Ashes Third Test, Headingley

Australia lead the series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Edgbaston and drawing at Lord's.

The Aussies will be without former captain and the best batsman in the world after Steve Smith was ruled out with concussion following a Jofra Archer bouncer that struck him on the neck in his first innings at Lord's.

Marnus Labuschagne is expected to fill Smith's spot like he did at Lord's when he entered the fray as Test cricket's first ever concussion substitute where he scored an admirable 59 runs, helping to steer Australia to a draw on the final day.

It's expected that Peter Siddle will drop out of the side to allow for the return of James Pattinson who was rested for the second Test. Mitchell Starc seems destined to remain on drinks duty.

England meanwhile are expected to name an unchanged 11 although they may tinker with the make up of the batting order. Joe Root has struggled at first drop, while Jason Roy has failed to make the switch from opening in the ODI team to becoming a Test opener. Root is expected to move down to four with Joe Denly jumping into the number three position.

Many are talking about the effect of Jofra Archer's entry into Test cricket. Interestingly, his debut performance lands him as just the 312th best bowler on debut with overall figures of 5/91. He need only look across at his opponents in Pat Cummins (7/117) and Josh Hazlewood (7/142) who had better debut figures.

The Headingley pitch is rumoured to be a slow deck that will crumble and break up towards the end of the match. An interesting decision by the ground staff there given Australia's Nathan Lyon has been collecting wickets for fun and spun the English into knots in the first Test.

As always the toss will be important and Tim Paine will be hoping his luck continues. This will likely be a bat first pitch because no one will be looking to bat last on a decaying deck.

Play starts at 8pm AEST tonight so get your picture-in-picture going or set up a second screen to make sure you don't miss the first ball while watching the Eels belt the Dogs.

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Prof. Daz replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Why would JR put Pezet at 14? We assume you mean if Smith is not available and Pezet at 14 is there to . . . well he would not play hooker, surely? Defesnive liability in the middle. And can only cover 6 or 7, which is kind of what 18-19 is now for?"
1 minute ago
Prof. Daz replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Poppa, I suspect Ryles might play Pezet at 7 and Volkman at 6 if Moses goes into Origin camp."
3 minutes ago
Clintorian replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"🫴😌🫴"
4 minutes ago
Clintorian replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"I'll be honest, this is one of the best seasons of footy to watch in years because you really don't have any idea who's gonna win each game - I love that!
I wish we had a bit more luck with injuries so we'd be further up the ladder, but this season…"
7 minutes ago
Prof. Daz replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Go to Randy's and cup Pezet's nuts while Pezet cups Randy's nuts. Obviously. This is the Great Chain of Being"
9 minutes ago
Clintorian replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"You guys are underestimating him a bit here, Pezet will will actually play a crucial role over the Origin period to cover Moses. Have you guys forgotten that Moses has never played 3 Origin games because he ALWAYS gets injured, so while Volkman has…"
12 minutes ago
Longfin Eel replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Agreed"
16 minutes ago
Clintorian replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Great... now what am I gonna do?"
18 minutes ago
Blue Eel replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Weird things are happening this year Coryn. haha. Never in my wildest dreams would i pick the score and our wins this year.
Losing by 50, Winning 40-32 against last years premiers, 30-20 Dragons, Losing by 50 against the Titans, putting 38 on the…"
18 minutes ago
Parra-all-the-way replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Nsw cup i reckon. Renzo to be 18 or 19th man. Pezet to cover moses during origin but other than that plays 7 in cup"
25 minutes ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"Does it make a difference do you see the team playing finals football.
The strategy is sound but are as mentioned serious about making the finals.Big ask if you ask me."
42 minutes ago
Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's 🪓 replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"What happens when Moses is picked in Origin?? Who do we bring into 7 ??
Pezet did a job to win Melbourne finals games when Hughes was out.
For all the fans wanting him to go now, just answer the above question... and ill bet your answers will be…"
45 minutes ago
Blue Eel replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"offer him the bulldogs as a 7 and we'll take galvin as a 6.
However being serious for a moment, let's just say we are in the hunt for a top 8 spot in about 6 or so weeks. having a genuine half available even as a backup on the extended bench is…"
48 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Fiddy's discussion Leave Samrani at centre
"In saying that Poppa it's obvious I can still see much further than you 🤣 probably 1000's of km further"
55 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"The question is what has he actually done for the team since his participation? I think he scored 1 try but how much has his poor defence let in? I'd probably play him at 14 and see how he goes and if no good put him 18th or 19th and if again no…"
1 hour ago
The Badger replied to Aj's discussion Jonah Pezet
"He should stay in reserves at least until after the bye and hopefully for the rest of the dead season.
Will find out at 1600 on Tuesday if JR is really all in on the 'future is now' mantra."
1 hour ago
More…

Keaon done deal

As of Thursday, December 11, 2025, South Sydney Rabbitohs forwardKeaon Koloamatangi has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Parramatta Eels, but it is not yet officially announced by the clubs.  Soon to be announced.

Read more…
14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
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