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4-star DL recruit Valdin Sone names his top four schools
4-star DL recruit Valdin Sone names his top four schools

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • Sport
  • USA Today

4-star DL recruit Valdin Sone names his top four schools

One of the top uncommitted defensive recruits in the 2026 cycle is nearing a decision. Blue Ridge School (Dyke, Virginia) four-star defensive lineman Valdin Sone will announce his college commitment this July 18. Sone will chose among his top schools which are Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Nebraska. The four-star was born in Sweden and played in the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl. Sone is a strong run defender with good size at 6-foot-4, 310-pounds. Sone has been predicted to come play for Georgia, per Rivals Chad Simmions and Steve Wiltfong. Georgia has been the leader in this recruiting race for quite some time, but these races are never over early signing day in this age of recruiting. Georgia also lost a commitment from five-star defensive lineman James Johnson, so landing Sone is even more critical for the Bulldogs. Georgia currently has seven commitments along the defensive line in the class of 2026, so the Bulldogs would have a pretty crowded defensive line class if they add Sone. Coach Kirby Smart and Georgia are still looking to replace a significant amount of veteran defensive linemen that left via the 2025 NFL draft. The Blue Ridge standout is ranked as the No. 4 player at his position in the nation, per 247Sports. Sone is the No. 46 recruit in the country and the third-best prospect in Virginia.

Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals
Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals

The Advertiser

time20 hours ago

  • Sport
  • The Advertiser

Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals

Chris Fagan has narrowed his focus as the Brisbane Lions face a make-or-break stretch of their AFL premiership defence leading into the finals. On a three-match winning streak, the second-placed Lions face five top-eight rivals over the last six home-and-away rounds as the fight for ladder positions nears its climax. The difficult test starts in a huge clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Friday night. "Every game's important. We have a particularly hard run, so I'm not looking too far ahead," Lions coach Fagan said on Thursday. "We're just wholly and solely focused on tomorrow night because that's about all you can think about at the moment, otherwise it seems too daunting. "One week at a time, big game tomorrow night against a really good opponent who have got a lot to play for as well." The Bulldogs (10-7) sit ninth after a home loss to Adelaide last round and remain firmly in the finals hunt, but have won just one game so far this season against a side currently above them on the ladder. Despite that record, Fagan is wary of an opposition midfield unit led by renowned ball-winners Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards and Marcus Bontempelli. "That's what you need to address," he said. "(Luke Beveridge's) teams have always been able to score and generally speaking they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment. "But I reckon they would've done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Dogs." Fagan will want a better start from Brisbane than in their previous encounter with the Bulldogs, when they trailed by 39 points early in the third quarter of their Gather Round clash at Norwood Oval. The Lions roared back with 13 of the last 16 goals to win by 21 points in one of the most entertaining games of the season. "I haven't really looked back but all I know is we were probably fortunate to win that game, coming from that far behind," Fagan said. "We wouldn't want to find ourselves in that position tomorrow night." Bulldogs spearhead Sam Darcy kicked 2.3 from 16 disposals and had eight marks in that previous clash, opposed to Harris Andrews. Fagan will again send his co-captain to mind the 205cm target, who has kicked 17 goals in five appearances since returning from a knee injury. "You probably wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that's who Harris is going to play on," Fagan said. "The rest of our defenders aren't quite tall enough to play on Sam Darcy. "Harris will have that job and I know he's looking forward to it. It will be a great clash." Fagan was tight-lipped on who would replace injured defender Noah Answerth (achilles), but ruled out Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee. In-form forward Zac Bailey will also miss through suspension after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Carlton's Nick Haynes. "I've moved on because the bottom line is he's got a week," Fagan said of Bailey's ban. "My personal view is a little bit harsh, but that's probably all I want to say about it." Chris Fagan has narrowed his focus as the Brisbane Lions face a make-or-break stretch of their AFL premiership defence leading into the finals. On a three-match winning streak, the second-placed Lions face five top-eight rivals over the last six home-and-away rounds as the fight for ladder positions nears its climax. The difficult test starts in a huge clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Friday night. "Every game's important. We have a particularly hard run, so I'm not looking too far ahead," Lions coach Fagan said on Thursday. "We're just wholly and solely focused on tomorrow night because that's about all you can think about at the moment, otherwise it seems too daunting. "One week at a time, big game tomorrow night against a really good opponent who have got a lot to play for as well." The Bulldogs (10-7) sit ninth after a home loss to Adelaide last round and remain firmly in the finals hunt, but have won just one game so far this season against a side currently above them on the ladder. Despite that record, Fagan is wary of an opposition midfield unit led by renowned ball-winners Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards and Marcus Bontempelli. "That's what you need to address," he said. "(Luke Beveridge's) teams have always been able to score and generally speaking they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment. "But I reckon they would've done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Dogs." Fagan will want a better start from Brisbane than in their previous encounter with the Bulldogs, when they trailed by 39 points early in the third quarter of their Gather Round clash at Norwood Oval. The Lions roared back with 13 of the last 16 goals to win by 21 points in one of the most entertaining games of the season. "I haven't really looked back but all I know is we were probably fortunate to win that game, coming from that far behind," Fagan said. "We wouldn't want to find ourselves in that position tomorrow night." Bulldogs spearhead Sam Darcy kicked 2.3 from 16 disposals and had eight marks in that previous clash, opposed to Harris Andrews. Fagan will again send his co-captain to mind the 205cm target, who has kicked 17 goals in five appearances since returning from a knee injury. "You probably wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that's who Harris is going to play on," Fagan said. "The rest of our defenders aren't quite tall enough to play on Sam Darcy. "Harris will have that job and I know he's looking forward to it. It will be a great clash." Fagan was tight-lipped on who would replace injured defender Noah Answerth (achilles), but ruled out Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee. In-form forward Zac Bailey will also miss through suspension after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Carlton's Nick Haynes. "I've moved on because the bottom line is he's got a week," Fagan said of Bailey's ban. "My personal view is a little bit harsh, but that's probably all I want to say about it." Chris Fagan has narrowed his focus as the Brisbane Lions face a make-or-break stretch of their AFL premiership defence leading into the finals. On a three-match winning streak, the second-placed Lions face five top-eight rivals over the last six home-and-away rounds as the fight for ladder positions nears its climax. The difficult test starts in a huge clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Friday night. "Every game's important. We have a particularly hard run, so I'm not looking too far ahead," Lions coach Fagan said on Thursday. "We're just wholly and solely focused on tomorrow night because that's about all you can think about at the moment, otherwise it seems too daunting. "One week at a time, big game tomorrow night against a really good opponent who have got a lot to play for as well." The Bulldogs (10-7) sit ninth after a home loss to Adelaide last round and remain firmly in the finals hunt, but have won just one game so far this season against a side currently above them on the ladder. Despite that record, Fagan is wary of an opposition midfield unit led by renowned ball-winners Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards and Marcus Bontempelli. "That's what you need to address," he said. "(Luke Beveridge's) teams have always been able to score and generally speaking they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment. "But I reckon they would've done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Dogs." Fagan will want a better start from Brisbane than in their previous encounter with the Bulldogs, when they trailed by 39 points early in the third quarter of their Gather Round clash at Norwood Oval. The Lions roared back with 13 of the last 16 goals to win by 21 points in one of the most entertaining games of the season. "I haven't really looked back but all I know is we were probably fortunate to win that game, coming from that far behind," Fagan said. "We wouldn't want to find ourselves in that position tomorrow night." Bulldogs spearhead Sam Darcy kicked 2.3 from 16 disposals and had eight marks in that previous clash, opposed to Harris Andrews. Fagan will again send his co-captain to mind the 205cm target, who has kicked 17 goals in five appearances since returning from a knee injury. "You probably wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that's who Harris is going to play on," Fagan said. "The rest of our defenders aren't quite tall enough to play on Sam Darcy. "Harris will have that job and I know he's looking forward to it. It will be a great clash." Fagan was tight-lipped on who would replace injured defender Noah Answerth (achilles), but ruled out Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee. In-form forward Zac Bailey will also miss through suspension after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Carlton's Nick Haynes. "I've moved on because the bottom line is he's got a week," Fagan said of Bailey's ban. "My personal view is a little bit harsh, but that's probably all I want to say about it."

Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals
Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals

Perth Now

time20 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Perth Now

Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals

Chris Fagan has narrowed his focus as the Brisbane Lions face a make-or-break stretch of their AFL premiership defence leading into the finals. On a three-match winning streak, the second-placed Lions face five top-eight rivals over the last six home-and-away rounds as the fight for ladder positions nears its climax. The difficult test starts in a huge clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Friday night. "Every game's important. We have a particularly hard run, so I'm not looking too far ahead," Lions coach Fagan said on Thursday. "We're just wholly and solely focused on tomorrow night because that's about all you can think about at the moment, otherwise it seems too daunting. "One week at a time, big game tomorrow night against a really good opponent who have got a lot to play for as well." The Bulldogs (10-7) sit ninth after a home loss to Adelaide last round and remain firmly in the finals hunt, but have won just one game so far this season against a side currently above them on the ladder. Despite that record, Fagan is wary of an opposition midfield unit led by renowned ball-winners Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards and Marcus Bontempelli. "That's what you need to address," he said. "(Luke Beveridge's) teams have always been able to score and generally speaking they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment. "But I reckon they would've done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Dogs." Fagan will want a better start from Brisbane than in their previous encounter with the Bulldogs, when they trailed by 39 points early in the third quarter of their Gather Round clash at Norwood Oval. The Lions roared back with 13 of the last 16 goals to win by 21 points in one of the most entertaining games of the season. "I haven't really looked back but all I know is we were probably fortunate to win that game, coming from that far behind," Fagan said. "We wouldn't want to find ourselves in that position tomorrow night." Bulldogs spearhead Sam Darcy kicked 2.3 from 16 disposals and had eight marks in that previous clash, opposed to Harris Andrews. Fagan will again send his co-captain to mind the 205cm target, who has kicked 17 goals in five appearances since returning from a knee injury. "You probably wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that's who Harris is going to play on," Fagan said. "The rest of our defenders aren't quite tall enough to play on Sam Darcy. "Harris will have that job and I know he's looking forward to it. It will be a great clash." Fagan was tight-lipped on who would replace injured defender Noah Answerth (achilles), but ruled out Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee. In-form forward Zac Bailey will also miss through suspension after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Carlton's Nick Haynes. "I've moved on because the bottom line is he's got a week," Fagan said of Bailey's ban. "My personal view is a little bit harsh, but that's probably all I want to say about it."

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