Farewell, 2022. You were really something.
It was an enormous year from start to finish, as the world opened up and we finally began to transition into a post-Covid landscape.
There were packed houses across the globe and the sporting stories lived up to their expectations.
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But as always, much of the interest came off the field or court. And while there were some incredible, positive tales, there was plenty of heartbreak as well.
Foxsports.com.au covered it all, from every angle, and here we bring you our annual tradition: the top-10 most read stories of the year.
Together being viewed nearly 11 million times, they may not be what you’d first expect.
Golfers argue on the 18th! | 00:25
10. On-green argument between two golfers stuns fans at Australian Open
Yeah, this one surprised us too – but everyone loves a bit of drama. Sneaking into the top 10 just this month, an incident on the 18th hole at the Australian Open (which saw men and women competing at the same time) had our readers asking “hang on… what’s going on there?” It’s customary for golfers who play together to shake hands after a round, but American Marina Alex and Aussie Julienne Soo snubbed each other after the latter attempted to throw her ball into the crowd (as is tradition during the Aussie summer). Their argument, captured on the broadcast, had amateur lip-readers everywhere hard at work.
9. Gold Trip wins the Melbourne Cup
The Sydney racing scene will keep trying to challenge it, but nothing comes close to the great race at Flemington, with Aussies glued to the screens for the three-minute thrill-ride – and coming to Foxsports.com.au both beforehand, in their desperate bid to pick the winner, and afterwards, to figure out where they went wrong. In 2022 it was top weight Gold Trip reigning supreme, ridden by Mark Zahra 12 months after he was denied a seat on 2021 winner Verry Elleegant through suspension.
8. Paul Gallen beats Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant on the same night
NRL great Paul Gallen has been incredible for Australian boxing, combining the drawing power of a lengthy sporting career with enough genuine talent to prove he wasn’t just some celebrity blow-in. Understandably the Fox Sports audience has had plenty of interest in Gallen’s bouts throughout his in-ring career – whether wanting to see him succeed, or fail – and his fascinating two-fights-in-one-night spectacular in September drew heaps. Hodges took down a pair of Queenslanders, with Ben Hannant trying to tire him out and Justin Hodges threatening to stop Gallen in the main event, but proving unable to do so.
7. Andrew Johns’ outburst after NSW lost Origin decider to Queensland
Understandably rugby league immortal Andrew Johns was not thrilled when the Blues fell to the Maroons in State of Origin, and his surprisingly honest live TV comments immediately following game three drew plenty of interest. After all, they weren’t exactly objective. We don’t have the exact demographics but safe to say there were plenty of Queenslanders reading with glee – while long-time TV and radio host Jim Wilson called his comments a “bloody disgrace” and “petulant”.
6. Australia tops the medal tally at 2022 Commonwealth Games
With most of the action happening overnight during this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Aussies were waking up every morning and wanting to know just how successful and men and women in green and gold had been. And pretty much every day the answer was ‘very successful’. Our medal tally article, which summed up the day’s wins, drew the most interest throughout the Games. Oh and if you’re wondering, Australia finished well ahead of hosts England with a brilliant 67 golds. Cop that.
5. Andrew Symonds dies, aged 46
It was a heartbreaking year for Australian sport, and particularly those in the cricketing world – and those of us at Fox Cricket, who lost two of our great mates. In the space of less than three months, we had to say goodbye to both Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds. The latter was killed some 50 kilometres outside Townsville after a single-car crash on May 14. As Adam Gilchrist tweeted: “Think of your most loyal, fun, loving friend who would do anything for you. That’s Roy.”
Andrew Symonds memorial tribute | 05:54
4. Aussie MMA fighter destroys two men in street fight
Back in April, mixed martial artist Viktor Lyall was approached by two men at Brunswick Street Mall in Brisbane, having intervened when the pair were kicking each other on the ground. They turned on him, and in self defence the trained fighter took them both down. Perhaps understandably our readers enjoyed seeing the pair get what was coming to them, the video going viral along with huge praise for Lyall’s ability to avoid getting blindsided while fighting multiple men at once.
3. AFL Off-Season Central sums up all of the signings, trades and more
Perhaps this article cheats a little bit to get on the list – because any time there’s player movement news between September and December, AFL fans flock to Off-Season Central to learn what’s going on. But every year it’s a formula which sees this piece become one of our most-read. A particularly explosive trade period helped kick things off while the moves continued into the final month of the year, as clubs snapped up players just to train with them across the pre-season. All in all, this article sums up everything that happened, making it a one-stop shop.
‘Not bad for a skanky stripper!’ | 01:43
2. Ebanie Bridges defeats Shannon O’Connell via TKO in all-Aussie world title blockbuster
Maybe you didn’t know the names of these two top women’s boxers before they fought earlier in December, but you definitely did afterwards, the pair going to war and drawing global headlines for their bout in Leeds. As anyone who follows combat sports knows, they’re about entertainment as much as pure sporting performance – if you’re boring but brilliant, you’ll get fewer main events than a charismatic but flawed fighter. Thankfully for Ebanie Bridges, she is both charismatic and brilliant, proving herself as a tremendous drawing card (with help from her out-of-ring exploits) and a talented boxer. Having been called a “skanky stripper” pre-fight, Bridges was left “very satisfied” with the victory. Based on the interest in this bout, Australia has a new sporting star to be aware of.
It still feels surreal – especially following the Boxing Day Test. The passing of Shane Warne while on holiday in Thailand wasn’t just a cricket story; nor was it just an Australian story. A global sporting icon, Warne was the definition of the celebrity athlete. He came into the spotlight just as the world shrunk, and the scrutiny on sportspeople grew more intense. It meant he was known across the planet, able to make front pages from England to India. And yet he managed to feel like a regular bloke – one with a bit of coin who knew megastars from the entertainment world, sure, but one you could still imagine having a beer with. Warne’s sudden death produced an outpouring of disbelief and tributes, and it seemed like everyone who ever had the privilige of meeting him had a story to tell. And they were all brilliant – because Warnie was brilliant. There will never, ever be anyone like him again.
‘He attacked life’ – Kerry on Warnie | 06:10
