Zac Hosking: I was sick of being overlooked
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News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Gold Coast Suns intent on showing they are no longer ‘crap' in Saturday's battle with Brisbane
Sick of hearing 'how crap' they are, the Gold Coast Suns have the perfect chance to 'change the narrative' by beating premiers Brisbane in Saturday's QClash. While the Suns have won 11 of their 17 matches to remain on track to play finals football for the first time in the club's history, an embarrassing 61-point loss to Adelaide last Sunday has raised doubts about their ability to finish the season in the top eight. Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick believes the ideal way to respond is with a win over the second-placed Lions this weekend at People First Stadium. 'We're still in the race for something that we have never achieved, so we're really looking forward to that challenge,' Hardwick said on Thursday. 'As a coaching group and as a playing group, we've got a big step this week. We've got to take care of this step, then we'll sit there and take the next one this week. 'There's no greater test than the mob we're playing this week. The way they play the game is a great style of footy – combative, high pressure, high contest. 'What's really improved over the last six weeks is their handball game. Those Ashcroft boys (Will and Levi), (Jaspa) Fletcher and all those sorts of players have certainly helped with that, Lachie Neale's always been a star at it. The challenge is firmly set for our midfielders to respond. 'We get to test how far we've come in six days. The great thing about the very best sides is you know exactly how they play. 'Stopping them is the next part of the equation and we're looking forward to that challenge.' Despite having only taken charge of the Suns last year, Hardwick is well aware of how the Gold Coast has been portrayed since joining the AFL competition in 2011. 'Everyone, for a long period of time, has told us how crap we are, (that) we're no good, (that we) don't deserve to be here,' the former Richmond three-time premiership-winning coach said. 'You know what? We're about changing that narrative. It's not the same old Suns, it's the brand new Suns.' Hardwick said the top-eight was now 'probably 90 per cent a race in nine', with the ninth-placed Western Bulldogs trailing the Suns – who have played one game less – by four points. 'We've got a game in hand which is the challenging thing with the ladder and the swings and roundabouts that we have … (but) we've just got to keep ticking off as many wins as we can to make sure that we aim for that first finals campaign,' he said. Hardwick also addressed speculation that Carlton forward Charlie Curnow wanted to join the Suns next season, 'We can understand that people hopefully want to come here and want to join in on this journey. We're looking to bring the very best players to our footy club,' he said.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
England legend's three-word Ashes warning for Australia
Former England captain Michael Vaughan expects the Poms to 'pack the batting' for this summer's hotly anticipated Ashes series. Australia's top order looked shaky on some very ordinary pitches in the West Indies, with the bowling attack steering the Aussies to a 3-0 series victory, patching over concerns about the batting line-up. Watch England vs India Test Series LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Cameron Green was the lone bright spot from a batting perspective as he made his case to stay at No. 3, but there are significant question marks over openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja. The start of the Sheffield Shield season will certainly have a bearing on selection, and Jason Sangha and Jake Weatherald have already put their hand up with big hundreds for Australia A. 'You've sometimes got to be fair to a batting unit,' Vaughan told 'You've also got to be fair that they've had to play on some horrendous pitches. It's not been easy. 'That's where were you have to be careful of criticising the batting unit. Some of these pitches are flat but some of the pitches in the Caribbean were poor pitches.' England lead a five-Test series against India 2-1, with the tourists 4/264 after Day 1 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. India's wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was carted off the field with a foot injury, and it will be a massive blow if he can't play out the series. Liam Dawson was brought into England's XI as the spinning option, replacing Shoab Bashir who fractured his finger in the previous Test. The 35-year-old dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal, in his first Test since July 17, 2017 — 2,929 days ago. Dawson is a capable batter and Vaughan believes he could be England's spinner for the Ashes instead of Bashir or Jack Leach. Jofra Archer returned to England's line-up earlier in the series but the Poms are yet to settle on a first-choice bowling attack. They have no shortage of pace bowling options in Archer, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts — which will be crucial in unsettling Australia's batters Down Under. Asked to name England's preferred bowling attack, Vaughan said: 'I don't know. I'd say Archer is a shoe in if he's fit. Brydon Carse is a shoe in if he's fit. 'I think Gus Atkinson, Ben Stokes. It wouldn't surprise me if they went with Mark Wood as well and they didn't play a spinner. 'And I can't believe they won't take Chris Woakes when you look at a day-night Test in Brisbane and maybe Sydney where the ball seamed around. 'Just pack the batting and put Jacob Bethell in somewhere to bowl a bit of left arm spin. 'England have started to gather a group of players that have got options, and that's going to be the key in Australia — making sure that week in, week out, they pick the right XI. 'Conditions are going to be so different in Australia. Perth will be quick and bouncy. Brisbane under the lights might nibble. Adelaide in the day will probably be quite flat. 'Then you get to Melbourne, anything is possible and then Sydney anything's possible. 'So you've got to be really wary of saying, 'this is our team'. 'You've got to be clever enough to know that week in, week out, your bowling attack may look different for the conditions. 'England will bring a strong squad of difference. If the captain's fit and firing, he holds the key. 'If Ben Stokes is fit and firing, the Ashes are going to be very, very competitive. If Ben's Stokes isn't firing or isn't fit and can only bat, there lies a big problem for England. It's so important that Ben Stokes is fit.' Vaughan's suggestion that England's already settled batting line-up could be further bolstered is an ominous call for an Australian team that has struggled to compile solid scores in recent times. Although on the other hand, none of Joe Root's 37 Test centuries have been scored in Australia. While Ashes series in England are often close contests, Vaughan said it was crucial England put up a fight in Australia this summer given they haven't won a Test match in enemy territory since the 2010-11 Ashes triumph. 'We really do need a close series in Australia because there hasn't been one,' Vaughan said. 'In my lifetime 86-87 is probably the last time it's been really close. 2010-11 England won, but it wasn't close, England dominated that series. 'We need a real close Ashes series in Australia. If that happened, it would be absolutely huge. 'We've had two close series in the last two Ashes here in the UK, but we need one in Australia and I get a sense this England team will bring it. 'I'll think they'll make it as close as it has been and I think we'll give Australia a good run for their money in their own backyard.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Matthew Dunn's quest for NSW country trainers premiership gains momentum
Matthew Dunn's hunt for a first NSW Country Trainers Premiership hinges on what shapes as potential swag of winners on this Northern Rivers meeting. Dunn 's tally of winners on country tracks around the state this season is 64, five behind the current leaders Annabel and Rob Archibald. The Master of Murwillumbah and King of the Highway, hasn't been keeping score but now that the Premiership is 'in play', every winner counts for more. 'I didn't even know to be honest,' Dunn said. 'I don't think we have won one before so it would cap off a good season. 'We've had a better season than what it looks because we've had 20-odd meetings cancelled up here this season so we should be well clear of them if those meetings had of gone ahead. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! 'It would be fantastic if we could (win the Premiership) but I don't think we've got enough time to get five, but hopefully, fingers crossed.' The 2024/25 season ends on July 31. Aside from the sheer size of his win tally, it is Dunn's incredible strike-rate of 28.5 per cent that underpins his epic season. 'Someone else told me that the other day,' Dunn said. 'That's huge, it's getting close to one in three. 'I think that would be the best strike-rate we've had - ever. 'We obviously race a few horses in Brisbane and in Highways but country racing is the lifeblood of the stable. 'Where we're positioned, we are lucky that we've got access to a number of very good tracks on the Northern Rivers and we support those tracks as strongly as we possibly can. 'It would be great to have a stable full of city horses but we don't have that and the fact that we are able to place them so well and get through their grades, it is a real positive there for the stable.' Dunn saddles-up runners in five races here including a half-sister to an Everest winner, a 'nephew' of a Melbourne Cup winner as well as a direct descendant of the immortal Eight Carat. Dunn's 'Everest sibling' is the $510,000 Easter Yearling purchase, Insinuate, who is a Snitzel half-sister to Yes Yes Yes. Part-owned by Widden Stud, Insinuate has a win and three placings in her four runs for Dunn and will look to add another in the Country Boosted Benchmark 58. It's @MattyDunnRacing and @mallyon_andrew again... that's a treble at Murwillumbah! So You Can Torque rounds up his rivals from back in the field. â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 13, 2024 'She has been really consistent since coming to me, even though she only got a couple (of runs) left in her before she will pull up stumps at the end of this prep and go and breed a foal. 'They sent her to me hoping to improve her resume a little bit and build up a bank and she's done a good job of it. 'She tries her little heart out every time she goes to the races. Dunn, meanwhile, is also bullish on the chances of Castelvecchio filly and Eight Carat descendant Torque Ti Amo in the Country Boosted Maiden Handicap who was an eye-catcher in the Super Maiden on South Grafton Cup Day. 'The stablemate (Gaylord) that beat her the other day, he obviously had good Sydney form a little while ago before I got him and she (Torque Ti Amo) was excellent,' he said. 'That track raced pretty on-pace most of the carnival she raced against that and I thought the step up in trip would help. 'She's a nice filly. She's got a future.' One of Dunn's other main winning prospects is So You Can Torque in the Class 1 Handicap whose dam is a half-sister to Melbourne Cup winner, Vow And Declare. 'I have got a bit of time for him,' Dunn said. 'He's going to get there but he is a slow learner.' â– â– â– â– â– On Monday week, Peter Robl will be trackside at Fannie Bay on a quest for back-to-back Darwin Cups with the former Sydneysider Hadouken. A one-time Randwick trainer himself and now based on the Gold Coast, Robl will be headed south with Hadouken's four-year-old stablemates National Goal and Princess Shanghai in action south of the Tweed. Bred in Queensland, National Defense's current personal best came at Lismore in February when a close and closing runner-up in a 1310m Super Maiden. His most recent performance was at Murwillumbah on June 26 when clocking in with two behind him in the 12 horse 1200m maiden. 'He's a great chance,' Robl said of the gelding in the Lismore Floor Coverings Maiden Plate. 'I thought he just wasn't ready when he ran first-up, that's why he went back to the trials. 'I think the step-up in distance suits him ideally and he's drawn to probably get a nice run in the box-seat.' ðŸ�Žï¸� Leica Pherrari bolts away late and wins at Gatton! â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 9, 2025 National Goal is the fifth foal of the Eagle Farm winning Redoute's Choice mare Moore who holds sibling status to the Bendigo Cup winner, Zupacool. Robl's other runner on the card, Princess Shanghai in the XXXX Gold Maiden Plate, was placed in a 860m maiden at Gatton at her first start under his management in May. That said, the daughter of Nature Strip's sire Nicconi has been underwhelming in her subsequent two but is open to improvement, says the man who booted home four Group 1 winners back in the day. 'She had a few behavioural issues come race-day but I think the step up to 1100m will suit her,' Robl said. 'I think she needs to find the front and find it comfortably so if she can do that, it will give her a chance just to relax and breathe properly which should realistically bring on a better run from her. 'She has ability but she does herself no favours.' Robl, meanwhile, will arrive in Darwin early next week to put the final touches on the 2024 Darwin Cup winner, Hadouken, for his August 4 mission. 'He's shaping up perfectly,' Robl reported 'He'll have a little 900m trial next Tuesday just to top him off for the Cup the following Monday. 'He won the Chief Minister's Cup (last start) which is one of the main lead-ups to the Darwin Cup and he beat Cinque Torri who when we met in the Cup, we are actually going to get weight off him.'
