Football codes: War of words heats up

Rugby League chief Peter V’landys is renowned for his digs at the AFL, saying that league leads AFL “like a horse”.

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V’landys had a crack over the return of AFL State of Origin in February, saying most of the games are played in Victoria; criticised the AFL’s Opening Round as a poor imitation of rugby league’s Las Vegas event; and said the AFL’s Gather Round in Adelaide copied rugby’s Magic Round.

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V’landys is a strong advocate for rugby league but is renowned for baffling people with bulldust, according to veteran sports administrator Malcolm Speed.

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Speed compared last year’s performances of AFL and NRL, finding that on almost all measures, the AFL is well ahead. The only exception was grand final viewers.

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F1: Piastri’s world crashes down in Melbourne

Major rule changes in Formula One this year were guaranteed to create uncertainty, but nobody foresaw Australia’s world championship hopeful Oscar Piastri failing to make the start
of his home race.

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Piastri’s crash only a few hundred metres after leaving the pits disappointed the large crowd that turned out at Melbourne’s Albert Park, hoping to see him break the curse of Aussie drivers in the home Grand Prix.

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F1 cars now rely equally on internal combustion engines and electric batteries for their power – and recharging the batteries while running at speed is proving tricky. The power can surge without notice and drivers find their car uncontrollable.

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It caught out four-time world champion Max Verstappen in qualifying and Piastri at an even more crucial time.

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Mercedes emerged as the pacesetter of the new era, with English driver George Russell and teenage Italian teammate Kimi Antonelli qualifying on the front row and taking the chequered flag first and second in what proved an exciting race.

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Japan breaks Tillies’ hearts again

For the third time, Japan has grasped the Asian Cup from Australia’s hands, winning the final by a single goal in Sydney. It was the same 1-0 scoreline between the same teams in the 2014 and 2018 finals.

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Japan produced a moment of magic in the 17th minute with a long-distance strike from Maika Hamano that seemed to catch Matildas’ goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold offguard. The Tillies had numerous chances to equalise but the visitors held on. Japan scored 29 times and conceded only one goal in the entire tournament.

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In the semi-final, a brilliant goal by superstar Sam Kerr took the Matildas to a 2-1 win against China in Perth. It was the first time Australia had beaten China in the Asian Cup.

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Cricket: Healy’s farewell to remember

Alyssa Healy farewelled cricket in March as a pioneer of women’s sport. She played a major role in transforming her sport and believed that it had to cop criticism if it was to be taken seriously and become popular.

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Women’s cricket has grown spectacularly in Australia, with participation increasing by 61 per cent over four years as TV coverage has brought the game into living rooms.

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Healy, a wicketkeeper-batter, is the niece of Ian Healy, another famous Australian keeper. She debuted in 2010, and finished her international career with 269 dismissals. She holds the record for the most T20 international dismissals (126) for men and women, and captained Australia from December 2023.

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Her final one-day international innings of 158 off only 98 balls was a triumph, and led her team to a huge victory. The one-off test in Perth was Healy’s 299th and final match for Australia and completed a big win in the multi-format series against India.