Larry Williams Drive

So I once heard someone say the best stories you could hope to read in the newspapers are always found in the sports sections—and I was reminded of that by the incredible story of the women’s Phoenix football team. These ladies are going to play in the grand final of their A-League competition, which is remarkable when you consider that, in two of the past five years, they’ve finished as the wooden spoon team. But why they’ve made the grand final is what makes the story truly incredible. It’s their coach, Bev Priestman. She seems to be the person who has turned the team around. Two years ago—remember this—she was their evil nemesis. She was the head coach of the Canadian football team during the 2024 Olympics and she was caught spying on our team, the New Zealand women’s side, using a drone. And in that New Zealand team were many players who are in this Phoenix squad. That drone spying turned into an international scandal and the coach lost her job. She needed a new one so she moved to New Zealand, where her