Good evening!

I hope you had a great week and are in for an even better weekend.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who emailed with some questions for Formula One driver Liam Lawson earlier this week. We’ll have some answers for you soon!

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Stat of the day

31 years
The difference in age between boxing opponents Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. 58-year-old Tyson, who became the world’s youngest heavyweight champion at age 20, will fight Youtuber-turned-boxer Paul in a hotly anticipated contest in Dallas, Texas. The fight is being streamed on Netflix from 12pm (AEDT).

Quote of the day

“Getting back to skiing without pain has been an incredible journey. I am looking forward to being back with the Stifel US Ski Team and to continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women.”
American Lindsey Vonn, who announced a return to professional skiing after retiring five years ago. The 40-year-old was at one point the world’s most decorated skier with three Winter Olympic medals, eight world championship medals and 82 World Cup race wins. She has since been overtaken by fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin.

Random fact of the day

Brazilian footballer Pelé, whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is the only player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970). At 17 years and 258 days old, he remains the youngest player ever to win a World Cup. Pelé died in 2022 at the age of 82.

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In case you missed it…

🏉 Saturday will see two do-or-die AFLW semi-finals, as four teams compete for the remaining two spots in next week’s Preliminary Finals. At 3:35pm (AEDT) the Adelaide Crows will host Fremantle. The winner will face the Brisbane Lions next week. At 7:30pm, Hawthorn will take on Port Adelaide at Ikon Park to decide who will play the undefeated North Melbourne Kangaroos. 

🎾 Australia’s top-ranked tennis player Alex de Minaur lost to American Taylor Fritz in his third and final group-stage match at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. De Minaur will not advance to the semi-finals of the prestigious end-of-year tournament after having lost all three of his matches. The 26-year-old appeared to have difficulties with the hip injury which has plagued him since the French Open in June. Meanwhile, Aussie doubles duo Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell are the first Australian duo through to the semi-finals since 1999.

⚽ Matildas star Cortnee Vine has announced she’s taking a break from soccer to prioritise her mental health. In a statement via her management, Vine described how her life has changed dramatically over the past two years. She said: “Due to these very new and sometimes overwhelming experiences, I’ve discovered that identifying, managing and prioritising my mental health has become something I have needed to work very hard on.” Vine left Sydney FC in June and has since been playing for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League in the U.S.

🏉 Australian Dr Brett Robinson has become the first person from the Southern Hemisphere to be elected chair of World Rugby. The former Wallaby prevailed ahead of other candidates following two rounds of voting. Robinson, 54, said: “It is an immense privilege and honour to have been elected World Rugby chair by my council colleagues today”.

🏏 Glenn Maxwell scored 43 runs from 19 balls to lead Australia to victory against Pakistan in the first of three T20 cricket matches between the two sides. Due to inclement weather, the Aussies only had seven overs to score as many runs as possible and posted a total of 93. Pakistan’s lacklustre run chase gave the Aussies a 29-run victory. The next T20 of the series will be played at 7:00pm tomorrow at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

🎾 Nick Kyrgios told the Nine Network he will be making his return to professional tennis at the Brisbane International. The 29-year-old has only played one tour match in the past two years, due to wrist and knee injuries. The Brisbane International will begin on 29 December as a precursor to the Australian Open in January. He said: "It was a 15 miracle per cent chance that I was going to get back to playing at this level and here we are. To get back out there in front of the home fans is going to be sick."

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Socceroos draw with Saudi Arabia in World Cup Qualifier

The Socceroos drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in a World Cup Qualification match last night in front of 27,500 fans in Melbourne. The result means they are now in second place in Group C, behind Japan, but only ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference.

What happened

The Aussies came close to scoring several times despite Saudi Arabia controlling the majority of possession. However, the match remained scoreless. It looked all but over for the Socceroos in the 93rd minute when Saudi Arabia scored off the back of a free kick, but the goal was disallowed with Ali Al-Bulahi being ruled offside.

Australia’s Ajdin Hrustic and Nishan Velupillay are both in doubt for next week’s match against Bahrain, after both players came off the field with injuries.

What’s next

The Socceroos will play Bahrain for the second time in this round of World Cup Qualification on Tuesday 19 November. The match will be played at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa. Bahrain are in fifth place on five points, one point behind the Aussies. The last time the two sides played, Bahrain won 1-0 in a shock upset.

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Wallabies to take on Wales with changes to starting side that beat England

Australian rugby union fans will have to wait until early on Monday morning (3:10am AEDT) to see the Wallabies take on Wales in Cardiff, but there will still be plenty of men’s internationals this weekend, as teams from the Southern Hemisphere continue their tours of the North.

Wallabies v Wales

After a historic triumph over England last weekend, the Wallabies head to Cardiff to take on a Welsh side that has lost a record ten successive test matches. The Aussies notched two wins against Wales when they visited Australia earlier this year. However, regardless of their current form, beating Wales at home is never an easy task and the Wallabies will be mentally prepared for this game to go down to the wire. At the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Wales thrashed the Wallabies 40-6.

There will be at least two changes to Australia’s starting side from last week. Winger Dylan Pietsch has returned home after sustaining a calf injury against England while backrower and captain Harry Wilson is expected to miss one match due to concussion protocols. Outside of these injury-forced changes, it has been reported that Joe Schmidt will look to allow Samu Kerevi and Will Skelton an opportunity to shine against Wales. Neither player has donned the Wallabies jersey since last year’s World Cup.

Other matches

On Saturday at 7:10am, Ireland will play Argentina. On Sunday morning, there will be three matches in succession. First, Scotland will take on visitors Portugal (2:10am). Next, England will look to avoid a third defeat in as many weeks when they host South Africa in London (4:40am). Finally, the All Blacks have made their way across the channel, after downing England and Ireland, and will take on France in Paris (7:10am).

Before the Wallabies on Monday morning, Italy will face rival Georgia.

How to watch

All matches will be streamed live on Stan Sport.

ICYMI: TDA Sport has a new game on Instagram called Blurdle. IYKYK.
Today’s answer: Ariarne Titmus
Useless clue: “I’ll be back” (Get it? Email me if you do.)

A deep dive powered by Deakin University

AFLW - 8 years and counting

The AFLW has grown significantly since 2017, expanding from eight teams to 18, with seasons increasing from seven to 11 rounds. Player minimum salaries have jumped from $8,500 to $56,077. However, despite the encouraging growth, North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney highlights ongoing challenges, noting that players face higher injury risks due to a condensed schedule of 11 rounds in ten weeks, and that some coaches and athletes only work part-time which limits the development of the game.

Pamm Phillips, a sports management professor at Deakin University who helped develop the AFLW rulebook, stresses the importance of recognizing differences between men's and women's football. For example, one difference Kearney points out is that the AFLW uses a lighter ball, which she suggests affects kicking accuracy and leads to lower scoring games.

A recent study also revealed that 90% of elite female athletes experience online harassment, showing there's still room for improvement in women's sport. In a recent interview on ABC Listen, Phillips emphasised the importance of listening to the athletes in making changes to improve the game.

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking forward… (All times are AEDT)

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