Burgess Released From Hospital

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Sam Burgess has been released from hospital after being cleared of serious injury during South Sydney's loss to St George Illawarra.

Burgess, 27, spent two nights in hospital after Sunday's clash of heads with fellow Englishman Mike Cooper.

He lay prone on the pitch for several minutes, while receiving medical care, before being taken off on a stretcher.

MRI and CT scans showed no damage to the vertebrae or spinal cord and Burgess is expected to recover fully.

The Rabbitohs say they will continue to monitor the former Bradford prop for any muscle or neurological issues but he will miss Good Friday's NRL game against Canterbury Bulldogs.

Burgess returned to Australia in November after nine months with rugby union Premiership side Bath.

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Honda Name Hasegawa Head of F1

Yasuhisa Arai, the head of Honda’s Formula One programme, will step down at the end of the month and be replaced by Yusuke Hasegawa, McLaren’s engine partners said on Tuesday.

Hasegawa has previous experience in Formula One from Honda’s time with the BAR and Jordan teams.

Arai, 59, had led Honda’s efforts in the sport since they returned in a new partnership with McLaren in a troubled 2015 season marked by a lack of performance from the unreliable power unit.

Honda said that Arai, who will retire next year, had been moved as part of a wider restructuring.

McLaren finished ninth of 10 teams in 2015 and will be hoping for a considerable improvement in the new season, which starts on 20 March in Melbourne, Australia.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is “excited” to get the 2016 campaign underway as he believes McLaren-Honda learnt a great deal from last year’s “tricky” season. McLaren’s first year back with Honda power did not go according to plan.

The team managed just 29 points, suffered 12 retirements and were hit with a record 105-place penalty at the Belgium Grand Prix.

Throughout the season both McLaren and Honda insisted that it was a year for laying foundations for the future. Foundations that Alonso hopes will reap some rewards in 2016.

“The start of a new season is always a special feeling, characterised by a lot of anticipation for the year ahead,” said the double World Champion. “This year is no different: I’m excited and raring to go.

“Last year the spotlight was very much on McLaren-Honda as we embarked on the first year of our renewed partnership. It was a tricky season for all of us, but we learned a hell of a lot.

“Likewise, it’s been a very productive winter for me. I’ve been training extremely hard, as usual, but also enjoying time with my family, and keeping tabs on all the hard work going on at the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, where the McLaren guys have been doing an incredible job to get everything ready in time. The Honda boys have been working flat-out in Sakura, too.”

As for the new MP4-31, which was unveiled online the day before pre-season testing, Alonso reckons it is “nicely packaged” car.

“The aero package shows fantastic attention to detail. The whole car is beautiful in fact – it’s particularly nicely packaged from an aerodynamic point of view as I say – and I’m 100 per cent ready for the challenge ahead.”

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Saturday Sydney Derby Risky

NSW Police and Football Federation Australia have been in discussions over preparations for this weekend’s Sydney derby, in a bid to prevent potential scenes of flare ripping and fan violence.

Saturday night’s showdown at Allianz Stadium is deemed high risk, as it consistently draws a sellout crowd and is the epicentre of rivalry between Sydney FC and Western Sydney supporters.

The fixture, which has been marred by numerous incidents before, also typically attracts the largest contingent of travelling Wanderers fans, a factor to which the club attributed the flare-lighting and detonator-blowing havoc on display at Etihad Stadium a fortnight ago.

FFA have already punished Western Sydney, and on Monday served Melbourne Victory a show-cause notice in response to the misbehaviour of a minority of their own fans during the weekend’s Melbourne derby at AAMI Park.

In the current climate, the governing body are bracing for the threat of a third episode in as many weeks. “Our people are in discussions, and have been for some time about the derby on Saturday night,” chief executive David Gallop said.

“The focus could not be more on these issues now. We are hoping everyone recognises that, and recognises the damage that could be done if we don’t have a well-behaved fan group on Saturday night.”

Some of that damage could include the activation of the Wanderers’ suspended three-point penalty – one half of their sanction along with a $50,000 fine. The club have largely eliminated problems at home games, with next to no incidents this season. Not a flare was in sight at Pirtek Stadium on Sunday night, where only 24 police officers patrolled the upset by Wellington.

CEO John Tsatsimas last week said the danger of mischief is decreased at Pirtek because only members are allowed to enter the Red and Black Bloc active support section. But away games remain an issue because any member of the public can buy tickets for the designated supporter bays.

This will be the Wanderers’ first away match since the trouble at the Victory clash.

Self-described Sydney FC “hooligans” also told the Network 10 on Monday night that Allianz Stadium was the easiest A-League venue to smuggle flares into.

NSW Police will release more details of their arrangements for the derby later this week. “NSW Police is in the planning phase for this fixture,” a spokesman told AAP.

“As always, community safety is the No1 priority for police at any major public event. We continue to liaise closely with the venue, the clubs and FFA. Using all intelligence available to us, police will ensure appropriate numbers of officers and resources are available for the event.”

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Clarke Cricket Comeback in Suburbs

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has announced he will come out of retirement in February.

Clarke, who quit after last summer's Ashes, will play for Sydney grade team Western Suburbs on February 20-21.

"I've realised the game of cricket is in my blood," said 34-year-old Clarke.

"I'll start with this grade game and see if I miss it as much as I feel like I'm going to. If I do, the option is there to train the entire winter and then we'll see what happens."

Western Suburbs, the club Clarke played for as a youngster, face Randwick Petersham in a two-day first grade match at Pratten Park starting on February 20.

Clarke played 115 Tests and 245 one-day internationals for Australia, but struggled with back injuries throughout his career.

He said his comeback will primarily focus on limited-overs cricket.

"My focus is definitely the shorter format of the game," said Clarke, who added that he would "love to be a part" of Australia's Big Bash League, the Indian Premier League and English county cricket.

"There's possibly even Sheffield Shield cricket for New South Wales," he said.

"All I know is, I'll never say never to anything. I'll start with Western Suburbs and we will see where it takes me."

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Ken Judge 1958 - 2016

Former AFL player and coach Ken Judge has died after a long battle with cancer. Judge had battled myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood plasma cells, and had suffered a relapse in 2012.

The Hawks and Eagles have led the tributes to Judge. “The club sends its condolences to family and friends of premiership Hawk and former coach Ken Judge, who has passed away today,” Hawthorn posted on Twitter.

After a distinguished career in Western Australia for WAFL side East Fremantle, Judge made the move to Melbourne and played 72 games for Hawthorn between 1983 and 86, winning the club’s ‘best first year player’ award on the way to becoming a member of their ‘83 premiership team.

He also played in Hawthorn’s losing 1984 and 1985 grand final sides but missed selection in their 1986 Premiership team. The half-forward then played 17 games for the fledgling Brisbane between 1987 and 1988.

Judge went on to coach Hawthorn from 1996 until 1999 and West Coast in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, leading those sides in a combined 133 games. After coaching Judge moved into radio commentary and was part of the ABC team calling last season’s Grand Final, in which Hawthorn won their third consecutive Premiership.

Hawks team-mates Robert DiPierdomenico and Terry Wallace remembered Judge as a skilled team-mate and someone who thought deeply about the game. “He had a wicked sense of humour but, when he delivered the ball, you knew exactly where to go and he would hit you on the chest,” DiPierdomenico told SEN radio.

Wallace also noted that Judge was one of the keys to Hawthorn becoming a premiership team. “He was the finishing touches to us,” Wallace said. “We made a preliminary final in 1982, we were ready to take the next step and he had a terrific year in ‘83 and was able to be part of that premiership team.”

Former Hawks teammate Peter Schwab paid tribute on Twitter. “Ken (Judgey) it was a pleasure to play with you and coach with you but the greatest pleasure was our friendship - you will be so missed,” Schwab said.

Parkin and Blues great Stephen Kernahan, who captained the ‘95 premiership team, said Judge made a big impact in his season at Carlton. “Ken was a ferocious competitor ... he was the agent provocateur through 1995,” Parkin told the club website. “We had a fair few ‘yes men’ around the place but Ken was never a yes man. He always had an edge.”

Kernahan said an ill Judge was a popular figure at last year’s 20-year premiership reunion. “The bottom line was that Ken was a really good bloke. His loss is just shattering,” Kernahan said.

Judge died on Friday, which was his 58th birthday.

#RIP

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Balance Wins Sydney Hobart Race

New South Wales boat Balance is the overall winner of the 2015 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Owner and skipper Paul Clitheroe has spent more than a day waiting to see if any other contender could beat his handicap time and on Thursday morning officials declared the result.

“Congratulations to Paul Clitheroe and his Balance crew, officially announced as 2015 overall winners,” race organisers tweeted.

Clitheroe, 60, better known for giving financial advice in the media, sailed Balance to a class win in 2014 and has gone one better in 2015.

With his crew of 12, Clitheroe crossed the line on Tuesday night, finishing seventh in line honours with a time of three days, three hours, 50 minutes and 45 seconds.

It was some 21 hours behind race winner, US supermaxi Comanche, but Clitheroe was just grateful to finish the 628-nautical mile voyage, which he said produced mixed conditions.

“I got smashed off the NSW coast and [then] I’m sitting in Bass Strait in a millpond, I could have gone fishing,” he said after reaching Constitution Dock.

The boat finished with a broken mainsail and was one of many competitors damaged, including top-three Comanche, Ragamuffin and Rambler, who were forced to make at-sea repairs to continue their campaigns.

Late on Wednesday the smallest boat in the race fleet - 33-foot Quikpoint Azzurro - had a big chance of knocking Balance off its honours perch.

Clitheroe denied he was anxious waiting to see if the challenger could meet Thursday’s 4.43am (AEDT) deadline. “There’s nothing I can do about it,” the veteran sailor said.

Ultimately, Quikpoint Azzurro couldn’t meet the challenge with owner-skipper Shane Kearns frustrated to lose a large margin overnight at the mouth of Hobart’s Derwent River.

“It was really frustrating, we knew we had a time limit,” Kearns told AAP after crossing the line.

“We really wanted to come first but there was just no wind and what wind there was, was the wrong direction. Sailing can be a fun and cruel sport all in one go.”

After reaching top speeds under spinnaker coming down Tasmania’s east coast on Wednesday, Quikpoint Azzurro had more than eight hours to cover the final 40 nautical miles.

But it wasn’t to be. “If the breeze had stayed in we would have whooped his arse and won,” Kearns said.

Clitheroe will be presented with the Tattersall’s Cup later in the morning.

There are only a handful of yachts still to cross the finish line, with latecomer Myuna III due to arrive on Friday.

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Burgess Sydney Return Against Roosters

Sam Burgess’s return to South Sydney and the NRL will kick off against arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters in front of a potential sell-out Sunday afternoon crowd at Allianz Stadium on 6 March.

In an effort to boost crowd numbers the NRL has announced a number of big Sunday afternoon games in Sydney, scheduled for the family-friendly 4pm timeslot.

“We have certainly made an effort to ensure that some of our best match-ups and blockbusters are in family-friendly timeslots,” the NRL’s head of football Todd Greenberg said.

“Whilst I don’t want to give too much away, we will have a number of strong Sydney derbies on Sundays through the opening rounds of the Telstra Premiership.”

The NRL will release the draw for the 2016 season this week, however the governing body has already confirmed a number of Sunday blockbusters for the 4pm timeslot.

The southern derby of the Sharks and Dragons will headline the second round in the harbour city, while the Dragons will take Souths to the SCG in round three and host Penrith in round four. The battle of the west will play out as Parramatta host Penrith in round five.

Crowd figures dropped to an average of 15,074 last season, their lowest figure since 2004. On average, they dropped more than 800 fans per match on 2014, and were almost 1,500 fans down than in 2005 on average.

Sydney clubs particularly struggled, with the Wests Tigers, Manly, Penrith and Cronulla all failing to average above 12,000 people per match.

Elsewhere, the Eels will reportedly host Brisbane in the first Thursday night match of the season, while the Cowboys look set to begin their premiership defence on a Saturday night to appease their regional supporter base.

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Crikey! Michelle Breaks Payne Barrier

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Australian Michelle Payne has become the first female jockey to win Australia's most prestigious horse race, the Melbourne Cup.

The New Zealand-bred Prince of Penzance won despite being an outsider, with French horse Max Dynamite second and New Zealand horse Criterion third.

Frankie Dettori was banned for a month and fined A$20,000 (£9,338) for careless riding on Max Dynamite.

Payne said winning was "everybody's dream as a jockey in Australia".

"My sister and I had a feeling I was going to win, and it turned out exactly how I thought it would," the 30-year-old told reporters.

Only the fourth female to ride in the Cup during its 155-year history, she added: "It's such a chauvinistic sport, I know some of the owners wanted to kick me off."

She praised Prince of Penzance trainer Darren Weir and owner John Richards for their support but said: "I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world."

Red Cadeaux broke down before the finish line with an injured leg, but officials said they did not believe the injury was life threatening.

Jamie Spencer was suspended for 14 days for causing interference on British-trained Big Orange, who finished fifth.

Time of her life: Ms Payne said every Australian jockey dreams of winning the Melbourne Cup. She said she started when she was five

Michelle Payne said she had been dreaming of winning the Melbourne Cup since she was five years old

Payne, who has fought back from life-threatening race injuries during her career, said she hoped her win would inspire other women: "It's a very male-dominated sport and people think we [women] are not strong enough and all of the rest of it, but it's not all about strength.

"There is so much more involved, getting the horse into a rhythm, getting the horse to try for you.

"It's being patient and I'm so glad to win the Melbourne Cup and, hopefully, it will help female jockeys from now on to get more of a go. We don't get enough of a go."

Japan's Fame Game had been a firm favourite to win Australia's biggest race, but it was Payne who rode to victory, beating odds of 100-1.

Michelle Payne celebrates her winning ride on Prince Of Penzance to win race 7 the Emirates Melbourne Cup with brother and strapper Stephen Payne

Michelle Payne celebrates her winning ride on Prince Of Penzance with brother and strapper Stephen Payne

The Payne family is steeped in Australian racing. The youngest of 10 children, Michelle was raised by her father on the family farm in Victoria after her mother died when she was just six months old.

Eight of her nine siblings have also been jockeys, but none has won a race as big as this.

For the Australian owners of Prince of Penzance, a horse that cost just $50,000 (£25,000; $36,000), it was a lucrative day as they will take home almost A$3.6m (£1.7m; $2.6m) in prize money.

Dubbed "the race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup is the world's richest two-mile handicap race, worth A$6.2m ($4.2m; £2.9m).

Eleven international horses were among the 24 in the race. Only one of the local starters, Sertorius, was actually bred in Australia.

Meanwhile, vets have reportedly operated on three-time Melbourne Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux.

Racing Victoria said earlier the horse had a suspected fetlock injury to his left foreleg.

"On-course veterinarians have splinted and stabilised the horse's leg and he has now been transferred to the University of Melbourne Veterinary Clinic at Werribee to undergo further assessment," it said in a statement .

Last year's cup ended controversially after two horses died.

Pre-race favourite Admire Rakti died after finishing last, while seventh-placed Araldo was put down after fracturing a cannon bone.

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