Category: NRL

NRL News

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Rugby league should celebrate and build on the World Club Challenge

Hull KR v Brisbane Broncos was a cracker and further proof that the event should be set in stone every year

By No Helmets Required

Lifelong memories are not usually made during dank winter nights at the MKM Stadium in Hull, but the World Club Challenge will be treasured even by those of us who do not have red and white allegiances. The match was an absolute cracker but, even if NRL champions Brisbane Broncos had strolled to victory rather than losing a spellbinding game to Hull Kingston Rovers, the event would still have been a spectacular success.

There were fireworks, a light show, music from Reverend and The Makers, and a rammed “away end” knocking out Robins anthems. Fans turned the stadium red as they waved thousands of flags while decked out in glasses from sponsors Specsavers. It was all simple but hugely effective, which is an apt description for Hull KR as a club and team.

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‘Landmark moment’: Emma Lawrence to become first woman to call NRL games

  • Presenter joins Triple M’s play-by-play commentary team

  • Move hailed as win for women working in sport broadcasting

Emma Lawrence will become the first woman in NRL broadcast history to call a game, with Triple M including “one of the sharpest broadcasters in rugby league” on its play-by-play commentary team for the new season.

Lawrence, one of the most respected voices in the game, will enter the domain previously reserved for men in a move the radio station called a “landmark moment”. Female voices are present across broader coverage of the NRL, but a woman has never been handed the prestigious play-by-play call before.

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Hull KR’s rollercoaster ride from the depths to chance of World Club Challenge glory

Longstanding owner Neil Hudgell has revived club and the Super League champions take on Brisbane Broncos with the world crown up for grabs

To appreciate the absolute highs, you perhaps have to first experience the ultimate lows: when Hull KR walk out for Thursday’s World Club Challenge, few will be better placed to say they have done that quite like their longstanding owner, Neil Hudgell.

The Super League champions will aim to be crowned the world’s best club rugby league side for the first time when they take on the NRL’s Brisbane Broncos. To satisfy the unprecedented demand, they have taken ownership of the venue of their great rivals, Hull FC, for one night only – with 25,000 supporters, double the capacity of their Craven Park home, buying tickets in record time.

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Former NRL star Matt Utai shot in alleged ‘brazen ambush’ outside home in western Sydney

Premiership-winning Canterbury winger hit in stomach and leg in Greenacre shooting

Former NRL star Matt Utai is in hospital fighting for his life after being shot multiple times on his front lawn, in what police are treating as an ambush attack with no clear motive.

The 2004 premiership-winning Canterbury winger was left with serious leg wounds after the attack in Greenacre, in western Sydney, at about 6am on Tuesday.

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Travball emerges, athletics surges, Brisbane basks in success: Australia’s biggest sporting moments of 2025

An Ashes-defining intervention, an NRL showstopper, and new hope forced on the AFL are among our writers’ great moments in Australian sports this year

The highly anticipated Ashes was quickly torn apart by Travis Head’s cameo at the top of the order that has since turned into a much longer stay. The NRL grand final was another scene for an all-time breathtaking display, as the Broncos joined the AFL’s Lions in making Brisbane the epicentre of Australian sport. Here are our writers’ sporting highlights of 2025.

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Ex-Alice Springs school principal spared jail for assaulting Indigenous students

Gavin Morris, a former NRL referee, found guilty of putting pupils in choke holds and twisting their ears

A former NRL referee has been spared jail after abusing his position of trust as a school principal by putting Indigenous students into choke holds and painfully twisting their ears.

Gavin Morris was found guilty of four counts of aggravated assault and on Thursday was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment fully suspended for two years on condition he be of good behaviour.

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Barry O’Farrell to be reinstated as Wests Tigers chair after club owners bow to NRL pressure

  • Four independent directors sacked by Holman Barnes Group invited back

  • No bearing on Shane Richardson’s exit as hunt for new CEO starts

Barry O’Farrell is set to return as Wests Tigers chair alongside his ousted independent directors after the joint-venture club’s owners bowed to NRL demands.

In the latest bizarre twist after 10 days of Tigers turmoil, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG) on Thursday agreed to invite back the board members sacked last Monday.

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NRL proposes heavy bans for Tonga doctors and trainer over Eli Katoa head knocks

  • Head doctor, assistant doctor and head trainer issued breach notices

  • Storm player to sit out 2026 season after surgery for bleeding on brain

The NRL is proposing to ban three members of Tonga’s medical staff for two years, claiming serious concerns over the handling of Eliesa Katoa’s multiple head knocks.

More than a month after Katoa required surgery for bleeding on the brain following seizure activity, the NRL handed down findings into the matter on Monday.

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‘Counterfeiting a code’: NRL announces 10-year ban for players who engage with R360

  • Agents who take players to unregistered competitions also face ban

  • Rules will ‘protect future of the game’, ARLC chair Peter V’landys says

The NRL has vowed to ban any player who leaves the code for R360 for 10 years, as it fights to fend off the threat of the breakaway rugby competition.

In a statement on Wednesday, the NRL also threatened to ban any agent if they take a player to the rebel competition.

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Carter Gordon returns to Wallabies squad after early end to NRL stint

  • Former Gold Coast Titan flyhalf lured back by Rugby Australia

  • Coach Joe Schmidt selects 34 players for Tests starting 25 October

Carter Gordon could be the Wallabies’ flyhalf again by the end of the month after securing a release from his NRL deal to be part of Australia’s spring tour.

The 24-year-old’s move to the Queensland Reds was confirmed on Monday after Rugby Australia secured a release from the second and final year of his Gold Coast contract.

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Chiefs or Pythons? NRL’s 19th team name revealed by PNG prime minister James Marape

  • Public naming competition had more than 20,000 submissions

  • Rugby league franchise joining in 2028 will be known as Chiefs

Papua New Guinea’s new team to enter the NRL in 2028 will be known as the Chiefs, the country’s prime minister, James Marape, has announced.

The club’s name was unveiled at Santos National Football Stadium before kick-off in the men’s annual match between the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII and their Pacific neighbour on Sunday.

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NRL 2025 grand final: Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm – as it happened

Oooph! Off comes Mr Swims’ jacket to reveal an AC/DC themed plaid combination ideal for launching into a cover of TNT and demonstrating a decent set of pipes. An excellent way to win over new friends on a night like this.

Teddy Swims has just kicked off his bekilted yacht rock pregame show. It’s fine, I guess.

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Roosters star James Tedesco wins his second Dally M Medal

  • Big win completes year of redemption for fullback

  • Tamika Upton of the Broncos wins women’s award

James Tedesco has romped to his second Dally M Medal with the Sydney Roosters star finishing 22 points clear of his nearest rival.

In a big night for the Roosters, Tedesco claimed the NRL’s highest individual honour for the first time since sweeping the awards in 2019.

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Brisbane end Penrith’s five-peat dream with stunning comeback win to book place in NRL grand final

  • Broncos defeat Panthers 16-13 at Suncorp Stadium

  • Comeback victory sets up grand final showdown with Melbourne Storm

Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds has stepped up in the biggest moment of his career to end Penrith’s five-peat dream with a stunning 16-14 comeback victory.

The Broncos’ win in the NRL preliminary final has set up a grand final showdown with fierce rivals Melbourne.

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Panthers stun Bulldogs and surge into NRL preliminary final with five-peat dream alive

  • Semi-final: Canterbury Bulldogs 26-46 Penrith Panthers

  • Dominant win sounds alarm for next opponent Brisbane

Penrith have sounded the alarm in their pursuit of a fifth straight premiership, destroying Canterbury 46-26 and setting up a preliminary final against Brisbane.

The Panthers produced one of the most dominant 40 minutes of football of their dynasty, blowing Canterbury out of the water with a record-breaking 36-8 first half.

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