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#Tips from Wishy for #GP: #Bestbets: R8-1; R9-2; R10-11 #Eachway: R5-12 #Roughy: R2-10 IMAGE: RWWA

Former Giant now marquee Eagle Emma Swanson will lead the Eagles AFLW side in their debut season. Swanson will lead the leadership group that includes Dana Hooker who was named vice-captain, Maddy Collier, Courtney Guard and Alicia Janz. The 24-year-old said she was excited to represent such a great footy club. “I’m really excited to represent such a great group of girls." Swanson said. “I’m probably on a bit of a journey to find what exactly my leadership style is. It’s something that I’m sure I’m going to be challenged with in the near future, but it’s definitely a challenge that I want to attack head first." IMAGE: West Coast Eagles

Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie believes the MCG shouldn't have exclusive rights to the Boxing Day Test. "No I don't (think the MCG should have exclusivity). Gillespie said. "Everyone talks about the tradition of it - I think they played the first Boxing Day Test in about 1980. So yes, it has been a tradition for the last 40 years, but it's not like it's been a tradition since Test cricket began. I'm open to having the conversation, and I think it deserves to be had. Does it have to be at the MCG each year? I know the WACA would love it in Perth, and I know the SACA would love it in Adelaide. It shouldn't be an absolute rite of passage for the MCG to host Boxing Day, it should be open to conversation." After the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and WA was abandoned due to dangerous conditions, Gillespie stated he'd like to see changes to the drop-in wickets around the country. "Let's go back to cricket blocks! We understand there's multi-purpose facilities and drop-in wickets are more favourable at those locations, but in Australia at those venues we've seen a decline in reverse swing because the ball isn't having that natural deterioration. So what we're seeing is curators wanting to even the contest up between bat and ball, but as we've seen at the MCG they might not quite get it right and it can cause problems." When asked for his tip for the series against New Zealand, Gillespie thought it would be a close one. "Australia 2-1! I think New Zealand will bag a victory in one of the games, but Australia will prevail." The pink ball Test gets underway at Perth Stadium today at 1pm WST. IMAGE: AFP PHOTO

Perth Wildcats assistant coach Jacob Chance is confident his side will break their season duck against Cairns on Thursday night, fresh off back to back wins as part of round 10 of the NBL season last weekend. Speaking to Sports Drive on Wednesday, Chance was confident the Wildcats would produce their best against the NBL’s most in form team. “They’re playing together and playing hard.” Chance said. “You find the teams that came together well are usually the ones that perform best. The past few weeks they have been aggressive on the rim and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. When their confidence is up, they’re hard to beat. “ With both teams coming off two wins in round ten, the match promises to be one of the matches of the season to date, the Taipans up in to fourth having beaten the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday. “We got a chance to watch them after our game on Sunday afternoon after our game as a playing and coaching group, they were being aggressive and backing themselves in." Chance said. "DJ (Newbill) and Machado had really good games, so we need to limit their stops early.” Mike Kelly’s team have won both of the contests against the Wildcats so far this season, humbling the reigning champions by 23 points in round three and winning in Cairns by 7 points in round eight. Chance outlined that simplicity was key to turning the tables tomorrow night. “It’s the simple things, keeping guys in front of us defensively and having each other’s back on the defensive end.” Chance said. “The big thing the last two times we have played Cairns is finishing possessions, coming up with a rebound and playing some offensive transition where we have been really good all year. If we can do that, we’ll be in a really good spot.” You can hear the Taipans v Wildcats game on 91.3 Sport FM Thursday afternoon, following the conclusion of the Under 19’s championships final from the WACA. IMAGE: FILE

Dennis O'Brien, the Racing & Sponsorship Manager from #GreyhoundsWA, gave us his tips for the weekend at #Mandurah and #Cannington. Friday at #Mandurah Race 4, Number 8 (Universal Gas) Saturday at #Cannington Race 4, Number 7 (Dyna Oscar) As always, Gamble responsibly.

Australia will play an unchanged XI for the first Test against New Zealand that begins in Perth on Thursday. Coach Justin Langer had intimated on Tuesday that it was unlikely with skipper Tim Paine confirming at his Test eve press-conference. The only hesitation from the home team could have been the rotation of the quick bowlers. "We've been playing some really good cricket, happy with the way it's going so we're trying to get a consistent team together and as I touched on after Adelaide, the great thing is we've got guys that are performing really well," Paine said. "That's what we wanted so we're going to go with the same team." Paine also told reporters that the horses for courses selection could return for the quicks. "We had a reasonable break in between these Tests, so I think it's something we'll probably look at Melbourne, Sydney, those Test matches, they're a bit tighter together. "Our attack's been awesome. We've got a few guys here – James Pattinson, Michael Neser – that are ready to go if required. The first ball will be bowled at 1PM WST. IMAGE: FILE

Perth Glory CEO Tony Pignata says the club is excited about the prospect of coming up against strong opposition in the Asian Champions League. "It's sensational, it's what the aim has been since we got here (to make Champions League), and we've made it!" Pignata told Sports Breakfast. Reigning premiers plate winners Perth Glory have been drawn in Group F of the Asian Champions League where they will face off against former full-back Jason Davison's Ulsan Hyundai, Shanghai Shenua and a yet to be named qualifier. "Shanghai and Ulsan are very good teams and big clubs in Asia, and then we've potentially got FC Tokyo - runners up in the J-League - which makes a thrilling series." "Last night (the draw) was the fun stuff, now the nightmare begins with the logistics, balancing travel for away games - we've got a trip to Asia, then away to Brisbane, then away to Newcastle and then Ulsan, all in two and a bit weeks! So we've got try and balance that and the squad, and the players that will play in Asia and Australia - we've got to manage the roster - but we bought the roster on always thinking about the Champions League as well." Glory are currently sitting 7th on the table, and while Pignata isn't ecstatic about their place, he's confident they will continue on their winning ways after defeating Melbourne City 3-0 "We wanted to be undefeated after eight rounds! But I think last week's game against City turned the corner for us, and now we've got three of four at home, so if we can pick up maximum points in those games we'll be right up there. The aim is always to make Champions League and get home finals and we're still confident we can achieve that by the end of the season." Perth take on the Western Sydney Wanderers at HBF Park this Saturday at 6.45pm local time. IMAGE: Perth Glory

#Tips from Flipper for #Ascot: #Bestbets: R2-5; R3-2; R6-11 #Value: R5-9; R7-6 IMAGE: BeforeYouBet

Former Australia paceman Ryan Harris expects New Zealand to push Australia in their three Test match series starting tomorrow, telling SportsDrive Kane Williamson's men will go close to winning a series down under for the first time in more than 30 years. Australia has had a stranglehold on the Trans-Tasman trophy in recent contests between the sides, having not lost a series against the Black Caps since 1989-90, and not dropping a series in Australia since 1986-87. But Harris believes the visitors could cause an upset, starting with the opening Test at Optus Stadium. "I think this is their best chance." Harris said on Tuesday. "They're a well rounded side, they will be very determined and are coming off some good form against England. I think it will be a really good series." The day-night Test is the first pink ball Test played in Perth, with warm weather expected over the course of the five days. Harris, who took 113 wickets in 27 Tests for Australia expected the Optus Stadium pitch to hold up despite the hot conditions. "It looks like it has a lot of grass on it, which should help it hold together." Harris said. "You want to see a bit of wear and tear at the end of the match especially with the pink ball." "Chatting to some of the players the pink ball tends to go soft quickly, so you want some rough for Nathan Lyon to work with or some inconsistent bounce to challenge the batsmen." Harris named New Zealand captain Kane Williamson as the key player of the series, while anticipating a quick return to form for Steve Smith, who made 40 runs in two innings against Pakistan. The series begins tomorrow at Optus Stadium, the first ball to be bowled at 1:00 PM local time. IMAGE: File.

New East Perth recruit Angus Schumacher is excited about his debut WAFL season in 2020, the former Carlton player hoping to revive his AFL career through his opportunity at the Royals. “The Royals have been really good, I met with them a few times and they seemed like a great club to be a part of." Schumacher told SportsDrive on Tuesday. “That as well as a different style of football and a fresh start it was pretty appealing for me to come over.” Schumacher signed with the Leederville based club last week, after being delisted by Carlton in September following just one AFL game, against West Coast at Docklands in August 2019. The 20-year-old said he hoped his time with the Royals would give him the best chance to be re-drafted in to the AFL system next year and beyond. “That’s the goal, to get back to the elite level. Schumacher said. "I think WAFL football will suit my style of game, I’ll hopefully play more midfield time and play my part in a few Royals wins.” Schumacher spent two years on the Blues list after being taken with pick 70 in the 2017 national draft, playing most of his football at VFL level as a rebounding defender. He began training with the club on Monday and will live with Royals teammate Jackson Ramsay when he moves over to Perth permanently in January. The fixtures for the 2020 WAFL season will be released on Saturday. IMAGE: East Perth FC website.

The WACA and Cricket Australia will meet on Friday with the 2020/21 summer on the agenda. Perth and Adelaide will go head to head for the final India Test match next summer. WACA CEO Christina Matthews told SportsLine she's waiting on confirmation from CA on the process going forward. "The last two India series, we've been asked to put forward a proposal and I imagine that may be the process again." Matthews said. "It's always been different each year (speaking about the process), generally they look at historical numbers, they look at what you put into marketing, is there any government support and it's been pretty relatively open the last two processes, we are looking for that to be a bit more specific going into next seasons schedule." "There's no doubt Adelaide Oval and Optus Stadium are the best two stadiums in the country for fan engagement, fan facilities let alone player facilities and playing surfaces, so it's kind hard to understand why we both wouldn't get Test matches against India but we are not privy to the challenges Cricket Australia face." IMAGE: FILE

The Western Bulldogs will enter into 2020 with a new skipper after Marcus Bontempelli was named captain of the club. Bontempelli replaces Easton Wood who remains in the cubs leadership group. Fellow midfielder Lachie Hunter was named vice-captain. Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said they had come to admire the impact Marcus had, had on the club. “We are blessed to have tremendous wealth of character within our playing group. Marcus has been acknowledged by his peers as the young man who deserves recognition through past contributions, the promise of the future and the impression he will make as the captain of our Club." IMAGE: FILE