For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here. The Australian Rugby League Commission will hold an emergency board meeting on Friday to decide the fate of the grand final, with postponement now shaping as a more likely scenario than a relocation to Townsville. Thousands of ticket-holders will be locked out of Suncorp Stadium after Queensland Public Health Orders reduced […]

Sam Burgess has revealed he undergoes twice-yearly brain scans over fears that he may one day develop a degenerative disease linked to his time playing rugby. The Yorkshireman shot to stardom after impressing in his early years with Bradford Bulls, before being coaxed by actor Russell Crowe to move to his South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia. His playing career spanned […]

Melbourne captain Max Gawn has declared the Demons will have the added motivation of chasing back-to-back premierships next season so they can celebrate in front of their faithful at the MCG. The Demons finally arrived home from Perth on Thursday, having spent four days celebrating their win over the Western Bulldogs which ended the club’s 57-year flag drought. The partying […]

By Heath Gilmore National Rugby League chief executive Andrew Abdo will be white knuckling his mobile phone until the grand final kick-off. It will be 7.30pm on Sunday, and two groups of players from the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers will face each other in the rugby league grand final in Queensland for the first time in history. […]

Russell Crowe has paid tribute to retiring hooker Issac Luke, hand-picking the South Sydney legend to ring the iconic foundation bell before Sunday’s grand final at Suncorp Stadium. In a testament to Luke’s standing at his former club, the Herald can reveal that Crowe personally messaged Luke to perform the honour of ringing the bell he purchased at an auction […]

Essendon have appointed Richmond premiership player Alex Rance as their development coach in an enormous coup for the Bombers. The five-time All-Australian played in a VFL match with the club in Queensland as a favour to Bombers coach Ben Rutten this season and has now decided to return to Essendon in a part-time capacity. Alex Rance was the star attraction […]

Mark O’Meley has known for a few years that Blake Taaffe could cope with the pressure of playing on the big stage after a late call-up. Taaffe will wear the No. 1 jersey for South Sydney against Penrith on Sunday in just his eighth NRL game, which also happens to be the grand final. The 22-year-old was a surprise pick […]

NRL head of football Graham Annesley says the game has an “unhealthy obsession” over the role of match officials and put the onus onto players and trainers not to milk injuries in the code’s showpiece event. Gerard Sutton has been appointed to officiate his fifth straight decider, taking his overall tally to seven, despite a blunder that allowed Nathan Cleary […]

James Packer, the man who saved the Penrith Panthers from extinction, will be watching this Sunday’s NRL grand final from his Los Angeles home cheering for South Sydney. In an exclusive interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the South Sydney part owner has paid tribute to close friend Russell Crowe, crediting the Hollywood star as the reason he bought into […]

Essendon coach Ben Rutten insists a healthy Jye Caldwell can be the big-bodied midfielder the Bombers need and says the club has no intention of again pursuing Josh Dunkley “at this stage”. As the AFL world now shifts its intention to the trade period, Rutten says the Bombers, beaten by the Western Bulldogs in an elimination final, will only do […]