Victor Radley withdraws from Ashes; Bulldogs in talks with Adam O’Brien

Roosters star Victor Radley has withdrawn from England’s Ashes campaign after narrowly avoiding being sacked by his NRL club.

Radley last week accepted a 10-game club ban without pay and made a $30,000 donation to St Vincent’s Hospital as punishment for bringing the Roosters into disrepute when he was caught up in the Queensland Police investigation into allegations of drug supply against former teammate Brandon Smith.

While Radley was not charged by police, his financial punishment adds up to more than $150,000. The Roosters will explore salary cap relief given it relates to an integrity matter, but his suspension did not apply to the international game.

England coach Shaun Wane had backed Radley, and as early as this week had planned to pick him for the three-Test series against Australia starting in late-October.

However, Radley has since informed English management that he will not make himself available for the first time since making his international debut in 2022.

“Victor has been an outstanding player for England for the last three years, but we respect his decision,” Wane said.

“We need 24 players who are fully focused on the historic opportunity of facing Australia in an Ashes series.”

Radley spoke earlier this week of Wane’s support and Ashes endorsement, telling Nine News that “I was extremely grateful for [Wane’s] phone call because during difficult times it’s good to hear that people like him have your back.”

While Wane won’t pick his England squad until mid-October, new Australian coach Kevin Walters will name his side the day after the NRL grand final, having received a significant boost in prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui opting to represent the Kangaroos over Samoa.

Walters has also confirmed Roosters flyer Mark Nawaqanitawase will be considered for an Ashes berth, with his decision to move back to rugby at the end of 2026 having no bearing on his selection chances.

Bulldogs pursue ex-Knights coach Adam O’Brien to shake up attack

Michael Chammas

The Canterbury Bulldogs are in talks with former Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien about a role with the club next season.

Bulldogs officials met with O’Brien on Thursday to discuss the prospect of him becoming the club’s attack coach in 2026.

Jason Taylor, who currently coaches the Dogs’ attack, still has another year to run on his contract and is expected to move to a new role if O’Brien signs.

Manly have also shown interest in signing O’Brien as an assistant coach, but sources with knowledge of the situation talking on the condition of anonymity said O’Brien was leaning towards the Bulldogs.

O’Brien spent a decade working as an assistant to Craig Bellamy at Melbourne and a season under Trent Robinson at the Roosters before being head-hunted for the Knights’ top job as Nathan Brown’s successor.

The Bulldogs believe O’Brien’s experience and knowledge can boost an attack that came under fire for large parts of 2025.

O’Brien has worked with Bulldogs Kurt Mann, Sitili Tupouniua and Enari Tuala, as well as new recruit Leo Thompson.

Bellamy says Jahrome Hughes will play in preliminary final

Roy Ward

He won’t have a Mal Meninga-size guard on his forearm but Melbourne Storm star Jahrome Hughes is set to play in the club’s preliminary final at AAMI Park on Friday night.

Hughes fractured his forearm in the last round of the season and seemed long odds to be able to return in time for the finals.

But the reigning Dally M Medallist has recovered quicker than expected and Storm coach Craig Bellamy is confident Hughes will play on Friday night against Cronulla, unless any last-minute issues arise.

Returning Hughes to the side will mean rising halfback Jonah Pezet will likely drop out after starring in their qualifying final win over Canterbury-Bankstown two weeks ago.

Unless something flares up for Hughes, Bellamy said he would be running out against the Cronulla Sharks despite having not completed “a whole heap” of contact work.

“He’s done enough to be confident in what he needs to do and what he is doing,” Bellamy said. “Something drastic would have to go wrong for him to miss.”

Bellamy laughed when asked if Hughes would need a large guard Meninga wore for the Canberra Raiders in the 1990s when Bellamy was also on the team.

Meninga’s oversized guard became the stuff of legend but wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a footy field today.

“I was at Canberra when Mal used to wear that guard and no one was game to near him at training in case you copped it,” Bellamy said with a laugh. “But Hughesy’s [guard] is a fair bit thinner than Mal’s was.”

Bellamy also praised the toughness of second-rower Shawn Blore who will also return from a fractured larynx to play on Friday night.

“That’s a pretty bad injury he got and he kept going in the game - he’s a pretty tough unit,” Bellamy said.

“He was busting to get back. He kept ringing me and telling me that “I’m right, I’m right” but, obviously, I’m taking more advice from the medical people than him. We are confident he has recovered.”

The Storm thumped the Sharks 30-6 when they last met at AAMI Park in June but the Sharks have won nine games out of 10 since including knockout final wins over Sydney Roosters and minor premiers Canberra Raiders.

So the Sharks will come in fired up as will a sellout crowd hoping to see the Storm progress to another grand final.

“I don’t know who wrote them off. They finished fifth,” Bellamy said. “To beat the Roosters and then beat Canberra in Canberra - we know they are in good form, but we are just concerned with what we need to do and how we need to do it.”

The Storm hammered the Sharks but it kick-started Cronulla’s season

Roy Ward

The last time Cronulla trudged off AAMI Park they were at their lowest point of the season.

Since that 30-6 round 17 loss to the Storm, the Sharks have won nine of 10 games, including two knockout finals, and are now just one win away from the NRL grand final.

The only problem is that the team standing between them and the NRL decider is the Storm, who they take on at AAMI Park in a preliminary final on Friday night.

Sharks playmaker Braydon Trindall remembers that night in June well, and how it galvanised his team to turn their season around.

“I think we were all just sick of letting the year slip away from us,” Trindall recalled on Wednesday. “So we sat down and had a good talk about it and went out on the field and changed some of the actions that were hurting us.

“I think it was more of a club thing and everyone wanted to put in a bit more, and now look where we are.”

Trindall has carried an eye issue through recent games after taking a knock against the Sydney Roosters earlier in the finals, but while there is some visible blood, he said it had no impact on his vision.

“I copped a boot against the Roosters, but it’s starting to heal now,” he said.

The Storm have plenty of respect for Trindall’s kicking game and the threat it poses, but he knows accuracy is the key given the height and catching ability of Storm wingers Xavier Coates and Will Warbrick.

“It’s good when you have some good chases on the end of the kick,” he said. “Will is a good leaper, so there will be a bit of a challenge there. It doesn’t really change things. I might shorten the kicks up a bit so they have to run a bit more, but we’ve got some good catches as well so I won’t change much.”

Knights approach premiership-winning half to work as attack consultant

Michael Chammas

The Newcastle Knights have reached out to three-time premiership-winning playmaker Luke Keary about a role with the club as an attack and halves consultant from next season.

The Knights are in the process of restructuring their coaching staff and have made the bold move to approach the recently retired Catalans pivot to gauge his interest in joining the club.

Keary worked with both new coach Justin Holbrook and director of football Chris James at the Sydney Roosters and is highly regarded as one of the smartest players in rugby league.

Keary, who spent this season with Catalans in the Super League after finishing his NRL career at the Sydney Roosters in 2024, is weighing up the opportunity.

The 33-year-old wants to spend the summer travelling with his young family but is said to be keen to discuss the opportunity to link with the Knights.

Newcastle are keen to add some specialised coaches to their ranks and believe Keary would be a huge asset to help work with recruits Dylan Brown and Sandon Smith, as well as incumbents Fletcher Sharpe and Kalyn Ponga.

Newcastle’s attack struggled to fire in 2025 under the guidance of attack coach Blake Green, who missed out on the job as Adam O’Brien’s successor to Holbrook.

Keary doesn’t have a job lined up at the Sydney Roosters, who themselves will welcome back Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in an official capacity to work with the club’s younger players in 2026.

Panthers duo shrug off injury worries ahead of Broncos showdown

Dan Walsh and Billie Eder

Penrith’s Liam Martin and Casey McLean insist they will be fit to play in Sunday’s grand final qualifier against Brisbane after being forced from the field in the Panthers semi-final thumping of Canterbury.

Martin was in obvious discomfort after he was tackled by former teammate Viliame Kikau, with the NSW and Kangaroos star staying down and struggling to breathe late in the contest.

The 28-year-old came from the field and struggled to make his way up the Accor Stadium tunnel at one point, but he was in good spirits soon afterwards and said he was not concerned about any recurrence of a rib cartilage injury he carried through last year’s finals.

“They’re all right now,” Martin said of his ribs after full-time. “There was a bit of carry-on there. It’s a bit sore at the moment, but they’re all right. I landed on the ball, and ‘Kiks’ is a pretty big man, and he landed on me. I was a bit winded, but I’m all right now.

“It crossed my mind at first [that a serious injury may have occurred], but after a while I was like ‘it’s all right, I’m being a sook again’.”

Martin won last year’s Clive Churchill medal against Melbourne despite playing through the pain of a popped rib cartilage in the 2024 grand final.

He also required painkilling injections for almost the entire season to manage an ongoing AC joint injury in his shoulder, which he has battled again in recent weeks.

McLean, meanwhile, also dismissed concerns over separate hip-pointer and shoulder complaints that forced him off after 65 minutes against the Bulldogs.

The teen centre was untroubled in Penrith’s dressing rooms afterwards, though and doesn’t expect to miss any training or be in doubt for Sunday’s clash with Brisbane.

Utility Brad Schneider was also placed on report for a cannonball tackle on Canterbury’s Sitili Tupouniua, with the match review committee to review the tackle on Monday morning.

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