⚽ Hrustic The Hero

Time for Origin, it's Wednesday, 8 June

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

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

Today's listen time: 9.30 minutes. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching 

🥅 10.00am - NHL Conference Finals Game 4 - Lightning v Rangers - Amalie Arena, Tampa - Foxtel, Kayo 

🏉 8.10pm - State of Origin - NSW v Queensland - Accor Stadium, Sydney - Channel 9  

🏏 11.30pm - International T20 - Sri Lanka v Australia - R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo - Foxtel, Kayo  

All times are in AEST

⚽ One step closer to the World Cup 

Ajdin is going to be a very popular boy’s name this week after Ajdin Hrustic scored the winner to move the Socceroos one win away from a spot at the FIFA World Cup.

The score: Australia defeated UAE 2-1.

Golden points: There might’ve been some noise complaints this morning after Hrustic scored the winner with 6 minutes to go.

• The 2nd half was the complete opposite of the first 45 when nothing really happened.

• But that all changed when Jackson Irvine opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, only for the UAE to hit back 4 minutes later.

• The Aussies had a couple of chances before Hrustic stepped up as the hero. His thunderbolt of a shot was deflected past the keeper. Cue the celebrations. 

They said it: "It’s a great result for us tonight. We go into the week full of confidence but the job is only half done." - Irvine knows there's still a lot to do. 

What’s next: Don’t party too hard because there’s one more game to go. The Socceroos play Peru next week in an intercontinental showdown. The winner qualifies for the Qatar World Cup. Peru is ranked 22nd and beat the Socceroos 4 years ago.

Watch it: Next week’s game is on Tuesday morning in Doha. But before then, sit back and watch this goal that will be replayed for a very long time.

🏉 Tough day to be a coach 

The NRL usually struggles to make the news when State of Origin is on. But yesterday wasn't an ordinary day.

Golden points: It was a tough few hours for coaches with Nathan Brown and Michael Maguire sacked by their clubs.

• You could sense something was up at the Warriors when Brown told the club on Monday that he couldn’t relocate to New Zealand next year. He also says he won't coach again.

• The Warriors moved quickly and sacked him on Tuesday morning. He’s been replaced by Stacey Jones, who played 261 games for the club. 

• It was hard to keep up because the Wests Tigers then sacked Maguire a few hours later. He joined them in 2019 but the club never made finals while he was there. 

What’s next: Former rep player Brett Kimmorley will coach the Tigers for the rest of the season. The Tigers have won 3 of their 12 games this season and can now start looking for a full-time coach from 2023.

🏉 Banned May wants to make it up to his mates 

There were whispers a few weeks ago that the Melbourne Demons would go through the AFL season undefeated. They’ve now lost 2 games in a row and their star defender is suspended.

Golden points: That’s Steven May, who will miss Monday’s game against Collingwood for drinking on the weekend and getting into a fight with a teammate.

• The drinking part of it is the issue because he wasn’t meant to have any alcohol while he's recovering from a concussion.

• May and Jake Melksham say there’s no bad blood after the boozy bust-up in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran on Sunday night.

• But it’s a big blow for the club because he’s one of the best defenders in the comp and was picked in the 2021 All-Australian squad.

They said it: “It was just a silly decision that we made and deeply regret already.” - May says he needs to win back his teammates’ trust.

What’s next: The defending champs play the Magpies on Monday in the traditional Queen’s Birthday clash.

🏉 Rugby league's greatest rivalry returns 

State against state, mate against mate. Get excited people, because the greatest rivalry in Aussie sport kicks off tonight. 

Golden points: Cancel those dinner plans and don’t change the channel because the State of Origin series opener is not to be missed.

• Sure, this is a best out of 3 series. But you really want to win the first game. The team that does that has won 30/40 series.

• That’s great news for the Blues who have won 3 in a row in Sydney and are coming off a 2-1 series win in 2021 that was played entirely in Queensland because of COVID.

• But this is a new-look Maroons. They’ve got 4 rookies, heaps of players in form and they’ve got a new coach who knows a lot about Origin. Billy Slater played 31 games for his state and is tipped to be an NRL coach one day.

Watch it: Order some pizza, chuck it on Channel 9 and enjoy 80 minutes of intense rugby league from 8.10pm (AEST). And just to get you excited, here’s a try Slater scored in 2004 that might just be the best ever.

🏉 Special episode!

There's a special episode of our footy tipping podcast Don't Forget Your Tips! out now that breaks down State of Origin Game 1. Fez and Gabz cover the history of the series, the key facts and figures, the players to watch and The Squid gives his tip. Listen now on Apple, Spotify and your favourite podcast app. 

🏏 Awesome Aussies start Sri Lankan tour in style 

The Aussies have made the perfect start to their Sri Lankan tour.

The score: Australia 0/134 defeated Sri Lanka 128 by 10 wickets.

Golden points: Things started perfectly when skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and sent Sri Lanka in, and it only got better from there.

• The pitch was expected to favour the quicks and it definitely did. Sri Lanka’s batters actually got off to a good start but then suffered an epic collapse.

• They lost 9/28 in less than 8 overs as Player of the Match Josh Hazlewood ripped through them with figures of 4-16.  

• There were no problems for the Aussie openers with Finch (61 not out) and David Warner (70 not out) chasing down the total with 36 balls to spare.

What’s next: There’s not much time to celebrate. The 2nd T20 starts tonight in Colombo. You can watch it on Foxtel and Kayo from 11.30pm (AEST).

Watch it: Here are the highlights from this morning's win. 

👀 Quick singles

⛳ Tiger Woods won’t play at next week’s US Open. The 46yo wants to rest his body and plans on playing in next month’s British Open. 

🏉 Daisy Pearce has locked in a coaching role with Geelong. The AFLW star will be mentored by the Cats as part of a program that will get more women involved in coaching. 

🏈 Aaron Donald is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. The LA Rams reworked his contract and he’s now going to make about $130 million over the next 3 years. 

🎾 Rising tennis star Emma Raducanu doesn’t know if she’ll be able to play in her home Grand Slam. The British youngster suffered an injury at the Nottingham Open and is now in doubt for Wimbledon. 

🏉 England will be without one of their best forwards for next month’s rugby union series in Australia. Kyle Sinckler is recovering from a back injury and joins a few other big names who won’t make the trip. 

⛳ Former world #1 Dustin Johnson is the latest player to quit the PGA Tour to join the LIV series. The 2-time major winner will make a stack of money in the Saudi-backed rebel tour. 

🙃 Left of field...

It’s not going to be the same level as George Kambosos and Tim Tszyu, but it’s time to get excited for some boxing fights that could seriously produce anything. 

Golden points: These guys aren’t pros. Well, they were, but not boxers. We’re talking about some former AFL stars who will compete in the All Stars Boxing - Footy Fight Night.

• Brownlow Medallists Adam Cooney and Dane Swan will square off.

• But the highlight is going to be the battle of the big boys. Cam Mooney and Brendan Fevola were aggressive on the field, and even though they’re a bit older now, we’re expecting some fireworks.

They said it: “I’ve got a kitchen now so haven’t been having Uber Eats for the last four months for five meals a day.” - Fev says he’s lost 12kg in 3 weeks! 

What’s next: Plenty more fighters will be added to the card on 3 August at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena.

📽 The highlight reel

Don't forget about Jackson Irvine. It was his goal that got the Socceroos going this morning. 

📸 Photo finish

The Colorado Avalanche are through to the Stanley Cup after they eliminated the Oilers 4-0 in the NHL Conference Finals. They're too tired to smile. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

The Tigers last played finals footy in 2011.