Mal Meninga says losing Sam Thaiday for Sundays Four Nations final is a big blow for the Kangaroos and admits hes yet to decide wholl replace the veteran forward.Thaiday underwent surgery for a fractured eye socket and cheekbone in London on Tuesday as the rest of the squad headed north to Liverpool to prepare for the final against New Zealand at Anfield.The 31-year-old will link up with the team later in the week and Meninga said he is still tossing up whether to go with the size and power of Boyd on the bench or with the mobility of Manly rookie Trbojevic, who impressed on debut against Scotland.Its unfortunate for Sammy, but we have the depth to cover, Meninga said.He is a big character around the team and a big player in our team. But hell come back and we look forward to having him around.Shannon and Jake are our forward reserves at the moment so well make a decision over the next 24 hours.Cooper Cronk got his first look at Anfield on Tuesday and said the small in-goal areas will require some adjustment in his kicking game.I was in awe when I waked through the gates here, Cronk told AAP.I dont have an EPL team I follow, but Ive watched lots of games at home on the TV played here and itll be a bit surreal walking out on Sunday.The dimensions will be smaller, but the word is well only lose about a metre off the 10 metre-line on each grid so you wont lose a lot.Cronk also said the pristine playing surfaces like the one at West Hams London Stadium, where the Kangaroos beat England on Sunday, and at Anfield will allow for a fast and aggressive contest.Its going to be a fast track, he said.A soccer ball on this surface skids, whereas our ball will bounce and rotate.When we do our captains run on Saturday the kickers will get a better idea of how the ball reacts.But weve all played on different surfaces before, it shouldnt be that big a deal, its what makes international footy such a challenge.Australian whistleblower Ben Cummins has been named as the referee for the match. Swell Flaske Liberty . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Swell Flaske Norge . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/ . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Swell Flaske Butikk Swell Flaske 500 Ml . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. ATLANTA -- The U.S. swimming team has just one practice left before it leaves for the Rio Olympics.Womens coach David Marsh likes what hes seen at the 12-day Atlanta training camp.Its been a beautiful camp so far, he said. The captains are leading it well. Very relaxed. Theres nothing having to be contrived here to create things.The teams most prominent co-captain, Michael Phelps, was the big draw Saturday for the near-capacity crowd at the Georgia Tech aquatic center.Phelps has said he will retire after his fifth Olympics, and fans started lining up at 5 a.m., over six hours before the team walked onto the deck.Phelps occasionally waved and smiled during the nearly three-hour workout, but mostly kept to himself. Despite doing no interviews with reporters, his influence was felt everywhere.We were talking about it at dinner the other day without him, said womens co-captain Allison Schmitt, a three-time Olympian. People didnt know anything (about swimming before Phelps). It was embarrassment to be a swimmer. No young boy was a swimmer. Now theres probably more guys in the sport than there is girls. He has definitely changed it a lot and he will continue to change it a lot past his retirement.The most decorated athlete in the history of the games, Phelps will try to add to his 18 golds and 22 overall medals before he retires for the second time. He won the 100-meter butterfly, the 200 fly and the 200 individual medley at the U.S. Olympic trials r this month in Nebraska.His personal coach, U.S. mens coach Bob Bowman, saiid Phelps looks as strong as ever.ddddddddddddHe never surprises me anymore, Bowman said. As soon as you think youve seen it all, hell give you something else.Bowman declined to say if the 31-year-old will compete in a relay event.I do know, he said. Im not going to tell you.First-time Olympian Chase Kalisz has known Phelps for several years and says its easy to see why television insisted on starting the finals, which begin next Saturday, so late each night.Phelps means big ratings for NBC.Our sport wouldnt be what is without Michael, Kalisz said. You look at all the coverage we get because of him and all the opportunities we get because of Michael. You look back 20 years ago, and it wasnt like that. There wasnt this kind of excitement. I think hes ready to go out the way he wants to go out and close that chapter on his own terms. I think it will be good for him.The team has already adapted to a new sleep schedule, getting in the pool each night at Georgia Tech at 10 p.m. Thats what time the semifinals will begin in Rio. Some finals could end after midnight.Swimmers have grown accustomed to the uncustomary hours over the last few weeks.Its kind of a college kids dream, said Gunnar Bentz, a first-time Olympian. We get to stay up late and we get to sleep in. Its kind of nice, honestly, but training at 10-11 p.m. is a little weird. You get used to it, but I think will work really well in Rio. ' ' '
