Cronulla second-rower Briton Nikora cops three-match ban for high shot on Corey Allan
Nikora was charged with a grade two high tackle by the match review committee for the incident in the 77th minute of the Sharks' 22-14 loss to the Dragons on Saturday.
He was also sent to the sin-bin.
The Sharks are seventh on 28 points and still have a bye and three matches, against Gold Coast and Newcastle at home and Canterbury away, in the final four weeks of the NRL season.
Nikora will miss all three with an early guilty plea but risks being rubbed out of the first week of the finals if he challenges at the judiciary and fails.
Cronulla have some chance of sneaking into the top four but the loss of Nikora, one of their chief attacking weapons, will make that task harder.
The four players sin-binned in the Sydney Roosters' 64-12 win over the Dolphins on Saturday night have been hit with fines.
Roosters duo Spencer Leniu and Naufahu Whyte, along with the Dolphins pair Aublix Tawha and Francis Molo, were charged with contrary conduct for their part in a melee that erupted in the ninth minute. Leniu also received a second contrary conduct charge for his role in the fracas.
Leniu will have to cough up $3600 while Molo, Tawha and Whyte have been billed $1000 each with early pleas.
It is worse for Molo as he will miss the derby with Brisbane on Saturday night after also being charged with a careless high tackle on Whyte in the 43rd minute. The grade two charge will mean he misses one week with an early guilty plea.
Dolphins lock Kurt Donoghoe will also have to dig into his pockets and pay a $4800 in fines for a shoulder charge on Leniu and high tackle on centre Billy Smith.
The Dolphins already were set to be without veteran forward Felise Kaufusi for the Broncos clash. He is serving two weeks for a previous misdemeanour.
Sitting eighth on 26 points, the Dolphins are just ahead of the Roosters, also on 26 points, on for-and-against.
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Sydney Morning Herald
13 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
After 15 years in the NRL, did we ever get to know the real Daly Cherry-Evans?
Cherry-Evans' crime? Having the audacity to potentially finish his career somewhere other than the Northern Beaches. Paul Vautin somehow managed to finish up at the Roosters without becoming less of a Manly man, but another standard is seemingly applied to Cherry-Evans. Perhaps it's because fans could relate to Fatty, Cliffy, Bozo, Beaver, Wombat or Toovs. But, after 15 years in first grade, did we ever truly get to know Daly Cherry-Evans? 'By nature I am very, very private,' Cherry-Evans said. 'I think over the later part of my career I've tried to give the media and journalists a bit more of an insight, only because I believe that you guys are the link between us and the fans. 'So I think for the fans' sake I've tried to show them a bit more. 'Have I really showed my true colours through the media? Probably not. 'But I guess there's also a part of me that really enjoys when I'm at the pub and someone comes up to me and we have a chat and then they go 'Geez, you're not what I thought you were.' I sort of like that a little bit.' His move to the Tricolours has been reported as a done deal, but that's not the case, at least in a contractual sense. Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have told this masthead that no deal has been agreed, not even of the handshake variety. Yet the transfer is still expected to happen, raising the prospect that he could join Cameron Smith as the only players to break the magical 400-game barrier. 'At the moment it does seem like it's so far away, but I think deep down I had the same feeling at 300,' Cherry-Evans said. 'I thought, 'That looks so far away', but before you know it, you keep persisting, and you're here again. 'I'll never say never on those things, but the reality is I actually just don't know how long I'm going to keep playing for. 'It would be crazy for me to think any more than just year to year. If I was to get there, a lot of things would have to go right, but it's pretty ambitious, isn't it? 'I think for right now I'm just going to enjoy 350 and see where that takes me.' This isn't the biggest contractual drama Cherry-Evans has endured. A decade ago, he committed to the Titans but, as permitted under the rules at the time, backflipped when Manly came back with a better offer. It was dubbed a 'lifetime deal', one that couldn't have predicted recent events. Does he have regrets about the nature of his departure? 'I think I've been through bigger decisions than this one,' he said to the Gold Coast situation. 'I thought the one earlier in my career was a bigger one and I've got no regrets for that one. So I reckon I'll have no regrets for this one.' The Sea Eagles may not like his decision, but it was made early enough for the club to plan for the future. Cherry-Evans' departure, along with Lachlan Galvin's mid-season exit from Wests Tigers, have been the biggest rugby league stories of the year. It's possible the transfers will end well for all four clubs involved. The Bulldogs-Galvin combination will be better after a pre-season together, while the Tigers have won four of their past six games since the youngster left the club. Manly have the arrival of Canberra's Jamal Fogarty and the emergence of young guns Joe Walsh and Onitoni Large to look forward to, while the Roosters hope Cherry-Evans can have a Cooper Cronk-like impact. The Tricolours signed Cronk at the end of 2017 for the final two years of his career, which both ended in Roosters premierships. With only three games to go in the maroon jersey, the focus will turn to Cherry-Evans' legacy on the northern beaches. 'The piece on how you get remembered, I think at the end of the day all you want to be known for is a reliable teammate that could do his job and be counted on,' he said. Loading 'I think that's the main thing you want to walk away with when it comes to how you want to be remembered. 'The thing I'm going to take away is the connections, the friendships, the relationships … To be able to go away, I'll retire and be old and hopefully one day I can bring my grandkids here and sort of point to something on the wall and say I was a part of this one day.'
The Age
13 hours ago
- The Age
NRL 2025: Manly Sea Eagles star Daly Cherry-Evans speaks ahead of 350-game milestone
Cherry-Evans' crime? Having the audacity to potentially finish his career somewhere other than the Northern Beaches. Paul Vautin somehow managed to finish up at the Roosters without becoming less of a Manly man, but another standard is seemingly applied to Cherry-Evans. Perhaps it's because fans could relate to Fatty, Cliffy, Bozo, Beaver, Wombat or Toovs. But, after 15 years in first grade, did we ever truly get to know Daly Cherry-Evans? Cherry-Evans trains at a sodden Brookvale Oval. Credit: Janie Barrett 'By nature I am very, very private,' Cherry-Evans said. 'I think over the later part of my career I've tried to give the media and journalists a bit more of an insight, only because I believe that you guys are the link between us and the fans. 'So I think for the fans' sake I've tried to show them a bit more. 'Have I really showed my true colours through the media? Probably not. 'But I guess there's also a part of me that really enjoys when I'm at the pub and someone comes up to me and we have a chat and then they go 'Geez, you're not what I thought you were.' I sort of like that a little bit.' His move to the Tricolours has been reported as a done deal, but that's not the case, at least in a contractual sense. Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have told this masthead that no deal has been agreed, not even of the handshake variety. Yet the transfer is still expected to happen, raising the prospect that he could join Cameron Smith as the only players to break the magical 400-game barrier. 'At the moment it does seem like it's so far away, but I think deep down I had the same feeling at 300,' Cherry-Evans said. 'I thought, 'That looks so far away', but before you know it, you keep persisting, and you're here again. 'I'll never say never on those things, but the reality is I actually just don't know how long I'm going to keep playing for. 'It would be crazy for me to think any more than just year to year. If I was to get there, a lot of things would have to go right, but it's pretty ambitious, isn't it? 'I think for right now I'm just going to enjoy 350 and see where that takes me.' Daly Cherry-Evans at Sea Eagles training on Wednesday ahead of his 350th match. Credit: Janie Barrett This isn't the biggest contractual drama Cherry-Evans has endured. A decade ago, he committed to the Titans but, as permitted under the rules at the time, backflipped when Manly came back with a better offer. It was dubbed a 'lifetime deal', one that couldn't have predicted recent events. Does he have regrets about the nature of his departure? 'I think I've been through bigger decisions than this one,' he said to the Gold Coast situation. 'I thought the one earlier in my career was a bigger one and I've got no regrets for that one. So I reckon I'll have no regrets for this one.' The Sea Eagles may not like his decision, but it was made early enough for the club to plan for the future. Cherry-Evans' departure, along with Lachlan Galvin's mid-season exit from Wests Tigers, have been the biggest rugby league stories of the year. It's possible the transfers will end well for all four clubs involved. The Bulldogs-Galvin combination will be better after a pre-season together, while the Tigers have won four of their past six games since the youngster left the club. Manly have the arrival of Canberra's Jamal Fogarty and the emergence of young guns Joe Walsh and Onitoni Large to look forward to, while the Roosters hope Cherry-Evans can have a Cooper Cronk-like impact. The Tricolours signed Cronk at the end of 2017 for the final two years of his career, which both ended in Roosters premierships. With only three games to go in the maroon jersey, the focus will turn to Cherry-Evans' legacy on the northern beaches. 'The piece on how you get remembered, I think at the end of the day all you want to be known for is a reliable teammate that could do his job and be counted on,' he said. Loading 'I think that's the main thing you want to walk away with when it comes to how you want to be remembered. 'The thing I'm going to take away is the connections, the friendships, the relationships … To be able to go away, I'll retire and be old and hopefully one day I can bring my grandkids here and sort of point to something on the wall and say I was a part of this one day.' NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Deserves a lot more respect': Origin enforcer calls for DCE ceasefire
Queensland Maroons enforcer Felise Kaufusi has launched a stirring defence of Daly Cherry-Evans, declaring the champion halfback 'deserves a lot more respect' following relentless criticism. As Kaufusi's Dolphins prepare to take on a Manly Sea Eagles side desperate to celebrate skipper Cherry-Evans' 350th NRL game in style, the latter has been subject to scrutiny surrounding his future, as poor form and Father Time cloud his reported departure for the Sydney Roosters in 2026. Cherry-Evans announced earlier this year he would be leaving Brookvale Oval at season's end, with the move generating a media narrative that it had played a role in the club's derailing campaign. Manly have scored just six tries in four-straight defeats, following their captain's axing from the Maroons' squad this year. Speaking after his outfit's defeat to Wests Tigers on Sunday, Cherry-Evans insisted the outside noise regarding his bombshell decision had not been a factor in his declining output – his 13 try assists for the year currently his least since 2014, with three rounds left to play. Kaufusi played State of Origin alongside Cherry-Evans in 2024, and said the way the 36-year-old inspired belief in his teammates needed to be commended. While some pundits have called for the Manly premiership-winner to retire rather than play on at another club, the Dolphins forward was adamant criticism of Cherry-Evans was unjust. 'Everyone has a right to their opinion, but for a champion player who's going to play his 350th game, a player who has given so much to this game as well, I think he deserves a lot more respect in that sense,' Kaufusi said.
