Wallabies, All Blacks can't be split

Even split ... All Blacks winger Hosea Gear (C) is chased down by several Wallabies. Source: Adam Head / News Limited

Kiwi-turned-Australian radar boot Mike Harris kicked the Wallabies to arguably the most honourable draw in their Test history on Saturday night by denying the All Blacks a Bledisloe whitewash at Suncorp Stadium.

Harris slotted five penalty goals from as many attempts and coolly kicked the final three-pointer in the thrilling dying minutes as the Wallabies drew 18-l8 with the world champions.

6 Penalties 6
Michael Harris 3'	Daniel Carter 7'
Michael Harris 28'	Daniel Carter 11'
Michael Harris 32'	Daniel Carter 53'
Michael Harris 40'	Daniel Carter 55'
Kurtley Beale 51'	Daniel Carter 67'
Michael Harris 75'	Daniel Carter 71'

In a nail-biting finish where the result could have gone either way, All Blacks maestro Dan Carter narrowly missed a match-winning field goal four minutes after the hooter sounded.

It denied New Zealand a record-equalling 17th straight Test win.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was proud his team held the All Blacks tryless, was rapt by the immense effort but wasn't  celebrating the result.

"I suspect (the players) will be frustrated because it's a game there they know they could have won," he said.

"We're not happy with the outcome but I imagine the All Blacks aren't either."

While Deans denied he was sweating when Carter lined up his last-gasp drop goal, which missed by a foot at most, Sharpe admitted he was gravely worried.

"I thought 'oh shit'," the 112-Test veteran said.

Beale was unsure whether he pulled the right rein by foregoing a drop-goal attempt at the death after multiple phases but Sharpe backed his decision to allow the forwards to rumble ahead in the hope of a penalty close to the sticks.

All Blacks mentor Steve Hansen lamented a poor performance by his side but paid tribute to the character they showed to almost pull a win out of the bag.

"We're really, really disappointed - too many avoidable penalties and too many avoidable mistakes," Hansen said.

"It was probably one of the ugliest games of rugby that I've been involved in."

Despite being a tryless affair, the sell-out 51,888 crowd was captivated by the ebbs and flows of an encounter both sides looked set to clinch at different times.

The injury-ravaged Wallabies, 13-point underdogs, had threatened to produce one of the biggest upsets in Australian Test history when they led 15-6 after 50 minutes.

But the momentum turned viciously as flanker Michael Hooper was sin-binned and Carter kicked four straight penalties to grab a three-point lead with 10 minutes left.

While Auckland product and former New Zealand Under-20 playmaker Harris, playing his first trans-Tasman Test for Australia, levelled the scores with five minutes left, Australia desperately tried to seal the result.

They set up for a field goal of their own through countless pick-and-drives in the All Blacks quarter but Kurtley Beale never got the chance for a heroic attempt as prop Sekope Kepu was penalised for leaving his feet.

Expected to be easy meat for a full-strength Kiwi outfit eying a record-equalling streak, Australia aimed up in a stirring first-half effort.

It was a night where almost everything rolled the right way for the Wallabies, who were far more proactive than the first two Bledisloe Tests, in the first 50 minutes.

Carter missed two penalty attempts he'd normally bury, the All Blacks wasted gilt-edged attacking opportunities through poor handling and the Wallabies won the breakdown battle.

But their inability to punish the All Blacks early in the second half when prop Tony Woodcock was sin-binned was a telling sign.

Kiwi No.8 Kieran Read was a justified man-of-the-match while Beale was Australia's most dangerous player and skipper Nathan Sharpe starred in his final match on home soil.

In a sometimes heated clash, Richie McCaw was singled out for special treatment from Wallabies flanker Scott Higginbotham, who could be in trouble post-match after kneeing and head-butting the All Blacks skipper.

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Heskey leads Jets to Mariners win

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Difference ... Former England striker Emile Heskey was involved in both Jets goals. Source:AAP

Star import Emile Heskey found the net for the second straight game as Newcastle Jets defeated Central Coast 2-1 in a pulsating F3 A-League derby at Hunter Stadium on Saturday night.

The Jets survived a thrilling finish after Patrick Zwaanswijk looked to have earned the Mariners a share of the points when he headed home in the sixth minute of stoppage time, only for the assistant referee to controversially rule him offside.

Ryan Griffiths gave the home side a fourth-minute lead when former England striker Heskey was clipped by Michael McGlinchey in the box after he had pinched a poorly played pass from the Mariners defence.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	3	2	0	1	2	6
2	Newcastle	3	2	0	1	0	6
3	Wellington	2	1	1	0	2	4
4	Heart	2	1	1	0	1	4
5	Central Coast	3	1	1	1	0	4
6	Brisbane	2	1	0	1	4	3
7	Perth	2	1	0	1	0	3
8	Sydney	3	1	0	2	-2	3
9	Victory	3	1	0	2	-5	3
10	Western Sydney	3	0	1	2	-2	1

Griffiths sent Mariners goalkeeper Mathew Ryan the wrong way from the spot, and it stayed that way through to halftime.

Heskey then gave his side some breathing space on 61 minutes, but James Virgili deserved all the credit after the youngster went past both Pedj Bojic and Zwaanswijk on a mazy run before setting up the ex-Liverpool front man for the easiest of finishes from close range.

Bernie Ibini netted what turned out to be a consolation goal for the Mariners in the 72nd minute after he was on the end of a McGlinchey cutback after striker Daniel McBreen had won the initial header.

Jets keeper Mark Birighitti had no chance as Ibini tapped in from the edge of the six yard box.

The match was a typically feisty local derby with a series of niggly fouls throughout the contest, referee Ben Williams issuing nine yellow cards.

Jets midfielder Ruben Zadkovich was lucky not to be given his marching orders after a cheap foul in the 52nd minute sparked a melee.

Players from both sides had to be separated as tempers threatened to boil over, with Williams doing well to contain the trouble.

While Mariners coach Graham Arnold was clearly disappointed to have the last-minute equaliser denied, he was more aghast at the awarding of the penalty to the home side after Heskey was felled in the box.

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"I just thought it was a pretty average performance from the ref to be honest,'' Arnold said.

"Mickey McGlinchey weighs 67 kilos and Emile Heskey weighs 100 kilos.

"My blood pressure has gone through the roof.

"I will probably be labelled a whinger but that's the way it goes.''

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Arnold's opposite number Gary Van Egmond preferred to focus on the brilliance of the young Virgili.

"He (Virgili) is now going to get a lot of attention from other teams and it is something that he is going to have to get used to,'' the Newcastle coach said.

"We put things in place and the boys carried it out, which was great.

"Emile was superb again today and he helped with the assist on the first goal as well as scoring the second. You can't ask for much more from him.''

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Lorenzo on pole in Malaysia

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Flying ... Jorge Lorenzo steers his Yamaha to the fastest lap of Malaysian GP qualifying. Source: Vincent Thian / AP

MotoGP leader Jorge Lorenzo seized pole position for Sunday's Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix after the Yamaha rider produced a lap record in the final qualifying session.

The Spaniard clocked a lap of 2 minutes 00.334 seconds at the end of the one-hour qualifying session on Saturday, breaking the Sepang circuit record of 2:00.518 set by Italian rider Valentino Rossi in qualifying in 2009.

Lorenzo's closest rival, fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa on a Honda, was in menacing form and posted the second fastest time while his Australian teammate Casey Stoner, with an ankle injury, posted the fourth quickest.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso was third fastest, with Britain's Cal Crutchlow, also on a Yamaha, taking fifth. American Ben Spies, on a Yamaha, took sixth on the grid.

Pedrosa clocked 2:00.528, 0.194 seconds slower than Lorenzo in a close-fought battle, while Dovizioso posted 2:00.567.

It will be Lorenzo's seventh pole start of the season.

Lorenzo, who is eyeing a win in Sepang, said a pole position would enhance his chances for victory and deny Pedrosa's shot for the championship title.

"I managed to set a new lap time in the last lap with new tyres. Pole position is a very good position but we need to set-up the bike (for Sunday)," he said.

Lorenzo missed last year's Malaysian Grand Prix due to injury, a race which was subsequently cancelled after 24-year-old Marco Simoncelli was killed in a second lap crash.

Lorenzo could take his second title this weekend if he wins and Pedrosa fails to finish in the top 12.

Meanwhile, Pedrosa, who set the fastest time during practice sessions, complained of chatter during the qualifying session, a problem that has plagued Honda from the start of this season.

"The weather was hot and we had a lot of chatter and this made riding difficult. I hope there will be less chatter," he said.

Title-hopeful Pedrosa, who is battling for his first ever MotoGP crown, is 28 points adrift of Lorenzo, who has 310 points. Pedrosa is on 282, while Stoner has 197.

Nine-time world champion Rossi's bad season for Ducati continued after he crashed during the first few minutes of the third practice. He qualified eleventh on the grid.

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Blues win inaugural Sydney derby

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Main men ... Sydney FC's Alessandro Del Piero takes on Western Sydney's Shinji Ono. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

Superstar Alessandro Del Piero proved the difference as Sydney FC prevailed 1-0 over new neighbours Western Sydney in the city's first A-League derby on Saturday night.

In an entertaining match played in front of a vocal crowd of 19,126 at Parramatta Stadium, the Italian import earned a controversial penalty and scored a short time later in dramatic fashion to give the Sky Blues their first win of the season.

The 37-year-old striker was ordered to retake a successful first spot kick, had his second saved by Ante Covic, but scored from the rebound in the 54th minute for his second A-League goal.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	3	2	0	1	2	6
2	Newcastle	3	2	0	1	0	6
3	Wellington	2	1	1	0	2	4
4	Heart	2	1	1	0	1	4
5	Central Coast	3	1	1	1	0	4
6	Brisbane	2	1	0	1	4	3
7	Perth	2	1	0	1	0	3
8	Sydney	3	1	0	2	-2	3
9	Victory	3	1	0	2	-5	3
10	Western Sydney	3	0	1	2	-2	1

The result eased the early pressure on the Sky Blues after back-to-back losses while the Wanderers were far from disgraced in another performance that showed they won't be easybeats this season.

Tony Popovic's side is still yet to score in three matches, though they were looking threatening until some Del Piero magic broke the deadlock after halftime.

The marquee signing showed superb footwork as he kept possession inside the box before going down, with referee Strebre Delovski ruling a foul on Aaron Mooy.

The decision did not go down well with the home fans, who felt the marquee man had taken a dive.

Drama then followed, as Del Piero coolly slotted the spot kick before being ordered to retake it because of an early encroachment on the penalty box.

He had his next effort saved but showed cool composure to score on the rebound.

While Sydney's marquee signing produced when it counted, in truth it hadn't been his best night up to that point as he coughed up possession several times in the first half.

He did come close to scoring early with an ambitious long-range free kick sailing just over the bar in the 11th minute and had another shot saved a minute later.

Adam D'Appuzo came close for the home side in the 17th minute with a curling long range effort but their best chance of the half came as Mark Bridge's close-range header was blocked after some sloppy keeping from Ivan Necevski.

Bridge was wasteful at times against his former club as he and Dino Kresinger missed good headed chances to equalise late in the second half.

Western Sydney's Japanese star Shinji Ono looked lively but received some close attention early on from midfielder Paul Reid, who started in place of dropped Sydney captain Terry McFlynn.

Sydney coach Ian Crook was a relieved man after the win, admitting he even started to doubt his coaching approach after his side's opening two losses.

After looking disjointed in their opening games, the Sky Blues were much more cohesive and Crook said things were starting to click.

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"Certainly for me I felt some relief,'' Crook said.

"You start to question yourself a little bit but for me it was all about the players tonight, they were brilliant.''

Crook said Del Piero was also fitting in better with every match.

"It's getting to know people and playing with them and knowing what they need, where they're going to be,'' he said.

"We haven't had a lot of time as a team to do that. But it's gradually picked up.''

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Wanderers coach Tony Popovic had no complaints about the penalty, and was confident his side was on the right track despite a second successive loss.

"I think performance-wise it was good,'' Popovic said.

''... I can't say anything bad about the players' effort, work rate, commitment. We just need that something to happen for us in that final third.

"We'll keep improving and we'll get better.''

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Van Pelt takes lead in Perth

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Clubhouse leader ... Bo van Pelt takes a one-shot lead into the final round in Perth. Source: Tony Ashby / AFP

Argentinean Emiliano Grillo showed his first real signs of nerves as powerhouse American duo Jason Dufner and Bo van Pelt made their charge at the $2 million Perth International.

Grillo started the day with a four-stroke lead over West Australian Jason Scrivener and world No.24 van Pelt, and at one point increased his buffer to five shots before four bogeys on the back nine saw him surrender the lead.

Van Pelt ended the day on top of the pack at 12-under after a five-under 67, while world No.10 Dufner carded the same score to be just one shot adrift of his countryman.

Grillo, at just 20 years of age and ranked a lowly 516th in the world, is third at 10-under and will need to regain his magic touch on Sunday if he is to snare his first professional win.

England's David Howell and Spain's Alejandro Canizares sit in equal fourth at seven under, while defending Australian Open winner Greg Chalmers, Kiwi Michael Hendry and big-hitting Aussie Steve Jones are one stroke further back.

Chalmers, who shot a three-under 69 to move within striking distance of the leaders, hoped for windy conditions on Sunday to boost his chances of snaring an unlikely victory.

"I think it's doable," Chalmers said of chasing down the leading pack.

"No one's torn up this golf course yet, and I think there's a seven-under out there or an eight-under if you drive the ball in play and things go your way.

"You have to tear the par fives up and most of them are reachable at the moment.

"If you can do that and pick up two or three more somewhere else, you're going to have a big day."

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Tony Greig diagnosed with cancer

Ready for the fight ... Tony Greig says he'll tackle lung cancer head-on. Source: Supplied

Cricketing icon Tony Greig has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.

The former England captain and Nine Network commentator underwent tests earlier this month after failing to recover from a suspected case of bronchitis, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Doctors discovered a small lesion on the base of his right lung and later revealed he had cancer.

"I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one," the South African-born identity told the paper.

"(My wife) Vivian and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this like we've never fought anything before."

Greig will have surgery this week to take a sample from his lung, which will help doctors determine the extent of the cancer and appropriate course of action.

He is unsure whether he will commentate for Nine this summer. The first Test against South Africa begins in Brisbane on November 9.

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Terry to remain Chelsea captain

Abused ... John Terry (R) and the player it was claimed he racially abused, Anton Ferdinand. Source: AFP

John Terry was given the biggest-ever fine imposed by Chelsea but will remain the team's captain after being sanctioned by the Premier League club for racially abusing an opponent.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said on Saturday that taking the armband off the long-serving defender would not be an appropriate punishment following long discussions with the club's hierarchy, including billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

"John will continue to be captain of the club,'' Buck told talkSPORT radio.

"We have taken disciplinary action and we think it is firm disciplinary action and appropriate for the circumstances.''

Terry apologised on Thursday for using inappropriate language during an on-field confrontation with Anton Ferdinand in a West London derby against Queens Park Rangers last October and decided not to challenge the suspension and record £220,000 ($352,000) fine handed out by the Football Association for issuing a racial slur to his fellow centreback.

But Terry has always insisted he was merely repeating an accusation of racism that Ferdinand claimed Terry had made. He was cleared in a criminal court of racially abusing Ferdinand, although the FA decided to begin its own proceedings.

"We have kept in mind first of all that a court of criminal law found him not guilty,'' said Buck, who was with Terry throughout the trial in July.

"Of course we also note the FA decision and we certainly respect that decision.

"This is not a decision we've taken lightly, it's not a decision we took in a half-hour meeting. We discussed it over a long period of time.''

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said Terry fell "below the high standards we expect at the club".

"We are not sweeping this under the carpet,'' Gourlay added on talkSPORT. "We have had to deal with this for the last 12 months. John let himself down, he let the club down, the words were inappropriate that he used.''

Buck said Terry wouldn't be given an additional suspension by Chelsea.

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Roar humiliate Ange's Victory

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Easy does it ... the Roar's big-guns fired at Suncorp Stadium. Source: Jono Searle / News Limited

Stepping out of Ange Postecoglou's shadow was always going to be hard for Brisbane Roar.

But they put their best foot forward with a record 5-0 second-round win over Postecoglou's Melbourne Victory at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

There was no love lost ahead of the long-awaited clash between Postecoglou and the team that he guided to back-to-back A-League championships.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	2	2	0	0	3	6
2	Brisbane	2	1	0	1	4	3
3	Wellington	1	1	0	0	2	3
4	Heart	1	1	0	0	1	3
5	Perth	1	1	0	0	1	3
6	Newcastle	2	1	0	1	-1	3
7	Central Coast	1	0	1	0	0	1
8	Western Sydney	2	0	1	1	-1	1
9	Sydney	2	0	0	2	-3	0
10	Victory	2	0	0	2	-6	0

Especially after he'd taken exception to the Roar's very public desire to send home their former mentor a loser.

And Brisbane danger man Thomas Broich's claim that former assistant and now Roar coach Rado Vidosic was the "brains" of their past championships rather than Postecoglou didn't go down well either.

However, even Postecoglou could not have argued with the result on Saturday night as the Victory suffered a 5-0 loss for the first time in the glamour club's history as the Roar looked to make a point in front of 17,364 fans.

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Brisbane brought the crowd to their feet when they opened the scoring when German maestro Broich capitalised on a clever Massimo Murdocca throw-in in the 22nd minute to find the back of the net.

And within a minute big Erik Paartalu made it 2-0 when his header sealed a Broich corner.

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The Victory were on the back foot in the second half when Besart Berisha finished off an end of the field effort sparked by a clever clearing kick by Roar keeper Michael Theo in the 64th minute.

Mitch Nichols scored Brisbane's fourth when he fed off some good work from Ivan Franjic, and the Roar sealed the record win over the Victory when Albanian international Berisha found the back of the net in stoppage time.

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The Victory were always going to be vulnerable on Saturday without the likes of key players Archie Thompson, Mark Milligan (Socceroos) and Marco Rojas (All Whites) due to international duty.

Especially after their 2-1 last round loss to arch rivals Heart.

But it seems nothing prepared Postecoglou's side for the onslaught ahead at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

"I knew it was a challenge coming up here," Postecoglou said.

"But we are trying to play a style of game. It is going to take some time to come to grips with it, the players are still in a learning process - the players will get there."

Postecoglou cut short reporters when they tried to bring up his Roar background.

"It's not my team. It never has been. To me it's just another game," he said when his former side was inevitably brought up.

"I am coaching the Victory club. My responsibility lies solely with getting this club back to where it belongs and start performing like our supporters think they deserve - that's our focus.

"I have spoken about the Roar. I don't care any more. They had their choice about the way they approached the week - it's a free world.

"They are a great side and congratulations to them. This club has nothing to do with me any more."

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Kangaroos grind out tough win

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Kangaroos ... celebrate their win over the Kiwis in the Townsville Test. Source: Renee McKay / AAP

His accent may say otherwise, but Australia front-rower James Tamou says he feels more comfortable than ever in a Kangaroos jumper after being named players' player by his teammates in Saturday's 18-10 win over his native New Zealand.

3 Tries 2
Cameron Smith 23'	Issac Luke 7'
James Tamou 34'	Gerard Beale 38'
Darius Boyd 71'
2 Conversions 1
Johnathan Thurston 36'	Krisnan Inu 8'
Johnathan Thurston 73'
1 Penalties 0
Johnathan Thurston 62'

Tamou was outstanding against the Kiwis in a high-quality Test at Townsville's Dairy Farmers Stadium, scoring a try in the first half, with a sidestep worthy of a halfback.

His partner in crime and North Queensland teammate Matt Scott was named man of the match, clocking up 180 metres with the pair laying the platform for a hard-fought victory against an impressive Kiwi side.

"The two Cowboys props played very well and I was very happy with them," Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens said.

Tamou caused huge uproar across the Tasman when he elected to play for Australia earlier this season, and the 23-year-old revealed he felt much more comfortable second time around across being hounded by the media in New Zealand following his controversial decision.

"There was too much on my mind last time on my debut, but this time I was able to relax and play some good footy," Tamou said.

"It's been a whirlwind of a year. I am looking forward to a rest. But this has been beyond anything I could have hope for."

Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney and Benji Marshall were keen to draw a line underneath the Tamou saga after the game, and the giant front-rower said there was no sledging on the field.

He even briefly donned a black jersey after the game when he swapped shirts with life-long friend Ben Matulino.

"Benny is a good friend, we grew up together and he wanted to swap jerseys and just out of respect for him I swapped, and then put it on," Tamou said.

"Everyone was cool. I just didn't want to show off my Mad Monday guts, which is why I put it on. But the Aussie one fits better."

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Tamou's reaction to scoring a try was one of exuberance and he admitted he didn't quite know what to do when he crossed the line, in front of a capacity crowd at his home ground.

"I felt in that situation maybe I should run down to the other end of the ground. I didn't know what to do, I don't score many," he said.

"But it's quite overwhelming. To win the award from my peers in the team is very special. But I am looking forward to the season being over now for a rest."

Marshall rolled his eyes when asked about Tamou's contribution but said the performance of Sam Kasiano showed there is plenty more top-class Kiwi props.

"We're far past that decision now," Marshall said.

"Big Sammy made his decision to play for us and that's all that matters."

Sheens also paid tribute to skipper Cameron Smith, who scored a try and became only the third man to skipper three successful sides in a single season after leading Melbourne to the NRL premiership and Queensland to a seventh straight State of Origin series.

"He's a fair player .. if I had a club, I would want him to play for me," said Sheens pointedly, with his future at the Wests Tigers to be decided this month.

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Re-live the game: Roos v Kiwis

Big clash ... the Kangaroos take on the Kiwis on Saturday night. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

It was another excellent Test match between rugby league's biggest international rivals Australia and New Zealand.

And if you missed it, you can re-live all the action as it happened, by reading through our live blog at the bottom of the page.

Find out what happened from start to finish, in a game full of twists and turns as the Kangaroos finished the rugby league season on a high with their 18-10 win over the Kiwis at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.

Click on the icon below to re-live the game as it happened!

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