Nathan Cleary out of clash with South Sydney Rabbitohs as Penrith Panthers play it safe

But this is his first full selection, given his previous appearance was off the bench when the Panthers rested their top team in the final round against the Cowboys in 2022.

Souths have also made changes following the axing of coach Jason Demetriou.

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Jacob Gagai is out with Isaiah Tass taking his spot on the wing and Michael Chee Kam moving into the centres.

Jai Arrow will start at prop with Keaon Koloamatangi returning to the second row and Sean Keppie coming onto the bench.
AAP

DCE avoids first ban of career after charge downgrade

Daly Cherry-Evans has avoided the first ban of his 14-year NRL career after successfully downgrading his dangerous throw charge at the judiciary.

The Manly halfback escaped with a $750 fine on Tuesday and is free to play against Canberra on Friday night after arguing he was not the main player involved in the tackle on Shaun Lane during last week’s win over Parramatta.

But Manly will be without Haumole Olakau’atu for two matches after he accepted an early guilty plea for his role in the same tackle.

In an 83-minute hearing, Cherry-Evans said he had used the same tackling motion countless times in his career, as he did against Lane on Friday.

But he said Olakau’atu’s influence on the tackle meant, for the first time in his career, an opponent ended up in a dangerous position.

“I started to tackle him in the way I have used many times before with the bigger fellas,” Cherry-Evans said.

“That would be to use them running at me and then, at some point, trying to use my leg to leverage them to bring them to the ground.

“It’s not the first choice of tackle, but it’s definitely a tackle I have used in this situation before.

“It’s something I have done a lot of times, feel very comfortable with and have never hurt anyone before.”

Cherry-Evans’ lawyer Nick Ghabar argued Olakau’atu caused the danger by grabbing Lane’s buttocks and lifting his body into the air.

Ghabar also claimed diminutive halfback Cherry-Evans would have required “superhuman” strength to counteract the momentum of Lane and Olakau’atu.

The 85-kilogram Cherry-Evans joked he would not “weight shame” Olakau’atu and Lane by guessing their sizes, but was adamant there was nothing he could do to stop the throw.

“They’re two really big fellas,” Cherry-Evans said. “I genuinely don’t believe I could have helped mitigate the risk of what was happening in that tackle.”

The panel of Tony Puleta and Greg McCallum quickly agreed, rejecting NRL counsel Lachlan Gyles’ claims Cherry-Evans was the main person at fault in the throw.

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“The combination of the use of the leg to break the balance of the player, creates a fulcrum,” Gyles had argued.

“And then the use of [Cherry-Evans’] body elevates him, creating the vulnerability of the dangerous throw.”

Only charged once before and never banned across 357 NRL matches, Origins and Tests, Cherry-Evans was jovial while walking through NRL HQ before the hearing.

He walked away just as happy, with his success a huge relief as the Sea Eagles fight to stay in the NRL’s top four.
AAP

Bulldogs lucky to have Touma, says Ciraldo

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has spoken publicly for the first time about former player Jackson Topine commencing legal proceedings against the club, defending the character and professionalism of trainer Travis Touma who is at the centre of the claim.

Topine alleges he was punished by Touma for reporting late to training and was allegedly told to wrestle between 30 and 35 of his teammates.

Ciraldo said the club was “lucky” to have a trainer like Touma, who “cares about the people he works with”.

“Trav’s good, he’s getting about his normal business,” Ciraldo said on Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate his name’s been brought into it through media, but it is what it is and what we can’t control is reputations. But we can control our character, and Trav’s of the highest character of possibly anyone I’ve ever met.

“He cares about the people he works with, he’s a family man, he lives a very clean life and he’s a guy that we’re really lucky to have at the club – and our players are really lucky to have him, too.”

Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary praised Touma when he announced his retirement on Monday, saying the trainer had “instilled a work ethic, toughness and a belief in me. You taught me how to be a professional, and I’ll be forever grateful for the impact you had on me and my career”.

Touma spent more than a decade with the Tricolours, during which time the club won three premierships. Ciraldo said he wasn’t surprised by Keary’s comments.

“I can see a number of players would have said that about Travis over the years, and he’s helped develop better players and better people, and that’s why we wanted to bring him to the Bulldogs,” Ciraldo said.

“He fits what we are trying to do here. It’s not an easy job bringing change to a club, and Trav’s been a guy that’s really helped me in that regard. I know every decision he’s made has been in the best interest of the club, and that’s something we want – to put the club first before ourselves, and Trav’s been a big driver of change within our culture and our team. I’m glad he’s here with us.”

Halfback Drew Hutchison, who has spent time with Touma at both the Roosters and the Bulldogs, said: “He demands absolute excellence from all his players, and that’s the environment that people want to be in. That’s the environment that sort of breeds success.

“Knowing Travis personally, he has nothing but care and respect for everyone in the organisation. When I had him at the Roosters, the way that the older players spoke about him and the care that you could see they had for him and he had for them, it’s something that’s always stuck with me.

“He’s a great man and a good trainer to train under.”

Lomax asked for coaching clause in his new Eels contract

Parramatta rejected a request from Zac Lomax to insert a clause into his new deal which would have tied his future to that of under-siege coach Brad Arthur.

Sources with knowledge of discussions, speaking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality, told this masthead Lomax’s management had asked to insert a coaching clause into his four-year deal to join the Eels from 2025.

Lomax, who was invited to dinner at Arthur’s western Sydney home before agreeing to the deal with the Eels, wants to play under the coach.

Eels management denied Lomax the ability to tie his future to Arthur’s, with the Dragons outside back later agreeing to a deal worth more than $2.6 million – without the clause built in.

It is not the first time an Eels player has attempted to tie their future to Arthur.

The Eels won’t make any promises about who the coach will be beyond Arthur’s current contract expiration date at the end of 2025. The club is expected to reassess their position if the team fails to compete for a finals spot this season.

Super Las Vegas

The NRL has received an approach from Sam Burgess’ Super League club Warrington to play in Las Vegas next year as part of a two-day extravaganza.

The Super League has made contact with the NRL after the billionaire owners of Warrington and Wigan expressed a desire to join the NRL in its crusade into the United States.

The NRL is giving consideration to a two-day festival of rugby league involving the best clubs from England and Australia.

The governing body is open to expanding the concept but will need the Super League and its clubs to cover the costs associated with the expensive venture.

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Warrington has financially strong ownership under the leadership of Simon Moran (one of Europe’s biggest concert promoters) and chairman Stuart Middleton. Wigan, who knocked off Penrith to win this year’s World Club Challenge, were recently bought by Mike Danson.

The Wigan-born Danson owns GlobalData, the parent company of Sportcal, who bought former English Premier League soccer club Wigan Athletic.

The NRL is also considering playing a women’s game in Las Vegas as part of next year’s schedule. The Panthers and the Warriors are expected to be two of the four NRL teams to play in the double-header following the success of this year’s event.

Preliminary discussions have revolved around the three Australian-based games being played at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, with the Super League game to follow on Sunday (aired into the UK on Sunday night).

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