Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Champion canoeist Lisa Carrington has given her biggest hint yet she will back for a fourth Olympics.

Carrington is New Zealand's most successful Olympian, winning three gold medals in Tokyo in the K1 200m, K1 500m and K2 500m (with Caitlin Regal).

All up she has won six Olympic medals - five gold and a bronze - since making her Olympic debut in London in 2012.

In the wake of Tokyo the question was whether the 32 year old would continue?

The indications are that she will be back having posted on social media ""the next adventure awaits...Paris 2024."

When contacted by RNZ Carrington said she wasn't talking to media today about her future.

NRL expands with new Brisbane club

Brisbane will have two sides in the NRL rugby league competition from 2023 with the Redcliffe Dolphins to become the 17th franchise in the competition.

The Dolphins, are a powerhouse club in Queensland rugby league, and join the Brisbane Broncos as the city's second team and give Queensland four sides along with the Townsville based Cowboys and the Gold Coast Titans.

It is the first time the NRL has expanded since 2007 when the Titans joined the competition.

"Rugby League is part of Queensland's DNA and to have four teams based in Queensland will further strengthen our game as the number one sport in the state,'' said ALRC chair Peter V'Landys.

The addition of a 17th side in the competition means the season will be expanded from 24 to 26 rounds, with two byes.

This will increase the number of regular season games from 192 to 204.

The finals series will stay with the top eight clubs competing for the premiership.

Taylor joins Warriors on train and trial deal

Experienced Gold Coast playmaker Ash Taylor has joined the Warriors on a train and trial deal with the possibility of a one-year contract with the NRL club.

The 26-year-old will be with the Warriors when they start their 2022 preseason campaign at their new home base in Redcliffe next month.

Taylor had been without a club after being released by the Titans following 114 appearances for them since 2016.

Warriors head coach Nathan Brown is confident Taylor will make the most of his opportunity.

"Ash has had some challenges during his career but we all know what he's capable of and he also brings plenty of experience," he said.

"It's exciting having him onboard and looking to prove himself during the preseason. He'll provide a different dynamic and we think the change of club could be just what he needs."

Elder signs with Chiefs

Black Ferns captain Les Elder is the Chiefs first signing for Super Rugby Aupiki.

The loose forward captained the Chiefs Women's team in their maiden encounter against the Blues in May.

Elder said she was excited to return to the Chiefs in their maiden 2022 Super Rugby Aupiki campaign.

"I'm really looking forward to putting on the Chiefs jersey again, it was an honour to wear it earlier this year and to get the opportunity to get to do that again is a real privilege," said Elder.

Elder is set to depart on Thursday with the Black Ferns Squad as they embark on their end of year Northern Tour.

Yesterday Matatū (South Island) announced their first five contracted players - Kendra Cocksedge, Pip Love, Steph Te Ohaere-Fox, Grace Brooker and Te Rauoriwa Gapper.

NZ wrestler took steroids

Wrestler Madhi Namdari has received a three-year ban from all sport from the Sport Tribunal of New Zealand for using steroids.

His anti-doping violations were discovered after an out-of-competition test in March 2021 came back positive for Stanozolol, a result later confirmed by a test of the athlete's B-sample.

Stanozolol is prohibited in sport at all times.

Despite serious potential side effects, including substantial liver damage, Stanozolol is used in a doping context to increase muscle mass and strength.

An experienced athlete, Mr Namdari had been a Tokyo Olympic hopeful before Covid-related hurdles and an injury took him out of the running.

Drug Free Sport New Zealand Chief Executive, Nick Paterson said athletes attempting to dope will be caught.

"Covid lockdowns meant there were periods in which we were unable to test athletes, just like in Auckland at the moment. But, athletes tempted to take shortcuts to win because they think no one is looking or checking should think again. We resume testing as soon as lockdown restrictions allow, and our Intelligence and Investigations service continues through all Alert Levels."

Namdari's suspension was backdated to May 11 2021.

Selection issues for Wales

Wales rugby coach Wayne Pivac faces a selection crisis as he prepares his side to take on the All Blacks in just over a fortnight.

Wales Online is reporting that there are 21 players unavailable for the game in Cardiff.

Ten England-based players, including Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit and Taulupe Faletau won't be considered as they won't be released by their clubs because the test falls outside the international window.

Injuries are another problem for New Zealander Pivac with Justin Tipuric, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams and George North amoung those currently sidelined.

Pivac will still be able to field four Test Lions in his front five in Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard.

The All Blacks play the USA in Washington DC on the 24th before heading to Cardiff to play Wales on the 31st.

They then play Italy, Ireland and France.

All Black forced to retire

Former All Black flanker Liam Squire has announcement his retirement from the game.

The 23 test All Black made the announcement on social media citing a recurring knee injury.

Squire made his All Blacks debut against Wales in Dunedin back in 2016 while his last test was against Ireland in 2018.

The 30 year old was a part of the Highlanders this year, but only made a couple of appearances before requiring further surgery.

"After 6-7 months full rest to see if it will heal and speaking to my surgeon and medical team I have been advised for my best long term interest to retire from all rugby immediately," Squire said on Instagram.

He played his provincial rugby for Tasman.

Wilder to fight on

Deontay Wilder has no plans to retire, the American boxer's trainer Malik Scott said, after he was knocked out by Briton Tyson Fury in their WBC heavyweight world championship fight at the weekend.

Fury (31-0-1) weathered the early storm to outbox Wilder and landed the decisive blow in the 11th round to close out their trilogy and remain the undefeated lineal champion.

"Deontay has set his family financially secure so he doesn't have to fight to make a living," Scott said.

"But retiring is not in his plans at all and not something we've discussed."

Scott said Wilder (42-2-1) deserved to have more high-level fights and be involved in main events.

"Deontay was great on Saturday, but Fury was even greater -- it was a great night of boxing for the heavyweight division," he added.

-Reuters

Ten rounds for new sevens series

The 2022 World Rugby Sevens Series will kick off with a pair of men's and women's rounds in Dubai starting November, while Hong Kong returns as a stop.

Sydney, Australia and Hamilton, New Zealand will not host the series next year due to logistical challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, World Rugby added.

Instead, Spain will play host for the first time with men's and women's events scheduled in Malaga and Seville from Jan. 21-23 and Jan. 28-30.

Toulouse in France will also welcome teams in May next year.

The series will have 10 men's and seven women's rounds over six months. The first round in Dubai will be behind closed doors from Nov. 26-27 followed by another on Dec. 3-4 with fans in attendance at The Sevens Stadium.

The men's series will also have a North American round in Vancouver (Feb. 26-27) and Los Angeles (March 5-6) before moving to Asia, where Hong Kong will host a men's and women's event (April 1-3) after a gap of two years.

That will be followed by a men's event in Singapore (April 9-10).

New Zealand Rugby has said that New Zealand teams will not compete in any events this year.

-Reuters

Socceroos run comes to an end

Australia's record-breaking run in World Cup qualifying came to an end when Aziz Behich's late own goal handed Japan a lifeline as the Samurai Blue earned a 2-1 victory at Saitama Stadium.

Behich bundled the ball over his own goal line after Takuma Asano's late shot looped up and hit the post, ensuring Australia missed out on a 12th straight win on the road to Qatar 2022.

The result moves third-placed Japan to within three points of the Socceroos, who lead Group B ahead of Saudi Arabia - also on nine points but with a game in hand - in the battle for two guaranteed places from the section at next year's World Cup.

Only the top two teams in each of Asia's two qualifying groups advance automatically to the finals, with the third-placed teams going into a series of playoffs.

-Reuters

10 uncapped players in Japan squad

Japan rugby coach Jamie Joseph has named 10 uncapped players in his 37-man squad for the end of year internationals against Australia, Ireland, Portugal and Scotland.

Loose forward Michael Leitch was included in the squad after being relieved of the captaincy last week in an effort to improve his chances of playing in a fourth World Cup in 2023.

The team will be skippered by South African-born flanker Pieter "Lappies" Labuschagne with centre Ryoto Nakamura, who played in all five matches on Japan's run to the quarter-finals at the last World Cup, as vice-captain.

Stalwart lock Wimpie Van Der Walt missed out through injury, while there was no place in the squad for 29-cap number eight Amanaki Mafi.

Japan have played two matches since they hosted the World Cup two years ago, losing 28-10 to a British and Irish Lions XV in June and going down 39-31 to Ireland in July.

Forwards - Shunsuke Asaoka, Keita Inagaki, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Koo Ji-won, Isileli Nakajima, Craig Millar, Atsushi Sakate, Yusuke Niwai, Kosuke Horikoshi, Daichi Akiyama, James Moore, Liaki Moli, Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Ryota Hasegawa, Pieter Labuschagne, Michael Leitch, Tevita Tatafu, Kazuki Himeno, Shota Fukui.

Backs - Naoto Saito, Kaito Shigeno, Yutaka Nagare, Yu Tamura, Rikiya Matsuda, Taichi Takahashi, Jone Naikabula, Shogo Nakano, Siosaia Fifita, Lomano Lemeki, Semisi Masirewa, Ryoto Nakamura, Timothy Lafaele, Dylan Riley, Ryohei Yamanaka.

-Reuters

Flame resistant gloves pass test

McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo has given a thumbs-up to new flame-resistant gloves, developed by Formula One's governing body after Romain Grosjean's fiery crash in Bahrain last year, following trials at the Turkish Grand Prix weekend.

Grosjean made a miraculous escape from a fireball crash in November but suffered burns to the back of his hands as he clambered free of the wreckage.

The Frenchman's Haas car speared through the protective barriers lining the track in a 53G impact that split it in half and burst into flames.

The governing FIA has been working on improving protection from fire and last week announced that selected drivers would be testing new gloves for comfort and dexterity during Turkish Grand Prix practice.

"I used them...I didn't notice the difference," said Australian Ricciardo, one of five authorised to try them out.

Race director Michael Masi said the test went well, the flame-proof properties had already been proven and it was now just a question of driver comfort.

-Reuters