NRL
SportAustralian Associated PressPlayers adapt to NRL rules as Origin looms
NSW hooker Damien Cook is all for the NRL's crackdown on contact with the head and neck, saying it's on players to adapt quickly before it infiltrates State of Origin.The first game of the 2021 series is three weeks away and while the South Sydney star supports stamping out dangerous contact, he doesn't want to see mass sin-binnings and send-offs enter the Origin arena.
SportAustralian Associated PressFitzgibbon breaks silence to defend Sharks
Craig Fitzgibbon has broken his silence to defend Cronulla against suggestions they bungled the recruitment of Adam Reynolds.On Tuesday the incoming Sharks coach said he was not scratching around for players to revive the club, with his attention fixed on retaining the off-contract personnel who could be an asset next season and beyond.
SportAustralian Associated PressNRL edict to have positive results: Holmes
Valentine Holmes is confident a crackdown on head-high tackles will be a positive move for the NRL but the North Queensland fullback insists the move must come with a common sense approach.Holmes has been an early-season victim of a high tackle after he was sent flying when collared by Canterbury's Jack Hetherington.
SportAustralian Associated PressTitans got ahead of themselves: Proctor
Gold Coast forward Kevin Proctor believes the NRL club have been guilty of looking too far ahead and need to forget about finals footy until they can find form on the field.Touted as an outside chance to sneak into the top four before the 2021 campaign kicked off, the Titans are ninth on the ladder with four wins and six losses.
SportAustralian Associated PressBronco has no drama with NRL benching
Brisbane hooker Jake Turpin insists he has no issue with being benched for the entire second half of his first NRL match as Broncos' captain.Turpin played just 33 minutes in last Friday's 50-6 thrashing at the hands of Manly at Suncorp Stadium, despite being handed the captaincy with Alex Glenn (calf) and Patrick Carrigan (knee) both injured.
SportAustralian Associated PressFirehawks confirm NRL expansion bid
The Brisbane Firehawks are formally in the race to become the NRL's fourth Queensland club.Backed by Easts Tigers, the Firehawks announced on Monday they will submit an expression of interest in the NRL's expansion bid.
SportAustralian Associated PressBroncos name Kelly as Milford dumped again
Another week, another Brisbane NRL halves pairing.After being belted 50-6 by Manly during last weekend's Magic Round, five-eighth Anthony Milford has been dumped for the second time this season by Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
SportAustralian Associated PressRugby League World Cup must go on: Graham
James Graham has implored rugby league officials not to put this year's World Cup in the too-hard basket, warning even postponing it could have dire implications.The fate of the end-of-season tournament hangs in the balance, as England continues its road map of the COVID-19 lockdown amid vaccinations and a drop in cases.
SportAustralian Associated PressPlayers to blame for NRL charges: Annesley
Frustrated by a narrative that referees ruined Magic Round, the NRL's head of football Graham Annesley has declared the players are to blame after a record 24 charges by the match review committee.As of Monday afternoon, 20 weeks worth of suspensions had been handed out by the MRC, with five players yet to enter a plea - two of whom are facing a total of six games banned.
SportAustralian Associated PressCroft's Brisbane NRL nightmare deepens
The nightmare NRL campaign of Brisbane's Brodie Croft has deepened with the young halfback to be sidelined for up to six weeks with a knee injury.Croft, signed from Melbourne by former coach Anthony Seibold with a view to becoming the long-term No.
SportAustralian Associated PressQLD confident handling Trbojevic at centre
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans insists his side will be better prepared to handle a roaming Tom Trbojevic in 2021 than when he tore them apart two years ago.The question of where NSW should play Trbojevic is next month's State of Origin opener will almost certainly end with him at centre and James Tedesco remaining No.
SportAustralian Associated PressDoueihi believes his best position is No.6
Adam Doueihi still believes his best position is five-eighth despite starring in a shock switch to the centres in the Wests Tigers' NRL win on Friday.The 22-year-old has been the best player in a miserable season for the Tigers, with his move to the centres coming as a huge shock last week.
SportAustralian Associated PressPapalii to miss Origin after taking ban
Josh Papalii is out of the State of Origin series opener after the Queensland prop accepted a three-game suspension for his high tackle on Tui Katoa.Canberra confirmed on Monday that all three of their players charged would accept early guilty pleas, after a heavy rap sheet from their NRL win over Canterbury.
SportAustralian Associated PressMcGuire takes big ban as Dragons hit hard
Josh McGuire has copped a five-week ban for his hip-drop tackle on Josh Addo-Carr, with the St George Illawarra forward one of four Dragons players to be suspended for a combined 13 NRL matches.A stunning 10 incidents were picked up by the match review committee across three games on Sunday, taking the overall charge sheet for Magic Round to 24 matters.
SportAustralian Associated PressCleary shines, Penrith extend NRL streak
Nathan Cleary's magical masterclass made Penrith the first side to start a season with 10 straight wins in 25 years after a 48-12 demolition of Gold Coast.With Herman Ese'ese sent off and the Titans reduced to 12 men for the second half, Cleary scored hat-trick and finished with 28 points for the match.
SportAustralian Associated PressStorm defeat 12-man Dragons outfit in NRL
Nicho Hynes' stocks rose again as Melbourne overcame a slow start to beat a 12-man George Illawarra after Tyrell Fuimaono was sent off for a late, high shot on Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen.Josh Addo-Carr's hat-trick made it nine tries in two weeks for the Storm winger, while the off-contract Hynes shone at five-eighth and Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa also crossed three times.
SportAustralian Associated PressArthur Jr ices Eels NRL win over Warriors
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur began his son Jakob's debut against the Warriors pleading for it to be over.Almost two hours later, he was punching in the air in a mixture of relief, pride and excitement as Jakob sealed the 34-18 win and kept the Eels second on the ladder.
SportAustralian Associated PressSome wrong but NRL backs bunker crackdown
Graham Annesley admits the bunker should make better choices when intervening at times but he's not about to criticise his officials after imposing one of the NRL's most dramatic crackdowns.NRL head of football Annesley says it's important the bunker continues to stop and rewind play in order to penalise foul play and he believes the video refs did a good job overall in enforcing new guidelines in Magic Round.
SportAustralian Associated PressPapalii facing Origin ban over charge
Queensland have been hit with a massive State of Origin blow with Josh Papalii needing to beat a high tackle charge at the NRL judiciary to play in the series opener.Papalii was one of 10 players charged from Saturday's game at Magic Round, as part of a monster review committee meeting on Sunday morning.
SportAustralian Associated PressOrigin looms as NRL breaks binning record
St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has forecast an 11-a-side State of Origin contest if the NRL's tougher stance on high tackles continues into next month.An NRL-record 14 players were sin-binned and three sent off during Magic Round in Brisbane.
SportAustralian Associated PressHannay insists hope not gone for Sharks
Cronulla coach Josh Hannay insists the lopsided nature of this year's NRL season means his side still have a hope despite their horror start to the year.The Sharks succumbed to their eighth loss in the opening 10 rounds on Saturday night, in a controversial 32-22 defeat at the hands of South Sydney.
SportAustralian Associated PressTedesco rises to sink Cowboys comeback
Two more sin-bins took Magic Round's running total to 12 in five games as the Roosters staved off a North Queensland comeback, with James Tedesco the star in a 30-16 win.The Roosters shot out of the blocks before the Cowboys scraped back from 18-0 to 18-16, Lachlan Burr's late sin-binning for a high shot on a falling Tedesco a nail in the Cowboys' coffin as the Roosters (7-3) kept in touch with the NRL's top four.
SportAustralian Associated PressBennett smashes NRL over bunker penalties
Wayne Bennett has blasted the NRL over the use of the bunker to rewind play and go back several tackles to award penalties, with the veteran coach questioning who is actually refereeing games.In a fiery 12-minute press conference, Bennett led a charge of support for the NRL's crackdown on high tackles and the need to sin-bin players for foul play.
SportAustralian Associated PressSouths, soft penalty ends Sharks comeback
Cronulla's horror season has taken another hit after a "soft" penalty controversially ended a comeback against South Sydney and condemned them to a 32-22 NRL loss.After they trailed 20-0 after just 31 minutes, the Sharks scored once before the break and twice after to get within four points and a sniff of their first win in six weeks.
SportAustralian Associated PressQld pair Su'A, Papalii in Origin doubt
Queensland State of Origin enforcers Josh Papalii and Jaydn Su'A could be scrubbed for next month's series opener after both were involved in dangerous high shots on Saturday.Canberra prop Papalii was sent off when he hit Tuipuloto Katoa high with his shoulder while South Sydney's Su'A was sin-binned for a similar hit on Aaron Woods in the game that followed on day two of Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium.
