分类： sports

With the NRL regular season winding down and finals football just weeks away, a flurry of last-minute team announcements has shaken up premiership odds, headlined by long-injured South Sydney Rabbitohs superstar Latrell Mitchell’s surprise inclusion in Saturday’s clash against the New Zealand Warriors.

Mitchell has not taken the field since South Sydney’s 15 May defeat to the Dolphins, sidelined for almost three months by a complicated injury set that began with a back issue, triggered a nerve complaint, and ultimately developed into a secondary calf problem. The representative star was forced to miss the entire 2024 State of Origin series, but his naming in the 22 on South Sydney’s extended bench has reignited the club’s premiership aspirations, which were flagging during his extended absence.

The star completed light running drills at Rabbitohs training earlier this week, leaving coach Wayne Bennett with two strategic options if Mitchell receives final medical clearance to return. The veteran coach could opt to slowly reintroduce the playmaker from the interchange bench, or throw him straight into a starting spot at left centre as the club chokes a vital win to shore up its finals position.

For the Warriors, the match-up brings its own selection shifts. The club opted not to hand young playmaker Jett Cleary his NRL debut this week, also naming him to the extended bench. Luke Hanson will step into the starting halves pair alongside Chanel Harris-Tavita, after Luke Metcalf became the latest Warriors playmaker to fall victim to a hamstring injury. The Warriors will also be without suspended centre Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who was banned after a tackle that ended Brisbane Broncos star Reece Walsh’s season prematurely.

Elsewhere across the league, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have received a much-needed boost with star fullback Tom Trbojevic cleared to return from his latest hamstring injury, a massive lift for a side desperate to force its way into finals contention. However, the club suffered a devastating counter-blow: young halfback Joey Walsh has been ruled out indefinitely after sustaining a hairline jaw fracture during last round’s loss to the Dolphins. Clayton Faulalo will step into Walsh’s spot in the halves for Manly’s clash against the Newcastle Knights.

Newcastle, for their part, will be without experienced centre Dane Gagai but welcome back starting centre Bradman Best from his own injury layoff. Another elite fullback is also set to return this weekend: Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco has been named in the squad for his side’s match-up against his former club, the Wests Tigers.

For the Wests Tigers, the 2024 season of struggle continues to worsen. The club confirmed this week that halfback Adam Doueihi will miss the rest of the season after undergoing season-ending shoulder reconstruction surgery. “New scans on Adam’s shoulder have showed the time has come to have his reconstruction done. This gives him enough time to be ready for the start of the 2027 season,” explained Wests Tigers head of high performance Peter Moussa. The Tigers have also lost young playmaker Latu Fainu to a new hamstring injury, leading to Jock Madden being named to partner Jarome Luai in the starting halves for the round.

Melbourne Storm have added hooker Harry Grant, one of the league’s top dummy halves, back to their starting line-up for Thursday night’s match against the Penrith Panthers, after Grant missed several weeks with a hamstring injury. Star halfback Jahrome Hughes remains sidelined for the Storm, so Trent Toelau will get the starting spot at halfback. Penrith, the reigning premiers, will welcome young gun Casey McLean back to the starting centre spot, replacing the injured Paul Alamoti who is out with a hamstring injury.

The Cronulla Sharks, fighting to hold onto a top-four finish, have turned to playmaker Niwhai Puru to fill the void left by Braydon Trindall, the team’s try-assist leader who dislocated his shoulder in last week’s round. The Dolphins will name Max Plath on the edge for their upcoming match, with regular starter Connelly Lemuelu unavailable.

In Canberra, Raiders legend Josh Papalii will make his final starting appearance at the club’s home ground, in front of a home crowd before his impending retirement from the NRL. The Raiders face the struggling Brisbane Broncos, who have recalled experienced halfback Ben Hunt to the starting line-up, with Hayze Perham stepping into the line-up to replace the injured Reece Walsh.

The Sydney Roosters, one of the National Rugby League’s (NRL) most dominant powerhouse clubs, is bracing for major changes to its senior coaching staff ahead of the 2027 season, with two key assistant positions set to open up by the end of the current calendar year. While much of the recent rugby league media focus has centered on Sam Walker’s future with the club, the impending departures of two top assistants have flown under the radar — and the club already has strong internal candidates ready to step into the gaps.

Current assistant coach Matt King will depart the Roosters at the end of the year to take on the head coaching role for the NSW Blues, the state’s representative side in the annual State of Origin series. Fellow assistant Michael Cheika is also expected to leave the club to return to his rugby union roots, where he will take the helm of the NSW Waratahs. Their exits will leave two critical vacancies on head coach Trent Robinson’s staff, but the Roosters do not need to conduct a far-reaching external search to find qualified replacements.

Three former club legends already embedded in the Roosters’ development pathways and youth coaching systems are top contenders for the roles, joining current staff member Tait Barnes on the senior coaching team.

Boyd Cordner, the Roosters’ former premiership-winning captain, has already claimed back-to-back titles leading the club’s SG Ball under-19 side since retiring from playing. Jake Friend, the club’s veteran former hooker, has spent his post-playing career working closely with the Roosters’ first-grade forward pack and developing young talent through the club’s pathway programs. Brett Morris, a legendary club winger, has also built up extensive coaching experience with the first-grade squad since hanging up his playing boots.

Current Roosters forward Nat Butcher, speaking to reporters on a sunny Tuesday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, offered high praise for the three former stars, highlighting how their legacy at the club already commands respect from the current playing group.

“As a leader, the biggest thing was ‘Boydo’ always led through his actions and not his words. As a player, that’s probably what I remember the most,” Butcher said. “Obviously as a coach, you can’t lead by your actions on the field. But when Boyd speaks, everyone listens and we do what he says because he’s a man that’s done it before. You believe what he says, and if you back that up, you’ll get the result that you’re after.”

Butcher also emphasized Friend’s deep institutional knowledge of the Roosters’ long-standing playing system, built over decades of working under head coach Trent Robinson. “Jake Friend has lived and breathed Roosters footy and knows our system like the back of his hand,” he said. “Whether they step up into that role as well, that would be great to see. But if not, then I’m sure there’ll be someone else.”

Cordner, who currently also serves as an assistant coach for the Blues, is widely regarded as one of the greatest modern-era leaders for the Roosters, NSW Blues, and Australian Kangaroos national side. Butcher admitted he never expected Cordner or Friend to transition into full-time senior coaching after their retirements, but said their decades of experience at the club make them ideal candidates. “No I didn’t, just because I was in awe of them so much as a player,” Butcher said. “But like I said, they know our system better than anyone, and being coached under Robbo for so many years, I know they understand what he’s about and would be able to do a great job if they got that gig.”

Roosters outside back Billy Smith echoed Butcher’s confidence, pointing to the club’s successful track record of developing homegrown coaches who go on to lead top NRL sides, including Craig Fitzgibbon, Jason Ryles and Adam O’Brien, all of whom started as Roosters assistants before taking head coaching roles at rival clubs. Smith said he has observed Cordner and the other candidates’ coaching work over the past several years, and is confident they are prepared to handle the added responsibility of promotion to the NRL first-grade coaching staff.

“I’m confident that we have an amazing group of young coaches,” Smith said. “I’m sure whoever they put in internally or externally will be the right fit for the job. I think as players, it’s nice to have those guys around the club because they’ve lived it, they’ve walked it. You respect those guys a lot because you’ve seen them do it, and not too long ago either. It’s really nice to have those guys still around the club. If they do that, great. If not, then we’ll respect them equally as well.”

The new English Premier League campaign is set to kick off this weekend, and the landscape of England’s top football division has shifted dramatically into an unexpected new state. For the first time in 20 years, Arsenal will start the season as defending champions, a status the North London club has not held since the 2004-05 season. The Gunners will open their title defence at the Emirates Stadium on Friday against newly promoted Coventry City, and the mood around the camp is unwaveringly confident heading into the new campaign.

Last season marked a historic turning point for Arsenal. After spending two decades chasing a first top-flight title since the legendary Invincibles campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side ended Manchester City’s long run of dominance, finishing seven points clear of the defending champions to claim the crown. That seismic shift in the league’s balance of power has left Arsenal well-placed to chase back-to-back titles, a feat the club has not achieved since the 1930s.

Far from resting on their 20-year breakthrough success, Arsenal’s hunger for more silverware has only been amplified by recent near-misses. A penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 Champions League final still stings for the squad, and Arteta has used that disappointment to reinforce the team’s drive for more trophies. The Gunners further reinforced their status as title favourites with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Manchester City in last weekend’s Community Shield, the traditional season-opening curtain raiser. Two new signings – Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and winger Christos Tzolis – both impressed in that win, proving depth has been added to an already title-winning squad.

Arteta made clear that the entire squad remains as motivated as ever to replicate last season’s success. “The desire comes because I want to live that moment again,” he said. “We know the difficulty of the task. We know that it’s going to demand something special and we are ready for it.”

The contrast in pre-season mood between Arsenal and Manchester City could not be starker. For the first time in 10 years, City head into a campaign without Pep Guardiola at the helm, after the Spanish manager brought his record-breaking tenure to an end at the close of last season. Guardiola delivered six Premier League titles in seven seasons and 20 major trophies overall during his 10 years at the Etihad Stadium, but he failed to claim the league in his final two campaigns in charge.

Replacing the most successful manager in the club’s history is former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who stepped into the role this summer. Maresca does have silverware on his resume, having won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge, but his tenure at Chelsea ended abruptly after less than two years, cut short by tensions with club leadership and fan criticism of his defensive playing style. He now faces the unenviable challenge of matching Guardiola’s unprecedented success, while also completing the rebuild of an ageing squad that the former manager began before his departure.

City have invested heavily in their squad refresh, splashing £116 million ($157 million) on Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson. However, the sale of Rodri – the linchpin of City’s midfield for years and a World Cup winner with Spain – to Barcelona has dealt a major blow to Maresca’s plans ahead of his first league campaign in charge. While Maresca acknowledges the scale of the task facing him, he says constant comparisons to Guardiola do not add extra pressure, calling the role an honour. “After 10 games, if we have got 10 points, 20 points, 30 points. People will be comparing it to Pep after 10 games. It doesn’t put pressure on me,” Maresca said. “Someone asked me if it’s the impossible job to follow him. Maybe, but at the same time it’s a privilege.” City open their 2025-26 campaign at home to Bournemouth on Sunday.

Beyond Arsenal and City, a host of other top clubs are positioning themselves to challenge for the title, all with new managers and major question marks to answer. Liverpool, champions in 2024-25, endured a disastrous second season under Arne Slot, dropping to a disappointing fifth place that saw the manager sacked at the end of the campaign. Andoni Iraola, who earned widespread acclaim for his work at mid-table Bournemouth, has taken over the reins at Anfield. He faces immediate challenges, including the departure of club icon Mohamed Salah and ongoing concerns over veteran defender Virgil van Dijk’s dip in form.

Chelsea have also turned to a new manager this summer, hiring Xabi Alonso, who is seeking to rebuild his reputation after a disastrous eight-month spell at Real Madrid. Alonso’s 2023-24 domestic double with Bayer Leverkusen made him one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe, but his move to Real Madrid failed to live up to expectations. He has already made a major investment at Chelsea, breaking the British transfer record to sign England midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117 million. Still, lifting the Blues back into title contention will be no small task after Chelsea finished a disappointing 10th last season.

At Old Trafford, Michael Carrick has taken the Manchester United manager job on a permanent basis after an impressive interim spell following the sacking of Ruben Amorim. Carrick’s steady leadership lifted United to a third-place finish last season, including impressive wins over both Arsenal and Manchester City along the way. The club’s next target is a first Premier League title since 2013, a goal that will be difficult to achieve against an Arsenal side that has firmly established itself as the team to beat across the coming 10 months of the campaign.

Ahead of the second men’s Test match against Bangladesh in Mackay, Australia’s national cricket selectors have made a single adjustment to their 13-man squad, dropping underperforming opening batter Jake Weatherald and recalling veteran left-hander Matt Renshaw to take his place. The like-for-like swap means star middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne, who has also struggled for consistent run-scoring in recent outings, has retained his place in the side, escaping selection cuts.

Weatherald had earned a consistent spot in Australia’s Test lineup starting from the 2023 Ashes series against England, featuring in six consecutive Test matches. However, his overall performance during that stretch failed to meet selection standards, managing only one half-century across 11 innings and posting a modest batting average of just 20.36. His form deteriorated further in Australia’s surprising first-Test defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin last week, where he scored 23 runs in the first innings before recording a third-ball duck in the second.

While Weatherald proved a reliable opening partner for star opener Travis Head during the Ashes campaign, he failed to convert starts into substantial scores in every innings following that series, ultimately exhausting his goodwill with selectors. In his place, 30-year-old Renshaw gets a long-awaited recall to the Test side, more than a year and a half out from his last international appearance.

Renshaw first broke into Australia’s Test setup a decade ago as a gritty, defensive opening batter, and over the course of his domestic career he has evolved into a dynamic, adaptable batter capable of contributing in all three formats of international cricket. He last featured for Australia in a Test match during the 2023 tour of India, where he stepped into the middle order late in a match after regular opener David Warner was ruled out due to concussion. Ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, Renshaw turned in impressive performances in team training camp, earning him the recall over other domestic contenders.

Australian head coach Andrew McDonald spoke openly following the first Test defeat about the pressure on Labuschagne to turn his form around, confirming the decision to retain him in the squad. McDonald noted that the batter had been working on adjustments to his batting technique, and those changes held up even under intense match pressure during the Darwin Test – a positive sign for his future output. “You can try to make these changes, and then when you get put under extreme pressure in the middle, sometimes those changes don’t hold,” McDonald explained. “So it was good to see them hold up, but it is 31, he’s disappointed at that missed opportunity. He needs some big runs.”

The first Test defeat to Bangladesh kicks off a demanding 12-month stretch for Australia’s men’s Test side, which is scheduled to play a total of 21 Test matches across various home and away series in the coming year.

One of the Australian Football League’s (AFL) top-performing teams, the Sydney Swans, is facing a major off-field crisis after multiple of its players were tied to an ongoing sexual assault investigation, team officials confirmed this week.

The troubling allegations stem from an incident alleged to have unfolded in the hours following the Swans’ victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this past Sunday. Club leadership has only acknowledged that an “alleged incident” involving an undisclosed number of players occurred, declining to share further specifics about the event or those involved.

In a parallel confirmation of the probe, Victoria Police announced that detectives are examining a reported sexual assault that took place at an East Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning. A police spokesperson noted that officers have already held preliminary conversations with multiple people present at the hotel at the time of the alleged incident, but no arrests have been made and no suspects have undergone formal questioning as of Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters outside the Sydney Swans’ headquarters on Tuesday, head coach Dean Cox opened up about the club’s reaction to the news, saying he was “extremely disappointed” by the allegations that have linked his players to the investigation. Cox added that club leadership is collaborating closely with the AFL and other relevant stakeholders to sort through the details of the case, and that additional public updates will be released as more information becomes available throughout the coming days.

Club chief executive Matthew Pavlich shared a similar sentiment on Monday, telling reporters that the organization is still working to reconstruct a clear timeline of exactly what occurred, and would not comment on the specific details of the allegations while the police probe is ongoing. “Safe to say, we’re extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place, and that the players have found themselves in this situation,” Pavlich said. “There’s going to be lots of speculation, but given it’s a police matter right now, that is all we can say.”

The off-field scandal comes at a critical moment for the Swans, who are currently sitting second on the 2026 AFL ladder after notching 17 wins across their 22 matches played so far this season. The team is set to face North Melbourne this coming Sunday in their final regular-season match before the AFL finals kick off, where the league’s top six finishing teams will secure automatic advancement to the post-season tournament.

Ahead of this Saturday’s high-stakes AFL clash against the Western Bulldogs, the Melbourne Demons are grappling with a tough selection call: whether to bring star vice-captain Jack Viney straight back into the senior side after his long-awaited return to match play.

Viney, a hard-tackling midfielder who has been sidelined for the entire season to date by a frustrating string of Achilles and back injuries, stepped out for his first competitive match of 2024 last weekend with Melbourne’s Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate Casey Demons. The comeback outing went off without a hitch: Viney notched 20 disposals, 10 clearances, and a goal, proving his fitness after months of rehabilitation work.

Interim Demons coach Steven King confirmed that the coaching staff is feeling the pull to fast-track Viney’s return for this weekend’s critical fixture, but he stressed that the club’s first priority is ensuring the veteran is fully prepared to handle the intensity of senior AFL football.

“First and foremost, it’s just great to see him back out on the park after everything he’s been through this year,” King told reporters. “We’ve got a lot of factors to weigh up here, starting with how he pulled up from the VFL match, and then team balance, too. Let’s be honest, we’ve hit good form lately, winning six of our last seven outings, so we don’t want to disrupt the chemistry we’ve built.”

King added that the selection call balances the needs of the team and the long-term interests of Viney himself, noting that having the vice-captain available for selection is ultimately a huge boost for the club. “When you get a player of Jack’s caliber available, it’s only a good thing. I just want to make the right call for the team, the club, and most of all for Jack. We need to be sure he’s really ready to come back in. Is that this week? We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

The outcome of Saturday’s match will have a major impact on Melbourne’s final ladder position heading into the AFL finals series. A win could see the Demons climb as high as fourth spot on the ladder, securing a valuable double chance, while a loss could drop them as low as the wildcard round, forcing them into an immediate knockout fixture.

One big advantage Melbourne holds heading into the clash is in the ruck division: star ruckman Max Gawn will take on a Bulldogs side missing key big man Tim English. King seized the opportunity to sing Gawn’s praises, as the 34-year-old pushes for a historic ninth selection to the All Australian team, and his first as captain of the side.

“It’s amazing what Max has done for our club and what he’s achieved across his whole career,” King said. “If he gets the nod as a nine-time All Australian and All Australian captain, it’s incredibly well-deserved. He’s been our club captain for years now, and he’s already broken the club record for most wins as captain. To be doing what he’s doing at 34, carrying our team to where we are on the ladder right now, is extraordinary. I’m biased, of course, but I can’t think of anyone more worthy of the honor. It’s a privilege to coach him.”

As the new English Premier League season prepares to kick off this Friday, the top flight is facing an unprecedented wave of managerial turnover not seen in nearly 80 years, with nine clubs set to start the campaign with a new head coach. No Premier League manager faces higher stakes or closer public scrutiny than Enzo Maresca at Manchester City, Andoni Iraola at Liverpool, and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea — three rookie bosses at the league’s most iconic clubs stepping into roles defined by legendary predecessors.

The scale of this offseason’s change is staggering: even Michael Carrick, who only took the Manchester United job in January, already ranks as the 10th longest-serving manager in the division. The last time the top flight saw this much managerial churn ahead of a new campaign was the 1946/47 season, the first full campaign played after the end of World War II.

For Enzo Maresca, his appointment at Manchester City represents a full-circle homecoming, and one of the most daunting jobs in world football. The 46-year-old Italian already has two previous stints at the Etihad Stadium: he served as lead coach of the club’s elite development squad in 2020/21, then as an assistant coach during City’s historic 2022/23 treble-winning campaign. After leaving City, he guided Leicester City to an immediate promotion back to the Premier League from the Championship, then spent 18 turbulent months at Chelsea, where he delivered the club’s first UEFA Conference League title and Club World Cup trophy before moving back to Manchester.

City’s hierarchy has long viewed Maresca as the ideal heir to Pep Guardiola, who departed after a glorious decade that brought 20 major trophies to the club. Maresca has described stepping into Guardiola’s role as both a “privilege” and the challenge of a lifetime, but an early warning sign emerged in the recent Community Shield, where City fell to a underwhelming 3-0 defeat to reigning league champions Arsenal. Maresca now faces an uphill battle to end Arsenal’s title defense and deliver City’s first league crown since 2024.

At Anfield, 44-year-old Spaniard Andoni Iraola is tasked with reviving Liverpool’s fortunes after a disastrous title defense campaign under Arne Slot. The Dutch manager was sacked just 12 months after delivering Liverpool’s 20th English league title, matching the club’s historic record, after a catastrophic second half of the season sent the team plummeting down the table.

Iraola was hired for his sharp tactical approach, with club officials hoping he can restore the aggressive, high-intensity “heavy metal” football that made Jurgen Klopp — Slot’s predecessor — a fan favorite at Anfield. The Spaniard earned Liverpool’s attention through three increasingly successful seasons at Bournemouth, where he improved the club’s league finish in every campaign, culminating in a sixth-place finish last term that secured the south coast club’s first ever qualification for European competition. In his opening press conference as Liverpool boss, Iraola spoke of the unique “magic” of the role and said he aimed to “earn the right to be one of you” for supporters, but he is under no illusions that the pressure of this role will far exceed any challenge he has faced in his career to date.

For Xabi Alonso, the 44-year-old Spaniard and former Liverpool Champions League winner, his next managerial chapter takes him not to Anfield (a job he was repeatedly linked to over the offseason) but to Stamford Bridge, to take charge of Chelsea. Alonso made his name as a rising managerial star at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, where he masterminded an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double during the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. That historic success earned him the top job at his former club Real Madrid, but his tenure at the Bernabeu quickly collapsed, and he departed in January after less than eight months in charge.

Alonso has admitted that his early exit from Real Madrid left a “scar” on his career, but says the wound has healed as he turns his focus to restoring stability at Chelsea. The Blues went through a chaotic 2024/25 campaign, beginning with Maresca in charge before a short, underwhelming spell under Liam Rosenior, and ended the season in a disappointing 10th place in the league. Chelsea has already invested heavily in the transfer window this offseason, breaking the record for the most expensive British player ever to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.

The fact that Chelsea will not compete in any European competition this season could give Alonso valuable time to reshape the squad around his own tactical philosophy, without the intensity of a packed midweek fixture schedule. However, the reduced fixture list also creates new tensions, as it makes it far harder to keep a bloated senior squad satisfied amid limited game time — a major challenge as Alonso works to bring much-needed calm to a club that has been in constant flux for years.

Fresh ownership turbulence has emerged at English Premier League giant Chelsea, with senior club figures Todd Boehly and Mark Walter confirming they are exploring the sale of their combined minority stake to majority owner Clearlake Capital, multiple industry sources reported Monday.

The discussions mark the latest chapter in a tense two-year relationship between the co-investors that purchased the west London club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) deal in May 2022. At the time of the acquisition, California-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital took a controlling 62% stake in the club, while Boehly — who serves as Chelsea’s chairman — fellow American billionaire Walter, and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss held the remaining 38% through their joint holding vehicle Blueco Holdings.

According to insiders familiar with the negotiations, Boehly has grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s strategic direction in recent months. His dissatisfaction centers on three key areas: transfer market recruitment strategy, managerial decision-making, and long-term plans for a proposed new stadium to replace the club’s iconic 118-year-old Stamford Bridge home.

This is not the first time tensions between the ownership factions have spilled into public view. Reports have circulated multiple times over the past 24 months that both sides have attempted to buy out the other’s stake, as disagreements over the club’s trajectory persisted.

If the transaction moves forward, Boehly and Walter have valued their combined holding at a total club valuation of £5 billion, nearly double the price the group paid just two years ago. The pair have a long-standing professional and personal relationship, having collaborated on major sports investments including Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s LA Sparks.

The ownership shakeup comes as Chelsea enters a critical new season. The club turned in a dismal performance in 2023-24, finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on qualification for all European competitions. In response, the club appointed former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso as its new manager, tasked with turning around the side’s on-pitch fortunes. Chelsea is set to kick off its 2025-26 Premier League campaign with an away fixture against west London rivals Fulham on August 24.