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Australia fight back to snatch women’s pairs gold

Australia fight back to snatch women's pairs gold

lawn bowls and para lawn bowls

10 hours ago

England appeared to have the gold secured after storming into an 11-2 lead after the sixth end.

Australia completed a remarkable fightback to win gold in the women’s pairs after a thrilling contest against England.

Skip Ellen Ryan delighted the Australian fans in attendance at Victoria Park with a final bowl which knocked out England’s lie and claimed the gold medal.

Ryan sprinted to celebrate with lead Kristina Krstic after the most dramatic of comebacks.

England appeared to have the gold secured after storming into an 11-2 lead after the sixth end.

But the Australian pair fought back in fine fashion, winning the next four ends before the match was level at 12-12 after 12 ends played.

Australia entered the final end trailing by one but were in position to steal the match before England’s Amy Pharoah forced the match to an extra end by knocking out one of Australia’s two bowls, with the match tied at 18-18.

But it was to be heartbreak for England pair Pharoah and Sophie Tolchard as Australia’s final shot proved decisive.

“My stomach is still churning. I can’t describe how I’m feeling. This is just a dream come true for us,” Krstic said.

“Like Ellsy (Ryan) said after winning her singles, we’re not just doing it for ourselves, we’re doing it for the whole crew, all the Australians and everyone that’s supporting us.”

My stomach is still churning. I can’t describe how I’m feeling. This is just a dream come true for us

Kristina Krstic

Tolchard reflected on defeat by saying: “Amy played brilliantly throughout, but it was bit of a game of two halves really. We came back at them at the end, and it went to the extra end, and we lost the toss, so we didn’t have the last bowl.

“We put them under pressure as much as we possibly could, and it just wasn’t meant to be. But I’m so proud of Amy.

“We’ll probably never experience playing in front of a home crowd like that again. They really gave you that will to carry on, especially when I was a bit scratchy at the start of the game. They spurred me on to play better bowls Amazing to have that support.”

In the bronze medal match, New Zealand came out 20-15 winners over Malaysia.

Northern Ireland celebrated their second gold of the Games in the men’s fours after an 18-5 victory over India.

Lead Sam Barkley, second Adam McKeown, third Ian McClure and skip Martin McHugh began the stronger and were leading 7-0 by the fourth end.

India’s Sunil Bahadur, Navneet Singh, Chandan Kumar Singh and Dinesh Kumar finally got on the board by the fifth end but never really threatened Northern Ireland’s dominance and the score was 12-5 by the 10th end.

India failed to score again as the title went to Northern Ireland after 14 ends.

In the bronze medal match, England clinched third on the podium with a 17-12 comeback victory over Wales.

It was another gold for Australia in the men’s singles as Aaron Wilson coasted to a 21-3 victory over Northern Ireland’s Gary Kelly.

Wilson made a quick start and took control as he moved into a 12-0 lead by the end of the eighth end.

Kelly finally got on the board in the ninth end but was still left with a mountain to climb.

Wilson stretched his lead to 18-1 after 12 ends as he moved within three points of victory.

Kelly won the 13th end 2-0 but the Australian soon wrapped up victory with a 2-0 win in the 15th end to seal it.

Scotland’s Iain McLean took the bronze medal with a 21-11 win over Malaysia’s Fairul Izwan Abd Muin.

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Premier League results, scores, live coverage, Liverpool vs Fulham, Darwin Nunez goal, Mo Salah, video

Premier League results, scores, live coverage, Liverpool vs Fulham, Darwin Nunez goal, Mo Salah, video

Liverpool twice had to come from behind against newly-promoted Fulham to salvage a 2-2 draw in a pulsating start to the Premier League season on Saturday.

Aleksandar Mitrovic twice put the impressive hosts ahead, but Darwin Nunez came off the bench to make a huge impact on his Premier League debut.

The Uruguayan, who arrived at Anfield in a deal that could rise to 100 million euros ($A147 million) from Benfica, flicked home to level at 1-1 and then teed up Mohamed Salah for an equalizer 10 minutes from time.

BOLD PREDICTIONS: City go back-to-back, United flop and who gets relegated?

Darwin Nunez (L) gets in front of Fulham's defender Tosin Adarabioyo to shoot and score their first goal. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Darwin Nunez (L) gets in front of Fulham’s defender Tosin Adarabioyo to shoot and score their first goal. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)Source: AFP

Liverpool’s season had got off to a flying start by getting the better of Manchester City to win the Community Shield in what was billed as an early showdown between the two title contenders.

However, the Reds were punished for a sluggish performance in the first hour in what could provide a costly concession of two points.

Mitrovic scored 43 goals in as many games last season as Fulham broke to the Championship title and gave Liverpool an early warning as he stabbed just wide inside the first minute.

Much to Jurgen Klopp’s frustration on the touchline, the visitors did not wake from their slumber and were finally punished on 32 minutes when Mitrovic outmuscled Trent Alexander-Arnold at the back post to head in Kenny Tete’s cross.

Liverpool flickered into life before the break as Luis Diaz smashed against the post from a narrow angle.

However, it was not until the introduction of the towering presence of Nunez that the Champions League finalists began to pose a persistent threat.

Nunez was at fault when Fulham were inches away from doubling their lead when he was caught in possession and the ball was fed to Neeskens Kebano, who drilled off the inside of the post.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scores Fulham’s second goal. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)Source: AFP

At the other end, Liverpool’s new striker quickly made his presence felt as an audacious flick from Salah’s cross was saved by Marek Rodak.

Moments later a replica move did deliver Nunez’s first Premier League goal as he backheeled in from Salah’s low cross 26 minutes from time.

At that point there appeared only one winner, but Mitrovic showed a surprising fleetness of foot to turn Virgil van Dijk, who clipped the Serbian striker inside the box.

Mitrovic coolly slotted the resulting penalty low past Alisson Becker, but Fulham failed to hold out in the final 18 minutes for a famous win.

Another long ball into the box towards Nunez caused panic in the Fulham defense and the ball eventually fell kindly to Salah to score on the opening weekend of the Premier League for a sixth consecutive season.

Liverpool could even have snatched victory five minutes into stoppage time when Jordan Henderson’s long range strike came back off the crossbar.

But a point was the least Fulham served as they made a strong start in their bid to avoid relegation for a fourth consecutive season when in the top flight.

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“It Was Not Easy…”: Zhou Makes Shocking Alpine F1 Confession Amidst Ugly Oscar Piastri Dispute

“It Was Not Easy…”: Zhou Makes Shocking Alpine F1 Confession Amidst Ugly Oscar Piastri Dispute

Oscar Piastri, making his imminent move to the big leagues, is the talk of the town. There has been no official confirmation yet, but multiple reports suggest Piastri will drive for McLaren next season. The rookie Australian will probably replace the outgoing one in the most extraordinary turn of events.

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Alpine, without a valid contract, announced Piastri as their driver for the 2023 season. The young Australian quickly and publicly refuted the French team’s claim on his social media. Watching the saga unfold from a distance is Piastri’s former Alpine academy driver, Zhou Guanyu.

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The Chinese driver recently shared his delight over his decision to leave Alpine for a seat at Alfa Romeo last year. he said, “I’ve been completely released. Everything worked out very nicely because my contract was ending at the end of last year and it was up to both of us if we wanted to continue, but then there was an opportunity with Alfa.”

“So it was not easy to get out of Alpine, but I’m very happy that everything worked out well because if I had another year I’d be kind of stuck, the same now with Oscar.”

“So it’s not the best thing for me. I feel like there was an opportunity here, so I went for it, and I think it was a very good decision,” further added the content Alfa Romeo man.

Formula One F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria – July 7, 2022 Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou ahead of the Grand Prix REUTERS/Florion Goga

Until it was announced, Piastri did not have a seat in the French paddock with Alonso set to continue. However, Piastri is finally walking in his colleague’s steps a season later.

Piastri will most probably have a seat in F1 in 2023. But where? And that is a question that affects Daniel Ricciardo as well.

If Oscar Piastri drives for McLaren, where will Ricciardo go?

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As it is becoming increasingly evident that Oscar Piastri will drive for McLaren, the team has to get their house in order. And the first order of business would be to take care of the Daniel Ricciardo situation.

Formula One F1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan – June 12, 2022 McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Since the Australian is contracted until the 2023 season, McLaren might have to work on a pay-off deal with Ricciardo to terminate his contract a year early. This deal highly depends on the driver securing a seat elsewhere. However, according to reports, Ricciardo has had four teams contact him in the past two weeks alone.

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Watch This Story: Struggling ‘Honey Badger’ Daniel Ricciardo Once Dominated the Streets of Azerbaijan in Glorious 2017

Coming weeks will reveal some of the changes in the 2023 grid as the world waits eagerly.

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NRL news 2022: Positive Covid-19 test cartridge throws press conference into disarray, Manly vs Eels score

NRL news 2022: Positive Covid-19 test cartridge throws press conference into disarray, Manly vs Eels score

Friday evening’s press conference at 4 Pines Park was thrown into disarray after a positive Covid-19 RAT test was found in the venue’s designated media room.

The Parramatta Eels defeated the Manly Sea Eagles 36-20 in the Round 21 contest, with winger Maika Sivo scoring a double for the visitors.

But after the final siren, Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans opted not to conduct a post-match press conference after reporters discovered a positive RAT cartridge in the media room.

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Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler’s interview went ahead as planned, but Eels mentor Brad Arthur played it safe and conducted his press conference in the hallway outside the toilets.

Meanwhile, Parramatta’s players refused to do interviews after the game to avoid any risk of being exposed to the deadly virus.

News Corp’s Martin Gabor tweeted: “Drama at 4 Pines Park. A positive RAT was found in the post match press conference room. Des Hasler did his press conference but DCE played it safe. Eels are concerned and it looks like their presser will be delayed and moved.”

AAP’s Scott Bailey posted: “Absolute shambolic scenes at Brookvale. Positive RAT cartridge sitting in the designated press conference room. None of the journalists behind it. DCE opted out of presser while Brad Arthur moved his outside and no Eels players spoke as a result.”

The positive RAT test was later removed by an NRL official. It remains unclear where the cartridge came from.

It was a back-and-forth affair at 4 Pines Park on Friday, with Manly taking a lead 20-14 after the halftime break.

But the Eels fightback began in spectacular fashion as winger Waqa Blake, playing his 150th game, dived for the corner to score a stunning try in the 55th minute.

Latching onto a perfectly-directed lofted pass from young teammate Jakob Arthur, the Eels flyer lunged and somehow managed to ground the ball with his knees inches from the turf in touch.

It proved to be the turning point for the Eels, who scored three late tries to blow the Sea Eagles away and leave Manly’s season on life support.

“It was a big moment wasn’t it?” Eels coach Arthur told reporters after the 16-point victory.

“It really got us back in the hunt. Good for Jake’s confidence too.

“Really pleased for Waqa, he’s the sort of player that doesn’t get a lot of accolades but he just competes at every contest for us. He’s had some injuries over the last couple of years but he always works the hardest to get back on the field.”

With four games remaining in the regular season, the Sea Eagles are now four points out of the top eight in 10th place on the NRL ladder, while the Eels have moved into fifth on 28 competition points.

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Gunston’s five inspires Hawks to epic win

Gunston's five inspires Hawks to epic win

Hawthorn has made it four wins from five matches after accounting for Gold Coast by seven points.

The Hawks held off a final-quarter Suns fightback for a seven-point win at University of Tasmania Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Veteran Hawk Jack Gunston booted five goals in the 10.10 (70) to 8.15 (63) result in the milestone match of skipper Ben McEvoy.

Hawthorn booted the opening goal and never relinquished the lead from there, quelling the Suns’ chances in the opening term when they had the advantage of a strong breeze behind them.

Despite leading at each change, the Hawks did have some nervous moments late with the Gold Coast virtually setting up camp in its forward-half.

Trailing by 17 points at three-quarter time, the Suns kicked the opening two goals of the fourth term and got within a goal with about five minutes left on the clock.

Gold Coast was left to rue several missed opportunities in the final quarter, with big man Mabior Chol and rookie Mac Andrew missing gettable set shots.

McEvoy picked up a crucial mark in defense inside the final two minutes as the Hawks scrambled for their eighth win of the year despite scoring just one point in the last term.

The result leaves the Suns in 11th position on the ladder, two wins outside the top eight with two rounds remaining and a host of teams above them still to play in round 21.

Gunston threatened to tear the game open from the start, booting the opening two goals of the match and had four to his name by half-time. His five-goal haul from him continued his rich vein of form, with 11 goals in the past three matches one of the keys to the Hawks’ late-season resurgence.

The Suns were slow out of the blocks and took until the 21st minute to register their opening major but trailed by just eight at the first break.

Hawthorn pulled ahead in the second term with three goals straight, including Gunston’s third which was followed shortly by a fourth on the run, for a 21-point half-time lead.

Despite having the breeze at their back in the all-important third term, the Suns could only equal Hawthorn’s two goals.

Hawk Jaeger O’Meara had eight clearances and eight tackles from his 20 disposals to in a brilliant display, while David Swallow (30 disposals and five clearances), Brandon Ellis (27 disposals) were two of the Suns’ best.

Hawthorn’s Jarman Impey was put on report in the third quarter for contact on Darcy Macpherson.

HAWTHORN 3.5 8.8 10.9 10.10 (70)
GOLD COAST 2.3 5.5 7.10 8.15 (63)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 5, Breust, Koschitzke, McEvoy, O’Meara, Ward
Gold Coast: Hollands 2, Holman 2, Ainsworth, Casboult, Sharp, Witts

BEST
Hawthorn: O’Meara, Gunston, Moore, Newcombe, Sicily, Mitchell
Gold Coast: Swallow, Hollands, Witts, Ellis, Ainsworth

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Gold Coast: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: James Blanck (unused)
Gold Coast: Rory Atkins (unused)

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Commonwealth Games schedule today, Day 9: Watch live stream and coverage of Australia v New Zealand in the T20 cricket as our Diamonds win v England in the netball

Commonwealth Games schedule today, Day 9: Watch live stream and coverage of Australia v New Zealand in the T20 cricket as our Diamonds win v England in the netball

England have closed the gap at the top of the Commonwealth Games medal tallyand are on the verge of taking the lead after a rare day without Australian gold.

Australia remain atop the medal tally with 50 gold medals, but England have moved within three golds after winning five golds on Friday, including two at the diving.

See all of the highlights from Day 8 of the Commonwealth Games in the video player above

Stream Seven’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games 2022 for free on 7plus >>

The Aussies added eight medals on Friday, with decathletes Daniel Golubovic and Cedric Dubler taking silver and bronze behind Grenada’s Lindon Victor.

There was also a silver for diver Brittany O’Brien in the women’s 1m springboard, an another five bronze medals.

Australia are on track for a big weekend with both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, the women’s T20 cricket side and netball outfit among those staring down medals.

On Saturday, we’ve got a massive night of Aussie action in the athletics, boxing, netball, and beach volleyball. There’s also T20 cricket, hockey, diving and a whole lot more.

Follow all of the live action from the Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games in the live blog below.

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Aleix Espargaro fastest with top four split by 0.090s

Aleix Espargaro fastest with top four split by 0.090s

The Aprilia star is hunted by a trio of Ducatis in FP3 with Quartararo and Bagnaia safely into Q2

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) heads into qualifying at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix at the top of the timesheets after setting a blockbuster 1:58.254 in FP3, but it’s tight at the summit. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) are inside the top three and sit just 0.028s and 0.078s behind the Spaniard respectively.

A typically thrilling end to FP3

Raul Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) were the only two riders to improve their Friday efforts in the opening 25 minutes of FP3, but heading into the closing 20 minutes, soft rear tires were being fitted – and the time attacks were inbound.

The Aprilia Racing duo of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales were the first big movers. The Spaniards exchanged fastest laps with 15 minutes to go, Viñales 0.096s ahead of Espargaro. But on his second time attack lap, Espargaro set a blistering 1:58.254 to move 0.345s clear of Viñales and anyone else. Miller, shadowing Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), cut Espargaro’s advantage down to 0.078s to move into P2, while Quartararo sat P4 after improving his best time.

After missing out on a top 10 on Friday, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) slotted into P7 with 10 minutes left on the stopwatch, before Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) rose to P3 to sit within a tenth of Espargaro. Pecco, after a few hand gestures were exchanged with Aleix Espargaro after the Ducati man was forced to sit up on a fast lap, went again and made sure he was safe in P6. Zarco then crashed unhurt at Turn 13 while on a potentially record-breaking lap, bringing out the yellow flags, but the Frenchman was safely inside the top 10.

Martin’s late lap moved him up to second place to make it four riders within a second heading into qualifying, Zarco is the third rider within a tenth of Espargaro in P4, with fifth place Viñales 0.321s away from his teammate’s time. Quartararo has to settle for P6, three tenths shy of his closest title rival, with Pecco sitting in P7 just 0.006s down on Quartararo. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) are the other automatic Q2 qualifiers in P8, P9 and P10.

Make sure you tune into qualifying at 14:10 local time (GMT+1)!

Top 10 combined:
1. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – 1:58.254
2. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.028
3. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.078
4. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.090
5. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.321
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.328
7. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.371
8. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.403
9. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.409
10. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.475

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the opening weekend | premier league

1) Arsenal to avoid opening night encore

It has become traditional that Arsenal look somewhat undercooked going into a season, but this time their harbor hosts more question marks. While Crystal Palace battered them at Selhurst Park in April, a rematch so soon appears to suit the more visitors and Patrick Vieira’s prediction of “a completely different game” seems hard to fault. Palace are yet to find a replacement for Conor Gallagher, whose energy was so fundamental to their better performances last season, while Cheikhou Kouyaté has left and the current injury list includes James McArthur and Michael Olise. Reinforcements have taken longer to arrive than Vieira might like, while Mikel Arteta has been able to strengthen in key areas and field something close to his favored starting XI in recent friendlies. A year ago Arsenal’s Covid-weakened side began disastrously at Brentford, but a Friday night fright does not appear as likely this time around. Nick Ames

2) Nunez ready to go for Liverpool

Darwin Núñez does not look as if he needs to be eased in. The Uruguay forward started on the bench when Liverpool beat City in the Community Shield last weekend, but he appeared to be on the same wavelength as his new teammates after coming on in the second half. The runs were intelligent and effective, the link play was smart and there were signs of an understanding with Mohamed Salah, who was involved when Núñez scored his first Liverpool goal with a brave header. The question is whether Klopp decides to play the former Benfica striker when Liverpool visit Fulham on Saturday. Is there anything to gain from holding the 23-year-old back and playing Roberto Firmino through the middle instead? Firmino is an excellent, subtle player, but Fulham’s defenders must be dreading the thought of trying to keep Núñez quiet. Jacob Steinberg

3) Everton look short of firepower

It was against Frank Lampard’s old club last season that Everton found the spirit, style and backing that ultimately kept them in the Premier League, but that was courtesy of a winner from Richarlison – with both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Salomón Rondón on the bench as back-up. The goalscorer is gone, the England international is out injured for the next six weeks and Rondón is suspended. Another attritional approach is likely, with no recognized forward available for the first game of a new campaign. And to think it is Thomas Tuchel who has bemoaned his club’s summer transfer business so far. Chelsea at least have some new faces to reflect an ambitious new era under Todd Boehly in Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Carney Chukwuemeka, along with the promise of more to come. They have lost on their last four league visits to Goodison Park, however, and Tuchel’s appeals for reinforcement will only intensify with a fifth. Andy Hunter

Ready for the Premier League 2022-23: Everton – video

4) Will Pope force Dubravka out?

Nick Pope or Martin Dubravka? That is the dilemma facing Eddie Howe as his Newcastle team prepares to face Nottingham Forest at St James’ Park on Saturday. Pope did not join from Burnley for £10m earlier this summer to merely sit on the bench. Instead the 30-year-old has made it crystal clear he intends to be playing the first-team football that will all but guarantee him a place on England’s World Cup bound flight to Doha in November. Accordingly the consensus is that Howe will start Pope ahead of Dubravka on Saturday. That, in turn, is set to upset the Slovakia goalkeeper and his agent, who has reiterated that his client is too good to be anyone’s understudy. Something has to give; might a Newcastle-Leicester part exchange deal involving Dubravka and James Maddison be the answer? louis taylor

5) Kane can hit the ground running

If pre-season is a time for optimism, it has been particularly pronounced at Tottenham. First Antonio Conte committed to the project, then the club made quick and targeted signings. Yet there is one player who holds the key to glory and, happily for all concerned, Harry Kane looks relaxed and ready. This time last year, the striker wanted out. When he was denied his wish, he worked, scoring only one league goal before the middle of December. He rediscovered his groove under Conte, who joined at the start of November, to finish with 17 in the competition and he carries momentum into the opening game against Southampton, having had a proper pre-season this time. Conte’s system is based on getting the best out of his front men, and Kane intends to embrace the expectations. David Hytner

6) Hammers pose City tough opening test

The champions do not have an easy start to their title defence. West Ham are unbeaten in their past three home games against Manchester City and play in a way that unsettles Pep Guardiola’s side. A lot of it is centered around the incisiveness of Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio on the counter, and while West Ham looked short of creativity during pre-season that is likely to be less of a problem against City. After all, David Moyes will not be making plans for his team to dominate possession. It will be all about West Ham maintaining a low block, keeping a close watch on Erling Haaland and looking for ways to release Bowen, whose diagonal runs from right to left saw him score twice when Moyes’s side held City to a pulsating 2-2 draw in this fixture last season. Jacob Steinberg

Jarrod Bowen gives West Ham a 2-0 lead against Manchester City in May, before the champions came back to draw.
Jarrod Bowen gave West Ham a 2-0 lead against Manchester City in May, before the champions came back to draw. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

7) Parker seeks early points on board

Great expectations. This phrase probably doesn’t embody the outlook of Bournemouth fans before their Premier League return. With Scott Parker’s men making hard work of automatic promotion last season, and a concerning lack of summer spending so far, the club look set for a trying campaign. After hosting Aston Villa, Bournemouth next travel to Manchester City before facing Arsenal at home and Liverpool at Anfield. A point at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday may be necessary to avoid the ominous prospect of losing their first four league games and seeing their survival hopes potentially begin to wash away along the south coast by the end of August. Villa fans will be expecting greater things than last season’s 14th place, and if Steven Gerrard’s players are attempt on making large strides up the table, picking up three points in games like this should be a must in their hunt for a first top-half finish since promotion in 2019. Joel Mians

8) Will Ronaldo make an appearance?

Erik ten Hag’s first Manchester United XI for a Premier League game is not expected to include Cristiano Ronaldo due to the wantaway striker’s lack of match-fitness. The manager branded the 37-year-old’s early departure from Sunday’s friendly with Rayo Vallecano as “unacceptable” and anyone watching Brighton’s visit will turn into body-language experts, parsing any interaction for a hint of discord. The Portuguese’s decision to go awol was surely premeditated as a latest ploy in the push to leave a club there is supposedly adoration for. As the new manager tries to somehow rebuild a shattered side, how Ten Hag deals with Ronaldo and an unwanted sideshow may define his tenure. Jamie Jackson

Ready for the Premier League 2022-2023: Manchester United – video

9) Bamford return a big boost for Marsch

The injuries which restricted Patrick Bamford to a mere nine appearance for Leeds last season played a big part in not only the team’s dalliance with relegation but Marcelo Bielsa’s replacement by Jesse Marsch. The good news for the latter is that Leeds key striker, and 2020-21 leading scorer, is nearing 100% fitness and looks set to start against Wolves at Elland Road on Saturday. If Marsch can keep Bamford fit he has a good chance of buying the time needed to bed his exciting new signings, perhaps most notably the attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson and the winger Luis Sinisterra, into the first XI and help Leeds fans forget about the summer departures of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha. The American’s chances of making this season a success will be appreciably enhanced if he can keep Bamford fit. louis taylor

10) Foxes face uncertainty at kick-off

This has been a difficult summer for Leicester. Kasper Schmeichel has left, the futures of Wesley Fofana and James Maddison are up in the air, and the Foxes are the only Premier League club yet to sign a player. A club close to qualifying for the Champions League in 2020 and 2021 found last season did not go entirely to plan, with Brendan Rodgers’ side finishing eighth, six points off a Europa League place. There is a different mood among the Leicester fanbase compared with the start of other recent seasons. They welcome a Brentford team they beat twice lastlast season, albeit fortuitously. The visitors have had a busy transfer window marked by the departure of their midfield maverick, Christian Eriksen. Given the uncertainty in LE2, Thomas Frank’s side may not get a better chance to sting their hosts. Uzzi Majid

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Candice Warner drops brutal Kyle Chalmers truth

Kyle Chalmers has been the talk of the Commonwealth Games.

The swimming is officially over at the Commonwealth Games and while Australia dominated with a towering medal tally, there was plenty of attention on the Dolphins over what was happening outside the pool.

Kyle Chalmers slammed the media for delving into a reported “love triangle” between himself, Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson, saying all the attention and “clickbait” focused on his personal life might drive him out of the sport.

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Chalmers was romantically involved with McKeon before she started dating Simpson, whose incredible comeback to swimming from his music career has been one of the biggest storylines in Birmingham.

The swimmers involved have repeatedly denied there’s any bad blood between them, while Chalmers went on the offensive and ripped into the media. His father Brett did the same, blasting the national obsession with Simpson as he complained not enough credit was being directed to other swimmers and their achievements in Birmingham.

Candice drops truth bombs on Kyle

Ex-Aussie swimmer turned popular TV presenter Johanna Griggs said earlier in the week Chalmers was “feeding” the media frenzy by constantly engaging with it, and former Ironwoman Candice Warner is on the same page.

Warner said she was “really surprised” by how Chalmers handled the headlines, saying she expected someone who dealt with the attention thrust upon him in 2016 when he won gold in the 100m freestyle at the Rio Olympics to be better prepared for the media barrage.

“He knows how to deal with the pressure. Why is he allowing the media to make these comments?” Warner told Fox Sports program The Back Page this week.

“Why hasn’t he put a self-imposed media ban (on himself) until the Games are over? I’m just really a little bit confused by the situation and why he’s engaging with the media.

“He’s not in the wrong, but he also has the power and ability to stop it and also just to focus on his swim events.

“Should I know how to deal with this pressure? Should I know how to deal with this completely?”

Reports of possible friction between Chalmers and Simpson first emerged at this year’s national championships in Adelaide, leading Warner to question why the 24-year-old wasn’t more prepared for the questions he’d face in Birmingham.

“Would there not have been a strategy put into place before these Games? We haven’t just started talking about this now, we’ve been speaking about this love triangle before the Commonwealth Games,” Warner said.

She adding Chalmers’ team and Swimming Australia should have “put some sort of strategy into place knowing this could have been a possibility”.

Warner also said Chalmers — who she described as an “alpha male” — would understandably be affected by McKeon’s relationship with Simpson given their history, suggesting “his ego would be burnt a little bit”.

‘He likes the attention but not the scrutiny’

Chalmers has been irked by attention being lavished on Simpson and his personal life at the expense of other swimmers whose feats also deserve praise. Courier Mail chief sports writer Robert Craddock suggested Chalmers craves positive headlines about himself but can’t handle it when coverage isn’t so rosy.

“It appears to me as if he likes the attention but not the scrutiny — and there is just a fine line between them and they often overlap,” Craddock told The Back Page.

“I think he’s one of those guys who can’t live with it and can’t live without it and finds it very awkward.

“He’s on Instagram, he’s out there, he’s happy to put himself front and center but like a lot of swimmers, when it’s big time, when it’s Games time, the force of the coverage hits them hard.”

Australian swimming legend Susie O’Neill had a different take on how the situation has affected the national team in Birmingham.

O’Neill — who was in Tokyo for last year’s Olympics — was adamant there is no rift among the Dolphins and said it’s harder for athletes these days to block out negative publicity because of social media and the insatiable news cycle.

“I think what they’re struggling with is, if you think about swimmers, they spend 30-40 hours a week trying to improve one one-hundredth of a second — such specific, objective goals,” she told The Back Page.

“So when they get asked subjective questions not even to do with their sport, you know, reality TV stuff, they’re confused and I think get offended by that.”

Why Chalmers is kicking up a stink

Meanwhile, SEN boss Craig Hutchison believes Chalmers is struggling in adjusting to the added scrutiny because he’s been so used to positive coverage for the majority of his career.

“He has had a charmed run as a young man with the media. That rarely happens to the bulk of society and you get a disproportionate comfort that you are … a figure that gets a lot of adulation,” Hutchison said on his media podcast The Sounding Board.

“So when things go wrong, you’re not emotionally equipped to necessarily handle the negativity.

“Then it often sways the other way because you overreact, or react to a certain way.”

Journalist Damian Barrett told The Sounding Board: “What he (Chalmers) doesn’t get… you can’t control media. No matter who you are and what run you’ve got.”

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Sports

Geelong Cats v St Kilda Saints, Port Adelaide Power v Richmond Tigers fixtures, teams, ladder, odds, tickets, players

Geelong Cats v St Kilda Saints, Port Adelaide Power v Richmond Tigers fixtures, teams, ladder, odds, tickets, players

Geelong superstar Tom Hawkins spoke to Channel Seven after the game…

Q: I don’t say that it was regulation, because they were one of the teams you needed to get out of the way?
A: Absolutely. They played some really good footy. You would’ve seen that from your vantage point, but they were really competitive, they got their game going, they get fast flow on the game, started to shift and move the ball around a bit more in the second quarter which really challenged us to bit. Look, it was a really pleasing result. We’ve come up in the last couple of weeks, we have Gold Coast this coming weekend, sides that are playing for their lives. They’re really hard to win, but really happy with how we performed.

Q: Tom, without Joel Selwood and Paddy Dangerfield on the ground tonight, is there anything that you did differently in terms of a leadership role, or who steps up when those guys aren’t there?
A: For me, not really. I mean, particularly in our forward half last week, we were quite poor in being able to create contests. So for me, and that’s the hallmark of my game, when I’m playing well, I’m playing the game in a contest. And competing so trying to control what I can control out there is almost, you know, the best way personally for me to lead. So, yeah, we were missing some key personnel, but we certainly made up for their absence in areas, and we were happy with the result.

Q: What was the message at half-time? What did you hone in on? Because after the second quarter where we thought the Saints were right back in it, you guys really just stamped your foot?
A: We just went back to talking about what we do when we are playing well. And that’s being fierce in a contest. We played the game too much in their half. Weren’t able to get entries inside our forward 50 and put them under pressure so we wanted to be strong around the footy, get the ball going, keep it in and contain the ball when we could, and not let it get out on the outside where St Kilda are so good. So I thought we were a lot better, yeah. We were a lot better in the third.

Q: Just the culture of what you guys do as a group… you kick a goal but those around you are all happy for you. Everyone’s happy for everyone else, having achieved something, whether it’s a shepherd or whatever it is. And it’s full of smile and fun.
A: Yeah, I’m glad you picked that up, ’cause that’s certainly the way it felt out there. We had numerous passages particularly in the forward third of the ground where we talked about the energy, Isaac Smith anointed himself the sprinkler at some point in the third quarter. He just kept on popping up but even went in the goal square. I’m glad you picked up on that.

Q: It was obvious.
A: We provide energy particularly in the forward half, we have a lot of guys that are really dangerous when the ball’s in their area and when it’s not they create space and move and make it really hard for defenses. So, yeah, it’s probably been a bit of a hallmark of our game in the last couple of years.

Q: Luke Dahlhaus comes in gets a late call-up. I did a really good job. But it shows how tight spots are, and players know that when they get an opportunity, they’ve got to come in and play to the level that the team’s been playing at.
A: ‘Dal’ was great. He’s very much an energy provider, fierce around the ball, wins it, gets it going forward. He’s a great person amongst our group. So it was really pleasing, although unfortunate that ‘Danger’ couldn’t play but I love when guys are…we were joking in the changerooms about 45 minutes before the game, about our game preparation, and there’s ‘Dal’ lacing up the boots about 20 minutes later and he was playing. It was great for him to have an impact.