The Fiji Times

Home grown Bati – Local based players fight for RLWC selection

THE Fiji Bati team to the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England later this year is expected to include some local based players. And with the continued good performance by the Kaiviti Silktails in the Ron Massey Cup competition in Sydney, Fiji National Rugby League acting chief executive officer, Don Natabe, said he was...

Break time – Fijian Silktails visit Gold Coast, Melbourne

The Kaiviti Silktails are on a sixday break spending the Ron Massey Cup round 10 bye in Australia’s tourism capital, the Gold Coast, before heading to Melbourne to watch some big games in the National Rugby League competition. The Silktails landed on the Gold Coast on Tuesday, going straight to the Gold Coast Performance Centre...

NRL: ‘I got emotional’: Eels coach shares teary embrace with debutant son

Once the cameras stopped rolling out the front of the Sofitel Hotel in Brisbane, Parramatta coach Brad Arthur let out a giant sigh of relief and said: “Beauty, I kept it together”. Arthur had hours earlier shed a tear when he hugged his 18-year-old son ahead of his NRL debut against the New Zealand Warriors...

Warriors centre Euan Aitken confirmed to return from injury against Parramatta Eels

Euan Aitken is ready to remind everyone why the Warriors brought him to the club after declaring himself a certain starter for Sunday’s NRL Magic Round clash against Parramatta. One of the Warriors’ key off-season signings, the former Dragons centre played in the opening-round victory against the Titans before spending the next eight weeks on...

NRL crackdown set to break record after eight players are sinbinned on opening night of Magic Round

The NRL is on track to more than double its record for the most sinbins in a round, after the game’s new edict saw Magic Round start amid farcical scenes. Eight players were binned in the opening two games on Friday night, with Wests Tigers, Newcastle, Brisbane and Manly all having two expelled. With six...

Adam Pompey agrees terms to remain with Warriors beyond current NRL season

Warriors centre Adam Pompey is set to sign a new contract, having impressed the club’s coach Nathan Brown this season. The 22-year-old, who came up through the Sydney Roosters system, had a breakthrough season with the club last year and has continued to kick on in 2021. Pompey’s current contract expires at the end of...

‘Any publicity is good publicity’: Ricky Stuart apologises to angry netballers but can’t resist a second swipe

Ricky Stuart has apologised to the Australian netball community after it responded angrily to comments from the Canberra Raiders coach that suggested the sport wasn’t ‘tough’. But while Stuart clarified on Friday that he respected netball and said all sports are tough, he delivered a little parting jab by saying he hoped netball had enjoyed the...

Warriors: Return plans not off table, yet

The Warriors say no decision has been made on whether the NRL side will come home to New Zealand next month. Following the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble, a plan had been place for a potential return from their base on New South Wales’ Central Coast on June 19. A report on Thursday suggested that...

Fairytale that became a nightmare: Why NRL superstars lost faith in Samoan rugby league

Queensland prop Josh Papalii says he would turn his back on playing for the Maroons and Australia to represent Samoa tomorrow. It’s a move which has the potential to reverberate across the international game like Jason Taumalolo’s switch to Tonga. The problem is, Papalii doesn’t have a Samoan team he wants to go back to. “100 per cent...

Reece Walsh likely to remain as an impact player for Warriors

For the short term at least, Reece Walsh looks likely to remain on the interchange bench for the Warriors. The 18-year-old Walsh has eclipsed most people’s expectations on how quickly he has adapted to playing in the NRL, but the coaching conundrum Warriors coach Nathan Brown continues to face until Roger Tuivasa-Sheck departs is how...

Papalii draws on hard times to lead Raiders out of funk

Josh Papalii remembers back to 2011 when Canberra lost eight straight matches and were booed from the field. They finished 15th that season – Papalii’s first in the NRL. Drawing on those hard times, the veteran prop is adamant the Raiders can salvage their 2021 campaign after five consecutive defeats. With influential hooker Josh Hodgson set to return...

Titans blow as Fifita cops two-match ban at judiciary

There’ll be one less star lighting up Magic Round with spellbinding Titans second-rower David Fifita suspended for two games after failing at the judiciary on Tuesday night. The barnstorming forward, who tuned into the hearing by video and was represented by Titans high performance senior advisor Mal Meninga, tried to have a grade-two careless high tackle charge downgraded...

Warriors wonder kid Reece Walsh left on bench for Parramatta Eels clash, Peta Hiku gone for season

In a move that will ignite fierce debate amongst Warriors fans, Nathan Brown has left wonder kid Reece Walsh on the bench for Sunday’s clash against the Parramatta Eels. Brown has resisted the temptation to move the 18-year-old sensation into the starting side ahead of the Magic Round match in Brisbane despite a dire performance from his team with the...

Asia Pacific Rugby League to take lead on Tonga

AUCKLAND, 12 MAY 2021 (RNZ PACIFIC) – The Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRL) is taking the lead on the future of Tonga’s international membership. It comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month dismissed an appeal by the former governing body, Tonga National Rugby League, over its expulsion from the International Rugby...

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Wounded PNG Hunters welcome much-need break