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 Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Agreed, LB.
The Eels made the GF in 2001, 2009 and 2022. Basically a great roster every decade! It's fair to want to shorten that, say every half decade. But this whole outbreak of monday morning quarterbacking club officials as if it's a linear,…"
58 minutes ago
Nightmare Off-Season replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"100% agree on all, Coryn.
 "
1 hour ago
EA replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Round 8 Team List v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (Anzac Round)
"Koina will get promoted for sure. I expect him to play this week in one of the spots that is not named in the JF teamlist. Kotorac and Nunn a chance too for this week."
1 hour ago
EA replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Round 8 Team List v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (Anzac Round)
"HM players will have schoolboy commitments with rugby league or union, same with a couple of the SG ball players like Bloomfield. I think most SG ball players will move up to JF and train with them for the rest of the year even if they dont play a…"
1 hour ago
Darren Munro replied to ParramattaLurker's discussion Round 8 Team List v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (Anzac Round)
"I think that was last year's stat's. Looks a lot bigger than last year. I can't recall him being that big!"
1 hour ago
Blue Eel replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Muttman, spot on with effort wins. Its not sustainable and you get found out. Talent and effort wins comps neither one on its own can win a comp. We need both and then so much more to go right."
1 hour ago
EA replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Bell is a gun. We need to resign D Walker for another 2 years so till the end of 2028. So 2029, Bell will be 20 years old. Good chance he will be pressing for the 14 spot to take Walker's spot. He can cover 9 well too."
1 hour ago
Nightmare Off-Season replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Daz,
Absolutely agree, & there is a real lack of evidence here.  
1 - 'First, of course there were critiques of Dylbag$ that exceeded his promises to step up. But did those critiques deny he was an excellent 5/8th? - Absolutely, undoubtedly yes.…"
1 hour ago
Blue Eel replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Longfin, what you say is mostly true, may I suggest they can all go Except for. Moses, Iongi,Addo Carr, Hopgood, Williams, Paulo " on reduced contract". An argument could be made for bench spots with Smith and Walker maybe.
I'd suggest that not one…"
1 hour ago
LB replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Right, so Perth sign Russell and Twidle and we are seen as idiots. But Perth not only have money but are offering more years too. Russell got 4 years and Twidle got 3. Now how can anyone in their right mind match that. Why aren't the top teams…"
1 hour ago
LB replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"The only Centres that could comfortably garner $650k would be Crichton, Staggs and Herbie."
1 hour ago
Randy Handlinger replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"IF....IF we retain Mr Tuivati.
Don't hold your breath with this mob Mace."
1 hour ago
LB replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"What if Russell wanted to test the market? We cannot force him to sign. Mutts you used to be really good on this site. Now you are just being insufferable."
1 hour ago
LB replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Chief, maybe just maybe Russell and his management saw that Perth are coming into the market and wanted to test the market? It goes both ways. Yes we want to sign a player but they need to want to sign as well. As soon as the deal of $650k comes up…"
1 hour ago
LB replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Did we let him walk or was it didn't want to match the money he had received. Tell me this now, would Russell receive $650k from any of the other 15 clubs in the market? The only Centre's who fit that value are Crichton, Farnworth and Staggs.
But it…"
1 hour ago
Prof. Daz replied to Muttman's discussion Apa Twidle signs with the Bears
"Poupou, can you explain how Dylan Brown in early 2025 was "off contract"?
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1 hour 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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