Dash Daniels gunning to match Bogut-inspired 2003 gold
Emerging star Dash Daniels has declared Australia are primed to end a decades-long medal drought as they seek to write their own history at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
The Emus have not been on the podium since an Andrew Bogut-led line-up broke new ground in 2003 as the only Australian men's team to win gold at a global FIBA tournament.
The current crop are eyeing their own glory but will have to overcome some significant early hurdles in Switzerland, starting with an opening match against eight-time champions USA early on Sunday morning (1.15am AEST).
European heavyweights France and African wildcards Cameroon also feature in Group D - dubbed the 'Group of Death' on FIBA's website.
While the tournament format dictates all 16 teams advance to the knockout rounds, the group stage can make or break a campaign.
But Emus guard and NBA prospect Daniels - the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks star Dyson Daniels - holds no fears.
"A medal is the least you can expect," 17-year-old Daniels told AAP.
"Gold would be fantastic and we've got the team to do it.
"We've just got to get out there and show the world."
Daniels, who will feature as an NBL Next Star with Melbourne United next season, will line up alongside star forward Jacob Furphy for the Emus under head coach Robbie McKinlay.
McKinlay's group are aiming to emulate Rob Beveridge's 2003 Emus outfit, which remains the only team from outside North America and Europe to win the FIBA Under-19 World Cup since its inception in 1979.
Future NBA No.1 draft pick and champion Bogut was the MVP of that 2003 tournament, alongside fellow stars-in-the-making Damian Martin, Brad Newley, Matt Knight, Rhys Carter and Brad Robbins.
The Emus have not reached the quarter-finals at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup since 2015.
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Lions roar and crack half-century in tour opener
Go to latest Lions overpower Force 54–7 to launch Australian tour in style By Jonathan Drennan The British and Irish Lions have made the perfect start to their Australian tour, brushing off jet lag and last Saturday's surprise loss to Argentina to beat the Force 54–7 in Perth. During the first half, rugby fans in Perth were briefly allowed to dream the impossible: a win against the Lions was possible. The Force played fearless running rugby that stunned some of the best players in the world, with wingers Mac Grealy and Dylan Pietsch starring under the lights at Optus Stadium. Prop Tom Robertson also shut down Ireland's famed tighthead Tadhg Furlong in the scrum. After the game, Force coach Simon Cron revealed that tighthead prop Oli Hoskins had broken his little toe on his second day of training, but had insisted on playing through the pain in his final game of professional rugby in front of his home crowd. Before kickoff, betting shops were willing to pay $17 on a Force win and by the final siren, it was clear why the bookmaker very rarely loses. Eight tries for the Lions to the Force's one was as conclusive as it gets. After a stuttering opening forty minutes where the Lions scrambled into the changing rooms grateful to be 21-7 in front, they then showed their vast potential and made their mark in Australia. In the second half, the offloading game that the Lions had frequently failed to execute in their shock defeat against the Pumas in Dublin found its perfect rhythm. The chief tormentor of the Force's exhausted defence was Canberra-raised Mack Hansen, helping the Lions to score five unanswered tries. Hansen has a tattoo of his Lions coach Andy Farrell on his leg as part of a bet for winning the Six Nations two years ago, and the former Great Britain rugby league legend singled out his winger for special praise, despite his international teammate Joe McCarthy being awarded player of the match. 'The player of the game by a country mile was Mack Hansen,' Farrell said. 'Back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own. That's what a Lion should 100% do for his teammates.' The Lions scored the first try of the game within just 90 seconds, a perfectly timed cross field kick found the skipper Dan Sheehan, who played a perfect pass to his Ireland winger James Lowe, who immediately threw an offload for the hooker to finish. Three minutes later, through brute force, the Force climbed off the canvas and captain Nic White burrowed over, 12 years after cruelly missing the Lions tour through a shoulder injury. The Force had shocked the Lions with relentless physicality and expansive play, with Pietsch desperate to impress and succeeding through the game, giving Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt plenty to think about ahead of the Test series. The Force turned down two early penalty kicks in front of the posts, deciding to go to the corner both times; ultimately, their lack of pragmatism against some of the world's best players was brutally punished. Henry Pollock had played just 31 minutes of Test rugby for England and announced himself onto the Lions tour with a brilliant break, waiting before eventually getting hauled down by rookie five-eighth Alex Harford and popping up a pass to create a simple run in for Welsh halfback Tomos Williams. After so much good work, the Force came brutally unstuck after expecting Finn Russell to kick for the corner, shuffling back with their backs turned, instead the Scottish playmaker spotted the wide open gap, tapped and sprinted half the field, before popping it up to his full back Elliot Daly to dive over for the third try of the night three minutes before half-time. Although the Lions had been starved of the possession they may have expected to enjoy before the game, when they were eventually found opportunities, they were ruthless. The Force's brave early resistance started to falter dramatically as the Lions turned up their physicality through Irish second-rower McCarthy. Six minutes into the second half Sam Carter dropped the ball deep in the Lions' half, the men in red surged 80 metres starting with Mack Hansen before a swift pass to his Irish teammate James Lowe who eventually carved through the Force defence to beautifully offload the ball to his halfback Williams who got his second of the night. Williams' two tries were countered by a nasty hamstring strain that was getting iced in the changing rooms after the game, and could lead the Lions to call on Scotland's Ben White. Five minutes later, Hansen again caused havoc, finding space and sending through another Irishman Garry Ringrose, for a try. McCarthy added another after Pollock's smart chip and chase punished the exhausted Force defence. Daly's second try of the night with nine minutes left was completely unopposed; the English fullback almost jogged sheepishly to dot the ball down under the posts. Replacement halfback Alex Mitchell scored on the siren to end the game at 52-7 and make the Force's blistering start a distant memory. Twelve years ago, Lions cruised to a 52-point victory over the Force at the old Subiaco Oval. In the new, gleaming surrounds of Optus Stadium on Saturday evening, the scoreboard read marginally better, but it highlighted the scale of the task the Wallabies will face against this Lions team. The Lions will now travel to Brisbane, where they have a short turnaround and will face the Queensland Reds on Wednesday at an almost sold-out Suncorp Stadium. 'They're (the Reds) a good side, I think we can all see that, they play the game in all sorts of ways,' Farrell said. 'It's not just one way, but they're very good up front, good at playing the tight game in all sorts of different conditions, but they can play expansive rugby as well. That'll be a real tough test for us on Wednesday, but it's something that we expect from the quality side.' yesterday 10.31pm Last thoughts, some key stats and a sign off .... As the Force and Lions players swap jerseys on Optus Stadium - and an impressive crowd of 46,000 goes home - Force coach Simon Cron has revealed prop Ollie Hoskins played the game with a painful injury after breaking his toe at his first training session last week. Hoskins only came out of a recent retirement last week to make up numbers for the Force. That's a brave effort. The major takeaway for the Force tonight? Pietsch was excellent and we probably expected that. But there is always one unheralded player to stand up against the Lions and tonight that was Mac Grealy. Do yourself a favour: keep an eye on that name. Grealy's was the sort of performance that could see the former Queensland Red win a Wallabies squad call-up in coming weeks and months. Okay, so I am gonna sign off with the live coverage, and let's do that with a look at the final stats. The one that jumps on this list is 23 offloads for the Lions. Their transition attack was exceptional. Good evening, thanks for being with us. Keep an eye out for JD's follow-up reporting from Perth, and I will be heading up to Brisbane for the Reds-Lions clash on Wednesday night. Can't wait. yesterday 10.07pm Pollock: 'I love big occasions' Young Henry Pollock has been grabbed by the Stan crew, and you get the sense that won't be the last time. The flashy no.8 from Northhampton had a superb night out, setting up a try and being a constant presence as a ball runner. He also got in a cheeky stink with Nick Champion de Crespigny. We'll be seeing a lot more of him. 'We just enjoyed it. We had a bad result against Argentina but we spoke about bouncing back and doing what we do best and hopefully we showed that,' Pollock said. 'It's been a whirlwind so far. I am just trying to take it in my stride. I love big occasions and I love pressure. I am just pumped to be here. It was a fun game and we just enjoyed it.'
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
The 5000-day curse broken by netball's Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds have bounced back into the Super Netball top four, kept their three-peat dream alive and ended one of the longest droughts in Australian sport with a gritty 56-53 victory over the Melbourne Vixens. Remarkably given all their recent successes, it was the Thunderbirds' first away win over the Vixens since June 6, 2010 - 5511 days ago - snapping a 12-game losing streak against Melbourne in their own backyard at John Cain Arena on Sunday. Adelaide (6-6) set up their drought-breaking triumph with a barnstorming start and miserly finish after being challenged by the third-ranked Vixens (7-5) in the middle. Georgie Horjus was shifted from wing attack to goal attack midway through the second quarter and finished with seven goals without a miss - including two super shots - as well as nine assists to help end Melbourne's five-game winning stretch. "We probably didn't play our best netball but we grinded it out," Horjus said. "We knew we had to win, so now we're still in the hunt for finals, which is exciting for the next couple of weeks." "We've had some really close games but this gives us confidence we can do it ugly." With Romelda Aiken-George presenting a strong target and Tayla Williams impressing through the centre, Adelaide burst out to an 18-10 lead. Kiera Austin's quickfire two-pointer on the quarter-time siren dragged the margin back to 19-14 and gave the Vixens the momentum entering the second term. Melbourne's defensive trio Jo Weston, Kate Eddy and Rudi Ellis upped the physical pressure and the T'birds dropped off their hot early level as the Vixens trimmed the deficit to 30-29 at half-time. Adelaide superstar Latanya Wilson was creating havoc at goal defence but she lacked support as the home side continued to impose themselves. Sophie Garbin hit 11 without a miss, including the goal which gave Melbourne their first lead, 46-44 at the final change, which they held onto. The Vixens' frontcourt coughed up repeated turnovers in the fourth term while misfiring from long range. Horjus's two-pointer over Weston and Ellis gave Adelaide the lead for good as the visitors swamped Melbourne 12-7 i The Adelaide Thunderbirds have bounced back into the Super Netball top four, kept their three-peat dream alive and ended one of the longest droughts in Australian sport with a gritty 56-53 victory over the Melbourne Vixens. Remarkably given all their recent successes, it was the Thunderbirds' first away win over the Vixens since June 6, 2010 - 5511 days ago - snapping a 12-game losing streak against Melbourne in their own backyard at John Cain Arena on Sunday. Adelaide (6-6) set up their drought-breaking triumph with a barnstorming start and miserly finish after being challenged by the third-ranked Vixens (7-5) in the middle. Georgie Horjus was shifted from wing attack to goal attack midway through the second quarter and finished with seven goals without a miss - including two super shots - as well as nine assists to help end Melbourne's five-game winning stretch. "We probably didn't play our best netball but we grinded it out," Horjus said. "We knew we had to win, so now we're still in the hunt for finals, which is exciting for the next couple of weeks." "We've had some really close games but this gives us confidence we can do it ugly." With Romelda Aiken-George presenting a strong target and Tayla Williams impressing through the centre, Adelaide burst out to an 18-10 lead. Kiera Austin's quickfire two-pointer on the quarter-time siren dragged the margin back to 19-14 and gave the Vixens the momentum entering the second term. Melbourne's defensive trio Jo Weston, Kate Eddy and Rudi Ellis upped the physical pressure and the T'birds dropped off their hot early level as the Vixens trimmed the deficit to 30-29 at half-time. Adelaide superstar Latanya Wilson was creating havoc at goal defence but she lacked support as the home side continued to impose themselves. Sophie Garbin hit 11 without a miss, including the goal which gave Melbourne their first lead, 46-44 at the final change, which they held onto. The Vixens' frontcourt coughed up repeated turnovers in the fourth term while misfiring from long range. Horjus's two-pointer over Weston and Ellis gave Adelaide the lead for good as the visitors swamped Melbourne 12-7 i The Adelaide Thunderbirds have bounced back into the Super Netball top four, kept their three-peat dream alive and ended one of the longest droughts in Australian sport with a gritty 56-53 victory over the Melbourne Vixens. Remarkably given all their recent successes, it was the Thunderbirds' first away win over the Vixens since June 6, 2010 - 5511 days ago - snapping a 12-game losing streak against Melbourne in their own backyard at John Cain Arena on Sunday. Adelaide (6-6) set up their drought-breaking triumph with a barnstorming start and miserly finish after being challenged by the third-ranked Vixens (7-5) in the middle. Georgie Horjus was shifted from wing attack to goal attack midway through the second quarter and finished with seven goals without a miss - including two super shots - as well as nine assists to help end Melbourne's five-game winning stretch. "We probably didn't play our best netball but we grinded it out," Horjus said. "We knew we had to win, so now we're still in the hunt for finals, which is exciting for the next couple of weeks." "We've had some really close games but this gives us confidence we can do it ugly." With Romelda Aiken-George presenting a strong target and Tayla Williams impressing through the centre, Adelaide burst out to an 18-10 lead. Kiera Austin's quickfire two-pointer on the quarter-time siren dragged the margin back to 19-14 and gave the Vixens the momentum entering the second term. Melbourne's defensive trio Jo Weston, Kate Eddy and Rudi Ellis upped the physical pressure and the T'birds dropped off their hot early level as the Vixens trimmed the deficit to 30-29 at half-time. Adelaide superstar Latanya Wilson was creating havoc at goal defence but she lacked support as the home side continued to impose themselves. Sophie Garbin hit 11 without a miss, including the goal which gave Melbourne their first lead, 46-44 at the final change, which they held onto. The Vixens' frontcourt coughed up repeated turnovers in the fourth term while misfiring from long range. Horjus's two-pointer over Weston and Ellis gave Adelaide the lead for good as the visitors swamped Melbourne 12-7 i
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Former NRL player Kevin Proctor suffers knockout during RUNIT event month after teenager dies doing same challenge
A former NRL player has suffered a scary knockout during a controversial run it straight event in the Middle East, a month after a teenager in New Zealand died doing the same challenge. Former NRL player Kevin Proctor has suffered a scary knockout in a run it straight contest with social media influencer Jordan Simi at RUNIT 02 in Dubai, as many call the stunt stupid and dangerous. The run it straight trend, which is growing in popularity, involves people directly running into each other as hard as they can. In sickening footage, the former rugby league player collided with his ball-carrying opponent Simi, resulting in a huge collision. Proctor came off second best and was left dazed after being flattened in the contest, his head flat on the surface and his legs stiff. — NRLCentral (@centralNRL) June 29, 2025 The incident caused immediate concern among organisers, spectators, medics, and his opponent. After the footage went online it left many people bemused by the 'stupid' RUNIT game, which offers $200,000 in prize money for first place. 'Wtf how is this a thing,' one said on X. 'This stupid 'sport' should be banned and made illegal,' another added. 'Stupid and dangerous,' a third said. The trend has gained popularity in Australia and New Zealand and has drawn significant criticism. The game originated through the Australian-based RUNIT Championship League competition. The challenge took a dark turn after a New Zealand teenager Ryan Satterthwaite tragically died after attempting to run it straight. The 19-year-old suffered a serious head injury when he did it at a property in May. The RUNIT event has not convinced trauma clinicians, despite medical staff on site for participants. Neuroscientist Dr Helen Murray told the NZ Herald she does not 'support' the high-risk challenge. 'There is clearly a high risk of head injury in this event. There's no attempt to reduce head acceleration, so I do not support it,' she said. Australian neurologist Dr Alan Pearce said it's simply 'insanity'. 'It's insanity. You're removing the skill and strategy and replacing it with blunt force,' he said. Proctor played 283 NRL games for the Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm, and 22 Test matches for New Zealand. He was sacked in 2022 after posting himself vaping in the CommBank Stadium toilets during a game for the Titans. Vaping is not permitted in or around the ground. Consequently, his club labelled his actions 'dumb' and fined him $15,000 and proceeded to later tear up his playing contract. Proctor was also fined $20,000 and banned for four games by the Titans after he allegedly purchased and consumed cocaine with Jesse Bromwich in 2017.
