Thank you all for your company on a fine day of sport, with some superb goals in the A-League (gifs of some you can see if you scroll down), as well as Wayne Bennett parting ways with Brisbane Broncos, W-League, cricket and UFC. Till next time.
Final score: Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets
It’s all over at AAMI Park and City are deserved winners. For all the kerfuffle about the absence of Bruno Fornaroli, after a dominant display like this City’s management could reasonably say “Bruno who?”
90 mins +3: Topor-Stanley gets a yellow card as the tired and cranky Jets pray for the end. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
90 mins: it will be a merciful release for the Jets at this point when the ref (who’s had a great game, by the way) blows the final whistle. Four minutes of added time to go. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
87 mins: Lachlan Wales is off and Curtis Good is on for Melbourne City as they take the heat out of any nascent Jets comeback attempt. Not that there has been much of an attempt at a comeback by the visitors. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
85 mins: City are in wind the clock down mode now. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
82 mins: Luke Brattan is off after a great game for City, and Anthony Caceres is on to shore up the home side’s lead. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
81 mins: the Jets have been oddly enervated in the second half after a strong finish to the first. They are nine minutes away from losing.
I have noticed that a few people on Twitter are also commenting on the lack of seagulls as I did earlier. That’s just great minds thinking alike, presumably.
Third goal for Melbourne City
76 mins: Lachlan Wales gets his first A-League goal after a delightful little run. The lack of Bruno Fornaroli has not affected City as much as most of the fans feel. Melbourne City 3-0 Newcastle Jets.
75 mins: Ivan Vujica replace Lachlan Jackson for the Jets.
71 mins: Dario Vidosic is off and replaced by Rostyn Griffiths for Melbourne City, while the Jets also make a substitution with Jason Hoffman off and 18-year-old Angus Thurgate on. Not much time for the teenager to make a mark.
62 mins: well, that was unusual. A ricochet off Riley McGree almost became his second goal of the evening against his old team. Melbourne City 2-0 Newcastle Jets.
61 mins: the current lack of pace in the game is suiting City. They are two up and happy to hold that lead and not push too hard for a third. Melbourne City 2-0 Newcastle Jets.
59 mins: Steven Ugarkovic is off and Matthew Riddenton is on for the Jets. Riddenton has his work cut out if he’s going to help his teammates pull this game out of the fire.
57 mins: the game has gone into a bit of a lull, which is not what Newcastle need. They must score soon if they are going to get anything out of this game. Melbourne City 2-0 Newcastle Jets.
51 mins: Topor-Stanley’s header for the Jets goes askew. By the way, he is one of four or five Jets players with shaved heads at the moment. They got the collective skinheads at the end of Movember in which they raised $5000 for charity.
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48 mins: nice run by City captain Scott Jamieson. He made his way into the box but fell over before he had a chance to shoot.
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Second half under way at AAMI Park
Hopefully the second half will be as good as the end of the first half. Melbourne City 2-0 Newcastle Jets.
Brattan’s goal is surely one of the goals of the season.
Luke Berattan ⚽️ 45' 2-0 #MCYvNEW #ALeague pic.twitter.com/CcMpMIxYKU
— bahistahmin1x2.com (@bahistahmin1x2) December 2, 2018
Melbourne City score again
45 mins +3: Luke Brattan brings the ball down with his chest and volleys a beauty in the top of the net. That was against the run of play, too. Half-time, Melbourne City 2-0 Newcastle Jets. What a great finish to the half.
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45 mins +1: Yellow card for the Jets’ Georgevski for his tackle on Jameson.
44 mins: great play by Ronald Vargas to make space for fine shot which goes just wide of Galekovic’s goal. This is a very strong finish to the half by the Jets. City must be hankering for the half-time whistle.
Tuivasa loses UFC heavyweight bout
From AAP:
Tai Tuivasa’s unbeaten MMA record has been shattered in a second-round stoppage loss to former world champion Junior Dos Santos on a grim day for Australia at the UFC show in Adelaide.
Mark Hunt, in his final UFC fight, Tyson Pedro and Jake Matthews also suffered losses on Sunday.
A win in his UFC debut for highly touted Victorian Jim Crute was the only bright spot on the main card as Brazilian veterans Dos Santos and Mauricio Rua stole the show.
Tuivasa, who was 10-0 going into Sunday’s fight and 3-0 in the UFC, finished the first round well and also seemed to be handling the striking power of 34-year-old Dos Santos.
The Sydneysider also started the second round well before bring floored with a big right hand.
Dos Santos then pounded the Australian with a number of blows before the referee intervened to stop the contest.
“I was on my back I ... I couldn’t get up,’” Tuivasa said.
He said he pressured Dos Santos and stuck to his game plan but it wasn’t enough.
“That’s the sport,” Tuivasa said.
Dos Santos praised the 25-year-old Australian after showing plenty of durability of his own while absorbing some powerful punches and kicks.
“I knew this guy was tough but not that tough,” Dos Santos said.
In the co-main event, Pedro suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Brazil’s former light heavyweight world champion Rua, who was ranked one place higher.
The Sydneysider got the better of the first round but Rua dominated the second and finished the job in the third.
Celebrated veteran Hunt was unable to mark the end of his UFC tenure with a win as American Justin Willis employed smart tactics to claim a unanimous points victory.
Ranked 10th, five places above Willis, Hunt was unable to land any of his famed fight-changing punches against an opponent who stayed out of range and picked off the 44-year-old veteran with a snappy right jab.
Hunt took some kicks to the leg and his footwork looked slow as all three judges scored 29-28 to the American.
“My apologies about the performance,” said Hunt, who intends to continue his fighting career.
Light heavyweight Crute scored a submission win over Scotland’s Paul Craig with nine seconds of the three-round bout left.
“That feels incredible. I’ve dreamt of this moment for 10 years,” Crute said.
Matthews’ three-fight winning streak at welterweight level came to an end in the third round against American Rocco Martin.
38 mins: good strike from Petratos which goes just wide. That’s better from the Jets.
35 mins: I haven’t seen any seagulls on the pitch yet, which is most unusual for a game in Melbourne. I wonder where they’ve all gone? Have they flown south to cooler climbs for Christmas?
Another yellow card for the Jets as Kosta Petratos receives a caution for a trip on Malik.
30 mins: Jason Hoffman gets a shot in for Newcastle after a packed goalmouth scramble, but Eugene Galekovic pushes it over for a corner.
29 mins: City are quite obviously missing marquee man Bruno Fornaroli, but are still playing better than the visitors.
26 mins: Riley McGree has a chance to score again against his old club. He does well to make space, but fails to complete. Melbourne City 1-0 Newcastle Jets.
23 minutes into the game and the City fans are protesting by singing for the dropped Bruno Fornaroli. As well they might.
We are almost at the anointed protest time. I’m wondering what it will be.
McGree’s goal for City:
That was quick!@McgreeRiley nets after 78 seconds with a fierce strike!#MCYvNEW #ALeague #WhereHeroesAreMade
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) December 2, 2018
🎥 @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/cLFqncpZHO
17 mins: Newcastle’s Lachlan Jackson gets a yellow card for a tackle where he sort of led with his bum. An unusual move and well deserving of a caution.
The controversial sidelining of star striker Bruno Fornaroli has dominated the build-up to this game. The Jets finally claimed their first win of the season last week, and will also be buoyed by the return of defender John Koutroumbis following cancer surgery just six weeks ago.
City were bounced 2-0 without Fornaroli last week, and it’ll be interesting to see how long the standoff between Fornaroli and coach Warren Joyce lasts if they flop for a second week in a row.
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Head to head, the record is Melbourne City 11 wins. Newcastle 10 wins and 4 draw.
In their last clash on 27 April, it was Newcastle 2 Melbourne City 1 at McDonald Jones Stadium.
12 mins: Melbourne City 1-0 Newcastle Jets. Apart from the early goal, this game is not exactly setting the world on fire.
23 being Fornaroli’s squad number, of course.
Some City fans are planning a protest related to Bruno Fornaroli in the 23rd minute. For more on that, see this story:
And Newcastle’s line up:
Team lists are in and here's how we'll line up against City. Jair misses with a hip complaint, while Johnny Koutroumbis joins the bench! #MCYvNEW #MadeOfNewcastle pic.twitter.com/tCdzBRSUHd
— NEWCASTLE JETS FC ✈️ (@NewcastleJetsFC) December 2, 2018
Melbourne City’s line up:
Our team is in for tonight's contest! #MCYvNEW pic.twitter.com/ZXm3vRJXkF
— Melbourne City FC 🏙️ (@MelbourneCity) December 2, 2018
Melbourne go 1 up!
Riley McGree scores for the home side after just 90 seconds after sloppy defending from the Jets. Melbourne City 1-0 Newcastle Jets.
Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets under way
It looks like another poorly attended game for City.
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Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets about to start, slightly late due to all the added time in the Wellington v Perth game.
Heavyweight Hunt loses last UFC fight
From AAP:
Celebrated MMA heavyweight fighter Mark Hunt has suffered a unanimous points loss to American Justin Willis in Adelaide in the final fight of his UFC contract.
Ranked 10th, five places above Willis, Hunt was unable to land any of his famed fight-changing punches against an opponent who stayed out of range and picked off the 44-year-old veteran with a snappy right jab.
Hunt took some kicks to the leg and his footwork looked slow on Sunday as all three judges scored 29-28 to the American.
“My apologies about the performance,” said Hunt, the New Zealand-born, Sydney-based Super Samoan, who walked to the octagon following a haka.
Two Australian UFC debutants had mixed results at the event.
Victorian light heavyweight Jim Crute scored a submission win over Scotland’s Paul Craig with nine seconds of the three-round bout left, and NSW featherweight Suman Mokhtarian suffered a first-round TKO loss to a fellow debutant, American-based Nigerian Sodiq Yusuff.
Welterweight Jake Matthews’ three-fight winning streak at welterweight level came to an end in the third round against American Rocco Martin.
Brisbane-based American Ben Nguyen dropped a points decision to Brazilian Wilson Reis, who’s rated two places higher at No 8.
Full time Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory
That was a furious finish and ultimately a draw is a fair result, but Phoenix are undoubtedly very unhappy with the sending off of Ryan Lowry after a VAR check.
90 mins +5: another yellow card, this one for Krishna. There are just seconds left. Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
90 mins + 4: desperate defending from Wellington, there are six players on the ground after a series of hard tackles, Perth throwing everything at them, but it’s still Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
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90 mins + 2: Perth take a quick corner, but nothing comes of it. Wellington in no rush to take the kick out after a wide. Oliver Sails booked for time wasting.
90 mins: there will be five minutes of added time. If anyone looks like scoring now, it’s Perth. Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
89 mins: Davidson had a good chance to score for Perth from inside the box, but his shot was poor and he knows it. Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
88 mins: Wellington are desperately trying to hang on as Perth push for a winner. Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
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86 mins: Krishna draws another foul by Lowry. He’d better be careful or he’ll be joining his brother in getting sent off.
84 mins: the free came to nothing, just cannoned into the four man wall.
83 mins: Shane Lowry booked for a big tackle on Roy Krishna. Free to Phoenix in a good spot.
PERTH EQUALISE
82 mins: Diego Castro does exactly what he was brought on to do – scored. Perth really are the masters of getting late goals. Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory.
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79 mins: two substitution, one for each side. Burns replaced by Reuben Way (who is making his debut) for the Phoenix, and Brendan Santalab is on for Perth.
RED CARD
74 mins: Ryan Lowry has been sent off for a studs up tackle. It seems a bit harsh as it looks more like his momentum carried him through. Wow, Lowry was only on for a few minutes. Phoenix down to 10 men with 15 minutes left. Mark Rudan is not happy.
74 mins: there is a VAR check on a tackle by Ryan Lowry on Ikonimidis.
73 mins: Perth have stepped up their game noticeably in the last 10 minutes or so. They have scored late a few times already this season, can they do it again?
70 mins: with 20 minutes to go it’s still Wellington Phoenix 1-0 Perth Glory. Ryan Lowry is on for Rufer for Wellington. He’s the brother of Shane Lowry of Perth. They are among five sets of brothers in the A-League.
Castro is making an immediate impact and showing more oomph than his colleagues.
63 mins: another change for Perth. Diego Castro replaces Joel Chianese.
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60 mins: Wellington captain Durante gets a yellow for a too strong block on Ikonomidis.
58 mins: substitution for Perth, Brimmer replaces Wilson. Glory need something, anything, to get back in this game.
56 mins: Krishna passes to Burns within the box, but it doesn’t fall well for him. But they are operating well together today and causing a lot of problems for the Glory defence.
52 mins: free kick to Wellington after a hand ball by Shane Lowry, but it came to not much. Still, the home side are in control of this game and pressing high.
Roy Krishna’s wonderful goal:
👏👏👏@RoyKrishna21 becomes @WgtnPhoenixFC's all-time leading @ALeague goalscorer with this fine finish. #ALeague #WELvPER
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) December 2, 2018
🎥 @FOXFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/YcrXvT2PYP
I’ve been spelling Filip Kurto’s first name wrong. Sorry Filip.
Second half under way in Wellington
And good news about injured Phoenix goalkeeper Phillip Kurto; it seems he is groggy, but is not being taken to hospital.
Thunder too good for Renegades in WBBL
From AAP:
Melbourne Renegades’ bid to snap their WBBL finals drought has started in disappointing fashion with a six-wicket loss to Sydney Thunder.
Exciting speedster Tayla Vlaeminck snared four wickets on debut but there was little else for the hosts to celebrate at Melbourne’s Junction Oval.
The Renegades flopped with the bat, losing eight wickets and setting a target of just 99, which the Thunder chased down with 19 balls to spare.
Fresh from playing in Australia’s T20 World Cup final triumph, opener Sophie Molineux (one) holed out to mid-off in the first over.
Claire Koski (three) and Jess Cameron (seven) also fell cheaply, top-scorer Erica Kershaw (24) was bowled attempting to slog a Belinda Vakarewa delivery and Emma Inglis (11) fell to a superb Nicola Carey caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Missing England international Danni Wyatt, who was unavailable after playing in the T20 World Cup, the Renegades lacked composure with the bat against a well-drilled Thunder attack led by pacer Rene Farrell (3-17).
Skipper Amy Satterthwaite conceded the Renegades’ batting clearly remained an issue.
“We addressed it looking back at last season, that it let us down in patches,” she said.
“At times we were really good but it wasn’t consistent enough and power plays were probably something we needed to address. We tried to resurrect that today with a couple of different things but it didn’t come off. It’s something that we need to keep looking at and keep trying to improve if we want to be successful in this tournament.”
The breakout performance of WBBL debutant Vlaeminck, who made her first appearance for Australia during the World Cup in the Caribbean, will be some comfort for the Renegades.
The 20-year-old dismissed Rachel Priest (nine) in her first over and displayed impressive speed before finishing with figures of 4-30.
Rachael Haynes (27) and Naomi Stalenberg (26) led the way with the bat for the Thunder in the absence of unavailable Indian superstar Harmanpreet Kaur.
It’s full-time in the other W-League game. Canberra United 2-0 Sydney.
Phoenix lead Glory at half-time
Singh’s miss-hit was almost the last kick of the half. It’s Wellington Phoenix 1-0 Perth Glory, with the home side fully deserving their lead.
45+8 Sarpreet Singh took the free for Phoenix. Let’s be polite and say he might have done better with the opportunity. He struck it well, just not accurately.
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Yellow card for Chris Ikonomidis as I switch back to the A-League. Free kick Wellington, within range.
In the W-League, it’s full time in Melbourne: Melbourne Victory 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers. In the other game, they are well into added time and it’s still Canberra United 2-0 Sydney.
There will be nine minutes of added time in the first half after the injury to Wellington goalkeeper Phillip Kurto earlier.
Wellington take the lead!
44 mins: Great goal from Roy Krishna, hard and low into the right hand corner with his left foot. Wellington Phoenix 1-0 Perth Glory.
Deontay Wilder retains WBC heavyweight title over Tyson Fury after split draw
Full story here:
Back to the A-League, lovely ball from Singh to Burns, but the angle was a bit tight and Reddy saved. Reddy is keeping Perth in this game so far.
Tuivasa loses UFC heavyweight bout
From AAP: Australia’s Tai Tuivasa’s unbeaten MMA record has been shattered in a second-round stoppage loss to former world champion Junior Dos Santos in their UFC clash in Adelaide.
Tuivasa, who was 10-0, did well in the final stage of the first round, but was knocked down by a right hand in the second.
Dos Santos then pounded the Australian with a number of blows before the referee intervened to stop the contest.
In the co-main event Australia’s Tyson Pedro suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Brazil’s former light heavyweight world champion Mauricio Rua.
Perth have been lacklustre so far, leaving spaces open which Wellington have been exploiting. Maybe the Glory are tired after the huge flight?
Wellington’s Mandi unleashes a powerful shot from about 25 metres out, which Liam Reddy does well to keep out. The home side are playing far better than they have in most other games so far this season.
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Liberato Cacace of the Phoenix got booked, but for what I’m not exactly sure. Possibly because Perth took a quick free and he was not back far enough.
In the other W-League game it’s Melbourne Victory 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers, with 13 minutes left to play.
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Back to the W-League for a moment, and with 18 minutes to go, its Canberra United 2-0 Sydney.
There is applause as Phillip Kurto is taken off the pitch on a stretcher.
The players from both sides are keeping warm by kicking balls around.
There is going to be a lot of added time at the end of the first half as Kurto is still being treated on the ground. It’s always very concerning to see that.
They were both going for the ball, but Kurto came off far worse. The goalkeeper does not look like he can continue and Oliver Sails is warming up to replace him.
Ooh, bad clash between Andy Keogh and Phillip Kurto.
Aside from Burns missing a sitter, it has been a strong, positive start from the home side. Wellington really need a result here.
Burns was one-on-one with Perth goalkeeper Liam Reddy there. Burns really seems to be lacking confidence lately.
Oh. My. God. How did Nathan Burns miss? Seriously, it would have been easier to score than to send it wide on the right, which he did. What a howler.
We are told it’s a balmy evening in Wellington, with almost no wind. Which is certainly unusual in New Zealand’s capital, which in my experience is a very windy city.
In the W-League, they are 11 minutes into the second half and it’s still Canberra United 1-0 Sydney.
Perth’s Brandon Wilson was lucky not to get booked for a sliding, scything tackle on Alex Rufer four minutes in.
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And Perth’s line up.
Just one change to the starting XI from last week with Djulbic slotting into the heart of the defence for the injured Grant, while it's great to see Santalab making his first @ALeague appearance in the match day squad for Glory! 🙌#WELvPER #OneGlory pic.twitter.com/yzbQqd7xbb
— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) December 2, 2018
This is the Phoenix line up.
LINE-UP | Here is your #Nix Starting XI and substitutes for tonight's Round 6 tie against @PerthGloryFC
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) December 2, 2018
Who are you looking forward to seeing out there tonight? 💪#StandUpWithYourNix #DistanceDerby #WELvPER pic.twitter.com/j91NS5sZJt
Wellington v Perth is under way
The distance derby has kicked off.
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Final score in the WNBL, Adelaide Lightning 91-83 UC Capitals.
The teams are making their way onto the pitch in Wellington.
The key today is how well can Wellington handle Perth’s double-edged attacking threats of Andy Keogh and Chris Ikonomidis? Keogh, who will play his 100th A-League game, and Ikonomidis have four goals each this season while the Phoenix team as a whole have scored just three times.
Back to the A-League. Perth have crafted a stunning start to the campaign, with four wins and one draw. The contrast with Wellington couldn’t be starker as the Phoenix have just a solitary win. The Phoenix have beaten Perth in the last two clashes in Wellington but the Glory are a formidable beast this season under Tony Popovic, with a well-oiled midfield feeding a daunting frontline which is certain to put Wellington’s defensive five under immense pressure.
With 90 seconds left to play in the WNBL, it’s now Adelaide Lightning 81-76 UC Capitals.
The Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory A-League came is coming up very soon. In their previous games, Wellington have won 13, Perth 14 and there were 7 draws.
With less than three minutes left to play in the WNBL, it’s now Adelaide Lightning 77-72 UC Capitals.
It’s half-time in the W-League, with the score Canberra United 1-0 Sydney.
With five minutes left to play in the WNBL, it’s now Adelaide Lightning 69-67 UC Capitals.
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They are in the fourth period in the WNBL now, and it’s Adelaide Lightning 69-62 UC Capitals.
In the WNBL, at the end of the third period, it’s Adelaide Lightning 61-56 UC Capitals.
In the W-League, there are 38 minutes gone in the Canberra United v Sydney game and it’s still 0-0.
That Wayne Bennett story is no longer about him reportedly being shown the door by the Broncos...
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In football news, there has been a setback for an Australian refugee player who was arrested in Thailand. The full report is here:
Earlier today, in the WBBL, Adelaide Strikers sent a message to their rivals, launching their hunt for a maiden title with a comprehensive 36-run win over Brisbane Heat, AAP reports.
New Zealand international Sophie Devine blitzed her way to 89 off 55 balls to set up a strong target of 173 but it was the Strikers’ suffocating bowling performance that impressed most at Melbourne’s Junction Oval.
T20 World Cup-winning pace bowler Megan Schutt (1-23), young gun Tahlia McGrath (1-31) and former Australian international Sarah Coyte (0-17) helped restrict the Heat to 2-136.
Opener Beth Mooney (63 not out), the WBBL’s most prolific run-scorer, steadied the ship along with Kirby Short (62 not out) after early wickets left the Heat reeling at 2-9.
But they were unable to break the shackles imposed by a disciplined and versatile Strikers attack that looms as perhaps the competition’s strongest.
“It’s a funny one. Looking back now when you see they’ve got two batters not out, you do wonder could they have had more of a crack,” Devine said.
“But I think we contained them well. We bowled well against them so maybe they felt that they couldn’t get away. You always want to start the competition well. It gives you that bit of momentum to get things going.”
The Strikers lost the key wicket of Suzie Bates - the world’s No 1 ranked T20 batter - for just one courtesy of a superb direct-hit runout from Short.
But fellow New Zealander Devine was quick to assert herself, smashing five sixes in a dominant knock aided by contributions from Bridget Patterson (31) and Tegan McPharlin (30).
The Strikers’ lineup is set to be bolstered further when England offspinner Danielle Hazell is cleared to play after being rested following the T20 World Cup.
And if you have wandered in here by mistake and are in fact looking for the Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury boxing match, it’s here:
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Broncos reportedly part ways with Wayne Bennett
It’s good to kick off with some breaking news. Wayne Bennett has reportedly been sacked by Brisbane Broncos.
