The Raiders have withdrawn their four-year, $4.4 million contract offer to Hudson Young. The PNG Chiefs have offered him a tax-free deal of $900,000 a season, which is financially better. The Chiefs said they could not fit him under their salary cap at the $1.1 million a season figure set by the NRL. The Raiders had wanted to sign Young long term and felt they had to act before the November 1 deadline, when players with expiring contracts can negotiate with rival clubs.
The Canberra Raiders have withdrawn their contract extension offer to forward Hudson Young, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. The four-year deal was believed to be worth $1.1 million a season, the largest in club history. Young will now become a free agent on Sunday, November 1, and the PNG Chiefs are heavily tipped to sign him from 2028. The club said it had made its decision after talks with board members and senior management. Young has played 155 matches for Canberra since his 2019 NRL debut and remains contracted to the club for 2027.
Rugby league great Wally Lewis has reportedly taken first steps towards reconciling with his eldest son, Mitch, after years of estrangement. A close source says the pair met in person at a Brisbane radio promotion. Images later posted to Wally's Instagram account showed the two smiling in front of a private jet. The source says Mitch's brother Lincoln and sister Jamie-Lee are not yet ready to reconcile with their father. Wally has reportedly been diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain condition linked to head injuries.
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Australia beat Fiji 36-22 at Lang Park in a close clash, with a late Jacob Preston try sealing the win. Samoa scored 50 unanswered second-half points to overwhelm Papua New Guinea. England beat France 82-0 in Perth, while Tonga beat Lebanon and held firm defensively. Crowds were strong across the tournament, including a sell-out of 26,800 in Christchurch. Australia have reached the semi-finals.
The Tamborine Mountain Bushrats held their senior men's end-of-season awards dinner at St Bernards Hotel on September 26. Ethan Sutherland received the Ned Kelly Award for courage, and also won Most Improved Forward. Daniel Macauley took the Slammin' Sam Backo Best Forward Award, and Edward Brimelow was voted Players' Player by his teammates. Coach Todd Tasker said the group had stuck together through a challenging season and built a culture based on accountability and effort.
Tonga beat Lebanon 36-0 in Sydney on Friday night in the Rugby League World Cup. Papua New Guinea host Samoa in Port Moresby on Saturday afternoon, a match expected to be the highlight of Week 2. England meet France in Perth the same day. New Zealand play the Cook Islands in Christchurch on Sunday, and the Kangaroos face Fiji in Brisbane on Sunday night.
The Kangaroos have secured a Rugby League World Cup semifinal spot after beating Fiji 36-22 at Lang Park in Brisbane. Tom Trbojevic scored a hat-trick of second-half tries after Fiji twice took the lead. Fijian five-eighth Kurt Donoghoe was named player of the match after setting up three tries. Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters said his side could play better. Australia will play the Jillaroos at the Sydney Football Stadium next Sunday.
A 2013 photo shows a year 6 Bradman Best holding a chalkboard reading Play Rugby League for Australia. Now 25, Best is one of four debutants in the Kangaroos line-up against Fiji in Brisbane on Sunday. Best says the moment means everything and that he has dreamt of it since he was a young child. His former teachers say his sporting talent was clear from an early age. Best now encourages current students at his old school to dream big and chase their goals.
England beat France 82-0 at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday, scoring 13 unanswered tries to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Later, the Australian Jillaroos beat England's women 78-0, scoring 15 tries. Earlier in Port Moresby, Samoa beat Papua New Guinea's men 64-6 after leading only narrowly at halftime. Fiji and Samoa also won their women's matches. More big margins were expected in Sunday's matches, including New Zealand against Cook Islands and Australia against Fiji.
The Jillaroos beat England 78-0 at the Women's Rugby League World Cup in Perth, scoring 15 tries, though the win was overshadowed by an injury to centre Julia Robinson. Robinson, who scored early, broke her wrist in a tackle and was taken to hospital, ending her tournament. Australia now lead Pool A with two wins and an 118-point differential. Elsewhere over the weekend, the English men beat France 82-0, Samoa defeated PNG 64-6 and Fiji's women beat PNG 40-4 in Port Moresby.
The Kangaroos meet Fiji in Week 2 of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup. The match is at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, October 25, with a 7:05pm AEST kick-off. Seven Network holds the broadcast rights and will show every match live and free on Channel Seven. Viewers can also stream the games through 7plus Sport. Australia opened its campaign with a two-point win over New Zealand in Sydney.
Papua New Guinea gave a strong response after a poor start against Samoa in their Rugby League World Cup match in Port Moresby. Samoa scored first, and Papua New Guinea hit back through Rhyse Martin to lead 6-4 in the 18th minute. Two tries were disallowed by the video referee, and Samoa pulled ahead to lead 14-6 at half-time after Stephen Crichton scored in the corner. The first half ended with a brawl. A Papua New Guinea win would change the race for the knockout stages.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf says his side sees itself as equal to the Kangaroos and Kiwis at the Rugby League World Cup. Tonga beat Lebanon 36-0 in Sydney, keeping its perfect tournament record and moving close to a semi-final spot. Woolf said his squad is the strongest he has worked with across three World Cups. Tonga next plays rival Samoa, a match co-captain Jason Taumalolo expects to be physical and emotionally charged.
England can still reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals after losing their opener 30-12 to Tonga. Brian McDermott's side must beat France and Papua New Guinea and finish with a better points difference than Samoa. England also need Tonga to beat Samoa next weekend, which would help England on head-to-head results. Samoa currently holds a large points difference advantage. Papua New Guinea's result against Samoa could also shape England's chances.
Samoa beat France 78-4 at Western Sydney Stadium, a result that drew a Friday evening crowd of 13,000. Tonga and Samoa's growing strength is challenging Australia's long dominance of international rugby league. Samoa and Tonga's November 1 match in Sydney has already sold out. The Pasifika population in Australia nearly tripled between 2011 and 2021. A 2017 rule change allowing players to represent the nation of their cultural ties has also shaped the tournament, with many players now choosing Pacific nations.
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Tonga beat Lebanon 36-0 in Parramatta, confirming their place in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. A crowd of 25,605 filled Parramatta Stadium, the third highest for a match between two second tier nations. Tonga will next face Samoa. Lebanon, demoted to affiliate status since the last World Cup, may not return to the tournament for some time. Their final match next week is against France.
Newcastle Knights centre Bradman Best has criticised former recruitment boss Peter O'Sullivan, who has moved to the Broncos. Best said some Knights players were upset with O'Sullivan over contracts, but that he hopes his own deal can now be settled. The off-contract star is set to test the open market on November 1, despite reportedly being offered a deal worth upwards of $4 million to stay. Best said he needs to put his family first in his decision. His international debut against Fiji is on Sunday night in Brisbane.
Tonga veteran Tui Lolohea is set to extend his record as the nation's most-capped player in Friday's World Cup match against Lebanon. The 31-year-old came off the bench in last week's win over England and set up a try. He has played for Tonga more than any other player, and has been part of all five of the team's wins over Tier 1 nations. Lolohea says this tournament may be his last, as he has finished at Huddersfield and is yet to decide where he will play next.
Gold Coast Titans forward Cooper Bai has been given permission to explore his options with the PNG Chiefs, who are keen to sign him. His father, Marcus Bai, says the two have moved past a rift caused when Cooper turned down a Melbourne Storm deal last year to stay at the Titans. Marcus said Cooper had shown maturity by asking the Titans for permission to visit the Chiefs. Cooper is 19 and has played two Tests for Papua New Guinea. The Chiefs will enter the NRL in 2028, and contracting opens on November 1.
