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Read Now: Warning fired at struggling QLD Origin veteran – 101 Latest News

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Queensland State of Origin great Sam Thaiday fears Josh Papalii’s Maroons career could be over if he doesn’t fire in the decider on Wednesday night, as pressure mounts on the veteran Maroons prop amid a lean run.

Papalii has played 22 games in an admirable Queensland career that began in 2013, but the Raiders inspiration struggled in the first two matches of this year’s series.

The 30-year-old managed just 22 minutes, 35 metres and 20 tackles in the opener, before registering only 26 minutes, 37 metres and 17 tackles in game two.

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No Queenslander played fewer minutes in game one and only Jai Arrow got through less in the second encounter.

Thaiday cast his mind back to the careers of champion Queensland front-rowers Steve Price, Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva as he mulled over Papalii’s waning form ahead of the Brisbane finale.

“It almost reminds of when I was first coming into State of Origin. We had big Pricey in there, we had Shane Webcke, we had Petero Civoniceva, and they were told that this would be their last Origin series back in ’06 if they don’t pull their finger out and really stand up,” Thaiday said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.

Watch State of Origin exclusive, live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now.

“This might be a moment for big Papa to just really stand up for Queensland and (quieten) all those critics and shush them up. It’s a great opportunity for him to do that, so I hope he does.

“He has played limited minutes. I think he has minutes in him.

“I’d like to see him really push himself out there.”

Sam, Locky and Joey breakdown who wins Game 3: QLDER LIVE from THE CAXTON

Papalii started in the front row with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in game one, before lining up at prop alongside Lindsay Collins in the second clash.

He’s been named to again start in the front row with Collins as the Maroons aim to bounce back from a 44-12 thumping.

ULTIMATE GUIDE: State of Origin III

READ MORE: Queensland Maroons team list | Origin III

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Maroons Origin legend Darren Lockyer, now a Queensland selector, is expecting Papalii to play more minutes in the decider.

“The coach pretty much says to him, ‘Just go out there and rip and tear for as long as you can and when I see that you’re starting to struggle with the speed of the game I’ll take you off’,” Lockyer said.

“But I think you might see a bit more of Papalii this game.”

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Read Now: Teen sensation staring down agonising four-year wait – 101 Latest News

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It’s looking increasingly likely that Max Jorgensen will have to wait four more years to make his Rugby World Cup debut.

The 18-year-old has been a star of this year’s Super Rugby Pacific season for the NSW Waratahs, but a knee injury in the second-to-last round ended his campaign early.

After his side’s bruising loss to the Crusaders, scans found Jorgensen had suffered a grade three rupture of his MCL and an ACL strain.

Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand

Speaking on Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven, former Wallabies stars Tim Horan and Morgan Turinui weighed in on Jorgensen’s prognosis.

“He’s ruptured his medial ligament, so that’s at least eight weeks if there’s no operation there,” said Horan.

“He’s got a strain on his anterior cruciate ligament, that’s going to take some time. That’s at least 10 to 12 weeks.

“I wouldn’t rush Max Jorgensen back, just take his time.”

Turinui downplayed Jorgensen’s chances of contesting the World Cup unless head coach Eddie Jones is happy to take a “sight unseen” approach into the group stages.

Teen phenom scores first Super Rugby try

“If a guy like Nathan Gibbs (sports physician) looks after that they’ll get him back pretty quick – 10 weeks is best case possible. As you say, ACL is largely intact,” Turinui explained.

“I don’t think you can take him,” he added when asked if Jorgensen was a chance of making the flight to France.

“Nope. Let him get it right. What is it? June, July, August, it’s the 1st of September, you’re on the plane, you’re not playing the French warm-up game in August, you maybe get picked sight unseen.

“His career is going to be long if we take care of him.”

The loss of Jorgensen is a blow for the Wallabies who had the teenage sensation tipped to be a staple of the backline.

NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles unpack the drama of the Super Rugby Pacific finals race and some thrilling fixtures in the northern hemisphere

Horan was with Turinui in calling for a cautious approach to Jorgensen to maximise his longevity.

“Without the knee injury, he would have been on the plane, but now I just don’t think you can take him,” said Horan.

“You can’t rush a kid who’s 18 with a knee injury like that.”

Jorgensen’s Waratahs will host Moana Pasifika in Sydney on Saturday at 7.35pm (AEST).

The Waratahs cannot fall from sixth in the standings and will face one of either the Blues, Brumbies or Hurricanes, pending round 15 results.

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Read Now: On this day in 2014: Frank Lampard announces his Chelsea departure – 101 Latest News

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Frank Lampard announced that he would leave Chelsea after 13 years at the club on this day in 2014.

Speculation had been rife over the England international’s future, with his contract running down in west London, and the former West Ham midfielder confirmed in a statement that he had played his last game for the Blues.

Lampard joined Chelsea in 2001 after six seasons at Upton Park and went on to make 648 appearances and become the club’s all-time top goalscorer with 211 in all competitions.

During his time at Stamford Bridge, Lampard won the Champions League, the Europa League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.

“When I arrived at this fantastic club 13 years ago I would never have believed that I would be fortunate enough to play so many games and enjoy sharing in so much success,” Lampard said.

“This club has become part of my life and I have so many people to thank for the opportunity. Firstly, Ken Bates, who put his neck on the line to sign me as a young player and without him I would not have even begun this experience.

“Roman Abramovich, the man who saved our club and took us all to new levels. His desire to push the club to the top of the football world has rubbed off on everyone.

“All the managers and coaches who have helped me develop my game during the time I have been here. I have learnt from every one of them.

“All the brilliant team-mates who I have been lucky enough to train and play alongside for so long. Not just their football qualities but also the friendships I have gained along the way.

“The club will move forward, and as a Chelsea man I have no doubt that with the quality of the players that are there, they will continue with the success that we have all enjoyed over the past seasons.”

Lampard spent the following season with Manchester City and then one campaign with New York City before announcing his retirement as a player.

He subsequently managed Derby, Chelsea and Everton before a second spell at Stamford Bridge on a caretaker basis in 2023.

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Read Now: Aussie flyer's key change in bid to 'lift the ceiling' – 101 Latest News

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In just 40-odd steps, the world’s top male sprinters motor through the 100-metre dash.

Rohan Browning, the fastest man in Australia, has shed light on a key biomechanic change he’s working on in a bid to overhaul his first step.

The 25-year-old from Sydney is honing in on his first stride as he sets his sights on reaching Olympic and world championship finals, winning medals at major championships and cracking the 10-second barrier, even though it’s a mark the “Flying Mullet” considers a “myth”.

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Browning will next test his new-look start at Italy’s Florence Diamond League on Saturday morning (AEST).

“I’ve been rejigging a few different parts of my race, the main one being my start. I’ve changed my start and made it much more efficient. I’ve chopped the length of my first stride and tried to contact the ground a little quicker and am just focusing on accelerating really efficiently,” Browning told Wide World of Sports.

“It’s something I’ve worked on since before the (2021 Tokyo) Olympics, but it’s something that we have made more significant changes to since the (2022 Birmingham) Commonwealth Games.

“It just takes a long time to motor-pattern that and get used to it because your body always reverses to old habits. (It’s about) getting comfortable changing what you’re used to.

“I’ve benefitted a lot from really good biomechanic help through the New South Wales Institute of Sport and Athletics Australia. I’ve been working really closely with Emma Millett, who’s the biomechanist at NSWIS. She’s been such a crucial part of our team.

“We do a lot of video analysis, everything’s pretty high-tech, we use Optojump (an optical measurement system), the Laveg, which is a velocity gun, so everything is really tracked and we make sure to use that data in the most effective way possible.”

The Tokyo Olympics semi-finalist described his revamped start as a “week-to-week thing” and said he was encouraged by his execution at the Australian national championships, held across March and April in Brisbane, when he stormed to gold in 10.02 (0.0 wind).

“I think on the Australian circuit it wasn’t quite clicking, but I knew there was a model that if I could pull it off it would work and would really lift the ceiling of what I’m capable of running,” Browning added.

“I think the national championships was the first sort of glimpse of what that new model is capable of producing. I felt like the national championships was the first time that it sort of clicked and it came together properly.”

Browning will be taking on an incredible field in the Florence Diamond League, which includes the American trio that finished on the podium at the 2022 world championships in Eugene: Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell.

Making up the rest of the field are Jamaican great Yohan Blake, reigning Commonwealth Games champion Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Italian Samuele Ceccarelli.

Reigning Olympic gold medallist Marcell Jacobs was set for a mouthwatering duel with Kerley but withdrew this week due to a back injury.

At the Australian national championships, Browning strung together his quickest sequence of 100-metre times at a single meet, clocking 10.18 (+0.4), 10.17 (+0.1) and 10.02 (0.0).

At Yokohama’s Golden Grand Prix on May 21, he posted 10.11 (+1.5) and 10.10 (+0.4). The only man who beat him was Kerley.

The standard is 10.00 for August’s world championships, to be hosted by Budapest, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Browning’s legal personal best remains the 10.01 (+0.8) he ran at the Tokyo Olympics, but recent results suggest he’s a great chance of bursting through the 10-second barrier in Europe this year — and maybe even in Florence on Saturday.

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