Huge twist in Walker sweepstakes after Bennett\u2019s big reveal<\/a><\/p>\nSpeaking to media, he revealed he and his partner were in Thailand when he received the call from coach Kevin Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in Phuket with my partner, we were having a nice little holiday when I found out,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe booked it because my partner is from the Central Coast like me, and she\u2019s been in Canberra working all year in the cold, so we thought we\u2019d go for a nice holiday before I went back to pre-season. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got a nice surprise call early in the morning when we woke up over there, it was a nice surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me if I come back, that I would probably get a game, so I was pretty happy obviously. I\u2019m a 22-year-old kid and getting told you\u2019re probably gonna debut for Australia is really special. I was ecstatic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got an overnight flight, slept most of it, woke up and came straight to camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
EAGLES LOCK DOWN UTILITY<\/p>\n
Manly has announced utility Brandon Wakeham has signed a two-year contract extension which will keep him at the club until at least the end of 2028.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old has been performing well in the No.7 jersey for Fiji during the World Cup and the Sea Eagles were keen to retain him before he could have gone to the open market from Sunday.<\/p>\n
Coach Kieran Foran said Wakeham deserved a new deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrandon is the type of player every coach wants in their squad. His work ethic is outstanding, his attitude is first-class and he is incredibly tough and resilient,\u201d Foran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has shown tremendous persistence to establish himself in the NRL and I believe his best years are ahead of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrandon is an incredibly talented halfback as we know, and he did an excellent job for the team last season adapting to a new role (hooker) in the middle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s been exceptional for Fiji in the World Cup, and we are really pleased that he will remain part of the Sea Eagles for the next two seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wakeham said he was really enjoying his football at the moment, and loved life on the northern beaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to continue developing my game and hopefully I can achieve some special moments with Manly over the next couple of years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Wakeham will line up at halfback for Fiji on Saturday against New Zealand.<\/p>\n
PANTHERS LAND NEW RECRUIT, RE-SIGN OTHERS<\/p>\n
The Penrith Panthers have recruited versatile forward Liam Le Blanc on a one-year deal for the 2027 season where he will immediately join the club\u2019s Top 30 roster.<\/p>\n
Known for his hard-work in the middle of the field, Le Blanc arrived from the South Sydney Rabbitohs where he racked up 27 appearances since his debut in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiam is an exciting addition to our squad, with the potential to develop his game within our system,\u201d the club\u2019s GM of Football Shane Elford said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also brings valuable experience and competition to our pack, and we look forward to seeing what he can contribute to Panthers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club also confirmed the re-signing of Kalani Leuluai-Going and Tom Ale for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n
Leuluai-Going made his club debut in Round 1 and went on to captain the NSW Cup side throughout the year, and led them to a dominant grand final victory over the Newtown Jets.<\/p>\n
BEARS MAKE NEW SIGNINGS<\/p>\n
The Perth Bears may still be on the lookout for a marquee signing, but that hasn\u2019t stopped them from recruiting two highly talented young guns for their inaugural 2027 season.<\/p>\n
A member of the 2025 Australian Schoolboys side, Filipe Fakauho has decided to leave the Sydney Roosters and sign with the Bears on a three-year contract through the end of 2029.<\/p>\n
An explosive outside back who can play either in the centres or on the wing, the Matraville Sports High School graduate will look to lock down a regular spot in the starting team in the coming years.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Wests Tigers back-rower Mitchell Taotua and former Manly outside back Blake Wilson have also joined the Bears.<\/p>\n
Playing in both the NSW Cup and Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup competitions, Taotua made 11 appearances this year in which he scored three tries, racked up 20 tackle busts and 219 tackles as well as averaging 73 running metres per match.<\/p>\n
Wilson signed a one-year deal for the club\u2019s first season in 2027.<\/p>\n
Across his three years at Canterbury and one at Manly, he scored 14 tries in 30 NRL games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty special opportunity to be part of a club\u2019s first year in the NRL, and I can\u2019t wait to get to Perth and get to work,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always backed myself when I\u2019ve had a chance in first grade, and I want to come in, work hard and earn my spot. To be coached by Mal and to help set the standards for this club from day one is something I\u2019m really looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dolphins nail down superstar fullback | 00:32<\/p>\n
WINGER RETURNS HOME TO BELMORE<\/p>\n
The Canterbury Bulldogs have confirmed barnstorming winger Jeral Skelton will return to Belmore on a one-year deal for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n
After debuting for the club in 2023 and playing eight matches over two seasons, Skelton left the Bulldogs to join the Tigers, where he spent the past two years.<\/p>\n
However, he found himself down the pecking order during this year\u2019s campaign following the emergence of talented rookie Heamasi Makasini.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeral has earned a reputation as one of the more powerful wingers in the game and will add valuable depth to our outside backs,\u201d Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a popular player during his previous stint at the Club so we know both the players and staff will be excited to work with him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 28 matches for the Tigers, Skelton scored 18 tries and averaged 128 running metres per game.<\/p>\n
Kalyn Ponga set to return for Kiwis? | 00:51<\/p>\n
V\u2019LANDYS JETS OFF TO ASIA<\/p>\n
ARLC boss Peter V\u2019landys has headed to Hong Kong and China to help build the interactive footy theme park he is hoping to open in Sydney.<\/p>\n
The facility is slated to be opened in Alexandria and rugby league fans will be able to interact with players simulated by AI as well as play four-a-side football.<\/p>\n
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting V\u2019landys is in Asia with three of his senior staff members and is meeting with suppliers of giant television screens and technology that will be featured at \u2018NRL Land\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a theme-style rugby league world, where you\u2019re going to have augmented reality and you\u2019re going to have simulated players. You can speak to a player and he\u2019ll be able to answer all your questions. It\u2019s all AI,\u201d V\u2019landys previously said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll also be able to play four-a-side in the venue. Stay tuned. It\u2019s going to be one of the real attractions for the sport in the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong Kong is also the favourite to host games as part of the NRL\u2019s global round ambitions <\/a>which V\u2019landys wants to get going in 2028 after the success of the game\u2019s opening round games in Las Vegas in recent years.<\/p>\nThe game\u2019s boss also hopes to host NRL matches in London and Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Paul Chan Mo-Po, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, has announced that HKD1.2billion ($217 million) would be put into the country\u2019s sports fund and some of that would go to attracting sports events to the new 50,000-seat Kai Tak Sports Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cook Islands international Valentine Holmes is eyeing a new deal with the St George Illawarra Dragons as he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":946072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,85],"class_list":["post-946071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/946072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}