rugby league

Brad Arthur believes Blaize Talagi could one day succeed Clint Gutherson as Parramatta's fullback as the teen star prepares for his first game as the Eels' bench utility. Only days after the Eels confirmed the signing of marquee back Zac Lomax, Arthur insisted off-contract Talagi was part of his side's long-term plans. Talagi had a sensational debut playing centre in the Eels' round-three defeat of Manly, before being thrust into the halves a week later when Mitch Moses fractured his foot. Back-to-back losses forced Arthur to rethink his halves combination, but the coach has recalled Talagi to his bench for…

The NRL is adamant there is no confusion between the bunker and match review committee on hip-drop tackles, despite a second major inconsistency in rulings in two weeks. Brisbane prop Payne Haas was on Saturday hit with a grade-two dangerous contact charge for his hip-drop on Parramatta counterpart Reagan Campbell-Gillard, despite going unpunished on field by referee Ashley Klein. Campbell-Gillard was on Saturday cleared of a fractured hip after fears he could spend 12 weeks on the sideline, but he is awaiting further scans to determine the exact injury. Haas will be suspended for one game with an early guilty…

Reagan Campbell-Gillard's hopes of earning a State of Origin recall are all but over after he suffered a suspected hip fracture from a hip-drop tackle in Brisbane's 26-16 defeat of Parramatta. Campbell-Gillard went down, the victim of a tackle from Payne Haas that went unpunished on-field, just as the Eels were beginning to recover from the Broncos' fast 22-6 start on Friday. The prop forward left Darwin's TIO Stadium in an ambulance and an Eels spokesperson said early indications were he could miss eight to 12 weeks. "He's in a lot of pain, he can hardly walk," Eels coach Brad Arthur…

A new Brisbane deal could be only weeks away for Payne Haas, whom Kevin Walters believes is little chance of defecting to Rugby Australia after his 2024 contract expires. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's impending move to rugby union has been one of the biggest talking points of the season and Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan told News Corp this week Haas was the next NRL player in his sights. Haas is able to negotiate with rivals for 2025 from November 1 and would command a seven-figure salary in rugby league as the NRL's form prop and star at representative level. But RA…