Australia 19-27 British & Irish Lions: first Test player ratings
Max Jorgensen Towering claim of kick and great finish for his try. Was always harrying his opposite number Lowe and regularly took it on himself to try and create something. 7
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii Disallowed try for holding onto the ball, none of his usual trademark restart steals and poor defensive positioning at times. 5
Len Ikitau Put in a huge number of carries in an attempt to address the power deficit between the sides. 7
Harry Potter A difficult day for wingers made more tricky by his frequent mistakes. His fumbling of an early Russell kick into touch opened the door to the early Lions dominance. 5
Tom Lynagh Never stopped trying to make something happen in a largely chaotic opening hour where he was regularly on the back foot. Confident showing that belied this was his debut. 7
Jake Gordon Laboured in his distribution which allowed the Lions far more time to reset and dominate. Hasn't played a Test since May 2024 and it showed. 5
James Slipper Literally fronted up in a brilliant pack performance at the set piece for the Wallabies but was caught out a few times when defending open play. 6
Matt Faessler The lineout was poor the whole time he was on. It's not always the hooker's fault, but often it is. 5
Allan Alaalatoa Cornerstone of the revelatory scrum display, also won a turnover late in the match and put in his fair share of tackles as well. 8
Nick Frost Had to fill the Will Skelton-sized hole in the pack and performed adequately, hitting rucks and hitting double figures with tackles. 6
Jeremy Williams Primary lineout target and senior man in the boilerhouse who fell short on the day in both areas. 5
Nick Champion de Crespigny Lots of defensive work in this his first cap, which he didn't shy nor fall away from. Nothing to show going forward, however. 6
Fraser McReight Won some important ruck turnovers early in the game and contributed to the Australian resurgence in the second half. 7
Harry Wilson His efforts in defence and some deft kicks balanced out his lack of carries in the first half. Needs to show more for the ball to lead from the front as captain. 6
Replacements Billy Pollard 6; Angus Bell 7; Tom Robertson 5; Tom Hooper 6; Carlo Tizzano 7; Tate McDermott 7; Ben Donaldson 6; Andrew Kellaway n/a
Hugo Keenan A few poor moments under the high ball, including allowing Jorgensen to snaffle possession for the opening Aussie try. 5
Tommy Freeman Kicked a couple out on the full and spilled a few balls both from passes and when fielding kicks. A forced offload that went to ground summed up his day. 5
Huw Jones Contained Suaalii for the most part and looked a threat with ball in hand. Skittled in defence by McDermott at one point. 6
Sione Tuipulotu Took his score well, which was made by his running angle as much as Russell's pass. Tidy in other departments. 7
James Lowe Off the pace, not good under fire from kicks, offered little in attack. Is he too slow for this level now? 5
Finn Russell Imperious in the first quarter as the fulcrum of the Lions' dominant start displaying his full array of skills, including the lovely floated pass for Tuipulotu's try. 8
Jamison Gibson-Park A performance of his usual energised competence, his box-kicks troubled the defence regularly and he ran the attack adroitly. 8
Ellis Genge Some rampaging carries set the tone of all that was good in the loose, but had a tougher time in his primary role in the scrum. 6
Dan Sheehan Hit his jumpers in the lineout with little fuss, fixing an issue on the tour so far when it mattered and scored his usual try. 7
Tadhg Furlong Not the player he once was in open play and has to take some responsibility for an underperforming scrum set piece. 6
Maro Itoje Set his usual example with workrate, especially as the performance energy dipped in the second half. Gave away a couple of penalties. 6
Joe McCarthy Continuing a history of players who are elevated in the red shirt, he played the enforcer role in defence well and was close to a try out wide. Farrell will hope reason for his early subbing is not too serious. 8
Tadhg Beirne The consummate big occasion performer does it again. Led the team in tackles and made a mess of Australia's breakdown regularly. 8
Tom Curry A very Tom Curry performance: powerful, busy and a total nuisance to the Wallabies; exactly what his coach wanted. Less prominent under pressure in second half. 8
Jack Conan Not a huge day for the highlight reel but put himself about in a workmanlike and solid performance that was the foundation of the back row's dominance. 7
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher 5; Andrew Porter 5; Will Stuart 5; Ollie Chessum 6; Ben Earl 6; Alex Mitchell n/a; Marcus Smith 6; Bundee Aki 6
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Footy legend blasts the AFL for taking all the manliness out of the sport in a woke attack on the game
Footy legend Graham Cornes has launched a blistering attack on the AFL for trying to legislate the masculinity out of football with what he sees as ' woke ' decisions that are destroying the fabric of the game. The first coach of the Adelaide Crows - who stamped himself as an all-time great during his 369-game career - is up in arms over the suspension handed to Demons defender Steven May for his shattering hit on Carlton's Francis Evans. May was banned for three weeks for rough conduct, but Melbourne are appealing the decision, which their coach Simon Goodwin and plenty of other big names from the footy world claim will change the way the game is played - and not for the better. The hit left Evans with a broken nose and concussion, and knocked one of his teeth out, but the Demons and May's other supporters claim he was just making a legitimate play at the ball. Cornes praised May as a 'fearless defender who is prepared to run straight and hard at the ball' regardless of what the opposition is doing, and said 'every team needs a player like him' because he's 'big, strong and ferocious'. But according to the South Australian footy icon, the AFL is determined to rid the game of such footballers - and in the process, take the masculinity out of the sport. 'This is not an endorsement of football thuggery, more a condemnation of the steady erosion of the manly qualities - yes, I used the term manly - that helped make AFL the greatest team sport in the world, Cornes wrote for News Corp. 'Yes, the game has changed, but it is not living in the past to lament the deterioration of the sport's masculinity.' Cornes went on to say that May was in the right because he and Evans were both competing for the ball and neither had any way of knowing which one of them would get there first. Despite that, the tribunal found a 'reasonable player' would have avoided the collision if they were in May's place. Cornes took that to mean the AFL wants its stars to pull out of the contest - and pointed out that doing so, which is known as 'shirking', is one of the most embarrassing and career-threatening things a footballer can be accused of. 'The humiliation of such actions and accusations stay with a footballer for life,' he wrote. 'Careers have been terminated because players have shirked the contest.' May is heavier and taller than Evans, and Cornes said that while the smaller men in the sport need protection, incidents like the hit will keep on occurring. 'We don't know what they [players] weigh these days because the AFL in its leaning to wokeness doesn't put the weights of players in their official record, which had previously been the case,' Cornes said. Cornes isn't the only big name to slam the league for being woke. Last month, St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt called the league's top brass 'social justice warriors' for not demoting executive general manager of football Laura Kane sooner. Kane became a lightning rod for criticism this season over issues such as the Willie Rioli saga, the standard of umpiring and AFL miscommunication around what happened when Collingwood player Lachie Schultz was concussed in a game against Fremantle. 'If the AFL weren't so consumed with being social justice warriors, Laura Kane would have been moved aside 12 months ago,' Riewoldt said. 'It is (a win) now. Either the role was too big, or she was the wrong person (for the job).' Melbourne's case to have May's suspension quashed will be heard on Monday night. 'We think he had a play on the ball and it was a football incident,' Goodwin said after the Demons confirmed they would appeal the Tribunal's decision. 'From my perspective, that's ultimately the argument that we'll go with. 'Clearly there's some legal stuff that they'll go through in terms of the case as part of the appeal.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Footy bad boy Jordan De Goey reveals baby joy with his TV star girlfriend Aisha Jade McKinnon
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has revealed he and partner Aisha Jade McKinnon are expecting their first child, calling the joyful news 'the greatest surprise of them all'. The couple made the big reveal on Instagram, sharing a photo of De Goey's hands cradling McKinnon's baby bump, accompanied by an ultrasound video and a clip of the moment the overjoyed Magpies forward found out he is going to be a dad. 'In the midst of our changing lives we were blessed with the greatest surprise of them all, baby girl coming soon,' read the caption on the post. Their announcement drew congratulatory messages from De Goey's teammates Isaac Quaynor and Mason Cox, as well as Annalise Dalins, the fiancée of Pies star Josh Daicos. McKinnon - who starred on Big Brother and is forging a career in fashion design - made their romance official last October when they attended Collingwood's best and fairest night. The couple have bought a farm together and McKinnon has previously opened up about her man's reputation as a bad boy off the field. The footy glamour couple are due to have a daughter - with the announcement drawing messages of congratulations from other AFL stars De Goey briefly ended up in a New York jail in October 2021 after pleading not guilty to a charge of forcible touching in a New York night club, and he made headlines in 2022 when a video emerged of him touching and exposing a woman's breast at a nightclub in Bali. The 29-year-old was slammed by fans and footy experts when he said he had 'made mistakes' because he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 'Late last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD and I am trying to become more aware of why I make mistakes that I do. I have again made a mistake – this is an ongoing journey for me – and I remain absolutely committed to changing,' De Goey said in an official Collingwood statement. He joked that he would have to 'lock himself inside his house to stay out of trouble' before going on to star for Collingwood as they won the premiership in 2023. 'It's sad because I know a very different Jordy,' McKinnon said in December last year. 'He's really lovely. We definitely value our privacy, we connected on that, and we both have unique jobs and support each other.' De Goey has only played five games this year as premiership favourites Collingwood sit atop the ladder. Problems with his Achilles tendon and concussion have kept him out of the AFL since round nine, but he took a big step on Saturday as he played in the VFL.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Get out of my way': how St Kilda's Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera entered AFL folklore
The hottest property in the AFL happens to have the coolest head in the game. St Kilda sensation Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera completed his sparkling rise from a damaging defender and one of the most exciting midfielders in the competition, to a proven match-winner after icing two goals in the final minute that sealed a historic comeback against Melbourne. The 22-year-old has already shown he can do it all at both ends. But it is rare for a player to have a game-changing impact in all areas of the field in one game, let alone in a single breathtaking quarter that helped turn Sunday's contest. Wanganeen-Milera started the game taking on the Demons' decorated on-ball brigade, but with the Saints trailing by 46 points at the final change he was soon taking the kick ins, connecting play through the midfield and drifting forward to be a target in attack. The defender-turned-allrounder gathered 10 disposals as the Saints came from the clouds to chase down the Demons in the final term. But it is Wanganeen-Milera's last minute of action at Marvel Stadium that will go down in folklore. It is a tale that even the humble Saints star struggled to explain. 'I don't know, I'm a bit speechless,' Wanganeen-Milera told Channel 7 immediately after the game. 'It just sort of happened, I flew for it. But my teammates did a great job in the last quarter, the pressure was unreal, we just kept fighting and fighting.' The Demons led by a goal with less than a minute left on the clock when Saints midfielder Mason Wood received a handball after a boundary throw-in on the wing and bombed the ball into the forward 50. Wanganeen-Milera first made his name as a rebounding half-back and has shown plenty of promise since moving into the midfield, but with the game on the line he soared over Bailey Fritsch to pull down a screamer in front of Demons defender Judd McVee within sight of goal. The exquisitely-skilled Wanganeen-Milera could hardly have split the middle better as he nailed the set shot to level the scores with only eight seconds remaining and leave the Saints looking like the only side thinking about victory. While the young St Kilda players were calm and composed amid the chaos that followed, even the most experienced Demons lost their heads as they turned the ball over with a 6-6-6 infringement for not having enough players set up in each area of the ground. The Saints trio of Rowan Marshall, Marcus Windhager and Wanganeen-Milera quickly concocted a plan at the centre bounce for the ruck to take the free kick and pick out the man of the moment charging forward. A pinpoint pass from Marshall was enough to find Wanganeen-Milera just inside the 50m arc as he bravely marked while falling backwards. He and sprung back to his feet before the siren sounded. 'I just told the forwards, 'get out of my way', and then I told Rowan, 'just hit me on the left side', and it was lucky I got on the end of it,' Wanganeen-Milera said. With the result resting on his young shoulders, Wanganeen-Milera only needed a point to clinch the greatest comeback from a three-quarter-time deficit in VFL/AFL history. It was no surprise to see his lethal right foot send the ball through the middle again for the icing on the cake of a stunning six-point triumph. Wanganeen-Milera finished with 34 disposals, nine score involvements, six clearances and a career-high four goals in just the latest display as his career keeps reaching for new heights. Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion If only to add to the mythical performance, coach Ross Lyon revealed after the game that the Saints' hero of the day was on the brink of being a late withdrawal from the game due to a stye in his eye before getting the all-clear from the club doctor. '[The doctor] said 'Nas has come in, [we've] upped his antibiotics, given him an injection,' Lyon said. 'I mean, they can sound quite morbid at times, the doctors. I just said, 'how's Nas', he's pretty confident. Then I rang him, he goes, 'no, I'll be right'. But I just said, if you're not right, no pressure, we'll tap you out.' There will be a sense of relief as much as elation around the Saints' camp that Wanganeen-Milera was available to take on the Demons, but both will only grow if the speedster commits his long-term future to the club. The step son of former St Kilda player Terry Milera and nephew of former Port Adelaide and Essendon great Gavin Wanganeen owns the most sought-after signature in the game, as he comes out of contract while being courted by both clubs in his home state of South Australia. Wanganeen-Milera has already ensured that St Kilda is etched in the record books for their fightback, but the club that drafted him at No 11 in 2021 AFL draft live in hope that his incredible performance against Melbourne was just one of many memorable moments to come in red, white and black.
