Warney and Thorpey are back and they've been joined in the pantheon of Australian sport by Cadel Evans.
While Shane Warne's comeback to cricket is little more than hit and giggle and Thorpe's return to the swimming pool is a work in progress, Evans' 2011 Tour de France win is unquestionably one of the alltime great achievements of Australian sport - up with Warne's 708 Test wickets and Thorpe's five Olympic gold medals.
Two Gold Coast girls, Sally Pearson and Sam Stosur, are on the brink of greatness in 2012, while the nation's cricket team enter an age of unprecedented change in its bid to return to its former great status.
Evans, Pearson, Stosur, James Magnussen and Casey Stoner were the standout individuals of an otherwise underwhelming 2011 for Australian sport.
Pearson and swimmer Magnussen should be two of Australia's biggest stars of the 2012 Olympics in London, but eyes will also be on mare Black Caviar as she bids to extend her 16-race unbeaten career and on Geelong in their bid to prolong their reign on top of the AFL.
Here are the top stories of Australian sport in 2011 - in pictures.