Bennett set to start English talent
Wayne Bennett is set to start English star Lewis Dodd at Magic Round for the Rabbitohs.

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7NEWS
19 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Pat Cummins sends ominous warning ahead of WTC final against South Africa
In a warning to the world's batters, Pat Cummins has declared he is feeling better than he has for years. Fixing up an 'iffy' ankle and taking paternity leave has allowed the star quick to return to top shape for Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa. After leading Australia to a drought-breaking Border-Gavaskar trophy victory against India in January, Cummins didn't play at all until the Indian Premier League started at the end of March. The 32-year-old missed Australia's tour of Sri Lanka for the arrival of his second child, Edith, in February. 'Having a bit of a break before the IPL; paternity leave and getting my ankle, which was a little bit iffy, fixed up, so physically I feel as good as I have in years,' Cummins told AAP. 'I've been able to have a good couple of bowls over here in England. 'The IPL's always pretty long, but (Australia assistant coach) Dan Vettori is coach (of Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Trav Head, family made it over. 'It feels like I have a lot of bandwidth and feel fresh.' After training at Beckenham on arrival in England, Australia moved across to the famous Lord's on Sunday to prepare for the WTC decider, which starts on Wednesday. Cummins did manage to sneak away from training to visit English personality Jeremy Clarkson's farm on Friday. The WTC final will be shown in Australia exclusively through Prime Video, the same service that screens the popular Clarkson's Farm. Australia are gunning for back-to-back WTC crowns, after beating India in the 2023 final at The Oval. Despite England rival Ben Stokes previously talking down the WTC, now completing its third cycle, Cummins has hailed the concept. 'It's an ICC event where every Test playing nation is competing, so we want to win that,' Cummins said. 'Someone's going to win the trophy. We want it to be us. 'It gives relevance to some two-match series that perhaps otherwise get lost in the calendar. 'We talk about it a lot. We think it's awesome. 'We've had a really good few years as a Test side. We've been No.1 for a long time, but to actually have one, hopefully two trophies to show for this era as well, that would be really nice.' The first three finals have all been held in England, with this edition the first to take place at Lord's. With the increasingly packed cricket calendar, fitting in the WTC decider following the end of the IPL makes the most sense. 'Logistically, it seems like that's probably the easiest way to have one venue,' said Cummins, an Amazon Prime Video ambassador. 'It'd be nice, maybe the previous winner hosts that for the next time, or something like that. 'But as an alternative, I think having it at Lord's every cycle is also a pretty good place.'

News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Papalii's big moment sinks South Sydney
NRL: Josh Papalii scored two tries and even kicked a conversion as the Raiders came down from a twelve point deficit to pump the Rabbitohs.


The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Injured Huni counts cost of world title near-miss
Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight." Justis Huni faces more surgery and a long road back to the heavyweight summit after a cruel 10th-round knockout robbed him of one of Australian boxing's great triumphs. The Brisbane heavyweight's valiant bid for the WBA interim world title was ended in devastating fashion by English star and favourite Fabio Wardley on Sunday morning (AEST). The 26-year-old had stepped in on five weeks' notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller, and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town. Indeed, two judges had Huni ahead 89-82 and a third had scored the fight 88-83 through nine rounds before Wardley's "one-in-1000 punch" sent Huni to the canvas. Huni was soon back on his feet and looked steady, but English referee John Latham was quick to wave the Australian away and leave his camp furious. Huni, who fell to 12-1, still collected a rumoured sum of about $1 million. But it's now Wardley (18-0) in the box seat as the primary challenger to the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois's undisputed title fight in July. Manager Mick Francis believed his man wasn't given the full 10-count, and also revealed Huni had battled nerve pain in his surgically repaired elbow in the week of the fight. But Francis told AAP an official protest would amount to little and that Huni would likely need surgery to correct the issue before considering his return to the summit. "Pretty disappointed in how quickly the referee waved it off," Francis told AAP. "Justis won a lot of fans and was putting on a clinic, but he walked into a one-in-1000 punch and what's done is done now. "He was always up against it; they were looking for any excuse to give (Wardley) the fight. "Considering he's been stopped (by a knockout) it doesn't help things. "Justis probably needs six months to himself, then it's maybe three, four more fights (to be back in a similar position).'' Boasting a glittering amateur career, including World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage. Huni insisted he hadn't flown more than "10,000 miles" not to try to cause an upset, and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed left the Briton looking completely lost. But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations. "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," a gracious Huni told DAZN. "I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things. "He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it." Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie. "I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring. "Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. "He's a great boxer, some great skills, and he showed me everything he had tonight."