🗞 Haven't been speaking to anyone, mate

G'day sports fans,

"Hey Johnny, enjoy retirement, and don't miss the flight home tomorrow." - All Blacks centre Rieko Iaone to retiring Johnny Sexton in their all-time Rugby World Cup quarter-final.

👊🏻 Australian UFC champ Alexander Volkonovski has shrugged off suggestions he will head into his rematch with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev underdone, after accepting the fight on just 11 days’ notice.

“If anyone can do five rounds at this short notice, it’s me. I can do five rounds any day of the year, no matter how much time I get off. I could have the whole year off and I guarantee I can get through the five rounds, and I’d be competitive with any man in the world.

“I am that guy who can do that.”

Volkanovski went onto say the fight on short notice was something “he needed” and that he is prepared to “shock the world”.

🇦🇺 Carlton midfielder Paddy Dow has joined St Kilda in a complex four-way deal which will send defender Nick Coffield from the Saints to the Western Bulldogs.

The Blues parted ways with their future third and fourth-round picks but received future picks from Essendon (third round), Western Bulldogs (fourth) and the Saints’ future fourth-round pick which is tied to Fremantle.

St Kilda received pick 40 from the Bulldogs to get Coffield and sent back pick 56, while the Bulldogs also gained pick 52 from Essendon, who became involved in the trade to move up this year’s draft order.

The Bombers received pick 35 from St Kilda and Carlton’s future fourth-round pick.

🇦🇺 Collingwood small forward Jack Ginnivan wants to explore his trade options before tonight's deadline.

The Magpies have confirmed they have had contact with Ginnivan's manager, John Meesen from Kapital Sports, and the premiership player is assessing his options.

Ginnivan is yet to formalise a trade request but that is expected to happen in today.

🏉 Despite the horror run of results, Eddie Jones insisted he is “not worried” about the prospect of being sacked and believes his polarising team selection has left the Wallabies in a “great position” for 2027.

“I don’t control those things, all I can do is coach,” Jones said.

Jones doubled down on his commitment to the Wallabies. “Haven’t been speaking to anyone, mate,”

Jones also claimed he has not spoken to Japanese Rugby Football Union (JRFU) President Masato Tsuchida “for a long time.”

🏟️ Melbourne-based property tycoon Robert Brij has won the race to buy Perth Glory after Tony Sage was forced to hand back the licence in July amidst ongoing financial woes.

Glory was placed into receivership three months ago when Sage stepped away after 15 years as owner.

The Australian Professional Leagues unveiled the Primeland Group-led consortium as the new owner of Glory on Tuesday.

❤️ About 400 Sweden fans spent the night in hotels under police protection after two Swedish people were shot dead in Brussels on Monday.

Sweden's Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium was abandoned at half-time for security reasons.

On Tuesday police in Brussels shot the attacker dead.

⚽️ Manchester United are targeting a move for 23-year-old Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, who has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs.

🥇 Argentina legend Lionel Messi is set to pip Erling Haaland to win his eighth Ballon d'Or title later this month after the results leaked, according to reports.

The 36-year-old, who now finds himself in the MLS with David Beckham's Inter Miami, guided his nation to their third World Cup victory in Qatar in 2022, while also continuing to dominate club football across Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain and now in America.

The ceremony will be held in Paris, on October 30, with Spanish outlet SPORT claiming the results for both the mens and women's awards have already been leaked.

🏉 New Zealand has rejigged its backline for its Pacific Championships opener against Samoa on Saturday, switching around Joseph Manu and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Manu was New Zealand's go-to fullback for last year's Rugby League World Cup and Nicoll-Klokstad played primarily in the centres, but coach Michael Maguire has made a switch for Saturday's clash at Eden Park in Auckland.

🏉 Fiji head coach Simon Raiwalui has announced plans to step down at the end of the year after his team's Rugby World Cup campaign ended.

Raiwalui, 49, guided Fiji to a first World Cup quarter-final for 16 years after wins over Australia and Georgia in the pool stage in France.

🥊 KSI, Tommy Fury, Logan Paul and Dillon Danis are going to be very rich men after their fights on Saturday night, reportedly selling an astonishing 1.3 million pay-per-views.

Unfortunately, the actual boxing was a snooze-fest.

🏈 Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is "probably" going to miss the rest of the regular season and could undergo shoulder surgery in the next week or so, team owner Jim Irsay told the press on Monday.

🏎️ F1 Academy has announced a seven-round calendar for the 2024 season, with every event featuring on the Formula 1 support bill.

Following on from this year's inaugural season, the all-women series' second campaign will start and end in the Middle East, beginning in Saudi Arabia on March 7 and concluding in Abu Dhabi on December 8.

While, Formula One team Alpine Racing have announced more investors from a range of sports including golfer Rory McIlroy, heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua as well as footballers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Juan Mata.

TODAY

05:45 - UEFA EURO Qualifier - England v Italy (Optus Sport 1)

05:45 - Soccer Friendly - Australia v New Zealand (Channel 10 or Paramount+)

06:00 - Soccer Friendly - France v Scotland (Optus Sport 6)

10:30 - NHL - Buffalo Sabres v Tampa Bay Lightning (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

11:00 - Sheffield Shield - South Australia Redbacks v New South Wales Blues (Kayo Sports)

11:07 - National League Championship Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Arizona Diamondbacks (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

13:00 - NHL - Seattle Kraken v Colorado Avalanche (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

13:30 - NBA - Los Angeles Clippers v Denver Nuggets (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

13:30 - Sheffield Shield - Western Australia v Tasmania Tigers (Kayo Sports)

19:30 - Cricket World Cup - New Zealand v Afghanistan (Fox Cricket or Kayo Sports)

THURSDAY

11:03 - American League Championship Series - Texas Rangers v Houston Astros (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

11:05 - Marsh One-Day Cup - Queensland Bulls v Victoria (Fox Cricket or Kayo Sports)

14:00 - PGA TOUR - ZOZO Championship, Round 1 (Fox Sports or Kayo Sports)

17:30 - Constellation Cup - New Zealand v Australia (Fox Sports or Kayo Sports)

19:30 - NBL - Adelaide 36ers v South East Melbourne Phoenix (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

19:30 - Cricket World Cup - India v Bangladesh (Fox Cricket or Kayo Sports)