Set of six: Packer with Warriors

Former Warrior Russel Packer. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Russell Packer enjoyed the company of his former Warriors teammates after Saturday night's last-minute win over the Sharks in Sydney. The 25-year-old prop visited players at their hotel after having played his first game of league since June 16, 2013 - 724 days - when he debuted for the Illawarra Cutters in their NSW Cup match against Newtown. Packer was in good spirits and simply enjoying his freedom and the chance to pull on the boots once more after being jailed for assault.

NBA star reacts to Warriors' tweet
Cleveland Cavaliers NBA star Iman Shumpert took notice of Warriors centre Solomone Kata's hair on Twitter midweek. Kata's latest hairstyle was snapped at training and shared via the club's official Twitter account. LeBron James' teammate is well known for his distinctive high-top fade haircut. After glimpsing Kata's effort Shumpert showed his approval with a prompt retweet.

"@NZWarriors: Solomone Kata doing his best @I_Am_Iman impression before training today #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/qZvO5m5c0g" haha 💂🏾squad

— Iman. (@imanshumpert) May 12, 2015

Kata cautioned over carry
Still on Kata, Warriors coach Andrew McFadden revealed the 20-year-old was well and truly put in his place by teammates after his no-try fumble against the Sharks. With the game in the balance, Kata had the ball tucked under his inside arm as he headed for the line before losing control as he attempted a one-handed put-down. "His teammates certainly have [spoken to him] and they addressed that pretty much straight away," McFadden said. "He's a young kid, only nine games in now, so hopefully he doesn't do that ever again in his career."

Smith targets sledging fan
Storm skipper Cameron Smith was caught on camera kicking a ball at a vocal Parramatta fan during last Sunday's match at Pirtek Stadium. Smith was awarded a penalty 10 out from the Eels' line and instead of nudging the ball into touch Smith punted it straight at the blue and gold supporter who was giving him a bit of verbal. As you might expect of the Queensland and Australian captain, he was right on target, and the rowdy fan had to sheepishly bat the ball away.

Fans can be so cruel
A disgruntled Newcastle Knights fan showed he still has a sense of humour when he put halfback Tyrone Roberts up for sale on eBay after his side slipped to their fifth straight loss at the weekend. Sunday's 30-10 defeat to Manly was the final straw for the "supporter", who put a picture of Roberts together with a brief description of his talents up on the online auction site. Bidding began at the bargain basement price of just $2.60.

Cross-code battle rages on
The cross-code war rages on in Italy and the United Arab Emirates, with Sol Mokdad, the president of the UAE league commission, detained by police last week on the orders of the General Authority of Youth Welfare and Sport. His arrest followed a complaint from UAE Rugby concerning the use of the word "rugby", with the Government deeming the UAE Rugby League to be an illegal organisation. Mokdad has held his post since 2007 and the popularity of the 13-man code has steadily started to grow in the region. And despite a World Rugby directive confirming that the two codes are in fact different sports, it seems not everyone is content for the two games to coexist throughout the Gulf.