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News.com.au
12 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Jarome Luai makes Tigers call just 48 hours after wild Origin return
Jarome Luai remains a strong chance of backing up just 48 hours after Wednesday's State of Origin match in Perth for the Wests Tigers against the Raiders on Friday night. Luai was a late inclusion for the Blues after Mitchell Moses went down at training last week, with the four-time premiership winner heading to Leura last Thursday and then flying out with his NSW teammates to the other side of the country. 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. He got through the 26-24 loss unscathed and avoided a ban for an alleged eye gouge and now wants to back up against Canberra as the Tigers look to stay in touch with the top eight. 'I'll tell you exactly the conversation,' Tigers coach Benji Marshall replied when asked if Luai would play after he set up a couple of tries but also had a few errors in the narrow NSW loss. 'I said 'how'd you pull up?' and he goes 'I'm good to go, coach, put me in'. 'You've got to trust your senior players, but at the same time we'll get a medical done on him tonight when he gets back, massage, and see how he pulls up tomorrow. 'We've got back-up options if he doesn't play and we've prepared all week like he's not going to play. If he does play, it's a bonus. 'He's pulled up pretty well, apparently. We'll touch base tonight, but at the moment he's playing. 'I thought he had a lot of good moments with their tries. In the second half I thought he set up a lot of good play on their left edge. I reckon if they went there another time they probably could've jagged it at the end.' Marshall was worried that the decision would be taken out of his hands after Luai was placed on report for an alleged eye gouge on Reuben Cotter, but he escaped with a small fine after being hit with a grade 2 contrary conduct charge. Watch video of the incident with Cotter below 'I was (worried that he'd be banned) but I don't have to worry anymore. He got a fine, so he'll be right to play,' the coach said. 'You just don't know, I don't think it was intentional what he did. Anyway, that's not up to me anymore, that's been dealt with, he got a fine, it is what it is and we move on.' The Tigers have options if Luai is unable to play after a hectic few weeks where he had to deal with the pain of missing out on selection, only to be rushed in on short notice just hours after a brutal training session with the Tigers. 'I felt a bit sorry for him because we flogged him on Thursday because we had the bye and put a lot of fitness work into him,' Marshall said. 'He wanted some extra stuff to get fitter again and then he got called into camp. But professional athletes, it is what it is. You want to play at the highest level. 'He was hurting not to make Game 1, so to be back in there would've been a dream come true for him.' If Luai is ruled out, Latu Fainu will likely come into the halves to partner Heath Mason, who was elevated to the top 30 squad and signed an extension on Wednesday. Marshall has been thrilled with Mason's progression since replacing Lachlan Galvin but sees Fainu as the club's long-term option at halfback. 'Heath is such a pleasure to coach. He's a really good kid who comes from a good family and there are no dramas at all with the way that he does his work. He trains really hard and wants to learn,' he said. 'He played fullback a lot, so we've thrown him into a position that's probably unfamiliar to him. What I like about what he's done there is that he hasn't tried to overplay his hand or play like anyone else – he just uses his strengths. 'His story has been great and he deserves his upgrade and extension. 'Heath is a guy that everyone loves in the team and everything he's got has come from hard work. That's the type of player we want in our team and the type of player we want to build our team around. 'If you look at our roster, we've got young Latu Fainu, who is not far off from getting a real good opportunity in the halves and is probably our long-term option there. 'He just needs a little more match fitness coming back from his hamstring injury for him to play 80 minutes.' The Tigers, who are sitting 14th on the ladder, face the second-placed Raiders at Campbelltown Stadium from 8pm on Friday night.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Ponga: ‘I'd like that moment back!'
State of Origin: Queensland Maroons' Kalyn Ponga speaks to Dane Lillingstone after his side beat the NSW Blues in Origin Game II to level the series.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Daley REFUSES to speak on penalty count
State of Origin: NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley spoke to the media following their shock game two loss to the Maroons.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Queensland stay alive after holding off stirring NSW comeback in State of Origin classic
The Maroons celebrate a try during their thrilling Game 2 win over NSW Blues that sends the 2025 State of Origin series to a decider. The Maroons celebrate a try during their thrilling Game 2 win over NSW Blues that sends the 2025 State of Origin series to a decider. Photograph:They had been all but written off, rudderless and adrift with a rattled coach at the helm, but a spirited Queensland kept the State of Origin shield alive after a wet, wild and often bizarre Game 2 victory over New South Wales in Perth. The memorable 26-24 triumph wasn't certain until the final moments after a titanic Blues comeback – highlighted by a Brian To'o hat-trick – brought them back to within two points with eight minutes to go. Advertisement Related: State of Origin 2025 Game 2: Qld Maroons beat NSW Blues 26-24 – as it happened Yet the Maroons' heroic defence in the dying stages was capped off by new Maroons captain Cameron Munster and recalled backrower Kurt Capewell, having faced repeat sets, who forced an error from Blues prop Payne Haas with another gritty tackle. The Blues' final set ended in an error from fullback Dylan Edwards, securing one of the great Origin victories and triggering a mix of relief and celebration for the weary Queenslanders. The Maroons had scored four tries to five for the Blues. They were kept scoreless in the second half. But they were somehow ahead when the siren sounded at the end of a irresistible sporting spectacle. Advertisement Munster was named man of the match for a fearless, inspirational display, repaying the faith coach from Billy Slater for naming him captain. He said his team played well in the first half but 'shot ourselves in the foot in the second'. He expressed delight at keeping the series alive for the decider in Sydney in three weeks. 'We had that mentality, like the 1995 'nobodies team' [who upset NSW] and we just kept working and turning up for each other, and we ended up getting the chocolates.' Despite the late drama, the match was won in the first half thanks a four-try blitz, as the Maroons rolled through the heavily backed Blues despite conceding the first points. NSW might have run out for the kick-off in Western Australia, but mentally appeared in another state entirely. By half-time they had conceded eight penalties to none, plus another five errors and two ruck infringements which were the icing on a cake that was brown but certainly not chocolate. The slippery, muddy conditions were the result of steady rain, both in the lead-up to the match and from driving showers that left the players dripping and the balls dropping. The handling errors – 28 in all – made for sharp momentum swings, but amplified the desperation and physicality in what became an unpredictable but deeply entertaining contest. Advertisement The Blues' victory in Game 1 was methodical, but the Maroons' triumph on Wednesday was sheer madness. No moment encapsulated their frenzy more than when, in the final minute of the first half, they frantically kept the ball alive on the fifth tackle – up 26-6 – but gave away half the field in territory before a late handling error. Perhaps the method of victory should have been no surprise given the man who was captaining the side. Munster was in everything, mostly good but also bad, upholding his reputation as one of the game's great enigmas. An early grubber resulted in a seven-tackle set, and another in the second half set up the Blues on another marauding set. But he never stopped looking for the ball, showing desperation and daring throughout a contest in which he ran for 129m and scored a try. That four-pointer was set up by hooker Harry Grant, another who overcame an indisciplined Game 1 to make a difference in Perth. He had lost all four of the games he had started for the Maroons, and most anticipated 32-year-old debutant Kurt Mann would be brought in as a late replacement by Slater to see Grant through the physical opening stages unscathed. But the No 9 played all 80 minutes and made 55 tackles to be one of the Maroons' best. Despite few believing in the possibility of a Queensland victory, the Maroons have done it again. Yes, it was partly thanks to an off-night from Blues kicker Zac Lomax, who went two-from-five. And they certainly benefited from the odd bit of fortune. But largely due to that familiar Queensland spirit, State of Origin remains alive in 2025.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
State of Origin game II: Queensland beat New South Wales 26-24
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow of the Maroons celebrates after scoring a try during the State of Origin game two match between the Queensland Maroons and the NSW Blues. Photo: AAP / Photosport Queensland have held on to beat New South Wales in the second State of Origin clash at Optus Stadium in Perth. The Maroons led 26-6 at halftime, and while they were unable to score in the second half and NSW surged back into the match, Queensland won the game 26-24. The 2025 State of Origin series is now tied 1-1. See how the game unfolded with the live blog:
