Latest news with #To'o
Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
'We're a team within a team: Lomax lifts lid on selfless act that sealed victory in Origin I
Zac Lomax has opened up about the selfless act that went a long way to helping NSW win game one – and ensured he was voted man of the match by his Blues teammates. Brian To'o's sin-binning on the brink of half-time at Suncorp Stadium, for tackling Xavier Coates in the air, left NSW needing to survive the opening ten minutes of the second half defending with 12 men. Lomax had watched the Maroons send all their attacking kicks to Coates's side of the field, where the towering Maroons winger enjoyed a hefty height advantage over To'o, and knew they would continue to attack down that flank when the game restarted. As revealed by colleague Roy Masters the day after the 18-6 win at Suncorp Stadium, Lomax approached Laurie Daley during the interval and volunteered to switch from the right side of the field to defend on the left while To'o was in the bin. Lomax was confident the NSW right edge would cope, because Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton 'had defended together forever' in clubland, and suggested he would be of better use switching over and helping out Latrell Mitchell try and stop Coates. The Maroons scored a try while To'o was in the bin, but it came from a Mitchell error rather than any luck attacking with the extra player. The foresight and maturity shown by Lomax was praised by Daley – and yet another example of how quickly the Parramatta recruit has adjusted to life in the representative arena within 12 months. As he joined his Blues teammates in camp in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday, Lomax opened up on the Origin I half-time conversations with the coaches.
The Age
8 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
'We're a team within a team: Lomax lifts lid on selfless act that sealed victory in Origin I
Zac Lomax has opened up about the selfless act that went a long way to helping NSW win game one – and ensured he was voted man of the match by his Blues teammates. Brian To'o's sin-binning on the brink of half-time at Suncorp Stadium, for tackling Xavier Coates in the air, left NSW needing to survive the opening ten minutes of the second half defending with 12 men. Lomax had watched the Maroons send all their attacking kicks to Coates's side of the field, where the towering Maroons winger enjoyed a hefty height advantage over To'o, and knew they would continue to attack down that flank when the game restarted. As revealed by colleague Roy Masters the day after the 18-6 win at Suncorp Stadium, Lomax approached Laurie Daley during the interval and volunteered to switch from the right side of the field to defend on the left while To'o was in the bin. Lomax was confident the NSW right edge would cope, because Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton 'had defended together forever' in clubland, and suggested he would be of better use switching over and helping out Latrell Mitchell try and stop Coates. The Maroons scored a try while To'o was in the bin, but it came from a Mitchell error rather than any luck attacking with the extra player. The foresight and maturity shown by Lomax was praised by Daley – and yet another example of how quickly the Parramatta recruit has adjusted to life in the representative arena within 12 months. As he joined his Blues teammates in camp in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday, Lomax opened up on the Origin I half-time conversations with the coaches.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NSW Blues deliver blow to Qld Maroons with State of Origin Game 1 win in Brisbane
A dominant first half secured victory for New South Wales in the State of Origin opener 18-6, leaving the Maroons with a huge task to claim the shield as the series shifts away from Queensland. The Maroons have now lost two games in a row at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since 1997, having also lost last year's decider. Indeed, the margin of victory for the favourites should have been greater were it not for struggles by Blues' kickers Nathan Cleary and Zac Lomax, who went one from five. Related: New South Wales defeat Queensland 18-6 in series opener – as it happened NSW captain Isaah Yeo said team 'handled well' uncertainty in the lead-up around injuries to influential players Payne Haas and Stephen Crichton, who were both close to their best on Wednesday. And Yeo revealed he now enjoys the experience of running out at Suncorp Stadium, describing it as a 'special' place to play. 'To come up here, and I thought our first half was half was exceptional,' he said. His side scored three tries through silky backline play in the first half, two for winger Lomax down the right and one for Brian To'o on the other side of the field. The To'o four-pointer was the highlight thanks to a brilliant catch and pass from Latrell Mitchell, who found his outside man under heavy pressure from the rushing Queensland defence. Much of the pre-match discussion had centred around the ability of the Maroons' rookie centre Rob Toia to be able to contain Mitchell. Ultimately the 20-year-old acquitted himself well, and it was actually the Blues centre who experienced a mixed night. His handling error directly led to the Maroons' only try early in the second half, scored by Xavier Coates. But it proved little more than a footnote for NSW, who have now won three straight Origin contests and look almost unbeatable in 2025. Victory was sealed with seven minutes to go with a miracle try for fullback Dylan Edwards. Sustained Blues pressure on the Maroons' line ended with a kick and one-handed take from Lomax, who then found Connor Watson. The danger seemed to be extinguished when Watson was wrapped up by three defenders. But he managed to pass the ball back to Edwards, who mashed it into the ground to put the game beyond doubt. While the Blues controlled much of the match, the contest erupted early in the second half. The Blues were seeking to limit the damage during a period with To'o in the sin bin. Despite early errors, it looked they had done it too, when the Maroons butchered a scrum play 10m from the Blues' line. But on the first tackle, Jeremiah Nanai dislodged the ball from Mitchell and Coates scurried across in the corner. Despite the missed Valentine Holmes conversion, there was newfound energy in a stadium that had been flat in the first half. It was amplified when crowd favourite Tom Dearden came on to spell Harry Grant at hooker. A succession of kicks pinned the Blues back, a run of repeat sets finally ending when Lomax swooped on a Cam Munster grubber, keeping the ball in play and winning a penalty. That was as close as the Maroons would come, as errors mounted for both sides before Edwards' match-sealing try. The home side appeared to finally cross with a minute to go, but Holmes' try was ruled out due to a forward pass. Queensland were lucky to escape the first half down only 14-2 after a powerful period from the Blues. The visitors dominated yardage, out-gaining the Maroons 1,000m to 600m with tackles 233 to 162. For 39 minutes, set after set ended up down the Maroons' end, and the match appeared destined for a New South Wales victory. But Queensland swung momentum back thanks to Coates, their towering right winger and best player on the night. With less than a minute to go before half-time, he forced his opponent To'o into a handling error off a kick, and then in the last play of the half, baited To'o into grabbing in a subsequent aerial contest. The result was Queensland's first points, a sin bin for To'o, and hope for the capacity crowd of more than 54,000 at Suncorp Stadium. That hoped proved short-lived, and now the pressure mounts on the Maroons to produce in Perth in game two next month in a bid to keep the series alive for the decider in Sydney in July. Ominously for Queensland, the Blues feel they can improve. 'There's areas in our game that we can get better at, which is exciting,' Yeo said. 'I'd like to think we take some confidence out of it, but it's a long way to go.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NSW Blues deliver blow to Qld Maroons with State of Origin Game 1 win in Brisbane
A dominant first half secured victory for New South Wales in the State of Origin opener 18-6, leaving the Maroons with a huge task to claim the shield as the series shifts away from Queensland. Indeed, the margin of victory for the favourites should have been greater were it not for struggles by Blues' kickers Nathan Cleary and Zac Lomax, who went one from five. Related: State of Origin 2025 Game 1: NSW Blues beat Qld Maroons 18-6 – live reaction Advertisement NSW scored three tries through silky backline play in the first half, two for winger Lomax and one for Brian To'o on the other side of the field. The To'o four-pointer was the highlight thanks to a brilliant catch and pass from Latrell Mitchell, who found his outside man under heavy pressure from the rushing Queensland defence. Much of the pre-match discussion had centred around the ability for rookie centre Rob Toia to be able to contain Mitchell. Ultimately the 20-year-old acquitted himself well, and it was actually the Blues centre who experienced a mixed night. His handling error directly led to the Maroons' only try early in the second half, scored by Xavier Coates. But it proved little more than a footnote for NSW, who have now won three straight Origin contests and look almost unbeatable in 2025. Victory was sealed with seven minutes to go with a miracle try for fullback Dylan Edwards. Sustained Blues pressure on the Maroons' line ended with a kick and one-handed take from Lomax, who then found Connor Watson. The danger seemed to be extinguished when Watson was wrapped up by three defenders. But he managed to pass the ball back to Edwards, who mashed it into the ground to put the game beyond doubt. While the Blues controlled much of the match, the contest erupted early in the second half. The Blues were seeking to limit the damage during a period with To'o in the sin bin. Despite early errors, it looked they had done it too, when the Maroons butchered a scrum play 10m from the Blues' line. But on the first tackle, Jeremiah Nanai dislodged the ball from Mitchell and Coates scurried across in the corner. Advertisement Despite the missed Valentine Holmes conversion, there was newfound energy in a stadium that had been flat in the first half. It was amplified when crowd favourite Tom Dearden came on to spell Harry Grant at hooker. A succession of kicks pinned the Blues back, a run of repeat sets finally ending when Lomax swooped on a Cam Munster grubber, keeping the ball in play and winning a penalty. That was as close as the Maroons would come, as errors mounted for both sides before Edwards' match-sealing try. The home side appeared to finally cross with a minute to go, but Holmes' try was ruled out due to a forward pass. Queensland were lucky to escape the first half down only 14-2 after a dominant period from the Blues. The visitors dominated yardage, out-gaining the Maroons 1,000m to 600m with tackles 233 to 162. For 39 minutes, set after set ended up down the Maroons' end, and the match appeared destined for a New South Wales victory. But Queensland swung momentum back thanks to Coates, their towering right winger and best player on the night. With less than a minute to go before half-time, he forced his opponent To'o into a handling error off a kick, and then in the last play of the half, baited To'o into grabbing in a subsequent aerial contest. The result was Queensland's first points, a sin bin for To'o, and hope for the capacity crowd of more than 54,000 at Suncorp Stadium. Game two is in Perth before the series finishes in Sydney in July.
7NEWS
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Blues legend Brad Fittler rips into Brian To'o's viral pre-game breakfast: ‘Odd bloke'
New South Wales icon Brad 'Freddy' Fittler has shredded Blues star Brian To'o's wild pre-game breakfast. The 'ridiculous' breakfast has gone viral after it came to light last year that To'o had two bacon and egg burgers, six cans of Coke, a bowl of hot chips and a caramel latte on the morning of a big game. Appearing on Nova's show Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, Fittler said the breakfast was disturbing and could lead to health problems. While former AFL star and Front Bar regular Ryan Fitzgerald said the pre-game meal was absurd. 'We cannot get over this,' Fitzgerald said. 'Like it's ridiculous. Is he taking the piss? That's got to be wrong, doesn't it?' Fittler was perplexed. 'He's an odd bloke,' he said. 'I don't remember seeing him gorging into all the Cokes on a morning of a game ... so I wouldn't say he's dishonest but, yeah, it seems strange. 'But anyway, if he keeps eating and drinking like that, there's going to be a problem somewhere in the future.' Fittler said when he was playing he liked to keep things 'light' ahead of a game. '(But) I used to drink the night before,' he admitted. 'I'd sit around dinner and have some beers and have a few drinks. 'A few blokes used to smoke darts at half-time. Thank god that's all changed.' Fittler also admitted that 'in the old days' there would be some long parying after a victory. 'The lock-in was ridiculous,' he said. 'We would just lock in a room and drink. Our go was to go out and just make sure there's the bus to go to the airport the next day.' To'o also revealed recently that he once drank 600 cans of Coke Zero in one month. After To'o's revelation about his Coke-heavy breakfast, the soft drink company sent him 24 cases (24 cans per case) of Coke Zero (to help you with the matha, that's a total of 576 cans). It equates to almost 200 litres of Coke. 'I think Coke sponsored Penrith so they sent me 24 boxes of 24 packs (after the story)', To'o said. 'Put it this way, I got them in October and they were finished by November. My teeth still seem pretty good. 'I'd love to be the face of Coke – it's delicious.'
