Hardball (2019 TV series)

Mikey moves from New Zealand with his Dad so his father can further pursue touch football with the West Sydney Bulldogs. Mikey and his father move in with his auntie in her garage. Auntie drives Mikey to his new school, which is called Block Street Primary school. He is late and meets the upcoming principal Ms Crapper. She introduces him to the class, and he is buddied up with Tiffany, who on the surface is nice but is horrible to new students while teachers aren't watching, and she refuses to show Mikey around the school. A disabled student named Jerry joins him at lunch and introduces Mikey to handball. Jerry encourages Mikey to play handball with the other students, and explains the rules. When Mikey plays, Tiffany is in the Ace square and serves to Mikey, and he misses after facing scolding from the other students. After break, two businessmen introduce the children to a Western Sydney handball tournament hosted by their company, Steel and Stone. Mikey is then driven home by auntie, taking a stop in the car to buy sweet Lebanese pastries from another student who is working in a bakery. Mikey practices with his father, but he can't play due to a rugby arm injury. Mikey goes to sleep in the back of a truck.

The episode opens with a futuristic spaceship shot. Mikey meets Jerry, who tells him he's late. Jerry tells Mikey to enter the maze and find the queen. Mikey encounters a minion of the queen who blocks his path. He defeats the minion and finds the queen, who is Tiffany. He is then woken up and is in his auntie's car, late for school. Mikey meets Jerry at school, who is convincing Salwa to sign up for the handball competition. Salwa then has a handball death rally with Tiffany, which she wins. Tiffany is bitter about losing, and refuses to shake Salwa's hand. After break, Tiffany is recording Ms Crapper dancing with a cardboard cutout of a rugby player in secret. They both return to class late, but Ms Crapper is in ignorance about the recording. In break, Tiffany shares the recording of Ms Crapper with other students. The recording was sent from Salwa's account, although Salwa was not the one who sent it. Mikey and Jerry go to the IT department to prove Salwa's innocence. Mikey and Jerry confront Tiffany and her friends. After school Mikey and Jerry go back to the Lebanese restaurant to talk to Salwa. Mikey and Jerry then meet Mikeys auntie, before Mikey heads home. After getting advice from his dad and auntie, he falls asleep.

Following the events of the last episode, Mikey is out to clear his name. His attempt to persuade Tiffany to affirm what she saw goes soar when she denies having witnessed him throwing the ball. Mikey's father tries to help by giving Ms. Crapper a team cap, and although she is thankful for it, she remains determined to have Mikey expelled from playing in Sasi-West-Hat. Mikey, Jerry and Salwa attempts to talk to the Butterfield principal by impersonating Ms. Crapper, but to no avail. Salwa later discovers that clause 12 in the handball rules states that a student can't be expelled without a trail where the students vote for or against expulsion. Ms. Crapper approves of a trail, which she herself presides over, Jerry and Salwa act as Mikey's defence and Mustafa and Bao as the prosecutors. Tiffany, Salwa and Mikey are called to the stand, and their fellow students vote for Mikey's innocence. Afterwards, Tiffany reveals to Jerry that she knows that the legend of Howie was a lie, and that if he doesn't tell Mikey himself, she will do it. Jerry arrives at Mikey's, and confesses that he lied about the Howie legend because Mikey needed something to believe and to motivate him with handball. After it dawns on him, Mikey asks Jerry to leave, leaving him upset.

Mikey feels betrayed by Jerry and Salwa, and tries to avoid them. Unbeknown to him, Jerry and his brother Kevin has placed a tracker on his bicycle and follows him to Mustafa's barbershop where Salwa later confronts him. Mikey still blames her and Jerry for the lie about Howie before leaving. He goes to Steele & Stone to tell that he's quitting Sasi-Wests-Hat, and even rebuffs Tiffany's attempt to make him reconsider. After his bike breaks down, he meets his father on the way home. He tells Mikey that everyone deserves a second chance, and after some thought, Mikey rushes to find Jerry and Salwa. He later finds them at the Emu Valley Sports Arena after getting help from Kevin. The friends reconcile and start practising for the upcoming Sasi-Wests-Hat.

On the day of the Sasi-Wests-Hat, Mikey arrives with his auntie, but his father must attend practise before the match. Mikey's team is up and he is reassured by his friends Jerry and Salwa that he will win and that he has to remember his "why". In the first rounds, Mikey wins and loses but manages to go on without issues. While Tiffany wins over Beatrice, Mikey wins against Z-Pop despite that she hurt her leg. During a break, Ms. Crapper tells him that she had wanted to be good at handball, but could never handle the pressure. Mikey's father arrives in time for the grand finale, where Mikey triumphantly beats Tiffany. Despite his victory, he allows her to make her speech before him. Mikey, his father and aunt and his friends celebrate his victory back at her workshop. Tiffany arrives and challenges Mikey for a re-match at a park tournament. After she leaves, Jerry and Salwa nod affirming to him.