Lions star rediscovers best after backing of Fagan

PerthNow - Sep 18, 2026

After the toughest season of his glittering career, Brisbane co-captain Hugh McCluggage has returned to form and is eyeing a historic premiership three-peat.

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Sep 18, 2026

Officials defend using temporary containers, cruise ship as lodging at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan — The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is attempting to quell complaints about lodging for athletes and officials at the Asian Games, which includes the use of converted wooden containers. The OCA said Friday that all “17,000-plus athletes and officials” that registered by the entry deadline in July have been provided “games-appropriate accommodation.” The games open officially on Saturday and run through Oct. 4 in and around the central city of Nagoya, and feature at least 11,000 athletes, more than the Summer Olympics. They showcase 43 sports and 45 countries and regions. Japanese officials decided against building a dedicated athletes villages and opted for accommodations on a cruise ship, in hotel rooms and in temporary wood containers. Several countries have complained openly about the lodging, some basketball players have said the beds are too short, and hundreds of athletes had to be evacuated last week after heavy rainfall in the region. “We don’t want to leave a white elephant after the games here," Tayyab Ikram, deputy chairman of the Olympic Council of

Sep 18, 2026

S. Korean men, women win 1st games in field hockey

NAGOYA, Japan — The South Korean men's and women's field hockey teams both won their opening contests of the Asian Games on Friday. The men's team defeated Bangladesh 5-0 to begin Pool A play at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Gifu, some 30 kilometers north of the main host city of Nagoya. Sim Jae-won, Lee Gang-san, Oh Se-yong, Bae Soung-min and Yang Ji-hun scored a goal apiece. South Korea scored three times in the second quarter before adding a goal in each of the next two quarters. "We saw Bangladesh as a dark horse. We wanted to lock things down defensively in the first quarter," South Korea head coach Min Tae-seok said. "And then we wanted to be more aggressive in the second quarter. And our players scored those goals after making their adjustments to the venue." Before the men's game, the North Korean anthem was played instead of South Korea's. The match organizers then played Bangladesh's anthem before playing the South Korean anthem later. But with the start of the match being delayed, the referee ordered players on both sides to shake hands with each other and to start getti

Sep 18, 2026

S. Korea secures 1st place in Pool D in women's volleyball

NAGOYA — South Korea defeated Vietnam on Friday in the final women's volleyball preliminary match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to secure the top position in Pool D. The team won the match 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 26-28, 25-18) at Park Arena Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan. South Korea topped Pool D with three wins, while Vietnam finished second with two wins and one loss. Both teams had already taken berths in the quarterfinals. South Korea will play against Kazakhstan, the runner-up in Pool B behind China, in the eight-team knockout stage starting Sunday. The South Koreans finished with advantages of 101-88 in attack, with a 9-6 lead from the service line. The first set was a seesaw battle until South Korea fell behind 19-18. But setter Kim Da-in's two straight service winners helped the team regain the lead and induced some errors from Vietnam, allowing South Korea to close out the set 25-21. In the second set, South Korea extended an early 6-1 lead with diversified offensive plays, including a block by middle blocker Na Hyun-soo and an ace by Lee Da-hyeon. Entering the latter part of

Sep 18, 2026

S. Korea reaches men's basketball final

NAGOYA — South Korea advanced to the men's basketball final of the Asian Games on Friday, beating Iran 77-51 in the semifinals to secure at least the silver medal in Japan. Forward Lee Hyun-jung scored a game-high 26 points, including 12 in a dominant third quarter, at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, while shooting 7-of-13 from behind the arc. South Korea is now a victory away from claiming its first men's hoops gold medal in 12 years. The final is set for 7:40 p.m. Sunday at the same Nagoya venue. Coached by Nikolajs Mazurs, South Korea will meet the winner of the other semifinal showdown on Friday, between China and Japan. South Korea won all three group matches -- including one against Japan -- and then eliminated Jordan and Iran in succession to punch a ticket to the gold medal game. The teams slogged through a low-scoring first quarter, with South Korea taking a 12-8 lead on 24 percent shooting while Iran made only two of its 13 attempts from the field. South Korea scored those 12 points on four three-pointers, including two by forward Lee Hyun-jung, who came int

Sep 18, 2026

S. Korean men, women win 1st games in field hockey

NAGOYA — The South Korean men's and women's field hockey teams both won their opening contests of the Asian Games on Friday. The men's team defeated Bangladesh 5-0 to begin Pool A play at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Gifu, some 30 kilometers north of the main host city of Nagoya. Sim Jae-won, Lee Gang-san, Oh Se-yong, Bae Soung-min and Yang Ji-hun scored a goal apiece. South Korea scored three times in the second quarter before adding a goal in each of the next two quarters. "We saw Bangladesh as a dark horse. We wanted to lock things down defensively in the first quarter," South Korea head coach Min Tae-seok said. "And then we wanted to be more aggressive in the second quarter. And our players scored those goals after making their adjustments to the venue." Before the men's game, the North Korean anthem was played instead of South Korea's. The match organizers then played Bangladesh's anthem before playing the South Korean anthem later. But with the start of the match being delayed, the referee ordered players on both sides to shake hands with each other and to start getting read

Sep 18, 2026

S. Korea secures bronze medals in men's, women's team events in soft tennis

NAGOYA — South Korea has guaranteed itself at least bronze medals in the men's and women's team events in soft tennis at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday. Both teams reached the semifinals of their events on Friday at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya. There are no bronze medal matches in soft tennis, where both losing teams in the semifinals will receive bronze. The soft tennis teams are the first South Korean athletes to secure medals at this year's Asian Games. Both teams will take on Chinese Taipei in the semifinals Sunday, the day after the opening ceremony. The finals are also Sunday. On Friday, the women's team of Kim Han-sul, Kim Yeon-hwa, Lee Su-jin, Eom Ye-jin and Hwang Jeong-mi finished second in the group phase behind Japan to book a spot in the semifinals. South Korea lost to Japan 3-0 in its first match, dropping two doubles and one singles match. Then South Korea beat Cambodia and Pakistan by the identical scores of 3-0. The men's team, featuring Kim Hyun-woo, Lee Haneul, Kim Jin-woong, Lee Hyun-gwon and Park Jae-kyu, enjoyed wins over Nepal and Indonesia in th

Sep 18, 2026

N. Korean team attends welcome ceremony for Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

NAGOYA — North Korean athletes attended an official welcome ceremony for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, vowing to put on good performances and achieve better results at the quadrennial continental multisport event. The welcome ceremony for the North Korean delegation took place at the Port of Nagoya Garden Pier in Nagoya, Japan, at 3 p.m., after a delay of more than an hour. Pak Chon-jong, North Korea's vice minister of physical culture and sports, attended the event as chef de mission, while Ko Chol-ho, secretary-general of the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was also in attendance. Sports Minister Kim Il-guk had earlier been reported by media as the chef de mission, but Pak was identified as the head of the delegation at Friday's ceremony. Kim, who arrived in Japan the previous day, will serve as head of the North Korean Olympic Committee. Pak, a former basketball star in North Korea, did not speak to reporters before or after the ceremony. The welcome ceremony was the eighth of the Asian Games' nine official athlete welcome ceremonies, with del