Special Interest

Super Bowl Halftime Hits and Misses

Super Bowl Halftime Hits and Misses

• Staff Writer

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on the global sporting calendar and the halftime show has developed into an institution in its own right. Just about every rock star in the world has played the Super Bowl Halftime show and this year we’ll get a taste of something different with world-renowned rapper, Bad Bunny, taking centre stage. The link between a fire half time show and an absolute flop is mighty fine, as you’ll see below in our complete list of hits and misses! Misses Super Bowl XLV 2011 – Black Eyed Peas Long before the Black…

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5 Lessons Learned - NFL Week 13

5 Lessons Learned - NFL Week 13

• Shad Wicker

13 weeks into the NFL season and it feels like everything we thought we knew has been turned upside down. This weekend’s action started with a Thanksgiving Day slate where every single underdog came out on top, continued with a Black Friday beatdown in Philadelphia, and wrapped up with enough chaos to make your head spin. The Panthers are alive in the NFC South, the Colts are suddenly vulnerable, and Shedeur Sanders is finding out that winning in the NFL is slightly harder than playing for Deion at Colorado. It was a week that reinforced just how brutal the stretch…

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5 Lessons Learned - NFL Week 11

5 Lessons Learned - NFL Week 11

• James Caughlin

As the weather in America turns cold, the 2025 NFL season moves into the second half of the schedule and the importance of each game is amplified. Week 11 produced in a big way, with a number of close finishes, surprising upsets and great individual efforts. The league’s first game in Spain produced an overtime finish (albeit not exactly a thriller), to kick off a day where nine of the 13 games were decided by one score. Five teams are on top of the pile with just two losses on their record and the upside down AFC playoff field remains…

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Bec's Blackbook - Runners to Follow

Bec's Blackbook - Runners to Follow

• Rebecca Hill

We’re set for another huge day of racing across the country this Saturday and I have five runners that I’m keen to follow across three states. We’ll kick off at Caulfield where we have a triple-header of Group 1 action and I’m keen on one in race 2, along with one in the Toorak Handicap later in the day – POINT BARROW ($3.20 at time of publish) has just the four race starts and she looks a very talented filly with a bright future. The Anthony and Sam Freedman trained daughter of Blue Point debuted late last year with an eye-catching…

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Unlikely NRL Grand Final Heroes

Unlikely NRL Grand Final Heroes

• Will Evans

Pre-match attention understandably focuses on the likes of superstars Reece Walsh, Cameron Munster, Harry Grant, Adam Reynolds, and Jahrome Hughes ahead of Sunday night’s 2025 NRL Grand Final blockbuster between Brisbane and Melbourne But Grand Finals have a knack of producing unlikely heroes – unheralded types who sew their name into the fabric of rugby league history with a memorable performance on the game’s biggest stage. 1942 – Lin Johnson (Canterbury) Played on an SCG quagmire, the 1942 decider between Canterbury and St George was locked 9-all in the dying stages when Berries fullback Lin Johnson lined up a penalty…

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Turnbull Stakes: A Reference for Future Glory

Turnbull Stakes: A Reference for Future Glory

• Joshua Bell

The Group 1 Turnbull Stakes is run over 2000m at Flemington racecourse under set weights and penalties.  In terms of a guide to the three big feature races during the Spring carnival, the Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, history suggests there is no better guide.  Previous winners of the Turnbull Stakes in the past include Wakeful (1903), Bernborough (1946), Dulcify (1979) and Let’s Elope (1991) among many others that then went on to win one of the three mentioned above.  A deep dive into more recent times does nothing to dispel the data that we have for over…

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Grand Final Turning Points

Grand Final Turning Points

• Will Evans

Grand finals swing on big calls, heroic plays and crucial mistakes. Ahead of Sunday’s NRL Grand Final showdown between Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, we’re reliving the great grand final turning points.  Without these trajectory-changing moments, the following deciders could have turned out very differently.   Did Darcy call held? (1963)   The SCG, resembling a quagmire, played host to one of the most controversial deciders of all time as a record 69,860-strong crowd witnessed what would become known as the ‘Mudbath’ Grand Final.   Western Suburbs was denied a seemingly fair try late in the first half by referee Darcy Lawler, but…

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The Top 10 NRL Grand Finals

The Top 10 NRL Grand Finals

• James Caughlin

The Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos will face off in the 28th NRL Grand Final this weekend as both teams seek to finish their season by raising the Provan-Summons Trophy. In the spirit of nostalgia we have gone back through the archives to find our top 10 Grand Finals of the NRL era. Read on to see which game lands where in our Top 10 NRL Grand Finals. NUMBER 10 – 1998: Broncos (38) def. Bulldogs (12) The first decider under the newly reunited NRL banner was contested by the lone Super League champions Brisbane and the red hot Bulldogs,…

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All-Time Brownlow Medal Robberies

All-Time Brownlow Medal Robberies

• Dylan Leach

Each year, Australian Football’s night of nights crowns a new champion, forever to be etched into the history books.  It’s a highly competitive field heading into this year’s count, with the likes of Nick Daicos, Bailey Smith and Noah Anderson all popular picks.  Who wins this year is anyone’s guess!  While anyone who has had the honour of taking Charlie home will forever be in football immortality, we’re acknowledging those who really should have won the medal in this blog. With this, we award the coulda, shoulda, woulda Brownlow Medalists from various years since it was first telecast back in…

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Hendo’s Hopefuls: Saturday’s Best Roughies

Hendo’s Hopefuls: Saturday’s Best Roughies

• Lucy Henderson

Some of Saturday’s roughies are flying under the radar – check out the long shots Ladbrokes says are worth a second look. Last Saturday we found the Run To The Rose third placegetter, Skyhook, at a price and came very close with a couple of rank outsiders finishing fourth. Spring racing goes up another level this weekend with the Underwood Stakes Day card in Melbourne boasting two Group 1s and we’ve got the underrated fancies in both to add to your exotic selections. In Sydney Randwick lights up with The Everest Carnival getting underway and we have found a juicy…

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