Rugby World Cup 2027 coming Down Under
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Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
Injured Petaia retained by Chargers, weighing options
Battling only a minor hamstring injury, Jordan Petaia is weighing up his options after being waived and then placed on the injured reserves list by Los Angeles. The Chargers signed the 25-year-old former Wallabies flyer on a three-year NFL deal in April as a tight end, after Petaia impressed in the International Player Pathway. He made a late cameo in the Chargers' first pre-season game last week, but didn't register a statistic. On Friday (AEST) Petaia was waived and replaced by fellow Australian and former schoolboys rugby teammate Thomas Yassmin. Sydney product Yassmin played college football at Utah and spent last season as an IPP athlete on the Denver Broncos' training squad. The Chargers on Saturday opted to place Petaia on their injured reserves list, ahead of the 53-man roster deadline this month. AAP understands the hamstring injury is only minor and that Petaia, no stranger to soft-tissue complaints in his rugby career, is treading cautiously to avoid a long-term issue. Well aware of the NFL's brutal approach to contracting, Petaia is understood to be unperturbed and assessing his options. NFL clubs can recall eight players from their injured list to play each season, although with fellow tight end Yassmin assuming the extra, designated IPP spot, it's unlikely the Chargers would dedicate a 53-man roster spot to Petaia. Atlanta, Cleveland and Kansas City had initially expressed interest in Petaia, who could be taken as an IPP athlete by a club yet to sign one. The Queensland Reds, where Petaia debuted as an 18-year-old, gave him their blessing to chase an NFL career, and have remained in close contact with the talent. But there is no formal arrangement tying Petaia to the Super Rugby club, should he seek a return to the 15-man game. Injuries, including hamstring issues, regularly interrupted his 31-Test career for the Wallabies. Yet he still became the youngest Australian to play at a Rugby World Cup. He played at a second World Cup, before giving up the chance to face the British and Irish Lions and rolling the dice on an NFL shot late last year.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
NFL's Chargers waive Petaia in Aussie rugby player swap
Hamstrung former Wallabies star Jordan Petaia's NFL dream has hit a wall less than a fortnight into the preseason after he was waived by the Los Angeles Chargers. Petaia signed a three-year deal with the Bolts in April after impressing as part of the league's International Player Pathway (IPP) in a 10-week Florida crash course earlier this year. But a hamstring injury forced him out of training this week and on Friday morning (AEST) the Chargers announced Petaia had been waived and replaced by fellow Australian IPP graduate, tight end and former rugby teammate Thomas Yassmin. Under new rules introduced last season, IPP players can be carried by clubs in an extra roster spot and activated at any stage. Injuries regularly interrupted Petaia's 31-Test career for the Wallabies, after he'd debut at 18 for the Queensland Reds and become the youngest Australian to play at a Rugby World Cup the following year. The 25-year-old knocked back lucrative European rugby and NRL offers - and the chance to feature for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions - to instead give up at least five months of pay to pursue his NFL dream. Petaia could still be retained by LA on the injured reserves list, or picked up by another NFL club. Atlanta, Cleveland and Kansas City had shown interest in Petaia after the Australian impressed at the University of South Florida's Pro Day. He could also return to rugby, like his Welsh IPP counterpart Louis Rees-Zammit who has been linked with a move to the rebel league R360. Rees-Zammit announced his rugby return last week after two years in the NFL system without game time. A club statement on Friday confirmed Yassmin's signing and Petaia's exit, without revealing details of his injury. Sydney product Yassmin played schoolboys rugby with Petaia before a college football stint at the University of Utah. He was picked up from the IPP program by the Denver Broncos, where he spent last season on their practice squad. "About 48 hours ago I was actually picking up my missus from the airport in Denver," Yassmin told ESPN after his first practice. "On the way, I get a call from the Chargers saying, 'Hey, so you want to come in for a visit in a few hours?'. "I'm blessed to have the opportunity. It is unfortunate, the circumstances, but I'll take it when I can." The team has played just one preseason game under coach Jim Harbaugh and already lost the NFL's highest-paid offensive tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury. Slater, who signed a four-year, US$114 million contract last week, was immediately placed on the injured reserves list.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
Todd Woodbridge reveals how he really felt about Jelena Dokic's 'he's my person' Logies speech - as she steps out with new boyfriend in Melbourne
Todd Woodbridge has spoken publicly for the first time about being the focus of colleague Jelena Dokic's extremely emotional Logies acceptance speech. The 54-year-old sports commentator and Tipping Point Australia host joined Nova FM's Jase and Lauren on Friday, where he was asked about the emotional tribute during TV's "Night of Nights". Dokic, 42, won Best Factual or Documentary Program for her documentary Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, and used her speech to thank Woodbridge for encouraging her to pursue a career in media after retiring- even calling him her "person". "I want to go back to the Logies on Sunday night, because I got very emotional when Jelena Dokic won her Logie and she made this incredible speech about how if every woman and wife and daughter and sister had a Todd in her life, the world would be a better place," host Lauren Phillips said during a visit to The Tipping Point set. "I mean, Paul, my fiancé and I were on the couch sobbing watching that. How did you feel in that moment?" Woodbridge admitted the speech took him by surprise. "Yeah, I was surprised by her doing that," he said. "I know she (Jelena) sometimes says that in a keynote a little bit, but I've never seen the keynote and been there, but her whole speech was flawless." The multiple Grand Slam-winning doubles champ said the moment was made even more special because the messaging "was so strong". "And to be a big part of that messaging and understanding of getting her on track, really, I felt incredibly proud to have watched someone be able to get up and deliver, in front of that audience at a Logies when you got all these TV people, that's nerve wracking," he said. "But she just killed it." Phillips also recalled Woodbridge's kindness towards both Dokic and herself during her former role as a Nine sports reporter. "I remember, in those early days of Channel Nine taking over the Australian Open and I worked on those first seasons… you were so nurturing to her, but not just to her, to all of us," she said. "You have this innate ability to make people feel so comfortable and so welcome, and you've just got this beautiful aura about you. So I'm so glad that that moment was shared so publicly, because a lot of us feel that way." Woodbridge thanked her, saying he "enjoys the company of it all" and wants "everyone to do well". "I want to do the very best job. I'm quite competitive, but I can't do it if the other people don't do it well. So you're together in that," he said. The tennis great said the evening was even more surreal after he later won his own Logie- the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter- for Tipping Point. "But that whole thing with what Jelena was able to deliver, and then to have my moment follow that, more or less, that was bizarrely, I just couldn't believe the whole timing of it all, because none of that's planned," he said. "We didn't know. She didn't know she's going to win. I had very little faith. And so it just became one of the most special evenings I've ever been a part of." On Thursday, Dokic shared a video of herself and Woodbridge moments after their respective wins. "We did it !!!! We won the Logies !!! This was just moments after both @ and I won. So good we were able to capture this moment together. Honoured and proud of us,' she wrote. In the clip, an elated Dokic asked, "Who won the Logies?" before Woodbridge replied, "We did!" He then joked: "Your speech goes down as the longest 30 seconds that the Logies have ever had, but it was worth it!" "Listen," Dokic laughed back, "for TV what do they say? It's better that you can talk than not talk!" That evening, Dokic reposted footage of herself with her new boyfriend, Melbourne-based hospitality operations manager Yane Veselinov, singing and laughing together during a date night at the Royal Botanic Gardens. She later shared a sweet selfie of the pair, captioned with love hearts.
