Weekend sport preview

SBS World News Radio: The finals of both the NRL and AFL begin this weekend and will headline a busy weekend of sport.

Weekend sport previewWeekend sport preview

Weekend sport preview Source: AAP

In the AFL, there are three finals matches this weekend.

The Geelong Cats and the Richmond Tigers go head to head Friday night, looking to reach the semi-final.

Then on Saturday the Sydney Swans welcome the Essendon Bombers with the season on the line for both sides.

In round 14 this season Sydney edged the Bombers by a single point in a cliffhanger.

The memory of that defeat still burns for Essendon coach John Worsfold, as he explained to Fox Sports.

"It still hurts when we look back at coughing up that lead that we worked hard to get. Yeah we learned a lot from that game, from how we used our players, what Sydney were trying to create within that game. It will be a different game no doubt this week, but we do take parts out of that that we learn from."

The other match later on Saturday sees Port Power face the West Coast Eagles with both sides needing to win to stay alive in the finals series.

In the National Rugby League on Saturday, the hot favourites to win this season, the Melbourne Storm, welcome the Parramatta Eels to the Victorian capital.

The lead up to the match has been fuelled by a war of words between the two coaches.

Parramatta's Brad Arthur criticised the Storm tactics of wrestling players and then lying on them to prevent them playing the ball quickly.

His opposite number, Craig Bellamy, hit back, claiming the Eels do exactly the same thing.

Storm halfback Cooper Cronk says it's all part and parcel of finals football.

"Yeah look it's fair game isn't it? In terms of adding a bit of spice and drama around it all. But at the end of the day whether Brad says something or Craig says something in return, the officials do a tremendous job and they'll do it again on Saturday afternoon."

The Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos kick off the finals on Friday.

The Manly Sea Eagles meet the Penrith Panthers on Saturday evening, while Sunday afternoon's clash sees the reigning Premier Cronulla Sharks up against the North Queensland Cowboys.

The Wallabies are hoping to get back to winning ways after two losses to start the Rugby Championship against the All Blacks.

They take on South Africa in Perth on Saturday night.

South Africa is always a tough opponent, but as former Wallaby and two-time World Cup-winner Tim Horan told Fox Sports, the task is even harder for Australia on the West Coast when the opponents are the Springboks.

"They will have targeted this game because they get a lot of support in Perth, the Springboks. Sometimes people say it's like a home game for them with a lot of South African expats there supporting them but it will be a big challenge for the Wallabies."

The English Premier League is back in action this weekend with a blockbuster fixture between Manchester City and Liverpool.

Both sides have started the season well and will be looking to cement their place in the top four.

That match can be seen on SBS from 9pm AEST on Saturday evening.

League leaders Manchester United faces a trip to Stoke City in the early hours of Sunday morning.

And SBS also has coverage of the US Open tennis which will come to its climax with one thing already certain - the women's title will be won by an American, after all four semi-final spots were taken by players from the USA.

The women's final will be live on SBS from 6am AEST on Sunday while the men's final will be on Monday morning at the same time.

 

 


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By John Baldock



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