welcome to the wrap a weekly podcast covering women's sports news bears what have we got
around the grounds this week chikara anthony has broken another record the north north
north melbourne kangaroos even are aflw champions and the perth thundersticks are hockey one champs
they just have the best names don't they they really do for the key story we'll discuss
the melbourne renegades wbbl title that is like from worst to first it's an amazing story
and the incredible story of josie dooley my name is chloe dalton i'm joined every week on the show
by my co-host bez i'm recording on gadigal land today bez has had you're away for a work trip
but you've had a lovely weekend what have you been doing i have i've doubled up the adelaide
hills into a barossa valley work trip so yeah oh gosh
is it really work could be worse favorite winery from the weekend oh vinter loper we had a so good
we we had a tasting that went for about three and a half hours
highly recommend if you're in the adelaide hills area amazing
goodness me can you tell that i don't sleep between the hours of 2 a.m and 4 a.m mostly
these days just a slight pause i was just going to say before we get around the grounds
we are obviously remote so give us a break if our jokes are slightly awkward and delayed all right
it's definitely the internet issues and not the fact that you don't sleep anymore
yeah we'll blame all the things on fred it's fred's fault on fred let's take a look around
the grounds in aflw north melbourne are the first team to complete an unbeaten season defeating the
in a grand final rematch by 30 points six goals 339 to one goal three nine the kangaroos are the
first expansion club to win an aflw flag and did it in front of a sold out icon park crowd
jasmine garner received the individual award that she so thoroughly deserved after being
named best on ground for her 35 disposal 10 clearance performance that was that was the
most disposals by anyone ever in an aflw grand final oh wow she i was at the
adelaide hills grand final and she was the first team to complete an unbeaten season beating the
w awards last week it's tough to say what day that was last monday and she it was like i don't
know halfway into the vote count maybe even deeper into the vote count that she got her first three
votes and the room erupted because she just i don't know what it is she never gets recognized
by the umpires in the best and fairest during the season so the fact that she was named best
on ground in the final was it was a long time coming i reckon the lions tried everything to
slow garner down starting by sending jade ellinger to her before
captain brianna conan was moved to garner in an attempt to repeat the success that she had
last year they sent her there and brie conan's usually defender and actually did a really good
job on garner but they just couldn't they just couldn't shut her down they wouldn't be denied
the kangaroos they ground out a tough win played on a pretty slow ground after some significant rain
bears you would have much preferred them to be at marvel yeah this is what we talk about the
conditions and look i think the afl probably got lucky in the end that it did the sun did come out
i think about two hours before bounce off yes i said bounce off um and and it did dry up a bit but
at the end of the day it was a slow pitch ground track and and yeah that all could have been
avoided if we had have been at the premier afl stadium for women at marvel with the roof closed
during the day i just don't understand the more i think about it the more i'm i'm perplexed by
you know the showcase match was held at a ground that could only fit twelve and a half thousand
people on it that sold out within 24 hours and as i as i sit here actually and look out the window
and see the uh roof line of adelaide oval and cast my mind back five years um when i was standing
there watching you play in a grand final friend with 53 000 of my closest friends just i don't
it doesn't make sense to me i just afl need to change intact there
girls in the biggest stadium possible and see what happens because i'm telling you that 53 000 people
2019 wasn't the greatest result but the experience and you know just that emotion in that in that
stadium that day was absolutely incredible couldn't agree more uh kangaroos defender
libby birch made history becoming the first player male or female to win a premiership at three
different clubs but joined the roos in the offseason after winning flags at melbourne and
the western bulls
dogs well oh yes raised hand oh that wasn't actually raised hand but i did have something
to say about that if is if libby birch is on the market for whatever reason at the end of this year
you're buying her aren't you she's obviously a good luck charm
north captain emma carney carried a serious right hamstring injury for much of the season
and the 35 year old answered retirement questions at the kangas sunday celebrations held at arden
street telling media i've got one year left on my contract i love this group
and i love playing i feel like i can still contribute at the highest level it's probably
just whether i want to keep doing it mentally but at this stage i'll play another year and then
assess after that she was another level in the grand final wasn't she she was very very good
absolutely huge and that's the whole you know cometh the time cometh the cometh the moment
cometh the athlete and she really performed on that bigger stage i could see your brain
ticking over like what's the phrase get there eventually
let's move on to some football on thursday night the matildas played the first of four
upcoming friendly matches so game one was against a very physical brazil at suncorp stadium and the
tillies came up short against the olympic silver medalists going down three one the match included
a celebration for claire polkinghorn who has racked up 167 caps and 16 goals over her more
than 18 year career she debuted in 2006 that is just impressive
even um i saw emily van egmont celebrated 150 i'm just pointing at you to make sure you know i
want the microphone right now to get 167 caps like i know how many games the tillies are playing
these days i reckon when polkinghorn was early in her career they were not playing a lot of matches
no i totally agree so it just makes that achievement even more impressive she's the
most capped australian footballer of all time for now and she fiddly fittingly said farewell
to her home crowd in brisbane on thursday night the matildas played the first of four in the
Last night, Sunday, we're recording on Monday at Seabus Stadium
in the Gold Coast.
The Aussies were dealt a late blow with Steph Catley being ruled
out just before kickoff.
She was replaced in the starting line-up by Courtney Nevin
and Emily Van Egmond, who did play her 150th appearance,
wore the captain's armband.
The match was played in front of, and this is huge,
a 16th consecutive sold-out crowd.
Now, they're not playing in stadiums that hold 12,500 people.
They're playing in big stadiums.
So it was, unfortunately, once again, the Brazilians that got out
to an early lead.
They were leading 2-0 when Hayley Rezo pulled one back just
before halftime, and they went to the breakdown 2-1.
The Tillys, they look to be struggling in the final third.
They're getting the ball into that attacking zone,
just lacking that finishing quality at the moment.
They're getting plenty of opportunities, some really good attacking rates,
but just couldn't finish.
And despite a frantic second 45, the Matildas, as we say,
couldn't find the equaliser.
And the score finished 2-1.
And while we're chatting friendlies, which we've discussed is a strange term.
This looked so epic, this game.
England and the United States women's national team, USWNT.
It's such a mouthful.
Why can't they just be the USA?
Too many hard letters.
Anyhoo, they played out a nil-all draw over the weekend,
but the teams obviously could not be split.
So we will crown the winner, the 78,340.
Six fans who packed into Wembley Stadium
and set a new record for a women's friendly international.
Do you know what's crazy?
We've chatted about, say, Jess Fox and Jakara Anthony,
and people, I think Aussies maybe, maybe everyone in general,
having like winner's fatigue where like you still,
we still post things and talk about things and people come to expect.
I think there's a similar thing with crowd fatigue.
Like it's almost not crazy that there's been 78,000 fans in Wembley.
People are like, oh, yeah.
Women's football does that all the time.
Like I reckon I'll do a post of this and let's see how it goes.
It's just the new normal.
I'm here for the new normal.
In Rugby Union, our Aussie Sevens women are really living the queens
of the desert nickname.
Early on Monday, they claimed their fifth straight Dubai Sevens title,
defeating New Zealand in the final 28 to 24.
You know what's convenient about having a newborn that wakes up at 1.30
and then decides to not go back to sleep when the grand final
and Dubai's on at 2.30 a.m.
You bet we watch that game.
That's called being convenient, Mr. Fred.
Appreciate the awake hour because I love the Aussie Sevens,
but I don't know a normal day how often I'm waking up at 2.30 before a...
What do we call recording the rapper work day?
Yes, absolutely the work day.
I think when the exciting news dropped that you were to become a mother,
my major concern was for your sleep.
Massive, huge concern.
So the fact that he's actually contributing to your sporting experience,
you know, two thumbs up for Fred.
Back to the game.
The Australians started fast, getting out to a 14-0 lead,
and we're ahead by nine at halftime.
But the Black Ferns never quit, and they sneaked.
You said, I'm going to go snuck.
Snookered their noses in front with three minutes to play.
They up-stepped Madison Levi, taking the intercept.
She just kind of...
The Aussies were like five metres out from their own try line.
Like, it was a pretty bold move for her to attempt the intercept,
and then, like, good luck stopping her with about two minutes on the clock.
So the try was her 15th of the weekend,
and in the process of scoring that winning try,
Levi set a new record for most tries by a player in a single tournament.
And there are some exceptional players that have come before her,
like the fact that Portia Woodman, Michaela Blyde,
Elia Green, Emily Cherry,
Emma Tonigato, none of those players have ever done that.
I was maybe 15 tries across my career.
No, I got better towards the back end.
Yeah, lots of kicking points.
We'll go with that.
Charlotte Kesley announced prior to the start of Dubai
that she was handing over the captaincy to allow the next gen to step up,
and that decision did not have any impact on her performance.
She was very good.
I think she was almost better on the weekend.
She's just such a good footballer.
Like, Charlotte just knows when to inject herself,
how to inject herself,
and, yeah, I think perhaps she was playing with a bit more freedom
without the captaincy.
It's tough to say.
I just think she's that good anyway.
Yeah, that's very true.
And New Zealand had the ball.
They probably had a minute or so to score,
and she got this clutch turnover with 30 seconds to go,
and then the Aussies kind of just, like, let the clock wind down,
chose to take a scrum.
New Zealand almost won the scrum,
and Charlotte just kicked it out the back,
and then they got the ball over the side.
It was stressful, but just, like,
to come up clutch with a turnover like that to win the final was huge.
Well done to the Aussie Sevens.
In some golf news, South Korean Ji-Yi Shin claimed her second Australian Open
at Kingston Heath, holding on for a two-shot win
with a 17-under par, 274-shot total.
Shin led by as many as seven shots in the final round,
but had to drain a seven-foot putt on the 18th to close with a round of 70
A pretty anxious wait in the clubhouse.
That left South African Ashley Buhai needing to hold a 12-foot birdie attempt,
but the putt shaded the cup, and Buhai had to settle for second.
Hannah Green and fellow LPGA Tour star Grace Kim were the leading Australians
in a tie for fourth at six-under.
Bit of a rough run for Hannah Green.
She was sitting just one shot behind Shin at the start of the day,
but she had a pretty unhappy final round, shooting an eight over 79.
It's not what you're looking for on the final day of a major.
In snow sports, it is that time of year,
the time when it gets very cold in the Northern Hemisphere
and the snowing starts.
The snow sports means Jakara Anthony is back doing amazing things.
Over the weekend, Anthony claimed her 42nd career podium
at the Ruka FIS World Cup event in Finland
when she won silver in the moguls at the World Cup opener.
The 42nd podium means she became Australia's most successful winter sportsman,
sports athlete, surpassing aerial skier Kirstie Marshall,
who won 41 career medals.
How old is Jakara?
I had her on the podcast last year, this year, this year.
I feel like we were already in 2025.
This year I had her on the podcast.
She's got a lot of life left to live, and she is absolutely dominant.
I kind of get surprised that she has anything more to add to her trophy cabinet.
She's 26, and, yeah, she absolutely has at least another eight years in front of her.
She's, you know, up for it.
If her mogul knees hold up.
Anthony was just beaten by returning French star Perrine Lefant
and was unaware of the new record, saying,
wow, that's another big stat.
I never find out about these things until I've broken them,
but that's another cool accolade.
Just super proud of me and my team and how we've gone about that.
It's been a super long journey, and there's still a long way to go,
looking to rack up a few more this season.
Good on you, Jakara.
In some netball news, Sophie Garbin was awarded,
and she's a top scorer.
She's a top scorer.
She's a top scorer.
She's a top scorer.
She's a top scorer.
She's a top scorer.
Garbin was awarded the 2024 Liz Ellis Diamond
at the Australian Netball Awards.
She became the first goaller in five years to receive
the prestigious honour.
The award was a suitable acknowledgement for an impressive domestic
and international season with the Melbourne Vixens
and the Australian Diamonds.
Garbin also took home the International Player of the Year
and paid tribute to Liz Ellis, saying,
I'm super honoured to be recognised for both of these awards.
The Diamonds make it an environment to be yourself and be your best,
and I'm so thankful to be a part of that.
I'm so grateful to have watched Liz Ellis and seen what she has done
So now standing with her in honour of this award is a pinch myself moment.
Georgie Horges from the Adelaide Thunderbirds was named the Suncorp
Super Netball Player of the Year, and her team-mate Lauren Frew won
the Rookie of the Year award.
In tennis, five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Sviontek has taken
to Instagram to reveal that she has failed a drug test.
She received a...
...provisional suspension before appealing inside 10 days,
meaning the International Tennis Integrity Agency, ITIA,
did not immediately divulge her result.
Sviontek tested positive to banned substance trimetazidine, TNC,
in August and has accepted a one-month ban,
which is almost up because of time served.
She missed three Asian Hardcourt tournaments due to personal reasons,
and those personal reasons can now be confirmed as the positive drug test,
which she explained was a result...
...of contamination of her melatonin medication,
which she takes to ward off jet lag.
Sviontek will be free to play the first major of the year in Australia
at the start of 2025.
It's an interesting one, isn't it?
And it's a bit like Yannick Sinner, who also has had a recent drug controversy.
They've been pretty quiet.
Like, I didn't even...
It was only when I was, you know, doing the research that this even came
into my feed, and it's a pretty big thing for the world number one
to fail a drug test.
It's a really big thing.
And isn't TMZ, like, isn't it to do with heart medication?
It seems like a weird thing to get mixed up with melatonin,
which is pretty natural.
No further comment.
So, Simona Halep's got further comment.
Where did you go there?
Yeah, well, which kind of makes sense with her experience, right?
So, Simona suggested Sviontek has been treated favourably by the ITIA.
Halep herself initially received a four-year ban,
after testing positive for the ban drug Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.
She launched a successful appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport,
CAS, and her suspension was reduced to nine months
after the CAS accepted her explanation of a contaminated supplement.
Halep wrote on Instagram,
I sit and try to understand, but it is really impossible for me
to understand something like this.
I sit and wonder, why such a big difference in treatment and judgment?
I can't find, and I don't think there can be, a logical answer.
How is it possible that identical cases that happened
at about the same time of the season,
ITIA has completely different approaches to my detriment?
Gosh, it's a pretty valid question, isn't it?
Especially seeing as though they've both been ruled
a contaminated supplement positive test.
So, one month versus nine months?
I mean, obviously, it was initially four years for Halep.
So, the consistency is just not there.
And when there's no consistency there,
you just open yourself up to conjecture.
And I talk about this every time we talk about doping
and positive drug tests on the podcast.
I always talk about the fact that it is so drilled into you
as an athlete from an education point of view.
You are responsible for every single thing that goes into your body.
I don't ever take a supplement.
Riley finds it frustrating sometimes because she's like,
why don't you try this?
And I'm like, no.
Like, I do not take any risk.
I will only ever take a supplement that is batch tested.
Because the whole point of it being batch tested is then you,
well, in theory, there shouldn't be any risk of cross-contamination.
I just find it really strange.
It's like, what are you guys doing?
Are you batch testing your supplements?
Or is that maybe that I know that Australia are really strict
and the education is a really high standard in sport over here?
I don't think ignorance is an excuse at this stage.
You're the number one tennis player in the world.
You're earning seriously Bitcoin.
I'm probably not taking some melanin.
I'm probably not taking some melatonin that I bought in the chemist.
It's just not doing it.
You could afford to batch test it yourself, I'd say.
Set up a little lab in the backyard?
Maybe that's the difference, though, because we batch test protein,
creatine, and things like that.
Like, yeah, they probably don't.
It's not standard to batch test melatonin.
So, yeah, I don't know.
Maybe I half retract my statement.
In some cricket numbers news.
Cricket Australia announced some excellent ones last week for WBBL 10.
So, here they are.
The average WBBL TV audiences have grown 46% year-on-year.
Home and away attendances were up 23% despite this being a shortened season.
So, they condensed the season this year and they will continue
to do that moving forward.
Home and away attendances, I just read that.
Total attendance.
The attendance of 70,214 across 40 games was equivalent to the attendance
through 54 games last season.
So, it's a good little comparison there.
The WBBL social media consumption increased by 56% and Cricket Australia
reported 80,000 new followers since the start of the tournament.
There's some great numbers.
And I respect what Cricket Australia have done with the WBBL.
I think they've recognised that the season was probably a little bit too long.
Certain things weren't working and they've adapted.
And it looks like it's worked really well with the numbers.
One of the things that they did do is with that season being more games,
they had to kind of probably find a space for those matches.
And they were playing games in the middle of the day on weekdays and things like that.
Which is not realistic to get a crowd to or eyes on television.
So, they've actually put a lot more games this year in prime time.
Turns out people will watch and go.
In hockey, the Perth Thunder 6 have beaten the Brisbane Blaze 4-1
to claim their very first place.
First, Liberty Hockey won league title.
Brisbane went in having won three titles in the last four seasons.
But it was the Thunder 6 that led from the start
and capitalised on their stellar form this season.
WA Hockey Roos goalkeeper Alicia Power was a deserving player of the match recipient
after saving multiple shots on goal from Brisbane.
Let's take a look at the key story.
In cricket, the Melbourne Renegades have gone from last to first in 12 months.
I actually, I just love this story.
Replacing the Wooden Spoon with the big trophy at the MCG on Sunday.
The match was unfortunately impacted by rain.
Is that a hand up?
Yeah, that's a serious upgrade, isn't it?
Going from Wooden Spoon to a cup you can drink out of.
I just, I'm so here for it.
Up the Renababes.
The match was unfortunately impacted by rain.
But the Melbourne Renegades did not let the weather rain on their parade.
Proving too good for the Brisbane Heat, winning by seven runs.
The Heat finished on six for 90.
Chasing a reduced target of 98 from 12 overs.
Hayley Matthews was awarded the player of the match scoring 69 from 61 balls
and claiming two for 21 with her off spin.
Her 69 was the highest individual score in a WBBL final.
And she was in everything.
Also taking an important catch when the Heat looked like they might fight their
way back into the contest.
Renegades captain Sophie Molyneux took the ball for the final over with the Heat
needed a pretty, it's a pretty tough ass 19.
Off the last over to take home the title.
But the skipper Sophie Molyneux only gave up five runs from the first five balls,
making the final delivery academic.
So the Heat made the final after defeating the Sydney Thunder in the challenger by nine
wickets, but they just couldn't find the same form on the day with the bat and were
always chasing what looked like a pretty competitive total after the DLS calculations
came through the title is the Renegades first WBBL championship in their first
ever appearance in a WBBL final.
And at the start of the season, I reckon he could have got some pretty juicy odds on the
Renegades lifting the trophy at the end.
But obviously no one told the Melbourne team that West Indian match winner Matthews
said after the game, I'm so happy for myself and also for the group.
There are so many girls here that have been with this team for the last 10 years, and I
think everyone just deserves it.
The Renegades had a special sort of inspiration this season, Josephine Josie Dooley was a wicket
And a dangerous batter for the Renegades and was spending her off season chasing some
waves and some warmer weather in Hawaii in April when a headache turned into so much
Josie was seriously unwell.
And in her own words, shared on her Instagram page, here is what she went through.
She said, I developed a hydrocephalus due to an obstruction by a benign tumor deep in
my brain before I could be airlifted from Kauai to Honolulu for life-saving neurosurgery.
I had a cerebellar stroke and subsequent severe heart and lung complications.
I ended up in hospital in Honolulu for 28 days, ventilated in ICU for 18 days and underwent
two neurosurgical procedures, a tracheostomy and had a peg feeding tube in my stomach.
I was then medically evacuated by an incredible life crew back to Australia, where I was admitted
to RBWH in Brisbane and then onto the amazing Stars Hospital, where I had to learn to walk
Finally, after a total of 93 days in hospital, I was discharged this week, July 19th.
As with all acquired brain injuries, I have a long road ahead.
My goal is to get back playing professional cricket and to enjoy my other life passion,
Firstly, again, I've given you all the medical terms because you are medically qualified.
I knew you gave that to me on purpose.
Secondly, this is just an incredible, incredible.
She just was on holidays with her partner, about to go surfing and was just overcome
with this headache and nearly died.
So she stayed really close to the Renegades this season and she was up on stage when the
team hoisted the trophy in the air.
It was awesome to see.
So Josie had a really special message for her teammates and it was, to the point, pretty
In every change room this season, Dolly's playing shirt was hung up and Josie had special
words printed on the back of it.
And those words were,
But don't eff it up.
Emotional coach Simon Helmott spoke about her commitment after the game, telling media,
Josie Dooley, what happened with her in the offseason.
She came to all the important games, came to our junction games, came to Alan Borderfield.
And I just said, Josie, we need you here for the team meeting yesterday.
And she turns up.
There's a shirt in the rooms which has a message from Josie.
It's more than just the game.
It's about people and their trials and tribulations.
It just means something.
Captain Soph Molyneux presented Dolly with her WBBL 10 playing top at Alan Borderfield
ahead of the Renegades' second game of the season.
And she paid tribute post-match saying,
Seeing Josie after the game, she's just everything that the Renegades are about.
It's Josie to a T.
She's so inspirational.
Not just to us that know her, but to anyone that knows her story.
And for her to be involved as what she could be with this season for us, just to have her
presence and being around.
She's just as much a part of this season as any other season.
She's a true inspiration.
She's Renegades' heart and soul as well.
There's just so much in this Renegades story this year, and I can just smell some kind
From last to first, the Josie story, it's all there.
Let's take a look at what to watch.
The Tillys will be taking on Chinese Taipei without their European stars on Wednesday
night in Melbourne.
They'll be looking to sell out Amy Park to keep that amazing streak alive.
The match kicks off at 8pm AEDT.
They'll be live and free on the 10 Network.
The final match of this group of friendlies will also be against Chinese Taipei, and they'll
be held in Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.
That'll be on Saturday night and kick off there at 7.30pm.
The first of three ODIs for our Australian cricket team against India will be played
on Thursday at Allen Borderfield.
The match will start at 2.50pm and will be live on the 7 Network and KO Sports.
Sevens Rugby continues next weekend.
We stop to in KKM.
Starting on Saturday, you can watch all the live action on Stan Sport and see the girls
On Sunday night, the Perth Glory hosts the Melbourne Victory in the A-League at Sam Kerr
Football Centre in Perth.
Kickoff is 7.30pm local time and you can watch live on 10 Play and Paramount+.
And that's a wrap.
See you next week, friend.
Have a horrible time in the Barossa.
I'm actually doing work.
Give Fred a squeeze for me.