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Category: Sport

  • Gold Coast Suns AFLW searching for finals venue over T20 cricket clash

    Gold Coast Suns AFLW searching for finals venue over T20 cricket clash

    The Gold Coast Suns have earned their place in the AFLW finals — but their reward could be a home final away from home.

    After back-to-back seasons near the bottom of the ladder, the Suns have surged into fourth spot with eight wins, booking their first finals appearance since 2023.

    A victory over GWS on Sunday would strengthen their grip on a double chance, guaranteeing a home final during the series.

    Carrara Stadium is unavailable for weeks two, three and four of the finals series, due to Australia’s T20 clash with England, leaving the Suns and the AFL searching for an alternative venue.

    Springfield, home of Queensland rivals the Brisbane Lions and an hour’s drive up the highway, and Southport’s Fankhauser Reserve are among the alternatives being considered.

    Southport however comes with a significant caveat — any final would need to be played during the day, when November temperatures average around 28 degrees and humidity can hover around 70 per cent.

    A spokesperson for the club said it is “working with all stakeholders on home venues for each week of the finals” where Carrara is not available.

    “Our playing group and staff have been resolute all season in their efforts to play anywhere, anytime, across eight different venues and we know they’ll take that attitude into any scenario that presents throughout the post-season campaign,” the spokesperson said.

    Despite this, coach Rhyce Shaw said on Tuesday the club is embracing the excitement of a long-awaited finals campaign.

    “I took [my son] Henry to swimming the other day and all the staff were getting behind us,” Shaw said.

    “It is exciting for our footy club … It’s been a bit of a tough year all round, but for our girls to pick up the slack a little bit and get going and make finals is really, really cool.”

    “We’ve got a big job against the Giants and then we’ll think of finals after that.”

    If the Suns were to fall to GWS on Sunday, there is the potential for them finish as low as seventh on the ladder.

    However, a fifth or sixth place finish would mean they would earn a home final next weekend and the ABC can confirm Carrara Stadium would be available in this instance.

    ABC Sport AFLW expert Chyloe Kurdas said regardless of the ladder outcome, the lack of venue certainty is an unwanted distraction.

    “I think it is such a valuable home ground advantage [finishing in the top four] but it’s also not just that, it’s the distraction of this conversation right now that happens in the lead up to,” she said.

    “It occupies bandwidth and it occupies energy from the playing group and the coaching group and the staff.”

    Kurdas said not being able to play at Carrara, a venue the side has won their last three games at, would be a missed opportunity.

    “I think there’s a real sweet spot right now with the number of talented kids that are Gold Coast born and raised … that are now playing at the Suns,” Kurdas said.

    “Fan engagement is going to be such an important part of this Gold Coast Suns women’s team journey … they’re so talented.”

    The Suns have had a 75 per cent increase in AFLW memberships for this season.

    A familiar problem

    The Suns aren’t the only club caught in a scheduling squeeze.

    Second-placed Geelong, one win away from securing a top-two finish, also faces a venue clash, with Kardinia Park unavailable next weekend due to the AUSX Supercross Championship.

    While, the AFLW Grand Final, should it be played in Melbourne, has already been locked in for Princes Park — with a capacity of 13 thousand that has sold out for the showpiece game within hours in recent seasons.

    Docklands Stadium, with a 53,343-capacity is unavailable, with Harry Styles booked across the weekend, despite players calling for a bigger venue.

    The Grand Final has also been scheduled for Friday night, November 27, to avoid a clash with the Victorian State Election.

    It’s a familiar problem that’s haunted the competition since it started in 2017.

    In the inaugural season, the Brisbane Lions earned the right to host the Grand Final but were forced to play at Carrara, with the Gabba unavailable due to cricket.

    Now in its 11th season, the debate continues about where the AFLW competition belongs in the sporting calendar.

    The AFL is reportedly considering an earlier start to align the women’s season with the end of the men’s competition.

    “You do your due diligence and you look at where is there likely to be these kind of clashes,” Chyloe Kurdas said.

    “But ultimately, whenever you choose to play it, you then have to live and die by those decisions.”

    She says clubs and the AFL must also be prepared to make commercial decisions that put their women’s programs first.abcnews

  • Mary Fowler’s Manchester City held by United to end WSL winning start

    Mary Fowler’s Manchester City held by United to end WSL winning start

    Manchester United striker Elisabeth Terland scored a late equaliser to knock visitors Manchester City off top spot in the Women’s Super League table on Sunday evening as a hotly contested derby finished 1-1 at the Leigh Sports Ground.

    Matildas star Mary Fowler slid the ball to Bunny Shaw to open the scoring for the champions in the 66th minute.

    Making her 100th WSL appearance, Shaw brushed off the challenge of Dominique Janssen and powered a shot into the far corner to break the deadlock and silence the home fans, who booed and heckled her throughout.

    However, Norway international Terland was on hand to blast the ball into the net to grab a point for her side in the 89th minute of the game.

    It was the first time that City has dropped points this season, allowing Ellie Carpenter’s Chelsea to go top on goal difference after it came back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 earlier in the day.Chelsea and City both have 19 points, with London City Lionesses third on 16 and Women’s Super League fourth on 11.

    On Merseyside, Liverpool’s Jana Fernandez Velasco struck deep into stoppage time to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to London City.

    Aston Villa raced out to a 3-0 lead over Everton by the 50th minute with Amalie Vangsgaard scoring twice, but the home side scored twice late on to ensure a nervous finish as Villa held on for a 3-2 win.

    Charlton Athletic’s miserable run continued as it slumped to its seventh straight defeat.

    Substitute Wilma Leidhammar scored the only goal of the game for Birmingham City in the 68th minute to leave Charlton, who counts Matildas veteran Emily van Egmond among its ranks, still firmly rooted to the bottom of the table and searching for its first point of the season.

    Reuters/ABC

  • Solutions-led boxing program Gloves of Hope punching above its weight to support NT youth

    Solutions-led boxing program Gloves of Hope punching above its weight to support NT youth

    Encouraging young boys to put on gloves and fight each other inside a boxing ring may not seem like the most obvious way to keep them out of trouble at first glance.

    But those behind this weekend’s amateur Gloves of Hope challenge in Darwin would argue the sport is helping do just that, and much more, for young people in the Northern Territory.

    The event is an initiative of local grassroots organisation Hoops 4 Health — an Aboriginal-led service behind several sport programs designed to support struggling youth, including some inside NT detention centres.The free Gloves of Hope program aims to give young men and women a chance to learn boxing skills from professional coaches while building resilience, discipline and a support network in their community.

    “We try to improve their mental health, but also guide them with integrity about how they live their lives,” social impact director Matthew Bonson said.

    Mr Bonson said the program was based on evidence-backed models of therapy which use patterned, rhythmic exercise to help trauma-affected youth regulate their emotions.

    Matthew Bonson has brown skin and a beard, his hands are up in front as he blocks a young boxer's punches during warm-up.
    Matthew Bonson says the patterned, rhythmic exercise has been shown to help with emotional regulation. (ABC News: Olivana Lathouris)

    “Through sport and the structures around good coaches, you can help these young men stay cool longer and also help young women get more confidence about who they are,” he said.

    As the NT grapples with some of the highest youth incarceration rates in the country, particularly among First Nations boys aged 10 to 14, Mr Bonson said providing young people with positive role models was a key part of the program’s success.”Particularly with young men, if you put the right older men in front of them — who they know are trying to help them — they do want to listen,” Mr Bonson said.”It’s not a magic-wand solution, but we’re trying our best to give [young people] positive examples.”

    Territory boxing talent on show

    On Saturday, Gloves of Hope teamed up with Boxing NT to host one of Darwin’s biggest amateur boxing events of the last decade.

    The sold-out event at Marrara Stadium brought together boxing clubs from across Darwin and Alice Springs, with one team even travelling from Kununurra in Western Australia.

    Declan Unwin-Walker was one of the fighters competing for the title belt on Saturday and said he was “keen, excited, nervous — but ready to go”.

    Mr Unwin-Walker trained with Gloves of Hope for more than a year in the lead-up to the event and said the sport had been rewarding, physically and mentally.

    “We all push each other and show up every day and its definitely about pushing each other and just yeah — keep showing up,” he said.

    Jerrel O’Riley from the Kununurra Warriors Boxing Club said it was exciting to compete on a big stage.

    A collage shows Jerrel O'Riley smiling at the camera and photos of other club polos at the event, including one from Humpty Doo.
    Jerrel O’Riley and his team were visiting from Kununurra in Western Australia, with plenty of representation from rural Darwin clubs in attendance too. (ABC News: Olivana Lathouris)

    “I was pretty surprised to hear there was 1,000 people coming,” he told the ABC ahead of the sold-out event.

    “That’s the main thing I’m worried about, getting knocked out in front of 1,000 people.”

    Richard Garling, who has coached the sport for more than four decades, was there on behalf of the Humpty Doo Boxing Club.

    Mr Garling said pathways into boxing that helped kids from rural areas compete were essential to fostering NT talent.

    “There’s a lot of potential in the Territory,” he said.

    “Hopefully all these kids tonight can continue their journey somewhere higher — state titles, national titles or Golden Gloves.”

    The event also featured a half-time performance by NT music star Yung Milla, fresh from his triumph on reality music competition show The Voice Australia.

    The funds raised from ticket sales were donated to help the Gloves of Hope initiative, with organisers hopeful the event will return next year. ABCNEWS

  • Final MotoGP race at Phillip Island washed out

    Final MotoGP race at Phillip Island washed out

    The MotoGP race at Phillip Island has been cancelled as heavy rain and poor visibility washed out what was the final race at the island circuit.

    All races at the track, including the Australian Superbikes race three and both the Moto2 and Moto3 races, were cancelled earlier on Sunday, with hopes that fans would see the MotoGP take a final turn around the iconic circuit fading as the day passed.

    The race will move to a street circuit in Adelaide, South Australia in 2027, after three decades at the circuit on the Bass Coast.

    The wet weather derailed plans for a final lap of the Ventnor circuit, with the announcement made at 3:30pm that the MotoGP race had been called off after motoring fans sat in the stands for hours in the rain. The race had been delayed from its original 2pm start time, with hopes it would begin at 4:30pm.

    A MotoGP riders farewell lap was being held at 3:45pm.

    In a statement, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation said poor visibility that prevented the medical helicopter from flying was behind the cancellation.

    “We know this is an incredibly disappointing outcome for fans, teams and everyone who has contributed to the event,” it said.

    “Safety must always come first, and racing cannot take place without the medical helicopter able to operate.”

    The corporation said it would provide full refunds for Sunday ticketholders and partial refunds for multi-day ticketholders.

    The official morning warm up was also cancelled, along with track side entertainment such as the monster trucks and a celebratory legends lap with world champions Mick Doohan, Casey Stoner and Wayne Gardner.abcnews

  • Diamonds lose Constellation Cup to New Zealand Silver Ferns with game three defeat

    Diamonds lose Constellation Cup to New Zealand Silver Ferns with game three defeat

    Australia has lost game three of the Constellation Cup 52-49 to New Zealand to hand the trophy back to the Silver Ferns in Sydney.

    After leading 41-39 heading into the final quarter of a gripping contest, the Ferns rattled off seven straight goals after three-quarter-time to establish a five-goal lead.

    The Diamonds went on their own run to square the ledger at 47-47 as the Test headed into its final five minutes, but costly turnovers and penalties by Australia allowed New Zealand to win the final quarter 13-8.

    After falling behind 3-0 in the four-game series, the Diamonds will be playing for pride at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Wednesday.

    The Diamonds are also a chance of losing their world number one netball ranking to New Zealand after the Ferns won gold at the Commonwealth Games in August, while Australia claimed bronze.

    Head coach Stacey Marinkovich now has just a 50 per cent series winning record in the Constellation Cup.

    Before she took charge in 2020, the Silver Ferns had claimed the trophy once in 10 series. In the six series since, the Kiwis have claimed it three times.

    Marinkovich is contracted through to the end of 2027. This is the last time her team will be together before next August for the Netball World Cup in Sydney.

    The result looks ominous for the Diamonds’ chances.

    However, former Diamond Bianca Chatfield believes Marinkovich’s role is safe, alluding to the challenges of the unlimited import rule in Australia’s Super Netball league.

    “I think she’s safe for now … unlike male sports there’s not the money just to pay out coaches and get rid of them, and you do that in the heat of the moment,” Chatfield told ABC’s Offsiders.

    “She deserves a chance to go through to the World Cup … She’s facing different pressures to what other Australian coaches have in the past.”

    New Zealand head coach Noeline Taurua said the victory was a massive result for the Ferns after a challenging 12 months.

    Taurua was suspended from coaching her team this time last year by Netball New Zealand and missed tours of Australia, England and Scotland before being reinstated.

    The New Zealand Premiership has also been in fast decline due to poor broadcast deals and management by the national body. Most Silver Ferns jumped ship and signed with Australian teams to ensure they could earn a full-time wage.

    “This is our opportunity to write the next chapter of our book,” Taurua said.

    “Commonwealth Games gold was obviously the start of that and now backing that up with the Constellation Cup.

    “Whether the world number one [is next] or not, we’re within cooee of Australia and getting closer, knowing that we’re building towards the World Cup.

    “We’re just riding the wave and enjoying the moment.” abcnews

  • Turkey’s Trabzonspor get six-match spectator ban over pitch invasion

    Two Fenerbahçe players, Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde and goalkeeper İrfan Can Eğribayat, were also fined and handed one-match bans by the TFF’s disciplinary board.

    Oosterwolde was punished for kicking a Trabzonspor fan who had run onto the pitch with his face covered.

    A group of Trabzonspor fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle of the 3-2 home defeat on March 17.

    The attacks took place as the Fenerbahçe players and coaching staff celebrated their victory, with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic being punched in the face.

    The Black Sea team must also pay two fines totaling 3.1 million Turkish lira ($97,000).

    Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel escaped punishment after punching a fan on the pitch.

    His actions “did not meet the threshold for a violation of disciplinary rules,” the board said.

    FIFA boss Gianni Infantino called the scenes “totally unacceptable.”

    This is not the first time violence has affected the Turkish Super Lig this season.

    The championship was suspended for a week in December after a referee was attacked during a match between Ankaragücü and Rizespor.

    Ankaragücü president Faruk Koca, along with other men, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler on the pitch after the match, injuring the official.

    A number of Fenerbahce trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.

    A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.

    The year before that the Fenerbahce team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighboring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.

    In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe was called off at half-time after the İstanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.

    Trabzonspor, which won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest of the decision not to award his team a penalty.

    They were eventually released in the early hours of the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

  • Novak Djokovic’s exemption to play the Australian Open sparks fury and confusion

    Australians have reacted with fury and confusion after tennis star Novak Djokovic revealed he had received a travel exemption to play in the Australian Open.

    Djokovic has consistently declined to reveal his vaccination status, and as a result looked unlikely to be allowed to play in the tournament.

    However, the Serbian star revealed on Instagram on Tuesday that he had received a medical exemption.

    The Australian Open and the Victorian government confirmed the exemption on Tuesday night, stating a review had been carried out to confirm Djokovic had “a genuine medical condition that meets the criteria for an exemption”.

    The decision was met with fury by Australians on social media.

    Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg posted the Australian government’s guidelines on who could be allowed an exemption, and said questions would be raised about the legitimacy of Djokovic’s exemption.

    “Though we now know that Djokovic plans to play the Australian Open, there will still be considerable speculation about the legitimacy of his exemption,” Rothenberg wrote.

    “What ‘acute major medical condition’, as listed here by Australian authorities, could a healthy No.1-ranked athlete have?

    “There are also non-medical exemptions which can be applied for to enter Australia; Djokovic did not say his exemption was medical. However it’s difficult to imagine a tennis player, even a good one, could be deemed ‘in the national interest’ or possessing ‘critical skills.'”

    Tennis players tried to be diplomatic in their responses, with rising Australian star Alex de Minaur keeping his response short during a press conference after his ATP Cup match.

    “It’s very interesting. That’s all I’m going to say,” de Minaur said.

    British player Jamie Murray, the elder brother of Andy, said people had to trust Djokovic had a medical condition.

    “I think if it was me that wasn’t vaccinated I wouldn’t be getting an exemption … but well done to him for getting clear to come to Australia and compete,” Murray said.

    “At the end of the day you kind of have to trust that he does have a valid reason for the medical exemption.”

    Prominent Victorian emergency department doctor Stephen Parnis said the exemption sent an appalling message to people trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.

    “I don’t care how good a tennis player he is. If he’s refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn’t be allowed in,” Parnis wrote.

    “If this exemption is true, it sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce COVID-19 risk to themselves and others. Vaccination shows respect, Novak.” ABC

  • Socceroos would need to go through South America to qualify for 2022 World Cup if play-off is required

    Socceroos would need to go through South America to qualify for 2022 World Cup if play-off is required

    The Socceroos’ path to the 2022 World Cup has become more treacherous after the intercontinental play-off draw threw up another possible South American date.

    The draw for the intercontinental play-offs ensured Graham Arnold’s men will face the fifth-best side in South American qualifying should they end up as Asian play-off winners.

    The Socceroos will be desperately hoping to avoid that familiar fate by finishing second in their Asian group and gaining automatic qualification to the finals in Qatar next year.

    Australia lies third in its pool with four matches remaining. If the Socceroos finish in that position they will have to play an Asian play-off against the third-placed side in the other qualifying group.

    Currently, that’s the United Arab Emirates.

    Victory in that would then set up a one-off decider, at a neutral venue yet to be confirmed, against the fifth-placed South American side — currently Peru — on either June 13 or 14 next year.

    But with Colombia, Chile and Uruguay all still battling for the automatic top four qualifying spots in South America, there will be no easy opposition as the Socceroos found to their cost in the past.

    Although Australia ended a 32-year World Cup drought by beating Uruguay on penalties after a two-legged play-off in 2005, they also lost play-offs to Uruguay in 2001 and Argentina in 1993.

    Four years ago, Australia secured their passage to the 2018 World Cup with an intercontinental play-off victory over Honduras.

    Meanwhile, New Zealand’s chances of reaching the World Cup finals were boosted by the intercontinental draw pairing Oceania’s top side with the fourth-best team from North and Central America.

    With the Oceanian sides yet to play their qualifying group, New Zealand is overwhelming favourite to get through to face the fourth-placed CONCACAF representative, which is currently Panama. AAP

  • NBA Player Enes Kanter and 30 Prominent Panelists All Around the World Will Speak at Freedom Convention 2020: Turkey

    NEW YORK, December 8, 2020 (Newswire.com) – Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) will host Freedom Convention 2020 on December 9-10 to address all human rights violations in Turkey regarding civil, political, economic, social and cultural as contained in the basic human rights documents.

     

    This two-day conference takes place on United Nations Human Rights Day, which is celebrated annually across the world on Dec. 10 every year to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights.

    For the last 3 years, AST has been raising awareness about the human rights violations in Turkey and advocating for the rights of persecuted people. The 2016 coup attempt made an accelerating impact on Turkey’s already fraying democratic mechanisms and allowed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration to launch a sweeping purge. More than 150,000 public workers, including generals, admirals, judges, prosecutors, doctors, teachers, police officers and etc., have been summarily sacked by emergency decrees without due process leading to human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people. Freedom Convention 2020 is a unique convention for human rights activists, intellectuals and policymakers focused on human rights violations in Turkey.

    In a total of five panel discussions, speakers, including NBA player Enes Kanter, NY Times bestselling author Rabia Chaudry and Former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour, will focus on various aspects of violations including: (1) Freedom of Speech and Expression, (2) Collapse of Rule of Law, (3) Shift from Democratization Towards Authoritarianism in Turkey with the Rise of Political Islam, (4) Power, Political Violence and Violations of Minority Rights, and finally, (5) Women’s Rights in Turkey. In pursuance of justice and peace, this forum aims to bring hundreds of human rights defenders and activists together and also to foster the dynamics to mobilize. Participants and experts will not only learn the ongoing violations and persecutions in Turkey but also be able to develop strategies and recommendations to the Turkish government and international bodies to end those grave violations through the panel discussions.

    Through Freedom Convention 2020 – “Turkey: Grave Human Rights Violations” our goal is to bring hundreds of human rights experts, activists together to address human rights challenges, the collapse of the rule of law in Turkey, create network and provoke nonviolent ideas and actions.

    This is a virtual convention. Please visit and register through http://silencedturkey.org/freedom-convention-2020

  • Turkish TV won’t broadcast NBA conference finals due to Enes Kanter: report

    Turkish basketball player Enes Kanter’s Portland Trail Blazers reached the NBA’s Western Conference finals, which start on Tuesday, but for the first time the series will not be widely televised in Turkey, where Kanter is accused of having terrorist links, Reuters reported.

    S Sport, the main TV broadcaster of National Basketball Association games in Turkey, will not show the conference final between the Trail Blazers and defending champion Golden State Warriors, to keep Kanter off Turkish television screens, the company and two of its commentators confirmed on Tuesday.

    Turkey’s broadcasters have ignored Kanter’s games since last year, when he was indicted by a Turkish court. That includes Sunday, when the 26-year-old center scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a thrilling four-point victory over the Denver Nuggets.

    The victory sent Portland to the best-of-seven-games conference final, one step from the league final, which would also be banned if Kanter is playing. The full NBA playoffs have been televised in Turkey since broadcasts began in the 1990s.

    “I can say clearly that we will not be broadcasting the Warriors-Blazers series,” S Sport commentator Ömer Saraç told Reuters. “Furthermore, if Portland makes it to the finals, [that] will not be broadcast either. … This situation is not about us, but it is what it is.”

    Kanter has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and describes himself as a close ally of US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara blames for a failed coup in July 2016. Gülen has denied any involvement.