The pollen of early Spring seems to have vacated the air and been replaced with something else.

Something heavy and hard to describe. Something that only hangs in the air once every two years. Something that (hopefully) won’t make you sneeze.

Yep, you guessed it. It’s the anticipation of an Ashes series on home soil.

With four days left until the first ball in Perth, the series feels like it couldn’t come any sooner.

9
The number of men’s tennis players who have won the end-of-year ATP Finals in consecutive years. Italian Jannik Sinner became the ninth player to achieve the feat, and the fourth since 2000 (after Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic), after defeating Spanish world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final in Turin, Italy. Sinner won the match in straight sets (7-6, 7-5) and has not lost a set at the event since he lost in the final to Djokovic in 2023. Australia’s Alex de Minaur was beaten by Sinner in the semi-final earlier in the weekend.

"I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but I think tonight, I will never have a better night in my whole life. It is a fairytale. You can’t even dream about something like that. I have no words to describe the emotions right now."
Irish footballer Troy Parrott speaking to RTÉ after scoring all three goals in Ireland’s 3-2 victory over Hungary. Parrott also scored both goals in Ireland’s 2-0 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal last week. The win over Hungary sees Ireland keep its hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive. The country has not qualified for a men’s World Cup since 2002. 

During the 1982-83 Ashes series, Australian bowler Terry Alderman famously dislocated his shoulder while tackling a pitch invader who had run onto the WACA ground in Perth. As a result of the injury, Alderman missed almost two full years of cricket, only returning in late 1984. Despite the setback, he went on to produce one of the greatest Ashes campaigns ever, taking 41 wickets in England in 1989.

🏈 New York Jets player Kris Boyd is in critical but stable condition after being shot in Manhattan early Sunday morning. The 29-year-old cornerback, known as a special teams standout across six NFL seasons, had already been sidelined this year with a shoulder injury. Police say no arrests have been made, and teammates have taken to social media asking for prayers as the NFL community rallies around him.

🏉 The Parramatta Eels have released star player Zac Lomax from the final three years of his NRL deal, clearing the way for the NSW State of Origin winger to explore “opportunities outside the NRL”. The move comes amid growing speculation he could join R360, a breakaway rugby competition which is reportedly set to launch next year. The Eels approved the release on the condition that he does not sign with another NRL club without their permission. Lomax's exit follows the departure of Ryan Papenhuyzen from the Melbourne Storm and adds to the list of high-profile stars linked to R360. The Australian Rugby League Commission has said that any player who defects to the rebel league will be banned from the NRL and International Tests for ten years. 

🏏 The Melbourne Renegades claimed bragging rights in the Women’s Big Bash League’s Melbourne derby, chasing down 142 to beat the Melbourne Stars by four wickets with seven balls to spare. After late wickets tightened the finish, the Renegades’ Tess Flintoff kept her cool against her former club, smashing 17 off nine balls to seal the win. Earlier, the Perth Scorchers also notched a victory over the Adelaide Strikers after Sophie Devine produced a brilliant spell, taking 3-12. 

🚴‍♂️ Australian Paralympic champion Paige Greco has died aged 28 after a sudden medical episode at her home in Adelaide. Greco won Australia’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 in the C1-C3 pursuit, setting a world record. She won two bronze medals on the road at the same Games. Greco was a multiple world champion and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her achievements. AusCycling chief executive Marne Fechner said: "Paige was an extraordinary athlete who achieved outstanding accomplishments at the highest levels of our sport. Much more than that, she touched the lives of everyone around her with her positive spirit and courageous outlook."

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The AFLW semi-finals over the weekend saw two teams bow out of this year’s competition and two advance to this weekend’s preliminary finals. 

Here’s what to know. 

The Melbourne Demons beat the Adelaide Crows 60-49 at Ikon Park on Saturday afternoon to book a spot in next week’s preliminary final against North Melbourne.

Scores were level at three-quarter time before Demons captain Kate Hore broke the deadlock, kicking the first goal of the final quarter and her third for the match. From there, Melbourne scored another two goals to Adelaide’s one, ending the Crows’ season and moving one step closer to another grand final shot.

Melbourne now faces the toughest task in the AFLW: the North Melbourne Kangaroos. The Kangaroos have won 25 straight matches (a record for the men’s and women’s game) and are the competition’s reigning premiers.

Later in the evening, Carlton dominated Hawthorn 79-33 to book a spot in next week’s preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions. The Blues were in control from the opening bounce, kicking four unanswered goals in the first quarter and never letting the Hawks back into the contest.

The win sends the Blues into just the second preliminary final in their AFLW history. Hawthorn has now exited the AFLW finals in straight sets for two years running. To be knocked out of finals in straight sets means finishing in the top four and then losing both a qualifying final and a semi-final.

Carlton will head to Brisbane next Saturday confident that they can secure a place in the grand final after a memorable win over the Lions by 14 points in Round 3 earlier this season. 

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In international rugby union, Ireland has extended its winning streak over the Wallabies to five matches. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s hopes of a Spring Tour Grand Slam were dashed by England, and Argentina pulled off a remarkable comeback against Scotland. 

Here’s what to know. 

The Wallabies suffered a heavy 46-19 defeat to Ireland in Dublin, their biggest ever to the Irish and a third straight loss on a difficult tour of the northern hemisphere so far. Australia conceded six tries in total, three of them in the first half, to Canberra-born fullback Mack Hansen. 

Despite the early damage from Hansen, the Wallabies stayed in touch through tries to Len Ikitau and Fraser McReight, heading into the halftime break trailing 19-14. Ireland pulled away in the second half thanks to a combination of their attacking flair and a bevy of Australian errors. The Wallabies lost six of their own lineouts, including a crucial one five metres out with 15 minutes left. 

Ireland remained clinical in the later stages of the match and piled on three more tries to Caelen Doris, Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw to seal the record win.

Captain Harry Wilson told Stan Sport: "They just put it on us in the kick battle, they won the high balls, our line out wasn't functioning. It really did hurt us… It's hugely disappointing. The game was there for us. It's really disappointing because we're better than that."

The Wallabies will play the final match of their Spring Tour against France in Paris.

England beat the All Blacks for the first time since 2019, securing a 33-19 win at Twickenham and ending New Zealand’s hopes of completing a Grand Slam tour. The All Blacks led 12-0 early in the match but were overrun as England scored 25 unanswered points, with veteran fly-half George Ford steering the comeback. Coach Scott Robertson said his side created chances but “just needed to finish more”. The victory marked England’s ninth win in 47 tests against New Zealand.

Argentina pulled off a stunning comeback in Edinburgh, scoring five tries in the final 23 minutes to overturn a 21-0 deficit and beat Scotland 33-24. Scotland were booed off by their own fans after letting the match slip, with captain Sione Tuipulotu calling the collapse “more disappointing” than last week’s loss to the All Blacks.

In other matches over the weekend, South Africa downed Italy 32-14, France held off a fast-finishing Fiji to win 34-21, and Wales edged Japan 24-23.