we talk football here so i thought it would be good to discuss aussies in other sport kind of like aussies abroad but for other sports.

I'll give you this...  You are determined to take Joffa's mantle for yourself. 👏👏👏

haha XD 

haha so true, every team needs a worker.

Basketball world cup is on at the moment.
Not that you'd know according to any Australian media...

Australia has made it thru the group stages and is in the quarter finals against Czech Republic tonight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_FIBA_Basketball_World_Cup_final_round

Making the quarter finals has equalled our best ever performance, and obviously if we win tonight, we're in the semi's (against Spain), and whatever happens from there, it will be Australia's best performance at the WC.

SEE this is what i am talking about i didn't even know that was on! 

thanks for sharing this 

We won again and are into the semis. Even more amazingly, Team USA are now out! 

yeah i heard about it on the radio (msm must be jumping on the bandwagon now) i will try watch friday night 

it is great news knowing about this.
I have a mate heavily invested for years, coaching etc in Melb But overall I just can't get into this game even though it has much support.
Loved the Gaze/Heal etcetc period for they were really making noise/news, then I didn't bother anymore.
Looking like this team is emulating and more from that era.

One of my other pass times is golf.
26yr old Cam Smith is doing ok in that massive challenging game.
4yrs in the competitve PGA mosh pit.
2017 won a USPGA getting noticed.
Knocking on the door since.
16 top 10 finishes to date.
Won here '17/'18 PGA.
In the Presidents Cup Team played at Royal Melbourne Dec 2019.
Other Aussies :
Adam Scott
Mark Leishman
and likely Jason Day TBC.

Oh the hun are on the bandwagon.  Sadly some of the comments are still very anti Simmons.  Something to do with being a yank  who doesnt care  about  the boomers. 

Heartbreaking loss to Spain in 2nd Overtime after leading most of the game. We missed a free throw at the end of regulation that would have won it, and then missed a floater at the end of 1OT that would have won it. 

has the ashes finished i feel like it goes forever 

yes mate done dusted the other day - poms won the Test but we retained the Ashs.

ok guess the next event is the rugby world cup 

Double OT loss to miss out on the Gold medal game.

Absolute Heartbreaker.

what about the Bronze medal game?

another loss that game, finished 4th.

Our 1st match vs Fiji Saturday 21/9 2.45pm.
Here are the groups     
Rugby World Cup 2019 groups                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

POOL A	POOL B	POOL C	POOL D
Ireland	New Zealand	England	Australia
Scotland	South Africa	France	Wales
Japan	Italy	Argentina	Georgia
Russia	Namibia	USA	Fiji
Samoa	Canada	Tonga	Uruguay

Well there's your quarter finalists straight off the bat.

Four group matches, plus, I suppose, quarter finals, semis and final... it will go on forever.

At least it is not as bad as the netball world cup, where only about three teams matter, so they scrape up 13 other easy beats to make up the numbers.

lol localstar, about right.
I reckon Muz pretty much picked the usual suspects getting through the groups but could be a couple of wild cards, pacific islanders Samoa/Fiji could always turn on surprise's.

can someone explain the difference between league and union?

i don't understand is league played around the world or only in australia?

why is union popular over the world but not in australia?

haha, melbournite - thats ok I understand and its like me asking whats the diff on Gaelic football to gayfl :)
For yes the latter games are hybrids of the originals.
Look I'm no expert of the Rugbys but being NSWelshmen grew up with them both around me even though I'm a real footballer since a kid.
Read the wiki info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_rugby_league_and_rugby_union
Union has 15 players on the pitch to Leagues 13.
Scrums are way different.
Union has for more technical rules to league. Union used to be known as the running game compared to leagues stops starts but Union tampered with the rules over the years and turned into stop start as well and worse has become a penalty goal kicking dual some will say instead of open play going for tries as it was back int he 60/70/80's........
I think league became due to the early days Private School snobbery and complications.
The working class wanted their type of game - simple/faster and more brutal.
At least compared to gayfl other countries do play the Rugbys.
Union I suppose got the head start due to the British conquers.
Hence why more countries play it, in saying that England/Welsh/Irish/NZ/Sth Africa/Us are the strongest but the Argies have been good incl French/Japs and most Polynesian Islands and I'm blown Italy has got better over the decades thanks to many Aussie ex greats playing coaching there ie David Campese for one.
League mostly is England Australia/NZ strength wise followed by Polynesians again - the rest are newbie minnows I guess ie Canada, Lebanon and who ever else.
Sorry I can't go over the difference in rules for I do know most of the NRL but Union, too many and I don't know them all in any case.

+ Union not popular ?, from Vic I get it, it gets no coverage I guess but up here, talking pre 2003ish it was huge NSW/Qld, up until then we had top player/squad dynasty's that won a hell of alot, it was a strong code higher than League was those days due to the highs, World Cup wins, massive games against the Kiwis Bledislo Cup that we won at times, now Kiwis have smashed us for decade and a half I think.
This has been part of its decline, not winning a massive Aussie trait, we expect winners but also Professionalism and this Super Rugby competition that involves countries/clubs from Argentina/Us/Japan/NZ/Sth Africa has effected it greatly.
The ARU have been similar to Lowy, most of the revenue goes into the wrong areas, ie HQ and overpaid board mebers etc sound familiar.
Grass roots and the National Competition is a pale to what it once was.
Mate I'll leave it that but got to say even though I'm a Football tragic I can sit through a good match of either of these, I can't sit through a gayfl game, I just can't get into it and I guess Vics/Adelaide/Perthites feel similar towards both forms of rugby.

thanks for clarifying mate i want to follow the world cup :)

How long have you lived in Australia? lol

haha my mate used to play rugby in high school he played union but league is way more popular in melbourne now we have the rugby world cup which is union :/

Yeah.
The rugby "world" cup is a bit of a joke really.
The final 8 teams will always come out of a list of 12 or so "usual suspects".

If you want to be like that then only football has a truly world cup.

And when it comes to the final few teams, as if football is all that different. Same 8 teams have won every cup. 

Yep, just 8 teams have won the football world cup - and Uruguay haven't won since 1950.

Dunno - I think basketball (as mentioned earlier) is pretty close to being a truly "world" sport.

8 different winners in 21 tournaments is about what you'd expect when some teams are dominant and win multiple times.
Why not compare the FWC to the RWC on a larger basis? Obviously the FWC has been going a lot longer, but even if we just restrict it to 1987 onwards (that's when the RWC was first held), you can see that the Rugby world cup only has a handful of nations ever progressing in it compared to the Football world cup

Number of winning teams
FWC: 5
(Germany, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain)
RWC: 4
(New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England)

Number of teams that have made the final
FWC: 8
( + Argentina, Netherlands, Croatia)
RWC: 5
( + France)

Number of teams that have made the final 4 (semi finals)
FWC: 16
( + England, Sweden, Bulgaria, Turkey, South Korea, Portugal, Uruguay, Belgium)
RWC: 8
( + Wales, Argentina, Scotland)

Number of teams that have made the final 8 (quarter finals)
FWC: 24
( + Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ghana, Paraguay, Ireland, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Ukraine, USA)
RWC: 12
( + Ireland, Fiji, Samoa, Canada)