sport

After a long history of AFL players of colour being abused and left unsupported by the league, it was not surprising when a report into Collingwood FC this week found systemic racism. Can Eddie McGuire start the process of doing better?

John Barnes retired from a 200-plus-game AFL career thinking it had set him up for a comfortable future. Instead he now suffers from epilepsy and watches debilitated from the sidelines as former greats succumb to CTE brain injuries.

For AFL recruiters, scouting future footy stars is tough at the best of times. Now coronavirus has made the usual game of speculation and conjecture that much trickier.

For footy fans struggling under lockdown in Melbourne, the 2020 AFL season has been both a welcome distraction and a reminder of what has been lost. Now it’s set to culminate with the previously unthinkable – a grand final under lights at the Gabba.

Experiences of racism are not new to Lin Jong. But after years of trying to shrug them off, the Western Bulldogs midfielder is now determined to call out vilification and see the perpetrators held to account.

Olympic basketballer turned Adelaide Crows star Erin Phillips has made a habit of winning: premierships, league best and fairest awards and adoring fans. Now, following knee-reconstruction surgery, she eyes her next prize.

While the recent Matildas pay deal is a welcome boost for gender equality in sport, women athletes – Ash Barty aside – still have a long way to go to reach equal pay with their male counterparts.

As the first – and still only – woman to serve as an AFL club president, Peggy O’Neal is keenly aware of her role as a groundbreaker, and of her responsibility to the future of her beloved Richmond FC.

The full life, troubled mind and untimely death of AFL icon Danny Frawley.