Leeds return from wilderness with Rhinos resurgence an asset for Super League

With the prospect of National Rugby League investment in Super League – however that may look, and with whatever level of control the Australian authorities want to overhaul the British game – now at boiling point, there has been a lot of discussion lately about what Super League does, and perhaps does not, need.That debate will rage in the coming weeks but what is surely beyond doubt is that, for the competition to be at its most appealing, it needs its strongest clubs to thrive. Underdog stories are compelling, and we have had plenty of those in the past few years; they create great sporting drama and fresh narratives for the powerbrokers to sell.But what will drive Super League forward – with or without NRL investment – is the might of its heavyweight sides. Few fit that billing quite like Leeds who, after a fairly tepid few seasons, are beginning to show they could be in a position to reclaim their spot at the summit of the British game, both on and off the field

Lewis Hamilton confident Ferrari ‘in the fight’ with Mercedes for 2026 F1 championship

Lewis Hamilton has declared he is fired-up and optimistic in his belief that Ferrari will be in the world championship fight with Mercedes after the new Formula One season opened in Australia on Sunday.The race in Melbourne was won by Mercedes’ George Russell, with his teammate Kimi Antonelli in second but Ferrari claimed third and fourth for Charles Leclerc and Hamilton. Both drivers executed superb starts to make up places to first and third respectively and for the opening 12 laps were very much in the fight with Russell at the front of the field.Ultimately they were not in the mix for the win after Mercedes took advantage of a virtual safety car to take a cheap pitstop while Ferrari chose not to do so. Nonetheless the Ferrari did show impressive pace and a reinvigorated Hamilton maintained he felt the they could yet catch the leaders

Collingwood’s cool heads rise to big AFL occasion and make point to naysayers | Jonathan Horn

St Kilda spent the summer talking up Sunday night’s opening round game, and Collingwood spent the summer being talked down. It was St Kilda’s occasion, but it was Collingwood’s game. The Saints had the hope, the hyper-inflated recruits, the best paid player in the sport and the largest home-and-away crowd they’d ever played in front of. But Collingwood had cool heads, manic pressure, a wily old fox in his 426th game and two brothers who had 77 touches between them.The Pies didn’t have the greatest of summers

Akshay Bhatia denies Berger in playoff to win Arnold Palmer Invitational

A straightforward conclusion to the Arnold Palmer Invitational is apparently impossible. Palmer himself would approve, even if events at the tournament still played in tribute to a golfing icon can feel grisly at times. This, the Florida swing, is the PGA Tour’s most testing spell. Glory came to Akshay Bhatia after one sudden death hole in competition with Daniel Berger. The 24-year-old Bhatia, a charismatic left-hander, will bounce towards Sawgrass and Thursday’s Players Championship

‘A wonderful journey’: Suryakumar Yadav revels in India’s T20 World Cup win

India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, has set his sights on an extended period of white-ball dominance after the team secured a third successive ICC men’s trophy with a one-sided victory against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final.The country went more than a decade without winning a major trophy, but since 2024 they have banked two T20 World Cups and a Champions Trophy. “I’m very excited by the way things have gone since then,” Suryakumar said.“The drought ended after a really long time and after that we never looked back. Everything changed in 2024

India retain T20 World Cup with 96-run final win over New Zealand – as it happened

It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first to win it at home after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue-clad supporters.New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.The player of the tournament is Sanju Samsondouble quotation markIt feels like a dream! I’m out of words, out of emotions