Welcome to another big weekend in sports news as we head into the A-league finals, and NRL Magic Round.
A-league
- Australian Professional Leagues (APL) today announced an official partnership with SEIKO, the global precision timepiece manufacturer.
- Discontent provides standard backdrop to Sydney derby laden with symbolism
- Eurosnobs will never believe it but the current A-League Men’s is actually a decent level, according to those who would know.
AFL
- The AFL has announced that people found to be responsible of vilification within the sport will receive a lifetime ban from AFL matches.
- Indigenous AFL players stand tall against an endless stream of racism – it’s now time for them to strike
- Outside footy’s heartland, the Suns have had to be innovative with their indoctrination – Tasmania can learn from their history
- Knee-jerk reactions, overreactions, contrived controversy and just plain old clickbait are, sadly, an intrinsic part of the modern media landscape these days, particularly when it comes to coverage of sport. And sometimes, it borders on comical.
- The AFLNT has confirmed it will postpone the first round of the Alice Springs community football season, amid an increasingly bitter stoush with the local council.
- The Northern Territory’s sports minister has hit back at claims made by media giant Eddie McGuire the Top End couldn’t sustain an AFL team because of social issues.
- “It’s Tasmania’s Bennelong Point. Sydney gets an opera house, a unique opera house … we get an also-ran, one of thousands of stadiums around the world.”
- Tasmania has the opportunity to do things differently. They can create a club with men’s and women’s programs on equal footing with a shared timeline and joint ownership on legacy from the get-go.
- By the time our team takes the field it’ll be too late for the mainlanders to take the franchise licence back, and the Macquarie Point stadium plan will either suffer a quiet death or require a federal government-AFL bailout to be completed.
- The Hawthorn racism scandal is teetering towards the Federal Court as all sides are being urged to park their demands and attend mediation with an open mind.
- Tasmania has a rich footballing history but even the Apple Isle’s historic clubs have been struggling lately. The AFL’s arrival will be a game-changer.
Broadcast
Cricket
General
- With the industry still reeling from high-profile sponsorship deals gone sour for Netball Australia, Cricket Australia and the AFL, War on Single Use Plastic (WOSUP) co-founder and CEO Martin Salter explains why live sport is ripe for value-led change.
- Leading bookmaker Matt Tripp insists his wagering start-up Betr isn’t on the verge of collapse despite growing speculation major shareholder News Corporation has lost faith in the venture.
Netball
NRL
- Arnott’s Shapes has signed on to become the official snack partner of the National Rugby League (NRL), in a deal brokered by Publicis Sports & Entertainment.
- The NRL will decide in a matter of weeks whether to take two games to Las Vegas next season, with CEO Andrew Abdo insisting the plan is a genuine attempt at growing the game in the American market.
- Storm chairman Matt Tripp has proposed a “phone a friend” revival of the NRL’s marquee player war chest to keep rival codes at bay after ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys rang Nelson Asofa-Solomona in a bid to keep him in the NRL.
- The Titans and Cowboys have formally lodged plans with the Queensland Rugby League to field their own teams in next year’s Hostplus Cup.
- Central Coast Rugby League: inaugural women’s tackle competition kicks off this weekend. Seven clubs – Berkeley Vale, Budgewoi, Erina, Terrigal, The Entrance, Toukley and Woy Woy – will battle it out to be crowned the first winners of the competition.
Rugby Union
- England, France and Wales women’s rugby teams will head for New Zealand in October as the world champions host the inaugural WXV tournament.
- Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan is considering a tilt at one of the most powerful positions in World Rugby, but could face stern opposition from within the region as political manoeuvring ramps up before a meeting this month.
- Waratahs coach Campbell Aitken believes women’s rugby and league will cannibalise each other unless they play their off field games differently to the men.
Superleague (UK
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