When Aussie Ange Postecoglou first started as the coach of English football club Tottenham, he quickly found admirers for his coaching style.

Tottenham fans loved him so much they came up with this chant.

Things have changed a little since then…as explained in today’s newsletter.

It’s a big weekend of sport, enjoy!

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The number of stadiums that will be used for the Opening Ceremony at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The ceremony will occur across the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman said the two venues will “highlight Los Angeles's rich sporting history and cutting-edge future”. The Paralympics Opening Ceremony will be held at SoFi Stadium.

"They are quite comfortable. Everyone in the league is comfortable. The safety and security of every player – be it a local player or a foreigner – every match official and every fan is important for us. We have the clearance of every single authority."
Secretary of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) Devajit Saikia addressing the safety of players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) amidst rising geopolitical tension between India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s equivalent T20 competition, the Pakistan Super League, is reportedly relocating to Dubai for the remainder of its season. There are 16 Australians currently contracted with teams in the IPL, the world’s richest T20 competition.

In 2022, cyclist Jai Hindley became the first and only Australian to win the Giro d’Italia. The 2025 edition of the prestigious three-week race, one of three ‘Grand Tours’ alongside Le Tour de France and La Vuelta de España, begins tonight. 

🏉 An undermanned Collingwood ran over the top of the Fremantle Dockers last night in Perth, beating the hosts 97-83. The Magpies excelled despite having rested star players Scott Pendlebury, Brayden Maynard, and Jordan De Goey. Collingwood’s Jamie Elliot stepped up in their absence and scored six goals. Tonight, St Kilda plays Carlton at the MCG. 

🏉 The Redcliffe Dolphins held off a comeback from the Parramatta Eels to win 20-16 on Thursday night. The Dolphins' fourth win of the season was assisted by a stunning individual try from England international Herbie Farnworth when scores were locked at 12-12. Farnworth busted through two defenders and outraced Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi to the line. The Eels are current favourites for the wooden spoon, with only two wins from nine matches. 

🏉 Josaia Raisuqe, who won a silver medal with the Fijian Rugby Sevens team at Paris 2024, has died aged 30. The rugby union star, who was on contract with French rugby club Castres Olympique, was killed in a car accident. Club official Pierre Yves-Revol said in a statement: "We are in shock following the sudden death of Josaia. He was a radiant boy on and off the field, a pillar of the Fijian community we have at the Club and to which we are very attached.”

🚴‍♂️ 🏉 ⚽ 🏐 🏒 🛹 ⛳ 🏎️ 🏟️ ⚾ 🏀 🎾 🏊 🏈 🏃‍♂️ 🏆 🏅 ⏱️ 🏄‍♂️ 🏏

Australia’s women’s rugby union team, the Wallaroos, will look to defend their home turf at 3:00pm tomorrow as they take on New Zealand’s Black Ferns in Newcastle. The match is part of the Pacific Four series, which includes Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada. 

In the 27 times the two teams have played each other since 1994, the Wallaroos have never beaten the Black Ferns. 

The Wallaroos head into tomorrow’s match off the back of a dominant 43-7 win against Fijiana in Suva. Rugby 7s stars Charlotte Caslick and Tia Hinds are set to make their starting debuts for the side after coming off the bench in last week’s match. Flanker Siokapesi Palu will captain the Aussies.

The Black Ferns have not played a fixture yet this year. Teenage fullback Braxton Sorensen-McGee is the only Black Fern making their debut, after the 18-year-old impressed selectors in domestic competition. 

Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp said: "It's been a busy week but we are pleased with how the players have handled the travel from Fiji to Newcastle and we're looking forward to playing on home soil for the first time."

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Despite a historically bad season in the Premier League, the Tottenham Hotspurs, led by Australian coach Ange Postecoglou, are on the cusp of their first trophy in 17 years. 

The Spurs are in the final of the Europa League, the second-tier competition to the Champions League, after beating Norway’s Bodø/Glimt. 

Postecoglou is the first Australian manager to lead a team to a European final. 

Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro scored to lead the Spurs to a 2-0 victory in the second leg of their semi-final against Bodø/Glimt. 

After winning 3-1 in the opening leg of the semi-final tie, the result means that the Spurs are through to the final with an aggregate victory of 5-1.  

In the final, the Spurs will play Premier League rivals Manchester United, who beat Spain’s Athletic Club Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate. 

The winner-takes-all final will be played on 21 May at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao. 

In Postecoglou’s second season with the Spurs, the side has been heavily affected by injuries and is languishing in 16th on the Premier League ladder. This has led to much criticism of Postecoglou and whether or not he should keep his job as coach. 

In September last year, at a time when the Spurs had only won one of their first four games, Postecoglou boldly said: "I always win things in my second year.” That statement was accurate at the time. In the settings where he had spent at least two seasons, Postecoglou won A-League titles with the Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne, a J-League title with Yokohama F Marinos, the Asian Cup with the Socceroos, and two Scottish championships with Celtic. 

Now, that prophecy, which has been widely mocked, is only one match away from fulfilling itself at Tottenham. And given the fact that Tottenham have not won a trophy since the League Cup (aka Carabao Cup) in 2008, it would be a significant achievement for the club to win the Europa League. 

After Thursday’s victory, Postecoglou dismissed his critics, telling reporters: "What's happening now is people are fearing…  that it actually might happen, and let's see how we can tear it down somehow and diminish it somehow by saying it's been a poor season and we don't deserve this or we don't deserve that.”

He then pointed to the significance of this final for the club: “You have to frame it against what this club has been through over the last 15 or 20 years and what the supporters have been through. We've given them some real hope and something to dream about that we can do something special this year."