It’s Been a Big Weekend in Sport – All the Headlines in one place

There’s a particular kind of weekend where you turn the television on for one sport and somehow lose the entire day to four others without ever quite noticing it happened. This was one of those weekends. Golf drama in Indianapolis, two of England’s biggest football clubs stumbling out of the gate, Geelong quietly building momentum, the Bulldogs somehow winning through what can only be described as chaos, and Formula 1 delivering its usual dose of Dutch theatre. Here’s the wrap.

Golf: Cameron Smith Still in the Hunt Despite a Wobbly Third Round

Cameron Smith remains firmly in contention for his first tournament win in more than three years, sitting one stroke off the pace heading into the final round of LIV Golf’s season finale in Indianapolis. The Australian carded a third-round 67 to move to 12 under, despite a rocky back nine that included a three-putt bogey and a couple of missed birdie chances that could easily have put him in the box seat outright.

American breakout star Michael La Sasso leads the field, with Smith tied for second alongside Englishmen Richard Bland and Laurie Canter and Belgium’s Thomas Detry. It’s a genuinely stacked leaderboard too, with former Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson, along with reigning back-to-back season champion Jon Rahm, all lurking within a few shots.

Smith admitted the course played tricky, and while he stopped short of declaring himself back to major-winning form, he sounded genuinely optimistic about where his game is heading. Marc Leishman also had a solid weekend, sitting in the top 20, while Smith’s all-Australian Ripper GC side has climbed to third in the team standings, keeping alive a genuine chance of a season-ending double.

Premier League: United and Tottenham Both Stumble on Opening Weekend

If you were hoping for pre-season optimism to survive contact with reality, English football had other ideas. Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by newly promoted Hull, a result that will sting considerably given United’s new permanent manager and freshly rebuilt midfield. Coach Michael Carrick was quick to play down the significance of a single result, insisting it doesn’t change the club’s broader direction.

Tottenham fared little better, thumped 3-0 away at Brentford despite being among the biggest spenders in Europe this off-season. Their big-money midfield addition featured in a team that looked comprehensively outplayed from fairly early in the match.

Elsewhere, Everton picked up a home win in front of Britain’s new Prime Minister, a boyhood Everton supporter watching on, while fellow promoted side Ipswich snatched a dramatic, late winner. Leeds also grabbed a result in the dying minutes, and Coventry were the only newly promoted club to come away empty-handed, beaten by champions Arsenal.

AFL: Geelong’s Finals Charge Building Momentum

Good news continues to build for Geelong ahead of the finals, with star midfielder Max Holmes closing in on a return from a fractured ankle that’s kept him out since round 19. Coach Chris Scott was cautiously optimistic rather than definitive about the timeline, but confirmed Holmes has hit every recovery milestone set for him, raising genuine hope he could be available for a semi-final if the Cats progress that far.

The bigger boost on the weekend was seeing star forward Jeremy Cameron make a successful return from injury, in a dominant 133-76 win over Richmond that continued Geelong’s six-game winning streak. Scott confirmed there’s a real chance Cameron could be deployed in defence during the finals rather than his usual forward role, a tactical wrinkle he’s clearly relishing having available. With Geelong set to finish fifth and collect a week off before their elimination final, Scott sounded genuinely upbeat about his side’s prospects heading into September.

NRL: Canterbury Overcome Chaos to Keep Finals Hopes Alive

Canterbury’s 44-14 win over St George Illawarra might be the most improbable result of the weekend, given the week the Bulldogs had leading into it. Star forward Jacob Preston was hospitalised with an elbow infection and barely trained, winger Jacob Kiraz played through a calf tear serious enough that it had gone completely unnoticed publicly until his coach revealed it after full-time, several players were still managing COVID-19 symptoms, and centre Matt Burton missed training entirely to return home to Dubbo following the death of his grandmother.

Despite all of it, both Preston and Burton were among Canterbury’s best on the field, with Burton crossing for two tries in an unfamiliar position and Preston setting up another. Coach Cameron Ciraldo was matter-of-fact about the disruption, noting every team deals with setbacks like these, even if most go unreported. The ninth-placed Bulldogs now face another must-win clash against Penrith to keep their finals hopes alive.

Formula 1: Norris Grabs Back-to-Back Poles as Piastri Just Misses Out

Lando Norris continued his recent hot streak, claiming his second consecutive pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, edging out Mercedes’ George Russell by a fraction over a tenth of a second as light rain began falling during qualifying. It’s the same circuit where Oscar Piastri looked untouchable twelve months ago, but this time the Australian had to settle for fourth after briefly topping both earlier qualifying sessions.

Piastri sounded genuinely encouraged by his form regardless, saying his one-lap pace has started to feel considerably more natural this weekend. Mercedes had the better of the sprint race earlier in the day, with Russell taking victory ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who pulled off a bold overtake to steal second from Norris late in that shorter contest. With Zandvoort’s polesitter having won every Dutch Grand Prix since the race returned to the calendar in 2021, Norris now goes into Sunday as the clear favourite.

That’s the wrap. A genuinely big weekend all round, and several stories still very much unresolved heading into the week ahead.