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The birthplace of Australian Rules football is Melbourne. Yesterday the Norm Smith curse was broken when Melbourne football club its first premiership in 57 years. The Grand Final was against another Melbourne based team, The Western Bulldogs. But the grand final was held on the other side of the country in Perth because of the world's longest lockdowns in Melbourne. In the thirdv uarter, the Bulldogs were three goals ahead, then Melbourne kicked 16 of the last 17 goals to win. It was one of the most emphatic victories in the club's history but Melbourne supporters in Melbourne are imprisoned...

The Kangaroos have thumped reigning AFL premiers the Swans by 48 points in a sold-out exhibition game in Los Angeles. Kangaroos ruckman Hamish McIntosh was voted best-on-ground and dominated the youthful Sydney lineup, kicking an equal game-high two goals. The Kangaroos won 13.8 (86) to 6.2 (38). Both teams were without senior stars, with Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley and Sydney's Paul Roos opting to blood younger players. Roos said he was not disappointed with the score because both teams did not play their full squads and it was still more than two months away from the opening of the AFL...

THE Swans and Kangaroos could be playing for million-dollar American football contracts on Monday. The Sydney-Kangaroos exhibition match here is primarily to give US sports fans a taste of the AFL but, in the wake of Ben Graham's stunning debut season with the New York Jets, NFL scouts are expected to attend. The match will be held at the University of California (UCLA), home to the country's glamour college American football team, the UCLA Bruins. Members of the UCLA coaching staff will also be taking a look at potential recruits. "Sure, we're interested in looking at these guys," UCLA director...

IF the West Coast Eagles win tomorrow's AFL Grand Final, a bet between the New South Wales and WA premiers will see the Perth's team flag flying from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. WA Premier Geoff Gallop said today he had made a bet with his NSW counterpart Morris Iemma on the outcome of the match between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles. "If the Eagles win he'll fly the Eagles flag over the bridge and if the Swans win we'll hang the flag over Parliament," Dr Gallop said on ABC radio. "That's the deal. When a premier commits...