A first half hat-trick to Suliasi Vunivalu paved the way to victory for the Melbourne Storm on Friday 22 March, as the visitors defeated the Canberra Raiders at home 22-10.
In front of a 14,031 strong crowd, the Raiders went into the sheds down 14-0. It took until the 50th minute for the home side to register a score, with Jarrod Croker crossing for a try. Croker finished the game with two tries and a conversion as the visitors held on for the win.
The Canberra Raiders host the Newcastle Knights at GIO Stadium on Friday 29 March. Kick-off 6pm. Tickets via Ticketek.
Brumbies Women finals bound
The Brumbies Women are Super W finals bound after defeating RugbyWA at Kingsway Reserve, WA on Sunday 24 March.
With a finals place up for grabs, the Brumbies were in trouble early with Claudia Nielson crossing for RugbyWA; however, the Canberra side fought back through tries to Georgia O’Neill, Remi Wilton and Tayla Stanford to go on for a 17-12 win.
The win secured third place for the Brumbies and sets up a showdown with the Queensland Reds on Sunday 1 April at Ballymore, Qld. The winner will take on the undefeated NSW Waratahs in the grand final a week later.
In Super Rugby, the Brumbies recorded a 22-point loss to the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The home side led 10-0 at the break, eventually winning 36-14.
The result sees the Brumbies sit in third place in the Australian Conference on 11 points behind the Rebels (13) and the Waratahs (14).
The Brumbies take on the Crusaders at Christchurch Stadium, NZ on Saturday 6 April.
AT A GLANCE
Charity Shield at Deakin
The 2019 Capital Football Charity Shield match between Canberra FC and Gungahlin United will be held at Deakin Stadium on Friday 29 March 6.30pm.
Gate proceeds and donations will go to the Salvation Army in Canberra to help their services to those less fortunate in the community.
Aiava triumphs
Destanee Aiava (Vic) has claimed her maiden title in the capital after taking out the ACT Claycourt International #1 on Sunday 24 March, defeating Japan’s Risa Ozaki6-2 6-2.
It capped off a great week for Aiava who also made it through to the women’s doubles final with Ellen Perez (NSW). The pair were defeated by Naiktha Bains(Qld) and Tereza Mihalikova (SVK)4-6 6-2 10-4.
The ACT Claycourt International #2 is on 25-31 March at the Canberra Tennis Centre, Lyneham.
Opportunity to play
On Friday 22 March, more than 90 local kids living with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability were given the opportunity to try new sports at the Variety Activate Inclusion Sports Day at the Queanbeyan Indoor Sports Centre.
The event was open to all young people aged 5-18 years living with a disability and aimed to help them overcome barriers to taking part in sports.
Geelong Cats supporters
Watch the Geelong Cats play with theCanberra Cats supporter group at the Southern Cross Club Wodenin the downstairs community room on Saturday 30 March 7.25pm. Additional viewing dates are 13, 28 April; 18 May; 7 June; 6, 21 July; 3 August; and Round 23 v Carlton date and time to be announced. To find out more, email [email protected]
Nicholls Oval upgrade
Nicholls neighbourhood oval is ready for use by the community following a $1.6m upgrade which includedtwo new synthetic playing surfaces and reconfigured line markings to accommodate a greater range of sports. The existing 300m running track was also replaced along with a rubber underlay (or ‘shock pad’) to help lessen impact on joints and to provide better support for users.
Nordic walking
The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) has launched an innovative new partnership with Canberra’s rapidly growing community of Nordic walkers to enable them to take advantage of the bushland on offer at the ANBG.
Mental health support
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has launched a nationwide mental health support service. The Mental Health Referral Network (MHRN) will provide almost 1,000 AIS-funded athletes with access to 27 AIS-endorsed psychologists and mental health practitioners located across the country; sportaus.gov.au/ais/mhrn
Changes to Super Rugby
The Japan-based Sunwolves Japan are set to drop out of the existing 15-team Super Rugby competition at the end of the 2020 season as the competition moves to a revised format.
Starting in 2021, the competition will be a 14-team, round robin format featuring five New Zealand teams, four South African teams, four Australian teams and the Jaguares from South America.
The new format will see the removal of the conference system with each team to play 13 matches during the home-and-away season. The top six will make the finals.
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