Latest news with #NRL2025
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Roosters show their might by flogging Cowboys
The Sydney Roosters have reaffirmed their status as genuine NRL final threats, putting on a 42-8 flogging of North Queensland at Allianz Stadium. In one of their most dominant performances of the season, the Roosters ran in five second-half tries on the hapless Cowboys to go seventh on the ladder. It was only three-and-a-half months ago that the Roosters conceded 50 points to Brisbane in round one, then dropped four of their first five games. But this is suddenly a very different Roosters outfit. Sunday's win was their biggest of 2025, and the second half was close to their most impressive. The only concerns were injuries to second-rower Siua Wong and five-eighth Sandon Smith, both picking up knee issues. But this is a Roosters squad whose depth seemingly has no end. Roosters are on another level 🔥 #NRLRoostersCowboys — NRL (@NRL) June 22, 2025 James Tedesco is having close to his best season in the No.1 jersey, but it is the club's unsung heroes who also have them flying. Salesi Foketi was great filling in for Victor Radley at lock on Sunday, sending Lindsay Collins over for the first try with a perfect short ball. The No.13 had a role in another during the Roosters' second-half run, with he and Angus Crichton throwing offloads before Sandon Smith kicked for Tedesco to score. Bench hooker Benaiah Ioelu starred in his fourth NRL game, kicking twice in the lead-up to tries. One came when a 40-20 attempt bounced back into the hands of Robert Toia before Connor Watson crossed, and another was a cross-field effort for Daniel Tupou. Billy Smith scored a double in his first full season uninterrupted by injury, while Naufahu Whyte ran 173 metres and is close to the NRL's most improved player. Mark Nawaqanitawase also scored twice and is proving a threat on the right wing, with one coming after an incredible tap-back from rising halfback Hugo Savala. And then there is Tedesco, who Billy Slater claimed in Nine's commentary on Sunday was playing better than he'd ever seen him. The Roosters No.1 scored his try, made a bust before Billy Smith's first, then helped the Tri-colours on the attack for the centre's second. But his most crucial play was a late one-on-one strip on John Bateman just before halftime, with the Cowboys on the attack and fighting to make it 18-10. In contrast, the past month has been a nightmare for the Cowboys, after they were beaten 58-4 by the Dolphins last week. Todd Payten's men are now 12th on the ladder, with just one win since they demolished Gold Coast at Magic Round. They have spent large chunks of time since then without Jason Taumalolo, and also missed State of Origin forwards Reuben Cotter and Reece Robson on Sunday. But things must turn around dramatically if they are to go anywhere near replicating last season's fifth-placed finish.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Bulldogs playmaker thought Galvin was ‘joking' when told he was being punted
Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton has revealed he thought new recruit Lachlan Galvin was joking when he came on for his debut on Sunday and told the No. 7 to go play hooker. Nobody knew just how Galvin would be used off the bench in his first game for Canterbury, including the players themselves. The 19-year-old warmed the bench for 57 minutes thinking he was likely coming on at lock or centre, but when the moment arrived it was in the halves - his preferred position. 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 > Galvin came on and Sexton, who admits he has 'no idea' the long-term plan for positions, was told to move into dummyhalf with Reed Mahoney going off. 'He came on and said play hooker and I thought he was joking for a second and he goes 'Nah you're actually playing hooker' and I thought oh righto this will be good,' Sexton said on Fox League. 'Whatever is my role in the team, the coach is going to decide that and I just have to play to the best of my ability. We've got lots of strike in the team and they're good headaches for the coach to have. Galvin said he still has 'no clue' what position he'll be playing moving forward under coach Cameron Ciraldo. 'I thought I was coming on at lock or centre, I didn't know and then Ciro told me go into the halves so whatever Ciro wants and the boys need, I'll do it,' Galvin said on Fox League. 'If we keep winning like that I'll do anything.' Ciraldo said he had a number of possible plans to get Galvin into the game, but halfback wasn't the number one idea. He also revealed that his original intention last week was to have Galvin play in NSW Cup, rather than the King's Birthday blockbuster. 'We had a couple of plans, but no, that wasn't the plan (to play halfback). We had a couple of different plans there,' Ciraldo said. 'It's been a really hard week to get his head around everything. 'On Tuesday, when I named the team, he wasn't in the team. I thought he would play NSW Cup and he'll just come through there and learn our systems but every training session he did, he got better. He understood our systems better and by the end of the week, it was clear that we needed to have him in the team and he could help us win the game. 'Credit to him and how he went about his training during the week and I thought he did great when he got on there. Ciraldo was assured that the 19-year-old's best position was in the halves. 'He plays in the halves. That's his preferred position,' Ciraldo said. 'When we looked at bringing him in immediately we probably thought he can fill a number of positions, and he might be able to do that, but he's predominantly a half and he did a great job tonight. 'The learning is not over. He's been here for a week. He's still got a lot to learn, but today it was a great start for him.' Sexton is still without a contract for next season and admitted the uncertainty around his future, which was only amplified with the arrival of Galvin, has played on his mind at times this season. 'Yeah it obviously has its moments but I have a great playing group and staff here and coming to training every day is so enjoyable and it's pretty cliche but I'm just trying to control what I can control,' Sexton said. 'Hopefully that (contract) will get sorted sooner rather than later but it was another good win tonight. 'It's obviously been a few weird weeks with Lachie coming to the club but I thought the moment he came in, all the pressure went away and I could just focus on footy. 'At the end of the day he's a great kid and from day dot he just wants to learn and get better and he's very young. He's fit in really well and I don't feel the pressure, I just need to play footy and if I do that well the rest is out of my control.' Galvin said he had moved on from the drama surrounding his departure from the Tigers and paid tribute to his new teammates and fans. 'I just want to play footy. I shut that out. That's all over now and that's all in the past,' he said. 'That's all in the past now. I just want to play footy and I was smiling and enjoying it out there today. That's all I really want to do and with these bunch of boys, it's quite amazing and the fans got right behind us tonight. It was really cool. 'As you can see when I scored, they all jumped over me. They've been so supportive, they've got behind me. 'Just to get the win with all these boys that have been so good to me, I love every minute of it. The club is building into something really special here and I love being a part of it.' Bulldogs No. 6 Matt Burton played in the halves alongside both Sexton and Galvin on Sunday and said the dynamic worked with all three of them on the field. 'I thought it was good, (Galvin) came on and added a lot of energy there through the middle and took them on,' Burton said. 'He'll only get better as he gets older and I thought he was great on debut tonight and jagged a try but I thought Sexton was really good in the middle as well. 'We didn't train too much (Galvin) to be honest, he sort of filled in a few spots during the week but we didn't know where he was going to come on. 'I thought he did a great job to handle that and has obviously been through a bit, he's done well tonight. There's been a lot of noise around him so it's good for him to come out here, have some fun and play footy. '(But) Sexton) has been outstanding for us all year and the way he goes about his business is second to none and I thought he played really well in the first half, got us in a good position and set us up for the second half.' Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton added: 'There's a long way to go with him, tonight was just a little snippet of how good he can be, I'm very proud he's in the Bulldogs colours now, he's going to be a massive asset to our team.'
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Sharks make ‘premiership statement!'
NRL: The Cronulla Sharks have secured their biggest win of season 2025, beating the Storm in a fiery rivalry clash.
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Holier than thou': Roosters slammed as ‘shameless' Wayne Bennett act backfires
With the Roosters' signing of Brandon Smith now officially considered a failure after he was released from his contract early to join Souths, the club's approach to recruiting in recent seasons has been questioned. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer > In addition to Smith, it appears $500,000-a-year winger Dom Young could also be on the move, short of 18 months into his deal with the Roosters. The Smith and Young situations have capped what has been a pretty disappointing few years by the Roosters on the recruiting front. NRL360 co-host Braith Anasta said he wasn't too surprised the Smith signing didn't work out, given the Roosters signed him to be their starting hooker. 'I was the most outspoken about the Smith signing,' he said. 'The Roosters needed a specialist nine, they got rid of their grand final winning nine and got a 13 (Smith) and tried to transform him into a nine. 'He can player nine pretty well but he's a lock in my opinion. 'I didn't think the experiment would work and it didn't and I copped a bit of criticism for it.' Smith joined the Roosters in 2023, and while there were some glimpses, Smith didn't play up to his huge $850,000 a year deal. When the Roosters inked a deal with Cowboys star dummy-half Reece Robson, Smith became expendable. The polarising Smith left the Storm to join the Chooks, rejecting offers from the Cowboys and Dolphins, the latter of which he gave then-coach Wayne Bennett a verbal commitment. For Paul Crawley, this recruiting failure is a big indictment on the Roosters and their 'holier than thou' approach when trying to land big name free agents. 'My question goes back with Brandon, when he went to the Roosters the Storm had tabled an offer, the Gold Coast, Cowboys wanted him and the Dolphins did as well. It wasn't as if he wasn't a wanted man,' Crawley said. 'What got him over the line at the Roosters was the holier than thou approach that they took him out to meet the board, he had pizzas at Robbo's. He was wined and dined and Smith came out after that and said that Robbo said he'd make him a better man. 'Where I had a problem with it was that the Roosters knew they were signing one of the game's great rouges who was a wild child. 'Two and a half years later they've shown him the door because there's a shiny new toy that's come along in the form of Reece Robson. 'They didn't give him (Smith) the time to come good on their side of the promise.' Veteran journalist Andrew Webster agreed with Crawley's stance. 'I reckon their recruitment been shocking in many respects,' he said. 'The way they flaunted his (Smith's) signing, particularly getting one over Bennett in getting him after he'd already done the deal with Bennett at the Dolphins. I've talked to (Roosters chairman) Nick Politis about it. It was pretty shameless with how they celebrated.' Young isn't out the door by any means, but he's clearly out of favour, having been dropped to reserve grade. It was understood last week that Young would be making his way back to the Knights, but according to Robinson, Newcastle have backtracked on how much they want to pay for the winger. That has stalled Young's move to the Knights for now. Crawley again slammed the Roosters for how the Young signing has played out. 'The Roosters didn't give Dom Young $500k to be good guys, they did it because he was playing great football at the Knights and he was a try scoring machine,' Crawley said. 'Now he's going to move back up this highway with his reputation in tatters. 'The Roosters have not made Dom Young a better footballer in their system. 'What gets me sometimes is the way that the Roosters publicly make out they can do it better than everybody else but they have just as many failures as the other clubs.'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Please explain': NRL fans call out Penrith Panthers footage ahead of golden point
NRL fans are calling for the governing body to explain some unusual footage showing a Penrith Panthers trainer washing the Steeden ball with water only seconds before Dylan Edwards' kick-off in golden point against the Cowboys. The Panthers and Cowboys were involved in a thriller on Saturday night after Scott Drinkwater prompted a North Queensland comeback that levelled the game heading into golden point. Nathan Cleary, Drinkwater and Jake Clifford all missed field goal attempts as the sides were involved in the first draw of the 2025 NRL season. There were a number of controversies throughout the game with Cowboys coach Todd Payten questioning a Penrith penalty after the runner appears to fall into Murray Taulagi's chest. But the referee deemed this a head-high tackle. Penrith coach Ivan Cleary was also fuming after it appeared a Penrith kick hit Drinkwater's toe, before bouncing towards one of his teammates who was offside. Both coaches had to accept a point after a gruelling clash. Although fan footage has emerged of an unusual moment from a Penrith trainer ahead of what appeared to be golden point kick-off. The trainer is handling the ball ahead of Edwards' kick-off when he appears to spray it with water. There is no rule that suggests the trainer can't clean the ball. However, a wet ball would certainly put the Cowboys catchers at a disadvantage. The game was played in Townsville and there is no doubt the conditions were humid and slippery. Although the majority of fans were unimpressed with a trainer handling a ball on the field ahead of such a crucial moment. Others defended the trainer claiming he was just cleaning the ball before handing it over. Many asked the NRL for a 'please explain' after the footage emerged after the game with trainers on the field often a controversial topic amongst fans. Whats going on here? — Crocjaw (@CrocJawz) May 11, 2025 During play, NRL teams are allowed two trainers on the field. The trainers are allowed to provide water bottles to the players and help with interchanges. However, trainers often relay information from the coaching staff and help players with directions. The most famous trainer in recent years is Alfie Langer for the Broncos who was famous for running around in the blue shirt. He left his role at the Broncos at the end of 2024. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they were not able to secure the win after taking four drop goal attempts to win the game. The Cowboys were in great positions on a number of occasions when the clock was ticking down, but were not able to get a clean attempt off. Coach Payten was left ruing the missed chances, which would have given his team two points against the reigning champions. "That's two weeks on the trot we're in winning positions and couldn't get it done," Payten said after the game. "I'm sure I'll feel a little bit better about it tomorrow but right at the moment it's just frustration." But he wasn't the only coach frustrated with the result. Coach Cleary could be seen fuming in the coaching box towards the end of the game when he thought the ball clipped Drinkwater's boot, before bouncing to his teammate in an offside position. This would have handed his team a penalty with solid field positiion. Regardless, the Panthers gave up a 12-point lead twice during the game and Cleary felt they had their opportunities to close out the contest. "Whenever that happens you feel a little bit disappointed," Cleary said. "I feel like we should've definitely closed it out in the second half but having said that, once it was 30-all, I think we did quite well to not lose." While still running for 190 metres, Penrith's Edwards had a quieter performance than he would have liked ahead of State of Origin selection. The incumbent NSW fullback is under immense pressure to hold his jersey with Roosters captain James Tedesco standing out as the in-form fullback of the competition.
