Welcome to The Wrap, a weekly podcast covering women's sports news.
Bez, what have we got around the grounds this week?
The Central Coast Mariners have snapped Melbourne City's 24-game unbeaten streak
to qualify for the grand final.
I feel a bit heartbroken for City.
Oh, that was rough.
The Opals have completed a serious sweep over the Tall Ferns
and Australia has won silver at the World Athletics Relay in China
in the mixed 4x400m event.
For the key story, we'll discuss the results of the 2024 Bloody Big Survey
that show nearly 70% of women skip sport because of their period.
Oh, Bez, I feel a little bit exhausted but in a really good way.
We've had a big couple of weeks.
We had our State of Origin Watch Party a couple of weeks ago.
Last week we were up on the Gold Coast for the WSL event
for the Gold Coast Pro with Red Bull.
We hosted the wrap from the comms box of the WSL.
It was so sick on the hill there at Burley.
It was a fun time.
We could travel around with you and do this full time.
We're keen and available.
Just talk to our people.
And then we had our live podcast event with Molly Picklam
and Katie Simmers at Kira Beach House.
It was such an amazing night.
It was so good to be in that room with all of those surfing fans
and female sport fans.
And the two of them were amazing.
Yeah, they were good fun, weren't they?
Yeah, they're young but they were just, I don't know,
the way they bounced off each other, their relationship,
it was really, really cool.
It was fully sick, some might say.
That episode's going to drop this Thursday morning.
Oh, I'm stoked about that.
6am, get it in your ears.
If you couldn't come to the live event,
make sure you have a listen because it was epic.
Last week's ep was Maya Stewart, rugby player who plays
for your team as well, Bez.
Great chat with Maya Stewart.
She was her normal, fun, honest and transparent self.
Yeah, she's an elite athlete, Maya Stewart,
and she's definitely one of those athletes who is conscious
of where she is in her sport and how she can make it better.
And I think that really came through.
She's fighting the good fight and wants women's rugby
to be as great as it can be.
Yeah, I like that.
Let's take a look around the grounds.
In the women's A-League, absolute scenes.
I just am heartbroken for them.
Okay, so just to give everyone some background,
you may not have caught up.
The Central Coast Mariners produced a major upset in the second leg
of the women's A-League semifinals, beating the undefeated minor premieres
Melbourne City 1-0 with a goal in the dying moments of extra time.
It was a great goal.
It went from one end of the field to the other.
It was stressful.
So for context, these two sides drew two all last week in the first leg
of their semi, but City were dealt a huge early blow in the game
when star forward Holly McNamara.
You know, Mia, when M's and N's are close.
It's not your strong point, is it?
It's stuck in my mouth.
I like that you tried again.
Was forced from the field due to injury after just 18 minutes,
making matters worse for the Victorian side.
Winger Lourdes Bosch was then given a straight red card after striking the face
of Central Coast attacker Brooke Nunn during a heated confrontation.
There was a bit of feeling out there.
A bit of heat in that.
A little bit of feeling.
In a game that had very few clear-cut chances.
The away side snatched the victory in the final seconds of stoppage time
at the end of the 120 minutes.
I actually can't believe when that goal came.
That's two hours.
That is two hours of running.
Can't M and N together, but can math.
Isabel Gomez lobbed the City goalkeeper with a somewhat controversial goal
that was allowed by the referees despite some suggestions
that Gomez was actually offside.
So they don't actually have VAR in.
A-League women's, let alone finals time.
This topic is very close to my heart.
Same thing happened in the women's Super Rugby this year.
We had no TMO as we call it in our game, which is third match official.
VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee.
Interesting TLAs for everyone.
Anywho, it just doesn't make any sense to me.
Like we have the technology, you know, we have the,
these girls are playing in stadiums that it's, it's there, it's ready to go.
And you know, when it's moments like this, where it really matters and they
didn't have that available to them, I just think it's, it's wrong.
Um, so we obviously must acknowledge the incredible feat from Melbourne City,
24 matches unbeaten, obliterating the previous competition record, 58 goals
scored, the most ever in a Ninja A-League season, and they've still got an AFC
Women's Champions League semifinal.
To come interesting conversation.
We talked a little bit about this in regards to the WSL, you know, um, changing
back to a final point score winner for 2026, this is similar kind of thing.
And I think football has always in Europe awarded the Premier's plate or the
premier tag, the champions tag to the person that's first past the post.
Obviously Melbourne City dominated first past the post by a long way, but it's
interesting, isn't it?
He's a grand he's, and then we've put in this grand final series.
Because that's how Australians kind of do sport.
Australians need a grand final.
We need that moment.
And yeah, and, and it does throw this up.
It throws up these, you know, I'm sure Melbourne City were very short price
favourites to be playing in that grand final and they're not, oh, it's the drama.
It adds the drama, doesn't it?
It does absolutely add the drama.
So in the other semifinal though, Melbourne victory sealed a six, two aggregate win
over Adelaide United to also protest the grand final.
And I must admit, I didn't watch that game on Saturday, but I read about it on
Saturday night and I thought, oh, wow, it's going to be a Melbourne.
I'll be for the final.
Like that was just my go-to and I was like, that's going to be epic.
It's going to be so good.
And obviously I'm stoked for central coast, but well done.
First final for them.
First grand final for them in their league history, in the club history, even
in surfing Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons has fallen short in the final of the gold
coast pro with Hawaiian Betty Lou secure Johnson claiming victory Fitzgibbons
through everything at secure Johnson surfing a mammoth 13 waves, but fell
With a two wave score, a 7.8, three compared to her opponent's impressive tally of 15.3.
Three Betty Lou was on fire.
That's like, that was obviously Sally's tactic.
Just go for volume.
A hundred percent.
And she'd seen how well, but Lou been surfing, but Lou not Molly out in the quarters.
Um, Sally was on the back foot from the start of the final with 20 year old
secure Johnson posting a score of 8.5 on her first wave in front of a huge crowd.
Burley heads, the Australian went to the air four times, trying to stick a landing
that would give her a score to put her back in contention, but she was unable to seal
It was Betty Lou's second win of the day over an Australian.
As you said, bears having early eliminated Molly pick them.
Props to the Aussies.
Some good surfing going on.
Great tournament.
Great competition.
In some athletics news, Australia has staked its claim as a global relay threat with a
historic campaign at the world.
Relays in China with a silver in the mixed four by 400 meter relay, as well as securing
qualification for the world.
Athletics champs in the women's four by four, two time Olympian Ellie beer led the
charge with two crucial runs on the night.
First assisting the women's four by 400 to the wealth world athletes championships
qualification alongside mere gross Gemma Pollard and Alana you kitsch for the time
of three 2731 less than 90 minutes later, beer was standing on the podium alongside
training partner.
and Luke van Ratgen.
After clocking an Oceana record of 3,
20 to finish less than three seconds behind the United States.
That's what Australian athletics is in a great place.
We told media I couldn't be any more stoked.
We were so excited to make the final and coming over the silver medal.
We're just so happy.
We've got all of our 400 Metacruise the world championships,
which is so exciting.
In super netball.
The battle of the birds is.
gives us a bit of Thunderbird.
That's not the noise a Thunderbird would make.
Bank crash, Thunderbird.
Please make it stop.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds have bounced back after two consecutive losses
to defeat the Queensland Firebirds.
The Firebirds took a 19 to 17 lead into quarter time,
but the T-Birds responded swiftly,
opening the second quarter with a 5-0 run to claim the quarter
and head into halftime with a 33 to 30 lead.
The Thunderbirds held on in a low-scoring third quarter,
and while the Firebirds managed to come within a single goal in the final quarter,
the Thunderbirds charged ahead to claim a nine-point victory.
In the match, Firebirds defender Ruby Bakewell-Dora notched up even 50 aims.
Thunderbirds skipper Hannah Petty celebrated her 100th cap.
Meanwhile, the New South Wales Swifts defeated the Melbourne Vixens
59-51 to make it five from five.
They undefeated the Swifts.
That was a good little whatever-bez face.
In some Women's Super League news,
in the Women's Super League,
Chelsea are officially champions after winning their final game of the season
and lifting the trophy.
The Blues' 1-0 win over Liverpool in their final game
cemented their place in history books as the only women's team in history
to go unbeaten across a 22-game season.
No one beat them.
In dropping points from only three draws,
they also set a new record points tally of 60 in the WSL,
beating their own mark of 58 from the 2022-2023 season.
Sometimes it does feel like they're competing against themselves,
don't you reckon?
Yeah, I think they are.
And if you think about, you know, we had some –
we, I'm going we here.
Chelsea had some injuries this year and obviously Sam Kerr was a major one.
And look, there's definitely some money spent by that club,
They attract the best players and they get the results.
Chelsea did leave it late to seal the win as Aggie Beaver Jones,
Chelsea's top scorer and standout player all season,
netted in the 91st minute.
They will now be looking for the treble this week in the FA Cup final.
In rugby union, the Black Ferns have retained the Laurie O'Reilly Cup
with a 38-12 win over the Wallaroos in Newcastle
to kick off their Pac-4 campaign.
Black Ferns winger Ayesha Letaliga scored the first two tries of the game
before New Zealand's Premier League.
Ayesha Letaliga scored the first two tries of the game before New Zealand's
Braxton, Soros and McGee, she was good.
She's got a lot of upside, that kid.
She's only 18 or 19.
She celebrated her debut with a try to help her side lead 19-0 at halftime.
But the Wallaroos rallied after the break with back-to-back tries
to Eva Carpani and Ash Masters,
showing the team's exponential growth since their 62-0 defeat
to the defending world champs 12 months ago.
I'd forgotten how big the margin was last time they played each other.
Yeah, it was quite large.
That is some improvement.
However, the Kiwis' class was too much as they closed out the victory
with a try to Sylvia Brunn before Soros and McGee capped her dream debut
off with her second try with a minute left to hand the Black Ferns
a 16-point victory.
In some basketball news, the Opals have outgunned the Tall Ferns 86-71
in their Trans-Tasman Throwdown series finale
to complete a 3-0 series sweep.
I love a Trans-Tasman Throwdown.
Izzy Borlase is 18 points and 6.
She's got 6 rebounds, helping complete a wire-to-wire win,
but she was well-supported by Courtney Woods, 16 points and 3 rebounds,
and Stephanie Reid, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Some new names in there, Chloe.
Yeah, that was exactly what I was just about to comment.
Yeah, it's pretty cool to see.
I love Tess Madgen.
I don't know if she ever does anything Opals-related and doesn't cry.
Like, I love her passion for the Opals.
It's great, but I loved watching the video of her jersey presentation
and seeing the names of these kids who obviously have earned it
WNBL seasons and things like that.
It's really cool to kind of watch the next generation of the Opals come through.
Yeah, it's awesome.
The WNBL saw the Opals complete that 3-0 series sweep against the Tall Ferns
after winning 98-57 and 88-70 in the first two games.
Let's take a look at the key story.
The Bloody Big Survey by Victoria University and Australian period charity
Share the Dignity has revealed that 68% of women skip sport because of their period.
That's a huge amount of women.
And I'm not surprised.
The study surveyed 330 people across the country and found 68% skip sport
due to their period, 90% worrying about leaking,
and 72% anxious about their period when playing sport.
But to counter this participation data,
the organisations have launched a guide called The Bloody Good Idea.
Can I just get on board with the use of the word bloody in here?
It's such an Australian colloquialism that we use to explain things,
things that are good and bad, but also here it's factual as well.
Tell us about The Bloody Good Idea.
The Bloody Good Idea is a free period product at sports and leisure facilities guide,
more of this please, aimed at policy makers and community clubs
to improve their support for members who have their period when playing sport.
Project lead Professor Claire Hanlon said,
providing free period products at sports facilities could remove a barrier
to play sport and help drive membership.
This is not a big ask, but the impact is huge.
She's awesome, Claire.
We know the amazing work she does in the research space around uniforms.
Just under 90% of respondents agree that sport facility policies need to recognise
menstrual health as a fundamental right where free period products are provided.
Of those who had access to products,
50% had used free products when they got caught out playing sport
and no one took products to stock up on personal supplies.
Speaking from experience, we obviously provide period products
in our Waratahs change room for the girls.
Well, I don't even think that's an obvious.
That's amazing, actually.
Yeah, so the Waratahs, part of my budget, I provide those for the girls.
And yeah, it's not as if people are pocketing them.
Because you know.
Like, you know, as a woman, that when you get your period,
if you desperately need something,
you would hate to be the person that's stocked up to take it for home
and someone else is then leaking and can't train or play sport, right?
It's just, yeah, it's a no-brainer.
So Share the Dignity founder, Rochelle Courtney, says,
it's a small cost with a big return, not only keeping girls in sport,
but reducing the need to replace those who drop out.
Sport is about more than just physical health.
It builds confidence, community, and lifelong opportunities.
No one should miss out because of their period.
And it's interesting, like, we kind of speak about period poverty a bit too,
and there's a real, you know, making sport available to everyone
from all economic backgrounds is so important,
and this is a barrier that we can eradicate.
So some of the recommendations include mandating period product packs
in first aid kits at sport facilities.
Provide period product packs to coaches for their kit bags.
Again, like, it's actually quite, wow.
Collaborate with local government, a dispenser, supplier,
and clubs to provide free period products in sport facility bathrooms,
including unisex bathrooms.
Open discussion between players, clubs, and coaches about playing
with your period to provide support and normalize the situation.
And look, this kind of,
this speaks to sport, obviously, in many ways,
but it also speaks to just a broader argument around period products being free.
I mean, the fact that we pay for them is quite ridiculous.
I think up until recently they had some kind of beauty tax on them.
So, yeah, so has that tax been taken off?
Like, it is not a selective, it's not a beauty product.
We are not choosing.
It is not a beauty product.
That is actually absurd to even think it would ever be classed.
So, when we talk about the broader conversation around providing period products for women for free,
which they do in a number of countries now, at schools, at work, places of work, just in general,
It absolutely is time.
Let's take a look at what to watch.
State of origin, game two.
We're going in stereo.
Let me get my scarf on.
We can seal the deal at the Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.
If you aren't in Sydney, you can watch it live on the Nine Network for free.
But if you are in Sydney.
If you are in Sydney.
Get your tickets and we're going to meet at the London, the London in Paddington.
To catch up and then we're all going to walk down to the game together because we got some messages from people saying,
hey, I really want to go to the game.
I don't want to go by myself.
So, this is a live State of Origin event, but with the game happening live in front of us as well.
Yeah, we're not, this is not a watch party.
I guess it is, but we're going to the real game just to clarify.
There's so many different levels of watch parties.
So many watch parties.
So, get around it.
Buy some tickets.
Come meet us at the London.
We'll be there from about 5.30.
So, we'll buy you a beer.
I don't earn that much money.
I mean, I'll try.
I'll try and earn some money before Thursday.
Are you warm in your scarf?
Yeah, I'm very flush.
In surfing, the Margaret River Pro.
I love it when the Australian, we've got the three Australian events back to back.
They bang out nicely.
So, no rest for the surfers with the final Aussie event.
The Margaret River Pro is set to start this weekend.
The first possible day of action will be Saturday with the surf condition checked at 7 a.m. daily.
And at WSL, I love Margaret River.
She's shooting her shot again.
If you need us to come over, just give us a call.
In athletics, the next event on the Diamond League calendar kicks off this Friday in Doha.
You can catch all the action live and free.
Diamond League YouTube channel.
The WNBA is back.
The first game of the season will be between the Dallas Wings and the Minnesota Lynx.
It tips off on Saturday at 9.30 a.m. AEST.
You can watch the whole season on Disney Plus KO.
We'll get yourself a WNBA League Pass, which, you know, if you don't have either of those
other streaming services, get yourself into the WNBA League Pass because those numbers
count towards you watching women's sport.
The Wallaroos are back in action this weekend against the U.S. of A. and featuring the alone
She's here in Australia.
The alone Amar effect.
The game kicks off Saturday at 4.55 p.m.
You can catch it live and free on the Nine Network.
Just a little side in here.
I probably should have spoken about it at the time.
Can I just talk about the scheduling of these games?
Saturday five o'clock is better than last weekend.
They were looking for a really big crowd at Newcastle.
Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate.
But also Saturday at three o'clock, we're all playing our own sports.
Yeah, community sports.
My club team was playing.
Yeah, that's tricky.
We need to look at Friday nights and night time.
Matches because you're really kind of limiting your reach.
You don't want to be clashing.
In some Super Netball, the undefeated New South Wales Swifts take on Crosstown rival the Giants
in the first Sydney Derby of the Super Netball season.
Match begins at 2 p.m.
AST on Sunday, and you can watch it live and free on KF Rebies.
In football soccer, the Central Coast Mariners take on Melbourne City in an A-League women's
grand final for the ages.
The big dance kicks off this Sunday at 3.15 p.m.
You can watch it live and free.
It costs across Network 10.
And in some more football soccer, but in the Northern Hemisphere, Chelsea will be looking
to win the domestic treble when they faced Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Sunday
The match begins at 10.30 p.m.
A.S.T., and you can watch it live on Optus Sport.
See, that's, I could stay awake.
I don't anymore with a baby, but I could stay awake compared to getting up at 3 a.m.
Or 10.30 is way more better.
Now the clocks have changed.
Like, you get some Premier League matches or WSL matches starting at 9 o'clock.
It's really quite more convenient.
Much more better.
So that's the wrap.
See you Thursday night.
See you Thursday night.