“The MCG at Night” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by sufw
Take a 10-minute drive northwest out of Toorak and you’ll find yourself in Melbourne’s famous Sports and Entertainment Precinct. There probably isn’t an area of another city anywhere else in the world that has so many iconic sporting venues jam-packed into the same space.
Proof, as if it were needed, that Australians love their sport is embodied in the three adjacent parks of this complex. The northernmost of this Holy Trinity of Victoria venues is Yarra Park. Located within is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, also used for Aussie Rules football and the AFL Grand Final.
Famed for its Boxing Day Tests, the MCG is set to host the third match of the forthcoming Ashes series against England. The irony that one of the smallest trophies in sport, the famous urn, could be won or lost in a stadium that can hold just over 100,000 fans shouldn’t pass us by.
England have a wretched recent record Down Under; so, if things go badly for the tourists, the Ashes could already be retained by Australia on home soil come the end of Christmastime. The infamous ball-tampering scandal of 2018 in South Africa continues to make headlines and uncomfortable reading for the Baggy Greens and the sport’s governing body, Cricket Australia.
Directly across Brunton Avenue and the rail tracks from the MCG is Melbourne Park, and the home of Grand Slam tennis in Australia since 1988. The Kooyong Stadium, which is in the adjacent suburb of the same name on the other side of Toorak, hosted the Australian Open for much of the 1970s and 1980s during the early years of the Open Era.
Melbourne Park got the Grand Slam when the Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena opened. The complex has since added the John Cain Arena, and a fourth show court is now under construction with the aim of completion for the 2022 Australian Open.
“Australian Open” (CC BY 2.0) by Visit Victoria
Novak Djokovic made history when winning the men’s singles title for a record ninth time in 2021. Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, regained the women’s singles at the most recent Australian Open, capturing a fourth Grand Slam crown in the process.
The closest of the three parks to Toorak in the precinct, however, is the Olympic Park. This is where the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which opened in 2010, can be found hosting soccer matches and games for both codes of rugby.
Also known as AAMI Park, the ground is different to the oval-shaped MCG to reflect the types of sports played within. Melbourne Storm brought home the NRL Premiership title to their home stadium in 2020 for the second time in four seasons.
According to the latest rugby league betting at bet365, the Storm are big contenders at odds of 4.00 for another Grand Final win this year. They are also 5.50 to top the ladder at the end of the regular season.
A-League soccer franchises Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory share the stadium with Storm and Super Rugby franchise Melbourne Rebels, who play union. Victory have enjoyed plenty of success, winning two Grand Finals and bringing two of their four Championships home since moving into the ground.
Melbourne City, meanwhile, were runners-up in 2020 after winning the regular season A-League Premiership. All this sporting success and more is happening right on Toorak’s doorstep.
