As professional sporting bodies such as the AFL and NRL sweat on the financial cost of coronavirus, the impact on suburban and regional clubs at the amateur level should not be ignored, writes Richard Hinds.

Rugby league's governing body says a letter sent by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller shows there is nothing to "preclude the commencement of the modified NRL competition" in May, despite health authorities being wary about relaxing restrictions too soon.

Experts urge AFL and NRL clubs not to underestimate the potential effects of isolation on players, as the rugby league players' union calls for their mental health to be prioritised during the coronavirus shutdown.

Former Richmond Tigers premiership player Michael Bowden is remembered as a fierce footballer, inspiring educator and compassionate family man after his death from motor neurone disease at the age of 73.

The NRL is leading the charge to get sport restarted, planning games by late next month — but Australia's Federal Sports Minister is urging all codes to have patience amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The former Australian skipper says he thinks the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia will be postponed if fans aren't allowed to attend matches because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Georgie Rowe hopped on her indoor rowing machine, she had no intention of breaking a world record. But she has just overtaken an Olympic gold medallist.

The NRL is committed to resuming the premiership season on May 28, but the New Zealand-based Warriors claim they have been left in the dark about the league's plans for their move back to Australia.

Australia's four football codes make a big show of investing in their women's teams and competitions, but their commitment to the cause is under the spotlight amid the coronavirus pandemic, writes Amanda Shalala.

A leading voice in Formula One warns there is a serious threat of losing teams if big changes are not made to the competition.

Alicia Meneghetti met Stephen Dank in 2014 when the sports scientist was at the centre of Essendon's infamous supplements program and serving a lifetime ban.

With major sporting competitions on hold because of coronavirus, now is the time to reassess how we approach the sport-lifestyle balance of professional athletes and even how they are recruited, writes Richard Hinds.

The blare of the footy siren on Friday nights brings a thrill at the end of the working week for AFL fans. But many supporters and players alike are struggling in its absence and finding there's no cure for the Friday night footy blues.

The NRL has a number of crucial questions it must answer if it wants to restart its premiership season on May 28 as planned following the coronavirus-forced suspension of the competition, writes David Mark.

The AFL club says it is investigating after its vice-captain allegedly crashed into parked cars while driving drunk in Melbourne's south overnight.

Young Adelaide Crows forward Tyson Stengle has been reported for drink driving after he recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.125. He is the second AFL player to be caught up in a drink driving offence in the last 24 hours.

Nestled deep in the rugby league heartland of central Queensland, the Yeppoon Swans A-grade side is hot on the heels of a 44-year-old Australian record for the most consecutive wins in Aussie Rules.

When he went surfing with his old school buddy Nat Fyfe in Margaret River last week, Kookaburras co-captain Aran Zalewski had no idea he'd be thrust into the media spotlight — and it has made him appreciate his anonymity.

Women's sport, like most things, will look different post COVID-19 — but that isn't necessarily a negative, writes Kim Encel.

Australia's elite sportspeople wronged by dud selection calls or dodgy doping violations are set to chase justice in a new legal arena.

Annastacia Palaszczuk softens her stance on the NRL's attempt to restart the competition during the coronavirus pandemic, but says the league is yet to submit any plan.

Todd Greenberg resigns with immediate effect after four years leading the NRL, in a decision the sporting body says was mutually agreed.

The league wants its competition back up and running next month after being shut down by coronavirus, but a global sporting group says the NRL cannot focus on financial concerns at the expense of player safety.

One of the AFL's rising stars wants the league to ignore calls to raise the minimum draft age from 18, as he worries young players may "lose their way" if it is changed.

The Geelong star and AFL Players' Association president says cramming 16 rounds into 10 weeks is not ideal, but it may be the model the league has to adopt to get the 2020 season completed after the coronavirus shutdown.

Lachie Hunter is suspended for four games, gives up his vice-captaincy of the Western Bulldogs and is fined by the club over a drink-driving incident that saw four parked cars damaged in Melbourne last week.

After a concerted effort from #NBATwitter to bump up the release date of the Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, the first two episodes hit Netflix ahead of time on Monday night and we're already hooked.

Rugby Australia is prepared to hold crisis talks with a group of disgruntled retired Wallabies captains, who have penned a letter to the governing body claiming the game has "lost its way", while demanding a change in leadership.

It's usually a glamorous event in front of a packed arena, but this year's NFL draft will be broadcast from nearly 200 locations to sports-starved fans.

Raelene Castle's position as Rugby Australia chief executive is not under review in the wake of the no-confidence letter issued by a group of former Wallabies captains, but the governing body can't guarantee it won't hold discussions down the track.

Queensland health authorities will consider giving the state's NRL teams the nod to bypass coronavirus restrictions and resume training as the code prepares to restart the season on May 28.

Don't let all this extra time at home get in the way of your long-cherished athletic goals. Here's how you can emerge from social distancing the proud champion of a sport you've just invented.

Raelene Castle says "the sport is bigger than any one individual", resigning after the Rugby Australia board told her it wanted "clear air" without her as chief executive.

Assistant coaches are among those doing it tough in Australia's football codes during the coronavirus shutdown, as they learn to adapt to a challenging environment, writes Richard Hinds.

Despairing the lack of sport around the globe, Adelaide man Shane Robinson and his mates stumbled upon a Belarus football team, FK Slutsk. Little did they know that just weeks later they would be helping the struggling club to survive.

Rugby Australia chairman Paul McLean defends Raelene Castle's tenure as chief executive, as he calls out the bullying she received from "faceless people" during her time in the job.

While the latest coronavirus update from the Prime Minister and Chief Medical Officer looked promising for ways we can start to shift back to normal life, they say it's still too early to start lifting baseline restrictions.

NRL television broadcasters Channel Nine and Foxtel agree to recognise May 28 as the competition recommencement date following extensive meetings, according to chairman Peter V'landys.

A smiling, happy Brydi Saul is on a mission to get to the Paralympics. But rewind three years, and it was a very different story.

Imagine an Australia where every sporting club in the country had players with autism and intellectual disability playing on teams, serving on committees, and helping run events.

The men's world number three has earned more than $37 million during his career, but he says he is not willing to contribute money to a planned relief program to help tennis professionals doing it tough during the coronavirus shutdown.

NRL players Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr have been fined $1,000 each for breaching the state's coronavirus distancing lockdown during a weekend away, as the NRL describes the getaway as "unacceptable".

The French Grand Prix cancelled its race scheduled for June 28 rather than postponing it, making July 5 the targeted start date at the Austrian GP in Spielberg.

The Bundesliga could be the first top-flight football competition in the world to return from an enforced break due to coronavirus, and may become a test case for how other leagues approach a return to normality.

St Kilda's new cult hero Caitlin Greiser is one of 11 first-time selections in the 2020 AFLW All-Australian team after topping the league's goal-kicking chart.

The AFL has a comeback date in mind, but unlike the NRL, it's waiting for government and broadcaster sign-off before going public.

Madison Prespakis of Carlton is named the winner of the 2020 AFL Women's Best and Fairest award, and Isabell Huntington takes out the rising star award.

Federal Minister Richard Colbeck says he hopes sport halted by the coronavirus pandemic can get started again, but warns NRL players' misbehaviour threatens a return of play.

AFL players are stunned by the league's worst-case scenario for completing the season — that they could have to spend up to 20 weeks in isolation without their families.

He has claimed almost every individual honour there is in the AFL, but the highest goal continues to drive the Geelong star even during this uncertain 2020 season — a maiden premiership victory.