Weekend sport wrap

SBS World News Radio: If you're a big fan of sport and your head isn't spinning, congratulations.

Weekend sport wrapWeekend sport wrap

Weekend sport wrap

We've just made it through one of the biggest and busiest sporting weekends of the year.

Grand Slam tennis finals, AFL and NRL finals, and a titanic battle in the English Premier League headlined a huge weekend around the globe.

Headlining the first weekend of AFL finals action was a clash between the Sydney Swans and their cross-city rivals, the GWS Giants.

It was GWS' first-ever finals match and, encouragingly for the sport outside of its heartland, it drew over 60,000 people to Sydney's Olympic Stadium to watch.

And perhaps more significantly, it was the underdogs, the Giants, who triumphed by 36 points.

They now get a bye in Week Two of the finals - and if they win in Week Three, they're in the Grand Final.

GWS coach Leon Cameron says it's another challenge his young team has to meet.

"I think it's going to be a different sort of intensity again. it's probably going to go up another level again. So it's going to be (a) completely different ballgame. We'll take confidence (into the game), but we still have to make sure we rock up (turn up) and perform."

Also through to Week Three of the finals, Geelong ... after they survived a kick at goal after the final siren to narrowly beat Hawthorn.

Adelaide eliminated North Melbourne, and the Western Bulldogs did likewise to West Coast.

Next weekend, Hawthorn takes on the Bulldogs in an elimination match, whilst the Swans will have to pick themselves up after their loss to the Giants, otherwise they face elimination at the hands of Adelaide.

It was also the first weekend of rugby league finals action- and there was unfortunately still the now-usual sidelight of refereeing controversy.

Many feel the Gold Coast Titans were hard-done-by by match officials on several key calls in their defeat to the Brisbane Broncos, which eliminated the Titans from this year's competition.

For now, NRL referees boss Tony Archer could only promise to investigate.

"We'll go through the full game, and look at it in the cold light of day. I can answer the questions in relation to the specific incidents that I've seen (here) at the ground. But, certainly, we'll go through this game, as we do with every other game."

Canterbury joins the Titans on holidays until 2017 after they lost to Penrith.

Cronulla upset Canberra, meaning Canberra will host Penrith on Saturday 17 in an elimination final.

Cronulla and first-place-finishers Melbourne get a bye through to Week Three of the finals series after wins this weekend.

Next weekend's other match sees a re-match of last year's classic Grand Final, as North Queensland faces Brisbane.

To tennis, and whilst Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka slugged it out in the mens' singles final, perhaps the real star of the U-S Open- and 2016 in tennis in general- is Germany's Angelique Kerber.

She was runner-up at Wimbledon, silver medallist at the Olympics, winner at the Australian Open and now, winner at the US Open too.

She came from 3-1 down in the third set to claim the women's singles title against Czech Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Kerber says her American triumph was in part inspired by her Australian triumph earlier this year.

"She (Pliskova) was one break up very soon in the third set. I just told myself, Okay, stay positive. Believe still in your game. I was thinking a little bit of the final in Australia where I was also in the third set. I believed then (in) my game, and I did it today as well."

And in football, it was the weekend where the long-awaited first showdown between new Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and new Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola finally happened.

It was on United's home turf, but it was City who prevailed, two goals to one.

They're now four wins from four games in their Premier League campaign this season.

Scarily, despite the win, Guardiola says his side can get better- particularly, in attack.

"In front we need more, we need more in front, so until now in the Premier league it's OK. But to compete against the best clubs in Europe at the moment, in the way we're playing, we are not able to compete with them. But it's just two months together, so we have time to get better."

And some much-needed good news for Australian rugby union.

After being soundly beaten twice by New Zealand in The Rugby Championship, Australia has fought back to defeat South Africa in their latest match in the tournament.

They beat the Springboks in Brisbane, 23-17.

 


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