Nick Campton

Papua New Guinea might lack the stars of Tonga and Samoa but their own rise in Test football is no less impressive as they prepare for the game of a lifetime against New Zealand.

Tonga head into Sunday's Pacific Championship final against Australia with the chance of securing their first major international silverware as they arrive at the last frontier of Test football.

In the NRL, we only talk about what Jason Taumalolo can't do anymore. But when he pulls on the red of Tonga it's a reminder of what he still is and always will be for the island nation and for Test rugby league. 

Australia's greatest ever UFC export is plotting his path back to a world title but the exact shape of Alex Volkanovski's future will be on the line this weekend in Abu Dhabi. 

The last time Australia met New Zealand, the Kangaroos suffered the heaviest defeat in their history. This weekend, they'll be out for revenge when the two sides meet in Christchurch.

Australia and Tonga went hell for leather in the Pacific Championships opener but the best of both sides, and the tournament itself, is still waiting to unfold.

Brendan Cowell's new limited ABC series Plum shines a light on rugby league, poetry and the impact of a life hard-lived while also shining a light on the toll concussion can take on a sporting hero. 

The UFC has confirmed they will return to Sydney in early 2025 and with Robert Whittaker climbing the middleweight rankings once again, a title shot on home soil could be in the offing for the Australian so long as he defeats Khamzat Chimaev.

Liam Martin was giving up 12cm to Melbourne's aerial specialist Xavier Coates, but the Panthers backrower made the effort to take him on anyway, and it's this tenacity that propelled him to winning the Clive Churchill Medal.

The Sharks fought their way off the canvas just enough to inspire a dream of the greatest comeback in women's rugby league history, only for the Roosters to steady when it counted most.