🗞 Matilda's down but not out, yet!

AUSSIE NEWS
Matilda’s Downed

⚽️ The Matildas' bid for their first Olympic medal hit a major setback with a 3-0 loss to Germany in their opening group match in Marseille. Facing the world number four and former gold medallists, the Matildas struggled against a dominant German side.

Germany, who have defeated the Matildas four times in five meetings, showcased their strength with two header goals from corners and a third from a well-executed counter-attack. Australia’s defence was exposed, and the scoreline could have been even worse if not for some last-ditch defending and wayward German shooting.

The result means Australia must defeat Zambia on Monday morning if they are to have any chance of automatically progressing to the quarterfinal, with their third group game against former world champions USA shaping up to be just as tough as today – the manner of the defeat will send alarm bells ringing for coach Tony Gustavsson.

🏉 Momentous Win: Australia will play defending champions Fiji in the semi-final of the Olympic Rugby 7s (men’s). The Aussies hustled, and were extremely aggressive in defence, ultimately beating a resilient USA side 13-0 in the quarter-finals.

France will play South Africa in the other semi-final.

🗣️ Australian Olympic swimming coach Michael Palfrey has been spoken to by team bosses after he said he hoped South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min beats his Australian rivals to the 400m freestyle gold at the Paris Olympics.

Palfrey, who in addition to being one of the coaches on the Australian team also works with Woo-min, made a "serious error of judgement" according to the Australian Olympic Committee.

Australia duo Sam Short and Elijah Winnington are contenders alongside current world champion Kim for the gold medal.

Speaking to South Korean media, Australian Palfrey said: "There will be three or four of them in the race that think they can win it.

"I think it's going to come down to that last 100 metres… We need Woo-min to lift, that's what I’ll be saying to him. He's got to race tough.

"I really hope he can win, but ultimately I really hope he swims well."

"He either goes home or he stays," Head Swimming Coach Rohan Taylor said, after revealing he would speak to hot medal chances Sam Short and Elijah Winnington to find out what action, if any, the team should take against Palfrey.

🇦🇺 icymi: Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden have been officially named Australia's flag bearers for Paris 2024.

Fox, from the sport of canoeing/kayaking and Ockenden, from hockey, were given the honour by Chef de Mission, Anna Meares.

OLYMPICS SCHEDULE
All Night Long

The world’s biggest sporting event is here, with the 2024 Paris Olympics officially getting underway on Saturday July 27 (Australian time).

It won’t be quite as easy to watch every event as it was in 2021, when Tokyo’s Aussie-friendly timezone meant plenty of primetime action, as most events in France will take place between 7pm and 7am AEST.

For the diehards out there, I’ve picked out the first weekend’s highlights below, complete with Aussie representation;

SATURDAY

4:24am - OPENING CEREMONY 

7pm - Basketball (Men’s) - AUSTRALIA vs Spain

7pm - Diving - Women’s Synchronised 3m Springboard Final [Medal event] (Anabelle Smith/Maddison Keeney)

From 7pm - Swimming (Heats)

• Women’s 100m Butterfly (Emma McKeon, Alexandria Perkins)

• Women’s 400m Freestyle (Ariarne Titmus, Jamie Perkins)

• Men’s 100m Breaststroke (Sam Williamson, Josh Yong)

• Men’s 400m Freestyle (Elijah Winnington, Sam Short)

• Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay (Australia)

• Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay (Australia)

10:30pm - Cycling Road - Women’s Individual Time Trial [Medal event] (Grace Brown)

DAY 2 SUNDAY

From 7pm - Swimming (Heats)

• Men’s 200m Freestyle (Max Giuliani,Tommy Neill)

• Men’s 400m Individual Medley (Brendon Smith, William Petric)

• Women’s 100m Breaststroke (Jenna Strauch)

• Men’s 100m Backstroke (Isaac Cooper, Brad Woodward)

• Women’s 200m Freestyle (Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan)

8pm - Skateboarding - Women’s Street Prelims (Chloe Covell)

11:30pm - Rugby Sevens (Men’s) Semi-Final - AUSTRALIA v Fiji

MONDAY MORNING

01:45: - Women’s Kayak Single Final [Medal Event] (Jessica Fox )

03:00 - Women’s Football: AUSTRALIA vs Zambia

03:45 - Rugby 7s Gold Medal Match [Medal Event]

04:30: Men’s 400m Individual Medley Final [Medal Event] (Brendon Smith, William Petric)

04:45: Women’s 100m Butterfly Final [Medal Event] (Emma McKeon, Alexandria Perkins)

04:51: Men’s 200m Freestyle Semifinals (Max Giuliani, Tommy Neill)

05:15: Women’s 100m Breaststroke Semifinals (Jenna Strauch)

05:37: Men’s 100m Backstroke Semifinals (Isaac Cooper, Brad Woodward)

05:54: Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final [Medal Event] (Sam Williamson)

06:00: Women’s 200m Freestyle Semifinals (Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan)

NRL NEWS
Late Mail

Latrell Mitchell could be back on the field sooner than expected, potentially avoiding season-ending surgery. Scans show his foot injury is healing well, and he might return by Round 24 against the Tigers, allowing him to play the final four games of the season as South Sydney pushes for a finals spot.

Elsewhere, Brisbane will miss edge forward Brendan Piakura this weekend, and Kevin Walters is also awaiting an update on Payne Haas' fitness. The Eels have ruled out a positional change for Clint Gutherson, while Melbourne Storm has received a significant double boost as Cameron Munster is set to return after training successfully on Wednesday, though a final decision will be made after the captain’s run today. And, Nelson Asofa-Solomona makes his return from injury.

🙋🏼‍♀️ Newcastle signalled their intent for a third consecutive NRLW title with a narrow 12-10 win over the Sydney Roosters. The Roosters rallied from a 10-0 deficit to close within two points after Jess Sergis scored in the dying moments.

However, Jocelyn Kelleher's last-minute conversion attempt missed, leaving the Roosters devastated and securing a dramatic victory for the Knights.

AFL NEWS

🤕 icymi: The AFL reprimanded Carlton for breaching concussion protocols concerning Harry McKay's incident in Round 19.

The league found that both of Carlton's doctors were dealing with pre-existing ailments of other Blues players at the time of McKay's collision during the third term.

The AFL has decided to only reprimand Carlton for their process of the protocols during the time of he incident. "Having considered Carlton's submissions in relation to the management of Harry McKay on Sunday afternoon, the AFL has determined that the club was in breach of the AFL Concussion Protocols but having considered the circumstances explained by Carlton, the AFL have issued Carlton an official reprimand only," a league statement regarding the incident read.

🙋🏻‍♂️ Essendon legend James Hird is considering a comeback to coaching at the state league level, with Port Melbourne targeting him as their top choice. Hird, who has been away from the AFL since his sacking from Essendon in 2015, briefly supported GWS Giants in 2022 but has otherwise stayed out of the spotlight.

According to Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle, Port Melbourne is keen to offer Hird the coaching role following current coach Adam Skrobalak's planned departure. A meeting between Hird and Port Melbourne is expected next week.

Hird's son, Tom, has played for Port Melbourne for two seasons, adding to the personal connection. The decision will hinge on Hird’s interest in coaching his son and his business commitments. (news.com.au)

👩🏻‍🎤 icymi: Katy Perry will be performing at the 2024 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in September.

The singer, 39, will headline the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the sports game on Saturday, September 28.

Katy confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday, sharing her excitement to return to Australia.

WORLD NEWS
First WR of Olympics

🥇 First WR of the Olympics: Lim Sihyeon (KOR) shot a world record of 694 points to lead recurve women’s archery qualifying.

In near-perfect weather, Lim dropped just seven points over her first 36 arrows and was on pace for a 700-plus 72-arrow round.

Only two archers – both men – have ever achieved that significant marker.

👊🏻 Welterweight champion Leon Edwards makes the third defense of his belt in the main event of UFC 304 (midday Sunday AEST) in Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 when he takes on veteran contender Belal Muhammad.

Edwards is now No. 4 in the pound-for-pound rankings and could be headed towards a dominant reign as welterweight champion. The No. 2-ranked Muhammad makes his first title-fight appearance on the strength of four consecutive wins against top-10 ranked opponents. 

🐟 A slow news day: Norwegian Eliteserien match between Rosenborg and Lillestrom is abandoned as fishcakes were thrown on to the pitch in protest against VAR.

⚽️ EPL Whispers: Jarrad Branthwaite (ENG) is not intending to sign a new deal unless he gets a mega wage bump..

Word is Branthwaite has been offered a AU$300k-a-week wage by Manchester United.

However, the Red Devils cannot agree on a price with Everton, who are seeking AU$135m or more.

Man City ➡️ Arsenal: Man City’s elite development squad analyst Darren Rogerson is the latest backroom staff member to leave City for the Gunners.

Recently, Ben Chadwick quit City to become Arsenal’s head of analysis, while City’s ex-set piece coach Nicolas Jover also joined the club.

🎮 Red Bull has reportedly taken the remarkable step to impose a curfew on Max Verstappen’s late night gaming habit, which has been linked to his stumble in the F1 drivers’ championship.

The three-time world champion is winless in the past three races — defeats that have been underscored by irate radio exchanges, and several messy moments on-track. 

Verstappen most recently struggled in Hungary, after he was spotted on Twitch sim racing inside his Red Bull motorhome until about 3am on race day.

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