Slater peppered on Origin selection
Queensland coach Billy Slater is peppered by NSW greats Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler on potential changes for State of Origin II.
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News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
Queensland legend Gorden Tallis calls out Blues enforcer Spencer Leniu
Maroons legend Gorden Tallis has called out Blues bench enforcer Spencer Leniu for coming on 'after all the tough stuff is done'. Tallis dared NSW to pick Leniu as injured prop Mitch Barnett's replacement in the starting side for Game 2 and play him for 80 minutes. 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 > It comes in the wake of Queensland controversially not kicking off to Leniu in the series opener to avoid having to tackle the fresh front-rower charging off the back fence. That was after the state's biggest newspaper, The Courier Mail, ran a back page photo of Leniu the day before the game with the headline 'Smash this Blues Grub'. 'I think Spencer Leniu should start and play 80 minutes,' Tallis said on NRL 360 on Wednesday night, which prompted chuckles from his fellow panellists. 'What, can't he play 80 minutes?' 'Will they kick off to him?' James Hooper fired back. Tallis replied: 'Yeah absolutely. If he comes on and starts with those guys in the middle, I'm sure you'd kick to him. '(Instead he) comes on after all the tough stuff is done, after 25 minutes. Start him and play him 80 minutes.' 'You're suggesting he ducks the hard stuff,' Dave Riccio said. 'I never said that. What's so hard? The game goes for 80 minutes,' Tallis responded. 'Why would he play 80 minutes?' Braith Anasta asked. 'Because that's how long the game goes for,' Tallis said. 'If you guys didn't duck the hard stuff you would have kicked the ball to him. What front-rower in the game plays 80 minutes?' Hooper said. 'Payne Haas does. Don't bag your own teammates,' Tallis said sarcastically. 'I'd pick him and play him 80 minutes but all of you three said he can't. They've got no faith in you, Spencer.' 'You're suggesting he's not tough enough,' Riccio said. 'It's only 80 minutes,' Tallis reiterated. 'But he's only playing 25 off the bench,' Riccio replied. 'Oh right, cool,' Tallis said again sarcastically. The Courier Mail headline came six weeks after Leniu's verbal spat with Maroons legend Johnathan Thurston at Suncorp Stadium, the same venue that hosted Game 1. Leniu's hostility centred around Thurston's comments on the Roosters hard man's eight-game ban for calling Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam a 'monkey' in Round 1 last year. Mam was then suspended for nine games this season after being responsible for a drug-driving car crash that injured several people.
ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
BTN Newsbreak 04/06/2025
E-SCOOTER STUDY New research has shown a rise in Aussie kids getting seriously hurt from e-scooter accidents. E-scooters have become more popular than ever, and with that, there's been a rise in some pretty serious injuries especially among young people. See, new research from Queensland has found that between 2023 and 2024, 176 children aged between 5 and 15 were treated at one hospital alone for e-scooter related injuries. Worse still — a lot of the cases were breaking the rules by not wearing helmets, speeding, or riding double with a friend. At the moment, the rules about how old you have to be to ride an e-scooter change depending on where you live. In most states you need to be 16 or even 18. But in Queensland, kids as young as 12 can ride if an adult is with them. And in the ACT, you only need supervision if you're under 12! So now, some experts are calling for stricter age limits of at least 16 along with more education to make sure young riders know the rules and how to stay safe. SOUTH KOREA ELECTION South Koreans have elected a new president! Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic party won the election, after months of political drama. The snap election happened after the country's previous leader, Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office for trying to impose martial law, which is when a country's military takes control of law and order. Mr Lee is a former lawyer and says he'll focus on restoring democracy, and reviving South Korea's economy. FRENCH OPEN CONTROVERSY The French Open has been copping some criticism for not scheduling enough women's matches in prime time. Yeah, there's been a bit of frustration at the French Open, and it's all to do with its match schedule. The problem? All of the big, prime-time night matches have been given to men's games, while women's matches are often played during the day, when fewer people are watching. In fact, since the introduction of night sessions in 2021, only 4 women's matches have ever been given a prime time slot, and so far this year no women's matches have been scheduled for an evening session. A lot of people reckon it's not fair, including world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka who just played a game at 11am in front of empty seats. The tournament's organisers say one reason is because women's matches can run shorter than men's matches. But lots of people reckon it's not good enough. BADMINTON ROBOT First up, to a badminton-playing robot! Which is being developed by a team of Swiss engineers. Trained on a bunch of real-world camera data, and kitted out with AI-learning capabilities, it learns from every mistake it makes, and every game it plays. Its creators hope to show off the AI's potential to pull off complex tasks when paired with robots. THIN HOTEL Now, to a very skinny hotel in China. At its narrowest point, it measures just 56 centimetres wide and has been nicknamed the "blade" hotel. It's 3 stories tall, and has 3 rooms to stay in, each fitted with a bed, and a bathroom. DOG RESCUE And finally to the moment a pet dog was rescued from an old mine shaft in Victoria. Ted the Labrador had escaped from home, and was wandering around Wombat State Forest when he fell down the 8 meter deep hole! It took 4 days before he was found, unharmed thankfully, and even wagging his little tail.
News.com.au
12 hours ago
- News.com.au
'Best play better!' Munster QLD captain?
State of Origin: James Hooper has called for Queensland to appoint Cameron Munster to be named captain if Slater does drop DCE.
