AFTER the siren sounds on the State of Origin series opener, Mitch Barnett hopes to roll up his sleeves and lend a hand on NSW’s flood-ravaged mid-north coast. Warriors co-captain Barnett has had to watch from afar as flood waters ravaged the Manning Valley area where he was born and raised, and where his parents […]

FOR second-rower Yasmin Clydsdale bad weather in the Hunter has more impact than just keeping footy fans away from game three of women’s Origin. The recent deluge on NSW’s mid-north coast has stopped Clydsdale’s husband Adam from being able to cross a creek to get to their cows on their farm in the upper Hunter. […]

LAURIE Daley has revealed the Max King effort play that convinced him the Canterbury prop was a State of Origin player. The Maitland-educated King was a shock call up for NSW on Sunday night, named as the Blues’ only debutant after Daley’s side suffered a number of last-minute injuries. But the returning Blues coach said […]

NEWCASTLE have re-signed Mat Croker to a two-year contract as they continue preparations for life without forward pack leader Leo Thompson. Croker, 25, has played every game of a disappointing Knights NRL campaign so far and will now remain with the club through 2027. The Nabiac product had been among a handful of Knights forwards […]

WITH much unfinished business to tend to, Joe Schmidt has detailed the immense challenges confronting the Wallabies as he plots to secure Australia an all-important top-six seeding for the 2027 home Rugby World Cup. The Wallabies have 12 Test matches between July and November in which to claw their way from eighth in the international […]

THE NRL’s bunker and match review committee have disagreed on more than a third of dangerous-tackle calls this season, with alarming data showing the great disconnect. The league’s foul-play crackdown reached its zenith at the weekend, with a record 18 players sin-binned and mass confusion from coaches and former players. But perhaps the more concerning […]