Tino Fa'asuamaleaui are targets.

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The Matildas will play their last match of the year tonight when they take on New Zealand in Adelaide. 

Here’s what to know. 

The Matildas won the opening match of the series 5-0 on Friday night in Gosford. The Matildas have never lost to New Zealand’s national team, the Football Ferns. In the 15 times the two sides have met, the Matildas have won 12 and three matches have ended in a draw.

Tonight could see the return of Matildas captain Sam Kerr, who missed last Friday’s match due to calf tightness. She has not played a match on home soil since injuring her knee in January 2024.

The fixture will also be the Matildas’ last before they host the 2026 Asian Cup in March, making it all the more important they finish the year on the right note. 

In a press conference on Monday, coach Joe Montemurro used the opportunity to speak about Australian football more broadly. He said: "We think that we're so far behind, or we've got this inferiority complex to the rest of the world in football, but we've got coaches all around the world. We've got top players all around the world at top clubs. So we must be doing something right, and we should be celebrating that.”

Meanwhile, defender Ellie Carpenter spoke about tonight’s match: "We only have one game left before the Asian Cup… I think what we've done in the last couple of months has been important. The recent game was probably our best performance in a long while, really gelling and playing the style of play we want to play. Tomorrow is another good opportunity.”

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The future of elite sport in Tasmania is set to be decided this week, as the long-running debate over the proposed $1.13 billion stadium at Hobart's Macquarie Point reaches its legislative climax. The proposal, which secured bipartisan support in the lower house last month, now faces a final vote within the Legislative Council (the upper house). 

Here’s what to know.

The stadium is the critical condition for the Tasmania Devils' entry into the AFL. The league has issued an ultimatum that, without a new stadium, the state will not receive a team. 

Supporters argue that meeting this requirement and being home to an AFL team will unlock immense sociocultural benefits. They also forecast that the club and stadium complex will be a transformative asset, driving private investment and stimulating the state's sport and entertainment economy. 

A 15,000-person rally was held on Sunday outside Hobart’s parliament house in favour of the stadium. Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who is in favour of the stadium and attended Sunday’s rally, told ABC radio on Monday: “This is a defining moment in Tasmania’s history,”

Opponents argue the $1.13 billion price tag is too expensive and presents a significant escalation in state debt, which is projected to reach $13 billion by 2028. They also insist public funds are being diverted away from essential government services. 

Opposition figures, including former AFL great Brent Crosswell and federal MP Andrew Wilkie, cite concerns regarding the stadium’s adverse impact on Hobart's historical character and urban planning outcomes. A Tasmanian Planning Commission report earlier this year also recommended against the project because its cost-benefit analysis found the economic and social benefits were outweighed by the substantial public cost and the stadium's visual impact on Hobart's landscape.

The stadium requires at least eight affirmative votes from the 15 members of the Legislative Council to pass. This is because, in the case of a tie, convention dictates that the president (Craig Farrell) votes against the motion.

The five expected 'yes' votes from the Liberal and Labor members (three Liberal, two Labor) plus two likely 'yes' votes from independent members, bring the guaranteed total to seven. The decision now hinges on the two undeclared independent members, Bec Thomas and Dean Harriss.

Both have voiced specific concerns. Dean Harriss questioned how the state can afford the stadium given repeated budget deficits, while Bec Thomas stated her vote is "contingent on the government adequately funding grassroots sport," not solely elite sport.

The debate is scheduled to commence mid-Wednesday, but due to the potential for lengthy speeches, a final ballot may be delayed until Thursday evening. The government may also strategically postpone the debate until these two swing votes are confirmed to guarantee the motion's success.

If the vote is ‘Yes’, the Tasmania Devils AFL club will proceed with its preparations to enter the men’s league in 2028. Its preparations will include the development of a high-performance training centre (which has already been approved) and securing special player recruitment concessions. The stadium itself is projected to be finished in time for the 2029 AFL men's season. In addition to AFL games, the stadium will host top-level Cricket Australia matches, switching from Bellerive Oval. 

If the vote is ‘No’, Tasmania will fail to meet the fundamental stadium conditions required for the AFL licence. The Tasmania Devils organisation has unequivocally stated that a negative vote will result in "no Tasmanian team."