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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LB replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"Yep he said it can be used for their junior development
He said exactly it was a great deal."
1 minute ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"This isn't just Vlandy's doing.  We all know certain clubs seem to get everything there own way and all this is doing is allowing the fans to see what has been happening for years due to the court case.
Protected clubs using the NRL to bully smaller…"
2 minutes ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"Lomax has played this perfectly for his boxing career not so much for his footy career or reputation.
If he is as good as reports say, he will earn a lot in boxing as he is getting the public to hate him which means they will tune in hoping he gets…"
18 minutes ago
Mitchy replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"HOE, spot on, and you can only assume (and I know we can assume a lot) that his has occurred. I am really impressed with the club here and just hope we can get a decent win from this; as if not it will mean that the NRL and the stronger clubs…"
34 minutes ago
Poppa replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"He certainly has Bobbie, I have been a past admirer of PVL and his astuteness, in this area he has shown himself to be complacent and mis reading the room...... My suspicions are he has become over confident and probably tired, unfortunately for him…"
39 minutes ago
Poppa replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"Hoey, That's an excellent point re Crawley.....one of the side benefits of these issues is seeing how the media is manipulated by their masters......its not just sugar you get when sqeezing cane, there is the side benefit of the Rum! Lol
 "
45 minutes ago
Hell On Eels replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"Thanks, Mitchy. 
It's interesting, Crawley was emphatic on Feb 12 in backing the Eels, labelling Lomax’s case “complete nonsense.”
Since then, there’s been no follow-up column on Lomax despite significant reported developments, including messages…"
55 minutes ago
Muttman replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"I didn't see the entire interview. Did he really say he thought $300k was a great deal? "
1 hour ago
LB replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"Anyone hear Brent Read? He said no issues with what Rodski did. He said all clubs contact Abdo. What he is not getting is the wording. Applying blowtorch is pretty much saying to the NRL "Get them to accept whatever we want" plus he must've missed…"
1 hour ago
Mitchy replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"Ohh please Randy....."
1 hour ago
Parra fan on The Hill replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Ryles 2.0: 2026 gets off to a bright start in Eels trial
"I think Samrani could be a choice on the wing. He's a big boy and posted some great numbers yesterday. 15 runs for 168 metres of which 50 were post contact. I didnt recall him being pushed back once. He has intent and plays hard. Really like this…"
1 hour ago
SuperEel 22 replied to SuperEel 22's discussion Ryles 2.0: 2026 gets off to a bright start in Eels trial
"Tago's contract finishes this year. I imagine we'll be releasing him and replacing him either with an external signing or a junior."
1 hour ago
Hector Bob Down replied to Hell On Eels's discussion Picking Up Where We Left Off?
"Agee BE"
2 hours ago
Coryn Hughes replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"Mahe Fonua was there first I think."
4 hours ago
Kurupt - He Be Trippin On A Matt replied to Hell On Eels's discussion The Eels v Lomax: Timeline and Key Questions
"Great work HOE"
4 hours ago
Parra fan on The Hill replied to LB's discussion V'Landys on Hello Sport
"PVL seems like he's on the take. Tripp potentially lining his and Abdo's pockets gimping themselves out for the cheating storm's benefit.
Instead of being neutral on the matter or taking Parra's side they are both looking out for the best possible…"
9 hours ago
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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.

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14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
Views: 2079

 

V'Landys on Hello Sport

Happy Monday, if anyone wants a good laugh to start their week, skip to 32:50 mark and listen to this f***wit talk. It is laughable seriously. Claiming the offer of $300k was a great deal and we can put that into our junior system. But said we can…

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33 Replies · Reply by LB 1 minute ago
Views: 1480

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