🏏 Fitness Fears For The Final

Prank away, it's Friday, 1 April

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Lucy Watkin are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 10 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching this weekend

🏉 Friday, 8.05pm (AEDT) - NRL - Panthers v Rabbitohs - BlueBet Stadium, Sydney - Channel 9, Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Saturday, 12.40pm (AEDT) - AFLW - Demons v Lions - MCG, Melbourne - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 Saturday, 5.00pm (AEDT) - WNBL Finals (G1) - Boomers v Lynx - Melbourne Sports Centre, Melbourne - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ Saturday, 7.45pm (AEDT) - A-League Men - Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers - Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney - Channel 10, Paramount+

🏀 Sunday, 10.30am (AEST) - March Madness - Duke v North Carolina - Caesars Superdome, New Orleans - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 Sunday, 11.00am (AEST) - Women's World Cup Final - Australia v England - Hagley Oval, Christchurch - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Sunday, 12.00pm (AEST) - NRLW - Dragons v Titans - Leichhardt Oval, Sydney - Channel  9, Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Sunday, 6.20pm (AEST) - AFL - Eagles v Dockers - Optus Stadium, Perth - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 The winner takes it all

It sounds like an ABBA song - and it is - but the winner really will take it all when the Women’s 50-over World Cup final is played on Sunday. It's Australia against old foe England after they won their semi-final yesterday. 

The score: England 8/293 defeated South Africa 156. 

Golden points: It looks like we’ve got one more Ashes battle this year after England beat South Africa in Thursday’s semi-final.

• Okay, so England have got a few players in form and they are the defending champs.

• But Australia is 8/8 at the World Cup, dominated the Ashes a few months ago and haven’t lost to England since 2017.

• Everything seems to be going to plan for the Aussies, but there is one spanner in the works. Ellyse Perry has missed the past 2 games because of a back injury and is in doubt for the final. 

Watch it: You can sleep in on Sunday when the clocks come forward. Then it’s time to sit back and relax. The final starts at 11.00am (AEST) and is on Foxtel and for free on Kayo. 

Stat attack: Check out the numbers from both teams at the World Cup heading into Sunday's final. 

🏏 Staying in Lahore to settle the score

We're going to game 3! The Aussies scored plenty of runs in Pakistan but it wasn't enough so we're off to a decider.

The score: Pakistan 4/352 defeated Australia 8/348.

Golden points: The one-day series is locked at 1-all after Pakistan’s batters went to town to record their highest ever ODI run chase. 

• Ben McDermott got the party started early for the Aussies when he hit his first ODI hundred to help the team post its highest ever 50-over score in Pakistan.

• But the bowlers just couldn’t back up their heroics from the first game as a couple of Pakistani batters belted centuries to help them win with an over to go. 

What’s next: The series stays in Lahore for the final game on Saturday. You can catch that on Sunday from 9.00pm (AEDT).

⚽ Arnie has not been terminated 

It turns out the hot goss was ice cold. The rumours of Graham Arnold being sacked as Socceroos coach were off the mark, and he ain’t going anywhere.

Golden points: There were reports that Arnold would lose his job after the Socceroos failed to automatically qualify for the Qatar World Cup. But he’s safe for now and will see out the rest of the campaign.

• He hasn’t got the dreaded “full support of the board” but Arnold does have the backing of Football Australia because they want some stability in the role.

• The Socceroos will play the United Arab Emirates on 7 June and that’s a pretty important game. Lose that one and it’s all over. 

• But if they win then they play Peru a week later. If they win that one then they can start booking flights to Qatar later in the year. Bring a hat because it gets hot. 

What are the chances… the Socceroos qualify? Recent form isn’t great. They won one of their final 7 games in qualifying. But the Socceroos have made every World Cup since 2006 and they are ranked higher than the UAE (Australia is 37th, UAE 69th, Peru 22nd).  

🏉 MCG to host the greatest show on turf 

There are some pretty wild maths equations out there that make absolutely no sense. But when it comes to AFLW preliminary finals, the equation couldn’t be easier: win and you’re in.

Golden points: We’re down to the final 4 teams in the AFLW. That means 2 games on Saturday and the winners go through to the GF.

• We mentioned maths earlier, but now it’s time for a history lesson. The game between the Demons and the Lions will be the first AFLW game played at the MCG.

• The Demons have won 6 in a row but the Lions are the defending premiers. One of those streaks has to end.

• If that’s not enough for you, the Crows play the Dockers in the 2nd game. The Crows finished on top in the regular season and beat Fremantle when they played earlier this year.

Watch it: Tickets are free for both games so the atmosphere should be pumping. But if you can’t get to the grounds then Channel 7, Foxtel and Kayo have you sorted. The first game starts at 12.40pm (AEDT).

🏉 Footy fever heats up 

If you live in Sydney then you know how wet it’s been this year. But the forecast says it’s fine on Sunday, and that means it could be raining tries.

Golden points: The NRLW finals are here after COVID delayed the start of the season. Finals, you say? Yes, this is the first time the comp will have semis because the league has gone from 4 to 6 teams.

• Both games will be at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney. As luck would have it, these are rematches from Round 1.

• The Dragons play the Titans in the first match. It’s been a fair old effort by the Titans because this is their first year in the comp.

• Then make room for the premiers. The Broncos are 3/3 in NRLW grand finals and they’ll be favourites to beat the Roosters.

Watch it: If you can’t make it to the hill at Leichhardt then don't worry. Both games are on Channel 9, Foxtel and Kayo from 12.00pm (AEST). If you missed it last week, here’s Emma Tonegato’s tackle on Jess Sergis. You won’t see better this year.

🏁 Formula 1 goes all in on Vegas

How about that ride in? I guess that’s why they call it Sin City. Not sure Formula 1 drivers will have to cop Alan’s speech from The Hangover. But they can get excited about a trip to Las Vegas. 

Golden points: It looks like F1 is getting pretty popular in the States because Las Vegas is gonna host a race under lights in 2023.

• That makes it 3 races in the USA next year to go with Austin and Miami. 

• So why the surge? You can thank Netflix for that. The show Drive to Survive has been a hit over there, with F1 TV ratings going up 40% last year.

• The only thing missing now is American drivers. There have been none since 2015 and only 2 in the past 25 years.

Watch it: This is what a lap on the new track will look like. Except F1 drivers will probably be going a bit quicker.

👀 Quick singles

🏈 Tom Brady is back but Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians won't be joining him next NFL season after he retired for a job in the team’s front office. Tampa Bay has promoted defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to help them win more Super Bowls.

🏐 The Giants are trying to get their Super Netball game against the Thunderbirds pushed back because of a COVID outbreak. The club reported another positive case on Thursday and is running low on players ahead of the trip to Adelaide.

🏉 The Dockers will be without coach Justin Longmuir for the Derby after he tested positive for COVID. There are also some big outs for Port Adelaide ahead of tonight’s Showdown against the Crows. 

🏉 The Rugby World Cup could be returning to Australia after the government confirmed it would financially support the bid. World Rugby says Australia is its preferred choice to host the event for the first time since 2003. 

⚽ The pots have been sorted for the men’s FIFA World Cup draw on Saturday morning. It means the Socceroos are guaranteed to play some of the toughest teams in the world after they were put in pot 4 with some of the lower-ranked countries. That’s if they qualify. 

🏀 Patty Mills is just as popular in the NBA as he is with basketball fans in Australia. Mills is one of 6 players to be nominated for the NBA Sportsmanship Award that recognises fair play and integrity. 

🏉 Rugby fans rejoice because Sydney’s Shute Shield returns on Saturday. The club comp is nearly 100yo and you can catch the games on Stan Sport.

⚽ Manchester United is coming down under for the first time since 1999 for a couple of pre-season friendlies. The football giants will play Melbourne Victory and fellow EPL team Crystal Palace in July at the MCG. 

🙃 Left of field…

It’s 1 April and that can mean only one thing. Don’t believe everything you hear. Unless it comes from us. 

Golden points: April Fool’s Day is here and there have been some great sporting moments over the years where hilarious pranks were pulled on unsuspecting fans.

• We saw the old double prank at an NBA game in 2009. A blindfolded fan was asked to hit a half-court shot for $100,000. He missed, but he thought he got it after the crowd cheered.

• He was so pumped because he’d just been fired from his job. Things got awkward from there when he was told it was a prank. He got really upset but turns out it was all a ruse. He was an actor, so the joke was on the crowd. What a twist!

Watch it: British bulldogs collecting cricket balls from the boundary? It sounds too good to be true. Well, the story broke 10 years ago and some people actually believed it.

📽 The highlight reel

Make sure you hug a Wests Tigers fan if you see one today. The Tigers remain winless in the NRL but boy did they get close last night. They were one minute from a win on the Gold Coast until this happened. 

📸 Photo finish

It's business as usual for South Sydney five-eighth Cody Walker. He was asked to sign the prosthetic leg of a super Souths fan at training ahead of the NRL Grand Final rematch. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

There have been 2952 games played at the MCG.