🏉 Sin Bin City

Good morning, it's Monday, 12 September. If you like your sports news served hard, fast and straight to the head then this is the newsletter equivalent of yesterday's brutal Rabbitohs-Roosters match. It'll take less time than a stint in the sin bin to read so let's get into it so you can get back out there.

⏱ 1,476 words = 7 minutes

👀 Goosebumps incoming.

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 Rugby league goes retro

Aussie sports fans were up and/or about after week one of the AFL Finals. The NRL watched on and said:

Golden points: The 1st week of the NRL Finals is over with wins to the Panthers, Raiders, Cowboys and of course the Rabbitohs in a match that belonged in the 1970s, not 2022.

• Souths beat arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters 30-14 at Allianz Stadium yesterday. During the 80 minutes (which felt like 3 hours) 7 players were sent to the sin bin, 5 players were assessed for concussion, 3 of those players were ruled out of the match with concussion and 5 of the 8 tries in the match were conceded by the team with more players on the field.

• The match was brutal - the sin bins were for high tackles, punches and head slams, the kind of stuff you'd expect/demand from a league game in the 70s or 80s, but that stuff just ain't allowed these days.

• With any match involving so many critical referring decisions, referee Ashley Klein and the NRL's video review system aka The Bunker came under fire (mainly on social media) but the 2 coaches didn't have a major issue with the officiating (not publicly at least).

• Between the high tackles and pushing and shoving, Souths won the big moments and it was their star fullback Latrell Mitchell that had a hand in a lot of it. He was booed last week by Roosters fans but this week got a cheer at full-time that had him choked up.

• The result means Souths move on to play the Sharks while the Roosters are eliminated. Joining Easts for Mad Monday (at separate locations) are the Melbourne Storm - the Storm lost to Canberra 28-20 on Saturday evening.

• The Raiders will play the Eels in Parramatta after the Eels lost 27-8 to defending premiers and clear title favourites Penrith. And on Saturday night, the Cowboys beat Cronulla at Shark Park 32-30 in perhaps the match of the round. The teams needed golden point after regulation and extra time wasn't enough. Cowboys centre Val Holmes kicked a 2-point field goal to get the upset win and advance to the preliminary finals.

What's next: Here's a nice graphic from our friends at the NRL explaining how the finals look for week 2. The Eels-Raiders game is on Friday night, while the Sharks-Rabbitohs game is on Saturday night.

QUICK SINGLES

🏉 Rugby: Australia wins the Women's Rugby Sevens World Cup. The Aussies beat New Zealand 24-22 in the final this morning in Cape Town, South Africa. The Kiwis scored a try after the final siren but missed the conversion to send the match into extra time. It means the women's side has won the triple crown of the World Cup, the World Rugby Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games gold medal.

🏏 Cricket: Aaron Finch farewells 50-over cricket with a win. Finch announced on Saturday that yesterday's 3rd one-day international against New Zealand would be his last, and while he didn't make an impact with the bat (he scored 5) he did captain his team to a 25-run win and a 3-0 series clean sweep. He's sticking around for the T20 World Cup but what an ODI career it's been for Finch - 146 matches, 55 as captain, 17 centuries and a World Cup win in 2015.

🎾 Tennis: Mixed doubles delight for Storm Sanders and John Peers at the US Open. The Aussie pair won the mixed doubles in New York, the 1st time since Rennae Stubbs and Todd Woodbridge won the title back in 2001. It was their 1st grand slam together and it probs won't be their last. It's been a great year for Aussie doubles - Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the men's doubles at the Australian Open, Matt Ebden and Max Purcell won the men's doubles at Wimbledon and now Sanders and Peers at Flushing Meadows. Triple double trouble!

🎾 Tennis: Iga Świątek is your women's singles US Open champion. Świątek beat Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6(5) in the final yesterday in what's been an incredible year. She became the world #1 in April after Ash Barty retired, won the French Open, the US Open and a record 37 matches in a row. It's gonna be tough to beat that in 2023 but time is on her side - she's only 21yo. The men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Caper Ruud is on as this newsletter hits your inbox.

🏎 F1: Max Verstappen wins [insert race]. It's getting to the point we can almost copy and paste this story after each Formula 1 race this season as Verstappen and his really fast car keep on winning. He started 7th in the Italian GP but by the 5th lap he was up to 2nd and cruised to the win at Monza - quite literally, the race ended behind a safety car. It was Verstappen's 11th win of the season, 5th win in a row and if he wins the next race in Singapore and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc doesn't finish he'll win the drivers' championship.

🏉 AFL: The AFL prelims are locked in. 4 teams, 3 states, 2 cities, one big weekend. The Cats will host the Lions at the MCG on Friday night after Brisbane upset Melbourne 92-79. On Saturday arvo at the SCG, the Swans play the Magpies. Collingwood was too good for Freo in its semi-final, winning 79-59 after the Dockers were held to just one point in the 1st quarter for a 2nd-straight week. Pretty simple from here - win and you make the grand final. Lose and you're out.

LEFT OF FIELD

⚽️ Football: Forget Al Pacino. Ignore Sly Stallone. Mute Phil Gould. If you want to hear an inspirational speech that'll get you ready to run through a brick wall then get on the phone with Welsh actor Michael Sheen. He was asked on the spot on the British sports comedy quiz show A League of Their Own on what he'd say to the Wales football team ahead of their World Cup match against England in what will be their 1st World Cup finals in 64 years. What he delivered was something, well, straight out of a movie. If this doesn't give you goosebumps then turn up the sound and watch it again!

📽 Highlight reel: If you like an underdog story then check this out - Sydney United 58 has become the 1st club in National Premier League (the league below the pros) to make it into the final of the Australia Cup (formerly FFA Cup). They beat A-League Mens side Brisbane Roar 3-2 yesterday and the goal that won it was top drawer.

THE POLLING BOOTH

Friday's result: 53.97% won't be watching the NFL this season.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• ⚾️ 10:00am - MLB - Cubs v Giants - Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Chicago - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 10:15am - NFL - Cowboys v Buccaneers - AT&T Stadium, Arlington - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏏 07:15pm - Cricket - England v South Africa, 3rd Test, Day 5 - The Oval, London - Foxtel, Kayo

All times AEST

THE MANAGER'S OFFICE

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