NRL

The former Australian and NSW representative made the impassioned plea on the eve of the NRL’s Indigenous Round, which will celebrate First Nations people and raise further awareness about bridging health and employment gaps with non-Indigenous Australians.

Some of the NRL’s biggest names, including Latrell Mitchell, have called out abhorrent social media abuse in more recent times, which resulted in two men being arrested last month for online vilification of the Rabbitohs star.

Jamil Hopoate, who is an off-contract NRL player, was charged with large-scale commercial drug supply on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the alleged importation of cocaine with a street value of AU$154.2 million (NZ$165.6m).

Police allege Hopoate ran from police with an 8kg substance in his backpack, which he threw over a fence into a nearby backyard in Mascot.

The 26-year-old appeared via audiovisual link at Sydney’s Central Local Court on Wednesday and wiped away tears as his daughter waved to him through the court’s cameras.

The Warriors have been based in Australia since January and the club has had to decide whether to return to New Zealand now that the trans-Tasman travel bubble is open or fly in and fly out of Auckland for home games.

There are five Warriors home games on the NRL schedule starting with a 2 July clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was liaising between his teammates and team management to assess the options in front of them and he said they needed to take into account that some new players have never lived in Auckland before.

The 25-year-old was charged with common assault over the incident on January 30.

He didn’t face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday when his case was mentioned for the second time.

But his lawyer Jonathan Ivanisevic said Vunivalu was about to be referred for justice mediation.

Now called adult restorative justice conferencing, the mediation process is a facilitated meeting between a person who caused harm and those most affected by it.

The plans have the backing of one of the game’s most influential figures, with Wayne Bennett throwing his support behind the concept that would revolutionise the professional game.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and chairman Peter V’landys have met with several clubs over the past fortnight to outline the long-term vision for the game in regards to expansion and how they can maximise future broadcast rights deals.

Perenara, who played one test for the Kiwis in 2001, has been an NRL referee since 2011, after playing 72 first grade matches in the NRL for five clubs.

He is a cousin of All Blacks T J Perenara and Sonny Bill Williams.

Perenara has been diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, an abnormally fast heartbeat that causes shortness of breath, dizziness sweating or fainting, The Daily Telegraph reported.

He almost collapsed at training a week ago, Perenara told the newspaper. At times his heart raced to about 230 beats per minute.

The NRL boss has drawn a line in the sand after it emerged the Brisbane centre was allegedly involved in an off-field incident over the Easter long weekend, sources told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The NRL launched an investigation after a woman contacted the governing body to complain about Staggs, accusing him of making unwanted advances to her while intoxicated. No police charges have been laid.

In a high-quality game on Thursday night where Kalyn Ponga was dangerous as ever for Newcastle, Penrith's young guns Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary still had the last laugh.

James Fisher-Harris was also immense in the middle for the Panthers, who have still only conceded two tries in the second half of games this year.

With the score stuck at 10-6 for what felt like an age after the break, Penrith looked in danger of dropping their first game of the year in round seven.

But in the big moments, Penrith just keep stepping up and winning.

Dynamic fullback Matt Dufty starred with two tries and two first-half assists for Jack Bird and Mikaele Ravalawa but the scoreboard didn't quite reflect a tough contest where Parramatta struggled to execute.

St George Illawarra's goal-line and scramble defence was outstanding as they displayed line-speed and aggression from the get-go, shocking the Eels and mounting an 18-0 half-time lead.

They overcame the sin-binning of Tariq Sims early in the second half, after which the hosts finally scored, to eventually kick clear.

The Australian Christian Lobby took out the ad this week in The Daily Telegraph in an effort to heap pressure on the NRL, who said no to a return to their league after he left Australian rugby union under a cloud after his explosive sacking and a subsequent court case over a number of disputed social media posts.

On their petition page, the Australian Christian Lobby write: “Israel Folau is a much-loved Australian champion who has been banned from the NRL for once sharing a post on social media that they didn’t like.