Cleary 7 – Moses 6! OFFICIAL NSW squad
State of Origin: Matty Johns and the boys react to the official New South Wales Blues squad for State of Origin game one.
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News.com.au
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- News.com.au
Brian Goorjian to use NBA coaching stint with the New York Knicks in a bid to finalise the Kings' NBL26 roster
Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian will use an NBA Summer League coaching stint with the New York Knicks to finalise the Kings' roster for NBL26. CODE Sports can reveal Goorjian has agreed to join the Knicks as an assistant coach for a five-day camp leading up to the Summer League. He will also be on the team's bench during the annual pre-season tournament in Las Vegas from July 10 to 20. Joining forces with New York – a franchise coming off its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 20 years – will give Goorjian a front-row seat to the club's talent pool as he attempts to lock in Sydney's final roster spot. The Kings are keen to sign a back-up big man to add more size to the team's front-court alongside Xavier Cooks and Keli Leaupepe. Sydney CEO Chris Pongrass has already publicly stated the club's desire to lure a 'six-foot-eleven guy with length and size'. The Kings had the fourth-best average rebound numbers in the competition last season, but were seventh in rebounding differential, a crucial part that cost them in their biggest games. Goorjian is desperate to improve this statistic in NBL26 via the help of an experienced big man who can impact the game at both ends of the floor. The legendary mentor's NBA Summer League stint with the Knicks is the perfect chance to survey the best emerging talent in world basketball. The Summer League has proven to be a successful pathway for NBL players to attract interest in recent seasons. Former Melbourne United centre Ariel Hukporti signed a two-year contract with New York following an impressive Summer League stint for the club. Hukporti, who was selected by the Knicks with the 54th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, averaged 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in five games for the Knicks at last year's pre-season tournament. Another ex-United star in Jack White signed a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets in 2022 after a standout Summer League stint with the club. White went on to play 17 NBA games for the Nuggets during the franchise's run to the 2022/23 championship. A cast of NBL players are again expected to feature in this year's NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. While no players are officially locked into stints, the likes of Davo Hickey, Tyrell Harrison and Hyunjung Lee have all indicated a desire to play in the pre-season event. In other news, Pongrass has decided to step down from his role as CEO following seven successful seasons. Pongrass played a vital role in the club's consecutive championships in NBL22 and NBL23 as the team's leading recruiter. He will continue in his current role with Sydney for the next six months – assisting the club's ownership to find a suitable replacement. It's understood Pongrass doesn't have a new job as yet, but he should have no shortage of interest given his NBL success and previous NBA experience as the director of basketball operations at the Memphis Grizzlies.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Geraldton netball star Allen Greichen to don the green and gold
Geraldton netball star Allen Griechen has been selected in the Australia squad to play against New Zealand in Melbourne later this year. Allen has shone bright on the court catching the attention of selectors along with way as he continues to build an impressive athletic CV. Beginning his netball journey at seven years of age, it wasn't long before Allen was playing in a representative side — in 2023 he was selected for the inaugural State school boys under-12 team. After an impressive outing for the under-12 team, Allen then went on to trial for the West Coast Thunder under-17s. With low expectations due to his age, Allen surprised himself when he was selected in September last year to join the squad. Allen has had to endure a rigorous training and playing routine, travelling to Perth most weekends competing from early October last year to April. Finding himself in a new position in goal keeper, Allen's mum Robyn said he impressed with how well he took to the new situation. 'Allen had an amazing tournament,' she said. 'He has really taken to the GK position, which was a new role for him in netball. 'The coaches saw something in him for that position, and he has enjoyed developing that part of his game. 'Obviously, we are ecstatic for him, and proud of him.' The 14-year-old then travelled to Sydney in May to take part in a three-day camp from which he was selected to represent Australia in July against New Zealand in the International Test Series. He persevered in the camp and impressed selectors and was amongst the 15 boys selected to compete for Australia in the 17 and under 2025 series. Allen will fly to New Zealand in July to don the green and gold in what will be his biggest achievement as an athlete to date.
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
GPS artist's epic large-scale sketch of Lionel Messi ends in disaster after king tide swallows his car
A fitness enthusiast who creates large scale digital sketches using GPS and a run tracking app copped a messy surprise after completing his latest creation. Peter Mitchell spent most of Friday running and jogging to a specific set of coordinates along a stretch of remote sand dunes near Sandy Point, about three hours from Melbourne. After five hours and some 15 kilometres of distance covered, his epic drawing of football legend Lionel Messi was complete. The feeling of satisfaction was short-lived, after he returned to his red Toyota Yaris parked on the sand and found an unusually high king tide had swallowed it. 'I came around the corner and saw it, and I thought: 'Oh no, how am I going to get out of here? How am I going to get home?' Mr Mitchell told 'It's quite remote out there and there's not a lot around.' Dusk was rapidly approaching, the mercury had dropped significantly, and the 50-year-old was drenched from wading through the water. The nearest town was about a 30-minute drive away and Mr Mitchell faced the prospect of having to walk there. He grabbed a few essentials from his submerged car, including his diabetes medication, and ventured to the road. 'My hands were going blue because I'd been standing around in the water for so long. I thought maybe I'd be best to go for a bit of a jog to get down to the town. And then I saw this lady and asked for her help.' Ironically, the woman had come down to the beach to check out the king tide, which she'd heard was a sight to see that day. She drove Mr Mitchell to the town of Forster, which is a thriving hub in warmer months but slows right down over winter. 'I had a few wee dramas there because I was soaked right through. I had to get food into me because I hadn't had lunch – it was in the car and all wet. I went down to the pub, but I'm like, I can't go in bare feet, but my shoes and socks were absolutely soaking. 'I used a few tea towels, wrapped them around my feet as socks to absorb some of the water, and rocked into the pub and had a meal.' Warm and with a full belly, Mr Mitchell turned his mind to how he was going to salvage his beloved little car – and get home to the Mornington Peninsula. 'I spoke to a mechanic, who put me onto a few other people, they'd give me numbers, and it went around in circles. Finally, I got a hold of a guy with a tractor and he said he'd pull it out for $500.' A few friends from Melbourne were prepared to hire a trailer, drive to Sandy Point, and take Mr Mitchell and the Yaris home. 'I thought, OK, I'll go down to the beach as early as I can to check out the situation and see how bad it looks before I ring this guy with the tractor. But there's no taxis. I rang the one place, and it went to their answer machine, because it's the off-season. 'I'm just about to try hitchhiking when the taxi lady rang me back. So, she drove me there. We had an interesting conversation on the way.' In the bright light of day, and with the tide out, his car 'didn't look too bad' and Mr Mitchell had expected it to sink into the wet sand overnight. He sat inside it to survey the damage. It was full of water. But out of interest, he tried to turn it over – and it started. 'I thought, there's no way in hell. I literally closed my eyes and prayed. It started. Then I thought, this thing isn't going to move, but it did, and I drove straight off the beach. 'I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to turn it off again, but I phoned a mate who knows a bit about cars and asked what I should do. He said I should have a go driving it home. At least if it died, I'd be on the side of a road and could get help.' Miraculously, Mr Mitchell made it all the way to his house – about 155 kilometres away. 'Every time I stopped or went around a corner, all the water inside the car would slosh around. It was splishing and splashing all over the place.' The entire ordeal stretched for more than 24 hours and he described it as 'a rollercoaster' of emotions. 'It went from doing a really good Strava and feeling good about that to seeing the car and worrying, then being stranded and wondering if I was going to get hypothermia, to the car starting and actually working, then next thing I'm home. 'It was a relief. My car is pretty old anyway, it's got 240,000 kilometres on it, so I'm pretty amazed. But it was a long day. I'm still kind of unpacking it.' Mr Mitchell shared a video clip of the saga to his social media channels, where he has built a loyal global following over the past several months. To mark his 50th birthday last year, he created a large-scale map of the world by doing 170 kilometres of running through inner-city Melbourne and shared it on Strava, the run tracking app, and it went viral. After that, he started posting his creations to Instagram and later TikTok, receiving millions of views and occasionally generating international media buzz. For example, his sketch of LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant saw him interviewed on ESPN and CBS News in the United States. 'I've been working more on the high precision stuff at parks or the beach with smaller detailed elements. Using street routing, you can't get that same level of detail and there are lots of constraints. 'But if you're doing it in a big open area, you can do almost anything. It's amazing. I enjoy everything about it.' What started out as a bit of fun and a way of adding an additional challenge to his regular running regimen has taken Mr Mitchell somewhere he never imagined. 'I'm new to social media. I hadn't really used it before this. It's incredible to see how people respond to them. It's just nuts.' He has partnered with Strava and Telstra on a few projects and has a few more lined up with Foot Looker and the Melbourne Marathon. 'I would never have believed any of this happening in my wildest dreams.' While it's far from big bucks, it's a sign that Mr Mitchell has found a strong niche and could turn his burgeoning brand into something special. Until then, he's now wondering how he will go about replacing his Yaris. While it got him home, it's almost certainly a write-off. A friend from his running club started a Go Fund Me appeal on his behalf, calling for fans and supporters to chip in a few bucks to help ease the financial burden. 'I told them, there are a million good causes out there and people have got better things to spend their money on, but they insisted and set it up. It's nice, but I was reluctant. I'm just rolling with it.' When he has enough to buy himself a new car, there's no doubt what brand he'll consider. 'A second-hand Toyota, I think,' he laughed. 'I mean, it's proven to be pretty reliable and resilient.'
