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New Canterbury halfback Toby Sexton has been backed by two of his closest mentors to shine in the halves alongside Matt Burton after a whirlwind week.

The 22-year-old former Gold Coast playmaker will play for the Bulldogs against South Sydney on Saturday at Accor Stadium after securing a release from the Titans and inking a new deal at Belmore until the end of 2024.

Sexton shone as a schoolboy at Palm Beach Currumbin (PBC) High before joining the Titans, where he played 19 consecutive games at No.7 last year before being dropped for Tanah Boyd.

In the only chance Sexton got in the NRL this season he was man of the match in a 20-18 victory over St George Illawarra, scoring the winning try in the final moments with a show and go. He bravely played with a broken wrist and subsequently had to sit out a month of football.

Aaron Zimmerle was head coach of PBC when the side won the 2018 national schoolboy final against Patrician Brothers Blacktown, where Sexton was halves partner with North Queensland's Tom Dearden. Zimmerle is also a trainer for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup where Sexton has played the majority of this season.

"'Toby has run for 100 metres per game at Cup level this year and challenged himself to take the line on more," Zimmerle told AAP.

"He has always controlled the game and kicked well, which he is still doing, but he's also scoring tries, making half-breaks and playing a lot deeper into the line.

"I think the Bulldogs are getting him at a good stage where he has put his setbacks of last year behind him.

"Matt Burton is such a big body and is fast and physical. If Toby as a game manager can take some of that responsibility of directing the team around the field and let Matt take on (the line) ... I see it as a nice pairing. They both have really good kicking games."

At PBC Sexton took control of the kicking game and set up the structures, which allowed Dearden to be the running threat.

"This year I've seen Toby add more layers to his game," Zimmerle said.

Current PBC head coach Tim Maccan was Sexton's mentor in school teams and also at the helm of the Tweed Heads Seagulls 18s that won the national championships against Illawarra in 2019.

"Toby put on a show in the final and won man of the match," Maccan told AAP.

"The big thing about Toby is that he's a hard worker. Growing up he wasn't the kid making all the rep teams but his dedication to becoming the best player he can be was his big tick for me.

"(Canterbury general manager) Phil Gould is one of the most knowledgeable people in the game. To go to a new system at a club rich in history like the Bulldogs is a great opportunity for Toby."

© AAP 2023

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Donald Trump's eldest son has cancelled a speaking tour of Australia, with organisers citing a delay in getting a visa for him to enter the country.

Donald Trump Jr was scheduled to speak in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane between July 9 and 11 as part of a "Trump Live" tour.

But on Wednesday the organisers, Turning Point Australia, said in a statement they had been forced to postpone the tour due to the visa delay.

"The visa, which has now been issued, was only received late afternoon of Wednesday 5th July, only 24 hours before Donald Trump Jr was set to board a flight to Sydney," the statement said.

The organisers said 8000 tickets had already been sold across the three states, with all VIP tickets priced as a high as $2500 selling out in the first week of the tour announcement.

"Ticket holders are urged to hold on to their tickets, with details of the rescheduled date to be confirmed in the coming days," Turning Point Australia said in a post to the tour website.

The website said Trump Jr's "fearlessly outspoken, anti-politically correct stance has captured the imagination of conservatives from around the world".

South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic, who was set to MC the speaking tour, was quoted in the tour organisers' statement saying he was disappointed but not surprised by the tour postponement.

"I'm looking forward to the show getting new dates. Aussies want to hear from conservative warriors like these guys," he said.

A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil told Nine newspapers there was no immigration impediment to Trump Jr coming to Australia.

© AAP 2023

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A mass leaking of private and personal images featuring current and former AFL players is being investigated by the league and police.

Several clubs contacted the AFL to let them know personal intimate data of past and present players had been distributed and shared online.

The images have been leaked by an anonymous source, the AFL allege.

"It is alleged the files feature private and personal images of past and present AFL players however it is important to note that many of the images are yet to be verified for identification," an AFL statement read.

The AFL integrity Unit has alerted authorities, including police in various states and the eSafety Commissioner.

"There appears to have been significant work involved in gathering the images and creating files for distribution," the AFL statement read.

"The AFL has no information regarding why the personal images have been circulated illegally and without consent or what the motive is in doing so.

"The AFL asks everyone to please respect the rights and privacy of those past and present players who have had personal images illegally shared without their consent or approval.

"AFLIU has contacted the eSafety Commissioner and is working closely with eSafety to have the images removed as soon as possible."

© AAP 2023

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The NRL's players are prepared to shun game-day media commitments for months and will not rule out further strike action as part of drastic measures the players association hopes will lead to a resolution in protracted collective bargaining agreement talks with the NRL.

Media strikes announced by the RLPA at an emergency press conference on Wednesday mean male and female players will boycott all game-day media commitments from July 6 and until further notice, including for Wednesday's final State of Origin match.

The NRL's coaches are still expected to front the media as normal, with players available on days when games are not played.

The RLPA says these conditions will remain in place until the completion of a draft CBA, until the warring NRL and PA meet with an industrial relations mediator and until player benefits and support payments return to pre-COVID levels agreed under the previous CBA.

More than 50 players from the 17 clubs met on Tuesday night to discuss the laggard CBA, now eight months overdue.

Chief executive Clint Newton said they were prepared to take more action if their demands were not met.

"Our leadership group met and they discussed that this could go on," he said.

"The players have shown tremendous patience and good will through this process but their trust and resolve have been tested time and time again. I want to be clear that we have been forced into this position.

"Players are reasonable but ultimately we have to put everything on the table.

"We are hopeful and we remain optimistic about reaching an agreement."

Fronting the media in response to the strike, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo maintained the league had acted in good faith during negotiations.

"It's disappointing whenever we talk about restricting the access the fans have to hear from their heroes," he said.

"We have spent thousands of collective hours listening and problem-solving."

In total, the warring parties have been negotiating the new CBA for 20 months, with the current agreement only able to roll over until October 31 of this year.

The RLPA had been hopeful of reaching an agreement with the NRL by the end of May after presenting the league with a settlement proposal but talks once again hit an impasse.

The RLPA is no longer aggrieved as to player wages or the salary cap, with the NRL proposing an overall increase in player payments of 37 per cent, an immediate 25.4 increase in the salary cap and an increased minimum wage of $150,000.

Current concerns lie with more specific areas of the CBA, which contains over 100 different items.

These include the RLPA wanting full autonomy around managing it own funds, which are dispensed to retired players in distress and those suffering from the effects of long-term injuries, among others.

The RLPA also has concerns over the NRL's ability to increase the length of the season without approval and the players' ownership and autonomous access to their own data, including medical records.

Abdo said the only restriction the NRL and Australian Rugby League Commission wanted to place on the RLPA's funds was that governance measures be implemented to ensure money could not be funnelled away from their beneficiaries, and to the RLPA itself.

As it stands, the NRL is only able to increase the length of the season by one to two games without approval.

Despite Abdo's concerns, South Sydney prop and RLPA representative Thomas Burgess believed fans would still feel connected to the players despite the media blackout.

"This is not about turning our back on the fans at all," he said.

"We've got our social media, we're involved in that.

"We want a deal done, we want to go back to normal. But we've been backed into a corner here."

Abdo said the league had yet to determine its next move, including whether players' wages could be docked while paying broadcasters had their access restricted, and the extent to which the CBA will continue to be renegotiated.

"We believe our offer was a fair one," he said.

"We believe it did accommodate the major concerns that have been raised but that's now up to the Commission (ARLC) as to what happens next."

© AAP 2023