When people say a home-and-away match is finals-like, they’re usually referring, at least in part, to its quality. That was far from the case on Saturday night at the MCG – for three quarters, Geelong and Melbourne slugged it out in greasy conditions that they made look far worse than they were, committing a range of errors both in disposal and decision-making that manifested in a run of 14 straight behinds in the second quarter and hardly improved. It’s actually not worth talking much about those first three quarters, ugly as they were, so distinct were they from the best the Demons and Cats ..read more

Wayne Bennett might be rumoured with a move elsewhere for 2025, but his Dolphins are far from done in 2024 after another stunning boilover win. They had been thrashed on the opening weekend by the Cowboys, losing 43-18 on their own turf, but repaid the favour in Townsville with a 28-26 victory thanks to a Jamayne Isaako hat trick. Inspired by Kodi Nikorima’s four try assists, the depleted Dolphins picked up their second successive win in the far north, consigning the Cowboys to a fourth straight defeat. “It was a bit of a crazy game,” said Bennett. “I’m pleased with the outcome. “As a coach I ..read more

They were made to play until the last whistle, but the ACT Brumbies held on to post an important 28-20 win over the Fijian Drua in Canberra on Saturday night. After opening up a 21-3 lead off the back of two tries to Test centre Len Ikitau, Mick Byrne’s Drua scored two converted tries to close the margin to 21-17 midway through the second half to have the Brumbies on the ropes. But a superb cameo off the bench from loose-forward Luke Reimer, who won two crucial on-ball penalties and then scored a try, proved to be match-defining. “It got a bit cold on the bench watching,” Reimer later quipped ..read more

Melbourne have lost star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen to an ankle injury in a nailbiting 22-20 win over the gallant Gold Coast. The rugby league world held its breath at Robina on Saturday when the dazzling Storm No.1 clutched at his right ankle while making a tackle late in the first half. It was the same ankle he broke in week one of the finals against Brisbane last year, after he missed 13 months with a shattered kneecap. The 25-year-old was in a moon boot and on crutches at halftime after setting up two tries and scoring one of his own. More League Papenhuyzen injured again as Storm survive ..read more

The Chiefs have moved up the Super Rugby ladder and are one step closer to securing top-four finish and a home-quarter final, putting on a commanding display over the Western Force in Waikato. Trailing 29 – 7 at halftime, the Force were their own worst enemies for much of the game, with discipline and execution at the ruck falling short on multiple occasions. Off the back of a strong set-piece performance, the Chiefs piled on nine tries – including a hattrick to winger Daniel Rona – to win 56 – 7.  The win is the biggest the Chiefs have ever managed over the Western Australian side, besti ..read more

Benji Marshall has plenty of kids in his side and, sitting 14-6 to the good at half time over the Bulldogs, he might have turned to the elder statesmen in the sheds and asked them to help steer the ship to victory. Instead, two of his more senior players let him down badly, with Aiden Sezer set for a ban after a shocking hip drop and David Klemmer sat down late for dissent. Another who should know better, Alex Seyfarth lost his head completely: he had already tried to put a shot on Jacob Kiraz, sparking an all-in brawl in which he aimed a headbutt at Reed Mahoney. He was binned and will surely ..read more

The Queensland Reds have snapped a 25-year drought in Christchurch, holding on to beat the Crusaders 33-28 on Saturday afternoon. With the scores locked at 21-all midway through the second half, Harry Wilson charged David Havili’s attempted clearing kicking away and picked up the scraps to score after 61 minutes. Then, Super Rugby rookie Tim Ryan continued his stellar start to his career by scoring his second try as he stormed onto a clever kick behind the Crusaders’ defence to score and give the Reds a 33-21 lead. Charge down Try Harry Wilson is PUMPED ????#SuperRugbyPacific #CRUvRED pic ..read more

Manly veteran Nathan Brown could be banned but is likely to cop a fine after he was one of four players charged by the match review committee from Friday night’s matches. Brown was charged with grade-two dangerous for an incident involving Josh Papalii and risks a two-game ban if he challenges the judiciary so he is almost certain to cop a $3000 hit to the hip pocket. Canberra prop Emre Guler will be slugged $1800 to $2500 for a high shot on Tolutau Koula in his team’s win over Manly, lock Morgan Smithies is looking at $1500 to $2000 for a crusher tackle while Brisbane winger Deine Mariner has ..read more

New coach Michael Maguire will go into Origin I without one of the Blues’ most reliable players after Cameron Murray was ruled out for as long as two months with a hip problem. The Rabbitohs announced on Saturday that Murray had suffered a hip flexor complaint during Thursday’s loss to Penrith and would be out for six to eight weeks, ruling him out of the State of Origin series opener and possibly game two in Melbourne. Murray has been one of NSW’s best in recent years and his absence opens the door or Rabbitohs teammate Keaon Koloamatangi or Manly’s Haumole Olakau’atu to step up. Murray’s inj ..read more

Michael Hooper has made light of his first try for Australia’s national sevens team on a landmark day in his bid to play at the Olympics. The Wallabies great, who’s switched to rugby’s short format in a bid to go for gold in Paris, dived over for his maiden score at the Singapore Sevens on Friday as both the Australian Olympic-bound men and women’s teams flourished.  The men defeated World Series-leading Argentina 26-19 in their opening fixture, with Hooper making just a brief cameo appearance at the end, but the 32-year-old was in the starting lineup which then beat Canada 21-14 to effec ..read more