G'day sports fans,

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Monday motivation: "The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." - Muhammad Ali.

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In today's edition of Sport Journal:

✍🏼 Coates to the Storm

🏉 Late, late drama

⚽️ Aussies abroad

🇦🇺 AFL

The 10: Round eight's best moments — www.afl.com.au

Watch all the best highlights from an action-packed round eight.

👎🏻 Victorius Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has revealed experienced utility Lachie Hunter may face some time on the sidelines after he played out Sunday's clash against Carlton with a suspected broken hand.

After holding a 27-point lead midway through the third quarter, the Blues were steamrolled by the Dogs, coughing up six last quarter goals to lost by 16 points.

🦁 Brisbane were too good for Fremantle at The Gabba, 14.11 (95) to 10.11 (71), with the Lions continuing on with their brilliant form in a match not short of highlights.

🏉 NRL

Get Caught Up: Round 9 must-see moments - NRL — www.nrl.com

Get caught up with all the action from Round 9 of the 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership in one place

🙌🏼 It's not an overstatement to suggest Trbojevic's game against the Warriors has gone down in folklore as one of the greatest individual performances in rugby league history - so colossal was the NSW Blues ace in the Sea Eagles' gripping 38-32 victory.

Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns has exactly that view.

"I would go as far as saying that's one of the greatest individual performances I have ever seen,"

😡 Broken ribs and a punctured lung for Hutchison and he required oxygen, yet Dylan Brown didn't go tot he bin. Robbo went nuclear on the NRL over the Hutchinson drama. (Twitter)

🏆 Canberra Raiders defeated Illawarra Steelers 18-14 in a hard fought UNE SG Ball Cup Grand Final that went down to the wire. (NRL)

⚡️ QLD State of Origin winger Xavier Coates has officially signed with Melbourne Storm for the 2022 and 2023 NRL seasons.

⚽️ Football

Perth Glory returned to winning ways on Sunday night, edging past a ten-man Melbourne Victory outfit to record a drought-snapping 2-1 triumph at HBF Park.

Melbourne City have stretched their lead at the top of the A-League table to nine points and are now odds-on favourites to land their maiden Premiers Plate after seeing off the challenge of a determined Brisbane Roar 3-2.

Western Sydney Wanderers reignited its push for a Finals Series spot with a momentum-building 5-0 win over Western United. (match report)

A disastrous own goal scored inadvertently by Nigel Boogaard ensured Newcastle Jets squandered a one-goal lead to draw 1-1 with Sydney FC. (match report)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Socceroos pair Jackson Irvine and Martin Boyle will be looking to land silverware later this month after helping guide Hibernian to the Scottish Cup final.

🏆 Sam Kerr's Chelsea have won the WSL. Kerr wins the Top Scorer award, scoring 21 goals in 22 games (6 assists). After a slow start to the season, Kerr has finished it on fire!

✍🏼 Neymar has signed a new PSG deal committing until 2025. L'Equipe reported that the former Santos star's new terms will see him earn AU$50m, per season in the French capital.

🤦🏻‍♂️ It was a penalty to potentially seal the Premier League title...but Sergio Aguero missed a Panenka to make them wait at least another week.

🐴 Racing

🐎 Trainer Paul Grills knows he’s got Scatman flying and he deserves a change of luck at Quirindi today.

The four-year-old is trying to break his maiden at start 16 in a 1600m race after a series of good runs this time in. “I’d say he’s be my best on the day.” (racenet)

⭐️ Star of the weekend – JAMIE KAH - Ayrton may have put his hand up, but it was impossible to look beyond the superstar that is Jamie Kah.

She totally dominated the meeting from start to finish.

They were five dominant favourites and apart from the rising star Ayrton in the last they all got dream runs from good gates but that’s the beauty of Jamie Kah, she very rarely gets anything wrong when expected to get the job done.

🐎 Popular mudlark Jungle Edge has been retired with trainer Mick Bell saying it's the right time for the veteran sprinter to enter the next stage of his career. The ten-year-old sprinter failed to fire on improving ground in last week's Listed Wangoom Handicap promoting connections to retire the munch-loved veteran.

🏉 Rugby

🏆 Reds secure stunning last-gasp victory over Brumbies to clinch Super Rugby AU crown. There was pandemonium inside Suncorp Stadium as a try in injury time from captain James O'Connor handed the Reds a dramatic 19-16 victory over the Brumbies in the Super Rugby AU grand final.

(📺 Highlights on YouTube)

🇯🇵 The Robbie Deans-coached Wild Knights, featuring five players with Australian connections, beat the Canon Eagles 32-17 at Kumagaya and will now face off against a Toyota side that boasts Michael Hooper and Kieran Read in Osaka.

🏆 Crusaders' dynasty continues with Super Rugby Aotearoa title. The Crusaders added another title to their burgeoning collection of silverware when they defeated the Chiefs 24-13 in Christchurch on Saturday. (match report) (📺 Highlights on YouTube)

🏏 Cricket

🥇 The dust has settled on Australia's longest summer of cricket with all states finalising their annual award winners.

The domestic summer began in early October and ran until mid-April with the latest ever finish to a Sheffield Shield final, with full seasons of the Women's National Cricket League, WBBL and BBL played.

Test players Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland) and Cameron Green (Western Australia) featured prominently as they took out their state's top awards. (Full breakdown of winners).

👊🏻 Michael Slater and David Warner have responded to bombshell reports they were involved in a fight with one another in the Maldives.

The pair are among a 38-strong Australian contingent that fled India to the Maldives, following the Covid-enforced suspension of the Indian Premier League.

Slater and Warner both reportedly sent Rothfield text messages insisting that there was "absolutely nothing to the rumour".

🌍 World Sport

🥊 Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez produced a devastating uppercut to leave a distraught Billy Joe Saunders unable to rise from his stool after eight rounds of their world title unification bout.

Just as Saunders looked to be gaining a footing, the Mexican found a shot which caused an instant swelling over the British fighter's right eye.

Saunders' trainer called the bout off, with his fighter unable to see.

"I think I broke his cheek," said Alvarez. "The truth is I knew it."

🤣 One way to get 70,000 people to boo you, is to go down after barely being hit, looking for a disqualification. That's the route Nagy Aguilera took on the night.

🏎 Hamilton wins in Spain after late Verstappen overtake: Verstappen overtakes Hamilton off the line for lead. Hamilton wins after taking lead late on with fresher tyres on lap 60/66.

🎽 A game-worn jersey belonging to Michael Jordan from his second season at the University of North Carolina sold for a record $1.38m (£1m) on Saturday.

It is the only known shirt photo-matched to the basketball legend's 1982-83 season with the Tar Heels.

⛳️ US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau faced a rush to get to the tee for Saturday's third round of the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship - having flown home thinking he had missed the halfway cut.

After shooting a three-over-par 74 on Friday to sit at two over for the tournament, DeChambeau was so sure he would not make the cut he flew more than 1,000 miles to Dallas from Charlotte, North Carolina.

But the cut turned out to be two over and it meant a hasty u-turn for the world number five, who received a text from his agent mid-flight.

📺 Live sport

🏒 09:00 - NHL - Chicago Blackhawks v Dallas Stars (ESPN 2)

🏀 09:00 - NBA - Charlotte Hornets v New Orleans Pelicans (Sky Sports 2)

⚾️ 09:08 - MLB - Atlanta Braves v Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN 1)

🏄🏻‍♂️ 09:30 - Men's Margaret River Pro, Day 9 (Fox Sports More)

🏄🏻‍♀️ 09:30 - Women's Margaret River Pro, Day 9 (Fox Sports More)

⚽️ 09:30 - MLS - Sporting Kansas City v Austin FC (BeIN Sports 2)

🏀 12:00 - NBA - Los Angeles Lakers v Phoenix Suns (SBS on Demand, SBS Viceland or Sky Sports 2)

🎾 18:00 - WTA Internazionali d'Italia, Round 1, Day 1 (BeIN Sports 2)

🎾 18:00 - ATP Rome Masters, Round 1, Day 2 (BeIN Sports 1)

🎱 21:00 - World Cup of Pool, Round 1, Day 2 (Fox Sports)

🚴🏼‍♀️ 21:20 - Giro d'Italia, Stage 3, 190km (SBS on Demand or SBS Viceland)

TUESDAY

🏄🏻‍♂️ 09:00 - Men's Margaret River Pro, Day 10 (Fox Sports More)

🏄🏻‍♀️ 09:00 - Women's Margaret River Pro, Day 10 (Fox Sports More)

⚾️ 09:05 - MLB - Baltimore Orioles v Boston Red Sox (Sky Sports 3)

🏀 09:30 - NBA - Atlanta Hawks v Washington Wizards (Sky Sports 2)

⚾️ 10:10 - MLB - Houston Astros v Los Angeles Angels (ESPN 2)

🏀 10:30 - NBA - San Antonio Spurs v Milwaukee Bucks (ESPN 1)

⚾️ 11:45 - MLB - San Francisco Giants v Texas Rangers (Sky Sports 3)

🏀 12:00 - NBA - Golden State Warriors v Utah Jazz (SBS on Demand, SBS Viceland or Sky Sports 2)

🎾 18:00 - WTA Internazionali d'Italia, Rounds 1&2, Day 2 (BeIN Sports 2)

🎾 18:00 - ATP Rome Masters, Rounds 1&2, Day 3 (BeIN Sports 1)

🏀 19:30 - NBL - Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers (ESPN 1)

🎱 21:00 - World Cup of Pool, Round 1, Day 3 (Fox Sports)

🚴🏼‍♀️ 21:25 - Giro d'Italia, Stage 4, 186km (SBS on Demand or SBS Viceland)