Tonight, Steele Sidebottom will play his 350th game for Collingwood when they face Hawthorn at the MCG.

The two-time premiership player will become the 26th player in AFL/VFL history to reach the milestone, having made his debut on 11 May 2009. 

That was a long time ago. The number one song in Australia that day was ‘We Made You’ by Eminem. 

I’m not sure the song has stood the test of time, but Steele has. 

P.S. It’s Thursday - do your tips!

7
The number of new inductees to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. The athletes inducted include tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt, AFL legend Jason Dunstall, Netball World Cup winner Laura Geitz, three-time NRL premiership winner Cameron Smith, Australia’s most capped Socceroo Mark Schwarzer, and Winter Olympic gold medallist Torah Bright. The seventh inductee is Dr Peter Harcourt, one of the world’s most respected sports medicine doctors.

"The fines, you can make your own judgement on that, that's a club thing. But for Corey, the five-match suspension for something that was clearly a mistake and that he apologised for, we've apologised for, I think it's a little excessive. He's struggling. He has been, right from the time it happened."
Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary speaking regarding the five-match suspension that the NRL has proposed to be given to club trainer Corey Bocking. During the Panthers’ defeat over the Titans on the weekend, Bocking ran in front of Titans kicker Jayden Campbell as he took a crucial conversion towards the end of the match. The club said it was an “honest mistake”. The NRL then issued a breach notice proposing Bocking be suspended for five matches and the club be fined $50,000.

Australian Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is perhaps the country’s most underrated athlete. Over the weekend, the 32-year-old won her eighth CrossFit Games title. Toomey-Orr owns the most titles of any athlete, male or female, in the short history of the sport.

The Boomers began their campaign for a third straight Asia Cup title with a 97-61 victory over South Korea last night. It marked the first international match for the Boomers under the guidance of Adam Caporn, who moved into the head coach role following Brian Goorjian’s departure. Jack McVeigh starred for the Boomers with 20 points and was named the player of the match. Australia’s next group stage match will be against Lebanon on Saturday morning (AEST). 

The World Surf League’s (WSL) Tahiti Pro will begin tomorrow and see the debut of its youngest ever competitor, 12-year-old local Kelia Mehani Gallina. Gallina won a trials event last month to earn a wildcard into the event, which is the last of the WSL’s regular season before a finals series. She is set to compete in her first heat alongside Australian Molly Picklum and American Lakey Peterson. Picklum is atop the WSL standings while Peterson, a veteran of the tour, is currently ranked eighth.

The NFL Player’s Association has clarified that players will still be able to use smelling salts during games, but club personnel will not be able to provide them to players. A statement from the NFLPA read: "To clarify, this policy does not prohibit player use of these substances, but rather it restricts clubs from providing or supplying them in any form. The NFL has confirmed this to us." It comes after confusion earlier this week when an NFL memo was sent out announcing the ban of smelling salts across the league.

If you yawned while reading this newsletter, it might be time for an Iron Rapi-Melt

What’s that? The Blackmores Iron Rapi-Melt is a dissolvable supplement that relieves feelings of tiredness and fatigue when your dietary iron intake is inadequate..

How does it work? Simply place one on your tongue and feel it dissolve in under 3 minutes.

When do I take it? In the shower, on your commute, while you’re watching the game – they’re designed to be taken anytime, anywhere, so you can continue living your best life while supporting your overall health and wellbeing.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. 

In the last week, the WNBA, the top women’s basketball league in the U.S, has seen several incidents of sex toys being thrown onto the court. Here’s what to know.

A WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and LA Sparks was briefly halted on Tuesday night (local time) when a sex toy was thrown onto the court late in the second quarter. 

The object landed near Fever guard Sophie Cunningham before the Sparks’ Kelsey Plum kicked it off the court. Plum later called the incident “ridiculous.” She warned that it was dangerous and praised both teams for staying focused. 

Tuesday night’s incident marked the third such disruption in a week, with similar incidents reported in Atlanta and Chicago. One attendee has already been arrested. The WNBA responded by reinforcing its policy that anyone who throws objects onto the court will be ejected, banned for at least one year, and could face legal action. 

Players have voiced frustration, raising concerns about safety and stadium security. Cunningham had previously warned that throwing sex toys on the court could harm a player.

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The final tennis major of the year, the U.S. Open, begins later this month. 

In the lead-up this week, there have been two major tennis stories — one involving the competition itself, and the other involving a one-time U.S. Open semi-finalist.  

Let’s dive in. 

The U.S. Open has announced a record‑breaking $US90 million ($AU138 million) prize pool for its 2025 edition. 

The prize purse is the largest in tennis history and marks a 20% increase over the $US75 million offered last year. 

Both men’s and women’s singles champions will take home $US5 million each, up from $US3.6 million last year. The move is part of a multi‑year strategy to improve player compensation and equity. 

The 2025 tournament will also expand to a 15-day singles schedule, starting on 24 August and finishing on 7 September. 

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has shared the abuse she received online after her Canadian Open loss to Naomi Osaka. 

She posted screenshots on social media of messages allegedly sent by angry gamblers, including death threats, praise for violence against Ukrainians, and racist slurs about her husband, French tennis player Gaël Monfils.

Svitolina said on Instagram: “To all the bettors: I’m a mum before I’m an athlete. The way you talk to women - to mothers - is SHAMEFUL. If your moms saw your messages, they’d be disgusted.”  

The post adds to concerns about the link between sports betting and online abuse, with calls growing for platforms and organisers to do more to protect athletes. The issue isn’t exclusive to tennis. 

Before the U.S. Open later this month, there are two main warm-up tournaments to help players transition from the grass courts of Wimbledon to the hard courts of Flushing Meadows in New York. The Canadian Open in Toronto is currently underway, and the Cincinnati Open in Ohio begins tomorrow morning (AEST).