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Halifax Panthers head coach Kyle Eastmond gave an honest and sobering assessment following his side’s heavy 32–0 defeat to Toulouse Olympique at Stade Ernest-Wallon on Saturday.
In perfect spring conditions, the Panthers were outclassed by a well-drilled and energetic Toulouse side who dominated all aspects of the game.
Speaking after the match via the club’s official Facebook page, Eastmond didn’t hold back. “It’s probably something that I’m aware of — that’s probably something we’re capable of, which is disappointing and needs to be solved,” he said.
“They’re a good side. At the end of the day, we need to work harder to get into games and be comfortable in there rather than worry about taking chances.”
The Panthers were under pressure from the outset, falling behind in just the sixth minute, and struggled to regain a foothold. A combination of costly handling errors, defensive lapses, and penalties allowed Toulouse to build a commanding 20–0 lead by halftime.
Despite a slight improvement in energy and possession during the second half, Halifax never looked like threatening the scoreboard.
Eastmond acknowledged some deeper-rooted issues within the squad. “We’ve played well at times, but I feel like we probably squeezed a lemon a little bit out of some of the resources we’ve had,” he said. “I’ve seen enough. So yeah, of course, there’ll be some changes — and rightly so.”
Halifax remains top of the Betfred Championship table with 14 points from nine games, while Toulouse closed the gap, now sitting third with 12 points from eight.
Despite the setback, Eastmond insisted the concerns were not new. “It’s not something brand new. This is something that’s needed to be worked on for the last few weeks. We’re running a fine line, which everybody’s aware of.”
The Panthers will now regroup ahead of their next test in what promises to be a tightly contested title race.
More must-reads:
- Commanders' Terry McLaurin reportedly wants more money than previously thought
- The highest-paid college QB has been revealed
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With the SEC Expanding to 9 League Games, Here Are Oklahoma's Best Options for Permanent Rivals
Thursday’s news that the SEC has finally decided to switch to a nine-game conference schedule from the long-standing eight-game format starting next fall with the 2026 season has rekindled a favorite topic among Oklahoma fans. Who should the Sooners’ three permanent SEC rivals be? With a nine-game schedule, the best working model is that the 16 SEC members play annual matchups against three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents among the league’s other 12 members. The real appeal there is that in addition to each program either building new or adding to intense rivalries, every SEC member will play every other SEC member within a two-year span, and every team will play at every SEC venue at least once every four years. That’s appealing to the fans who enjoy traveling to opposing SEC venues, to the fans who enjoy welcoming enemy fan bases to their town, and to recruits and their families who can leave their hometown and virtually guarantee they’ll be able to come back and play in front of friends and family (if only they’ll stay out of that darned transfer portal). There’s one school that works best for Oklahoma in either of those models: Texas. Nobody with any level of intelligence would suggest putting the Red River Rivalry on even a one-year hiatus. Oklahoma-Texas are permanent rivals. The SEC, which can come across as a little arrogant at times telling everyone how great its many, many traditions are, has already acquiesced to not touching the annual showdown between its newest members. But who else do OU fans want to see every year? It’s a lively debate. There seems to be an assumption that, because they were in the Big Six, Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 for like, 100 years, that OU fans should view Missouri as a natural rival. Maybe. History can be important. And some in Sooner Nation probably do. But when one team owns a series record 67-25-5 like Oklahoma owns the series with Mizzou, that’s not a rivalry. It’s an obligation. Last year’s crazy game in Columbia – which the Tigers won thanks to some last-minute heroics by Mizzou (and some last-minute chokes by the Sooners) was a good reminder of how inhospitable the Missouri fan base can be. They’re loud, and they’re excitable, and they can be a handful – especially when the opponent is wearing Crimson and Cream and displays an interlocking “OU” on the helmet. But OU fans – probably something on the order of 80 or 90 percent – just don’t feel the passion for playing Mizzou in the same way that Tigers fans do playing the Sooners. To be honest, Sooner Nation seems pretty ambivalent about playing Missouri again. Still, with Missouri and Texas A M as the SEC’s most recent additions before OU and Texas – and with their most recent conference affiliation being with the Big 12 – the SEC has to look at the newcomers with practicality. The conference has a whole bunch of other traditional rivalries it feels the need to protect, so just in terms of seniority, Mizzou and OU rank at or near the bottom. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. A lot of OU fans won’t care for it, but that’s how it has to be. They might rather play an annual matchup against LSU. And maybe that’d be a good one just for the spectacle of the game itself. OU fans generally enjoyed their visit to the Bayou last season – even if the team did not. The Tigers to the south have a tendency to put 5-star talent on the field and occasionally chase national championships, while the Tigers to the north don’t do much of either. Why not take what more often than not amounts to an easy win in a truly challenging conference schedule? So pencil in Missouri for now. Figuring out the Sooners’ third rivalry game gets pretty complicated. Alabama? Last year’s home finale was fun for the fans who mobbed Owen Field, no doubt. But for a program that averaged 10-plus wins and routinely won the conference crown during its Big 12 membership, do you really want to have to face the Crimson Tide every year? Not that OU should be afraid of any program. Historically speaking, the Sooners are at the top of just about any discussion. But this would be two of college football’s bluest of blue-bloods – and, well, it would produce the opportunity for a lot of losses, even with Nick Saban comfortably in retirement. Visiting Tuscaloosa would be high on the to-do lists of a lot of Oklahoma fans. Like OU fans learned when they recently visited South Bend or Columbus or Lincoln (or are making plans next year to visit Ann Arbor), it’s truly one of the cradles of college football. No doubt Tuscaloosa retailers would feel the impact of Sooner Nation descending on their burg. Florida? That seemed to be the team of choice as a third permanent opponent for OU any time the nine-game schedule was discussed in the interim period between 2021 and 2024. We know OU fans do enjoy a good trip to the Sunshine State, although that’s always been to the Orange Bowl and South Beach. Would they turn out for semi-annual visits to the north central part of the state? Gainesville is inland from the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not even in the Panhandle, like Florida State was in 2011. It’s kind of land-locked. To landlubbers from Middle America, would that even feel like Florida? Oh, and then there’s the football. Urban Meyer showed what the program is capable of. But the Gators haven’t exactly been a buzz-saw since he left, posting nine winning seasons (four of 10 wins or more), five losing seasons and a record of 99-71 record. Florida is on their fourth coach since Meyer stepped away 14 seasons ago. What about Texas A M? Well, it turns out that DeLoss Dodds’ long-ago prediction that A M joining the SEC would open “just a sliver down the side” of the fertile recruiting grounds around Houston and South Texas was just a bit off. The SEC’s welcoming of the Aggies back in 2012 kicked open the door for the league to feast on all those talented recruits. OU has always had a recruiting pipeline to the area, but playing the Aggies every year would only widen that flow. Among college football’s great underachieving programs, Texas A M sits firmly at the top of the list. After going 68-61 in league play 16 seasons in the Big 12, the Aggies are just 57-48 in conference games in 12 seasons in the SEC – despite the largest alumni base and the wealthiest boosters. Why wouldn’t Oklahoma want open another recruiting vein while also beating up on a perennial underachiever? Why not Arkansas? The Razorbacks are attractive because they’re just across the border and, honestly, there’s not much actual history between the two programs. Creating that rivalry from the ground up just for the sake of proximity is tantalizing. There’s some real opportunity there for just pure regional dislike. Unfortunately, Arkansas as a region offers very little to Oklahoma in the recruiting game. The Sooners have certainly produced some good players who hailed from the Natural State (Keith Jackson, Jim Files, Ralph Neely, Danny and Mark Bradley stand out), but not many. Also, as a winnable game, Arkansas would top the list. The Razorbacks have just three 10-win seasons since joining the SEC in 1992, with a 104-152 conference record. A M would be the best choice for Oklahoma, but the Aggies already have built-in permanent rivals with Texas and LSU. Maybe the SEC would do them a favor and sprinkle in someone from outside the region. Alabama has a long line of teams who want to be the Tide’s permanent rivals. Arkansas offers little more than border hate. So perhaps Florida is the team that wins this particular derby. The Gators already have one of college football's best rivalries with Georgia, and an annual matchup with LSU is strong. Alabama also fits their needs, but someone’s going to have to compromise. Our pick? It’s Texas A M. What will the SEC decide? We think Florida.
Commanders' Terry McLaurin reportedly wants more money than previously thought
Previous reports indicated that unsettled Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was looking to land "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf earlier this year. For an article published on Wednesday morning, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic offered an update regarding why McLaurin and the Commanders haven't come to terms on an extension after the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "One person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations said the veteran receiver has asked for more than DK Metcalf," Jhabvala revealed. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and will turn 30 years old in September. To compare, Metcalf will turn 28 in December. That said, McLaurin emerged last season as the favorite target for quarterback Jayden Daniels as Daniels guided the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. "McLaurin believes he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL," Jhabvala added. "He’s been the Commanders' leading receiver every season since he entered the league (in 2019), and last year had the second-most receiving TDs in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. He also ranked third in (expected points added) on targets and seventh in catch rate among receivers with at least 100 targets last year, but among that same group, McLaurin’s total receiving yards (1,096) ranked 12th and his average yards after the catch ranked 25th." Daniels seemed optimistic while speaking about the ongoing contract standoff during the ESPN broadcast of Monday's preseason game between the Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals when he said he knew McLaurin would "be coming through the door soon." However, Jhabvala noted that "it wouldn’t be a surprise if the [Commanders have] set a maximum range of $27M to $28M a year in average annual value for McLaurin." That seems to suggest the two sides aren't all that close to coming to terms on an agreement. It's unclear if McLaurin is willing to forfeit money by sitting out Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7 amid his desire for a pay raise. If he isn't, he may have to soon accept the offer that's on the table to guarantee himself future earnings beyond the upcoming season.
Green Bay Packers: Mike Macdonald’s First Message to Matt LaFleur After Mayhem-Marred Practice
Joint practices in the NFL can be really heated. Just take for example the one involving the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, with fights erupting on the field between players from both sides. Even though it’s just a practice session with nothing significant on the line, the competitive juices of players can get in the way and spark fiery moments on the field. If anything, at least no one appears to have been seriously hurt from the multiple altercations reported. However, Packers right tackle Zach Tom was reportedly tossed out of the field after throwing punches at a couple of Seahawks players. Despite all the chaos that transpired between the Packers and the Seahawks, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald had great things to say about Green Bay. Seahawks head coach sends message to Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that Macdonald started his session with the media after the practice, “by thanking Packers coach Matt LaFleur and the organization for hosting them.” In any case, Macdonald felt good overall about his players. “It’s hard to tell what happened, who said what,” Macdonald shared. “Look, you want your guys to defend their [teammates]. There’s a line. Whether we go past the line, I don’t think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen, and however it gets started … hopefully it’s not our guys, but people are going to react to a certain extent. I think our guys handled it pretty well.” The Packers and the Seahawks will still see each other on the field this offseason, as they are scheduled to play in their 2025 NFL preseason finale on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Aaron Rodgers' influence having 'different' type of impact on Steelers
Throughout training camp, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has repeatedly scoffed at the "laughable" notion that he and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers wouldn't jell. On Wednesday, Steelers reporter Jeff Hathhorn of Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan touched upon Rodgers' influence regarding the team's offense after Smith and former starter Russell Wilson allegedly didn't have the best working relationship last season. "I do think quarterbacks always have some kind of say in the offense," Hathhorn explained during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, per Jake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot. "But the level of say seems to be different with Aaron Rodgers...If he gets up in a meeting and says, 'Hey, why don't we do this,' it's not gonna be like, 'We're just going to listen to your suggestion and move on.' It's gonna be like, 'Yeah, we'll look into that.'" The Steelers giving Rodgers some control of how the offense will operate is understandable, considering players have "gravitated to" the future Hall of Famer since he officially joined the club in June. The 41-year-old has taken younger Steelers players, such as wide receiver and 2024 third-round draft pick Roman Wilson, under his wing. He also has the support of locker-room leaders such as longtime Pittsburgh defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. "Some of the language they've used, they've altered for Aaron," Hathhorn continued. "I'm not saying they're giving the entire offense over to Aaron. But Aaron has a lot of say." Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger is among those who believe Rodgers' performances in training-camp practices show he could produce a "special" season with the Steelers. Hathhorn shared one way Rodgers could be an upgrade over what Wilson and fellow signal-caller Justin Fields offered the Pittsburgh offense during the 2024 campaign. "Where are the big plays we've seen for the most part in the preseason from the Steelers? The middle of the field," Hathhorn added during his comments. "We've seen them exploit the middle of the field a lot with this group." Rodgers and Smith reportedly kept in touch throughout the spring and during Pittsburgh's summer break. They seem to be on the same page heading into Labor Day, but it remains to be seen how Smith will react once Rodgers begins changing plays at the line of scrimmage during the Steelers' Week 1 game at the New York Jets on Sept. 7.
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