Why the race to wear Jarome Luai’s vacant No. 6 jersey at Penrith remains wide open

The race to wear Jarome Luai’s vacant No. 6 jersey at Penrith remains wide open after Jack Cole was fair but not fantastic in his opening audition.

The premiers officially started life without Luai when they lost their first-season trial to Canberra 22-16 on Saturday night.

After Luai accepted a five-year $6m deal at the Wests Tigers, Cole, Daine Laurie and new recruit Blaize Talagi were seen as the leading contenders to partner superstar Nathan Cleary in the halves.

With Cleary joining most of the club’s big guns in the stands at PointsBet Stadium, Cole started the game at five-eighth.

The 21-year-old was solid but struggled to standout against a Raiders team missing most of their own household names.

The quiet night in the Shire will hardly cost Cole his dream of wearing the No. 6 for the first round in Las Vegas, but a standout performance could have also put him in the box seat.

Isaiah Papali’i had his first hitout for Penrith on Saturday nightCredit: Getty Images

Cole remains a No. 14 option, along with Laurie, while Talagi can also cover all the positions in the backline. Trent Toelau replaced Cole at half-time.

International forward Isaiash Papali’i had his first gallop for Penrith after exiting the Wests Tigers, while left winger Casey McLean looks set for a proper breakout year after some nice touches and runs on the left wing.

The predicted rain that always falls every time a rugby league game is played in the Shire did not disappoint before kick-off.

Officials only opened up one side of PointsBet Stadium because of the small attendance, but the sight of an empty Peter Burns Stand must have made those watching at home on TV wondering if anyone was at the game at all. When the rain got heavy before full-time, parts of the main grandstand started to leak.

As for the Raiders, they would have been happy with new recruit Ethan Sanders, who looked more than comfortable running the show.

Nathan Cleary looks on from the stands at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday night.Credit: Getty Images

The halfback who was prized away from Parramatta has time on his side, but will keep pressure on Jamal Fogarty for the chance to partner his good mate Ethan Strange in the halves.

Sanders set up the Raiders’ first try when he snuck a lovely ball for Simi Sasagi to crash over.

Penrith hit back before the break through centre David Fale, punishing Chevy Stewart for spilling a Daine Laurie kick the previous set.

Raiders winger Albert Hopoate was revved up from a previous run-in with Jesse McLean, and putting plenty of venom into his tackles. Despite putting a good shot on Fale, the giant Penrith centre was too hard to stop.

Ata Moriata produced a barnstorming run early in the second half to put Canberra on the front foot, and hooker Owen Pattie converted the field position into points when ducking over from dummy-half to make it 12-4. Pattie had a double a few minutes later after the ball came loose at the back.

Penrith will not trial again before flying to the US, while the Raiders take on fellow Vegas-bound club the Sharks next week.

Why Wayne Bennett was happy to release five players for All Stars

Christian Nicolussi

The All Stars clash may not be universally loved in NRL clubland, but Wayne Bennett is only too happy to release five South Sydney players to represent the Indigenous All Stars team.

The timing of the fixture, just three weeks out from the start of the season, has caused headaches for coaches fine-tuning their preparations for round one. But the returning Rabbitohs coach can see the bigger picture.

“If you coach Indigenous players, you know how much this game means to them,” Bennett said. “I couldn’t look then in the face and say, ‘You can’t play, mate’.”

Despite missing the likes of Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr because of suspension, Nicho Hynes because of Las Vegas commitments, and Cody Walker, Bradman Best and Kotoni Staggs due to injury, the All Stars fixture was boosted by Bennett and Souths who delivered Jack Wighton, Tyrone Munro, Shaq Mitchell, Jayden Sullivan and Tallis Duncan.

Mitchell and Walker are also expected to spend time in camp next week in Sydney to mentor the playing group ahead of next Saturday’s clash with the Maori All Stars at CommBank Stadium.

There has been plenty of debate about the best time to play the All Stars fixture because of the high number of withdrawals, and questions asked about clubs making their players available.

Wayne Bennett knows the importance of All Stars.Credit: Getty

While the Indigenous side is missing key players, the Maoris will unleash plenty of firepower including Kalyn Ponga, who was happy to play despite ditching the Kangaroos last October to focus on the Knights, Newcastle teammate Leo Thompson, James Fisher-Harris and Canberra’s Joe Tapine.

Bennett said he knew first-hand what this game meant to the Indigenous players and communities after he coached against them in the first All Stars game in 2010.

“I can’t deny those boys the opportunity to play for their people – it’s a big deal for these guys,” Bennett said. “I was a part of it when it first started. I wanted to coach [in that game] because I wanted to support them. I told the players that if they are fit, they’re welcome to go, and I wouldn’t hold them back.

“I don’t care when they play it. They just need to play it. It means so much to them. You can’t pull the rug from beneath them.”

It was a big week for Duncan who inked a contract extension on Friday, which keeps him at Souths until the end of 2027.

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said there would be a review of the All Stars after next weekend’s event, with the chance to shift the annual game from February to October, potentially the weekend that falls between the NRL Grand Final and start of the Pacific Championships.

All Stars teams

Indigenous All Stars (Men)

Jacob Alick-Wiencke, Jayden Campbell, Joshua Curran, Tallis Duncan, Brian Kelly, Josh Kerr, Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Dylan Lucas, Shaquai Mitchell, Tyrone Munro, Brent Naden, Hohepa Puru, Niwhai Puru, Ethan Roberts, Blake Steep, Jayden Sullivan, Jacob Sykes, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Connor Watson, Jack Wighton, (coach) Ronald Griffiths

Māori All Stars (Men)

Jesse Arthars, Zach Dockar-Clay, James Fisher-Harris, Dane Gagai, Mawene Hiroti, Royce Hunt, Keano Kini, Jacob Laban, Jeremy Marshall-King, Jesse McLean, Kurtis Morrin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Pompey, Kalyn Ponga, Jordan Riki, Jazz Tevaga, Leo Thompson, Taine Tuaupiki, William Warbrick, Xavier Willison, (coach) Adam Blair

Indigenous All Stars (Women)

Essay Banu, Jaime Chapman, Bree Chester, Nakia Davis-Welsh, Kirra Dibb, Quincy Dodd, Monique Donovan, Taliah Fuimaono, Tallisha Harden, Keilee Joseph, Tommaya Kelly-Sines, Grace Kemp, Olivia Kernick, Ella Koster, Bobbi Law, Evah McEwen, Lailani Montgomery, Mahalia Murphy, Jasmine Peters, Taneka Todhunter, (coach) Jess Skinner

Māori All Stars (Women): Lilly-Ann White, Annessa Biddle, Harata Butler, Kennedy Cherrington, Reuben Cherrington, Laikha Clarke, Zali Fay, Najvada George, Taneisha Gray, Tyla King, Shannon Mato, Kerehitina Matua, Raecene McGregor, Shanice Parker, Rima Pirini Butler, Ashleigh Quinlan,Tiana Raftstrand-Smith, Jasmin Strange, Pauline Suli-Ruka, Chante Temara, (coach) Keith Hanley

Jillaroos coach Donald quits post

Rob Dillon and Dan Walsh

Long-serving Jillaroos coach Brad Donald has quit his post less than a month before the team flies out to Las Vegas for a landmark Test against England, after an NRL inquiry into alleged disparaging comments made about a journalist in front of players.

Donald has coached the national women’s team since 2016, winning World Cups in 2017 and 2022 and suffering only one loss during his tenure, against New Zealand in 2023.

He has been employed by the NRL for more than 20 years, since starting as a development manager in Queensland in 2002.

But his future has been clouded since the NRL launched an internal review into an incident last October when Donald allegedly referred to a reporter using disparaging and offensive language in front of Jillaroos players.

Sources speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the incident said that multiple players were taken aback by Donald’s conduct, which followed coverage of Australia’s Pacific Championships campaign.

Jillaroos coach Brad Donald.Credit: NRL Photos

The NRL investigated the matter after the incident gained traction in rugby league circles.

He has been replaced as Jillaroos head coach on an interim basis by Jess Skinner, his former assistant. Donald will continue to be employed by the NRL as general manager of women’s pathways, a role he held alongside Australian coaching duties.

Conjecture around his position coincided with the abrupt cancellation of a Jillaroos camp on the Gold Coast last month. Players weren’t given any explanation around the sudden cancellation at the time.

Donald’s departure was announced alongside a Las Vegas travelling squad that included reigning Dally M medallist Olivia Kernick, who was controversially overlooked by Donald for last year’s Pacific Championships.

Kernick’s omission raised eyebrows at League HQ at the time and was widely questioned around the game.

Dally M winner Olivia Kernick scores for the Roosters.Credit: Getty Images

“The Australian Rugby League Commission acknowledges and thanks Brad for his extensive efforts in coaching and elevating the Jillaroos to the position they are in as the number one-ranked team in the world and World Cup champions,” an NRL statement said on Friday.

The Jillaroos squad to travel to Las Vegas is: Kezie Apps and Ali Brigginshaw (co-captains), Tarryn Aitken, Lauren Brown, Yasmin Clydsdale, Keeley Davis, Quincy Dodd, Jessika Elliston, Olivia Higgins, Keilee Joseph, Isabelle Kelly, Olivia Kernick, Shannon Mato, Mahalia Murphy, Tiana Penitani, Julia Robinson, Jessica Sergis, Simaima Taufa, Sarah Togatuki, Tamika Upton, Jakiya Whitfield.

Meanwhile, the Newcastle Knights announced on Friday that they had released co-captain Hannah Southwell from her contract for 2025.

The news follows the departure of Newcastle’s other co-skipper, Tamika Upton, who has joined the Brisbane Broncos.

“Hannah has been a wonderful player for the Knights, including captaining the team to the 2023 NRLW premiership,” Knights football director Peter Parr said in a statement.

“The Newcastle Knights would like to thank Hannah for her time with the club and wish her all the best for the future.”

The Shark keeping Braydon Trindall on his toes

Rob Dillon

Cronulla playmaker Braydon Trindall is confident he will be fit for the season-opening clash with Penrith in Las Vegas after recovering from a shoulder reconstruction, but admits Daniel Atkinson is keeping him honest in the race to partner Nicho Hynes.

Trindall will sit out the Sharks’ opening pre-season trial match, against the Warriors at Shark Park on Friday night, as a precaution after he underwent major surgery last October. He has resumed full-contact training and intends to prove his fitness for the trip to Vegas by playing in next week’s hit-out against Canberra.

During the countless hours the 25-year-old has spent in the physio’s room over the summer, he has noted that Atkinson has gone to a new level in training.

“He’ll keep me honest,” Trindall said. “He’s an awesome player and he’s had a really good pre-season. He’ll keep me on my toes for sure.“

Atkinson, who played a one-off NRL game for Melbourne in 2021, emerged as a genuine top-grader for the Sharks last year, making 19 appearances.

The 24-year-old has since signed a three-season deal with St George Illawarra from 2026, but for now his presence at Cronulla ensures coach Craig Fitzgibbon will have two viable options to partner Hynes at the scrumbase.

Daniel Atkinson (left) and Braydon Trindall (right) were both crucial to Cronulla in 2024.Credit: NRL Photos

In the absence of Hynes, Atkinson will line up alongside rookie Niwhai Puru against the Warriors.

A number of Atkinson’s appearances came last year when Trindall was stood down after a much-publicised incident in which he failed a roadside drugs test.

Trindall returned from the chastening experience to produce arguably the best form of his career, convincing the club to extend his contract by three years.

“Obviously with what happened, I just wanted to come back and put my best foot forward,” he said. “So I got my prep right and zoned in on the business that I had to do and I finished the year pretty strong.

“I obviously missed some games with what happened off the field there, but I picked myself up and went again and we got to the prelim final. So it was a bit of a rollercoaster but it was good to finish how we did.”

Trindall hopes Cronulla’s trial against Canberra next Thursday will confirm his ticket on the flight to America. “Coming off a shoulder reconstruction at the end of last season, I’ve spent the last three or four weeks integrating back into the team,” he said.

“It’s coming along well ... I got it done straight after the season, so it’s been nearly five months now. I started contact training two or three weeks ago, but it’s all good now.”

Trindall dismissed speculation there would be a scrumbase shuffle this season, resulting in him playing halfback and Hynes switching to second receiver.

“I don’t think it really matters too much,” he said. “Six and seven are just on different sides of the field, so we’ll go out and play a similar style of footy to last year. I don’t think much will change.”

Having visited Vegas “when I was 15 or 16”, Trindall was eager to return as an adult but stressed that the priority was to secure a first-round victory.

“Everyone’s pretty excited and looking forward to it. It’s coming around quick,” he said.

‘Outstanding technique’: The Rabbitoh who most impressed Graham Arnold

Christian Nicolussi

Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold made a surprise cameo at South Sydney training on Tuesday, spending time working with the Rabbitohs’ goalkickers including Latrell Mitchell.

Arnold is good friends with Souths coach Wayne Bennett, and was only too happy to accept an invite from the supercoach to give his feedback.

The 61-year-old Australian soccer legend worked with half a dozen NRL clubs 20 years ago, including Wests Tigers trio Benji Marshall, Brett Hodgson and Pat Richards, Penrith’s Ryan Girdler, St George Illawarra’s Ben Hornby – now a Souths assistant – and Manly’s Ben Walker. Arnold was also flown to Brisbane by Bennett to work with Darren Lockyer.

Wayne Bennett and Graham Arnold at South Sydney training on Tuesday.Credit: Michael Pantaleone/South Sydney Rabbitohs

Though footballs and rugby league balls are different shapes, Arnold said the kicking principles remained the same.

“I met with Wayne last week, and he asked me to come down and look at their goalkickers, and I was only too happy to help,” Arnold told this masthead. “It was just nice to be back out on the field. It’s what I miss about football coaching. That’s something I really want to get back into.

“But I enjoyed the morning at Souths. I’ll probably head down there again next week. If I can help them, that’s great. The balls are different, but the most important thing is your mindset, and being able to nail a kick – be it a penalty in football, or a goal in rugby league – in front of thousands of fans.”

In one drill at Heffron Park, Arnold made several players line up a kick from the corner post and aim at the upright.

The former Socceroos coach says he is ready for a return to football coaching.Credit: Michael Pantaleone/South Sydney Rabbitohs

While Arnold said Richards had the biggest kick he had seen, he was also impressed by the power generated by Mitchell’s left foot.

“He has an outstanding technique,” Arnold said. “But I believe he has the quality and ability to get his goalkicking percentages to 80 per cent or above.”

Mitchell has kicked 159 from 216 goal attempts during his five seasons at Souths for a strike rate of 73.6 per cent. Jamie Humphreys, Matt Humphries and Isaiah Tass also spent about an hour working with Arnold.

Damien Cook and Dean Hawkins shared the goalkicking for Souths in the final game of last season, but are no longer at the club, while Fletcher Myers also helped with the important job.

Arnold resigned as Socceroos coach last September, but is keen to return to his real love “after a good break. I’m ready to get back into it”.

The radical rule proposal to bring consistency to sin-binnings for high tackles

Christian Nicolussi

Players will be sent to the sin bin up to 15 minutes after committing a high tackle that forces an opponent out of a game with concussion under a radical proposal put forward by a handful of NRL coaches.

Hoping to achieve consistency when it comes to punishing high tackles, the coaches approached the governing body late last month to suggest testing a new rule as early as the pre-season trials, which begin on Friday.

Some coaches have proposed a new rules to deal with high tackles and sin-bins.Credit: Getty

Fans were left frustrated and confused at times last season by a perceived lack of consistency in imposing penalties on players guilty of high tackles.

One of the most controversial examples involved the New Zealand Warriors, when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was knocked out by a high shot from Canterbury skipper Stephen Crichton, who remained on the field.

Crichton was subsequently hit with a grade-two careless high tackle charge by the match review panel, and NRL referees boss Graham Annesley later admitted the on-field officials had erred in not sending him to the sin bin.

Referees still have the option to send a player straight from the field if they deem a high tackle could have caused serious injury.

But under the new proposal put forward by select coaches, the sin bin would only be used if the tackled player failed a head injury assessment. The player will remain on the field until the HIA results are made known.

Even if a player needed the maximum 15 minutes to undergo concussion testing protocols, and failed, play would be stopped and the offender given a ten-minute time-out.

For example, if Penrith’s Nathan Cleary tackled Manly’s Tom Trbojevic high in the 20th minute, and Trbojevic failed his HIA in the 35th minute, only then would Cleary be sent to the bin.

“It’s all about trying to get more consistency in terms of what is a sin bin and what is not a sin bin when it comes to high tackles,” one club official who was aware of the situation but not authorised to speak publicly told this masthead.

Fans will question the fairness of a situation where an offending player scored a try while still on the field only to subsequently be sent to the bin when a tackled player failed an HIA, or whether referees should go as far to send a player off if the tackled player did not return.

One NRL coach, who had not heard about the proposal late on Monday and spoke on the condition of anonymity, asked what would stop clubs trying to hit a star player with a high tackle late in a game if they knew there would be no immediate sin-binning until the HIA results were in.

The NRL were contacted but declined to comment on the proposals.

Even if the rule change is rushed in for the Pre-season Challenge, and receives positive feedback, the ARL Commission would not rubber-stamp any tweaks to the laws of the game until the start of the 2026 season because they have already committed to no rule changes for this year.

The only messaging that has been received in clubland is that referees plan to crack down on sloppy play-the-balls in the early rounds. This masthead highlighted last August that officials had failed to punish Penrith for a string of illegal play-the-balls when they steamed home late to beat Parramatta.

The obstruction rule will also be a focus, with referees told to reward good attacking play rather than poor defensive reads where a defender appears to be taken out.