- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Josh Papalii is in hot water after alleged aggressive behaviour at a Canberra nightspot just hours before being named the Raiders’ club person of the year at their end-of-season awards ceremony.
The 32-year-old prop is yet to be charged with an offence but is currently under police inquiry, according to a statement from ACT Police.
“About 3.10am on Monday, 16 September 2024, police responded to a request from a licensed premises regarding two men who were behaving aggressively, smashing glasses, and refusing to leave.
“After engagement with police, the men left, however a short time later, re-entered the premises. A third member of the group escorted the two men out of the premises again, and they departed the location a short time later.”
The NRL has so far avoided too much scandal with 11 clubs’ seasons already done and dusted, though Mad Monday celebrations are typically much tamer in recent times.
Tom Trbojevic is likely to miss Australia’s end-of-season rugby league Tests to undergo surgery on his shoulder, but says his confidence in the injured joint is growing by the week.
Trbojevic got through a full training session with Manly on Wednesday, but again avoided contact on the problematic right shoulder and his grade-three AC joint tear.
The Sea Eagles superstar also confirmed he expected to receive pain-killing injections both before and at halftime of all matches during the finals.
AAP has been told Trbojevic will likely need surgery on the shoulder at the end of the year, given his return to play has not given it time to fully heal.
It means the fullback’s chances of playing his first Test for the Kangaroos since 2018 in the Pacific Championships are all but over.
“I haven’t really addressed that (playing for the Kangaroos) but I think it’d be a long shot,” Trbojevic said.
Regardless, Trbojevic insists the injury has not dented his confidence, and is feeling better ahead of Saturday night’s semi-final against the Sydney Roosters.
“It’s feeling better this week which is normal,” Trbojevic said.
“We trained just before and it felt a lot better training so that’s a way to quantify it. It’s just a pain thing. The first game is going to be sore and then it gets better.”
Trbojevic appeared in regular discomfort during Manly’s 24-22 elimination-final win over Canterbury on Sunday.
He also worse strapping to his right knee, after suffering a medial ligament strain early in the second half of the round-26 win over Canterbury a fortnight earlier.
But the fullback insisted that was also not a problem, and he would not require strapping on Saturday night against the Roosters.
Win a Ziggy BBQ for Grand Final day, thanks to Barbeques Galore! Enter Here.
“Of course I (can attack games at 100 per cent),” Trbojevic said.
“I’m just going out there to do my best. Whether people think I am or not, that’s up to them.
“I’m just going to go out and do my best, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Manly are also confident Trbojevic is ready to deliver.
The fullback was in his best form since his 2021 Dally M season before the shoulder injury in round 26, putting on an eight-game blitz.
That had come off the back of another lay off for a hamstring injury, with Trbojevic quiet in his first game back before bursting to life in the two months that followed.
The fullback was well contained by the Bulldogs on Sunday, but still delivered in the moment that mattered late in the game to help lay on the match-winning try.
“Coming back from injury, the first game is always the hardest. And he knows that better than most,” Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans told AAP.
Tom Trbojevic charges forward. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“Getting through the weekend in such a big game for us was really important, and really important for him. He will be better for the run.
“He will be so much more aware of what it feels like, what he can and can’t do. And it doesn’t look like he’s limited too much.
“Yeah, it might look painful, but it doesn’t look like there is too much limitation there … He will be great for us this weekend.”
Fan favourite Valynce Te Whare may have played his last game in the NRL after being told by the Dolphins that he would not be offered a new deal.
The heavyweight centre scored six tries in 12 matches in his rookie season last year but was not used at all at NRL level in 2024 as he battled weight issues which affected his form.
Te Whare has played strongly at Queensland Cup level and is only 24.
The Waikato product has played in starring role in helping the Dolphins qualify for the Grand Final against Brisbane Norths this weekend, scoring a runaway try in their upset win to make the decider.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The Sea Eagles are set to reward coach Anthony Seibold with a contract extension after he guided them past the first round of the finals.
Manly celebrated Tom Trbojevic’s successful return from injury with a 24-22 elimination-final defeat of Canterbury that has set up a Saturday night showdown with the Roosters for the right to take on Melbourne in the preliminary finals.
According to a NewsCorp report, club officials are close to sealing an extension for Seibold until the end of 2027 after talks earlier this year broke down.
Seibold is only under contract until the end of next year after joining the club in 2023 following the messy exit of club legend Des Hasler.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.