Jon Ralph
@RalphyHeraldSun
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AFL football journalist with Herald Sun, Fox Footy.
Melbourne
Joined March 2010
So we had to finish Sacked season 5 by talking the biggest bombshell sackings of the century with Ando & Bruce Eva. They brought some jaw-dropping stories themselves. Pagan to Geelong! Trevor Barker revelations. So entertaining. Thanks for listening
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Look closely at his body language. Look at his eyes. He knew he dropped it. And still reviewed it. Which is fine if you weren’t so smug about the spirit of the game the ENTIRE Ashes series.
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This is effing nuts. World Cup qualifiers v Philippines. Full blown brawl
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The Paris closing ceremony is unfolding with the Aussie athletes basking in the glory of Raygun’s heroics in the lead in. Got to love the way they have got around her
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I have only watched it 76 times but it seems clear the ball hits turf. WTF?.
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I don’t know how else to say this. I f***ing love Patty Mills. This is his medal. This is the Boomers culture he built. An Aussie legend. #olympics.
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I think the umpires must have got confused giving Lachie Neale three votes in round 6. Just watched every possession. 7 kicks, 13 handballs. One clanger, five ineffective touches. No coaches votes. Not horrible, but not one eye catching moment. Charlie Cameron seven goals 🤔.
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How could the bunker not find this angle? With the ball clearly forced down… You can see it hit the ground. Mystifying
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People will be going to bed right now to get up at 5am to do the right thing to get into testing queues for PCR results they won’t get for six days and will quarantine anyway. How bloody galling to see Novak get an exemption. Farcical.
What a rort. Watch everyone dodge the responsibility for him somehow getting an exemption.
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Michael Holding close to tears as he talks about racism. Worth your time
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England are 7-50 against India and playing shots like this. Another moral victory coming up #bazball
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Scott Pendlebury. A Norm Smith medal in a premiership and now a last quarter from the gods. Will hit 400 games next year. Six time All Australian. Five Copeland Trophies. Making a compelling case to finish his career as the best Collingwood player of all time #AFLGF.
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The bravest goal umpire in the world. It cleared the padding. The replay shows daylight between the post and the ball. Snicko didn’t work. If he had reviewed it you could easily make a case the ARC would have called it a goal. Adelaide will believe they should have won #afl
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Patrick Cripps went at 14 per cent kicking efficiency against Essendon in round 13 with only 19 touches but still polled two votes. If he's polling for games like that it might be hard to run him down.
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Disgraceful umpiring. Draper arm chop ignored. Rohan kicks a goal moments later. Dons rush a behind under direct pressure and are penalised. Three goal turnaround. We have lost the plot.
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Thon Maker, NBA regular, going full Kung fu. Got to say Kickert retaliated way too hard after admittedly cheap foul on Goulding
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It’s not the right time for Ricky Ponting but you hope one day he gets to coach a star-studded Australian Test side. That was so much harder than it should have been. And he nailed every moment in commentary #Ashes.
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Collingwood coach Craig McRae gets the mike-drop moment announcing his wife gave birth on Grand Final morning to their first child together. Which AFL coach will ever top that moment on the victory dais? #AFLGF.
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It’s pretty effing awesome how this club treats its people. Deserves all of its success. #sammytheflaghero.
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Here is the advantage call from the Neale free kick. Zac Bailey kicks over his shoulder as he plays on. The AFL will say he took the advantage and could have stopped play but my gosh it wasn’t much advantage #afl
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Sportsmanship off the charts after getting rolled by our man.
Djokovic: "Congrats to him. Some of the worst tennis I've ever played. Just an awful match from me.".
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Blicavs took the tackler on, he clearly failed to get rid of it legally, the umpire was in perfect position to see it. That’s a free kick. Cut and dried. Oh boy.
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Cody Weightman is such a talent. So capable of great things. He has to get this out of his game. Just milks too many free kicks. Four tonight. Totally invented this contact. Nearly turned the game. So glad it didn’t cost the Suns the game.
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You can’t needle your opposition and show them disrespect then be shocked when they hit back hard. Kenny crossed the line and has apologised. He will do it again in his presser. But the Hawks can’t cry poor over Ginnivan being a young innocent player.
That was a great final. Mitchell Is entitled to be p'd off that an opposition coach is having a crack at his player. But several Hawks players have been stirring the pot, which was never going to be free of consequence. A response was inevitable.
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Dean Jones was my hero throughout my entire teens. He was the soundtrack of my summer. The swagger, the quick singles, the swashbuckling heroics. Then the outrage as the tried to find a way back into the Test side. When Deano was batting, you didn’t dare miss a single ball.
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I understand the AFL has stood down journalist Mitch Cleary after he posted the deleted Brooke Cotchin Insta post that led to the $45,000 COVID breach fine. She had already been named on radio. It was of public interest. What a strange decision by the AFL.
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I reckon almost every person who knows Gazey would say he is the best bloke they know. Every. Single. Time with a beaming smile, a big American-style handshake and a quip then pushing the basketball gospel. Such a big part of this. What a legend #OlympicGames
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We will remember it forever. The victory. The tears. The climb into the box. The steely revolve. Ash Barty is an effing legend #Wimbledon
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What a rort. Watch everyone dodge the responsibility for him somehow getting an exemption.
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This is euphoria. Unbelievable scenes as Toby Greene and Dave Matthews count down the last seconds. What a contest. Mummy massive in those final moments
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Here is the Keys slo mo. Even at its closest point there is a gap between point post and ball #afl
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Much better angle of Ablett. If AFL fair dinkum he gets a week. He just punches Miles in the bottom of the jaw
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Your Friday night Fox Footy commentary pairing. Doesn’t get much better 🔥
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The AFL says this shouldn't have been a 50m penalty. because the umpire should have called play on. They say in the 'confusion' he did the right thing not to pay the 50m penalty. This is reverse engineering at its finest. He didn't call play on. So it's a 50m penalty.
McCreery and Sidebottom clearly run past the mark after the whistle goes for a mark. Tough call but the stand rule free is paid in such borderline decisions that how can it not be 50m when it’s so clearly over the mark? Roos had chances but when you consider the Bailey Scott
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Comparing a gripping 2021 Grand Final when Melbourne residents were compelled by law to remain in their homes to a game over in 21 minutes on a perfect spring day is ridiculous. The ratings aren’t the compelling evidence we need a twilight or night Grand Final.
As poor as those grand final TV ratings were, comparing them with last year’s Melbourne ratings is facile and irrelevant, writes @RalphyHeraldSun. Have your say 👉
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If Cal Ward, the toughest player in the AFL, milks a free kick when Shaun McKernan does nothing wrong in a tackle, what hope have the umpires got? It was staging.
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This is just remarkable. A security guard tried to separate two players on the ground on Sunday as shown by the On The Couch boys. That is what it came to. Have you ever seen anything like it? Know that is not ground policy but still totally bizarre
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I just watched every possession of Horne-Francis getting three votes for 13 touches v Geelong and it's a travesty. 13 touches. Four ineffective, two clangers, four short kicks. One scrounged kick off the ground that went a metre. Zero impact. Time to let umpires look at stats.
@RalphyHeraldSun not as bad as jhf getting 3 in round 14.
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That game went 94 minutes and two seconds. Too short for me.
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Sammy was an exceptional journo. He was an even better bloke. We are all grieving today for our mate and extending our love to the Landsberger family on a heartbreaking day.
Leading Herald Sun sports journalist Sam Landsberger has died in a tragic accident in Richmond this morning. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. ❤️. TRIBUTES:
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Imagine if you lost a game over not handing the ball back to the umpire when that happens all the time when the ball goes over the boundary. Just overly officious. There has to be a balance between pedantry and a feel for the moment #afl.
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Wait for Fagan and Andrews hugging. My wife said it was like the final scene of a rom com where the two lovers finally reunite! #scenes #whatagame #angryharry
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As Jordan Lewis told @FOXFOOTY before the game Buddy’s sister had flown over from LA and was going back Sunday. His parents were here. All his mates. Yes he wanted the record. But he also badly wanted it this week. What a sense of timing #Buddy1000.
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Tell me who packed more into life than Warney. The legend. The scallywag. The showman. The controversy magnet. The idol. The poker star. The commentator. And yet it still seems all too soon. Still can’t quite believe it
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Port Adelaide said Adelaide were paying too much for Jordan Dawson when they got beaten in the race for the Sydney Swan. Reckon he just paid for himself. Astonishing finish.
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Your annual reminder that footy’s Grand Final entertainment is different to the NFL and a bit quirkier but with the right artist can still hold its own in an afternoon slot in beaming sunshine. We don’t need to copy the US with everything #afl
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All you want from a farewell to a legend like Warnie is that it does his extraordinary life justice. What a tribute. Just spectacular. From every perspective. His kids were just brilliant. 📸 Jason Edwards
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What a way to lose a game. And yet clubs still get warned for 6-6-6 violations every week…. Assumed an interchange steward would simply tell the club they had reached their cap. Why do we get a warning for one and not the other?.
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How would Sydney captain Cal Mills feel to be ruled out this week when Logan McDonald played and looked proppy from the first minutes of the game with his ankle injury and was a non-factor?.
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McCreery and Sidebottom clearly run past the mark after the whistle goes for a mark. Tough call but the stand rule free is paid in such borderline decisions that how can it not be 50m when it’s so clearly over the mark? Roos had chances but when you consider the Bailey Scott
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How good. Eddie schools Sydney Stack then the high-five to tell the young blood he still has something to learn. If one person gets offended about that I will spew up.
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Don’t sleep on Chad Warner’s game. Never stopped running or trying. Got caught a few times, 12 last quarter touches. But 29 touches, two goals, ten clearances, 18 contested possessions, 582 metres gained. Apart from Robbie Fox and one or two others at times he never had any mates.
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Jason Dunstall says of his great mate Danny Frawley that he used to throw himself under the bus for a laugh if the show needed it. He isn’t bad himself with an epic spray of Jack’s post-game set shot. It gets better and better. With an added drive-by for Nick as well
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Ash Barty. An Australian sporting legend. Up there with the Aussie greats. Adam Scott. Aloisi and the Socceroos. Cadel. Jess Fox. Maybe only just short of Cathy Freeman at Sydney 2000. But not far off. From two breaks down in the second set. Epic. And she is only 25 years of age.
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Bontempelli runner up in two Brownlows (2021, 2023) and has claims as the best player in the 2016 Grand Final despite zero votes on the day. Will have to content himself with one flag so far and eventually the mantle as the greatest Dog ever.
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The perfect final from Isaac Heeney. Three goals, 30 possessions. Probably the mark of the year. The 60m goal from half forward to tie scores. As big a goal as anyone has kicked this season given the moment. Five tackles. 18 contested possessions, seven clearances. Perfect.
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Love this bloke. Gee he can milk the publicity. but seriously such a good sign after so many setbacks along the journey. Legitimate chance to live a normal life with the latest results
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Asked Danny to talk about his sacking and dark times last month. Yep, I will do that, he said. Knew speaking about his mental health encouraged others to seek help for their issues. His great legacy his determination to advocate mental health awareness.
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Can't overstate how much joy Bill Lawry's commentary brings. A love of cricket shines through. Others only reflect their love of themselves.
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Well done BBL. You resuscitated an Aussie summer of cricket that was on life support. Epic final, mullet mania breaks out as a star is born in Cooper Connolly and a perfect finish to a cracking BBL season with plenty of twists and turns.
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Browny on @FOXFOOTY: The Lions drafted Vic Country boys and everything was good then they started drafting Vic Metro boys “and they all missed Mum”. Brilliant.
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Love the Kobe tribute from Kyrgios who does most of his warming up in NBA jumpers. Just gets it
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Charlie Spargo got two weeks for an Uber to a BBQ when COVID numbers were very low. Pies VC Steele Sidebottom has tripped the light fantastic at multiple venues, stayed overnight and been taken home pissed by the cops when COVID numbers off the charts. 4 weeks seems right.
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When you take Shaun Mannagh at pick 36 and Lawson Humphries at pick 63 and have Connor O'Sullivan developing nicely as a key tall at pick 11 giving away a first-rounder for Bailey Smith is the easiest thing in the world. My gosh the Cats do it well.
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I thought this was one of the highlights of the round. Clarko buying into the energy of his young side. Carrying on like a pork chop in the best possible way just like running shirtless around Manuka Oval. Imagine how boring footy would be without this kind of stuff….
"Had they lost that game by a point or had it been a draw, he would have looked a bit foolish."."You've whacked him here all year and now they've got two wins and you're still going!". Caro was not impressed with Clarko's antics on the boundary. #9FootyClassified | @Channel9
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Aussie didn’t deserve a semi final berth. Stoinis 16th for total runs, Maxwell 24th. Didn’t have a bowler in the top 30 wicket takers. Not a single player who stepped up to dominate. Hard to win back to back World T20 World Cups but a fairly meek showing on home soil.
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Gather Round showcases Adelaide Oval in all its glory and character. It makes you wonder if it is the best sports stadium in Australia. Then you get days like this at the MCG in front of 87,000 fans. We are spoiled for choice. What a day at the MCG.
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I can’t stop giggling. Just insane. Demons dodge an away final against the Power and get their choice of venue against the Lions. From 44 points down. At GMHBA Stadium. That just doesn’t happen.
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Phil, is there ever any danger you could ever say one single positive thing about the Storm? Just once? Maybe? Even when we score.
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An out-and-out epic Grand Final. Pendlebury with 10 last-term touches and so much poise. De Goey with the long-bomb goal. Sidebottom from 50 metres. Nick Daicos on fire. The Pies 16-0 leading at three quarter time this year. A perfect finish to the perfect AFL season #AFLGF.
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Calsher Dear pick 56. As he takes a final by storm. The Ginnivan trade getting awfully close to Hawks giving up nothing to the Pies. D'Ambrosio for 61, a future fourth. Watson pick 5. Imagine if pick 19 Will McCabe turns into something. Some kind of recruiting tear @FOXFOOTY.
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Why AFL players took a knee. Not some abstract concept in America. Amazing from Eddie. Worth a single minute of your time @FOXFOOTY
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Nick Daicos hasn’t taken a kickout for three weeks. Earning every touch. Maximum impact. As lethal as anyone in footy. A surgeon with the footy. What a delight to watch. Nine goals in his last six weeks @FOXFOOTY.
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Tigers were 22 points down at the 18 minute mark of the second quarter. They couldn't have been playing worse. They won by 31 points. It's an unbelievable 53-point swing in short quarters on a soggy Gabba surface. Only the truly great teams do that. And with a man down.
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Four goals from frees for Weightman, one of them line ball, the other a blatant mistake. On a wet day with 11 goals it’s going to cost the Dons the game.
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The AFL also ticked off this call. Which seemed as blatant a touched call as you would see
The AFL has cleared decisions in the dying minutes of North Melbourne’s close loss to Collingwood on Sunday. @RalphyHeraldSun has the details.
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This is the decision Dons fans are filthy about. McDonald-Tipungwutu would have had a chance to get the margin back to five points with three minutes on the clock. Holding the ball been officiated with no consistency so hard to say this type of incident has been paid all season
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I think the message is clear. There is no person in football who enjoys getting blasted with an assault of music before games or after goals.
@RalphyHeraldSun I have stopped going to @sydneyswans games at the @scg due to the “game day experience”. After every goal they blast out songs now, when for 40 years it was a crowd driven Sydney chant. Our family & friends try & discuss what led to a goal but we can’t hear each other, why bother.
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Jaidyn Stephenson has kicked 18 goals this year. More than Jake Stringer, Brent Daniels, Harry McKay, Josh Rachele, Shai Bolton. Only one less than Kosi Pickett, 3 less than Rankine. He mixes in some frustrating moments but from a goals POV it's a sneaky good year. Just saying.
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Nick Daicos polled a vote against Melbourne with 15 touches and a goal (64 ranking points) then only polled one vote against the Roos with 29 touches, 18 contested possessions, two goals, 10 score involvements (129 ranking points).
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Hugh McCluggage. 11 last quarter possessions. 232 metres gained. So many moments of poise. Some of the pickups where he exploded out of a pack an instant later. Just incredible.
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The AFL is clearly aware of the incident and acting quickly through its security to identify the patron. It will not speculate on a potential penalty. I will. A life ban is coming down the pipeline. Can’t muck around with disgraceful behaviour. The free kick count isn’t an excuse.
Absolutely unacceptable behaviour from a fan, throwing a water bottle at the goal umpire. 📺 Watch #AFLBluesSaints on ch. 504 or stream on Kayo: ✍️ BLOG 🔢 MATCH CENTRE
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Alex Rance is on track for five straight All Australian nods, which none of Silvagni, Scarlett, Fletcher achieved. He has started a school to help kids combine footy and education. That is his legacy. He shouldn’t have staged. But it isn’t a stain on his legacy.
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How do you give draft assistance to a team that won a flag in 2018, played finals in 2020, was in the eight for all but three rounds in 2021 & not once tried to refresh its list by trading off any of Gaff/McGovern/Yeo/Darling as they hit a list cliff? Rivals would go bananas.
⏩ Will the Eagles get draft assistance?.⏩ The rising Swan set to cash in .⏩ Holding pattern on Jeremy Howe . And more with @RalphyHeraldSun and @MaccaHeraldSun in Moneyball. STORY:
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Nobody does it better. Even though Sydney has got them twice this year they keep trolling their cross town rival.
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Green ends up averaging 32 with the bat and 15 with the ball (13 wickets for the series). Going to play 100 Tests for Australia. Only 22 years of age.
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Cry me a river. Someone should tell these players to get some perspective.
“Weeks and weeks of practice and hard work going to waste for one person positive to Covid in a 3/4 empty plane. Sorry but this is insane.". Tennis players aren't happy about being forced into hard quarantine in Victoria - do they have a point? . MORE:
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I think Tom Lynch marking the ball on the siren to get into another Grand Final is called the last laugh. But what a game. Port amazing, just the last man standing stuff.
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