Canberra Raiders NRL News

Canberra Raiders legend Sam Backo, 64, battles melioidosis in ICU, facing serious health challenges again.

The Canberra Times

Canberra Raiders legend Sam Backo has been in a fight to survive for the second time in as many years after contracting a rare tropical disease.

The 64-year-old Queenslander has been at Cairns Hospital's intensive care unit after he was diagnosed with melioidosis in April.

It was just two years ago that Backo was in a critical condition in the same hospital following a heart attack that required quadruple bypass surgery.

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NRL expansion raises player depth concerns, but young talent is thriving, enhancing competition quality significantly.

The Daily Telegraph

The timing has been perfect.

With NRL expansion upon us, the common fear has been player depth, and rightfully so.

With the NRL enjoying a boom period, the most significant I've seen in my life following the sport, expansion risks diluting the talent and the quality of the competition.

However, initial fears have subsided due to the explosion of young talent which has come into the first-grade ranks in the last two years.

I can't remember a time when so many players in the late teens and early 20s were having such an impact.

The young Canberra Raiders are taking the competition by storm,...

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Newcastle re-signs Pasami Saulo from Canberra for the 2026 season, pending a medical, boosting forward depth.

The Canberra Times

Newcastle will bolster their forward depth for next season by bringing former Knight Pasami Saulo back to the club.

Saulo is set to rejoin the Knights for at least the 2026 season subject to a pending medical.

The 26-year-old will be released a year early from his contract with Canberra to return to his home-town team and debut club.

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