Eels back young guns with Moses out
NRL: With Mitch Moses and Dylan Brown sidelined, the Eels are backing their young stars to rise to the occasion in his absence.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Brisbane Lions attempt to win in Geelong for the first time since 2003
A 22-year winless run at a stadium is enough to make any team cower —but not the Brisbane Lions. The Lions have made a habit of breaking hoodoos under Chris Fagan — and they are determined to tick off the final item on their list. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the AFL and NRL seasons in 2025. Brisbane has not won at Geelong's Kardinia Park since round six, 2003, with now-Cats coach Chris Scott kicking the match-sealing goal for the Lions that day. Will and Levi Ashcroft were not born yet, and since then, it has been 13 straight losses ahead of Friday night's blockbuster. "We've had a lot of those things over the years," Fagan said. "It's been 20-odd years since we've won here at this ground. The last couple of times we've played here, they've been close games. "So as we've become better as a team, we've been able to challenge Geelong a little bit more. "But it all starts again tomorrow night. We're obviously looking to break through that milestone and they'll obviously be trying as hard as they can to stop us." In recent seasons the Lions ended an 11-game losing streak at the MCG in 2022, snapped a 15-game run against Richmond in 2020 and an 11-game losing streak against Sydney in 2019. Under Fagan, Brisbane also ended poor runs against West Coast, Geelong and Adelaide. Fagan said the Lions "had a bit of fun" with their various hoodoos. "We've done that from the day I arrived at the club because we couldn't beat anyone," Fagan said. "It's true, we were struggling as a football club back then. "We just looked at various teams we hadn't beaten for a while and set ourselves to do that. I think that's a reasonable thing. It's all part of goal setting and striving. "And we've ticked off many things over the last few years, including that one about the MCG, we couldn't win there. So that's all part of being competitive." The Lions (9-4), who have lost two on the bounce, travelled to Victoria a day early, on Wednesday, and were relieved they had made that choice after dealing with multiple delays. Fagan believed low pressure numbers against GWS were an "outlier" but poor goal kicking had been an issue in that game and against Adelaide. "That's the one glaring thing at the moment that's hurt us in the last couple of weeks," he said. Star small forward Charlie Cameron has kicked 12.14 and just one goal in the past month. Fagan insisted Cameron's contributions elsewhere had been important. "It's been up and down from a goal kicking sense but we'll back him in," he said. The reigning premiers will also be "patient" with Kai Lohmann, who has had a similarly up-and-down year. Fagan confirmed veteran defender Darcy Gardiner will come in to replace Jack Payne (knee). AAP
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘That's a nice moment': Billy Slater's changeroom act with wife says it all
Billy Slater looked like a very relieved man as Queensland hung on to win a thrilling State of Origin Game 2 and force a series decider. The Maroons defeated NSW 26-24, withstanding a ferocious second half charge onslaught in Perth as the Blues threatened to pull off the greatest comeback in Origin history after trailing 26-6 at halftime. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. NSW scored four tries to none in the second half and you could almost hear Slater exhale a sigh of relief as time ran out for the Blues to score a matchwinner. 'I think Billy's expression summed it up pretty well at the end there, he'd be disappointed with the second half,' Darren Lockyer said on Nine. 'I think we (Queensland) were guilty of looking at the scoreboard once we came back out after half time, we just lost our intensity and we stopped playing footy.' The Queensland coach's back-and-forth with Aaron Woods this week nearly overshadowed the game after the NSW forward called Slater a 'grub' and Slater hit back at Woods. Slater later apologised for bringing up the death of ex-Queensland coach Paul Green in response, which he said was 'not appropriate'. 'Yesterday I wrongly made the link between Paul Green's death and the stress and pressures of coaching, which wasn't accurate,' he said. But Queensland's performance, especially in the first half, proved the war of words didn't derail their preparation. Slater's job may well have been in danger had Queensland lost Game 2 and a second series in a row, which would not have gone down well north of the border. The 42-year-old cut a relieved figure in the sheds post-game, sharing a hug with his wife Nicole after a tense build-up that would have taken its toll. Slater leapt up from his chair to greet his wife and they shared a lengthy embrace in touching scenes. Nine's James Bracey said: 'There's a nice moment Billy with wife Nicole, who made the trek over yesterday to be alongside her hubby, who got the job done. 'And of course it's Billy's birthday, happy birthday Bill. It's the ultimate present.' New Queensland captain Cameron Munster was named man of the match and gave an impassioned tribute to his coach post-game. 'With all the pressure and criticism that Billy Slater has been getting, we're just glad we played for him tonight,' Munster said on Channel 9. 'He deserves everything, he loves Queensland and he loves this group. 'There's been a lot of speculation in the media, we needed to turn up for our coach tonight and we f***ing did.' In their post-match press conference, Munster again backed in his coach in an emotional address. 'When you've got jabs or blokes in the media having a go at your coach, at the end of the day he is our coach and he has done everything he can and ticked the boxes for us,' Munster said. 'We didn't perform for him in Game I and he got a lot of slack for it and a lot of stuff in the media and he didn't deserve it. 'I played with Bill, he is a champion player and a champion coach and I have had a great relationship with him and still do. We are really close mates. 'When you have someone jabbing him like that, it really hurts. It hurts me personally and I never tell him that. I will tell him now, I love him. 'I just want to do the best thing for him and the best thing for Queensland. He's not doing this for him, he's doing this for Queensland and he loves Queensland. 'That's the reason why he's so passionate and when you have someone like that at the top, you want to play for him. At the end of the day … he's the reason I want to play.' Munster said he didn't need to address the team about the controversy involving Slater and Woods in the lead-up. 'No, I didn't have to. Rightly so, the boys would have seen it on their phones, media, whatever it was,' Munster said. 'At the end of the day when someone is having a jab at someone from your own backyard you stand up and want to get up and fight. 'We needed to do that tonight, we were backs against the wall, no one gave us a chance. 'When you have guys nitpicking and jabbing at your coach, it's not him, it's the players who go out there. He's given us a great game plan and we didn't execute in Game I. 'We did it tonight in the first half … but just so proud of us as a group that we had to play for him.' Slater was momentarily stunned by the comments from his former Storm and Queensland teammate. 'That's the nicest thing he has ever said to me,' Slater said. 'No, I don't know. I know the game, I'm in the game, I understand it. Sometimes things get pushed to the boundary but it hasn't influenced how I look at myself. 'And who I am as a person, I am very comfortable with who I am. I know who I am, I know who these guys are and there's been a real togetherness about the group. 'That was what I was talking about with the position switches, starting, bench, it doesn't matter. Everyone is a player of this footy team. 'That's what Queenslanders do, they do it together, I'm not talking disrespectful to any other states. But when something happens they all pull together and look after each other. 'Whether it's a flood, or a cyclone, a bushfire, they all pull together and help each other out.' 'We probably put it on ourselves, we didn't play great footy in the first game and as media journos you have got to create stories,' 'We improved tonight but we have so much more improvement to do because we can't afford to dish up that stuff we did in the second half. 'If it's a dry track it could have been a different story … we just can't keep blowing leads like that.' Slater will have led Queensland to a third Origin shield from just his fourth season in charge if the Maroons can win the decider in Sydney on July 9.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Put me in': Jarome Luai tells Benji Marshall he wants to play just 48 hours after wild Origin return
Wests Tigers halfback Jarome Luai remains a strong chance of backing up just 48 hours after Wednesday's State of Origin match in Perth after he sent a message to coach Benji Marshall simply telling him to 'put me in' for the game against Canberra. Luai was a late inclusion for the Blues after Mitchell Moses went down at training last week, with the four-time premiership winner heading to Leura last Thursday and then flying out with his NSW teammates to the other side of the country. He got through the 26-24 loss unscathed and avoided a ban for an alleged eye gouge and now wants to back up against Canberra as the Tigers look to stay in touch with the top eight. 'I'll tell you exactly the conversation,' Marshall replied when asked if Luai would play after he set up a couple of tries but also had a few errors in the narrow loss. 'I said 'How'd you pull up?' and he goes, 'I'm good to go, coach, put me in'. 'You've got to trust your senior players, but at the same time we'll get a medical done on him tonight when he gets back, massage, and see how he pulls up tomorrow. 'We've got back-up options if he doesn't play and we've prepared all week like he's not going to play. If he does play, it's a bonus. 'He's pulled up pretty well, apparently. They land at 6 o'clock tonight, so we'll touch base tonight, but at the moment he's playing. 'I thought he had a lot of good moments with their tries. In the second half I thought he set up a lot of good play on their left edge. I reckon if they went there another time they probably could've jagged it at the end.' Marshall was worried that the decision would be taken out of his hands after Luai was placed on report for an alleged eye gouge on Reuben Cotter, but he escaped with a small fine after being hit with a grade 2 contrary conduct charge. 'I was (worried that he'd be banned) but I don't have to worry anymore. He got a fine, so he'll be right to play,' the coach said. 'You just don't know, I don't think it was intentional what he did. Anyway, that's not up to me anymore, that's been dealt with, he got a fine, it is what it is, and we move on.' The Tigers have options if Luai is unable to play after a hectic few weeks where he had to deal with the pain of missing out on selection, only to be rushed in on short notice just hours after a brutal training session with the Tigers. 'I felt a bit sorry for him because we flogged him on Thursday because we had the bye and put a lot of fitness work into him,' Marshall said. 'He wanted some extra stuff to get fitter again and then he got called into camp. But professional athletes, it is what it is. You want to play at the highest level. 'He was hurting not to make game 1, so to be back in there would've been a dream come true for him.' If Luai is ruled out, then Latu Fainu will likely come into the halves to partner Heath Mason, who was elevated to the top 30 squad and signed an extension on Wednesday. Marshall has been thrilled with Mason's progression since replacing Lachlan Galvin but sees Fainu as the club's long-term option at halfback. 'Heath is such a pleasure to coach. He's a really good kid who comes from a good family and there are no dramas at all with the way that he does his work. He trains really hard and wants to learn,' he said. 'He played fullback a lot, so we've thrown him into a position that's probably unfamiliar to him. What I like about what he's done there is that he hasn't tried to overplay his hand or play like anyone else – he just uses his strengths. 'His story has been great and he deserves his upgrade and extension. 'Heath is a guy that everyone loves in the team, and everything he's got has come from hard work. That's the type of player we want in our team and the type of player we want to build our team around. 'If you look at our roster, we've got young Latu Fainu, who is not far off from getting a real good opportunity in the halves and is probably our long-term option there. 'He just needs a little more match fitness coming back from his hamstring injury for him to play 80 minutes.'
