Isaac Heeney was 12 years old, nursing a broken hand and sitting in a mostly empty grandstand with his mother Rochelle.
A junior football carnival was playing out in front of them that he was supposed to be captaining an under-12s team in, before suffering his injury in one of the early games.
Then up walked a man, seemingly unaware of how many seating options he had, to slide in next to the Heeneys.
“We were like, ‘Go and sit somewhere else; you don’t have to sit in our laps’,” Heeney, 26, recalled, laughing about the memory, which he said made him “feel old”.
“Then he introduced himself: ‘I’m Chris Smith from the Sydney Swans Academy. I’ve been watching you for a little while.’”
Heeney’s life changed forever in that moment. The Swans had found a future superstar, one who will play his 150th AFL game at the SCG on Sunday against Collingwood.
Rochelle, a dairy farmer, started working half-days on Thursdays to drive Heeney and his brother, Beau, two-and-a-half hours each way from the outskirts of Newcastle to Sydney for a 90-minute Academy training session.
Their dad, Adam, a butcher, would sometimes drive them as well but also spent countless hours with his sons kicking the Sherrin on their hobby farm.
“I had the best childhood in the world. It was a really simple way of living but it was epic,” Heeney said.
“My parents were so supportive and loving and it was simple and cheap. We never had much money… we’d come home, eat sausages for dinner and always be outdoors.
“Mum and dad, being sporty people themselves, loved being outside and having fun with us, too.”
Their home doubled as a field of sporting dreams and was the scene of all sorts of other “sketchy” adventures, from tree parachuting to propelling into a dam at full speed on a bike.
Heeney only half-jokingly reflects on how Beau almost killed himself a couple of times.
“We built a ramp that we would go down on this hill and it was sort of like a quarter pipe but shooting off into the dam,” he said.
“You’d probably be a good four or five meters in the air with a pushbike that had a couple of milk cartons on it, so it didn’t sink to the bottom and just launches into the dam.
“Dad, Beau and I would also set these star pickets as goals and we’d just kick the footy to each other every afternoon and pretend to take hangers on each other – just like kids do.”
But not every kid is as gifted as Heeney.
He once kicked a ridiculous 68 goals in 12 games of junior soccer, and averaged 216 with the bat while playing up an age group but still in the top division.
A friendship developed in those soccer days with a boy who lived down the road, plus a family decision to delay him playing either of the rugby codes for fear of head knocks were critical in setting Heeney on his AFL path.
That friend was Will Quade, the grand-nephew of Rick Quade, the inaugural coach of the rebranded Sydney Swans’ team in 1982.
Will’s cousin also just so happened to be Charlie Dixon, who has played 187 games and counting for Port Adelaide and Gold Coast.
In a further twist of fate, big brother Beau ended up marrying Rick Quade’s niece, Amanda. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
Will wanted to start playing Australian rules football and asked Heeney if he wanted to join him, so they headed down to sign up for Wallsend Swans.
The problem was there weren’t enough players to field a team – participation numbers have skyrocketed in Newcastle in recent years – meaning they instead ended up at Cardiff Hawks, which now has bragging rights as Heeney’s junior club.
“I loved it from the get-go, and credit to Cardiff Hawks. It was a really fun, family sort of vibe and I think that’s why mum and dad loved it, too,” he said.
“Everyone knew each other and was really welcoming and they were amazing for me.
“At the same time, I was the only kid in my primary school who played it, then at high school there was only a handful of us out of like 1000 kids.”
Heeney’s star rose quickly but his Academy invitation came at just the right time, as he started playing rugby league at school.
But not rugby league or any of the gentle teasing about him playing “aerial ping pong” dissuaded him from chasing his AFL dream.
Heeney became not only the standout Sydney junior but arguably in the entire country for his 2014 draft year, when the likes of Paddy McCartin, Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw and Darcy Moore were also selected.
He has lived up to the hype and inked a bumper new six-year deal worth about $900,000 per annum on season eve this year that adds up to his growing importance at the Swans, which goes well beyond the field.
In Heeney, Sydney has a homegrown, Academy-bred star with an overflowing highlight reel to win over the masses.
The Swans now have a series of Academy graduates on their list, from Heeney to Callum Mills, Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell, James Bell, Sam Wicks and more.
But does Heeney himself realize how meaningful he has become in the club’s bigger picture?
“I know there’s some significance there, absolutely. But I just look at myself as another player and whenever I can give back, whether that’s to the club or the fans, I definitely will,” he said.
“I know that I’m a decent role model to a lot of kids out there and I understand there’s a fair significance I’ve got around the club. I don’t know how to word it but it’s humbling.”
Nathaniel Rose kept his shoes and sandals separate from his main baggage as he traveled home from Bali to Melbourne last week.
During his 10-day holiday on the Indonesian island, Mr Rose said he was aware of concerns that tourists visiting Bali might bring foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) back to Australia, including via contaminated soil on footwear.
“I did one trip to Mount Batur that could be considered rural. We walked through the village along the dirt track,” he said.
As per Australian government advice, Mr Rose thoroughly cleaned his footwear before he got on the plane.
“There were foot-and-mouth disease signs at Denpasar Airport,” he said.
“When we got off [the plane] there were biosecurity officers and we had to walk on a disinfectant mat.”
Nathaniel Rose took precautions to ensure he did not bring the disease from Indonesia to Australia.(Supplied)
An outbreak of FMD could devastate Australia’s livestock industries, cost the Australian economy around $80 billion, and lead to many animals being slaughtered to control the disease.
Those potential consequences are why the agriculture industry here has been begun on tenterhooks since an outbreak in Indonesia in May, with some calling for a travel ban.
Farmers and authorities in Indonesia are working hard to contain the virus’s spread, while the Australian government this week committed $10 million towards biosecurity measures in Indonesia to tackle the outbreak.
FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals and is carried in many ways, including by live animals, in meat and dairy products, soil and untreated hides.
It is commonly spread between animals through inhalation, ingestion and contact with infected animals, but is not to humans, including by eating affected meat.
The virus is different to hand, foot and mouth disease common in children.
Local farmers implement strict controls
Greenfields Indonesia own the biggest dairy farm in East Java.(Supplied: greenfieldsdairy.com)
The outbreak in Indonesia is the biggest since 1990 and is estimated to be costing the local economy $200 million per month.
Since May, 479,000 animals have been infected with FMD in Indonesia.
More than 9,000 animals have been killed to try to control the virus’s spread, while another 5,189 have died from the disease.
The province of East Java currently has the highest number of infections, with a mix of farms in that area, including smaller traditional farms and others run by large companies.
East Java’s biggest dairy farm is owned by Greenfields Indonesia, a company established by a group of Australian and Indonesian entrepreneurs.
The provinces in Indonesia with the most foot-and-mouth cases.(ABC News graphic: Jarrod Fankhauser)
The farm, with 16,000 cattle, has implemented strict biosecurity measures, despite no cases of the virus being detected there.
Richard Slaney, from Greenfields Indonesia, said the company’s cattle underwent frequent health checks and were being vaccinated against the disease.
Mr Slaney said there were also strict controls to clean workers’ dirty clothing and footwear, vehicle tires and animal feed.
“No outside visitors are allowed to come [to the property],” I added.
He said vehicles were sprayed from “top to bottom”.
“All vehicles have gone through an additional cleaning process and very strict controls are also applied to the milk tank transport vehicles,” he said.
Small farmers can’t afford vaccines
Robi Gustiar says some farmers are having trouble accessing vaccines.(Supplied)
Robi Gustiar is a cattle farmer and the secretary-general of the Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association that represents small farmers who have between five and 30 cattle.
He said smaller farmers were also doing what they could to control the outbreak.
“For farmers who have up to five cattle, they spray disinfectant in locations around cattle pens and on vehicles.”
He said some farmers were still waiting for vaccines from the government, while medium and larger traditional farmers were proposing to purchase vaccines independently to access them faster.
Larger farms, like the Greenfields farm in East Java, have better access to vaccines.(Supplied: greenfieldsdairy.com)
Mr Gustiar said small farmers could not afford vaccines and distribution was not easy.
“Indonesia is an archipelago country, so transportation is a problem. They [need to] make sure the vaccine is still active when it reaches the cattle,” he explained.
Australian government support for Indonesia announced this week included supplying more vaccines to Indonesia as well as protective equipment, training and expertise.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said $4 million of the $10 million dollars allocated was for vaccine purchasing.
“This is on top of support already announced for Indonesia, which included 1 million doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine and almost half a million doses of lumpy skin disease vaccine already committed by the Australian government,” he said.
Disaster authority bolsters Indonesia’s response
Indonesia has procured 3 million vaccine doses to tackle the disease.(Supplied: FAO Eko Prianto)
According to Indonesia’s Foot and Mouth Taskforce, more than 1.2 million doses of vaccine have been administered to animals.
Spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said he hoped that the outbreak would be under control by the end of the year.
Mr Adisasmito added that there had been no new reported infections in six provinces, including Bali, but cases were still spreading in other areas.
The taskforce is overseeing the implementation of a raft of biosecurity measures, including treatment and recovery of livestock, livestock testing, conditional slaughter and vaccination.
“Foot mats and disinfectant spray [have been placed] at the arrival and departure of Ngurah Rai [Denpasar] and Sentani International [Jayapura] airports, and other areas that are included in the foot-and-mouth-free zone,” Mr Adisasmito said.
Professor Rochad Tawaf from the Committee for Agricultural Empowerment — a not-for-profit organization in West Java — said Indonesia’s response to the outbreak had improved since the National Disaster Management Authority was assigned to tackle the outbreak.
“For me, this means that the government is already handling the situation correctly and making it better, and the farmers also made their contribution by managing their cattle better than before,” he said.
Farmers remain concerned about disease spread
Welly Salim is originally from Indonesia and has been in the cattle business for 25 years.
For the past 10 years, he has lived in central Queensland, near Rockhampton, and owns about 1,400 cattle.
Welly Salim now owns a cattle farm in central Queensland.(Supplied)
Despite all the precautions, he, like other farmers, remains concerned about the possibility of FMD reaching Australia.
Mr Salim said that, while the Indonesian government may not have done enough to reassure Australian farmers, some comments from Australian politicians have inflamed the situation.
“I think some comments from politicians are over-statements on the possibility of tourists bringing back the virus, but the threat is real,” he said.
“We need to find the most-friendly solution for Indonesia, to help Indonesia to solve the problem.”
Mr Salim pointed out there would also be a huge impact on Indonesia as well if the disease spread to Australia.
“Indonesia is the biggest market for live cattle export from Australia,” he said.
“Indonesia needs around 600,000 tonnes of boxed beef every year.”
Australian leg-spinner Alana King paid tribute to the late Shane Warne in epic fashion, becoming the first female to take a hat-trick in The Hundred as Trent Rockets defeated Manchester Originals by 43 runs.
King finished figures of 4-15 from 20 deliveries, took a spectacular diving catch and was also handy with the bat in hand, scoring 19 from nine balls.
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Alana King of Trent Rockets celebrates dismissing Kate Cross. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
speaking to Sky Cricket post-match, a classy King was just happy to get the win.
“Pretty special but as I said, I’m here to do my job for the team and I’m glad it came off today,” she said.
“It was a fresh wicket today, it was a bit dry and hoping there was some spin and there was. Stoked to get the win and happy I can contribute.”
It was a particularly special performance for King, who made history on the same ground that Warne bowled the ball of the century in the 1993 Ashes series.
“I hope he’s looking down and pretty proud that I’ve spun a few today,” King said.
“Just a special place Old Trafford.”
Alana King did Shane Warne proud. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Earlier, Australian cricketer Beth Mooney came within touching distance of becoming the first centurion in the Hundred women’s competition on Friday, scoring an unbeaten 97 against last year’s runners-up Southern Brave in Southampton.
Fresh off her triumphant Commonwealth Games campaign, the 28-year-old smacked the highest score in the 100-ball tournament’s short history on her London Spirit debut, guiding the side to 4/155 in front of 9000 spectators at the Ageas Bowl.
Mooney needed nothing less than a six off the final delivery to reach triple figures, but the left-hander could only muster a two.
Birmingham Phoenix young gun Will Smeed remains the only cricketer to have scored a century in The Hundred, achieving the feat against the Brave in the men’s competition on Wednesday.
Mooney, who passed 50 in just 32 deliveries, struck 17 boundaries in the 55-ball demolition, combining with New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr for an 87-run second-wicket partnership.
But the Queenslander’s heroics weren’t enough for the Spirit to secure victory, with the Brave chasing the 156-run target with six deliveries to spare, courtesy of a 34-ball 65 from Player of the Match Danni Wyatt.
It was the English opener’s third half-century in The Hundred.
Beth Mooney of the London Spirit. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“I’m really happy to have contributed to a win and just to get the win on the board is really pleasing,” Wyatt told Sky Sports after the six-wicket win.
“My job at the top is to go out there and be brave and fearless, and if it’s in my area go for it.
“It’s a great start. Beth Mooney batted exceptionally today and we knew it was going to take one of us to go out there and do what she did.”
Australian leg-spinner Amanda Jade-Wellington, the Brave’s highest-wicket taker last year, was the pick of the bowlers on Friday, claiming 3/30 from her 20 deliveries.
Southern Brave captain Anya Shrubsole continued: “Beth Mooney was outstanding, and she makes you feel as a captain and a bowler you don’t have a clue where to put your fielders out. But Danni showed what a good track it was, and I’m really pleased to get a win.
“We go again against Oval on Sunday. It’sa quick turnaround and it’s quite a warm few days as well, but it’s exciting.”
Highest Individual Score in the Hundred women’s competition
97* – Beth Mooney, LS vs. SB (2022)
92* – Jemimah Rodrigues, NS vs. WF (2021)
78 – Smriti Mandhana, SB vs. WF (2021)
76* – Shafali Verma, BP vs. WF (2021)
76 – Rachael Priest, TR vs. LS (2021)
Mooney was a crucial member of the Australian team that won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham last week, scoring 61 (41) against India in the final at Edgbaston.
She was the T20 tournament’s highest run-scorer with 179 runs at 44.75 and a strike rate of 133.58.
Mooney currently sits at No. 1 on the ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings, narrowly ahead of Australian teammate Meg Lanning and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine.
The Spirit will next face the Northern Superchargers at Headingley on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 8pm AEST.
The Pumas get revenge for last week’s Rugby Championship loss to the Wallabies, thrashing Australia in San Juan.
Look back at the action in our blog.
live updates
By Simon Smale
Dave Rennie: ‘We’re better than that’
Dave Rennie is speaking to Stan Sport.
“Massive disappointment,” he says.
“It’s not good enough.
“We conceded four tries with kicks in behind us and certainly got dominated in the collision area.
“We created opportunities but we’ve got to be patient our ruck is not a disaster and we just weren’t clinical enough.”
He says that the Wallabies lacked cohesion in the match and looked desperately frustrated, adding “We’re better than that.”.
“We want to earn the respect of the country and you’re never going to do that with performances like that.”
By Simon Smale
James Slipper: Wallabies ‘Probably fell short of standards’
Here’s the skipper, James Slipper.
“Clearly disappointed,” he says.
“Off the back of a good performance last week we wanted to back it up.
“Probably fell short of today’s standards.”
He says that the Argentinans were just the better team on the day.
“They got the momentum and the crowd behind them and they’re a tough team to play catch up football against,” he says.
With all teams sitting on one win each, Slipper says the Rugby Championship is even poised, but the Wallabies are excited to get home.
“I think we’re excited to get home. It’s been a really tough tour for us.”
By Simon Smale
Key Event
Argentina beat Wallabies 48-17
Wow, what a stunning result and a brutal scoreline for the Wallabies to stomach.
The Wallabies were tactically outclassed by former coach Michael Chieka and there’s no hiding it.
The Argentinians kicking out of hand was better, the breakdown was better and they capitalized on the big moments better than the Wallabies.
It’s the biggest ever win by Argentina over Australia.
By Simon Smale
Key Event
80+2′ What a try Argentina!
Oh that’s magnificent from both Tomas Cubelli and try-scorer Tomas Albornoz.
Cubelli took the ball off the back of the scrum and darted through a gap, chipping ahead and that allowed Albornoz to collect and score.
The kick is successful and it’s 48-17!
By Simon Smale
Man of the Match: Thomas Gallo
The player of the match has just been announced to a raucous ovation.
It’s the Argentina prop, Thomas Gallo off the back of his two-try performance.
By Simon Smale
Key Event
78′ Try Argentina!
Lovely try to seal the win from Emiliano Boffelli!
The Wallabies lost the ball at a ruck and then Lucio Cinti put boot to ball, rolling it in behind and Boffelli ran around Markia Koroibete to dot down the bobbling in the corner.
The kicking game has been superior all day, the Wallabies have been punished for mistakes, and that’s the game in a microcosm.
By Simon Smale
77′ Wallabies scrum
Argentina were pushing for another score but lost the ball forward thanks to some solid Wallabies defense on their right edge.
By Simon Smale
74′ Penalty Argentina
Reece Hodge is on and his first involvement is to tackle an Argentinian in the air from another up and under contestable kick.
Argentina put a couple more phases together but we’ll come back for that infringement on half way.
They’ll kick for the corner and have a lineout on the 22.
By Simon Smale
72′ Penalty Argentina
The Wallabies were on the charge, looking to build some phases but Ikitau threw the ball over the line while being tackled and it will be an Argentina line out.
Nope, it will be a penalty, Tate McDermott pinged for a push off the ball as frustrations boil over.
By Simon Smale
69′ Argentina penalty!
Oh the Wallabies can’t keep their discipline!
The ruling is that the Wallabies did not release the ball in the tackle and the hosts get a relieving penalty.
By Simon Smale
67′ 50:22 from Tait McDermott!
Oh that will help the cause!
What a kick from the Queensland scrumhalf!
If the Wallabies score from here, a lineout on the five meters, then things could get very interesting!
By Simon Smale
Key Event
65′ Try Wallabies!
Len Ikitau dives over after being tackled – he popped back to his feet and strolled over the line unapposed.
So that’s the application from the referee just as with the previous try.
Funny, the commentators aren’t nearly as unhappy with that decision…
Can the Wallabies launch a comeback?
By Simon Smale
64′ Wallabies subs
I haven’t mentioned every sub, but Billy Pollard is on. Great story there, the Brumbies hooker has had a hell of a journey to get to Argentina on time and he comes on to make his Test debut.
By Simon Smale
Key Event
64′ Try Argentina!
11 phases of precise and incisive play by the Argentinians get the reward it deserves.
Thomas Gallo looked like he was tackled short, perhaps the referee said he hadn’t been held, but he got up and dove over the line…
Hmmm, not sure about that on replay, but the officials were happy.
There were two penalties in the move through against Fraser McReight we heard the referee say, adding that the Reds man going to be sent to the bin.
The conversion is good and the lead is now 26, Argentina 36-10 ahead.
By Simon Smale
62′ Penalty Argentina
The Wallabies are really struggling to beat this blue and white defensive line, being forced to kick deep while the Argentinians have time to kick high and contest
Rob Valentini closed the gap that Juan Cruz Mallia tried to run into, and gives away the penalty by blocking him.
Again, the commentators seem to think that Valentini didn’t close that gap, but I don’t think they’re quite right. He didn’t do much, admittedly, but he did close out that lane for him to run in to.
Argentina kick deep for a lineout.
By Simon Smale
58′ Knock on Argentina
Oh the Wallabies get away with one there.
Argentina were flooding forward again, Matias Moroni with a decent run initially.
There was an intercept thrown to Petaia, who almost apologetically gave it straight back to the Argentinians.
Taniela Tupou put a thumping tackle in the midfield that barely interrupted the Pumas’ mometum.
A chip in behind isolated James O’Connor and the Argentinans counterrucked to win the turnover, but then knocked the ball on five meters out from the Wallabies line.
By Simon Smale
55′ Penalty Argentina
The Wallabies are caught offside as Argentina flood forward with some nice passing plays.
The hosts are swarming all over the breakdown to create that quick ball which resulted in the offside penalty.
The penalty is just inside the Wallabies half, but they’ll kick for touch this time.
By Simon Smale
Key Event
53′ Penalty goal Argentina!
The Argentinians kicked deep straight away off the lineout after seeing a big gap in behind.
The Wallabies get back through Tom Wright but as he runs the ball back he gets isolated.
The kick from the ten-meter line is good from Emiliano Boffelli and the gap is out to 19 points, 29-10.
By Simon Smale
52′ Wallabies turn the ball over
Some good ball movement right and left from the Wallabies but then a pass out the back goes behind and it will be out for a lineout, that Argentina takes quickly.
By Simon Smale
50′ Penalty Argentina
Gee, the last couple of scrums have been all over the place.
That one moved sideways at a rate of knots before Taniela Tupou was pinged.
We’ve all been hearing a lot about inflation but it’s shrinkflation that shoppers really need to worry about.
Shrinkflation is where manufacturers charge the same or even more for smaller servings, betting on most consumers not noticing the difference.
And with rate rises and cost-of-living pressures hitting many hard households, these reductions are offering less and less value for money
Consumer group Choice has been getting tip-offs from peeved Aussies about products that have been downsizing, recently verifying Smith’s crinkle cut potato chips had been trimmed by 5g — or about three chips — to 170g per pack.
Shrinkflation is where manufacturers charge the same or even more for smaller servings, betting on most consumers not noticing the difference. Credit: The West Australian
There has also been a 20g drop in large packs of Red Rock Deli potato chips to 165g and boxes of Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes have shed 30g.
And sweet-toothed shoppers have been left with a sour taste with Cadbury family-sized chocolate blocks going from the once-standard 250g to 180g.
The latest to drop weight is Maltesers, with a spokeswoman for manufacturer Mars Wrigley saying it was “facing unprecedented cost pressures” like many Australian businesses.
“From time to time, external factors make it necessary for product changes so that we can continue to ensure the availability of our products to all Australians,” she said.
Choice spokesman Liam Kennedy said shrinkflation was a global trend that was expected to continue.
“Most of the examples that we see, a lot of the tips we receive, are in that snack area, cereals,” Mr Kennedy told The West Australian.
But it has hit pet food too, with bags of Purina One cat food contracting by 100g to 1.4kg but costing more.
Choice says ‘shrinkflation’ is a global trend expected to continue. Credit: Rebecca Le May/The West Australian
Owner Nestle blamed that on recipe changes and higher costs for raw materials, packaging and transport, Mr Kennedy said.
“A lot of business are feeling that right now,” he added.
Elizabeth Jackson, a food supply chain systems expert at Curtin University, warned shoppers to expect ongoing pain at the checkout, mainly due to high transport costs, saying the current inflation spike was reminiscent of that seen in the oil crisis of 1973.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics inflation data showed transport cost jumped the most of 11 expense categories in the year to June, up 13.1 per cent.
“The products that have been escalating so greatly have been those we can’t do without, your staples — fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, cooking oil, pasta,” Dr Jackson said. “We can’t get away from it.
“But why people are feeling it so much is we’ve actually been experiencing unnaturally low prices.
“In 2011, food inflation got as low as -3.2 per cent, so we’ve been enjoying things too much and we’re just getting back to reality now, and we don’t like it.”
‘Shrinkflation’ has been spotted mainly in snack foods but also in pet food. Credit: Danella Bevis/Danella Bevis
Those previously unusually low prices were caused by retailers engaging in price wars, squeezing the margins of primary producers, she said.
But now, on top of costs including fertilizer and fuel soaring, the freight transport sector was battling labor problems, faced with an aging truck driver workforce and a struggle to attract young workers.
“What we’re experiencing now, we need to get used to. This is business as usual for the foreseeable future,” Dr Jackson said.
Choice’s latest Consumer Pulse survey, which polled 1083 Australian households, found 23 per cent were struggling to get by, up from 18 per cent in June last year.
There are always defining moments in every Queen’s career, say when Elizabeth I stood before her troops at Tilbury in 1588 and gave one of British history’s most famously rousing speeches or in 1947 when the future Elizabeth II delivered her famous radio address from South Africa promising to dedicate her life to her job.
But for Kate, currently the Duchess of Cambridge and the future Queen Catherine, one of the most defining moments came on April 30 2011, the day after her wedding to Prince William, and her first full days as a bona fide member of the royal family.
Crossing the lawn at Buckingham Palace as the newlyweds made their way to a helicopter to whisk them off to start married, just what did Kate choose to wear? An $85 Zara dress.
The symbolism was clear: Kate might have snagged the prince, gotten herself a title and was now calling a palace home but she was the same woman as she had been 48 hours earlier. With one outfit she was making it clear to the world that she would do things her way of her and that despite her elevation to royal ranks, she remained firmly tethered to normal life.
It was a powerful and very canny move and a style strategy we have seen her wheel out again and again in the year since then.
So, what in the name of her extensive collection of tepid coat dresses has been going on of late?
According to my calculations, in the last 100 days Kate has worn more than $83,851 worth of readily identifiable clothes, shoes and jewellery, not including the number of bespoke designer pieces she has showcased, items that I could not find prices for or the value of. the royal jewelery she has worn. (If we added that all in we would easily be well into the six-figures, I reckon. Keep in mind too that members of the royal family cannot accept freebies either.)
What is clear if you pore over photos and details of the last three and a bit months is that over the course of the last 100 days there has been a very discernible shift in her wardrobe towards the much more costly.
Gone, by and large, are her high-street favourites, affordable pieces from mainstream British chains and in their place is an ever-growing roster of four-figure frocks and diamond earrings.
No look came with a higher price tag in this time period than her very chic, pared back ensemble for the Top Gun premiere with Kate opting for a $5,115 Roland Mouret dress, Prada heels, a $4,418 Alexander McQueen clutch and new $18,133 diamond earrings from Robinson Pelham.
While Kate did re-wear a number of pieces, most notably the white Alexander McQueen suit she first debuted during her and husband Prince William, Duke of Cambridge’s disastrous Caribbean tour and a striking Catherine Walker coat she first donned last year, these are all pieces that cost into the thousands. (There are no prices listed on the Catherine Walker website and you know what they say about having to ask how much something is…)
This is a sartorial tendency that extends to her in her off-duty hours too. Back in 2019 Kate was last photographed at the polo wearing a $740 LK Bennett dress. In July, the 40-year-old was back at watching her husband de ella working up a sweat playing a few chukkas but this time she chose a ladylike Emilia Wickstead number from the designer’s 2019 collection. Currently, a white sleeveless dress that is similar is selling for just under $2000.
Since early May, Kate has worn Alessandra Rich on multiple occasions (whose dresses start at about $2,511 and go up to more than $4,000), plenty of Emilia Wickstead, again costing in the thousands, and a variety of pairs of Emmy heels ($690 to pop) or Gianvitto Rossi pumps which come in at $1022 a pair.
The genius of Kate’s style for so long was her ability to seamlessly pair bargain items, such as the $3.95 earrings she chose for her first official event this year, with high end pieces, a perfect blend of the accessible and the aspirational.
What was so delightful about this was not just the demonstration of her fashion nous but the implication it carried; just because ella she could afford all the designer loot she could cart home from Bond Street did not mean ella she wanted to.
It all felt refreshing and just real and over the years the duchess’ regular choice of budget looks interspersed with the luxe carried with it the message that royal life had not fundamentally changed her as a person.
Which is why this emergence of this recent Kate who seems increasingly wedded to top tier labels only is a bit disquieting. To some degree I feel a certain sense of disappointment that one of the most meaningful ways she has, for more than a decade, set herself apart from the royal status quo seems to have disappeared.
(The only notable exception to this trend came on June 3 during a St Paul’s service during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations when she accessorized her bespoke Emilia Wickstead yellow stunner, which would have set Kate back thousands, and her $2000-plus Philip Treacey hat with … at $34 clutch from homegrown Australian brand Forever New.)
Maybe what I really liked about the Zara-era Kate was that every time she got out of her official car for an engagement clad in a $27 dress it carried with it a certain wonderful sense of defiance and refusal to suddenly change who she was. The takeaway: she She might have a title but she was still Kate.
One way to explain the change in her wardrobe direction might be that it reflects the repositioning we have seen of William and Kate’s image in the last year, from plucky young ‘uns to future king and queen. The runway from where they are now, as working foot soldiers of the royal family, to their coronation inside Westminster Abbey is being very clearly laid out by the Palace, driving home a message of monarchical continuity as the Queen looks shakier and shakier.
Perhaps the argument has been made that it’s fine for a workday duchess to slip into a few pounds worth of polyester but not for a queen-in-waiting. Or perhaps Kate has just grown up a bit and like women the world over is now focusing more on better quality pieces she can wear more often.
But to some degree the ‘why’ does not matter here; what does is what flow-on effect this shift might have.
On a purely functional level, Kate’s deployment of modest clothes over the years went a very long way to making her seem uniquely relatable in a way no royal WAG has before. Now, the more she chooses out-for-reach for everyone but the super-rich labels, the more she risks eroding those gains and making herself into more of a remote figure.
For William and Kate to truly ensure that the royal family remains a thriving concern, they need to seem approachable.
The danger there is obvious – central to the brand the Cambridges’ have assiduously been trying to build is that they are the congenial, normal royals, the hardworking duo happily transforming The Firm from fusty, frosty and all-too grand into a powerhouse of do -goodery.
At a time when the UK is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, seeing the woman who has been sold as the refreshingly normal duchess-next-door gadding about the better part of a $100,000 worth of designer duds is a potentially dangerous and certainly ill-conceived move.
Closes might maketh the man but Zara could help maketh a queen.
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.
It was either the Dalai Lama or Shania Twain who once said, “OK, so you’re Brad Pitt? That don’t impress me much”.
But Brad Pitt is not the kind of guy who cares about impressing the Dalai Lama and Shania Twain. He knows he impresses everyone else. That’s why he’s now taking confident strides into the next era of his life from him and embarking on a style revolution.
The 58-year-old has been hitting the red carpets over recent weeks for the premiere of his new movie Bullet Train while rocking a distinct new lewk.
The key fashion elements? Cakes and skorts.
Classic. Timeless. Sophisticated. I wore the same thing to my formal school.
Brad has entered a new phase. Throughout his career, he has transitioned smoothly from Hollywood heart-throb to bona fide movie star. Now he’s keen to explore the territory of eccentric artist.
And, look: We’ll accept Brad Pitt any way we can get him. He has reached a point where he can do whatever he wants and we’ll continue to take him seriously.
In the past, the actor has been accused by memes of stealing his girlfriends’ styles. He cut his hair like Gwyneth Paltrow when the pair dated in the ’90s. I borrowed Jen Aniston’s sea salt spray in the 2000s. And when he started dating Angelina, it seemed the pair made frequent trips to the blow bar together.
But his latest style revolution is truly one to behold. Is he simply being an eccentric artist? Or has he suddenly slipped into competing with the TikTok kids?
Whoever thought we’d see the day where Brad Pitt is trying to keep up with the internet’s boyfriends Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles — with their flamboyant fashion choices of crushed velvet and bold statement patterns.
In Berlin I rocked a pink shirt, combat boots, and kilt. Then he brought a burst of color to LA with a green suit and yellow sneakers. Other appearances have seen him donning zip-up tops, relaxed jacket-shirts and baggy drawstring pants in a variety of pastel hues.
Asked about the skirt and his latest sartorial explorations, the actor simply replied: “I don’t know! We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up”.
He makes it sound like there’s not much thought going into it at all – that he’s just taking life as it comes. But coordinated pastels don’t just happen. Co-ordinated pastels are achieved through many meetings with stylists who strategize with Pinterest boards.
For us regular people, you get to a certain age where it’s just too late for a style revolution.
When you’re younger, you can experiment with looks and people. But by the time you reach your 30s, you’ve pretty much settled into who you are. Your style is as predictable and expected as Bart Simpson’s blue shorts and orange shirt combo.
A style revolution doesn’t just affect your own life. It rocks the worlds of everyone around you. Like, imagine if your dad just started wearing accessories.
Or if your mum became one of those annoying people who really overcommits to 1950s rockabilly fashion.
Even a colleague. If your middle-aged boss waltzed into the office tomorrow morning wearing a bowler hat, it would throw the workplace off its axis. No deadlines would be met that day. The pings would be going insane.
It takes a certain kind of confidence to wake up one morning and decide on a whim that you’ll now become Bowler Hat Guy. And it’s foolish to think that the rest of the world will accept it without comment.
Remember when Karl Stefanovic shook up his personal life a few years ago and went through his own style revolution by trying to be Matthew McConaughey with a fedora and braided leather bracelets? We all had a field day.
A style revolution is only for the brave. Like those women who decide they’re going to exclusively wear purple until the end of time. They dedicate their entire lives to purple like it’s a religion. Suddenly, their entire wardrobes are a patchwork of magenta and violet. Amethyst. Lilac, plum and mauve.
They usually also get a purple streak in their hair. Then paint the front door of their home a glossy shellacked purple. If you spot one of these women in the wild, follow them to the car park and you’ll find she probably drives a purple Honda Jazz.
It goes without saying Brad’s new style revolution would be tipping his ex Angelina Jolie over the edge. Her mates of her will have been texting her relentlessly after every red carpet appearance of her: “Did ya see the skort?”
Seeing an ex move on with their life is annoying enough. But seeing an ex go through a style revolution? Enraging. Who the hell do they think they are?
In Australia, a style revolution of Brad Pitt’s scale just wouldn’t fly. Russell Crowe? The country couldn’t handle it. We as a nation will only ever allow Rusty to wear that one black Best & Less tracksuit.
In a white-walled room inside a community center in Sydney’s inner west, about 20 people are sitting in a circle.
One of them, a young man in a beanie, starts reading from a pamphlet:
“Corporate and institutional power is driving the climate crisis and blocking climate action.”
He’s a member of Blockade Australia, the protest group which shut down parts of Sydney in late June.
Today — June 26 — is the day before that happened.
“The very system we’re in is one of domination, so to resist that we have to be able to organize in a different way — organizing non-hierarchically and co-existing non-hierarchically.”
Sitting on a floor of rough gray carpet tiles, the small audience is nodding in agreement as the young man in a beanie continues.
“Blockade Australia is a coordinated response that aims to develop a culture of effective resistance through strategic direct action.”
This is the planning and preparation workshop held 24 hours before the protests which stopped thousands of Sydney commuters from getting to work on time on June 27.
“This is systemic, a system called Australia, a system that’s been extracting and dispossessing on this continent for centuries now.”
Phrases like “so-called Australia” are common parlance here. An Aboriginal flag features prominently on the wall above the man addressing the group.
The message, essentially, is this: Australia’s economy is inherently exploitative and extractive and if catastrophic global warming is to have a chance of being prevented, Australia as we know it must be stopped in its tracks.
Not surprisingly, for politicians, the police and much of the public, that’s a lot to swallow.
But it makes perfect sense to Elizabeth Hartick who is at the back of the room that Sunday, sitting on a stool.
“People say to us over and over again, isn’t there another way? Can’t you be more polite and write letters and do things through the proper channels?”
“But it hasn’t worked. It hasn’t worked.”
Elizabeth Hartick puts Blockade Australia stickers up on a Melbourne street.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
‘The right to protest is on a slippery slope’
Elizabeth is a retired Melbourne university administrator and researcher, and a grandmother, too. She’s 74, but she bristles with bright-eyed energy.
She has formed as a climate change protester in Melbourne with groups like Extinction Rebellion. She’s had run-ins with the police before but she has no convictions.
“I figure that what I can do with the last couple of decades I’ve got of my life, [is] put myself on the line to make a noise and to keep attention focused on the issue,” she says.
Elizabeth has traveled here from Victoria to attend the workshop. There are classes on how to occupy space in non-violent ways and a medical briefing telling people what to do if they’re pepper-sprayed.
But it’s the legal briefing that Elizabeth’s come to hear.
“The main thing is this issue with the punitive, repressive fines and jail terms that they’re threatening us with,” she says.
Elizabeth’s referring to amendments to the NSW Roads Act, which passed back in April.
The changes make it an offense punishable by up to two years jail and/or a $22,000 fine if anyone damages or seriously disrupts or obstructs the Sydney Harbor Bridge or Tunnel or “other main roads”.
Everyone here, the day before the June protests, knows about these laws because they’re being told about them by the young woman leading the legal briefing:
“This is a scare tactic and it’s just one of the ways that this devolution of protest laws and human rights, the right to protest, is kind of on a slippery slope in so-called Australia.”
Elizabeth’s tuned in and confident she can avoid arrest.
“I think I can handle myself like I have in the past. If I’m told to get off the road by the police, then I’ll just get off the road,” she says.
“So I’m pretty sure that I can avoid getting arrested in this sort of situation.”
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Police break up climate protesters in Sydney CBD
The protest
It’s about 8am on Monday, June 27, and Sydney’s Harbor Tunnel is in crisis.
At the North Sydney end, a small white car has parked across several lanes, stopping thousands of commuters from getting to work on time.
Inside that car, a young woman is broadcasting via Facebook live, speaking into her phone with her neck bike-locked to the car’s steering wheel.
“My name is Mali. I’m 22. I’m currently locked on to a car at the start of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel in protest of the climate destruction that is happening on this continent right now.”
Mali Cooper has traveled to Sydney from flood-devastated Lismore.
“I’ve watched mass devastation happen up there this year with two one in 100-year floods that have happened. This is climate change. It is here. It is happening now.”
As Mali speaks, a growing number of traffic-jammed commuters are getting furious.
“There are some really angry people who are screaming and threatening me and banging on doors. The police are on their way and I’m not sure how long this is going to happen for. I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
Behind Mali, a man is approaching her car window. Her camera captures him leaning in… his face distorted with fury.
“You’re f**king everyone’s day up, you dumb c**t. Get the f**k out of the way. You f**ing selfish c**t.”
At the same time, on the other side of the harbour, Elizabeth Hartick is among the Blockade Australia protesters walking out of Hyde Park and marching down various streets in Sydney’s CBD.
She’s nowhere near the Sydney Harbor Bridge or the Tunnel and manages to avoid arrest.
“I’m honored to be amongst them. I’m happy to be here. I think we’re all fighting for a good cause. I’m really glad to be on their side,” she says.
Ten people were arrested that day and nine were charged. Elizabeth isn’t among them.
So she heads out again for the second day of protests in Sydney’s CBD.
Blockade Australia protests in June 2022(ABC News: Jake Lapham)
‘You’ve been placed under arrest’
The next day, I catch up with her a bit after 8am near the low sandstone wall that wraps around Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD.
“We just want to keep putting the pressure on, putting the pressure on. We’re at the pointy end so that people start to take notice of what the reality is,” she says.
Elizabeth’s fired up.
“You’ve got to work hard to understand the immensity of the problem that we are facing. And very few people really do.
“They sort of say, Oh yeah, we know about climate change. We’ve been hearing about it for years. Well, but what the f**k has happened?
“You know, we try to do stuff with our plastic and recycling and things like that. It’s going to take a much bigger… a much bigger project”
Members of Blockade Australia the day after the Harbor Bridge protest.(AAP: Flavio Brancaleone)
As we’re talking, a detective approaches us.
“We’re from South Sydney police. What was your name, sorry?
“At this stage, I’ll just let you know that you’re … under arrest in regards to yesterday’s protest. You’ve been identified as being present there.”
Elizabeth is being arrested not for what she was doing right now, but because she was filmed the day before marching with the protesters.
“It’s alleged that whilst you were present and protesting, you were disturbing a major road, and that’s now a new offense under the Crimes Act. And so for that offense, yesterday, you’ve been placed under arrest.”
She’s been charged under the section which refers to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Tunnel.
In other words, she’s been identified as someone who obstructed one of the “other main roads” that have been attached to a section that deals with the Sydney Harbor bridge and Tunnel.
‘We had to take action’
To find out which roads the amendments to the Roads Act apply to, I go to see the NSW Roads Minister Natalie Ward.
It turns out that when it comes to climate change protesters, she’s experienced them herself.
“One morning I sat there on the Spit Bridge in that traffic and saw the family next to me in the car with three kids in their school uniforms trying to get to school, a stressed parent, people trying to get to work and just go about their daily lives,” she says.
“That really brought home the scale of the interruption. So we felt that we had to take action.”
NSW Roads Minister Natalie Ward says protest is a “fundamental right of everybody in this country”. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
Ward says she’s a passionate supporter of more action on climate change and supports the right to protest.
“That for me is a fundamental right of everybody in this country. But we also need to balance that with our obligations as a community to respect each other.”
Looking out from her office window in Sydney’s Martin Place, there’s a spectacular view. I ask the minister if she can point out the roads which it’s OK to walk on without fear of being jailed for two years.
“There’s nothing illegal about walking on streets,” she says.
“You can’t walk on the roads unless you’ve organized to do so, unless you’re crossing voluntarily at traffic lights when the light is green.
“I don’t want to be trite about this. This is important, sensible legislation that I think, you know, puts in place a real standard for behaviour.”
Essentially the minister is saying that you can walk on roads as long as you’re acting peacefully and not obstructing them.
She tells me the list of roads which you can’t obstruct is easy to find.
“We’ve put out there where… those roads are and are not.”
But the web address provided to me only links to a general page for Transport NSW.
After further inquiries, her office provides me with a list of roads to which the amendments apply.
Almost 8,000 roads, tollways and freeways are included in that list, along with about 700 “main roads” across NSW.
Essentially this means that unauthorized protesters in NSW who obstruct hundreds of main roads can be jailed for up to two years under a law designed to protect the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Tunnel.
Elizabeth Hartick at home in Melbourne(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
The waiting game
All of the Blockade Australia protesters have pleaded not guilty to the offense of obstructing the Bridge, the Tunnel or “other main roads”.
Except 22-year-old Mali Cooper — who parked a car across the entrance to Sydney Harbor Tunnel in North Sydney.
None of their hearings are expected to be before court before next year.
Until then, many are banned from entering NSW and from using encrypted apps on their phones or from communicating with each other in any way at all.
Elizabeth Hartrick is back at home in Melbourne, feeling isolated and alone.
She’s been hoping to soon visit her grandchildren in New Zealand, but strict bail conditions may prevent her.
In spite of all this—her resolve is unwavering.
“I can’t not do this. I can’t not do this. I can’t just sit at home, you know, being a retired granny. And not get out there and bloody do what I can,” she says.
“Social change hasn’t happened without some kind of rebellion or revolution. And that we’ve got to do it… we can’t keep sleepwalking.”
Melbourne have broken the hearts of Carlton fans by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the final 15 seconds.
The Blues had their hands on a finals berth for the first time since 2013, holding onto a one point lead in the dying seconds when Melbourne surged forward.
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A long bomb inside 50 from Jayden Hunt went to ground and Kysaiah Pickett got on the end of a Jake Melksham loose ball get and sent a mongrel punt floating goalward.
As it sailed through you could pinpoint the moment Carlton’s fans hearts break.
The win launches Melbourne back to second spot on the ladder and leaves Carlton in a perilous position entering the final round of the home and away season.
“I’m speechless really I don’t know what to say, it’s good to be back on the winning list. We went down last week and to bounce back this week is unreal,” Pickett said after the win.
Dees skipper Max Gawn didn’t even kick his post-game interview off properly before asking just how long was left on the clock.
“That’s pretty clutch. Kozzie is a good player and he’s been playing some good footy this year and that was his moment, ”Gawn said.
“We were on the wrong end of the moments last weekend and we studied it a lot. The last 10 minutes of the Collingwood game we watched it a lot and you saw some good stuff in those last minutes, we were able to hold our nerve.”
Jake Melksham was a standout in front of goal for Melbourne, ending the night with four goals and kicking the second last goal of the contest to bring the Demons back to within a point.
The Blues held the ball with around 60 seconds left to play and looked assured of victory, but one simple miss kick opened the door and the Demons pounced.
Carlton need to secure a win against Collingwood in round 23 or pray Hawthorn can topple the Western Bulldogs next Sunday.
A loss next weekend and a Bulldogs win and the Blues will once again miss out on September action.
“It leaves already gutted, it leaves already disappointed. But I’m also really proud at the same time and I thought our players were really brave right through our whole night,” Blues coach Michael Voss said.
“It hurts. Important game for us but we didn’t quite get it right at the end but as far as the whole game goes I just thought the boys played really brave and played a great style of footy and it’s something we want to keep replicating.”
Fans watching on Saturday night simply couldn’t believe the ending they had just witnessed.
7 News reporter Emma O’Sullivan wrote: “I don’t even barrack for the Demons or the Blues but my heart is still in my mouth, that was wild.”
The Advocate editor Alex Fair wrote: “That was epic. Simply epic. What a reply.”
Broadcaster Darren Parkin wrote: “Nothing can kick you in the pills quite like footy can it? That’s brutal for the Blues.”
Former Brisbane and Port Adelaide player Tom Rockliff believes the final moments played into Melbourne’s hands.
“I think it was a clear tactic from Melbourne to load the corridor. Lever kicks to a 3 vs 1 in middle of ground. Doesn’t happen by chance, something they have trained – Carlton set up well down the line,” he wrote.
Rugby league legend Billy Slater has slammed Isaiah Papali’i’s potential Tigers backflip following the news the 23-year-old would make a decision at the season’s end.
Reports suggest the backrow enforcer will honor his contract and ply his trade for the merger club in 2023, but doubts still linger over Papali’i’s future.
The 23-year-old penned three-year deal with the Tigers late last year, but after the sacking of Michael Maguire the young gun said he wants to have “no regrets.”
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“Obviously people ask me about it, just even on the street or family and friends are hitting me up but that’s kind of for my manager look after and even if I don’t stay here or I do go next year, I want to make sure that this year has no regrets,” he said to 9 News.
“When I did sign it was talking to Madge — he’s an awesome coach. That rattled the cage a bit and I guess you have to have those conversations and I guess that was a massive factor for me.”
Now, Slater has been left stunned that Papali’i could potentially backflip on his deal and urged him to honor his contract.
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“If you sign with a club, go to the club,” Slater said on Nine’s coverage.
“You’re signing with a club. You’re not signing with a coach, you’re not signing with a player — you’re signing with a club. Go to the club.
“You’re not allowed to walk away from a contract. It’s just pressure, public pressure if you want out.
“If you sign with a club, you want to take that money and you sign the deal, go to the club.”
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