🗞 Dream Crusher

AUSSIE SPORTS
Dream Crusher

🥇 Paralympics: The competition is over and all medals have been handed out.

Opening ceremony flag-bearer Madison de Rozario won Australia's final medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, claiming silver in the marathon.

Australia finished ninth in the medal tally in Paris, with 18 gold, 17 silver and 28 bronze.

China was by far the most successful nation, with 94 gold, 76 silver and 50 bronze.

🏏 Following their white wash versus Scotland. Australia’s United Kingdom tour will resume next week with a three-match T20 series against England, which gets underway in Southampton on Thursday at 3.30am AEST.

🏉 NSW Waratahs centre Zach Fittler (son of NRL great Brad) is one of several new faces included as part of a 40-player Australia U18s development squad ahead of a tour of New Zealand.

⚽️ Australia's players are getting ready to embrace the challenge of a packed Gelora Bung Karno stadium in their FIFA World Cup qualifier against Indonesia on Tuesday, where the hostile environment can help invigorate their attempts to bounce back from a shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain.

Indonesia, conversely, heads into Tuesday buoyed not just by advancing to this stage of qualification for the first time but also a surprise 1-1 draw with Asian powerhouses Saudi Arabia in Jeddah.

"We have so much character in this squad, and I think it's a great game for us to go and show everyone, show Australia, what we have in this team." - Socceroo midfielder Aiden O'Neill.

🚴🏻‍♂️ Australian Professional cycling is booming. Aussie riders secured a second place overall, and first place finishes in the points & climbing categories at this years Vuelta a España.

The overall title went to Slovenia's Primoz Roglič who sealed a record-equalling fourth Vuelta a España title after retaining his overall lead in the final stage of the race, a 24.6 km individual time-trial in Madrid which was won by Stefan Kung.

Roglic, nicknamed the "Slovenian Dream Crusher", slowly clawed his way back from a 5 minute deficit from Ben O’Connor and put one hand on the title in stage 19 on the summit finish of Alto de Moncalvillo (on Saturday) to win by + 00h 02' 36'' from O’Connor overall.

Aussies Kaden Groves (Points) & Jay Vine (Climber) topped their respective classification charts.

NRL NEWS
Spectacular Football

📄 Cronulla will travel to Melbourne next week full of confidence after a dominant 40-20 victory over Manly.

📄 The Newcastle Knights completed the NRL finals puzzle with a hard fought 14-6 victory over the Dolphins.

🏟️ The NRL have confirmed the times and venues for all Week One matches, featuring:

• Penrith Panthers against Sydney Roosters on Friday night at BlueBet Stadium;

• Minor Premiers Melbourne Storm against Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Saturday afternoon at AAMI Park;

• North Queensland Cowboys hosting Newcastle Knights at Qld Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night;

• Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs playing Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

NRL Chief Executive Andrew Abdo said the finish to the 2024 regular season was exceptional.

“After 27 rounds the final position in the top eight came down to the very last match,” Mr Abdo said.

“In 2024 we have seen spectacular football, the most tries since 1998, 10 Golden Point games and almost a third of the matches decided by six points or less.”

Tickets will be on sale for all matches to the competing clubs’ ticketed members at 10am today, followed by non-ticketed members at 1pm, and NRL Account Holders at 4pm..

Finals Series tickets will be on sale to General Public at 10am on Tuesday.

🩼 Sydney AFLW superstar Chloe Molloy’s season is over after suffering an ACL injury during a training session.

AFL NEWS  
Big Injury Blow

🩼 Hawthorn has been dealt a massive blow ahead of Friday night's semi-final against Port Adelaide with key defender Sam Frost ruled out for the rest of the season.

The 31-year-old suffered a bone stress injury in Friday night's elimination final win over the Western Bulldogs.

Jai Serong has been considered the next cab off the rank and been in strong form for Box Hill at VFL level, but Ethan Phillips is more of a like-for-like option.

🗣️ Carlton star Sam Walsh has slammed his team as "not hard enough to play against" after the Blues' season ended in a whimper in a loss to Brisbane.

Preliminary finalists last year and sitting second at round 19, Carlton bowed out with a 28-point elimination final loss that could have been far worse.

“That game summed up a bit of our year; too inconsistent (and) not hard enough to play against at certain times. And we want to be known as that team,” Walsh said.

🦸🏻‍♂️ GWS Giants defender Jake Buckley has received worldwide praise after Isaac Heeney took one of the greatest marks ever seen on him on Saturday.

His right knee landed on the shoulder of Buckley which only helped launch him higher as he hauled in the outrageous mark.

But Buckley’s quick thinking after Heeney had claimed the mark helped avoid a serious injury for the Swans star.

As Heeney fell towards the turf, Buckley grabbed his right hand as he pulled him and ultimately helped him avoid falling straight onto his neck.

“I’m lucky he grabbed my arm – I thought I was coming down on my head,” Heeney said on Fox Footy after the game.

“He actually apologised to me after and made sure I was all right which is nice of him.

“Good bloke Buckley is, but I nearly ended up on my head.”

WORLD NEWS
Cowboys Spend Big

🎾 Jannik Sinner has gone from strength to strength on the hard courts this season and it ends just how it started.

His victory at the Australian Open set him on a positive path and he will end 2024 as a two-time Grand Slam champion, after defeating Taylor Fritz at the US Open in three sets 6-3 6-4 7-5.

Sinner has lost just twice in 38 outings on hard courts over the course of the year.

• Fritz had been aiming to become first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a Grand Slam singles title

⚽️ Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, 24, is closer to agreeing a new contract which will make him their highest-paid player.

Haaland's new deal is expected to contain a release clause which will be within reach for Real Madrid if they want to sign him in the future. (Mail).

🏈 The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott have agreed on a four-year, US$240 million contract extension that will make the star quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history and keep him in a Cowboys uniform through the 2028 season, according to ESPN.

👊🏼 Usman Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight Bellator title with a unanimous decision win against Alexander Shabliy in California.

The 26-year-old was making his return to the cage after being banned for six months by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for failing a drug test in October 2023.

🎱 World number one Judd Trump won a dramatic final frame on the black to beat Mark Williams and lift the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters title, the now joint highest earning event on the tour (with the World Champs).

🏍️ Marc Marquez won consecutive races for the first time in three years with an opportunistic victory in a dramatic San Marino Grand Prix, the six-time MotoGP world champion taking advantage of inclement weather and a disastrous error of judgement by series leader Jorge Martin to storm to his 61st Grand Prix victory.

🏎️ Adrian Newey is joining Aston Martin (from Red Bull) on a salary that could rise to AU$60m, including bonuses and add-ons. That is a lot of money for an engineer.

That money is believed to be more than all the drivers are earning, bar Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

Newey is regarded as the greatest car designer in F1 history. His statistics alone speak for themselves - 13 drivers' championships and 12 constructors' titles across three different teams in a F1 career which really took off from 1988.

SHARE SPORT JOURNAL

The best thing you can do to help us grow, is share Sport Journal with your friends & colleagues, even that bloke at the pub…

📲 Share it with the group chat via WhatsApp HERE

🧑🏻‍💻 Share the link with a friend to sign up HERE