Aussie sporting greats spotted at Sydney pub

It’s a (sporting) great mystery. Some of the biggest names in Australian sport have been spotted gathering at a Sydney pub for the past three days. Here is why.

A Grand Slam winner, a Melbourne Cup-winning jockey, a Socceroo legend and a UFC Featherweight Champ walk into a bar …

It sounds like a joke but The Daily Telegraph saw the unusual gathering taking place at a Bondi Junction pub on Wednesday.

The procession of sporting legends started early in the morning when Alexander Volkanovski arrived in a chauffeur-driven car just after 9am.

Socceroo hero John Aloisi wasn’t far behind the UFC legend.

Then tennis queen Ash Barty and just-retired jockey Damien Oliver turned up after lunch.

Tennis great Ash Barty arriving at The Nelson Hotel in Bondi Junction where she and other sports stars were spotted filming a TV advertisement.

Curious neighbours contacted the Telegraph after reports a number of other familiar faces had been seen around the pub, which has been closed to the public for three days, according to signs on the venue’s windows, leaving locals who frequent the iconic The Nelson Hotel very thirsty.

A large number of TV production trucks around the pub would suggest the celebrities are involved in some sort of film shoot, but when we approached members of the production team, they remained tight-lipped, saying they couldn’t talk about what was going on inside the watering hole.

Champion jockey Damien Oliver at The Nelson Hotel in Bondi Junction.

Former Socceroo John Aloisi at The Nelson Hotel in Bondi Junction.

UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski at The Nelson Hotel in Bondi Junction.

One noted it was a television commercial for a “big brand”.

All sports stars are legends in their own right, but what the four have in common is anyone’s guess. Could Barty – who’s conquered cricket, tennis and about to take on golf – be poised for an appearance in the UFC octagon?

Or is recently-retired jockey Oliver getting tips for what he does next from Aloisi?

We’ll be waiting with bated breath to see what comes from this star studded session at the bar.

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