AFL urged to go beyond mental health round with player voices to tackle stigma

From sharing more first-person stories to using destigmatising language in community football, the AFL can do more to improve mental health outcomes according to experts, whether or not the league pursues a themed round explicitly dedicated to the cause.The footy community has been beset by grief this week following the death of West Coast premiership player Adam Selwood at age 41, three months after his twin brother Troy – a former Brisbane player – died by suicide.Former Kangaroos and Swans player Wayne Schwass, Cats great Jimmy Bartel and Swans’ premiership-winning coach Paul Roos have been leading voices in the call for the establishment of a mental health round, but others including former Hawthorn president and Beyond Blue founder Jeff Kennett are opposed to the idea.As many as 43% of people aged 16–85 experience a mental disorder at some time in their life according to the ABS, and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 15-44.The AFL developed its first mental health strategy in 2020 and updated it last year, outlining a vision that employees of the AFL and its clubs are “supported to thrive in football, work and life”

All aboard for glory? Bath hope their trophy buses are finally on schedule

Trophies. They are like bloody buses. Or at least that is what Bath fans must be hoping. They wait 17 years for one, and along come …We are about to find out how many. One has just been

French Open draws: Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu handed tough paths

Jack Draper will have to navigate a challenging draw at the French Open to consolidate his breakthrough clay-court season with a deep run at Roland Garros, where he is still seeking his first win.Draper, the fifth seed, will begin against the Italian left-hander and fellow 23-year-old Mattia Bellucci, who is ranked No 68. Draper has been drawn in Jannik Sinner’s quarter and a career-best run in Paris could culminate in a last-eight match with the top seed.Draper has made dramatic strides on clay in the last month, a surface on which he previously had minimal experience at the highest level. At the Madrid Open, a Masters 1000 tournament, he made his first tour-level final on the surface, losing to Casper Ruud, before an impressive quarter-final run in slower conditions at the Italian Open in Rome

Is the Mets’ $765m slugger Juan Soto sad, bad or just playing in New York?

The 26-year-old has been good rather than great in his first season with his new team, and he’s playing in an unforgiving environmentIf you only tuned into the biggest headlines about him, you might be convinced that Juan Soto’s first quarter of a season with the New York Mets has been a complete flop.Last December, the Mets guaranteed Soto $765m on a 15-year contract, the most lucrative deal in professional sports history. In the early going of his time with the Mets, Soto has been the subject of a handful of viral stories, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre. None of them have been positive. Last Sunday, Soto did not hustle out of the box on a ground ball up the middle, and his casual trot to first base cost him a chance at an infield hit, in the eighth inning of a tied game against the crosstown rival Yankees

Northampton’s Champions Cup final date with Bordeaux should be all-out attack | Ugo Monye

How do Northampton Saints go again? After pulling off a stunning upset to avenge last season’s semi-final defeat by Leinster and take their place in Saturday’s final, the question is how do Phil Dowson’s side overcome one of the French giants, Bordeaux, to clinch the Champions Cup?Had the final been a week later I’d have feared for Northampton but they are helped by the ability to distract themselves with Premiership action, and I think the manner of victory over Leinster plays into their hands. Northampton need to focus on being unashamedly themselves. In Dublin the gameplan was to put the car into fifth gear from the first whistle and that’s precisely what they did. When your approach is so authentic and in keeping with your culture, it makes it that much easier.I also think we have two teams contesting the final after the heartache of last year – maybe even because of it

Haliburton and Pacers stun Knicks with epic comeback in Game 1 of East finals

The ghosts of Reggie Miller were alive and well at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night – and Tyrese Haliburton once again played the role of Garden villain to perfection.Haliburton helped Indiana complete an unprecedented 14-point comeback in the final reel, tying the game with a wild jumper at the buzzer in regulation, to beat the New York Knicks 138-135 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers now hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven-games series for a trip to the NBA finals after pulling off one of the most improbable finishes in playoff history.New York led 119-105 with under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, seemingly in complete command. According to ESPN Research, their win probability was 99