G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: "League is much, much more physical than union, and that's before anyone starts breaking the rules" - Adrian Hadley (Welsh League & Union player)

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🐴 SJ Tipping Game round 2 (get involved)

🏉 NRL draw

🇦🇺 AFL fixture curveball

🐴 Sport Journal Tipping game: This Saturday!

How to play: It's FREE to play, have a go at picking the winner in 3 of the feature races, win Sport Journal merch. simple. It’s free to enter and a bit of fun.

How to play:

• Click HERE to open the form

• Enter your email and name (so we can contact you when you win)

• Pick a horse in Race 6 Eagle Farm > hit next

• Pick a horse in Race 7 Eagle Farm > hit next

• Pick a horse Race 8 Eagle Farm > hit next

• Have a guess at the combined winning distance of the 3 races > make sure you hit submit

You don’t need to be an expert, just pick a horse from each race.

If we have a good number of players, we’ll look to branch out into other sports that as they restart.

Play HERE

🏉 NRL

NRL draw for 2020: Rescheduled season full of rivalries

The NRL draw has been released for the rest of the season with traditional and modern-day rivalries featuring throughout the remainder of the Telstra Premiership campaign for all clubs. Download a PDF of the draw

Some of the main highlights of the draw are:

• Key rivalries all featuring twice across season;

• The Anzac match between the Dragons and Roosters will now be played on August 6 in round 13 on the anniversary of the Battle of Lone Pine;

• The grand final rematch between the Roosters and Raiders will be held on a Thursday night in round 10.

State of Origin will enter new territory when the series is played for the first time in November over three consecutive Wednesday nights.

The NRL has announced the 2020 fixtures will be played on November 4, 11 and 18. Venues are yet to be finalised. (NRL)

🐴 Racing

Star mare Sunlight to be a big Magic Millions National Sale drawcard

Tony McEvoy says it is immeasurable what champion mare Sunlight (Zoustar) has done for his training business.

The glowing endorsement of Sunlight came after the decision was made by connections to this week retire the four-year-old from racing and put the highly sought after mare up for auction at July’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, the same ring she was sold out of as a yearling.

A winner of 11 of her 24 starts and more than $6.5 million in prize-money, Sunlight bows out having won the;

• Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m),

• Coolmore Stud Stakes (registered as Ascot Vale Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m),

• Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m),

• William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). (anzbloodstock)

⚽️ Football

FFA likely to go for the Hub option

The remainder of the A-League season increasingly looks set to be completed in a tournament-style format in a hub located in NSW, Victoria or Queensland.

The final rounds of the A-League season appear increasingly likely to be played in a hub location in a tournament-style fixture format.

"Queensland is one of several states under consideration to serve as the location for the remainder of the A-League 2019-20 season," an FFA spokesperson told AAP.

The ambitious plan would mean players and staff from all 11 clubs would be based in the same location until the season was completed.

It would likely need four or five weeks to complete the remaining fixtures.

Transfer Gossip

🔁 Manchester City and Germany forward Leroy Sane, 24, has the number 10 shirt reserved for him at Bayern Munich next season. (Mirror)

🔁 Liverpool are ready to sell three players this summer to fund a £52m move for 24-year-old RB Leipzig and Germany forward Timo Werner. (Athletic) - subscription required

🧀 Random: The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. Watch the video below, complete with Ozzy Man Reviews commentary.

🇦🇺 AFL

Curveball in AFL’s Round 2 showdown plan

The AFL fixture release is set to be delayed into next week after yet another curveball was unveiled on Thursday night.

7 News Melbourne reporter Tom Browne explained the South Australia border restrictions might create an issue for Round 2, with a lack of umpires and TV staff on the ground already in the state.

With a 14 day isolation period, it would mean umpires and extra staff would need to travel to South Australia potentially before the end of May.

“Teams can’t fly into Adelaide, neither can umpires and TV staff without serving that 14 day quarantine aspect,” he said.

“There are only two qualified umpires for example already in Adelaide, unless the AFL gets special permission they will need to move both teams to the Gold Coast, effectively the entire Round 2 fixture.”

Donations and a grand prize draw to retain members

Interesting article, Tom Wilde for abc.

The financial impact of coronavirus on the AFL has bitten. And it's bitten hard.

First the league slashed salaries, stood down staff and borrowed about $500 million against Docklands Stadium just to keep the code alive.

Now clubs have taken matters into their own hands in an attempt to avoid a legacy of debt.

Some organisations, such as the West Coast Eagles, Richmond, Collingwood and Hawthorn, finished the 2019 year with healthy cash balances.

None could have had any inkling of the impending pandemic, but the three clubs will likely emerge relatively unscathed.

For other clubs, the shutdown has thrown their very future into question. (continue to article)

🌎 International

Korean club slapped with record fine for sex doll ‘mix-up’

The South Korean soccer team who filled its fan-less stadium with sex dolls was reportedly slapped with a record fine by the league for the “mix-up.”

FC Seoul was hit with an $81,000 ($123,500 AUD) fine by the K-League for Sunday’s spectacle where roughly two dozen of the dolls sat in place of real fans who are banned due to coronavirus restrictions (NYPost)

Random: A $380,000 AUD pool table, exclusively available for Rolls Royce owners

🏉 Rugby

The extraordinary Ed Jackson, a quadriplegic ex-rugby player who scaled Mount Everest at home

A spinal injury in April 2017 shattered Jackson's professional rugby career and left him paralysed from the neck down, classified as a quadriplegic, unable to move any of his limbs.

He has spent the past three years shocking doctors - maybe even himself, too - by climbing mountains.

Most recently he scaled Mount Everest in four days, on his stairs.

The target: 8,548 metres, 5,566 flights of stairs and 89,058 steps.

He couldn't take himself to Everest amid the coronavirus shutdown. So he brought the world's tallest mountain to himself.

Jackson slept in a tent in the living room with the A/C cranked up, metres from where multi-coloured Nepalese prayer flags are hanging at the bottom of the staircase. (ESPN)

Sunwolves dealt crushing blow in Aussie Super Rugby reboot

The Sunwolves won’t be a part of the rebooted Australian Super Rugby competition with time and logistics counting against them. (Fox)

Check out the live sport schedule below, See you Monday!

📺

Friday

⚽️ 20:30 - K League 1 - Pohang Steelers v FC Seoul (Optus Sport 1)

Saturday

⚽️ 04:30 - Bundesliga - Hertha Berlin v FC Union Berlin (BeIN Sports 1)

🎮 09:00 - Esports - Basketball - NBA 2K League (ESPN 2)

🐴 14:15 - Group 2, Champagne Classic, 1,200m (7 or Sky Racing 1 or Sky Thoroughbred Central)

🐴 15:35 - Group 2, Victory Stakes, 1,200m (7 or Sky Racing 1 or Sky Thoroughbred Central)

🐎 19:42 - Harness Racing - Group 1 Pacers, Tab Metropolitan Region Championships Final, 2,300m (Sky Racing 1)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (BeIN Sports 2)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - SC Paderborn 07 v TSG Hoffenheim (BeIN Sports 3)

Sunday

🎮 00:30 - Esports - Motorsport, Formula E Race at Home Challenge (Fox Sports)

⚽️ 02:30 - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (BeIN Sports 1)

🐴 16:40 - Group 1, Yushun Himba, 2,400m (Sky Racing 2)

🐴 18:05 - Group 1, Champions & Chater Cup, 2,400m - (Triple CrownRacing.com or Sky Racing 1)

⚽️ 20:00 - K League 1 - Ulsan Hyundai v Busan IPark (Optus Sport 1)

⚽️ 21:30 - Bundesliga - Schalke 04 v Augsburg (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 23:30 - BundesligaMainz 05 v RB Leipzig (BeIN Sports 1)