A former Saint has been rushed to hospital, reportedly with a fractured skull, after a shocking incident that saw a local footy game called off on Saturday.
Eli Templeton was sent crashing over a fence while representing Balwyn Football Club and landed head-first onto the surrounding concrete.
He suffered concussion in the shocking incident that’s been described in a News Corp report as “not malicious”.
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It was former Docker Zac Clarke who made the contact that sent Templeton over the fence in the clash between Balwyn and Doncaster East.
Templeton was reportedly unconscious for at least two minutes after the accident.
There’s reports the 26-year-old suffered a fractured skull in the sickening collision which left teammates and those at the ground visibly shaken.
But in good news for Templeton, he is set to make a full recovery.
Balwyn president Richard Wilson told local media the youngster was “cognitive and speaking and passing all the tests” on Saturday night.
It’s believed if Templeton had gone over the fence a few meters away from where he landed, it would have been onto grass.
Templeton had been granted permission to play for Balwyn after his VFL side Port Melbourne had the bye this weekend.
In a statement, Port Melbourne confirmed Templeton was injured in the collision.
“The club is aware that one of our VFL players Eli Templeton was injured in a local game today playing for Balwyn,” the statement read.
“We ask that everyone respects his privacy and we will update in due course.”
The 26-year-old played 14 games for the Saints across three seasons before being delisted at the end of 2016.
The Burnie product was the number three pick in the 2013 Rookie Draft but his AFL career was over by the age of just 21.
The Balwyn clash was called off early in the third term after Templeton’s sickening injury with the club leading by 23 points at the time.
Nick Kyrgios is “super excited” after continuing his career-best season by powering into the final of the Citi Open in Washington.
Backing up from his gruelling tournament workload so far – the Australian maverick finished off Reilly Opelka in their round of 16 clash on Friday then saved five match points in an epic quarter-final win over Frances Tiafoe yesterday – Kyrgios calmly dealt with Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in straight sets to swagger into another decider.
Kyrgios produced another imperious serving display to beat the 23-year-old Ymer 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in what was the Wimbledon runner-up’s fifth semi-final appearance from his past six events. Only an abdominal strain in Mallorca tarnished the impressive streak.
Yet to be broken all week in the American capital, Kyrgios didn’t face a solitary break point against Ymer, who had ousted former world No 1 Andy Murray in the first round. Ever the showman, Kyrgios brought up set point in the opener with his 80th ace of the tournament and sealed the set with a lovely serve-volley play and backhand flick overhead winner.
The second set also provided a serving duel but the Swede was always going to come out second best against Kyrgios in this type of mood as the Australian reeled off the last three games to prevail in one hour, 34 minutes.
Kyrgios hadn’t made a final for three years but now he’s reached two in less than a month, including his breakout run to his maiden grand slam title match at Wimbledon. That four-set defeat to Djokovic at the All England Club remains the 27-year-old’s only loss in his past 11 matches since mid-June.
“Honestly I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today,” Kyrgios said after the match. “The past couple of matches I’ve been on paper, rankings-wise the underdog, but today I definitely felt like the favourite. I served pretty solid. Obviously my winning percentage behind my first serve would have been high, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all.
“The difference was he stands on the fast and he makes you play that extra ball. He’s an incredible athlete and I really was n’t expecting him to be that fast, ”Kyrgios said of his rival. “Maybe next time I might have a couple different tactics when I play him, maybe not to try and rally him out, maybe come forward a little bit more. But it was a tough-fought semi-final. I’m just happy to be in another ending.
Kyrgios only hit 10 aces against Ymer, compared with the 35 thunderbolts he sat down against Tiafoe in their quarter-final epic, but it was good enough for the victory. “I didn’t get to sleep until 4.50am. I had so much adrenaline,” Kyrgios grinned. “I ate some dinner, got some treatment, my body was so sore after last night.
“It was an epic battle (against Tiafoe). I didn’t really do much today and I felt like my energy was a little flat today early on,” the kid from Canberra shrugged. “It’s understandable – I’m only human – but my adrenaline for the final is going to be right there. I’m super excited for it.”
Had the ATP not stripped Wimbledon of rankings points in objection to the All England Club’s banning of Russian and Belarusian players because of the invasion of Ukraine, Kyrgios would have regained his place in the world’s top 15. Instead he remains at No 63 and continues to make a mockery of the men’s rankings, which ridiculously also have Djokovic at world No 6, the Serbian superstar’s lowest position in 15 years.
Kyrgios’s run in Washington guarantees the 27-year-old’s rise to at least No 42 in the world and he’s projected to climb to 37th if he lands a seventh pro title. And with big events coming up in Montreal and Cincinnati, Kyrgios is on track to secure an all-important seeding for the US Open starting on August 29 in New York.
The most recent of Kyrgios’s ATP titles came here in Washington in 2019 and he’ll be hoping to snare another when he plays either Russian top seed Andrey Rublev or Japanese left-hander Yoshihito Nishioka in what will be his 11th career final.
The pair finished 16.68 points ahead of Malaysian pair NG Yan Yee and Nur Dhabitah Sabri.
Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Annabelle Smith produced a flawless performance to win women’s 3m synchronized springboard gold.
The pair finished 16.68 points ahead of Malaysian pair NG Yan Yee and Nur Dhabitah Sabri at Sandwell Aquatics Centre.
Mia Vallee, 21, delivered an incredible display to win the individual 1m springboard final on Friday and added a bronze to her Games haul alongside Margo Erlam.
Smith was delighted to successfully defend the Commonwealth title for Australia and bounce back from a tough showing at Gold Coast 2018.
She said: “Back-to-back Australia. Keeping it in the family.
“Maddi and I had an upsetting Gold Coast campaign in synchro, so it felt good to get that one back today.”
On winning their first Commonwealth title, Smith added: “I feel really proud.
I really feel proud. To actually be there today was really special
“Maddi and I have been together for a really long time but never won a Commonwealth gold medal.
“We knew that we had put in the hard work to get it and we knew that we were good enough to stand at the top of the podium – but to actually be there today was really special.
“We got here pretty early, so it was nice when the diving finally started and now I’m glad it’s over.”
Keeney was pleased that their hard work and perseverance finally paid off.
She said: “It’s every day. We’ve been together for eight years. It’s so much hard work and all of the athletes understand that.
“There have been so many tough teams over the years, and even now, all the divers are amazing.
“It’s both of our first gold medals and I never thought I would be able to get it.”
The Bulldogs lodged the quickest captain’s challenge in NRL history and earned a dream start against the Cowboys.
That led to the first try in the opening set of the game and Matt Burton crossed for the Dogs’ second.
But the Cowboys hit back just before the break with quick-fire tries to Griffin Neame and Chad Townsend to make 10-10 at halftime.
MATCH CENTER: Bulldogs v Cowboys, stats, teams, videos
North Queensland kicked off the match and the touch judge ruled it to bounce out, but Braidon Burns said he got a hand to it with his foot planted out.
The Dogs challenged and replays proved Burns correct, giving Canterbury a penalty on halfway which led to the first try.
Burton put through a grubber and Peta Hiku hesitated just long enough for Josh Addo-Carr to swoop through and score in the third minute.
Burton then turned scorer when he proved too strong from close range off the back off a scrum move in the 18th minute.
The Cowboys were finally rewarded for their sustained pressure when forward Griffin Neame barged over from close range in the 31st minute.
North Queensland halfback Chad Townsend made it two tries in three minutes when he put his head down and burrowed over in the corner.
34TH MINUTE
North Queensland halfback Chad Townsend put his head down and burrowed his way over in the corner.
31ST MINUTES
The Cowboys were finally rewarded for their sustained pressure when forward Griffin Neame barged over from close range.
18TH MINUTE
Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton proved too strong from close range to finish off the back off a scrum move.
3RD MINUTE
Matt Burton put through a grubber and Peta Hiku hesitated just long enough for Josh Addo-Carr to swoop through and score.
“Hiku thought the fullback Scott Drinkwater was going to come in and attack the ball and the Foxx is right there on the sport,” Steve Roach said on Fox League.
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MATCH PREVIEW
The Bulldogs have brought Raymond Faitala-Mariner into their starting side at lock to face the Cowboys, with Tevita Pangai Junior moving to the bench.
Canterbury look like a new side under Mick Potter and the Dogs are chasing a third straight win in what would be their biggest scalp of the season.
North Queensland have won six of their past seven and are looking to solidify a second spot on the ladder.
The Cowboys are 1-17 on side coach Todd Payten named on Tuesday.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow takes Kyle Feldt’s place after it was confirmed he would miss two games with a hamstring injury. Jake Granville slots onto the bench.
The F1’s silly season has well and truly arrived, with the retirement of Sebastian Vettel last week sparking mid-season musical chairs as Fernando Alonso signed with Aston Martin.
Now widespread reports suggest McLaren will snap up rising Australian star Oscar Piastri, leaving fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo without a seat for next year.
It leaves Alpine on the lookout for a driver to replace Alonso and Ricciardo shaped as the most logical option, having previously worked together when the team was called Renault.
Lamonato: Likely to see Piastri in F1 | 06:01
But there could be a twist which opens up another alternative for Alphine, should they opt to go in a different direction.
A report back in June from RacingNews365claimed that AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly has a clause in his contract that would allow him to join a rival team in 2023 — with one condition.
That is that the team is placed higher than AlphaTauri on the standings and Alpine, currently sitting in fourth in the constructors’ championship, would fit that bill.
Now that report has been shared around again given it takes on even more relevance with Alonso’s shock exit.
Gasly’s path back to Red Bull is seemingly blocked after Sergio Perez re-signed until at least the end of 2024 and the Frenchman had been linked to McLaren earlier in the year.
But with Piastri seemingly on his way to McLaren, there would be an opportunity at Alpine should that be of interest to both parties.
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AlphaTauri’s French driver Pierre Gasly could hold the key. (Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP)Source: AFP
Speaking back in June, Gasly said he was in “ongoing conversations” with Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko about his future.
“Well, at the moment, it is not a question of looking outside [Red Bull] or looking anywhere,” Gasly told media, per RacingNews365.com.
“I think my contract situation is pretty clear with Red Bull.
“It’s just ongoing conversation with Helmut and the management to know what’s best for all of us. But, as I said, it’s been very logical that they signed Sergio.
“He’s been competitive since the start of the year, so yeah, no surprise on that side. Obviously, it impacts what’s going to happen for my career in the coming years and, based on that, we just need to have normal conversation on what’s best going forward.”
Nick Kyrgios is “super excited” after continuing his career-best season by powering into the final of the ATP event in Washington.
Backing up from his gruelling workload a day earlier, when he finished off Reilly Opelka then saved five match points in an epic quarter-final win over Frances Tiafoe, Kyrgios dealt with Mikael Ymer in straight sets.
Kyrgios produced another imperious serving display to beat Ymer 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in what was the Wimbledon runner-up’s fifth semi-final appearance from his past six events.
Only an abdominal strain in Mallorca tarnished the impressive streak.
Yet to be broken every week in the American capital, Kyrgios didn’t face a solitary break point against Ymer.
He brought up set point in the opener with his 80th ace of the tournament and sealed the set with a lovely serve-volley play and backhand flick overhead winner.
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The second set also provided a serving duel but the Swede was always going to come out second best against Kyrgios in this type of mood as the Australian reeled off the last three games to prevail in one hour, 34 minutes.
Kyrgios hadn’t made a final for three years but now he’s reached two in less than a month, including his breakout run to his maiden grand slam title match at Wimbledon.
That four-set defeat to Djokovic at the All England Club remains the 27-year-old’s only loss in his past 11 matches since mid-June.
“I’m just happy to be in another ending,” Kyrgios said.
“I didn’t get to sleep until 4:50am. I had so much adrenaline. I ate some dinner, got some treatment and just my body was so sore after last night.
“It was an epic battle (against Tiafoe). I didn’t really do much today and I felt like my energy was a little flat today early on.
“It’s understandable — I’m only human — but my adrenaline for the final is going to be right there. I’m super excited for it.”
Had the ATP not stripped Wimbledon of rankings points in objection to the All England Club’s banning of Russian and Belarusian players because of the invasion of Ukraine, Kyrgios would have regained his place in the world’s top 15.
Instead he remains at number 63 and continues to make a mockery of the men’s rankings, which ridiculously also have Djokovic at world number six, the Serbian superstar’s lowest position in 15 years.
Kyrgios’s run in Washington guarantees the 27-year-old a rise to at least number 42 in the world and he’s projected to climb to 37th if he lands a seventh pro title.
With big events coming up in Montreal and Cincinnati, Kyrgios is on track to secure an all-important seeding for the US Open starting on August 29 in New York.
The most recent of his six ATP titles came in Washington in 2019 and he’ll play either Russian top seed Andrey Rublev or Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in his 11th career final hoping to snare another.
Soccer player Mohamed Buya Turay was forced to miss his wedding after signing with a big European team, so his brother took his place at the altar.
The Sierra Leonean forward had just signed a new contract with Swedish side team Malmo FF after he spent some time playing with Chinese club Songshan Longmen.
While this new offer was a dream come true, Malmo FF threw a spanner in the works by requiring Turay report to pre-season training in Sweden on July 21, the same day as his wedding to fiancée Suad Baydoun was set to take place in Sierra Leone.
So, Turay traveled to Sweden to be unveiled as a Malmo player on July 22.
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Mohamed Buya Turay and fiancée Suad Baydoun managed to get some snaps together before he left. (twitter)
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The wedding went on without him but to ensure his girlfriend wasn’t left at the altar alone, he asked his brother to take his place.
turay awning Afton Bladet: “We got married on July 21 in Sierra Leone.”
“But I wasn’t there because Malmo asked me to come out here earlier,” he joked.
Fortunately, Turay and his bride had the chance to take some wedding photos before he jetted off to Sweden.
in a sweet Twitter post, Turay shared the beautiful snaps of him and Baydoun in their wedding outfits.
“I married my sweetheart, wife and best friend today!!!,” he wrote. “What an amazing human being!! And what a blessing!!!”
“I can’t wait to enjoy life with you together soboti.”
Buya Turay and his fiancée hope to be reunited soon. (twitter)
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Though Turay received some backlash for his decision, most of his followers were ultimately supportive.
One commented, “for all of you that don’t understand. When you marry, you do all the legal stuff on paper. Then you have a ceremony afterwards. For that ceremony you can always have a proxy standing in for you. That is what Buya had.”
They later added, “Big congratulations to you both.”
After his story went viral, Turay also shared some gorgeous photos of his brother as the groom-replacement.
READMORE:Man’s incredible gesture for couple who lost their wedding ring
Turay’s brother and Baydoun looked gorgeous as they donned brightly-coloured garments traditional for a Nikkah wedding.
Baydoun hasn’t had a chance to see Turay since his debut with Malmo where his team won 3-0 against Diddeleng in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, but he hopes to bring her over soon.
“I will try to get her to Sweden and Malmo now so she can be close to me. She will live here with me,” he said.
“First, we [Malmo] are going to win the league, and then I will go on a honeymoon.”
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20 interesting wedding traditions from around the world
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has said he is “12 out of 10” frustrated and at a loss to explain his side’s poor display in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Fulham.
Last season’s Premier League runners-up needed a debut goal from substitute Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah’s 80th-minute strike to twice come from behind and cancel out Aleksandar Mitrovic’s brace at Craven Cottage.
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access – Olley: Liverpool could be left playing catch up
Although Liverpool saved a draw and had chances to win the game, they were some way below the impressive form that proved enough to beat champions Manchester City 3-1 in the Community Shield.
When asked how frustrated he is by the disparity in performance, Klopp said: “You want to know on a scale of 1 to 10? 12. Very, very because the performance was a defeat. That’s why we have to figure it out.
“The results are very important for us, obviously. I’d love to get three points, but I would have loved much more to play really good to be honest. We didn’t do that.
“It is my responsibility to find out why we played last Saturday a surprisingly good game for the moment we were in in preseason and seven days later we look like we are completely upside down. That doesn’t make sense. I speak to you now but I’m actually only thinking about that.”
At the beginning of season 2022, the Brisbane Lions promised a new look to their midfield. Cam Rayner, the former No.1 draft pick now in his fifth year, would play more minutes in there; so too half-forward Zac Bailey. Former Geelong player Nakia Cockatoo, whose career had been crippled by injury, was finally fit and ready to explode.
It hasn’t quite worked out as planned. Cockatoo has played just the eight games, mostly off half-forward and half-back, failing to make an impact. He was omitted again for Sunday’s match against Carlton. Bailey still plays mostly at half-forward, so to the dynamic Rayner, who has looked good in patches but has not developed as quickly as hoped.
Rhys Mathieson has made an impact since returning for the Lions.Credit:AFL Pictures
To be fair to Rayner, he missed all of last year due to a knee injury. But the Lions are still searching for the right balance. After being beaten up around the ball for several weeks leading to a 10-point loss to Essendon at the Gabba in round 17, the Lions finally introduced their own self-proclaimed “beast”, Rhys Mathieson.
Until then, Mathieson had spent the entire season in the VFL, where he was racking up enormous numbers. “The mix we had in there was probably around JL [Jarryd Lyons] and Lachie [Neale] being our grunt players,” says Lions football manager Danny Daly. “We didn’t want to have too many bulls and not enough spreaders.”
The Lions midfield is small. Neale stands at 178 centimetres, captain Dayne Zorko – moved to half-back for much of the year, where his kicking and quick decision-making is an asset – is 175cm. “Rhys isn’t tall in stature but he’s a big body, and sometimes big bodies are just as important as taller bodies,” Daly says.
Size does matter, at least when you come up against the likes of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver: in the round-15 game against Melbourne, Daly admits the Lions were “semi-bullied” around the contest. “We felt like we needed that extra bull and we could make up for the run on the outside. So our philosophy changed.”
Lachie Neale gets a kick away against Gold Coast.Credit:AFL Pictures
Simon Black, the Lions’ triple-premiership-winning midfielder, Brownlow and Norm Smith medalist, says the Lions need a harder edge. “Brisbane’s not big physically, they’re not imposing. It’s not to say they can’t beat Melbourne’s midfield, but they’ve got to be aggressive. They’ve got to be physical.”
For this reason, he loves Mitch Robinson’s aggressive approach: “I almost feel that for the Lions to win it, they need him in the side, playing his best footy. He adds a different dynamic to that midfield group.” But Robinson, who played his best football on a wing in 2019, was dropped again for Sunday’s clash; at 33, his career is probably in its final stage.
Ollie Hoare could have been excused for not being at his best heading into the men’s 1500m final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Not only did he have the letdown of a disappointing world championships campaign this month, he was also grieving the loss of his grandfather and mentor Fred Hoare days after the event in Oregon.
Watch the emotional story behind Ollie Hoare’s famous victory above
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But whatever complications those challenges presented, Hoare was able to overcome them.
The 25-year-old is now the toast of the athletics world after becoming just the second Australian after Herb Elliott to win the race on Saturday.
Hoare paid tribute to his grandfather and dedicated his gold medal to him.
“I would like to dedicate that race to my pop. He was a life member at Sutherland Districts Athletics Club and he was a World War II veteran, Sergeant Fred Hoare. He passed away after the world champs,” Hoare told Channel 7.
Oliver Hoare won the sprint to the finish line in the men’s 1500m. Credit: Dean Lewis/AAP
“It was a difficult time for me because of how bad I raced (at the worlds) and to hear the news of a guy who had a stopwatch at every race I had and growing up through the sport and not having him there to watch was tough.
“But I would like to dedicate that race to my pop because he is the reason my family loves the sport and why I’m here today.
“Pop, I know you are watching, I’ll have a glass of red for you, mate. That was a good one.”
It was a remarkable turnaround for Hoare, who only two weeks ago failed to earn a place in the final at the world championships.
Oliver Hoare reacts after winning gold. Credit: Alastair Grant/AP
Hoare was fourth at the top of the final straight but powered home to win in three minutes 30.12 seconds, lunging across the line to edge out 2019 world champ Timothy Cheruiyot from Kenya by nine hundredths of a second.
Reigning world champ Jake Wightman from Scotland was third as the first seven runners across the line all broke the Games record.
Hoare stripped more than two and a half seconds off his PB in one of the greatest middle-distance runs ever by an Australian.
Elliott won the mile at the 1958 Games in Cardiff before the switch to metric distances.
Former English middle-distance superstar and current World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe was on hand at Alexander Stadium to pay tribute to Hoare.
Oliver Hoare of Australia wins the men’s 1500m final at the Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Credit: Dean Lewis/AAP
EVERYEVENT:Check out the full Commonwealth Games schedule
TALLY MEDAL:Every gold, silver and bronze at Birmingham 2022
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“It was a sensational run,” he said.
“The golden rule is to stay in contact (with the leaders) and then you are in a position to capitalize when things start to go wrong for others.
“He stayed calm over the last lap and he absolutely capitalized.”
Hoare said he knew he had a shot at a medal at the top of the straight.
“For me, it is about just wanting to belong there and I had to be patient and back myself,” he said.
“That last lap, I wanted to make sure I stayed relaxed on the inside and knew my time would come, and it is hard to believe when you have guys there that are absolute class. I was able to get out and I had the kicker at the end, and, yeah, it was spectacular.”
-With APA
Just like Tokyo 2020 on Seven, there will be one destination to watch every epic feat, every medal moment, every record attempt and every inspiring turn from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
7plus is the only place to watch up to 30 live and replay channels of sport, see what’s on when, keep up to date with the medal tally, create a watchlist to follow your favorite events and catch up on highlights.
