Latest news with #Queenslander
Mercury
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Mercury
Margot Robbie in resurfaced State of Origin video
Don't miss out on the headlines from Entertainment. Followed categories will be added to My News. Margot Robbie has appeared in a resurfaced video from State of Origin in 2009. The Hollywood actress, now 34 and living in Los Angeles, featured in a filmed segment for skincare brand Nivea titled 'Margot's World', which followed the then 18-year-old as she attended game one of the series that year. A maroon-clad Robbie, who was born in Dalby and raised on the Gold Coast in Queensland, could be seen screaming the legendary maroons chant, 'Queenslander' alongside her friends, which included Neighbours co-star Ashleigh Brewer. 'Really excited for tonight, State of Origin game one, it's kind of like, the big event of the year for football,' Robbie said on camera. The Barbie star, who was a regular cast member on Neighbours at the time, also revealed she wanted to play league in school but 'they wouldn't let girls play.' Margot Robbie in a 2009 video supporting the Maroons at the State of Origin, opposite her Neighbours co-star Ashleigh Brewer. Robbie was clad in Maroons gear. 'Which was something that really frustrated me. I begged our football coach,' she continued. 'I did play touch football, and unofficially with friends we would always kick the footy.' Flash forward just over a decade and Robbie is now the highest paid actress in showbiz, per a Forbes report in 2023. Robbie was the highest paid actress in Hollywood in 2023. Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage Robbie's 2023 Barbie movie, in which she produced and starred opposite Ryan Gosling, was a billion-dollar success. Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images She left Neighbours in 2010 and got her big Hollywood break in Martin Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street in 2013, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Her rise from then was meteoric, with Robbie now a three-time Oscar nominee. Meanwhile, the actress recently became a mum, welcoming her first child, a son, with husband Tom Ackerley in October. Robbie returned to Australia for the first time since becoming a mother to celebrate Easter with family on the Gold Coast earlier this year. Originally published as Maroon-clad Margot Robbie in resurfaced State of Origin video
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not a mainstream sport': Stokes-owned WA media gives State of Origin sex ad snub
He referred to a lack of league coverage on the WA Today website – owned by Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead. There were two rugby league stories on its home page when checked in the afternoon. 'Mate, the obsession with how The West covers league is ludicrous,' Dore said. 'No one outside of rugby league writers in Sydney cares. If you have any doubts about that, check out your own local website WA Today right now. See how you go finding Origin or Bears yarns. The point is rugby league is simply not a mainstream sport in this town. 'Just the facts. Good on them for having a crack here. We have nothing against the game despite the carry-on from [Peter] V'landys acolytes in the Sydney media about our coverage. It's just not remotely main game and never will be. Mate, I edited the Tele (The Daily Telegraph) and the Courier-Mail – I'm a Queenslander. 'If we had a league readership here, we would be covering it. In the paper today. Do you think a game of rugby league between two interstate teams is more relevant to WA readers than what we placed in the valuable space available in our sport section?' The lack of coverage in WA newspapers is in stark contrast to the attention State of Origin received in Perth on its previous two ventures into Western Australia. In 2022, the local newspaper rallied behind the game and even included a photo of the Blues' win on the front page of the paper the day after the match. In the lead-up to the first Origin game in Perth in 2019, the newspaper ran a story headlined: 'Why the time is right for rugby league to plant a flag and start a new NRL team in Perth'. The mood around rugby league in Perth has since changed as Stokes has come to terms with the threat the code poses to the AFL – the sporting product his media company invests so heavily in. Of the 60,000 fans expected at Optus Stadium, 47,000 of them are locals, with an estimated 13,000 fans having travelled interstate for the game. This columnist has been in Perth since Monday and has observed strong support from the locals towards the Bears and rugby league. Australian cricket legend Mitchell Johnson, who lives in Perth, spoke strongly about the local interest in rugby league when chatting off-air before he appeared on Freddie and the Eighth on Tuesday. You wouldn't know it judging by the local newspaper or Channel Seven, who recently ordered Perth Bears CEO Anthony De Ceglie to be cut out of shots at the announcement of Mal Meninga as the inaugural coach. The Seven West Media snub comes after The West Australian ran the front-page headline 'Bad News Bears' on the morning of the team's official announcement last month. The bad blood between the AFL-aligned Seven West Media and the NRL has been exacerbated by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys' decision to poach the company's national news director De Ceglie as the Bears CEO. Loading De Ceglie has declined to get into a slanging match with his previous bosses at Seven West Media, where he worked for both Channel Seven and The West Australian. 'The Perth Bears are looking forward to earning the respect of WA sports lovers and earning our right to be in the sports pages of The West Australian alongside the AFL teams,' he said on Wednesday. 'If we're winning on the park and off the park, if fans are turning up to our games and we've created a club that stands for strong values then the newspaper hopefully has to cover us. If we're doing these things and they're still not covering us, then the only people missing out will be the readers. 'It's not that Perth is an AFL state. Perth is a sports state. West Australians love sport. They love Aussie rules, tennis, basketball and NRL. They show up to all sports and are passionate about all sports. There's no rule that says you can't barrack for an AFL team and an NRL team.'
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
'It's Tom's time' - Maroons move on from Cherry-Evans
Billy Slater has declared it's Tom Dearden's time to own Queensland's No.7 jersey, after the new Maroons' halfback vindicated the call to move on from Daly Cherry-Evans. Slater's selection bombshell to axe Cherry-Evans from the Maroons' side after the 18-6 game-one loss at Suncorp Stadium was always going to be one the coach was judged on. The decision to move on from Cherry-Evans marked the first time Queensland had dropped a first-choice halfback for a live rubber since 2001, and the first time a captain was dropped mid-series this century. But the gamble paid dividends at a wet and slippery Optus Stadium on Wednesday night, with Dearden providing a steady hand in his first go in the No.7 jersey. The North Queensland halfback played crucial roles in three of the Maroons' four first-half tries, before they held on as their 26-6 lead shrunk into a 26-24 victory. Cherry-Evans has captained the most games of any Queenslander this century, but Slater said the time was right for a changing of the guard. "You won't get a negative word out of me for Daly Cherry-Evans," Slater said. "He's a wonderful player, and has been a wonderful player for a long period of time. "It's Tom's time now. And he didn't surprise any of us, I don't think, in what he put out there tonight. "I'm really proud of him. That's the first time he's worn the number seven jersey for Queensland. I wouldn't imagine it'd be the last." Dearden dug into the line for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's first try, before he kicked across field for the winger's second moments later. But the new No.7's best play came later in the first half, when he went to the left, created numbers and gave Kurt Mann the chance to offload for a Kurt Capewell try. There were issues in defence down his right edge in the second half as NSW fought back, but he was never bullied by the Blues and neither did they run over the top of him. Slater's other big selection gamble in recalling Capewell also proved a winner, with the Warriors second-rower providing Queensland with vital grit to go with his try. Capewell is the unenviable leader for missed tackles this NRL season - 75 from 13 games - but that didn't faze Slater at all. "There was a bit of talk about the number of missed tackles on his stat sheet. I actually didn't know that until I read it in the paper," Slater said. "It probably goes to show that I don't look at numbers. "When I look at habits in players, I look at their actions and how they contribute to their footy team and he has done an amazing job. "There's a reason why the Warriors are doing well, because they've got players like Kurt Capewell in their team. "That's what successful footy teams look like - they've got hard working players that are willing to put everything into the footy team. "His selection might have surprised a few, but it wasn't that out of the blue for me." Billy Slater has declared it's Tom Dearden's time to own Queensland's No.7 jersey, after the new Maroons' halfback vindicated the call to move on from Daly Cherry-Evans. Slater's selection bombshell to axe Cherry-Evans from the Maroons' side after the 18-6 game-one loss at Suncorp Stadium was always going to be one the coach was judged on. The decision to move on from Cherry-Evans marked the first time Queensland had dropped a first-choice halfback for a live rubber since 2001, and the first time a captain was dropped mid-series this century. But the gamble paid dividends at a wet and slippery Optus Stadium on Wednesday night, with Dearden providing a steady hand in his first go in the No.7 jersey. The North Queensland halfback played crucial roles in three of the Maroons' four first-half tries, before they held on as their 26-6 lead shrunk into a 26-24 victory. Cherry-Evans has captained the most games of any Queenslander this century, but Slater said the time was right for a changing of the guard. "You won't get a negative word out of me for Daly Cherry-Evans," Slater said. "He's a wonderful player, and has been a wonderful player for a long period of time. "It's Tom's time now. And he didn't surprise any of us, I don't think, in what he put out there tonight. "I'm really proud of him. That's the first time he's worn the number seven jersey for Queensland. I wouldn't imagine it'd be the last." Dearden dug into the line for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's first try, before he kicked across field for the winger's second moments later. But the new No.7's best play came later in the first half, when he went to the left, created numbers and gave Kurt Mann the chance to offload for a Kurt Capewell try. There were issues in defence down his right edge in the second half as NSW fought back, but he was never bullied by the Blues and neither did they run over the top of him. Slater's other big selection gamble in recalling Capewell also proved a winner, with the Warriors second-rower providing Queensland with vital grit to go with his try. Capewell is the unenviable leader for missed tackles this NRL season - 75 from 13 games - but that didn't faze Slater at all. "There was a bit of talk about the number of missed tackles on his stat sheet. I actually didn't know that until I read it in the paper," Slater said. "It probably goes to show that I don't look at numbers. "When I look at habits in players, I look at their actions and how they contribute to their footy team and he has done an amazing job. "There's a reason why the Warriors are doing well, because they've got players like Kurt Capewell in their team. "That's what successful footy teams look like - they've got hard working players that are willing to put everything into the footy team. "His selection might have surprised a few, but it wasn't that out of the blue for me." Billy Slater has declared it's Tom Dearden's time to own Queensland's No.7 jersey, after the new Maroons' halfback vindicated the call to move on from Daly Cherry-Evans. Slater's selection bombshell to axe Cherry-Evans from the Maroons' side after the 18-6 game-one loss at Suncorp Stadium was always going to be one the coach was judged on. The decision to move on from Cherry-Evans marked the first time Queensland had dropped a first-choice halfback for a live rubber since 2001, and the first time a captain was dropped mid-series this century. But the gamble paid dividends at a wet and slippery Optus Stadium on Wednesday night, with Dearden providing a steady hand in his first go in the No.7 jersey. The North Queensland halfback played crucial roles in three of the Maroons' four first-half tries, before they held on as their 26-6 lead shrunk into a 26-24 victory. Cherry-Evans has captained the most games of any Queenslander this century, but Slater said the time was right for a changing of the guard. "You won't get a negative word out of me for Daly Cherry-Evans," Slater said. "He's a wonderful player, and has been a wonderful player for a long period of time. "It's Tom's time now. And he didn't surprise any of us, I don't think, in what he put out there tonight. "I'm really proud of him. That's the first time he's worn the number seven jersey for Queensland. I wouldn't imagine it'd be the last." Dearden dug into the line for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's first try, before he kicked across field for the winger's second moments later. But the new No.7's best play came later in the first half, when he went to the left, created numbers and gave Kurt Mann the chance to offload for a Kurt Capewell try. There were issues in defence down his right edge in the second half as NSW fought back, but he was never bullied by the Blues and neither did they run over the top of him. Slater's other big selection gamble in recalling Capewell also proved a winner, with the Warriors second-rower providing Queensland with vital grit to go with his try. Capewell is the unenviable leader for missed tackles this NRL season - 75 from 13 games - but that didn't faze Slater at all. "There was a bit of talk about the number of missed tackles on his stat sheet. I actually didn't know that until I read it in the paper," Slater said. "It probably goes to show that I don't look at numbers. "When I look at habits in players, I look at their actions and how they contribute to their footy team and he has done an amazing job. "There's a reason why the Warriors are doing well, because they've got players like Kurt Capewell in their team. "That's what successful footy teams look like - they've got hard working players that are willing to put everything into the footy team. "His selection might have surprised a few, but it wasn't that out of the blue for me."
The Age
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Not a mainstream sport': Stokes-owned WA media gives State of Origin sex ad snub
He referred to a lack of league coverage on the WA Today website – owned by Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead. There were two rugby league stories on its home page when checked in the afternoon. 'Mate, the obsession with how The West covers league is ludicrous,' Dore said. 'No one outside of rugby league writers in Sydney cares. If you have any doubts about that, check out your own local website WA Today right now. See how you go finding Origin or Bears yarns. The point is rugby league is simply not a mainstream sport in this town. 'Just the facts. Good on them for having a crack here. We have nothing against the game despite the carry-on from [Peter] V'landys acolytes in the Sydney media about our coverage. It's just not remotely main game and never will be. Mate, I edited the Tele (The Daily Telegraph) and the Courier-Mail – I'm a Queenslander. 'If we had a league readership here, we would be covering it. In the paper today. Do you think a game of rugby league between two interstate teams is more relevant to WA readers than what we placed in the valuable space available in our sport section?' The lack of coverage in WA newspapers is in stark contrast to the attention State of Origin received in Perth on its previous two ventures into Western Australia. In 2022, the local newspaper rallied behind the game and even included a photo of the Blues' win on the front page of the paper the day after the match. In the lead-up to the first Origin game in Perth in 2019, the newspaper ran a story headlined: 'Why the time is right for rugby league to plant a flag and start a new NRL team in Perth'. The mood around rugby league in Perth has since changed as Stokes has come to terms with the threat the code poses to the AFL – the sporting product his media company invests so heavily in. Of the 60,000 fans expected at Optus Stadium, 47,000 of them are locals, with an estimated 13,000 fans having travelled interstate for the game. This columnist has been in Perth since Monday and has observed strong support from the locals towards the Bears and rugby league. Australian cricket legend Mitchell Johnson, who lives in Perth, spoke strongly about the local interest in rugby league when chatting off-air before he appeared on Freddie and the Eighth on Tuesday. You wouldn't know it judging by the local newspaper or Channel Seven, who recently ordered Perth Bears CEO Anthony De Ceglie to be cut out of shots at the announcement of Mal Meninga as the inaugural coach. The Seven West Media snub comes after The West Australian ran the front-page headline 'Bad News Bears' on the morning of the team's official announcement last month. The bad blood between the AFL-aligned Seven West Media and the NRL has been exacerbated by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys' decision to poach the company's national news director De Ceglie as the Bears CEO. Loading De Ceglie has declined to get into a slanging match with his previous bosses at Seven West Media, where he worked for both Channel Seven and The West Australian. 'The Perth Bears are looking forward to earning the respect of WA sports lovers and earning our right to be in the sports pages of The West Australian alongside the AFL teams,' he said on Wednesday. 'If we're winning on the park and off the park, if fans are turning up to our games and we've created a club that stands for strong values then the newspaper hopefully has to cover us. If we're doing these things and they're still not covering us, then the only people missing out will be the readers. 'It's not that Perth is an AFL state. Perth is a sports state. West Australians love sport. They love Aussie rules, tennis, basketball and NRL. They show up to all sports and are passionate about all sports. There's no rule that says you can't barrack for an AFL team and an NRL team.'
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The accidental Lion: how an Irish Queenslander ended up in a red jersey
Ahead of this year's British and Irish Lions series, players nervously tuned into a live squad announcement at the O2 Arena in London in front of fans who had paid $135 dollars for the privilege. The last time the Lions visited these shores, 12 years ago, Queenslander Tom Court's call-up to the iconic invitational team was slightly different. The former Ireland prop was on holiday on the Gold Coast, about to tuck into a Thai takeaway, when he got a call that changed his career. Court had grown up in rural Queensland as an elite shot-putter with dreams of making the Australian Olympic team before he took up rugby at university at 23 years old on the advice of a friend and eventually transformed himself into a seasoned prop for Ulster and Ireland. Court's late arrival to rugby left him largely unfamiliar with the nuanced history of the game, completely unaware he was about to become only the second Australian to represent the Lions in Australia after Alec Timms in 1899. After winning the first Test in Brisbane, the Lions were battling injuries, including first-choice loosehead prop, England's Alex Corbisiero, having damaged his calf. As the Lions searched for a solution, coach Warren Gatland found out that Court happened to be on holiday in the same state with his family. 'I never really even thought about the Lions,' Court said. 'I know it sounds trite, but I didn't grow up playing rugby, I always saw it as so far out of reach, it wasn't realistic. I genuinely hadn't thought about it at all. I just wanted to get a good run for Ireland. 'I had a missed call from [British and Irish Lions director of operations] Guy Richardson, but I thought it was some of the Irish boys just taking the piss. I heard the voicemail and I was like, 'Yeah right, OK, nice one', and then just left it. 'About an hour later I had a call from Mick Kearney, who was the team manager for Ireland at the time and I had his number saved so I knew it was him and he called and pretty much said Gats [Warren Gatland] had a couple of injuries and they need you to come down [to Brisbane] and it was just surreal. I remember it was slow motion when he was telling me because it wasn't even excitement, it wasn't fear, I was sort of frozen.' The Lions had a single midweek fixture to complete against the Melbourne Rebels ahead of the final two Tests and needed to keep their remaining props fresh.
