The 2022 AFL draft will again be held across two nights but take place later in November this year to allow the AFLW to have the spotlight for the season seven grand finale.
The AFL sent a memo to clubs on Monday confirming the sign, trade period and draft dates for 2022.
The AFLW grand final will take place on the weekend of November 25-27 before the national draft will be held.
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Round 1 of the draft has been set for Monday November 28, with the rest of the selections to be held on Tuesday November 29. The pre-season and rookie drafts will then be held online the next day, starting at 3pm (AEST) on Wednesday November 30.
The AFL exchange period will commence on Friday September 30 — six days after the AFL Grand Final — when the free agency window opens. The trade period will then kick off on Monday October 3, with players and picks up for grabs.
Greene on next coach & Dusty pursuit | 02:18
The free agency period will last one week, with no offers to be lodged past 5pm on Friday October 7. However clubs with offers pending have until Monday October 10 to match bids.
As per previous seasons, the trade period deadline will be on a Wednesday night (October 12, 7.30pm).
After a relatively quiet 2021 trade period, clubs are preparing for more movement this season.
Free agents Dan McStay (Brisbane) and Karl Amon (Port Adelaide) are set to move clubs, Melbourne Rising Star winner Luke Jackson is considering requesting a trade to Fremantle, the Giants face the prospect of losing several players — including Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto — while ample intrigue surrounds Collingwood duo Jordan De Goey (free agent) and Brodie Grundy (contracted).
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Clubs will be able to sign delisted free agents across various windows in early November, while draft picks can be swapped after the trade period until Tuesday November 15. Picks can then be traded again during the two draft nights.
Sandringham Dragons midfielder Will Ashcroft is the early Pick 1 favourite. The ball magnet is linked to Brisbane under the father-son rule, meaning if the club with Pick 1 in the draft selected Ashcroft the Lions would have bidding rights — although he still has to nominate the Lions as his preferred destination.
Oakleigh Chargers duo George Wardlaw and Elijah Tsatas, Geelong Falcons co-captain Jhye Clark and dynamic Dragons forward Harry Sheezel are also highly rated by recruiters.
Ashcroft undecided on father son call | 00:48
KEY DATES FOR THE 2022 AFL SIGN AND TRADE PERIOD (all times AEST/AEDT) …
Friday 30 September at 9.00am
AFL Restricted Free Agency and Unrestricted Free Agency Period commences
Monday 03 October at 9.00am
Continental Tires AFL Trade Period commences – Players & Selections
Friday 07 October at 5.00pm
Close of AFL Restricted Free Agency Offer and Unrestricted Free Agency Period.
Monday 10 October
NAB AFL Draft Nominations open (9am)
AFL Restricted Free Agency Matching Offer 3 Day Period Ends (5pm)
Wednesday 12 October at 7.30pm
Continental Tires AFL Trade Period closes – players and selections
Thursday 03 November at 9.00am
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (1) commences
Wednesday 09 November at 5.00pm
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (1) closes
Friday 11 November at 9.00am
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (2) commences
Tuesday 15 November by 5.00pm
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (2) closes
Continental Tires AFL Trade Period closes – selections only
Monday 21 November by 3.00pm
NAB AFL Draft Nominations close
Monday 28 November at 7.10pm
2022 NAB AFL Draft Round One (Venue TBC)
Father/Son, Academy & NGA and Players Bidding opens.
Tuesday 29 November
Continental Tires AFL Trade Period – selections only (5.45pm to 6.30pm)
2022 NAB AFL National Draft Round two until completion (7pm)
Rookie Upgrade Period opens (10pm)
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (3) commences (10pm)
Rookie Upgrade Period closes (11pm)
AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (3) closes (11pm)
The start of Race 22 of the Supercars Championship at The Bend
Following the big shunt at The Bend, we ask if you think Supercars should employ rolling starts, in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner were taken to hospital for scans, while there are question marks on whether their cars will race again, after their collision at the start of Race 22.
Randle had stalled on the outside of the front row and his Ford Mustang was nailed by Heimgartner, who had already built up a head of steam given he had qualified five rows further back, in a 38 g impact.
Other drivers, including championship leader Shane van Gisbergen, have given conflicting takes on just how well Supercars’ incar warning system dealt with the situation.
However, another matter that has now been raised by fans commenting on that report is that of rolling starts.
Supercars has not used the practice since the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, where any number of experiments were made to formats before it became a points-paying event on the calendar in 2018.
Standing starts are, of course, the overwhelming tradition in Australia and Europe.
The 1988 Bathurst 1000, for example, sticks out because it is the only time a rolling start has been employed in the Great Race, when it formed part of the Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship.
Here, rolling starts tend to be used for reasons of necessity, noting that the two most prominent examples of competitions which feature them are Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters and Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS.
While sister categories from the Australian Racing Group family, they otherwise have little in common save for the fact that the vehicles in the respective fields are so varied, a standing start would put some competitors at a rather large advantage.
Supercars, on the other hand, is a technical parity category.
So, why might a change be desirable?
With respect to the Randle-Heimgartner incident, a rolling start may be safer, given there is no prospect for a car stalling and being shunted.
However, the safety argument cuts both ways, as demonstrated by the carnage at a rolling start at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
Supercars changed the procedure for the following year’s appearance at Albert Park, with cars allowed to accelerate once the red start lights went out, rather than waiting for the leader to jump in a prescribed Acceleration Zone.
Safer though that may be, it diminishes the advantage which the pole-sitter has earned, and is also inconsistent with the category’s current restart procedures.
Regardless, it also stands to reason that a rolling start means that cars will certainly arrive no slower, but potentially quicker, to the first corner of the race than otherwise would be the case.
When the field is tightly bunched, potentially from double file, the risk of crashes is thus greater.
How would a rolling start work at Adelaide, for example, where cars would have to funnel into Senna Chicane at near racing speed? Jason Bright’s 2014 rollover, albeit from a single-file Safety Car restart (during the Acceleration Zone era), shows what can happen when drivers are jostling for position.
Worth noting also is that in North America, where the rolling start is king, much racing is done on ovals, which do not have hard braking zones.
Then there is the entertainment angle.
Is it more entertaining to see drivers forced to accelerate from a standstill, with rear wheels smoking, or is the sheer speed of a rolling start more exciting?
While there is certainly an element of skill in executing a rolling start, having to hold an engine at an optimal amount of revs then negotiating the clutch release, with cold tires and a relatively heavy fuel load, is a far more difficult process.
The task of getting a Supercar off the line is thus one which distinguishes drivers in the category on the basis of skill – much like the heel-and-toe.
Interestingly, Formula 1 even uses standing restarts, which certainly create the potential for action in their own right.
What do you think? Should Supercars use rolling starts, stick with the tradition of standing starts, or use a mixture?
David King believes Carlton’s “arrogant” performance in their loss to Adelaide over the weekend may have completely derailed their season.
While he doesn’t believe it to be an accurate reflection of their performance this year, the Blues’ loss to the Crows leaves them on 12 wins, with Brisbane (away), Melbourne and Collingwood to play and 13 wins likely required to play finals .
The Crows were clearly the better team on the night in the 29-point win and King was harsh in his assessment of the Blues.
“It was the most arrogant performance I’ve seen for a long time. They thought they were going to turn up and get through the Adelaide Crows because of where they are on the (ladder),” he told SEN’s Whatley.
“I’m not saying the coach said that, I’m not saying the leaders said that, they played like that.
“You could see it. It’s the desire indicators. Things like broken tackles – 23 broken tackles, which is a season high. They stepped through them and it wasn’t like they were walking through first-gamers.
“It was Patrick Cripps, it was Sam Walsh – some of Walsh’s defensive actions, he would be embarrassed about at the review today.
“Adam Saad, they put a tag to him and he didn’t handle it at all. He took risks just because he was being tagged. He’s been one of the best one-on-one defenders as a small defender … but for whatever reason he thought, ‘I’m not picking up Ben Keays’.
“All of a sudden you’re playing with a 10-meter leg rope, he gets out the back consistently and causes chaos. Nic Newman, I know he got subbed out, some of the defensive lapses that he makes, Lachie Plowman, I don’t understand Lachie Plowman at times. What are you doing man?
“All of a sudden, these cracks in their game come home to roost when their intensity is not there, their ground ball game, they got humbled at ground level for toughness.
“Full credit to the Adelaide Crows who wound themselves up. Their leadership, Tex Walker, you can’t give this guy enough credit and do him justice. What he does is in that forward line is special and Jacob Weitering had a really poor game by his standards.
“For some reason, they decided to give space to their opponents on the weekend and I couldn’t work that out. It has to be between the ears because the four weeks prior they’d been brilliant.
“I thought it was really poor and it ruined their year. That loss at this stage of the year, it just rocks the boat. They’re a better team than where they finish on the ladder. They are right now a better team than that.
“It reads well for next year, but right now, that was a really arrogant performance and they got smacked in the eyes by a team that said ‘you know what, you’re coming to our turf, we’re going okay, we ‘re invested in the competition of getting the result’.”
Carlton takes on Brisbane at the Gabba on Sunday afternoon, before finishing the season with Melbourne and Collingwood. Will they find that 13th win? King isn’t sure.
“I don’t think they’ll find one in the next few weeks. Very few teams have gone to Brisbane over the last few years and walked away with a win. They won’t be getting that, I don’t think,” he said.
“Melbourne is one of the toughest challenges in the competition right now. I think it’ll be on the Collingwood game.
“I mean, what a finish to the year. It sets up perfectly for Collingwood. They could put a real dagger in the heart of the Carlton faithful in Round 23 and they’ll be jostling for 5th or 6th position.
“There’s nowhere to hide, and Carlton didn’t front up on the weekend and find themselves in a difficult position now.”
The Blues will lose three players to injury, with Matthew Kennedy convicted, Nic Newman dealing with a knee issue and Corey Durdin hurting his shoulder.
Wins don’t come much more emphatic than from 10th on the grid at the Hungaroring.
Max Verstappen’s against-the-odds victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was only the fourth time someone’s won in Budapest starting further back than the front two rows. Not only was it a clear underline on Red Bull Racing’s superiority in the 2022 championship race, it was also a neat encapsulation of the entire season to date as the sport heads into the mid-season break.
It featured a wildly slow then unexpectedly and inexplicably fast Mercedes that threatened to win the race but ultimately couldn’t manage it.
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It featured Ferrari somehow fumbling what should’ve been an unimpeachable pace advantage early in the weekend to finish off the podium and denying it lacks operational sharpness.
And as its centrepiece it featured Red Bull Racing executing most effectively, Verstappen seizing his opportunities and both ending Sunday with enhanced points leads.
You almost don’t need to have seen any other race this year to understand where the championship stands and predict where it’ll head when racing resumes at the end of August after the mid-season break.
REMINDER: FERRARI TARGETED TO ONE-TWO
There’s no team that needs the mid-season break more urgently than Ferrari, which contributed yet another way to ship more points to Red Bull Racing and Verstappen in an already bleak title campaign.
All this despite having explicitly targeted a one-two finish just days earlier.
It won’t shock you to know that the team’s embarrassing loss came mainly from the pit wall.
Slow pit stops meant it took longer for Leclerc to pass pole-getter Russell than it should have, and it cost Sainz the opportunity to pass the Briton at all.
It then made the fatal error of swapping Leclerc onto the unfancied hard tire for his final stint in a hasty attempt to cover the undercutting Verstappen — despite the fact every other car that had used the tire was struggling badly for grip.
Not only did it cost him the lead, but he was forced into making a third stop that left him an almost unbelievable sixth at the flag.
Ferrari protested after the race that the problem wasn’t its strategy but the car, which in the cooler Sunday conditions wasn’t exhibiting the dominant edge it enjoyed during Friday practice.
Leclerc burnt by ANOTHER Ferrari blunder | 01:14
“Certainly we didn’t have the performance we were expecting,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports. “Whatever the tyres, somehow the performance of our cars was not as expected.
“Today the car was not behaving well, I think that’s the point.”
Binotto isn’t wrong to make that argument, but he is exaggerating. Ferrari was slower than it was on Friday, but it was still the fastest car on track.
We can make a like-for-like comparison between Leclerc and Verstappen on the medium tire in the middle of the race, Even accounting for the Dutchman’s older rubber, the Monegasque was still quicker, or at least quick enough to take him on directly.
But the team let itself be spooked by Verstappen’s second undercut attempt with 32 laps to go. Rather than race to its own pace, run deep and switch to softs — which it did with Sainz — it brought Leclerc in immediately for the hard tire and suffered the consequences.
“I felt very strong on the medium. Everything was under control,” Leclerc told Sky Sports. “I don’t know why we needed to go on the hard.
“I said on the radio I was very comfortable on the medium and I wanted to go as long as possible on those tires because the feeling was good. I don’t know why we made a different decision.”
So really there are two key mistakes here. One is coolness under pressure in reading the race, and the other is misunderstanding the hard tyre, which the team thought would warm up after 10 laps but which in reality was never going to be effective. It’s not the first time it’s committed either foul this season.
Leclerc left Budapest with a whopping 80-point deficit to Verstappen and Ferrari is now 97 points adrift of Red Bull Racing. More worrying still, the team’s just 30 points ahead of Mercedes.
And with performance like that, would you be willing to back Ferrari to hold second?
Max & Lewis chuckle at Ferrari’s tactics | 00:33
MAX VERSTAPPEN PUTS ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY
If Charles Leclerc’s solo crash at the French Grand Prix effectively decided the destination of the title, Verstappen’s slick victory in Budapest gave him a chance to put one hand on the trophy.
An 80-point advantage is more than three clear race victories. He can now afford to finish second to Leclerc at every race, including the sprint in Brazil, and ship the point for fastest lap and he still won’t lose the title lead before the end of the season.
Before the mid-season break he’s been able to put the fate of the drivers championship completely in his own hands. No mean feat.
After last season’s down-to-the-wire blockbuster finale, you’ll be concerned to know we can start counting down the points needed to win the championship.
With nine rounds remaining, Verstappen can win the championship with just five more victories even if Leclerc finishes second to him in all of them. That puts him on track to claim the crown at the Japanese Grand Prix.
And perhaps Verstappen winning the next five races is unlikely — he’s yet to win more than three in a row this season — but with Mercedes potentially in the mix, he may have a team to pick points off Ferrari and Leclerc, in which case just finishing with one or two cars between him and the Monegasque regardless of their finishing position would probably be enough to get the job done.
The weekend wasn’t perfect of course. A power unit problem was part of the reason he qualified poorly, and a clutch issue spun him around in the race, temporarily costing him the lead. He’ll also need to serve a penalty for a new power unit at some point in the second half of the year, having installed his third and final motor this weekend.
But the gap is easily wide enough to absorb that pressure, and with Leclerc needing at least one more round of power unit penalties, it’s extremely difficult to imagine a scenario in which Verstappen doesn’t win the title with at least two rounds to spare
Max spins but still wins in Hungary | 01:11
MERCEDES UNEXPECTEDLY FAST BUT UNSURE ABOUT PERMANENCE
Mercedes arrived in Budapest in the brace position, appeared to be justified by its lackluster Friday performance, but by the end of the weekend it had collected its first pole of the year with George Russell and a second straight double podium.
Lewis Hamilton had even been on a late an unlikely charge for victory that team boss Toto Wolff said could’ve ended in success had he qualified higher up the grid rather than suffer a DRS failure in Q3.
What’s more, the Hungaroring layout should have been a struggle circuit for the car, which tends to prefer faster tracks — Hamilton almost won at Silverstone, both drivers showed good pace in Austria before crashing out of qualifying, and the team got both cars onto the podium in France.
Wolff, however, said it was less a case of not understanding the reasons for its speed in Budapest but rather figuring out if those reasons applied universally or only to the specific characteristics of the Hungaroring.
“It’s not that we have no clue why the car has been fast,” Wolff said, per The Race.
“We had directions during the season where we believed it would unlock the potential of the car, and it didn’t.
“So here we have another direction, and that was very quick on the stopwatch.
“But I don’t want to have another false dawn and we come to the realization tomorrow and Spa that it didn’t reap the benefits that we were hoping to have.
“In that respect, let’s just wait and see where this is going.”
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In that respect Mercedes must be frustrated to have to wait three weeks to try to validate its progress, though the triple-header comprising three distinct track types will be the ultimate test of its solution.
The team is long out of championship contention, but the W13’s fortunes are still relevant to the title outcome.
Potentially now quick enough to contend for regular merited podiums and perhaps victories at some tracks, how well Mercedes does on any given weekend will decide three things: how soon Verstappen wins the title — or, if you’re extremely optimistic, whether he wins the title; where Ferrari will finish in the constructors standings; and whether Leclerc will finish second in the drivers standings.
George Russell is now just 20 points behind Leclerc in the battle for a second, with Hamilton 12 points further back, and the team is now only 30 points short of Ferrari in the teams title battle.
It’s too late for the major prizes, but the minor placings are still very much up for grabs.
McLAREN STILL IN TOUCH FOR FOURTH DESPITE RICCIARDO PENALTY
The battle for best of the midfield is similarly still very much alive, with McLaren maintaining its four-point deficit to Alpine in fourth on the constructors title table.
Ricciardo pulls off epic double pass | 00:46
This was an improved weekend for Woking, one week after it introduced its major upgrade package at the French Grand Prix. Not only did Lando Norris again outqualify both French cars, but this week he retained his place ahead of them despite a slow first pit stop, ensuring maximum midfield points with seventh place.
He had Alpine’s unlikely one-stop strategy to thank in part. Alpine did n’t have a second set of medium tires for either driver, having burnt through them during practice, and so he had little choice but to go long, meaning he neither could challenge the leading Briton.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only weak point for McLaren. The Australian had been marginally off Norris’s pace through the race but quick enough to be running behind him before the first stops, even makingthat excellent double pass around the two battling Alpine drivers to hold the place.
But his struggles really started during his final stint on the hard tire and intensified once he was lapped, costing him precious tire temperature each time he was waved a blue flag.
The lack of grip on the white-walled tire was also behind him running wide and into Lance Stroll at turn 2, earning him a five-second penalty, when he was trying to let the Canadian by.
It left him out of the points, allowing a superb drive by Sebastian Vettel to be rewarded by one point, the German having recovered from 18th by avoiding that troublesome hard tire.
A lawyer for two brothers accused of being hired “muscle” in the alleged kidnapping of Stuart MacGill has told a court that the cricketing great was a regular cocaine user and “actively” involved in a drug deal central to the case.
Richard and Frederick Schaaf are awaiting trial over the alleged abduction of Mr MacGill from outside his home on Sydney’s lower north shore last year.
The pair on Monday appeared before the Supreme Court in an effort to be danced while they fight the charges.
Their barrister attacked Mr MacGill’s credibility, arguing that he went willingly with a group of men to an abandoned house in southwestern Sydney and said there was no physical evidence that he had been brutally assaulted.
The pair have pleaded not guilty to charges of take/detain in company with attempt to obtain advantage, with the matter expected to go to trial mid next year.
They were arrested along with four other men, including Mr MacGill’s de facto brother-in-law Marino Sotiropoulos, after the former Test spinner alleged that he was taken to a Bringelly property.
He has claimed that he was threatened with a gun, assaulted and demands were made for money over a drug deal gone wrong.
The court was told on Monday that Mr MacGill allegedly introduced Mr Sotiropoulos – the brother of his partner Maria O’Meagher – to a cocaine dealer.
Mr Sotiropoulos has since been charged with a supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and will stand trial alongside the Schaaf brothers.
Mr MacGill alleges that a group of men forced him into a car outside his home and confronted him after the drug deal ended in a “rip off”.
The two men watched from Bathurst Correctional Center on Monday as their barrister Avni Djemal argued they should be released on bail ahead of a trial next year.
Mr Djemal said there was evidence that Mr MacGill had willingly participated in a meeting at the Bringelly house and agreed to look at photos in a bid to identify the drug dealer.
Mr Djemal said Mr MacGill was released at Belmore and allowed to get into a cab.
“The evidence implies Mr MacGill to a high level. I’m surprised he’s not charged with the actual drug transaction that he says, in his evidence, ‘I had nothing more to do with it, I just introduced the brother-in-law, Mr Sotiropoulos, to a person who I knew used to sell drugs’,” Mr Djemal said.
“The gentleman, now a registered source, he says that this gentleman, MacGill, was an avid user of cocaine and said to be on it all the time or drunk or desperate for money.”
Mr Djemal further told the court that Mr MacGill had an “active” role in negotiating the weight of the drugs involved in the deal to the point that the dealer had offered him a gift because he “put this deal together”.
He further said there was no evidence to support Mr MacGill’s assertions that he had been punched to the front and back of his head, knocked to the ground and suffered a concussion.
Mr Djemal said the only evidence of any injuries was Ms O’Meagher saying she felt a lump on Mr MacGill’s head.
“He doesn’t have one physical injury after those events,” Mr Djemal said.
“If the hits to the front of your face have produced no lumps and you say the onslaught was to the front, the side, knocked you to the ground, how could that be?
“How could his word be that there was a kidnapping? What if he went, saw photos and got brought back?”
Mr Djemal argued that Frederick Schaaf should be released so he could undergo dental treatment because he was at risk of losing his teeth.
The hearing before Justice Richard Button continues.
Sharks veteran Andrew Fifita couldn’t hear the home crowd chanting his name on Saturday night when he crashed over for a try that was eerily similar to the one he scored in the 2016 grand final.
And while he would have loved to have heard the support from the Cronulla faithful, the only support he’s really cared about over the past 12 months has been from his partner who has been there for him after the scariest moment of their lives.
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The Sharks should finish in the top four thanks to Andrew Fifita’s try. Picture: Matt King/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Fifita suffered a shocking throat injury and spent several days in an induced coma last season, but before he got to the hospital, he messaged his wife telling her that he didn’t think he’d survive.
“That’s why I was a lot more emotional when I went over,” he said of his special celebration.
“It’s been a long time, especially for my missus. What she went through, especially in this round, that’s why it felt way more emotional. I think the excitement got the better of me and I started pointing at her saying, ‘See, you don’t believe me’.
“It did get the better of me.
“It’s Women in League round so I wanted to do this for her, but she didn’t believe me. I told her I was going to go over – I had a feeling – and it came true.”
Saturday’s try was the first time Fifita had scored in the NRL since 2020, and it brought back memories of his legendary four-pointer against the Storm in the 2016 decider.
Andrew Fifita scored the most famous try in Sharks history. Picture: Phil HillyardSource: Supplied
That one was in the 68th minute, while this one was a few seconds earlier, and it could prove telling for Cronulla’s top-four hopes.
But can you compare them?
“Por favor. That was the best try in the club’s history so it won’t go near it. I’m just grateful to get over the paint,” he said.
It’s been a long road back for Fifita, who doesn’t play the big minutes he used to.
But if he can chime in with big plays in clutch moments, then he looms as a wildcard for their premiership push.
“That was vintage Andrew,” skipper Wade Graham said.
“He’s worked hard and he’s a great character to have around the place with how much care he has for the team and the club.
“When he has energy, the team has energy – not just the team – but the club as well. You heard the crowd after the try chanting his name from him. ”
Those chants were so loud that you would’ve been able to hear them through the TV even if you had it on mute, yet there was one person who missed it.
“I honestly didn’t hear it,” Fifita said.
Cronulla Sharks press conference | 08:39
“Everyone was saying it, but I sh*t you not, I was saying to the boys ‘what do you mean Andrew chant’.
“When you’re out there it’s different, so you can’t really hear the crowd. You hear them roaring, but I didn’t hear it, and that’s what everyone was saying. I came in here and Dale (Finucane) was going ‘Andrew’.
“I’m grateful. At least I’ve left my touch on here, so I’m all good.”
The try caps a difficult couple of years for Fifita, who spent time in reserve grade playing with the Jets but will now need to step up with Royce Hunt likely to miss a few weeks with a shoulder injury.
“I wanted to play, and I’m forever grateful for Newtown because they brought the love of footy back in for me,” he said.
“Playing big minutes and having some fun on the ball, it was just one of those times.
“Did I think I’d get back? I knew I’d get back to the NRL – that was always there – but the thing for me was about getting back after the accident.”
Two riders were hospitalized and multiple spectators required medical treatment after a crash catapulted an Olympic gold medalist into the crowd during a Commonwealth Games qualifying race on the high-banked, Lee Valley velodrome.
England’s Matt Walls was treated in the stands for almost 40 minutes after both he and his bike were flung off the track.
The 24-year-old, who won the omnium at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, and Isle of Man rider Matt Bostock were taken to hospital after the incident in which several riders collided on a turn.
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England’s Matt Walls, top left, and Canada’s Derek Gee, right, go over the barrier and into the crowd. (AP)
Walls was later released from the hospital.
“Following medical treatment in hospital, Matt Walls has been discharged with stitches in his forehead, scrapes and bruises but thankfully no major injuries,” Team England said in a statement.
“We send our best wishes to all other riders and spectators involved in the crash and thank the medical teams for their expert care.”
Bostock had a CT scan from which the initial prognosis was positive, his Isle of Man team said.
The morning session of cycling was abandoned and spectators were asked to leave the stadium as Walls received treatment behind a temporary screen after the crash.
Witnesses said that because of the gradient of the banking on the track, spectators in the front row could not see the crash unfolding, nor Walls coming towards them.
One man received treatment for cuts to his arm and a young girl also required medical assistance.
Officials from several teams sprinted towards the stricken riders after the crash on the final lap of the second qualifying heat.
“I think the crashes are getting worse and it’s because the speeds are getting higher, the positions (on the bike) are getting more extreme,” five-time British Olympic champion Laura Kenny said.
“Some of the pursuit positions people are getting in, you see people crashing into the back of people.
“At some point, the UCI is going to have to put a cap on these positions. Maybe there should be screens because Matt should not have been able to go over the top and into the crowd, that’s pretty damn dangerous.”
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David King has settled on three clubs as this year’s legitimate premiership contenders.
After studying a fascinating Round 20, the North Melbourne champion has assessed what he saw and narrowed the flag race down to a trio of teams.
King sees it as Melbourne, Geelong and Sydney as the sides to beat if you want to take out the 2022 premiership.
He explained why he sees it that way.
“And then there were three, that’s it for me – Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“We talk about the premiership runway, that you’ve got to have your game in great order, particularly defensively in the last four to six weeks as a run-in to the finals.
“You don’t want to be looking for answers, you don’t want to be looking for things that are going to shake up a forward line or correct a backline or stop the opposition moving the ball.
“You just want to be in good order and tinkering as to who your opponent is and what their likely tactical changes are going to be.
“Through the course of a final series, you end up with asset versus asset, weapon versus weapon. You need to be in good order to maximize what you bring.”
King cites the defensive side of the game as most important at the business end of the season.
He believes the Demons, Cats and Swans, along with third-placed Collingwood, as the teams who have things in best shape from a defensive viewpoint.
“The teams that are in good order defensively are Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood are in really good order defensively but they’ve got other warts, and clearly they’ve won 10 in a row, and Melbourne,” he added.
“When Melbourne are allowed to defend in the way they like to defend, if they get the perfect setup, (they’re) bulletproof. We’ve seen their defensive profile spike considerably over the past few weeks.
“We’ve been waiting for it, in fairness. We’ve held blind faith, but it has been blind.
“I just think there’s a bit of a gap now. To me, there’s only three that can win it.”
Round 21 looms as a big weekend for the top four with second-placed Melbourne taking on the Magpies at the MCG on Friday night.
The top-of-the-table Cats host eighth-placed St Kilda on Saturday night while the Swans face North Melbourne on Sunday.
Alex de Minaur has won his sixth ATP crown, defeating American Jenson Brooksby in straight sets in Atlanta.
Having rallied from a set down in both his quarter and his semi-final, the Demon was in control in the final, winning 6-3 6-3.
It’s his second Atlanta Open title, and his first title since last year’s Eastbourne Invitational – a traditional Wimbledon lead-up tournament.
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“It was great to get another title under my name. It’s my sixth title. It feels good. Not a lot of people have been able to do that, so I feel great,” de Minaur said in his post-match courtside interview.
“I feel great about my game. I’ve put a lot of work in, so it’s great to see the hard work being rewarded.
“I knew coming in it would be a very tactical, chess-like match that we were going to both play. I feel like we are both tricky players in that sense and we adapt very well, so (there were) a lot of tactics going both ways and I’m happy I was able to execute my game plan and get the win today.
Alex de Minaur of Australia poses with the trophy after defeating Jenson Brooksby in the singles final of the Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station on July 31, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) (Getty)
“But it was a very tough match. Plenty of times it could have gone either way and even though the scoreboard was three and three, it felt very, very tight.”
De Minaur fought off a break point early in the first set, and from there was never really troubled. He was broken in the first game of the second set, but broke the American straight back to get back on serve.
De Minaur saved four of five break points faced, while converting all four break chances he created.
His US Open preparation continues on Thursday at the Citi Open in Washington DC. The US Open kicks off at the end of the month.
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Commonwealth Games in pictures: Shayna Jack becomes emotional after winning first solo international swimming medal
Australia 68 for 1 (Lanning 36*) beat Barbados 64 (King 4-8, McGrath 3-13) by nine wickets
A career-best 4 for 8 – and a near hat-trick – for Australia legspinner Alana King led her side to an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Barbados and into the Commonwealth Games semi-finals.
Meg Lanning, the Australia skipper, went a good way towards making up for dropping the catch that would have given King her hat-trick with an unbeaten 36 from 21 balls as she and Alyssa Healy mowed down a paltry target of 65 with 71 balls to spare.
Tahlia McGrath and Ashleigh Gardner added three and two wickets respectively as Barbados’ experienced top order crumbled and Australia kept them to a total that was always going to be nigh on impossible to defend against such formidable opposition.
Gold-medal favorites Australia are top of Group A with two wins from as many matches and they face winless Pakistan in their final group game on Wednesday when India and Barbados, with one win each so far, face off for the other semi-final berth .
Not this time, captain
Having scored a half-century and shared a 107-run partnership with Kycia Knight in their opening victory over Pakistan, Barbados captain Hayley Matthews cashed in as Darcie Brown struggled with her line and length to begin with. Matthews cut Brown’s first ball through backward point for four like a rocket and unfurled a cracking cover drive to find the boundary again three balls later. She steered the first ball of Brown’s next over through the covers then swung her over the leg side for consecutive boundaries, but Brown responded when she had Matthews out attempting to swat her over the leg side again only to sky the ball to a waiting Grace Harris at mid-on. Matthews was furious with herself, falling for a 13-ball 18, which she wasn’t to know would make her the top-scorer of a dismal Barbados innings.
dottin becalmed
When Matthews’ opening partner, Deandra Dottin clubbed Brown over extra cover for four it was her first shot in anger after facing a maiden from Jess Jonassen in just the third over and she ended the powerplay with just six runs from 20 balls faced.
King entered the attack in the eighth over and struck with her second ball, brushing the outside of Dottin’s front pad as she knelt down to tuck the ball down to fine leg right in line with middle stump and umpire Sue Redfern’s lbw decision was upheld when Dottin reviewed, the ball clearly hitting middle stump a third of the way up. Dottin finished with just eight runs from 22 balls with a meager strike rate of 36.36.
king rules
McGrath struck second ball when she had Kycia Knight, Barbados’ top-scorer in the first match with an unbeaten 62, easily caught by Megan Schutt at deep backward square. Kyshona Knight then chipped Gardner to Harris at midwicket as Barbados slid deeper into trouble at 49 for 4 and into their inexperienced batters. Gardner was excellent bowling her off-breaks, sending down 17 dot balls in her four overs and finishing with 2 for 6 after she removed 18-year-old Trishnan Holder for never to seal a double-wicket maiden.
McGrath finished with 3 for 13 as she ate into the tail but it was King who ruled on a slow pitch that has now staged six matches in this tournament. King accounted for Aaliyah Alleyne, taking a wild swing across the line of one that ripped out leg stump to end her second over. With the third ball of her third over, King pinned Shakera Selman lbw and then struck Shamilia Connell on the back leg next ball. King should have had another wicket immediately but 33-year-old international debutant Keila Elliott’s edge popped straight out of Lanning’s hands at slip. Usually so reliable in the field, Lanning lay face down on the turf for some time afterwards as King held her hands to her head, a brave smile painted on her face.
Lanning makes amends
Lanning all but made up for her blunder when she led Australia past the target, letting loose after a sedate start. Healy was uncharacteristically quiet early – she faced 14 balls for her first four runs after Australia lost Beth Mooney, stumped by Kycia Knight off the bowling of Shanika Bruce in the second over of their reply.
But Lanning punished some loose balls from Dottin in the sixth over, which went for 25 runs to close out the powerplay with Australia needing just 23 runs more. Back-to-back sixes swung powerfully over the leg side – the second off a high full toss that was called as a no-ball – in Dottin’s first over set Australia properly on their way. A wide preceded an unconventional four as Lanning stepped back and stuck her bat out as she toppled forwards along her crease and managed to steer the ball to the boundary through third.
Healy then began to find the rope with back-to-back fours off Matthews and Elliott in the next two overs before Lanning swatted Shakera Selman to the square-leg boundary to bring up the winning runs and a resounding victory.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo
