Latest news with #Origin
Perth Now
18 minutes ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Blues coy on exploiting clear advantage
Blues centre Stephen Crichton has downplayed the notion that his side will go after Gehamat Shibasaki next week when the Maroons centre makes his State of Origin debut with the series on the line. Shibasaki has earnt his spot on the back of three-straight try doubles for the Broncos, with Queensland coach Billy Slater opting to bring him in after he moved Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback to replace the injured Kalyn Ponga. Slater could have easily brought Reece Walsh in to play fullback but has instead backed Shibasaki to get the job done against arguably the best centre in the world. The pair met earlier this year when Brisbane ended Canterbury's six-match winning streak to start the season, with Shibasaki scoring one of their six first-half tries when Crichton was trapped at marker in defence. The Bulldogs skipper has nothing but respect for a guy whose NRL career was at a crossroads last year, with the Blues to have a significant advantage in experience out wide with Latrell Mitchell up against Roosters rookie Robert Toia. 'Not really,' Crichton replied when asked if NSW would target the Origin debutant. 'I feel like there are two parts to the game – the physical side and the mental side. 'It's mental all the way up until game day for me as I try to get my role right at training before putting it out on the field. 'The physicality comes because it's Origin, it's game three and it's a decider as well. 'He's such a good player. I feel like he's been playing his best footy the past couple of weeks leading into his Origin selection. 'There is going to be a lot of talk around it, but I feel like the Origin arena brings out the best in everyone regardless of whether you haven't played a game because you're always going to turn up and play your best.' Gehamat Shibasaki has worn the Maroons jersey a number of times in junior footy. NRL Photos Credit: The Courier-Mail Shibasaki has scored more tries this season than he has in the rest of his NRL career combined, with the powerful centre no stranger to the Maroons jersey having worn it several times in the junior ranks. He played three matches for the Queensland under-20 team, while he also lined up alongside Zac Lomax in the centres for the Junior Kangaroos back in 2018. He has been the constant on the left edge for a Broncos team that has made several changes to the backline, but teammate Payne Haas will switch his respect for animosity when they square off next week. 'I'm super proud of him,' the Blues prop said. 'He came in (to the Broncos) on a train and trial (deal) and worked his backside off to get to where he is now. 'I'm really proud of him, but I will hate him next Wednesday.'
Sydney Morning Herald
28 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Freddy & the Eighth
On this edition of Freddy & the Eighth Blues star Connor Watson joins the show, updating everyone on the various camp ailments. Millie Elliot joins the couch to talk all things NRLW. Freddy and Joey go over the massive changes Billy has made to the Game III Maroons side. Plus, the boys compare the nerves of playing in Origin to watching at home.
The Age
28 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Freddy & the Eighth
On this edition of Freddy & the Eighth Blues star Connor Watson joins the show, updating everyone on the various camp ailments. Millie Elliot joins the couch to talk all things NRLW. Freddy and Joey go over the massive changes Billy has made to the Game III Maroons side. Plus, the boys compare the nerves of playing in Origin to watching at home.
The Age
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
Lions for leaguies: My guide to the greatest rugby show on turf
The whole thing was such a success they came back in 1899 and – bar world wars and various global cataclysms – have toured every four years since, across South Africa, New Zealand and Oz. So, in the modern incarnation, they come here every 12 years. They narrowly beat us in 1989, we belted them in 2001, and the mongrels just beat us in 2013. Where are the players drawn from? Pretty much what it says on the can. They come from Great Britain – as in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – plus Ireland itself. It's a little like your Rugby League World Cup, but with a difference. Instead of players being drawn from pretend national comps that don't actually exist, and everyone going along with the sham, they really are the best players from fierce competitions that funnel into actual national teams, and these are the genuine superstar players from those Test sides. Just how many people care about the result, and will be watching? More even than watch an Origin series. Yes, that big! Actually, it's sort of like those matches you play in Las Vegas in March, except that, instead of it drawing an Australian audience of a couple of million, plus 55,000 Americans, this will draw a genuinely global audience from across the planet in the 133 countries where rugby is played. The last one to these shores pulled in about 100 million. (No, no, an actual 100 million. Not the 100 million some professional proselytisers were claiming would watch the Las Vegas stuff.) What can we expect to see? Seriously wonderful football. Think of it like a Test series between Great Britain and the Kangaroos. Except that, instead of it being fairly forgettable, with the result usually pre-ordained, in this series no-one knows who is going to win and, to judge by the most recent tours, the result will likely be in the balance right up until the last minutes of the final Test and will be talked about for decades to come. Who are the best players? On our side, you will at least know Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, yes? He served his senior football apprenticeship with the Roosters before graduating to the Wallabies when he decided he wanted to go global and play on an actual world stage. Loading On their side, look to Finn Russell, the 32-year-old five-eighth from Scotland. He's a maestro of the art – real art – a one-stop shop complete package of no-look passes, scintillating sidesteps, precise crossfield kicks that could knock the cigarette out of a seagull's mouth at 42 metres, and devastating runarounds that leave defences scrambling. He's sort of like your Nathan Cleary, 'cept that ... no, as you were. He's sort of like your Nathan Cleary. And that is why rugby is looking at Nathan, come to think of it. (If Nathan wants to play in Paris, London, Buenos Aires, Jo'burg, Dublin, Rome and Cardiff – instead of Parramatta, Wigan and Las Vegas, tell him to call us.)
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Lions for leaguies: My guide to the greatest rugby show on turf
The whole thing was such a success they came back in 1899 and – bar world wars and various global cataclysms – have toured every four years since, across South Africa, New Zealand and Oz. So, in the modern incarnation, they come here every 12 years. They narrowly beat us in 1989, we belted them in 2001, and the mongrels just beat us in 2013. Where are the players drawn from? Pretty much what it says on the can. They come from Great Britain – as in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – plus Ireland itself. It's a little like your Rugby League World Cup, but with a difference. Instead of players being drawn from pretend national comps that don't actually exist, and everyone going along with the sham, they really are the best players from fierce competitions that funnel into actual national teams, and these are the genuine superstar players from those Test sides. Just how many people care about the result, and will be watching? More even than watch an Origin series. Yes, that big! Actually, it's sort of like those matches you play in Las Vegas in March, except that, instead of it drawing an Australian audience of a couple of million, plus 55,000 Americans, this will draw a genuinely global audience from across the planet in the 133 countries where rugby is played. The last one to these shores pulled in about 100 million. (No, no, an actual 100 million. Not the 100 million some professional proselytisers were claiming would watch the Las Vegas stuff.) What can we expect to see? Seriously wonderful football. Think of it like a Test series between Great Britain and the Kangaroos. Except that, instead of it being fairly forgettable, with the result usually pre-ordained, in this series no-one knows who is going to win and, to judge by the most recent tours, the result will likely be in the balance right up until the last minutes of the final Test and will be talked about for decades to come. Who are the best players? On our side, you will at least know Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, yes? He served his senior football apprenticeship with the Roosters before graduating to the Wallabies when he decided he wanted to go global and play on an actual world stage. Loading On their side, look to Finn Russell, the 32-year-old five-eighth from Scotland. He's a maestro of the art – real art – a one-stop shop complete package of no-look passes, scintillating sidesteps, precise crossfield kicks that could knock the cigarette out of a seagull's mouth at 42 metres, and devastating runarounds that leave defences scrambling. He's sort of like your Nathan Cleary, 'cept that ... no, as you were. He's sort of like your Nathan Cleary. And that is why rugby is looking at Nathan, come to think of it. (If Nathan wants to play in Paris, London, Buenos Aires, Jo'burg, Dublin, Rome and Cardiff – instead of Parramatta, Wigan and Las Vegas, tell him to call us.)
