‘I've come a long way': Sam Konstas returns to Australian Test team, inked and inspired
'Obviously, it's a tough team to crack and [it has] got legends of the game in that team,' Konstas said. 'Very excited for the opportunity and hopefully, I can grab it with both hands.
'I've been training really hard and I understand the reasons why they picked [other players in recent Tests]. I'm just trying to be in the present moment, trying to focus on a few key areas with my batting coach, and feel like I've come a long way. Hopefully, I can display that in the next few Test matches.
'It's a dream come true, to be honest. [To be] 19 years old, playing for your country, travelling the world, getting to experience different cultures and against the best players as well … I'm lucky to be where I am.'
As Konstas prepares for a new chapter, Labuschagne is facing the unfamiliar reality of being dropped from the Test team for the first time since 2019.
Those close to him say he's handled the setback as well as possible.
'He's a great mentor of mine,' said Konstas of Labuschagne. 'I'm pretty sure his average is [nearly] 50. Hopefully one day I can get there. I always go to him for advice.'
Australia will have two main training sessions on Saturday and Monday before the opening Test on Wednesday against a West Indies side battling for consistency.
Konstas's all-out attacking approach and combative attitude in his first two matches against India prompted some to question whether his temperament was suited for Test cricket.
The teenager admits he got a bit carried away during his debut in Melbourne and the game after in Sydney, but says he'll play more conventionally this time.
'I still can't believe it. I don't know what was going through my mind at that time,' Konstas said. 'I thought it was right in the moment. It was good fun.
'The emotions probably got to me with the crowd. It was good reflecting and having a bit of time off, trying to strengthen my game. Hopefully we get to win the next Test match.
'I feel like I trust people that I work with and they understand my game. I'm not trying to prove to anyone how I'm going to play. I just want to be myself and obviously understand when to take the game on.
'To be honest, I know quite a few of the [West Indies] players, maybe half the team. When I've watched them, they've had brute pace, they're very skilful, and I can't wait for the challenge ahead.'
Former England captain and Fox Sports commentator Michael Vaughan likes the idea of Konstas at the top and Josh Inglis at No.3 against the West Indies.
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'I think he's been given a bit of a raw deal having to face Jasprit Bumrah on green tops to suddenly not playing in Sri Lanka and not playing in the World Test championship final,' said Vaughan ahead of the series, which will be shown on Kayo Sports and ESPN.
'He seems to be a kid that just can cope with things. He's a hell of a character and he was the story of the summer. He hasn't played since. It is a little bit strange.
'Someone like Josh Inglis ... if I was an Australia selector, I'd want in my team. He's a wonderful player. I think he's got a game that can play anywhere. He could quite easily bat at three.'
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Daily Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘Kidding ourselves': Debate erupts over AFL's plan to revive State of Origin
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. The AFL is in talks to revive State of Origin, but there are fears the proposed showdown would only be an 'exhibition game'. As the NRL's State of Origin heads to a decider following Queensland's Game 2 win in Perth, it appears increasingly likely the AFL will bring back a State of Origin game as soon as next year. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said earlier this year: 'I can't rule it in and I can't rule it out, but it will certainly be a conversation I'd like to have with the players and the clubs, 'There seems to be a bit of a groundswell for it.' It has now emerged that the WA government is in talks with the AFL to hold a State of Origin game in Perth during pre-season in the first week of February in 2026. WA deputy premier and sports minister Rita Saffioti said talks were in the early stages but the AFL is 'very keen' on the idea. 'It's not a done deal,' Saffioti said on Friday. 'But I know the AFL was very keen, and we're very keen. 'Everyone is very excited about having a WA State of Origin game in the AFL, there's some good discussions happening at the moment.' The game between the Fremantle Dockers and the Indigenous All Stars in February this year was considered a major success, and the AFL is considering holding a State of Origin match in a similar as soon as next season. But not everyone is a fan of the idea. Brian Taylor pointed out the hot conditions in Perth in February and noted team selection would be based on reputation instead of form if the match is held in pre-season. Taylor, who played for Victoria in a 1986 State of Origin game, said on Triple M: 'What are we trying to do here with State of Origin football, playing it in February? Do you know how hot it is in Perth in Feb? Dustin Martin (centre) was one of the big names to play for Victoria in the 2020 game against the All Stars. 'How many players are in form on the 6th of February? How are you picking the team? On the year before? 'It's about current form, it's about players playing well, like the All Australian — to achieve the status of getting selected in the side. 'I think this game is not going to work if it's in Feb. 'We currently have three byes currently in our season. Let's put one of those byes aside for a State of Origin weekend when the players have reached top form, halfway though or two thirds of the way through (a season).' NRL players earn $30,000 for each State of Origin earn match, and Taylor said a financial incentive may be required to get AFL players invested in the concept as a genuine competitive game. 'Let's give the players all of the gate, so a player could get $10,000 to $20,000 each per game,' Taylor said. 'Then they'll absolutely want to play.' He added: 'It has to be played mid-season, it has to be picked on form. Players are barely started their pre-season in the first week of Feb. 'Are we kidding ourselves? Are we trying to make this work?' Victoria's Stephen Silvagni (right) celebrates winning the State of Origin match in 1996. Brian Taylor wants State of Origin played mid-season. Picture: Channel 7/Supplied Leigh Montagna said the likelihood is any State of Origin clash would be an 'exhibition game' in the mould of the Victoria vs All Stars game in 2020, held to raise funds for bushfire relief. 'It's different, it's an exhibition game,' Montagna said on Triple M. 'You're probably still thinking of State of Origin in the 80s and 90s when it was South Australia vs Victoria and they were playing for keeps. Now it's more of an exhibition game. 'I'd love to see (Christian) Petracca in the same forward line as Toby Greene and Paddy Dangerfield and the Victorians play together. And I'm sure the other states would like to see their players play in their state jersey. 'It's just no longer going to be what it was like in the old days. It's an exhibition. You pick them (the teams) on reputation.' Taylor replied: 'Why do we need an exhibition game of our own game in our own country? People see 20 games a year. 'It can't be (held) before they've even completed their pre-season. What a load of nonsense.' The Indigenous All Stars game against Fremantle was a big success. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) The Victorian team after winning the State of Origin for Bushfire Relief game in 2020. Photo: Michael Klein The last State of Origin match was between Victoria and South Australia in 1999, and it remains to be seen what state or amalgamation of states would take on Victoria if the concept is revived. 'We think this would be an incredible drawcard for the state,' WA deputy premier Rita Saffioti added. 'I know many of the players are actually excited, particularly those based over east, are very keen to play for their state, so I think there's a huge push from the players. 'Pre-season is a good time to do it, as opposed to in-season ... the clubs are already playing pre-season games,' Saffioti said. 'And we saw the Indigenous All Stars, we had some incredible players out there ... it makes a bit of sense to do it during February.' Originally published as 'Kidding ourselves': Debate erupts over AFL's plan to revive State of Origin
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Feeney snags double Darwin pole as teammate struggles
Championship leader Broc Feeney's dominance of Hidden Valley Raceway has continued, claiming pole position for the first two Supercars races of the weekend. The 22-year-old will lead the grid for both 120km races in Darwin on Saturday. But the biggest implication for the make-up of the leaderboard is the absence of Feeney's Triple Eight teammate Will Brown from the top 10 in both races. The reigning champion finished with the 14th fastest time in opening qualifying after botching the turn-six hairpin, but Brown couldn't identify what was causing his lack of pace on super soft tyres in the second session. "That lap I didn't really make any mistakes anywhere. I just sort of lost time throughout the lap," he told Fox Sports after securing 17th position. "It's just a bit of a difficult one when it's like that, it's better when you can really put your finger on exactly what it is and then there's not too much debriefing. But a session like that is a little bit hard." If anyone can recover from deep in the field to win it's Brown, but Feeney will be hard to catch at Hidden Valley as he looks to extend his 72-point championship lead over his teammate. Feeney has dominated at the venue in recent years, winning both races there in 2024 and another the year before. His one minute 5.984 second lap in the first session was the fastest of the weekend so far and nine-hundredths of a second faster than Cam Waters in second. Grove Racing's Matt Payne will start race 17 in third, ahead of Ryan Wood and Brodie Kostecki. Hometown hero Bryce Fullwood was the only other Camaro, other than Feeney, in the top 10 in opening qualifying. After Wood expressed concerns Ford engines were underspeed in the Darwin heat, there were no parity issues for the Blue Oval in the cooler conditions on Saturday morning. Mustangs will make up eight out of the top 10 to start Saturday's first race. But as the temperature rose throughout the morning, the resurgent Chevrolets reasserted their dominance, claiming seven of the top 10 spots in the second race. Times were slower with the super soft compounds underfoot in the second qualifying session, with Feeney securing the best time of one minute and 6.411. "I'm stoked. Double pole here was awesome," he said. "That session was probably a little bit more challenging. I feel like all year in the last part on the re-used tyre we're more competitive than the green (new) tyre on the super soft." Anton de Pasquale was five-hundredths behind in second, with Waters coming in third. Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen will start in the second row after snaring his best-ever qualifying result in fourth Chaz Mostert scraped into the top 10 for the first race but his championship hopes took a blow after hobbling to 23rd place in the second session. His struggles so far this weekend have contrasted with the fortunes of Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Wood, who excelled in practice on Friday. "I'll have to put my hand up on this one. Probably steered the car down the wrong path this weekend so far," Mostert said. "Woody's been doing a fantastic job. There's a bit of data there for us. Probably both cars weren't quick enough on the supersoft." The first 120km race in Darwin gets underway at 12.15pm (AEST) before race 18 kicks off at 3.40pm (AEST). RACE 17 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 4. Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) RACE 18 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18) 3. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 4. Kai Allen (Grove Racing) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) Championship leader Broc Feeney's dominance of Hidden Valley Raceway has continued, claiming pole position for the first two Supercars races of the weekend. The 22-year-old will lead the grid for both 120km races in Darwin on Saturday. But the biggest implication for the make-up of the leaderboard is the absence of Feeney's Triple Eight teammate Will Brown from the top 10 in both races. The reigning champion finished with the 14th fastest time in opening qualifying after botching the turn-six hairpin, but Brown couldn't identify what was causing his lack of pace on super soft tyres in the second session. "That lap I didn't really make any mistakes anywhere. I just sort of lost time throughout the lap," he told Fox Sports after securing 17th position. "It's just a bit of a difficult one when it's like that, it's better when you can really put your finger on exactly what it is and then there's not too much debriefing. But a session like that is a little bit hard." If anyone can recover from deep in the field to win it's Brown, but Feeney will be hard to catch at Hidden Valley as he looks to extend his 72-point championship lead over his teammate. Feeney has dominated at the venue in recent years, winning both races there in 2024 and another the year before. His one minute 5.984 second lap in the first session was the fastest of the weekend so far and nine-hundredths of a second faster than Cam Waters in second. Grove Racing's Matt Payne will start race 17 in third, ahead of Ryan Wood and Brodie Kostecki. Hometown hero Bryce Fullwood was the only other Camaro, other than Feeney, in the top 10 in opening qualifying. After Wood expressed concerns Ford engines were underspeed in the Darwin heat, there were no parity issues for the Blue Oval in the cooler conditions on Saturday morning. Mustangs will make up eight out of the top 10 to start Saturday's first race. But as the temperature rose throughout the morning, the resurgent Chevrolets reasserted their dominance, claiming seven of the top 10 spots in the second race. Times were slower with the super soft compounds underfoot in the second qualifying session, with Feeney securing the best time of one minute and 6.411. "I'm stoked. Double pole here was awesome," he said. "That session was probably a little bit more challenging. I feel like all year in the last part on the re-used tyre we're more competitive than the green (new) tyre on the super soft." Anton de Pasquale was five-hundredths behind in second, with Waters coming in third. Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen will start in the second row after snaring his best-ever qualifying result in fourth Chaz Mostert scraped into the top 10 for the first race but his championship hopes took a blow after hobbling to 23rd place in the second session. His struggles so far this weekend have contrasted with the fortunes of Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Wood, who excelled in practice on Friday. "I'll have to put my hand up on this one. Probably steered the car down the wrong path this weekend so far," Mostert said. "Woody's been doing a fantastic job. There's a bit of data there for us. Probably both cars weren't quick enough on the supersoft." The first 120km race in Darwin gets underway at 12.15pm (AEST) before race 18 kicks off at 3.40pm (AEST). RACE 17 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 4. Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) RACE 18 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18) 3. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 4. Kai Allen (Grove Racing) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) Championship leader Broc Feeney's dominance of Hidden Valley Raceway has continued, claiming pole position for the first two Supercars races of the weekend. The 22-year-old will lead the grid for both 120km races in Darwin on Saturday. But the biggest implication for the make-up of the leaderboard is the absence of Feeney's Triple Eight teammate Will Brown from the top 10 in both races. The reigning champion finished with the 14th fastest time in opening qualifying after botching the turn-six hairpin, but Brown couldn't identify what was causing his lack of pace on super soft tyres in the second session. "That lap I didn't really make any mistakes anywhere. I just sort of lost time throughout the lap," he told Fox Sports after securing 17th position. "It's just a bit of a difficult one when it's like that, it's better when you can really put your finger on exactly what it is and then there's not too much debriefing. But a session like that is a little bit hard." If anyone can recover from deep in the field to win it's Brown, but Feeney will be hard to catch at Hidden Valley as he looks to extend his 72-point championship lead over his teammate. Feeney has dominated at the venue in recent years, winning both races there in 2024 and another the year before. His one minute 5.984 second lap in the first session was the fastest of the weekend so far and nine-hundredths of a second faster than Cam Waters in second. Grove Racing's Matt Payne will start race 17 in third, ahead of Ryan Wood and Brodie Kostecki. Hometown hero Bryce Fullwood was the only other Camaro, other than Feeney, in the top 10 in opening qualifying. After Wood expressed concerns Ford engines were underspeed in the Darwin heat, there were no parity issues for the Blue Oval in the cooler conditions on Saturday morning. Mustangs will make up eight out of the top 10 to start Saturday's first race. But as the temperature rose throughout the morning, the resurgent Chevrolets reasserted their dominance, claiming seven of the top 10 spots in the second race. Times were slower with the super soft compounds underfoot in the second qualifying session, with Feeney securing the best time of one minute and 6.411. "I'm stoked. Double pole here was awesome," he said. "That session was probably a little bit more challenging. I feel like all year in the last part on the re-used tyre we're more competitive than the green (new) tyre on the super soft." Anton de Pasquale was five-hundredths behind in second, with Waters coming in third. Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen will start in the second row after snaring his best-ever qualifying result in fourth Chaz Mostert scraped into the top 10 for the first race but his championship hopes took a blow after hobbling to 23rd place in the second session. His struggles so far this weekend have contrasted with the fortunes of Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Wood, who excelled in practice on Friday. "I'll have to put my hand up on this one. Probably steered the car down the wrong path this weekend so far," Mostert said. "Woody's been doing a fantastic job. There's a bit of data there for us. Probably both cars weren't quick enough on the supersoft." The first 120km race in Darwin gets underway at 12.15pm (AEST) before race 18 kicks off at 3.40pm (AEST). RACE 17 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing) 4. Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing) RACE 18 QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2. Anton De Pasquale (Team 18) 3. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 4. Kai Allen (Grove Racing) 5. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
‘I've come a long way': Sam Konstas returns to Australian Test team, inked and inspired
'Obviously, it's a tough team to crack and [it has] got legends of the game in that team,' Konstas said. 'Very excited for the opportunity and hopefully, I can grab it with both hands. 'I've been training really hard and I understand the reasons why they picked [other players in recent Tests]. I'm just trying to be in the present moment, trying to focus on a few key areas with my batting coach, and feel like I've come a long way. Hopefully, I can display that in the next few Test matches. 'It's a dream come true, to be honest. [To be] 19 years old, playing for your country, travelling the world, getting to experience different cultures and against the best players as well … I'm lucky to be where I am.' As Konstas prepares for a new chapter, Labuschagne is facing the unfamiliar reality of being dropped from the Test team for the first time since 2019. Those close to him say he's handled the setback as well as possible. 'He's a great mentor of mine,' said Konstas of Labuschagne. 'I'm pretty sure his average is [nearly] 50. Hopefully one day I can get there. I always go to him for advice.' Australia will have two main training sessions on Saturday and Monday before the opening Test on Wednesday against a West Indies side battling for consistency. Konstas's all-out attacking approach and combative attitude in his first two matches against India prompted some to question whether his temperament was suited for Test cricket. The teenager admits he got a bit carried away during his debut in Melbourne and the game after in Sydney, but says he'll play more conventionally this time. 'I still can't believe it. I don't know what was going through my mind at that time,' Konstas said. 'I thought it was right in the moment. It was good fun. 'The emotions probably got to me with the crowd. It was good reflecting and having a bit of time off, trying to strengthen my game. Hopefully we get to win the next Test match. 'I feel like I trust people that I work with and they understand my game. I'm not trying to prove to anyone how I'm going to play. I just want to be myself and obviously understand when to take the game on. 'To be honest, I know quite a few of the [West Indies] players, maybe half the team. When I've watched them, they've had brute pace, they're very skilful, and I can't wait for the challenge ahead.' Former England captain and Fox Sports commentator Michael Vaughan likes the idea of Konstas at the top and Josh Inglis at No.3 against the West Indies. Loading 'I think he's been given a bit of a raw deal having to face Jasprit Bumrah on green tops to suddenly not playing in Sri Lanka and not playing in the World Test championship final,' said Vaughan ahead of the series, which will be shown on Kayo Sports and ESPN. 'He seems to be a kid that just can cope with things. He's a hell of a character and he was the story of the summer. He hasn't played since. It is a little bit strange. 'Someone like Josh Inglis ... if I was an Australia selector, I'd want in my team. He's a wonderful player. I think he's got a game that can play anywhere. He could quite easily bat at three.'
