G'day sports fans,

It's been left to Australian sport to entertain the world in the last week or so. It's an excellent stage for the competitions, but one by one, they are feeling the strain.

With people going to be stuck at home, do your mates a favour and share Sport Journal with them www.getrevue.co/profile/sportjournal just copy & paste in to a WhatsApp chat 🤙🏼

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🇦🇺 Round 1 & postponement of the league

🏉 Round 2 review

🚶🏾‍♂️ Fatialofa walking 10 weeks after being 'paralysed'

'Most serious threat in 100 years': AFL postpones season

No footy will be played until at least the end of May and the AFLW season has been cancelled

THE 2020 AFL season has been postponed after just one round due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The 2020 NAB AFL Women's season has been cancelled, with no premiership to be awarded.

Clubs were on Sunday afternoon informed of the decision reached by the AFL Commission. The scheduled Hawthorn-Brisbane and West Coast-Melbourne games will be completed to finish round one.

Full statement: AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan on suspending the 2020 seasons

Round 1 Review

Pies dismantled Dogs to make early statement. Plenty has changed in the world since September, but for the Western Bulldogs, Friday night's 52-point loss to Collingwood was a haunting reminder of their brutal 2019 finals exit. (match report)

Essendon got home against a resurgent Dockers outfit at Marvel Stadium. In their first assignment under the new 16-minute (plus time on) quarters, the Bombers burst out of the blocks. Even midway through the third term they led by 28 points. But as Essendon cruised, Fremantle began to surge. (match report)

Tex sprays sealer, Swans survive Crow scare. Sydney hung on to put an away win in the bank against a charging Adelaide. The Swans held a 20-point lead when best on ground Isaac Heeney booted his fourth goal at the 15-minute mark of the final term before goals to Tom Lynch and Chayce Jones gave the Crows a sniff. (match report)

Power on: Port a class above low-scoring Suns. Port Adelaide gave Gold Coast a harsh reminder it had a long way to go to match the AFL's best, easily accounting for the Suns by 47 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

The Power were slick in almost perfect conditions, pressuring their young opponents into errors and punishing them on the counter-attack to win (match report)

Giants' road to redemption starts with strong win over Cats. A Breakout performance from youngster Harry Perryman and some ruthless finishing in front of goal has helped Greater Western Sydney begin its 2020 campaign with a 32-point win over Geelong on Saturday night. (match report)

Injury-hit Roos overrun Saints in low-scoring thriller. A Brave North Melbourne struck an early blow against St Kilda with an inspiring come-from-behind two-point win in a last-man-standing affair.

Amid injury carnage on both teams, Rhyce Shaw's Kangaroos came from 31 points down early in the third term to prevail over Brett Ratten's Saints in a thriller. (match report)

Hawks take winning feeling into suspended season. Hawthorn snapped a four-game losing skid against Brisbane, recovering from a narrow quarter-time deficit to open the season with a 28-point victory at the MCG. (match report)

Eagles head into season break with big win over Dees. West Coast will enter the AFL's shutdown period at least with the certainty it has four points to its name after controlling Sunday's strange clash against Melbourne to win by 27 points at Optus Stadium. (match report)

70% of officials set to be stood down in sweeping cost cuts to save clubs from going bust

The AFL is facing the worst financial crisis in its history and it could put up to 70 per cent of non-playing staff members inside football clubs out of work, according to Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph.

“Gill McLachlan today said it was the biggest financial crisis in our history. (There is) no guarantee we start the season again,” Ralph said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack on Sunday night.

“Clubs and AFL house – it’s going to be a purge – and it is so terrible to even consider this, but my information is as many as 70 per cent of officials will be stood down this week.

“Basically, these guys have things to do over the summer, they can plan, they can strategise as fitness bosses or sell memberships, but now there is nothing to do.

“If we don’t make these cuts, clubs will go bust.” (HeraldSun)

📹 WTF?

Barber: How do you want it mate?

Him: Well, I do like horses

Barber: Say no more

🏉 NRL

NRL reaffirms commitment to play on as AFL suspends competition

The NRL has reaffirmed its commitment on Sunday to continue playing the Telstra Premiership season for the time being.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said it was the ARL Commission's intention to proceed with the competition until there is advice from government to shut down matches.

"We have, and always will, stringently follow all government health advice and medical protocols to protect the health and safety of the community, and our players," he added. (NRL.com)

‘Some horny guys’: Cameron Munster torches teammates over NRL’s dating app stance

Melbourne playmaker Cameron Munster has thrown his teammates under the bus in a hilarious response to the NRL’s dating app stance.

The NRL have put out an edict for the players to stay off dating apps like Tinder and Bumble.

“It is interesting Mate we have some horny guys at our club,” Munster told Sunday Night with Matty Johns.

“Cooper Johns, Tui Kamikamica and some other boys in our team.

“It will be interesting to see how those boys go around talking to other people because they don’t really say too much.

“They are always on their phone gen Y. They will have to have some conversations with people now face-to-face. So it will be interesting to see how those guys go.” (Fox)

Round 2 Review

Dragons 28-32 Panthers: (match report) A barnstorming second-half display from Viliame Kikau has again fired Penrith to victory as they downed the Dragons 32-28 at Netstrata Jubilee Oval on Friday night.

Broncos 22-18 Rabbitohs: (match report) The Broncos lost halfback Brodie Croft with an AC joint injury but a Kotoni Staggs hat-trick sealed a deserved 22-18 win over the Rabbitohs on Friday night at an empty Suncorp Stadium.

Warriors 6-20 Raiders: (match report) Canberra showed there would be no on field charity for the New Zealand Warriors in 2020 as the Raiders consigned the NRL’s nomads to a tough 20-6 defeat at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Roosters 8-9 Sea Eagles: (match report) Daly Cherry-Evans’ 21st field goal of his career couldn’t have come at a better time than to hand Manly their first win of the 2020 season over the Roosters on Saturday night at Leichhardt Oval.

Sharks 10-12 Storm: (match report) Melbourne captain Cameron Smith kicked a late penalty goal to snatch a 12-10 win over a brave Sharks outfit at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after his Sharks counter-part Wade Graham limped from the field with a foot injury.

West Tigers 24-42 Knights: (match report) A Mitchell Pearce masterclass in front of his dad Wayne's empty Leichhardt Oval hill has steered Newcastle to a 42-24 win over Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Titans 6-46 Eels: (match report) Parramatta flexed their premiership muscle with a thumping 46-6 victory over Gold Coast on Sunday night, but the win may come at a cost with hooker Reed Mahoney suffering an ankle injury.

⚽️ Football

Melbourne City becomes greatest-ever W-League club with FOURTH title

Melbourne City claimed a record fourth W-League Championship on Saturday night, beating reigning title holders Sydney FC 1-0 in front of a near-empty AAMI Park.

The win means City - who boast six Matildas players - completed their entire 14-game W-League campaign without defeat. Their stellar record reads 11 wins from 12 regular-season games, with 33 goals scored and just five conceded all season.

City captain Steph Catley continued her remarkable form this campaign with the winning goal in a player-of-the-match performance, sealing a FIFTH W-League title for the superstar defender.

A-League:

Western Sydney Wanderers 1-1 Sydney FC: The only fixture of the weekend saw Wanderers stay unbeaten against Sydney FC (match report)

On the horns of a dilemma – finding an A-League exit plan

The coronavirus has been called a ‘100 year’ threat - FFA has just days to respond to it

For Football Federation Australia, the A-League competition is the overwhelming revenue driver for the whole of the game, outside of the four-year national team cycles, hedged against World Cup qualification.

Just fifteen years old, the league simply doesn’t have the reserves to meet “100 year” threats, especially after club owners accumulated loss-leading deficits of between $150m-200m across the competition’s first decade.

For new FFA chief executive James Johnson, it’s an unenviable choice: face untold financial losses in immediately suspending the competition or run the risk of earning widespread opprobrium for flaunting public health protocols in the face of a pandemic. (Guardian)

Rumour Mill:

🔄 Arsenal are resigned to losing striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 30, and want a fee of 55m euros (£50.7m) for the Gabon international with Barcelona interested. (Sport, in Spanish)

🔄 Borussia Dortmund have moved ahead of Liverpool, Manchester Unitedand Chelsea in the race to sign England Under-17 midfielder Jude Bellingham, 16, from Birmingham this summer. (Bild, in German)

🔄 Chelsea have spoken to Barcelona about the possibility of signing Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho, 27, on loan next season. (Sport, in Spanish)

🐴 Racing

Farnan Confirms Superiority With Golden Slipper Win

Rosehill hosted four group 1 races March 21.

Farnan became arguably the most valuable stallion prospect in Australia, after the star colt continued his almost faultless career by taking out the AU$3.5 million Longines Golden Slipper Stakes (G1) at Rosehill and vindicating the enormous investment in the industry made by Aquis Farm.

Shane McGrath described the victory as a "dream come true" for Aquis Farm founder Tony Fung and his family after setting up a significant three-state breeding operation and massive racing division in recent years.

"Twelve months ago we were aggressive in the market and we went and sourced these colts and it has paid off," Aquis Farm managing director McGrath told ANZ Bloodstock News. (blood horse)

🏉 Rugby

‘A miracle even docs can’t explain’: Kiwi rugby star walks just 10 weeks after being ‘paralysed’

Rugby star Michael Fatialofa has been filmed walking unaided just 10 weeks after being ‘paralysed’ and in intensive care.

The Worcester lock, 27, has been in hospital since January 4 but is now up on his feet in what his wife Tatiana called “a miracle that even medical professionals can’t explain”.

Fatialofa suffered a horror neck injury in the Premiership clash against Saracens and was rushed to hospital when the severity of his injury was clear.

But now he has been filmed strolling by himself - to the amazement of doctors.

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We'll be back on Wednesday!

📺 Live sport

Monday

⚽️ 19:30 - A-League - Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City (Fox Sports)

⚽️ 21:30 - A-League - Perth Glory v Western United (Fox Sport)

Tuesday

No Live sport 😱