Wakefield Trinity sign prop Faatili
Wakefield Trinity have signed prop Caius Faatili on a one-year deal.The 23-year-old scored eight tries in 22 appearances for Queensland Cup side Sunshine Coast Falcons in 2024.Wakefield, promoted back to Super League last season, say they hope Faatili will be available to play in their league opener against Leeds Rhinos on Saturday, 15 February."I'm excited to see where the club can get to now that they're back in Super League and I'm looking forward to being a part of that journey," he told the club website., external
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BBC News
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Rowley sees 'green shoots of progress' at Salford
Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley has said he can see "green shoots of progress" in his side in the midst of a tough 2025 Super League club have had a tumultuous time both on and off the field this term with financial problems regarding the club's ownership, unpaid wages and player departures overshadowing their side were defeated 38-6 against Hull FC on Sunday, putting in a spirited performance, and they remain bottom of the Super League table with just one win this season."Like everybody else I'm fed up, bored of the situation because everybody wants to win. We're here to compete. We could almost smell success coming into this season so it's been difficult," Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester."What I will say is that we've got some new additions in and I did feel that this week there were some green shoots of progress and actually in the first half I felt it."Despite the player exodus at the club this term - including the recent departure of talismanic centre Nene Macdonald - Rowley said that the team spirit in his camp remains high."You can't remove that amount of serious talent and replace it overnight. It's not easy to replace that sort of quality," Rowley added."We're OK, the mood is consistent. Ultimately we'll turn up tomorrow and everybody's in each other's company and they're all best mates so the mood is good." The Red Devils face a meeting with HMRC on Wednesday over a potential winding-up order as their financial struggles this, they fielded four debutants - Dan Russell, Cain Robb, Tom Whitehead and Kobe Rugless - against Hull FC, who all joined on loan last signing from Hunslet proved controversial, with the Championship side alleging, external that the transfer had taken place without their brushed away the criticism post-match on Sunday, leading to Hunslet standing by their earlier statement in a follow-up post on X, external on Monday."I think whoever communicated and wrote it has been miscommunicated from the people that are actually involved in it," Rowley said on Sunday, prior to Hunslet's second statement."I've certainly not targeted any players. That's been thrown at me on more than one occasion. I'll try and remain classy on that one and plead the fifth amendment."
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mother of footy star James Ackerman who died in horror tackle aged just 25 reveals the heartbreaking sight that put his death into perspective when she visited his grave
Ten years have passed since rugby league star James Ackerman took the field for the last time, and for his mother Sonya, reminders of his presence still arrive when she least expects them. She still sees him everywhere, and sometimes in confronting places - like a child's grave that recently shifted her grief into a new perspective. On one of the many visits she's made to her son's resting place in Caloundra, Queensland, Sonya found herself asking aloud through tears, 'Who is worse off now?' It was then that she noticed a nearby grave belonging to a five-year-old boy also named James, and in that moment, she felt her son's message come through clearly, just as he used to say in life: 'There's always someone worse off than us.' James took the field for the last time when he ran out for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in a Queensland Cup match against the Norths Devils on June 20, 2015. Within five minutes of kickoff, he was felled by a shoulder charge from NRL star Francis Molo that left him unconscious and critically injured. Despite the desperate efforts of trainers and medics, and two days of hope and heartbreak in hospital, James never woke up, and his family was forced to make the agonising decision to turn off his life support just days before his 26th birthday. He left behind a young family: two-year-old Milly, three-year-old Ollie, and his wife Saraa Spaans, who has since remarried but continues to honour the memory of the boy she first fell in love with as a teenager. Saraa says time hasn't eased the pain but has instead deepened it for their children, who now understand more clearly just how long a decade can feel without their father. She remembers him as the kind of dad who, after a long day at work, would still be the first to grab the kids and take them to the park, a man full of life who loved to make others laugh and never took a single moment for granted. On that tragic afternoon, Sonya sprinted across the field to reach her son after seeing him collapse, praying that the man known as 'Ackers' would once again bounce back to his feet as he always had. But this time was different, and deep down, she knew it the moment she saw him lying still. Falcons CEO Chris Flannery, who wasn't at the game that day despite usually travelling with the team, still remembers learning about the tragedy via a phone call. What followed was a blur of hospital rooms, meetings with specialists, and devastating conversations, including one with three neurosurgeons who confirmed Sonya's fears. Ackerman was well loved in rugby league circles and has saved lives after his death due to organ donation Her son would not recover, and even if he did, he would never live the life he deserved. In that crushing moment, she asked if James could be an organ donor, not because she had prepared for such a tragedy, but because it was a promise they had spoken about years before, and it was the only way to make meaning out of something so senseless. Saraa, then just 25, summoned a strength she didn't know she had to sign the donation waivers, knowing full well it was what James would have wanted, even as she tried to comfort two children too young to understand what they had lost. That brave decision would go on to save or improve the lives of more than 40 people, from newborns to the elderly, with James's tissue, heart valves, bone, and organs gifted to strangers who now carry a piece of him with them. Sonya recalls receiving a letter from an 89-year-old woman who had received some of James's bone, and another from a father of three girls who said a part of James's heart allowed him to enjoy Christmas with his family for the first time in years. Every year, that man now buys the biggest Christmas tree he can find, decorates it with his daughters, and thinks of the young man who gave him the chance to keep making memories. The impact of James's life and death is still felt deeply within the Falcons, where his number eight jersey has been permanently retired and his name is sung in the team song after every win. Flannery says new players often ask why the number eight is missing, and when they hear James's story, they immediately understand what it means to wear the jersey and represent the club. Ackerman's family are reminded of the time passing as his children grow older every day Sunshine Coast Falcons teammates take a knee and honour their fallen brother at his funeral At the 10-year anniversary match against Wynnum-Manly, players took a knee for 'Ackers' in a powerful tribute that reinforced just how much he still means to the club and the wider community. Back home, Sonya visits his grave often, tending to the site, talking to her son, and drawing comfort from being close to the place where he rests. She says the loss still hurts every day, and the pain intensifies when she looks at Ollie and Milly and sees how much they've grown in the years without their father. 'I look at the kids and their growth and that's what hurts more than anything,' she said. 'That makes you realise the time. It feels like yesterday, but when you look at the kids you realise it wasn't.' Sonya tries to hold onto James's words, telling herself there is always someone doing it tougher, even when her own heart is breaking. She admits she had some very dark years, but the kids gave her purpose - something to fight for, something that forced her out of bed when the sadness threatened to take hold. Her husband Michael, who watched James play from the time he was a junior in Brisbane, says the game changed for him the day he saw his middle child go down and never get back up. The family endured the 2017 coronial inquest, which cleared police of wrongdoing but questioned the game's handling of on-field violence and called for greater protections for players.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Hull FC into top six with win at struggling Salford
Betfred Super LeagueSalford Red Devils (6) 6Tries: Hankinson Goals: HankinsonHull FC (14) 38Tries: Cust, Martin, Litten, Eseh, Hardaker, Briscoe, Barron Goals: Hardaker 3, Charles 2 Hull FC moved back into Super League's play-off positions as they saw off a spirited Salford Red visitors took the two points to climb to sixth, but this was harder work than the scoreline suggests at Salford Community gap was only eight points at the interval after tries from Cade Cust, Lewis Martin and Davy Litten with Chris Hankinson crossing for Salford's sole Hull took control in the second half as Sam Eseh, Zak Hardaker, Tom Briscoe and Harvey Barron added another four stay bottom, but they are now two points adrift of Huddersfield after the Giants' surprise win at Warrington Wolves on Saturday. More to follow. Salford Red Devils: Connell; Vaughan, Hankinson, S Hill, Marsters; Warren, Brierley; Ormondroyd, Robb, C Hill, Foster, Russell, Bullock, Wilson, Rugless, FC: Rapana; Barron, Briscoe, Litten, Martin; Cust, Sezer; Ese'ese, Bourouh, Knight, Hardaker, Chamberlain, Ashworth, Eseh, Fash, Tom Grant.
