Latest news with #premierships
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Line in the sand': Panthers were last on the ladder two months ago, but an ugly night in Bathurst has them on track for a fifth title
Competitions aren't generally won or lost on cold May nights in Bathurst, but it could be a different story for the Panthers who have used their round 12 loss to Newcastle as the line-in- the-sand moment that has turned their season around. Penrith's four premierships have all been built on their defence, with Ivan Cleary's side conceding the fewest points every season from 2020-2024. But that defensive dominance was nowhere to be seen at the start of the season, with the champions coughing up at least 20 points in nine of their opening 11 matches to find themselves at the bottom of the table after 12 rounds. It was an unthinkable place for them to be in and was capped off by a first-half horror show in Bathurst where they struggled without their Origin stars to be down 24-0 at the break. For the first time, people were willing to write that the dynasty was over. But you can never count out a champion, with that night sparking a wild turnaround that has put the rest of the competition on notice. The Panthers have won six on the trot, haven't allowed 20 points in any of those games and have conceded just 68 points – the fewest by any team in that period. 'You can just feel like we're more resilient, we're stopping tries, we're making it hard for the opposition, whereas that wasn't really the case for the first half of the season,' co-captain Isaah Yeo said. 'I feel like they'd go down on our end in the first set, they'd put on a play, and it wasn't under pressure, and all of a sudden they're scoring, and you're probably sort of kicking yourself going, what's just happened to everything we spoke about? 'But I feel like we're trusting the system a bit more, we're being a bit more proactive, particularly at the start of the games, and when you're holding your line and being resilient, that affects the other team's confidence. 'We've relied on that for such a long period of time now, and we didn't have that for the first half of the season. It's not something you can ever take for granted. 'It happens at training, it happens in your reps, making sure the intensity's up, so there's been a real shift in that regard ever since the line-in-the-sand moment being the Bathurst game.' Edge forward Scott Sorensen missed that game in Bathurst but led from the front with a double a few weeks later when the Panthers went to Auckland without their Origin stars and upset the Warriors. 'I think we have shared and spoken about the line-in-the-sand moment. And that's exactly what it was. It was just like, we have standards here,' he replied when asked about the Knights loss. 'We have a level that we want to play at. We have a level that we want to train at. And we're not doing it at the moment. Let's fix it. And let's do it. 'We've spoken previously in the last few weeks about keeping each other accountable and wanting to play our best footy defensively and obviously offensively as well. 'It's nice to hear that outside people are recognising that. It's just keeping each other accountable and doing our job.' As poorly as Penrith started the season, only three teams have conceded fewer points than the Panthers who suddenly look exactly like the side that has dominated the NRL for years. 'We've definitely noticed that particularly other years when we are on top, we look at it a little bit more. This year maybe not as much because we haven't been up the top there,' Yeo said. 'We understand that if you can put pressure on the team because you're making them have to change because you are defending so well, that's a good thing. 'The first half of the season we weren't doing that. Teams were sort of doing what they wanted and good things were coming off the back of it. 'Whereas at the moment we're holding our line, and that's probably making teams have to change on the run. Any time you do that, it gives you confidence. 'And off the back of that, you get in the game style you want. You get more ball in play. It all flows so much into each other. 'We certainly understand that when we're defending well, it keeps the ball in play more. And flip side of that, when you're having to score points and get frantic, that doesn't suit most teams. 'But it probably doesn't suit the way we've played over the last five or six years. We're just having to do too much work, particularly in first halves, I feel like. 'We were having to tackle way too much just because of the pressure we were putting on ourselves. Or at the moment, at least it's happening to both sides. There's actual fatigue for both sides. It's a hard style to play, but it suits us.' It's scary for the rest of the league to see them playing this well, especially when they still feel like they can improve. 'I don't really care about the rest of the competition, to be honest,' Sorensen said. 'It's about us and what we're doing.'
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brisbane forward Linc McCarthy edging closer towards goal of being available for AFL finals series
As 'crazy' as Linc McCarthy's attempt to fast-track his recovery from a knee reconstruction to be part of Brisbane's finals campaign is, Lions coach Chris Fagan will give the veteran forward every chance to play a role in the club's bid for back-to-back premierships. McCarthy, 31, hasn't played for the Lions since May last year when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a Brisbane win over the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba. Before he could make his playing return, he suffered the same injury at a training session on March 5 this year. However, rather than undergo the usual surgery and recovery, which would have ruled him out of appearing in a grand final for a second time should Brisbane reach the 2025 decider, McCarthy is understood to have gone the non-traditional route by having the torn ACL replaced with a graft from the patella tendon rather than the hamstring tendon. It gave McCarthy – whose contract expires at the end of the season – the chance to make a quicker comeback, and so far, things have gone to plan. He has rejoined the main group for skills training, has increased his training volume and could be available to play in four weeks, which would be less than six months after suffering the second knee injury. 'He's definitely ramping up his training, and he joined in some skills the other day, and I thought 'that's happened quickly', but he's going along OK at the moment,' Fagan said of McCarthy. 'It's a day-by-day, week-by-week thing, but he's trying to give himself the best chance to get back and be available if we are good enough to make finals. 'He's incredibly desperate. That's why he's doing it. I look at him and thinking 'you're crazy', but he wants to try, and I don't want to stop him, so that's where all that's at.' McCarthy would add further depth to Brisbane's forward line should he become available before the end of the season. Tall forward Sam Day is again available for selection on Friday night when second-placed Brisbane host the Western Bulldogs after missing last week's win over Carlton for personal reasons. Should Day return, it's likely to be at the expense at one of the Lions' two ruckmen – Oscar McInerney or Darcy Fort. The Lions will have to make at least two changes to their 23-player match-day squad, with midfielder-forward Zac Bailey suspended and defender Noah Answerth ruled out for the season after suffering a ruptured achilles tendon in the win over the Blues. However, Fagan said star half-back Keidean Coleman would not be one of the replacements as he continued his return from a quad injury in Brisbane's VFL team. 'Good form and be able to play quarters of football,' Fagan said when asked what he wanted to see from Coleman in the reserves team before recalling him to the senior side. The Lions can put a dent in the Bulldogs' hopes of playing finals football with a win on Friday. 'Generally speaking, they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment, but I reckon they would have done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Bulldogs,' Fagan said.
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Meet some of Australian netball's brightest stars: From TikTok viral goals to Olympic dreams at the NSW Swifts
The NSW Swifts know how to produce stars. It's the former club of netball greats Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox. Now, 30-year-old shooter Helen Housby, who originally hails from the UK before calling Sydney home and helping them win two premierships, is their latest star. She's gone viral for both her goals and also TikTok dances during matches. 'I get recognised a lot more than I used to,' she says. 'But I think it's good for the game. If you look at the best sports in the world, they have people that fans want to engage with and want to look up to, and I think netball, because it's such a great team sport, has sometimes shied away from promoting individuals. 'But I feel a responsibility to promote the game because I love it.' Wing defence Sharni Lambden joined the Swifts this season and pinches herself daily that she's part of a team that has played in more grand finals, and won more titles, than any other in the game. Especially considering it took her 10 years in the pathways program to even get her start. 'What motivates me is that little girl that absolutely fell in love with netball when she first started playing at eight,' she says. 'It's been a big journey and she never would have thought she'll be here. She was such a shy, young little girl and now I'm here. I'm trying to really soak it all in.' While Netball is currently the only team sport to compete at the reduced Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year. And there is a huge push for it to be included in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane because if breakdancing can make it to Paris, why can't a sport which is played in 120 countries around the world be included. For Housby, it's something she wants to be part of. 'I will be 37 then so I'm not sure if I will have the legs in me. I might have to retire for a good couple of years and then get to CrossFit or something to try and stay fit,' she laughs. 'But if it did come to Brisbane in 2032, that would definitely be something that I would look towards.' Housby's new teammate Verity Simmons adds that for the sport to be taken seriously as an Olympic sport, America needs to get involved; 'You look at how they work in the States and how they blow up their athletes'. 'I would love to see netball get in there and I think that would be what blows the sport up. 'You know everything's bigger in America, right?' The game isn't far off that. In June, the Women's Sport Network founded by Whoopi Goldberg, signed a three-year deal with Suncorp Super Netball which will see the competition beamed into 65 countries around the world with a reach of 900 million. Testament to growing support for the game, this year the Grand Final will be played at Rod Laver Arena for the first time ever. Simmons, a 34-year-old centre and wing attack has a unique view on the game. The Diamonds player hung up her bib in 2023 and picked up a pair of footy boots, joining the AFLW and the West Coast Eagles for a season, before returning to the Swifts this year. When it comes to 'professionalism and how clean and tidy we keep the sport,' Simmons believes netballers are the best. 'I love being back around the netball environment. I love the community. I love the fans that we have. 'We have incredibly loyal fans that literally love this sport and are so happy to give so much time and love and energy to it and volunteer. I feel very fortunate to be back involved in a club like this.' There is no doubt the sport has come a long way in the past five years when it comes to sponsorship opportunities, pay increases for players (in 2023, after a civil war between administration and players, both parties agreed to an 11 per cent pay increase) and engagement for fans (Swifts games now regularly sell out.) However for Simmons, it was her time away from the sport that highlighted just how far they'd come. 'I used to think why has it taken so long? We're the most highly participated sport in Australia for women. 'It's been frustrating at times, but, I think stepping away from it and being in the football environment and still watching the sport grow and develop I was like, Wow, this really is something special,' she says. Ultimately, all three enjoyed their exclusive shoot for Stellar. 'I've never done anything like it. It was a really cool experience and I didn't know what I was in for but I'm always up for anything,' says Lambden. Adds Housby, 'when I first joined the Swifts or even when I debuted for England it was much, much harder to be seen on TV or to be in magazines. 'The coverage was just completely different. The payment was completely different but because I've benefited from the rise in netball, I do feel a responsibility to continue that and to champion it. 'I'll probably still be talking about netball into my 90s.' The Suncorp Super Netball Finals series is live on Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge. See the full shoot with the NSW Swifts in tomorrow's Stellar, inside The Sunday Telepgrah (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA).
News.com.au
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘He might have cried': Nathan Cleary braces for ‘weird' showdown with Jarome Luai as great mates prepare for first NRL meeting
Nathan Cleary has beaten Jarome Luai in a World Cup final and recalls being part of 'the biggest upset in junior footy history' when they were teenagers coming through the Penrith system, but on Sunday the great mates will come up against each other for the first time in the NRL. 'It will be weird,' Cleary said after leading Penrith to victory over Parramatta on Sunday with a couple of huge plays in the final 20 minutes. Cleary and Luai were the Batman and Robin for so long, with the pair putting on the cape time and time again to thwart any team foolish enough to get in their way at the business end of the season. They won four premierships together and formed a bond for life as one of the most successful halves pairings in rugby league history, but the band has broken up with Luai now at the Wests Tigers where he's gone from the support act to the main man. It's been an interesting few months apart, with the Panthers finally getting off the bottom of the table, while Luai has seen halves partner Lachlan Galvin leave to join the Bulldogs. It sets up an enthralling clash on Sunday between two teams separated by just one point where two best friends will line up against each other for the first time since Australia beat Samoa in the 2022 World Cup final. 'I think there's just always that mutual respect there,' Cleary said. 'We don't talk all the time, but whenever we do or whenever we see each other, it's always love. You'll never be able to take away what we've been able to achieve together. It's always respect and love whenever we see each other. 'The last time I remember playing him was the World Cup final and before that, we would've been about 16 (when) he was playing for St Marys and I was playing for Brothers (Penrith). 'We had a few duels back then but obviously it's been a long time. I'm looking forward to it. 'He's an outstanding player and you want to test yourself against the best. It will be a bit weird at NRL level but I'm looking forward to it.' Cleary remembers enjoying a shock victory over Luai back when they were kids. 'I do remember probably the biggest upset in junior footy history, we beat them one day and they were stacked. They were so good. He might have cried,' Cleary laughed. 'I'm not sure that'll happen again. 'They used to beat us just about 50-0 every time they played us and one day we got them.' The battle of the sevens will test how far Luai has come as a chief playmaker, with the Samoan star taking the reins at Penrith last year when Cleary was injured. And while he'll want his footy to do the talking, Cleary won't be shocked if Luai's sharp tongue fires up on Sunday. 'Maybe, we'll see (if there's chirp). I don't really start the chirp but if he starts it then we'll see how it is,' he said. 'Last year really prepped him well for this year. His hands are on the ball a lot for the Tigers at the moment. Why wouldn't you? He's such a great player. 'Just his energy alone has lifted a lot of players around him. That's probably his greatest asset. 'I tune in for the Tigers boys I know well, obviously Tito (Sunia Turuva), Terrell May and Romey (Luai) in particular. 'I always enjoy watching them and keeping an eye out on them. It's been good to see them playing some good footy, particularly when they've got momentum, they're one of the best teams in the comp.' Sunday's showdown will be Cleary's second game back after helping the Blues to a pivotal win in the State of Origin opener in Brisbane. It was an emotional return for a man who missed last year's series through injury, and while he ran the ball brilliantly, Cleary had a very rare off night with the boot as he sprayed several conversions that he would normally nail. The Cleary of old would have obsessed over that and spent the next few days trying to fix everything at training, but he limited himself to 15 attempts on Saturday to not overstrain his hamstrings. It paid off as he landed two clutch conversions from out wide to go with a late 40/20 to see off the Eels. 'I think that's where a bit of evolution has come in,' he said, adding that 'physical reps become embedded in the subconscious' after so many years of practice. 'In the past I would have had as many kicks as I could (on Saturday), but being a bit older and looking after my body, I didn't have too many kicks. 'I need to have a few to flush it a bit, but I can rely on the training I've done. I've kicked so many goals in my life that I can take confidence out of that and rely on that a bit more. 'I just wanted to slow down a bit, and I'm glad that I had a few pressure kicks today so I could practise them.'
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘I'm not shaping it as a final frontier': Nathan Cleary will be an Immortal one day, but his critics can't get over his Origin record
The narrative around Nathan Cleary has been that he needs to dominate State of Origin to be considered one of the greatest players of all time, but the Blues halfback insists this year's series doesn't feel like the 'final frontier'. Cleary, 27, has won four premierships in a row, has claimed the Clive Churchill Medal twice, won a World Cup and has been a part of three successful Origin campaigns. He's on track to smash several NRL records and has been the main man in the most dominant team of the modern era, yet there are people who still point to his Origin record and wonder whether he deserves to be in the Immortal conversation. Cleary has a 7-7 record for NSW and has played just one match for his state since the start of 2023, with serious hamstring injuries plaguing him and forcing him to miss the epic comeback win last year. The champion halfback has heard the chat and accepts that it will follow him around throughout this year's series, but he says it won't define him as he looks to make up for lost time. 'I think that's the way it's probably shaped sometimes, and I do want to play better at Origin level,' he said. 'But I'm not shaping it as a final frontier. 'There's still a lot of my rugby league life to live. I want to keep getting better. This Origin journey is in front of me right now, so I want to attack that as best I can. 'I think I've just got to prove it to my teammates, especially after watching last year and seeing how well they did. 'You've just got to capitalise and do the same again. 'It's about proving myself to my teammates and showing that I'm meant to be here, and I'm confident that I can get the job done. 'At the end of the day, it's not about me. It's about this team, so I want to put my best foot forward for the whole week and then be at my best come game day.' Blues skipper and Cleary's co-captain at the Panthers, Isaah Yeo, knows Cleary better than most. It's why he's backing the gifted playmaker to use the criticism as motivation, with Yeo just happy to see Cleary back in the sky blue jersey after so many cruel setbacks. 'I don't know if he'd give it much thought, but if he does, I'm sure it'd fuel the fire a bit,' the veteran lock said. 'You know how much the jersey means to him. You only have to look back at when he did his hammy before the series last year and how shattered he was. 'I feel like he's so ready for this moment. It's been building for a few years, so I'm excited to see him back in this environment because I know what he brings to a team and how much confidence he'll give the group.' Cleary's next challenge will be working alongside Mitchell Moses in the halves, with the Eels star edging Jarome Luai for the five-eighth spot. Luai and Cleary have carved up for the Panthers and Blues in the past, but Cleary is excited about the new combination even though both men are chief playmakers at club level and prefer to play on the right. Both players have spoken about being willing to step back if the other guy is in control, with Cleary's crucial tries against Brisbane showing that he can do some of his best work on the left. 'I think we both understand the game really well and I think we can use that to our advantage for what's needed at the right time and to stand up in the right moments,' said Cleary, who should start on the right given his combination with Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton. 'At the end of the day, it's about what's right for the team. It's not letting egos get in the way, we've got to complement each other and get the best out of each other. 'I don't mind, and the way it should work is that we can roam around and see how that works. I think both of us are quite capable of playing left or right.'
