The Jackson Topine lawsuit raises issues of significant importance for player welfare and the duty of care owed to players by NRL clubs. In short, Topine alleges that he was subjected to humiliating “corporal punishment” for being late to training with the Bulldogs, and as a result has been unable to play since that incident last July. More specifically, Topine claims he was forced to wrestle 30 or more of his teammates and suffered a “psychiatric injury” as a result of the incident. Only those present at the gymnasium at Smeaton Range can comment on what occurred, but that hasn’t stopped prom ..read more

Both Trent Robinson and Shane Flanagan have weighed into the debate on concussions and kick-offs after Mosese Suli’s horror knockout in the first play of the Anzac Day match between St George Illawarra and the Sydney Roosters on Thursday. Suli was sparked by a head-on-head collision with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, in isolation an accident but a scene seen regularly this year as players return restarts with venom and gangs of tacklers attempt to engage an upright opponent. “It’s a really hard one because I love kick-offs because they set a statement to how we wanted to play today,” said Easts bos ..read more

After this weekend there will be five more rounds of Super Rugby Pacific and then the finals. So, let’s reflect on the five biggest disappointments, surprises and unknowns this season. Surprises 1. Advance Australia, Fair or Not Much of the time, Aussies consume Super Rugby standings in three ways: how is my team doing, how many Aussie teams are better than the Highlanders, and will an Aussie team be in the Grand Final? For four fifths of fans, the first question was joyless, the second answer was one or two, and the last one was just nah. In 2023, three Aussie teams topped the Landers and non ..read more

The Blues are on fire and while all the justifiable fanfare is justifiably on how well their stars are playing, it’s Carlton’s unsung heroes who will validate the club’s premiership push. We’ve arguably never seen the Charlie Curnow/Harry McKay connection as dominant as we’ve seen it now. Patrick Cripps has had a strong start to the season, Sam Walsh’s return has been typically prolific and Jacob Weitering’s barely missed a beat – but none of this is surprising. What really separates the best teams in the league from the rest is depth and the ability to rely on role players and those outside t ..read more

Here we are folks, the end of the road when it comes to the A-League home and away season for 2023/24. What a round to savour, with finals positions almost certain to change and Western Sydney hoping to be the team that sneaks into the top six at the eleventh hour. Brisbane and Adelaide meet in a now-pointless fixture on Friday night, before the Mariners seek a temporary spot at the top of the ladder against the Jets on Saturday. More Football The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest Who is Arne Slot? The Dutchman leading the ra ..read more

Normally, race weeks are all about the long build to Sunday’s crescendo, but this time around, IndyCar dropped a bombshell by announcing revised results from last month’s season-opening St. Petersburg Grand Prix, in Florida. With one of its flagship teams caught cheating, multiple drivers disqualified, and a new race winner declared, this might be the craziest story of the year in any motorsport. Let’s unpack what just happened and reckon with what it means for the various title races going forward. How Team Penske got caught During warmups at last weekend’s Long Beach Grand Prix, IndyCar offi ..read more

The IPL has changed the game of cricket, there is no doubt about that. Millions of dollars splurged onto players each year, not just rewarding the players for honing their craft but changing lives forever. But it seems the league has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball – in fact, this season there is no battle at all. In terms of dollars, the Indian Premier League is without question one of the biggest tournaments on the planet. The latest broadcast rights going for more than 8.6 billion dollars – as US media Juggernaut Walt Disney and India’s Reliance Industries claimed the ..read more

It sounds harsh considering that he lies second in the drivers’ standings and only the equivalent of a victory behind the points leader, but Sergio Perez’s performances are failing to inspire much confidence in the final season of his current contract with Red Bull. Nobody expects Perez to beat his team-mate, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen and he’s finished on the podium at four out of the five races this season. But the Mexican hasn’t come close to holding a candle to Verstappen over the past twelve months despite driving one of the most dominant cars in Formula One’s history. Verst ..read more

It’s a festival of footy as Anzac Round dawns, with matches to be played across a whopping five days in 2024’s most spread-out ‘weekend’ of action. That’s good news for some, bad news for others – like say, those poor souls whose job it is to write something on every day AFL footy is played – and it makes for a challenge when doing a weekly expert tipping write-up, too. So this round, we’re doing things a little differently – to give our experts enough time to mull over this weekend’s games, catch up on line-ups and make their choices, we’ll be updating this week’s tips daily with all the upco ..read more

Having a week off to recharge from the bye did nothing to stop South Sydney’s season from hell descending further into the abyss.  Jason Demetriou received a stay of execution from the Rabbitohs after a spirited performance against Cronulla but the speculation about when, not if, he will get the punt will ramp up after Friday night’s thrashing in Melbourne.  The Storm romped to a 32-4 half-time lead before taking their foot off the throttle as they cruised to a 54-20 triumph to improve to a 6-1 record in first place. South Sydney’s record is the opposite, as is their position on the ..read more