Latest - The Penrith Panthers have won a record-equalling 17th-straight NRL match to make their first grand final in 17 years.
Penrith players celebrate a try. Photo: NRL Photos
The Panthers have beaten the South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 in their preliminary final in Sydney.
Penrith led 14-6 at halftime and managed to hold on as playmakers Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds tried all they could to keep the Rabbitohs alive.
The 17th straight in in a row is an NRL-era record - matching the Bulldogs' run in 2002 before they were stripped of all their points for salary cap breaches.
The Penrith Panthers will face the Melbourne Storm in next Sunday's NRL grand final.
McLaughlin pipped for pole at Bathurst
Young Australian Cam Waters has smashed the Bathurst 1000 qualifying lap record to claim pole positon for Sunday's race at Mount Panorama.
Cam Waters and co-driver Will Davison Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
Waters pipped 2019 winner Scott McLaughlin, who has dominated Supercars qualifying this year.
It's Waters' fifth career pole and sets him up for a tilt at winning Bathurst for the first time with two-time winner Will Davison.
Chaz Mostert has qualified third, with Nick Percat fourth.
After McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen will start the next best of the New Zealanders in fifth, with Fabian Coulthard qualifying eighth.
Taranaki arrest slide
Taranaki's won its first match in the Mitre 10 Cup since winning the Ranfurly Shield last month.
Taranaki winger Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens scores a try for Canterbury earlier in the Mitre 10 Cup season. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
The amber and blacks have beaten Southland 17-9 in Invercargill to leapfrog the Stags into fourth in the championship standings.
Prop Reuben O'Neill and winger Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens have scored tries for Taranaki, while Southland were restricted to three Scott Eade penalties.
Earlier, Auckland stunned reigning premiership champions Tasman 31-10 at Eden Park, after leading 24-nil at halftime.
Auckland's now leads the premiership with a four point lead over Tasman.
VAR helps Everton remain unbeaten
Champions Liverpool were foiled by VAR as they were held to a 2-2 Premier League derby draw with Everton at Goodison Park after a late effort from Jordan Henderson was ruled out.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalises for Everton Photo: AFP
Everton remained top of the table on 13 points, three ahead of Liverpool, after an incident-packed end to the 237th Merseyside derby.
The game was locked at 2-2 after Dominic Calvert-Lewin's 10th goal of the season in all competitions had brought Everton level in the 81st minute.
But in stoppage time, Thiago Alcantara found Sadio Mane with a clever pass and the Senagalese's low cross was turned in by Henderson, only for VAR to find the narrowest of offsides.
Meanwhile, Southampton came from behind twice to earn a 3-3 draw at Chelsea, Raheem Sterling scored to secure Manchester City a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium and Manchester United scored three late goals to win 4-1 at Newcastle.
- Reuters
Daniell claims doubles title in Sardinia
New Zealand tennis player Marcus Daniell has won his fifth ATP doubles title and first with Austrian partner Philipp Oswald.
Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Daniell and Oswald have turned in a superb performance to beat top seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-3 6-4 in one hour 13 minutes in the final of the inaugural Tour event in Sardinia.
Cabal and Farah are ranked number one and two in the ATP doubles rankings.
Daniell had notched up with wins over fellow Kiwis Michael Venus and Artem Sitak in the semi-finals and quarter finals, respectively.
He is projected to climb to 44 in the ATP doubles rankings when they come out next week.
Robinson makes solid start to World Cup season
New Zealand alpine ski racer Alice Robinson has finished in 12th place at the opening giant slalom World Cup in Austria overnight.
Alice Robinson Photo: Photosport
Conditions were tough with low visibility on the top portion of the course during the first run.
After run one Robinson was ranked fourth equal, sitting 1.18 seconds behind the leader Marta Bassino of Italy.
With the start order of the top-30 racers flipped for run two, Robinson was the fourth to last skier through the start gate.
The visibility had improved, and she meant business as she came out of the start for run two, attacking the course with fast, technical skiing and finishing in 12th place overall.
World record broken at half marathon champs
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir bettered the women's-only half marathon world record when she took gold in a closely-fought race at the World Athletics half marathon championships in Poland.
Peres Jepchirchir posing with IAAF president Sebastian Coe Photo: AFP
Jepchirchir, 27, finished in a time of one hour, five minutes and 16 seconds to improve her own mark set in Prague last month, claiming the title for the second time having won it in Cardiff in 2016.
Germany's Melat Yisak Kejeta crossed the line two seconds behind to take silver while Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw was third a further second adrift.
Uganda's 19-year-old Jacob Kiplimo won the men's race with a championship record time of 58 minutes and 49 seconds to upset Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie who took silver. Ethiopia's Amedework Walelegn finished third.
Kandie was the fastest man over the distance this year having run 58:38 in Prague last month.
- Reuters
