Tubby tells Marnus to take a break
Australian cricket great Mark Taylor tells dumped Marnus Labuschagne to take a break from cricket to mentally refresh before a home Ashes series.
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7NEWS
21 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Zac Lomax makes sad admission on wayward kicking in NSW's State of Origin II defeat to Queensland
Zac Lomax concedes his goalkicking 'wasn't ideal' in the second State of Origin game but has vowed not to board any emotional rollercoaster triggered by NSW's tight loss. NSW scored five tries to Queensland's four in Wednesday night's game but went down 26-24 as Lomax landed only two of five attempts at goal in wet and wild conditions. Nathan Cleary's groin injury left goalkicking duties to Lomax at the 11th hour and the right winger could have pushed the Blues to an unassailable 2-0 series lead off his boot. Instead, the result moves the series to a game three decider in Sydney on July 9, and denies NSW the chance for a first series clean sweep since 2000. Lomax said it was important not to become weighed down after the defeat. 'Week in week out, it's a rollercoaster of emotions. I guess like the first game, everyone was singing NSW's praises and game two, we lost. That's the way it goes,' he said. 'That's why you can't buy into it too much.' Parramatta winger Lomax said it could be easy to fall into thinking it was he alone who cost NSW the game. In reality, the Blues conceded eight unanswered penalties and completed at only 58 per cent as they fell 26-6 down at half-time. While critics may have pinned the loss on his kicking, Lomax said: 'It's easy to look at it that way because it (the margin) is two points and a goal is two points. For me, I pride myself on being a good goalkicker as well. 'It was not ideal. But as I said, it gives you guys (the media) something to talk about and the lead-in into game three. 'The thing is, I probably couldn't have struck them any better. They just sat out there. 'We were on the receiving end of it (defeat) but that's the way that footy goes. The best thing is we get another game, game three, and we'll be up for it.' Before then, Lomax is predicting a harsh reception playing before St George Illawarra's home crowd for the first time since his highly publicised exit from the club. Lomax surprised the NRL world last year by requesting a release from his Dragons deal amid career-best form that eventually yielded Australian and NSW debuts. After weeks of build-up the Dragons relented to Lomax's request and paved the way for him to sign at Parramatta, where he has continued to excel on the wing. A Dragon for 114 games, Lomax expects some rough treatment when he runs out at Wollongong in the Eels' blue-and-gold strip on Saturday evening. 'I'm sure I won't get a real nice reception there but that's the way that it goes,' he said after Parramatta's 36-20 defeat of Gold Coast. 'You completely try and take the emotion out of it because emotion can affect your game positively and negatively. 'For us it's learning what we did well tonight (against Gold Coast), learning things we can improve on.'
Perth Now
22 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Six-year first no worry for Aussies in West Indies
Travis Head insists there are no concerns over top-order inexperience as Australia prepare to enter a Test match without Steve Smith or Manus Labuschagne for the first time since 2018. Wednesday's series opener against West Indies in Barbados will see a new-look top order for the tourists, with Sam Konstas expected to open and Josh Inglis to bat as high as No.4. Cameron Green will also likely feature in the top four alongside veteran Usman Khawaja, against an attack spearheaded by quick Shamar Joseph. Smith and Labuschagne have been something of a cornerstone of Australia's success over the past six years, with at least one of the pair featuring in every Test since Smith's return from the ball-tampering ban in 2019. The 2018 Boxing Day Test against India marks the last time neither played for Australia, while at least one of them featured in 118 of Australia's 124 Tests since midway through March 2013. "They're still around, so it still feels similar at the moment in the build up," Head said. "When we get into the game it will be a little new look. But it's guys who have already played, guys with experience already in a short amount of Test cricket. "And guys we have played a lot of different cricket around in my career. "It might be a bit different with some familiar faces, but there are some guys there who have been part of the group for a long time." The left-hander said he did not expect to move up the order to help bridge the gulf in experience, having become one of the world's best No.5s in recent years. Smith is some chance to return for the second Test in Grenada starting July 3, depending on the state of his finger after dislocating it in the World Test Championship final. And Head believed it would also only be a matter of time before Labuschagne also forced his way back in. "He will grind away," Head said. "He grinded yesterday after training. He will hit balls and work on his game. There is no doubt he will be back in international cricket. "Everyone has been through it. "He will go about his thing. He will get better and let's hope for a better, stronger Marnus when he comes back." The West Indies series will form the start of the next Test Championship cycle, while also offering selectors a crucial eye to this summer's Ashes. Head said the team had tried to move on fast from their defeat to South Africa at Lord's earlier this month, with a new motivation to make the 2027 decider. "It's unfortunate, we put two years of hard work into one week and it didn't quite go to plan," the South Australian said. "There is another motivation, we have two years to build and have another look at it. "If you dwell on it for too long or look back, you forget about what is coming."
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Alex Ducas: Geraldton product becomes ninth Australian to earn NBA championship ring as Oklahoma City triumph
Geraldton's Alex Ducas has become the ninth Australian-born player -and the second West Aussie - to win an NBA championship ring after Oklahoma City prevailed in the deciding game of the finals against Indiana. The Thunder proved too strong in Game 7 with a 103-91 triumph on Monday morning (WA time), sparking scenes of wild celebration on their home court. Among those on the podium was Ducas, who didn't take to the court in the playoffs but earns a ring after being a part of the squad in their historic season. Ducas featured in 21 games during the regular season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in a role as a depth guard behind a stacked Thunder rotation led by league and finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 24-year-old joins three-time Chicago Bulls champion Luc Longley as the only WA products to have achieved title success in the NBA. Seven other Aussie-born players also boast championship experience: Andrew Gaze (San Antonio, 1999), Patty Mills (San Antonio, 2014), Aron Baynes (San Antonio, 2014), Andrew Bogut (Golden State, 2015), Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland, 2016), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland, 2016) and Jack White (Denver, 2023). Ducas attended Geraldton's Nagle Catholic College and played for his hometown Buccaneers before attending Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and subsequently heading to college at famous Aussie breeding ground St Mary's in California. He went undrafted last June but was snapped up by the Thunder after impressing for their Summer League affiliate, paving the way for his championship honour. The result meant fellow Aussie Johnny Furphy missed out on his own ring as Indiana fell short of an unlikely finals upset. Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists to help the Thunder recover from a one-point deficit at half-time to romp to victory. Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for OKC, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages at home. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season. Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more. The day was soured by a suspected Achilles injury to Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the opening quarter, cruelling the visitors' hopes of an upset win.
