Australian Football

Two teammates get off on the wrong foot . . . but might just stumble into love. Theo Bestavros did everything right. He worked hard, got his game-winning moment and - failed. He's determined to make the most of a second chance at the Brunswick Falcons. Jake Cunningham has it all. He's a Falcons...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE A NEW YORKER NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025 ∙ A LITHUB FAVORITE BOOK OF 2025 From the beloved master of Australian letters Helen Garner comes a brand new work of nonfiction, exploring boyhood, football, and the quotidian joys of family life. "Inclusive...

A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture—now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian...

In 2012, Hakeem al-Araibi was a promising young player on Bahrain's national football team when he was arrested for attacking a police station during the Arab Spring, despite television footage showing him playing soccer at the time of the alleged attack. After three months of torture and wrongful imprisonment, Hakeem was released. He fled the country and made his way to Australia, where he was granted refugee status. Hakeem made a life here and was playing for the suburban Pascoe Vale Football Club, in Melbourne. He thought he was safe.

Mary Fowler is already a global football superstar with the Matildas, but there's so much more to the person behind the headlines and highlight-reel goals. Bloom is a mix of deeply personal experiences that have shaped Mary, behind-the-scenes insights from the Matildas' World Cup run...

A sport unlike any other in the world, football has always been Australia's bellwether. But at a time when politics is increasingly conducted like sports - full of one-eyed tribalism, captain's calls and policy dictated by the Newspoll scoreboard - football is the one institution that's more...

Travis Boak is one of the most talented and tenacious AFL players of the era. Three-time All-Australian and a former Port Adelaide captain, he's renowned for his football IQ and his physical endurance. In 2024 he played his 350th game, cementing his status as an elite champion. Travis is known...

WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 A wise man said, 'Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.'I understand the wisdom of this - right now, I don't have much 'forwards' left. Neale Daniher sat down to pen a letter to the grandchildren he'll never get...

Can their new love survive the return of his past? With his first year as a pro footballer behind him, ruckman Tyson Gaspaldi meets Katie while on a holiday in a small coastal town. Everything about her intrigues him, and he wants nothing more than to spend some time with her. Once she finds out how he earns his money, though, she hesitates to take whatever it is between them any further. Katie Cassidy is still overwhelmed by the recent loss of her sister, but a chance encounter with Tyson stirs emotions and a love for life inside her again. However, when Tyson’s ex-girlfriend blindsides ...

In 1966, at the age of 10, Martin Flanagan was sent to a Catholic boarding school in north-west Tasmania. Of the 12 priests on the staff, three have since gone to prison for sexual crimes committed against boys in their care. In 2018 and 2019, a series of disclosures about the school appeared on...

Matildas fever swept across the country during the 2023 World Cup campaign, filling stadiums beyond capacity, uniting communities and inspiring the next generation of world-class athletes. In one of the iconic 'where-were-you-when' moments in Australian sports history, the Matildas faced down...

Like a lot of footy blokes, having a chat has always come easy to Dylan Buckley. But how to move beyond banter to the deeper conversations he didn't know he needed is something he's only learned more recently - a hard-won skill developed through his podcast and the career reboot it gave him...

Australian Matildas and World Cup superstar Sam Kerr teams up with Aki Fukuoka to bring young readers this fun and inspiring illustrated series about soccer, school, sport, friendship, dealing with bullies and following your dreams. Sam Kerr has only been playing soccer for a few months and now...

In the darkest hour, a blood-soaked teenager flees the rural Gerandaroo football oval. Eight months later, Bess, a young teacher, returns home to Gerandaroo. A childhood game of dare with her former best friend forces Bess to form a women's footy team to play against Denby, a rival town. Bess...

Born in Sudan, Majak Daw fled to Egypt with his family when he was only eight years old. When they were eventually able to make a new life for themselves in Melbourne's south-west, Majak for the first time found where he belonged: playing footy. Drafted as a raw prospect by North Melbourne...

Mary's Game Today, Mary can't wait to get to school. She has an exciting surprise to share with her friends. But when something unexpected happens, Mary and the crew must work together to solve the problem and get back to what they love best - playing sport and having fun. From Mary Fowler, the...

Bachar Houli is as accomplished an AFL footballer as they come. He's been part of two Richmond Premiership sides, he was an All-Australian in 2019, and with more than 200 games to his name he remains a key part of a champion team. Picked at number 42 in the 2006 National Draft by Essendon, Houli played 26 games for the Bombers before moving in 2011 to Tigerland, where rookie Coach Damien Hardwick was assembling the team that six years later would achieve the seemingly impossible and claim Richmond's 11th Premiership.

A treasured son. A rare condition. A memoir of loss and joy and everything in between. My mind is racing. I'm trying to make sense of what the doctors have told us, to understand what life is going to look like now, for Levi and for us. We need to tell our families, I think to myself. But Mum is...

'Heads and Tasker, legends themselves, set out to write a book that would continue the trail laid by early-days sporting scribes of long ago. I could not put it down.' John Coates AC, President of the Australian Olympic Committee 'I know readers will enjoy the many stories and anecdotes that...

'A book about humanity as much as sport. It’s like sitting at the kitchen table with your best mate and he’s pouring his heart out – about his life, his loss, his triumphs and his faults … and the love that got him through. Honest, generous, and most of all, courageous.' Markus Zusak...