Category Archives: Rugby league

Trent Barrett quits Bulldogs after coach’s poor NRL record continues

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  • Barrett leaves Belmore having won just five of 34 matches
  • Quits before emergency board meeting on Monday

Trent Barrett has quit as Canterbury coach after the Bulldogs’ poor start to the season which has them bottom of the NRL ladder. A 16-6 loss to Newcastle on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium in the Magic Round opener proved the final straw for Bulldogs officials, who spent the weekend discussing Barrett’s future.

Barrett took the decision out of the board’s hands, stepping down from the role effective immediately on Monday morning. A three paragraph statement from the Bulldogs confirmed the news but gave no indication of the club’s future plans.

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New investigation into allegations of plagiarism against concussion expert Paul McCrory

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British Journal of Sports Medicine says it is investigating a body of work published by McCrory, its former editor-in-chief

The British Journal of Sports Medicine says it is investigating a body of work published by its former editor-in-chief, neurologist Dr Paul McCrory, in light of “additional allegations of plagiarism” against the world-renowned concussion expert.

The peer-reviewed journal will also review the past four consensus statements published by the global Concussion in Sport Group (CISG), of which McCrory was the lead author, along with a sample of other papers on which he is the first or senior author.

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Dragons hold on to stun Roosters in NRL Anzac Day upset

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  • St George Illawara win 14-12 at SCG
  • Ben Hunt wins Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac medal

A battered and bruised St George Illawarra pulled off an Anzac Day boilover, with a courageous Ben Hunt helping them stun the Sydney Roosters 14-12.

On a brutal afternoon at the SCG, the Dragons lost Jack Bird to suspected broken arm and Jaydn Su’A due to a leg injury after the second-rower had been among their best.

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Cleary deals set Panthers up for long-term success

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With five-year contract extensions to keep them at Penrith until 2027, Nathan and Ivan Cleary can build the dynasty their club has always craved

Penrith’s ultimate successes have, historically, been fleeting. Not this time. The signing of star halfback Nathan Cleary and coach Ivan Cleary to long-term deals has set the Panthers up for sustainable security at the top of the premiership ladder. This may not be Melbourne Storm longevity but it is hard to see Penrith missing out on the top four anytime in the 2020s now the Clearys have locked themselves in as centrepieces.

Amid a great deal of controversy in 2019, Nathan Cleary was reunited with his father Ivan, who left the Wests Tigers in acrimonious circumstances to return to Penrith for his second stint as head coach. It led to Phil Gould’s departure as Penrith’s executive general manager and left a great deal of angst among the Wests Tigers faithful that the driver of the bus had ditched the joint. It did net a remarkable third premiership for the Panthers last year though, the golden generation realising their potential.

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Roosters routed as red hot Knights continue round one upsets

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  • Newcastle 20 – Sydney 6
  • Glamour club upset at home as Knights score four tries to one

The Newcastle Knights have spoiled the return to the SCG party for the Sydney Roosters, handing them a convincing 20-6 defeat and restricting the glamour club to just one try in their NRL season opener on Saturday afternoon.

The Knights scored four tries themselves and if it hadn’t been for a late four-pointer to the Tricolours’ Penrith recruit Paul Momirovski it would have been a complete humiliation for Trent Robinson’s men.

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Concussion in sport: CTE found in more than half of sportspeople who donated brains

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Groundbreaking findings by Australian Sports Brain Bank reveal prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, including in younger players

Groundbreaking research into the long-term ramifications of concussion in sport has found chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of more than half of a cohort of donors, including three under the age of 35.

The Australian Sports Brain Bank on Monday reported its preliminary findings after examining the 21 brains posthumously donated by sportspeople since the centre’s inception in 2018.

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Queensland Covid update: Premier says she would have ‘no qualms’ calling off NRL grand final – video

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Annastacia Palaszczuk says she would have no qualms calling off Sunday's NRL grand final after the state recorded two new locally acquired cases of Covid-19. Brisbane is set to host the rugby league decider between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers on Sunday with an already reduced 75% capacity due to Queensland's latest outbreak. Both the premier and chief health officer Jeannette Young say they will not hesitate to call off the game if the outbreak worsens. Townsville in the state's north has been mooted as a possible replacement venue

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Fiji’s Silktails sang from balconies for hotel – and for Australian rugby league | Patrick Skene

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The team whose quarantine serenade went viral are playing the long game to the NRL promised land

Before the Kaiviti Silktails rugby league team finished their Covid-19 quarantine they had become worldwide heroes. Individually singing from 35 Juliet balconies in the Sydney Sofitel Hotel, they serenaded the world with three gospel hymns, going viral with more than million hits and delivering a Fiji-style thank you to the staff and guards who had nursed them to the promised land.

Their joyous gratitude was a refreshing contrast with the complaints and social media moping of other quarantined athletes, and announced the arrival of something unique.

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‘I was numb inside’: Jack de Belin rape trial hears from alleged victim of NRL star

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The St George Illawarra NRL player has pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault at his Wollongong trial

NRL star Jack de Belin raped a teenager after ignoring her protests to stop undressing her and later asked why she was being “so emotional”, a jury has been told.

The St George Illawarra player, 29, and his friend Callan Sinclair, 23, have pleaded not guilty to the aggravated sexual assault of the woman, then 19, after meeting her in a Wollongong bar in December 2018.

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Australia’s NRL fan cardboard cut-out scheme turns sour after use of Hitler and mass murderer Harold Shipman

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  • League says screening process is being reviewed
  • Fox Sports issues apology for ‘poor taste’ TV sketch

What started out as a fun and inclusive initiative has turned sour after the NRL’s scheme to put cardboard cut-outs of fans in stadiums was hijacked.

Over the weekend a photograph of mass murderer Harold Shipman made an appearance in the stands, then a TV sketch featured an image of Adolf Hitler, prompting furious criticism from Australia’s Jewish community.

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Prince Harry makes first public appearance since talks with Queen

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Duke conducts Rugby League World Cup draw while Meghan visits women’s organisations in Vancouver

The Duke of Sussex has appeared in public for the first time since announcing he and his wife are to step back as frontline royals.

Prince Harry returned to Buckingham Palace, the heart of the institution rocked by the bombshell announcement last week that he and Meghan would leave their senior roles as full-time royals and move part-time to Canada.

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Sonny Bill Williams follows Mesut Özil in support of Uighur ethnic group

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  • Williams risks backlash from China with his political tweet
  • ‘Sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity’

Sonny Bill Williams has tweeted his support of the minority Uighur ethnic group, mirroring the stance of football star Mesut Özil which drew an angry response from China. Cross-code star Williams may further provoke Chinese officialdom with his social media post, which denounces the treatment of Uighurs.

In his tweet on Monday, Williams echoed the belief of Arsenal playmaker Özil, who is also a practising Muslim, that more countries should speak out against China’s reported actions of detaining Uighur people in “re-education camps”.

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