Former Aussie Rules legend Barry Cable gets judge-alone trial over historical child sex abuse allegations
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West Australian
8 hours ago
- West Australian
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic hails return of Alessandro Circati amid more injury blows
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says Perth-raised Serie A centre-back Alessandro Circati's availability for their crunch World Cup qualifiers was a welcome surprise as injuries once again impact squad selection. The return of the highly-rated Circati might be just what the doctor ordered for Australia as they prepare to face Japan at Optus Stadium on Thursday, with a win putting them on the brink of qualification for the 2026 World Cup. But after serious injuries already claimed vice-captain Jackson Irvine, centre-back Harry Souttar and rising left-back Jordan Bos, the Socceroos have also lost Craig Goodwin, Nestory Irankunda, Mathew Leckie and Nishan Velupillay closer to camp. The Socceroos and Japan have landed in Perth ahead of Thursday night's match, with the Australians arriving off the back of a 10-day training camp in Abu Dhabi. While a win over Japan may not officially seal Australia's qualification for next year's World Cup, it would mean Saudi Arabia, their rival for the final direct spot through to the tournament, would need to put five past the Socceroos the following Tuesday in Jeddah. Popovic admitted he had not counted on 21-year-old Circati's availability after he tore his ACL last September, but his strong form after a rapid seven month recovery was enough to convince him. 'We didn't expect to have him, so we weren't planning on having him in the squad and we anticipated September would be the earliest moment to have him back,' he said. 'But once he played those two games and he got through it, we saw the opportunity to bring him in. 'We've worked with him for the last few days of the camp in Abu Dhabi, and he looks well. Game-fitness is not quite there, but we're happy to have him and feel he can certainly contribute.' WA products Adam Taggart and Cameron Burgess have retained their spot in the squad, although Jack Iredale has missed out on a maiden call-up. World Cup hero Leckie was poised to come into the squad, but battled a hamstring strain and broken nose in Saturday night's A-League grand final which has ruled him out — not that it stopped the Melbourne City star from picking up the Joe Marston Medal for man-of-the-match. 'He was very worthy of winning the man-of-the-match award. I thought he was outstanding in the game, and it's why we had him in the squad — because for big matches, he can provide the experience and quality that you need in big moments,' Popovic said. More curious for many Socceroos fans was the lack of Nectarios Triantis; the Sunderland midfielder won acclaim on-loan at Hibernian in Scotland, but withdrew from Australia's training camp on its eve amid the Greek national team's reported interest in his services. 'I'm not too sure where it exactly sits. But we had him in the squad for the camp, and on the day that he was supposed to travel, he informed us that he's not coming in,' Popovic said. 'He just said he's got a lot of things on at the moment, a lot on his mind in terms of what he wants to do. We have to respect that, and we'll see what happens.' Popovic also revealed Goodwin was due to undergo foot surgery which ruled him out of the upcoming two matches, while Bayern Munich's teenage tyro Irankunda had tweaked his hamstring on loan at Grasshopper in Switzerland. Another who missed out was young attacker Nicholas Milanovic, who won the Johnny Warren Medal for the A-League Men's best player this season, as did midfielder Max Balard who impressed for Dutch Eredivisie side NAC Breda. 'We had (Nicholas) in camp, so there's a great reward for the young man that had a great season in terms of performances, also gets player of the year, gets a move to Aberdeen, comes into his first Socceroos camp,' Popovic said. 'I'm sure he would have taken a lot away from that camp and moving forward, I think he can improve significantly. 'He (Max) is a prospect, and Maxie knows exactly how we feel about him, and I'm sure he'll go away and start the new season full of confidence, and we hope to see him keep improving, and we'll keep monitoring.' Socceroos vs Japan (Thursday June 5, Optus Stadium, 7pm) Goalkeepers: Joe Gauci (Aston Villa) Paul Izzo (Randers) Mat Ryan (RC Lens) Defenders: Aziz Behich (Melbourne City) Kasey Bos (Melbourne Victory) Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town) Alessandro Circati (Parma) Milos Degenek (FK TSC Bačka Topola) Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata) Lewis Miller (Hibernian) Kye Rowles (DC United) Kai Trewin (Melbourne City) Midfielders: Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC) Riley McGree (Middlesbrough) Connor Metcalfe (St Pauli) Paul Okon-Engstler (Benfica) Aiden O'Neill (New York Red Bull) Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory) Patrick Yazbek (Nashville SC) Forwards: Daniel Arzani (Melbourne Victory) Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers) Martin Boyle (Hibernian) Mitch Duke (Machida Zelvia) Mo Toure (Randers) Adam Taggart (Perth Glory) Marco Tilio (Melbourne City)
West Australian
20 hours ago
- West Australian
Adrian Barich: Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say
It's been a sad old time in Barra-land so I'm hoping you won't mind if this week, I discuss something extremely frivolous. Or is it frivolous?! It's wild just how much sport means to people in this country. As a nation we should probably be a little embarrassed about just how highly sport ranks in our public psyche. As the late Donald Horne wrote (well complained, actually) in his book The Lucky Country, ''sport, to many Australians, is life and the rest a shadow . . . It is considered a sign of degeneracy not to be interested in it'. If you resemble those comments, don't feel bad: you're in good company. Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say. The truth is, many of us get a lot of our culture and identity from sport. It's not just a leisure-time activity, but a big part of our lives. If you're struggling to connect or even make conversation with your neighbours, throw in this line — 'what about those Eagles?' — and see how you go. There is a remarkably deep-seated connection between Australians and our sporting teams, and the drama of sport has the power to bring people together. The other thing I don't think we appreciate fully is that sport not only bonds people and strengthens communities, but helps promote our State on the national stage. If we are hosting some of the Australia's biggest sporting events, we are showcasing West Australian excellence and expertise in everything from innovation, tourism, services and products. Having said all that, and thrown my support behind this State's push to attract big events to WA, I still think we are running behind the fans of the English Premier League in terms of passion and commitment. Just take a look at the hysteria surrounding Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League. Spurs hit a grim milestone this season: their worst-ever Premier League season but that has all been overshadowed by Ange Postecoglou making history, ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by claiming a dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao. The celebrations have been extensive and colourful, with tens of thousands of jubilant Spurs fans lining the streets of north London last week for an open-top bus victory parade. I've even seen people getting crazy tattoos to commemorate this apparently unforgettable moment in the history of the club. In the final against United, there was a moment of pure instinct, a stunning show of agility, by Micky van de Ven. His goal-line clearance has been described as 'poetry in motion' as the Dutch defender, with a less than a second to make up his mind, flew high, with his foot in the air, to somehow hook the ball away. His version of events went like this: 'In the game, I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened, I saw the ball coming back and went to the goal line . . . the ball went high up in the air, and I thought, 'how am I going to do this?' I thought, 'I just need to try', and then I got it out of the goal, I don't know how'. Anyway that one effort has now been permanently tattooed on many, many chubby arms and shaved backs in north London, a display of passion and love for the moment that we probably haven't seen very often in Australia. To say it was an eyesore would be a compliment. The tatt ranks up (or down?) there with Mike Tyson's iconic face tattoo for things that probably weren't a good idea. Still despite England's love of soccer, some would argue that Aussies are more 'religious' about sport than about religion itself. The stats I found are interesting: eight per cent of Australians go to church every week, compared to more than 80 per cent who are involved in a weekly sport. As American writer Phyllis McGinley reportedly quipped, 'in Australia, not reading poetry is a national pastime'.
Perth Now
20 hours ago
- Perth Now
Happy is country that's interested in sports over politics
It's been a sad old time in Barra-land so I'm hoping you won't mind if this week, I discuss something extremely frivolous. Or is it frivolous?! It's wild just how much sport means to people in this country. As a nation we should probably be a little embarrassed about just how highly sport ranks in our public psyche. As the late Donald Horne wrote (well complained, actually) in his book The Lucky Country, ''sport, to many Australians, is life and the rest a shadow . . . It is considered a sign of degeneracy not to be interested in it'. If you resemble those comments, don't feel bad: you're in good company. Happy is the country that is more interested in sport than in politics, I always say. The truth is, many of us get a lot of our culture and identity from sport. It's not just a leisure-time activity, but a big part of our lives. If you're struggling to connect or even make conversation with your neighbours, throw in this line — 'what about those Eagles?' — and see how you go. There is a remarkably deep-seated connection between Australians and our sporting teams, and the drama of sport has the power to bring people together. The other thing I don't think we appreciate fully is that sport not only bonds people and strengthens communities, but helps promote our State on the national stage. If we are hosting some of the Australia's biggest sporting events, we are showcasing West Australian excellence and expertise in everything from innovation, tourism, services and products. Having said all that, and thrown my support behind this State's push to attract big events to WA, I still think we are running behind the fans of the English Premier League in terms of passion and commitment. Just take a look at the hysteria surrounding Tottenham Hotspur winning the Europa League. Spurs hit a grim milestone this season: their worst-ever Premier League season but that has all been overshadowed by Ange Postecoglou making history, ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by claiming a dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao. The celebrations have been extensive and colourful, with tens of thousands of jubilant Spurs fans lining the streets of north London last week for an open-top bus victory parade. I've even seen people getting crazy tattoos to commemorate this apparently unforgettable moment in the history of the club. In the final against United, there was a moment of pure instinct, a stunning show of agility, by Micky van de Ven. His goal-line clearance has been described as 'poetry in motion' as the Dutch defender, with a less than a second to make up his mind, flew high, with his foot in the air, to somehow hook the ball away. His version of events went like this: 'In the game, I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened, I saw the ball coming back and went to the goal line . . . the ball went high up in the air, and I thought, 'how am I going to do this?' I thought, 'I just need to try', and then I got it out of the goal, I don't know how'. Anyway that one effort has now been permanently tattooed on many, many chubby arms and shaved backs in north London, a display of passion and love for the moment that we probably haven't seen very often in Australia. To say it was an eyesore would be a compliment. The tatt ranks up (or down?) there with Mike Tyson's iconic face tattoo for things that probably weren't a good idea. Still despite England's love of soccer, some would argue that Aussies are more 'religious' about sport than about religion itself. The stats I found are interesting: eight per cent of Australians go to church every week, compared to more than 80 per cent who are involved in a weekly sport. As American writer Phyllis McGinley reportedly quipped, 'in Australia, not reading poetry is a national pastime'.
