Biggest Stories of 2014

Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final in June, but it was Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez who produced the story of the tournament. Suarez disgraced himself in front of the whole world when he bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the group stages. He was then kicked out of the tournament, fined over $100,000 and hit with a global four-month ban. It was the third time in the 27-year-old’s career that he has been caught biting an opponent.

Germany's Protectionist won Australia's biggest race in November, the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup, but the event was marred by the deaths of two horses. The well-supported Admire Rakti collapsed and died in his stall upon returning from the track and Araldo was put down after injuring himself when spooked by a flag being waved in the crowd. The double-tragedy completely overshadowed Protectionist’s win and caused outrage amongst the general public.

Phillip Hughes was struck on the head by a bouncer in South Australia's Sheffield Shield clash against NSW in November. The blow knocked Hughes unconscious and CPR had to be performed on the SCG field for 30 minutes. Hughes was rushed to hospital and had to be placed in a coma following emergency surgery. He passed away two days later at the age of 25.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie sensationally resigned in October in the wake of the Kurtley Beale texting scandal and a humiliating loss to Argentina. McKenzie dropped the bombshell after Australia’s last-gasp loss to the All Blacks in Bledisloe three at Suncorp Stadium. Beale was later fined $48,000 over his in-flight verbal altercation with former staffer Di Patston and for sending an offensive photograph of her to teammates. The troubled playmaker somehow managed to escape suspension and the termination of his contract, as a history of indiscretions were ignored.

Parramatta Eels superstar Jarryd Hayne dropped a huge bombshell in October when we walked out on rugby league to pursue a career in the NFL. Hayne broke down several times during an emotional 30-minute media conference at Parramatta Leagues club as he described a ‘burning desire’ to play NFL. He had been about to begin negotiations with Eels officials that would have made him the NRL's highest-paid player.

The Western Sydney Wanderers made history in November, becoming the first Australian team to win the Asian Champions League. In just their third season of football, the Wanderers lifted the trophy 1-0 on aggregate after Tomi Juric's goal earned them a home win in the first leg. Tempers flared in the aftermath as a blatant headbutt led to an ugly spitting incident and altercation at fulltime. Losers Al-Hilal then went on to demand a full investigation after three penalty shouts were denied by the referee.

A deeply-saddening incident shocked the Australian sporting landscape in March when Newcastle Knights forward Alex McKinnon was made a quadriplegic during their match against the Melbourne Storm. The 22-year-old is facing life in a wheelchair after landing on his neck following a three-man tackle. In a tragic sequence of events, the seemingly normal tackle went horribly wrong and left McKinnon with injuries that have rocked the game to its foundations.

In October, South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013. The ‘Blade Runner’ avoided a charge of murder, instead being found guilty of culpable homicide. The six-time Paralympics gold-medallist was also given a three-year suspended sentence on a separate gun charge.

The Maroons were riding high on an eight-year winning streak when State of Origin rolled around in June. NSW were given virtually no hope of breaking their drought when rookie halves Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds were selected for the opening match. But with the series locked at 1-1 in the dying stages of the decider, it was Hodkinson who stepped up and scored a vital try and conversion to send the Blues to a historic series win.

ASADA became the word of 2014 as the Essendon Bombers and Cronulla Sharks became the face of Australian sport’s biggest crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs. In August, 12 current and past Cronulla players – including captain Paul Gallen – accepted deals with ASADA that involved backdated suspensions. 34 current and past Essendon players have been issued show cause notices, while coach James Hird was hit with a one-year suspension. The whole saga has been dragging on for over two years, with the matter still in court.