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
"Ea , ask yourself this question,  is Twidle worth keeping ? Ye or no
If he is you find a way. Thats mark o'neill job to identify talent and lock them up before its too late 
If Twidle goes its another black mark on O'Neill’s resume "
5 minutes ago
Sparky the Eel replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"I do think if Ryles dont get the EELS humming anytime soon & have them be at least a top 4 side Parra needs to pull the pin on him & throw enven the kitchen sink & signing Ivan Cleary as our head coach.
Sign Ivan & both his sons to a $$$ dolloar…"
7 minutes ago
Sparky the Eel replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Well done Parra see if you can loose this young star, as Parra's track record is not the best when it comes to signing & keeping talent.
Grow a set & show the other NRL clubs you  mean buisness when it come to players recruitment
 
 "
12 minutes ago
Offside replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Ritchie can't stay fit for long enough to get a run.
I like what ive seen un attack from Apa id say wing would be a option to begin but if he chooses to go for a better opportunity and cash especially as a young father you can't blame "
1 hour ago
Yehez replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"He's a fullback, of course he'll leave. 
He needs a lot of work defensively to be a center, which someone like Richie Penisini (who's younger than Apa) already is better at. 
at 5/8 the defense will be an issue but we have Lorenzo, Fletcher, Risati,…"
7 hours ago
Jack replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"I don't think twiddle is a boom rookie. Got talent and is a class players at times but I can't see him landing a full time gig in the halves or fb for us "
8 hours ago
DYNASTY.LOADING replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"If he is not retained that'll be the nail in the coffin for any hope under this administration. 
If not they've learnt and grown and that'd be exciting"
9 hours ago
LB replied to Yeah Man's discussion Just Our Luck
"Thompson will be rusty and doubt he plays long minutes. Still will be hard to beat without him."
9 hours ago
Collaroy Eel replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"Spot on. He needs to go back to what was working, that was Walker coming off the bench"
10 hours ago
fake midget pseudoachondroplasia’s discussion was featured
There has been a lot of comments about Ryles coaching especially after the big losses to Penrith and Storm and now after Tigers.  Funny that they weren't there after our wins but that is a different discussion.Here is a good example of good…
10 hours ago
Darren Munro replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"I would say a swap deal will xerri dogs and Averillo dolphins 🐬. "
10 hours ago
Wild_Eels replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"I am sure if Arthur was the coach no one would blame MON but him. "
10 hours ago
Michael W. replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"With the loss of players he doesn't have much choice. It's no different to Watson at the chooks, when they were down Butcher and Radley, Robbie was starting him at lock, and Watson is like Walker in a lot of respects, they make a bigger difference…"
10 hours ago
EA replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"The only play Galvin has is his short pass to Preston. Ever dogs fan will tell you that. Yet Talagi did not look comfortable once. No shoulder in his tackles. As someone said. Panthers defence is actually vulnerable on their edges. But they normally…"
10 hours ago
Michael W. replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"And Talagi has had a couple of seasons in 1st grade. He cost Penrith at least 2 tries with his missed tackles. "
10 hours ago
Nitram replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Yeah hidden defensive issues because penrith usually hold the ball more and control field position better. But tonight shows he still cant tackle."
10 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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