2016 – The Year Ahead

CRICKET

One Day International Series
Australia vs India at The WACA Ground, Perth (Tue, Jan 12 at 2:20pm)
Australia vs India at The Gabba, Brisbane (Fri, Jan 15 at 2:20pm)
Australia vs India at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Sun, Jan 17 at 2:20pm)
Australia vs India at Manuka Oval, Canberra (Wed, Jan 20 at 2:20pm)
Australia vs India at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sat, Jan 23 at 2:20pm)

Twenty20 Series
Australia vs India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (Tue, Jan 26 at 6:38pm)
Australia vs India at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Fri, Jan 29 at 7:38pm)
Australia vs India at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sun, Jan 31 at 7:38pm)

One Day Series
3 ODIs: Australia vs New Zealand in New Zealand (February)

Test Series
2 Tests: Australia vs New Zealand in New Zealand (February)

Twenty20 Series
3 T20Is: Australia vs South Africa in South Africa (March)

ICC World Twenty20 (Tue, Mar 8 – Sun, Apr 3)
Australia vs New Zealand at Dharamsala, India (Fri, Mar 18)
Australia vs TBC (Qualifier) at Bangalore, India (Mon, Mar 21)
Australia vs Pakistan at Chandigarh, India (Fri, Mar 25)
Australia vs India at Chandigarh, India (Sun, Mar 27)
(Final to be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India)
Current champion: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka – World T20 Champions 2014

One Day Tri-Series
Australia / West Indies / South Africa in South Africa (June)

 

RUGBY UNION

Test Series
Australia vs England at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia (Sat, Jun 11)
Australia vs England at AAMI Park, Melbourne (Sat, Jun 18)
Australia vs England at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Jun 25)

The Rugby Championship / Bledisloe Cup
Australia vs New Zealand at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia (Sat, Aug 20)
Australia vs New Zealand at Westpac Centre, Wellington, New Zealand (Sat, Aug 27)
Australia vs South Africa at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia (Sat, Sep 10)
Australia vs Argentina at nib Stadium, Perth, Australia (Sat, Sep 17)
Australia vs South Africa at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa (Sat, Oct 1)
Australia vs Argentina at Venue TBC (Sat, Oct 8)
Australia vs New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand (Sat, Oct 22)

The Wallabies celebrate winning the 2015 Rugby Championship

Autumn Internationals
Australia vs Wales at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Sat, Nov 5)
Australia vs Scotland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Sat, Nov 12)
Australia vs France at Stade De France, Paris (Sat, Nov 19)
Australia vs Ireland at Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Sat, Nov 26)
Australia vs England at Twickenham Stadium, London (Sat, Dec 3)

*Times TBC; venues subject to change

 

TENNIS

Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia (Mon, Jan 18 – Sun, Jan 31)
2015 winners: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Serena Williams (USA)

French Open at Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France (Sun, May 22 – Sun, Jun 5)
2015 winners: Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) and Serena Williams (USA)

Wimbledon Championships at The All England Club, London, England (Mon, 27 Jun – Sun 10 July)
2015 winners: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Serena Williams (USA)

US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, New York, USA (Mon, Aug 29 – Sun, Sep 11)
2015 winners: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Flavia Pennetta (Italy)

Novak Djokovic had a sensational 2015, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open (pictured)

RUGBY LEAGUE

NRL Round 1: Thu, 3 Mar – Mon, 7 Mar
Grand Final: Sun, Oct 2
2015 winner: North Queensland Cowboys

State of Origin I: NSW vs QLD at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Wed, Jun 1)
State of Origin II: NSW vs QLD at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Wed, Jun 22)
State of Origin III: NSW vs QLD at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Wed, Jul 13)
2015 winner: QLD

North Queensland Cowboys – 2015 NRL Premiers

AFL

Round 1: Thu, Mar 24 – Mon, Mar 28
Grand Final: Sat, Oct 1
2015 winner: Hawthorn Hawks

The Hawthorn Hawks won their third straight premiership in 2015

NETBALL

England Tour
Australia vs England at Echo Arena, Liverpool, England (Thu, Jan 21 at 6:30am)
Australia vs England at Copper Box Arena, London, England (Sat, Jan 23 at 6:30am)
Australia vs England at Copper Box Arena, London, England (Mon, Jan 25 at 5:30am)
*All times AEDST

The Australian Diamonds – 2015 World Cup winners

GOLF

Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, USA (Thu, Apr 7 – Sun, Apr 10)
2015 winner: Jordan Spieth (USA)

US Open at Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania, USA (Thu, Jun 16 – Sun, Jun 19)
2015 winner: Jordan Spieth (USA)

British Open at Royal Troon Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland (Thu, Jul 14 – Sun, Jul 17)
2015 winner: Zach Johnson (USA)

US PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club, New Jersey, USA (Thu, Aug 13 – Sun, Aug 16)
2015 winner: Jason Day (Australia)

Jason Day won his first major tournament at the 2015 US PGA Championship

FORMULA 1

1st race: Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia (Sun, Mar 20)
2015 race winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2015 Drivers Championship winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes – 381 points)
2015 Constructors Championship winner: Mercedes (703 points)

The Week to October 5

RUGBY LEAGUE

The Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys have produced one of the greatest finishes to a Grand Final in history, with the Cowboys prevailing by a single point in golden point after looking down and out just five minutes earlier, thanks to an 83rd-minute Johnathan Thurston field goal that sent the majority of the 80,000 fans at ANZ Stadium into raptures.

82,758 fans packed into ANZ Stadium to watch the 2015 NRL Grand Final – the first ever all-Queensland decider

The Broncos had taken an early lead through a penalty goal to Corey Parker, and from the ensuing kick-off, they raced the length of the field to stretch the margin out to 8-0. Ten minutes of the match had not yet been played when the Cowboys hit back after Justin O’Neill crossed from a clever set play. Cowboys fans were again celebrating when James Tamou gave them the lead midway through the first half, but the match continued its seesawing pattern when Matt Gillett capitalised on a Thurston error, breaking through the North Queensland defence before putting Jack Reed away to give the Broncos a 14-12 halftime lead.

Jack Reed celebrates after scoring a try to put the Broncos back in the lead

Another penalty goal two minutes into the second half put the Broncos up 16-12, but for the remainder of the match, it was the Cowboys who had all the scoring opportunities. A tiring but steely Broncos defence snuffed out raid after raid after raid, and looked to have the match won when Thurston began dancing around aimlessly with ball in hand, looking for a hole in the wall of Broncos, still twenty metres from the line with just 15 seconds remaining. He somehow found the strength to bounce out of two tackles before passing to Michael Morgan, who ran crossfield to the ten-metre line before delivering a miracle one-handed flick pass to Kyle Feldt, who sprinted past some desperate defence to cross in the corner as the siren was sounding, to level the scores at 16-all. This left Thurston with a kick from the sidelines to win the match.

Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston had this conversion attempt to win the match in regular time

After what seemed like an eternity, Thurston ran in, struck the ball with his trademark right-to-left curl, but not cleanly, and the ball thudded into the right upright and back into the field of play, and Broncos fans breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Thurston’s missed conversion attempt signalled the end of an exhilarating 80 minutes of football, with the scores locked at 16-all

The Cowboys kicked off in golden-point extra-time, and Ben Hunt, possibly the player of the season for the Broncos, made an absolute meal of his attempt to catch it – an error that is likely to haunt him for the entire off-season. His mistake gifted the Cowboys perfect field position for a field goal attempt, and Thurston made the most of his second chance, kicking a 20-metre field goal from right in front to earn himself and his team a well-deserved premiership.

Johnathan Thurston celebrates after kicking the winning field goal

Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston was named player of the Grand Final, earning the Clive Churchill medal to go with the Dally M Medal he had won earlier in the week. The Grand Final win was the first for the Cowboys since their admission to the competition in 1995. It was also the first defeat for the Broncos in seven Grand Final appearances since they joined the league in 1988.

The North Queensland Cowboys – 2015 NRL Premiers

Grand Final result:
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 17 (Tries: J O’Neill, J Tamou, K Feldt; goals: J Thurston 2; field goal: J Thurston)
defeated
BRISBANE BRONCOS 16 (Tries: C Oates, J Reed; goals: C Parker 2, J Kahu 2)
in golden-point extra-time.

Final tipping results:
HOME: 108/201 [Broncos considered “home” for Grand Final]
HIGHER-RANKED: 114/201

The Week to September 28

RUGBY LEAGUE

The 2015 NRL Grand Final will be an all-Queensland affair for the first time ever, with the Brisbane Broncos to face off against the North Queensland Cowboys.

For the Broncos, it will be their seventh Grand Final appearance, having previously appeared in, and won, the 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2006 deciders, whilst for the Cowboys, it will be just their second appearance, after having lost to the Wests Tigers in the 2005 Grand Final.

Johnathan Thurston’s Cowboys will line up against Justin Hodges’ Broncos in the first ever all-Queensland Grand Final

Results:
Preliminary Final results: Broncos defeated Roosters 31-12; Storm lost to Cowboys 12-32.

Upcoming fixture – NRL Grand Final:
Broncos vs Cowboys at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Oct 4 at 7:15pm)
*All times AEDST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 108/200 after Preliminary Finals (107/198 after Week 2 Finals)
HIGHER-RANKED: 114/200 after Preliminary Finals (113/198 after Week 2 Finals)

RUGBY UNION

Results:

Pool A (after 5 of 10 matches)

England defeated Fiji 35-11; Wales defeated Uruguay 54-9; Australia defeated Fiji 28-13; Wales defeated England 28-25; Australia defeated Uruguay 65-3.

Pool B (after 5 of 10 matches)

Japan defeated South Africa 34-32; Samoa defeated USA 25-16; Scotland defeated Japan 45-10; South Africa defeated Samoa 46-6; Scotland defeated USA 39-16.

Pool C (after 4 of 10 matches)

Georgia defeated Tonga 17-10; New Zealand defeated Argentina 26-16; New Zealand defeated Namibia 58-14; Argentina defeated Georgia 54-9.

Pool D (after 5 of 10 matches)

Ireland defeated Canada 50-7; France defeated Italy 32-10; France defeated Romania 38-11; Italy defeated Canada 23-18; Ireland defeated Romania 44-10.

Upcoming fixtures:
Australia vs England at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 4 at 6:00am AEDST)
Australia vs Wales at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 11 at 2:45am AEDST)

The Week to September 21

RUGBY UNION

The 2015 Rugby World Cup kicked off last weekend, and already there has been a HUGE upset, with Japan snatching a thrilling last-minute 34-32 win over South Africa. Trailing by three and having already turned down a shot at a penalty goal which could have sealed a draw, Karne Hesketh dived over in the corner in the fourth minute of injury time to stun the Springboks and give Eddie Jones possibly the greatest win of his coaching career.

Japan pulled off arguably the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history, beating South Africa 34-32

Host nation England opened its campaign with a strong 35-11 victory over Fiji, and the other major nations made it through the first weekend unscathed – Ireland thrashed Canada 50-7, France overcame Italy 32-10, and New Zealand were made to fight hard in their first match, but ultimately proved too strong for Argentina, recording a 26-16 win.

The Wallabies will kick off their campaign against Fiji at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Thursday, September 24 (AEST), before taking on Uruguay in Birmingham on Sunday night (AEST).

Results:

Pool A
England defeated Fiji 35-11
Wales defeated Uruguay 54-9

Pool B
Japan defeated South Africa 34-32
Samoa defeated USA 25-16

Pool C
Georgia defeated Tonga 17-10
New Zealand defeated Argentina 26-16

Pool D
Ireland defeated Canada 50-7
France defeated Italy 32-10

Upcoming fixtures:
Australia vs Fiji at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Thu, Sep 24 at 1:45am AEST)
Australia vs Uruguay at Villa Park, Birmingham (Sun, Sep 27 at 9:00pm AEST)
Australia vs England at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 4 at 6:00am AEDST)
Australia vs Wales at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 11 at 2:45am AEDST)

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

Week 2 Finals results: Roosters defeated Bulldogs 38-12; Cowboys defeated Sharks 39-0.

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Preliminary Finals:
Broncos vs Roosters at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Fri, Sep 25 at 7:55pm)
Storm vs Cowboys at AAMI Park, Melbourne (Sat, Sep 26 at 7:40pm)
–Winners to meet in the Grand Final at ANZ Stadium, Sydney on Sun, Oct 4 at 7:15pm
*All times AEST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 107/198 after Week 2 Finals (105/196 after Week 1 Finals)
HIGHER-RANKED: 113/198 after Week 2 Finals (111/196 after Week 1 Finals)