Wayne Bennett's savage sledge to Origin star

It hasn't all been smooth sailing for Dane Gagai at club level since Wayne Bennett took over at South Sydney.

He lost his spot to James Roberts midway through the 2019 season but stayed and fought and won it back before finishing 2020 with a number of strong performances.

But he again went to another level in the Maroons jersey and in the eyes of teammate Cameron Munster was man of the match.

On an episode of The Skipper and The Prez, Munster revealed Bennett couldn't resist clipping Gagai after the match.

"It was so funny, Wayne's obviously his coach at Souths and he had a bit of a giggle in the sheds after the game," Munster said. "He said 'f*** me, Gags, why don't you wear that Origin jersey under your South jersey."

Got him. Picture: Fox Sports

Bennett's famed ability to connect with players and lighten the mood of tense change rooms was again on show and key to the Maroons' upset win, Munster said.

"He's very mellow but has a good laugh and loves getting around the boys. He plays cards and sits up the back of the bus and loves hearing all the stories the boys toss up," he said.

"So he calms the whole group down. There was a lot of debutants in the group and they were all nervous but he calmed their nerves and they showed (on Wednesday night) how good they can go."

Rafael Nadal battled into the Paris Masters quarterfinals on Friday with a 6-1 7-6 (7/3) win over Australia's Jordan Thompson.

World number 61 Thompson gave Nadal plenty to think about, but missed a set point to force a decider in his first meeting with the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

Top seed Nadal, who claimed his 1000th career victory by coming from behind to beat Feliciano Lopez on Thursday, has never won the Paris title.

Playing in his first tournament since taking a record-extending 13th French Open crown across the French capital at Roland Garros last month, Nadal will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for a semi-final spot.

Marcus Stoinis scored 65 off 46 and took 1/5 from one over but it was nowhere near enough as the Delhi Capitals lost their IPL playoff against the Mumbai Indians by 57 runs.

Ravi Ashwin (3/29 from four overs) and Axar Patel (42 from 33) were the only other Capitals to throw a punch as Mumbai charged into its sixth IPL final.

After an even batting performance saw the Indians post an imposing target of 5/200, opening bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (4/14) and Trent Boult (2/9) ripped the heart out of the Delhi top order.

The top three all made ducks and Delhi was 4/20 inside four overs and some late hitting by Stoinis was in vain.

Mumbai – which has Australia's Nathan Coulter-Nile in its attack – awaits the winner of the second playoff between David Warner's Sunrisers and Aaron Finch's Royal Challengers in the final.

Josh Dunkley officially requested a trade from the Western Bulldogs to Essendon on Thursday and it's becoming clearer why.

The major reason is how he went from being one of the AFL's most dominant midfielders averaging more than 28 disposals in 2019 to a half forward or pinch-hitter in the ruck this year.

But AFL journalist Marc McGowan reported Dunkley also "had issues with one teammate, in particular".

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Essendon has reportedly offered the 23-year-old a four-year contract but at this point the Bulldogs have said he remains a contracted and required player.