Melbourne Storm winger Xavier Coates out injured

Storm star Coates sidelined for three months

Melbourne Storm winger Xavier Coates will undergo Achilles surgery and miss the first three months of the NRL season.

The club is hoping the Queensland star returns in round 10.

Coates’ absence will increase scrutiny over the Storm’s pursuit of former Parramatta back Zac Lomax, who is locked in a legal fight with the Eels.

Parramatta took legal action to prevent Lomax from joining the Storm, as his release from a four-year contract was conditional on the Eels giving written consent. The Blues winger was cleared to join rebel rugby competition R360 but remains in limbo after its inaugural season was postponed until 2028.

Coates suffered a partial Achilles tear in last year’s grand final.

Storm director of football Frank Ponissi said Coates would be missed.

“Xavier put in a huge amount of pre-season work and was able to make positive steps in his recovery,” Ponissi said.

“Unfortunately, he did not progress as we had hoped and with the season quickly approaching it was determined that surgery was the best course of action.”

Coates had his most productive season for the Storm in 2025, scoring 20 tries in 22 games.

The Storm have named former New Zealand rugby sevens star Moses Leo in the role of Coates in their trial match against the Gold Coast Titans on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night.

Star signings of the Roosters were canceled

Roosters star signing Reece Robson will miss the first month of the NRL season after suffering a broken hand two weeks into the season-opening trip to New Zealand.

Robson will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, with the club confirming the NSW Origin hooker’s injury blow on Thursday.

The 27-year-old football player will play his first match with the red-white-blue in the trial match against Parramatta on Saturday, where his valuable player friend Daly Cherry-Evans will also play his first match for the club.

But Robson’s failure will delay the Roosters’ ability to recruit one of the game’s truly elite playmaking backbones, which includes Robson and Cherry-Evans as well as captain James Tedesco and on-air halfback Sam Walker.

Robson’s recovery time frame is expected to rule him out at least the Roosters’ first four games against the Warriors, Rabbitohs, Panthers and Sea Eagles, with him having a fifth-round bye.

Robson joined the Tricolors on a lucrative four-year deal that beat out North Queensland’s attempts to re-sign him in 2024, arriving at the Roosters as the incumbent Blues No.9 from the last two Origin series.

Fellow NSW Origin representative Connor Watson is one of the options to replace Robson to start the season; Samoan national team player Benaiah Ioelu was impressed when he saw his playing time increase at open half last year.

Perth Bears set to sign NSW Origin star

As the Perth Bears prepare to sign their first State of Origin player, Sifa Talakai has confirmed he is open to a three-year offer with the new NRL franchise.

Talakai said the move west had emotional appeal not only because it offered the chance to financially establish his family (he and his partner welcomed their fourth child last month) but also because Perth was where he made his NRL debut and played his first Origin game for NSW.

The 28-year-old said he hoped to have a call by the end of the week and there would be a lot of emotions if it was his final year at the Shire.

Talakai told this imprint: “This is something my partner and I have talked about and we know it’s a great opportunity; why wouldn’t you want to go there and be a founding member as well?”

“It’s going to be difficult to get a deal done here in Cronulla. If I had the opportunity to stay I would, but it’s not about me anymore. It’s about what’s best for me, my wife and my family.”

“I don’t want to stop any players from coming. I’m definitely entertaining the Perth deal.”

Bears coach Mal Meninga has long been a fan of Talakai’s versatility but said the 28-year-old would be used primarily as a center forward. Meninga made it clear to Talakai and other signing targets that moving to Perth was a “vital decision”.

Loading

Talakai said being deployed with a young family on the other side of the country wasn’t alarming and that “my partner and I are at a stage where we can be on our own.”

“I didn’t get the chance to go there but Perth has a special place in my heart because it’s where I made my debut for South Sydney in 2016 and where I play my first Origin game with the Blues in 2022,” Talakai said. he said.

“When I had to think about the contract situation, going back and forth with my manager and my partner and looking back over the years, it kind of brought me to tears. Even talking about it now, I feel like I’m getting emotional. This place gave me everything I have now. They gave me a chance when no one else did.

“I’m really grateful to the Sharks. If they wanted me to go to hell and back to secure the premiership, I would do it without thinking twice. Whether this is my last season or not, I want to leave no stone unturned. I’ll give it a good try.”

Talakai can play in the middle, on the edge and even in the centres, and he intimidates opponents with his leg speed and slender frame.

The Bears have found a host of NRL regulars with Toby Sexton, who spent the year in the south of France with the Catalans before returning to Perth, Melbourne pair Tyran Wishart and Canterbury’s Josh Curran Nick Meaney and Penrith and New Zealand international Scott Sorensen also being linked with the Bears.

Hammer blow to dogs as Thompson’s calf tear confirmed

Canterbury suffered a major blow in the off-season with key player Leo Thompson sidelined for up to three months with a calf tear.

The Kiwi prop was a late withdrawal from the Maori All Stars after reporting calf pain and scans on Tuesday confirmed the worst news. Canterbury head of football Phil Gould said via social media that an MRI scan had confirmed a third-degree tear.

Gould wrote in

The news comes a day after Matt Burton, who was injured in a trial against Newcastle at the weekend, was cleared of a hamstring tear after starting five-eighth.

Gould said Burton would, if fit, play in the season opener against St George Illawarra in Las Vegas on Sunday week, but the club had the option of being extra cautious with No.6 given their second-round bye.

Burton’s potential replacement Sean O’Sullivan said he was ready to partner Lachie Galvin in the halves but backed Burton to be 100 per cent.

Loading

Burton was immediately taken off the field after handling the ball in the match against Newcastle as he felt discomfort in his left knee. He came to the sideline, had to tackle Knights winger Dominic Young, then disappeared down the tunnel.

But Gould broke the good news about Burton to his followers on

“There’s no need to take risks in the first round. There’s no need to take big risks when you have depth in your squad. But if Matt Burton qualifies to play, he’ll be one of our five-eighths.”

Ciraldo confirmed after the thumping test win over Newcastle that O’Sullivan, who arrived from the Dolphins in the summer, could come on immediately if Burton needed more time.

“I did a lot of reps in the halves,” O’Sullivan said. “I support Burto. I want him to be in great shape, I’m sure he will be.”

Former Sea Eagles boss set to take over England’s top job

Former Manly Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov has emerged as a frontrunner to take over the game in England.

Rugby Football League [RFL]The company that manages the Super League and the England national team is looking for a group president following the departure of Tony Sutton. Abi Ekoku is the interim CEO.

Mestrov has been identified as a person of interest, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly because the hiring process is ongoing. Mestrov’s most recent role was as CEO of Manly for three-and-a-half years.

Following his departure, Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn praised Mestrov for taking on the “heavy lifting” after inheriting a series of succession issues, including the departure of the Fulton family, former coach Des Hasler’s legal claim against Manly (which was eventually settled out of court), the criminal investigation into the death of Keith Titmuss and the messy exit of premiership-winning captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

Mestrov’s previous roles include being CEO of Greyhounds NSW, chief operating officer of the Gold Coast Titans and CEO of Hockey NSW. Mestrov, a former Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles supporter, spent seven years in England playing for Wigan and London.

The RFL has recently undergone a strategic review and is looking for an experienced hand to lift the game in England. Given the financial difficulties of some English clubs, the NRL is considering taking over the management of football in the country.