Australian sport in 2023: Matilda's mania flips the script in record year | Sport in Australia

A Year of two of the greatest men's football finals Australia has ever seen, and yet here we are. Sensational success in the pool, offside. Glenn Maxwell's extraordinary World Cup double tons? A slip-up. World Championships and World Championship gold medals are simply worth mentioning. Even Big Ange, bruised.

Instead, looking back at 2023 from the perspective of Australian sport, it's hard to see beyond the Matildas. 651,773 spectators enjoyed their games in the stands. On television, the team overturned decades of declining ratings and set a new viewership record. They became the focus of conversation in cafes, gas stations, dog parks and workplaces.

Change in women's sports used to happen gradually. But this year the Matildas have upended the status quo. The formula wasn't so much optimized as discarded.

Returning to five months of BCV: before Cortnee Vine. The Matildas' first game of the year against the Czech Republic in February attracted 7,702 fans to Gosford – barely a third of the stadium's capacity. Three days later, in Sydney, the game against Spain – which would ultimately win the Women's World Cup – drew 17,333 spectators, leaving more than 10,000 seats empty.

At the end of the year, after a record crowd throughout the World Cup, the Australians put up the “full house” sign in a clash against Taiwan in Perth. The previous game against the Philippines was moved to Optus Stadium to accommodate the influx of tickets – 59,155 spectators were in attendance.

The public couldn't get enough. Goods sold out. According to Google, the most searched term of the year was Sam Kerr. The second: Mary Fowler.

But a successful World Cup was never guaranteed. Before the Matildas bump, there was the Matildas bump. There was Kerr, the news of her calf injury breaking just minutes before the first game. A rocky start and a confusing defeat for Nigeria. An improvement in fate: The pressure against Canada is great, but the Olympic champions are letting up. Denmark was also sent.

Thanks to her role in the Matildas' win over France, Cortnee Vine became a household name overnight. Photo: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters

Then, in the quarter-final against France – an ordeal that dragged on through extra time and 20 penalties – a nation's nerves were tested but ultimately rewarded by Vine's cool head and easy side footing. Even in the semi-final defeat to England, perhaps the most memorable moment of all: Kerr's glorious goal that left a generation wondering what could have been.

The Matildas were at the pinnacle of Australian sport and their everyday character made them approachable and admirable, taking them even further to the top. Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Emily van Egmond, friends for ages. Mackenzie Arnold becomes an overnight star and shares her story of hearing loss. Katrina Gorry, a football journalist who finally achieved wider recognition almost a decade after winning Asia's Player of the Year award.

Their careers can be traced back to semi-professional or even amateur roots. Difficult journeys from relative obscurity to the top of the sport made progress hard-won. This everyday appeal – this freshness – proved irresistible.

But the Matildas' legacy to Australian sport was both immediately obvious and unclear. Attendance at A-League Women's single games has almost doubled, but with such a low base the average is still under 2,500. The NRLW, AFLW and WBBL have reported spikes in attendance but the response has been mixed.

The Matildas could pull Australian sport towards some gender balance, but the drag is long – 2024 and beyond will determine whether it frays.

The AFLW grand final was memorable as it was the first in Melbourne since 2018. The Brisbane Lions defeated North Melbourne – in the club's first men's or women's decider since 1999 – in front of more than 12,000 fans.

This result capped a torrid 2023 for Queensland clubs. There were defeats for Brisbane teams in the BBL decider and the Australia Cup, which Perth and Sydney FC won respectively.

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And the Brisbane Lions were on the verge of beating a Collingwood side that had turned things around quickly under coach Craig McRae. Bobby Hill's hanger and an eternally unimpressed Nick Daicos were the highlights of an electrifying AFL grand final at the MCG.

Bobby Hill's success in the AFL grand final was just one of the moments that earned him the Norm Smith Medal. Photo: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/Getty Images

A day later, Newcastle won the NRLW title for the first time at the rugby league tournament. The Knights defeated the Gold Coast in the Titans' first grand final thanks to late chip-and-chase brilliance from full-back Tamika Upton.

And the Queenslanders' misfortune continued as the Penrith Panthers – despite Ezra Mam's hat-trick – were guided to victory on the back of captain Nathan Cleary, who combined a forgettable first hour with a confident final 20 minutes. The NRL premiership, the third in a row, fueled the Panthers' claims to the title of the sport's greatest team.

There was continued success in men's and women's cricket, as well as a Netball World Cup. Australia's swimmers have overtaken China and the USA at a world championships for the first time in 22 years. What stood out was Ariarne Titmus' world record in the highly anticipated 400m freestyle showdown against Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh. And many triumphs in other Olympic disciplines that bode well for Paris 2024.

There was Jai Hindley's stage win at the Tour de France. Laura Enever's epic wave. Jess Fox's canoe dominance.

Overall, the successes of 2023 have been a blessing for Australian sports fans, but have also created high expectations for what comes next. Former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou – another standout Player of the Year – commented on this point in September.

The coach, who won the Scottish football title with Celtic for a second time in 2023 and is now taking Tottenham to the top of the Premier League, has rattled football fans – and not by accident.

“Get them excited and pushing themselves, that’s the beauty of being a supporter,” he said. “If they believe we will be world champions? Great, then it’s up to us to meet those expectations.”