🏉 Blues Are The Best In The West

The Blues are back, it's Monday, 27 June

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 10 minutes. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching this weekend

⚾ 9.00am - MLB - Braves v Dodgers - Truist Park, Atlanta - Foxtel, Kayo

🥅 10.00am - Stanley Cup Game 6 - Lightning v Avalanche  - Amalie Arena, Tampa - Foxtel, Kayo

🎾 8.00pm - Wimbledon Day 1 - All England Club, London - Channel 9, Stan Sport

All times are in AEST

🏉 Nathan is Cleary the best 

Someone call Eiffel 65 for a reunion show because we are so blue this morning.

The score: NSW defeated Queensland 44-12.

Golden points: We are off to a State of Origin decider. The Blues were way too good in Game 2 thanks to some Nathan Cleary magic. But as usual, the focus has been on the ref.

• NSW coach Brad Fittler wasn’t happy with Ashley Klein after the first game. This time it was the Maroons blowing up after Felise Kaufusi was sent to the sin bin.

• Queensland was leading at the time but the Blues took control once the back-rower was sent to the sin bin for repeat infringements just before half-time. 

• Cleary was the star, finishing with 2 tries and 24 points. You wouldn’t believe it, but he was named player of the match. 

They said it: “He comes out in Game 2 and puts on a clinic with a lot of pressure on him. He is one hell of a player.” - NSW captain James Tedesco was great, but even he was in awe of Cleary. 

What’s next: Is it too early to plan a sickie on 13 July? That’s when the decider will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and we are already way too pumped up. 

Watch it: Start your week the right way with the highlights from last night’s game in Perth.

⚽ Unlucky seven for the Matildas 

There’s no need to push the panic button just yet. Sure, the Matildas got smashed yesterday. But it was only a friendly.

Golden points: It’s not fun waking up early on a Sunday morning to watch the national football team lose 7-0 to Spain.

• That’s the biggest loss Australia has had since 1997. We’re talking all the way back when the first Austin Powers movie came out. 

• Sam Kerr and other stars were rested for this one, so it’s not like this was our strongest possible team.

• But there is a World Cup on home soil next year so it is kinda important that our next generation of stars get experience against teams like world #7 Spain. 

They said it: “It's investments past that World Cup. And the answers we got now, I think, are a wake-up call for a lot of people.” - Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said the loss was a bit of a reality check. 

What’s next: The good thing about football is you can always bounce back. The Matildas play Portugal at 6.00am (AEST) on Wednesday. If you missed it, here are Spain’s goals. 

🏉 Experts call for major AFL change

Football has yellow and red cards. Rugby league has the sin bin and the send off. But the AFL won’t bring them in even though a lot of people reckon they should.

Golden points: This argument gets brought up whenever we see an ugly tackle that seriously injures someone. And right on cue, it’s back in the headlines this week.

• Geelong’s Tom Stewart might’ve been sent off in rugby league after he shouldered Richmond’s Dion Prestia in the head and knocked him out of the game.

• But he stayed on the field and was one of the best players as Geelong stormed home to win.

• The AFL says it’s not considering a send off rule and that the justice handed out by the match review committee is more than fair. 

What’s next: Stewart is facing a minimum 3-game ban after the charges came out yesterday. He's been referred straight to the tribunal after the match review officer said it was careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. 

Watch it: Here’s the ugly hit on Prestia.

🎾 Quiet please, Wimbledon is about to start 

Start washing the strawberries and lay out your finest white clothing because Wimbledon begins later tonight.

Golden points: There’s something special about the 3rd major of the year. The grass is super green, the action is fast and there’s always a chance that an Aussie wins it.

• We’re not exaggerating. Ash Barty won it last year but won’t defend her title because she’s retired.

• But there are 15 Australians in the draw, with Alex de Minaur the only seeded player.

• You might be wondering where world #1 Daniil Medvedev is. He’s not playing, and neither are the other Russian and Belarussian stars because they were banned by tournament organisers due to the Ukrainian invasion.

What are the chances… Novak Djokovic wins his 7th Wimbledon title? He’s gonna be hard to beat. He won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and the only reason he didn’t win in 2020 was because the event was cancelled due to COVID.

Watch it: Chuck it on Channel 9 or Stan Sport from 8.00pm (AEST) to watch all the action.

🏐 Giants' season gone in 60 seconds

It was literally the worst time to go and make a cup of coffee. Thankfully, we’ve got you sorted if you somehow missed the final minute of Saturday’s Super Netball prelim final.

Golden points: Talk about drama! Hollywood’s finest would struggle to fit so many twists and turns into their next script.

• Somehow, the Vixens are through to the final. They were down by 10 goals in the 4th quarter but tied it up at 54-all with a minute to go.

• And that’s when it got crazy. Both teams turned the ball over before Mwai Kumwenda scored.

• The Giants then had a chance but the whistle went just before Sophie Dwyer got her shot away.

They said it: “They played their best game, we played our absolute worst game last week.” - The Vixens are in the final after finishing last in 2021, and co-captain Liz Watson says revenge is on the menu after last week’s loss to the Fever.

Watch it: Here are the final moments of an epic contest. 

👀 Quick singles

⛳ Minjee Lee fell one shot short of another major title after a big 4th round at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Instead, In Gee Chun held on to win the title. 

🏍 Aussie Jack Miller finished 6th at the Dutch MotoGP overnight. But it was a wild race for championship leader Fabio Quartararo who crashed twice and failed to finish. 

🏏 England looks set to wrap up a 3-0 series win over New Zealand in the cricket. They just need another 113 runs to win with 8 wickets in hand after another dominant day. 

🎯 There’s been a shock result at the Dutch Masters. Some of the biggest names in darts got eliminated early as Dimitri Van den Bergh won his 2nd title in 2 weeks. 

🏉 Port Adelaide’s resurgence continued with another thrilling win over the Suns yesterday. They’re back in 12th but only one win outside the AFL’s top 8. 

⚽ Holy smokes, Arsenal has landed Gabriel Jesus on a 5-year deal. The Brazilian striker will join the Gunners after a long stint with Manchester City. 

🙃 Left of field...

We absolutely love our sport. But we’ve got nothing on Pablo Bateson.

Golden points: This guy lives for the Socceroos. We’re talking nearly 50 years of devotion to the men’s football team. The man is obsessed. 

• Bateson has been to about 90 World Cup qualifiers since 1973. 

• We’re talking all over the world. He went to 47-straight games from 2008-2017 in 17 different countries. That’s a lot of passport stamps.

• He’s got to be the team’s biggest fan. And they know it because they’ve given him some awesome memorabilia over the years.

What’s next: He’s obviously heading to Qatar later this year for the World Cup.

📽 The highlight reel

How good in international footy! Nothing beats the passion of Tonga's Sipi Tau up against New Zealand's Haka. 

📸 Photo finish

Just like the team song says, side by side these guys stick together. The Magpies have won 5 on the trot and are just one win outside the top 4. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Świątek has won 35 matches on the trot. Good luck stopping her.