🏉 Panthers Pounce On Slow-Starting Sea Eagles

Cheers to the weekend, it's Friday, 11 March

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

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

Today's listen time: 9.20 minutes

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching today

🏏 10.25am - Marsh Cup Final - WA v NSW - Junction Oval, St Kilda - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 11.30am - NBA - 76ers v Nets - Wells Fargo Centre, Philadelphia - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 8.05pm - NRL - Broncos v Rabbitohs - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane - Channel 9, Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEDT

🏉 Panthers purring in premiership pursuit 

Winning an NRL comp is meant to be really hard. Or at least that’s what we’ve heard. But defending that premiership is supposed to be even tougher. It looks like someone forgot to tell that to the Panthers.

The score: Panthers 28 beat Sea Eagles 6

Golden points: The Panthers opened the new season with a big win over Manly. Not a bad effort considering they were without injured halfback Nathan Cleary.

• Izack Tago will be a trivia question for years to come after he scored the first try of the year. 

• Penrith’s Dylan Edwards ran for a career-best 344 metres. That’s heaps. In fact, it’s more than double what Manly’s ace fullback Tom Trbojevic got. 

• Only one team has gone back-to-back in the NRL era. That was the Roosters in 2018 and 2019. That stat could change if the Panthers keep this up. 

Key click: There was a fair bit going on before the game with the NRL announcing mass changes to the judiciary just hours before kick-off. Here’s all the info you need to know.

Watch it: Check out the match highlights. Only 200 games to go! 

🏉 Double trouble for the AFLW

What’s better than one AFLW season this year? No, it’s not a trick question. Don’t overthink it. The answer is 2 if reports are true, but there could be a few issues if head office decides to double it up. 

Golden point: The final round of the AFLW season starts tonight but there are talks that a second season in 2022 could start in August.

• That sounds great, right? Well, there are definitely some positives. Players have complained about summer starts because of the extreme heat.

• The current comp was pushed back a month because of COVID and that means the league had to compete with the Ashes and the summer of tennis.

• But there are 4 new teams coming in, so they’ll need time to finalise their squads. Plus you’ve got a lot of players dealing with serious injuries. An early start means they’d miss the next season as well.

What’s next: Finals spots are up for grabs when the final round of the season kicks off tonight with the Cats taking on the Suns. You can watch that on Foxtel and Kayo from 6.10pm (AEDT). 

🏏 Flat pitch was a stitch up 

So it turns out the Aussies were always going to be up against it in the first Test in Pakistan. Skipper Pat Cummins thought the flat pitch was deliberately set up to take Australia’s quicks out of the game. Turns out he was right.

Golden points: Australia’s fast bowlers destroyed England during the Ashes. But they combined for one wicket in Rawalpindi on a flat surface that offered no pace or bounce.

• That can sometimes happen because curators aren’t perfect. Even the MCG has lacked spice at times.

• But Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said a flat pitch was always the plan and that we can expect more of the same.

• The match referee wasn't impressed. He rated the pitch below average because it didn't provide a genuine contest between bat and ball.

What are the chances… Australia changes it up and plays a 2nd spinner? It’s definitely on the cards. The pitch in Karachi is expected to turn, so we could see leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson join Nathan Lyon in the XI. 

🎾 No vaxx hurts Novak again 

There’ll be no smile on Novak’s face because the ‘Djoker’ has had to withdraw from a couple of tennis events in the States which will hurt his chances of winning back his world #1 ranking.

Golden points: Health officials in the USA say that people visiting the country must be vaccinated against COVID. That means no entry for Djokovic. Sounds familiar? It’s the Australian Open 2.0. 

• The decision means the Serbian star won’t play at the Indian Wells event and the Miami Open. 

• The loss of income isn’t really a drama for a man who has won close to $200 million, but the decision not to play means he can’t earn those precious points he needs to catch Daniil Medvedev at the top of the rankings.

Watch it: There’s no Novak, but you can wake up early with a big bowl of Special K in the morning. That’s because Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are playing in the doubles and singles in Indian Wells. Catch the tournament on Foxtel and Kayo to see if the fellas can repeat their Oz Open heroics. 

⚽ Chelsea hit by big freeze 

Imagine you’ve just been paid but you can’t spend any of your money to buy that big TV you’ve been dreaming of. That’s kinda what Chelsea are going through after their owner was hit hard by the UK government.

Golden points: Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned because of his relationship with Russian president, Vladimir Putin. 

• The billionaire was one of 7 Russian heavyweights who were punished over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

• It’s bad news for Chelsea. The halt on revenue means only season ticket holders can attend games. That means no one else can buy tickets, the club can’t sell merchandise and they also can’t sign new players.

• Things could get frosty because Abramovich had been trying to sell the club to avoid something like this happening. But the asset freeze means those talks have been put on hold.

What’s next: Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world who have been able to rely on deep pockets to help them win. They are the current club champions of Europe and the world, but this could rock them. They are playing Norwich City this morning in the English Premier League, so let’s see what happens.

👀 Quick singles

⚾ The Major League Baseball season has been pushed back again because team owners and the players union aren't playing ball. It means more games have been cancelled because the 2 sides can't settle on a new collective bargaining agreement. 

🎾 World #1 Daniil Medvedev wants to keep winning but he doesn't know if he'll be allowed to play on. Some sports have banned Russian athletes from competing, and Medvedev hopes tennis doesn't follow their lead. 

🏀 Houston, it looks like the Lakers have a problem after they lost to the worst team in the western conference. The Lakers are battling for a spot in the playoffs after they were beaten by a Rockets team that has struggled all year. 

⚽ Real Madrid found out that beating PSG is easy as 1, 2, 3 after French player Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick to eliminate the glamour club from the Champions League. But there was some controversy, and there are reports the PSG boss threatened to kill the ref after the game. 

🏉 Simon Lethlean is about to earn his wings after he agreed to become St Kilda’s CEO at the end of the season. He will replace Matt Finnis who has been in the role for 8 years. 

🏀 Ben Simmons returns to Philadelphia today but we still don't know when he will play his first game for his new team. The Brooklyn Nets take on the 76ers in what should be a spicy contest, but Simmons won't play because of a back injury. 

🙃 Left of field…

Someone call the Guinness World Records because a couple of football teams in England have taken penalty shootouts to new heights. 

Golden points: Washington and Bedlington combined for 54 penalties. If you care about the result, Washington won 25-24. Apparently, they’re called the Mechanics. You learn something new every day. 

• There were more penalties taken than there were people in the crowd. But to be fair, they got their money’s worth. 

• The most important penalty wasn’t even in the shootout. Washington had to score from the spot in stoppage time just to level it up. 

Key click: Here’s all the info on the previous world record. It was a fair effort to last 17 years.

🚨 Footy fans check this out

Don't Forget Your Tips! is a weekly podcast for footy fans who are keen to get an edge in their footy tipping comp. There will be 2 episodes each week - one on NRL and the other AFL - all done in around 10 minutes by 6.00am (AEDT/AEST) on Thursdays. The first episode landed yesterday, previewing Round 1 of the NRL, with AFL episodes starting a week later. Follow Don't Forget Your Tips! on Apple, Spotify and all podcast apps.

📽 The highlight reel

Alex Carey should think about a career in comedy after he sent everyone at the team hotel in Pakistan into hysterics. Only problem was they were laughing at him, not with him after his accidental dive into the hotel swimming pool.

📸 Photo finish

It was a family affair at the World Golf Hall of Fame event yesterday in Florida. Legend Tiger Woods was inducted and introduced by his 14yo daughter Sam. It might not be long until we see another Woods dominating if his son Charlie keeps following in his father's footsteps.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Abramovich bought Chelsea back in 2003 for about $270 million.