And Happy Halloween!

If you’re short of inspiration for a costume this weekend, look no further than sport for ideas.

My suggestions include Raygun, Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, A referee, or a red card!

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

🏏 The WBBL is back, with Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars opening the season with wins. Thunder kicked off the season with a six-wicket win over the Renegades, led by Anika Learoyd’s career-best 48 and Georgia Voll’s four wickets. The Stars then dealt reigning champions Hobart Hurricanes an early blow, winning by 18 runs after Meg Lanning scored 71 and Annabel Sutherland smashed 57 off 26 balls.

🏈 A new study has found that an estimated 75% of NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The study, published in JAMA Network Open, examined donated brains from 396 former players and found that 93% had the degenerative disease. Researchers also analysed death records from 1,966 players to estimate the overall rate. CTE can only be diagnosed after death and is associated with repetitive head impacts. Concussion and CTE Foundation CEO Christopher Nowinski said the disease is “entirely preventable”, adding that reducing repeated head impacts in football could help prevent it in future generations.

🏉 Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight has won the John Eales Medal, the annual prize for Australia’s top men’s rugby union player. McReight is the first Queenslander to claim the award since Chris Latham in 2006. The 27-year-old was a standout performer this season, with over 180 tackles and 17 turnovers. Meanwhile, 21-year-old playmaker Faitala Moleka won the Wallaroos Player of the Year, becoming the award’s youngest ever recipient.

🏟️ Sydney Swans veteran Dane Rampe has called time on his AFL career after 14 seasons. Rampe played 289 games for the Swans, winning the club’s best and fairest award in 2019 and captaining the team from 2019 to 2023. He also played in 25 finals matches and four losing Grand Finals with the Swans. He said: “This has been an incredibly hard decision to make. I have given every part of my heart and soul to this place…I simply have nothing left to give. I share this not from a place of exhaustion or defeat, but from one of overwhelming pride and gratitude.”

🏀 The WNBA Finals are headed to a championship-deciding Game 7 after the Atlanta Dream levelled the series at 3-3 with an 80-69 victory in Game 6. Angel Reese starred again for the Dream with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Izzy Borlase, who also plays for the Dream, is now seeking to become the 12th Australian to win a WNBA championship. Sunday’s match will mark the first-ever WNBA Finals Game 7 after the series shifted from a best-of-five format to best-of-seven in 2025.

Talking points: The Test series between Australia and South Africa is tied at 1-1, and the teams are three days into the deciding match in Cape Town. After stumps on Day 3, South Africa are midway through their second innings and lead by 40 runs with six wickets in hand. Australia led by 100 runs after the conclusion of both teams’ first innings, with Josh Inglis scoring his second Test century for Australia. Spin bowler Nathan Lyon has also played an important role after being omitted for the second Test, taking the wicket of captain Temba Bavuma with a classy delivery late on Day 3. The series is a rematch of last year’s World Test Championship, which South Africa won. Australia is still the top-ranked team in the world, but the Proteas, who are currently ranked second, could claim the world No.1 spot for the first time since 2016 with a series victory in Cape Town.

How to watch: Play resumes at 7:30pm tonight (AEDT). You can watch the cricket on Kayo or Foxtel.

Talking points: Tonga and Samoa meet in a sold-out CommBank Stadium showdown on Sunday night, with both nations able to secure a place in the men’s World Cup semi-finals. The stakes are high, with Tonga chasing their first semi-final since 2017, while Samoa can also claim top spot on the combined table with a win. Tonga beat England 30-12 in their opening match, while Samoa enter the clash after two dominant wins. Tonga’s Isaiya Katoa says the rivalry feels like playing “your brothers”, but his side is determined to improve on last year’s performance. Lebanon and France will also meet in the men’s tournament on Sunday afternoon, with the Cedars looking to finish their pool campaign strongly before the Tonga-Samoa showdown. Meanwhile, the wheelchair competition gets underway in Wollongong, with Australia facing New Zealand on Saturday at 5.30pm. The Women’s World Cup is also underway, with teams competing for a place in the semi-finals as the tournament continues alongside the men’s competition.

How to watch: It’s a big weekend of women’s and men’s rugby league so scroll down to our sports schedule for all the details. You can watch the Rugby League World Cup on Channel 7.

Talking points: Lando Norris is the reigning champion in Mexico City, but this year Italian driver Kimi Antonelli arrives in Mexico with one hand on the Formula One drivers’ championship in only his second full season. The Mercedes driver leads the championship by 123 points over teammate George Russell and 124 over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with just 125 points left to race for across the final five rounds. Only a win for Russell or Hamilton, paired with anything less than a ninth-place finish for Antonelli, keeps the title race alive beyond this weekend. If he gets it done, the 20-year-old would become the youngest world champion in Formula One history, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record. Vettel was 23 years old when he won his first championship in 2010. Mexico City’s racing circuit, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, is the most elevated track on the F1 calendar at 2,200 metres above sea level, which can make for challenging racing conditions as teams’ engineers adapt to the thinner air.

How to watch: The main race will start at 7am on Monday (AEDT). You can watch Formula One on Kayo or Foxtel.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

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