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G’day Sports Fans,

🗣️ “There is something magnetic about his aura. Paul Roos should be covered in fridge magnets.” - Dennis Cometti 

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🏉 The Wests Tigers have now officially announced the signing of off-contract Penrith winger Sunia Turuva on a three-year deal.

The Fiji international will link up with Wests Tigers at the end of the 2024 season.

“Sunia is a great signing for us as a club moving forward,” Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall said.

🏈 Australia continues to produce NFL punting talent, as Melbourne-born Tory Taylor was drafted by the Chicago Bears as the No. 122 pick from Iowa University, marking the first special teams player selected in the 2024 draft.

While former schoolboy rugby union star out of The Scots College in Sydney - Thomas Yassmin signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.

🏉 The ACT Brumbies were the only Aussie winners at the weekend, breathing new life into their Super Rugby Pacific title charge, knocking off the league-leading Hurricanes 27-19 at GIO Stadium. Shoutout to the Force who narrowly went down to Highlanders in a 7-6 classic.

🥊 Boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya has guaranteed Vergil Ortiz will knock out Tim Tszyu when they face off in an August super fight. 

Their mega match was confirmed on Sunday when the American knockout artist thundered his way to a Round 1 knockout win over Thomas Dulorme. 

Tszyu was forced to pivot to a blockbuster fight with Ortiz after the WBO announced US pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford will be next in line to fight Sebastian Fundora for his super welterweight crown.

🎙️ Rugby league journalist Paul Kent has been stood down from his position pending an immediate investigation after becoming caught up in an alleged brawl outside a Sydney restaurant.

🇦🇺 Geelong forward Oliver Henry has been fined by the AFL Match Review over an incident in Saturday’s clash with Carlton that was widely considered staging.

Blues defender Zac Williams went down theatrically after what appeared minimal contact from Henry late in the third quarter of Geelong’s 13-point win in an incident you can watch in the video player above.

It was ignored by the umpires, but the Match Review Officer has deemed the incident intentional conduct, low impact and body conduct, and fined the key forward $6,520. It can be reduced to $3,750 with an early plea.

🏉 Rabbitohs superstar Latrell Mitchell is reportedly considering pulling himself out of Origin selection contention to focus on reviving South Sydney’s season.

According to the SMH, Mitchell’s sit-down conversation with club officials regarding his commitment to the club have made him consider where his priorities lie.

🐴 Popular central Queensland jockey Ashley Butler won The Archer race again, two years after a nightclub incident left him with a broken jaw.

This time, after his victory with Ricky Vale-trained Namazu, Butler joked about having a quiet night. Despite a betting drift, Namazu held off Lavish Empire and Mishani Sniper to secure the win.

⚽️ Arsenal overcame the hurdle of a north London derby and an anxious finale to maintain momentum in the Premier League title pursuit with a vital victory at Tottenham.

Cruising at 3-0 up, Arsenal were thrown off course when a dreadful clearance by goalkeeper David Raya presented Cristian Romero with a goal after 64 minutes, the nerves really jangling when Heung-min Son scored from the spot three minutes from the end of normal time after Declan Rice fouled Ben Davies. However, some resolute defending in the closing stages saw them home.

 ⚽️ Erling Haaland marked his return with a goal as Manchester City kept up the pressure on leaders Arsenal with victory over Nottingham Forest.

The Norwegian striker missed two games through injury but came off the bench in the 62nd minute at the City Ground.

He slotted into the left corner nine minutes later to wrap up the points and move City back to a point behind Premier League front-runners Arsenal.

⚽️ Enes Unal scored on his first Premier League start for Bournemouth as the Cherries beat below-par Brighton 3-0 to reach their highest top-flight points total (48 points).

⛳️ American Brendan Steele has held of a fast-finishing Louis Oosthuizen for a one-shot win at LIV Golf’s Adelaide tournament.

While Cam Smith missed out on the individual honours, the local favourite captained his all-Australian Ripper GC to a team’s victory on home soil. The Ripper foursome – Smith, Jones, Leishman Herbert – won on the second hole of a nerve-jangling playoff.

🏏 Pakistan have appointed former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie has been confirmed as head coach of the Test team.

👊🏻 Conor McGregor is a new part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. McGregor (22-6), who gears up for his Octagon return against Michael Chandler (23-8) at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, previously made a guest appearance at BKFC 41.

“We’ve got the biggest guy [Conor McGregor] in all of combat sports who’s now the part owner of the company,” BKFC’s David Feldman said at the Knucklemania 4 post-fight press conference.

🏀 Milwaukee Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have been ruled out for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Indiana Pacers today.

Lillard aggravated an Achilles tendon injury late in the fourth quarter of Friday's 121-118 overtime loss to the Pacers, which gave Indiana a 2-1 lead in the series.

🏍️ Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia won the Spanish Grand Prix for third straight year after a bare-knuckle brawl with Marc Marquez, while championship leader Jorge Martin paid a high price for a mid-race blunder crashing out on lap 11 of the 25-lap race

🎾 Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the last 16 of the Madrid Open as he cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild.

World number three Alcaraz won 6-3 6-3 against Brazil's Seyboth Wild.

The win continues second seed Alcaraz's dominance at the event, which he won in 2022 and 2023.

"Today was the test of fire, no discomfort, feeling spectacular, from here, we'll be getting better," said Alcaraz.

The Spaniard was again sporting a compression sleeve on his right arm following an injury which caused him to pull out of the Barcelona Open this month, but he showed no signs of discomfort in a straightforward win over his unseeded opponent.

TODAY

06:05 - MLB - Colorado Rockies v Houston Astros (ESPN 2)
07:00 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Nashville Predators v Vancouver Canucks (ESPN)
09:10 - MLB - Boston Red Sox v Chicago Cubs (ESPN 2)
11:30 - NBA Playoffs First Round - Phoenix Suns v Minnesota Timberwolves (ESPN)
12:30 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Los Angeles Kings v Edmonton Oilers (ESPN 2)
00:00 - Indian Premier League - Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Capitals (Fox Cricket)

TUESDAY

05:00 - Spanish La Liga - Barcelona v Valencia (Optus Sport 2)
09:00 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Florida Panthers v Tampa Bay Lightning (ESPN 2)
10:30 - NBA Playoffs First Round - New Orleans Pelicans v Oklahoma City Thunder (ESPN)
12:00 - NBA Playoffs First Round - Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN 2)