– Updated 5 November 2026

By Greg Blood

List of books and films covering Australian sport in 2026 that tell the story of specific sports, athletes, teams, events and issues. Includes books by Australian authors/editors published overseas.

Links to publisher website where available. Updated during 2026.

Athletics

• Percy Cerutty: Life Lessons from a Remarkable CoachPercy Cerutty: Life Lessons from a Remarkable Coach by Andrew Gunn.
• That Race : Stawell ’96 – 15 Inspiring Stories by David Griffin. Wilkinson, 2026.

Australian Football

• The Brisbane Lions’ Three-Peat: AFL Premiers: 2024, 2025, 2026 by Peter Di Sisto,Andrew Gigacz, Dan Eddy, Geoff Slattery. Hardie Grant, 2026.
• Deal Maker: The Secret World of AFL Recruiting and Trading by Peter Ryan and Scott Clayton. Hardie Grant, 2026.
• Ideas & Reflections : From Four Decades Inside the AFL Bubble by Colin Carter. Hardie Grant, 2026.
• John Longmire: Pain, Perspective and Premierships – My Autobiography. Penguin, 2026.
• Peter Daicos: My Family’s Story. Hardie Grant, 2026.
• Famous Flags: Great Local Grand Final by Toby Prime. Simon & Schuster, 2026.
• Give them a Pep Talk and go to the Races: Victoria v Soputh Australia, 15 June 1963 by Michael Sexton, Sportswords, 2026.
• Remembering When : Football From Another Time by Bruce Matthews and Graeme Ryan.Ryan Publishing, 2026.
• Useless Footy Stats by Aaron Delaporte and Bill Skelton. Simon and Schuster, 2026.
• The Whitley Medal by Alex Tigani and Graeme Ryan. Ryan Publishing, 2026. (Whitley Medal is the Geelong & District Football Netball League’s most prestigious individual honour,)
• Why We Love Footy: An Aussie Rules History in 50 Great Moments by Martin Blake. Allen and Unwin, 2026.

Australian Sport

• Keeping the Score: JC Davis and the Crafting of Australian Sports Journalism by Peter Lloyd. The Author, 2026. (ASSH member)
• Roy Boy – The Untold Story of Enigmatic Sportsman Chris Kiernan by Bob Utbe. The Author, 2026
• Sh*t Moments in Australian Sport by Rick Furphy and Geoff Risso,. Allen and Unwin, 2026 (November)
• Thirty Years On: ASSH (SA) 1996-2026 by Bernard Whimpress, The Author, 2026. (ASSH member)

Cricket

• Ball of the Century by Brendan Cooper. Constable, 2026.
• Blue Caps to New Zealand : The NSW Tour of 1923-24 by Peter Lloyd and Pat Rodgers, 2025 (ASSH members)
• The Boy from Inverell, Arthur Watson OBE by Ron Cardwell and Pat Rodgers, 2026 (ASSH members)
• Blue Gum and Willow: Northern District Cricket Club : centenary book of records & statistics : 1925 to 2025 by Hilary Griffith,The Club, 2026.
• Cricket Pottery by James Merchant. 2026.
• 100 Not Out: Celebrating a Century of Country Cricket by Ken Piesse. Wilkinson, 2026. (Forthcoming)
• 150 Years of Queensland Cricket by Adam Burnett. 2026
• The Life and Times of Frederick Robert Spofforth ed. Ron Cardwell, Cricket Publishing., 2026. (ASSH member)
• The Philadelphia Story…the Australians of 1912 by Steve Smith. 2026.
• Johnny Mullagh & Mortals by James Merchant, 2026
• Larwood’s First Tour. MCC in Australia 1928-29 by David Somerville.
• Sabr: Finding My Way in Cricket and Life by Usman Khawaja. Penguin, 2026.
• Victory in Australia: The Remarkable Story of England’s Greatest Ashes Triumph 1954-55 by Richard Whitehead,Bloomsbury Sport, 2026.

Cycling

• Wheel Life 3 – Cycling Recollections of the 1990s and 2000s by Ben Schofield, Dec 2025

Football

• Early Football and the NSW Wanderers 1880: A Collective Biography by Phil Mosely. PB Publishing, 2026. (ASSH member)

Golf

• North Adelaide Golf Course: a Document by Bernard Whimpress, The Author, 2026.

Hockey

• Princes of the Pitch: Hockey’s Legendary Pearce Brothers by Keith Spillman. 3D Books, 2026

Issues in Sport

• Champions Do Extra: Lessons Learned in Footy and life to build a Winning Mindset by Brad Thorn. HarperCollins Publishers, 2026
• The Sport Economist : Australian Sport by the Numbers by Tim Harcourt. : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2026.

Rugby League

• Alternative arenas : the Brisbane Rugby League Referee’s Association centenary 1926-2026 by Scott Irvine. 2026.
• Fan Fever: One fan, One sign, and a $5.3 billion Game by Pete de Gail. Breadcrumbs Media, 2026.
• The Great Grand Finals : Rugby League’s Greatest Contests. 4th ed. by Liam Hauser. New Holland, 2026.
• Jumping Jack by Gary Jack and Adam Hawse. Fair Play Publishing, 2026.
• Marooned: Marooned: A Memoir of Fandom, Fatherhood, and the Far Side of the World by Darren Groth. Hawkeye Publishing, 2026.
• The Thistle : 100 Years of Rugby League at Arncliffe Scots by Geoff Armstrong. Stoke Hill Press, 2026 (ASSH member)
• Yarrabah Seahawks – Fly Guyula Fly: Our Teams, Our Club, Our Yarrabah Home by Gary Osmond. UQ Print, 2026. (ASSH member)

Rugby Union

• The People Who Built GPS Rugby Club : 1887-2025 by Mark Oberhardt. GPS Rugby Club, 2026.

Surf Life Saving

• Beyond the Beach Vol 1 & 2 One Hundred and One Summers of the Palm Beach Surf Club. Halstead Press, 2026.

Surfing

• All Heart by Mick Fanning. Simon and Schuster, 2026.

Swimming

• Relentless: Family, Self-belief and the Will to Win by Ariarne Titmus. Allen & Unwin, 2026.
• Sink or Swim. by Alexa Leary. Penguin, 2026.

Tennis

• Only Ever Evonne by Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Allen and Unwin, 2026.

Documentaries & Films

Athletics

• The Long Run, Channel 9/ Stan, 2026 (inside look at the powerful stories behind the Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP). 
• That Race: Revisiting the Most Extraordinary 400m Run in Australian Athletics History. Fixonmedia, 2026.

Australian Sport

• Dennis Cometti: Centimetre Perfect , Channel Seven, 2026.
• Forging Champions, Channel 9, 2025 (Documentary on the Australian Institute of Sport through the eyes opf its athletes)

Australian Football

• Collision, ABC 4 Corners, 2026 (Investigation reveals startling new evidence of brain disease in younger AFL players).
• Ground Up, ABC (Satirisation of the controversy surrounding Tasmania’s $1.13 billion multi-purpose Macquarie Point stadium)
• Final Siren: Inside the AFL, Prime, 2026 ( Follows six AFL clubs – Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, GWS GIANTS, Fremantle, Gold Coast SUNS, and 2025 Premiers the Brisbane Lions through 2025 AFL season).

Break Dancing

• Untold RayGun : Breaking Badly, Netflix, 2026

Cricket

• Unbeaten – Usman Khawaja, ABC Australian Story, 2026.

Football

• Wogball: Australia’s Beautiful Game, SBS, 2026.

Horse Racing

• J-Mac, Racing NSW, 2026. (Jockey James McDonald)

Swimming

• Sink or Swim : Michael Klim, ABC Australian Story, 2026.
• Deep End: The Scott Miller Story. ABC, 2026.

Tennis

• Goolagong, ABC Iview, 2026 (TV series on Evonne Goolagong Cawley)

Previous lists

• Australian Sports Books & Films 2025
• Australian Sports Books & Films 2024
• Australian Sports Books 2023

Note – ASSH member – member of the Australian Society for Sports History