Returning Tariq inspires Cowboys

Solid return ... Tariq Sims had a strong game in the Cowboys' trial win. Source: Colin Whelan / AAP

Nine months of frustration are finally over for Tariq Sims after the blockbusting forward helped inspire the North Queensland Cowboys' come-from-behind 28-24 NRL trial win over the Brisbane Broncos in Mount Isa on Saturday.

Teammate Robert Lui was also rewarded for his patience, playing his first match for North Queensland since last year's opening round.

Sims relished the run against the Broncos in the Queensland outpost in his first hit-out since suffering an horrific double lower-leg fracture in round 11 last year.

It was identical to the freak fracture Sims suffered in 2011.

Sims tried to make up for lost time on Saturday in three damaging bursts, sparking a Cowboys outfit that scored four tries to one to over-run a 20-6 halftime deficit.

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The matchwinner came in the dying minutes when prop Ricky Thorby stormed over after a smart dummy half play by Blake Leary.

Lui also did his best to exorcise his demons with a return to remember.

The former Wests Tigers star ended a long exile stemming from a domestic assault charge.

Lui was sacked by Wests Tigers after being charged with assaulting his partner following a Mad Monday drinking session in 2011.

He was stood down by the NRL last year after pleading guilty to the offence in court.

Lui is now vying for the halfback jersey at North Queensland with incumbent No.7 Michael Morgan who put in a stirring effort as stand-in captain.

The highlight was a solo try on quarter-time from a clever chip and chase.

Coach Neil Henry is expected to run the rule over Lui and Morgan again in their next trial against the Dragons at Cairns next weekend.

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Lousi blow as Titans beat Warriors

Bad luck ... Lousi suffered an injury in the Warriors' trial loss. Source: Wayne Drought / AAP

A serious knee injury to impact forward Sione Lousi soured Matt Elliott's first game in charge of the Warriors on Saturday night.

Elliott's youthful Warriors outfit fell 42-24 to the more experienced Gold Coast at Pizzey Park but the former Penrith and Canberra coach finished the night more concerned by Lousi's worrying injury.

The giant 23-year-old was carried off the field in the 52nd minute in pain after he came away badly from a hit-up near the Titans' line.

Lousi punched the turf in disgust after failing to get back to his feet and then writhed in agony when club medics treated his right knee on the sideline to show he's no chance to start the NRL season.

His brother Sam also finished the night with some worries as he was placed on report for a high tackle in the second half.

The incident came just as the largely unheralded visitors, down 24-6 at the time, started a third-quarter rally.

The Kiwis charged back to 24-16 down but failed to carry on as they were made to pay for a string of errors as the Titans ran away to 42-24 before clocking off.

Titans coach John Cartwright's halfback selection dilemma wasn't made any easier despite the comfortable seven-tries-to-five win.

Jordan Rankin and Beau Henry started in the halves, while former Cronulla playmaker Albert Kelly came off the bench, as all showed good touches in their contest to take former captain Scott Prince's No.7 jersey.

Rankin, seemingly the underdog for the role, certainly put his hand up and finished the night with a darting late try, as well as three from three with the boot.

Henry also kicked truly - potting all four shots - while injury-plagued winger Anthony Don caught the eye with a two-try display which has him well in line to start the NRL season at Shark Park on March 10.

Despite their lack of front-liners, the Warriors struck first with hooker Alehana Mara scooting from dummy-half 30m out to put five-eighth Pita Godinet over after just 75 seconds.

But the Titans quickly stiffened their defence and hit back through a long-range try to Don who showed pace and a great swerve after fine lead-up work by Matt Srama and Mark Minichiello.

Gold Coast then controlled the rest of the first half to lead 18-6 at the main break.

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Crocker named Bunnies skipper

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Michael Crocker ... named South Sydney captain. Source: Brett Costello / AAP

South Sydney have dumped their co-captaincy structure, installing Michael Crocker as their sole skipper for the 2013 NRL season.

The Rabbitohs blossomed into a finals team last season under the leadership of five co-captains, one of them Crocker, where they fell just one game short of a grand final appearance.

But 32-year-old Crocker, a Queensland and Australian representative, stood above Roy Asotasi, Sam Burgess, Matt King and John Sutton in the eyes of the players and coach Michael Maguire.

"We are one group here at the Rabbitohs and the players and staff decided that the way to go, in terms of leadership this year, was to have a leadership group directing things with Michael to act as the captain on field and as a spokesperson off the field,'' Maguire said in a statement.

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"Crock has demonstrated over a number of years that he is a strong leader on and off the field, and really acted in this role for the latter part of last season as it was.

"I'm delighted to be working with Michael at this level again and I'm looking forward to him and the leadership group developing their skills to lead further, as well as helping nurture the next group of players coming through as leaders at this club.''

Crocker said the leadership would still be shared among the senior players.

"Part of our culture is that we are one group and, as captain, I will simply be the spokesperson on the field and, in some cases, off the field as well for the playing group,'' he said.

"The leadership group is full of strong characters and people who want to see the team achieve everything it can, and we know that the whole squad will be working in the one direction to make that happen.

''... it's an honour to captain this side and we will do everything we can to have a successful season in 2013.''

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Indigenous boys storm to victory

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Stars ... Inglis and Barba were on their game for Indigenous All Stars. Source: Dave Hunt / AAP

The dark cloud hanging over Australian sport received a welcome silver lining as Canterbury-Bankstown sensation Ben Barba inspired the Indigenous All Stars' 32-6 win over an NRL 'who's who' at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

After an Australian Crime Commission investigation uncovered systemic drug use in sport with links to organised crime, Barba tried to provide the shot in the arm disillusioned NRL fans craved in the official season kick-off in a sublime display.

Stealing the limelight in an All Stars game is no mean feat.

But reigning Dally M Medallist Barba effortlessly stole the show with three tries, forming a deadly combination with North Queensland five-eighth Johnathan Thurston.

Barba had a hat-trick by halftime in the pre-season opener played in quarters, setting up an 18-6 lead at the main break.

He crossed twice in the opening quarter and grabbed a third after swooping onto a Thurston chip kick at the 30-minute mark.

His first try in the 10th minute came after a powerful run and off-load by centre Justin Hodges and a grubber kick, again off Thurston's boot.

His second came after the quarter-time siren following some slick passing as the ball swept through the hands of Thurston, Greg Bird and Robinson before Barba appeared from nowhere.

The NRL All Stars' only points came via their fullback Jarryd Hayne after a wild overhead pass on the final tackle by Indigenous winger Blake Ferguson.

Hayne scooped up the loose ball 60 metres out and flew down the left touchline to level the scores at 6-6.

Indigenous prop George Rose produced the season's first shoulder charge in the 37th minute, penalised for his shot on Josh Morris.

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Flying Canberra Raiders winger Reece Robinson picked up in the second half where Barba left off, crossing for tries in the 46th, 71st and 78th minutes as the Indigenous All Stars finished with a bang.

A lucrative pre-season Nines tournament mooted for New Zealand next year has placed pressure on the existence of the All Stars showcase.

Barba provided one good reason to keep the faith with the concept, although a lacklustre second half ensured a restless crowd resorted to starting a Mexican wave.

The lack of second-half highlights coincided with Barba being rested in the final quarter after opting to ice a hamstring niggle.

The Indigenous All Stars squared the ledger at 2-2 with their NRL counterparts thanks to hat-tricks by Barba and Robinson.

The feel-good vibe in the Indigenous camp threatened to turn sour when Thurston was felled by Willie Mason contesting a bomb in the dying minutes.

After the heart of Indigenous coach Laurie Daley - and, no doubt, Queensland mentor Mal Meninga - skipped a beat, Thurston eventually regained his feet and gave a thumbs up to team staff.

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Wanderers win, march into second

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Scorer ... Youssouf Hersi celebrates with the crowd. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Western Sydney Wanderers' dream debut A-League season continued as they climbed to second spot with a 2-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday night at Campbelltown Stadium.

Youssouf Hersi and Mark Bridge scored in either half as the Wanderers registered their fifth-straight win, the best streak of any team this season.

The win in front of 10,589 fans lifted the newcomers two points above Melbourne Victory, with the sides to meet at AAMI Park next Saturday.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	20	12	6	2	22	42
2	Western Sydney	20	12	2	6	11	38
3	Victory	20	11	3	6	3	36
4	Adelaide	20	11	2	7	3	35
5	Heart	20	7	3	10	-1	24
6	Newcastle	20	6	5	9	-9	23
7	Brisbane	19	6	3	10	-1	21
8	Sydney	19	6	3	10	-9	21
9	Wellington	20	5	5	10	-15	20
10	Perth	20	5	4	11	-4	19

The Wanderers trail leaders Central Coast by four points.

"It was a crucial three points and I thought it was a very good performance,'' Popovic said.

"You've got to give credit to the opposition ... you come away to a place like this and you've got that kind of noise - you lift and they lifted today, Newcastle.

"I'm still very pleased with the performance and we continue our great run.''

A change away from their regular home base at Parramatta did little to halt Western Sydney's momentum, though they were made to work hard by the Jets.

The visitors had the best early chance when they hit the post in the 18th minute.

Sam Gallaway set up the opportunity with a brilliant piece of skill out wide and Emile Heskey looked certain to score only for Nikolai Topor-Stanley to deflect his close-range shot on to the crossbar.

Hersi also squandered an excellent chance in the 25 minute, shooting straight at Mark Birighitti after breaking on goal.

The Wanderers mounted pressure in attack but couldn't finish a brilliant team move when Bridge was denied by Birighitti's outstretched foot in the 38th minute.

But Western Sydney were finally rewarded for their dominance just before halftime however when Hersi made the breakthrough.

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The Jets failed to clear a Shinji Ono free-kick and Hersi's shot rebounded off Birighitti and dropped just inside the goal.

The visitors muscled their way into the game in the second half, but there were few genuine chances for either side until the late stages.

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Tony Popovic withdrew Hersi and Ono but Bridge provided the spark to put the home side up 2-0 in the 83rd minute.

The striker collected the ball from Jerome Polenz and showed great strength to hold off the challenge of Josh Mitchell and finish brilliantly from a tight angle.

Jets captain Ruben Zadkovich ensured some nervous moments when he scored from outside the box in stoppage time.

There was a heated exchange as Heskey and Ryan Griffiths fought with Ante Covic to get a quick restart but the Jets ran out of time.

Jets coach Gary van Egmond said the performance was reflective of the club's season.

"I'm not going to say it was fantastic, but it was OK,'' he said.

"I thought overall we were more in control of the game but lacking the killer punch in the front third.''

Popovic said it was important his team continued their good form at the business end of the season.

"We've won five in a row and we're second on merit,'' Popovic said.

"Twenty games in, obviously we deserve to be there but there's some big games coming up now and it can change quite quickly.''

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Victoria pull off miracle win

Hero ... John Hastings proved to be the match-winner for Victoria. Source: Simon Cross / News Limited

A stunning late batting assault by John Hastings delivered Victoria a two-wicket win against South Australia on Saturday and a spot in the domestic one-day final.

Chasing 256, the Bushrangers appeared doomed until Hastings smacked 69 not out from 57 balls to steal victory at Adelaide Oval.

Despite Redbacks' quick Kane Richardson making a triumphant return with five wickets, Victoria won with three balls to spare.

ODD - Adelaide Oval

9 February 2013 - Day 1, Session 2

Victoria 1st Innings

J. Hastings	69	57	6	3	121.05
D. Pattinson	16	16	0	1	100
D. Christian	11.2	0	56	0	4.94

Victoria's triumph takes them to 23 points and they can finish no lower than second after the tournament's minor round.

SA, with 18 points and two games remaining, are favoured to take the other berth in the February 27 playoff.

Queensland (15 points) and Western Australia (14 points) remain chances but both have just one match left.

Hastings' heroics came after Victoria stumbled to 4-60 in their chase before David Hussey (87) raised the visitors' hopes.

But when Hussey fell in the 40th over, Victoria were still 69 runs shy of their target.

"To get one over them like that tonight was pretty good - pretty special,'' he said.

Hastings smashed six fours and three sixes in a match-winning display which overshadowed Redback quick Richardson's superb bowling.

Richardson had not played top-line cricket since being banned from further bowling for running on the pitch during his Australian limited-overs debut last month.

But intensive remedial work on his bowling stride paid instant rewards with 5-61 from 13 overs.

"It has been a tough three weeks ... I felt like tonight it was all good and they came out well,'' he said.

"To bowl 13 overs and not get a warning is a good sign so, going forward, it shouldn't be an issue.''

Earlier, SA strokeplayer Callum Ferguson struck 110 and Michael Klinger made 87, as Victorian legspinner Fawad Ahmed made an eye-catching debut.

The Pakistani-born tweaker took 3-47 and earned rave reviews from Australian legend Allan Border and Tom Moody, both television commentators calling for Ahmed to be considered as a late addition to Australia's tour of India.

But Ahmed, who fled Pakistan fearing for his life for supposedly promoting western values and was granted asylum last November, is ineligible for Australia until next November.

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Cavalry ride away with ABL title

Michael Wells blasted the deciding run out of the ballpark to earn the Canberra Cavalry the title of Australian Baseball League champions on Saturday night.

Canberra beat Perth Heat 7-6 in game two to ensure the Claxton Shield will reside in the ACT for the first time in the national title's 78-year history.

Glory ... The Claxton Shield. Source: News Limited

The top-seeded Cavalry swept the two-time reigning champion 2-0, having won the opening game of the final series 6-4.

Canberra first baseman Aaron Sloan was named MVP of the series, hitting .625 and scoring three runs on the weekend.

The home side used five pitchers on Saturday night, with Brodie Downs earning the win after pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief with one strikeout.

Sean Toler picked up the save for the Cavalry to record his second save of the series.

The Heat got on the board first as a result of wild pitching from Canberra's John Holdzkom and a two-run RBI single from Michael Ohlman.

The Cavalry were quick to return fire with a lead off home run from Kody Hightower to cut Perth's lead to one.

The Cavalry took advantage of a Perth error in the second to eventually score four runs on the inning and tacked on another in the third to hold a strong lead.

But Perth tied the game in the fifth and the score remained 6-6 until Wells hit a solo shot in the seventh to win in front of a sell-out and record-breaking crowd of 2,043 at Narrabundah Ballpark.

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