1876 SCG Members Edition No.5

M E M BE R S E DI T ION W I N T E R 2023

Mark of the

champion THE NINE-YEAR, $10 MILLION DEAL THAT’S STILL PAYING DIVIDENDS

{ L A NC E F R A N K L I N • P ORT R A I T BY PH I L H I L LYA R D }

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Allianz Business Insurance or contact your broker Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Before making a decision about Business Insurance, please read the PDS. The PDS and Target Market Determination for this insurance are available from allianz.com.au. Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850.

Hit for six: Belinda Clark, left, and Kerrie Mather admire the new sculpture. Picture: Phil Hillyard

{ FROM THE CEO }

There is a new sporting great to welcome you at the Sydney Cricket Ground — Belinda Clark, a groundbreaking Australian cricketer, Test captain, administrator and leader In January, Belinda’s sculpture became the newest addition to the SCG precinct, sited quite deliberately across from Steve Waugh and opposite Richie Benaud — three of the most influential Australian Test captains in the sport’s history.

In May, they were joined by Adam Goodes, albeit further down Driver Avenue at the Sydney Swans’ new centre of excellence in the Royal Hall of Industries.

It was a delight to work with Belinda throughout the process, as

well as sculptor Cathy Weiszmann and our artistic director Henry Mulholland. The sculptures capture moments in time in some sense, as well as acknowledging the significant contributions made by the subjects.

Belinda and Adam are the worthiest of additions and continue the legacy of former SCG chairman Rodney Cavalier AO and major benefactor Basil Sellers AM. One of the goals of the sculpture program is to encourage younger and future generations to ask “why”; why are Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Mathews at the front of Allianz Stadium, and who is Yabba and why is he sitting in the Victor Trumper Stand?

Answering the questions allows us to either learn for ourselves or educate others about the very special place the Sydney Cricket Ground precinct holds in New South Wales’s culture, as well as some of the greatest to have taken to our fields.

I hope you enjoy this edition of 1876, which focuses on the winter seasons in full swing at our grounds.

Lance Franklin’s image on the cover was captured by photographer Phil Hillyard. There’s a look at the FIFA

Women’s World Cup tournament which, while outside of normal member entitlements, brings the best footballers on the planet to Australia in an event that sits alongside the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2003 Rugby World Cup as the biggest our city will see.

And while we’re in the middle of the winter seasons, it’s not too early to look ahead to summer, crowned as ever by the New Year’s Test from 3-7 January and featuring Pakistan.

At the end of the past summer season, SCG curator Adam Lewis embarked on the largest renovation of the pitch block in more than 20 years. Adam and his team removed the top layers of the SCG’s nine Bulli soil pitches and replaced them with 30 tonnes of new Bulli from our reserves. Before we know it, Adam and the team will be in summer mode and rolling out their first pitches for the exciting cricket season ahead.

Kind regards, Kerrie K E R R I E M AT H E R Chief Executive Officer Sydney Cricket Ground and Venues NSW 1876

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INDEX 18

Group general manager Communications, Heritage and Community, Venues NSW Phillip Heads Publisher Elizabeth Meryment Art director Trevor Timms Production editor Alistair Jones Contributors Neil Breen Phil Hillyard Hamilton Lund Iain Payten Lara Picone Gregg Porteous Emma Rothfield Cover and back page images Phil Hillyard 1876 is produced on Gadigal country. We pay our respects to elders past and present.

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Through the looking glass

Temperature rising

Great Southern Land

Phil Hillyard’s 2023 photo album

Pakistan’s summer of cricket

Why we’re loving Tasmania

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The long game

Fit for life

How the Buddy experiment paid off

Using exercise as medicine

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The spotlight

Holed out

Luke Keary eyes the future

Teeing off with Trackman

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Signing of the times

Hot to Tott

Millie Boyle lands at the Roosters

Totti’s wins the dinner game

Where I was when …

Covid-19 shut down the world

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CALENDAR

JULY

13 AFL

SYDNEY SWANS vs WESTERN BULLDOGS SCG, 7.20pm

15 NRL

SYDNEY ROOSTERS vs MELBOURNE STORM Allianz Stadium, 7.35pm

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F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

FRANCE vs JAMAICA Allianz Stadium, 8pm

25

F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

COLOMBIA vs KOREA REPUBLIC Allianz Stadium, 12pm

AUGUST

28

2

F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

ENGLAND vs DENMARK

PANAMA vs FRANCE

Allianz Stadium, 6.30pm

Allianz Stadium, 8pm

30

F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

GERMANY vs COLOMBIA Allianz Stadium, 7.30pm

3

NRL

SYDNEY ROOSTERS vs MANLY SEA EAGLES SCG, 7.50pm

6

F I FA WOM EN’S WOR L D CU P*

ROUND OF 16 FINAL Allianz Stadium, 12pm

12 AFL

SYDNEY SWANS vs GOLD COAST SUNS SCG, 2.10pm

NRL

sydneycricketground.com.au

STADIUM STOMP SCG and Allianz Stadium, from 7am

25-27TBC AFL

SYDNEY SWANS vs MELBOURNE SCG, TBA

26 NRL

SYDNEY ROOSTERS SYDNEY ROOSTERS vs DOLPHINS vs WESTS TIGERS Allianz Stadium, 7.35pm

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20

EV EN T

Allianz Stadium, 5.30pm

SEPTEMBER

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NRL

FINALS WEEK 1 Allianz Stadium

NOVEMBER

16

CONCERT*

ROBBIE WILLIAMS XXV TOUR Allianz Stadium

2024 JANUARY

3-7

T EST M ATCH

AUSTRALIA vs PAKISTAN SCG, 10.30am

FEBRUARY

4

ON E-DAY I N T ER NAT IONA L

AUSTRALIA v WEST INDIES SCG, 2.30pm

9 & 10 CONCERT*

P!NK SUMMER CARNIVAL Allianz Stadium * NO MEMBER ACCESS TO CONCERTS, FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

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QUICK SINGLES

In the pink: fans gather for drinks after play, above, Usman Khawaja hands a baggy pink cap to Glenn McGrath before the start of the 2023 Pink Test. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Colour therapy THE NEW YEAR’S TEST IS MORE THAN A CRICKET EVENT The 15th annual Pink Test was, once again, more than memorable with 122,447 fans pouring into the Sydney Cricket and Sports Grounds across five days and 260,000 virtual pink seats sold. The virtual seat concept, now in its third successful year, raised $5.2 million for the McGrath Foundation. The virtual sale sees people buy “seats” to the game in the name of the foundation.

“Over the past couple of years, the virtual pink seats have come to

represent more than just a seat,” says the McGrath Foundation’s Glenn McGrath. “The messages of support, memories and thanks that are shared along with the seat show just what this annual moment means to people.

“With 57 people diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia every day, the sad reality is that most people know someone who has been, or will be, impacted by the disease.”

The funds help the foundation,

through the work of the McGrath breast care nurses, support more than 3700 families experiencing breast cancer. Venues NSW and SCG Kerrie Mather says it’s an honour to host the Pink Test.

“We are so proud to have been a key supporter of the McGrath Foundation from the very beginning,” she says. “We look forward to … honouring the legacy of Jane McGrath and all people impacted by breast cancer.”

Although the Test was hampered by rain, the 2023 Pink Test was the most successful yet for the McGrath Foundation. Donations included a gold coin upon entry on Day 5.

The Pink Test will return in 2024, with Pakistan confirmed for the SCG from January 3-7. The summer of cricket at the SCG will also see Australia take on West Indies in a One-Day International on February 4.

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QUICK SINGLES 10

Footy with feeling

Best seats in the house Kenny Williams, the late Sydney Swans member, fan, hydration specialist and beloved friend to many, will forever hold a place at the Sydney Cricket Ground after a tribute was unveiled to mark what would have been his 94th birthday.

On April 3, Kenny’s wife Yvonne, daughter Diane Williams Harapin and other members of the Williams family gathered at the ground as a pair of red and white seats marked “Kenny Williams” and “Yvonne Williams” were unveiled in the MA Noble Don Bradman Dally Messenger Stand. The seats honour the spots where the couple would sit to watch countless Sydney Swans games, sharing a love of the game and the club. The family later gathered in the goal square as some of Kenny’s ashes were scattered on the turf.

“My father Kenny started his journey with the Sydney Swans as a small child in South Melbourne,” Williams Harapin says. “However, he is most well-known for the variety of volunteer roles he held at the SCG since 1982: videographer, trainer, doorman, ambassador, spokesperson, head hydration specialist and leader of the victory song.

“In the early days Mum was involved with the after-match functions, joining up countless new members, cooking roast dinners for many of the boys over 40 years, providing all players with a birthday cake as their surrogate nana.

“It has been (my parents’) greatest pleasure to watch the club grow to have more than 50,000 members. We are humbled by this generous and thoughtful tribute.”

Kenny passed away in November 2022. Rest in peace.

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After four years away from its spiritual home, National Rugby League’s biggest regular season fixture, the Anzac Day Cup, returned to Allianz Stadium in 2023. The traditional Anzac Day match between the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons was a sell-out, with a record crowd of 40,864 in attendance.

The day of remembrance featured a number of important ceremonies including an acknowledgment of the fallen, a performance by bands of the Australian Military

Cadets, a recitation of the Ode of Remembrance, the playing of the Last Post and the singing of both the New Zealand and Australian national anthems.

“Roosters and Dragons members and supporters, and rugby league fans alike, have shown their excitement for this historic event on a day of such significant national importance,” says Roosters CEO Joe Kelly.

The game was a nail-biter, with Luke Keary kicking a field goal to give the Roosters a 13-12 golden point victory.

Walking with greats International cricketing greats Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar have joined Sir Donald Bradman, Alan Davidson and Arthur Morris in having a set of gates named in their honour at the Sydney Cricket and Sports Grounds.

The Lara-Tendulkar Gates, which will be used to access the field of play, were unveiled to mark Tendulkar’s 50th birthday and 30 years since Lara’s innings of 277 at the SCG. All visiting cricket players will take to the field through the Lara-Tendulkar Gates, which are situated between the Members Pavilion’s away dressing room and the MA Noble Don Bradman Dally Messenger Stand. Home players will access the ground via the Sir Don Bradman Gates.

Tendulkar had an average of 157

in the five Test matches he played at the SCG and says it’s his favourite ground outside of India.

“I have had some great memories at the SCG right from my first tour of Australia in 1991-92,” Tendulkar says. “It is a great honour to have the gates ... named after me and my good friend Brian.”

“I’m deeply honoured to be recognised at the SCG, as I’m sure Sachin is,” adds Lara, 53.

“The ground holds many special memories for me and my family and I always enjoy visiting whenever I’m in Australia.”

Lara famously scored his 277 in the Third Test in January 1993.

It was his maiden Test century, with the West Indies claiming the series 2-1. Lara went on to name his daughter Sydney.

Very Goodes work Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes has been immortalised with a bronze sculpture outside the Swans’ headquarters. The First Nations great, who played 372 games, won two premierships and the Brownlow Medal twice, was there to watch the unveiling.

The work was created by artist Cathy Weiszmann with the support of long-time SCG precinct benefactor Basil Sellers. It depicts Goodes’s famous “war dance” goal celebration which he performed against Carlton in round nine, 2015.

The sculpture was unveiled on May 26 during the AFL’s Indigenous round.

“I thought doing it in Indigenous

round might be a safe place to start,” Goodes said. “(I’m) very impressed, Cathy did a fantastic job. The Swans play Carlton tonight, so it takes you back to that moment in the game and obviously then what happens from this moment. A lot of things started to change off the field in relation to me, but more importantly I had made a clear decision on the field that I wanted to celebrate my culture.”

Swans chairman Andrew Pridham says the unveiling of the sculpture was a proud moment.

“It’s absolutely incredible, it depicts the moment and it depicts Adam perfectly,” Pridham said.

Picture: Phil Hillyard

Farewell, legend It is a grand final that has gone down in rugby league history.

The 1970 clash between South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at the Sydney Cricket Ground. And John Sattler was at the centre of it.

Sattler, a member of the NRL Hall of Fame, played 16 matches for Australia including four Tests. But it is his toughest game for which he is best remembered. Early in the 1970 grand final, Sattler was punched in the face in an off-the-ball incident.

“I scream blue murder but my internal voice says, ‘Stay calm, John, stay calm’,” he recalled to The Daily Telegraph in 2014. “Curiosity gets the better of me and I lower my bottom lip, allowing just enough space for my index finger to probe the walls of my mouth. On the left side of my jaw I feel a hole that should not be there. A gush of blood spews on to my jumper. I prod to the right — another hole. I work back to the middle of my mouth. I feel for teeth, which are still intact. I move lower, towards the gums. I feel a split, smack bang in the middle of my lower gum line. I’ve broken my jaw in three places.”

Despite that, Sattler continued in the game and Souths won the contest, 23-12, and the premiership.

He was later taken to hospital.

NRL CEO Peter V’landys paid tribute to Sattler after his passing on March 20 at the age of 80.

“John was a legend of the game,” V’landys says. “The tales of his toughness were quite extraordinary, but they were also at odds with his nature off the field. He was a true gentleman.

Farewell to a legend of the game and of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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Picture: Ebru Yildiz

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LET US ENTERTAIN YOU THE GALAXY OF STARS PLAYING ALLIANZ IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT BRIGHTER WORDS: ELIZABETH MERYMENT

B

y the time American superstar P!nk struts out to perform at Allianz Stadium on a steamy night this coming February, a few key changes are likely to have taken place at the Moore Park venues precinct.

First, and most importantly, P!nk’s performance probably won’t be an entertainment rarity: a concert allowed to take place at Allianz Stadium. Rather, it will be part of a schedule of exciting events that will light up the 42,500-seat ground throughout 2024, and in the the years to come.

This year, NSW Premier Chris Minns has moved to overturn a 30-year rule that has capped the number of concerts at the newly rebuilt $828 million stadium at four per year. Instead, Minns has directed Venues NSW, which operates the stadium as well as next door’s Sydney Cricket Ground, to lodge a development application aimed at raising the number of concerts to 20 per year.

“If Sydney, which is a city of millions of people with a vibrant and active nightlife with many, many young people, is going to be active and have an energy to it, it can’t act like the town from Footloose where we try and stop all activity after dark,” Minns says. “Living closer to the city in a global city like Sydney does mean that you have to accommodate venues like this.”

Minns believes the cap has been restricting New South Wales from scoring international acts, as well as the economic stimulation those concerts bring.

“The cap means NSW is missing out on millions of dollars a year in economic activity and the tourism and jobs it brings with it,” he says. “This restriction has meant that Venues NSW has been unable to host international artists such as the Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel and potentially Beyoncé.

“Each international artist is estimated to bring $5 million to $7.5 million per show of economic benefit into the New South Wales economy, supporting thousands of jobs. At a time when the economy is recovering from the impacts of Covid, this cap ... is costing NSW businesses $40 million to $60 million a year.

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“The cap has also resulted in a reduction of important major cultural events, with key events such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras after-party forced to shift to a smaller venue.”

Minns notes an obligation to make the investment in the resource worthwhile.

“We need to utilise our entertainment venues to their fullest potential and show to the rest of Australia and the world that NSW is now open for business. In lifting this concert cap to 20 per year, we could bring in an additional $1.3 billion for New South Wales businesses over the lifetime of the stadium” he says.

The government’s move came after Venues NSW interim chair Rod McGeoch called for the cap to be lifted.

“The capacity of our stadiums don’t compete with other places. The government’s got to decide, ‘Are we prepared to meet the market?’” McGeoch says.

His concerns echo those of outgoing Venues NSW chair Tony Shepherd who has described an “ethical obligation” to maximise use of the stadium, given that the state’s taxpayers have funded its redevelopment.

“We’re the only country in the advanced world where the taxpayer pays for the [majority construction cost of] stadiums. The only one. There is [also] a moral obligation to make sure they are utilised,” Shepherd says.

NSW Minister for Sport, Steve Kamper, has directed Venues NSW to undertake the necessary planning and environmental applications to modify the historic restrictions.

“The Sydney Football Stadium is an $828 million stateof-the-art venue. For it to be lying dormant and unused is an absolute shame,” Kamper says. “We need to remove

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Fully lit: Allianz under lights for Elton John; the superstar in action as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour; P!nk is on the playbill.

the red tape that has caused this iconic venue to sit empty when it should be hosting the world’s best performers.”

Kamper says the government will work in consultation with community stakeholders, inviting community groups, landowners, neighbours and local businesses to have their say on the proposals.

If the application is successful, the cap could be lifted as soon as October. Under the proposed changes, the cap on length of concerts could also be lifted from five hours to 10, while rehearsals and sound testing would be allowed to go until 10pm (instead of the present 7pm). The changes would also add an exemption to the 11pm concert curfew for the official mardi gras afterparty. (This year the after-party had to be moved to the Hordern Pavilion on account of the cap.)

In practical terms, the lifting of the cap means more entertainment tailored to a wider range of audiences and tastes.

Insiders have said that not all the shows would be rock or pop concerts. Some may appeal to older demographics and may be day-long shows, such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Other global superstars are lining up to play at the stadium, which has a mid-sized capacity compared with the 84,000 capacity of Accor Stadium at Homebush, and enjoys the added advantage of being close to the five-star CBD hotels and private harbourside homes where stars stay while in the Emerald City.

So who can we expect to join P!ink in playing at Allianz during the next year? Tickets are now on sale for a November 16 show by British singer Robbie Williams, for starters.

It’s showtime COMMENT ELIZABETH MERYMENT

O

ne of the oft-cited protagonists in the campaign to keep the concert cap at Allianz Stadium is the mythical “Paddington resident” who objects to the cap’s lifting. In May, The Sydney Morning Herald rooted out a character called Harry in its coverage of the changes, and Harry wasn’t happy.

“Paddington resident Harry said he bought his house nine years ago on the basis there would only be four concerts a year,” the Herald reported.

‘All of a sudden they’re going to terrorise us ...

I’m in my seventies now and there’s no parking around; they park illegally’.”

There are indeed some residents of Paddington, particularly those in South Paddington on or near Moore Park Rd, who object to the concert cap lifting. Fair enough. But a read through two popular Paddington Facebook chat groups shows attempts to raise neighbourhood ire about the changes have spectacularly backfired.

On one chat site, a May 5 post aimed at stirring up protest to the changes resulted in 95 replies, of which about 90 were in favour of the cap lifting.

“Some positive news for once! Let’s bring some life back to this city!” wrote one punter. Wrote another: “Live right next to the stadium, here for it.”

Another: “Brilliant! Imagine the transformation of inner Sydney if there was a major event there every week. Bring it on!”

And: “One sentiment captured the thoughts of many: well, that set of answers and comments gives me heart that amongst our community there is a great groundswell of people who will help us change the prevailing sentiment of exclusion to one of inclusion — exactly how an inner-city area should be.”

Aside from wanting to welcome others into the suburb, part of the appeal of the change for Paddington residents — and I am one, and a staunch one — is that we inner-city denizens will no longer have to trek out to Homebush to see our favourite shows. No shade on Accor, but leaving the Eastern Suburbs, navigating Parramatta Rd and Homebush’s huge car parks is not our scene.

Heading there in March to see the brilliant Harry Styles was a case in point. Most Paddington people in possession of a young person went to one of Styles’s two epic concerts. The bitter complaining in these parts about arriving back to Uber chaos at Central Station, and not being able to get home to Paddo after the show, went on longer than the show itself.

Locals want shows at Allianz. They live in the inner-city for life, action and things to do. This isn’t suburbia. Nor should it be treated like it.

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{ the shot }

Sydney Cricket Ground, January 6, 2022 PHOTOGRAPHER: PHIL HILLYARD “The ground staff at the SCG are a team of their own, working in unison to ensure the ground and the pitch are in the best possible shape for the annual Sydney Test match. The covers are normally removed at 6am each day. On Day 2 in this Ashes Test, however, it was a gloomy morning and with rain about, so this was delayed. I’ve always loved the shapes the covers make as they are removed. I positioned myself to get the best possible composition and by under-exposing my shot and using the dark early morning conditions in contrast to the stark white covers made it perfect for a black and white image.”

Phil Hillyard’s image was runner-up in Wisden’s 2022 Photograph of the Year awards.

“Steve Smith was putting on an absolute show for the Sydney Sixers and their fans at the Big Bash in January. I try to time shots with the lighting when I move into the crowd to capture the atmosphere.

There is a certain time when the twilight sky balances with the artificial lighting. This was one of those occasions. I then waited for a six or a four to be hit to capture the ecstatic crowd.”

Through the looking glass HOT SHOT PHOTOGRAPHER PHIL HILLYARD SELECTS HIS PICTURES OF THE YEAR TO DATE

“Just before play on the final day of the Sydney Test I captured a candid moment of Aussie skipper Pat Cummins and the team ready for the day

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“This was from a portrait session with Nathan Lyon for the Sydney Test. It was shot on one of the windiest Sydney days I can remember. I nearly cancelled the shoot. It is very difficult to work in the wind with the lighting equipment but it also just rattles me. We’d made some early portraits in the shade on the boundary edge to avoid as much of the wind as possible. The time that this took meant the light was getting better and the shadows longer when we made our way to the middle of the ground to shoot this picture. Lyon is a wonderful cricketer who is terrific to work with and I was really happy we didn’t cancel the shoot.”

“Australian captain Pat Cummins makes his way out for the coin toss; and a final chat with his team before play on Day 1 of the Sydney Test.”

“Australia’s Usman Khawaja celebrates his century during Day 2 of the Sydney Pink Test match between Australia and South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 5, 2023. This is what I love about sports photography, capturing peak moments of emotion from the athletes. It’s almost like I’m along for the ride with them and I share their joy.”

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“With the new Allianz Stadium built, the Waratahs were finally back at their home. I wanted to shoot an image to promote their first match and record the moment they were to return. Michael Hooper and Jake Gordon were good enough to agree to my preferred time of the shoot, which was at 8pm. This would enable me to get the blue LED lighting switched on and balance it with the twilight sky.

I was happy the rain stayed away.”

“This is one occasion where it was raining. I was there to shoot a few pictures of Sydney FC ahead of the Sydney Derby. It was hosing down when I got there and I had to find a way to make a picture work. I found it In a corner tunnel where I could position myself, and my main light, out of the weather and use the wet concrete to create a reflection. I got all set up only for the rain to stop and then the sun popped out, which started to dry up the concrete. I went in search of a bucket which I filled with water and spread it back over the concrete but as soon as my subjects started to arrive the rain came down again! I had two more lights in the rain under my waterproof jackets and we made this image of Joe Lolley who kindly got a little wet for me.”

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“In January, the Swans moved into their new home, Sydney Swans HQ at Royal Hall of Industries. Wow, what a facility. It was my first look inside and I grabbed Isaac Heeney for a quick picture as he made his way back in from training. It was great to see Buddy on fire again back at the SCG, booting three goals against the Giants who came back late and stole the match by a point. Sydney had another tough loss at home against Fremantle but it was nice to capture this speccie mark by Josh Treacy.”

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The long game NINE SEASONS SEEMED A GAMBLE. OR DID IT? NEIL BREEN ANSWERS BUDDY’S CRITICS. PHOTOGRAPH BY PHIL HILLYARD

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as it worth it? The nine-year, $10 million gamble?

Which turned into a glorious 10th year. You bet it was.

When Lance Franklin signed the never-before-seen deal to join the Sydney Swans in 2014, it meant he would be 35 when it expired. There had never bee a deal of such magnitude AFL. One Melbourne executive labelled it an extraordinary risk. Commentators across the game were aghast. It was a risk, but Franklin was the Winx of the game. The Tiger Woods. As bankable as Roger Federer. And he delivered.

Crowds, merchandise, goals, three grand finals, the famous night when he scored his 1000th goal. Nine years later, we can now see that it was a prescient

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investment. By his third season, estimates from merchandise sales, membership increases, additional corporate box trade and sponsorship rises had the “Buddy factor” delivering $11 million to the Swans.

If the club was in profit from Buddy in a little more than two seasons, imagine what the return is now in his 10th.

At 36, and being nursed along through his hamstring battles, the question remains — is there an 11th season at Sydney in Buddy?

You wouldn’t bet against him. It would be his 20th season, having made his debut for Hawthorn in 2005, helping deliver premierships for them in 2008 and 2013. When he signed on for this 10th season for the Swans and his 19th overall, he addressed the controversy over the initial nine-year deal.

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of

knockers over the years haven’t there?” Buddy says. “A lot of people knocking that I wouldn’t get there, I wouldn’t make it. That I’d play for four or five years and that would be it. I’ve definitely proved them wrong, haven’t I?” Yes Buddy, you have. And for Swans fans and all AFL fans and sports lovers in general, it’s been a hell of a ride. The hope that there might be one more next year came in that same interview announcing the 10th season.

“As the year went on, I realised I’ve still got the passion to play and compete. When that goes, I’ll finish up. Hopefully we can have this conversation next year.”

Well, next year is here. Surely the conversations are being had.

Why wouldn’t they be? No matter what happens, Lance Franklin owes us nothing. And we owe him plenty. Thanks Buddy.

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Class above

A TOUGH 2023 HAS TAUGHT THE YOUTHFUL SYDNEY SWANS SOME VALUABLE LESSONS WORDS: IAIN PAYTEN

T

here are seasons where it all goes according to plan and seasons where you turn one eye to the future. The Sydney Swans had a (mostly) go-toplan season in 2022, making it all the way to the grand final. But 2023 has turned out tougher, for fans and players alike, with a season of inconsistency, frustration and too many losses to stay at the pointy end of the ladder.

So one eye has turned to the future and it’s here where the outlook is considerably brighter for the Sydney Swans. The squad is brimming with young talent and it’s no stretch to say that if they all stay together, a new generation of Swans legends could not only emerge soon, but also help Sydney’s young bloods dominate the league for years to come.

Too strong?

Consider this. If you jot down a list of emerging (or current) stars under the age of 23, it includes the names Chad Warner (22), Errol Gulden (21), Braeden Campbell (21), Logan McDonald (21), Dylan Stephens (22), James Rowbottom (22) and Justin McInerney (22).

That’s not even including rookies Corey Warner (19), Angus Sheldrick (19), Matt Roberts (19) and Will Gould (22), or the “old men” who’ve already turned 23: Nick Blakey and Joel Amartey. Or senior citizens Callum Mills (26), and Isaac Heeney and Tom Papley, who are both 27.

In the Gather Round win over Richmond in Adelaide, the Swans turned out their youngest ever team under coach John Longmire, with an average age of 24 years and 87 days. There is an unmistakably youthful vibe around the club and McDonald says with a bulk of the playing group in the same age bracket, they’re developing tight bonds.

“Age isn’t really something we think or talk about, but we are a very close group, and whether that is something to do with us all being very young or most of us being from interstate, I am not too sure. But we are a tight-knit group,” McDonald says.

“We love playing with each other and having a laugh on and off the field. It just makes coming into the club every day so much fun, and I think it also keeps the older boys young and keeps that youthful energy around the club.”

McDonald came to Sydney from Perth as a highly

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Young bloods: above from left, James Rowbottom, Will Hayward, Logan McDonald and Will Gould Opposite clockwise from top, Braeden Campbell, Logan McDonald, Chad Warner, Corey Warner, Errol Gulden and Joel Amartey Pictures: Phil Hillyard

touted No. 4 draft pick in 2020, and like many of the young crew from interstate, he has lived in one of the Swans share houses for the past three years. His housemates are Jacob Konstanty and Hugo Hall-Kahan.

“That’s the beauty of it. We are all going through it together and working things out together, and whether that’s through being on field at training or away from the club, most of us are living together, with most not having family here,” McDonald says.

“We have some blues in the kitchen or with the washing, we are all learning this stuff together — how to look after yourself, pay your car rego, all that stuff.

There are always really funny interactions and funny stories to tell when you come in and I think that benefits our footy at the end of the day.

“The fact we only have each other, you get close and you enjoy seeing each other succeed and do well, and playing alongside each other, of course. The set-up the club has is amazing and it has benefited me greatly.

I have loved my time here and I wouldn’t change it.”

While games at the Sydney Cricket Ground are always packed, the relative anonymity otherwise available in Sydney is valued.

“It’s still great to be able to play in front of sell-out crowds but then be able to walk down Coogee or Bondi and not necessarily get recognised. We just live normal lives and that’s the great advantage Sydney has over other places,” he says.

McDonald began the season strongly but has had to deal with his first long-term layoff in 2023, with an ankle injury. He has spent the time, as usual, making the most of having a legendary mentor on hand: Lance Franklin.

“He is awesome with my development. Any question I have he is there to ask, but he is big in just backing me, and trusting that I will figure it out for myself,” McDonald says.

“He is just a great supporter and wants me to play my best footy, and is keen to put me in the best position to succeed. He has been really good with that, he’s been really selfless. I just admire him in the way he sets the standards. He is the hardest trainer in the group, and there’s no surprise why he has been as good as he is for so long.”

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{ RUGBY LEAGUE FINALS }

KICK OFF

FINALS SEASON IS ABOUT TO DESCEND ON ALLIANZ

A

llianz Stadium hosted a triumphant return of National Rugby League finals football in season 2022 .

And the good news is, the finals are back again in September.

The Sydney Roosters hosted the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the first week of the 2022 finals, a game ultimately won by South Sydney. Then the Rabbitohs hosted and beat the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to progress to a preliminary final.

More than 39,000 attended each match — the

biggest attendance during the finals series, apart from a preliminary final and then the grand final at Accor Stadium.

Fans voted with their feet in both matches, showing how much they loved the new stadium and facilities. It’s hard to predict exactly which finals will end up at the ground this season, but they’ll be back. So will the fans.

Picture: @ NRL photos

Look out for information on the finals season closer to the end of the regular season.

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The spotlight LUKE KEARY THE ROOSTERS HALFBACK TALKS WINNING, PERSPECTIVE AND LIFE AFTER FOOTY INTERVIEW: NEIL BREEN

Luke, it’s hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since your NRL debut. Now you’re nearing 200 games. Has it gone fast or slow?

Um, slow (laughs). I’ve seen a few boys who debuted after me and they have already retired. I’m 31 now and I had to write down all the surgeries that I’ve had the other day; the list was a bit long.

Why has it felt so slow?

My career has been broken up, with the first 60 or 70 games with Souths, and when you’re young, you’ve got all the energy in the world. I went through some big ups and big downs there before I found my way to the Roosters, where the bulk of my career has been played.

I have loved it because I’ve had experiences that I couldn’t have had in any other career and I travelled overseas. I’ve seen the highs of winning and I’ve seen the lows of losing and when things haven’t gone to plan. It’s been a long journey, with the good and the bad.

As you mentioned, you tasted early success with a premiership in 2014 with the Rabbitohs.

You must have thought the NRL was an easy caper?

(Laughs) I still remember as a kid telling my dad, ‘If I ever win a grand final in the NRL, I’ll give it up’. But then I won one in my first 20 games which was so surreal and cool. But you don’t quite appreciate it if you haven’t gone through the bad moments. It was a funny time in my career. When you get what you’ve wanted your whole life, it’s like ‘What next?’. And I struggled a bit with that. People don’t see this

as the problem usually, but for a lot of young players who get success early, it’s quite hard. I had the success that I wanted for so long and I got it without having to worry too much. But I still had to keep going. It was a good lesson to learn because I realised life wasn’t about the destination, it was about the journey. It was about turning up and getting better. Winning is fun but not everything.

Picture: NRL Photos/ Gregg Porteous

You’ve had to do it the hard way — there have been injuries and also your troubles with concussions — but you seem to have put a lot of that behind you and be playing top-class football. Did you ever fear for your career during those times?

That definitely goes through your head at different times. I’ve had a lot of injuries and throw the concussions on top, you think, ‘Could this be it?’. But once you put everything in perspective and speak to the professionals you kind of go, ‘I’m good to go’. It’s something I’ve tried to be good at — to feel emotion at the time but to take a step back and have a bit of perspective on footy and life.

Footy is a big part of my life but I try to not let it define who I am.

How do you keep things in perspective?

At the end of the day, it’s a game.

It’s rugby league. It’s a sport that people enjoy. And we’re lucky to be here and we get paid well to be here, but I don’t want football to define my entire life. I don’t want to get home and bring the mood home if we haven’t had a good game. I’m Luke Keary the player but also Luke

Keary the person outside of football.

I have a lot of life outside rugby league and I want to be able to enjoy that. I have three boys, a four-yearold, a two-and-a-half-year-old and another one due in September. I’ve tried to find through my whole career an outlet where I could get away from it. When I was younger, Dad made me study. When you’re with 20-year-old uni students, they don’t care about your football.

What did you study and will that provide a career after football?

I did a business admin degree and now I’m halfway through an MBA. I didn’t love it at the start but now I really enjoy it and I’d love to use the degree. I’m pretty keen to see the world outside rugby league.

I love this club, especially, and I love sport generally, so at some point I will find my way to sport again but I’m really interested in getting into finance. A lot of rugby guys and AFL guys have gone down that path and have been very successful with it.

“I’M OVER THE MOON TO BE BACK HERE. IT’S SUCH A SPECIAL STADIUM.”

How have you felt about being back in the new Allianz Stadium and the Roosters’ new HQ? I’m over the moon to be back here.

It’s such a special stadium. Even though the stadium is new, you still feel the history behind it. It’s just got such a good feel, with all the nostalgia and the members coming and going. The members get to talk to you and you get to know them, it’s really top of the line. It’s the best stadium in New South Wales and Queensland and probably Australia. I love how they didn’t make it too extravagant and big, it feels like the old stadium, just made new.

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Signing of the times A STAR RECRUIT BRINGS WINNING EXPERIENCE TO A HUNGRY ROOSTERS SQUAD WORDS: IAIN PAYTEN

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M

uch will change in the 2023 National Women’s Rugby League premiership season when it kicks off this month across Australia.

After starting with four teams in 2018, and expanding to six in 2021, the NRLW will be contested between 10 teams in its sixth season.

There will be new teams, dozens of new players, a longer nine-round season and, courtesy of a new collective bargaining agreement, the game’s elite female players will be better paid.

But for all the change, you can be confident two things will stay exactly the same. The Sydney Roosters will be a powerhouse contender for the NRLW title and three-time premiership winner Millie Boyle will take the field believing she’s going to win another comp.

But what happens when Boyle and the Roosters join forces, well, that falls somewhere in between. It’s uncharted territory but let’s just say Roosters fans are entitled to be excited about the impact of one of the game’s most dominant players in their tricolours.

In the NRLW’s biggest off-season transfer, Boyle has moved from the Newcastle Knights to the Roosters.

Given she helped the Knights win the premiership in October last year, the dual international’s switch made waves in the competition.

“It was a new opportunity to not only grow myself as a footballer on the field, but also to build those connections and work on my career outside of footy as well,” Boyle says.

“I am working a bit with Nine this year, to keep that going, and my ambition is to keep growing as a person.

Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to do that. I am spending a lot of my time right now in Sydney, and still living in Newcastle. I am not sick of the drive — yet.

Listening to podcasts or making phone calls, it’s a bit of a mobile office.”

The Roosters are rightly chuffed with their recruitment coup. Boyle is a winner, proven by her Dally M women’s medal in 2021, and two premierships with the Brisbane Broncos (2019-20) that came before the Knights’ upset win. Boyle averaged more than 200 metres per game in the Knights’ extraordinary premiership run. The Bondi team also won a premiership last year (the delayed 2021 season was run at the start of the year) but after powering through the regular season unbeaten in the “second” 2022 season, they crashed to the Parramatta Eels in the semi-final.

Recruiting Boyle, along with Amber Hall and Keeley Davis, has only strengthened the Roosters, however, and they’ll be an imposing force in 2023.

“We have some big names on paper, rep players, but we have seen before that across different teams it doesn’t always translate across and there is very much room for error in the NRLW season,” Boyle says.

“You have to get it right. The thing that killed the Chooks last year, and it was the same thing that killed the Broncos the year before when I was there, was the

“I AM WORKING A BIT WITH NINE THIS YEAR, TO KEEP THAT GOING, AND MY AMBITION IS TO KEEP GROWING AS A PERSON. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO MAKE SACRIFICES TO DO THAT.” M I L L I E BOY L E

Proven winner: Millie Boyle in action for the NSW Blues during season 2023, and in training for the Roosters, above Main photo: NRL Photos/ Gregg Porteous

fact that you can go through the season undefeated and get to the semi-final, and get knocked out.

“You haven’t had a loss so you haven’t had to work through issues, or address your game after a loss, so you have flown along almost too easy. But if you have an off day in that one final, it can get you. It comes down to the work you do in the pre-season and the work of the coaches in making sure you are prepared as best as possible.”

The Roosters will start their season on the road before meeting the St George Illawarra Dragons at the Sydney Cricket and Sports Grounds on August 3, and they’re at home against Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium on August 26.

Boyle says the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks will be the pick of the new teams added to the comp, which has also added Canberra Raiders, Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys.

“The teams that have been in the comp will have the advantage, experience-wise,” Boyle says. “But there are new teams who have played plenty of football together, like the Sharks, and they have girls who’ve come back to them from other NRLW clubs, so even though they’re a new team they will have experience.”

The NRLW kicks off on July 22, 2023. nrl.com

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A NEW BALLGAME

THE MATILDAS HAVE A HOMEGROWN HERO TO LIGHT THEIR PATH TO THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINALS WORDS: IAIN PAYTEN

I

t’s a sunny afternoon at the Sydney Football Stadium when you ask Cheryl Salisbury about her goal for Australia at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. And then you wait, and wait, as Salisbury takes a second to travel back.

“Ah ... yep ... I am getting goosebumps now, thinking about it,” she says, eventually. “It wasn’t just a goal — it was a diving header at the back post. Probably only getting a bicycle [kick goal] is the only thing better than that. But yes, the whole stadium just erupted.”

The memory is permanently imprinted on Salisbury’s soul and that’s saying something given all the former Matildas captain achieved during her distinguished career.

Salisbury began playing football for the Australian women’s team in 1994 and finished in 2009, leading the side for the past seven years.

She retired with 151 caps and that stood as a record for the most games for Australia of any footballer in any code, male or female, until current Matildas defender Claire Polkinghorne broke it last year.

Salisbury played in four World Cups and two Olympics but few days are more special than September 16, 2000, when 33,000 people turned out at the SFS to watch a double-header: the Matildas playing Sweden, and the Olyroos taking on Nigeria. It was the second time women’s football had been in an Olympic Games, but only Australia’s first appearance.

The Matilda’s opening game

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was a defeat to Germany in Canberra, near their Australian Institute of Sport base, but when they walked into the sun at the SFS three days later, the atmosphere was unlike anything they’d experienced before.

“It is something you always dreamed about as a kid,” Salisbury says. “You sit there on the floor watching the Olympic Games and the opening ceremony. The World Cup for football is the biggest event but they’re two totally different things. The World Cup is just about you and just about football, but to be at an Olympic Games in your home country, it was mind-blowing.”

Salisbury scored the incredible goal — Australia’s first in Olympic women’s football — in the 57th minute when the centre-back lost her defender and headed in a freekick. Sweden later equalised for a one-all draw and, despite another gutsy effort against Brazil at the Sydney Football Stadium a few days later, the Matildas didn’t progress to the finals.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup fast approaching, Salisbury can see connections between the Matildas’ 2000 Olympic campaign on home soil, and the Matildas’ groundbreaking World Cup mission at home in 2023.

Though initially slated for Allianz Stadium, the Matildas’ opening game against Ireland is now at the larger Accor Stadium.

But the emotional lift of having an entire country behind the

Games on: Matildas legend Cheryl Salisbury in her Australian team uniform heading into the 2000 Olympics Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP July 20-August 20, 2023 fifa.com

team carries the same power as it did 23 years ago.

“That was the great thing about the Olympics. Australia supported every one of its athletes, no matter what,” Salisbury says. “And coming into the World Cup, it feels a little bit like that. That’s what I think the girls will feel.

“None of those girls were at the 2000 Olympics, probably.

Some weren’t even born. That’s the biggest thing, I think, for me.

Having a home Olympics, or a home tournament, everyone in the country is behind you. It’s one team, you and the country. And you are swept up in it.”

Like the Sydney Olympics, Australian fans will also pick up other nations to support as neutrals, with tickets to most pool games and finals either sold out, or expected to follow suit.

Allianz Stadium will host six fixtures: France vs Jamaica (July 23), Colombia vs Korea Republic (July 25), England vs Denmark (July 28), Germany vs Colombia (July 30), France vs TBC (August 2) and a round of 16 match on August 6.

Salisbury says the Matildas are well prepared and can harness that unique home-crowd support to shock the world.

“They will feel the pressure of the weight of the nation on them, there are high expectations.

But they have had those high expectations over the past four or five years because they’ve been doing so well. They’ll be fine. I think they can do something special.”

ALLIANZ STADIUM FIXTURES

JULY 23 FRANCE VS JAMAICA JULY 25 COLOMBIA VS KOREA REPUBLIC JULY 28 ENGLAND VS DENMARK JULY 30 GERMANY VS COLOMBIA AUGUST 2 FRANCE VS PANAMA AUGUST 6 ROUND OF 16 MATCH 1876

33

Q& &A

Bronzed Aussie BELINDA CLARK

FORMER CRICKET CAPTAIN BELINDA CLARK HAS BEEN IMMORTALISED AT THE SCG Belinda, how did it feel seeing your sculpture for the first time?

It was a little bit surreal. I’m really excited for it to be in place and for people to walk past and wonder, ‘Who is that?’ — and then to be able to tell a story.

What is that story?

Firstly, I think the sculpture encapsulates just being able to have a go, be courageous and break convention. The second thing is recognising that there is such a long history of people, so play your part and then hand it over. Lastly, just make sure you have a really strong platform in life to be able to take on those challenges.

Tell us about the process? How did it all come together?

It was quite convoluted and it started by picking what image we wanted to base it on. Once that decision was made, [sculptor Cathy Weiszmann] went about creating it and building it up bit by bit. Once it was fully formed, I was able to come and look at it and

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chat about any adjustments. It was quite complex but Cathy is such an amazing artist.

Do you hope to see more female cricket sculptures?

Yes, I think there will be other sculptures of female cricketers, or there should be. There have been some amazing people who have played the game. I would hope that grounds all around the world are now asking themselves the question of how they recognise really important people who have played a part in this game.

Tell us about some of your idols growing up.

Growing up, there weren’t a lot of women on the television playing cricket. I didn’t really know they were even playing, even though there was a really long and deep history of the women’s game in this country. So my idols were the males, Greg Chappell and Kim Hughes through that World Series Cricket

Legend: Clark in action in Brisbane in the First Test of the 2003 Ashes series

era, and then later on the likes of Steve Waugh and Glenn McGrath, people who were heroes and played the game in a certain way.

Picture: Getty Images

Tell us about the first time you played at the SCG? My first match here was for New South Wales. It was a Women’s National Cricket League finals series with three matches against our nemesis, Victoria. That was a really important time in the history of the sport because most of the players that played in that game became the Australian team that played in India in the 1997 World Cup. It was an amazing experience and we managed to win, too, 3-nil.

Belinda Clark is the first female cricketer in the world to be immortalised in bronze. Her Test aggregate of 919 runs (for an average of 45.95) from 15 Tests, built from 1991 to 2005, is the second best achieved by an Australian woman, and her One-Day International tally from 118 matches (4844 runs at 47.49) is an Australian record. She was Australian cricket captain from 1994-2005.

homemade recipes true crime winter escapes Get a read on | today everything footy interest rates voice to parliament local sport

Get a read on today with all the latest in news, sport and entertainment. Visit dailytelegraph.com.au to find out more.

{ SUMMER OF CRICKET }

T EM PER AT U R E THE 2023-2024 TEST SERIES PITS THE LOCALS AGAINST AN EMERGING CRICKETING SUPERPOWER WORDS: IAIN PAYTEN PICTURE: PHIL HILLYARD

AUSTRALIA vs PAKISTAN Third Test Sydney Cricket Ground, January 3-7, 2024

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W

e treasure the battles royale that unfold when the Indian cricket team arrives in Australia for a Test summer. And while recent results on Australian soil may not reflect it, the intensity of an Ashes series against England is likewise incredible theatre.

But after Pakistan’s absorbing Test series last year, a question has emerged: can the team make the step up and become another heavyweight challenger to the Australian men’s cricket team? That question will be

sydneycricketground.com.au

answered this summer when Pakistan tours Australia for a three-Test series; the centrepiece of a new-look schedule released by Cricket Australia.

In a break with tradition, the Pakistan and Australia Test season will begin later than usual, on December 14, in Perth. The teams will then meet again in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the third and final Test will be the traditional New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australia’s men take on the West Indies in two Tests in January in Adelaide, then Brisbane, and then in two

R ISING

white ball series — including a one-day International at the SCG on February 4. The fight for the BenaudQadir trophy between Australia and Pakistan has all the ingredients to be a gripping contest.

In Australia’s first tour of Pakistan since 1998, Pat Cummins last year led his side to an epic 1-0 series win, after the three-Test contest went down to the 15th and final day. In back-breaking conditions that saw bowlers toiling on flat pitches in Rawalpindi and Karachi, both sides had the chance to win on the final day of the Third Test in Lahore. But bold

New wave: Fans at the SCG during the 2022 semi-final between New Zealand and Pakistan

captaincy from Cummins and a star performance by Nathan Lyon spun Australia to triumph.

It was a famous win for Australia but the series also shone a light on the quality and pugnacious character of Pakistan’s team, led by world-class batter Babar Azam and brilliant paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi.

While Australia held their nerve and took home the silverware, the belief gained by Pakistan from going toe-to-toe with the then world No.1 side would have been almost as sizeable — perhaps even more so. And former Australian pace bowler and ex-Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson says Pakistan will arrive in Australia brimming with confidence.

“Pakistan has some very good cricketers. They have some good fast bowlers, especially if Shaheen Shah Afridi is back and firing and fit,” Lawson says.

“They’re talking about him being captain and he is getting some good raps about his leadership stuff, which is nice. That would be great. If he was the captain and is bowling well, it would add a lovely ingredient to the summer. They’ve obviously got some quality batting, Babar Azam is one of the best in the world. And they have good spinners, and they’ll invariably come up with someone you’ve never heard of.”

So you have some good ingredients — and with the fact that they have been tough to beat quite a bit. They’re tough to beat 80% of the time and then 20% of the time they have a shocker. And that’s a part of intrigue isn’t it?

“You have got to believe you can compete with somebody, that’s the essence of it. You compete, play well and see what happens,” Lawson says.

Pakistan’s record in Australia isn’t impressive — they’ve only won four Tests in 37 matches, dating back to 1964. Their most recent Test series in Australia was a 2-0 defeat in 2019 when David Warner plundered 154 and 335 not out against the shell-shocked tourists.

Warner has announced he is aiming to retire this summer, after the Third Test in Sydney.

But Pakistan has improved vastly since then, and while home conditions will be influential as always, many Pakistan players will welcome the hard, bouncy decks of Australia, believes Lawson.

“They have a few guys who like hard wickets and actually play better,” he says. “They like the ball coming on, and part of that is the success they’ve had in white ball cricket. They just take it on all the time. So yeah, if they get it right, it will be a great contest.”

The challenge of Pakistan’s major weapons certainly hasn’t escaped Australia’s stars.

“Babar Azam is a wonderful player,” says Steve Smith. “The last few years he’s got better and better.

He’s someone we have to look out for. He’s dangerous, he makes big scores and he usually does it at a pretty good pace as well.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi, he came out here last series.

Since then, he’s got better and better. The ability to swing it back is obviously a big key for him so he’s certainly one we’ll have to look out for this year.”

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CLUB LIFE DINING

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WELLNESS

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FIT BITS

Splash out If you are on the hunt for quality activities for the spring school holidays, there could be worse options than booking your kids into a Sporting Club of Sydney swimming intensive. Parents get to have a coffee in the onsite cafe while the children are taking to the water in the intensives, which run for half an hour a day over five days.

“Swimming classes have been very popular since we launched them last year,” says Sporting Club of Sydney member experience manager Ellen Wong. “We have been working hard on figuring out the demand for classes and the times.”

Wong says that while many weekly classes for children are presently full, a great way to get into the swim school is through the school holiday intensive sessions that will run in the mornings throughout the holiday period.

Swim school manager Sunny Fung says it’s incredibly important to keep up swimming skills in children, who may have missed lessons during the Covid era.

“Our learn-to-swim program offers quality and fun swimming

Sky highs lessons for babies through to adults and we place a large emphasis on both swimming and lifesaving skills,” Fung says. “We run lessons year-round on mornings, afternoons and weekends. For those who want a more personalised approach to learning to swim/stroke corrections, we offer private lessons to meet individual needs and goals.”

Fung says a recent report by the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia shows that about 40 per cent of children left primary school unable to swim the length of an Olympic swimming pool, while almost one-quarter of Australian adults reported weak or no swimming ability. “Our goals at the Sporting Club of Sydney’s swim school are to reverse these worrying statistics and to serve our members and community by encouraging everyone to learn to swim, no matter their circumstances, including age, cultural background and ability,” Fung says.

To book into a class or a swimming intensive, check the website at sportingclubofsydney. com.au/aquatics

Tennis will return to the Moore Park precinct when the new Sporting Club of Sydney car park is completed next year. The outdoor tennis courts will be on the rooftop of the car park. A new cafe and complex will also be a part of the design. Work has begun on the car park, which will have space for 1500 cars.

Currently, Sporting Club of Sydney members have access to tennis courts at Cooper Park, Bellevue Hill, until the redevelopment of the high-rise car park is finalised.

Pictures: Hamilton Lund

Did you know?

You can sweat it out after your workout in the Sporting Club of Sydney’s brilliant spa and sauna zone. There’s a steam room fitting 16, a traditional sauna (seats 12), a stateof-the-art cold plunge (fits eight) and an infrared sauna (fits four, bookings required).

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{ GYM SESSIONS }

FIT FOR LIFE

Exercise is being recognised as a powerful wellness and rehab tool

E

xercise physiologist Matisse Hasler understands that one of the biggest barriers to staying fit and healthy can be the prospect of exercise itself. For many of her clients, the gym is unfamiliar territory; many don’t know what the machines do or how to start a routine to optimise both fitness and wellness.

As an exercise physiologist, Hasler’s job is to devise long-term routines and programs for patients to use exercise to stay healthy.

Her work often follows that of physiotherapists, who treat patients who may have had an accident or

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medical incident. When that acute care is finished, Hasler plans a longer-term strategy for her clients.

“Exercise physiology is a relatively new area,” Hasler says.

“Our job is to teach people that exercise is a new form of medicine.”

Hasler, the daughter of rugby league great Des Hasler, has rooms at the Sporting Club of Sydney, where she provides treatment and exercise programs for clients who range from athletes to people who have never stepped inside a gym.

“I had a lady last week who had never been to the gym and didn’t know what any of the equipment was.

She said to me, ‘I want to be able to

Fit for life: “Exercise is a new form of medicine”, says Matisse Hasler, pictured.

Pictures: Gregg Porteous

go in there and know what to do’.”

Hasler believes the health industry is starting to realise the crucial role routine exercise plays not only in keeping people well and healthy in mind and body, but keeping the ageing process at bay, too.

“We work a lot in a pre-injury capacity,” she says. “For many, the hardest part is getting started and realising that it can be enjoyable.

It’s a whole lifestyle change.”

Hasler’s routines help people make the most of the Sporting Club of Sydney facilities, with exercise plans including swimming and water therapies, gym routines, classes and complementary therapies such as massage.

Here she shares some case studies to show how exercise can improve outcomes for clients.

SYDNEY INJURY SPECIALISTS sydneyinjuryspecialists.com.au 0481 827 804 @sydneyinjuryspecialists

CASE STUDY 1 Sam, 48, has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and needs a fitness routine to help ease symptoms. What do you recommend?

We recommend having an initial consultation to learn about Sam’s lifestyle, his medical history, his signs and symptoms, his exercise history and level of fitness. We will also speak to Sam’s GP to gain exercise clearance and for the GP to provide clinical context. Evidence has shown that regular exercise can help with the management of glucose levels and decreases the incidence of other risk factors, including increased

body fat levels, heart disease and kidney failure. Generally, a combination of both resistance exercise and aerobic exercise two to three times per week has shown significant benefits with diabetes management.

We would recommend for Sam to either begin with 1:1 exercise physiology sessions, or for him to join our type 2 diabetes group classes; completing exercise with a friend is enjoyable and also keeps you accountable.

CASE STUDY 2 Denise, 61, has never used the gym. But she is concerned about osteoporosis postmenopause and she wants to get started. Where does she begin?

First we would meet with Denise for an initial consultation that would focus on her current health and creating goals.

A common thought of many people new to the gym is that they find the environment intimidating. So the first weeks of Denise’s exercise physiology plan would be introducing her to the gym and educating and demonstrating all the machines and the benefits they provide so she can have the confidence to enter the gym.

With an ageing population, there is a huge focus on injury and chronic disease prevention.

In postmenopausal women, osteoporosis is common and it is something Denise needs

to manage. “A program would consist of functional strength training that involves weight bearing. Evidence has shown that weight-bearing exercise prevents further loss of bone mineral density. At the Sporting Club of Sydney we are currently running a six-week osteoporosis course. The response to this has been overwhelming and all clients have shown amazing improvement and motivation to continue training. In addition to strength training, we would include balance training for falls prevention and also recommend completing some group classes or sports such as tennis for enjoyment and to maintain her social health.

CASE STUDY 3 Joe, 25, is recovering from a sports injury. He has traditionally done exercise in team sports but now needs to move to an individual fitness routine. What would be a good program?

When we program a rehabilitation plan, it is heavily influenced by the nature of the injury, the individual and their exercise/medical history and whether the patient had surgery. However, there’s a guide we use to ensure Joe can return to his sport with no risk of re-injury. First, he would be taken through a thorough injury assessment that includes subjective and objective measures. The acute phase would begin with increasing his range of motion and reducing pain. Strength training would focus on basic muscle activation. There would also be a focus on motor control. When you are injured, often there are a number of changes to the body such as walking with a limp or on crunches. This change in gait and movement patterns can affect tissue-loading patterns, hence the need for motor control in a patient’s rehabilitation plan. As Joe moved out of the acute phase and into the chronic phase of his injury rehabilitation, we would focus on increased strength and monitoring his load to ensure the tissue was responding under the load.

The final phase is return to sport, where he would undertake task-specific training to prepare him to return back to his sport. This might include change of direction, running biomechanics, hopping and jumping, power development and dynamic control.

It is crucial that we return Joe to his team sport with no risk of re-injury so we make sure that when he is discharged, his is above his pre-injury capacity.

Our AxIT system is a set of technology designed to objectively measure, track and monitor the strength and mobility of our clients. It assesses muscle force production patterns and performance measures during any type of movement and exercise such as running and jumping. This allows both us as health professionals and Joe as a client, to conduct a performance assessment so we can collect actionable data to create the most optimal rehabilitation/training program. The ability to identify imbalances or weakness and then compare it with baseline results creates the perfect reference to track progress over time. This would be the perfect addition to Joe’s rehabilitation plan.

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{ SPORTING CLUB OF SYDNEY }

HOLED OUT Trackman’s golf simulator understands Neil Breen’s game better than he does

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“T

hat was a good one,” my mate says, moments after I hit my pitching wedge. “I got it a touch thin,” I reply. “It might go over the back.” Sure enough, it flies 123m straight into the bunker over the back of the green. “I knew it — a touch thin.”

We’re playing on the Trackman golf simulator at the Sporting Club of Sydney inside Allianz Stadium. In this private room, you can hit away in peace just like you can on the golf course. And, just like the real golf course, it is unbelievably accurate. Like, freakishly accurate.

After we’ve played two holes of Jack Nicklaus’s famed Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, I say as much to my mate. I’ve just whacked a drive and as soon as it leaves the club face, I say, “That’ll fade too much”. Sure enough, my ball starts in the middle of the fairway and begins fading too hard and into the right rough. Exactly what my real drives do when I feel them come off the club face like that.

Similarly, I chunk behind a five iron I had wanted to send the ball 165 metres. It goes 100 metres. I have no idea how it knew I did that, but that’s exactly what I did.

Back to that thinned wedge. I had spanked a drive and was 115 metres from the pin. That is the perfect distance of my properly hit pitching wedges. It was go time. But, off the club face, I knew I had hit it thin and, when I do that, they go about 125 metres. And it does.

I can’t believe how brilliant the simulator is.

As you get ready for your next shot, Trackman suggests which club to play. Say, 140 metres out it will suggest an eight iron. Perfectly hit, you get a perfect result. Pulled a bit, it will fly 145 metres to 150 metres left, just as my pulled eight irons do on a real course.

There are times when you may be in the trees 100 metres out. It will suggest a gap wedge, but you can’t hit that, as it will hit the branches. So, you can hit a low five iron back in your stance to run it up. Trackman knows you’ve done that and will accurately trace your ball. You may not have hit it well and it will end up short. Hit it too hard and it will run through.

One thing you can’t do is putt. Once on the green, it will give you the putt or record two putts, depending on where you are. Which is fine and no big deal. The other thing which is a bit tricky are bunker shots. After a few holes I realise it just wants you to play normal shots from the bunker. Another thing that is no big deal, as it’s impossible to hit a sand wedge two or three inches behind a ball off a mat.

The magic of Trackman is that there are dozens and dozens of courses from all over the world you can play.

Flick through and choose whatever you want, from Lahinch in County Clare, Ireland, to Herzogenaurach in Germany, to The Open courses including Royal Troon and St Andrews, both in Scotland. There’s also plenty of American courses from the Wiltshire Country Club to Florida’s PGA National.

And you can also just practice, if you want, with the

Hot shot: “I can’t believe how brilliant it is,” says Neil Breen, pictured Pictures: Gregg Porteous

computers recording club-head speed, ball speed, ball flight — everything the pros use to monitor their game.

In fact, hundreds of pros use Trackman. Systems like this allow them to know everything about their game with every club.

Trackman boasts that it is accurate to half a metre from 100 metres. After a $30, one-hour session at the Sporting Club of Sydney, I believe it. Freakishly so. sportingclubofsydney.com.au/leisure

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{ SPORTING CLUB OF SYDNEY }

SANCTUARY COVE This new day spa is a temple of wellness that offers luxe respite from the real world WORDS: ELIZABETH MERYMENT

T

he weather is closing in as I’m heading into the Sporting Club of Sydney on a gloomy Thursday afternoon. The rain is falling and the gusts of wind swirling around Allianz Stadium contain more than a touch of winter chill.

But stepping through the turnstiles into the Sporting Club of Sydney, things look up. For one thing, it’s warm, prompting the shedding of jackets and scarves, and the peachy Palm Springs colour tones instantly lift the spirits. The gentle floral scents floating from the club’s wellness zones complete the sensory uplift, and by the time I’ve walked the 20 metres or so from the doors into the day spa, the vestiges of the real word have begun to fall away.

“It’s like walking into some kind of utopia in here,” I remark to a friend I encounter in the corridor. “The world out there doesn’t exist.”

She agrees but can’t stay to chat: an appointment with the infrared sauna awaits, and I have a massage booked at the day spa, one of the final pieces of the Sporting Club of Sydney puzzle. The day spa opened late last year, positioned near the gym, beside the hot spa and cold plunge pool. During the past few months, it has gradually been increasing its schedule to meet what has been an enthusiastic uptake of services.

“I don’t think we quite realised how popular the day spa would be,” says Sporting Club of Sydney member experience manager Ellen Wong. “We thought when we opened six months ago that people would grow tired of us after we weren’t the ‘shiny new thing’ anymore. But that hasn’t happened. It’s growing more popular.”

To cope with demand, the club has employed additional therapists, taking the total to five, and is on the hunt for more. There are now four treatment rooms, including one that’s a double, for couples. “People love the exclusivity,” says Wong. “The fact that we are a club and you have to sign in to get in here. We want the spa to be up there with the best in the city.”

Spa options include massages, plus facials, body treatments and holistic therapies. Go, perhaps, for a 60-minute ultimate relaxation massage, or for those with specific needs, remedial, pregnancy or deep-

Spa treatment: the Sporting Club of Sydney spa rooms offer facials, wellness and massage in luxe surrounds

“IT’S LIKE WALKING INTO SOME KIND OF UTOPIA IN HERE, THE WORLD OUT THERE DOESN’T EXIST.”

tissue massages. There are also express options such as a 30-minute foot and leg massage.

Facial treatments range from dermal purification to an extreme hydration treatment. Add to that, a stressrelief body wrap, a fruit enzyme body polish, an adrenal fatigue rejuvenation and plenty more and you have a full schedule of pampering and wellness designed to destress and revitalise. There’s also a men’s-specific menu, inclusive of destress facials and a 60-minute body detox.

The face and body treatments have been designed in conjunction with Vanessa Megan, whose organic Naturaceuticals products ensure facials and skin treatments are high performing and ultra-hydrating (and smell great). Massages, too, have been designed in consultation with physiotherapists, so clients of all needs — from busy people wanting to unwind, to elite athletes — can benefit equally.

I’m here for a 60-minute relaxation massage (there’s also a 90-minute version), a treatment described as “muscle melting (for) deep relaxation. Exactly up my alley.

My therapist, Mark, gets to work on untying the knots in my neck and shoulders caused by too many hours at the computer, before (painfully) identifying trouble spots in my lower back and left hip.

Chatting amiably as he works — which somehow helps reduce the sting from releasing so many knots — Mark kneads away skilfully until the trigger points dissipate and finally dissolve into memory. After 60 minutes of bliss, his work here is done and he too melts into the distance to leave me to reconnect with real life over a cup of herbal tea from the spa’s front counter.

As I head back into the grey world outside, my shoulders and back feel loose and free, as if I have been released from a steel lock. Even the rainy skies are no longer a bother. I’m ready to face the world again.

SPORTING CLUB OF SYDNEY DAY SPA Bookings are for members or those with access to a membership card. Treatments start at $80 for a 30-minute express hand and arm revitalisation and range up to $240 for a 90-minute deep tissue massage. dayspa@sportingclubofsydney.com.au; (02) 9380 0102 sportingclubofsydney.com.au

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{ FOOD & WINE }

HOT TO TOTT It’s pasta and spritzes for the win at this new stadium favourite REVIEW: ELIZABETH MERYMENT

window overlooking the field. It’s all we can do not to run to the seats in case someone else gets there before us. Totti’s, it seems, is the place to be in the Eastern Suburbs on a Saturday night. That a quality game is about to kick off is something of a bonus.

“I thought it was going to be quiet here tonight,” says a friend who squeezes in alongside us at the window.

“The Tahs aren’t exactly having a great season.”

Do the diners here care how the Tahs are travelling?

Apparently not when there’s pasta and prosciutto to enjoy plus Aperol spritzes and red wines that whip out of the kitchen and bar seemingly moments after their orders are placed via the online menu accessed through a barcode on the table.

Totti’s is one of the runaway successes from the Moore Park precinct partnership between Venues NSW and hospitality giant Merivale, which runs the food and beverage programs at both Allianz and the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Drawing inspiration from chef Mike Eggert’s original Totti’s, launched at Bondi’s Royal Hotel in December

M

y friend Craig, who works on the door at Allianz Stadium, is curious to know where we’re headed for dinner as we arrive on this Saturday evening for the Waratahs game. Totti’s, we tell him, as we trot off to the Members area.

“It’s very popular,” he comments enthusiastically. “I’ve had lots of people tonight heading to Totti’s.”

He’s not wrong. As we take the escalators to level 2, a loud hum reaches our ears before we even get into the bar and dining area. And it’s not coming from the ground below, where the teams are warming up for the game. It appears to be coming from Totti’s itself.

We arrive at the check-in desk to find every table taken, except a tight spot at the

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PICTURE: JIWON KIM

TOTTI’S MARK II The Sydney Cricket Ground — not one to ever be outdone — also has its own Totti’s Pasta Bar. The outlet opened for members in the MA Noble Don Bradman Dally Messenger Stand in May, with the same menu as on offer at Totti’s at Allianz Stadium. The SCG venue brings the total number of Totti’s to six, including the Bondi original, Rozelle (at the Three Weeds hotel), Bar Totti’s in the Sydney CBD, Totti’s Lorne on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and the Moore Park stadium venues.

2018, the Allianz incarnation — rebranded slightly as Totti’s Pasta Bar — is a stadium rendition of the Italian-themed diner.

Don’t expect potted olive trees (they might obscure the field view) and fold-up green canvas chairs here.

Rather, look for an iteration offering neatly packed tables and a pared-down menu that eliminates the original’s more time-consuming dishes (grilled fish, wood-fired bread, bone-in sirloin, for instance).

The emphasis at this Totti’s is on antipasti and pasta, simple tasty dishes that amp the flavour to maximise quick and fuss-free dining. Which makes sense given most people do want to get outside to watch the game without having to wait for their T-bone to rest.

Start with simple plates of goodness such as thinly sliced mortadella ($12), beautifully ripened cherry tomatoes splashed with olive oil and dotted with fragrant thyme ($12), baby peppers roasted with garlic and served with lemon ($9), or other morsels including a ball of tender burrata in olive oil ($12.50), thick, crunchy focaccia ($10), or a heaped plate of prosciutto ($18.50).

The mains list is all about pasta. Ricotta ravioli ($30) offers neat ricotta-filled squares in a roasted tomato sauce; bolognese pappardelle ($28) is a moreish ragu with silky pasta ribbons; spinach reginette ($28) is an interesting vegetarian choice of firm frilly pasta folded through with kale and pumpkin seeds that’s both soulful and delicious.

There are other temptations: gnocchi in a four cheese sauce ($28); fettuccine in tomato sugo with stracciatella ($28); and the dish that proves our favourite, a prawn and chilli ditali ($30) — a deeply enjoyable pairing of al dente ribbed pasta tubes with a spicy tomato sauce studded with tiny school prawns and a scattering of herbs. Taken with a plate of freshness in a huge and crunchy rocket and parmesan salad ($16.50), it makes for exceptionally good eating. Drinks, meanwhile, from sommelier Franck

Moreau’s Italian-leaning wine list, emerge speedily and are also excellent.

There are two desserts — tiramisu ($16) and a Neapolitan ice-cream sandwich ($8.50) — though you may like to save up for the excellent Vinnie’s gelato you can get by the cup down on the concourse level.

It’s all very good, fast, fun, tasty and satisfying. So much so that we can’t help but return a fortnight later, this time bringing our nine-year-old son.

Does anyone bat an eye when he opts for a Four ’N Twenty pie and tomato sauce over pasta and rocket salad? Nope. And it’s more for us. Great.

As we head out of the stadium after the game, Craig spies us again and asks how we enjoyed Totti’s. “We loved it,” we tell him.

“You’re not the only ones. We had a lot of people tonight coming in just to go to Totti’s. Never mind the rugby. They left before the game kicked off.”

They may well be on to something.

TOTTI’S PASTA BAR Level 2, Members area Allianz Stadium

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SAME RACE MULTI

MULTIPLE RUNNERS * BIGGER ODDS

NEW ON THE TAB APP *Excludes SA account holders & SA residents. Available on the TAB app on selected Australian races. T&Cs apply.

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DEPARTURE LOUNGE

The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne

Off to the Boxing Day Test? Then go luxe at this glamorous hotel in the clouds. The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne opened in March and occupies the top 17 floors of an 80-storey skyscraper, so expect views, and big ones. From the hotel’s ground-floor entry level, take the lift to Level 80, where the check-in floor peers out over the wide expanse of Port Phillip Bay. Then settle in for a few days of enjoying the hotel’s attractions, from the Level 64 pool deck (again, with killer views), to the top-floor restaurant, Atria, which looks west over the sprawling city. With the hotel’s gold-tap glitz, spacious and beautifully appointed rooms and top-shelf onsite amenities, you may find yourself hoping for rain. ritzcarlton.com

GOING PLACES Still catching up on post-pandemic dining and travel?

Here’s what’s happening around the nation El Primo Sanchez, Paddington, Sydney

Just a short walk from the Moore Park precinct is this fabulously cool Mexican-inspired cocktail bar, now settled into Oxford St’s former Rose, Shamrock & Thistle hotel. The Art Deco facade of the pub remains, but inside it’s all mariachi bands and margaritas with a twist. Run by the team behind Maybe Sammy — a bar frequently named as one of the world’s best — El Primo Sanchez is a wonderfully imagined destination bar in its own right. And if you want to make a night of it, book into the adjoining Oxford House Hotel, which is receiving rave reviews for its chic Palm Springs-inspired aesthetic and palm-tree lined courtyard pool. elprimosanchez.com

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Shaw + Smith, Adelaide Hills

Totti’s, first made famous in Bondi, then across Sydney, including at both Moore Park stadiums, is now having a moment in the south. Totti’s has filled a vacant space in the Lorne Hotel, a fixture on the Great Ocean Road for 145 years. It marks the first Merivale restaurant to be launched outside New South Wales and by all accounts, including from the usually stern reviewing team at The Age, Totti’s Lorne is an exercise in pure joy. Go for the Italianinspired dishes you know and love including chef Mike Eggert’s puffy bread, plates of sun-ripened tomatoes, flavoursome pastas and simple, unfussy dishes, such as wood-grilled King George whiting. You can even stay overnight in one of the Lorne Hotel’s 11 rooms. A fun time will be had by all.

A short drive from Adelaide is this lush viticultural playground dotted with many of the nation’s most famous wineries. Shaw + Smith, reopened this year after an extensive refresh, is the place for an afternoon’s wine tasting, buying and nibbling on perfectly wine-aligned snacks. Try a flight of the vineyard’s notable drops — the sauvignon blanc and the pinot noir are the two standouts, though there are other blends — and relax into this incredibly scenic location where the roos hop in and out of the vines and time moves gloriously slowly.

merivale.com/venues/tottis-lorne

shawandsmith.com

Totti’s Lorne, Victoria

Armorica, Surry Hills, Sydney

If you remember the old Toko site on Crown St, Surry Hills, you’ll be able to find your way to Armorica.

This Parisian-style brasserie has slipped into the space vacated by that beloved restaurant and, frankly, erased every trace of it. Find instead a gorgeous gilt-edged dining space that could have been transplanted from the streets of Paris, and a menu of bistro-style classics lightened up for the Sydney palate. Try, say, aged pork cutlet with fennel and koi brown butter, or short ribs with vadouvan caramel. It’s delicious and deliciously grand. armorica.com.au

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The Langham, Surfers Paradise

This much-trumpeted property is the first new absolute beachfront hotel built on the Gold Coast in 30 years. The 169 rooms have a clean, contemporary look that’s quite unexpected for glitzy Surfers Paradise, and a photogenic, if crowded, pool that stares directly over the sand to the beach. It’s a touch of old-school Surfers Paradise ritz for the modern age. langhamhotels.com

Give your money a raise.

Call 1800 818 818 or visit latrobefinancial.com

* The rate of variable return on your investment is current at 1 July 2023. The rate of return is reviewed and determined monthly and may increase or decrease each month.

The applicable distribution for any given month is paid at the start of the following month. The rate of return is not guaranteed and is determined by the future revenue of the Credit Fund and may be lower than expected.

An investment in the Credit Fund is not a bank deposit, and investors risk losing some or all of their principal investment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Withdrawal rights are subject to liquidity and may be delayed or suspended. View our website for further information.

La Trobe Financial Asset Management Limited ACN 007 332 363 Australian Financial Services Licence 222213 Australian Credit Licence 222213 is the responsible entity of the La Trobe Australian Credit Fund ARSN 088 178 321. It is important for you to consider the Product Disclosure Statement for the Credit Fund in deciding whether to invest, or to continue to invest, in the Credit Fund. You can read the PDS and the Target Market Determinations on our website or ask for a copy by calling us on 13 80 10.

Everybody’s talking about …. Capella Sydney AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW HOTEL IS ONE OF SYDNEY’S HOTTEST TOPICS What is it?

Capella Sydney is the first hotel outside Asia from Singapore’s ultraluxurious Capella Hotel Group. The Sydney incarnation occupies the heritage-listed former Department of Education building near Circular Quay, which received a seven-year overhaul in preparation.

Why is everybody talking about it?

The hotel brings an unparalleled level of service and attention to detail to Australian hospitality. The rooms start at 46 square metres, with larger suites a huge 88 square metres.

Each room is equipped with Capella pillow-top beds (fitted with custom Italian Frette linen), bathrooms featuring rainwater showers, fullsized bath and Haeckels amenities, and intuitive technology for lighting, curtains and temperature. Find, too, coffee-table books, art and photography, and sensitive touches such as tins of calming night balm left by the bed.

Aside from the beautifully appointed rooms, the hotel features a collection of exceptional spaces that would impress even the most hardened traveller. Start at Aperture, the lobby bar, with its mesmerising light installation, Meadow, that dances from the ceiling like a troupe of ballerinas. Brasserie 1930 is the upmarket onsite restaurant from the Bentley Group’s chef Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt and turns out impeccable French-inspired dishes such as a whole roasted duck with plum and duck neck sausage (it also does brilliant breakfasts).

Then there’s the top-floor spa area, which includes a 20-metre pool bathed in natural light from the rooftop windows, as well as Swedish saunas, steam rooms, ice baths, a heated spa pool, gymnasium and

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Heritage overhauled: the restored exterior of the 1912 Department of Education building; the roomy suites; Aperture bar

more. The adjoining day spa, Auriga, offers a luxe menu of pampering, from a Rainforest Renewal body exfoliation experience to an Ocean Bliss volcanic mineral mud wrap. It’s all designed for deep relaxation, immersive luxury and genuine comfort.

CAPELLA SYDNEY

What else does Capella have?

There’s a comprehensive art program, with thoughtful curation of Australian, colonial and Indigenous pieces including several notable works by Waayni artist Judy Watson.

The hotel offers culture experiences (at an additional cost) with food and heritage guides. And there’s a space called the Living Room, a club lounge

24 Loftus St, Sydney Rooms start at $750 a night capellahotels.com

of sorts for evening aperitifs.

Any shortcomings?

Most rooms have financial district rather than harbour views. For those, try the InterContinental Sydney across the road.

Is it worth the hype?

Absolutely. I have stayed at more than a dozen hotels in the past year and Capella outshone the rest by a considerable distance. The comfort, design, heritage charm and thoughtfulness of every detail raises this hotel stay far of the ordinary.

It fills the guest with a sense of relaxation I haven’t experienced at any other Australian CBD hotel.

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hours in Thredbo WORDS: LARA PICONE

W

ith its icicle-encrusted eucalypts and a looming Mount Kosciuszko dressed in white, Thredbo in winter seems an impossible playground in our usually sunburnt country. But here it is, beckoning with runs carpeted in snow, a village that wouldn’t be out of place in Europe, and the joyful shushing of nylon ski pants. And at less than six hours’ drive from Sydney, this is a snow mini-break that is entirely within reach. Spend a few days slipping down slopes and revelling in après ski and you’ll return thoroughly worn out in an entirely pleasant way.

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DAY ONE Check in For your snappy winter interlude, you’ll want to stay in Thredbo village for easy access to the resort. The Eastern is a beautifully designed pair of Airbnb apartments, called Cedar and Oak, with interiors that evoke elegant, Scandi-style vibes. Raw timbers, minimalist furnishings and considered art complement the snowscape that bejewels the bush beyond the large windows. The Cedar even spoils guests with a Japanese-style onsen into which you can sink your limbs after a day of downhill. theeasternthredbovillage.com

Hit the mountain or village

Dinner and a snowcat

Once bags are dropped, you could squeeze out the remaining hours of the day on the mountain. If it’s been a while, it might be in everyone’s best interest for you to first take a few passes at the beginners’ area, Friday Flat. Do try not to barrel over the small ski-school children while reacclimatising your snow legs. But if confidence defines you, hit the green, blue and black runs or point your skis or board down one of the Big 5, the longest runs in Australia. For a less robust beginning to your mini-break, the heart of the quaint, snow-dusted Thredbo village is just a five-minute walk from The Eastern. This idea will naturally coincide with a visit to a cosy ale-house for a warming pint. Try The Local Pub or stay among the festival feeling at the outdoor Alpine Bar. Return to your apartment to select your finest, (faux) fur-trimmed puffer for a night on the mountain. thredbo.

Thredbo has a handful of on-mountain experiences it has curated in partnership with sponsors, one of which is the Kareela Snowcat Dinners presented by G.H. Mumm. For this Wednesday night affair, you’re ferried up the mountain via snowcat to Kareela Hutte to enjoy a four-course dinner, before returning in the same manner. This does book out quickly, though, so if you miss out, you can try for the Kareela Supper Club, a two-hour canapé session served in tandem with the weekly Flare Run and Fireworks spectacle. You do also arrive via gondola and snowcat, so for $249 per person, the thrills are still delivered. thredbo.com.au/events/2023/ kareela-snowcat-dinners

com.au/restaurants-bars/the-local-pub

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DAY TWO Breakfast If you’re not keen to munch a bowl of granola in bed at your Nordicluxe apartment, fortify for a day on the mountain at Central Road 2625.

This village hit serves a breakfast pho that is near-legendary, as well as a mixtape menu of other Oz-Asian mash-ups. If you’ve gone the granola option, swing by The Bakery in the Village Square to shovel in some extra calories by way of a classic custard tart or a bacon and egg roll. thredbo.com.au/ restaurants-bars/bakery; thredbo.com. au/restaurants-bars/centre-road-2625

Tour beyond Aside from being just a really good time, Thredbo is also set within a beguiling landscape full of history, which you’re likely to miss if you’re just dashing through the snow focusing on your turns. To go a little deeper, intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders can take a guided Discovery Tour for just $35 that runs for three hours from 10am.

This season, they’ve also introduced the Dead Horse Gap Tour ($159), presented by Defender, that takes two capable riders or skiers into the back country to navigate snow gums and traverse flats, all while learning about the area and back country safety. For the tour, you’re equipped with an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel, which is either terrifying or thrilling, depending on your disposition. thredbo.com.au/activities/unique-onmountain-experiences/discovery-tours

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Lunch It would be remiss of any visit to Thredbo to skip a meal at Australia’s highest restaurant. The lofty Eagles Nest is perched at 1937 metres and you’ll need to hop on the Kosciuszko Express Chairlift to ascend for an Italian-style lunch and negroni.

It’s mostly pizza and a wine list exclusively from Italy, so you’re excused for momentarily thinking you’re in the Dolomites as you toast the 270-degree views. thredbo.com. au/restaurants-bars/eagles-nest

Afternoon delight

Hill starts: Discovery Tours help guests navigate the slopes, top, dinner at Kareela Hut, above; a Thredbo sunrise, below

After a morning on mountain you either haven’t had enough and proceed directly to ascend and descend on repeat, or, you’re ready to jettison those heavy boots and settle in for a spa-fternoon. While Thredbo is no Hakuba proliferated with steaming onsens, you will find the Edelweiss Day Spa at Bernti’s Mountain Inn, where, no doubt, the ‘foot ritual’ is a popular menu item.

Morning run There’s nothing like iced-sunshine mornings on the mountain, so challenge yourself to get up early and be among the first to make tracks in fresh powder. Most lifts open at 8.30am giving you a couple of hours to play before you depart the resort.

Lunch Delay your drive back to the decidedly un-snowy Sydney with lunch at Wild Brumby Distillery.

The distillery door is a better spot than most to raise a schnapps in celebration of a successful snow escape and it’s pretty hard to exit without a bottle tucked under your arm as a memento. wildbrumby.com

edelweissdayspa.com.au

Dinner For your last night, make your way to the warmly lit Terrace Restaurant at The Denman Hotel for dinner, which you can top-and-tail with a drink at the adjacent Après Bar (traditionally the spot to toast the last run of the day). The Terrace menu rambles around Europe, so you may find yourself tucking into a crab fettuccine, confit pork belly or charred spatchcock. thedenman.com.au/eat-drink

DAY THREE

thredbo.com.au

GREAT SOUTHERN LAND Tasmania is wild and uncompromising, and that’s why travellers are loving it WORDS: ELIZABETH MERYMENT

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Blown away: (opposite) Kittawa Lodge; (above) MACq 01 Hotel; (left) Wineglass Bay; King Island’s rocky shoreline

he first thing you notice when you arrive in Tasmania is the wind. Step on to the tarmac and it hits you in the face, like a slap. A cold blast sent to wake you up after the somnolence of air travel, the icy punch of the Antarctic behind it.

“You have to be prepared for Tasmania,” says chef Analiese Gregory. She moved to the island for a sixmonth stint in a Hobart restaurant and six years later has found herself still there, living in a weatherboard cottage in the Huon Valley with a wood fireplace in every room. “You have to wear thermals and embrace ugg boots,” Gregory adds.

Indeed, walking down Hobart’s Constitution Dock during autumn, I look up and notice a dusting of snow across the top of Mount Wellington.

“Yes, it’s already snowing. In April!” a local tells me gleefully, a maniacal glint in his eye, as I wrap my scarf around my neck a little more thoroughly.

“Welcome to Tassie.”

A funny thing happened to Tasmania on the way back from the pandemic: tourism in this cold, small, remote island has boomed. It’s an unexpected development, by all accounts. The industry in these parts was worried that when Australians were released from the confines of state and international border closures, they would feel inclined to re-engage with resort destinations in tropical locations. And yet, quite the opposite has occurred.

“Since Covid, I have found that people are looking for authentic experiences, whether that’s visiting a private island or choosing to do something different, within Australia, rather than going on the usual overseas trips,” Gregory observes. “There is so much demand.”

It’s not hard to understand why tourists are flocking to the island. A mere two-hour flight from Sydney, it feels like an overseas holiday, without leaving home.

In some ways, it’s a little like going to New Zealand, without the accents.

If you had to pin down exactly what makes Tasmania so different from a more local journey — the landscapes aren’t dramatically different to those of mainland Australia — I suspect it has to do with the weather; the sheer brutality and challenge of it.

Take, for example, getting to King Island to the state’s northwest. Flying in on a Rex twin-prop jet will test the mettle, even as a mere passenger. Wind buffets the island so thoroughly that King is known as Australia’s shipwreck capital. There have been more than 100 catastrophic shipwrecks on its shores including Australia’s worst peacetime maritime disaster, the 1845 sinking of the Cataraqui, at a cost of 400 lives.

And as you fly in, you feel the winds batter the tiny plane, its wings shaking. Upon touchdown, passengers cheer with relief as the locals onboard, used to rough entries, shoot withering glances. Hardy souls live here.

The hair-raising flight is worth it, for King Island is an true treasure among treasures. It is largely inhabited by 1876

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cattle — both dairy and beef, for both forms of farming excel here — plus an estimated one million wallabies that terrorise hapless drivers with their suicidal tendencies, King Island is a microcosm of the mothership.

This island, fringed by white sandy beaches without a soul on them and containing pockets of grandeur and unadulterated beauty, from rocky outcrops to unexpected lakes, is a place where the unexpected becomes expected.

We stay at Kittawa Lodge on the island’s southwest coast. This exclusive three-cabin lodge is a remote retreat where guests bunker down in pure self-contained luxury with views through huge plate glass windows out to the Indian Ocean.

The former cattle agistment property has been modelled to make the most of the wild landscape.

And with the wind whistling around the cabin, you feel part of the environment, while simultaneously protected from it. It’s the best way to lean into an island adventure — gently and comfortably.

One day on King Island, we drive north and stumble upon Cape Wickham Golf Links, an astonishing course that Australian Golf Digest describes as the ultimate bucket list destination.

“Cape Wickham Links (No.3 in Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses ranking) successfully melds its many stunning coastal holes with a collection of inland ones,” the magazine notes. “The remote nature of the destination makes for some effort to reach. But the golf course that awaits on the northern tip of King Island makes the journey worthwhile.”

Next time, we’ll come back to play. Then again, Barnbougle, north of Launceston on mainland Tasmania, is also calling. The spectacular Barnbougle is not so much a course as a collection of courses — three in total, including a newly opened 14-hole short course — that are consistently ranked among the world’s best.

Barnbougle, once a potato farm, was transformed by the Sattler family who engaged celebrated golf course architects Tom Doak, Bill Coore and Mike Clayton from 2004 onwards to create one of the world’s most soughtafter destinations in the sport. Barnbougle’s Dunes and Lost Farm courses are consistently ranked in the world’s top 100 courses alongside the likes of Royal Country Down, Augusta National and Pebble Beach.

There are gems such as this scattered everywhere around Tasmania. Find your way to, say, Freycinet, located on a peninsula on the island’s east coast, where you’ll discover the luxurious Saffire Freycinet lodge, without challenge one of remote Australia’s finest properties.

Or there’s the gem of Hobart itself, with its convict heritage stamped across the city, etched into its sandstone buildings and commemorated at every turn (it is said that 75 per cent of Tasmanians have convict blood).

The Henry Jones Art Hotel, where you’ll find convict markings on the sandstone walls of your room, is my favourite, but its nearby big sister, the MACq 01 Hotel, is also excellent. The hote, from the team by Saffire, is located on the waterfront with an unparalleled aspect

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sydneycricketground.com.au

Scenic: (clockwise from top) Kittawa Lodge; dining at Saffire Freycinet Lodge; Tasmanian fare

over the Derwent River. It is described as a storytelling hotel, with each of its 114 rooms dedicated to a prominent Tasmanian.

I stay in a room named after Irish convict-turnedbushranger Martin Cash, transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1827 for “shooting a man in the buttocks for kissing his girlfriend”. Cash’s life was one of adventure and misdeeds — he would spend time in the terrifying prisons of Port Arthur and Norfolk Island — but he came good in the end, winding up as the gardener at Hobart’s Government House.

You don’t get stories like these in other destinations.

As the snow dusts the mountaintops and the denizens of Hobart and its surrounds bunker down for long winters, Tasmania’s remoteness and difference defines it. It’s an engrossing experience, from the moment you set foot on the shore. kittawalodge.com; capewickham.com.au; barnbougle.com.au; saffire-freycinet.com.au; thehenryjones.com; macq01.com.au

River deep, mountain high Lara Picone takes the plunge on this Freycinet trek

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s ever, the anticipation is worse than the reality.

On this sunny May day at Cooks Beach, where the water laps at Tassie’s Freycinet National Park with beguiling clarity, I steel my hesitant flesh to take the plunge.

Although unseasonably warm, those crystal waters are frigid enough to warrant serious second thoughts.

But the wide-smiling guides leading my Freycinet Experience Walk have laid down a nearirresistible challenge to swim four beaches in one day. Who am I to say no? Especially when the waves are so transparent you can see each grain of sand beneath.

I puff up my cheeks, do a little run on the spot and join the other hardy souls in a breathless paddle.

I’m told it’s three ducks below the surface or 10 strokes to qualify as a swim. First time in, I windmill my arms at impressive speed to reach the quota and exit hastily, but by the third dip at Hazards Beach,

I lengthen out, float and feel those cold waters needle my skin like an icy acupuncturist.

Pulling on hiking gear and boots while damp and shivering is a fairly unpleasant undertaking and my feet remain offline with numbing cold for at least 15 minutes. And yet these swims underscore the beauty of this landscape and rank highest in the highlights of my fourday ramble through this pristine east coast sanctuary.

Each night, my fellow walkers and I unsheathe our feet from their hardworking boots and congregate by the fire of the eco-conscious and ultra-inconspicuous Friendly Beaches Lodge, which lightly rests on 130 hectars of the national park.

We gather with our guides to retrace our steps on the map and are shown the next day’s journey. There’s recounting of the beauty collected and memorised, and getting-toknow-you chats, as we share a meal so carefully put-together it’s hard

to believe we’re in an off-grid abode and not some Hobart fine diner.

Starting south at Schouten Island and winding up the peninsula to Isaacs Point, the 37-kilometre so trek is helped along, in part, by a catamaran ride from Coles Bay, taking in sunning seals and dramatic bush-edged coastlines.

On foot, there are uphill scrambles at Bear Hill to glimpse the beauty beyond; a tackling of 1000 stairs for the reward of Wineglass Bay below; histories told, both heart-breaking and inspiring; and contemplative stretches of white-sand walking, where the audible pummelling of land by sea rinses minds of prosaic matters.

Experiencing all this, I leave with the prize of having connected wholeheartedly with this incomparable part of Tasmania — even if I did fall one beach swim short of the challenge.

Take a hike: a guided trek along spectacular Wineglass Bay Photo: Luke Tscharke

greatwalksofaustralia.com.au/ourwalks/freycinet-experience

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{ AROUND THE GROUNDS }

Festive cheer 16.12.22 It was a fun and festive evening when members gathered together in December for the new Sporting Club of Sydney’s first Christmas party. The party was held poolside on a beautifully sunny Sydney evening and was a glamorous affair, combining Moët, freshly shucked oysters, cannolis and good vibes set against the tropical background of the club. A great time was had by all. We are already looking forward to this year’s celebrations.

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{ AROUND THE GROUNDS }

Farewell and thanks 20.4.23 Former prime ministers, Australian captains and prominent figures from the sporting, entertainment and media industries gathered at the Sydney Cricket Ground in April to farewell Tony Shepherd AO. Only a few weeks prior, Mr Shepherd had announced his retirement as the 12th chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground, ending a two-decade association with the venue.

Among the guests were Australia’s 25th prime minister John Howard OM AC and his wife Janette Howard, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, St Vincent’s Curran Foundation chief executive Charles Curran AC, GWS Giants captain Toby Greene, former federal foreign minister Marise

Payne, former NSW sports ministers Stuart Ayres and Kevin Greene and many of Mr Shepherd’s fellow Trustees and board members of Venues NSW. Rod McGeoch AM bestowed SCG life membership on Mr Shepherd in recognition of his contribution.

Sneaky Sound play 24.6.23 The Sydney Swans’ emphatic 171-point win over West Coast Eagles was followed by an exclusive set by award-winning Australian dance duo Sneaky Sound System.

The performance took place in the Noble Dining Room at the Sydney Cricket Ground where vocalist Connie Mitchell and guitarist Angus McDonald captivated the room during an electric 50-minute set in front of more than 750 members.

The set list included the ARIA Award-winning song, UFO. Bars and food outlets on Level 2 remained open throughout the set so members could keep the party going.

Yoga on the pitch 21.6.23 The Sporting Club of Sydney celebrated International Day of Yoga by hosting a members’ sunset yoga session on the field of the Sydney Cricket Ground. About 100 members attended the 75-minute “silent disco” that saw them listen to instructor Evangeline Yuan’s soothing voice through headphones provided by Silent Sounds. The yogis immersed themselves in gentle flowing yoga as the sun set across Sydney’s skyline, leaving the ground after their practice feeling centred and clear-headed 1876

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{ A P R I L , 2020 }

WHERE I WAS WHEN …

COVID-19 STRUCK

During the pandemic’s darkest days, Neil Breen found some salient company

I

t was such a strange time. April 2020.

Australia, along with most of the world, was in its first Covid-19 lockdown. I’d been going to a Paddington gym for a while and to stay loyal to the poor bloke who ran the intense sessions, I signed up to his Zoom classes and kept my membership active. He armed us all with a kettlebell and, right on clockwork at 6am, he’d pop up on the laptop screen and myself and the other hardy souls would work out together, yet alone. I was doing it in the courtyard at home.

But it felt a touch soulless. As part of the lockdown rules, the government said we could go outside to exercise for an hour a day. So, I took the government up on the offer and set myself up each morning across from the main gates at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

I deliberately chose the spot. It was close to home.

It was big and open and, for 40 minutes, I felt alive.

Outside and alive.

Every now and again, an anonymous jogger or walker would go past. We’d acknowledge each other from a distance with a nod that said, “How good is it to be outside for a little while”.

While punching out the reps, I’d look at the history in front of me. The gates, the back of the Members

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Good company: Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Mathews Picture: Hamilton Lund

Pavilion, the clock tower, the light towers ordered by Kerry Packer, the big sky above it all. She may have lay dormant while sport ceased, but she was still alive — the grand old SCG. Next door, the old Allianz Stadium was coming down. Then the new one began coming up. I wondered what it would be like when it finally opened.

I was reminded of those strange days when I saw the unveiling of the Moore Park precinct’s newest sculpture on the news — a magnificent bronze of Adam Goodes outside the Swans’ new facility at the entrance to the Entertainment Quarter off Lang Road.

Goodes, who sadly feels burnt by the game after the booing controversy, was there. While the game disappointed him in the end, his beloved Swans never did and the club has honoured him with this fitting cast depicting him in his famous spearthrowing celebration. He deserved one — with two Brownlow medals and two premierships in 18 seasons and 372 games.

Many of the sculptures of the greats who have competed at the precinct were mothballed when the old Allianz came down. But during lockdown, a few remained: Paul Kelly on Driver Avenue outside the Swans offices in the Sydney Cricket Ground, and, of course, Steve Waugh and Richie Benaud just inside Gate A. In those dark Covid days, those sculptures, to me, were as alive as they’d ever been.

Now, with life back to normal, I no longer have to haul a kettlebell to the paved area across from the famous ground. Instead, without the threat of a fine for being outside for too long, I walk the dog from Paddington down to Driver Ave and past the SCG and around the new Allianz. Almost daily.

I always think of exercising there alone. And I always look at the sculptures. Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews, who ran multiple world records between them at the old Sports Ground are back, as are Johnny Warren, Reg Gasnier, Dally Messenger and Ken Catchpole outside the new ground.

After seeing the publicity around the unveiling of the Goodes sculpture, it was my destination the next morning. It is breathtaking. It’s larger than life. It’s poignant. The spear-throwing pose is defiant. It’s more than defiant. It’s fitting. It’s magnificent. And it’s another reminder that in the darkest of times, our heroes who graced those glorious grounds stand for what is best in humanity.

“T here’s been a lot of knockers over the years haven’t there? A lot of people knocking that I wouldn’t get there, I wouldn’t make it. T hat I’d play for four or five years and that would be it.

I’ve definitely proved them wrong, haven’t I?” { L A NC E F R A N K L I N, PAG E S 2 2 - 2 3 }