Mainfreight Match of the Day Daily Wrap: Touch Football  

Day one of Mainfreight Match of the Day at the 2026 UniSport Nationals in Perth featured two Touch Football clashes at UWA Sports Park, with the 2025 women’s and men’s champions returning to defend their titles. 

Reigning women’s champions, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) faced Monash University, while men’s champions the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) took on Bond University. 

With students cheering from the sidelines and live coverage produced by Edith Cowan University (ECU) media and journalism students, the opening matches brought the action from the pitch to audiences watching across Australia. 

ECU commentators were joined by Jeremy Wallace for the broadcast, who was recently selected for the Men’s 30s Australian Emu team heading to the Asia Pacific Senior Touch Cup in Japan. 

Mainfreight Match of the Day kicked off with the women’s Touch Football, with reigning champions UTS continuing their strong start to Nationals with a 9–2 victory over Monash University, following a 19-0 win earlier in the day. 

The match showcased UTS’ speed, with powerful runs forward, quick turnovers and well-executed diving tries. In a closely contested first half, both teams applied strong defensive pressure, with UTS taking a narrow 3–2 lead into half-time. While Monash had fewer attacking opportunities, they used the width effectively to challenge the UTS defence. 

UTS capitalised on their attacking opportunities in the second half to extend their lead and secure the 9–2 victory, finishing the match with an impressive diving try. 

The ECU commentary team captured UTS’ attacking momentum, noting that “They had the confidence, they had the speed, and they just pushed back the defensive line. It was try after try from there.” 

UTS player Chase Perrett credited the team’s communication for their performance, saying, “Communication is definitely key, and I think we mastered that in the game.” 

Beyond the result, the camaraderie between teammates was also on display, with another UTS player sharing what it meant to compete alongside her friends. “It feels really good getting around all our friends. We’re just grateful to be here.” 

The men’s match saw a Queensland derby between reigning champions UniSC and Bond University, with UniSC securing a 12-0 victory. UniSC set the pace early, scoring five tries in the opening six minutes to put Bond on the back foot. Despite Bond’s efforts, the Sunshine Coast maintained its attacking pressure throughout the match, keeping Bond scoreless. 

The ECU commentary team recognised UniSC’s strong start, declaring them “the team to beat” heading into the final minutes. 

With their title defence off to a strong start, one UniSC player was hopeful the team could maintain its form throughout the week, saying, “I think we’ve got a really good group, so fingers crossed we go undefeated this week.” 

Team captain Jordan Pearson was pleased with the side’s opening performance, saying, “It’s good to start the competition strong, we want to flip the switch from having fun into competing and the boys did that today.” 

The Touch Football Mainfreight Match of the Day is available for replay on UniSportTV. 

Mainfreight Match of the Day continues with Basketball on Tuesday 29 September at Bendat Basketball Centre, alongside an exciting Red Bull activation. 

Big Games. Big Crowds. Big Energy. Watch Mainfreight Match of the Day LIVE and FREE on UniSportTV.

2026 Mainfreight Match of the Day Fixtures