🗞 A No Brainer

G'day sports fans,

Monday Motivation: “I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” —Simone Biles (Gymnast)

🏉 We’ve arrived at the end of the NRL regular season and the final placings of the top eight have been secured.

Ivan Cleary’s Panthers have clinched the minor premiership, with the Broncos in second, Storm in third and the Warriors finishing fourth after a loss to the Dolphins.

Meanwhile, the bottom four teams have also been finalised with the Knights in fifth, Sharks in sixth, Roosters in seventh and Raiders in eighth after a Round 27 loss.

• 1st: Penrith Panthers (42 pts, +333) – defeated Cowboys 44-12

• 2nd: Brisbane Broncos (42 pts, +214) – lost to Storm 22-32

• 3rd: Melbourne Storm (38 pts, +168) – defeated Broncos 32-22

• 4th: New Zealand Warriors (38 pts, +124) – lost to Dolphins 34-10

• 5th: Newcastle Knights (35 pts, +175) – defeated Dragons 32-12

• 6th: Cronulla Sharks (32 pts, +122) – defeated Raiders 24-6

• 7th: Sydney Roosters (32 pts, -24) – beat Rabbitohs 26-12

• 8th: Canberra Raiders (32 pts, -137) – loss to Sharks 24-6

🏏 A career-best T20I knock from Travis Head fired Australia's men to their first clean sweep abroad in a three-T20 series as the opener made light work of a sizeable run-chase in Durban.

Debutant Donovan Ferreira made a barnstorming entrance to international cricket, clubbing five sixes to lift South Africa from 6-122 to set the Aussies an imposing 190 to win on a tacky Kingsmead surface.

Despite the Proteas finally getting the in-form Mitch Marsh out cheaply, dismissing the stand-in captain for only 15 after he had bashed 92no and 79no in the first two T20Is, Head filled his shoes as he carted six sixes on the way to a 47-ball 91 to help his side get home with 13 balls to spare.

🏉 St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt has insisted he will be at the Dragons in 2024 in a massive boost to the side's rebuild under incoming boss Shane Flanagan.

🇦🇺 Finals Week One: It’s been one of the most tightly contested seasons in recent memory, and we are set for a thrilling Week 1 of finals with four huge games scheduled.

The Pies have been the hot favourites for most of the year, but a few key injuries have put a dent in Craig McRae’s plans heading into a massive Qualifying Final on Thursday night against the Dees.

Carlton returns to the finals stage on Friday to face a dangerous-looking Swans outfit in the first Elimination Final, while the Saints and Giants square off on Saturday in the second ‘win or go home’ game.

The Lions and Power take centre stage at the Gabba not long after in the second Qualifier, a huge rematch from their first encounter way back in Round 1.

🏏 History has repeated itself with the Melbourne Stars selecting Afghanistan and T20 superstar Rashid Khan as the No. 1 selection in the BBL|13 overseas player draft, only for Adelaide Strikers to act swiftly and activate their retention pick.

“… I wouldn’t have been allowed back into South Australia,” joked Strikers coach Jason Gillespie, who described the decision as a “no-brainer”. (cricket.com.au)

🇦🇺 Collingwood star Nick Daicos has started running for the first time after his knee injury as he builds towards a return during the AFL finals.

But the young gun's hotly-anticipated return from the hairline fracture in his right knee sustained in round 21 still appears unlikely to be in Thursday night's qualifying final against Melbourne.

🏀 Patty Mills has described Australia's FIBA World Cup campaign as 'disappointing' after they finished the competition with a 100-84 win against Georgia.

The Boomers went into the match knowing it would be their last, after an earlier loss to Slovenia proved costly.

⚽️ Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time to secure a dramatic 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium.

In a chaotic finale to a largely scrappy game, United first thought they had snatched three points only to see Alejandro Garnacho's 88th-minute finish ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee with the score 1-1.

The drama then switched to the other end in eight added minutes as Declan Rice's deflected shot gave Arsenal the lead before substitute Gabriel Jesus raced clear to wrap up the win as the stadium exploded in elation.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored his first goal for Liverpool and Mohamed Salah netted his seventh in seven games against Aston Villa as the hosts eased to a 3-0 Premier League victory at Anfield on Sunday.

Odsonne Edouard scored twice as Crystal Palace beat Wolves 3-2 in a Premier League match with a frantic finish.

🏈 Aussie Lou Hedley has signed as the new Punter for the New Orleans Saints. The 30yr old undrafted rookie has got to the NFL via an unusual route including; owning a tattoo shop in Bali, and working as a scaffolder in Indonesia. (shoutout to reader Scott for highlighting this story)

🏀 The U.S. men’s basketball team lost to longtime European power Lithuania at the FIBA World Cup but still advanced to the quarterfinals and qualified for the Olympics with a 4-1 record.

Lithuania, led by NBA veteran Jonas Valanciunas but without All-NBA 7-footer Domantas Sabonis, thwarted the U.S. 110-104 in Manila on Sunday to take the top spot in the group.

• Both teams had already qualified for next round

• USA will play Italy in Tuesday’s quarter-finals

⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 850th career goal as Al Nassr won 5-1 at Al Hazem in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.

🏎️ Max Verstappen claimed a record 10th consecutive F1 victory at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to move clear of the tally set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013.

The Red Bull driver, who equaled Vettel's mark in front of a home crowd at the Dutch Grand Prix seven days ago, overtook Carlos Sainz on Lap 14 to deny Ferrari a win in Italy.

Verstappen is unbeaten since the Miami Grand Prix in May and is on course to clinch his third straight championship at the Qatar Grand Prix on Oct. 8, at which point there will still be five races remaining.

TODAY

09:10 - MLB - Houston Astros v New York Yankees (ESPN)

10:00 - CPLT20 - Barbados Royals v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (Fox Cricket)

19:30 - ODI Asia Cup Group Stage - India v Nepal (Fox Cricket)

TUESDAY

08:40 - San Diego Padres v Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN)

18:00 - FIBA World Cup Quarter-Final (ESPN)

18:00 - FIBA World Cup Quarter-Final (ESPN)

19:30 - ODI Criket Asia Cup - Afghanistan v Sri Lanka (Fox Cricket)