Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Slowing housing market offers Reserve Bank a path to pause rate rises

    Slowing housing market offers Reserve Bank a path to pause rate rises

    Australia’s housing sector is facing its sharpest monthly downturn in nearly two years, and that cooling trend is shaping the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) upcoming monetary policy decisions by easing pressure for additional interest rate increases, senior central bank officials have confirmed.

    Speaking at the LSEG Insight Series in Sydney, RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent outlined that slowing housing activity is already dragging down household spending, a key component of aggregate demand that the RBA targets to bring inflation back to its 2-3% target range. “All else equal, these changes will tend to reduce the extent to which monetary policy needs to constrain the growth in aggregate demand to help bring inflation back to the RBA’s target,” Kent explained.

    Kent noted that the housing market acts as a critical transmission channel for monetary policy: changes in the cash rate directly impact how much prospective homebuyers can borrow, and in turn, housing market conditions such as price shifts and credit growth give the RBA valuable real-time insight into how financial conditions are evolving across the economy. A cooling housing market therefore signals that existing rate hikes are already working to dampen economic activity, reducing the need for further restrictive policy action.

    Kent’s comments come after the RBA’s monetary policy board unanimously voted to hold the official cash rate at 4.35% for the second consecutive meeting in August, following three consecutive rate hikes earlier in 2024. RBA Governor Michele Bullock has pushed back on the idea that the slowing housing market was the direct driver of the rate pause, emphasizing that the board held rates steady to allow time for previous hikes to fully flow through to the broader economy. “What’s keeping us on hold is that we’ve already raised three times, and we are still waiting to see because it takes time for those to come through,” Bullock said.

    She also clarified that the RBA does not set monetary policy to directly influence property prices, and that interest rate cuts are not currently under consideration amid ongoing inflationary pressures. “The housing market wasn’t a constraint, and I would not say that the housing market is not, we didn’t consider an interest-rate cut,” Bullock said. “The housing market in terms of cutting interest rates – that’s not entering the equation.”

    Official data shows national Australian property prices fell 0.7% in July 2024, marking the largest single monthly drop since December 2022. Economists at ANZ Bank say the downturn is unfolding faster than their earlier projections, with forecasts calling for a 4.3% drop in capital city property prices over the 2024 calendar year, and a peak-to-trough drop of as much as 14.5% for Australia’s largest property market, Sydney.

    Kent attributed the current housing downturn to three overlapping factors: the cumulative impact of earlier cash rate hikes, a natural correction after a prolonged period of rapid price growth, and policy changes introduced by the Albanese government that have dampened investor demand for established properties. The government’s controversial changes to capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing, set to take effect in the 2027-28 financial year, will restrict negative gearing tax offsets to only newly built properties, replace the existing 50% CGT discount with an inflation-adjusted discount, and introduce a minimum 30% CGT rate.

    “Higher interest rates reduce the net present value of all assets, lower borrowing capacity, increase repayment burdens, and encourage saving,” Kent said. “In addition, tax changes announced in the federal budget appear to have contributed to reduced demand in the established housing market by lowering the after-tax return from housing for investors.”

    As of August 2024, Australia’s headline inflation sits at 3.8%, still above the RBA’s target range, while the trimmed mean core inflation rate (which strips out volatile price swings to measure underlying inflation) stands at 3.6%. The RBA’s dual mandate remains holding inflation between 2 and 3% while sustaining full employment across the country.

  • Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell refuses to dwell on horror loss to Lions

    Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell refuses to dwell on horror loss to Lions

    Ahead of one of the most anticipated matches of their 2026 AFL season, Hawthorn Hawks head coach Sam Mitchell has opened up about how his squad has processed their humiliating 67-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba last weekend — revealing the side has already put the disappointing result firmly in the rearview mirror.

    The defeat marked the heaviest loss the Hawks have suffered so far this 2026 campaign, a lopsided result that saw third-placed Hawthorn fail to live up to their usual high standards against a dominant Lions side. But speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, just two days out from Saturday night’s clash against Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Mitchell made it clear the club is refusing to dwell on the upset.

    Mitchell explained that after the defeat, the coaching and playing group spent a short period reviewing the match, identifying key mistakes and taking away lessons to improve future performance, before intentionally shifting their full focus to the upcoming round. “You guys will keep talking about it, and rightly so, that’s your job – but for us we assess what happened in the game, we learn some lessons and we move on,” Mitchell said. “I haven’t thought or done anything about the Brisbane game for two days now. We spent a couple of days reflecting, analyzing, getting better, but then we move on.”

    When breaking down where the Hawks went wrong against Brisbane, Mitchell pinpointed wasteful finishing and a failure to convert scoring chances as the main cause of the lopsided scoreline. He added that he expects the squad to address that issue when they take the field against Collingwood this weekend.

    This weekend’s match at the MCG will be Hawthorn’s final home game of the 2026 regular season, adding extra stakes to the encounter. Preparing to face off against the Pies, Mitchell acknowledged the strength of the opposition, noting Collingwood’s tight tactical structure and well-drilled game plan under their coaching staff. He highlighted star defender Nick Daicos as a particular threat, noting the player demands constant attention from opposing defenses, and confirmed the Hawks are working on a game plan to balance limiting Daicos’ impact while leaning into their own on-field strengths.

    Following the Collingwood clash, Hawthorn will close out their regular season with a trip west to Perth, where they will face off against the West Coast Eagles in round 24.

  • ‘Sad ending’: Jesse Ramien’s Sharks career over in huge finals blow

    ‘Sad ending’: Jesse Ramien’s Sharks career over in huge finals blow

    Two of the National Rugby League’s most notable departing players are facing uncertain final chapter outcomes this week, after fresh injury updates rocked the Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks respectively. For Brisbane Broncos’ legendary captain and halfback Adam Reynolds, a last-minute push to take the field one final time before retirement is now on a knife-edge, after a new training injury has derailed his comeback timeline.

    The 36-year-old two-time NRL premiership winner, who is set to hang up his boots at the close of the 2024 season, has not appeared in a match since he was carried off early in Brisbane’s round 22 defeat to the Newcastle Knights. The club has long held hopes that their veteran playmaker would get a fairy-tale send-off in front of a home crowd at Brisbane’s iconic Suncorp Stadium, when the defending premiers host the Melbourne Storm in round 26.

    Those plans suffered a major setback on Wednesday, when Reynolds sustained a calf strain during a team training session. Follow-up scans conducted at the Clive Berghofer Centre’s Qscan facility confirmed the injury is a grade 1 strain of the soleus muscle in his right calf, the Broncos confirmed in an official statement Wednesday. “His return-to-play timeline will be determined on a week-by-week basis,” the club added, leaving Reynolds just weeks to prove his fitness ahead of the season’s close. Brisbane closes out their regular season with an away match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Sydney after their round 26 home clash, leaving only two possible matches for the halfback to make his farewell appearance.

    While Reynolds still retains a narrow pathway to return, another departing NRL star has already seen his season and club tenure come to an abrupt early end. Cronulla Sharks centre Jesse Ramien, who is set to move to the North Queensland Cowboys ahead of the 2027 season, has played his final game in black, white and blue after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.

    Ramien suffered the injury during Cronulla’s clash against the St. George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday, and underwent initial scans on Monday to assess the damage. After consultation with a specialist, the club and player agreed that surgical intervention was the best course of action to support his long-term recovery, ending his 2024 season and his overall tenure with the Sharks immediately.

    Over his career with Cronulla, Ramien has built an impressive legacy: the 29-year-old proud Indigenous athlete has notched 167 appearances for the club, notching 104 wins, 60 tries, and 39 assists while serving as a respected role model in the community and a beloved teammate in the dressing room. The Sharks confirmed Ramien will remain with the club in a behind-the-scenes support role through the upcoming finals series, where 24-year-old Mawene Hiroti will step into Ramien’s spot on the right edge of Cronulla’s backline. The club will honor Ramien and give fans a chance to farewell the star at their final home game of the regular season.

  • Putin visits Kuril islands claimed by Japan

    Putin visits Kuril islands claimed by Japan

    On a Thursday that has injected fresh tension into decades-long territorial frictions between Moscow and Tokyo, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first official trip to the contested Kuril Islands — a chain of volcanic outposts claimed by both nations, and a flashpoint that has defined bilateral relations for nearly 80 years. The visit immediately drew a formal, forceful objection from Japan, which has laid sovereign claim to the four southernmost islands of the archipelago it refers to as the Northern Territories.

    Footage of Putin’s visit was released via the Kremlin’s official channels, with Russian state media confirming the president toured a local fish-processing facility on the islands, where he was presented with a gift of locally sourced caviar. The trip came on the heels of a stop in nearby Sakhalin Island, where Putin oversaw the closing phase of major naval drills conducted by Russia’s Pacific Fleet. During his time in Sakhalin, Putin chaired a high-level briefing focused on safeguarding Russia’s eastern border security, according to reports from Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

    Japan’s Foreign Ministry swiftly issued a public rebuke of the visit, with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi affirming in an official statement that the Northern Territories are “an inherent part of Japan’s territory both historically and under international law.” The diplomatic row comes amid an already sharp deterioration of Russia-Japan ties, which have plummeted since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent years, Russia has simultaneously deepened its strategic partnerships with China and North Korea in the Asia-Pacific, further straining its already frosty relations with Tokyo.

    The territorial dispute stretches back to the final days of World War II, when Soviet forces seized the strategically located archipelago, which sits just north of Japan’s northern main island Hokkaido, in August 1945. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan just days after the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and only six days before Japan’s formal surrender that ended the global conflict. Following the occupation, Moscow deported the archipelago’s approximately 17,000 Japanese residents, and has maintained a continuous military presence on the islands ever since.

    While the four southern islands at the center of the dispute have a harsh, remote climate, they hold significant economic and strategic value. Home to roughly 20,000 Russian citizens today, the islands boast rich fishing grounds and untapped mineral deposits including gold and silver. Throughout the Cold War, the archipelago served as a critical forward operating base for Soviet air and naval forces, positioned directly in the heart of a region that was a key front for geopolitical confrontation between the Soviet bloc and the U.S.-led alliance.

    Diplomatic talks between Moscow and Tokyo to resolve the dispute have been intermittent for decades. A small breakthrough appeared possible in 1956, when the two sides normalized diplomatic relations: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev offered to return two of the four disputed islands to Japan as part of a formal peace treaty. The deal never came to fruition, however, and while negotiations resumed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, no tangible progress has been made to settle the standoff.

    Putin’s visit marks the first time the sitting Russian president has traveled to the disputed territory, though it is not the first trip by a modern Russian head of state. In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the islands, and he made additional return trips after he stepped into the role of prime minister following his presidency.

  • Jeremy Cameron commits future to Geelong with major contract extension

    Jeremy Cameron commits future to Geelong with major contract extension

    One of the Australian Football League’s most decorated veterans has put an end to months of swirling off-season speculation: star forward Jeremy Cameron is set to remain a Geelong Cat through the 2028 season, locking in his future with the club until well after his 35th birthday.

    Cameron put pen to paper on his new contract on Thursday afternoon, alongside three other Geelong players who also secured contract extensions. Young utility Jhye Clark will also stay with the Cats through 2028, while veteran forward Jack Martin extended his deal to run through the end of the 2027 season.

    The 33-year-old forward, a fan favorite and cornerstone of Geelong’s recent success, was already under contract through 2027. The one-year extension eliminates all uncertainty around his career plans heading into the 2027 AFL season, ending ongoing questions from fans and media about whether he would consider retirement or a move to another club before hanging up his boots.

    Cameron’s resume with the Cats (and earlier with Greater Western Sydney) cements his status as one of the greatest forwards of his generation: across 296 career games, he has claimed a 2022 AFL premiership with Geelong, five selections to the All-Australian team – including a captaincy nod in 2025 – two Coleman Medals (awarded to the league’s leading goalkicker each season, earned in 2019 and 2025), and the 2022 Carji Greeves Medal, awarded to Geelong’s best and fairest player each year.

    Andrew Mackie, Geelong’s General Manager of Football, highlighted that Cameron’s value to the club stretches far beyond his on-field goal-kicking and match-winning plays. “He remains an important player for us, and we’re thrilled he’ll continue to play an integral role through the extension of his contract,” Mackie said in a statement following the announcement of the new deals.

    Mackie also shared praise for young midfielder Jhye Clark, whose new extension through 2028 caps a remarkable comeback arc in his young career. After a slow start to his AFL tenure that saw him spend an extended stretch developing in the Victorian Football League (the AFL’s second-tier competition), Clark fought his way back into the senior Cats side in the second half of the 2026 season, where he has already made his presence felt. “The young midfielder has worked hard at his craft and has come back into the AFL side and [is] having a strong impact,” Mackie said.

  • Ballarat tradie Lachlan Young pleads not guilty to raping teenage girl, jury told

    Ballarat tradie Lachlan Young pleads not guilty to raping teenage girl, jury told

    A seven-day rape trial got underway this week at Melbourne’s County Court, where a 24-year-old tradesperson from Ballarat has formally pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old visitor to the regional Victorian city.

    Prosecutor Andrew Buckland laid out the Crown’s case to the seated jury on Monday, outlining the sequence of events that unfolded in February 2024, when the defendant, Lachlan Young, first met the teenage complainant, who was visiting Ballarat from another part of the state, at a mutual friend’s home. Over the course of an evening spent socializing and drinking, the pair exchanged small talk and connected on the social messaging platform Snapchat, Buckland told the court.

    During their conversation, Buckland claimed Young made an advance toward the teen, asking if she wanted to engage in sexual activity, a proposal the complainant immediately rejected. The girl later retreated inside the friend’s home to rest, but the two continued to exchange messages over Snapchat, eventually agreeing to meet in the backyard of the property around 3 a.m. on February 5, according to the prosecution’s account.

    Buckland told jurors that once in the backyard, the pair engaged in consensual sexual touching, but the teen explicitly told Young she did not consent to penetrative sex. Despite this clear refusal, Young went on to rape the girl for two to three minutes, Buckland alleged, during which the complainant was so shocked and frightened she froze, unable to act. After the alleged assault, Young told the teen she should return inside before other partygoers started looking for her, the prosecution added.

    The following morning, the girl told a close friend what had happened, Buckland said. Shortly after, Young contacted her over Snapchat asking if she had disclosed the incident to her friend, which she initially denied. Young reportedly responded by saying “Well, we didn’t do much anyway.” Six days after the alleged incident, the complainant messaged Young asking if he had told his friend “about the night you f*cked me?” When Young replied “What are you on about?”, the teen responded by accusing him of ignoring her refusal, writing “You’re pathetic Lachie you literally f*cked me even though I said no.”

    It was not until March 2024 that the complainant reported the alleged assault to a school wellbeing counsellor, who subsequently alerted Victoria Police, triggering the official investigation and subsequent charges.

    Glenn Casement, the defence barrister representing Young, pushed back against the prosecution’s claims in his opening address to the jury, noting that Young does not dispute that the pair engaged in consensual sexual touching in the backyard that night, but outright denies any non-consensual penetrative sexual activity took place.

    Casement pointed to Young’s Snapchat reply of “What are you on about?” as evidence of his client’s confusion at the sudden accusation, arguing that the core question for the jury to decide is not whether any interaction happened, but whether penetrative sex ever occurred. “Whatever else went on, sexual penetration of that kind is denied in the brief time they were in the backyard,” Casement told the court.

    The defence lawyer stressed that the credibility and reliability of the complainant’s account is the most critical factor in the case, urging jurors to carefully examine any inconsistencies in her statements to different people over the course of the investigation. He questioned whether jurors would find the complainant has altered her version of events depending on who she has spoken to, and whether major discrepancies in her account would leave them with deep concerns over the reliability of her evidence.

    The trial, overseen by Judge Caitlin English, is scheduled to continue over the coming week, with both sides set to present all evidence and witness testimony before jurors retire to deliberate on a verdict.

  • Millions of Australian households fall behind as wages fail to beat inflation

    Millions of Australian households fall behind as wages fail to beat inflation

    For the first time since 2022, nominal pay gains for Australia’s full-time workforce have been erased by persistent high inflation, pushing real wages into negative territory and intensifying already widespread cost-of-living pressures for households across the country. Newly released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), published Thursday, shows the average weekly earnings for a full-time Australian worker hit $2083 in May 2026, representing an annual wage increase of 3.7%. Over the same 12-month period, national inflation climbed to 3.8% — a small but critical gap that erodes the actual purchasing power of workers’ paychecks.

    This reversal of real wage growth marks the first time inflation has outstripped pay gains for Australian workers in several years, and the softening trend extends to shorter-term measurements as well. For the six-month period ending in May 2026, average weekly earnings grew by just 1.6%, the slowest half-year increase recorded since May 2022. A split between public and private sector growth also emerged in the data: public sector wages rose 2.3% over the six-month window, outpacing the 1.4% growth seen in Australia’s private sector. Among all industries, transport, postal and warehousing recorded the strongest wage growth over the measurement period.

    The recent data release comes on the heels of a key decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which opted to hold the national cash rate steady at 4.35% following three consecutive rate hikes earlier in 2026. While the pause was widely expected by financial markets, the RBA framed the decision as a hawkish hold, warning that it would not hesitate to implement additional rate increases if inflation remains persistent. In its official statement, the RBA noted that inflationary pressures stemming from the ongoing US-Iran conflict have been milder than initially projected, but still emphasized that headline inflation remains uncomfortably above target.

    In response to the new wage data, AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver explained that while it is natural for workers to push for larger wage increases to offset rising living costs, unchecked wage growth without corresponding improvements in productivity risks creating a self-reinforcing inflationary spiral. “If workers deliver less output growth than the increase in labor costs businesses face, those extra costs get passed directly to consumers as higher prices,” Oliver explained. “We end up just chasing our tails, and the original problem of eroded purchasing power never gets solved.”

    Oliver added that Australia has struggled to sustain meaningful productivity growth in recent years, a factor that amplifies the risk of inflation from higher wage demands. The current data, he noted, lays bare the persistent strain that cost-of-living pressures have placed on average Australian households, many of which are already slipping into negative real income territory. “It makes total sense for workers to want higher pay when their grocery, energy and housing bills keep going up,” Oliver said. “But without productivity gains to offset those higher wages, they just feed back into even more inflation.”

    Beyond inflation risks, Oliver warned that sustained wage growth that outpaces productivity could also push businesses to slow hiring as profit margins come under increasing pressure, raising the risk of higher unemployment down the line. For individual workers looking to boost their earning power amid the current slowdown, Oliver recommended upskilling and retraining as the most sustainable long-term path to higher wages, acknowledging that “there are no easy solutions” for households navigating this difficult economic period.

    This debate over wage growth and inflation comes just weeks after the Fair Work Commission implemented a 6% increase to Australia’s national minimum wage, which took effect on July 1, 2026. The adjustment lifted the hourly minimum wage to $26.44, pushing the full-time weekly minimum income over the $1000 threshold for the first time in the nation’s history.

  • Messi returns after father’s death but Miami knocked out of Leagues Cup

    Messi returns after father’s death but Miami knocked out of Leagues Cup

    In a night defined by raw emotion and fierce on-pitch competition, Inter Miami’s iconic captain Lionel Messi made a heart-wrenching comeback to competitive soccer Wednesday, just days after the passing of his father and long-time agent Jorge Messi at age 68. Despite the Argentine superstar’s return to the lineup, Inter Miami fell in a tense 3-2 defeat to Mexico’s Club León, ending their 2025 Leagues Cup campaign in the group stage.

    Messi had traveled back to his home country of Argentina last week to be with his family following Jorge’s death, missing Miami’s opening group stage loss to Monterrey on Saturday. After attending his father’s funeral on Sunday, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner flew overnight back to Florida on Tuesday, and stepped off the bench at halftime Wednesday to a thunderous standing ovation from fans and players alike.

    Hours before kickoff, Messi shared a devastating public tribute to his father on social media that opened new questions about his future in the sport. In the post, he opened up about his grief and uncertainty, writing: “I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer.”

    The match itself unfolded as a tense back-and-forth battle: Inter Miami took an early 1-0 lead, but Colombian striker Daniel Arcila scored two quick goals to flip the script for León. Though Miami’s Yannick Bright pulled one back late to narrow the deficit, León held on to secure the win and punch the first ticket to the tournament’s quarter-finals.

    Bright, who notched one of Miami’s two goals, told reporters after the match that Messi’s unexpected return left the entire team in awe. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Bright said. “It shows how much he cares. When I saw he was here, all I was thinking about was to give my 150 percent for him. It’s a tough situation. We try to stay close to him and support him as much as we can, but it’s a lot.”

    Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who joined Inter Miami following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, praised Messi’s extraordinary commitment to the team during his personal crisis, calling him “an example for all of us.” León manager Javier Gandolfi echoed that sentiment, saying of Messi: “Today he demonstrated once more what he’s made of. He is a human being that is different to the rest.”

    This early exit marks the first time Inter Miami has been eliminated in the opening round of the Leagues Cup since the tournament expanded in 2023. That year, Messi led the franchise to a historic Leagues Cup title just weeks after his high-profile arrival, where he joined fellow former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. In 2025, Miami advanced to the tournament final but fell to a 3-0 defeat against the Seattle Sounders; a post-final brawl resulted in star forward Luis Suarez receiving a suspension that kept him out of the entire 2026 iteration of the cross-league competition between MLS and Liga MX clubs.

  • Alastair Clarkson urges clubs to review protocols after Geelong concussion scandal

    Alastair Clarkson urges clubs to review protocols after Geelong concussion scandal

    As the Australian Football League (AFL) prepares for another weekend of high-stakes round matches, North Melbourne Kangaroos head coach Alastair Clarkson has shared his perspective on the ongoing concussion protocol controversy engulfing the Geelong Cats, arguing that the off-field saga could ultimately strengthen the Cats’ on-field performance when the two sides face off this Saturday.

    Clarkson’s squad enters the matchup fresh off one of their most impressive wins of the 2026 season, having defeated the Western Bulldogs by a comfortable 23-point margin last weekend. While Geelong has been thrown into chaos by the scandal, which centers on a controversial concussion waiver policy involving Cats player Jake Kolodjashnij, Clarkson told reporters Thursday that he is bracing for the Cats to play their best football of the season, regardless of the off-field turmoil.

    “Does it distract them what’s going on inside their footy club, or doesn’t it actually galvanise them? I’ve seen it work both ways,” Clarkson said. “We can’t control what happens inside the walls of the Geelong Football Club, but what we can control is how we approach this game and we’ve got to bring a similar approach to what we brought against the Western Bulldogs.”

    Geelong head coach Chris Scott pushed back against repeated media questions about the saga and Kolodjashnij during his Wednesday weekly press conference, describing the intense public and press demand for details as “quite savage”. The AFL launched an official investigation into the club’s protocols last week, with the governing body originally expected to wrap up its inquiry this past Tuesday. Kolodjashnij has been ruled out of selection for this weekend’s clash as a result of the ongoing controversy.

    Clarkson noted that while Geelong’s underlying goal of prioritizing player care was well-intentioned, the incident offers a critical learning opportunity for every club across the league. “It’s all about risk management, with everything you do with your football club and I think even within the Geelong camp, I think the premise of what they were trying to do, look after their player was right,” he explained. “But it will present an opportunity for 17 clubs, 18 if you include Tassie to address their protocols and their governance just to make sure they’re protecting their players and their footy club as best as they possibly can moving forward.”

    For the Kangaroos, the match carries personal stakes even as the team has already been eliminated from 2026 finals contention. With just two rounds left in the regular season, Clarkson is focused on spoiling the finals hopes of top-ranked opponents, starting with Geelong this weekend. Clarkson, who will enter 2027 without a contract extension for the following season, will lead his squad to a final matchup against second-placed Sydney at the SCG after this Saturday’s home game against the Cats.

  • Sea Eagles hope to get Tom Trbojevic back from injury as they fight for a finals spot

    Sea Eagles hope to get Tom Trbojevic back from injury as they fight for a finals spot

    The Manly Sea Eagles’ under-pressure rookie head coach Kieran Foran has confirmed star fullback and co-captain Tom Trbojevic will not feature in this week’s clash against the Dolphins, while maintaining an optimistic outlook that the fan-favourite will return to the pitch before the end of the current NRL season as the club chases a unlikely late finals berth.

    Trbojevic, the former Dally M Medal winner affectionately known to fans as ‘Turbo’, had been targeting a comeback from a recurring hamstring injury for Friday’s home fixture. But the club has elected to push his return back by at least seven days to prioritize a full, low-risk recovery. Clayton Faulalo, who has himself overcome a hamstring injury in recent weeks, will step into the fullback position for the upcoming match.

    Speaking to media ahead of the round, Foran emphasized that Trbojevic’s recovery timeline is being assessed week-to-week, with player health taking priority over a rushed comeback. “We’re taking our time with him. We want to make sure that he comes back at full fitness and that he’s not feeling any hesitation there. It’s important that we prioritise that and put that first,” Foran said. “It was touch and go for this week, there wasn’t much in it. But with a guy like that, you don’t want any risk at all. You want to try to lower that as much as you can, and with Clayton fit and firing, we were able to be a bit smarter around Turbo’s return.”

    Foran went on to confirm that the entire club remains fully focused on getting their superstar back on the field before the season concludes, with no plans to end his campaign early despite the club’s poor recent run of form. “We’re hopeful of getting him back before the end of the year. That’s certainly the push from our end and Turbo’s end,” Foran said. “We haven’t given up on the season one bit. Turbo’s a huge part of where we want to head.”

    Trbojevic has not appeared in an NRL match since Manly’s round 20 fixture against the Titans, having already missed two months of action earlier in the year due to a separate hamstring injury. Faulalo, who is now cleared to return, has the full confidence of the coaching staff, Foran added. “Clayton is ready to go. He’s fully fit and there’s no hesitation around him re-injuring his hamstring. We’ve got all the confidence in him and we’re excited to have him back.”

    The Sea Eagles currently sit 10th on the NRL ladder, four points adrift of the top eight with just four regular season rounds remaining. To pull off a miraculous late finals qualification, Foran’s side must secure a win over the Dolphins this weekend to keep their slim hopes alive. Foran, who took over head coaching duties from Anthony Seibold earlier this season, is already looking back at that upset 52-point win in his first match in charge for inspiration ahead of Friday’s clash.

    In his first season as a top-flight NRL head coach, Foran acknowledged the campaign has been a major learning experience, marked by dramatic form shifts: the club sat third after 15 rounds, but has since dropped down the ladder following a five-match losing streak. Their most recent defeat came against the Melbourne Storm in Perth, where Manly gave up an early lead to lose by 22 points.

    Despite the poor run, Foran said he has no intentions of making excuses for the team’s performance, and is focused on building consistent culture at the club moving forward. “We want to be a club that can handle those shifts and those obstacles better. We don’t want to use excuses and gloss over certain things. We want to be a club that you know what you’re going to get, and what what’s I’m trying to grow,” he said. “The attitude and the intent of the players is second to none, and when you’ve got that, you’re 95 per cent of the way there. You’ve just got to get the other little parts right.”