Author: Australian Associated Press

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Incoming Australia coach Les Kiss to take charge of Lions tour invitational team

  • AUNZ Invitational XV play British & Irish Lions in Brisbane in July
  • Former Wallaby Toutai Kefu to coach First Nations and Pasifika XV

Incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss will get an early taste of international rugby when he oversees the AUNZ Invitational XV against the British & Irish Lions in Adelaide.

Queensland Reds mentor Kiss will team up with former All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who was already announced as an assistant for the July fixture, the first time since 1989 that Australia and New Zealand have combined on the field.

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State of Origin: Isaah Yeo to captain NSW as Bulldogs prop handed shock debut

  • Blues call up Max King to start on bench in Game 1 against Maroons
  • Payne Haas to undergo a scan that will decide if he plays in Origin I

Laurie Daley has delivered a selection shock with Max King to make his State of Origin debut as the NSW coach also sweats on a Payne Haas quad injury.

Daley confirmed his side for the series opener on Sunday, with Dylan Edwards retaining the fullback role and Mitch Moses to partner Nathan Cleary in the haves.

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Former West Coast player Adam Selwood dies months after twin brother’s death

  • Midfielder played 187 games for Eagles, including 2006 premiership
  • Selwood family says ‘words cannot express the grief and sadness we feel’

The West Coast premiership star Adam Selwood has been remembered as the ultimate teammate with an infectious personality, after his death aged 41.

Selwood’s death in Perth on Saturday came three months after his identical twin and fellow former AFL player Troy Selwood died.

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NSW Blues wrap up Origin series with 26-6 win over Queensland Maroons

  • Olivis Kernick scores two tries in rain-soaked victory
  • Blues recover from shaky start in Sydney

Olivia Kernick has helped NSW claim the women’s State of Origin series with a game to spare after powering the Blues to a 26-6 victory over Queensland.

Kernick, who was controversially overlooked for the Australian Test team after winning the 2024 NRLW Dally M Medal, scored two tries and set up another on Thursday night as the Blues inflicted more misery on the Maroons to win game two.

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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii injury not as bad as feared as Wallabies get boost for Lions tour

  • Player still needs surgery but fractured jaw is on lower scale
  • ‘Just a four-week injury,’ says NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar

Wallabies fans can breathe easier after NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar allayed fears of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii missing any Tests against the touring British & Irish Lions.

Despite Suaalii requiring surgery for a broken jaw, McKellar on Thursday said the injury was of a lower scale and the 21-year-old was already back in the gym working out to maintain his conditioning.

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Bulldogs book ticket to Las Vegas as teams locked in for NRL’s 2026 season opener

  • Dragons, Cowboys and Knights to join rugby league festival in March
  • Hull and Leeds clash revealed but women’s fixture yet to be confirmed

The NRL will attempt to capitalise on Canterbury’s popularity by putting them on the plane to Las Vegas next year, alongside St George Illawarra, North Queensland and Newcastle.

Head office confirmed the four men’s NRL teams for the league’s third Vegas extravaganza, with all teams on their maiden trip for the 1 March (AEDT) event.

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Rohan Dennis given two-year suspended sentence after car crash that killed wife Melissa Hoskins

Former world champion cyclist avoids jail after pleading guilty to committing aggravated act likely to cause harm after 2023 incident that killed Olympian Hoskins

Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis has received a suspended jail sentence over a road incident that led to the death of his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins.

Dennis, 34, appeared in South Australia’s district court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a charge of committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm.

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AFL boss defends handling of Willie Rioli case amid call for industry to fight racism

  • Andrew Dillon says ‘we don’t react to media criticism’ after forward’s ban
  • League CEO wants united front of players and clubs in ongoing battle

The AFL is appealing for the entire industry to unite and use the fresh Indigenous round as a landmark in the code’s fight against racism.

But AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says headquarters can’t fix the problem itself as fallout continues from the Willie Rioli case.

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Alex de Minaur progresses despite distraction of aerial display at Italian Open

  • Australia’s No 1 regains focus to beat Hugo Dellien 6-4, 6-4
  • De Minaur will play 12th-seeded Tommy Paul in last 16 in Rome

An overhead in tennis normally means being lobbed but it was a different aerial intervention that troubled Alex de Minaur in Rome.

The Australian No 1 was progressing well towards the last 16 despite the distraction of an unwell spectator when his match with Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien was interrupted by a flypast by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour arrows).

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Door open for overseas Wallabies to take on the Lions, says Australia coach Joe Schmidt

  • Players like Samu Kerevi, Pete Samu and Will Skelton in frame
  • Squad of up to 40 players to be picked before first Test in Brisbane

Such is the magnitude of the challenge and occasion that Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is set to ditch his no overseas-based players selection strategy for the blockbuster series against the touring British and Irish Lions.

While not picking talent from outside of Australia is not strictly a set-in-stone policy, Schmidt has made clear his preference to mostly overlook Wallabies stars playing offshore, or heading overseas.

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Marta Kostyuk praises Daria Kasatkina ‘courage’ and shakes hands at Italian Open

  • Ukrainian lauds former Russian for switching nationality to Australia
  • 22-year-old makes point of shaking hands with world No 15 in Rome

Daria Kasatkina’s switch from Russian tennis to play for Australia has been given a stamp of approval from her Ukrainian conqueror at the Italian Open.

Marta Kostyuk, one of the women’s tour’s in-form players, has made a high-profile point along with many of her fellow Ukrainian players of not shaking hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents after matches in protest at the invasion of her homeland.

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Willie Rioli to undergo AFL ‘education’ over threatening message

  • AFL hands one-game ban to Port Adelaide forward
  • Player will miss Saturday night’s Showdown in Adelaide

Willie Rioli has made himself unavailable for Port Adelaide’s Showdown with the Crows, calling his threatening message to an opponent “unacceptable”. The Power forward will sit out Saturday night’s blockbuster at Adelaide Oval, telling the club on Thursday he was mentally in no position to play.

The AFL later released a statement, saying they were suspending Rioli for one game and requiring him to participate in “education on respectful/non-violent language and conduct”.

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NRL confident of early success for Bears after Perth team confirmed for 2027 entry

  • Bears to enter competition before PNG expansion side
  • Club will wear red and black and play home games at HBF Park

Peter V’landys insists the Perth Bears can be immediately competitive, adamant their link with North Sydney will set them up for success on entry to the NRL in 2027. The league confirmed on Thursday Perth would become the 18th franchise, joining the competition one year before Papua New Guinea’s 2028 admission.

The announcement ends a long push from Western Australia to have a team in the competition, after the Western Reds were killed off in the Super League war. The Bears link will also revive the moniker of one of the league’s foundation clubs, after North Sydney’s exit following the failed merger with Manly in 2000.

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Australian cyclist Caleb Ewan stuns sport by announcing retirement

  • Sprinter won five Tour de France stages in top career
  • Messy exit from JaycoAlUla team took ‘significant toll’

Caleb Ewan, at his peak one of Australian cycling’s greatest talents, has stunned the sport by announcing his immediate retirement.

Ewan delivered his bombshell decision on social media, saying events of the last two years – especially around his messy exit from top Australian team Jayco AlUla – have “taken a significant toll on my relationship with the sport”.

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‘Remain respectful’: Willie Rioli escapes sanction for message to Bulldogs player Bailey Dale

  • Port Adelaide forward apologises after message for Bailey Dale
  • AFL gives warning but will not take further action against Rioli

Willie Rioli has apologised for a threatening private message sent to a Western Bulldogs player that caused a stir and was referred to the AFL.

No further action will be taken by the league after the Port Adelaide forward contacted a teammate of Bulldogs opponent Bailey Dale.

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