NSW opts for a familiar face in State of Origin, with Laurie Daley returning to the coaching job, succeeding Michael Maguire.

Andy Buchanan, a late replacement for the Paris Olympics, took over a minute off the previous Australian Marathon record on a fast course in Valencia, while Izzi Batt-Doyle ran the third-fastest time by an Australian woman in history.

Maddison Levi delivers an amazing display, scoring a record 15 tries over the weekend as Australia's rugby women wins a fifth-straight Dubai Sevens crown.

Distressing scenes in Italian football as Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove collapses on-field against Inter Milan, with the player taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma. 

A government report has secretly examined if the state can run Queensland's crown jewel of stadiums, Lang Park, as well as a private company with intimate political connections.