Socceroos and Matildas on the cusp of a Canberra return

The Socceroos are on the cusp of a Canberra comeback as officials race to lock in a venue for a FIFA World Cup qualifier next month.

The Socceroos will host Lebanon at Western Sydney Stadium on March 21 - but the venue for the return fixture on March 26 is still to be confirmed.

Canberra Stadium has been pencilled in to host the fixture with Lebanon playing as the home team, given the game which would ordinarily be played in their home country.

Officials are searching for an alternate venue with Lebanon caught in cross-border shelling which has already killed more than 200 people.

The match would be the Socceroos' first clash in Canberra since Harry Souttar scored on debut during a 5-0 rout of Nepal in 2020.

The round of World Cup qualifying pits the Socceroos against Lebanon, Palestine and Bangladesh in a round robin format with the top two teams advancing to the next round of qualifiers.

The Socceroos are in the box seat following a 7-0 win over Bangladesh and a 1-0 victory over Palestine in November.

Talk of the Socceroos' return to Canberra comes amid rumours of the Matildas playing a game in the capital.

The chance to bring the Matildas to Canberra for an Olympic Games send-off has been discussed, giving fans one final chance to see the Australian team in action before they head to Paris in July.

The Matildas making a Canberra Stadium comeback would be a major coup for the ACT after the capital was left out in the cold during last year's FIFA Women's World Cup.

The ACT government backed out of the race to host World Cup games but after seeing the wave of support the Matildas enjoyed during the tournament, officials decided they want in.

Canberra United coach Njegosh Popovich believes the Matildas could fill a stadium in the capital.

"All we have to do is look at the growth of our supporter base in Canberra," Popovich said.

"We know we've got a record high membership base at the moment. We're en route to have a record crowd for the season at home attendances.

"So for us it'd be amazing to take that another level and lift it a notch by getting the Matildas here to play a game. I think we'd pack the stadium out, depending on the opposition."

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr was spotted at the ACT Brumbies' season launch deep in conversation with club chief executive Phil Thomson and chairman Matt Nobbs this week.

It's said to be the first time Barr has been at a Brumbies season launch in five years, leading some to quip he was on hand because it's an election year before making a swift exit.

Maybe he was talking about the prospect of the Brumbies playing a Super Rugby match at Manuka Oval for the first time since 1996.

The Brumbies were looking to play against the Western Force at Manuka Oval - the site of Joe Roff's four-try effort against Durban some 28 years ago - in March before those plans were kiboshed.

The club is keen to explore their options at Manuka Oval, and some have pointed to a May 18 afternoon clash against the Crusaders as the perfect opportunity given it would mark 20 years since the ACT's Super 12 title win over the New Zealand powerhouse.

Brumbies officials had planned on hosting a game at Manuka Oval during the 2020 season before those plans were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian Sports Commission chief Kieren Perkins concedes the AIS accommodation is embarrassing by elite sport's standards - so good luck convincing the NRL's million-dollar megastars to come back.

The Manly Sea Eagles held a pre-season camp at the AIS but the standard of the university-style dorms raised plenty of eyebrows, having been likened to "prison cell beds" by Olympic boxer Harry Garside.

"You have moments that are quite entertaining. We had the Manly Sea Eagles come and stay at the beginning of January and it was quite entertaining because the coaches might have neglected to inform the athletes about the quality of the accommodation that they were staying in," Perkins said.

"Even at the end of the week - they had a great time and enjoyed engaging with athletes from across different disciplines - but I imagine it's going to be nigh on impossible to con the athletes to come back again just on the back of the accommodation."

Plans for the ACT government to assume operational rights of the AIS Arena have stalled just three months out from the venue's planned re-opening date.

The territory government has been locked in discussions to take the reins from the Australian Sports Commission, which owns both the arena and Canberra Stadium.

Talks have drawn out amid a push to revitalise a "run down" AIS with the federal government rejecting a $1 billion plan to move the high performance base to south-east Queensland.

The arena has been closed since early 2020, and the commission no longer considers the arena as part of its core business.

Yet they may still be in charge should the arena open its doors as planned in the coming months - but exactly when the first event takes place remains to be seen.

The Canberra Capitals could take WNBL games back to the AIS Arena, but they'll be waiting until October for the 2024-25 season to begin.

If Joey Leilua throwing hands isn't enough to get you excited about the fights, what about Shannon Noll?

The Australian music icon is set to appear at the Adrenalyn fight night at the Canberra Southern Cross Club on Saturday night, when former NRL star Leilua [2-0] steps into the ring against Paul Ben [1-9] - the same man he beat in December - in the co-main event.

But we're more likely to hear 'Nollsie' singing hooks rather than throwing them, with Noll set to be a part of the commentary team and a special guest at ringside.

Adrenalyn promoter Shane Tipa is planning to use the night to unveil two more high-profile names slated to fight on his shows later this year, promising Leilua is just the start of the big draw cards in the capital.

Remember the story we brought you about the Mike Cramsie Memorial Race Day at Thoroughbred Park?

The event raised more than $60,000 for the Mark Hughes Foundation in memory of Cramsie, who lost his battle with brain cancer in 2021.

To cap off the day, Camerlengo - the six-year-old gelding owned by members of the Cramsie family - saluted in the Mike Cramsie Memorial Handicap.

Cramsie's daughter Kate Harrison was rapt with the support on the day in the race to cure brain cancer.

"[Canberra Racing Club chief executive] Darren Pierce has been brilliant. We love racing, but it's more than racing," Harrison said.

"They do a lot for the community. The way they promote these sort of days, like the Pegasus Day and numerous others, as a local rider myself, I know they put back."