Good evening!

If you’re reading this in Victoria, I hope you enjoyed your public holiday today.

A massive weekend of sport begins tonight with an AFLW game, an NRL Preliminary Final, and the Aussie men’s cricket team back at Lord’s for the first time since the infamous Bairstow stumping.

In other news - NBA basketballer Derrick Rose took an unconventional approach to announcing his retirement yesterday. The 2011 MVP took out six full-page ads in the local newspapers of the six cities (Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Memphis) where he played on a team. What a way to go out.

Have a great weekend and go the Swans :)

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Stat of the day

54.56
A new world record for the women’s 100m backstroke set by Kaylee McKeown at the Australian Short Course Championships in Adelaide. McKeown broke fellow Australian Minna Atherton’s 2019 record. It comes after the 23-year-old won gold in the 50m and 100m backstroke in Paris.

Quote of the day

"Coaching in the NRL takes a toll, not just on the coach but also their family – it's time for me to step away and spend some quality time with my loved ones, who have supported me all the way." 
Former Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters in a statement announcing he is moving on. Walters’ departure follows a disappointing season for the 2023 grand finalists, who finished 12th. 

Random fact of the day

California man Kurt Osburn holds the record for the longest-ever bicycle wheelie journey. Osborn covered 4,569 kilometres from Los Angeles, California to Orlando, Florida doing a wheelie the entire time.

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In case you missed it…

🏎️ Daniel Ricciardo’s time as an F1 driver has likely come to an end after the 35-year-old was officially dropped by F1 team RB. He will be replaced by 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson. In an Instagram post, he said: "I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey."

⛵ In the America’s Cup, Great Britain and Italy are tied with one win each in a best-of-13 racing series to determine who will challenge defending champions New Zealand. Racing resumes on Saturday and will continue until one team wins seven races, a process that may take until 5 October.

⛳ The International team at the President’s Cup were swept 5-0 by the American team in round one. The team includes Australians Jason Day, Adam Scott, and Min Woo Lee. Scott said, "We're now in a really tough spot but thankfully there's tomorrow… it’s not over”. The President’s Cup is being played in Montreal, Canada and will continue through Sunday.

🏉 In the AFLW on Thursday night, Hawthorn beat Geelong 79-61 to notch their fourth win in five games this season. Earlier today, Collingwood beat the Gold Coast Sun by three points (27-24), recording their first win of the season. 

🏃‍♀️Torrie Lewis was the only Australian athlete to compete in the first edition of Athlos NYC. The event is a women-only track event that sees 36 women compete across six events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 100m hurdles) for a prize purse of $US500,000 ($AU727,000). Athlos NYC was set up by the co-founder of Reddit and Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Onahian. Lewis finished sixth in the 200m.

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AFL 2024 Grand Final Preview

The first bounce of the AFL Grand Final between the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions is at 2:30pm tomorrow. Here’s how the teams line up. 

Sydney Swans

The last time the Swans played in a grand final was 2022, when they lost by 81 points to Geelong. This year’s team is different. Not only have they grown up, they’ve been the number-one team in the competition since Round 8. 

Under coach John Longmire, the Swans have played in four grand finals and won once. Longmire has made no changes to the side that thrashed Port Adelaide last week in the Preliminary Final. The Swans will be hoping to repeat their most recent premiership triumph, in 2012.

Brisbane Lions

The last time the Lions played in a grand final was in 2023 when they lost to Collingwood by four points. In 2024, the Lions finished fifth and will be hoping to become the second team ever to win the competition from outside the top four. Coach Chris Fagan has named Darcy Fort to replace Oscar McInerney, who twice dislocated his shoulder in last week’s Preliminary Final victory over Geelong. The Lions last won the Grand Final in 2003. 

Head to head

In their only meeting this season (Round 18), the Lions came from behind to win by two points. The Lions have won five of their last six matches against the Swans. None of those games were Grand Finals, however.

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NRL and NRLW Preliminary Finals Preview

The NRL and NRLW will each see two Preliminary Finals this weekend to determine who will play in the Grand Finals next week.

NRL

Tonight at 7:50pm, the Melbourne Storm will host the Sydney Roosters at AAMI Park. Melbourne comes into the match as overwhelming favourites, having the last five meetings between the two sides. That includes a two from two record this season. The Roosters are no strangers to finals footy, however, and will be looking to capitalise on the momentum from their 40-16 win over the Sea Eagles last week. There have been no changes to either team’s starting lineup.

On Saturday at 7:50pm, the Penrith Panthers take on the Cronulla Sharks at Accor Stadium in Sydney. The Panthers, seeking a fifth consecutive Grand Final appearance, are the favourite to beat the Sharks who won their first final since 2017 last week. The Panthers may see the return of back-rower Scott Sorensen, while the Sharks have named an unchanged lineup.

NRLW

The first NRLW final on Sunday at 2:05pm sees five-time minor premiers the Brisbane Broncos take on the Cronulla Sharks in Brisbane. The Broncos finished first on the ladder and beat the Sharks in Round 8 this season. The Sharks have lost their last three games and will be looking to bounce back and make their first grand final appearance.

The second final is between the Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights at 4:15pm on Sunday. The Knights beat the Roosters in Round 1 and are seeking their third consecutive NRLW premiership. That being said, the Roosters will have a home-ground advantage at Allianz Stadium where they have won five from six this season. 

A message from our sponsor

How AI can be used to manage athlete performance

Dr Dan Dwyer, a Senior Lecturer in Applied Exercise And Sports Science at Deakin University, recently wrote an article that outlines a technology developed by Deakin University researchers called the Coach Decision Assistant (CoDA).

The CoDA is a tool powered by artificial intelligence that has the capability to provide real-time insights and decision-making suggestions based on thousands of AFL data points. The technology would allow AFL coaches to make more informed decisions or validate their thinking during a game. It would also enable coaches to simulate potential tweaks and assess the probable outcomes of their decisions before they make them.

Dwyer asserts that similar technology is already in use in sports such as the NBA (basketball) and NFL (American Football). PhD student Mitch Aarons, who has worked extensively on the project, predicted this sort of technology will soon be in use across the AFL and AFLW as well as other sporting codes in Australia.

Ultimately, CoDA has the potential to remove the guesswork from a coach’s decision-making process in situations where there are countless variables at play.

Think Beyond The Field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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