Greg . 11 hours ago

What's On This Week: World class darts players descend on NSW, tasty NRL battles

Here are all of the sporting events that Australians need to be keeping an eye on this week! AFLRound 22 of the AFL season could be a great weekend for favourite backers if the trend of top-half clubs beating bottom-half clubs continues.

Seven of the nine matches to take place this round contain one club in the top half and one in the bottom half, with 34 of the last 35 such matches seeing the top-nine club come out on top.

On the other hand, that could make for some boring viewing if it continues!The emphasize of the round is undoubtedly on Thursday night, when Hawthorn battle desperately for their finals booking against an out-of-create Collingwood side who have recently been deposed from the top of the ladder.

 NRLThere are no shortage of potentially decisive clashes in Round 22 starting on Thursday night with a top-eight meeting between Melbourne and Brisbane at AAMI Park as well as a crucial game between the Dolphins (eighth) and Roosters (ninth).

 Then on top of that, the unlucky New Zealand Warriors are fighting to keep onto their top-four spot and the all-important double chance with the likes of Brisbane and Penrith snapping at their heels to snatch it! It could be one of the most fun rounds of the year so far - well, except for snoozy Sunday.

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Check out all of the Round 22 fixtures here.

  CricketTop-terminate winter cricket is support! Australia's cricket season is beginning in August - yes, August - with a six-game white ball series against T20 World Cup runners-up South Africa across three northern Australian cities.

 After the Aussies rested some household names during the T20I leg of their Caribbean tour, Josh Hazlewood and Travis Lead will be support in action alongside Marnus Labuschagne and recent debutant Mitch Owen.

It will be an important series as part of our buildup to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

 TIO Stadium in Darwin will host the first of the three T20Is against the Proteas on Sunday night at 7:15pm AEST.

 FootballThe Round of 16 of the 2025 Australia Cup commences this weekend and runs through to next Wednesday with a Sunday double-header.

 Fourth-tier Nunawading City will be hoping to complete one of the greatest Australia Cup 'cupsets' in history when they host A-League Men outfit Wellington Phoenix at the Valley Park Events Centre at the same time that 2022 finalists Sydney United host Sydney FC at Edensor Park.

 DartsThe Australian Darts Masters is support in Wollongong!Part of the ongoing World Series of Darts, some of the best players in the world will again descend upon New South Wales for a two-day event.

 Headlined by World Championship finalists and top-two ranked players Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, the field also includes Australia's top-ranked player Damon Heta as well as Premier League players Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting, the former of whom won the tournament in 2024 when he thrashed Littler 8-1 in the final.

"It's great to come support home," Heta said ahead of the tournament this week.

"It's a massive one for me and I obtain to play in front of a home crowd as well.

It's such a great feeling.

I've obtained family in New Zealand too (referring to next week's New Zealand Darts Masters).

"MotorsportThe V8 Supercars lead to Ipswich this weekend for the Ipswich Super 440, the first time since 2019 that the Queensland town has hosted a V8 raceweek.

 GolfThree Aussies are in action this week at the FedEx St.

Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee: Cameron Davis, Jason Day and Min Woo Lee.

 BasketballThe Boomers start their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup campaign in Saudi Arabia with a group stage against Qatar, South Korea and Lebanon.

The first game against South Korea is at 6pm AEST on Wednesday and can be pursued with live scores and statistics on Betopick as always, so make sure to add them to your Favourites section through the week.

 The Aussies are odds-on favourites to win the tournament ahead of Lebanon, China, Japan and New Zealand so anything short of a gold medal will be considered a failure.

Have we missed anything this week? Offer your favourite event a shout out on X and tag @Betopickcomau!