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Rising star Heamasi Makasini is poised to start for the Wests Tigers in their NRL season opener against the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, with centre Starford To’a expected to be ruled out through injury for the next two weeks.
Makasini trained at left centre on Tuesday, while To’a trained separately from the group. The Tigers have not yet confirmed the exact nature of Toa’s injury, but it opens the door for Makasini to earn a spot in the Tigers’ starting 13 when the team is named on Tuesday afternoon.
Young gun Heamasi Makasini is set to start for the Tigers against North Queensland on Saturday.Credit: NRL Photos
The 18-year-old impressed in pre-season, scoring a hat trick in the Tigers’ 42-26 victory over the Roosters. Makasini made his NRL debut in the final game of last season and has made a big impression on senior players at the club.
“He’s an awesome talent,” captain Jarome Luai said. “I don’t have to say that again and again, you guys have seen what he can do, and I think the challenge for him now is be consistent with it.
“It’s a long year of footy. Very physical. You’ve got to tackle big bodies all year, so just giving him pointers and really making the reps count out here throughout the week will hold you in good stead on game day.”
Luai said Makasini would need to fight to retain his spot in the team. The Tigers have arguably more depth in their squad than at any point in the last three seasons.
Benji Marshall’s side will be desperate to kick off their campaign with a victory over the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval, having had the bye in the opening round of the season.
The Tigers have not played finals football since 2011, but Luai was confident they have the capability to return to the play-offs after a 15-year absence.
“I have that belief every year,” Luai said. “I think if you don’t have that coming into a year, you’re here for the wrong reasons.
“But I think across the whole team we’ve got a pretty cool vibe about it, and I think everyone’s real confident. But that confidence just comes from the work and the hard yakka that we’ve been doing all year. Trust in our work and it will pay.”
Souths, NRL double down against pitch invasion threat as Johnston try record looms
Dan Walsh
South Sydney and the NRL have urged fans to stay in the stands and not invade the pitch at Allianz Stadium if Alex Johnston breaks rugby league’s try-scoring record on Friday night.
Johnston’s looming place in the game’s history – two tries against the Roosters would break Ken Irvine’s long-standing record of 212 first-grade tries – has the NRL and Allianz officials on alert.
The NRL has reiterated that $5500 fines and “potential stadium bans” are standard issue for pitch invaders at NRL games, while Venues NSW is preparing to deploy increased security measures for what could be one of the code’s landmark moments.
Alex Johnston needs just two tries to break Ken Irvine’s record.Credit: Getty Images
“The NRL is fully supportive of celebrating the milestone in a manner which is safe for players and supporters,” an NRL spokesperson said.
“Should Alex Johnston break the record, he will be acknowledged with a special presentation post game. Fans are reminded they are not allowed on the field for safety reasons.
“Entering the field of play carries significant penalties and potential stadium bans at all of our venues.”
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly reiterated a plea by coach Wayne Bennett for fans to stay off the field on Monday.
Speaking on Fox Sports on Sunday night after Souths’ 40-30 win over the Dolphins, Johnston said: “They can’t fine everyone. You didn’t hear it from me, really, but it’ll be pretty cool if everyone jumped on.”
Buddy Franklin surrounded by fans at the SCG after kicking his 1000th goal.Credit: Getty Images
A pitch invasion after Lance Franklin’s 1000th AFL goal at the SCG – also administered by Venues NSW – made for iconic scenes in 2023, but the NRL is adamant the safety risk is too high for the moment to be replicated.
Should supporters jump the fence, stadium operations are mindful of how pitch invaders would actually be dispersed from the ground, and will work with security to ensure that happens in a safe and orderly fashion.
“We would much prefer fans do not enter the field when Alex breaks the record,” Solly said. “It’s a huge achievement and there will be a number of opportunities for our fans and members to celebrate it appropriately with Alex.
“Ideally, the game can conclude, and the celebrations can continue after the 80 minutes are over”.
Bennett’s weekend suggestion that fans be allowed to enter the field of play after fulltime, should Johnston make history, does not hold particular concern for Venues NSW and the troubling Allianz surface.
A large section of the field’s surface had to be re-laid recently, just weeks after the $828 million stadium’s 10-week shutdown to fix substantial drainage failures.
Small sections of the newly laid turf had been damaged due to being harvested during a heatwave over the summer, prompting Venues NSW to re-lay a significant area of grass in the middle of the pitch.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is likely to be on hand for a potential post-match presentation at Friday’s game. Head of elite football Graham Annesley was on standby in similar fashion at Suncorp Stadium in round one in case Johnston had bagged a hat-trick against the Dolphins.
Golden point glory helps vindicate Raiders’ three-year wait and $2m contract call
Dan Walsh
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart enjoyed the best of both worlds after getting soaked to his socks standing on the sidelines at Brookvale on Saturday night.
Canberra’s greatest No.7 was able to catch up with one of his favourite students, newly minted Manly halfback Jamal Fogarty, as well as revel in the match-winning performance of Fogarty’s replacement, young Raiders playmaker Ethan Sanders, who the Raiders backed in a long-term succession plan many observers feared could cruel them in 2026.
Sanders booted a 35-metre, extra-time field goal to finish a wet and wild contest where both sides recovered from 14-point deficits, with the 22-year-old cutting a serene figure as he took the shot in just his fifth NRL game.
Canberra held an option on Fogarty’s contract last year and could have matched the lucrative $2 million Sea Eagles offer that lured Fogarty to Sydney.
Instead, Stuart and the Raiders backed Sanders to step in with the least experience of any first-choice No.7 this season, having clearly identified him as their long-term playmaker two years ago when signing him as a teenager out of Parramatta.
With a scything try from close range and an admirable defensive effort on Manly’s monstrous back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu, it is so far so good for Sanders after biding his time behind Fogarty, and Eels pair Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown before that.
Ethan Sanders embraces his family at 4 Pines Park on Saturday night.Credit: NRL Photos
“Your dream as a halfback is to be in that position, to kick those goals,” Sanders said after his 81st minute match-winner.
“Obviously there’s a lot of great halfbacks that have been in those opportunities and have nailed a bunch of them, and they’re known for that. So it’s a goal to be one of those halfbacks that’s doing that.
“We weren’t planning on doing it, but we ended up getting a quick play-the-ball and I just took it – I didn’t really think about it.”
Stuart paid tribute to Sanders’ long-term approach to his career before kick-off, saying: “A lot of young players today are too much in a rush to play first grade … I think he’s quite courageous in regards to taking that apprenticeship on last year, to build longevity in his career.”
After Canberra’s thrilling 29-28 win, he was just as complimentary about both halfbacks, noting Fogarty’s bright moments in his first game for Manly opposite Sanders.
“And Ethan Sanders, I thought his game tonight was very, very mature, well beyond the amount of games he’s played,” Stuart said. “I think that was probably the fifth or sixth game in first grade. He had more pressure on him tonight than any player on the field.”
Given he has been tipped for the top level since impressing as a teenager, Sanders’ slow-and-steady rise in the past three years has been a talking point, seemingly for everyone but him.
“I wouldn’t say I was desperate [to play NRL], I was just learning,” Sanders said of his first year in Canberra.
“There’s a bunch of great leaders in this side; it was just good to sort of pick their brains and be around them 24/7 … To be able to get the halfback role in round one is yet another tick on the goal list.”
