Aaron Woods strips off at Bondi Beach
NRL great Aaron Woods strips off and runs into the water at Bondi Beach after losing a State of Origin bet with Today host Karl Stefanovic.
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News.com.au
23 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Jarome Luai makes Tigers call just 48 hours after wild Origin return
Jarome Luai remains a strong chance of backing up just 48 hours after Wednesday's State of Origin match in Perth for the Wests Tigers against the Raiders on Friday night. 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. 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. 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,' Tigers coach Benji 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 NSW 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. 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. Watch video of the incident with Cotter below '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, 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.' The Tigers, who are sitting 14th on the ladder, face the second-placed Raiders at Campbelltown Stadium from 8pm on Friday night.
News.com.au
23 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘He was the missing piece': Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris go from friends to foes for first time in their careers
They were the brothers of destruction who helped Penrith to four titles in a row, but Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris will be rivals for the first time on Saturday in a heavyweight showdown across the ditch. The Panthers will be without their five State of Origin stars against a team that is fighting for a top-two finish, but there will be no shortage of spice between two great mates who dominated up front for the mountain men. Penrith's plan was always to build the team around guys like Fisher-Harris, Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, which is why everyone was so shocked last year when the powerhouse prop informed the club that he wanted to return home to New Zealand. The Panthers didn't stand in his way, with the Kiwis skipper and 2023 Golden Boot winner joining the Warriors where he's added starch to the front row and turned them into premiership contenders. He now takes on his former side for the first time, with all eyes on his battle with Leota who remains one of Fisher-Harris' closest friends ever since that they won the under-20 grand final together 10 years ago for Penrith. 'This is the first time I've ever played against him. It's never happened before, so it's going to be a new experience for us,' Leota told the NewsWire. 'I think we'll just have to find out in the game what it's going to be like. I've got to do my job for the team and I'm sure he will as well. 'I texted him on the weekend to see how he was going, so we're still close. My missus still talks with his missus. 'We were really close, so we don't want to lose that bond that we had. 'I'm so proud of him. Seeing how well they're going now, I think he was the missing piece for them. The standards he brings (are second to none) and he commands respect.' The Panthers are rank outsiders with so many stars missing, but they still have several internationals in their team, including Isaiah Papali'i, who joined Penrith in the off-season and gets the chance to start in the back row this weekend. Papali'i left the Wests Tigers after a tough couple of years, with plenty of people seeing him as Fisher-Harris' logical replacement. But that's not what Panthers coach Ivan Cleary wanted. 'Those are definitely big shoes to fill, but 'Iv' has reinforced that I just need to be myself and do what I do,' Papali'i said. 'It always helps when the head coach reassures you and reiterates that you don't need to listen to the outside noise and that you just have to be yourself. 'I've really been enjoying my time, and I know that everyone at the club is looking forward to going up against Fish because he's a good competitor.'
News.com.au
25 minutes ago
- News.com.au
NRL greats stunned by NRL's most vicious fan as club's ‘pathetic' act called out
Forget Payne Haas and Liam Martin – the most feared man in the NRL is an apprentice carpenter turned social media sensation. Jean-Claude Bitar, 25, might not even play in the NRL, but has them running scared thanks to a series of social media videos that have gone viral. Declared the 'funniest man on the net at the moment' by Bulldogs legend Reni Maitua after taking down Dragon's father and son Shane and Kyle Flanagan in an X-rated rant that has been viewed almost 500,000 times, Bitar's hard hitting commentary has attracted the attention of rugby league heavyweights, including NRL 360 host Braith Anasta, who has hailed him as 'ruthless.' 'If that were you or one of your mates he was talking about, you'd want to kill him,' Anasta said. 'Can you imagine watching that if you were Shane or Kyle? Oh my God. But as ruthless as he is and sometimes over the top, he is also creative. I couldn't wait to see what he did after the Sharks (v Dragons) game last week. But could you imagine seeing that if you were following him and you were the player?'. Fresh from taking aim at State of Origin referee Ashley Klein following NSW's failed comeback against Queensland in another video that has stormed the net, Bitar revealed he has been blocked from viewing the St George Illawarra website and their social media accounts after being critical of the club. 'I went to look at the team list about six weeks ago and I couldn't find it,' Bitar told 'I thought maybe there was a glitch. Then I went to TikTok and Facebook, and I realised I was blocked on all accounts. I could not believe they were blocking a supporter because he is speaking the thoughts of every fan.' Being blocked did not deter the carpenter from Belfield. 'Na, I made a video straight away saying they were pathetic and it was one of my biggest hits.' A host of NRL players have personally contacted Bitar. Some tell him they love his work. Others tell him to stop. 'The first person to contact me was Blake Lawrie's brother,' he said. 'I was giving it to him a bit, and then I remember his brother reached out to me and said: 'you have got to stop making these videos. You're gonna get yourself in big trouble.' 'But I didn't stop. Not when I knew the players were actually watching my videos.' Most of his videos are about St George Illawarra given Bitar is a 'die hard' Dragons fan who has supported the club since he could walk – and was even in their junior development squad. 'Most of the players are fans,' Bitar said. 'They come up to me at games and recite my jokes'. Filming his first NRL post in February, Bitar's videos have gone viral, and he has now posted more than 150. 'They are all pretty big at the moment,' he said. 'Right now, there's the Origin one that's going around, that's got 300,000 views. I think my biggest is one about my reaction to a game that got almost half a million.' And in a warning to the NRL's underperforming and out-of-form, Bitar declared he has just begun. 'Regardless of whether they block me, I'm gonna keep going with the videos. 'People are enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. I'm doing this for fun. I'm a footy fanatic and I have the right to express my views. I'm just saying what everyone is thinking,' he said.
