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Plenty of Australians have played in the NFL, but until yesterday none had scored a field goal.

Mitch Wishnowsky, who plays for the San Francisco 49ers, became the first Aussie to score a three-point field goal in the NFL.

The 32-year-old also holds the title of being the first Australian to score any kind of points in the league after he kicked two one-point conversions during a match in 2022.

Love to see an Aussie kicking goals overseas!

(pun(t) intended)

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Stat of the day

8
The number of Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) titles Coco Gauff now has to her name after she beat Karolína Muchová in the final of the China Open over the weekend. It was the 20-year-old’s first WTA title since she won the Auckland Classic in January this year.

Quote of the day

"For a father, it means everything. For someone who didn't have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son. Be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that's one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for."
The NBA’s all-time leading point scorer LeBron James after he and his son, Bronny, became the first father-son duo to play in the same NBA game. LeBron and Bronny both took to the court for the Los Angeles Lakers in a pre-season match against the Phoenix Suns. This season will be LeBron’s 22nd in the NBA while Bronny was drafted by the Lakers as the 55th pick in June.

Random fact of the day

On Saturday, Australian cyclist Lachlan Morton officially set a new record for riding the circumference of Australia’s mainland. The 14,200km ride took 30 days, nine hours and 59 minutes. The 32-year-old averaged 450km per day and has raised over $137,000 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. After finishing, he told The Guardian he was “pretty smoked”.

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In case you missed it…

⛵ Great Britain’s sailing team has secured the right to challenge New Zealand for the America’s Cup after beating Italy 7-4 in a 13-race series. The America’s Cup will start on 12 October in Barcelona, Spain. The first team to win seven races will take home the world’s oldest international sporting trophy. Great Britain has never won the America’s Cup and the last time they challenged for the trophy was in 1964.

🏀 The New York Liberty have earned their place in the WNBA finals, beating defending champions the Las Vegas Aces 3-1 in a best-of-five semi-final series. The Liberty will play the winner of tomorrow’s semi-final between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx, who are tied at two games each. The Liberty have never won a WNBA championship, finishing runner-up five times.

🏉 Essendon Bombers defender Amy Gaylor was named the Rising Star nominee for Week 6 of the AFLW. The 19-year-old played an integral role in both the Bombers' wins over the Sydney Swans on Wednesday and the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday. Gaylor is currently averaging 10.4 disposals, 2.6 marks and 2.7 tackles per game.

🏉 The British and Irish Lions rugby union players have reached a profit-sharing agreement with the event’s organisers ahead of their 2025 Australian tour. For the first time, the players will be entitled to a share of the revenue which is generated by the event. Previously, players were paid a fixed tour fee. The 2021 Lions tour of South Africa, which was significantly impacted by COVID-19,  made a profit of £8.2 million ($AU15.95 million), according to the Telegraph. 

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Aussies set to face New Zealand in second T20 World Cup group match

Australia’s women’s T20 World Cup campaign continues tomorrow morning against rivals New Zealand. Both sides have had a strong start with Australia beating Sri Lanka, and New Zealand downing India over the weekend.

Australia

Australia played Sri Lanka on Saturday night and won by six wickets. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat. Megan Schutt was Australia’s standout bowler taking three wickets and conceding just 12 runs. She was named the Player of the Match for her efforts. Sri Lanka set a target of 97 runs which the Aussies reached with 34 balls remaining. Opening batter and 2020 Player of the Tournament Beth Mooney was instrumental in the chase, scoring 43 runs.

New Zealand

New Zealand produced an upset in their opening game to beat world no.3 India by 58 runs and snap a ten-match losing streak. The Player of the Match was New Zealand’s captain Sophie Devine who scored 57 runs off 36 balls. While New Zealand will take confidence from their opening match, they are the clear underdogs for their match against Australia. The two teams faced off in a three-match series in Queensland last month which Australia won 3-0.

How to watch

You can watch all T20 World Cup matches on Amazon Prime. Australia v New Zealand begins at 1:00am tomorrow (AEST).

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Kangaroos and Jillaroos squads named ahead of Pacific Championship

The domestic rugby league season finished on Sunday. In the NRLW grand final, the Sydney Roosters beat the Cronulla Sharks 32-28. In the NRL grand final, the Penrith Panthers won their fourth straight premiership defeating the Melbourne Storm 14-6. The action isn’t over for rugby league fans with the Pacific Championships to start on 18 October.

Kangaroos

The Kangaroos are Australia’s representative men’s rugby league team.

Coach and former Kangaroos captain Mal Meninga announced a 21-man squad on Monday which features eight debutants - Mitch Barnett, Bradman Best, Xavier Coates, Tom Dearden, Zac Lomax, Mitch Moses, Reece Robson, and Lindsay Smith.

The most notable omission from the squad was Sydney Roosters fullback and last year’s Kangaroos captain James Tedesco, who missed out for the first time since his 2018 debut. Kalyn Ponga, who attempted to withdraw his name from selection last month, was also excluded.

Premiership-winning Panthers captain Isaah Yeo has been named as the Kangaroos captain for the first time. The Kangaroos will be seeking Pacific Championships redemption after losing 30-0 to New Zealand in last year’s final.

Their first match is against Tonga on 18 October followed by New Zealand on 27 October. The Pacific Championships Cup is contested by Australia, New Zealand, and Tonga. There is also a Pacific Championships Bowl, which is a competition between Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, and Fiji.

Jillaroos

The Jillaroos are Australia’s representative women’s rugby league team. Coach Brad Donald also named a 21-player squad on Monday ahead of the Women’s Pacific Championships.

Every player named has previous experience with the Jillaroos. Wests Tigers’ Kezie Apps and Brisbane Broncos’ Ali Brigginshaw have been named as the co-captains of the squad.

The most surprising exclusion from Donald’s squad was 2024 Dally M Medallist Olivia Kernick. Kernick, who was a part of last year’s team, also played a starring role in the Roosters’ premiership win on Sunday.

The Pacific Cup will be contested by Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. While last year’s women’s Pacific Cup did not consist of a final, the top two teams from this year’s competition will play the final on 10 November. The Pacific Bowl is set to be played by the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.

Australia will play Papua New Guinea on 18 October and New Zealand on 27 October.

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Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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