Geoff Parkes's Blog, page 4

NRLW grand final preview: Why Roosters’ unbeaten run is about to be brought undone by Broncos

And then there were two. This Sunday at 4pm at Accor Stadium, the Sydney Roosters will face the Brisbane Broncos in the NRLW grand final which for many fans has been the match-up we have been waiting for all season.

The two most dominant teams in the competition will go head-to-head for the trophy in what promises to be a blockbuster.

This will be the third time these two clubs have met on the biggest stage. Brisbane took the honours in 2018 and 2020 as part of their remarkable three-peat...

‘A gift’: Broncos welcome Storm enforcer’s ‘stuck up’ jab as pre-GF banter heats up, Hughes unfazed by Dally M night snub

Brisbane stars past and present have hit back at claims they are arrogant as a grand final war of words erupts.

Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu lit the fuse when he said he wanted to “run at” Broncos players he didn’t like and who he claimed were “a bit stuck-up”.

Utoikamanu will have to run at Broncos weapon Payne Haas on Sunday in the decider.

“They can think what they think. We are who we are and you can’t change that,” Haas said.

More League ...

Golden era ahead? Australia smash New Zealand Schools as midfield, Lemoto star in wild win

The Wallabies haven’t held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002, but there are signs a new, successful dawn could be on the horizon after Australia’s under-18s side smashed New Zealand Schools for the second straight year.

After knocking over their trans-Tasman rivals on New Zealand soil last year, the boys in gold ran out 81-48 winners in Canberra on Monday afternoon.

Along the way, Dale Robertson’s side scored 12 tries to blow away their opponents.

Ed Kasprowicz, the son of former Australian ...

‘Danger has taken my phone’: Bailey Smith causes stir with cheeky Curnow social media posts at Cats Mad Monday event

Geelong star Bailey Smith was causing a stir at Geelong’s Mad Monday – and not entirely because of his outfit.

Less than 48 hours after their humiliating 47-point grand final loss to Brisbane, players turned out for ‘Mad Monday’ at the Wharf Shed in Geelong.

Sam De Koning and Ollie Dempsey were impersonating their high-profile teammate, arriving in an Aston Martin car, wearing Cotton On-branded clothing and emerging holding brown paper bags.

Credit: @bazlenka – Instagram

But it wasn’t ...

Rare defeat as England beat experimenting Aussies in Women’s ODI World Cup warm-up

Alyssa Healy’s world champions have suffered a rare defeat to the old enemy England in their final warm-up match before the Women’s World Cup defence in India — but there were still plenty of things to cheer in their ‘phoney war’ loss.

As both sides meddled with their batting line-ups and used the Bengaluru match as the last chance to work on preparation for the big show which begins this week, England came out on top by four wickets, and with 33 balls to spare, on Sunday.

After bowling ou...

NRL grand final team lists: Reprieve for Broncos prop, Carrigan back, Storm star fined

Broncos prop Xavier Willison is free to play in the NRL grand final after the match review committee only fined him for a dangerous tackle in Sunday’s win over the Panthers.

He faces a fine of $1000 with an early plea or $1500 if he unsuccessfully challenges the judiciary.

The interchange forward was penalised for what Andrew Johns described as “a horrible tackle” when he attacked the legs of Luke Garner after he had already been held up by two defenders.

Willison, who scored a try in ...

Five and a Kick: Walsh magic lifts Broncos to astounding comeback as Penrith’s dynasty ends in heart-breaking style

Reece Walsh has ended Penrith’s four-year dynasty by engineering an exhilarating comeback from 14 points down to send the Broncos into a grand final showdown with Melbourne.

Brisbane looked like becoming another victim of the Panthers’ late-season surge when the visitors jumped out to a 14-0 half-time lead in the preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium.

But with Walsh at the forefront and conjuring up the match-winning play, the Broncos registered a 16-14 triumph to bring Penrith’s golden era...

‘Gift that keeps on giving’: White out of retirement AGAIN, Wallabies call up Skelton, Valetini for Bledisloe II

Nic White is coming out of retirement for the third time in two months after the Wallabies lost Tate McDermott for next week’s Rugby Championship finale in Perth.

The 35-year-old is one of four players who will re-join Joe Schmidt’s squad for the sold-out clash along with Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Josh Fook.

But the halfback isn’t likely to play, with Jake Gordon set to return and join Ryan Lonergan, who debuted in the 33-24 defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday, in the ma...

Nevilles and coathangers: the poetry of rugby league is a glorious glossary of chaotic precision

Rugby league’s contribution to the enrichment of the English language would be a good title for a joke about the world’s shortest books.

The game and its culture are great theatre on and off the field. But it is plot and character driven. No one takes much notice of the quality of the dialogue. Blocker don’t do oratory and Benny don’t do syntax.

A prominent rugby league talk show host, who shall remain nameless (his name rhymes with Faith Canasta), recently came up with this concatenation ...

World View: Wallabies’ ‘mightily gutsy display’ undone by ‘unfathomable’ refereeing, JOC’s ‘dumb errors’

The Wallabies were praised for a Bledisloe Cup defeat with distinction after finding themselves in referee Andrea Piardi’s bad books during the 33-24 loss in Auckland.

On the back of a 15-10 penalty count – with the majority of those coming in a second half where their momentum was stripped away in a series of puzzling calls by the Italian – the Australians were unable to end the long Eden Park hoodoo.

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