RL News: England winger secures move, Super League stars fined and player banned for three years

Below is a round-up of all the latest news from the world of rugby league over the last 24 hours.

Dom Young seals the deal

It’s being reported by the Daily Telegraph in Australia that the English winger has agreed a deal with the Sydney Roosters for 2024 and beyond. Young broke out at the World Cup and has been subject to plenty of interest but he’s set to link up with England teammate Victor Radley per the current reports.

NRL clubs’ plot to pry Welsbsy down under

Jack Welsby has caught the attention of the Australian media in huge fashion, the 21-year-old full-back becoming the most talked about player in the 13-man code at the moment. Despite the NRL’s thirst for his talents he’s under contract with Saints but NRL bosses have already worked out how to get him, despite the huge cash it could cost.

Three-year ban handed down to player

UK Anti-Doping have confirmed that Callum Marriott has been banned from all sport for three years after a failed test. The player tested positive in February 2022 during an out-of-competition test from a Rochdale Hornets’ training session.

Would Saints cope in the NRL

Following their incredible win it’s the question that has been asked a thousand times, how would St Helens fare in the NRL for a full season? Panthers’ boss Ivan Cleary had plenty of compliments, whilst an ex Aussie international has gone a step further. Saints stalwart James Roby was flattered with some of the comments.

Wellens warns NRL and calls for Super League respect

One competitive game as head coach and one win, it’s an ideal start for Paul Wellens but he could have a fight on his hands to keep the likes of Lewis Dodd and Jack Welsby. Wellens has hit out at NRL media warning them off the young stars, whilst also calling for larger displays of respect towards Super League.

Hull FC hang on as Radford returns

The Tony Smith era got off the mark with a win although it wasn’t as easy in the end as it should have been. Lee Radford, returning to the MKM Stadium, almost sprung a huge comeback on FC with the game going down to the wire in front of a monster crowd.

Superb Super League attendances

There might have only been five games in Super League round one but there were some huge attendances, with three of the five games surpassing the 10,000 fan mark. Sunday’s game at the MKM was a thriller as well for the 15,000 plus who turned out.

Channel 4 coverage up for award

Last season marked the first year that Channel 4 had Super League coverage and fans loved the free-to-air showings on weekend. The broadcaster have now received critical acclaim as they’ve been nominated for a prestigious award.

Three fined during first round of Super League

Five players were cited during the opening round of Super League, however only three of those players were charged. Thanks to the new disciplinary process they’re avoiding bans but have been fined instead. One match was even cited by the MRP nine times, whilst a different game saw a head high tackle go unpunished.

Match-winner claims Saints are in for a “rough week”

There’s been plenty of reaction from Saturday morning’s game including from the man who kicked the winning goal drop, Lewis Dodd claiming that his side are in for a “rough week” ahead of their Super League return.

Late drama in the Championship

Whilst it was round one in Super League it was the third round in the second tier and there was some incredibly impressive performances. There was also late drama in two of the Sunday games with lead changes inside the last five minutes, one of which cost a side their unbeaten record.

Salford tie down another key player

Salford Red Devils have been re-signing plenty of their 2022 squad on long term deals with Brodie Croft being the standout name on the list. Earlier in the off-season they extended centre Tim Lafai and now they’ve provided a deal for his wing partner Joe Burgess.

Aussie pundit eats humble pie

After brashly stating that Penrith would be able to declare at half-time there was nowhere to hide for Phil Gould when Saints sprung the upset in the World Club Challenge on Saturday morning. Rather than make excuses the pundit swallowed his pride and reacted to the shock result in his own fashion. He wasn’t the only member of the Australian media eating humble pie though.