Latest news with #TomDearden
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cowboys forced to repel stunning Tigers fightback
North Queensland have rebuffed an incredible West Tigers comeback to collect their first win in more than a month with a 32-28 victory in Townsville. Down 32-6 at one stage, the Tigers scored three tries within five minutes in the second half and got to within four points when fullback Jahream Bula crossed with five minutes left on the clock. Adam Doueihi missed a tough conversion, which would have allowed them to level with a two-point field goal. Tom Dearden is having a game! 🔥#NRLCowboysTigers Telstra Moment of the Match — NRL (@NRL) May 31, 2025 It left the visitors unable to complete one of the NRL's greatest fightbacks, just falling short at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in their Saturday night clash. The Tigers were left to rue ill-discipline in the first half. Turning out for their first match since the departure of polarising playmaker Lachlan Galvin to Canterbury, they did themselves no favours with both Jarome Luai and Adam Doueihi sin-binned. Luai had a stint on the sidelines from the 11th minute for slowing down the ruck after repeated team infringements as the Cowboys attacked the line. While the star halfback was off the field, John Bateman, who had an acrimonious split with Wests Tigers, scored the opening try for North Queensland. Centre Jaxon Purdue also crossed in the 16th minute while the visitors were down a man. The Cowboys then took advantage of centre Doueihi making a temporary exit for a professional foul, with Scott Drinkwater crossing for an 18-6 halftime lead. That margin proved a mountain for the visitors, made larger just two minutes into the second stanza with Doueihi still off. Skilful second-rower Jeremiah Nanai, backing up from State of Origin duty, leapt high to take a kick and than raced to the line to score his team's fourth try. While the Tigers looked out on their feet in the second half, the Cowboys' other Queensland Origin stars Tom Dearden and Reuben Cotter also stood up. Dearden added a 57th-minute try to his two try assists for a 32-6 scoreline. The tide then turned for the Tigers in the 62nd minute when centre Starford To'a crossed for his second, after a first-half try. That was quickly backed up by five-eighth Heath Mason, and then Charlie Staines three minutes later, for a 32-24 scoreline to put the Cowboys crowd on edge. Bula had them on their feet with his late four-pointer but the home side managed to hang on for the win. North Queensland will move to sixth place on the competition ladder on the back of their first win since round eight. It's a third straight loss for the Tigers, who sit 13th.
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Maroons told to drop Cherry-Evans for Dearden after State of Origin I loss to Blues
NSW great Andrew Johns has called for Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans to be axed and replaced by Tom Dearden at halfback ahead of State of Origin II. Cherry-Evans, the oldest player in Origin history at 36, was below his best in his 26th match for the Maroons, who went down 18-6 in the series opener in Brisbane on Wednesday night. Johns said it was time for Dearden, who played off the bench in Origin I, to replace Cherry-Evans. "No-one beats Father Time … I think they have to pull the trigger and bring Dearden in," Johns said on the Nine Network. " I don't know where the improvement comes with this group. "NSW, if they were on tonight, they win by 40 or 50 (points). They left so many tries out there and they'll be better for that. "I don't know if they can go up another level, Queensland. I think there has to be changes." Former Maroons skipper Cameron Smith also weighed in on Cherry-Evans's Origin future. But Smith made it clear Maroons coach Billy Slater would be the crucial voice at the selection table. "I think Billy will have that discussion with his selection panel and he'll go through this game thoroughly," Smith said. "There's no doubt that the key position players of Queensland lacked a bit of cohesion tonight. "In the crucial moments of the game they just couldn't get the job done." Origin II will be played in Perth on June 18. AAP
News.com.au
6 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Footy world turns on ‘washed' Queensland greats after NSW thrashing
Queensland is picking up the pieces after a heavy 18-6 Game 1 loss to NSW and experts and fans alike are looking squarely at one key change for the Maroons. The Blues bolted out of the blocks, dominating the first half in front of a shell-shocked Suncorp Stadium crowd, taking a 14-2 lead into the break. Brian To'o's sin bin just before halftime for tackling Xavier Coates over the tryline briefly gave Queensland hope of a comeback, but it wasn't to be as NSW claimed the victory ahead of games in Perth and Sydney. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. While the Blues came into the match carrying a number of injury concerns, it was the Maroons that looked short of a gallop, with veteran Daly Cherry-Evans coming in for plenty of criticism. The 36-year-old has been a staple of the Queensland side for years, but did set a new record for the oldest player in Origin history on Wednesday, surpassing Petero Civoniceva. Cowboys playmaker Tom Dearden came on in the second half and many are calling for him to start Game 2. Maroons great Shane Webcke admitted after the game he did have concerns for his state moving forward and reluctantly pointed the finger at the Manly halfback. 'Yeah a bit. There are some serious questions to be asked and one of them might be Daly Cherry-Evans,' Webcke told Triple M radio. 'I just feel like he's at that point of his career and when you see him with Cameron Munster tonight, the magic wasn't there and that worries me. 'I hate to suggest that about a bloke like Daly Cherry-Evans. 'I feel like at the end of the last series, we probably missed an opportunity with a bloke like him, he's 36 years old, the opportunity was probably there to reinvent a bit. 'I think we might pay a price for not having done that.' Cherry-Evans was also interviewed after the game on Channel 9 and at least talked a big game about Queensland's hopes of getting back into the series. 'The obvious one is we're going to have to do it the hard way, but it's been done before,' he said. 'That's the opportunity we've got in front of us, but that hurts. 'The result right now, you work so hard, you put so much into the week, when it doesn't go your way it's really difficult to not be disappointed. 'Credit to the Blues but we've got a bit of work to do.' If it's up to plenty of those watching on, however, DCE may not get the chance to help lead a Queensland fightback. Cherry-Evans and fellow veteran Munster seemed to cop the most vitriol from Maroons fans on social media. One wrote: 'DCE washed, Munster washed, Ponga washed, Harry Houdini Grant missing and the Hammer not sighted.' The Warriors NRL Fanatics handle declared: 'DCE time to retire.' Another fan offered: 'Jeez munster and DCE in 2025 makes easy viewing for Blues.' A fourth wrote: 'NEEDS to be Munster + Dearden Game 2, DCE on the bench.' A fifth stated: 'Thanks for your service Cherry Evans, time to move on.' The Channel 9 team then analysed the Queensland side after the game and felt it was hard to see the Maroons getting back into this year's series. 'I think NSW, if they were on tonight, they win by 40 or 50,' Andrew Johns said. 'They'll be better for that. 'This group here Queensland, I don't know if they can go up another level. I think there has to be changes. 'Corey Horsborgh could add something, Jai Arrow is an Origin player, but the big one is whether they pull the trigger on Dearden and DCE.' Phil Gould agreed with Joey's sentiment. 'I think Queensland are really going to have some nightmares over that game,' Gould said. 'I just don't see any answers for them. I don't see any answers in the selection room, the individual players in the team are going to have to play better but in all the important parts of the game tonight they were just outpointed tonight. 'Now I don't know that they've got it in them to come back from that.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ponga sheds quad issue in vital step for Maroons
Kalyn Ponga has been declared a certain starter for Queensland in the State of Origin series opener after training with the team for the first time on Saturday. Ponga had done his own training to the side of the main group on Wednesday and Thursday as he was rehabbing a quad injury he took into Maroons camp. He had also done his own rehab running, but took his place with the main group for the first time in a huge boost to the Maroons as they target a 1-0 lead in the series at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night. Bench utility Tom Dearden spoke about Ponga at the side's Twin Waters base just hours before the training session. "Kalyn will be right to go. He missed the first couple of training sessions, but he will be ready to go next Wednesday night," Dearden said. "It's just the type of player he is, he won't miss a beat. He has been in this team a few times so he knows what to do when he is out there." Ponga will play as starting fullback for the first time since the 2022 decider at Suncorp Stadium when he was man of the match in a Maroons win. The Newcastle captain was asked this week if he was ready to have his best game for Queensland. "It's knowing my role and nailing it," he said. "I have a job to do in defence, but that freedom to roam in attack and be an extension of our spine helping Munny (Cameron Munster) and Chez (Daly Cherry-Evans), that's what I look forward to." Dearden will play in the No.14 jersey for the first time after filling in admirably for Munster last year when the champion Melbourne playmaker was injured. He said he was ready for anything. "We had a couple of training sessions and Billy (Slater) just said to me I have to be ready to play anywhere, and that's the role of the utility player," Dearden said. "We have a bit of a plan around what's going to happen there, but basically all I have been told is I could be coming on anywhere and at any stage of the game, so it's about preparing for that. "I am getting reps everywhere, a few reps through the middle as a ball-playing lock and also at nine. I've jumped in at fullback once too, so I am getting the reps everywhere and that will become clearer during the week." Starting hooker Harry Grant has helped Dearden prepare for what would be an unfamiliar hooking role. "He has been really good. The one thing is making sure you give good-quality service, and that's the most important thing about playing at dummy-half," Dearden said. "I have been getting a few reps with passing and making sure I nail my service at dummy-half. The best thing is standing back at training and watching what Harry does. He is one of the most crafty nines in the game."
News.com.au
10-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Not in the picture': Broncos, Maroons dealt crushing blow
Broncos star Ben Hunt has reportedly been ruled out of Game I of the State of Origin series after suffering a hamstring injury in Brisbane's loss to Souths. Hunt pulled up quickly while chasing a kick, sustaining a non-contact injury and confirmed to Code Sports he won't be fit to take the field at Suncorp Stadium. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Early reports suggested a hamstring injury for the playmaker in another hammer blow for Maroons coach Billy Slater who is already without Reece Walsh (knee) for the series opener. 'It definitely hurts,' Hunt said. 'Whether Billy (Slater) was going to have me there again or not, it was unsure, but it is definitely disappointing to know you're not in the picture. 'It's in my hamstring, in the belly of it. I have never done my hammy before, but as soon as I took off it grabbed real tight. 'I knew it wasn't a cramp, it felt a bit more than that so I knew something was wrong straight away.' Hunt's omission from calculations could open the door for Tom Dearden to be picked as Queensland's utility, having played all three games in 2024. 'He's pulled up. I don't want to say Achilles but there was nothing else,' Greg Alexander said in commentary when Hunt went down/ 'It wasn't a knee, it wasn't a twist to the ankle, it wasn't anything else. 'That is something serious for him to leave the field immediately.' As Fox League's Dan Ginnane noted, Hunt's injury creates plenty of Origin ramifications. With the squad for Game I announced in 10 days, Hunt is against it to be fit enough. Melbourne hooker Harry Grant is also under an injury cloud, although he's expected to be right for the series opener. Hunt will go for scans this weekend. If he has to miss time, it means Ezra Mam will likely slot into five-eighth for the struggling Broncos next week. Mam hasn't played this season after serving a nine-game NRL suspension.
