It’s only rock ‘n’ poll.

The unbeaten Australian will put a likely shot at a world championship on the line when he faces his first international opponent at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

The pandemic has reached at least one Aboriginal community, forced the activation of drastic biosecurity laws, and jeopardised an already strained health system.

From Ice caves in Switzerland to Bataclan memorials in Paris, these are the best photos from around the world in the past week, as chosen by The Sydney Morning Herald photo editors.

Pat Murphy’s career as a trainer has started brightly, and the old hoop has one six-year-old horse still champing at the bit to sprint.

Data from the federal Health Department shows 284,000 people aged over 16 have received the booster, which is just under half the 577,000 people currently eligible for the shot.

Former minister Adem Somyurek is back in Parliament after belatedly proving his vaccination status and his vote could threaten the Andrews government’s controversial pandemic bill.

Former Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis says Scott Morrison told her in 2018 he wasn’t ready to be prime minister, just days before he replaced Malcolm Turnbull.

The Australians were burnt last summer when their unchanged attack ran out of steam through four Tests against India. The same formula won’t work for an even longer series.

Under Sydney Catholic Schools’ new music program, every year 3 to 8 eight student will learn to play an instrument during school time.

The NSW government has said no to the NRL over a new stadium in south-west Sydney. They are now exploring the possibility of building their own.

The NRL’s most dominant club of the past decade privately know they won’t be able to match the dollars on offer for the NRL’s hottest free agent. But they want one last shot at keeping him.

Roger Federer will miss the Australian Open in January and is unlikely to return to competition until mid-2022 as he recovers from multiple knee surgeries, the former world No.1 told Swiss media.

A poor performance in Cardiff will consign the Wallabies, who have fallen from third to fifth in the world, to three straight defeats to Wales for the first time since 1975.

The Auditor-General has warned of long-term budget pain without “structural reform”, saying Victoria’s public debts are likely to be double its annual revenue in the next three years.

Police have seized a car in the search for missing NSW boy William Tyrrell, there are concerns fringe groups are promoting violence at a Victorian protest and Labor is ramping up its campaign promises ahead of the next federal election. 

Trainer Chris Waller has a quartet of starters out to spoil the party of hometown hero Count De Rupee in The Gong at Kembla Grange on Saturday.

Supermarkets and pharmacies are struggling to keep up with demand for the at-home coronavirus testing kits, with some consumers placed on waiting lists.

Hawthorn are set for a contested board election with lawyer Jennifer Holdstock, ex-Australian Super boss Ian Silk and current director Tim Shearer vying for the two vacant positions.

Families attending Catholic schools were this week sent a letter warning the proposed reforms would “affect religious freedom and the independence, integrity and ethos” of Catholic schools.

The NSW State Emergency Service issued a partial all-clear on Wednesday afternoon for parts of Forbes as the major flood risk from the Lachlan River eased.

All new large commercial buildings designed from next year will be required to operate at net-zero as part of the latest measures to ramp up the NSW emissions reductions response.

Multiple police and legal sources have confirmed that the evidence gathered so far is insufficient to refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, as investigators continue their search for William Tyrrell’s remains.

A coroner has found police acted appropriately during a chase that led to the death of two teenage boys when they tried to flee across the Swan River near Maylands.

Doctors say the government’s religious freedom bill could hinder access to women’s health services and compound discrimination against the LGBTQI community.

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said the right was under threat by Victoria’s push to prohibit religious schools from sacking staff based on their sexual orientation.

Among the warrens of tents clinging to Bangladesh’s denuded hills, militants search for recruits, drug traffickers roam, kidnappers prey on women and children.

The Reserve Bank has made clear the strength of wages growth will be key to interest rate moves. And just like an oil tanker, changing direction is not easy.

Everything you need to know to pick a winner on an eight-race card.

The newly-rebranded Australian Digital Concert Hall is on a mission to “rethink the way everything is done in the arts”.

Both the NSW Treasurer and Transport Minister have ruled out tolling the Sydney Harbour Bridge in both directions.

It’s not because we all have a burning desire to buy makeup on YouTube.

Chairman of selectors George Bailey says Will Pucovski is an outside chance at best to play at any stage of the five-Test series.

Gold Coast star Touk Miller admitted he was “definitely shocked” when he learned that fellow midfield bull Hugh Greenwood had joined North Melbourne this week.

In an email to parents on Tuesday night, Bondi Public School said about 250 students have been required to isolate, after confirming the first positive case in a “member of the school community”.

A sharp drop in profit margins has got investors worried that the country’s pre-eminent retail bank isn’t immune to the fierce competition in the mortgage market.

A2 Milk chairman David Hearn is asking shareholders to have faith in the ASX-listed company as it looks to target the Chinese market in different ways.

The NSW Department of Education is gauging what information and resources families want so they can discuss sensitive issues like sex, consent and peer pressure with their children at home.

Faith in doctors and politicians may have dwindled in the second year of the pandemic, but the coronavirus has not shaken the trust of Australians in their nurses, firefighters and paramedics.

The pair were charged with common assault and will appear in Hornsby Local Court next week. The charges are unrelated to William.

The AFL is yet to decide on a push by Carlton to be able to use a pick in the national draft to fill the list vacancy created by Liam Jones’ sudden retirement due to vaccination rules.

Victorian horseracing trainer Peter Moody has been fined for an explosive rant against Mark McGowan and his border stance, which has kept eastern states horses out of Perth’s key racing events.

Memorise this article, and that meat tray is as good as yours.

The former US secretary of state said the meeting between Biden and Xi was the first step towards reducing conflict between the two superpowers.

Former Test captain Steve Waugh has weighed into the debate around Justin Langer’s position as Australian head coach.

This German spy thriller is so weighed down by its ambition that it loses any type of personal connection to its characters.

Filmmakers Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo talk about turning their shared childhood experiences into an extraordinary new TV series.

Whether or not one has misgivings about the decision to depict the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, this film about the unnamed killer is brilliantly made and utterly compelling.

No other Commonwealth anti-discrimination law has ever sought to directly interfere in state and territory laws in this way.

A woman raped by two men who found her intoxicated on a footpaths ays she was filled with “extreme anger and frustration” at being unable to remember what happened.