Final thoughts
It’s time for me to leave you now, I hope you’ve enjoyed another wonderful Sunday of sport. I leave you in the capable hands of my esteemed colleague Geoff Lemon, who will take you through the final day of the Women’s Ashes Test. It starts in just under half an hour so get yourself settled in for some great cricket, followed by the Diamonds battling it out for the Netball World Cup at 1:45am - we will have a live blog up for that too, so set your alarms and get ready!
AFL: Saints beat Bulldogs 17.14 (116) to 14.5 (89)
Another upset for this round, it’s a bit of a tipster’s nightmare it seems. Jack Lonie continued his form in the second half, finishing with four goals and eight marks, while Jack Billings was also on fire with 27 disposals and eight marks. Meanwhile for the Dogs, Jack Macrae came away with 34 disposals and seven marks. By the way, has anyone done an audit on all the Jacks in the AFL? Do we need so many? Could some of them be swapped to cricket perhaps? Maybe some kind of Mitchell - Jack switch could be arranged.
✅✅✅✅
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) July 21, 2019
That's four for Jack Lonie! pic.twitter.com/6Yfyr6ilrc
Football: Goal celebrations can get pretty over the top in a sport where goals are often few and far between. So it’s beautiful to see one that is just so filled with pure joy and love of the game.
TFW you score your first #NWSL goal.
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 21, 2019
👏 Marisa Viggiano#ORLvNJ pic.twitter.com/casdTbxujz
Cycling: An interesting article today from William Fotheringham on the role La Course plays in the advancement of women’s cycling. It seems to be a theme at the moment - female athletes fighting to get to compete in longer and more challenging competitions.
WinnieOfOz has been kind enough to share tipping strategies with us:
1) When it comes to your own team: heart.
2) When it comes to other teams, mostly safe, but with the odd upset.
As I said a few weeks ago, sometimes I change my tip depending on gut feel, but that had such a poor success rate that I wondered about the ability of my gut. If St Kilda win tonight though, I’ll be sticking with it.
Swimming: The talk of the Fina World Championship is all about Sun Yang at the moment. He and Mack Horton have had to be separated for training out of fear of a confrontation. Hopefully the focus will shift to Horton if he is able to regain his form and blow Sun out of the water when the finals roll around. There is plenty of ill feeling around Sun being allowed to compete before his Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing, set for September, when he will face charges of smashing vials of his blood with a hammer in a clash last year with testers.
Netball: The first game of the final day of the Netball World Cup is underway, with Zimbabwe taking on Uganda in the 7th place play-off. Uganda will be the favourites due to their superior world ranking (they are currently 6th in the world, while Zimbabwe are 13th). However Zimbabwe have been the crowd favourites of this tournament and their players and supporters have endeared themselves to the fans of every other nation, so they will find plenty of support in stadium.
Following this match, Jamaica will play Malawi for 5th place, which will be hugely disappointing for the world number 2 team Jamaica. This hasn’t been their tournament unfortunately. The big games come later tonight with England v South Africa in the bronze medal match at 11:30pm AEST followed by Australia v New Zealand in the gold medal match at 1:45am AEST.
The rest of the placings have been decided and finished up as such:
9th Trinidad & Tobago
10th Northern Ireland
11th Scotland
12th Barbados
13th Samoa
14th Fiji
15th Sri Lanka
16th Singapore
Dr Rudi has some thoughts on the team for the first Ashes Test.
Without knowing the pitch, Lyon ought be in the 11. The other fast bowlers in the squad (Michael Neser, Jackson Bird, Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain) might have to bide their time.
Dark horse: Neser, as the fastest all-rounder.
Also, Usman Khawaja is straight in, if he gets over the hamstring injury.
Meanwhile WinnieOfOz tells me I am indeed treasonous for tipping against my team. I’m keen to hear more about your tipping strategies - head or heart? Do you go for the upsets or take the safe wins? Let me know in the comments.
NRL: Manly 36-24 Parramatta
A stronger second half for the Eels, but unfortunately they couldn’t get across the line for the win. Two tries in the final 20 minutes from Nathan Brown and Maika Sivo weren’t enough and the Eels continue their up and down form this season, but hold on to their position in the eight. With the Warriors and the Dragons to come in their next two matches, they will look to build some momentum into the back end of the season.
Through all the hands! 😱#NRLManlyEels 36-20 with 7 mins to go.#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/IdPzitKPEy
— NRL (@NRL) July 21, 2019
AFL: West Coast beat Melbourne 14.7 (91) to 11.12 (78)
The Demons managed to give the Eagles an almighty scare for a while there, but ultimately couldn’t maintain the intensity to pull off the upset. Three second half goals from Jack Darling to take his match tally to four were crucial for the Eagles as they pulled off a win that in the end was comfortable, but far from commanding.
The Alice Springs crowd was right behind the Eagles, in full voice as the team song rang around the grounds. It was a very special day for the team from the west, with five Indigenous players taking the field in the blue and gold.
Speaking after the game Willie Rioli said “It feels like home being in the NT, I’ve got a lot of mates here. It’s good to see their faces again. It (Indigenous representation in the team) is definitely something we’ve been working on the last year. I’m stoked to see all this hard work pay off today. It was a pretty special day.”
AFL: Half-time at Docklands and St Kilda lead the Bulldogs by 43 points. Jack Lonie has been doing the damage for the Saints, with three goals and 11 disposals at 63% efficiency. A spectacular goal from Hunter Clark got the Saints pumped just a couple of minutes before half-time and they will be pushing to keep their momentum going into the second half.
Water Polo: Heading back to Korea now and the Aussie Sharks have made it through to the quarter finals at the Fina World Championships. I must admit I have difficulty getting on board with national teams who include “Aussie” in their official name, but full credit to the boys, they are having a cracker of a tournament over there.
Aussie Sharks are in the quarter-finals! 🇦🇺
— Total Waterpolo (@WaterpoloTotal) July 21, 2019
Montenegro 🇲🇪 11:13 🇦🇺 @WaterpoloAus (9:9) #waterpolo #FINAGwangju2019 pic.twitter.com/nVG7JwcQmc
Commenter Dr Rudi assures me I’m not alone in my tipping strategy of always going against my team. I have had a fair few people think that it was akin to treason however. But it does explain why I am doing very well in my NRL tipping comps this year just as the Dragons are failing to play like something that remotely resembles a rugby league team. I’ll take my consolation prize and cry in the corner with it, thank you.
Cricket: For some reason, someone asked Darren Lehmann his opinion on the team that should be selected for the first Ashes Test. Not that I’m incredibly invested in his opinion, but I am in yours faithful blog readers. Let me know in the comments who you would have in your team.
If anyone is interested, Lehmann’s team is: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Joe Burns, Tim Paine (capt), James Pattinson/Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
Hopefully you can be more decisive and not give me one extra pace bowler!
Tennis: Apparently a lot of non-tennis playing reckon they could win a point against Serena Williams we heard recently. If you’ve ever thought that maybe you could, this video will probably provide you with a sobering realisation.
To all the non-tennis-playing men who think they can win a point against Serena, watch this... 🙃👸🏾🎾 pic.twitter.com/GEDQb76KHt
— EBC (@ItsBlackCulture) July 19, 2019
Rugby: While it didn’t seem like there was much to celebrate out of the Wallabies’ loss to the Springboks this weekend, one small Fijian village begs to differ. The people of Naqali were full of pride as local Isi Naisarani made his Wallabies debut in the back row.
From AAP:
Fiji watching as Naisarani becomes a Wallaby
The small Fijian village of Naqali was jumping over the weekend with family and friends of back-rower Isi Naisarani gathering to watch his Wallabies debut. While the Australians fell 35-17 to South Africa in their Rugby Championship clash in Johannesburg, there was still plenty to celebrate with Naisarani’s appearance five years in the making.
Growing up idolising the likes of Fijian powerhouse Rupeni Caucaunibuca and former Wallabies George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, the 24-year-old moved to Australia in 2014 with the aim of playing for his adopted country. But a visa issue saw his three-year residency qualification restarted in 2016, which meant he only qualified for selection in April this year.
Naisarani, who was Melbourne’s players’ player this Super Rugby season, was excited the big moment had finally arrived. And so were the people of Naqali, which is about 30 minutes inland from the capital Suva.
“It’s unreal to make my Test debut. I feel humble. I’ve been waiting for so long to get this opportunity. It’s a blessing for me,” Naisarani said. “I’ve been getting heaps of messages, texts from back home. All my family, friends, my village stayed up to watch as the kick-off was 3am back home. They are definitely proud of me. When I came to Australia my dream was to play for the Wallabies, so to now get this opportunity is a blessing.”
While Australia’s performance wasn’t perfect, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said No.8 Naisarani did everything expected of him against the burly Boks, clocking up seven runs including two tackle-busts.
“I thought Naisarani had an excellent debut, he was involved in the game,” Cheika said after the match. “He didn’t have a very high error count and he was present all the time. He made some crucial catches and he defended with physicality. “
Cricket: As we head into the final day of the Women’s Ashes it’s worth reflecting on why these Tests don’t happen more often? Megan Schutt wrote on this issue earlier this week and makes some excellent points about why the powers that be need to embrace this format in the women’s game.
NRL: Half-time at Brookvale and Manly are in control of the match, leading Parramatta 26-12. With five tries in the first half, the home team are looking strong and Daly Cherry-Evans is very happy with his players. Reuben Garrick has been the star for the Eels, gaining 88 metres for the match so far, as well as scoring the opening try and adding three conversions with the boot.
Great way to start!!
— Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (@SeaEagles) July 21, 2019
Follow all the action at our live match centre here: https://t.co/ggMQ0tbEcN#NRLManlyEels #ManlyForever pic.twitter.com/KOMjMBnO5z
Updated
AFL: Commenter WinnieOfOz notes:
Yikes, Melbourne, hadn’t seen the score for a while. Now I’m convinced, the difference between 1 - 17 is not that great that ‘on the day’ anything can happen. Which is great for our game, but not for our tipping!
Totally agree - why won’t anyone think of our tips! My strategy is to always tip against my own team. That way, if my team wins I’m happy enough that I don’t care about getting my tip wrong. But if they lose, I get a correct tip as a consolation prize.
Cricket: If you haven’t listened to The Guardian’s cricket podcast The Spin yet, give it a whirl. Host Emma John is delightful and her guests are always entertaining. This week’s episode breaks down the Cricket World Cup from players of the tournament to feedback for the ICC.
AFL: Up in the Red Centre, West Coast were looking comfortable for a time, but Melbourne have continued to close the gap, cutting the Eagles’ lead down to just one at the break. Josh Kennedy leads the scoring for the Eagles with two goals so far. The Demons started and finished the half well and will hope to put out a more complete performance in the second half.
Cricket: Just as the Australians are about to swoop on the Women’s Ashes, their male counterparts are preparing for the Men’s Ashes, which will start on 1 August. England will prepare against unlikely opponents Ireland later this week, as Jason Roy looks to make his case for Test selection.
Golf: If you’re following the British Open, you will have seen Rory McIlroy’s spectacular fall from grace as he triple bogeyed his way out of contention. As our reporter Andy Bull puts it, At 10 past 10, Rory McIlroy walked on to the 1st hole the 8-1 favourite for the Open, 10 minutes later he walked off it again, a 33-1 outsider, scrambling to make the cut.
Rugby: The Wallabies didn’t have a good time of it over in South Africa this weekend. Can they recover in time for the World Cup? They are a team that seems to find form for big tournaments, but it is hard to see where they will dredge it from this time around. The last World Cup and the Wallabies in the final seems like a very distant memory right now. Bret Harris gave us great insight into the team this week as they prepared for The Rugby Championship.
NRL: Titans 18-38 Storm
A double from Suliasi Vunivalu highlighted the total dominance of the Melbourne Storm. They seem to be unstoppable at the moment, on a nine game winning streak and building to the finals with all the momentum of a downhill freight train. The Titans meanwhile, sit at the bottom of the ladder and their fortunes don’t seem to be on the up any time soon. They will be looking forward to their match up with the Dragons in three weeks time to give them a shot at a win.
Updated
AFL: Hawthorn beat Geelong 12.13 (85) to 8.13 (61)
Hawthorn have taken down the ladder leaders with a commanding performance at the MCG. In a highly defensive game Mitchell Lewis and Tim O’Brien led the way for the Hawks in attack, with three goals apiece. An emotional post-game from Hawthorn as the victory clearly meant so much to them. Things don’t get any easier for them though, as they take on the second-placed Lions next week.
Swimming: The Fina World Championship is underway in Gwangju, South Korea and there are some intriguing races to come as our swimmers gear up for Tokyo 2020. Ariarne Titmus has come out swinging in her heat this morning and will look to build on that form.
From AAP:
Titmus sends warning to Ledecky
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus has thrown down the gauntlet to American great Katie Ledecky with an impressive 400m freestyle heat at the world swimming championships in South Korea. World No.2 Titmus clocked four minutes, 02.42 seconds to qualify second fastest for Sunday night’s final on the first morning of the eight-day titles - just half a second behind top seed Ledecky.
Five-time Olympic champion Ledecky has not been beaten over 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle at an international meet since 2012. But the 14-time world champion will be looking over her shoulder after Titmus clocked her fastest morning heats time.
“I am backing myself that I have enough in me to do a really good swim tonight,” Titmus said.
Olympic champion Mack Horton cruised through the men’s 400m freestyle heats, overcoming his disappointing national trials form to qualify fifth fastest for Sunday’s final. Australian teammate Jack McLoughlin clocked a personal best to be third fastest behind top qualifier, controversial Chinese star Sun Yang.
Horton’s heat time of 3:45.51 was almost a second faster than his second placing in the 400m at an underwhelming trials last month. Horton only got into the world titles team on coach Jacco Verhaeren’s discretion after failing to qualify in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle.
“The trials were not a strong reflection of how I have been training, so it was a bit frustrating,” Horton said. “We thought we probably needed a bit more rest (at trials) but it turns out we probably didn’t - I think we have got it sorted now.”
Horton resumes his rivalry with Sun, who the Australian dismissed as a “drug cheat” at the Rio Olympics before claiming a shock 400m freestyle gold. Sun has been allowed to compete ahead of a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing where he faces charges of smashing a vial of his blood with a hammer in a clash with anti-doping testers last September.
Australia were top qualifiers for Sunday’s 4x100m freestyle women’s relay final.
Brianna Throssell appears to have won a swim off with Madi Wilson to fill the vacancy created by Shayna Jack’s late withdrawal after going fastest in the heat. Australia were fourth fastest for the men’s 4x100m freestyle final.
Ahead of Sunday night’s semi-finals, world No.2 Emma McKeon was second fastest in the 100m butterfly and Matthew Wilson was sixth quickest in the 100m breaststroke.
Cricket: Another sleep-stealing event, the Women’s Ashes, will wrap up its only Test match tonight, with the Australians in the box seat to come away with a draw, which will allow them to secure the Ashes trophy before the T20s even begin.
Geoff Lemon has been following the team’s progress and has summarised the differences between the two teams here beautifully.
Netball: If you missed the semi-final last night, it was a cracker! Unfortunately for Australian fans the final will be on at 1:45am AEST but I can guarantee it will be worth waking up for. Australia and NZ have a history of absolutely cracking gold medal matches and after the Diamonds’ 50-49 win on Thursday, this one is sure to be no different.
In the meantime, get yourself caught up with Erin Delahunty’s match report from last night’s nailbiter of a semi-final against South Africa.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to a huge Sunday of sport! I don’t know about you, but I am struggling with finding time to sleep lately with all the sport happening on the other side of the world. Pretty inconsiderate really. So let’s all get caffeinated up and get into it.
We’ve got some AFL, some NRL, plus we’ll be checking in on the Fina World Championship in South Korea and getting all geared up for the Women’s Ashes and Netball World Cup final happening over in the UK tonight.
