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If you believe the weather bureau, Brisbane is expecting a warm, wet winter. If you believe your own senses when stepping outside the front door, it is distinctly chilly.
Who is right? Actually, the two things are not contradictory.
A warm winter can still feel cold because it is relative. If it is 8 degrees outside, most of us will perceive it to be cold. Yet, if the long-term average for the time of year is 7 degrees, 8 degrees is objectively warmer than average.
Most of the east coast, including the River City, is experiencing this phenomenon right now.
The graph below illustrates just how far below average our mornings have been this month:
Here is today’s cartoon from Cathy Wilcox:
.Credit: Cathy Wilcox
State of Origin game two kicks off in Perth tonight, with the Maroons hoping to keep the series alive following their defeat in front of a home crowd last month.
Our sports reporter Nick Wright, however, isn’t too hopeful for the Queensland side.
Here’s what he predicts will happen in tonight’s match from how the Maroons will go without long-term skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, who will score the first try, who will win the match, and what the final score might be.
Broncos prop Ben Te Kura is facing an extended stint on the sideline, having undergone surgery on an ankle issue, which threatens to end his season.
The towering rookie, whose 205 centimetre frame makes him the tallest man in NRL history, suffered the setback in his second showing for Brisbane this year (he was spotted in a moon boot late in his side’s triumph over the Gold Coast Titans on June 7).
Te Kura was poised for a greater role in the Broncos’ middle rotation, which has struggled outside marquee duo Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan.
Ben Te Kura has had surgery for an ankle issue.Credit: NRL Photos
In his absence, North Sydney Bears forward Ben Talty, who was initially signed on a train-and-trial deal, will be parachuted into the club’s 23-man squad for Sunday’s clash against Cronulla.
Broncos’ general manager of football Troy Thomson lauded 26-year-old Talty as someone who “stood out as a physical forward”.
“I can bring a lot of impact to the team,” Talty said, “and I feel as though my leg speed suits the modern game of NRL.”
A motorhome, six camping tents and a motorbike have been destroyed in a suspicious fire at a rest stop north of Brisbane.
A man, who police found at the scene allegedly armed with a metal pole, has been arrested over the blaze.
Police, paramedics and 10 fire trucks rushed to Old Daisy’s Place rest stop on Steve Irwin Way near Caloundra after an emergency call was made at 5.53am this morning.
A Queensland Police spokesperson said the fire was deemed suspicious and the man who was arrested at the scene remained in custody.
Two people were treated for injuries at the scene.
If you believe the weather bureau, Brisbane is expecting a warm, wet winter. If you believe your own senses when stepping outside the front door, it is distinctly chilly.
Who is right? Actually, the two things are not contradictory.
A warm winter can still feel cold because it is relative. If it is 8 degrees outside, most of us will perceive it to be cold. Yet, if the long-term average for the time of year is 7 degrees, 8 degrees is objectively warmer than average.
Most of the east coast, including the River City, is experiencing this phenomenon right now.
The graph below illustrates just how far below average our mornings have been this month:
An emotional Billy Slater has lashed out at former NSW forward Aaron Woods for labelling him a “grub”, insisting that while he could cope with public insults, not everybody could – referencing the late former Queensland coach Paul Green, who took his own life in 2022.
Maroons coach Slater, new captain Cameron Munster and forward Tino Fa’asuamaleaui were forced to wait on stage for ten minutes before NSW coach Laurie Daley, skipper Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary arrived for the open press conference on Tuesday.
Slater had clearly been stewing on comments made by Woods on radio last week, and did not hold back.
Woods had said of Slater: “I want to see the real Billy Slater come out – the grub that we know of. This is a bloke who kicked [former Tigers forward] John Skandalis in the head and got a six-week suspension.”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Slater replied when asked about Woods’ comments. “When you hold a position in the media in our game, I feel that’s a privilege. With that privilege comes a responsibility. I sit in that position most weeks.
“You amplify your voice to millions of people. You’re not talking to your mates in the pub. I know Aaron Woods, I actually ran into him about three or four weeks ago at a footy game, and he didn’t voice that opinion then. He actually brought his son over to introduce him to me.
“I get the attention in our game. I get that. Our games creates attention. But there’s a responsibility with that attention. And when you degrade someone personally, in a derogatory manner, you probably don’t deserve one of those privileged positions that we’re all in.”
Fans started to applaud Slater before he said: “I’m not done yet. You don’t know what people are going through. Although I might be able to handle it, the next person mightn’t be. Maybe our last coach [Green] didn’t.”
Brisbane City Council has assured residents its changes to the city’s bus network will help residents in the long run, despite the initial concerns.
Some commuters have been shocked to discover they will be forced to change buses midway through their journey, and in some cases, stripped of their service entirely under the biggest shake-up of Brisbane’s bus network in a generation.
The changes will take effect on June 30.
Transport chair Ryan Murphy told Tuesday’s council meeting that residents were “busy learning what these changes mean for them” at information sessions across the city.
“Our efforts have been focused on helping people navigate the new network because on the 30th of June Brisbane’s new bus network will begin and our public transport is ready for it,” Murphy said.
“We know change can be daunting, and so that’s why we’re here to help.”
He said the network changes were necessary to integrate the second Metro route, which is set to reopen at the end of the month after a brief trial period last year.
Murphy lauded the launch on the first Metro route in January this year, saying it had carried more than 1.7 million passengers, a 25 per cent increase from the previous 66 bus route that it replaced.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has announced, via social media, that rates will increase 3.87 per cent this financial year – the equivalent of $1.14 a week.
In a video posted to Facebook and Instagram a short time ago, the lord mayor said Brisbane’s rates would remain the lowest in south-east Queensland.
“We’ve been able to keep rates down by only spending what we can afford,” he said, ahead of formally handing down the budget later this morning.
However, the rate rise is above the city’s 2.7 per cent inflation rate.
The council is set to officially release its $4 billion budget today.
We’ll have reporters in the budget lock-up room, ready to give you all the roads, rates and rubbish news you need to know from 11am.
It’s not only council budget day today … it is State of Origin, round two.
Kalyn Ponga will be fighting for State of Origin career tonight, as the Queensland Maroons fullback seeks to fend off a stern Reece Walsh challenge.
Ponga came under the microscope of rugby league pundits following his side’s game one defeat, unable to ignite the attack and recapture the form which garnered man of the match honours in the 2023 decider. His reported desire to one day represent New Zealand has also been a talking point about his future in the Origin arena.
Kalyn Ponga of the Maroons.Credit: Getty Images
Walsh has been a favourite of Maroons coach Billy Slater, scoring two tries while setting up another in his return from a knee injury in the Broncos emphatic triumph over the Gold Coast Titans last week.
A Queensland loss in Perth tonight would likely trigger team changes for what would be a dead-rubber game three to begin plotting a 2026 comeback, and Brisbane winger Jesse Arthars backed Walsh to force his way into the mix.
“For sure, Walshy went through a tough period with his knee, and he’s another player we want to have out there as much as we can,” Arthars said.
Reece Walsh in action for the Broncos.Credit: Getty Images
“I’ve spent time away from the game with injuries, and I think that’s the time when a lot of players reflect on their journey so far and their approach to the season.
“For him to reflect and see what he needs to work on or maintain, I think that the four to six week period he was out was a good refresher for him. He’s come back firing.”
