David Klemmer returned to training with Newcastle on Friday in the biggest indication yet the parties are close to resolving their differences. The development comes with the club embroiled in a fresh scandal after a prominent Knights staffer allegedly made a racist remark to an Indigenous reserve grade player. Klemmer was stood down for Sunday’s clash with Wests Tigers after […]

By Daniel Brettig It says much for the unchanging rhythms of football that, despite being 26 years apart, the two most famous pre-season camps in Adelaide Crows history each took place in the closing days of January. In 1992 in Rapid Bay, the club was about to enter its second AFL season and searching for that something extra to go […]

The Sydney Swans have expressed confidence about retaining AFL goal-kicking great Lance Franklin, declaring that contract negotiations with the star forward are “tracking well at the minute”. Before a Channel Nine report linked Franklin with a potential move to the Brisbane Lions, Swans chief executive Tom Harley said the key forward, 35, was “locked in with his footy” and “there’s […]

Two AFLW pre-season matches have been moved to the MCG and will be played as double-headers with men’s matches in round 22, giving a new group of players their first experience playing at “the home of footy”. The Melbourne and Carlton practice match will kick off at 4.40pm on August 13 and open for the men’s 7.25pm blockbuster clash, while […]

The NRL will hold the NSW government to ransom as the ugly fallout from a new phase of the Sydney stadium wars threatens to spill into the courtroom and strip the state of lucrative grand final hosting rights. Following months of uncertainty over whether a handshake agreement to rebuild a cluster of suburban stadiums would proceed, Premier Dominic Perrottet on […]

St Kilda’s board has asked the Saints’ football department for more information on Jordan De Goey before consenting to an aggressive pursuit of Collingwood’s free agent star. The Saints, while having expressed interest in De Goey, have yet to formally rule on whether they will table an offer for the talented but strife-prone midfielder/forward, who is weighing up his future […]

The longest-serving club official in the NRL has blasted the August 1 transfer deadline, and said the rule brought in to help short-staffed clubs while in COVID bubbles was “killing tribalism”. The cut-off for late-season trades ended on Monday with Parramatta missing out on Manly’s Marty Taupau. Wests Tigers centre Oliver Gildart was paraded in Sydney Roosters colours, while Melbourne […]

The English winger who suffered an exploded testicle in a training-ground collision says he hopes to venture Down Under to try his luck in the NSW Cup or Queensland Cup. Jack Johnson made headlines in his homeland after suffering a painful knock to his groin last Thursday while training for Newcastle Thunder, who play in The Championship, the league competition […]

Manly Sea Eagles 10 lost to Sydney Roosters 20 The Roosters age-old Achilles heel – hanging onto the ball – cruelled their second half once again, with their completion rate hovering at little more than 50 per cent after the break. But a win’s a win at this time of year, and Joey Manu’s involvement as a Tom Trbojevic-style roving […]

There has long been a belief within the Parramatta organisation that there is a disconnect between the football team and the club. No one will publicly admit it, but privately, for whatever reason, head office and the football team don’t sing from the same hymn sheet. Perhaps years of being based out of different facilities has exacerbated the problem, but […]