Good evening!

The top-ranked team in the NRL, the Melbourne Storm, take on the second-ranked team, the Penrith Panthers, tonight. There’s nothing better than a top-of-the-table clash to give us a taste of finals, which are now just around the corner.

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Stat of the day

9
The number of players in the NRLW competition currently recovering from serious knee injuries, with most unlikely to return in 2024. In the past week, three players have sustained serious knee injuries — West Tigers captain Kezie Apps and winger Harmony Crichton, as well as Knights forward Caitlan Johnston-Green.

Quote of the day

“It’s a magical night — I’m always dreaming about this type of night, and now it’s a reality. To play for [Real Madrid] - the best club in the world - is something crazy.”
French football star Kylian Mbappé, playing his first game for new club Real Madrid in their 2-0 win over Atalanta in the European Super Cup, an annual one-off match between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Random fact of the day

The weight of the basketballs used in the WNBA is 56 grams lighter and 5.08cm smaller in circumference than those used in the NBA.

I’ve got 1 minute

Australian Boomers captain Patty Mills has signed a one-year deal with NBA side Utah Jazz, officially commencing his 16th season in the American basketball competition, according to ESPN and local media.

The deal is believed to be worth $US3.3 million ($AU4.5 million), which is the minimum amount a player of Mills’ experience can be paid under NBA requirements.

NBA history

The Jazz will be Mills’ fifth NBA club. He began his American career at the Portland Trailblazers in 2009 and spent the most time with the San Antonio Spurs, where he was part of the 2014 NBA championship team.

All up, Mills has played in 892 regular season NBA games.

The deal follows Mills' very strong Olympic performance. As Australia’s captain, he averaged 16.5 points per game. Mills also became the 5th highest points scorer in Olympic men’s basketball.

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The Australian Olympic Committee has responded to online allegations that breaking competitor Rachael Gunn (aka Raygun) was improperly selected.

Earlier this week, a petition was launched on Change.org calling for Gunn and the Australian

Olympic team’s Chef de Mission Anna Meares to be held “accountable for unethical conduct”.

Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn?

On Monday, a Change.org user named ‘Someone who hates corruption’ posted a new petition calling for Gunn and Meares to be investigated over Gunn’s participation. The user’s profile photo is a screenshot of a Facebook comment that features the same allegations made in the petition.

The petition alleged Gunn runs the breaking governing body and “manipulated the selection process to her own advantage.

It also demanded a public apology from Meares and Gunn, as well as a “full investigation into the selection process, an audit of Dr Gunn’s business dealings, and a global public apology to the breaking community for the unethical behaviour that has tainted this sport.”

It has collected over 47,000 signatures.

AOC Response

In a statement earlier today, the AOC said the petition was “vexatious, misleading and bullying”, as well as “defamatory”. It did not say if it would pursue legal action.

The AOC also categorically denied the allegations made against Gunn, her husband (who is her coach) and Meares.

It said the Olympic qualifying event was legitimate and that Gunn “is simply an athlete who competed [and] won”. The AOC also said Gunn has no role in funding decisions for breaking competitions, and that Meares had no role in breaking athlete selection for the Games.

AusBreaking Response

AusBreaking, the official body that operated the qualifiers, also released a statement this week, saying Gunn’s selection “was based solely on [her] performance in [her] battles”. It said it “stands in solidarity with Raygun”.

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How major sporting events are trying to attract Gen Z audiences

According to a recent study, Gen Z are more likely to tune into Netflix and TikTok over live sports. Though it remains important, Gen Z watches a lot less sport compared to older generations, like Boomers.

Deakin’s Dr. Josh McLeod highlights how Gen Z’s ‘digital nativity’ influences their sports consumption, with young people preferring online or shorter format content and following individual athletes over teams.

Major sporting organisations like the Olympics have tried to combat this by appealing to young audiences – partly through the appeal of celebrities and influencers.

“Snoop Dogg at the Olympics is a perfect illustration of the buzz and interest that he can create and bring into sport,” Dr. McLeod says.

There’s also the inclusion of new events, like Breaking, Bouldering and Skateboarding.

“Skateboarding is a sport that is played and performed by young people,” Dr. McLeod says. “The Australian gold medalist is a perfect illustration of that – the people who are performing at the highest level in Skateboarding are very young, and that's leading to young people watching those sports, too.”

Who knows what the 2080 Olympics will look like?

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

Looking forward (all times in AEST)…

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