Injury fears for Queenslands Corey Oates have been allayed by Wayne Bennett. TreQuan Smith Stitched Jersey .But Maroons teammate Josh McGuire faces a nervous wait after being reported for a dangerous throw in Brisbanes 48-6 NRL loss to Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.Oates was forced from the field in the first half with concussion after being injured in a tackle trying to stop the eight try rout.The incumbent Maroons winger took no further part in the game in a concern for Queensland selectors who name their State of Origin III team on Monday.But Bennett gave Oates the all clear for the Maroons.Hell be fine in the 12 days when they play again, he said.McGuires Origin III prospects are not so certain after being reported for his lifting tackle on Dale Finucane.It added further insult after Brisbane suffered a record home loss and sixth defeat in their last eight games.Former ladder leaders Brisbane could slide as low as seventh by the end of the round.Bennett claimed he could see improvement in the most unlikely of areas - Brisbanes defence.They have conceded 88 points in their last two games.Melbourne led 30-6 at halftime after notching five tries in 18 minutes.Winger Suliasi Vunivalu nabbed a hat-trick to seal Melbournes 10th win in 11 games against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium and claim the ladders top spot.However, Bennett said he was happier than after last rounds 40-14 loss to Canterbury.I dont believe it was un-Bronco like, he said of their effort.I dont like the scoreboard but I thought we were better defensively than we were last week.We left Canterbury a lot less confident than we will (against Melbourne).Five of their tries came off kicks. There were no huge defensive errors.Halfback Cooper Cronk set up five tries as Melbourne exploited Oates injury to carve up Brisbanes left edge.There was not much we could do to stop it, Bennett said.Bennett dipped his hat to bench utility Kodi Nikorima who dislocated his shoulder early but remained on the field to fill holes in their reshuffled backline as the Storm launched raid after raid.I dont know what would have happened if he had not stayed on the field for us, Bennett said.Brisbane are already without Jordan Kahu, Jack Reed, Greg Eden and Tom Opacic.Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy backed Brisbane to return to their best.Sometimes it just aint your night, he said.They have too many good players and too good a culture at the club not to come back from this. Youth Saints Jerseys . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Elite Saints Jerseys . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. http://www.officialsaintsnflauthenticshop.com/ .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. NEW YORK -- Northwestern came into the Legends Classic off a last-second loss to Butler.It didnt seem to bother the Wildcats as they beat No. 22 Texas 77-58 on Monday night.Im really proud of my guys tonight. We had a very tough loss Wednesday in Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler, Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. Teams can go two separate ways after a loss like that. You can go on a little bit of a tailspin or you can rally together and come out fighting. There was never a doubt in my mind that our guys were going to keep fighting. We came in confident, yet very respectful of Texas. We knew it was going to take a great effort to beat a team like that. I thought a lot of guys played well.Bryant McIntosh had 20 points and five assists in the convincing win that propelled the Wildcats (3-1) into a championship showdown against Notre Dame, which beat Colorado 89-81, on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.McIntosh turned the ball over that led to Butlers buzzer-beater.I thought right after the Butler game, I knew we wouldnt go into a tailspin just because we didnt feel sorry for ourselves, McIntosh said. We were upset that we lost a game that we thought we could win. Thats a difference with this team than on the other teams Ive been on since being here. If we lost a close game, we felt sorry for ourselves where this team were hungry. We think were good and I thought tonight we played exceptionally well.Northwestern opened the game with an 11-0 run and closed the first half on a 9-0 spurt to take a 34-26 lead.The Wildcats opened the second half on a 10-1 run to go up by 17 points and the Longhorns (3-1) were never closer than 14 points the rest of the way.Scottie Lindsey had 16 points and Dererk Pardon had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Northwestern which took advantage of an out-of-synch Texas offense for the easy win.We came in to win, Collins said. We have the utmost respect for Texas, just like we did at Butler the other night. I just think theres a mindset with these guys. I think we believe were good. I believe we can play with these teams, not only play with them but beat them.Tavin Maack scored 18 points for the Longhorns, who finished with 14 turnovers and just seven assists. Rick Leonard Stitched Jersey. Texas didnt help itself at the free throw line going 13 for 27.I thought Northwestern did a great job of starting the game with aggressiveness and got off to that big lead, Texas coach Shaka Smart said. Our guys responded really well and battled back and took the lead but obviously from there, Northwestern was just a much better team tonight.Northwestern, which shot 48.2 percent (27 for 56), led by as many as 20 points as nine of the 10 players who saw time scored.Texas, which came into the game averaging 82 points per game, shot 37.3 percent (19 for 51) and were outrebounded 40-31.I was a little bit concerned this morning because sometimes you can feel when guys get in the bright lights, you can tell theyre playing a little bit away from what really goes into it, Smart said. Its natural. I think we were a step off with a lot of things we know how to do.BIG PICTURE:Texas: The Longhorns allowed opponents to shoot 21.8 percent from 3-point range in their first three games. Northwestern was 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. ... Six Texas players were averaging double figures entering the game and only Mack reached that against the Wildcats.Northwestern: Vic Law came into the game shooting 76.8 percent (11 of 14) from 3-point range including eight in a row at one stretch. He went 1 for 2 Monday. ... Law was the Wildcats leading scorer at 20.3 points per game. He had just nine against Texas.BIRTHDAY WISH:McIntosh celebrated his birthday Sunday by heading to the famed Rucker Park with his godfather to shoot baskets.RARE MEETING:Northwestern leads the all-time series 2-1. The last time the teams met was in 1974, a 63-59 Texas victory. The first meeting was a 73-71 Northwestern victory in 1965.UP NEXT:Texas: will play Colorado for third place in the Legends Classic.Northwestern: will play Notre Dame in the championship game of the Legends Classic. 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