Queensland survive double injury scare
State of Origin: Kalyn Ponga and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow have been given the all clear by Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater.
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Daily Telegraph
38 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
2025 Melbourne Cup: Ethical Diamond wins at Royal Ascot
Don't miss out on the headlines from Melbourne Cup. Followed categories will be added to My News. Irish master trainer Willie Mullins has unveiled a potential Melbourne Cup candidate in Royal Ascot winner Ethical Diamond. Ethical Diamond, raced by owners of stablemate Absurde, who ran seventh and fifth respectively in the Cup the past two years, won the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (2400m) by two lengths under champion jockey Ryan Moore. 'We will give him a little break and look at York – that is normally where we go from here,' Mullins said. • 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! 'The Ebor would look possible. We would love to go to Melbourne. 'If we can get him qualified, that would be wonderful. 'We might see if we can get him Group-placed. I think he would suit the race (Melbourne Cup).' • 'Zachariah the Electrifier': Jockey targets darts glory Mullins has wanted to win the Cup since he fell in love with the race that stops a nation in 1993 as a spectator when Irish champion Vintage Crop, trained by Dermot Weld, triumphed at a Flemington. Mullins has placed in the Cup twice previously with Max Dynamite. Mullins travelled Vauban, now trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, and Absurde to Melbourne the past two years without luck. The Ebor Handicap at York offers the winner a golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup. • Moody, Purton, Tapp join turf legends in Hall Of Fame Vauban won a 2800m handicap at Royal Ascot in 2023 and then qualified for the Cup with a Group 3 victory in Ireland. Ethical Diamond must at the very least now place in a Group race at 2400m and beyond to be eligible (pass ballot clause) for Cup consideration. An Ebor win would assure the emerging stayer a start in the Cup but also attract a weight penalty. Vauban carried 55kg in 2023 Melbourne Cup, finished 14th of 23, and melted in hot conditions. Royal Ascot has coincidently been held under Australian-like conditions this year, with a good to firm-rated track and temperatures nudging 30C. Ethical Diamond revelled on the fast ground. 'There is a big win over hurdles in Ethical Diamond too but, at the moment, we will concentrate on Flat,' Mullins said. 'To me, I wouldn't think he loves this type of (fast) ground, but all the flat people tell me horses by Awtaad often like it.' Originally published as 'We would love to go': 2025 Melbourne Cup contender Ethical Diamond wins for trainer Willie Mullins at Royal Ascot
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Jed Stuart, son of NRL legend Ricky, scores on dream NRL debut
Ricky Stuart gave a stunning insight into what it all meant after his son Jed had a dream debut in the Canberra Raiders' 16-12 victory over the Wests Tigers on Friday night. Jed Stuart, 23, has been under an enormous shadow as he made his way in his young career. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Not only is he the offspring of a Kangaroos, NSW Blues and Raiders legend, his dad Ricky is also the Canberra coach. Named an emergency four times this season, Jed was finally handed his first NRL game by his emotional coach this week after strong form in the NSW Cup. Watch Ricky Stuart discuss his son's debut below Quick to ward off any talk of nepotism, Ricky said earlier this week: 'He's worked really hard to get there, he's actually had to work doubly hard — I've made it very hard on him. 'He's earned his spot, let's put it that way.' The 404th player to make his debut for the Canberra club, Jed couldn't have asked for a better start. After Joseph Tapine opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Jed got his moment just five minutes later. Kaeo Weekes' sensational run gave the Raiders field position before the ball worked its way to centre Sebastian Kris on the next tackle. Just as Kris was tackled, he managed to get a flick pass to Stuart and the red-headed winger did the rest to touch down in front of friends and family. 'Kris very late pass, Stuart! Stuart is over in the corner!' Dan Ginnane said on Fox League. 'Jed Stuart scores on debut and the Stuart clan goes bonkers. Oh boy they waited four years for him to get a crack at first grade. 'They only had to wait 18 minutes to see him score.' Michael Ennis added: 'What a moment that is. Question marks about the flick pass, but the put down from Stuart was brilliant. 'That's Canberra at their best. It started with Weekes and finished with Stuart, what a moment.' The Raiders led 16-0 at halftime and withstood a second-half comeback from the Tigers, who had skipper Jarome Luai backing up from Origin just 48 hours earlier. But much of the talk after the game was about the debut winger. 'You couldn't have scripted this any better,' Yvonne Sampson said on Fox League. Kevin Walter added: 'It was brilliant. It's an all-time memory now in the NRL. 'There's father and son, what a way to start his NRL career, scoring a try.' Englishman James Graham, who said his father's proudest moment from his son's long career was watching James' debut, was stunned by what he saw. 'To give your son a debut shirt, you coach the side, that must be – it'll never get better for a father son relationship,' he said. 'That is so cool to witness.' In his post-match press conference, Ricky Stuart said it had been the hardest week of his coaching career. 'I appreciate how all the players supported him and there was a lot of pressure on him tonight,' he said. 'This week's been the hardest week I've had since I've coached. 'From a father's point of view, I didn't want him to be man of the match, I just wanted him to hold his own. 'That's all I wanted and he did that. The amount of times I've woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning with some real bad thoughts. I didn't get any of those tonight so it was good. 'I'll enjoy a beer with him tonight.' Remarkably, X account Random Stats Guy claimed Ricky and Jed both made their debut in round 16, 37 years apart, and both scored a try. Pundits and fans alike were loving the moment on Friday night. Roosters halfback Chad Townsend tweeted: 'Great moment for Jed Stuart! Love to see it.' NRL journalist Brad Walter wrote: 'What a night for Jed Stuart. His dad is one of the great players, coaches and people in our game and Jed has had a debut to remember.' One fan watching on joked: 'BREAKING: Ricky Stuart's key halftime message – any of you who don't pass the ball to Jed WON'T be getting any Maccas on the way home!'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
ACF says satellite evidence shows mass native habitat destruction by farmers
Investigations are under way into a report by a leading conservation group that farmers have illegally cleared thousands of hectares of native bushland across Australia in a few years. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) used satellite images and on-the-ground volunteers to document what it says are 90,000 hectares, or 900 square kilometres, of lost bush on 176 properties in NSW, QLD, WA and NT. It says all the sites contained threatened species habitat and the land cleared between 2020 and 2025 equalled an area the size of about 320 Sydney CBDs. ACF business and nature lead, Nathaniel Pelle, said beef production was the primary culprit. "Among these 90,000 hectares that we've identified, the majority of it is identifiable as cattle properties," he said. "It's all pretty mature bush that is being cleared here … some of it might be 20-year-old regrowth and that's still valuable habitat for species." Retired IT professional Ruth Hughes took part in the project as a citizen scientist comparing before-and-after satellite images. "ACF has set it up and we get these shots of high-value nature areas," Ms Hughes said. Land clearing likely to impact threatened species must receive federal approval through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). ACF claimed none of the land clearing it documented had EPBC approval. Mr Pelle said federal and state governments had to do more to protect Australia from further deforestation. "Unfortunately, federal and state authorities are not properly monitoring or protecting habitat across the country," he said. "It is extremely important that we don't allow environmental degradation to continue. The ACF said the majority of the land clearing was in NSW and Queensland. State and territory governments are the main bodies responsible for enforcing land management and policing land clearing. The NSW government confirmed it received material from the ACF and has launched an investigation. "The department has received and is investigating allegations referred by the ACF," said a Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson. "We are unable to comment on cases currently under investigation, as it could impact future legal processes." Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development said it investigated all land clearing allegations, "including from ACF". The National Farmers Federation (NFF) hit back at the report. President David Jochinke said the report was full of holes, anti-agriculture and gave no credence to the hard work farmers undertook to preserve biodiversity and habitats. "You tell me how much of that 90,000 hectares is woody weed management … how much of that 90,000 hectares were legitimately cleared with offsets?" Mr Jochinke told the NSW Country Hour. "This so-called report is just an attack on agriculture, without even any context or knowledge of both what land stewardship is and how agriculture looks after over half of Australia's natural environment. Mr Jochinke said the NFF opposed illegal land clearing "but we know the majority of farmers do the right thing … and actually offset a lot of their land management". He said the majority of farmers worked with Landcare and other organisations to plant trees and regenerate farmland. "We understand we've got to look after nature because it absolutely helps our production systems," he said.
