OnlyFans model Shannon Rose set for bout with daughter of basketball legend Shane Heal
Based on the Gold Coast, Rose fights Ash Heal – daughter of Shane Heal – on Wednesday night's pay-per-view show headlined by Nikita Tszyu's comeback against Lulzim Ismaili at the ICC Convention Theatre in Sydney.
And she says it's the first step in her path towards boxing greatness.
'I want to go all the way to the top,' Rose told Code Sports. 'I didn't have an amateur career at all, so I've only had one fight so far.
'I'm a baby in the sport, but I want to go as far as I can.'
While she's aiming to reach the heights of women's boxing pioneers like Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, Rose knows the pay in the lower rungs of the sport isn't great.
Especially in women's boxing.
So, she supplements any money she makes in boxing as a creator on OnlyFans.
It's something other Aussie fighters like Ebanie Bridges and Cherneka Johnson have also done.
'Even though women's boxing is on the rise and we're gaining opportunities because of how well it's going, it's not paying enough to make it a full time career unless you're right at the top,' she said.
'Having that presence online means I'm able to be a fulltime athlete and have a flexible training schedule and pay the rent.
'My payday now in boxing is nowhere near as big as other women in the sport, but I'm getting a comfortable weekly wage online.
'But everyone that knows me knows I put the work into the boxing. I have that social media presence, but I don't let it affect me.'
Rose originally started boxing for fitness and quickly fell in love with the sport, but her family has a long history of fighting.
'My late grandfather was a professional boxer in Belfast in Northern Ireland named Billy Stewart,' she said. 'He was fighting back in the 1940s and '50s, and he moved to Australia after his career finished.
'I just started boxing for fitness but soon realised it was something I could do to follow in his footsteps.
'He was my best friend as a kid, so having that connection is a real motivation. He'd be ringside at every single fight if he was still here.
'He passed away when I was eight or nine, and I have photos of him fighting, so it's a real connection that we have.'
Rose moved from Coffs Harbour to the Gold Coast to train at the Opetaia Boxing Gym under Tapu Opetaia – the father of cruiserweight world champion Jai.
'She's tough, but she likes a challenge,' Tapu told Code Sports. 'In her first fight, they punched the shit out of each other.
'It's hard to find girls for sparring, so I have to throw her in with the boys for sparring.
'I tell 'em not to hold back, and they don't. But she has a crack back as well.'
It's the perfect preparation for taking on Heal, who has had eight amateur fights, and will make her professional debut on Wednesday.
'It's been challenging, but it's good,' she said. 'I'm the only female in our fight team, so I have to keep up with the boys.
'Taps doesn't let them slack off either. If they slacken off he tells them to go harder, but it's been good.
'I want to get to the very top.'
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ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Ben Murdoch-Masila, last man standing from NRL game of the century, ready for one final ride
As the end of the season looms, St George Illawarra are having trouble filling out their jerseys. The Dragons have been hit with a horrific injury toll in recent weeks, even before they lost three players to concussions in last week's loss to the Warriors. It means the Red V will be without 13 players for Thursday's clash with South Sydney. They're not quite at the level of dragging some fellas out of the mines but, given they could only name a 21-man squad on Tuesday instead of the usual 22, they are not far off. It is all hands on deck in an effort to do the colours proud, and so Ben Murdoch-Masila, at 34 years old, will saddle up for one more ride. He has been named to start at lock and he is ready for it, even though Murdoch-Masila did not need to finish his career in first grade to be content with what he has achieved in rugby league. Playing reserve grade as the world's oldest development player, where the rookies helped keep him young, scratched the football itch as his contract wound down. And being there as a mentor to some of the Dragons' young Pasifika players has given the latter years of his journey a new meaning. He has trying to be for them what he never had when he began his NRL career 15 years ago with a first-grade debut in the legendary extra time semifinal between the Roosters and the Tigers in 2010. Murdoch-Masila will be the last man left in the NRL from that game, which started him on the long and winding path that will reach the beginning of the end at Stadium Australia on Thursday night. He is a different person from that fresh-faced kid who stepped into a piece of rugby league history, and there is only one thing he would tell his younger self about the joy and the sorrows that would be to come. "I'd tell him everything is going to be alright. Keep going because things are going to turn out good," Murdoch-Masila said. "Things did turn out good." Murdoch-Masila has always been big — ever since he was running around with Otahuhu Leopards in Auckland as a boy alongside future Cowboys legend Jason Taumalolo. By the time he moved to Australia to attend Keebra Park on the Gold Coast, he was a bit over 150 kilograms, but after dropping 40kg and helping his school to victory in the national schoolboy final in 2009, a deal with Wests Tigers soon followed. He spent the following season in the under 20s and once their year was over he kept training with the first-grade side, which finished third. After the last session before the semifinal against the Roosters, coach Tim Sheens pulled him aside. At first, Murdoch-Masila thought he was in trouble with the boss. But instead, Sheens told him he would make his first-grade debut the following night. It meant he would be just the second player in the NRL era to debut in a semifinal and Sheens swore him to secrecy. "Try not to think about it," Sheens said. "If you do think about it, go to a movie or something to take your mind off it." So Murdoch-Masila did. He went with some teammates to see the Angelina Jolie spy thriller Salt, which clocks in at 100 minutes and is described by reviewers as a "gloriously absurd" watch in which "the laws of physics seem to be suspended." The same thing, right down to the run-time, can be said of Murdoch-Masila's debut, which remains a strong contender for best game of the 21st century. The two sides went to the raggedy edge together and tried to throw each other off the side as the Roosters won an instant classic 19-15. Simon Dwyer's tackle on Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Braith Anasta's ensuing field goal to force extra time and Shaun Kenny-Dowall's intercept winner in the 100th minute all earned places among modern rugby league's most iconic moments. If a first-grade debut is a whirlwind, Murdoch-Masila's career was born inside a cyclone. Only a couple of flashes from the game stay in his mind. "Jaydn Su'A was a Tigers fan growing up. He always brings it up," Murdoch-Masila said. "When I joined the Warriors, Reece Walsh always wanted to talk about it — he was eight when it happened but he used to say he was five years old to wind me up. Now there's even younger guys coming through. "It's pretty special. That game was such a big occasion, going for 100 minutes and all. "I remember making a tackle on Anthony Minichiello and he dropped the ball, and the boys got all hyped up. "That and the Simon Dwyer tackle on Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, that was the best." Murdoch-Masila also got a game in the preliminary final loss to St George Illawarra, meaning he experienced more of the big stage in his first two games than some players do in their entire careers. From there, things returned to normal and Murdoch-Masila transitioned into becoming a regular NRL player. But expectations were high. When he came on the field for his debut, Ray Warren mentioned that the coach at Keebra Park had told him Murdoch-Masila was the best prospect to come through the school since Benji Marshall. His footwork, combined with his strength, made him a dangerous ball-runner and he was more skilful than many would expect from a man his size. He played like he could be somebody. But everything changed on February 28, 2013, when his best friend and Tigers teammate Mosese Fotuaika tore his pectoral muscle while training in the club's gym. Fotuaika was closing in on his first-grade debut and the injury would have sidelined him for several months. Murdoch-Masila offered to drive him home and he dropped him off at Fotuaika's house in Merrylands. Later that afternoon, Fotuaika took his own life at just 20 years of age. It was the hardest time of Murdoch-Masila's life. He was tormented by nightmares, plagued by guilt about what he could have done differently to help his friend and he developed an obsessive counting disorder. It was not until months later, when his girlfriend Roxy fell pregnant with their first child, that Murdoch-Masila felt himself picking up again. They named their daughter Acacia-Rose after Acacia Ridge in Brisbane — the first place he met Fotuaika. His time at the Tigers ended the following year, but all these years later, the details of the exit are not important. He was dealing with something far beyond rugby league. And there are a lot of those days that are not easy for Murdoch-Masila to recall. "My Tigers days are blurry. I don't know if I blocked it out of my mind or what," Murdoch-Masila said. "I did enjoy my time there, there's a lot of good memories, but there were also a lot of hardships." After 18 months with Penrith, where rugby league again did not feel all that important, Murdoch-Masila signed with Salford in England. It was just him and his young family on the other side of the world from home, and it proved to be the making of him. "I asked a question to the boys once [that was], 'What's the biggest risk of your career and what did you learn from it?'" Murdoch-Masila said. "Mine was going to England and the thing I learned was how to be a man, how to grow up. I learned to be a dad there. We had no family support so we all had to grow up. "I learned how to be a footballer as well." It was where Murdoch-Masila found himself. First with the Red Devils and then with Warrington, he transformed into one of the most dangerous forwards in the northern hemisphere. Close to the tryline he was unstoppable and he was beloved in the community, as he grew into the player he had always promised to be and a person any club would be proud to call its own. Roxy, who Murdoch-Masila says is his hero, started playing for Warrington as well and captained its women's Super League side. It was a great time for the family, as Murdoch-Masila earned a berth in the Super League Dream Team one season and won a Challenge Cup with the Wire in another. He heard the sound of full terraces chanting his name. "Ben Murdoch-Masila, he's a Tongan hero," they would roar, and eventually he became that as well. Murdoch-Masila considers his time with Tonga the highlight of his career and one of the honours of his life. He debuted for Mate Ma'a in 2013 and by the time their fortunes were transformed in 2017, when his old teammate Taumalolo led a mass defection to the kingdom, he had been a regular in the squad for years. Murdoch-Masila was there for each of their greatest triumphs: the win over New Zealand in the 2017 World Cup, where he set up a try, and the two magical weeks in 2019 where they upset Great Britain and Australia in back-to-back matches. In the latter, a 16-12 win in Auckland on a momentous day in Tongan history, Murdoch-Masila out-muscled Australian centre Latrell Mitchell more than once and clean outplayed his opposite number, Kangaroos captain Boyd Cordner. It was the kind of performance that sends the horses running and it helped Murdoch-Masila line up an NRL return with the Warriors for the 2021 season. He had changed so much in the time away that he was put straight into the club's leadership group, mainly to act as a mentor for the club's young Pasifika players, and that is when it started. "We were stuck in Australia because of COVID. For a lot of them, it was their first time living away from home and they were quite young and they needed a little bit of guidance to help grow up," Murdoch-Masila said. "Some of them just left home. They didn't even know how to do their own laundry. "I called it the grateful sessions. We get in at the start of the week and I just ask them what they're grateful for. It gets them thinking. We talk about what they want to work on that week and it lets them express their feelings. "It's good to do it at the start of the week because it helps you reset after a bad loss and it helps you get things off your chest. If it's something deep, there's people who can help." After two seasons with the Kiwi club, Murdoch-Masila signed with St George Illawarra for 2023 to finish off his playing career — and he brought the grateful sessions with him. Sometimes it is about footy, other times it is just about life. The most important thing for Murdoch-Masila is just to get them talking and to feel a kind of love that did not seem to reach him in his younger days. Murdoch-Masila does not blame anyone for that, and he was not without support. Tigers prop Keith Galloway, who Murdoch-Masila describes as "a Tongan in a white man's body", was a particularly strong mentor for him. But when he came through, it was a different time and there were not as many experienced Pasifika leaders in the game — in 2010, there were only seven Pasifika players over 30 in the entire league — so that connection between the old and the young was harder to find. There were fewer players like Murdoch-Masila, who have been through so much across the peaks and valleys and know how to share what they have found on the journey while speaking to the experience of being a young Pasifika player and the challenges that come with it. "There were people there [when I was a young player], but they were at the pinnacle of their career and they were more focused on themselves, which is OK. You have to be like that sometimes," Murdoch-Masila said. "But I'm at the end of my career now and if I can give advice to these young boys they can succeed later on in their own careers. "My first session at the Dragons, everyone had to get up and tell a story, and I went pretty deep without knowing anyone. I think the boys could see that I was someone they could talk about their problems with. "I try to make sure, on any occasion like that, to be honest and open. I try to be approachable." Today, Murdoch-Masila can see other figures like himself across the NRL, like Josh Papali'i at Canberra and Junior Paulo at Parramatta and he knows the impact they can have. The Dragons have a strong contingent of young Pasifika players including Jacob Halangahu, Loko Paisifki Tonga and Lykhan King-Tongia. Some of the older ones, like Moses Suli and Christian Tuipulotu, know they can turn to Murdoch-Masila as well. And it is more than the grateful sessions. Murdoch-Masila organises poker nights, golf days and fishing trips, and if the boys are out bending the elbow, Murdoch-Masila gets them to ring him for a lift instead of calling an Uber. He will do anything to get them together, to get them talking, sharing, feeling, because he knows it can make the difference. "Polynesian boys can bottle up things. They don't talk about their feelings, some of them don't talk to anyone. I always try and get in their heads because they overthink things," Murdoch-Masila said. "I try to let them know things are going to be alright. The world isn't against you. If the coach gets mad, he's not against you [and instead] it comes from a good place. "I don't know how to explain it, but I know when they're struggling and I just try and get them to speak about it. "I enjoy seeing the boys progress and knowing I've had a hand in that makes me pretty proud." Murdoch-Masila decided a while ago that this would be his last year as a player in big-time footy. A lisfranc injury late last season could have been the end of his career, but he worked hard to come back and get into playing shape so he could retire on his own terms and go out playing this game that he has grown to love so much again. He has been running around in reserve grade and enjoyed it, but he is ready for the next stage of his life. He wants to stay in the mentoring space, but beyond that he is keeping his options open. "I've come to terms with this being my last year," Murdoch-Masila. "I have a few options. There are some local footy clubs who have made contact and I've had some conversations with the Dragons, seeing what we can do about staying onboard as staff. "Nothing's solid yet but hopefully things can come good. "The young boys keep me going. They're flying high, so that keeps my energy up. It brings me into training with a smile on my face." That could have been the end of the story and it would have been a fitting one. But now Murdoch-Masila, whose career was born in legend and who has lived one of this game's most inspiring lives, has been called up one last time. He will be the last player from that 2010 semifinal to appear in an NRL game and that is a legacy worth having as a player, but his greater contribution to the sport, even accounting for all his other accomplishments, will come as a person because Murdoch-Masila has been the change he wanted to see. The Dragons will be up against it on Thursday. South Sydney, which endured a brutal injury toll of its own, is starting to welcome back some of its biggest names including fearsome prop Keaon Koloamatangi. But the Red V needs look no further than Murdoch-Masila for inspiration. He never got to give himself the advice he needed as a young man, but it turned out he followed it anyway. He has kept going through it all and it has brought him here with one last chance to play alongside the young men for whom he has already done so much. If he can get in another match after Thursday it will bring him to 250 first-class appearances. However, Murdoch-Masila did not need one more NRL game to feel the gratitude he tries so hard to draw out of others. But you can bet he is feeling it now, that he will feel it when he hits the turf at Stadium Australia, and you can be sure he will bring it up the next time when the boys sit down and start sharing a bit about what is inside — it is what gave the sessions their name after all. "I'm just grateful," Murdoch-Masila said. "I'm so grateful for the career I've had."
News.com.au
22 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘It's frustrating, but it's more fire in my belly': Campbell Graham vows to thrive in 2026 as bulging disc ends his season
A calf strain back in round 3 has been revealed as the beginning of the end for Campbell Graham's season as the luckless South Sydney centre vowed to return bigger and better in 2026 with more 'fire in the belly' than ever before. Graham has always been destined for greatness since the night he debuted as a teenager through to the 2022 World Cup where he scored five tries in two games for Australia. But a horror run of injuries has left him frustrated, with the 26-year-old missing the entire 2024 campaign following sternum surgery, while a broken hand at training affected this year's pre-season. Graham was able to play the first three games of the year but missed a month with a calf complaint that required cortisone injections to get him back on the field. That only masked the issue and things got worse over time, with Graham now officially out until 2026 with a back injury that is affecting him off the field. 'I've got a bulging disc in my lower back, so it's finished off my season,' he said, with Graham last playing in round 18. 'I saw a surgeon last week. I don't need surgery at the minute. He's pretty confident it's something that will heal in time, but it will take a fair bit of time. The goal is to be back fit and in full training by the pre-season. 'It has been tough. After last year, coming into this season I was just grateful to feel fit and healthy again. That's the place I was in at the start of the year, but that's the nature of the beast. 'It's been hard, but I've got my head around it and have accepted it. All I can focus on now is my rehab and getting ready for pre-season.' Graham has turned to gaming because he can't do anything physically taxing, while he's also working on becoming a mortgage broker as he prepares for life after footy. 'It's been pretty rough,' he said. 'Simple things like driving long distances are not great, getting out of chairs and stuff like that (are difficult), so it's not ideal. 'That's why I had honest conversations with my surgeon and the medical staff at Souths to look at the bigger picture. 'It does get you pretty down day-to-day dealing with a chronic issue like that, so my focus now is to get on top of this, not just for footy, but for myself as well. 'I've got faith that things will turn around for me, and that's something that helps my mindset. 'Although I've had a pretty unlucky run over the past few years, I know things will get better. I know if I keep doing the right things, then I'll give myself every chance to be fully fit by pre-season and roll into next year ready to go. 'It is frustrating, but it's more fire in my belly.' The lanky centre will watch Thursday's game against the Dragons from the stands, but he'll storm the field if teammate Alex Johnston breaks Ken Irvine's try-scoring record. Sydney's awful August weather means it's unlikely he'll score the four tries he needs to surpass the record of 212, but a double would set up a fascinating final round against the Roosters where the Rabbitohs will try to help the winger get there. 'I'll try to be the first one there to cuddle him. It's a matter of when, not if, so we'll see how it plays out,' Graham said. 'I know it's been a monkey on his back for a couple of years now and it seems like the only thing people talk to him about. 'I know he'll be relieved to get it done. It's such a great achievement, not only in our game but in Australian sports to have a record like that (broken). 'It couldn't happen to a better person. He's so humble and such a good guy. He really deserves it, and I know the whole club and all the supporters will be so proud of him when he does it.'
SBS Australia
39 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Dan Bourchier appointed General Manager of NITV
The respected journalist, presenter and accomplished leader will join National Indigenous Television (NITV) in September Bourchier brings more than 25 years' media experience, including most recently as a presenter and journalist at the ABC, and previously with Sky News and NITV. A proud Aboriginal man who grew up on Warumungu Country, NT, with family connections in Victoria, he has a record of championing First Nations storytelling, and has reported stories and delivered coverage from across the country. He is also passionate about creating culturally safe spaces for Indigenous voices, including as Chair of the ABC's Bonner Committee, the broadcaster's primary First Nations advisory body. As General Manager, Bourchier will play a critical role in driving continued audience and community impact for NITV, working closely with NITV's senior leadership team and across the SBS network. He will oversee broadcast and digital strategy and lead day-to-day operations across its portfolio, as well as contribute through select on-air appearances and public outreach. He joins as SBS expands its commitment to amplifying First Nations stories and perspectives, following the announcement earlier this year of Tanya Denning-Orman's appointment as SBS Director, First Nations, to lead a network-wide strategy to increase Indigenous content, culture and leadership throughout SBS – including the elevation of NITV at the heart of the network. 'This feels like coming home. NITV gave me my start in television back in 2010 as a political reporter, and returning now as General Manager is a privilege. NITV has always been an incubator of talented journalists and storytellers and is today investing more than ever in original First Nations programming, working with the First Nations media sector across the country,' said Bourchier. 'I'm excited to work alongside such incredible people – a team that continues to blaze a trail in truth-telling the stories that reflect the depth, diversity and strength of our communities. Together, we'll build on NITV's proud legacy and take it even more powerfully into the future.' Bourchier was most recently a senior news anchor for the ABC News Channel since 2024 and has been Chair of the ABC's Bonner Committee since 2022. Prior to this, he led the ABC's national coverage of the Voice to Parliament Referendum and hosted The Drum . He is also an accomplished company director and has held governance leadership roles including Chair of BlakDance, Council Member of the University of Canberra Council, and Non-Executive Director of Outback Stores. 'Dan brings a wealth of media experience, strong cultural knowledge, and a passion for championing First Nations voices — all deeply valuable as NITV enters this exciting new era,' said Denning-Orman. 'I look forward to working with Dan to share the vital work delivered by NITV with wider audiences across the entire network, and ensuring First Nations voices are deeply embedded in our national storytelling.' SBS Director of Television Kathryn Fink said: 'We're delighted to welcome Dan back. His incredible experience and commitment to First Nations storytelling will be instrumental as he leads NITV's talented team. NITV has never been stronger, with prime-time audiences growing in a declining linear market, thriving digital platforms, a rich pipeline of First Nations content, and growing commercial revenue. Dan's leadership will build on this momentum and take NITV to the next level, while ensuring its influence continues to be felt across the media landscape, elevating First Nations stories.' Established in 2007, NITV is available free-to-air as part of the SBS network since December 2012 and today delivers award-winning, critically acclaimed First Nations content across news, current affairs, drama, documentary, entertainment, sport and children's programming. In 2024-25, NITV reached 4.1 million Australians monthly on linear and SBS On Demand,1 helping drive almost 19 million hours of Indigenous content consumed across the SBS network's television, audio and digital platforms.2 Bourchier will commence in his role as General Manager of NITV on 29 September 2025. For a PDF of this media release, click here 1 OzTAM VOZ data, Total People, NITV, Jul'24 – Jun'25, When Watched, Total TV Average Monthly Reach (TV 1 min, BVOD 15 secs) 2 SBS internal data and OzTam data 2024-25
