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Connor Watson has waited 11 years for his first NRL grand final – and on Sunday he'll (hopefully) line up against the Knights and his old housemate Kalyn Ponga. It's the last Sportscafe of 2026, and Marc Ellis joins the crew for the season finale. Connor talks grand final week and facing Ponga's Knights, while the panel debates the hip-drop that cost Newcastle Phoenix Crossland, and whether the NRL needs an orange card. Lenny relives the Lions' four-minute grand final comeback from the MCG, Wharfie Time and all, along with the Norm Smith debate. Tayla hands out our end-of-season awards, Macca shares his hard-earned advice for a big night out, and two of the year's fan favourites return: the back-fence king and the Talbot Bay Birdwatching Club. Travelling this summer? Get 15% off your first Saily eSIM with code SPORTSCAFE. Download the Saily app and enter code SPORTSCAFE at checkout, or head to saily.com/sportscafe Stay connected in 200+ destinations with no roaming fees and no physical SIM needed.

It's finals season across both codes, and we've got the perfect guests for it. Brownlow Medallist and three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player Simon Black joins us to gives us insights into AFL Grand Final, where he has the honour of presenting the premiership cup. He talks through what grand final week is really like, what he got wrong in his first one, the Lions' shot at three in a row, and why premierships are built over years, not a single season. Knights great Kurt Gidley breaks down Newcastle's rise from last year's wooden spoon to a preliminary final, the Justin Holbrook effect, and what finals footy means to the town. Plus: Connor on the semi-final win and Sam Walker's return, Chur Ma Bro demands an apology for Warriors fans, Joey's legendary 40-nil road graffiti, and the panel picks their AFL Grand Final winners. 🌎Go to https://saily.com/sportscafe and use the code SPORTSCAFE to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. Here is your code for free access to Saily: promoCBr3HVigz94sSf4CDWX8 (1GB code)

Connor breaks down the Roosters' qualifying final loss to Penrith, what has to change against Cronulla on Saturday night, and where Sam Walker's recovery is at. Plus the crew debates the Sydney Sweeney betting ad, meets a 17-year-old who kicked the winner two weeks running, and our debate about the greatest sports movie of all time goes off the rails. Timestamps: Chapters 00:00:00 Teaser 00:00:59 Connor Watson on the Panthers loss 00:04:54 Do-or-die against the Sharks 00:08:46 That pregame praying video on the NRL account 00:10:28 Joey on the Warriors: "I'm fine" 00:14:38 The Sydney Sweeney betting ad debate 00:20:10 Riley Carter: two clutch kicks, two weeks 00:26:24 Who'd you pick for the grand final pregame? 00:30:18 Greatest sports movie of all time 00:39:11 Chris Lynn on Cricket Australia's privatisation push

Laurie Daley joins us three days out from finals week, with a read on the premiership race, the Blues' Origin decider, and an answer on whether he'd ever take an NRL head coaching job. Then Joey lays out an officiating theory about Mt Smart and The Warriors that's going to cost him a few friends in Auckland. Fair question or sour grapes? Connor Watson on captaining the Roosters for the first time, the hospital pass that flattened his own halfback, and the off-season dinner he now owes him. Sharni Layton on Australian Survivor, the Commonwealth Games campaign she gave up to film it, and what happens to an athlete's identity after retirement. Plus the Aussie squad for South Africa, the NFL landing in Melbourne, and three clips from the depths of the internet.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck joins Marc Ellis and Ric Salizzo on Herbie for Sportscafe Legends. He's played for the Roosters, the Warriors, the Kiwis, Toa Samoa, the Blues and the All Blacks. This is his last NRL season before a two-year deal at Wakefield Trinity - and with a knee reconstruction behind him, he's watching the Warriors' run from the sideline rather than the field. Roger talks about growing up in Otara, being coached as a kid by Eric Rush, ringing Rushy to tell him he was leaving rugby for league, and why he picked 12 when he came back to union. Timestamps: Chapters 00:00:00 Cold open 00:00:43 Welcome to Herbie 00:02:11 League fitness vs rugby fitness 00:02:53 Why he chose 12 00:04:31 Learning the game at first receiver 00:05:29 Eric Rush the junior coach 00:07:58 The phone call to Rushy 00:08:44 Why league suited him 00:09:53 Community and 40 memberships 00:10:59 The pathway out of school 00:12:05 A premiership in his second year 00:12:40 When he knew he had a gift 00:14:15 Getting knocked back 00:15:06 Blazers, kit and choosing union 00:17:32 Coming home to the Warriors 00:18:11 Saying no to mum and dad 00:21:39 Heroes: Rushy, Carlos, Benji 00:22:11 Eric Rush and the water slide 00:23:37 Watching this Warriors season injured 00:24:45 Two ACLs and the next surgery 00:25:36 All Black 1204 00:27:11 Wakefield, and letting go of the plan 00:30:41 His brother, LeBron and a PlayStation launch 00:34:15 The Herbie project 00:34:52 Otara was a village 00:36:42 What the travel cost him 00:39:15 What's changed at the Warriors 00:41:23 What it takes to win a premiership

On Friday night at Allianz, Connor Watson runs out against South Sydney in Jai Arrow's 100th and final game for the club - an appearance the NRL changed its interchange rules to allow after Arrow's MND diagnosis forced him to retire in May. Connor, Tayla and Lynny break down the scenes on the Gold Coast last weekend and what Friday is going to feel like from the other side of the field. Then Craig Wing joins us. He came through as a South Sydney junior, debuted for the Bunnies in '97, and ended up building most of his career at the Roosters after Souths were thrown out of the competition. Nobody is better placed to explain this rivalry - and we asked him which one he'd actually pick. Plus: Neil Townley is 69 years old and still playing local footy every weekend. He gives the Sportscafe team a rev-up they will not forget.

In episode three of Sportscafe Legends, Marc Ellis and Ric Salizzo sit down on Herbie the housebus with Lucy Lawless - Xena: Warrior Princess herself. She grew up in Mount Albert with no fences and no curfew, was nicknamed "uncoordinated" at school, and then spent six years and 24-episode seasons swinging a sword nine months a year. Xena big in New Zealand, but it was enormous in Italy, Turkey, the Philippines and Iran - and somewhere around episode eight, Lucy found out her character had become a global gay icon, via a stack of faxes from New York while she was standing on the side of set. These days she'd rather direct than act, and keeps turning down offers from America to do it. She also has a hobby that comes up about twenty-five minutes in, and it's not what you'd expect. Marc and Ric get into what Xena did for the New Zealand screen industry, knowing Russell Crowe when he was running an underage nightclub, the first time in her life she felt proud of herself, and what Herbie is actually being used for. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Herbie 00:01:27 A slow start to the day 00:02:20 Growing up in Mount Albert 00:04:34 Slightly delinquent 00:05:49 How the acting started 00:08:28 Becoming a gay icon by accident 00:09:19 Marc was an extra on Xena 00:10:16 Russell Crowe before Russell Crowe 00:11:35 "My nickname at school was uncoordinated" 00:12:31 Nine months a year, 14-hour days 00:13:13 What Xena did for the NZ industry 00:14:55 Watching a film a day 00:18:50 Why she's directing now 00:21:43 New Zealand needs to feed itself 00:24:01 When kids were allowed to disappear 00:24:42 The murder trials 00:25:33 The hearing 00:26:10 Why she goes 00:28:30 Pizza etiquette 00:29:30 Star Wars, Tom Selleck and the Ewok problem 00:32:29 The proudest she's ever been 00:34:48 Never Look Away 00:35:31 Working with Marc Ellis 00:38:44 What Herbie is actually for Sportscafe Legends is presented by Sal's Authentic New York Pizza and Southern Alps Lager. Herbie is fuelled by Gull.

In episode two of Sportscafe Legends, Marc Ellis and Ric Salizzo sit down on Herbie the housebus with La'auli Sir Michael Jones: 1987 World Cup winner, 55 tests, and the man John Hart once called almost the perfect rugby player. He takes us back to West Auckland, where he grew up with 15 people under one roof after losing his father at four. He tells the full story of the 1989 knee injury that doctors compared to being hit by a car - and the eighteen-month road back that nobody thought was possible. And he explains why, twenty-six years after he retired, his food bank matters more to him than the rugby ever did. Plus: where "Iceman" actually came from, cheating at Pictionary with Zinzan Brooke, and the gift that started a two-hour argument at a marae up north. Legends is brought to you by Sal's Authentic New York Pizza and Southern Alps Brewing Co.

Welcome to LEGENDS - a new show from Sportscafe Media, hosted by Ric Salizzo and Marc Ellis, filmed on board Herbie, the 1971 Bedford bus. Episode one: Manly Sea Eagles and New Zealand Warriors legend Matthew Ridge. Fresh off travelling the length and breadth of New Zealand - Ridgey joins the boys from Bali for a conversation that starts with missing teeth and a flax backpack, and ends up somewhere none of us expected. He opens up on the healer who put his family back together when his marriage was falling apart on the other side of the world, standing up in front of 150 people at a marae to talk about being on the receiving end of DV, why ego is the only thing that will ever ruin you, and what it actually takes to change without losing the bloke everyone fell in love with. Plus: Marc gives Herbie away to Kiwi families doing it tough, the boys weigh up whether a Marc & Matthew show could work in 2026, and much more. Two blokes who spent their careers trying to beat each other, now trying to work out how to be good men. It's funnier than that sounds. ⚠️ This episode contains discussion of family harm. If it brings anything up for you, the Family Violence Information Line is 0800 456 450 - free, 24/7. 🍕 Proudly presented by Sal's Authentic New York Pizza 🍺 With Southern Alps Lager ⛽ Herbie fuelled by Gull Chapters 00:00:00 Teaser 00:00:57 Welcome to Legends 00:02:08 The tooth, the flax bag 00:03:03 Could a Marc & Matthew show work again? 00:06:07 Herbie: giving the bus to families doing it tough 00:06:45 On the road with Herbie 00:08:38 The great Kiwi roadie 00:09:56 Life is short and nobody remembers you 00:11:06 "Does the average Kiwi still think you're a...?" 00:12:02 France, the phone call, and the distant healing 00:14:37 The marriage that nearly ended 00:16:16 150 people at the marae 00:17:04 Ridge on domestic violence: "I was the one getting beaten up" 00:21:02 What Ridge learned about his own ego 00:28:03 Why France didn't work and Bali did 00:34:36 India: kids with nothing and the biggest smiles 00:35:33 The flax bag everyone asks about 00:37:29 "Why has the world become like this?" 00:39:48 "Swim, mate"

Alofiana Khan-Pereira has been at the Warriors for five months, but the star winger joins us to talk about standing in the V at Go Media Stadium for the first pre-match haka in NRL history - the goosebumps, the noise when it finished, and what it meant to a kid born in Lismore who only reconnected with his Māori side after moving to New Zealand. Connor Watson is in studio the week Brian To'o joined the PNG Chiefs, and he's honest about what it's like watching a super club get built around you. Tayla Montoya ambushes the boys with a round of questions, and Chris Lynn previews the first Test in Darwin in 23 years. Plus a Cathy Freeman classic from the archive, the bird watchers' return, and Joey's very expensive way of getting into his own house.

Cathy joins the Sportscafe chaos and cricket legends Merv Hughes and the late great Dean Jones in the madness.

Glenn Maxwell joins Sportscafe from Melbourne - and when the boys bring up the finger-clicking scandal that's engulfed English club cricket this week, Maxwell starts doing some maths on his own career. He's got a theory about a few dismissals in his grade cricket days... Also this week: Calum from the Talbot Bay Birdwatching Club explains how four blokes with binoculars racked up 20 million views, we look at NZ vs. AU at the Commonwealth Games and debate the per capita table, as well as Rohan Browning's amazing comeback story. Plus: Chris Lynn on the Broncos' brutal fortnight, Connor Watson on the boot auction, and Ric discovers a new use for the per capita medal table

George Best joins the Sportscafe couch - Manchester United, the European Cup, the 60s, and the bet he made with his mates about his right foot. He talks about leaving Belfast at 15 and going home the next day, becoming the fifth Beatle after a night in Portugal, why he took off to America, and what he actually enjoyed most about playing. Plus a debate with Zinzan Brooke over who exactly is the best player in the world. Chapters 00:00:00 A very special guest 00:00:36 Any regrets? 00:01:17 What the 60s were really like 00:02:15 Leaving Belfast at 15 00:03:06 Long hair, flares, and the fifth Beatle 00:03:53 Why America was different 00:05:27 The Miss World rumours 00:06:44 Taking the mickey out of defenders 00:07:33 The bet 00:08:48 The European Cup 00:11:02 Where did it all go wrong? Sportscafe - classic episodes from the archive. #GeorgeBest #ManchesterUnited #Sportscafe #ZinzanBrooke

Victor Radley is a changed man but still manages to lead the show astray. Victor the Inflictor joins Joey, Connor and Taylor in studio and holds nothing back: his first game co-captaining the Roosters, what it was like on the inside of THAT Origin series with Laurie Daley, the moment with Teddy he says he'll remember for the rest of his life, and why one of the NRL's most feared forwards is on the tools running a demolition business mid-season. Also on the show - Tayla shares her emotional weekend as Marcelo Montoya calls time on his career, Chris Lynn checks in from Sri Lanka, we meet the park footy legend behind a viral AFL kick, Toolbox Talk takes on the great stadium beer injustice, and grandma on a moped might be the first ever perfect score in Sport of Social history.

A shark attacked him waist-deep off the New Zealand coast - so he fought it off with his fishing rod. In this classic extract from the Sportscafe TV show, Marc Ellis and the panel sit down with the fisherman who became the bait, and the story only gets better from there: what the doctors found, why he refused to stay in hospital, and the government's official advice for what to do when a shark has hold of you. Featuring Marc Ellis, Lana Coc-Kroft, Graham, and Eva the Bulgarian.