What caught our attention over the weekend

– Melbourne Storm fielding a reserve grade side almost doing enough to beat the Cowboys at home. It will be a short finals campaign for North Queensland unless they can improve.
– Manly halting the Bulldogs winning run in front of over 35,000 fans but a worrying shoulder injury for Tom Trbojevic
– Sunia Turuva proving he belongs in first grade with two tries against Souths while fellow 2025 Wests Tigers recruit Jerome Luai comes up with three try assists.
– Shaun Johnson leaving a reminder of just how good a player he is in his last ever match for the Warriors as they upset the Sharks.
– The Dragons making their path to the finals a lot harder after a poor performance against Parramatta prompting Shane Flanagan to apologise to fans and walk out of the post match press conference early. The Dragons 40 points was the highest score ever by a losing team.
– The Dolphins putting a big score on big brother Brisbane in front of 50,000 fans putting themselves back in the eight.
– The Raiders holding on to overcome the Roosters but more worrying for the tricolors was the injuries to Sam Walker and Brandon Smith.
– Four teams: Dolphins, Knights, Dragons and Raiders still in the hunt for eighth spot.
– Hull KR and Wigan continuing to lead the way in the Super League with wins over Salford and Catalans respectively.

SPECIAL 🥹@GSHOCKNZ || final.

📸 @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/Fq3UjIkuYR

— One NZ Warriors (@NZWarriors) August 31, 2024

Demetriou Back in the Game

Good to see Jason Demetriou land a new position with the Papua New Guinea Kumuls after his sudden exit from South Sydney. The role with the Kumuls should put him in the box seat for the head coach role when a PNG club enters the NRL. Demetriou replaces Justin Holbrook in the job. PNG international and Wests Tigers centre Justin Olam expressed his feelings in an Instagram story by saying he hoped it wasn’t another coach come to pass time until they get a better offer elsewhere.

Rugby League is 129

Happy 129th Birthday to the greatest game of all, rugby league,born on the 29th of August in 1895 at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, England.

🥳 Happy birthday, #RugbyLeague! pic.twitter.com/xPVxj5pkuP

— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) August 29, 2024

Hong Kong on the Move

Hong Kong Rugby League Chairman Jason Yip and Head of Communications Tommy Lee revived the sport in the territory in 2022 after a long hiatus. After playing an exhibition match in Hong Kong a squad coached by Matt Jones will play against Japan in Hiroo Town in the Hokkaido region on October 13. Following that the team will travel to Manilla to play the Philippines on December 1. Yip and Lee are expected to play in both games.

More Pacific

The NRL has released full details of the Pacific Championships culminating in a big day of finals at CommBank Stadium on Sunday 10 November. It will be the first time the Kangaroos and Jillaroos have played in Sydney since 2017.

Pacific Cup – Men
Fri 18 Oct Australia v Tonga Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Sun 27 Oct New Zealand v Australia Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Sat 2 Nov New Zealand v Tonga Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Sun 10 Nov Final CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Pacific Cup – Women
Fri 18 Oct Australia v PNG Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Sun 27 Oct New Zealand v Australia Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Sun 3 Nov PNG v New Zealand Santos Stadium, Port Moresby
Sun 10 Nov Final CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Pacific Bowl – Men
Sat 19 Oct Fiji v PNG Fiji
Sat 26 Oct Fiji v Cook Islands Fiji
Sun 3 Nov PNG v Cook Islands Santos Stadium, Port Moresby
Sun 10 Nov Promotion/Relegation Playoff CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Pacific Bowl – Women
Sat 19 Oct Tonga v Samoa Fiji
Sat 26 Oct Fiji v Cook Islands Fiji
Sat 2 Nov Final Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Sun 10 Nov Promotion/Relegation Playoff CommBank Stadium, Sydney

Api with the Love

Kick to the Corners was impressed with the love a story received on Wests Tigers captain Api Korisau after it was posted on the Everything Rugby League website. The 31 year old Fiji international is a popular man with supporters of the joint venture.

Tahnee Shoots Straight

“I was sitting next to (NRL CEO) David Smith during a semi-final of the 2013 Women’s World Cup and he said this is such a good game it should be on TV. I said mate you’re the one with the power to get it on TV” – Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee and record holder for the most number of appearances for the Jillaroos Tahnee Norris

This and much more in the latest Everything Rugby League Podcast with Queensland Origin Coach Tahnee Norris. Listen here or where you get your podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1JHBCgk63o8FBPpQ45iQNT?si=VLHkWVqwS4Shtghu8bB4Fw