Best bets and value play for Bendigo races Thursday
Form expert Brad Waters analyses Thursday's Bendigo meeting, presenting his best bets, value selection and jockey to follow.
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ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Maya Joint digs deep at Eastbourne Open to beat Alexandra Eala for maiden grass-court title
Teenage sensation Maya Joint has earned an epic, back-to-the-wall victory at the Eastbourne Open to give Australia's challenge at Wimbledon the perfect launch pad. The US-born 19-year-old, who has been making a stratospheric rise in the sport since relocating to Queensland less than two years ago, saved four match points on her way to defeating fellow rising star Alexandra Eala in a pulsating tie-break finale on Sunday (AEST). It meant Joint became the first Australian player to win the women's title in the 50-year history of the British seaside event, which has become the traditional curtain raiser for the grass-court grand slam, which begins on Monday. "It's been an amazing year, an amazing two years," Joint said at Devonshire Park, while saluting Aussie coach Chris Mahony, who she credits with transforming her career. "Thank you for everything you've done. You're a lifesaver." The astonishing 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) win will rocket Brisbane-based Joint, who only turned 19 in April, to number 41 in the world when she kicks off her maiden Wimbledon with a tough opener against Russian number 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Tuesday. "I'm very happy right now, feeling very relieved as well. It was a very difficult match," Joint said. "I'm proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match, even though I'd lost about nine of the last 10 games." Joint had been 5-2 down, and almost out, in the final breaker, having to come up with fabulous defensive scrabbling to stay in contention as Eala came agonisingly close to becoming the Philippines's first ever WTA champion. But the teenage daughter of former Sydney squash professional Michael Joint demonstrated real courage and calm in a terrific showdown which, after a nervy spell from both players as they both homed in on the title, really hit the heights in the youngest final since Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger in 1981. For Eala, who has become a young heroine in the Philippines, it was all so crushing after Joint sealed the deal with a backhand cross-court winner that the 20-year-old was in tears, with the Australian trying to console her that "we will definitely play in more finals". Remarkably, Joint's run to her first WTA title on the clay at the Morocco Open five weeks ago also came on the weekend before a grand slam, and she then got knocked out in the first round by Ajla Tomljanović. "It's really great preparation. I've got a lot of matches in before Wimbledon, and hopefully I can be in Wimbledon a little bit longer than I was in the French," Joint said. "I think this time's a tiny bit different. I get one more day of rest, and I'll just detach myself a little bit more from the last match, and just focus on the match coming up. "But I'm just really excited to get to London later today and step into Wimby for the first time." AAP
News.com.au
27 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘That's a week': AFL umpire strikes young Demon in Suns beat down
Melbourne has been left bloodied and battered during its 19-point loss to the Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon. The Demons kicked five goals in the final quarter to put some gloss on the scoreboard, but they trailed 5.7 to one point at quarter-time en route to a 15.14 (104) to 12.13 (85) defeat that turns the heat up on coach Simon Goodwin. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Their disappointing afternoon might have been personified by an incident between young midfielder Harvey Langford and umpire Martin Rodger late in that awful opening term. Rodger bounced the ball after the Suns' fourth unanswered goal and then backed away from the centre circle with his arms raised, inadvertently clipping Langford on his path backwards. Watch the umpire clip in the video player above The 19-year-old was briefly rocked before opting to continue playing, heading back into defence and trying to get involved in the play before he was spotted by the umpire and sent off with the blood rule. The moment with Langford was initially missed by the commentators before he was seen on the bench receiving treatment and a replay was then shown. 'Umpire elbow, Langford,' Jonathan Brown said when he saw the replay. Ben Dixon added: 'Yeah umpire elbow boys.' Alastair Lynch then joked: 'That's a week!' Dixon replied: 'Yeah that's a week to the ump.' Dwayne Russell then added some insult to the injury by wondering if Langford might cop a fine. 'Would he get fined for umpire contact?' he asked. 'Because he was behind the umpire and they've been paying free kicks and fining players for it, so he might get stitches and a fine.' There was more trouble to come for the Demons, and not just on the scoreboard, when Clayton Oliver attempted to dive on a loose footy and clashed heads with Suns star Touk Miller. The three-time All Australian came off second best, with blood pouring from a wound on his head as he came from the ground. That sparked a bloodied rest of the game for Oliver, with the team's medical staff trying valiantly but mostly unsuccessfully to patch him up. 'Have a look at Clayton Oliver,' Dixon said late in the game as blood poured down his heavily bandaged face. 'They're trying to get him off. He looks like Hannibal Lecter, fair dinkum. 'It's just leaking from everywhere, they're just trying to get him off to get some more tape on it.' Fans on X were also noticing the carnage. Lucy Cuzzupe tweeted: 'How is it concussion's a thing in football today but Oliver can run on the ground with all that bandage covering his face and head? Such a bad look. If he's that bad sub him off.' @GreyCommentator said: 'Someone get the record books out. What's the record for the most number of concussions/blood rules for one team in a match? 'Melbourne so far 2 concussions, Oliver with blood streaming, Langford with blood after an umpire elbowed him.' It all summed up a pretty miserable day for the Dees, who will likely be spared more intense scrutiny after kicking 12 goals to the Gold Coast's 10 after quarter-time. While Michael Voss is copping the most heat over the performances of his Carlton side, Melbourne fans were voicing their concerns about 2021 flag winner Goodwin. 'We need to have a talk about Simon Goodwin being coach at the end of the season. This is just bad,' one fan wrote on X. 'Goodwin will always have the flag and I don't have any animosity for him, but the list deserves a different look at the caper, so Simon should read the tea leaves and step aside,' wrote another. 'Simon Goodwin is a kindergarten level football coach. Bloke has been fidgeting for 4 years. Biggest waste of a post premiership era of all time. My nan could have won 2 premierships with that list,' said a third. The Demons, who are sitting 14th with five wins for the season, head to Adelaide next up to take on the high-flying Crows.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Sam Konstas suffers fresh failure as Australia collapse v West Indies
To borrow a phrase from Paul Keating, Shamar Joseph did Sam Konstas slowly. Dropped twice on nought in Joseph's first over of Australia's second innings- making it five spills for the match off the star paceman's bowling - Konstas muddled his way to five over 53 minutes. There were a couple of wild dances down the wicket, pokes at balls not there to be poked, before the coup de grace: playing onto his stumps with an angled bat, once more unable to combat an inswinging delivery. SCROLL DOWN TO RE-LIVE THE DAY'S ACTION IN OUR BLOG It was cruel and unusual punishment for a player who despite undoubted prodigious talent is well short of being the finished article. Konstas' game has clear technical flaws, and his judgment is questionable. That shouldn't be a problem. Nineteen-year-olds are not meant to be ready. Growing pains are a real phenomenon. The issue is that the Test arena is not supposed to be the place where Australian cricketers learn their game. The idea is that the best XI gets picked. Development is to be done in domestic cricket, for Australia A, and in the nets. This is especially the case in the era of the World Test Championship. Sam Konstas bowled by Shamar Joseph as part of an Australain top-order collapse. Picture: AFP In December 2023, as debate raged as to whether David Warner should be given a farewell series against Pakistan, selection chairman George Bailey said: 'There's points on the line for each and every game. So our focus is very much on picking the XI that we think can do the job.' The panel is hoping for quick rewards from a player averaging less than 35 in first-class cricket, whose only two Sheffield Shield centuries came in the same game back in October. His Boxing Day feats will live long in Australian sporting lore, however that Konstas innings to tame Jasprit Bumrah could have ended several times in the first over alone. That half-century on debut stands as the exception, not the rule. Konstas' half-century on debut remains the outlier in his Test career. Picture: Michael Klein Still, having backed him for this series, it is hard to envisage the panel looking elsewhere for the next couple of Tests, even with Steve Smith's potential return. After all, Josh Inglis missed out in both innings too, as did Cameron Green. And very few players have looked comfortable batting on this unexpectedly difficult Kensington Oval wicket. Green was more assured than he had been in his first three innings since returning to international cricket, but still fell for 15, nicking Justin Greaves to first slip after surviving a line-ball DRS lbw call moments earlier. Inglis shouldered arms to a delivery nipping back from Jayden Seales on 12, paying the price. Usman Khawaja, though probably more convincing than he had been on day one, was hurried by Alzarri Joseph to fall the wrong side of an umpire's call lbw shout on 15, continuing a theme of the 38-year-old being undone by quality fast bowling. Justin Greaves (R) celebrates the dismissal of Cameron Green late on day two. Picture: AP Though Marnus Labuschagne is waiting in the wings, it is hard to envisage any change to the top six for the second Test save for the possible inclusion of Smith - convalescing this week in New York - at the expense of Inglis. Suddenly the Frank Worrell Trophy - held by Australia for three decades - is imperilled. And hopes of returning to the WTC final in 2027 would also take an early hit with defeat in the Caribbean. And no one needs to be reminded of an Ashes series on the horizon. This is looking like a rocky year for the Aussies.
