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Sam Stonestreet cops long sideline stint

Sam Stonestreet cops long sideline stint

News.com.au19-05-2025

NRL: Sam Stonestreet will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after having to undergo ankle surgery following the Storm clash.

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‘Unicorn, alien': Sam Darcy blows AFL away in Bulldogs' demolition win
‘Unicorn, alien': Sam Darcy blows AFL away in Bulldogs' demolition win

Daily Telegraph

time44 minutes ago

  • Daily Telegraph

‘Unicorn, alien': Sam Darcy blows AFL away in Bulldogs' demolition win

Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Victor Wembanyama is the NBA's alien, and Sam Darcy might just be the AFL's unicorn. The Western Bulldogs forward continued his breakout season with five goals in his side's 79-point demolition of Richmond on Sunday afternoon. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The Dogs won 21.9 (135) to 8.8 (56), getting a healthy percentage boost to leapfrog the Gold Coast Suns, who fell out of the top eight for the first time this season after losing a seven-point thriller to GWS. Darcy is only scratching the surface of his talent but the 21-year-old looks close to unstoppable in a marking contest when he is in full flight. His reach, athleticism, and ability to kick on both sides of his body has the 208cm forward posed to tear the competition apart. Sam Darcy is about to take the AFL by storm. Photos: Getty. The Herald Sun's Jay Clark said Darcy had been described as a 'cheat code' by his teammates, and the AFL's best players are already in awe of Darcy and his star potential. 'He is an absolute unicorn, an alien of a player,' reigning Coleman Medal winner Jesse Hogan said of Darcy earlier this week. 'The way he moves and how good his hands are, I don't think there's a player you can compare him to at the moment. 'His ceiling is higher than any player in the competition. 'He's going to be a nightmare for key backs over the next 10-15 years. 'I don't know how you stop him. No player has ever had what he's had, so it's a pretty scary proposition.' 'What I think is underrated with him is how aggressive he is,' Carlton captain Patrick Cripps said on AFL 360. 'Sometimes you can get these tall guys that have all the attributes but what's underrated is the aggression. 'He's got some serious craft, as you get older you love seeing these guys come in. He'll change the game and he's going to be special.' Darcy kicked five goals against Richmond, with defender Noah Balta giving him too much room to roam and mark unopposed inside forward 50. 'I'm always looking at areas to improve,' Darcy told Fox Footy post-game. 'AFL is such a demanding game — four-quarter running power, trying to build that fitness base, work on kicking and the marking craft.' Four-time premiership Jordan Lewis told Darcy could become so dominant that rival teams will need to recruit lanky, athletic defenders who can challenge Darcy. 'I love a kid that comes in and really uses his assets as a strength, and that's clearly his height,' Lewis said. 'So I think the one thing that probably gets underplayed in what has been a relatively short career is he seems like he's got good football IQ. Sam Darcy is one of the tallest players in the AFL, and has athleticism to burn. (Photo by) 'He knows what positions to get into, he's got great dexterity on both sides of his body. He's only going to get better once he matures into his body. 'I think he's asking questions not only of the opposition but certainly how the opposition plan their list build in the future and do they recruit someone that they think is specifically suited to play on Sam Darcy. 'Typically it's been a defender that probably hasn't been tall. We've seen a few sort of around the sort of 198cm, but is there is there someone out there that's a little bit taller that can go with Sam Darcy? 'If it's not now, it certainly will in the not too distant future, force teams to think, 'have we got a specific player on our list that can play on Sam Darcy?' Matthew Kennedy, Tim English, Sam Darcy and Adam Treloar of the Bulldogs sing the team song. (Photo by) 'Gee he's exciting,' Fox Footy commentator Matt Hill said after Darcy's performance against Richmond. 'Even a neutral supporter would come through the turnstile to watch him play.' The Bulldogs were dominant across the ground as Marcus Bontempelli played arguably his best game of the season, finishing with three goals and 36 disposals. Bontempelli was singing Darcy's praises, telling Fox Footy post-game: 'Lucky to play with him and lucky to have someone so big and dominant up the ground. 'He's still a young man but he's impressing us every single week.' 'They've just been ruthless,' Nathan Buckley said on Fox Footy after the Bulldogs' big win. Sam Darcy could take the AFL by storm. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Brisbane's Logan Morris is kicking bags of goals for fun. (Photo by James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images) 'Special': Lions youngster's 28-year AFL first Darcy isn't the only young key forward threatening to take the AFL by storm. Brisbane Lions youngster Logan Morris starred in a big win over Geelong, becoming the youngest player to kick five goals or more in consecutive games since Essendon great Matthew Lloyd in 1997. The No. 31 draft pick has emerged as a gun forward and Brisbane's longterm replacement for Joe Daniher. Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt said Morris' marking ability was 'extremely special overhead'. 'I haven't seen many kids come in and play the way he does and the way he catches the ball. The way he reads the flight is second to none in the AFL,' Riewoldt said. 'He's about to really announce himself in the AFL. He's going to be a superstar.' Originally published as 'Unicorn, alien': Sam Darcy blows AFL away in Bulldogs' demolition win

Narromine, Scone previews: Jockey Braith Nock chases century
Narromine, Scone previews: Jockey Braith Nock chases century

Daily Telegraph

time44 minutes ago

  • Daily Telegraph

Narromine, Scone previews: Jockey Braith Nock chases century

Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Trainer Jane Clement will be taking as much of an interest in today's Scone meeting as she will at Narromine given her rising star son Braith Nock can tick off another milestone in his epic season. Nock's tally of winners throughout New South Wales is 99, just one behind current ladder leader Ashley Morgan. Add on two wins in Queensland and Nock's nationwide total of 101 is equal to that of Craig Williams and one above James McDonald. Clement was there at Inverell on Cup day, January 1, 2023, to see her son ride his first winner from his first ride, no less. And while Nock's reputation and statue has risen immensely since then, success hasn't changed him one bit. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'He is just very humble,'' Clement said. 'He had three winners last week and you ring him up and you say 'how ya going, good on ya mate' and you wouldn't even think he's ridden a winner sort of thing. 'He doesn't say too much about it but his goals are inside his head. He doesn't spruik about things or anything like that. 'He's pretty amazing, once he sets his mind on something, he really delivers. 'I know he's my kid but he's just a freak really.' Nock may well be humble but that doesn't mean he isn't competitive. He's got one hand on the coveted Champion Sydney Apprentice's title and is intent on joining the epic honour roll of past winners like George Moore, Ron Quinton, Malcolm Johnston, Wayne Harris, Darren Beadman, Hugh Bowman and Tommy Berry. 'He was 20 (wins) behind Molly Bourke probably three or four months ago and it wasn't a thing he was going to chase and then he said 'righto I am going chase it' and that's what he's done,'' Clement said. While Nock is almost certain to crack the (NSW) century on Monday, Clement is closing in on a milestone of her own with 295 wins on her resume. All things being equal, she could get to 299 by the close of business on Monday with four major players to represent her at Narromine, namely Hefty Price, Hardhead, Mythical Moochi and The Great Armada. All four of her Narromine quartet will be ridden by Bronte Simpson, herself a young and talented apprentice who rode three winners in the space of two-days last week. 'She's going really well,' Clement said. 'She's only a newbie but she is doing a great job.' Clement (and Simpson) are sure to play a role in an absorbing finale via the emerging 'Country Cups' galloper The Great Armada who tackles the Benchmark 66 Handicap (1300m) after rock solid performances in the Glen Innes and Gulgong Cups at his past couple. 'I really honestly think he can do a really good job (on Monday),'' Clement said. 'He is just racing really well. He ran fourth in the Glen Innes Cup and then he ran second the other day and it probably did suit. 'He got back and there was a lot of kickback and he didn't really like that and 1200m was probably a little bit short for him. 'He has been to Narromine twice and won both times so he obviously likes it there.' Clement's first runner on the Narromine card today is Hefty Price, by Xtravagant out of a mare named Miss Expensive. Granted it is a clever name but hardly apt according to his admiring owner/trainer. 'We worked it out the other day, ' she says. 'I think he's won over $30,000 for us now and he was only a 'cheapie'. 'He's very honest and tries his hardest.' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ MUSWELLBROOK trainer Justin Bowen can make a case for any, and all, of his six runners at Scone on Monday – even the one priced at $61. Bowen's longshot on the card is the first-starter, Droplets, who has company from her stablemates Our Land ($13) and Hot Chestnut ($26) in the Bengalla King of The Ranges Maiden Handicap (900m). A two-year-old daughter of Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win, Droplets clocked in fifth of the seven runners in her recent trial at Scone and while nine-lengths off the winner, she earned praise for the performance. 'She just needed the experience and the outing,'' Bowen began. 'And she's gone out there at her first trial on a bog track and didn't completely get through it so I thought there was plenty of merit in that and she's come through the other side really well.' Both Droplets and Our Land are members of Hunter Valley breeding royalty as direct descendants of the celebrated broodmare, Winged Beauty. Our Land, a son of Territories out of an unraced Galileo mare, was underwhelming in his May trial on the Beaumont track, finishing last of the five. Fast forward to June 5 and the three-year-old was runner-up that time around. 'It was a big improvement on his first trial which is what you hope to see,'' Bowen said. 'It was pretty wet and a heavy track and he still needed the experience, so I thought he did a great job. 'We landed with Aaron (Bullock) on Monday which is a blessing especially on a young horse like him having his first start.' As for Hot Chestnut, there won't be a flashier or better-bred horse in the parade ring. A chestnut grandson of the aforementioned Galileo, his dam is a half-sister to the bonny mare, Hot Danish. 'I definitely think he has got the ability, it is just whether or not we see it this time or next,'' Bowen says. Bowen also saddles-up two $51 outsiders in the last race at Scone but argues that both Atoka and Thirteen Under can make their presence felt. Atoka has won just once in her 30 starts and Thirteen Under is himself one from 21, but both of the four-year-olds have been going around in uncommonly strong Class 1s since they elevated from Maiden status. 'Atoka is flying at the moment and really thriving. She gets her chance again,'' Bowen said. As for Thirteen Under, Bowen points out that he was fourth at Scone last start behind Saturday's TAB Highway winner, Calico Miss. Originally published as Narromine, Scone Monday previews: Trainer Jane Clement keeps keen eye on son Braith Nock's century chase

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