An Alex Johnston hattrick led the Rabbitohs to a gutsy 32-18 victory over the Wests Tigers in Tamworth on Friday night. After a disappointing loss to the Broncos last week, South Sydney bounced back in style at Scully Park, with Johnston's 12th career hat-trick cementing the lead which put the Rabbitohs back in the top eight. The Wests Tigers were gallant in their defeat, with a second-half surge bringing them within two-points of the Rabbitohs' lead but the Round 22 defeat was costly for the home side with Shawn Blore (head knock) and Dane Laurie (knee) failing to finish the match. Returning for his first game since Round 12, Latrell Mitchell also made his presence felt at fullback with 169 run metres and 11 tackle breaks in his 80-minute performance. The Rabbitohs fired the first shot thanks to an Johnston intercept, capitalising on a no-look pass from John Bateman and racing 70m down Scully Park to score in the opening minute. The Tigers hit back in the ninth minute when Cody Walker fumbled a Luke Brooks kick in-goal and hooker Api Koroisau dived on the ball to score under the posts. Koroisau converted his own try to level the scores 6-6. But the Rabbitohs kicked into gear midway through the first-term on the back of some nice lead-up work from Cody Walker and Mitchell down the left-edge, setting up Tass at centre and Johnston for a double. Come the 27th minute and halfback Lachlan Ilias put his stamp on the match with a deft kick to the right, which sat up perfectly for barnstorming backrower Keaon Koloamatangi to extend South Sydney's lead 20-6. The Wests Tigers rallied in defence in the back end of the first-half, with the Rabbitohs squandering several opportunities on the line but Jason Demetriou's side still dominated field possession and held onto their 14-point lead at halftime. After a rev up at half time, the Wests Tigers came out firing in the second term and thanks to some nice lead up work from fullback Jahream Bula and Koroisau before the hooker grubbered through for Isaiah Papali'i to score and reduce the deficit 20-12. Tim Sheens' side looked set to go back-to-back in the 54th minute but the Scully Park hill were brought to their feet when Mitchell won the footrace and laid on a superb trysaver. But the Wests Tigers were on a roll and finally capitalised in the 57th minute with lock Fonua Pole running over three Rabbitohs defenders to put his side right back in the match with only two points the difference. But Soth Sydney fans could breathe a sigh of relief when Johnston laid his third try in the left corner to cap a memorable night in the north-west. A try to Cameron Murray in the 75th minute well and truly put the game to bed and the Rabbitohs climbed back to seventh position on the ladder after recording their 11th win of the season. Source: NRL.com

Pat Carrigan has broken the longest try drought in the NRL as the Brisbane Broncos turned on a 32-10 win over the Roosters at The Gabba to consolidate their spot in the top two. Carrigan provided a huge highlight for the night with his first try in his 78th first grade game while also racking up 115 running metres, five tackle breaks, three offloads and 26 tackles for a Brisbane side proudly playing in the club’s City Jersey. Carrigan was ably abetted by Payne Haas with 163 running metres, Herbie Farnworth with eight tackle busts and a try, and Billy Walters who was great in attack and defence all night. Farnworth crossed for his 12th try of the season to open the scoring for the Broncos in the 4th minute when he showed determination to scramble across the line on the end of some good ball movement to the left. Reynolds converted for a 6-0 lead. Brisbane were then forced to absorb repeat Roosters attacking sets and turned away the danger with some staunch defence before working their way up field and extending their lead in the next set. Reece Walsh produced an audacious cross kick from the right towards the uprights with the ball bouncing up for Ezra Mam to dive and catch mid-air for a try under the posts. Reynolds converted to make it 12-0 after 16 minutes. The lead was extended further when Reynolds knocked over a penalty in the 25th minute after Haas copped a high shot from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves right in front of the posts. The Broncos were playing with confidence and the crowd were in raptures on the 34th minute mark when Carrigan rumbled across for his maiden try in his 78th NRL game much to the delight of his teammates who mobbed him with a group pile-on. Reynolds knocked over the conversion for a 20-0 lead which they carried into halftime. The Broncos ground out the start of the second stanza and looked to have gone further ahead when Kotoni Staggs soared high to take a Mam cross-kick and touch down in the 53rd minute – only for the officials to call him offside. Tyson Smoothy was then denied a try of his own when the referee blocked his path to the line, knocking him over as he was about to score under the posts with 20 minutes to play. Billy Smith scored for the Roosters off a kick rebound out wide on the left but the Broncos struck back straight away when Staggs collected an errant pass from Brandon Smith from the restart and charged away to score. Reynolds kicked the conversion to make it five-from-five for the night before Daniel Tupou scored from another kick to make it 26-10 but the Broncos had the final word when Mam picked up another loose ball and raced 80 metres to score. Source: brisbanebroncos.com.au

The much anticipated Believe PNG events for the month of August will soon hit our shores as the team prepares to also feature the all-time contemporary worship music band “Planetshakers”. Kimberley Smith from the Believe PNG team said, they are excited to come back and host “The Believe Events”, because these events are different from the previous events hosted in the country. The Believe NEW ERA SUMMIT 2023 is an annual event and is open for all who aspire to be better leaders especially high school and university students. This will be held at the New Lecture Theatre at UPNG from 9am - 5pm on the 25th of August 2023 and the Believe Events will be held at the Sir John Guise Indoor complex on the 25th-26th August and is organized into 2 focus: • Believe NXT GEN Events 25 & 26 Aug, Youth Focus • Believe Family Fun Day 26 Aug, Family Focus She said, due to experience, they will be hosting day-time events for the first time at the Sir John Guise Stadium indoor complex. “We’ve heard and responded to the feedbacks, and we understand that sometimes night events in Port Moresby are not ideal and that’s why we’ve decided to go with a different route.” “We will be hosting the events at the Sir John Guise Indoor complex to allow for more security and a controlled flow of people during the night.” All who wish to attend must purchase their tickets at the UPNG Student Services Desk and will be issued a coloured band during the night to control the crowd. She said, leading up to their main evets which is the Believe NEW ERA Summit 2023 and the Believe Events, they will visit schools, hospitals and also the marketplaces to pray and encourage people. “So, in August from the 21st-29th, we will be bringing a couple of hundred missionaries.” “We are also excited to be running programs throughout schools, marketplaces and hospitals where we will be encouraging people, praying with people and that will come together at the end of the week with our Believe events.” “We have 16 high schools and 14 primary schools lined up for our visits which we’re very excited to be part off and we just want to reach as many people as possible to spread the word.” Kimberley expressed much excited for their first ever Family Fun Day that’s open to all families and the public. “We’re inviting families to come along with their children and have a lot of fun.” “We’re going to face painting and games but also a concert with the Planetshakers Band that is family friendly, kid oriented so that it’s a fun and safe environment for everyone to come and enjoy.”

The Gulf Provincial Health Authority (GPHA) has finally launched its MEASLES RUBELLA, Polio & VITAMIN “A” SIA CAMPAIGN over the weekend in Kerema town. This was after a 2-day refresher training of 26 health care workers from the 21 health care facilities in the province to build their capacity around the Measles Rubella, Polio (OPV) and VITAMIN “A” Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) campaign. Gulf Province is the last province to launch its SIA campaign. Speaking to the health care workers at the launching, GPHA Acting CEO Dr. Alexander Maha acknowledged his hardworking team for ensuring the activity was finally launched and ready for implementation despite challenges. “We are the last province to kick off this campaign, but that doesn’t mean we are not going to do it, and we are not going to do it well”. It has been a struggle for all of us, we’ve had our battles to get this activity organized”, Dr. Maha said. He said the average life expectancy is low, many infants die before they reach the age of 5 years. “Most of these deaths are vaccine preventable, and activities like this is to help save our children’s lives. There is still a more important job to do, and this is the Routine Immunization, we really need to work hard to improve this”, he said. Furthermore, Kerema Family Health Services Coordinator Sr. Margaret Malaisa called on the national, provincial, district and the village levels to work together to achieve one goal and aim to immunize the children. “This campaign needs a collaborative approach from each and every one of us. The Key message here today is “WE MUST NOT LEAVE ANY CHILD BEHIND”, said Sr. Malaisa. She said that the SIA campaign is a national activity and is being implemented because immunization coverage nationwide, including the Gulf province, is at an all-time low. The goal of this campaign is to immunize at least 95% eligible children in the province against measles, rubella, and polio to increase immunity (Defence against illnesses). The target is to reach all children less than 5 years of age. That is 30, 000 children in the Gulf. GPHA MR-SIA Team Lead Sr. Mahu Boro sharing similar sentiments, urged all – parents, politicians, Faith Based organization, NGO’s, business houses, provincial government administration and public servants and ward councilors, to work together with the Provincial Health Authority to ensure all children under 5 years in the province get immunized. She thanked all hardworking health teams and partners in the province from Santos, Rotary against Malaria, UNICEF, World Health Organization and the National Department of Health, GAVI Program for the continued support to Gulf PHA.

The Dolphins have extended Tom Gilbert for a further three years, locking in the young forward until the end of the 2028 season. Already signed until 2025, the Queensland representative is set to form a big part of the Dolphins' future and has been earmarked for a senior leadership role. The 22-year-old's impressive season was cut short after suffering a major shoulder injury in the opening State of Origin game in May but has made a big impression on the Dolphins to secure an extension. “I am very happy to have my long-term future locked in with the Dolphins,” Gilbert said. “As a Brisbane boy, it has been a great experience to see an NRL team flourish in the region I grew up in. “You can see that the Dolphins are set up for a bright future and I want to be part of it.” Source: NRL.Com

Elon Musk tweeted on his official account on Sunday that Twitter would be changing its logo to an “X” and that all the birds will be disappearing from the platform. In a series of tweets, Musk said: “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” In the same series of tweets, Musk posted “Paint It Black,” before launching a user poll to “Change default platform color to black.” “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow,” he continued. “Like this but X,” he added above an illustration of the iconic bird silhouette but against a black background. One of the world’s richest men, Musk, once known for his innovative efforts through companies SpaceX and Tesla to launch rockets and build electric cars, now makes headlines for his antics and eccentric remarks on his personal Twitter account – often sharing conspiracy theories and getting into public spats on the social media platform. Musk overhauled the site after acquiring it for $44 billion in late October – drastically cutting staff and overseeing controversial policy changes which have led to frequent service disruptions and upended his own reputation in the process as tech watchers have noted. He has also repeatedly warned that Twitter could be at risk of filing for bankruptcy. This month he

A determined Knights side ended an eight-year hoodoo against the Storm to keep their finals hopes alive with a 26-18 triumph at a packed McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday. Buoyed by the support of home fans who had turned up early to cheer the club's premiership winning NRLW team, Newcastle came from 12-0 down after conceding two early tries to overpower the Storm. The turning point was the sin-binning of Melbourne forward Tariq Sims five minutes before half-time for a high shot on Knights halfback Jackson Hastings and the home side piled on three tries in his absence. The Knights hung on in the second half to end an 11-match losing streak against the Storm since 2015 and move within one point of the top eight. The Storm off got to a flying start when fullback Nick Meaney swooped on a loose ball and raced 75 metres to score in just the third minute of the match. Newcastle had lost their previous 11 matches against the Storm and the hoodoo appeared set to continue when Melbourne forward Trent Loiero crashed over in the eighth minute and Meaney's conversion gave the visitors a 12-0 lead. However, the Knights got back in the game after a dropped ball by Melbourne winger Will Warbrick gave them attacking field position and winger Dom Young scored off a tap-on pass by Dane Gagai. With momentum turning in favour of the home team, Jackson Hastings put Bradman Best over in the 32nd minute to reduce the Storm's lead to 12-10 after the conversion by Kalyn Ponga. The Knights then scored three unanswered tries while Sims was in the sinbin for a high shot on Hastings to take an 18-12 halftime lead. Greg Marzhew was the first to cross in the 36th minute after five-eighth Tyson Gamble stepped across the face of the defence before linking with Best to put the winger over out wide. Lachlan Fitzgibbon then scored one of the best tries of the season after the Knights shifted the ball through 10 sets of hands, with Tyson Frizell and Jackson Hastings handle twice, in the 39th minute. Ponga missed both conversions but Newcastle showed their intent to carry on with the job when Matt Croker scored in the 45th minute as Sims was waiting to return to the field. The Knights only other points came from a 75th minute Ponga penalty goal but their defence limited the Storm to just one second half try through Papua New Guinea centre Justin Olam and they hung on to win. Source: NRL.com

Schools around the country can now save all their data on a new information management system after the Department of Education developed a software application or platform to streamline and automate various administrative tasks within an education institution. The School Information Management System (SIMS) for PNG schools serves as a centralized database to store, manage and retrieve information related to students, teachers, schools timetabling, attendance, assessments and other relevant information for students and teachers. The system has five features: · Students biodata/Information; allows administrators to store and manage data for new continuing and transfer-in students. It includes personal details, contact information, medical records and other personal information for a student. · Teacher Bio-data/Information; allows administrators to store and manage teachers’ data including teachers’ personal details, contact addresses, qualification, medical information, family information and further allows principals and inspectors to add reports and remarks on the performance of a teacher. · Timetabling; the system has a feature to allow deputy academic principals to create/set the timetable of each class for school academic year. · Attendance tracking; the system enables schools to track students’ and teachers’ attendance and generate reports. · Assessment data; the system allows teachers to add and view students; assessment data. Principals from fifteen (15) secondary schools and three (3) junior high schools in the National Capital District were introduced to the “School Information Management System” (SIMS) on July 20th. Secretary for Education Dr. Uke Kombra attended the School Information Management System introductory session hosted by the Department of Education ICT team at Butuka Academy and asked the principals to cooperate and work to improve teaching, learning and academic performance of schools. Dr. Kombra said schools and enrolments are increasing dramatically annually and every school’s information needs to be captured in a centralized and single standardized system. “Our management systems must be up to date with the change in systems globally. Technology must be the way forward for us in order to manage our schools and to help manage our education system.” Dr. Kombra asked the schools heads to take leadership in the training and make the awareness to schools, teachers and parents. The project will be trialed in NCD and later launched and rolled out to the rest of the country. Also, the system will be trialed with secondary schools followed by primary schools.

The Broncos have staked their premiership credentials, overcoming the Rabbitohs 36-20 in front of a sellout crowd at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Friday night. Despite losing two of their men to the sin bin during the match, the Brisbane powerhouse dominated the error-riddled Rabbitohs with Adam Reynolds producing an attacking masterclass against his former club and star backs Reece Walsh and Kotoni Staggs putting on a show in front of the Broncos faithful. It was Alex Johnston who opened the Rabbitohs account in the fifth minute thanks to some quick hands out to the left edge. But four minutes later the Broncos hit back through centre Staggs, thanks to a lobbed pass to the right from returning fullback Walsh. Come the 11th minute and Martin Taupau was sent to the sin bin for a bizarre incident involving the forward lifting his knee into contact with incoming Rabbitoh defender Campbell Graham. Having only conceded a Blake Taffe penalty goal while down to a 12-man disadvantage, the Broncos made up for any lost momentum when Walsh racked his second try assist, creating space for Selwyn Cobbo to strike on their right edge. Just as the Broncos looked to be heading into the break with a four-point lead, Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook and centre Graham combined on the stroke of halftime, to put the Rabbitohs in front 14-12. The opening of the second stanza was all Reece Walsh when the Maroons fullback looked to get one back for the Broncos before Johnston chased the 21-year-old down and dragged him into touch inches before the line. But seemingly determined to make up for lost time after three weeks on the sideline, the Broncos star had a point to prove, slicing again through South Sydney's defence from 40m downfield and this time finding the line in the 50th minute. Adam Reynolds converted to give the Broncos an 18-14 lead. The Broncos looked to be winning the arm wrestle when forward Xavier Willison crossed for his 3rd career try four minutes before Staggs bagged made it a double on the right edge. But come the 68th minute and ill-discipline started to take its toll for the visitors when winger Jesse Arthars was sin binned for a high tackle on fullback Blake Taffe. This time Jason Demetriou's men were quick to capitalise on the extra man and a Cody Walker offload to centre Isaiah Tass saw the Rabbitohs cross left of the posts and reduce the deficit 30-20 with ten minutes to play. While the Rabbitohs were looking to kickstart a comeback,  Reynolds ensured the Round 21 match was the Broncos' with a 75 minute try to put the finishing touches on a great night out for the veteran halfback. Source: NRL.Com Recording their third-straight victory, the Broncos moved to top of the leaderboard while the Rabbitohs have been left clinging onto life in the top eight.

The NRL Telstra Premiership returns to the Sunshine Coast for the second time in 2023 with South Sydney playing host to the Broncos in an expected blockbuster on Friday night. The Rabbitohs are fresh off a bye - only their second of the season - and will be looking to get into a groove with State of Origin now over and a host of troops expected back in the coming weeks. The Broncos weren't at their best defensively against the Bulldogs, conceding 24 points at Belmore, but were too good in attack as they continue to put pressure on the Panthers for top spot on the ladder. Both these sides met earlier in the season with the Bunnies handing the Broncos a reality check on home turf with a 32-6 thumping at Suncorp Stadium. These are the matches the Broncos will need to start nailing if they are to prove themselves as genuine premiership contenders in 2023. You get the feeling South Sydney's final six weeks in the competition will be electrifying as they make a run towards the finals.

The official launch of the PNG NRL BID to be the 18th NRL team was launched Wednesday night at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby. PNG NRL BID Chairman Mr Wapu Sonk said, they have been working closely with all stakeholders as well as taking that major step forward (last week) with the first ever Academy for elite junior players as one of the requirements to be eligible to be in the BID. “We’ve been basically working with all the stakeholders, the Australian stakeholders & government, NRL, PNG Stakeholders & government as well.” “Most of it has been really about listening and trying to get the structures right so it will stand up (BID).” “It’s not just a team, it’s a company we’re upgrading so where we are now is to launch and start the program.” Mr Sonk said, the committees are working on getting the license in 2025 and hopefully participate by 2027. Meanwhile, the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Mr Pat Conroy said, they will invest $5.5 million (K13.4 million) to further support PNG’s NRL BID in its business case, the schoolboys and girls’ competition and to provide funding for a skills academy (Centre of Excellence). Conroy said, to have a franchise team, PNG needs to start developing young elite players and that’s the step they’re taking now. “I’m really proud to announce five and a half million dollars as a token of our support because we cannot think of anything but bringing the people of PNG and Australia closer together than a rugby league team here.” Minister Conroy said, there are other teams biding to be the 18th NRL Team but word from the Australian Prime Minister is that he wants to see a Papua New Guinean Team in the NRL by 2025. “As Prime Minister Albanese said, he wants to see the 18th team being of Papua New Guinean identity.” “So there’s other franchise and I respect them, but I want to see a PNG team playing in the NRL to honour the shared history between our 2 countries.”

Eels halfback Mitchell Moses is under no illusions about the challenge facing his side ahead of arguably the toughest run home in the competition. While they head into Round 21 sitting 7th on the Telstra Premiership ladder, just 48 differential points separate them and the ninth-placed Cowboys, who are the NRL's form team with five-straight wins to their name. While no club is secured in the eight heading into the final seven rounds of the season, Parramatta find themselves in a particularly tricky spot given the remaining games on their fixture list. Half of their six encounters (the club has a bye in Round 27) are against sides currently sitting inside the top four, plus this Saturday's meeting with the red-hot Cowboys. Just two of those games are at CommBank Stadium where the Eels have been tough to beat this year, and all three clashes against top four sides occur on the road, with trips to Melbourne, Brisbane and Penrith awaiting Brad Arthur's men. They'll also have to get the job done over the next month without two of their most experienced players, after winger Maika Sivo and representative prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard each received four-game bans for incidents arising from last week's 25-24 win over the Titans. Moses said while it's set to be a huge challenge, he believes if they can emerge from it inside the top eight it will serve them well for the finals. "It's a big test for us coming to the end of the season. We have got to string a few wins together to hopefully cement our spot in the eight," he said. We have got a fair few away games against some really quality teams. We are going to miss a few players now as well... it's going to be a tough road for us. Mitchell Moses "Hopefully, if we are playing finals at the end of the year, it's a good test and good prep I guess. "We know what we need to do to win footy games and if we can stick to our game plans and what works well for us, we will give ourselves a good chance to win games at the end of the year." Having earlier this year agreed to a new deal with the club through to the end of 2026, with player options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, Moses continued an impressive campaign by earning selection in the NSW squad for Games Two and Three of this year's Origin series. Despite losing the series, the 28-year-old said he's hoping the confidence he gained from helping the Blues to victory in Game III earlier this month will rub off on the Eels over the next month and a half. "It was a good experience... any time you can win a game in that arena is pretty good," Moses said. "I felt comfortable in that last game and hopefully I can take a bit of confidence out of that and take it into the end of the season. "I have played in a few big games now and definitely learned from a lot of those games." Saturday night's clash with the Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium will be the first time the two sides have met in Townsville since last year's thrilling preliminary final, which saw the Eels win 24-20 and advance to the Grand Final. Source: NRL.Com