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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Nitram replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"My take away - Olakau'atu is one hell of a player."
1 minute ago
Jack replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"Cut Kelly errors out his great. Story of his career "
28 minutes ago
Yehez replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"There are more changes that we can do, but after that first half we needed to do what Manly did second half and throw the ball around. 
Manly have pace and energy and they exploited that. 
The way we played against Titans would've probably worked…"
28 minutes ago
BringBackSemi replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"My feeling exactly. Every team that is dominant has big packs. We have no go forward at all."
29 minutes ago
HH - Love You Iongi Time! replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"Kelly will not be sacked, and he will be picked this week.
Ryles will persist with him due to his strong yardage carries that help us make metres in our first few tackles each set.  However, Ryles needs to coach the errors out of Kelly's game.…"
47 minutes ago
Muttman replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"Kelly isn't the answer but he's completely acceptable in his current role. He gave 110% today and made some great plays. He put his body on the line. Put some respect on that. DeBelin also hung tough. Is he good enough? If he was the 4th bench spot…"
51 minutes ago
Muttman replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"Did you see him slice up Penrith twice today? "
54 minutes ago
parra supporter replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"Agree, he bent the line a bit with his first few carries. His second stint he tried the Dylan walker role and it didn't work. Think they need to keep his role simple "
1 hour ago
LB replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Game Day Blog R8 v Manly: Back-to-Back Or Back to Reality? (L33—18)
"Perhaps better for Funa-Iuta to take the Mataele route of becoming a full-time middle. Build up a little more and focus on that area."
1 hour ago
Randy Handlinger replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"Yeh he is...you stoopid shitstirrer
 "
1 hour ago
LB replied to Roy tannous's discussion My takeaways from today
"Think a bit harsh on de Belin actually. Felt his first stint was pretty strong. Paulo was ok, though moving him to the bench would help moving forward if we can get a starting Prop. 
Kelly, though getting through work and trying, he is way too rocks…"
1 hour ago
Randy Handlinger replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"Do you have to ask that before interacting on the internet because of parole conditions or have you just got to do it forever now?"
2 hours ago
Alfred replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"It is what it is. We are really missing Browns defensive plays. Hopefully this new kid they have so much hype about is great. Just my opinion who thinks Smith would make a good lock. Using 2 creative players him and TDS helps our team. Smith has…"
2 hours ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Game Day Blog R8 v Manly: Back-to-Back Or Back to Reality? (L33—18)
"Great line"
2 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"I said the same thing couple weeks ago.
"We should look to England who have provided plenty of quality forwards for the NRL over the years.  If not we need someone out of jail like Manu Mau or Danny Wicks who have a chip on their shoulder and a…"
2 hours ago
Hector Bob Down replied to jamie's discussion Ryles the Super Coach
"FM a very fair summation and agree. But i think you maybe Bashing your head against a brick wall geting through to some Hey"
2 hours ago
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14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
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My takeaways from today

1.Brian Kelly needs to get sacked,is there none better or something going on behind the four walls.to try and bring a outside back on loan deal or something cause Kelly is seriously horrendous.2.Junior paulo ain't first grade standard anymore,I've…

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Ryles the Super Coach

So the supercoach has come up with run hard,tackle hard.The play book for any U13 dad coach.No shape,no defensive structure and no attacking plays at all.In the first time since watching the game 1977 I have turned a Parra game off.Ryles offers…

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