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Buddy stars in Swans romp over Saints
Dragons finally end Canberra hoodoo
8.27pm AEST
Having missed an earlier penalty, Cruden keeps his cool to make amends with his next effort, after the Wallabies are penalised for holding on. Sixteen minutes on the clock at ANZ.
8.24pm AEST
Not the best start from the Wallabies a couple of mistakes nearly cost them dearly - but Kurtley Beale brings them level with an accurate effort from his boot 30 metres out.
8.21pm AEST
Its tighter than a Surry Hills hipsters trousers in Leichardt, and at the break the Chucks are up by eight, thanks to Michael Jennings third-minute try and some decent kicking by James Maloney. Wonder what the queue for the bar is like at the moment.
8.13pm AEST
Aaron Cruden gets the first points on the board with a fantastic kick after the Wallabies were pulled up for not rolling away.
8.08pm AEST
Under way in the first game of this years Rugby Championship!
8.07pm AEST
And heres the All Blacks haka. Never fails to impress. Lots of wide eyes and tongues and forearm slapping and such like.
Kapa o Pango! @AllBlacks
8.03pm AEST
Just getting through the anthems first up. Excellent singing for the New Zealand ditty. Chirpy rendition for Australia. Very chirpy.
7.58pm AEST
The Wallabies and All Blacks are out on the pitch at ANZ. Anticipation is high, at least it is among the Fox commentators, who reckon a upset could be on the cards tonight. Well see. Kick off coming up shortly.
7.57pm AEST
To the world of cricket, briefly, and Australia A are heading towards a draw after day three of four against South Africa A in Townsville. Phil Hughes, called up for the tour of Zimbabwe after Shane Watson trod on a ball in training, made a decent impression with the bat. Read the full report here.
7.47pm AEST
And were off in the AFL games between Collingwood and Brisbane and Adelaide versus Richmond.
7.44pm AEST
One of lifes rare pleasures is watching the Wests Tigers with a cold beer in hand from one of the grassy knolls at Leichardt Oval. Its a throwback to a bygone era, a nostalgic tour de force. Forget that half the crowd arent even watching the game, forget that its likely cold and raining (like tonight), forget that you have to keep score yourself, forget that you need to start queuing for a second beer the moment you buy your first if you want to drink said beer at some point on the same night its a joy to be there. Under way in Sydneys inner west.
7.33pm AEST
Not quite as dominant a second half as the first, but that was never going to be necessary for the Storm, who complete a comfortable victory over Cronulla and move into fifth place, level on 28 points with the Rooster (fourth) and Bulldogs (sixth).
7.20pm AEST
No regrets, only sadness for French athlete Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, the man who whipped off his shirt to finish his 3,000m steeplechase race at the European Athletics championships, only to have his gold medal stripped by authorities for the illegal football-style celebration.
In case youre not aware of exactly who Mekhissi-Benabbad is, heres some of his previous work:
7.11pm AEST
What an absolute corker of a game at Etihad! The Bombers needed a
big
huge final quarter and they duly delivered a massive one, a stirring performance to delight their fans, silence their critics and send the team into the eight with two rounds to go! Extraordinary scenes in Melbourne at full-time the Eagles are out on their feet, the Bombers are ecstatic.
6.57pm AEST
Great win by the boys today. It was an honour to captain the mighty Red V. Great to finally win in Canberra.
6.57pm AEST
About an hour to go to the big kick-off in Sydney, and time perhaps to peruse Rajiv Maharajs preview of the first Bledisloe Cup Test.
Predicting an All Black loss to any team let alone the Wallabies in a Bledisloe Cup fixture is a pursuit fraught with peril, right up there with shark-wrangling and parkour somersaulting atop skyscrapers. The margin for error against the best rugby team on the planet is infinitesimal. The ABs historical winning percentage is 76.3% over 515 Tests. Since the 2011 World Cup its 94.74% 36 wins, one loss (England) and a draw (Australia).
6.38pm AEST
Its all going off at Etihad. The Bombers managed to get to within four points of the Eagles with five straight goals and while they now trail by 11, its game on in Melbourne.
6.36pm AEST
Its going entirely to plan for the Storm at AAMI Park so far tonight and this one looks like its over already. Six different try scorers for the Storm during a first half that some may choose to describe as one-sided. I am one of those people.
5.59pm AEST
Last nights contentious decision that effectively settled the Geelong-Carlton match was wrong. Thats now the official line after the AFL umpires boss Hayden Kennedy labeled the free-kick awarded after Sam Dochertys crucial spoil unwarranted.
Its just unfortunate with this particular one that it was at an important stage of the game and unfortunately it wasnt correct.
5.55pm AEST
The Bombers are down at the long break, and their hopes of making it into the eight are in the balance. They need a
big
huge second half if they are to turn this one around.
5.48pm AEST
Here we go in Melbourne as the Storm take on the Sharks, the filling in todays NRL sandwich (the patties being the Raiders/Dragons and the Tigers/Roosters).
Go night for a @storm in Melbourne tonight! Love @NRL love this game! pic.twitter.com/4hY0VaRlC9
5.23pm AEST
Chemnitzer FC trail Mainz 5-4 in last minute of German Cup extra-time. Then this happens http://t.co/67ebNjn5Aj (and they win on pens)
5.16pm AEST
Ever wondered what would happen if water polo and canoeing were combined into one supersport? This probably wasnt what the geniuses behind the idea had in mind.
5.14pm AEST
At the first break at Etihad, the Eagles are in the lead, but only by three it could have been more had they not converted their dominance into points.
5.01pm AEST
The Power flex their muscles in the end and claim victory by nine points in the Queensland rain. And what an important win that is for Port. The Suns just didnt have the gas in their tank to get over the line.
Robbie Gray's amazing season continues - 26 disposals, 20 contested, 9 clearances, 11 inside 50s and a goal #aflsunspower #weareportadelaide
4.58pm AEST
All over in Canberra and the Dragons have ended a 14-year (fourteen!) hoodoo in the nations capital by finally winning in the Raiders back yard. Brett Morris led by example with a hat-trick for St George, who secured just their third win over the Raiders in 20 attempts.
Another streak busted by Ricky. #GamesGreatestThinker
4.47pm AEST
Were under way in Melbourne with the Bombers facing the Eagles at the MCG as the club look to put yet another week of off-field shenanigans behind them.
The opening gambit in Gay Alcorns piece from earlier in the week pretty much sums things up.
So this is what Australias own game has come to. Rows of robed QCs and trolleys stacked with thick white binders, eye-glazing arguments about the legality of an investigation into possible doping at the Essendon football club, one of the oldest and proudest clubs in the league.
4.43pm AEST
Bad news from Brisbane, where Shane Watson has stepped on a ball during training and will miss Australias one-day tour of Zimbabwe. The diagnosis is a sprained ankle, ruling Watto out of the upcoming trip to Africa.
An easy mistake to make, or the latest in a long list of freak sporting injuries? At least an egg didnt explode in his face after trying to poach it in a microwave. Now thats freakish.
4.26pm AEST
4.24pm AEST
Buddy has a glorious chance to cap his 200th game with a 10th goal at the death, but he shanks it and hell have to settle for just the nine. Not a bad days work for him, nor the Swans, who complete victory with ease and continue their charge towards the minor premiership.
The Swans show their appreciation for the soon-to-be-retired Saint Lenny Hayes with a guard of honour on his way off the pitch. Nice touch. Even though its easy to be nice when youve just won by 71 points.
4.17pm AEST
AFL players shorts are notoriously tight-fitting at the best of times, but whats on show on the Gold Coast today is getting ridiculous and testament to the inclement weather at a soggy Metricon. The rains been lashing down and while its had an effect on the scoreline, it hasnt detracted from the intrigue and theres all to play for in the final term.
4.12pm AEST
Very sad news from the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, where tragedy struck twice when a competitor died mid-match and another was found dead in his hotel room just hours later.
There were brief scenes of panic in the hall after [first victim Kurt] Meiers collapse, when spectators reportedly mistook a defibrillator for a weapon. Hours later, a player from Uzbekistan who has not yet been named was found dead in his hotel room in central Tromsø. Norwegian police and the events organisers said on Friday they were not treating the deaths as suspicious.
4.03pm AEST
Its close at the break in the capital, where the Green Machine have it by two at the moment. Josh Papalii and Jordan Rapana for the Raiders and Brett Morris (two) for the Dragons are the try-scorers so far. Anyones game.
3.53pm AEST
Anyway, lets have a quick recap of what happened last night, in case you missed it.
In the AFL, Geelong grabbed a dramatic six-point win over Carlton in a thriller at Etihad to gear up very nicely thank you very much for next weekends big game against Hawthorn.
3.47pm AEST
Eight goals for Buddy, and Swans lead by 62 at three-quarter time. The man is unstoppable today. Nothing much else to say really.
3.41pm AEST
As an aside, later on tonight (21:45 AEST to be precise), the English Premier League season kicks off with Manchester United facing Swansea in the opening game of the 2014-15 campaign. Excited much? Perhaps not, but those whose juices are already flowing in anticipation of seeing how Louis van Gaal fares in his debut in English football will be able to follow every goal as it goes in/tackle as it flies in/tactical masterstroke as its made etc. Well have a link to follow for that later on.
3.40pm AEST
The rains been and gone already in Sydney today, and theres a decent turnout at the SCG to watch Buddy Franklin put on something of a masterclass against the Saints, who are a ragged, sorry bunch.
Buddy's kicked six so far in game 200. He's leading the Coleman now as well. Swans lead 74-18 #AFLSwansSaints pic.twitter.com/37nUP98uvY
3.32pm AEST
And lets not forget the NRL. The first of three matches today has kicked off at GIO Stadium in Canberra.
Two packs of maggot-hard forwards. Super-slick speedsters in the back division. Gareth Widdop versus Anthony The Milf Milford. Josh Dugan versus Canberra. Benji Marshall versus his own star-crazed impulses.
3.19pm AEST
And the players are off to recharge their batteries/get an ear bashing from the coach/munch on their orange slices (or whatever they get up to in the sheds at half-time) at a soggy Metricon Stadium. Its the Suns who are edging things at the moment, despite Port dominating proceedings in awful conditions.
3.04pm AEST
The Swans are already well under way at the SCG and its a pretty one-sided scoreline in favour of the hosts who are 40 points up at the long break. Indeed, there appears to be a rather festive atmosphere inside the ground, where the two-times premiership winning defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson has been paraded in front of fans following his decision earlier in the week to retire from footy.
An adoring crowd thanks the one and only 'LRT' #warrior pic.twitter.com/SIaQCFmt13
3.01pm AEST
Its another busy day of oval-ball action. Heres whats on offer:
AFL
Sydney Swans v Saint Kilda 13:40
Gold Coast Suns v Port Adelaide 14:10|
Essendon v West Coast Eagles v 16:40
Adelaide Crows v Richmond Tigers 19:30
Collingwood v Brisbane Lions 19:40
3.01pm AEST
Is it that time already? Apparently so. Good afternoon and welcome to another edition of Guardian Australias Saturday Sportsday live blog.
Well be bringing you all the scores, updates and results from the days sporting action as it unfolds in the AFL, NRL and, of course, the opening Bledisloe Cup clash at the ANZ stadium in Sydney tonight.
Continue reading...