Latest news with #OriginII
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The King delivers as Dragons' new faces step up against clunky Knights
Moments before kick-off, in a bid to rev up the faithful and celebrate St George Illawarra's invitation to Vegas, an Elvis impersonator did his thing. When Elvis left the building, the real 'King' strutted onto Nestrata Jubilee Stadium. Clint Gutherson may only be 11 games into his Dragons stint, but already he has given the Red V a slew of hits and memories. Against a form fullback – Fletcher Sharpe again deputised for Kalyn Ponga, whose ankle pulled up sore after State of Origin – Gutherson again left his mark. The former Parramatta captain scored a try and led from the front as the Red V climbed into sixth spot on the ladder with a 20-6 win over Newcastle. 'He has been fantastic all year with his leadership and encouragement, he's been great,' said Dragons coach Shane Flanagan. There were many other contributors. Damien Cook, another veteran with a point to prove, showed all his wile and deception with a hand in the first three tries. Jaydn Su'A scored a try but came off with a syndesmosis injury that effectively ended hopes of a call-up for Origin II. The new faces also played their part. Nathan Lawson, whose background consists of rugby sevens and an Olympic Games, looked at home on debut. The winger ran hard and finished as one of the game's top metre-eaters. Then there's Loko Pasifiki Tonga, a 123kg giant just shy of two metres. When he stormed towards the tryline from close range, only one outcome was possible. Another 'King', Lyhkan King-Togia, has also shown early promise in the halves. Not that they were up against much. Newcastle scored a solitary try and otherwise never looked likely. The two forwards who combined for that rare highlight, Leo Thompson and Kai Pearce-Paul, are heading for the exit out. Just over a week ago, coach Adam O'Brien said he had the full support of the board. What he really needs is the support of his players. They appear to suffer from a lack of imagination with the football; it's hard to believe this was the same side that blew the premiers off Carrington Park in the opening half last week. 'In this battle, we lost to the scheduling and the draw,' O'Brien said of his decision to rest Ponga. 'Someone has to play Friday night, I get that, but then they give us next Thursday as well. 'It would have been three games in eight days. That's not looking after our players. I had to step in and look after them … Whoever does the draw hasn't lived it or doesn't care. I don't know which one it is … it's ridiculous.' This is a side that can't wait until next year for Dylan Brown. With the June 30 transfer deadline approaching, the decks need to be shuffled to accommodate him early. yesterday 9.57pm Full-time stats snapshot: Red V on top across the board yesterday 9.49pm Dragons have learnt their lessons, Knights need Brown ASAP yesterday 9.48pm Full-time: Dragons too good for Ponga-less Newcastle And that ends a match that was pretty much decided some time ago, the Dragons earning a comfortable 20-6 win over a Newcastle side that once again looks like a genuine wooden spoon contender – despite last week's win over Penrith. The win pushes St George Illawarra up to sixth place on the NRL ladder for now, an excellent result at the halfway point of the season. yesterday 9.45pm Holmes lets try slip through his grasp Lovely stuff here from the Dragons, Kyle Flanagan jabbing in a well-weighted grubber for a fast-chasing Valentine Holmes. But replays show Holmes spilled the ball before grounding it, and the try is disallowed. They've left plenty of points on the table tonight but are still going to win this one easily. With the game gone the Knights are finally throwing the ball around a bit here, reaching the Dragons' 10-metre line on the last tackle, but that last tackle play ends with a half-hearted Dylan Lucas grubber straight into the legs of a St George Illawarra defender. Kind of sums up their night really. Dragons 20, Knights 6 with two minutes left yesterday 9.36pm Newcastle score at last through Kai Pearce-Paul We have a Knights try! The visitors break their scoring drought through an unlikely combination, with front-rower Leo Thompson making a weaving run across field to the right, then going to the line and flicking a pass away for second-rower Kai Pearce-Paul to crash over. It's almost certainly too little too late for Newcastle, but at least they have something on the board. Dragons 20, Knights 6 with 10 minutes left yesterday 9.32pm Red V come up just short, twice Toby Couchman, back from injury and a late inclusion in the starting side for the Dragons tonight, goes oh-so-close to crashing over for the Dragons' fourth try of the evening but it stopped by a strong try-saving tackle from Mat Croker. The hosts then force a dropout, and get a scrum feed when Newcastle's Fletcher Hunt tries to regain Fletcher Sharpe's kick but puts it down. The Dragons go oh-so-close again when a backline shift to the right ends with a diving Tyrell Sloan dropping the ball over the line. It's been that kind of night. We've had a string of cracking Friday night footy games of late, but this hasn't been one of them. yesterday 9.27pm Holmes kicks Dragons more than three converted tries clear And that might just about do it. An offside penalty against Jayden Brailey – he was out of play in front of a Newcastle play-the-ball, then came back and received an offload – gives St George Illawarra a penalty right in front of the goal-posts and Valentine Holmes slots over the goal for another two points. If scoring three tries looked unlikely for this Knights outfit, scoring four times looks impossible. Dragons 20, Knights 0 with 17 minutes left yesterday 9.24pm Holmes bone-cruncher ends Knights' attacking raid Now the Knights are starting to make an impact in attack at last. James Schiller makes a break down the right and throws a pass back inside for Dane Gagai, who is grabbed a little early by a Dragons chase. Penalty Knights. Can they do something this set? Nope. Valentine Holmes produces a crunching tackle on Jack Cogger, popping the ball loose, and it's a turnover. yesterday 9.22pm Where did last week's attacking Knights go?
Courier-Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
Queensland Maroons win 18-14 over NSW Blues in Women's State of Origin game 3
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRLW. Followed categories will be added to My News. Sarah Togatuki wore the pride of her family on Thursday night, taking the State of Origin field in Newcastle less than a week after the tragic death of her older sister, Jean. The inspirational NSW forward has been privately dealing with the sudden death of her sister, who was admitted to hospital before NSW claimed the series in Origin II in Sydney a fortnight ago, before passing away suddenly on Saturday. In a show of her immense strength and love for her family, Togatuki came off the bench for the Blues in Thursday night's 18-14 loss to Queensland at McDonald Jones Stadium. 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 > One of the most popular players in the NRLW, the 27-year-old Tigers star was supported by her Blues teammates and coach John Strange. 'I don't know if I could have done that (after) losing a sister on Saturday,' he said after the game. 'I had a chat to her about spending time with her family, but it was also really important to her and her family that she came out and represented them. 'So to show the strength of character to do that, is a real testament to who she is as a person and the love she has for her family and the game that she plays. 'She's certainly not underestimated by any of us for what she does. Outstanding player and even better person.' Skipper Isabelle Kelly, who has played alongside Togatuki in the NRLW for years, said the team rallied around her over the past few weeks. Sarah Togatuki embraces her family. Picture: NRL Photos 'When you know Sala, she's an infectious type of person. She wasn't in camp with us for a bit and we missed her, we missed her presence,' Kelly said. 'She puts everyone before herself and she's just really inspiring. 'A lot of us were saying we wouldn't have been able to do what she has done this week. 'She was a huge inspiration for us leading into this game and I know she would have done her family so proud, even though she came off, she's done all of us proud with the strength that she has. 'I feel really honoured and lucky to be able to pull on a jersey alongside her.' Togatuki's night ended early after taking a head knock after just 13 minutes on the field. There were emotional scenes at full-time as she embraced her family. There were emotional scenes in the stands. Picture: NRL Photos Jean was known to be the loudest and proudest supporter in the stands. 'In the blink of an eye, our family's world changed,' she wrote on Instagram. 'My beautiful big sister gained her wings and has gone to be with our brother JNR. 'It still doesn't feel real. She was only admitted to hospital two weeks ago, and now she's gone. The pain is overwhelming, especially for her four beautiful babies.' Meanwhile, Queensland skipper Ali Brigginshaw has defiantly declared she wants to keep playing representative football after enduring a horror few weeks of online abuse including death threats and calls for her to retire. Fresh off an 18-14 victory over NSW in Thursday night's State of Origin dead rubber in Newcastle, the Maroons captain said she will not pander to social media bullies and wants to keep playing as long as she's earning a jersey. 'I do want to keep playing on, I think people just look at your age and think that's enough, there was still comments out there tonight about when I'm going to retire and I still love my footy and if I get picked I get picked, but I'm not saying people should pick me just because I've been here before,' the 35-year-old said after putting Chelsea Lenarduzzi over from behind the ruck to score the matchwinning try in the dying minutes of game three. The Maroons celebrate after winning Women's State of Origin game three. Picture: Getty Images 'I want to prove I can play in this jersey. Hopefully I did that tonight. 'I'll do whatever it takes for this jersey. I'm really proud to represent Queensland and that's what hurts, surely people see how proud I am to do that. 'I do anything I'm asked, I play any position, I don't carry on. And to see how upset my family are to see the things said about it, that's what hurt the most.' Maroons coach Tahnee Norris backed her call, saying Brigginshaw has earned enough credit throughout her 17-year rugby league career, which started back in 2009. 'It's her decision, it's not mine. Ali is a true Origin player and a leader of this team, and I feel for her, she's had a tough couple of weeks, it's just wrong,' Norris said. 'I've got so much respect for her and what she brings to this team, what she's done for women's rugby league and how she's led this group of Maroons players, people don't understand, they don't see that. 'She plays herself into teams and we pick her, it's as simple as that, so it's up to her when she makes that call. 'Utmost respect for how she's handled herself the past few weeks, it's been really hard on her.'
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
‘That's a choice': Slater's blunt admission as Maroons' attitude slammed, DCE's plea
Queensland coach Billy Slater has slammed his side's discipline in their series opening loss on Wednesday night, but he doesn't believe changes are required for a must-win Origin II. The Maroons were beaten to the punch from the opening whistle and found themselves on the wrong side of a 9-6 penalty count in the 18-6 loss at Suncorp Stadium. Ill-disciplined ruck penalties put Slater's side on the back foot early and they failed to learn from their mistakes in the second half. The fourth-year Queensland coach was asked whether he believed the loss was due to personnel or attitude. 'To be honest, I don't think it's either,' Slater said. 'I definitely don't think it's a personnel thing. I know what this team's capable of and that's why… you can probably see I'm disappointed because they haven't played their best footy and I feel responsible to try and help them get there. 'So yeah, it's definitely not a personnel thing, to be honest, and they've had a great attitude as well. But with the discipline side of the game, the attitude wasn't good enough. 'We needed to change things and we didn't change things enough. It might look close but (it wasn't). In terms of how close we were to play our best footy, we were nowhere near it.' The series now heads to Perth and Slater was asked what it's going to take to turn things around and level the series. 'Decisions from the playing group. I've just spoken about the discipline part of the game and that's a choice,' Slater said, with those last three words particularly damning. 'So probably a shift in that to start with and I'll look at my preparation as well. 'I know there is so much more in this footy team. It's best of three, you've only got to win two games and that's still alive and we'll be going after it. 'It doesn't just happen, you've got to make it happen and we weren't prepared to make it happen the tough way tonight. 'Too many leg ups, too many penalties, a few errors and that part of the game NSW did better than us. 'It's pretty simple, if you don't have the footy you make it really tough on yourself. I can't question the effort or commitment the team have, it's a tough game out there, it's not easy to play that sort of game and they kept hanging in there and turning up for each other but we just made it way too hard for ourselves. 'Like many of our players, Harry (Grant) wasn't at his best unfortunately, but he wasn't on his own.' Queensland have scored just one try in their past two games, both at Suncorp Stadium, and under pressure halfback Daly Cherry-Evans said he hope Slater sticks solid with him. 'With losing comes the question (if he'll be dropped). We've opened ourselves up to these sorts of questions but I'd love the opportunity to come back and correct it,' Cherry-Evans said. 'Disappointing is the best word to explain (the attack), especially where we've played the last two games and to only walk away with one try… there's a bit of work to do there. 'When you're ill-disciplined you put yourself under pressure and we gave them a lot of possession.'
7NEWS
24-05-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Depleted Panthers slump to rock bottom after heavy loss to Knights
Dylan Lucas' hat-trick has powered Newcastle to a vital 25-6 defeat of four-time reigning premiers Penrith, who slumped back to the bottom of the NRL ladder in Bathurst. As injuries and State of Origin absences depleted both sides, Lucas showed his credentials as a future NSW player, helping the struggling Knights ease pressure on coach Adam O'Brien with an improved attacking performance. Fletcher Sharpe excelled replacing Queensland's Kalyn Ponga at fullback, scoring the Knights' first try at close range to trigger a 24-0 first-half skirmish. Sharpe finished with a staggering 18 tackle busts and four line breaks to go with a game-high 272 metres and was the Knights' best in a more even second half on Saturday night. Penrith's five Origin absences notwithstanding, O'Brien may have found the solution to his long-running halves problem as five-eighth Tyson Gamble laid on all three of Lucas' tries. Two came from beautiful flat balls in back-to-back sets before Gamble put boot to ball and helped the second-rower make it a four-score game after 25 minutes. Lucas could've had a fourth try in the shadows of halftime had he not spilt the ball over the tryline with Daine Laurie covering in defence. Adam Elliott tore a bicep in the first half as the only sour note for Newcastle. The loss laid bare the mighty task ahead of the Panthers to salvage an already dire campaign in the always-testing Origin period. The Panthers mercifully have byes before the final two Origin games but may need to rest players after Origin II given a trip to Auckland three days later. Goal-line defence was again a major issue for Penrith in the first half, with back-up halfback Brad Schneider targeted by Lucas ahead of his first two tries. The Panthers are now one point adrift at the bottom of the ladder and could lose prop Liam Henry to suspension for a crusher tackle on Sharpe. Henry went to the sin bin for the shot in the first half, putting the Knights in position for their fourth try. Highly-touted forward Harrison Hassett cut through for a try on debut in the second half. But that was good as things got for Penrith as former Panther Jack Cogger put the cherry on top with a field goal as the last five minutes approached. Newcastle debutant Paul Bryan dislocated his shoulder in his first minute but played on after having it popped back in.
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Lucas magic consigns Penrith to last on ladder
Dylan Lucas' hat-trick has powered Newcastle to a vital 25-6 defeat of four-time reigning premiers Penrith, who slumped back to the bottom of the NRL ladder in Bathurst. As injuries and State of Origin absences depleted both sides, Lucas showed his credentials as a future NSW player, helping the struggling Knights ease pressure on coach Adam O'Brien with an improved attacking performance. Fletcher Sharpe excelled replacing Queensland's Kalyn Ponga at fullback, scoring the Knights' first try at close range to trigger a 24-0 first-half skirmish. Sharpe finished with a staggering 18 tackle busts and four line breaks to go with a game-high 272 metres and was the Knights' best in a more even second half on Saturday night. Penrith's five Origin absences notwithstanding, O'Brien may have found the solution to his long-running halves problem as five-eighth Tyson Gamble laid on all three of Lucas' tries. Two came from beautiful flat balls in back-to-back sets before Gamble put boot to ball and helped the second-rower make it a four-score game after 25 minutes. Lucas could've had a fourth try in the shadows of halftime had he not spilt the ball over the tryline with Daine Laurie covering in defence. Adam Elliott tore a bicep in the first half as the only sour note for Newcastle. The loss laid bare the mighty task ahead of the Panthers to salvage an already dire campaign in the always-testing Origin period. The Panthers mercifully have byes before the final two Origin games but may need to rest players after Origin II given a trip to Auckland three days later. Goal-line defence was again a major issue for Penrith in the first half, with back-up halfback Brad Schneider targeted by Lucas ahead of his first two tries. The Panthers are now one point adrift at the bottom of the ladder and could lose prop Liam Henry to suspension for a crusher tackle on Sharpe. Henry went to the sin bin for the shot in the first half, putting the Knights in position for their fourth try. Highly-touted forward Harrison Hassett cut through for a try on debut in the second half. But that was good as things got for Penrith as former Panther Jack Cogger put the cherry on top with a field goal as the last five minutes approached. Newcastle debutant Paul Bryan dislocated his shoulder in his first minute but played on after having it popped back in.
