标签： Oceania

As Penrith Panthers prepare for a highly anticipated grudge clash against the Wests Tigers, head coach Ivan Cleary has offered a striking, understated response to the growing national debate over whether his son, star halfback Nathan Cleary, has finally cemented his legacy as a dominant force in rugby league’s iconic State of Origin series.

Nathan Cleary, one of the most decorated players in modern National Rugby League (NRL) history with four premiership titles and two Clive Churchill Medals to his name, has long been held to an unmatched standard at the representative level. For years, his stellar club form with the Panthers failed to fully translate to Origin, the sport’s most high-stakes domestic representative series, where he represents New South Wales (NSW) Blues. That narrative shifted dramatically last week, when a masterclass second-half performance from Cleary steered the Blues to a thrilling 22-20 game one victory over Queensland, pushing his career Origin winning record with the side to 50 percent.

In that series opener, Cleary delivered a career-defining outing: he crossed for a try, nailed a clutch 40/20 kick, set up two tries from set pieces including James Tedesco’s match-winning score in the final two minutes, and converted the try to seal the result. The performance earned him his third Origin man-of-the-match award, silencing the long-time critics who questioned his big-game pedigree at the representative level. Ivan Cleary, who watched the win from the stands at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, says he has never bought into the external chatter surrounding his son’s Origin legacy.

“I’ve always seen him do that. He’s learnt a lot over the years and has had some really good games and has had some other games where he feels like he could do better,” Ivan Cleary told reporters this week. “I don’t even know what dominating Origin is because we’ve never seen anyone do it. Even Wally Lewis back in the day, he’s probably the only one who really (went close) but did he? I don’t know. I’m just so proud of him that he’s in there for a start and that he prepares as hard as he can and plays as hard as he can. He did well last week, but it’ll all be on again in a couple of weeks.”

Beyond the Origin conversation, the Panthers are gearing up for Sunday’s round 13 clash against the Tigers, with Nathan set to make his return to the club lineup alongside rested NSW teammates Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o. Nathan missed Penrith’s last-start thrilling win over the New Zealand Warriors, a match widely labelled the NRL game of the 2024 season, after being rested by the club following the Origin opener.

The match also marks a potential stepping stone for Liam Martin, a Blues representative who made his first appearance in 10 weeks after a knee injury sustained in round 6. Martin had a quiet opening stint on the right edge but impressed in a second shift in the middle of the park against the Warriors, putting his name forward for a recall to the NSW starting side for Origin II at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 17.

Ivan Cleary remained non-committal on Martin’s recall prospects, with current starting back-rowers Hudson Young and Haumole Olakau’atu unlikely to be dropped from the game two side. “He’s obviously been there a lot and understands that arena, but it’s hard to say based on what he’s just done. I’m sure he wouldn’t let anyone down,” Cleary said. “It’s been a real stop-start year for him, so I think he’s just happy to get back out there. I thought the second stint where he came back on, he was looking pretty free, so he’ll only get better.”

As for the Tigers, the side Ivan coached across two seasons earlier in his career, the Panthers head coach warned his side would face a much-improved opposition this weekend. Wests snapped a multi-game losing streak last round with key playmakers Api Koroisau and Jahream Bula returning to the lineup, and Cleary said the club has made clear progress across the 2024 season. “They’ve definitely improved throughout the year. They’re a high-energy team who look pretty connected. When they’ve got it going, they’re a real handful, so it should be a really good game.”

After one of the rockiest starts to a season in the franchise’s modern history, the Melbourne Storm is steadily climbing back into NRL finals contention, putting every other top-eight side on high alert. Once written off by league analysts and fans following a catastrophic seven-match losing skid that left many questioning whether the Storm’s 20-year dynastic run had finally come to a close, the club has turned a corner in recent weeks, and its veteran core says nothing is off the table.

The Storm currently sit six points adrift of the eighth and final finals spot, having already conceded more points through 13 rounds than many full previous campaigns. A humiliating 50-10 round five defeat to reigning premiers Penrith Panthers seemed to seal their fate – no first-grade side in Australian rugby league history has ever conceded 50 points in a single game and gone on to win the premiership that season. Compounding the Storm’s early struggles were key injuries to star playmakers Eli Katoa and Xavier Coates, plus widespread growing pains adapting to the NRL’s new rule changes, which left the usually consistent side uncharacteristically disorganized on both sides of the ball.

But the tide has turned dramatically for Craig Bellamy’s side: the Storm have notched three wins from their past four outings, and face a make-or-break home clash this Friday against the Newcastle Knights. A victory this weekend would catapult them right back into the top-eight conversation, coming just ahead of their first bye of the 2024 season. Veteran prop Josh King, the club’s long-time locker room voice, says the squad retains unshakable belief that a deep run is still within reach.

“I have so much belief in this team, and the possibilities are endless,” King said. “The season isn’t written off by any means. The ladder is quite tight, and you don’t really see it settle into place until after the Origin period. Some teams have already had two byes, but we haven’t had a bye yet, so we’ll certainly keep on fighting each week.”

Rather than fixating on the distant goal of qualifying for September football, King says the club has refocused on the core fundamentals that made them the most dominant force in the NRL over the past two decades. He pointed to the club’s round nine loss to the Dolphins as the unheralded turning point of the season – even in defeat, the Storm rediscovered the aggressive, clinical style of play that defined their premiership runs.

“I think at the moment for us, it’s about each week at a time and really making sure we’re building on our performances and every week we can be proud of our performance,” King explained. “I reckon it’s not that we’re trying any harder, or that we’ve explored completely new things – but rugby league has so many moving parts, and you often shift your focus to the wrong areas. After the Dolphins game, we started putting our focus back into some areas that we dominated last year that we’d slipped on without even noticing. Even though we lost that game, it was one of our best performances of the year. We went back to the drawing board, dusted off the systems that worked for us before, and we’ve been a really competitive side ever since.”

Emerging talent is also carrying the Storm through their resurgence: five-eighth Cameron Munster has steadily returned to his elite best form, while young homegrown winger Sua Fa’alogo has emerged as a offensive weapon, turning in a best-on-ground performance in last week’s win over the Sydney Roosters.

Winger Will Warbrick echoed King’s confidence, noting that while the seven-game losing streak was uncharted territory for a club accustomed to consistent top-four finishes, the squad refused to panic. He pointed to precedent of other great NRL sides clawing their way out of slow starts to make deep September runs: the Panthers stumbled to a 3-7 record in 2023 before nearly reaching the grand final, while the 1999 Brisbane Broncos won just one of their first 10 matches before recovering to sneak into the top eight and win the premiership.

“Yeah, we lost seven in a row, but the biggest thing for us was trying to not panic and have doubt and to then maintain belief in the playing group with the way we wanted to play,” Warbrick said. “There are a few things we’ve needed to tweak and improve on, but I think as long as everyone is on the same page with what we’re trying to do, the belief is still strong. One win sometimes helps with building that confidence back up and getting us back on track. The destination’s not the worry. It’s probably more what works for us this week to help us win and just being able to do that and back that up.”

With momentum building and key players returning to form, the once-left-for-dead Storm are now just one big win away from putting genuine pressure on the sides clinging to the top eight, and are on track to pull off one of the most remarkable mid-season turnarounds in modern NRL history.

On Monday night at Roland Garros, top-ranked women’s singles star Aryna Sabalenka delivered a powerhouse performance to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets, securing her spot in the 2024 French Open quarter-finals and extending an extraordinary streak of deep major tournament runs. The world number one’s 7-5, 6-3 victory not only marked her fourth consecutive quarter-final appearance at the clay-court major, but also her 14th straight advancement to the last eight of any Grand Slam — a feat no other remaining singles player at this year’s tournament can match. In fact, Sabalenka now stands as the only former Grand Slam champion left in both the men’s and women’s singles draws, after a wave of unexpected upsets swept through the early rounds.

Sabalenka’s aggressive game was on full display throughout the clash, firing 39 winners and 12 aces past a resilient Osaka who pushed her to tight service games on multiple occasions. The opening set set the tone for the tight contest: the two power hitters traded breaks in the early going before Sabalenka leveled at 2-2 with a hold that included three aces, the third coming on a powerful second serve. The set remained on serve until the 11th game, when Sabalenka broke through with a blistering backhand winner that earned her two break points, converting on the first after Osaka found the net. She closed out the set with a ruthless love hold to take the lead.

In the second set, Osaka fought hard to stay in the match, saving a break point in a marathon sixth game to hold a 3-2 lead. But Sabalenka, who had dropped only six points across her previous seven service games, responded with a clever drop shot to hold serve in a grueling game that proved pivotal. In the very next game, a brilliant low volley at the net broke Osaka’s serve, shifting all momentum to the top seed. Two games later, an Osaka double fault set up match point, and Sabalenka sealed the win with a blistering return.

The Monday night clash carried extra significance beyond tournament advancement: it was the first women’s match scheduled for the French Open’s prime-time night session since 2023, ending a streak of 32 consecutive men’s night matches that drew widespread criticism from players and fans over unequal treatment. Both Sabalenka and Osaka embraced the moment, with Sabalenka — who has previously spoken out in favor of equal scheduling for women — saying she hopes the match opens the door for more women’s night sessions in future tournaments. “I hope that this is the beginning, today’s match. It’s like we open up that door for woman night sessions,” she said after the win.

For Sabalenka, the victory keeps alive her bid for a maiden French Open title, a chance to avenge her painful 2023 final defeat to Coco Gauff. She will next face Russian rising star Diana Shnaider for a spot in the semi-finals. Reflecting on the wave of upsets that cleared her path to this point, Sabalenka said she has remained focused on her own game regardless of results elsewhere. “I was able to kind of separate myself from what’s going on this year at the Roland Garros,” she said. “I have been around. Anything can happen. That’s tennis. My mindset, it’s basically that I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get this beautiful trophy.”

For Osaka, the result marks the best deep run of her career at the French Open, ending her tournament in the round of 16. The 28-year-old Japanese star, who once again competed in her iconic sequined gold dress she has compared to the Eiffel Tower at night, showed a new sense of perspective post-match, noting how her approach to the sport has matured. “If I lost this match when I was younger, I’d shut myself in my room or whatever,” she said. “But now I feel like obviously I love tennis, and I’m trying my best to do everything to be the best player I can. But… it’s kind of like a clock in/clock out type of thing. I’m excited to go home and see my daughter.” She added that she found playing the historic night match a fun experience, calling it “really cool” to share the spotlight with Sabalenka.