Star duo return for Dolphins, but Stone ruled out
Starting hooker Jeremy Marshall-King returns from a thigh laceration and infection that led to him spending time in hospital, while lock Max Plath is back from a foot injury and is likely to start on the bench in Friday night's clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Tough-as-teak forward Ray Stone has bravely carried a shoulder injury into battle with the team down on troops, but he has been rested to give the issue more time to heal.
Marshall-King suffered a deep gash to his leg in round six and took the field in round nine, but the wound became aggravated.
"He's ready to go," coach Kristian Woolf said.
"It's been a long time, but I don't think people realised how serious it was and how big the cut was.
"It was just the seriousness of the infection as well. He did a couple of stints in hospital on the IV drip and getting it flushed out.
"It's great to have him back. If you look at the last couple of years we haven't won a lot of games without Jeremy.
"I've been happy with the group over the last couple of weeks because we've started to learn how to do that."
Plath, last season's player of the year, injured a foot in round seven against Melbourne, which has also taken longer to heal than first thought.
The 23-year-old was in the frame to make his Queensland debut in game one of the State of Origin series before injury struck. That would appear unlikely in the short term until he gets some footy under his belt, but Woolf said a Maroons jersey was within Plath's grasp.
"(The injury) ended up being a lot more serious that we thought it was," the coach said.
"He is coming into this having not done a hell of a lot until the last couple of weeks.
"We're very confident in what he's going to be able to do for the team. He'll be on limited minutes.
"I've got no doubt he's a guy that will feature in the Origin frame at some stage.
"It's probably too early to be talking about that now. He needs to get a couple of games under his belt."
The Dolphins lost their opening four matches of the season but have recovered well to be on 12 points, just two behind the Dragons, who are in the eight.
"We're under no illusions at all," Woolf said.
"I know guys like (centre) Moses Suli really well and how dangerous he is. He's a strike player on the edge.
"(Second-rower) Luciano Leilua is the same. They have a physical pack and experience with guys like Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook.
"They're as dangerous as any team in the comp and we have to bring our best game."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Wouldn't return calls': All Blacks twist in Ponga exit saga amid Roosters rumblings
Knights captain Kalyn Ponga doesn't want to play for the All Blacks, even if he does switch to rugby union, it has been revealed. Reports emerged on Monday that Ponga wanted out of his Knights contract, which runs through until the end of the 2027 season. It was reported a New Zealand rugby union agent was shopping Ponga around to international rugby clubs. Journalist Dean Ritchie says there are growing concerns at the Knights that Ponga will soon depart the club with France and Japan the most likely destinations. 'Certainly the suggestions out of Newcastle today were that the fears are increasing that Kalyn Ponga won't be there next year,' Ritchie said on NRL 360. 'Some Newcastle officials desperately tried to find this mysterious New Zealand manager today. They found out his identity but they couldn't find him. 'He wouldn't return calls. 'Certainly there's a growing speculation that he will end up in French rugby or Japanese rugby but I am told quite categorically that he will not at all be interested in playing for the All Blacks. 'I think Kalyn Ponga wants a change. I think he wants to head overseas, and I think somewhere in France would suit Kalyn.' Ritchie believed the Knights would only grant Ponga a release on the condition that he was going to rugby union, and not to another NRL club like the Roosters, with whom he has been linked. 'I think they would release him to go to rugby, if that's Kalyn's wish, given the service that he's given to Newcastle and the Newcastle community, but I don't think there would be any release to go to the Roosters,' Ritchie said. When asked whether the Knights were getting value for money for Ponga, journalist Paul Crawley gave an honest response. 'No, they're not,' Crawley said. 'We all know what a great player Kalyn is when he's at his very best, but value for money. 'He hasn't aimed up for what his talent and what his pay grade suggests.' Ritchie agreed with Crawley. 'He's clearly an elite player but $1.4 million, I don't think he's given them consistent value for money,' Ritchie said. 'He has the odd game here or there where he looks like one of the all-time great players but consistently, over a sustained period, they just don't get the value.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams meet in the boxing ring, but does it matter if it doesn't mean anything?
Instances of two former footy players in their 40s punching on is rarely cause for celebration. Even if the fight in question is covered by the thin veneer of respectability provided by a boxing ring and gloves, there is still little to be pleased about. Footballers-turned-boxers Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams will lace up the gloves and meet in a heavyweight bout in Sydney's Olympic Park on Wednesday. The two ex-NRL forwards will fight over eight, 2-minute rounds and — hopefully — put an end to one of the least dignified feuds in Australian sport. Aside from settling their post-football career rivalry, it's hard to know what is at stake in this bout. Perhaps pride? Most certainly ego. Financial incentives? That goes without saying. Perhaps it doesn't need to be anything more than that. As boxing continues to evolve and find its way in an era where the long-term impacts of repeated head knocks are becoming all the more apparent and audience tastes are changing from the sport's mid-century heyday, non-title fights are becoming more and more prevalent. Whether it's Jake Paul selling out massive arenas stateside, or Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr meeting at a catchweight despite their vast size differential to satisfy Britain's lust for another instalment of the legendary battles between their respective fathers, boxing is changing. And to those publicising the fights, that doesn't matter. If you've watched any sporting event covered by Channel Nine over the last couple of weeks, you'd know this fight is taking place. Particularly jarring was the interview that took place in the aftermath of Queensland's State of Origin Game III victory over New South Wales a week ago, when viewers were subject to the insalubrious exhibition of a pitch-side Gallen and Williams via video link bellowing insults over each other. Of course, Nine has to promote its own content and doing so to its target audience of football fans is entirely sensible. It's not the act of promotion that's the issue here. It's what's being sold. The juxtaposition between analysis of a genuine sporting triumph and promoting this contest between two aged warriors felt very off. But this fight is grabbing attention across the networks — Fox Sport mentions it when publicising Sunday's rematch between Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu. "Forget the sideshow," Matt Nable, another footy player who has embraced a new performative career now his playing days are done, drawls. "This ain't two old footy players cashing cheques long after their careers ended," he continues — a puzzling and somewhat hypocritical dig given the success the network enjoyed when Gallen was beating up his fellow NRL retirees on its own pay-per-view channel over the years. This is not to criticise the two men for their willingness to get into the ring. Anyone with the courage to step inside the squared circle, arguably the least forgiving arena in all ot sport, deserves admiration and respect — to a point. Neither Gallen nor Williams comes into this as desperate wannabes, misguidedly believing themselves capable of dancing on the canvas having shadow-boxed in front of the bathroom mirror and watched the Rocky movies a couple of times. Gallen has fought 18 times in his ring career for a record of 15-2-1 (8KOs). Admittedly, there has been a heady whiff of farce about some of those opponents, but Gallen has never once taken anyone lightly, bringing the same determination and professionalism to the ring that characterised his professional football career. And in amongst the Darcy Lussick's, Ben Hannant's and Justin Hodges's — who he inexplicably fought twice — on his resume, he has also stood up against some of Australia's best. Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski both may have beaten Gallen in their Australian heavyweight title bouts, but Gallen did better than most have against genuine prospects. And even while Gallen was fighting other ex-footballers, he used the interest generated by him fighting to help promote other Australian fighters and give them sizeable paydays. Boxers like Tim and Nikita Tszyu, Harry Garside and Huni all benefited from Gallen's profile with inflated purses and prize money on pay-per-views across the country. This fight card sees recognised fighters David Nyika and Terzievski fight, as well as young prospects Alex Leapai Jnr and Rahim Mundine, who will all doubtless benefit from the exposure a Gallen fight will bring. For that alone, Gallen deserves an awful lot of credit — although his ring career has earned him $25 million to date, according to the man himself, so he has been well rewarded. Williams too has pedigree of sorts in the ring. His grandfather, Bill Woolsey, was a New Zealand heavyweight champion and Williams emulated him by claiming that same title in a knockout victory over Clarence Tillman in 2012. That was Williams's fifth pro fight and he followed that up with wins against veterans Frans Botha and Chauncy Welliver before stepping away from the ring between 2015 and 2021. When Williams returned to boxing, he fought Waikato Falefehi and Barry Hall for wins, before a knockout defeat against Mark Hunt, his first in the ring, to leave the New Zealand dual-code international with a pro record of 9-1 (4KOs). So, if these are two professional boxers getting in the ring, having talked about the fight taking place desperately for years, what's the problem? Their age doesn't help. Paul Gallen will be 44 years old in under a month. Sonny Bill Williams is 40. Both men have been out of the ring for two-and-a-half years. Is that even an obstacle? Co-headliner in Tszyu's fight on the weekend, Manny Pacquiao, is 46, hasn't fought anyone since 2021 and hasn't won a fight since 2019 — he is meeting Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title on Sunday in Las Vegas. If that makes you feel uneasy, it probably should. Studies show that the impacts of concussions linger for longer and are more severe as people age. Other impacts of aging — reduced reaction time, increasing fatigue and muscle weakness — all combine to make the ring even more dangerous as you get older than it is for younger fighters. Mike Tyson's hideous parody of a return to the ring aged 58 against Jake Paul should be a lesson to us all of the dangers of going on too long. OK, so if the age thing isn't an issue, is it because these two are not "the best" boxers in the traditional sense — Williams admitted as much at the press conference on Monday — but celebrities risking their health for a suggested $1 million payday? That might be it, just as people have issues with YouTuber Paul and his improbable quest for a world title shot. Boxing fans can hardly clutch at their pearls if that is the issue. Both Gallen and Paul, love or loathe them, have contributed and continue to contribute to the development of the sport by adding casual eyeballs to their events — Paul promotes Amanda Serrano through his promotion company and allows the seven-weight world champion from Puerto Rico to actually earn something approaching a decent wage from the sport. Perhaps it is the nauseating back and forth that has been seemingly going on for years — all around them maybe or maybe not meeting in a ring. Maybe, with no clear villain or outright good guy to root for or against, fans are simply conflicted. Let's not forget that, despite being rival players on the pitch several times over the years in the NRL and in international rugby league, there was never any genuine beef between them as players. Perhaps if there had been, we'd have been spared this unedifying spectacle. So, why are they fighting in the first place? Tickets at the Arena in Homebush range from $1,495 to $49. The pay-per-view on Stan Sport is $70. As of Tuesday, the tickets are not sold out but they have been selling. For contrast, the Tszyu vs Fundora world title rematch on Sunday (AEDT) will set fight fans back $69.95 on Main Event — a fight that, from a sporting context, means something. By that, fight fans will tell you it means a world title, a career-defining moment for Tszyu and Fundora both. A chance for them to add their names to the list of legends in their sport. What, then, does the Gallen-Williams fight mean? Perhaps a bigger question is, does it need to mean anything? "I've never been concerned about legacy," Gallen said. "I'm trained to fight. I've been here for one reason. To have a go." The proof will be in how many people tune in to watch it. But whether people do or don't, perhaps the only error is trying to read anything more into this bout than it being a chance for two middle-aged men to publicly air their grievances and make a sack full of cash at the same time.
Daily Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
NRL news, updates: Nicho Hynes calls out Nathan Cleary tall poppy syndrome after State of Origin criticism
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes has leapt to the defence of Nathan Cleary, who he says is a victim of tall poppy syndrome following last week's shock State of Origin defeat. The former Dally M Medal winner has warned the rest of the NRL that the Panthers star could take his game to scary heights after his Blues heartbreak. 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. A shattered Cleary spoke with humility after NSW lost game three at home and conceded he was yet to own the Origin arena after falling to an 0-3 record in series deciders after the Maroons rallied around skipper Cameron Munster and played a faultless opening 67 minutes. The discourse around Cleary has ranged from him being the GOAT (greatest of all time) to someone who can't win the big one, which doesn't quite stack up given he's won four titles in a row and is doing things we've never seen on a footy field. Nathan Cleary has failed to make an impact in the Origin arena. (Photo by) Nicho Hynes (right) is no stranger to criticism. Picture: Richard Dobson Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon was stunned by the criticism Cleary copped after the decider, and Hynes took it a step further in the sheds after his side's win over the Dolphins. 'It can be challenging at times,' said Hynes, who now has a private Instagram account and blocks out all the outside noise having copped similar criticism after losing games for NSW. 'In the past I've let it get to me a fair bit, but I've put things in place at the moment so I don't see any of the stuff that's being spoken about me as long as the coaching staff, my teammates and my family value what I'm doing for the club and the effort I'm putting in. 'I felt for Nathan the other night. Although I haven't seen any of what's going on, I have heard whispers around and people talking about what he's going through and the things he's been copping. 'He's a four-time premiership winner in a row, he's tactically probably the best player in our game. I think Munster's the best football player we've had for a long time in the game, but Nathan's tactically so good and Queensland just lifted the other night. 'They lifted, the whole state lifted and the whole team did for Munster and it just goes like that sometimes. As a halfback, you do wear a lot of it and that just comes with being the No.7 on a rugby league team, it's like the quarterback in the NFL. 'I know he strives for perfection and there are days sometimes it just doesn't turn out. He's going to come back better for it. 'It's like me, I always strive for perfection and I'll never reach it, but I'm going to keep trying and I'm going to keep working hard for this club and put my best foot forward and not worry about what people have to say. Nathan Cleary is widely regarded as the best player in the NRL. (Photo by) 'I know what I'm doing and if anyone could do a better job they would be. They just sit on the couch and watch the footy and have their opinion when their opinion doesn't really matter. 'You guys in the media have your opinion because you have to, it's your job. You write about it and I don't listen to it. I just keep working hard, doing my best for this team and sometimes you don't get the win. 'There's always a winner and a loser and we've been losing at the moment and that's fair enough, some criticism will come our way and I've just got to deal with it, keep moving on and keep fighting.' Baseball legend Reggie Jackson had a famous quote back in the day that 'Fans don't boo nobodies', and that was on show on Sunday when Eels supporters booed Cleary when he was shown on the bench before the Penrith playmaker came on and led his side to victory. 'It's the Australian way sometimes. They want to bring people down all the time, whether you're at the top of your game or you're not or you're a high-profile person,' Hynes said. 'This is tall poppy syndrome and in Australia it's real. They just want to bring everyone down. 'In our game there is only one winner at the end of the day in October and only one halfback wins it every year. Nathan Cleary's been that one. 'People coming at me, are they saying every other halfback is a failure in this competition? There's only one person who gets to win it, one No.7 wins it every year, so all of us other halfbacks are chasing that. 'Are they calling Mitchell Moses a failure? I don't think so because he's a great player, won an Origin series last year and he hasn't won a comp yet.' Hynes said he didn't need external validation and was only focused on the opinions of his teammates, coaches and those close to him, but he'd happily offer his praise to Cleary if he thought it would help. 'I thought about messaging him over the last couple of days and saying 'you're the GOAT, don't worry about it',' he said. 'But I know what it's like when people message you telling you not to worry about the things that are being said about you. You straight away think about what's being said. 'He's a professional, he's been through it all before. I have been thinking about him a lot, I just didn't want to be another person to message saying 'don't worry about it' because I don't even know what's going on and what's been said. 'The boys come in and say 'what happened about this person?' I don't know because I just don't care anymore about what's going on in this world, about rugby league. 'If he does see this, I honestly am thinking about him and I do love him as a person. He's a genuine, really good person. 'I'm scared for the competition now, how he's going to bounce back.' Originally published as Nicho Hynes 'scared' for the rest of the NRL as Cleary criticism exposes tall poppy syndrome is 'real'
