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Monday, Jun 24

06

Five and a kick: Raiders reeling, let’s boot Wah fever and Tigers bag bargain Doueihi

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Heading into round 17 it’s hard to argue the validity of the competition’s two best outfits, Melbourne and Penrith. Cronulla and the Roosters share third and fourth respectively, with the latter seemingly travelling nicer towards the final…

04

AFL News: Buckley’s shock call amid May staging debate, Cats to challenge Danger’s ban, league cleared over drugs bombshell

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AFL legend Nathan Buckley has blasted Steven May over the Melbourne defender’s controversial ‘staging’ moment in the Demons’ win over North Melbourne, saying future similar acts should result in suspensions. May threw his head back and…

03

Gatland rejects player’s ‘disrespect’ claim as he prepares wounded Welsh for Australia tour

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Wales’ dwindling front-row resources will come under the microscope as coach Warren Gatland finalises his tour squad for the two-Test series against the Wallabies in Australia. Hookers Elliot Dee, Sam Parry and Ryan Elias are already out…

Euro 2024 Power Rankings matchday 2: England fall after bore draw, Spain rise on masterclass vs Italy

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We are now almost halfway with the Euros with the tournament starting to take shape. As some teams have managed to secure their place in knockouts, others are still chasing hard. After two matchdays and only one to go before we move on to…

02

NRL News: Johns calls out DCE Origin I ‘cheap shot’, Panthers one step closer to ripping up May contract

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Andrew Johns has taken issue with Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans over a ‘cheap shot’ during the Maroons’ crushing win in Game 1 of the 2024 State of Origin series. Just days out from Game 2 at the MCG, the NSW great pointed to an…

01

‘Someone has to explain’: Coach raging as penalty denied and late sucker punch knocks out Scots, Germany top Group A

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Hungary knocked Scotland out of the Euros in the 10th minute of added time, while Germany’s late equaliser against Switzerland took them above the Swiss to qualify first in Group A at the Euros. A draw wasn’t good enough for either…

Sunday, Jun 23

00

Jordan dunks on Team USA: England rebound after slow World Cup start to make semis

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Pace bowler Chris Jordan has fired England into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with an emotional hat-trick in a thumping 10-wicket victory over the United States on his home island of Barbados. Jordan, a born-and-bred Bajan who went…

23

Schmidt has named the weakest Wallabies squad in memory. He didn’t have to – but it could pay off

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Joe Schmidt hasn’t made it easy on himself. He could have looked overseas to any number of foreign-based stars, including Marika Koroibete and Samu Kerevi for his first Tests in charge of the Wallabies. He didn’t. He could have selected…

22

NRL Round 16 Talking Points: Season-killing performances as finals pretenders fumble golden opportunities

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NRL Round 16 looked pretty straightforward on paper but turned into carnage for teams with finals dreams as the bottom clubs ran amok – let’s work through it in your talking points. That were diabolical I went in pretty hard at New Zealand…

The Wrap: Unrelenting Blues power to superb title win, Wallabies selection a sign of the times

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When Mark Twain talked about lies, damned lies and statistics, he clearly wasn’t referencing the 2024 Super Rugby champions, the Blues. Their 41-10 win was not only a superb exhibition of wet-weather, finals football, it tied directly to…

20

Michael Hagan: How Blues can shut Walsh down without using high-risk outside in strategy

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NSW need to change their tactics around shutting down Reece Walsh or the State of Origin shield will be heading back to Queensland for the third year in a row on Wednesday night at the MCG. Their plan backfired big time in game one when…

18

Incentives, cameos and the reverse draft: Why rugby league can work in PNG

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By now there have been hundreds of articles written on why it is a silly idea and why locating an NRL team in Port Moresby won’t work. It’s time we turned our minds to the positive. If we had to do it, what needs to happen for it to work?…

‘With so many conductors, no one left to play instruments’: What comes next for Southgate’s sluggish England?

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After their dire 1-1 draw with Denmark, I was wondering how to describe this version of Gareth Southgate’s England. ‘Southgate-ball’ has no ring to it whatsoever, whilst ‘ready salted crisps of tactics’ might be witty but won’t escape the…

13

NRL Power Rankings: Round 16 – Warriors once were formidable but now a mess, Rabbitohs rising, Tigers bare teeth

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For the maths nerds out there, 58.82% of teams played this round with seven sides putting their collective feet up. And for many fans who are not quite as precise with their percentages, the interest level in the five matches for the round…

12

Shades of Benji’s brilliance as Tigers put in finals worthy display to steamroll Raiders … leaving Ricky lost for words

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The Tigers turned back the clock to 2005 and Benji Marshall-esque rugby league, running rampant in Campbelltown to squash the Raiders 48-24. While Marshall was relieved last week when his side ended a nine-game losing skid with a gritty…

11

Round 17 Teams: More bad news for Warriors, Titans sweat on Campbell scans, Rooster facing hefty ban

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Gold Coast are sweating on scans of Jayden’s Campbell‘s right hand after he broke the club’s all-time point scoring record in the 66-6 win over the Warriors. Campbell suffered the injury early in the match before kicking 11 goals and…

Six Points: Pull your heads in, Port fans, and the Power gun who’s becoming a ‘cheap shot merchant’

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The bye rounds are over – Hallelujah! Once again, every team has played the same amount of games, so the ladder is officially asterisk-free and accurately reflects where just about everyone stands. We have both a clear frontrunner – Sydney…

10

Exclusive: Two-horse race for vital Tahs head role as standoff beckons over displaced Rebels

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Twelve months out from hosting the British and Irish Lions and the Waratahs are in no-man’s land, but the NSW board will try to rectify their shambolic planning ahead of 2025 by naming a head of performance by week’s end. It’s believed…

09

May cops whack for staging as Dees-Roos melee sees fines galore, Port gun $10k poorer over strike

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Steven May has become the third AFL player to be fined for staging, with the Melbourne defender found guilty by Match Review Officer Michael Christian of faking head contact to win a dangerous tackle free kick. May threw his neck back…

07

Afghanistunner! Maxwell heroics in vain as veteran’s four-for, openers’ century stand leaves Aussies on World Cup brink

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Afghanistan have rolled unbeaten World Cup heavyweights Australia, defending 149 with a stunning bowling performance which means Mitch Marsh’s team needs to beat India in their final Super 8s game to ensure they make the semi-finals and…

04

Round 16 judiciary: Pauga cops a month ban for stiff arm, Loiero facing crusher ban, Pangai to pay

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Roosters centre Junior Pauga heads a list of round 16 charges – copping a four week ban for a nasty stiff arm on Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey. He rushed in off his edge and caught the chin of Tracey, who was visibly rocked after the…

02

Race for Tahs job heats up after McKellar ‘mutually’ departs English heavyweight with Cheika in line as replacement

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The race for the Waratahs’ head coaching role just got a whole lot more interesting after Dan McKellar, the highly respected Australian coach, separated from Leicester Tigers over the weekend. The decision to “mutually” part ways occurred…

01

Wales all at sea after Springboks flex muscles but Erasmus not satisfied: ‘There were things that didn’t click’

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Wales have produced a battling performance before World Cup champions South Africa turned on the power to emerge 41-13 winners at Twickenham. Despite conceding two tries and collecting two yellow cards during the first 15 minutes on…

‘We can still improve’: Unbeaten India send ominous warning after belting Bangladesh

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Unbeaten India have inched closer to a semi-final berth in the T20 World Cup following their comprehensive 50-run victory against Bangladesh in the Super Eight stage. Allrounder Hardik Pandya smashed a 27-ball half-century as India posted…

Cheika set for coaching return after Leicester make surprise call on McKellar

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Dan McKellar has been sacked as coach of top English club Leicester, with another Australian rugby luminary Michael Cheika being hotly tipped to replace him. McKellar, the 47-year-old who left his job as forwards coach with the Wallabies…

Saturday, Jun 22

23

Exclusive: Wallaby-in-waiting Lynagh re-signs with Reds in boost for Aussie rugby

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A day after being called up to the Wallabies for the first time, rising star Tom Lynagh has put pen to paper to sign a contract extension with the Queensland Reds. Lynagh was already contracted until the end of 2025, but in a major nod to…

20

Giddey upside: Running with the Bulls is fraught with danger but trade could be blessing in disguise

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It was no great surprise when Oklahoma City announced on Friday that Josh Giddey had been shipped out. The turn-up for the books was that he was headed to Chicago for veteran guard Alex Caruso in a rare one for one trade involving two…

More kicking, power plays and even lineouts: Some adventurous and innovative rules for the NRL to think about

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These out of the box ideas bring new dimensions, reward creativity and encourage strategic thinking.

18

Footy Fix: The massive, glaring Port weaknesses the Lions ruthlessly and repeatedly exposed

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What happened on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide Oval was less ships passing in the night and more one ship boarding the other and butchering the crew, leaving with all the plunder they can carry, then bringing out the cannons and…

14

Reborn Rabbitohs sink Sea Eagles with fourth win in a row to rise within striking distance of top eight

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It’s hard to read too much into a Saturday night slugfest with one side missing their two best players and the other club having an entire team on the sidelines. But an ugly 14-0 win is a thing of beauty for a team like South Sydney after…