Received

Parramatta have wrapped up a home semi-final with a scintillating 53-6 NRL win over Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium, leaving the Broncos' finals hopes in tatters.

The massacre by the electric Eels was bad enough for eighth-placed Brisbane's for and against, but in a further hammer blow their talismanic halfback Adam Reynolds failed an HIA in his 250th NRL game after leaving the field in the 13th minute.

That dire scenario was compounded by prop Tom Flegler being put on report for a shoulder charge on Reagan Campbell-Gillard before being taken to hospital with a throat injury.

"It was terrible. We didn't start very well and finished poorly as well," Broncos coach Kevin Walters said of the display.

The slumping Broncos, walloped 60-12 the previous week by Melbourne, are on 28 competition points with a points difference of -26.

The door is now open for Canberra, in ninth on 26 points and with a -25 points difference, to move into the top eight with a win over Manly on Saturday.

Walters said he was hopeful of getting skipper Reynolds back for next week's crucial away clash with St George Illawarra.

"(The big loss) is disappointing for everyone but we are forever looking for the positive. We are still alive against the Dragons next week," Walters said.

"We get Patty (Carrigan) and (Selwyn) Cobbo back. We just need to fix our defence more than anything and our attitude."

The fifth-placed Eels, on 32 points, will now finish sixth at worst and are still a chance of making it into fourth if they beat Melbourne next week and the Storm lose to the Roosters on Friday night.

"I think we are in a better position than we were this time last year," Eels coach Brad Arthur said.

"The boys showed a lot of want and desire and we need to make sure we do that next week against a (Storm) team that is hitting form."

Eels back-rower Shaun Lane was in superb form and had three try involvements by half-time.

"Laney is probably our most reliable player at the moment. Every week he is doing his job," Arthur said.

Winger Maika Sivo scored his 12th try in nine games against Brisbane after Lane unleashed a killer offload to ignite the Eels.

Lane put Sivo away and the flying Fijian kicked infield with superb skill for Tom Opacic to make it 12-0.

Eels half Mitchell Moses ignited one try for Clint Gutherson and started and finished a movement to score himself.

Lane iced the first half with another blockbusting run and offload to hand Gutherson his second try and give the Eels a 31-6 lead at the break.

Brisbane lost Kobe Hetherington to an HIA in the second-half and Brenko Lee with a leg injury to compound their woes.

The Eels kicked away with four more tries as Gutherson reigned supreme.

The form of the Broncos, now with four losses in their past five games, has fallen off a cliff. The Eels have regained their mojo with four wins out of their last five and loom as genuine title threats.

© AAP 2022

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled a royal commission into the controversial robodebt scheme.

The automated matching of tax and Centrelink data to raise debts against welfare recipients for money the coalition government claimed to have overpaid was ruled unlawful in 2019.

But the Morrison government has never detailed who was accountable for the scheme and which ministers knew of its problems.

The royal commission was a major election commitment by the Albanese government, with it expected to cost $30 million.

The commission will be former Queensland Supreme Court chief justice Catherine Holmes.

The final report will be delivered to the governor-general by April 18, 2023.

Mr Albanese said key lessons needed to be learnt following the controversial scheme.

"It is vital so that we get to the bottom of how robodebt came about so that we can ensure that it can never ever happen again," he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

"We know that almost 400,000 Australians fell victim to this cruel system. A human tragedy with very real consequences for its victims."

The royal commission will look at the establishment, design and implementation of the scheme, who was responsible for it, why they considered robodebt necessary, and any concerns raised regarding the legality and fairness.

As well, it will examine the handling of concerns raised about the scheme, including adverse decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

And the terms of reference will cover the outcomes of the scheme, including the harm to vulnerable individuals and the total financial cost to government, as well as measures needed to prevent similar failures.

Mr Albanese dismissed criticism the commission would be an opportunity to attack the former government, saying there was a human cost to the scheme.

"People lost their lives. Every single one of my local constituents, and every member of parliament can tell stories like this," he said.

"Those people who were most vulnerable were the least likely to go to their local member, to have the confidence to do that. And that's why we need to get to the heart of why this occurred."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the royal commission was nothing more than a witch hunt.

"(The prime minister) should be concentrating more on how he can help families and less on how we can get square with Scott Morrison," he told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.

"It's clear that this is nothing more than a political witch hunt. And Anthony Albanese is spending more time looking in the rear-vision mirror than he is looking ahead."

The prime minister said he did not want to pre-empt the commission when asked whether former coalition ministers, including former prime minister Scott Morrison, from giving evidence.

Mr Dutton said Government Services Minister Bill Shorten set up the parameters of the robodebt scheme when Labor was last in government.

"Bill Shorten should be the first witness at the inquiry because he set robodebt up," he said.

The scheme was found in a class action lawsuit to have wrongly recovered more than $750 million from 381,000 people.

Mr Shorten said while the class action lawsuit delivered justice for victims, more was needed to be done.

"This royal commission has to fill a gap," he said.

"We still don't know who conceived of this. The Federal Court judge, Justice Murphy, said that the senior public servants and responsible ministers should have known, but didn't know."

Australian Council of Social Service acting chief executive Edwina MacDonald welcomed the royal commission and said it would be a way to hold people to account.

"This royal commission is for the victims, and we welcome that there will be support for people who share their story," she said.

© AAP 2022

Newly crowned British Open champion Cameron Smith will make an emotional return home to Brisbane in November to contest the Australian PGA Championship.

Smith will bring the famous Claret Jug with him when he returns to Australia for the first time since 2019 and also contest the Australian Open in Melbourne from December 1-4.

Triumphant at the landmark 150th Open at St Andrews last month, Smith is now intent on capping off his unforgettable 2022 with more silverware on Australian soil.

The 28-year-old won back-to-back Australian PGA Championships in 2017 and 2018 and will be chasing a third when he tees up in his home city from November 24-27.

"I've had an unbelievable year and to be coming home to play tournaments is the icing on the cake," said the world No.2.

"I'm so excited to see friends and family again. Some of them I haven't seen for years now and once I get to the golf course, I've got my eye on some more trophies."

Smith's record-setting victory at the Old Course in Scotland was his third of the year after also taking out the prestigious Players Championship and the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The Queenslander continues to be linked to an impending move to LIV Golf.

But even if he joins Greg Norman's Saudi-backed breakaway league after the PGA Tour's final FedEx Cup playoff event starting on Thursday night in Atlanta, Smith will still be free to contest Australia's two biggest events of the summer.

Australasian tour officials have ruled out following the lead of PGA and European Tour bosses in banning any players who join LIV Golf.

Smith is the latest big-name drawcard to commit to the Australian Open and PGA Championships.

He joins fellow PGA Tour stars Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee.

Former Women's US PGA Champion Hannah Green is also teeing up at the mixed-gender Australian Open being staged at Kingston Heath and the Victoria Golf Club.

South Africa's newly crowned Women's British Open champion Ashleigh Buhai also announced on Thursday that she'd play the Australian Open, which is offering a $3.4 million in prize money to be split evenly among the men and women.

Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said securing Smith and Buhai was a massive boost to Australian golf fans.

"Over the last few years Australians golf fans have loved following the rise of Cameron Smith," Sutherland said.

"He delights fans of all ages and even young kids have been inspired by him, turning up to golf sporting mullets and dreaming of playing like him.

"For Australian golf fans this is a great opportunity to come and watch Cameron - and to recognise his brilliant achievements, including his most recent Open Championship victory."

Announcing the two recent men's and women's British Open champions in one day is a sign of the star-studded fields that are building for the Australian Open.

"Ashleigh Buhai is one of those stars and her commitment to the event highlights how well-received our new format has been internationally. She is a major champion and she wants to not only be a part of it," Sutherland said.

"The presence of this year's Open champion and AIG Women's Open champion is a great coup for the event."

© AAP 2022