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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Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's Sack ! replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"LB, weren't you the one cursing the club about losing boods arthur,  and if we'd sacked brad, we'd be losing the next all Australian dummy half ?
I was thr"
1 minute ago
KENDOZA replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Thats true"
22 minutes ago
KENDOZA replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"He won't play fullback at the dogs or dolphins. Perth are now interested.lets see how he goes after a few more games. Some fans jizzing in their pants after he scores 2 trys against 12 men. He won't get much more money if he leaves. If i was apa i'd…"
23 minutes ago
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Give him a 3 year contract or he gone
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1 hour ago
The Captain replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
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fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
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7 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
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8 hours ago
LB replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
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9 hours ago
The Captain replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Control the narrative Pops. We knew we were going to debut Apa. We must have known for some time he was on the cusp. 
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10 hours ago
The Captain replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Thanks for bringing the receipts Bluey.
There's such a lack of information around as to who actually does what.
I have also seen that even though MON was originally touted as the GM of Football he has more recently been referred to in the press as…"
11 hours ago
KENDOZA replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
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"Yeah like only so much he can do with incompetence of MON, plus every week's we getting multiple injuries per game.  "
11 hours ago
Yeah Man replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"That's just not happening if they leave be rugby or PNG. Ryles is good coach just need better RR to give him talent to work with."
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ParraPride replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"If he is patient enough to wait 1 more season, there'll be plenty of opportunities around the corner for him."
12 hours ago
Blue Eel replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"SuperEel 22 Super, with respect! I'll reply and explain why as you've asked.
Here is an excerpt from the Eels management when they signed Mark O'Neill.
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12 hours ago
JC replied to Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's Sack !'s discussion Strong rumoured loan deal happening
"I didn't think I needed to explain it would be to play 6 as we definitely don't need a fullback. 
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13 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
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