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  • ‘It wasn’t trained’: Evolution of Roosters attack should terrify rest of NRL

    ‘It wasn’t trained’: Evolution of Roosters attack should terrify rest of NRL

    As the National Rugby League (NRL) 2024 season kicks into high gear, Sydney Roosters utility Hugo Savala has delivered a statement performance against the Newcastle Knights at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon that has sent shockwaves through the competition. The 24-year-old’s off-script, game-changing play late in the first half has left rival coaches and analysts warning that the Roosters have a dangerous new weapon at their disposal.

    Savala’s role at the club has been the subject of intense speculation throughout the off-season. Following the high-profile signing of veteran playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans from Manly Sea Eagles, the young talent who anchored the Roosters’ push to the 2023 finals with his elite kicking game found himself without a guaranteed spot in the club’s halves pairing. For months, questions swirled around his future: would he shift to the forward pack, settle for a bench role, or depart the club entirely in search of a starting playmaking position elsewhere?

    On Sunday, Savala answered every single one of those questions with authority. Finishing the match with two tries and a rock-solid defensive effort that shut down Knights star Dane Gagai, it was his spontaneous decision to take up first receiver position in the final five minutes of the first half that stole the show. Moving from his starting spot at left centre to drift infield, Savala hesitated behind the ruck before executing two sharp plays that completely bamboozled the Knights’ defensive line, creating what should have been a try for Mark Nawaqanitawase – denied only by a marginal foot-in-touch call.

    Roosters head coach Trent Robinson was openly glowing about Savala’s initiative after the full-time siren. “I think that was an outstanding set of play,” Robinson said. “He goes down there, has a look down the short side, he sort of hesitates just behind the ruck … I’m not sure whether [halfback] Sam [Walker] said something or not. And then he plays two really clear plays about getting us into a point and then creating the opportunity on the next one. I love the fact that he had the confidence to do that, and then he also had the style of play to do that as well. I thought he was so good today out there at left centre and doing the role that he’s been asked to do there.”

    What makes the play even more remarkable? It was never drawn up in training. Savala explained after the match that the entire sequence was a spontaneous call based on what he saw unfolding on the field. “I saw Sammy take the hit-up there and go, and I just thought it was a good opportunity to get my hands on the ball and create a little bit of space for the boys out wide,” he said. “Honestly, it wasn’t trained all week; it was just off the cuff. I did that role last year, so I thought it would be a good time to use that. Teddy [skipper James Tedesco] and the leadership group give you a lot of confidence. A lot of the young boys get a lot of confidence from doing the reps in the week. They have the belief in all us young boys to do what we do. I’m just doing my job out there, and they believe in me, so I can just do my role and do it well.”

    Right now, Savala is filling in at left centre while regular starter Billy Smith recovers from injury, a role he has embraced fully as he bides his time for another opportunity in the halves. For the upcoming Anzac Day blockbuster against St. George Illawarra Dragons, the towering utility is set to retain his spot in the centres, and he says he is fully focused on executing the job the coaching staff has given him.

    “I’m just working hard and still working on my skills. I’m still working on my kicking at training and my ball playing, but the majority of the time at training, I’ve been doing the role that I needed to do on the weekend,” Savala explained. “Robbo’s big on mindset and how you prepare for the game. He’s been really clear with us as a group, and I’ve been clear knowing that I’m playing left centre this week. That’s the role that I have to play. Obviously, there’s a half and a five-eighth inside me, but I was playing left centre today and that’s the role I was doing.”

    For the rest of the NRL, Savala’s combination of raw talent, adaptive versatility, and willingness to take spontaneous risks on the field makes him a nightmare to prepare for. With the Roosters clicking into form early in the season, their emerging utility’s breakout performance has confirmed they are a force to be reckoned with in 2024.

  • Who’s Bad? Not Michael Jackson in new big-budget biopic

    Who’s Bad? Not Michael Jackson in new big-budget biopic

    The highly anticipated big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, *Michael*, is set to hit cinemas worldwide this week, bringing the story of the King of Pop’s iconic rise to the big screen — but the tightly curated narrative has sparked intense backlash over its deliberate exclusion of the child sexual abuse allegations that shadowed the singer’s final decades.

    Produced by Graham King, the creative force behind the record-breaking Queen biopic *Bohemian Rhapsody*, the film tracks Jackson’s journey from his working-class childhood in Gary, Indiana, as part of the Jackson 5, through his evolution into a global pop phenomenon, culminating in showstopping performance footage from his legendary 1987 Bad World Tour. The $200 million production is backed by Lionsgate, which has set ambitious box office targets, hoping the film can approach the $910 million global haul of *Bohemian Rhapsody* — the current highest-grossing musical biopic of all time — and hit $700 million in worldwide ticket sales.

    In a surprising casting choice, the lead role is filled by Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s 29-year-old nephew who had never appeared on screen before taking the part. Speaking to *The Tonight Show* host Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, Jaafar described the daunting experience of stepping into his uncle’s shoes: “They threw me right in the deep end.” He added that he trained closely with Jackson’s original choreographers to master the singer’s iconic moves, calling the role “a surreal, spiritual moment.” Early reviews praise Jaafar’s convincing performance, noting that the high-energy concert sequences are crafted to delight diehard fans of Jackson’s landmark albums *Thriller* and *Bad*.

    The film’s close ties to the Jackson family have become its most contentious point. All of Jackson’s surviving siblings serve as executive producers, granting them full approval over the final cut ahead of the global release. Jackson’s sons Prince and Bigi, alongside brothers Jackie, Jermaine, and Marlon Jackson, turned out for the film’s red carpet premiere in Berlin on April 10, but one prominent family member has publicly disavowed the project: Jackson’s daughter Paris, who had no involvement in the production. Writing on Instagram last September, she argued that the narrative caters only to fans who refuse to confront the allegations against her father, saying: “The narrative is being controlled and there’s a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies.”

    According to entertainment industry outlet *Variety*, the omissions are not just a creative choice driven by the family. A full third of the original cut that explored the abuse allegations had to be cut and reshot after lawyers for the Jackson estate discovered a legal clause in a 1990s settlement with accuser Jordan Chandler that prohibits any mention of Chandler in the film. While Jackson was never convicted in any criminal or civil trial related to the allegations, multiple new lawsuits from alleged victims have been filed since his 2009 death from an accidental overdose at age 50, and several of those cases remain active.

    The production faced multiple delays, pushing its original 2025 release date forward by a full year to 2024. Critics of the film, including Duke University African and African American Studies professor Mark Anthony Neal, say the choice to whitewash the allegations fits a longstanding Hollywood pattern of sanitizing celebrity biographies to maximize commercial appeal. “I would love that the film would tell the most human story about Michael Jackson possible,” Neal told AFP. “But I also realise that we’re in a period of time where Hollywood does not deal with celebrities in that way.”

    Regardless of the controversy, industry analysts expect *Michael* to be a major commercial success, and it will almost certainly add to the lucrative Jackson family entertainment franchise. The Broadway production *MJ: The Musical* opened in 2022 and has since launched international tours, while Cirque du Soleil’s *Michael Jackson ONE* has been a staple Las Vegas attraction since 2013, generating steady revenue for the estate for more than a decade.

  • Key detail in Albanese government’s $1000 tax write-off pledge

    Key detail in Albanese government’s $1000 tax write-off pledge

    Over 6.2 million Australian taxpayers who were expecting to access a new $1000 no-receipt work expense tax deduction will need to adjust their expectations, after the Albanese administration confirmed the popular policy will not take effect for nearly two more years.

    The center-left Labor Party first unveiled the proposed tax relief as a key policy pledge in the lead-up to the 2025 Australian federal election, building anticipation among working people across the country. On Monday, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers followed through on an earlier promise to publish draft legislation for the initiative on the same day he spoke to reporters.

    Under the terms of the plan, eligible working taxpayers can claim a $1000 standard deduction for work-related expenses without needing to save and submit individual purchase receipts, simplifying tax filing and delivering direct cash relief. Chalmers explained that the policy would translate to an average reduction of $205 in annual tax liabilities per taxpayer, with the maximum benefit reaching up to $470 for qualifying filers. “It’s a good symbol of what we are trying to do more broadly, cutting income taxes, cutting red tape, and helping out where we can,” Chalmers told reporters, framing the measure as a core part of the government’s broader tax relief agenda.

    Despite the release of draft legislation, the policy faces a lengthy delay before it impacts taxpayers: the $1000 instant write-off will not go into effect until July 1, 2026, meaning the deduction can only be claimed on tax returns for the 2026-2027 financial year, which ends June 30, 2027. It will not apply to the 2024-2025 financial year, which many taxpayers are currently preparing to file for.

    The delayed rollout comes as the Albanese government continues to weigh broader tax policy changes ahead of the upcoming May federal budget. Among the potential adjustments under review are cuts to the capital gains tax discount and revisions to Australia’s negative gering rules for property investment. Earlier this month, Chalmers signaled the government’s openness to large-scale change, noting he would be “pretty happy” if the 2026-2027 budget is remembered as a landmark “tax reform budget.”

  • Blue Origin launches rocket with used booster for first time

    Blue Origin launches rocket with used booster for first time

    Blue Origin, the private space exploration firm founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, has achieved a major technical milestone over the weekend: the company successfully launched its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket using a pre-flown, refurbished booster, and pulled off a controlled landing of the recycled first stage on an ocean floating platform. The milestone marks a long-awaited step forward for Blue Origin as it works to match SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology and ramp up its competitive position in the fast-growing global launch market.

    Sunday’s mission, which lifted off at 7:25 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, marked the third overall flight of the 98-meter New Glenn rocket. The vehicle carried a commercial communications satellite built by AST SpaceMobile, which aims to deliver cellular connectivity to remote and underserved regions of the globe. Approximately nine and a half minutes after liftoff, the reused first stage completed its descent and touched down safely on the company’s landing platform stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, capping a process that had been years in development for Blue Origin.

    However, the mission hit an unexpected partial failure after stage separation. In a post-launch statement posted to the social platform X, Blue Origin confirmed that while the AST SpaceMobile satellite powered on successfully after reaching space, it was deployed into what the company described as an “off-nominal orbit” that does not match the mission’s planned orbital parameters. The company added that teams are still conducting assessments to determine the full extent of the anomaly and what impact the incorrect orbit will have on the satellite’s functionality.

    This milestone represents the first time Blue Origin has reused a New Glenn booster, after two earlier launches that exclusively used brand-new first stages. Prior to this, the company had only flown reused components on its smaller New Shepard suborbital rocket, a vehicle primarily used for short space tourism flights that presents far fewer technical challenges for reusability than orbital launch systems.

    Blue Origin first successfully recovered a New Glenn booster in November 2024, after a failed recovery attempt in January 2025 when the booster’s engines failed to reignite during its descent to the platform. The booster used in Sunday’s mission underwent extensive refurbishment following its previous flight, including a full replacement of all its engines and multiple other structural and system modifications to prepare it for reflight.

    The push for reusable rocket technology comes amid cutthroat competition between Blue Origin and SpaceX, the market-leading private space firm founded by Elon Musk, which has been flying and reusing orbital rocket boosters for more than a decade. The two firms are also direct competitors in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return American astronauts to the lunar surface. Both companies are under contract to develop human-rated lunar landers for the program, which has a target of landing the first crew on the Moon by 2028, a deadline aligned with the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term and set to outpace China’s own lunar landing ambitions.

  • Top boss vows ‘no sitting still’ as rugby bids to conquer US

    Top boss vows ‘no sitting still’ as rugby bids to conquer US

    Against a backdrop of rising challenges in rugby’s long-established traditional markets, World Rugby chair Brett Robinson has reaffirmed the governing body’s commitment to aggressive global expansion, singling out the United States — the upcoming host of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup and 2033 women’s edition — as a critical priority for long-term growth.

    In an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the former Australian international player pushed back against growing narratives that rugby is facing a period of broad decline, arguing that the sport’s global foundations are stronger than critics claim. Recent high-profile setbacks have fueled public debate about the sport’s standing in the global pecking order, from folding professional franchises in Super Rugby to slipping public interest in traditional heartlands. Last week, All Blacks legend Michael Jones warned that rugby union is losing the battle for fan attention to rugby league in New Zealand, a comment that came just days after Auckland-based Super Rugby side Moana Pasifika announced it would cease operations at the end of the current season, becoming the second Super Rugby franchise to collapse in three years due to crippling financial pressure. In Wales, another historic rugby stronghold, the men’s national team has suffered a dramatic slump in on-pitch form, while football has overtaken rugby as the primary focus of public sporting interest.

    Robinson pushed back on this narrative of decline, pointing to global participation data that shows 2 million women playing the sport worldwide, making rugby a truly global game rather than one confined to a handful of historical markets. “We have to protect our core markets, but we can’t sit still and believe that the game will thrive if we don’t continue exploring new pathways for growth,” he said.

    That search for growth leads directly to the United States, which is set to become the first North American nation to host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031, followed by the women’s tournament in 2033. The upcoming 2026 men’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US this summer, has already offered a preview of the logistical and commercial challenges awaiting rugby’s governing body, with soaring ticket and transportation costs drawing widespread criticism and raising questions about large-scale event delivery in the American market.

    Skepticism around the 2031 project has grown in recent months: Major League Rugby, the top domestic professional men’s competition, has shrunk to just six teams after four clubs exited the league in recent years, while the men’s national team has struggled with inconsistent performances. British media reports have also raised questions about the US’s ability to deliver a commercially successful 2031 World Cup.

    Robinson countered that World Rugby has laid out a long-term strategy to build fan momentum ahead of the 2031 tournament, rather than rushing to deliver a fully formed event overnight. “We have worked with top national unions to bring iconic, high-profile matches to the US over the coming years to build deeper connections with new fans,” he explained, noting that the governing body is currently evaluating 27 potential host cities, a list that will be narrowed to 12 to 14 ahead of a formal announcement following the 2027 World Cup.

    To build early excitement for the 2031 tournament, World Rugby has already arranged a blockbuster Test match between two-time world champions South Africa and three-time winners New Zealand in Baltimore this September, following on from a sell-out 2024 match between Ireland and the All Blacks in Chicago. “We’re working really hard to build a long-term play,” Robinson said. “We aren’t sitting still in terms of preparing, and we fully acknowledge that it’s a challenging market.”

    He added that the 2033 women’s Rugby World Cup will be a equally important milestone for the sport, noting that women’s rugby has seen rapid, sustained growth across North America in recent years.

    Looking ahead to the next major global rugby event, the 2025 men’s Rugby World Cup in Robinson’s native Australia, he shared that initial ticket sales have already “exceeded all expectations”, with more than 750,000 tickets sold for the expanded 24-team tournament, the largest edition of the competition in history. While Robinson acknowledged that global geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has created some headwinds for major international events, he said World Rugby remains optimistic about the tournament’s success. “It’s a really good signal about the World Cup,” he said. “We’re really optimistic and excited.”

  • Israel vows to level homes in Lebanon, counter threats with ‘full force’

    Israel vows to level homes in Lebanon, counter threats with ‘full force’

    A fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah that halted weeks of deadly cross-border fighting has done little to ease tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, after Israel announced Sunday it had ordered its military to operate with “full force” and demolish structures it claims are used by the militant group. The ceasefire, which went into effect Friday following the first high-level talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in decades, has split displaced southern Lebanese residents: some have rushed home to retrieve belongings and rebuild, while others remain wary of the truce’s durability and have chosen to stay away.

    On the ground, Agence France-Presse correspondents across southern Lebanon have documented disparate scenes of returning life and lingering destruction. In the village of Dibbine, one resident inspected blast damage to his property, with rubble of already destroyed buildings lining nearby streets. In Srifa, returnees unloaded household goods including mattresses and a washing machine from vehicles as they moved back into their homes. In other border communities, however, some residents only returned to collect personal items before heading back to safer areas further north.

    Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed Sunday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued explicit orders to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to maintain aggressive operations even during the ceasefire. “We have instructed the army to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat,” Katz said. He added that the military had been ordered to destroy any booby-trapped structures or roads, and raze border-area homes that Israel claims function as Hezbollah outposts.

    Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Sunday that Israeli forces were already carrying out these demolition orders across multiple hard-hit border towns. One day after carrying out initial demolitions in Bint Jbeil, a site of intense pre-ceasefire fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, the NNA said Israel was “still destroying what remains of houses” in the town. Additional demolitions by detonation were reported in Mais al-Jabal and Deir Seryan, while the border town of Kunin came under Israeli artillery shelling Sunday.

    Last Saturday, the IDF announced it had established a “Yellow Line” security buffer in southern Lebanon, a framework identical to the barrier separating Israeli-held and Hamas-controlled territory in Gaza. On Sunday, the military released an official map marking this new “forward defence line” and a red-zoned area spanning the entire length of the border, where it says operations will continue to dismantle Hezbollah military infrastructure and eliminate threats to northern Israeli communities. Hours after publishing the map, the IDF confirmed it had killed an armed man it described as a terrorist who crossed the designated buffer line.

    The ongoing Israeli operations have drawn sharp international condemnation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan denounced the actions Sunday as an example of “Israeli expansionism” into Lebanese territory. Since the conflict erupted on March 2, it has killed nearly 2,300 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million, making the fragile truce a much-watched development for regional stability.

    Diplomatic efforts to solidify the ceasefire and support Lebanese territorial integrity are moving forward this week. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron will host Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, a meeting the Élysée Palace says is intended to demonstrate France’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty. Macron will also push Lebanese authorities to hold accountable those responsible for a Saturday attack on UNIFIL peacekeepers that killed one French soldier, Florian Montorio, and wounded three others. Both France and UNIFIL have blamed Hezbollah for the attack, which the group has denied. Montorio was honored posthumously with UN and Lebanese Army medals at a memorial service held at Beirut’s international airport, in recognition of his service to peacekeeping in southern Lebanon.

    Following his Paris meeting, Salam will travel to Luxembourg on Tuesday to meet with European Union foreign policy chiefs. In a small sign of returning normalcy, Lebanon’s military announced Sunday it had reopened a key road connecting the city of Nabatiyeh to the Khardali region, and partially reopened the Burj Rahal-Tyre bridge in southern Lebanon. Access to much of the south has been severely constrained since the conflict began, after Israeli airstrikes destroyed multiple crossings over the Litani River, which sits roughly 30 kilometers from the Lebanese-Israeli border.

  • History haunts Arsenal as Man City take control of title race

    History haunts Arsenal as Man City take control of title race

    After a tense 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Arsenal’s 22-year wait for a first Premier League title has grown even more agonizing, as Pep Guardiola’s side took a decisive stranglehold on the 2025/26 season’s championship race. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners still cling to the top spot of the table for the moment, but their place at the summit is set to be taken as early as this Wednesday, when City travel to face relegation-bound Burnley with a game in hand on their title rivals.

    What has made this late-season slump so familiar to Arsenal’s long-suffering fanbase is the pattern that has repeated itself for four straight seasons. Before a League Cup defeat to City last month, Arteta’s side had dropped just three matches across 49 games in all competitions this term. But in the six outings that have followed, Arsenal have only managed a single win, including four straight losses across domestic competitions – a run that leaves them facing the prospect of another empty trophy season. This collapse mirrors the events of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, where Guardiola’s relentless City side hunted down and overtook Arsenal in the final stretch, with the Gunners finishing outside the top spot once again last season behind a resurgent Liverpool side.

    A stark statistical contrast highlights the historic trend of late-season struggle for Arsenal and surge for City: across Guardiola’s 10-year tenure in Manchester, the City boss has claimed 31 wins from 39 Premier League games played in April, as he chases a seventh league title. By comparison, Arteta has only notched 11 April league victories from 27 matches across his six-and-a-half year spell in charge of the Gunners.

    Arteta argued after the match that fine margins and bad luck had cost his side, and the run of play backed up that claim. In contrast to their nervy home defeat to Bournemouth the previous weekend, Arsenal started strongly, fought back quickly after Rayan Cherki gave City an early opening goal. Kai Havertz charged down an attempted clearance from City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to equalize just minutes after falling behind, and the Gunners created a string of good chances to take all three points. A strike from Eberechi Eze bounced off the post and rolled along the goalline rather than crossing, while Gabriel Magalhaes saw a deflected late header also hit the woodwork in a frantic closing 10 minutes.

    But ultimately, Arsenal’s repeated failure to convert clear chances – a long-unresolved flaw in the side – proved their downfall. Havertz, who was handed a full 90 minutes by Arteta despite 18 months of injury struggles, missed two gilt-edged second-half chances: he failed to beat Donnarumma in a one-on-one situation, then nodded over the bar from an unmarked position deep into stoppage time, leaving Arteta collapsed to his knees in despair on the technical area. The German forward’s inclusion ahead of summer signing Viktor Gyokeres raised further questions; the Sweden international, signed last summer to solve Arsenal’s long-running search for a prolific starting striker, is the club’s top scorer this season with 18 goals across all competitions, but he was left on the bench until the final minutes, and has repeatedly struggled to deliver against top opposition.

    For City, the difference came down to the clinical finishing that Arsenal lacked, with world-class striker Erling Haaland delivering the decisive moment. Haaland was tightly marked for most of the match in a physical battle with Gabriel, but the Norwegian got ahead of his marker to slot home the 72nd-minute winner – his 47th goal for club and country across the 2025/26 season.

    Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira said the gap in quality between the two sides’ top talent decided the match. “You can see the difference today on the field and those top players made a difference today,” Vieira said. The ex-Gunner also questioned Arteta’s side’s mental fortitude following the defeat, adding: “They will feel the pressure more now. I always question the mental strength of the team and I will question it more now regarding the result today.”

    Arteta acknowledged after the game that City were simply more clinical in front of goal, admitting: “We proved that we are there, but the reality is that in the two boxes there was a difference. That’s what we think is the difference between the two sides, the finishing in the boxes. There is an element of luck, there is an element of timing, of execution. There are a lot of things that have to be your way. At the end, winning or not winning is going to come down to this moment. There are certain individual moments that you need in order to achieve what we want.”

  • AFL 2026: Collingwood captain Darcy Moore poised for return, Essendon defender Jordan Ridley sidelined

    AFL 2026: Collingwood captain Darcy Moore poised for return, Essendon defender Jordan Ridley sidelined

    The annual Anzac Day AFL blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon is just days away, and two of the league’s key defenders are facing drastically different fitness outcomes as their clubs finalize round six lineups. For Collingwood captain and star backline leader Darcy Moore, the next week brings a make-or-break pair of training sessions that will determine whether he can take the MCG stage for one of the season’s most anticipated matches.

    Moore’s 2024 campaign has been plagued by a string of soft tissue injuries and setbacks, starting with pre-season niggles to his calf and hamstring, followed by an aggravated bursa injury that has disrupted his build-up. Despite the rocky start to the year, Moore says he has turned a corner in his recovery, posting a strong, full training session last Friday that has left him confident of meeting the fitness benchmark this week.

    Speaking to reporters Monday during a remembrance event at the Shrine of Remembrance, Moore outlined his path to selection: “In great news, I had a really good session last Friday. I made a couple of really big breakthroughs, so body feels awesome coming into this week. We’ve got two sessions before the game, Tuesday and Thursday. I am in a really great position to train fully this week and hopefully put my hand up. I’ve got to back up and be feeling good going into the weekend to be selected.”

    This isn’t the first time Moore has fought back from an early-season injury to push for selection: he returned to the field in round three against GWS Giants, but faced widespread criticism after he was seen grimacing through every kick across the entire match, prompting questions about whether he was rushed back too soon. He missed at least a month of game time following that outing, but Moore has rejected claims he was underprepared for that round three clash, saying he takes full accountability for the decision to play.

    “I put my hand up, I was ready to go and I am accountable for that decision. Absolutely was ready to go,” Moore said.

    Across town, the outlook is far less positive for Essendon counterpart Jordan Ridley, who is all but certain to miss the Anzac Day clash after picking up yet another calf injury during Saturday’s match against the Gold Coast Suns. Ridley has endured a brutal run of soft tissue injuries in recent seasons, and the latest setback comes just as he had worked his way back to full fitness after a previous layoff.

    Essendon captain Andy McGrath told reporters on Monday that the seven-day turnaround between Saturday’s match and this weekend’s blockbuster is far too quick for Ridley to recover, given his well-documented history of recurring calf issues. The club plans to take a cautious approach to avoid a longer-term injury.

    “I don’t think so at this stage, Jordan has got a little calf injury and with his history there, we’re just being cautious with his approach,” McGrath said. “We’ll see how he presents today and throughout the week, but I don’t think this weekend will be realistic. Obviously, Jordan is a really important member of our team, culturally and on the field. He’s a super player, we’ve loved having him back. We’ll see how the injury unfolds but I feel for Ridds at the moment. It’s been a tough run, but I am sure we’ll have him back soon.”

    With the Anzac Day clash drawing millions of viewers and drawing a capacity crowd to the MCG, both clubs will confirm their final lineups ahead of the iconic annual fixture, with Moore’s fitness progress set to be tracked closely by Collingwood fans through the week.

  • Gallagher tight-lipped on CGT reform after reports of return to Keating-era discount

    Gallagher tight-lipped on CGT reform after reports of return to Keating-era discount

    As the countdown to Australia’s May 12 federal budget ticks onward, speculation over potential reforms to the nation’s capital gains tax (CGT) framework has intensified, leaving Finance Minister Katy Gallagher dodging repeated questions about the Albanese government’s exact plans. Recent media reports have shifted public expectations, indicating Treasurer Jim Chalmers is not pushing for a full scrapping of the current 50% CGT discount — a signature policy of the 1999 Howard government — but rather a scaled-back adjustment that would revert the system to an inflation-adjusted model last used during the Keating era.

    The current flat 50% discount applies to nominal capital gains, meaning it reduces tax on the full stated increase in an asset’s value regardless of whether that gain is eroded by inflation. By contrast, the Keating-era model would only tax gains that represent a real increase in value after accounting for rising consumer prices, a structure that changes how tax burdens are calculated for asset holders.

    Calls for a full repeal of the existing discount have grown in recent months, driven by a Greens-led Senate inquiry that published its findings in March. The inquiry concluded the current CGT concession skews Australia’s housing market toward property investors, puts home ownership further out of reach for young and low-income Australians, disproportionately delivers tax savings to the nation’s wealthiest households, and distorts investment flows away from productive sectors of the economy. Analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office, commissioned for the inquiry, found the discount will cost the federal budget a staggering $247 billion in foregone revenue over the next decade.

    These findings have dovetailed with Chalmers’ public framing of the upcoming May budget, which the Treasurer has repeatedly said will center on addressing intergenerational inequity — a policy priority that has fueled widespread speculation the government would eliminate the Howard-era CGT settings entirely. But when pressed on the government’s deliberations during an interview with ABC’s Radio National on Monday, Gallagher declined to offer any details ahead of the budget’s official release.

    “The budget will be released in that second week of May, and that will have all the decisions the government has made,” Gallagher told reporters. “I mean, I think the Treasurer and PM have made it clear our tax policies haven’t changed. I think we’ve made it clear we want to focus on intergenerational equity. And so, you know, we’ve been clear about that, but the announcements around that will be made in the budget.”

    As of Monday, the government has not confirmed whether the revised inflation-adjusted model reported by Nine Newspapers will be included in the final budget, leaving policymakers, investors and householders waiting for formal details when the budget is delivered in just a few weeks.

  • Axe falls: Dragons expected to sack Shane Flanagan after horror start to the year

    Axe falls: Dragons expected to sack Shane Flanagan after horror start to the year

    The St George Illawarra Dragons are bracing for a major coaching shakeup just days out from their iconic annual Anzac Day clash against the Sydney Roosters, with incumbent head coach Shane Flanagan poised to become the second National Rugby League (NRL) mentor dismissed in 2025 following a catastrophic opening to the season.

    Club officials have called an urgent press conference for Thursday morning, slated to be led by chairman Andrew Lancaster and chief executive Tim Watsford, confirming long-circulating speculation that Flanagan’s tenure at the helm of the Red V will come to an abrupt end just eight months after he signed a contract extension promising long-term stability.

    Flanagan, who led the Cronulla Sharks to their first and only drought-breaking premiership title a decade ago, has overseen a completely winless run through the opening seven rounds of the 2025 NRL season. The club’s poor form extends even further back, with the Dragons having dropped 11 consecutive matches dating back to the closing stages of the 2024 campaign, effectively eliminating any chance of postseason football this year before the season hit the one-quarter mark.

    He follows Manly Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold out the door, who was sacked earlier this season after just three straight losses. In a stunning turn of events for Manly, Seibold’s departure immediately sparked an extraordinary turnaround for the side, leaving long-suffering Dragons fans hopeful that a similar coaching change can reverse the club’s lingering slide down the competition ladder.

    Flanagan took over the Dragons role ahead of the 2024 season, and notched a mediocre 19 wins from 56 total matches in charge during his tenure. The club has been plagued by persistent issues with player recruitment and retention for months, a problem that has gutted the side’s attacking power after key representative stars Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax departed the club in recent offseasons.

    In August 2024, the organization extended Flanagan’s contract for two additional seasons, releasing a statement that now rings hollow amid the crisis: “This extension reaffirms the club’s commitment to stability, growth, and a long-term vision for success both on and off the field.” That public commitment to long-term planning has now collapsed entirely, as growing fan frustration boiled over after seven straight opening losses.

    The Dragons’ current struggles extend far beyond the coaching box, with a litany of on-field and off-field disruptions plaguing the squad through the early rounds. Star second-rower Jaydn Su’A was sent off during the club’s most recent round seven clash, and is staring down a lengthy suspension that will rule him out for multiple weeks. Adding insult to injury, Su’A has already confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season to join rivals Parramatta Eels in 2027.

    Other recent on-field struggles have piled up too: star back Valentine Holmes missed 13 tackles in the round seven loss to South Sydney Rabbitohs, young playmaker Daniel Atkinson has failed to register a try assist across his last three appearances, and the club is still uncertain whether experienced utility Clint Gutherson will be able to return to his fullback position once he recovers from a current injury spell.

    Off the field, the club has also had to manage growing discontent within its playing ranks. Young forward Loko Pasifiki Tonga’s request for an early release from his contract was rejected earlier this month, prompting the player’s management to leak private internal club emails to the national media in an embarrassing breach of internal confidentiality.

    As the club prepares to formally announce Flanagan’s departure ahead of Thursday’s Anzac Day blockbuster, all eyes will be on the Dragons to see who will step in as interim head coach and attempt to revive the proud club’s fading 2025 campaign. More details are expected to emerge following the morning press conference.