Can Williams hold Raiders spot?

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Talent ... Raiders playmaker Sam Williams is likely to start at halfback. Source: Renee McKay / AAP

It's Groundhog Day for Canberra halfback Sam Williams as he faces a third NRL audition in as many years.

With skipper Terry Campese expected to miss the opening month of the season as he nurses his way back from consecutive knee reconstructions, Williams is set to be handed a start for Sunday's opening round trip to Penrith.

It's another chance to impress for a regular spot in the Raiders side, just as the 21-year-old did in 2011 and again in 2012 when he played a combined 33 games while deputising for Campese.

Off-contract at the end of the year, Williams said the first four rounds would be a chance to impress both Raiders officials and rival clubs as he looks to shore-up his NRL future.

"We all know that Campo's going to be back and how good a quality of player he is,'' Williams said.

"It's important for me to play well at the start of the season and then when Campo comes back, it makes it hard for the coaches.

"At the moment I've got that opportunity and other teams may be looking.''

The Raiders are being overly cautious with Campese, with coach David Furner hoping to have him back on deck for the round five meeting with the Sydney Roosters.

After first injuring the knee during the 2010 finals series - which along with a groin injury all-but wiped out his 2011 season, Campese again broke down when his knee gave way in round seven last year.

Meanwhile fullback Josh Dugan remains in doubt to face the Panthers after being hospitalised with a virus.

"Starting to feel normal again after 3 days in hospital...'' Dugan tweeted.

He was back at Raiders headquarters on Monday but did not train, with Raiders officials hoping to have him back running in the coming days.

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Mick, AFL to meet over interchange cap

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Resolution ... Mick Malthouse will meet Kevin Bartlett following their public spat. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

Having traded public barbs over the AFL's controversial interchange trial, Mick Malthouse and Kevin Bartlett will now thrash out the issue face to face.

Malthouse has accepted an invitation to meet on Wednesday with the league's rules committee, which features Bartlett, and no doubt the league's trial cap on interchange rotations will be the main topic.

The Carlton coach is vehemently opposed to the limit of 80 rotations per team in each game, which was trialled in last weekend's NAB Cup matches.

There will be no rotation cap during the regular season, but there is strong speculation the AFL could bring in a rule for next year.

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Malthouse had accepted the invitation before Saturday night's post-match media conference when he made some pointed comments about the rules committee.

"I sincerely hope that the rules committee are governed by people, who have got an understanding of the modern game, not previous long-ago coaches, or long-ago players, or new players that have no say, or new officials that just make up the numbers," Malthouse said.

"I hope it's not dominated by one or two people who seem to be able to push their way in and around, as a consequence it feels good to be in control, so therefore we'll make it 80 (rotations)."

Bartlett, now an AFL commentator, is an official AFL legend who played 403 games for Richmond and also coached the club.

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He hit back at old Tigers team-mate Malthouse on Monday.

"I really do hope he was talking about me, because that means I would be getting under the skin of the coaches," Bartlett said on SEN.

"Someone has got to be listening, watching and observing what the coaches say or do.

"They babble on at press conferences and after games, (we) have got to make them accountable."

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Malthouse was one of several coaches last weekend who hit out at the trial interchange rule, but Bartlett strongly backed it.

"The big surprise was no player collapsed through exhaustion playing under the 80 interchange rule, or had to be stretchered off because his body had been stressed to the point of no return, and players didn't drop like flies," Bartlett said sarcastically.

"I don't think the game suffered by having on average 100 less interchanges, was it so detrimental to the game that 100 players couldn't sprint to the bench?

"The game didn't suffer or go backwards because rotations were capped.

"Everyone survived and so did the game, and that was no surprise to me."

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Australia stumble in second dig

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Struggles ... Hughes was out to Ravi Ashwin yet again on day three. Source: William West / AAP

Australia's hope of saving the second Test are fading fast after reaching 2-74 in their second innings at stumps on day three.

2nd Test - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

2 March 2013 - Day 3, Session 3

Australia 2nd Innings

E. Cowan	26	100	4	0	26
S. Watson	9	27	0	1	33.33
R. Jadeja	3	2	2	0	0.67

Spinner Xavier Doherty claimed three wickets in Hyderabad but says he's not even thinking about whether his haul on Monday will be good enough to keep him in the team for the third Test against India.

And No.3 batsman Phil Hughes, after his fourth consecutive flop of the series, is facing a massive struggle to hold his place for the third Test in Mohali starting March 14.

The Australians need another 192 more runs to make the home side bat again in Hyderabad.

Ed Cowan is 26 not out with Shane Watson on nine.

Hughes was out for a duck on Monday - his second scoreless knock in four innings in the series - and he has just 25 runs at an average of 6.25.

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The South Australia batsman has been out to spin on all four occasions, three times to offspinner Ravi Ashwin.
Hughes and David Warner (26) were both bowled by Ashwin after attempting sweep shots.

India had resumed on 1-311 and were bowled out for 503 at tea for a first-innings lead of 266.

Debutant offspinner Glenn Maxwell claimed 4-127 and left-arm spinner Doherty removed three tailenders in his 3-131 off 46.1 overs.

"We came in today knowing we were up against it and we needed to put in a better day than yesterday," Doherty said.

"Today we took nine for 190 or something like that (9-192), which was a pleasing effort.

"But the damage was done yesterday so there's still a lot of work for us to do to get ourselves back into the game."

Doherty didn't take a wicket until his 43rd over and admitted his late flurry of three scalps was a confidence-booster after returning for his third Test and first since 2010.

Australia dropped offspinner Nathan Lyon for the Hyderabad match.

"Not even thinking about the third Test," Doherty said.

"It was pleasing in some ways to find a little bit of form during the spell.

"But the selection and that stuff, we've got a couple of days to worry about here before that.

"But Nathan is obviously a quality bowler and he's shown that over the last 18 months.

"I've got no doubt that he'll play again."

The 370-run partnership between Murali Vijay (167) and Cheteshwar Pujara (204) is the highest by an Indian pair for the second wicket in Test cricket.

No.5 Virat Kohli made 34 and skipper MS Dhoni clubbed 44 off 43 balls but India's innings fell away with the last six wickets tumbling for 43 runs.

Dhoni's India side lead the four-match series one-nil.

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Bombers boss promises: we'll be okay

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Message to fans ... Evans and Hird pledge to keep the Bombers afloat. Source: David Caird / News Limited

Chairman David Evans has promised Essendon fans that the AFL club will come through their doping crisis as a stronger organisation.

Evans and coach James Hird made emotional speeches on Monday night at the Bombers' season launch, thanking the players and fans for their support.

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The club is under a joint Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and AFL investigation for supplements that the players used last season.

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Evans has also announced an independent review of the club as a result of the crisis.

The anti-doping investigation is likely to take months, meaning it will hang over the Bombers for much of the season.

"I understand the way you look at me tonight, looking for reassurance our beautiful place will be okay," Evans said.

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"I promise you that it will be.

"The hurt of the past few weeks is still raw, but it is this room that gives me strength - given how you all have stood behind the club in its hour of need.

"We will get through this and we will be a better, stronger organisation."

Evans also apologised for the circumstances that led to the crisis.

"Mistakes have been made and I sincerely apologise that they have occurred," he said.

"We will get to the bottom of what happened, we will make sure those mistakes never happen again.

"While we know some things, there is so much we don't know, and we're continuing to piece together a long and complicated jigsaw puzzle.

"I commit to you that we are making progress."

Hird said it had been humbling to coach the team in the past few weeks, adding the players had stayed focussed and disciplined.

"My family and this football club means everything to me and I will do everything that is in my power to get the club through this difficult time," he said.

"That means being the best coach I can be to this wonderful team of young men who wear our colours so proudly."

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Video: Big Merv's 'miracle' catch

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Old magic ... Merv Hughes after taking a catch in the crowd off a Dave Warner six. Source:FOX SPORTS

Merv Hughes retired from Test cricket long ago but you can't keep a good big man down.

When Australia's opening batsman David Warner hit a six at Hyderabad in the second Test against India on Monday, the last person he expected to catch the ball was Big Merv.

The former Test quick and ex-national selector was sitting in the stands at long-on with a tour group when Warner drove straight towards the most famous moustache in Australian sport.

Big Merv snapped it up like it was a chocolate cake at afternoon tea during his playing days and his former Test captain Allan Border could barely contain his excitement.

"That is the miracle of Hyderabad,'' TV commentator Border said. "If he was wearing a white shirt he would be a sight screen."

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Click on the video above to see Merv Hughes roll back the years and take a catch in the second Test!

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Ryall hit with one-match ban

Tackle ... Sebastian Ryall of Sydney FC fouls David Williams of Melbourne Heart. Source: By Joe Castro / AAP

Sydney FC defender Sebastian Ryall has been suspended for one A-League game after being sent off in his side's loss to Melbourne Heart on Sunday.

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The 23-year-old was show a red card in the 54th minute of the Sky Blues' 3-1 loss at AAMI Park for dragging down David Williams in the penalty box.

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Williams converted from the spot to seal the crucial win that lifted the Heart into the top six and dropped Sydney FC to seventh.

Ryall was handed the suspension by the match review panel on Monday, meaning he'll miss Saturday's away clash against Perth Glory.

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Wing harder than 15 for Izzy: Cheika

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Tough night ... Folau dropped a couple of balls in the face of some tough Reds defence. Source:AAP

Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has slammed suggestions cross-code superstar Israel Folau is too raw to be playing fullback, claiming wing is in fact the more difficult position to adjust to.

Folau struggled on debut in the Waratahs season-opening Super Rugby loss to Queensland, and playing the pressure position of fullback, was frequently found out by the Reds' attack.

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But asked whether it would be better for Folau's development to be shifted to the wing to face Melbourne on Friday, Cheika hit back at the criticism and said the 23-year-old shifts between the two positions anyway.

"I don't know why there seems to be a perception that the wing is easier to play than fullback. In my way of thinking ... the wing is actually positionally much more difficult to play," he said.

"I've said it probably about 50 times now. But we play with an interchangeable back three. So he sometimes plays on the wing, sometimes at fullback."

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says it was the right decision for NSW to throw their debutant into the deep end against Queensland and defended Cheika's decision to back Folau in the No.15 shirt.

Deans says Cheika had every right to have confidence in his big-name recruit and predicted Folau would be better for the experience.

"It was a baptism of fire obviously. It was always going to be, but he's a class footballer, and he'll be back don't worry about that," said Deans.

"It's easy from the grandstand. But he based his decision on a lot of background, from what he'd witnessed on the training ground and seen in pre-season fixtures."

The Australian Rugby Union on Monday started the 100-day countdown to the British and Irish Lions tour which kicks off on June 5.

By the time the first Test against the Wallabies rolls around on June 22, Folau would have had nearly a full season of Super Rugby under his belt.

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Despite his shaky start, Deans said it was too early to make a call on whether Folau a Test debut against the Lions would be too much to ask of the former league and AFL star.

"We'll make those assessments as we go," Deans said.

"There's risk in every choice you make.

"He's a huge talent and he can play fullback, he can play wing, he can play 13. He's getting in-game experience week to week and the competition is getting tougher, getting him closer to Test rugby week by week. So it's great, it's good for him and good to us."

Recovering Wallabies halfback Will Genia said Folau was more than capable of stepping up to Test standards inside four months.

Genia, who hopes to be back from his knee reconstruction for the Reds in round 5-6, said Folau had a lot to learn but was capable of adjusting quickly.

"I'm a massive fan of his. I hope he learns from it and becomes a better player and I think if he does he can have a massive future in rugby," he said

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GWS star punctures lung, breaks rib

Knock ... GWS player Matt Buntine handballs as he is tackled by Lions player Simon Black. Source: By Dave Hunt / AAP

Greater Western Sydney emerged as the biggest losers of the weekend's AFL pre-season action, with defender Matt Buntine to miss up to eight weeks with a punctured lung and broken rib.

The news was better for Hawthorn's Paul Puopolo, who landed awkwardly after a marking contest against Gold Coast Suns and went to ground clutching his knee painfully.

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Hawks football manager Mark Evans says Puopolo has bone bruising and could play in round one of the premiership season.

"I'm not sure about the severity of the bone bruising but that will really be determined by how it settles down,'' Evans told Melbourne radio station SEN.

"Sometimes you can play straight away and sometimes you might need to miss a few weeks, so we'll see how that goes over the next couple of weeks.''

GWS posted a shock win over local rivals Sydney in Sunday's pre-season triple-header at Blacktown, but Buntine was rushed to hospital after a crunching collision with Carlton forward Levi Casboult in their earlier match.

The 2011 No.5 draft pick needed his lung drained after it copped the full brunt of Casboult's knee.

Despite the severity of the injury, the AFL's match review panel deemed Casboult had no case to answer.

''(Casboult is) grabbing for the ball as he makes contact with his opponent. It was the view of the panel that Casboult was making a realistic attempt to gather the ball and the contact was accidental,'' the league said in a statement.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy suggested his club would take a cautious approach with Buntine's recovery.

"We're not into the game of rushing these sorts of players back. We'll just bring in another kid,'' Sheedy said on Sunday.

"He's a pretty special sort of guy. He's going to be there for a long time and he reminds me a bit of Andrew McKay, who used to play at Carlton.''

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Henriques pushes Test into fifth day

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Fighter ... Henriques has impressed with the bat in his debut Test. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Australia's cricketers fought back to force the first Test against India into a fifth day and Moises Henriques says the tourists haven't given up hope of scoring a remarkable victory.

1st Test - MA Chidambaram Stadium

22 February 2013 - Day 4, Session 3

Australia 2nd Innings

M. Henriques	75	124	6	2	60.48
N. Lyon	8	47	1	0	17.02
I. Sharma	3	1	2	0	0.67

Australia will resume on Tuesday's final day on 9-232 with an overall lead of just 40.

Henriques is unbeaten on 75 alongside his first-innings score of 68 in a tremendous performance on debut in Chennai.

No.11 Nathan Lyon is on eight and they have added 57 for the 10th wicket after Australia appeared headed for an innings defeat at 9-175.

Off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has claimed 5-90 after his seven-wicket haul in Australia's first innings.

Australia's 84-over second innings has included only three overs of pace bowling from Ishant Sharma as Ashwin and fellow spinners Ravindra Jadeja (2-68) and Harbhajan Singh (2-55) exploit the crumbling red-clay pitch.

The tourists have only one frontline spinner and off-spinner Lyon had a difficult first innings, conceding 3-215.

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But Henriques says Lyon and Australia's pace attack are confident they can put India's batsmen under pressure, even with only a small total to defend.

"MS Dhoni was able to put on 100 or 150 (140) with the guy batting at 10, so if we come out tomorrow you just never know, especially on a day-five wicket," Henriques said.

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"Our backs are up against the wall.

"We know that especially on a wearing wicket, it's only going to get tougher to start (for India's batsmen).

"It's that type of wicket where you almost have to concentrate as if every ball is your first one because you have to stay sharp and make sure you're alert for that one that does act a little differently.

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"Sometimes you will get one that you just can't do anything about."

India had resumed on 8-515 and were all out for 572, boosted by Dhoni's 224, a record for an India captain.

He was one of five victims for Aussie quick James Pattinson (5-96).

Australia's top order of Ed Cowan (32), Shane Watson (17) and David Warner (23) failed to capitalise on their starts while Phil Hughes (0) at No.4 and Michael Clarke (31) were victims of a couple of sharp-turning deliveries.

Opener Warner batted at No.3 after a bout of gastro.

Matthew Wade (eight) was bowled attempting a slog-sweep against Harbhajan and Peter Siddle (two), Pattinson (11) and Mitchell Starc (eight) went cheaply before Australia's fightback late on Monday.

Meanwhile, team doctor Peter Brukner announced that reserve quick Jackson Bird would be sent home for precautionary scans on a back injury.

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Injured Bird to fly home from India

Flying home ... but Bird could head straight back to India if the scans are good. Source: Manan Vatsyayana / AAP

Pace bowler Jackson Bird will return to Australia after suffering from back pain while in India.

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Pace bowler Jackson Bird will return to Australia after suffering from back pain while in India.

Bird is in Australia's 17-man touring party but wasn't playing in the first Test in Chennai.

According to a Cricket Australia statement, the Tasmania quick will return to Australia in the next 24 hours to have precautionary scans on his back.

"Jackson has reported some low level back pain and we feel the best course of action to determine the issue is to send him back to Australia for scans," Australian team doctor Peter Brukner said.

"If the scans come back clear then he will return to India to take up his place with the squad."

The statement didn't say if Bird would be replaced by another player, but there would be plenty of candidates to fill his spot if CA were to send a replacement.

In all likelihood it would be a spinner, given the lack of success Australia's fast bowlers have had in the first Test, with New South Wales tweaker Stephen O'Keefe probably the frontrunner.

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