分类： sports

For rising rugby league star Mark Nawaqanitawase, the bittersweet reality of his impending departure from the Sydney Roosters at the end of the 2024 NRL season has finally set in — even as a career-defining milestone looms on the horizon: a potential debut for New South Wales in the State of Origin series just four weeks from now.

At 25 years old, Nawaqanitawase has packed an extraordinary amount of achievement into just 31 top-flight NRL matches since switching codes from rugby union. The former Wallabies winger has not only notched one of the most iconic individual tries in recent rugby league memory, but also earned representative honors representing Australia in rugby league’s Ashes series. Now, he has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the vacant Blues wing spot left by Zac Lomax, who returned to rugby union after a standout 2023 Origin campaign for New South Wales.

NSW Blues head coach Laurie Daley is widely expected to shortlist Nawaqanitawase for the game one squad, which will be announced next month. The dynamic winger has put his case for selection beyond doubt with a blistering run of form, crossing for three doubles in his last four outings. He also previously attended the Blues’ pre-camp earlier this year, putting him firmly in Daley’s plans.

Despite the hype around his possible Origin call-up, the soft-spoken winger says his full attention remains on the Roosters, who sit comfortably in the top half of the ladder after a dominant Anzac Day win over their rivals. Speaking to reporters at Bondi Beach on Monday, where he joined teammates including Connor Watson and Daly Cherry-Evans for a recovery swim, Nawaqanitawase played down speculation about his selection.

“What will be, will be. But I’m just trying to put my best foot forward here at the Chooks, play some good footy and make sure that we’re moving along well this year,” he said. “It’s always nice to get a higher honour. But again, I’m not really focused on it at the moment. Yeah definitely I watched Origin all the time growing up. I think it’s been a part of most kids who play rugby league growing up. It’s always been something that I’ve wanted to do, so if it happens, it happens.”

At the end of the season, Nawaqanitawase will return to rugby union, where he will face a difficult choice: compete in the upcoming Rugby League World Cup with Australia, or join the Wallabies on their annual Spring Tour of Europe. For now, though, he is focused on soaking up his remaining months in the NRL, having grown deeply attached to the club and code that welcomed him when he made the cross-code switch.

“This week and the last few weeks I’ve come to the realisation it’s going to be my last few months coming up,” he said, leaving open the possibility of a return to the Roosters further down the line. “So it’s been quite sad thinking about it because I love the club, I love the boys and just the whole environment. My family and I are really going to miss it, so I’ve just got to make sure I enjoy every moment that I can. I’ve been shown a lot of love and support from all fans, even ones that don’t even follow the Roosters. So it’s been a great experience for me, and I’ve just got to enjoy it because it doesn’t last forever. Coming over to rugby league and just the NRL as a whole has super exceeded what I thought I was going to feel and be a part of. I’m going to miss it every week.”

When Nawaqanitawase first arrived in the NRL from rugby union, few predicted he would adapt so quickly to become one of the competition’s most exciting attacking weapons, earning a reputation as a high-flying offload specialist capable of turning the faintest half-chance into a spectacular try. The winger says his time in rugby league has transformed his game, adding layers of physicality and defensive discipline that will serve him well no matter where his career takes him.

“I’m a different player to what I was two or three years ago now,” he said. “In a non-arrogant way, it’s a bigger, better, faster kind of thing. I’ve grown up a little bit, obviously learnt a lot physically and being able to do a lot more and just defensively as well. I’ve learnt so much and I know it will make me a better player wherever I go.”

The chaos of Chelsea’s turbulent 2024-25 campaign took a sudden, redemptive turn at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, as midfielder Enzo Fernandez’s first-half header secured a 1-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United, sending the Blues through to a May 16 final showdown with Manchester City. The result comes just four days after Chelsea sacked head coach Liam Rosenior, capping a dramatic week that has upended the club’s season amid a devastating run of poor form.

Rosenior’s tenure at Stamford Bridge ended after just 106 days, cut short following a five-game losing streak that saw Chelsea fail to find the net once – the club’s worst such run since 1912. The writing was on the wall after a humiliating 3-0 away defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday, where Rosenior publicly criticized his players’ commitment and fighting spirit. That outburst proved to be the final straw for Chelsea’s ownership, deepening already visible rifts between the manager and the first-team squad that had surfaced after Rosenior dropped Fernandez for two matches. The Argentine had been dropped after hinting in a media interview that he could consider leaving the club at the end of the season, a controversy that undermined Rosenior’s already fragile authority from his earliest weeks in charge.

Rosenior’s departure follows widespread unrest in the dressing room, with multiple key players having already expressed frustration over the sacking of previous manager Enzo Maresca earlier this year, and internal leaks over team selection further eroding trust. The terrible run of form has already ended Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League: the club sits 10 points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa with just four matches remaining in the Premier League, eliminating any chance of securing a top-five finish that would have earned a European spot.

Stepping into the interim role just days before the semi-final was Calum McFarlane, previously the head coach of Chelsea’s Under-21 side who was promoted to assist Rosenior earlier in the season. Inheriting a fractured dressing room and a squad low on confidence, McFarlane has already earned praise for coaxing a cohesive, focused performance out of the players in their first match since the sacking. For Chelsea, a club with eight FA Cup titles to their name and 16 previous final appearances, a win over Guardiola’s side at Wembley would not only deliver their first FA Cup crown since 2018, but also salvage a campaign that has otherwise been written off as a failure. It would also make McFarlane one of the most unlikely title-winning managers in the competition’s long history.

Sunday’s semi-final was a missed opportunity for Leeds, who reached their first FA Cup semi-final since 1987 and had not appeared in a final for 53 years. The Championship side came close to taking an early lead when Brenden Aaronson broke clean through on goal after a slip from Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, but the American dragged his attempt off target, failing to beat Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Chelsea responded immediately with a chance of their own, as Joao Pedro drilled a low close-range strike against the near post, wasting the opening.

It was Fernandez who broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, quieting the anxiety that hung over Chelsea’s side. After Leeds defender Pascal Struijk gave away possession deep in his own half, Pedro Neto intercepted the loose ball and curled a pinpoint cross into the six-yard box, where Fernandez headed into the far corner for what would prove to be the only goal of the game. The strike ended a nearly 300-minute goal drought for Chelsea, whose last goal had come against third-tier side Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Leeds made a half-time substitution, bringing on German midfielder Anton Stach, who came inches away from equalizing with his very first touch – a long-range thunderbolt that forced a brilliant save from Sanchez. Leeds improved considerably after a lackluster first half, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin failed to convert a good headed chance, directing his effort straight at the Chelsea keeper. Tensions boiled over moments later when Sanchez required treatment for a knock, with Leeds players accusing the Spaniard of feigning injury to allow Chelsea a tactical break, leading to a heated scuffle on the touchline. While tempers flared, the match never approached the intensity of the infamous brutal 1970 FA Cup final between the two historic rivals.

Chelsea held firm through the final minutes to close out the win, restoring a small measure of pride to a season that has been overshadowed by off-field chaos and poor results. They now turn their focus to Wembley next month, where they will face a Manchester City side that fought back from a one-goal deficit to beat Southampton 2-1 in the other semi-final on Saturday, in what is set to be one of the most hotly anticipated FA Cup finals in recent memory.

The 2025 London Marathon delivered two pieces of history on Sunday, as Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe became the first athlete to run a ratified sub-two-hour marathon in an official competition, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa smashed her own women’s-only world record to defend her title.

Sawe, the defending 2024 men’s champion, entered the race openly predicting a landmark performance, and he delivered beyond expectations, crossing the finish line in an official time of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds. The 31-year-old Kenyan’s achievement rewrites marathon history: while Eliud Kipchoge ran a 1:59:40 in an experimental 2019 event, that performance was never ratified as an official world record because it broke standard competition rules for pacing, fluids and event format, with specialized non-regulation equipment. Sawe’s run, by contrast, complies with all official rules and stands as the first recognized sub-two-hour marathon in open competition.

What made Sawe’s performance even more remarkable is the depth of the field’s results: the top three men all finished inside the previous official world record of 2:00:35, set by the late Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Through the first half of the 26.2-mile course, Sawe led a tight leading pack of six elite runners that included Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and Uganda’s half-marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo, with the group passing the halfway mark in 1:00:29, on pace to break the two-hour barrier. As the race progressed, the pack strung out, leaving Sawe and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, running his first ever marathon, to battle neck-and-neck through the closing miles. With just one mile remaining, Sawe made his decisive surge, pulling clear of Kejelcha to finish alone, taking a full 65 seconds off Kiptum’s previous world record. Kejelcha held on to finish second in 1:59:41, the fastest debut marathon in history, while Kiplimo took third place in 2:00:28.

After crossing the line, a visibly elated Sawe shared his confidence going into the race, held on a mild warm spring day in London. “I am feeling good. I am so happy. It is a day to remember for me,” Sawe told reporters, noting his target time had even been scribbled on his running shoe before the start. “Coming to London for the second time was so important to me and that’s why I prepared well. Finally, what I had done for four months it has come today to be a good result.” Sawe ran in Adidas’s new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, which weighs less than 100 grams, and had openly teased a record attempt in pre-race media comments.

In the women’s-only race, Assefa matched Sawe’s historic performance by breaking her own world record to defend her 2024 London Marathon title. The 29-year-old Ethiopian, a reigning Olympic and world silver medalist, was locked in a tight three-way battle for the lead with Kenyan stars Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei through most of the race, before breaking away in the closing kilometers to cross the line in 2:15:41. Her time shaved nine seconds off the women’s-only world record she set on the same London course in 2024.

“It’s one of my plans really coming into this competition to break my own world record from last year’s race,” Assefa said after the race. “So to do that has brought me a lot of satisfaction. To repeat my victory from last year means even more. The happiness I feel is just swelling up inside me.” Obiri, a two-time 5000m world champion and 2024 Paris Olympic marathon bronze medalist, finished just 12 seconds behind Assefa to take second place in a new personal best of 2:15:53, edging out compatriot Jepkosgei by just 0.02 seconds. It is worth noting that the fastest marathon ever run by a woman in a mixed-gender race, where female runners benefit from male pacemakers, is 2:09:56, set by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

Beyond the elite race history, the 46th edition of the London Marathon also set new records for participation and charitable giving. More than 59,000 runners were expected to complete the 42.2-kilometer course, beating 2024’s record of 56,640 finishers, which already stood as the most for any marathon in history. Organizers announced last month they are considering expanding the 2026 event to two days, which would allow up to 100,000 runners to participate. The 2025 race also raised a record £87.3 million ($118 million) for charitable causes, retaining its title as the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event.

The Melbourne Storm’s nightmare 2026 NRL season has taken another devastating turn, with star playmaker Jahrome Hughes confirmed to miss next Friday’s critical Round 9 showdown against the Dolphins after failing a mandatory head injury assessment. While initial scans have cleared the representative halfback of any serious structural damage to a worrying wrist injury that hampered his performance during Saturday’s heavy home defeat, the concussion protocol ruling has ruled him out of what is already a must-win game for the struggling club.

Hughes’ absence is the latest in a string of crippling blows for the Storm, who are currently mired in their longest losing streak under legendary head coach Craig Bellamy, having dropped six consecutive matches. After Saturday’s humiliating defeat to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at AAMI Park, which saw Melbourne’s long-unbeaten home record against the Sydney club completely erased, the club sits second-from-bottom on the NRL ladder, only ahead of the still-winless St George Illawarra Dragons.

During the second half of Saturday’s defeat, Hughes repeatedly grabbed at his left wrist and forearm after taking multiple heavy knocks during the match, sparking immediate concern over a potential long-term layoff. Earlier in Round 8, the halfback was forced from the field early due to an unspecified injury, with Bellamy admitting post-match he could not confirm whether the issue was linked to the wrist or shoulder. However, post-match scans delivered one small piece of positive news: no significant ligament or bone damage was found, and Hughes will continue to be monitored by the club’s medical staff throughout the week.

That small reprieve was overshadowed by confirmation that a head knock sustained during the match has ruled Hughes out of the Dolphins clash. In an official statement, the Storm confirmed: “The club can confirm Hughes’ initial assessments of his wrist show no significant injury and he will continue to be assessed throughout the week, however the halfback failed his HIA and will enter concussion protocols. Hughes will be unavailable for Storm’s Round 9 game against the Dolphins.”

With Hughes sidelined, utility Tyran Wishart is widely expected to step into the starting halves combination for Melbourne.

The six-game losing run is unprecedented during Bellamy’s more than two-decade tenure at the club, and the veteran coach did not mince words after Saturday’s Anzac Day defeat, admitting it was the most embarrassed he had ever been in his decades-long coaching career. “It’s probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever been in my footy life to be quite honest,” Bellamy told reporters post-match. “There are obviously a few things the off-field staff is doing wrong and I’m included in that, so obviously I’m not doing my job as well as I should be… but to come up with a performance like that and a lack of effort like that on Anzac Day is embarrassing. I can’t say too much more than that.”

At this stage of the season, the Storm’s slim hopes of reaching the 2026 finals are already hanging by a thread, and the loss of their most influential playmaker has all but crushed early-season optimism among fans and analysts alike.

Just one month ago, Manly Sea Eagles supporters booed their team off the home pitch at 4 Pines Park, calling for immediate leadership change after a third consecutive defeat that saw former head coach Anthony Seibold lose his job. Ironically, that loss came at the hands of the Sydney Roosters, led by ex-Sea Eagles star Daly Cherry-Evans, leaving fans fearing the club would spend the 2026 NRL season fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. Today, that narrative has flipped entirely: a dominant 33-18 second-half victory over the Parramatta Eels has pushed Manly to four straight wins, and club legend-turned-interim coach Kieran Foran has turned early-season despair into legitimate finals contention.

Foran’s incredible turnaround since taking the top job has been nothing short of miraculous. The undefeated 4-0 start under his guidance has erased all talk of a last-place finish, with fans and analysts now openly debating whether the Sea Eagles can sustain their red-hot form to climb all the way into the top four. This win against the Eels was Foran’s biggest test to date, with star fullback Tom Trbojevic sidelined by injury – but Tom’s brothers stepped up to fill the gap seamlessly. Within the opening minutes of the match, Jake Trbojevic crashed over the try line off a well-placed kick to put Manly on the board early.

Midway through the second half, Ben Trbojevic delivered a pinpoint offload to halfback Jamal Fogarty, who sprinted 50 metres to score a breakaway try that blew the game wide open and cemented Manly’s lead. While the win was a massive boost for the club’s finals hopes, it did come with fresh injury concerns: Fogarty was taken off the field late in the match, and forward Corey Waddell was forced to exit early with a pectoral injury. The Sea Eagles’ credentials will face their toughest test this coming Sunday night, when they take on defending premiers Penrith in a clash that will prove just how far this revitalized side has come.

For the Parramatta Eels, the result extends a devastating run of poor form and crippling injury woes that have left them sitting 15th on the ladder ahead of the round 12 bye. The club’s injury crisis deepened during the match, when center Dylan Walker suffered an arm injury that saw him return for the second half with his left arm strapped in a sling. Walker is the latest key player sidelined for Parramatta, joining a long list of starters including Jonah Pezet, Isaiah Iongi, J’maine Hopgood and Bailey Simonsson who are already out long-term. Walker had been one of the Eels’ most consistent playmakers through the early rounds, and his absence will be a major blow for the side moving forward. The Eels also face potential further disruption, with dummy-half Tallyn Da Silva facing possible suspension after being sin-binned for a dangerous lifting tackle on Jake Simpkin. While Parramatta put up a solid defensive fight in the first half, they collapsed in the second, as Manly carved through their edges repeatedly – winger Brian Kelly had a particularly tough day, committing five costly errors. The Eels will face tough matches against the New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm before their bye, leaving them with little room to claw their way back up the ladder in the coming weeks.

One of the standout individual performances of the match came from Manly back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu, whose barnstorming display dragged the side through an otherwise unremarkable first half and pushed him into contention for a call-up to the NSW Blues State of Origin side. The powerful forward ran 201 metres from 21 carries, notched four offloads, broke seven tackles and delivered a brutal hit on Dylan Walker just before halftime that set up a field goal to give Manly a 7-6 halftime lead. Olakau’atu, who came off the bench in two Origins for the Blues in 2024, is now firmly on NSW coach Laurie Daley’s radar after a string of dominant displays showcasing his explosive running and elite aerial skills.

Speed winger Jason Saab also delivered a memorable moment for the Sea Eagles, showcasing unexpected soccer skills to score one of the match’s most talked-about tries. After Fogarty put up a high kick into the in-goal area, Saab out-jumped the Eels defence to notch a perfect header that set him up for a clear run to the line, capping off a stunning day for the revitalized Manly side.

The English Premier League delivered another afternoon of high-stakes drama this Saturday, as two late match-winning goals upended the landscape of both the tense relegation battle and the race for Champions League qualification with just four matchweeks remaining in the season.

The most electrifying twists unfolded in the fight to avoid the final relegation spot, where Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have emerged as the two remaining contenders after Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley already confirmed their drops to the Championship. In a turn of events that left fans of both clubs reeling, West Ham substitute Callum Wilson struck a 92nd-minute winner that preserved his side’s two-point advantage over Tottenham, keeping the London club in the driving seat to beat the drop.

The day began looking grim for Tottenham, who traveled to face already-relegated Wolves without a Premier League win dating back to December. Blunted in attack, the side managed just two shots on target across 90 minutes, and looked set to settle for a frustrating goalless draw that would leave them mired in the relegation zone. It took an 82nd-minute strike from Joao Palhinha to secure a scrappy 1-0 win for Tottenham, lifting them temporarily out of the bottom three.

Minutes later, when news broke that Everton had scored an 88th-minute equalizer at the London Stadium to cancel out Tomas Soucek’s first-half opener for West Ham, traveling Tottenham supporters erupted in celebration. At that point, the North London club had slipped above West Ham in the table, on course to escape the drop zone at West Ham’s expense. But Wilson had other plans, netting a dramatic late winner that shifted the dynamic back in West Ham’s favor.

Speaking after the match, Wilson emphasized the unity that has carried his side through the tough relegation run-in. “The atmosphere was electric,” he told the BBC. “I think the fans and the players have really come together in this period and it has stood us in good stead. We’re the ones in the driving seat at the moment and if we take care of our own results it should stand us in good stead come the end of the season.”

Nottingham Forest, who sit three points clear of both Tottenham and West Ham on 39 points, all but secured their top-flight status with a dominant 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland on Friday, pulling them well clear of the relegation battle.

Across the country at Anfield, another set of late action reshaped the race for Champions League places, as Liverpool claimed a vital 3-1 win over Crystal Palace to climb into the top four. The result marked Liverpool’s first victory over Palace in four meetings this season, after the London side knocked them out of the League Cup and beat them in the reverse Premier League fixture, following a penalty shootout win in the season-opening Community Shield.

Recently recovered from a fibula fracture that kept him sidelined for months, Alexander Isak opened the scoring for Liverpool, notching his first goal for the club since December. Defender Andy Robertson doubled the Reds’ lead shortly after with a tidy finish on a slick counter-attacking move. Crystal Palace cut the deficit in the second half through Daniel Munoz, but Florian Wirtz iced the game with a last-gasp third goal to restore the two-goal advantage.

The result was tinged with minor concern for Liverpool, however, as star winger Mohamed Salah was forced to limp off the pitch in the second half with a hamstring injury, with less than a month remaining in his decorated tenure at the club. Despite the injury concern, the result leaves Liverpool level on 58 points with Aston Villa and Manchester United, eight points clear of fourth-placed chasing Brighton, making qualification for next season’s Champions League near-certain for Arne Slot’s side – a strong recovery after their disappointing title defence this campaign.

“Our objectives this season have changed due to our form but the Champions League is so important to this football club and we’ve made a big step,” Robertson told Sky Sports after the match.

In the day’s early kickoff, Fulham claimed a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, keeping the Cottagers’ own hopes of European qualification alive. Ryan Sessegnon scored the game’s only goal shortly before halftime, after both sides had missed early chances to take the lead. The result dropped Villa out of the top four, opening the door for Liverpool’s ascension.

The final game of the day will see league-leaders in waiting Manchester City top when Arsenal host Newcastle United. The Gunners, who held a nine-point lead at the top of the table just two weeks ago, have seen that advantage evaporate amid a poor run of form. Arsenal now trail City only on goals scored, with the two sides level on goal difference heading into the evening kickoff.