SPORTS DIGEST

More sports news in brief.

Hawthorn are back at the top

AUSTRALIAN RULES:Hawthorn beat Geelong by 26 points in the Grand Final at the weekend, winning their first premiership in 17 years.

Mark Williams kicked three goals and Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Stuart Dew and Jarryd Roughead got two apiece as the Hawks, who finished second to Geelong in the regular season, won 18-7 (115) to 11-23 (89) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The victory secured a 10th premiership flag for Melbourne- based Hawthorn, who had entered the final as 7/4 outsiders to beat a Geelong team that had won 42 of its previous 44 games.

"To be the underdogs and win, it's a dream come true," Hawthorn midfielder Shane Crawford said after winning the first top-flight medal of his 17-season career at the age of 34. "I can't believe it."

The Cats had been seeking back-to-back titles after routing Port Adelaide by a record 119 points in last year's championship decider.

Rossi wraps up sixth world championship title

MOTO GP:Valentino Rossi savoured a hard-fought sixth MotoGP title and first since 2005 after wrapping up the crown with victory in Motegi yesterday.

The Italian Fiat Yamaha rider claimed his eighth victory of the season and fifth in a row ahead of 2007 champion Casey Stoner, who had to win and hope Rossi finished off the podium to keep the title race going for at least next week's race in Australia. But Stoner finished 1.943 seconds adrift of Rossi, with Spanish duo Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in third and fourth.

Rossi's 70th premier-class victory handed him an unassailable 92-point lead ahead of the final three races.

"It is difficult to say which world championship is better, but this is great. I feel very good. The battle this year was very tough especially with Stoner and Pedrosa. It was a long season with a lot of hard racing and hard battles," said Rossi. "I have won a lot of difficult championships, like the first one with Yamaha in 2004, but I think this one is the one that I put more effort into to win."

Traditional heavyweights experience very few problems

MEN'S HOCKEY:There were pretty convincing wins for the top sides in the first weekend of the Leinster Senior League as champions Three Rock Rovers hit five against Railway Union, one lone goal coming back from Paul O'Brien; Monkstown hit five against YMCA; Glenanne hit four against Kilkenny, and Fingal five against Corinthians, writes Johnny Watterson.

Little was learned except perhaps that the battle for the title is going to be among the usual contenders, with Pembroke the other championship hopefuls not playing this weekend.

Fingal's struggle against an upbeat Corinthians could so easily have gone against them as the visitors lurched to a 3-1 lead. But, helped by two goals from Fingal's, David Bane, the ALSAA side came through with a 5-3 victory.

Monkstown also showed that they mean business this year and whipped in their five against a young YMCA side to no reply. Last year's Irish Senior Cup finalists have doubtlessly eyed a top-four place and are well on the road, with the goals spread around the side, including young teenager Stephen Cole.

Glenanne's passage was also straightforward, although two goals came back from Kilkenny.

Rare defeat for Hermes 

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:Having gone through the entire league campaign last season unbeaten, Hermes went down to a 1-0 defeat to Railway Union on Saturday when they opened the defence of their Leinster title, writes Mary Hannigan.

With eight new players in their squad the champions should come good yet, but it was an impressive start for last season's runners-up.

Cricket international Cecelia Joyce scored the only goal of the game at Booterstown midway through the first half, Hermes failing to find their way through a composed Railway defence for the remainder of the game.

Pembroke Wanderers and Loreto, who finished fourth and third respectively in the last campaign, drew 1-1 at Serpentine Avenue.

In Munster, champions Cork Harlequins beat Bandon 3-1.

Titles for Roddick and Jankovic

TENNIS:World number two Jelena Jankovic beat fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-2 to win the China Open women's title yesterday, while Andy Roddick ended the dream run of the unseeded Israeli Dudi Sela to win the men's event.

Jankovic, beaten by Kuznetsova in Tokyo last week, was rarely troubled as the Russian slumped to her fifth final defeat this year.

Roddick secured a 6-4 6-7 6-3 victory over Sela, who had knocked out top seed David Ferrer of Spain.

Dervan delighted with performance  

CYCLING:National champion Siobhán Dervan was best of the Irish competitors over the final two days of the cycling world road race championships in Varese, Italy, placing 24th in the women's event, writes Shane Stokes.

The 29-year-old Cork woman finished in a group of 26 riders who were sprinting for sixth place, one minute and 47 seconds after the winner, Nicole Cooke, Marianne Vos (Netherlands) and Judith Arndt (Germany).

Her top-30 placing means she will get carding for 2009.

"I am absolutely thrilled with the result," she said afterwards.

Alessandro Ballan ensured Italy took its third Elite men's title in as many years when he soloed to victory yesterday. The former Tour of Flanders winner jumped clear of a breakaway group and finished three seconds clear of his team-mate Damiano Cunego and Denmark's Matti Breschel.