NRL 2024 LIVE: Panthers take on the Warriors at Magic Round

Liam Martin races through after a Jarome Luai grubber. He’s battling Tuaupiki to ground that, and the young Warrior goes over the top of it. Martin does too, he’s ruled to have knocked on. Looks like Marto has been growing that hair out too – good to see an afro on a good country lad, more of it I say.

Next play Izack Tago is jumping onto a bouncing ball and also strolling through for a try, but it’s called back because Lindsay Smith knocked on in the lead-up.

Panthers 4 Warriors 0

Warriors are keeping their heads above water now against the premiers. A bit of heavy defence out wide snuffs out one Panthers raid and the Warriors enjoy one of their own, though Nicoll-Klokstad makes a meal of it – kicking straight down Brian To’o’s throat when he had numbers down the right edge.

And another strong set is finished poorly, those last-play offerings are suffering without Shaun Johnson. Maybe just run the bloody thing? Especially now Wayde Egan is also being sent for a HIA – he is an absolute all sorts, I doubt he’ll be back. Paul Roache on for him at dummy-half. Confirmation a few minutes later that that’s the case, category one head knock for Egan. Big blow.

Panthers 4 Warriors 0

And Dylan ‘running man’ Edwards, he basically strolls through after 90 seconds with his first touch. Isaah Yeo with a lovely swing man role in the lead up of that right side shift.

Edwards is able to get on the outside of Adam Pompey as the Warriors defence compresses, and he eventually just breezes straight past him. Doesn’t convert his own try though. Grim stuff for the Wahs. A few minutes later Jackson Ford is off for a HIA too after he’s clipped making a low tackle. That’ll stuff up Andrew Webster’s forward rotations – Ford typically plays 80 minutes.

Panthers 4 Warriors 0

Righto, we’re under way at Suncorp for the last day of Magic Round. Brisbane looks an absolute sight – nothing but sunshine up there.

Penrith are first out onto the paddock with Jarome Luai at No.7 and Jack Cole alongside him. The Warriors have Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at five-eighth in place of Shaun Johnson. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak plays his 200th NRL game against his junior club.

The Warriors kick us off. And they kick it straight over the dead ball line. That’s a penalty straight away from the young fullback Taine Tuaupiki on halfway. Not ideal.

When Josh Schuster walked out of Manly headquarters for the last time in April, he left behind a seven-figure sum of money.

“I walked out of the building with a smile on my face; I’ve never been happier,” Schuster said. “It was a big weight off my shoulders. At the end of the day, we’re human. Hearing and seeing all the [criticism directed at me], it hurts you and your family.

“After, I felt a big weight off my shoulders; a big relief, if anything. I know it’s a lot of money, but I don’t play footy for money. I play for the love of the game.

“When I’m happy, I play my best footy; I’m not really that fussed about the money side of it.”

Next season was meant to mark the first of a three-year, $2.4 million contract extension with the Sea Eagles. With it came the expectation that Schuster would fulfil his undoubted potential, including the late, great Bob Fulton’s prediction that he would eventually replace Daly Cherry-Evans as Manly’s captain and chief playmaker.

Instead, the Samoan international finished his Brookvale stint in reserve grade this season and unable to add to his 50 NRL appearances. In a bid to cut their losses, the Sea Eagles provided a $1 million severance package to get him off the books.

“It’s obviously sad, but I’m feeling excited for a fresh start,” Schuster said. “I’ve got nothing but love and respect for the boys there, all the coaching staff. I have no negativity towards them at all; I’ve got nothing but love.”

Read the full story here.

Dylan Edwards is the NRL’s ultimate running man; nothing can stop him.

Nothing, except maybe his mum.

The NRL’s supreme metre eater averages a whopping 228 metres a game for the Panthers, according to Champion Data. But he somehow still looks the freshest man on the field after every match.

You’ve got to go back a while, but there was one occasion he ran out of juice and struggled to finish a rugby league game.

He was about 14 or 15, and his mother, Kerry, had reminded him countless times to have his boots and playing gear ready for a game the following morning.

Edwards was living in Dorrigo, a bush town on the NSW north coast, up the mountain from beautiful Bellingen.

Come game day, Edwards realised he had left his kit bag at a friend’s place. His mum was furious. Rather than drive her son to collect his belongings, Kerry wanted to teach him a lesson. So she made him run. It was a 12km round trip.

“I remember that day, but I don’t know if it was 12km – it would have been closer to a 10km round trip,” Edwards recalls with a smile.

“My mate only lived down the road, but living down the road is a little further than you think when you live in the country.

“Mum wasn’t happy, and you’re right, that would have been the only game I’ve struggled to finish. I cramped up pretty early.”

Read the full story here.

A couple of years ago, all but one member of the NSW Blues squad sat on the team bus outside Perth’s Optus Stadium after training, waiting to return to the team hotel.

The one player yet to board: Nathan Cleary.

Back inside the stadium, he was walking around the ground and trying to visualise all the angles of a rectangular rugby league field on an oval stadium. It can be trickier than you think. He was assessing the wind and how it liked to swirl. He would practise some general play kicks and then work on his goalkicking. He kept going through every last detail, over and over again.

After about an hour on the bus, the message came through that we had better leave. He still wasn’t ready to finish training.

The moral of the story? Nathan’s greatest asset, which has made him the game’s best player, is also making him one of the most susceptible to injury.

His work ethic is absolutely relentless and the reason why he could be on a path to being a future Immortal.

But after a while, there’s only so much your body can take. The stories of him being out on the field longer than all of his Penrith teammates – most often kicking – are legendary. Yet, it might be time for a rethink.

I would estimate from the age of about 13, Cleary would have been practising almost every day. So, let’s say for the past 12 or 13 years, he’s kicked probably 500 balls a week. That’s around 300,000 kicks all told.

Can you imagine the imbalance he might have from one side of his body to the other?

It was around his age, 26, that I started having my own problems. It comes from an accumulation of all the work you do and the overtraining. Brad Fittler started having problems with his groin at a similar age, and you can see even Cameron Munster is going through a tricky period in his career right now.

Where Nathan has had his advantage for so long might also be part of the problem.

Read Andrew Johns’ full column here.

Massive blow for the Kiwi side, with Tohu Harris out due to a hand injury and Dylan Walker replacing him at lock. Paul Roache comes onto the bench.

Taylan May is also stood down after being served domestic violence charges yesterday. Paul Alamoti replaces him out wide for Penrith. Tyrone Peachey also comes onto the bench for Daine Laurie, while Scott Sorrenson is also back from injury, replacing Mavrik Geyer. Moses Leota also drops back to the pine for Lindsay Smith to start.

Warriors:1. Taine Tuaupiki 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7. Te Maire Martin 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Bunty Afoa 11. Jackson Ford 12. Mitchell Barnett 14. Dylan Walker 15. Tom Ale 16. Jazz Tevaga 17. Jacob Laban 21. Paul Roache

Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 18. Paul Alamoti 5. Brian To’o 6. Jack Cole 7. Jarome Luai 15. Lindsay Smith 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Luke Garner 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 20. Tyrone Peachey 8. Moses Leota 16. Matt Eisenhuth 22. Scott Sorensen

Afternoon sports fans,

Welcome to Sunday, magic Sunday, where we’ve got three NRL games to round out one hell of a weekend from Brisbane in round 11. Thoughts and prayers to the punters and pundits on the ground – this early game is your Heartbreak Hill, when the legs are burning, the stomach is churning and your body is screaming no more.

For those of you not clinging to a plastic seat in the Suncorp stands and bars, it’s an especially tantalising Sunday afternoon, starting with the always high flying Panthers – sans Nathan Cleary – and the once mighty, now not-so-much Warriors, kicking off at 1.50pm AEST.

Then it’s Parramatta and Melbourne before the Dolphins and Tigers round us out. So without further ado, giddy up.