Latest news with #ReubenCotter
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Hasn't done anything': State of Origin hero under fire over 'disappointing' scenes
League great Greg Alexander has ruled the Cowboys out of playing finals footy this season after Thursday night's disappointing defeat to the Dolphins. And he's singled out Queensland State of Origin winner Reuben Cotter for specific criticism, after the Maroons back-rower continued his underwhelming club form for North Queensland. The Cowboys were blown off the park in the 43-24 flogging by the Dolphins, who ran in seven tries to four to jump into seventh on the NRL ladder. It was another dismal defensive display from North Queensland, who have the worst record in the competition after conceding a staggering 531 points in their 18 games so far this season. That equates to an alarming average of almost 30 points against per game and heaps more pressure on coach Todd Payten. As it currently stands, North Queensland are five points adrift of the top eight with six games to go. But Alexander said on the evidence of Thursday night's heavy defeat and their woeful recent form, he gives them no chance of featuring in this year's finals series. 'Put a line through the Cowboys after last night, it's the end of them,' Alexander said on SEN radio on Friday. 'Even though their draw is favourable, and they still have a bye up their sleeves, I can't see the Cowboys rallying after that." Reuben Cotter's form for the Cowboys under fire And Alexander says the form of Cotter has been particularly concerning after his impressive performances for Queensland in this year's Origin series win. The Maroons back-rower has been nowhere near his best for the Cowboys in 2025 and is averaging just 88 run metres and less than nine hit-ups per game, from his 12 appearances in clubland this season. RELATED: 'Real concern' for Panthers as Nathan Cleary floated for $3m exit Wayne Bennett 'ban' set to be upheld amid awful news about Latrell 'Some of their players, Reuben Cotter has only had two good games, and they were both for Queensland," Alexander said about the Maroons star. "He hasn't done anything for the Cowboys this year. He has been very disappointing as he was again last night.' Cotter's form does not bode well for his hopes of selection in the Kangaroos squad for their Ashes series against England later this year. The Cowboys forward has been a mainstay in the Kangaroos squads in recent years and played in their victorious Pacific Championships campaign last year, and was part of Australia's squad for their World Cup triumph in 2023. But he's fallen well down the pecking order in terms of the NRL's best back-rowers this season. Cowboys slip further out of NRL finals contention And it's indicative of the struggles of the star-studded Cowboys, who had four players featuring on Thursday night against the Dolphins that played in last week's Origin decider. Winger Murray Taulagi - who suffered a late hamstring injury - has also been a regular for the Maroons in recent years. But they are now staring down the barrel of missing the finals for a third time under Payten, having made it to the second week of the playoffs last season. Many critics insist the Cowboys should be pushing for the top-four but Payten has been unable to get the best out of his star-studded side in 2025. And it's left his position in serious threat, with the Cowboys slipping out of finals contention after six losses in their last seven games. "Their defence is just terrible," veteran NRL reporter Andrew Webster said on SEN radio. "I know they can score points and we saw that with three tries in eight minutes (against the Dolphins) but I don't know if it's the coach, I don't know what's wrong with them but they just don't seem to be able to stop points."
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘F**k off': Darren Lockyer's Origin change room interview goes off the rails
They say in live TV you should never work with children or animals — maybe they should add old blokes with beers to that list. Queensland Origin legend Darren Lockyer has learned the hard way after he was interview-blocked from a chat with Queensland winger Xavier Coates in an excruciating 90 seconds of TV after the Maroons wrapped up the 2025 State of Origin series. The Maroons dominated the game, claiming a commanding 24-12 win that if anything flattered NSW. It meant the beverages were flowing as the celebrations began well before full-time thanks to the 20-0 halftime buffer and the Maroons' near impenetrable defence. Tears were also flowing at full-time after Cameron Munster's father's death in the lead up to the decider, but after a win that's been compared to iconic triumphs like 'Fatty's Nevilles' in 1995 and the 'worst Queensland team in history' in 2020, the beers were flowing just as freely. So when Lockyer headed into the sheds, he knew it wasn't going to be easy. The man himself declared it 'one of the greatest wins of the Queensland team'. He kicked off with a chat with North Queensland Cowboys star Reuben Cotter, who said he was exhausted after making 41 tackles. He praised Wally Lewis medallist Tom Dearden for 'being in my ear'. Asked what he said, Cotter responded: 'I probably can't say that on TV'. It didn't take much prompting for him to add: 'He was f**king into me about making the tackles and staying in the game.' Strong start Locky! After telling Cotter to have a beer 'for every tackle you did tonight', he moved on towards Xavier Coates. 'Big X, Big X,' Lockyer said as the camera moved in on the back of ex-Queensland player Norm Carr. Watch the full exchange in the video player above. The 70-year-old Carr, who was selected on the bench, but didn't play in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980 before tallying three games over 1981 and 1982, clearly hasn't done too much TV as the first words he said to Lockyer were 'Darren, f**k off'. The hilarious moment saw Lockyer and Coates burst into laughter before Carr went for an awkward handshake into a hug. Lockyer then put the mic in front of Carr, asking: 'That one was plenty of effort, wasn't it?' 'Unbelievable. They just knew how to win,' Carr said. 'It doesn't matter what I say — these blokes done it.' Lockyer, who had been asked for a photo when he first arrived at the conversation, tried again to make it happen to no avail. He then turned to 1980s Maroons five-eighth Alan Smith to save the segment. Amazing Queensland performance,' Smith said. 'These guys did what they had to be done, and full credit to the team and Billy, they were smart enough to work out how to do it and did it.' Finally turning to Coates, Lockyer said: 'Now X …' when Carr pushed back in to cut Lockyer off. 'F**king hell, Normy's getting rough in here, he's getting a bit rough old Normie,' Lockyer said. 'We've still got to get the photo, I'll come back to you X. 'Normie's just told me to …,' Lockyer added as he walked away. So in a 90 second interview, Coates said a grand total of zero words to Lockyer. While he finished with a more textbook chat with fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Lockyer bailed out, saying he'd 'go and find Normie Carr, get him in a headlock and have another beer with him'. Fans were loving the utter trainwreck in the sheds. One wrote: 'Channel 9 needs to stop sending Lockyer to do interviews in the winning shed.' Another posted: 'Channel 9 unhinged tonight with their interviews between Gal and Sonny spilling their testosterone & Darren Lockyer going rogue in the sheds being told to f**k off — it's great telly.' A third added: 'This Darren Lockyer segment in the dressing sheds is the best kind of car crash. I'm in stitches. Drunk Queenslander everywhere hahah.'
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Five quick hits: Tom Dearden's magic goes down in Maroons folklore after downing Blues in Origin decider
As Queensland shocked New South Wales 24-12 to claim the most unlikely of series victories, one man put in one of the most complete performances in Origin history. Here are the five quick hits from a match that will go down in Maroons folklore. Tom Dearden had been threatening to weave a little magic throughout the first 20 minutes, and he uttered his first quiet abracadabra under his breath 26 minutes in. Just holding off on the pass ever so slightly, the Cowboys wunderkind found teammate Reuben Cotter bullocking through the Blues defence, and Cotter looked destined to go all the way as Queensland lungs hooted and hollered throughout the country. But Cotter found himself caught in two minds, and eventually released the ball to nobody in a moment of panic. In the ensuing play, as the Steeden bumbled around without any real direction, the Maroons received a penalty for a hold. That was enough to set Queensland up for the first try, with the lion-hearted Cameron Munster finding the unlikely debutant Ghamat Shibasaki, who found Xavier Coates on the outside for the most Xavier Coates-like try you can imagine. It was that early magic from Dearden though, that put the Maroons in motion and gave them the field position to strike early. Having been the spark for Queensland's first try, Dearden became the smoke for their second thanks to the brilliance of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Robert Toia. With Toia caught in a tackle that looked all but certain to see him rag-dolled to the sideline, the young Rooster managed to pull off a stunning sleight of hand by offloading the ball to Tabuai-Fidow without the Blues even noticing. Tabuai-Fidow danced and weaved with his unexpected loot in hand as New South Wales defenders grasped at air, before the Hammer went inside to the fast-moving Dearden. With a turn of pace usually reserved for his bigger and sleeker teammates, Dearden finished the job and the Maroons stunned the Blues again with a one-two punch to get the game moving well and truly in their direction. On the edge of half-time and with the New South Wales defence looking more cooked than a Bunnings sausage at closing time, it was that man Dearden again involved in a try that was more guts and muscle than razzle and dazzle. Stopped short of the line after some more fleet-footed work from Dearden, Harry Grant moved in to dummy half and went himself, powering into three New South Wales defenders. Held up but unperturbed, Grant wrestled and spun his way out of the tackle, reaching out desperately to ground the ball as his Blues opponents dropped their heads and their shoulders. It was a gut punch to the Sydney audience who had already gone silent, shocked at the onslaught from a Maroons team that looked like it had something to prove and something to play for from the first kick-off. At the risk of turning this entire article into a "Dear Dearden" letter, it was the blond bombshell that did it again 14 minutes into the second half — but this time on defence. With New South Wales having dominated the possession to start the second period, the Blues finally made a break via Latrell Mitchell, who offloaded a lovely little flick pass to the dynamic Brian To'o. With what looked like nothing but clean air in front of him, To'o's little legs pumped towards an inevitable try, before a streak of Maroon barrelled across the field to wrap him up and nudge him into touch just enough to cause the turnover. The streak was Dearden, and while the Blues would score eventually via Stephen Crichton the next time New South Wales had the ball, Dearden's desperation was something to behold. Uh oh. Here's a peak behind the curtain of how this article is written. Writer notes down magical moments as they happen. The clear moments — usually tries, sometimes big tackles, often big referee decisions — go straight into the article as they happen, as the writer tries to keep things as balanced and diverse as possible. The writer notices that Tom Dearden is mentioned a lot, but assumes someone else will do something super magical worth mentioning late in the game. Tom Dearden does something super magical worth mentioning late in the game. The article officially becomes a Dearden love letter. With five minutes to go, it was Dearden again who found himself with the ball, and, let's be honest, not a heap of space. But somehow he managed to split through the Blues defence — which had been miserable all game — and score the game-sealing try. While all of Queensland willed Cameron Munster to score the try that ended the contest — and he did go close — it was fitting that the man who had dominated all game was the one who put the full stop on a series decider that will go down in Queensland folklore. Dearden would be named both the man of the match and the man of the series, vindicating completely Billy Slater's huge call to bring him in at the expense of Daly Cherry-Evans.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Normally a suspension': Loophole comes to light as Jarome Luai learns punishment
Jarome Luai and Zac Lomax have both escaped with fines after ugly incidents in State of Origin 2 - and it's all because of a unique loophole in the NRL system. Luai and Lomax were both put on report in the first half of NSW's 26-24 loss to Queensland on Wednesday night. Luai grabbed the face of Maroons forward Reuben Cotter in what appeared very close to an eye-gouge, while Lomax lashed out and elbowed Trent Loiero in the head after a tackle. Luai was cleared of an eye-gouge by the NRL match review committee, and was slugged with a $3900 fine rather than a suspension. The NSW five-eighth was hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with an opponent's face. But under the NRL's punishment system, incidents that occur in Origin and finals games carry lighter sanctions. If the Luai incident had occurred in an NRL game, he'd normally be hit with a suspension. But because it happened in State of Origin, it's only a fine. The system was brought in so players' clubs aren't unfairly affected by their actions in representative games. It also prevents players being banned from finals games for incidents that aren't overly serious. Luai's $3900 fine is 13 per cent of his $30,000 match payment. Lomax was charged with grade-one dangerous contact and fined $21000 (seven per cent of his match payment). Luai's return to the Origin arena was overshadowed by the incident with Cotter. Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga made a raking action to sideline officials after witnessing Luai's actions, and he appeared very lucky to escape a suspension. Andrew Johns said "it looked bad" in commentary, while NSW coach Laurie Daley defended the incident after the match. "I thought it was just a facial," Daley said. "We saw a fair few of them in Game 1 too." View this post on Instagram A post shared by NRL on Nine (@nrlonnine) The incidents with Luai and Lomax were part of a historic run of nine-straight penalties that Queensland received to start the game. The penalty count was 8-0 at half-time, and when the Maroons received their ninth it was the first time that had ever occurred in a State of Origin game. Referee Ashley Klein copped plenty of backlash for his performance, although NSW did win the six-again count 6-2 and had 55 per cent possession. When asked about the 10-2 penalty count after the game, Daley momentarily remained silent before eventually responding: "I can't tell you what I really think". RELATED: Panthers rocked as two-time premiership winner signs with Perth Bears Andrew Johns proven right as Billy Slater hailed over 'masterstroke' Blues captain Isaah Yeo admitted his team weren't disciplined enough and only had themselves to blame. "There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said. "Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at time." Queensland surged out to a 26-6 lead at half-time, and NSW fell agonisingly short of their greatest comeback in Origin history with 18 unanswered points in the second half. Goal-kicking proved a massive difference, with Lomax only managing two conversions after the Blues outscored Queensland five tries to four. with AAP
ABC News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
State of Origin: Maroons' Reuben Cotter claims he wasn't eye-gouged by Blues' Jarome Luai
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by NSW's Jarome Luai in State of Origin II. Luai was given a grade 2 contrary conduct charge for making unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth on Wednesday night. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of eye-gouging in the first half. Cotter had dived on a loose ball when Blues prop Payne Haas lost possession, before Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report but cleared of an eye-gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead handed a $3,900 fine. Cotter said he had no issue with the incident. "I didn't get eye-gouged at all," Cotter said. "He (Luai) just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons' dressing room after the match. But he said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the second half. NSW players and coaches defended Luai, who was penalised following the incident. It was one of eight penalties the Blues gave away in the first half, while they finished the match on the wrong side of a 10-2 count. Blues coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the penalty count, claiming he could not say what he really thought on the matter. But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill-discipline. "There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said. "Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. "But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. "You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times." AAP
