🗞 Let’s Get Physical

AUSSIE SPORTS
Comfy Slipper

🦘 James Slipper will captain the Wallabies for the 15th time after flanker Liam Wright was ruled out of Australia's second clash with Wales on Saturday night.

The prop is part of a mostly unchanged starting line-up with Wright the only change forcing coach Joe Schmidt to elevate last week's debutant Charlie Cale into the starting side at No.8 which has pushed Rob Valetini into No.6.

Josh Nasser could become the 13th son of a Wallaby (following Tom Lynagh last week) to wear the Wallaby gold if he comes on for his debut off the bench.

"We found out a bit about ourselves last week and are looking forward to learning a bit more on Saturday night," Coach Schmidt.

🎾 Aussie duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have reached the Wimbledon men’s doubles final after they defeated Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos of Spain and Argentina respectively in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). They’ll play unseeded pair Henry Patten (GB), and Harri Heliovaara (FIN) on Saturday.

🥊 Curtis Scott has the potential to equal Paul Gallen’s hyped $1 million crossover payday if he knocks out Sonny Bill Williams – with his team suggesting the New Zealander’s fear of being kayoed by a far smaller man would stop the bout from happening. 

Unthinkable only a few weeks ago, Scott is suddenly among the most marketable names on the domestic boxing scene after requiring just 86 seconds to finish AFL legend Barry Hall on Wednesday night’s No Limit showcase in Wollongong.

A Williams-Scott blockbuster is now among several big fights No Limit CEO George Rose is looking to make, with the promoter suggesting Liam Wilson’s now signature ‘Left Hook From Hell’ also capable of knocking George Kambosos cold.

Australia’s Sam Goodman remains mandatory for Japanese megastar Naoya Inoue, however is undergoing scans to determine exactly how badly his left hand was damaged in his main event win over Thai Chainoi Worawut.

NRL NEWS
Best is a Doubt

📄 Match Report: South Sydney Rabbitohs' five-game winning streak ended abruptly on Thursday with a 36-28 loss to the Dolphins in Redcliffe, where both teams scored six tries each.

Tevita Pangai Junior showcased his prowess in his return to the NRL from boxing, displaying physicality and aggression from the outset, which proved pivotal in securing the Dolphins' crucial victory.

Despite a valiant effort from South Sydney, their downfall was exacerbated by subpar goal-kicking from Cody Walker and Taane Milne, who managed only two successful conversions out of six attempts.

🤕 The only negative on the night was Euan Aitken going down screaming after making a tackle on Richie Kennar less than 20 minutes in. The initial report out of the Dolphins was a suspected ruptured pectoral muscle, which could well end his season.

👍🏻 Both Harry Grant and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow trained strongly for the Maroons on Thursday, despite the duo sitting out their past two club games.

The Storm skipper and Dolphins fullback took part in an opposed session against Wynnum Manly Seagulls on Thursday with no issues. 

👎🏻 Blues centre Bradman Best remains in doubt after again training away from the main group during NSW’s warm-up at Blue Mountains Grammar School.

✍🏼 Signings: Canberra Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead will return to Perpignan at the end of the season to re-join Catalans after a decade in the NRL.

Whitehead, who played for the Dragons from 2013 to 2015, has signed a one-year deal with the French Super League club after announcing he was leaving the Raiders.

Sea Eagles prop Josh Aloiai has signed a two-year contract extension that will see him remain with the club until at least the end of the 2027 season.

Aloiai, 28, has played 150 NRL games, 60 of those for Manly, while also representing Samoa at international level.

icymi: Luke Keary is set to backflip on his retirement, and will instead head to Catalans next season on a two-year deal, joining the likes of Tariq Sims and Matt Ikuvalu at the club.

PREVIEWS
Friday Night Lights

🇦🇺 20:00 - Cronulla Sharks v Wests Tigers (Channel 9, Fox League)

Despite recent losses sliding them down the ladder, the Sharks remain in the top four. The Tigers, having conceded 40 points in consecutive weeks, aim to rebound after a tough stretch.

Daniel Atkinson steps in at halfback for Hynes (sidelined for 8 weeks), with Sione Katoa returning to the wing. Jesse Colquhoun fills in for Siosifa Talakai on the bench. Justin Olam's knee injury sees Alex Lobb join the Tigers' backline, while Reuben Porter replaces Justin Matamua.

• Twelve of the Wests Tigers' last 15 matches in Sydney have gone UNDER the total match points line. (1.90)

• In four of the Wests Tigers' last seven matches, the opposition's starting left wing has been the first try-scorer - Ronaldo Mulitalo (8.0).

🇦🇺 19:40 - Collingwood Magpies v Geelong Cats (Fox Footy or 7mate)

Collingwood dropped out of the top eight after a surprising 92-80 loss to Essendon last Friday, compounded by Brody Mihocek's season-ending pectoral injury.

The Magpies have won just two of their last six matches, with one victory coming after a significant comeback against North Melbourne. Geelong has seen a resurgence with convincing wins over Essendon (105-60) and Hawthorn (110-59) after struggling earlier in the season.

The teams have yet to meet in 2024 after two exciting matchups last season at the MCG, both won by Collingwood (125-103 in Round 1 and 109-101 in Round 22).

• Collingwood has won the first half in each of its last seven home matches - Collingwood HT / Geelong Cats FT ($6.75) 

• Patrick Dangerfield has kicked 1+ goals in eight of his last nine appearances against Collingwood at the MCG.

AFL NEWS
It’s Official

👨🏻‍⚖️ Sydney star midfielder Isaac Heeney is officially out of the Brownlow race, after his one-match ban for striking Jimmy Webster was upheld at the AFL's appeals board.

It came after a marathon hour and 40 minute hearing on Thursday night, followed by another 40 minutes of deliberation, before the matter was dismissed.

The Swans argued that the tribunal "closed their ears" on Tuesday night, blindly assuming Heeney had intent to strike Webster, which the club denied strongly.

There has been claims from journalist’s suggesting that the Swans approached the initial Tribunal appeal with too much confidence or even perceived smugness, which may have influenced the panel's decision.

Heeney has since expressed gratitude to "fans, members, and the wider community" for their support.

🤕 The AFL's concussion problems have resurfaced, with former West Coast defender Brad Sheppard launching legal action against the league, the Eagles and two former club doctors over medical negligence.

Sheppard was forced to retire in 2021 at the age of 30 due to ongoing concussion symptoms.

The 216-game veteran suffered a number of concussions at the tail end of his career, with a head knock against Fremantle in the penultimate round of 2021 proving to be the final straw.

WORLD NEWS
Let’s Get Physical

🇺🇸 icymi: Only in America: Former President Trump has challenged current President Joe Biden to a $1M charity golf match and is willing to give Joe 20 strokes. (Twitter)

🎾 Women’s Semi-Finals: Jasmine Paolini came back to beat Donna Vekic 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) in longest women's semi-final in Wimbledon history

It is a second Grand Slam final in seven weeks for Paolini, who is first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon showpiece.

She’ll play Barbora Krejcikova (CZE), who defeated Elena Rybakina in 3 sets.

🏉 Rugby Fixtures: After an intriguing, and incredibly physical round last weekend. It’s time for round two.

An injury impacted Ireland have one more chance to beat the Boks in SA. After going close last week (losing by a point), England will attempt to break the 30-year Eden Park hoodoo versus the All Blacks. Los Pumas have a chance for redemption after going down to an extremely developmental French side.

👊🏻 Liverpool want urgent talks with Darwin Núñez, to gain a full picture of the events that resulted in the forward entering the stands and becoming involved in a physical confrontation with Colombia supporters.

Fans joked that he even missed with his punches. Took the hammer punch like a champ. Kind of. 🤣

🚴🏾 History-maker Biniam Girmay sprinted to his third victory at this year's Tour de France on stage 12 to extend his lead in the green jersey points battle.

Eritrean Girmay became the first black African to win a Tour de France stage with his opening win on stage three and also triumphed on stage eight.

Girmay, 24, beat Wout van Aert and Arnaud Demare in a frantic bunch sprint in Villeneuve-sur-Lot and now leads Jasper Philipsen in the points classification by 111 points.

⚽️ Transfer Gossip: Paris St-Germain are set to rival Manchester United in the race to sign Benfica's 19-year-old Portugal international midfielder Joao Neves. Manchester United are keen to complete the signing of Bayern Munich's 24-year-old Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt as quickly as possible after Euro 2024. 

🏀 Kawhi Leonard has opted out of participating in the upcoming Paris Olympics with Team USA, leading to his replacement by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, as announced by USA Basketball in a statement on Wednesday (local).

“…He felt ready to compete," USA Basketball said. "However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it's in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season…”

📺 The NBA has agreed to terms on its new media deals, record 11-year agreements worth $76 billion that would assure player salaries will continue rising for the foreseeable future.

FOOTBALL FINALS
Coming Home?

🏆 Euro 2024 Final (Monday 5am AEST): Spain (1.75) v England (2.10)

Gareth Southgate has guided the Three Lions to back-to-back Euros finals and a first continental crown is once again within reach.

La Roja booked their place in a fifth Euro 2024 showpiece on after a thrilling 2-1 win over pre-tournament favourites France in Munich.

Spain are a youthful, well-organised and energetic side with bags of flair and also a ruthless streak. Bar a few stodgy displays at this Euros, the exact same description could so easily apply to England.

If this turns into a rigid, grinding affair then that will suit the Three Lions while Spain will be a huge threat if afforded any space to attack into.

It’s very tough to call and could well go all the way...

🏆 Copa America Final (Monday 10am AEST): Argentina (1.75) v Colombia (2.10).

Only once before have Los Cafeteros been crowned the kings of South America, back in 2001, and it is quite remarkable that they have failed to reach the final ever since.

Argentina (defending Champions) have suffered no such droughts and are out to claim a 16th Copa America to take them past Uruguay as the outright record-holders for lifting the trophy.

Lionel Messi overcame a leg injury to play the full 90 minutes of Argentina’s win over Canada, and is expected to play.

Colombia have won just one of their last 12 meetings with Argentina.

The match will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

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