Latest news with #BrandonSmith
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
'One of the WORST' – Cheese on Origin I
NRL: Brandon Smith has declared the 2025 State of Origin opener as one of the softest games between the Blues and Queensland.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Maybe you're the problem': Brandon Smith savages Broncos players
Brandon Smith said if any players are complaining about Michael Maguire's 'intense' style they may be the 'problem', not the Broncos coach. Maguire's coaching philosophy has been a topic of conversation in the NRL for a number of years now, with Brisbane's latest form slump leaving some to question whether he needs to change his ways. The Daily Telegraph's Paul Crawley said on NRL 360 on Tuesday night that Maguire 'has to change' but Smith, who played under the former Tigers and Rabbitohs coach as a New Zealand M�ori representative, pushed back on that. Speaking on James Graham's 'The Bye Round' podcast, Smith was asked to draw on his experiences with Maguire as a coach and admitted even he had 'issues' with his approach. 'It's a tough one. I also had the issues with Madge and other players had issues with Madge,' Smith said, adding there were 'personality clashes' and that the difficulty of training was a particular sore point for some players. That was especially true, Smith explained, given the nature of Kiwis camp under previous coaches. 'But when you're in Kiwis it's different. You feel like a tour, it's different to being in an NRL team with a full-time coach and they were hard trainings compared to our other tours,' Smith said. While it may have been difficult at first, Smith went on to explain that once some of the resistant players came to embrace Maguire's style they started to see success on the field. 'I feel like once we got over the time under Madge, once I and other players got over that and bought into what he was trying to do with us and really bit the bullet and did everything, no complaints, that's when we started to elevate as a team,' Smith said. 'Maybe that's what needs to go on at the Broncos. Maybe a few of them haven't bought into what Madge is about and instead of seeing what the benefits are you're looking at the negative side of things and that happens in every rugby league team. 'Say you're training a long day, you're upset at the coach for that and then you grow this little bit of resentment towards the coach. That happened with me with Madge at the Kiwis. 'It was hard until you grow that little bit but once you finally f***ing go, 'I'm actually getting paid well to do this... it's not that hard that I'm going to die. It's just hard compared to what the norm was'. I reckon that's exactly what's going on at the Broncos. But that's just my opinion and I feel like not all of them have bought into what he's about.' Broncos legend Gorden Tallis said on Tuesday night that if anyone should be under pressure for the club's inconsistent start to the season it should be the people who hired Maguire, although there has been plenty of scrutiny on the Brisbane coach too. But Smith said the blame should squarely be on any dissenting players. 'I'm going to put it on the players. You're complaining about what your coach is teaching you,' Smith said. 'He's your f***ing coach. He's your coach for a reason. You've got to buy into what his system is. 'If you've got half the people buying in and half the people not, your team's not going to function properly... I don't know if this is going on but I'm speaking from experience. 'You've got half the team complaining about him and you've got half the team really excited they've got a new coach that wants to win.' And if there is one thing Maguire wants to do, according to Smith, it is win. 'If (there's) anything that Madge is, he's a f***ing competitor,' the Rabbitohs hooker said. 'He hates losing. He's a hard bastard, he's an intense man but at the end of the day, his goal aligns with your goal in winning games... his method of winning games is taking the hard route and if you're not buying into that hard route, you're not with the team. You're not being team mentality.' Smith said that Kiwis training sessions would be 'longer' than normal, typically running between two and two-and-a-half hours, adding that they were also 'way more physical'. That included the captain's run, which Smith also said was 'harder and longer than normal'. 'Everything is tailored for you to be hard,' he added. '... He wants people to man up and some people don't. I'll be honest, I probably don't sometimes. 'I don't think he's doing that at the Broncos. I think this is a special set of circumstances.' Phil Rothfield reported last week that some players held concerns regarding Maguire's training methods, with Martin Taupau granted an early release after he 'liked' an Instagram post criticising the Broncos coach. While it is unclear how many more unhappy players there may be, Smith had a simple message for anyone who didn't agree with Maguire's ways. 'Coming from where I've come from, I can't fathom that. Players, we shouldn't have any say on what the coach does... if you're speaking up about that maybe you're the problem,' he said. 'That's how I feel. I would never, ever in my wildest dreams imagine anyone at Melbourne or anyone at Roosters or anyone at the Bunnies right now having a voice or an opinion in who's coaching the side. That's not up to you and that just tells me a lot. These are all spectacles but we're playing for the team. '... If this is what they're going through and they do shift that mentality they will flourish.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
E Ink and MediaTek Donate 58 eReaders to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana
The eRead for the future initiative focuses on delivering cutting edge technology that promotes reading for kids BILLERICA, Mass., May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- E Ink ( the originator, pioneer, and global commercial leader in ePaper technology, announced today its collaborative donation with MediaTek to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana as part of E Ink's eRead for the Future program. E Ink and MediaTek are donating 58 Amazon Kindle Kids eReaders—each Kindle Kids device features an E Ink ePaper display for a comfortable, paper-like reading experience and is powered by MediaTek's advanced chipset technology. 'The donation from E Ink and MediaTek will have a meaningful impact on the children,' said Brandon Smith, Clubs Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana. 'Access to books and educational tools is crucial for our Club kids' development, and these Kindle devices open up a world of opportunities for their learning.' During the upcoming summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is running a Summer Reading program to combat reading skill loss during the summer. These Kindle Kids will be used to support this program. A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that E Ink's ePaper screens with a ComfortGaze front light are up to three times healthier for eyes than LCD screens. As distraction and blue light dominate modern devices, paper-like E Ink screens provide a healthier screen time option. Blue light from LED and fluorescent lighting, as well as monitors, tablets, and mobile devices, can negatively affect vision over the long term, according to the American Optometric Association. Unlike traditional LCD screens, ePaper screens are non-emissive, meaning they rely on ambient light for viewing. Devices like the Amazon Kindle can help families minimize the blue-light hazard and enable more focused reading and learning. 'This collaboration with E Ink and the Boys & Girls Clubs is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for technology with future generations,' said Jerry Yu, Corporate Senior Vice President at MediaTek. 'These Kindles are valuable tools that ensure our youth have access to more important resources to empower deeper learning.' 'Our partnership with MediaTek and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is steeped in helping inspire a lifelong love of reading,' said Lynne Garone, Associate Vice President of Corporate Learning and Social Responsibility at E Ink Corporation. 'Our ePaper technology is designed to make reading more enjoyable and accessible for kids everywhere.' To expand on eRead for the Future program in 2025, this eReader donation reflects E Ink and MediaTek's ongoing commitment to supporting communities and creating opportunities for children through technology and education. The devices come bundled with a 6-month subscription to Amazon Kids+, giving the young readers unlimited access to thousands of children's books, with a part of the donation being reserved for a permanent book collection. In 2024, E Ink engaged over 22 partners across the ePaper ecosystem to participate in the social good initiative, eRead for the Future, that focuses on delivering technology that elevates students' reading abilities. Through last year's collaboration, E Ink donated 1,024 color eReaders, benefiting over 15,000 students across 40 elementary schools. The total donation value was nearly USD 1 million and saved 777 metric tons of carbon from reading digital, nonprinted, books. For context, if 160 million eReaders worldwide download 50 eBooks each over a five-year period, this totals 8 billion eBooks. In comparison, if all these books were read in paper form, it would equate to nearly 60 million tons of CO2e. About E Ink E Ink Holdings Inc. ( based on technology from MIT's Media Lab, provides an ideal display medium for applications spanning eReaders and eNotes, retail, home, hospital, transportation, logistics, and more, enabling customers to put displays in locations previously impossible. E Ink's electrophoretic display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its low power displays enable customers to reach their sustainability goals, and E Ink has pledged using 100% renewable energy in 2030 and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. E Ink has been recognized for their efforts by receiving validation from Science-Based Targets (SBTi) and is listed in both the DJSI World and DJSI Emerging Indexes. Listed in Taiwan's Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world's largest supplier of ePaper displays. For more information please visit E Ink. We Make Surfaces Smart and Green. Contact:V2 Communications for E Inkeink@ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
E Ink and MediaTek Donate 58 eReaders to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana
The eRead for the future initiative focuses on delivering cutting edge technology that promotes reading for kids BILLERICA, Mass., May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- E Ink ( the originator, pioneer, and global commercial leader in ePaper technology, announced today its collaborative donation with MediaTek to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana as part of E Ink's eRead for the Future program. E Ink and MediaTek are donating 58 Amazon Kindle Kids eReaders—each Kindle Kids device features an E Ink ePaper display for a comfortable, paper-like reading experience and is powered by MediaTek's advanced chipset technology. 'The donation from E Ink and MediaTek will have a meaningful impact on the children,' said Brandon Smith, Clubs Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana. 'Access to books and educational tools is crucial for our Club kids' development, and these Kindle devices open up a world of opportunities for their learning.' During the upcoming summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is running a Summer Reading program to combat reading skill loss during the summer. These Kindle Kids will be used to support this program. A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that E Ink's ePaper screens with a ComfortGaze front light are up to three times healthier for eyes than LCD screens. As distraction and blue light dominate modern devices, paper-like E Ink screens provide a healthier screen time option. Blue light from LED and fluorescent lighting, as well as monitors, tablets, and mobile devices, can negatively affect vision over the long term, according to the American Optometric Association. Unlike traditional LCD screens, ePaper screens are non-emissive, meaning they rely on ambient light for viewing. Devices like the Amazon Kindle can help families minimize the blue-light hazard and enable more focused reading and learning. 'This collaboration with E Ink and the Boys & Girls Clubs is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for technology with future generations,' said Jerry Yu, Corporate Senior Vice President at MediaTek. 'These Kindles are valuable tools that ensure our youth have access to more important resources to empower deeper learning.' 'Our partnership with MediaTek and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana is steeped in helping inspire a lifelong love of reading,' said Lynne Garone, Associate Vice President of Corporate Learning and Social Responsibility at E Ink Corporation. 'Our ePaper technology is designed to make reading more enjoyable and accessible for kids everywhere.' To expand on eRead for the Future program in 2025, this eReader donation reflects E Ink and MediaTek's ongoing commitment to supporting communities and creating opportunities for children through technology and education. The devices come bundled with a 6-month subscription to Amazon Kids+, giving the young readers unlimited access to thousands of children's books, with a part of the donation being reserved for a permanent book collection. In 2024, E Ink engaged over 22 partners across the ePaper ecosystem to participate in the social good initiative, eRead for the Future, that focuses on delivering technology that elevates students' reading abilities. Through last year's collaboration, E Ink donated 1,024 color eReaders, benefiting over 15,000 students across 40 elementary schools. The total donation value was nearly USD 1 million and saved 777 metric tons of carbon from reading digital, nonprinted, books. For context, if 160 million eReaders worldwide download 50 eBooks each over a five-year period, this totals 8 billion eBooks. In comparison, if all these books were read in paper form, it would equate to nearly 60 million tons of CO2e. About E Ink E Ink Holdings Inc. ( based on technology from MIT's Media Lab, provides an ideal display medium for applications spanning eReaders and eNotes, retail, home, hospital, transportation, logistics, and more, enabling customers to put displays in locations previously impossible. E Ink's electrophoretic display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its low power displays enable customers to reach their sustainability goals, and E Ink has pledged using 100% renewable energy in 2030 and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. E Ink has been recognized for their efforts by receiving validation from Science-Based Targets (SBTi) and is listed in both the DJSI World and DJSI Emerging Indexes. Listed in Taiwan's Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world's largest supplier of ePaper displays. For more information please visit E Ink. We Make Surfaces Smart and Green. Contact:V2 Communications for E Inkeink@
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Holier than thou': Roosters slammed as ‘shameless' Wayne Bennett act backfires
With the Roosters' signing of Brandon Smith now officially considered a failure after he was released from his contract early to join Souths, the club's approach to recruiting in recent seasons has been questioned. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer > In addition to Smith, it appears $500,000-a-year winger Dom Young could also be on the move, short of 18 months into his deal with the Roosters. The Smith and Young situations have capped what has been a pretty disappointing few years by the Roosters on the recruiting front. NRL360 co-host Braith Anasta said he wasn't too surprised the Smith signing didn't work out, given the Roosters signed him to be their starting hooker. 'I was the most outspoken about the Smith signing,' he said. 'The Roosters needed a specialist nine, they got rid of their grand final winning nine and got a 13 (Smith) and tried to transform him into a nine. 'He can player nine pretty well but he's a lock in my opinion. 'I didn't think the experiment would work and it didn't and I copped a bit of criticism for it.' Smith joined the Roosters in 2023, and while there were some glimpses, Smith didn't play up to his huge $850,000 a year deal. When the Roosters inked a deal with Cowboys star dummy-half Reece Robson, Smith became expendable. The polarising Smith left the Storm to join the Chooks, rejecting offers from the Cowboys and Dolphins, the latter of which he gave then-coach Wayne Bennett a verbal commitment. For Paul Crawley, this recruiting failure is a big indictment on the Roosters and their 'holier than thou' approach when trying to land big name free agents. 'My question goes back with Brandon, when he went to the Roosters the Storm had tabled an offer, the Gold Coast, Cowboys wanted him and the Dolphins did as well. It wasn't as if he wasn't a wanted man,' Crawley said. 'What got him over the line at the Roosters was the holier than thou approach that they took him out to meet the board, he had pizzas at Robbo's. He was wined and dined and Smith came out after that and said that Robbo said he'd make him a better man. 'Where I had a problem with it was that the Roosters knew they were signing one of the game's great rouges who was a wild child. 'Two and a half years later they've shown him the door because there's a shiny new toy that's come along in the form of Reece Robson. 'They didn't give him (Smith) the time to come good on their side of the promise.' Veteran journalist Andrew Webster agreed with Crawley's stance. 'I reckon their recruitment been shocking in many respects,' he said. 'The way they flaunted his (Smith's) signing, particularly getting one over Bennett in getting him after he'd already done the deal with Bennett at the Dolphins. I've talked to (Roosters chairman) Nick Politis about it. It was pretty shameless with how they celebrated.' Young isn't out the door by any means, but he's clearly out of favour, having been dropped to reserve grade. It was understood last week that Young would be making his way back to the Knights, but according to Robinson, Newcastle have backtracked on how much they want to pay for the winger. That has stalled Young's move to the Knights for now. Crawley again slammed the Roosters for how the Young signing has played out. 'The Roosters didn't give Dom Young $500k to be good guys, they did it because he was playing great football at the Knights and he was a try scoring machine,' Crawley said. 'Now he's going to move back up this highway with his reputation in tatters. 'The Roosters have not made Dom Young a better footballer in their system. 'What gets me sometimes is the way that the Roosters publicly make out they can do it better than everybody else but they have just as many failures as the other clubs.'
