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The Queen: Summer Balmoral trip cut short, sparking fresh concern for the monarch’s health

The Queen: Summer Balmoral trip cut short, sparking fresh concern for the monarch's health

Somewhere in Aberdeenshire there is a sad Shetland pony. Named Lance Corporal Cruachan IV, the diminutive equine usually gets one moment in the spotlight a year, an all-too-brief chance to bask in the glow of global media interest during which he occasionally tries to nip the Queen or eat her bouquet.

As the mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Cruachan IV usually, at this time of year, enjoys his starring role in the Regiment’s ceremonial welcome of Her Majesty to her Balmoral estate, a traditional outing involving bagpipes and lots of big smiles and which marks the official start of the sovereign’s summer holiday.

But this year both Cruachan IV and the Queen have been kept confined to barracks, so to speak.

This week it was reported that for “reasons of comfort” the ceremonial welcome happened in private but this is just the latest sign that the sovereign’s advancing years and ongoing health woes are posing an increasingly blatant impediment on usual schedule.

News that Her Majesty would not be enjoying her yearly face-to-face with Cruachan IV just tops off what has been a bit of a rotten start to her holiday; a holiday that is already shaping up to be something of a dud thanks to the machinations of Downing Street and her wayward family.

It was only at the tail end of the Queen’s summer holidays last year, a scant 12 months ago or thereabouts, that Buckingham Palace was busy touting what a packed autumn schedule of dozens and dozens of events were planned. The message was clear: The Queen is fighting fit and ready to Queen with some seriously impressive vigor and vim! Trips to Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland were planned as things geared up towards her big Jubilee year from her!

That ambitious plan then collided with the reality of a woman fast approaching her centenary and since October 2021 we have had one cancellation after another with the diminutive monarchy increasingly retreating from public view.

We did not see her in Scotland for Cop26, at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day, on Commonwealth Day, Easter, at the State Opening of parliament or at the service of thanksgiving for her reign during her own Platinum Jubilee.

News that Her Majesty would not be facing down the bouquet-chomping Cruachan IV has only confirmed that things are changing, and fast, for the eleven irrepressible monarch.

However, this is the Queen we are talking about, a woman whose family has, in only the last few years, faced accusations of sexual abuse, racism, accepting millions of dollars from a controversial Middle Eastern politician and the brothers of Osama bin Laden and of “total neglect”.

The dark cloud over her vacation is that, in the months to come, Buckingham Palace faces all of these particular fires roaring back to full on blaze status.

It’s hard to think of a worse headline for any brand or business than one that ties them to the family of Bin Laden, but here we are thanks to Prince Charles and his seeming willingness to accept vast amounts of money for his Prince’s Trust charity from any stray billionaire.

In July it was reported that the Prince had accepted $1.7 million from the two of Bin Laden’s siblings, a shocking revelation that came only weeks after it was also reported by the Times he had accepted $1.7 million in cash stuffed in plastic shopping bags from a controversial Qatari politician.

Meanwhile, his former valet turned charity chief Michael Fawcett is still waiting to be questioned by Scotland Yard’s Special Inquiry Team after allegations of a cash-for-honours scheme embroiled Charles’ Clarence House last year.

Interestingly, the Prince of Wales has largely weathered these damaging reports and come out only slightly reputationally dinged, with the shocking claims have not really sparked any sort of public outcry.

The same likely won’t be able to be said when Prince Harry, the neophyte TV and podcast creator who is yet to actually, err, create anything, releases his memoir later this year.

If even a small percentage of the speculation about what he might reveal and what dirt he might dish is correct, this book is shaping up to be the most devastating royal release in 30 years and since Diana, Princess of Wales started whispering in the ear of Andrew Morton.

Given we are talking about Harry – a man who went on global TV screens alongside his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to accuse The Firm of racism and neglectful treatment at a time when thousands were dying-a-day of Covid and while his 99- year-old grandfather was in hospital – does anyone really think all we are going to get is a feel-good read? Several hundred pages of self-important bleating and the occasional smoothie recipe thrown in?

In Tom Bower’s recently released Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors he casts a particularly grim view.

He writes: “Most Britons could not understand Harry’s hostility towards his country and family. His disloyalty from him to his grandmother was particularly mystifying.

“No one realized how his hostility had grown during his conversations with John Moehringer, the ghostwriter of his memoirs. To secure vast sales and recoup the huge advance, the publishers had encouraged Harry to criticize his family of him in the most extreme terms possible. Easily persuaded, Harry edged towards betraying his father to him, Camilla, the Cambridges and even the Queen. And then, the deed was done. To earn out the publisher’s advance, nothing and no one had been sacrosanct.”

Or to paraphrase Macbeth, another disgruntled figure from royal circles, something very dangerous this way comes…

At this stage, all indications would point to Harry’s book potentially being the most painful chapter yet in the long and sorry tale of Megxit.

Then, there is another book, or at least the possibility of a book, that should be a very serious cause for concern for Her Majesty. Six months ago her son de ella Prince Andrew settled the civil sex abuse case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre with a payment that at the time was reported to be around $21 million. (The royal has always vehemently denied Ms Giuffre’s claims that he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was a teenager.)

this week The Sun reported that figure was allegedly much lower – somewhere between $5.1 and $8.6 million – and that “that was as much money the disgraced Duke could scrape together quickly to halt her civil lawsuit”.

The “cut-price deal”, according to the report, might explain why the mother-of-three Giuffre did not sign a nondisclosure agreement, meaning she is free to write a tell-all of her very own, any time she wants.

That there is even a skerrick of chance that this chapter, the most sordid and horrifying in modern royal history by far, could at any moment explode back into the headlines must be a cause for very serious concern.

All Andrew has ever done to try and manage this situation is given an appalling TV interview, showing an appealing deficiency of compassion or empathy for anyone but himself, put out a couple of statements and write a seven-figure check. If anyone thinks that this is in any case an adequate response and has drawn a definitive line under his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, or that the public is ready to move on then they are deluding themselves.

The 62-year-old is still, and will likely always be, despised by much of the world and the appetite for seeing him embarrassed or raked over the coals is unlikely to diminish anytime soon. Cue 101 book publishers with dollar-signs in their eyes.

So too has Ms Giuffre shown a steely backbone and unwavering commitment to speaking about the horrors she experienced during her time with Epstein. There is no reason to believe that she will suddenly back down or go quiet now which leaves us with the very real possibility that she might release a book of her own from her at some point.

Even if all of these swirling worries weren’t enough to blight the Queen’s holiday, then there is the fact that she will have to cut her break short thanks to the fact that the UK will get a new Prime Minister next month. On September 6, Boris Johnson will formally resign and the Daily Mail has revealed that Her Majesty will “interrupt” her holiday to pop back to London where she will “invite”, in the quaint nomenclature of royalty, the winner of the Conservative party vote to form a government.

A source told the Email: “Her Majesty does not expect the new prime minister to travel to Scotland, so the plan is that the Queen will travel down to see them.”

So much for a regal break huh?

Balmoral is agreed to be Her Majesty’s favorite home where she used to enjoy long walks and getting out into nature but in recent years her time there has been blighted by a rolling series of crises. In 2019, August saw Harry and Meghan skip the family getaway to flit about Europe in private jets and then the suicide of Epstein. Come 2020, the pandemic was in full swing and she and Philip were cosseted inside HMS Bubble and last year the monarch faced her first summer de ella without her husband of 73-years.

The poor woman must be so tired. Not only is she still working, more than three decades after most people retire, but her family de ella is a source of never ending scandal and strain with things only looking like they are going to ramp up more.

If you ask me, and no one is, what Her Majesty needs right now is not another wet week wobbling over the moors and ruminating on how it all went wrong but needs to rally her lady-in-waiting of more than 60 years Lady Susan Hussey and abscond for a 72-hour all-inclusive gals weekend to Malaga.

Sun, sand, sangria and not having to think about all the brewing Windsor scandals? Now that’s a real holiday.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

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Business

Target: Genius touches that make Target USA a success while Target Australia falters

Target: Genius touches that make Target USA a success while Target Australia falters

It certainly looks like a Target.

The walls are daubed in splashes of red, there is a bullseye logo above the entrance, and you can pick up bargain men’s and women’s fashion, homewares and toys.

Heck, it’s even called Target. But it’s not Target. At least not Target as Australians know it.

This is Target American style. In the heart of New York City.

Target US – no relation despite the similarities – is a retail powerhouse with stores in all 50 states which last year had revenues of a touch over US$100 billion (A$145 billion) with profits of US$11.6 bn (A$16.6 billion). Some have put it down to the “go f**k yourself” attitude of senior manager towards penny pinching investors.

Down Under, Wesfarmers’ owned Target is in the doldrums, closing stores and trying to find its place in the struggling retail sector,

“It’s too late for Target Australia,” said one retail commentator, of the retailer as a direct competitor to Kmart and Woolworths-owned Big W.

Target Australia has insisted there is life in the old brand yet. It points to the chain’s downsizing and pivot to a “digitally led retailer” with a focus on “mum as the core customer” is setting itself up for a rosier future.

But there’s no doubt that Aussie Target has had a torrid time.

How Target Australia and Target US differ

So how can two stores that are seemingly so similar, albeit on different sides of the world, be faring so differently?

Firstly, they’re not identical. Target’s US stores sport large supermarkets, something you absolutely don’t see in Australian Targets. Indeed, it’s one of the biggest drawcards for customers who walk by the clothes and homewares to get to the fruit and veggies.

Stateside Target also has more brands – like Olay and Levi’s – that Aussie stores lack.

One of the most noticeable changes is that Target stores in America feel less like Target Australia and more like, well, Kmart Australia.

While Kmart stores in the US – which is now on its last legs – feels like some of the sorrier Australian Targets.

Target US’s success is down to pricing of course, and range. But also staying relevant and inviting.

It has spent billions gushing up its store network. The firm has said it wants to give customers a bit of its “signature ‘Tarzhay’ magic” (it was Target US, not Target Australia that came up with that genius play on its name).

It added it wanted its “guests” to feel “welcomed and inspired” in stores but yet familiar.

An example of this is one of its newest stores, just off Times Square in Manhattan. Befitting its brightly lit surroundings, the store signage is neon.

Whereas some Target stores in Australia can feel poorly lit, clinical – almost dark in some corners – this store is warm and bright, but not overpowering.

In places – like the beauty aisles – the shelving is lower and more widely spaced out so can you linger.

Splashes of color pull the eye here and there. The fashions are cheap as chips but don’t feel drab and dull.

In one trip you can buy bread and milk, T-shirts, a yoga mat, cushions, eyeliner – you can even pick up your prescription medicine.

Of course there’s click and collect; in bigger stores there are “drive up” areas similar in look to petrol stations where you can get your goods that were ordered online

The Times Square store is also an example of how Target US is experimenting with different formats. This shop is small – 25 per cent the size of a regular Target – and aimed squarely at city dwellers who need to carry their wares home on the Subway not piled in an SUV.

Target US’ $9.3 billion gamble

Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies at New York’s Columbia University Business School and a former CEO of the Sears Canada chain, said Target US’ achievements was down to some brave decisions by its current CEO Brian Cornell.

“When he joined in 2014, he said ‘the stores are worn out and outmoded and I’m going to spend US$6.5 billion (A$9.33 billion) in capital expenditure’.

“Well, Wall Street went crazy and (Mr Cornell) basically said, politely, ‘go f**k yourself,’ my board is behind me and we have to do this,” he told news.com.au.

“And it positioned them beautifully for what turned out to be a windfall.”

Although even Target US has faced crosswinds with profits in the first quarter of 2022 dropping due to what the company said were “unexpectedly high” business running costs. And a move into Canada, where the band was unfamiliar, was a disaster.

‘Too late for Target Australia’

University of Queensland Professor of Marketing Gary Mortimer said Target US appealed to a budget conscious consumer that didn’t want to feel budget conscious.

“US Target is similar to Walmart in their low-price image, but Target satisfies the needs of a younger, image-conscious consumer by stocking more on-trend furniture, clothing and ‘exclusive’ designer ranges than Walmart,” he said.

“They leverage ‘masstige’ – ‘prestige for the masses’. It’s a strategy which aims to be influential, on-trend, stylish, while retaining a level of affordability.”

The retailer doing this most successfully in Australia, said Prof Mortimer, was, yep, Kmart.

“It’s too late for Target Australia. Wesfarmers made the correct decision to reduce the fleet of stores, remove duplication and push their remaining Target stores into the middle market,” said Prof Mortimer.

“The Australian market is too small to support three discount department stores.”

Target Australia’s new plan

Wesfarmers owns both Target and Kmart and has merged them into one Kmart Group which doesn’t fully separate its accounts. As such its tricky to work out how well – or bad – Target Australia is doing.

In the full year to June 2021, Kmart and Target combined made a profit of $739 million, but that excluded restructuring and impairment costs related to Target.

And there’s a lot of them with half Target’s fleet of 300 stores in 2020 now either closed or converted to Kmart or the smaller “KHub” format.

Target sales were down 3.7 per cent compared to 2020 but comparable sales growth – which excludes stores that were closed during lockdowns – was up 13.3 per cent.

Wesfarmers has said sales had been “significantly impacted” by store closures but also Covid-19 restrictions which have hit the entire retail sector.

In a few weeks, Wesfarmers will detail Target’s performance for the last financial year. That will reveal if the brand is turning a corner, or stuck in neutral.

The firm was reluctant to talk ahead of these results.

But one figure on its 2021 balance sheet is key. Last year, 26.9 per cent of Target’s sales were online. And that points to where the future of Target likely lies.

At a strategy day presentation in June, Target Australia managing director Richard Pearson laid out the vision for the venerable brand.

Key is it to be a “smaller simpler business” with “future growth…. digitally led,” he said.

Target was an “iconic brand with strong awareness,” the document stated. The focus was now on clothing and home decor with “mum as the core customer”.

In February, Target launched its first advertising campaign in an astonishing seven years. Based around the slogan of “That’s Target” the aim is to instill in the Aussie shopper that the brand is the home of “affordable quality”.

Target Australia will be hoping it can recapture some of that Tarzhay buzz from the brand’s halcyon days.

It won’t want to end up like Kmart USA. It failed to move with the times; its stores became outdated; it’s pricing less keen and its point of difference less clear.

Now just three stores remain and they will probably be gone by Christmas.

It’s a nightmare vision of the future Target Australia will want to avoid.

Read related topics:Big WKmart

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Sports

PGA Tour 2022, LIV Golf, Cameron Smith, FedExCup playoffs, scores, leaderboard, news, highlights

PGA Tour 2022, LIV Golf, Cameron Smith, FedExCup playoffs, scores, leaderboard, news, highlights

Australia’s Cam Smith is reportedly defecting to LIV Golf in a $140m deal – but he’s still storming up the leaderboard at the FedEx St Jude Championship as the PGA Tour playoffs begin.

After a stunning hole-out eagle from 156 yards capped a respectable opening round at TPC Southwind in Memphis as the world number two finished three-under, the second day saw him emerge into contention.

A sensational draw shot gave Smith an eagle chance on the par-five 16th, and the Australian duly drained the putt to move to eight-under overall and three off the lead.

But a tricky birdie putt on the 17th just curled around the cup and missed, as a commentator exclaimed: “How did that stay out?”

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Cam Smith holes out for EAGLE! | 00:24

Smith finished -8 overall after his second round 65, leaving three shots behind solo leader JJ Spaun (62.67).

Smith picked up birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, and another on the eighth and 14th holes.

A poor drive found the rough on the 15th, where he gave a shot back, before his impressive eagle on the 16th.

Austrian Sepp Straka (64.66) is tied for second with American Troy Merritt (65.65) on 10 under. Straka remarkably had missed his last six cuts before this event.

“Took what the course gave me,” Spaun said. “I worked on some good things in the past couple weeks that are starting to pay off. Got a nice feel with my swing and just trusting it. And the putter is working, too.”

Straka birdied four of the last five holes to shoot 66. “Hadn’t played great coming into this week,” Straka said. “But that’s golf. You’re going to have the ebbs and flows and just go with it.”

‘Ready to cop some heat’ Smith talks LIV | 00:49

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Meanwhile world number one Scottie Scheffler missed the cut for just the fourth time this season, a bombshell result that gives Smith a huge opportunity to claim the PGA Tour playoffs.

The tournament is the opener of the FedEx Cup playoffs, a season-ending trio of events with a winner’s prize of $18 million USD.

Only 125 players qualified on season points and only the top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship, where the 30 qualifiers for the Tour Championship in Atlanta are decided.

Aussie Adam Scott carded a 67 to finish seven-under overall, while fellow Aussie trio Marc Leishman (69.69), Cam Davis (72.66), both just mad the cut at two-under.

But Lucas Herbert missed the cut after a second-round 70 left him three-over total after a poor opening-round 73, while Jason Day (65, 74) also missed out.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy missed the weekend after a 69 to stand on 139, one over the cut line.

Did Scheffler give Smith ultimate snub?! | 00:22

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Sports

F1 news 2022: McLaren boss Zak Brown slammed for broken promise, Daniel Ricciardo contract saga

F1 news 2022: McLaren boss Zak Brown slammed for broken promise, Daniel Ricciardo contract saga

McLaren boss Zak Brown is copping backlash from his own network of reserve drivers as the Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri contract saga rages.

Australian F1 driver Ricciardo became embroiled in F1’s mid-year silly season following reports he will be replaced by young compatriot Piastri at McLaren in 2023.

The news erupted last week after Fernando Alonso blindsided the F1 world and jumped into Sebastian Vettel’s vacated seat at Aston Martin.

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Alpine then announced Piastri would be the man to replace Alonso, only for the Melburnian to reject the seat — a bold move for a man who is yet to drive in F1.

Now Ricciardo has asked for a $21 million payout from McLaren for the early termination of his contract, according to Speedcafe.com.

But as the drama unfolds, the fallout has extended all the way to the United States.

IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta and Alex Palou were each targeting the vacant Alpine seat, but the trio have seemingly been sidelined by Brown.

According to leading IndyCar driver O’Ward, Brown dangled the F1 carrot in front of the Americans before going all in on Piastri.

“It’s not good for me to have that illusion. It’s a dream that’s very far away, because although I’m racing at a very high level, it’s still not enough to convince them,” O’Ward told ESPN.

“There are many things that come into play that are beyond me.

“I found it laughable. I saw it and I laughed.

“The same prize has been put in front of many other drivers by Brown. In the end, there is only one seat and not five.”

If Piastri does indeed take his place at McLaren, Ricciardo’s most likely landing spot would be Alpine, the French team formerly known as Renault where he spent two seasons in 2019 and 2020.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer slammed Piastri for his apparent betrayal in a blistering spray over the weekend.

“I expected more loyalty from Oscar than he is showing,” the Alpine team principal told Spanish publication The confidential.

“I started in 1989 in Formula 1 and I’ve never seen anything like this. And it’s not about Formula 1, it’s about integrity as a human being.

“It could happen in ice hockey or soccer, it doesn’t matter. But you don’t do that. He signed a piece of paper, a document, saying he would do something different.

“For me, the way I grew up, I don’t need to sign a piece of paper and then have someone say, ‘You’re lying, because you signed this.’ For me, if you say, ‘Hey, help me, I’ll help you tomorrow,’ there’s no way I would go back on my word. No way.”

“He should (drive with the) team that has taken care of him, that has taken him to the world championship and, above all, that during the last year has put him in a Formula 1 car so that he would be ready, so that he would know the circuits,” Szafnauer added.

“You did everything I asked you to do (from Alpine to Piastri) and now I promise you that if you do this, I will do this. I don’t need a piece of paper where it says, ‘With a clause, I can get out of here’.

“There should be some loyalty to the fact that we have invested literally millions and millions of euros to prepare him. So I don’t understand it either, you should ask him.”

Read related topics:Daniel Ricciardo

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Sports

Wallabies vs Argentina, Lalakai Foketi, Giteau Law, World Cup, LIV golf, video

Wallabies vs Argentina, Lalakai Foketi, Giteau Law, World Cup, LIV golf, video

Amid golfer Cameron Smith’s rumored decision to take the money and run to LIV, Lalakai Foketi – the relatively unknown Test center – showed that there are still some things in professional sport that money can’t buy. In his case of him, a Wallabies jersey.

The question, however, is for how long, particularly with chatter that Rugby Australia’s eligibility laws will be blown up for next year’s World Cup.

It’s understood in March that Foketi, 27, turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars for the chance to continue his career for the Wallabies.

With his career progression at the Waratahs slowed by injuries, he was offered a large contract worth more than $500,000 to join French Top 14 club Clermont.

He turned it down, but not long after fellow Australian Irae Simone took the money and, therefore, will unlikely ever play for the Wallabies again based on Rugby Australia’s new Overseas Player Selection Policy.

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Lalakai Foketi opted to stay in Australia for the chance to play for the Wallabies instead of taking up an offer overseas. Photo: Getty Images
Lalakai Foketi opted to stay in Australia for the chance to play for the Wallabies instead of taking up an offer overseas. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Foketi, who made his debut against Wales last November, will start for the first time in the No.12 jersey in the absence of Samu Kerevi and Hunter Paisami.

Simone is in-line to play his third Test, after curiously being named on the bench ahead of Noah Lolesio.

You wonder what Lolesio, who played all three Tests against England, and Suliasi Vunivalu, the two-time NRL premiership winner, must be thinking after being left out?

After all, it was only recently the duo re-signed with Rugby Australia.

Now both are seemingly sliding down the pecking order, while in the case of Vunivalu, the high-profile recruit has only been afforded a couple of minutes off the bench at the SCG.

Yet the decision by Foketi to turn down the money is curious.

He is not the only Australian player to turn down overseas offers, or indeed return home, for the lure of the gold jersey.

Nic White and Matt To’omua craved the chance to play for the Wallabies and returned home ahead of the 2019 World Cup to pursue their international debuts.

Others. like James O’Connor, followed suit.

Rising star Nick Frost managed to recently get out of a deal to join Robbie Deans at Panasonic. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Nick Frost, the 22-year-old rising star, also reneged on a deal to join Robbie Deans’ Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese League One competition.

After a cracking game for the Brumbies, Frost’s coach Dan McKellar raised the possibility of him opting out. RA, along with his management of him and the blessing on the Japanese club, skilfully managed to get the second-rower out of the deal.

It’s a different story for Foketi because as talented as the center is, he still did not make Rennie’s initial squad for the England series. Only injury, as well as Kerevi’s desire to represent Australia in the Commonwealth Games, saw the Waratah called up.

Players like Foketi, as well as Hamish Stewart who too craves a Wallabies cap, are the bread and butter of domestic rugby. Without them, the game Down Under would have invested too much in too few leaving too little for the raw talent underneath.

“I went away after I finished school. I debuted for the Rebels and then went to France when I was young and quickly realized that this is the dream and this is what I wanted to do my rugby career,” Foketi said on Friday.

“I’m grateful that I’m here and I’ve just been working hard to get to this point.

“With other options and stuff, (they) haven’t really been at the forefront of my mind. My family’s happy in Sydney, and that’s another big reason, but this is always the pinnacle of rugby, for me.”

READ MORE

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Quade’s RWC dream in doubt after devastating injury blow leaves No.10 jersey wide open

Lalakai Foketi celebrates a try at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the Waratahs. Photo; Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

It is why RA, privately and publicly, will not entertain opening the floodgates and pick widely from overseas because the fear is it will decimate Super Rugby and cripple their stakeholders, namely the Super Rugby franchises, especially in non-World Cup years.

Next year will be the litmus test. Even after Rennie floated the idea of ​​raising the possibility of adding an additional fourth “overseas” pick for the Rugby Championship before their tour of Argentina, RA was privately shutting down any hope of the third-year international coach being able to pick Rory Arnold, Kerevi, Marika Koroibete and Quade Cooper in the same squad.

Season-ending injuries to Cooper and Kerevi have saved Rennie from an intriguing decision.

Yet for months talk has bubbled under the surface that the eligibility criteria will be scrapped for the World Cup year, with as many as five or six players in the mix.

Whether that occurs remains to be seen and injuries could yet have a telling impact.

Japan-bound Rory Arnold will play for the Wallabies against Argentina. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

But as world No.2 golfer Smith sits on a reported $140 million deal to join the LIV Golf Series, sports stars across the world are increasingly choosing money over legacy.

Who can blame them? Private equity, and new found success, seems like the only way to put a lid on Wallabies heading overseas.

How sustainable it is remains questionable, but given Australia is hosting a World Cup in 2027 (men’s) and 2029 (women’s) the governing body will do everything it can to keep players at home.

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Sports

AFL news 2022: Brad Crouch beats hit vs Darcy Gardiner video, St Kilda vs Brisbane score

AFL news 2022: Brad Crouch beats hit vs Darcy Gardiner video, St Kilda vs Brisbane score

St Kilda midfielder Brad Crouch could be staring down the barrel of a stint on the sidelines following a late hit on Brisbane Lions defender Darcy Gardiner during Friday evening’s AFL match at Marvel Stadium.

During the second quarter of Brisbane’s 15-point victory, Crouch’s shoulder made heavy contact with Gardiner’s head near the boundary line.

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The dazed 26-year-old required medical attention following the ugly incident, which sparked a brief melee.

“That’s not good I don’t think,” footy icon Brian Taylor said on Channel 7 commentary.

“That’s head contact with a bump and it could’ve been a tackle.”

Melbourne AFLW footballer Daisy Pearce continued: “That’s weeks. At least a week and anything upward of that hinges on what those doctors are working out right now.”

Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw replied: “You say that, but in the current landscape how would anyone know?”

Crouch will almost certainly come under scrutiny from the Match Review Officer, but the severity of his punishment remains unclear.

Earlier this week, the AFL Appeals Board overturned the AFL Tribunal’s decision to uphold Carlton captain Patrick Cripps’ two-match ban for rough conduct due to a lack of procedural fairness.

The outcome baffled the footy community, and the AFL Appeals Board could face further scrutiny following Crouch’s late hit at Marvel Stadium.

“Good on Carlton for pursuing it and getting their player free but I thought we were all about protecting the head and Cal Ah Chee had no chance whatsoever to protect his own head last week,” Lion coach Chris Fagan told reporters in the post- match press conference.

“And he was off early in the game last week and he’s not playing this week as a result of it so we get penalized for that and unfortunately Cal gets injured.

“We’ve just got to protect the head – it’s as simple as that.”

Melbourne great Garry Lyon fumed on Fox Footy: “It’s the greatest raffle in sport right now… it’s a farce.

“We don’t know what’s going on. ‘Procedural fairness’, come on.

“I hope this is not the start of a long concussion run for Callum Ah Chee, because we’d go back to this moment and go, ‘This is an AFL that makes a lot of noise but (doesn’t do enough)’ .”

St Kilda will need a minor miracle to qualify for the finals after Friday’s 12.9 (81) to 9.12 (66) defeat.

Brisbane opened up a 26-point buffer late in the second quarter, but for the third game in a row, they either gave up a sizeable lead, or had one eaten into significantly, as the Saints exploded in the third quarter to lead by five points, putting the Lions’ top-four ambitions in peril.

However, Brisbane’s pursuit of a double chance would’ve been severely impeded if Saints spearhead Max King kicked straight, but he could only must five behinds, including four missed set shots from directly in front in the second half when the Saints enjoyed all the momentum .

In response, Rayner stepped up to the plate, showing King how it’s done, booting three of Brisbane’s four final-quarter goals, to finish up with a team-high four majors, and prove to be the match winner.

The Saints will likely drop to 10th this weekend, meaning they will have to not only beat the Swans in Sydney in the final round next week, but will also need a raft of other results to go their way to make the finals.

– with Ronny Lerner, NCA NewsWire

Read related topics:Brisbane

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Sports

St Kilda Saints loss to Brisbane Lions, missed opportunities, goalkicking inaccuracy, Max King, reactions, response, commentary, social media, fallout, latest

St Kilda Saints loss to Brisbane Lions, missed opportunities, goalkicking inaccuracy, Max King, reactions, response, commentary, social media, fallout, latest

St Kilda has blown a golden opportunity at the wrong time, falling to Brisbane by 15 points in game there to be won late with the Saints’ season on all the line to all but end their final hopes.

Brett Ratten’s side recovered from a slow start to come charging back into the game in the second half, but wasn’t able to convert its opportunities including a wasteful 0.5 kicking display from Max King.

Saints legend Nick Riewoldt said he hoped the club wouldn’t put all the onus on its goalkicking inaccuracy in the second half, lamenting its lackluster start to the contest.

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“They had the game where they wanted it… but I hope it doesn’t turn into a ‘we just didn’t take our opportunities’, conversation. Because early in the contest when the game was there to be won, they weren’t necessarily up for it,” he said on Fox Footy post-match.

The Saints’ final hopes were dealt a massive blow (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS

“Then when it gets desperate you take it on. I hope it’s a really learning experience this game for St Kilda. When they played with a bit of desperation, especially with the footy, then they put the Lions under pressure and looked like a finals team.

“If you’re looking at it with a narrow lens, you would say they didn’t take their opportunities. Max King was bit of a liability in front of goal, he didn’t look he wanted the ball in the end, so he’ll be really disappointed that he couldn’t convert.”

St Kilda ended up winning the disposal count (327-310) and inside 50s (50-49), but converted 9.12 of its shots at goal (43 per cent) compared to Brisbane’s 12.9 (57 per cent), with Cam Rayner the match winner for the Lions with three of his four goals in the last term.

Demons legend Garry Lyon was much more encouraged by St Kilda’s style when it had more urgency and played faster and direct.

“The competitive, go slow style they’ve been playing has been left behind largely … that’s the learnings I would hope they get from it, because when they went with some stuff that looked unscripted, that’s when they looked most dangerous,” he said.

It’ll likely go down as another wasted season for the 11-10 Saints despite such a promising 5-1 start to 2022 to emerge as a premiership dark horse as Ratten was rewarded with a contract extension.

Saint in hot water over bump? | 00:41

But they’ve now won just three of their last 10 matches and would need nearly everything to go right by the way of other results for them to make finals from here including beating an in-form Swans outfit next weekend at Marvel Stadium.

Former Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon was however still giving St Kilda hope to finish in the top eight and was left unconvinced by Brisbane’s performance, calling it the “sweep escape”.

“I think Brisbane was given that game, they didn’t win it… if Richmond and Carlton lose they’ve (the Saints) still got a heartbeat. I’m giving them hope,” he said on Fox Footy Live.

But St Kilda champion Nick Dal Santo doesn’t believe his former side is currently playing a good enough brand to hold up in September.

“You want your finals series to be teams that are currently in form or capable of causing an upset from the bottom of the top eight,” he said.

“The form that the Saints have played of recent, no, I don’t think their in the best eight teams in the comp right now.”

Others responded on social media to the Saints’ blown opportunity.

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Sports

Veteran referee Ben Cummins spills on infamous Grand Final blunder

Veteran rugby league referee Ben Cummins has opened up on the infamous ‘six again’ Grand Final call.

Veteran rugby league referee Ben Cummins has opened up about his infamous mistake during the 2019 NRL grand final, confessing he felt “ashamed” and “worthless” after the incident.

Scores were tied at 8-8 late in the second half of the decider between the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders when Cummins called “six again” after a Raiders attacking kick came off one of their players.

Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton grabbed the ball and charged into the defensive line believing it was the first tackle of the set, but Cummins reversed his call as the tackle was being made, meaning Canberra had to hand over the Steeden.

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Moments later, Sydney fullback James Tedesco dived over to give the Roosters a 14-8 lead at Sydney Olympic Park.

It was undeniably a major turning point in the contest.

“I realized I stuffed up big time and I tried to correct the call – which would have been the right call,” Cummins said.

“But Jack Wighton didn’t see that and he got tackled and the Roosters get the ball and go down the length of the field in the next set and score.

“I realized then that this was big at eight-all in a grand finale.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

“I walked into the tunnel and cameras were all on me… my heart sunk.”

Referee Ben Cummins. Photo by Matt King/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Referee mistakes are not uncommon, and Cummins inevitably copped a tsunami of abuse from disgruntled rugby league fans for the error; even Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe joined the pile-on.

But the veteran referee, who has officiated more than 400 NRL games, has also revealed his teenage daughters were targeted after the ordeal.

“When you sign up to referee at the top level, you know that it comes with fans who are passionate, and people can say things about your performance,” he explained.

“But when it brings in your family and your home, it’s sort of to a different level. I found that really hard.

“I can’t say it was easy for them. My son was copping a lot of abuse at school and my daughters (were) online – because they are on social media. That was really tough.

“I basically locked myself in my house for a week.

“It was pretty dark times. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. I had some thoughts about what I wanted to do with my life and they were pretty negative.

“You feel ashamed and worthless, embarrassed. I wasn’t sleeping. I just wanted everything to go away.”

Radio presenter Gus Worland, founder of mental health charity Gotcha4Life, spoke to Channel 9 about the importance of mental strength among Australian men after former Queensland coach Paul Green was found dead in his Brisbane home on Thursday morning, the day after his son’s ninth birthday.

“It was so sad to hear this morning about Green,” he said on Thursday evening.

“This is a line in the sand moment for us as sport and us as a nation to say, ‘Enough is enough’.

“Let’s stop talking about awareness, let’s put some action into place.

“It’s all about manning up and speaking up now, Not manning up and shutting up, which is what we’ve been told all our lives to do.

“This is an opportunity to build some emotional muscle, put you hand up if you need some help and support. That’s the bravest thing you can do.

“Why are we so good in this country at helping people, but not good at asking for help?

“It’s so brave to be vulnerable.”

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Sports

NRL news 2022: Veteran referee Ben Cummins spills on infamous Grand Final blunder

NRL news 2022: Veteran referee Ben Cummins spills on infamous Grand Final blunder

Veteran rugby league referee Ben Cummins has opened up about his infamous mistake during the 2019 NRL grand final, confessing he felt “ashamed” and “worthless” after the incident.

Scores were tied at 8-8 late in the second half of the decider between the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders when Cummins called “six again” after a Raiders attacking kick came off one of their players.

Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton grabbed the ball and charged into the defensive line believing it was the first tackle of the set, but Cummins reversed his call as the tackle was being made, meaning Canberra had to hand over the Steeden.

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Moments later, Sydney fullback James Tedesco dived over to give the Roosters a 14-8 lead at Sydney Olympic Park.

It was undeniably a major turning point in the contest.

“I realized I stuffed up big time and I tried to correct the call – which would have been the right call,” Cummins said.

“But Jack Wighton didn’t see that and he got tackled and the Roosters get the ball and go down the length of the field in the next set and score.

“I realized then that this was big at eight-all in a grand finale.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

“I walked into the tunnel and cameras were all on me… my heart sunk.”

Referee mistakes are not uncommon, and Cummins inevitably copped a tsunami of abuse from disgruntled rugby league fans for the error; even Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe joined the pile-on.

But the veteran referee, who has officiated more than 400 NRL games, has also revealed his teenage daughters were targeted after the ordeal.

“When you sign up to referee at the top level, you know that it comes with fans who are passionate, and people can say things about your performance,” he explained.

“But when it brings in your family and your home, it’s sort of to a different level. I found that really hard.

“I can’t say it was easy for them. My son was copping a lot of abuse at school and my daughters (were) online – because they are on social media. That was really tough.

“I basically locked myself in my house for a week.

“It was pretty dark times. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. I had some thoughts about what I wanted to do with my life and they were pretty negative.

“You feel ashamed and worthless, embarrassed. I wasn’t sleeping. I just wanted everything to go away.”

Cummins’ revelation comes after former Queensland coach Paul Green was found dead at his Brisbane home on Thursday morning, the day after his son’s ninth birthday. It has been confirmed he took his own life from him.

Radio presenter Gus Worland, founder of mental health charity Gotcha4Life, spoke to Channel 9 about the importance of mental strength among Australian men.

“It was so sad to hear this morning about Green,” he said on Thursday evening.

“This is a line in the sand moment for us as sport and us as a nation to say, ‘Enough is enough’.

“Let’s stop talking about awareness, let’s put some action into place.

“It’s all about manning up and speaking up now, Not manning up and shutting up, which is what we’ve been told all our lives to do.

“This is an opportunity to build some emotional muscle, put you hand up if you need some help and support. That’s the bravest thing you can do.

“Why are we so good in this country at helping people, but not good at asking for help?

“It’s so brave to be vulnerable.”

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Categories
Entertainment

Olivia Newton-John’s first husband, Matt Lattanzi, married their former babysitter

Olivia Newton-John's first husband, Matt Lattanzi, married their former babysitter

Late entertainment icon Olivia Newton-John once spoke of her desire to keep her marriage to John Easterling private, but before the couple’s fairytale romance came to be, the actress’ tumultuous love life was often plastered across the headlines.

Newton-John, who died on Tuesday at 73 after a long battle with cancer, her husband of 14 years and daughter Chloe Lattanzi by her side, had once gushed about how lucky she was to find the “the love of her life” at 59 .

It came after the mysterious disappearance of her ex-partner of nine years, and divorce from her first husband, Matt Lattanzi, Chloe’s father, which ended with him dating and then marrying the couple’s former babysitter Cindy Jessup — a detail many believed to have shattered Newton-John.

But the actress insisted it never bothered her – and today Jessup paid loving tribute to Newton-John in an interview with the Daily Mail.

‘The world has lost a true angel. Olivia cared so deeply about people and the planet. She was such a force for goodness, always helping others,” Jessup told the outlet.

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Inside Olivia Newton-John’s first marriage

The chemistry was instant when Newton-John and Lattanzi first met on the set of 1980 musical film Xanaduwhere Lattanzi, then 20, was hired as a dancer and Newton-John, then 31, was starring as Greek muse Kira.

Four years later they wed, welcoming their daughter, Chloe Rose, in January 1986.

Tragedy struck in 1992 when the couple faced Newton-John’s first cancer battle together, with the star’s neece Tottie Goldsmith revealing he was “so supportive” of her.

However, just three years later, in 1995, the couple announced their divorce.

They managed to stay friends, despite Lattanzi, who was 40 at the time, moving on with the family’s babysitter Cindy Jessup, then 23, two years after they split.

The couple had hired Jessup in 1993 to help look after Chloe while Lattanzi was working on Aussie soap Paradise Beachand she quickly became part of the family.

A friend told reporters at the time of Jessup and Lattanzi’s 1997 wedding that Newton-John was “delighted” they had struck up a romance.

“It looks bad, because Cindy would often babysit his daughter and she was a friend of his and Olivia’s – but in those days there was no romance.”

Olivia blamed her cancer diagnosis for split

Newton-John later attributed the marriage breakdown partly to her cancer diagnosis.

While she admitted going through a divorce was “painful”, true to form, she held no ill will against Lattanzi for his marriage to Jessup.

“I think our marriage would have eventually come to an end, but it happened sooner because of the cancer, which was a good thing” she told the Daily Mail.

“It was very painful, but we were never at odds with each other.

“What happened between us was between us, and we wouldn’t allow it to affect (Chloe).”

She added: “Divorce is never all right. Everybody wants the happy ending and the white picket fence, particularly me.”

It seems that wish finally came true when Newton-John met natural-health businessman John Easterling, who she described as “the love of her life.”

“I have a wonderful, beautiful husband who is just so loving and fantastic,” she said after their low-key wedding in 2008.

“I always tell my friends you’re never too old to find love. I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60! I’m grateful.”

Matt Lattanzi went on to marry again

As for Lattanzi, it was not to last with Jessup, with the couple splitting after 10 years of marriage in 2007.

He married once more, and now runs a medicinal cannabis farm with third wife Michelle Lattanzi, who is currently in remission from colon cancer first diagnosed in 2014.

It seems the exes’ values ​​aligned later in life, given Newton-John was passionate about ensuring medicinal marijuana was more widely available for cancer patients to manage pain.

Paying tribute to her husband’s ex-wife on Facebook on Tuesday, Michelle Lattanzi said the world had lost an icon.

“Today we lost one of the world’s greats Olivia Newton-John,” she posted on behalf of the couple.

“Matt and I are so overwhelmed with the love and gratitude shared with us by friends, family and a deeply loving community of fans who will all miss Olivia’s presence in this world.

“I have heard truly lovely stories and memories from people near and far, and honor in each of you where those feelings and memories come from.

“Nothing will replace the icon we lost, yet her legacy is alive and well in our hearts and memories, as well as her contributions to our global culture, her beloved daughter Chloe Lattanzi, and her cancer research and wellness center in Melbourne.

“Please honor your sadness, and then celebrate the joy that Olivia’s heart and lifetime achievements endowed in our world.

“Sending all kinds of love.”

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