Latest news with #JoshCurran
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL teams round 23: Lachlan Galvin named to play despite injury concerns as Latrell Mitchell eyes shock return
Bulldogs halfback Lachlan Galvin has been named to play despite the mid-season recruit being in massive doubt for Saturday's top-four showdown with the Warriors with hand and ankle concerns. Galvin reportedly picked up the hand injury early on during last week's fiery showdown with his former side the Wests Tigers but was able to play through the pain, with Mitchell Woods and Toby Sexton on an extended bench if he's ruled out. 'I haven't spoken to him, but if he did (get injured early) then that's a credit to him,' teammate Josh Curran said. 'We always talk about grit and playing with niggles or injuries, so if he did that early in the game then full credit to him. We really value him.' They face a Warriors side that welcomes back Chanel Harris-Tavita in the halves, while skipper James Fisher-Harris could make an early return after he was listed in the reserves. The Tom Trbojevic centre experiment appears to be over after the former Dally M winner was named at fullback in place of Lehi Hopoate who is nursing an AC joint injury. Tommy Talau starts in the centres while Michael Chee Kam will play his first NRL game of the season in the back row. The Broncos have received a big boost with prop forward Payne Haas cleared to return after a week on the sidelines, with the Blues star coming in for Xavier Willison who broke his arm in the win over Souths. The Panthers will be without workhorse lock Isaah Yeo (shoulder) and Luron Patea (collarbone) for the game against the Knights, but they do get Scott Sorensen back from injury. They'll take on a new-look halves pairing of Jake Arthur and Jack Cogger after Jackson Hastings was dropped from the 17, while strike centre Bradman Best is back from injury. South Sydney's hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon have received a boost with fullback Latrell Mitchell a chance of playing his first NRL game since round 17. Mitchell has been named in the reserves while Brandon Smith is back from a knee injury on the bench, while Englishman Lewis Dodd has dropped out of the squad with Jamie Humphreys clearing concussion protocols. And the cavalry is back for the Cowboys with veteran Jason Taumalolo finally cleared to return from injury, while Jake Clifford and Viliame Vailea are also back in the starting side.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘That's no good': Bulldogs star wasn't aware of Khod gesture as the blue and whites prepare for brutal five weeks before finals
Bulldogs forward Josh Curran says he was unaware of the Khod hand gesture that several Wests Tigers players allegedly flashed at Canterbury fans during Sunday's shock result at CommBank Stadium. Brent Naden and Samuela Fainu were some of the players involved in the heated moment 10 minutes from full-time when Fainu crashed over to put the result beyond doubt. The players made the gesture towards Bulldogs fans at that end of the field, with Canterbury officials lodging a complaint to the NRL who are investigating the incident and considering if any penalties are warranted. Fainu extends the Tigers lead! ðŸ'° Watch #NRLTigersBulldogs on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: âœ�ï¸� BLOG ðŸ'¢ MATCH CENTRE — Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 3, 2025 'What did they do? I haven't seen any social media,' Curran said. When the incident was explained to him at Bulldogs headquarters in Belmore, Curran backed the club's supporters and thanked them for supporting them during Sydney's wild weather last week. 'That's no good. All we have to do is go out there and win,' he said. 'Our fans are a big part of us and we love our fans. Our fans turn up no matter what. It was pouring down rain (on Sunday) and we still had fans out there.' Tigers fullback Jahream Bula refused to comment on his teammates' actions when asked on Tuesday. The loss bumped the Bulldogs out of the all-important top two ahead of a showdown with the fourth-placed Warriors who could fall to seventh if results don't go their way this week. It's a big game for the Bulldogs who were poor in the first half last week but have the chance to silence their critics who argue they haven't beaten many of the top teams. They produced a huge second-half comeback to win in Canberra earlier in the year but have already lost twice to the Broncos and were beaten by Penrith in the game of the season. They finish the regular season with games against the Roosters, Storm, Panthers and Sharks, which will tell them exactly how they're travelling going into the finals. 'I don't think we have to prove anything to anyone,' Curran said. 'I feel like over the last two years that we haven't proven anything to anyone, but we've proved to ourselves each week what we can do. 'The games that we've lost, we've looked into it and we just killed ourselves, so I don't think we have to prove anything to anyone.'
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
'There are so many emotions' – Eurovision's Emmy fails to make it through to final, but Ireland will still be represented
The 10 countries who made it out of the second semi-final are Lithuania, Israel; Armenia; Denmark; Austria; Luxemburg; Finland; Latvia; Malta; and Greece. While Team Ireland did not make it through - the Armenian entry Survivor was co-written by an Czech-Irish songwriter Josh Curran (20). In the last ten years, Ireland has qualified for the semi final on just two occasions: in 2023 with Bambie Thug last year who came sixth, and in 2018 Ryan O'Shaughnessy which finished 16th. Speaking after her song Laika Party, about the Soviet dog who died in space in 1957, didn't make it through, Emmy said she remains grateful that Ireland chose her to represent the country. 'There are so many emotions. This was a childhood dream coming true so first of all I am grateful. Of course I am a bit sad if I have disappointed Ireland. But at the same time they have been so nice and supportive and we have received so many beautiful messages. She said 'it was very good competition… but you know all the past years that Ireland hasn't qualified we have loved them so our favourites tend to go out in the semi-finals.' She thanked those who voted for her. 'We couldn't be happier, or prouder or ore grateful to be representing them, and that they chose us.' She said the announcements of the qualifiers were 'nerve wracking' but knew that Ireland was not going to be successful when they were half way through the announcements. 'I think we gave up earlier because there was so many songs that were in the odds for qualifying that had qualified already so we kind of gave up halfway through.. We had a little hope.' Outside the arena, disappointed fans were frustrated but said Emmy had given it her all. The second semi-final for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest was an explosion of high octane performances, with operatic vocals; golden microphones being ridden like rockets. While there was huge excitement amongst fans outside the venue, controversy surrounding Israel's involvement continues. And the Israeli act, Yuval Raphael, was disrupted by protestors during the second semi-final rehearsal of the ESC on Thursday afternoon. Six people unravelled 'oversized flags' and blew whistles when Israeli act Yuval Rapheal was performing. The individuals were escorted out of the building by security. Spectators are allowed to bring any flag, from any country, and pride or trans flags into the stadium. All flags have to adhere to certain size guidelines. If they do not adhere to these size guidelines they will not be allowed inside the venue. Delegations can only have one national flag on stage or in their green room. On Wednesday night, a silent protest took part in the city to object to Israel's participation in the final. 'It is important to not allow Israel to have a platform as big as this to present itself as another normal country… celebrating music and diversity when in reality this is culture propaganda for them,' a man called Andreas who attended the protest said. Another resident said it did not seem appropriate that Israel competes given the number of deaths in Gaza. Israel's attacks have killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities. 'I don't think it's a radical opinion to say if you can exclude Russia, you better exclude Israel," he said. Before he headed towards his commentator booth, broadcaster Marty Whelan, who has been RTE's resident commentator since 2000, chatted about being back inside the 'Eurovision bubble'. He also spoke about Joe Duffy's recent announcement that he would retire from RTE after 37 years. While he wishes his colleague well he has no plans to follow suit. 'He is considerably older than me by about five months,' Whelan jokingly said. 'I was surprised that he decided to make this decision… I don't know if I want to retire. I don't know that I would want to stop because I love what I do.' Whelan said his favourite act, aside from Ireland, was Australia, who sadly didn't make it through. Go-Jo (Marty Zambotto), who began his career as a busker, opened the show with Milkshake Man - an 'ode to self confidence'. During the performance Go-Jo ran about the stage topless with skin tight flares. Whelan said he related to the performer as they share the same name, and a similar moustache. 'People say he looks like a young me.' Whelan added he would prefer if the favourites to win Sweden did not top the leaderboard. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. Because at the moment we hold the joint record and for a small country that's pretty cool'. Eurovision is a huge undertaking with a crew of 250 people and production running 24 hours a day over 45 days.
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
NRL world reacts as high-tackle crackdown sends 18 players to sin bin in round eight
The NRL world is reeling after a crackdown on high tackles that saw 18 players sent to the sin-bin in round eight. That is one more than the combined tally from the previous two weekends — which already came after interpretations were tightened — and equal to the tally from the first five rounds. Six players have accepted a combined 13 games' worth of suspensions from the weekend, with Penrith's Scott Sorensen and Tigers prop Fonua Pole taking their cases to the judiciary. From coaches to players to fans to expert commentators, there are concerns for the state of the game heading into the NRL's regular season showpiece at Magic Round in Brisbane later this week. 'A ball-ache to watch' The round kicked off with three Bulldogs and a Bronco sent for high shots, meaning Photo shows Sitili Tupouniua runs off the field in the rain as the referee signals a cross with his arms during an NRL game. Canterbury's first loss of 2025 comes at an even bigger cost, with Sitili Tupouniua, Josh Curran and Matt Burton facing a combined nine weeks on the sidelines even with early guilty pleas. Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo said the game was "hard to watch" and it seemed he was not just talking about seeing his team drop a game for the first time this season. "It was a ball-ache to watch for me, so I am sure everyone else felt the same," Ciraldo told reporters. Bulldogs utility Kurt Mann sounded resigned to the game's fate as he spoke to ABC Sport after the loss, which saw Sitili Tupouniua (five games), Josh Curran (three games) and Matt Burton (one game) suspended. "I guess it's the way the game is going. Some people don't really agree with it, a lot of people probably wouldn't, but that's just the way it is now," he said. ABC Sport is live blogging every round of the and seasons in 2025. On Friday, Knights coach Adam O'Brien said after losing prop Leo Thompson for 10 of the first 15 minutes of the 26-12 loss to the Warriors, that the rules protecting players' heads, 'Spoils the game' Gold Coast coach Des Hasler admitted his Titans were to blame for their 50-18 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday, but said the constant dismissals were ruining the game. "[I'm] not saying they're not deserved, but … it spoils the game of footy doesn't it? The sin bins, I think it's inconsistent but there's nothing we can do to control that. It spoils the game of footy," he said. In Manly's 26-10 win over Penrith, coaches from both teams were frustrated by the rules. Paul Alamoti was one of two Panthers binned in the 26-10 loss to Manly. ( Getty Images: Cameron Spencer ) Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold called for another rethink because the decisions were "hurting the product". "I have no confidence in looking at a tackle and understanding whether that's going to be a sin bin now or not. It's hurting the product," he said. While Panthers boss Ivan Cleary said the new interpretations were an over-correction. "It's not the way, I don't think, we want the game as a whole to look like but it's just how it is at the moment," he said. 'It's a disaster' And in the commentary box and the podcast seats, the criticism was even harsher. "The breakdown of this sending players to the bin is absolutely farcical. It's gone beyond a joke. It is embarrassing," rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show. Photo shows A stylised graphic with three silhouettes of unidentified a female footballer, tennis player, basketballer ABC Sport and Deakin University have partnered to produce the first ABC Elite Athletes in Australian Women's Sport Survey. "I don't know whose decision it is, but you need to come out and you need to say why we're doing it, and you need to show examples and show players what you want them to do with tackling techniques because this is a farce." Four-time premiership winner Cooper Cronk said on Fox Sports the decisions were inconsistent and prompting players to fake injuries. "The issue we've got at the moment is there are players feigning injury, feigning contact," he said. "There's some going to the bin that shouldn't, there's some not going to the bin that should." Alongside him on the panel, former Kangaroos halfback Greg Alexander labelled it "a disaster". Latrell Mitchell was binned for a high shot on Melbourne's Sua Fa'alogo. ( Getty Images: Robert Cianflone ) Former Broncos and Warriors winger Denan Kemp was concerned for the fans who part with cash to watch disjointed games, with the bunker regularly stopping play to penalise tackles from minutes earlier. "Are we offering the product we promised the fans if we continue to go down this path? I don't think we are," he said on his Bloke In A Bar podcast. "And they spend their hard-earned cash every week, in a cost of living crisis. We got all these records and we like to talk about how great we are as a game and yet are we respecting the fans by sending blokes to the bin willy-nilly like it's nothing when they're the ones making all these records happen? ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that's making headlines. "If you say there is a problem, you should also offer a solution. And I'm yet to see the NRL go to clubs and say 'We've actually looked at a lot of technique and this is actually the safest technique to tackle with.' That's where I get frustrated." The NRL, for its part, appeared to acknowledge "a slight overreaction". "I get the frustration around the bunker intervening in play, that is certainly not something any of us want to see," NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said on 2GB on Monday. "There's probably been too many of those where that disrupts play and gets pulled back, and that's something we're going to work on." The league is heading into a massive weekend of football in Brisbane, with the Women's State of Origin opener at Lang Park on Thursday night, before Magic Round plays out from Friday to Sunday. The ABC of SPORT Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe ABC/AAP
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dogs stay top, sink Knights in best start for 32 years
Canterbury are enjoying their best start to a NRL season in over 30 years after cruising past a depleted Newcastle outfit to claim a 20-0 win. Second-half tries from Josh Curran, Jack Todd and Kurt Mann got the Bulldogs home at Accor Stadium on Sunday where an impressive crowd of 24,113 was on hand to witness the 'Dogs go 5-0 to start the season. Not since 1993, a year in which they won the minor premiership, have Canterbury started a season so strongly. Sitting in first spot, they will enjoy a bye ahead of a bumper Good Friday clash with South Sydney in which five-eighth Matt Burton and barnstorming back-rower Viliame Kikau are both expected to return. The milestone Mann! 👏#NRLBulldogsKnights Telstra Moment of the Match — NRL (@NRL) April 6, 2025 Many would have expected the Bulldogs to endure a dip when Burton and Kikau limped out of their round two clash with Gold Coast, but it is to their credit that they have barely missed a beat. It didn't help Newcastle's hopes of ending Canterbury's unbeaten start that they lost two men inside the opening two minutes. Winger James Schiller failed a head injury assessment after a head clash with Bulldogs front-rower Daniel Suluka-Fifita before Knights prop Jacob Saifiti limped off 30 seconds later with a suspected calf injury. It left Newcastle coach Adam O'Brien with just 15 fit bodies to see out the next 78 minutes. But what they lacked in fluidity they made up for in spirit and effort with Bradman Best leading the charge in a back-and-forth battle with Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton. There was a collective gasp when Crichton lay down for treatment for a shoulder injury midway through the first half but after a lengthy delay the Bulldogs skipper was back on his feet. Crichton's fourth-minute penalty goal - the result of an illegal Tyson Frizell strip on Max King - was all that separated the two sides at the interval. 2nd NRL Game, 1st NRL Try 🥺 — Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (@NRL_Bulldogs) April 6, 2025 It took until the 42nd minute for Canterbury to find a way through with Jacob Kiraz batting back a Toby Sexton kick, which Curran patted down to finish. Soon after Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland was sin-binned for a trip, interchange prop Todd grabbed his first NRL try by hitting a short line against a retreating defence. To add to the Knights' woes, prop Jack Hetherington succumbed to a shoulder injury and while they hung in the fight, Mann's 70th-minute barge-over in his 200th NRL game condemned them to defeat.
