NRL expansion put on backburner

Changes ... The ARLC meets at Rugby League Central on Monday to announce several changes. Source: Bob Barker / News Limited

Expansion is expected to be officially put on the backburner on Monday when the ARL Commission unveils its long-term vision for the game.

With a $1 billion-plus broadcast deal now in place, the ARLC will present its strategic plan for 2013-2017 - with expansion and the split of the funding pie amongst the key topics.

A new logo for the NRL will also be revealed as the commission sets out its long-term priorities at Rugby League Central.

Consortiums up and down the eastern seaboard - including groups in Brisbane, Ipswich and the NSW Central Coast - along with others from Perth, Wellington and even Papua New Guinea have been building their case for inclusion for a number of years.

But intent on ensuring the survival and growth of the 16 teams already in the competition, the ARLC is set to announce that expansion is not on the agenda for at least the next five years.

Bid teams were always facing an uphill battle to secure a start from the moment Nine Network boss David Gyngell indicated more games would not drive up broadcast revenue.

The ARLC will confirm a $5 million salary cap for the 2013 season, while clubs are also set to be given an indication on where the cap and the annual grants will head over coming years.

It is anticipated that a greater financial commitment to both grassroots and country football will be announced, with plans for more NRL games to be played in the bush.

There will also be clarification on representative eligibility for both State of Origin and Test football.

The ARLC's strategic plan has been six months in the planning, though there is still no word on who will be empowered to enact the vison, with no word yet on a replacement for former chief executive David Gallop, who was forced out in June.

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Vettel win India GP, Webber third

Four in a row ... Sebastian Vettel stands atop his car after triumphing at the Indian Grand Prix. Source: AP

Reigning Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel rattled off his fourth successive win of the season in the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday to tighten his grip on the 2012 title with three races remaining.

The 25-year-old German led all the way from his pole position start to pull 13 points clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who finished ten seconds behind in the race near New Delhi.

Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber took third place ahead of McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

It was Vettel's 26th win and he revelled in his familiar trick of adding the fastest lap of the race in the final lap and then standing atop of his car to milk the applause from the crowd.

Aiming to become Formula 1's youngest triple champion the German said: "Two years and two wins here, it's a very special Grand Prix, I don't know what it is about this circuit.

"A big thanks to my team, we're all pushing very hard.

"This is another good step (to the title) for us but there is still a long way to go."

Alonso commented: "It's not easy at the moment to fight with Red Bull but we will never give up."

The only danger to Vettel in an otherwise seamless success came in the closing laps when sparks sprayed out from underneath his car's front spoiler but there was no trouble.

Felipe Massa finished sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of his old friend Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus, Nico Hulkenberg of Force India, Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus and 10th-placed Bruno Senna of Williams.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was 13th in his Toro Rosso.

The next race is on November 4 in Abu Dhabi, where Vettel won his first world title in 2010 ahead of Alonso in what was then the season finale.

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'I'm not changing my mind'

Winner ... Stoner bows out on top at Phillip Island. Source: Paul Crock / AFP

Casey Stoner says he won't walk away from MotoGP before the final race of the season, but won't be coming back afterwards.

Stoner's remarkable sixth successive Australian MotoGP victory - done as he recovers from ankle surgery - provided a perfect farewell at the Phillip Island track he loves and dominates before his retirement.

It had prompted suggestions the 27-year-old may not take part in the final race of the season in Spain in a fortnight - perhaps tempted to walk away from the sport on a high he described as one of his career highlights.

But Stoner was adamant he would complete the season before officially farewelling MotoGP, rather than bring forward his retirement.

"I'm here to finish this season, not just finish my home Grand Prix," Stoner said.

"It's not like that for me. I wasn't just planning for this race alone (from his injury). I was planning to come back for as many races as I could before the end of the season.

"It's fantastic, and I can't ask for a better way to end my career in Australia.

"But at the same time, I'm not finishing here. I'm going to Valencia to see if I can get another good result."

Stoner also hosed down any thoughts he may consider a comeback - following five-time world champion Mick Doohan's suggestion the 27-year-old might be in line for a MotoGP return after taking a decent break from the sport.

"I've got no thoughts whatsoever at this time of ever even thinking of coming back," Stoner said.

"I'm very established where I'm going (into retirement). I'm not changing my mind every couple of minutes."

Stoner's remarkable win came after he started the race badly from pole, but inherited the lead on lap two when Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the race and world title contention.

He capped off a superb day for Australia in front of a record Phillip Island MotoGP crowd of more than 53,000.

Queenslander Anthony West finished second in the Moto2 race, while Adelaide teenager Arthur Sissis was third in the Moto3 - his first Grand Prix podium finish.

The overall three-day crowd of more than 122,000 was a 25 per cent increase on last year - mostly due to the race being Stoner's Australian farewell.

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Japanese star to play Super Rugby

Breaking new ground ... Fumiaki Tanaka impressed at last year's World Cup. Source: Junji Kurokawa / AAP

Fumiaki Tanaka is a man on a mission after becoming the first Japanese player signed to play in the Super Rugby competition after landing a deal with New Zealand's Highlanders.

Tanaka, a 27-year-old halfback known for his speed and fast passing, played for Otago in New Zealand's top provincial ITM Cup competition this year.

"As the first Japanese in Super Rugby, I want to show the world what Japanese are capable of doing," said Tanaka, who played for Japan in last year's Rugby World Cup and has 31 Test caps.

"I will set no limits and play in as many games as possible."

Tanaka is scheduled to return to his Japanese Top League club, Panasonic Wild Knights after the 2013 Super Rugby season.

He is included in Japan's squad for their November tour of Europe, including Tests against Romania and Georgia as well as games against a Basque select team and the French Barbarians.

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SBW allays shoulder injury fears

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Hurt ... Williams still hopes to fight South African Francois Botha. Source: Rick Rycroft / AAP

NRL-bound Sonny Bill Williams is confident he will be fit to fight South African Francois Botha in a heavyweight boxing match next month after suffering a shoulder injury.

On a short playing stint with Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan's rugby union Top League, All Blacks centre Williams was taken to hospital after injuring his right shoulder in a match against Kintetsu Liners in Ota, near Tokyo, on Saturday.

"Hurt today .. results back nothing serious, small tear so hopefully still be able to (fight Botha)," Williams wrote on Twitter hours later.

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His first tweet after sustaining the injury said: "Going in for MRI hopefully just a small tear?!!"

It was accompanied by a picture showing his right arm in a sling and his left hand clenched as if he was ready to fight.

Williams is expected to return to rugby league with the Sydney Roosters in the 2013 NRL season.

A part-time boxer, he is the New Zealand heavyweight champion and is scheduled to take on veteran Botha, 44, a four-time world title challenger, in Brisbane on November 24 in his sixth pro bout.

Williams, who is on a contract to play 12 matches for Panasonic reportedly for $1.2 million, scored a first-minute try, his second since joining the team, in the Top League eighth round.

But he crunched his shoulder attempting a tackle on former Western Force centre Gene Fairbanks 10 minutes into the match.

He left the field and Panasonic went on to beat Kintetsu 23-20 for their fifth win against three losses.

Panasonic stood fifth in the league table while defending champions Suntory Sungoliath are top.

The Top League has now gone into a five-week break with its final set for late January.

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'Sigmund obviously has a grab'

Backup ... Bruce Djite says teammate Jeronimo, who he is defending here, had the right to go down. Source: Sarah Reed / News Limited

Fox Sports' Mark Bosnich is joined by former A-League coach Miron Bleiberg and Adelaide United's Bruce Djite in reviewing the weekend's A-League action, with Djite defending teammate Jeronimo's controversial 'dive'.

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Newcastle Jets 2 defeat Melbourne Victory 1 at Hunter Stadium

Miron says: I'm not impressed with Newcastle Jets' football and Gary van Egmond will be honest enough and probably agree with me. They've got the same symptom as (Sydney FC with) Alessandro Del Piero - Emile Heskey comes a week or two weeks after five months of preparation. But they adjusted better because it's easier to adjust to someone playing on the top. At the moment they are getting results, and if you ask in a professional environment - you are not playing in a church league - what is better: to get nine points and not be happy with the football, or to be happy with the football and be on the bottom of the ladder? So Gary should be happy and things will get better, and you can't take it away from them. Three wins, nine points out of 12, it's good. As for Melbourne Victory it's a bit of a mixed bag. I disagree with (Victory coach) Ange Postecoglou that he's happy with the improvement because no one is happy to be on the bottom of the ladder in a professional sport. I think they're playing better than they played at the beginning (of the season) but what the future holds for them, I'm not sure.

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Adelaide United 3 defeated Wellington Phoenix 1 at Hindmardh Stadium

Bruce says: They were calling Jeronimo a cheat on the pitch but he didn't understand so that's maybe a positive of being a foreigner sometimes! Obviously it was a contentious talking point and it's gotten a lot of media, and it will probably get a lot of media during the week. But the guy's obviously touched Jeronimo, he's felt the contact. You can see Ben Sigmund obviously has a grab at his shirt and he goes down. I think with the delayed reaction some people are a bit upset about that but the same thing happened to us in the Asian Champions League and it completely changed the game for us. You could say that was the reason we got knocked out. Jeronimo's a very honest guy, a very good guy, and in the heat of the moment it's a tricky one. I think the same with Andrew Durante calling him a cheat - if you want to hear people's opinions right after a game you're going to get the full brunt of it.

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Western Sydney Wanderers 1 defeated Brisbane Roar 0 at Suncorp Stadium

Miron says: I think it was unheard of an away team having an 8-0 corner ration after twenty minutes. It was just a matter of time before (a goal) would come and Wanderers totally deserved it. I think the problem with Brisbane is they came unprepared. They are still the greatest team in the competition but I think they came with the attitude that it's not if we're going to win but by how much we're going to win. They will learn from it and they will play better in the future, but it's got that they got this shock now at this stage of the season.

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Central Coast Mariners 1 defeated Melbourne Heart 0 at AAMI Park

Bozza says: (Heart goalkeeper) Clint Bolton first and foremost made an outstanding save to keep Heart in the game in the first half, but we spoke about this with the Alessandro Del Piero free kick against Ben Kennedy a couple weeks ago, about the starting position for goalkeepers when they're facing free kicks in and around the edge of the box. It's very, very important that goalkeepers start on their line. If they start forward of their line, like Clint did a little bit, you end up starting to dive backwards, and that's why it ends up in the back of the net. As you start to dive backwards you lose time on the ball. But in saying that it's an outstanding free kick by Pedj Bojic. He had one in a similar position in the first half and Miron actually said to me in the green room "he's going to score this one" and he didn't. But he did score the second one! A very good performance by Central Coast Mariners. Melbourne Heart did have their chances in the second half - Josip Tadic as well as Richard Garcia - but a resolute Central Coast Mariners performance, and they're going to be a team that's also going to be battling for the championship.

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Sydney FC 2 defeated Perth Glory 1 at ANZ Stadium

Miron says: Perth shouldn't feel ripped off because the game was very easy to explain and to understand. Up to the penalty decision Perth had full control and they felt at home, even though their home is far, far in the west. But once they were down to 10 men Sydney took advantage and the game changed, so Perth have only themselves to blame, and mainly Steve Pantelidis.

Bozza says: The game changed completely on that decision and the referee got that 100 per cent right. It was a silly challenge by Pantelidis, Del Piero put away the penalty and the whole complexion of the game changed. The only Sydney first-half performance which was as disjointed (as this one) was the Wellington game in the opening game of the season. They were really at sixes and sevens. It was a stroke of luck, but you have enough bad luck during the season that you've got to take the good luck when it comes.

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Watch the A-League, Live and Exclusive, and in stunning High Definition, on Fox Sports!

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Bushrangers win with record total

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Big hitting ... Aaron Finch batted well for his 63. Source: Themba Hadebe / AAP

Victoria beat Tasmania by 25 runs after David Hussey's superb century paced the Bushrangers to a record one-day cricket score at the MCG.

ODD - Melbourne Cricket Ground

28 October 2012 - Day 1, Session 2

Tasmania 1st Innings

J. Faulkner	37	23	3	1	160.87
J. Bird	2	2	0	0	100
J. Herrick	4.4	0	37	1	7.93

Hussey smashed 100 from 78 balls on Sunday, including seven fours and four sixes, as Victoria won the toss and amassed 6-348 from 50 overs.

Victoria won by 25 runs after Tasmania responded with 323 from 49.4 overs, denying the home side the bonus point.

The Bushrangers' score is a domestic and international one-day record for the ground.

George Bailey and Ed Cowan gave the Tigers some hope with a fighting stand of 145, but Darren Pattinson removed them in successive overs to confirm the win.

Bailey and Cowan shared Tasmania's top score of 74, while Pattinson was the pick of the bowlers with 4-46 from nine overs.

"Watch for Darren Pattinson - I think he has three or four wickets in him tonight," Hussey joked to Fox Sports at the innings break.

Victoria were in the box seat when John Hastings had Ricky Ponting caught by Cameron White for 25, leaving Tasmania 3-81.

It was the first time the Bushrangers had dismissed Ponting in a week, following his unbeaten 162 and 60 in their Sheffield Shield clash.

Cowan and Bailey made the most of early lives to pile on 145 from 128 balls.

Stand-in wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb dropped a tough chance off Andrew McDonald when Cowan was yet to score.

It was the one blemish for Handscomb, who took four catches in Matthew Wade's absence.

Wade, expected to be confirmed as the Test 'keeper on Monday, was rested after injuring a thumb in last week's Shield match.

Bailey had made 13 when he lofted McDonald to long off, where Hastings and Clint McKay let the ball drop between them.

When Pattinson returned to the attack in the 38th over, Tasmania were an outside chance at 3-226.

But a faint inside edge had Bailey caught behind and two overs later, Cowan chopped on Pattinson.

James Faulkner was unbeaten on 37 and Clint McKay took 3-87 from 13 overs.

Earlier, Victoria also passed their previous record one-day score against the Tigers of 7-326, set three seasons ago in Hobart.

One of the highlights of Hussey's innings was smashing 22 off James Faulkner in the 39th over - four fours and a six - to pass 50.

After scoring a rare double bonus point earlier this month against Queensland, the Bushrangers top order again showed strong form.

Openers Rob Quiney and Aaron Finch had their second-straight 100 partnership, with Quiney scoring 53 and Finch out for 63.

Glenn Maxwell made 42 and Hussey then combined with captain Cameron White for a blistering stand of 115 from 92 balls for the fourth wicket.

White belted 45 from 40 balls and McDonald made a quickfire 33.

Ben Laughlin took 3-68 from 10 overs.

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Bozza's Save of the Week, R4

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Save of the Week ... Mark Birighitti was in fine form on Friday night. Source: Liam Driver / News Limited

Emile Heskey stole the headlines but Mark Birighitti played a starring role in Newcastle Jets' win over Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

The young goalkeeper was in superb form at Hunter Stadium, making several outstanding saves that allowed the Jets to hold onto their lead and eventually run out 2-1 winners.

Perhaps Birighitti's finest save was a diving effort to keep out a long-range thunderbolt from Adama Traore that looked destined for the top corner until the Newcaslte No.1 intervened.

He also made a superb save with an outstretched leg to deny Melbourne's Archie Thompson early in the game.

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Click on the video at the top to see the block Bozza nominated as Save of the Week and tune in to Sunday Shootout on Fox Sports 1HD every Sunday for analysis of every round of A-League.

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His work was enough to earn the Save of the Week title from Fox Sports football expert and former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich, who was full of praise for the young shot stopper.

"Mark Birighitti made a wonderful compilation of saves," Bosnich said.

"Melbourne Victory would feel disappointed they didn't go into the break two or three up, and that was because of that man Mark Birighitti.

"We talk about goalkeepers making miracles, and this (save against Archie Thompson) is a miracle.

"Archie Thompson would have thought when that left his foot, 'that's a goal'. It changes the game, and that's worth its weight in gold."

At the end of each round of A-League action, Bozza will nominate his Save of the Week on Sunday Shootout.

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Did you think Birighitti's save was the best from all the games in A-League round four? Leave a comment below to have your say on Bozza's pick!

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