Top Ten Events to Look Forward to in 2015

Every year the Sydney Test is one of the country's great sporting occasions. The stadium awash in pink for Jane McGrath day, full and boisterous crowds still flying high on holidays. This year the Aussies face India in a four-Test series, with Sydney the final stop on the tour. India do not have a great record away from home and have dropped to sixth in the ICC rankings. Australia are desperate to wrestle top spot back from South Africa and a series win here will go some way to achieving that.

Australia will host the Asian Cup for the first time in January. On paper the Socceroos don’t look like much of a chance to make any waves at the tournament, being among the lowest ranked teams involved. They also have a very poor recent record under new coach Ange Postecoglou. However there is plenty of optimism still among the footballing public. This team is far better than recent results suggest with huge room for improvement. Many are predicting an Australia-Japan final. Imagine the atmosphere around the country on the final day of January if that was the case.

Australia has a proud history in the Davis Cup, having won it 28 times, behind only the US with 31 titles. But it has been a lean period lately, our last win coming in 2003. We even fell out of the World Group last year but are back in 2015. They face a tough first up task though against Czech Republic. Lleyton Hewitt will likely lead the team in his normal lion-hearted way. Hopefully Nick Kyrgios or Bernard Tomic can play a big part as well in the first round.

This picture gives every Australian cricket fan goosebumps. The 50-over game may be struggling with the invent and push of Twenty20 but every four years it is thrust back into the spotlight. Even more so in 2015 with Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the event. Australia are second in the ODI rankings and will likely go deep into the tournament. They will probably even start favourites. We can only hope there is a repeat of the drama exhibited in the picture above, the 2nd semi-final of the 1999 World Cup against South Africa. What a game. What a tournament.

Daniel Ricciardo was robbed by a technicality in 2014 after finishing second at the Melbourne Grand Prix. It did however announce the arrival of the Australian as a genuine contender in the title race. He became the number one driver at Red Bull, surpassing Sebastian Vettel and has so far claimed eight podiums, including three wins this year. It has been remarkable. Come March 2015 and Ricciardo will be desperate to right the wrongs of 2014 in Melbourne. Imagine a local winner.

It was meant to be one of the great battles, the two best teams all season, meeting on the last day of September. And Sydney, whose game plan is tailor-made for finals football were full of confidence against the Hawks. It lasted all of ten minutes. The game was over by quarter time, the Swans were decimated and saved their worst performance of the year for the biggest occasion. The proud club, brimming with the Bloods culture were distraught. It will act as motivation through the grueling off-season. And although nothing can make up for losing a grand final, when they meet Hawthorn on May 23 at the MCG they will do everything they can to hopefully put to bed just some of the demons that remain from that final.

Can anyone beat New Zealand? Can Australia even make it out of their pool? Will the English be buoyed by the home ground advantage so much they snatch the trophy. The Rugby World Cup is a special event. The Wallabies have been in strife for years but now under new coach Michael Cheika there is hope of a turnaround. With Israel Folau developing into the most dangerous back in world rugby and a forward pack full of youth starting to learn their trade there is cause for optimism. But Australia face a tough task even moving out of the group stage with England, Wales and Fiji all in their pool.

Imagine Anthony Watmough running out onto Brookvale in front of his beloved hill, full of former adoring fans, but this time he is decked out in an Eels jersey. It's unfathomable for any Manly fan, any Manly player current or former, that someone so huge at the club during one of its most successful eras could end up at Parramatta. How did it come to this? But Manly has been fracturing inside for a couple of years and Choc moved on. It will be interesting to see how the Brookie faithful react the first time the two fierce rivals meet. An extra dose of venom is reserved for the Eels inside Brookvale, but will it be aimed at one of the club’s former heroes? Surely it will feel strange to shout obscenities at Watmough from the hill.

There is nothing in Australian sport quite like the Ashes. The tradition, the passion, the tension, the chat. For players and fans alike. Australia hold the urn after a 5-0 whitewash in the 2013/2014. But that was at home. Now the Aussies are in England. Can they back it up? Will Michael Clarke be fit? Who will be batting No.3? So many questions. Months of build up and water cooler talk. And then it begins, five Tests, the first at Sophia Gardens on July 8. It is eight months away and we are already excited.