Matildas Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler – whose reported relationship with NRL star Nathan Cleary has catapulted her into the tabloid spotlight – were the two most searched names in Australian life in 2023.
Google revealed the Matildas duo topped the list of most searched Aussies this year. The list was dominated by sports stars, with former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke third after some high profile issues in his public life. Dan Andrews, at No.5 behind Reece Walsh, is the first non-sporting figure on the top 10.
Kerr’s incredible achievements for the Matildas and Chelsea, along with her World Cup injury that saw her miss the pool matches, put her top of the list, ahead of her young gun teammate Fowler, who experienced a huge surge in popularity off the back of her strong World Cup campaign. That, followed by the news of her friendship with Cleary, has titillated the click bait news sites.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The Cricket World Cup in India was the sporting event Aussies most searched for in 2023, followed by the 2023 Ashes series in the United Kingdom.
The Big Bash League also featured in the top ten most searched sporting events, beating out the likes of the Champions League, FA Cup and other domestic football codes.
Equal to the Cricket World Cup was the search for football: most notably, the Matildas. The FIFA Women’s World Cup was the third most searched sporting event for 2023, with ‘How to watch Women’s World Cup?’ being the most googled ‘how to’ question of the year in Australia.
Ellie Carpenter celebrates a goal. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)
Boxing and wrestling events proved popular with Australian audiences, with the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury clash and UFC 294 making the top ten, while international men’s football also featured with the Champions League and FA Cup, while the LIV Golf League and United Cup tennis tournament rounded out the list.
It does beg the question though: what about the other sporting codes?
Concerningly for Rugby Union, the Rugby World Cup and Super Rugby Pacific made barely an appearance in the results, with the question ‘How to watch Rugby World Cup?’ coming in eighth in the most googled ‘how to’ question. Even more surprising was the code’s newest acquisition, Joseph Suaalii, not featuring at all, despite his signing being a topic of intense debate for both rugby league and union fans.
Despite Walsh’s prominence, the NRL, State of Origin and Kangaroo test matches in the Pacific Championship Series didn’t crack the top ten, as neither did the likes of some of it’s most well known figures like Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr or James Tedesco.
The AFL and AFLW also failed to crack to the top ten, in addition to both A-League competitions.
While some may question as to how some events appeared to be much more popular than established Australian sporting events, the numbers may also suggest that there is a serious disconnect between the supposed big sporting codes of the nation, and what Aussies are actually searching for.
Selected Lists: Year in Search: Here’s what Aussies searched for in 2023
Sport
- Cricket World Cup
- Ashes
- Women’s World Cup
- Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury
- BBL
- Champions League
- UFC 294
- FA Cup
- LIV Golf
- United Cup
Aussies
- Sam Kerr
- Mary Fowler
- Michael Clarke
- Reece Walsh
- Dan Andrews
- Bianca Censori
- Tim Tszyu
- Kathleen Folbigg
- Ellie Carpenter
- Lidia Thorpe
You can check out the full results of what Aussies searched for in 2023 here.
JoshW
Roar Rookie
Because Australia needs to focus all efforts into winning the World Cup.
Hepcat
Roar Rookie
Why can't Soccer co exist in Australia instead of wanting to dominate.....how boring.
KenW
Roar Rookie
In regards to the 'most googled' events it's no surprise that established popular competitions like the NRL and AFL weren't there. As the article says the most googled questions were ‘How to watch Women’s World Cup?’ & ‘How to watch Rugby World Cup?’ were the top questions for these 2 sports. LIV golf, boxing, ufc, international soccer - either big one-off events or otherwise sports were fans aren't sure how to access. AFL & NRL are in long-term broadcast deals and discussed all over local media. It's not surprising people don't need to google them to find out how to watch.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Spot on Tony. People love gossip more than they love sport.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Can’t believe the state of the Suncorp pitch didn’t make it in there … :silly:
Tony Taylor
Far be it for me to stick up for Yawnion, but the segmented footies are always going to trail the national cricket. Soccer is the footy which might dominate one day, but most everyone who loves Aussie sport has an opinion or interest in the cricket; espesh the Ashes.
Tony Harper
Editor
There's a reason she's at No.2. And it isn't just because she's an amazing football player even though she is... Try google her and see what comes up. Also, if you google Sam Kerr a lot of the top results are about her wedding. It's not a story about the best athletes in Australia - it's about those who are generating most searches, and obviously (Michael Clarke at 3) events off the field are key in this.
Nick Wasiliev
Editor
Personally, I agree. Her growth and popularity in women's football and the Matildas was noticeable even before the World Cup. Her performance at the event was very impressive, now when you think of the Matildas it's usually Kerr, Fowler and Carpenter as the star players that first come to mind. Definitely did not see her coming in at Number 2 though!
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think Mary would have been there with or without Nathan Cleary. She plays a beautiful style of football with a lot of class for Manchester City and competes in a world game - I think there’s enough in that alone.