KOUKASH ON THE OFFENSIVE

Dr. Marwan Koukash

Dr. Marwan Koukash held his clear the air press conference earlier today in front of the press and around 150 fans and did not disappoint.

Using some colourful language and not shying away from anything Koukash confirmed, amongst other things, that Australia’s National Coach Tim Sheens has been appointed Director of Rugby, Iestyn Hariss’ position as Head Coach is safe and that Bobbie Goulding has not yet been offered a position at the club.

Koukash, sat alongside club CEO Martin Vickers, stated that they had so far suffered a disappointing season and that the club should be better placed than they are. He also stressed, interestingly in the light of his role in the Marquee Player proposal, that Salford must focus on youth development as a priority.

With this fact in mind it seemed certain that the aforementioned Goulding, who has recently spent time with Koukash and Vickers and is very vocal on Social Media about his desire to work with young rugby players, would be presented as a new appointment as the Head of Youth Development at the club – not so, as no offer has yet been made to the former Great Britain international.

Tim Sheens

The one appointment confirmed though could be a masterstroke by Koukash. New Director of Rugby Tim Sheens is a man who has seen it all in Rugby League and he will not be afraid to lay it on the line with Koukash and tell him where he is going wrong. Sheens has won four Australian Premiership Titles – 3 with Canberra Raiders and 1 with Wests Tigers – has coached at State of Origin level with New South Wales and has been coach of the Australian National side since 2009, winning the World Cup Final in 2013 although his tenure is likely to come to an end now on the back of 3 straight defeats against New Zealand and the Aussies being knocked off the top of the World Rankings by New Zealand for the first time since the 1960’s.

Even so, he still has the kind of experience and knowledge that any fledgling rugby league coach would bite their right arm off to have available to them. Koukash confirmed that Iestyn Harris will remain as Head Coach and the young Harris should embrace the opportunity to work with a man of Sheens’ experience and make sure that he dredges every last bit of knowledge out of the man’s brain – this appointment could be the making of him as a Head Coach is he approaches it with the right attitude.  

One of the main item’s of concern recently has been the allegations of Salford players and staff going unpaid and bills not being paid to suppliers. Koukash insisted that since he has arrived at the club all players and staff have been paid in full and on time – if not earlier than they should have been. He then produced a letter from New Zealand international full back Kevin Locke’s lawyer that stated that the Salford Red Devils owed Locke £52,000 – Koukash then reiterated that everyone, including Locke, had been paid in full and that if Locke could in any way prove that he was owed money then Koukash would drive him to the bank personally and pay him in cash.

Kevin Locke

It was confirmed that Locke had tendered his resignation to the club and Koukash advised that this had been accepted with immediate effect. He also made it clear that Salford would pursue Locke for damages and also disclosed that the former New Zealand Warrior was the highest paid player in Super League.

Koukash then moved onto another player in dispute with the club. It was confirmed there is currently a dispute between the Red Devils and Tony Puletua but that the club refute all allegations made against them and will defend themselves. They have commenced legal proceedings against Puletua for comments made in the media. Although Puletua is currently on loan at Hull Kingston Rovers the Red Devils, Koukash revealed, are still paying his wages. 

Using some colourful language the billionaire racehorse owner then declared that the club had received nothing from the local council since he had been at the club. The £1.5m loan that had been discussed in the local media recently was organised via the old Salford club and had nothing to do with him. He stated that the Red Devils currently pay £300-400,000 annually to service a CVA agreement and that he is now going to sue the local council for approx. £800,000 that he believes the council owe the club – what the council owe this money for was not made clear but Koukash is certainly going to keep some lawyers happy for the next few months.

Koukash then advised that it would cost the Red Devils £500,000 to play at the AJ Bell Stadium next year and that they received no revenue from shop sales or food and drink sales – it appears that certain agreements were in place before Koukash took over and he cannot do much about them at the moment – these are certainly streams of revenue that other clubs make hundreds of thousands of pounds from and the Salford club need to urgently put this right although it was stated that ‘’we’re in a healthy position compared to other clubs’’ and that the Red Devils debt stands at around just £150,000.00.

He also stated that he was still interested in owning an NRL club but that he would first concentrate on re-building his reputation after the non-payment allegations made against him. He made it clear that he wants the club to stand on it’s own two feet financially in the next 2-3 years and that ‘’my wife would kill me if she knew how much I had invested in the club’’.

Dr. Koukash never disappoints and is always forthright and, you would hope, honest but it certainly appeared that the main message was everything in the garden is rosy but there are a few people who want to mow it all down and it’s all everyone else’s fault, not his. He is certainly going to be talking to a few lawyers over the next few months but the main positive to come out of the meeting was the appointment of Sheens – he really could have a positive effect on the whole club, not just on the rugby playing side.

It will certainly be interesting to view the developments at the club over the next few months.

SIX TO GO - Drama, Tigers Roar and Salford Circus

Welcome to the latest edition of Six to Go, looking at some of the things that have caught my eye over the past 7 days or so.

1.       EXCITING GAMES

Too many Super League games this season have been one dimensional and, at times, too predictable and to a certain extent boring. You definitely cannot say that about the three games that Sky televised last weekend. The controversial Thursday night fixture has a tendency to be an uninspiring game with the main fixture of the TV weekend planned for the Friday night. Last Thursday’s fixture was far from that as the Castleford Tigers made it 3 wins in a row with a 31-24 win at Leeds Rhinos. For the second week running the Tigers made a storming start to the game and were 18-0 up in the first quarter, just as they had been the previous week at Hull KR. And, as Hull KR did, the Rhinos charged back at them and came close to taking the points. It must be so disconcerting for a coach to see your team make such a storming start and then see the opposition come back into the game. Tigers coach Darryl Powell will be heartened though by the fact that his team has responded when they have been under the hammer and have been strong enough to push on and take the points in both tough away fixtures to consolidate their top 8 position. On Friday night came the St. Helens v. Wigan Warriors north west derby and this game was at another level entirely. It was intense with strong defence from both sides, quality play and two errors from Wigan full back Matty Bowen that were crucial in the outcome of the match. Wigan led 10-8 at half time but the Saints piled the pressure on in the second half and the Warriors crumbled. The Saints scored 22 points in the second half to win the game 30-14 and take over the top spot from the Rhinos. Finally, on Saturday evening the Black and Whites of Hull FC took the largest number of fans so far this season to the South of France to see their in-form side take on Catalans Dragons. Whilst the standard and intensity may not have matched the previous two TV games, there was certainly no shortage of excitement and controversy for the FC fans in the pub that I was watching it in to shout loudly about. The match hinged on a decision to disallow a Fenuli Talanoa try after the video referee ruled that Dragons centre Ben Pomeroy had been obstructed in the build up and I must admit it was a decision I agreed with, although I kept quiet about with about 50 Hull FC in close attendance and having had a few beers along the way. FC definitely had the chances to win the game but weren’t quite as clinical as they needed to be.

2.       IN-FORM TIGERS

Ben Roberts

Last night’s game between Castleford Tigers and St. Helens was another brilliant advert for the game and you have to say that the Tigers are the form team of the competition at the moment and are playing some superb rugby league. Darryl Powell has really got his team playing well and battling hard and last night’s brilliant last kick of the match 25-24 victory over table topping St. Helens was their 4^th win on the trot which started with the Magic Weekend rout of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and was followed by tough wins at Hull Kingston Rovers and the Rhinos before beating Saints last night. The catalyst seems to be Powell’s decision to put enigmatic Samoan international Ben Roberts at full back. Roberts had not had the best of starts to his career in Super League and Powell has preferred Liam Finn and Luke Gale as his first choice half back pairing but Roberts really seems to be settling in to the full back spot and was outstanding last night and provided the assist for Jake Webster’s try with a lovely kick through and posed problems for the Saints defence all night. He is one of those players that can infuriate and thrill within minutes and he did exactly that last night as he dropped the ball bringing it out of defence in the last couple of minutes but fortunately James Roby knocked on at the scrum and gave possession back to the Tigers. Now most teams would have been happy to take the point but the Tigers took the ball wide and made a brilliant break to get into the position for Roberts to kick the winning drop goal. Queue hysteria – and quite rightly so as it had me out of my seat as well. I tipped the Tigers to struggle to make the 8 this year because of the number AND quality of player they had lost. The team lost the Man of Steel Daryl Clark, top class prop Craig Huby, back rower Weller Hauraki and half back / hooker Jamie Ellis from the successful team of last season and at first the signings made to replace them did not look too good in comparison. However, Luke Gale is in the form of his life and deserves an England squad place, Scott Moore has done a solid job at hooker alongside local lad Adam Milner, whilst Clark has struggled to find his ‘A’ game at Warrington, and Michael McMeeken and Junior Moors have been excellent in the pack. The Tigers have a solid squad – Jake Webster is back playing some of his best rugby since his early days at Hull KR, Oliver Holmes is another outstanding youngster, whilst Denny Solomona is bang on form with 8 tries in his last 4 games. The Tigers now have Justin Carney back after a 9 game absence and they still have Luke Dorn to come back in and also bear in mind that Frankie Mariano and Scott Wheeldon are long term injuries as well. Whilt the Tigers did not have the best of starts to the season there is no doubt that they are now firing on all cylinders and with a Head Coach of the quality and ingenuity of Daryl Powell, I think the Tigers would be a good outside bet for a place at Old Trafford.

 

3.       CAMPO RULED OUT 

Campo - not so happy at the minute!!

This week came the news that all Hull KR fans have been dreading as it was confirmed that our inspirational captain Terry Campese has been ruled out for the rest of the 2015 season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Castleford Tigers two weeks ago. The former Canberra Raiders captain has been absolutely superb for Hull KR throughout this season and has played some superb rugby, there was no better performance from him than in the Easter derby victory over Hull FC at the KC stadium – he was simply on another level that night. There was a question mark over Campese’s ability to withstand the rigours of a full season as he had already had his left knee reconstructed twice with the Raiders and suffered a serious groin injury as well. I guess those fears have been founded and it is such a shame as Campo had really settled into Super League and had already signed a 2 year contract extension at Rovers. His form has been top class and he was one of the front runners for the Albert Goldthorpe Medal awarded by Rugby League Express and had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Man of Steel Award. However, his biggest impact has been on the club, especially the supporters who love the man already. Fortunately, Campo is a great trainer and will keep himself in good shape and the surgeons are saying that he will come back stronger and we will have him back leading the team out at the start of the 2016 Super League season. The fact is though that he will be badly missed by the team as he leads from the front and is involved in everything that goes on. Rovers beat Widnes last week with Albert Kelly and Maurice Blair paired together at half back and it worked well. Rovers have been linked with both Josh Drinkwater and Chris Sandow to replace Campese but I would give the incumbents a good go at it and see what they can do for us as we currently have no overseas quota spots available anyway.

 

4.       SALFORD CIRCUS 

Paul Gallen - Salford bound??

The Salford Circus is now fully open, is free to all on Sunday afternoon for the visit of Catalans Dragons and the Ringmaster will take centre stage on Tuesday of next week. It is never dull at the AJ Bell and the Ringmaster, Dr. Koukash, has called a press conference next Tuesday at which he plans to make clear how his club is run, tell some home truths and possibly announce some signings – either players for 2016 or additions to the coaching staff. Koukash’s main bone of contention is the allegations made by the Salford Star that players and staff have not been paid at times, that players are looking to leave and that Koukash is struggling to repay a £1.5m loan to the local council. They have not painted a pretty picture and the article would lead you to believe that there are serious problems for Koukash to deal with. It is a fact that Lama Tasi has signed for St. Helens from next year, that Tony Puletua is claiming he is owed a large sum of money and that star signing Kevin Locke has tendered his resignation after recent criticism levelled at him by Koukash. You can see why the good Doctor is not a happy man. Salford are continuing to be linked with big name signings for next season – however unlikely. Gold Coast forward Dave Taylor is far more likely to join the club than Paul Gallen or New Zealand international Marty Taupau – you would have thought so anyway but you just never know with Koukash as I am sure he will be chomping at the bit to utilise the Marquee signing rule that was implemented last week and was his brainchild. I really like the Doctor and appreciate how much he loves the game of Rugby League but I think he needs someone with a vast knowledge of rugby league to come in and run the club for him – maybe he is involved TOO much on a day to day basis. Apparently he is trying to tempt Tim Sheens to come back across from Australia on a full time basis, it seems likely Sheens will be relieved of his coaching duties with the Australian national squad, and this would be a good appointment as Koukash may listen to such an experienced man and take more of a back seat. It has also been widely reported that Bobbie Goulding has been offered some sort of role on the staff as well – Bobbie is very vocal on social media and has made it well known that he would like to work at Salford and in particular with youth players – I hope the role, whatever it is, works out for him as I believe he is genuine in his quest to help young rugby league players. I also believe that Koukash is an honourable man and that Tuesday’s press conference will be very interesting indeed. 

5.       THAT’S GOTTA HURT!!!

Ben Ross' arm operation (sorry!!)

I have never seen anything on live TV as bad as the injury suffered by former Queensland representative Ben Ross on The Footy Show in Australia last week. I am sure everyone who has seen it will have been shocked by what happened – can you imagine having seen it first hand?? Ross was involved in an arm wrestling contest with fellow Queenslander Wendell Sailor as part of a fundraising event for the Rugby League charity ‘Men of League’. These are two big strong guys but Wendell proved to be the stronger as Ross’ right arm literally snapped under the pressure imposed by Sailor. You could see his arm just collapse and it was later discovered that he had suffered multiple fractures with the worst being a fracture of the humerus. He has had the bone plated and screwed back into place, including the use of a 9cm steel rod, and will take between 16-18 weeks to fully recover. Ross said he had never suffered pain like it yet would still consider doing it all again for charity. Sailor has clearly stated he never wants to arm wrestle again and he is devastated at what he has done to Ross. Ross has taken in his stride just like you would expect of an experienced high level rugby league player. Have another look at it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeSBWpyIib4 

6.       WHOSE ON THE MOVE?

Gadwin Springer

Someone who is staying put is Warrington Wolves star back rower Ben Currie. The 20 year old has been in outstanding form all year and is England coach Steve McNamara’s thoughts for the end of season Test Series against New Zealand. He has signed a deal that takes him to the end of the 2019 season and is great piece of business by Tony Smith as there is no doubt he will have attracted interest from all over the world.

Another quality youngster who has attracted interest and accepted an offer is St. Helens back rower Josh Jones. He has signed a 2 year contract with rugby union club Exeter Chiefs. It may be a good move for him as he will be under the radar at Exeter unlike other rugby league players who have made moves to more high profile clubs.

Controversial half back Chris Sandow has been told he can leave the Parramatta Eels with immediate effect if they receive an offer for his services. Sandow, who has been in and out of the Eels side this year, is out of contract at the end of the season and recently appeared to criticise Head Coach Brad Arthur’s handling of him this year. Sandow would have struggled to tie down a spot with the Eels next year as they will pair Kieran Foran and Corey Norman in the halves. With his unpredictability, skill and pace Sandow would be a huge hit in Super League – with the new Marquee signing rule I am sure he will not be short of offers.

Another player definitely leaving the Eels is former Hull FC centre Ben Crooks. Crooks has not had a crack at first grade this year and is coming home with his likely destination being Castleford Tigers. Hull FC have stated he will not be returning to them and they have now relinquished his registration so that he is free to join another club.

Catalans Dragons Aussie winger Michael Oldfield will return to the NRL next year and is like to be replaced by Warrington Wolves captain Joel Monaghan. The Dragons have also signed former New Zealand international centre Krisnan Inu until the end of the season to cover the loss of Willie Tonga. Inu has signed from French RU club Stade Francais and is being linked with Hull FC from next year. Another player heading out of the Dragons is big young prop Gadwin Springer who has signed a 2 ½ year deal with Castleford Tigers, effective immediately. Watch out for this kid!! He could be joined by his former team mate Ben Pomeroy who is also being linked with the Tigers.

Danny Kirmond has been linked with Hull KR……again. His Wildcats team mate Dean Collis has returned to Australia for family reasons(!!) and out of favour Jarod Sammut has signed a contract with Championship side Workington Town. This does not hold well with me – Sammut is way too good to be playing in the Championship – there must be a Super League side that can handle the unorthodox nature of Sammut’s ability – he is wasting his talent.

Kevin Locke has now been linked to the Canberra Raiders with the Red Devils apparently happy to pay a big chunk of his wages until the end of his contract – this has not been a happy relationship!!

The Bulldogs and New South Wales half back Trent Hodkinson is the latest big name to be linked with Leeds Rhinos.

Former Hull FC prop forward Sam Moa looks likely to leave Sydney Roosters for Penrith Panthers.

Luke Walsh has signed on for a 3^rd season at St. Helens and Chris Bridge is attracting the interest of Wigan Warriors – the Warriors have also been busy and have tied Anthony Gelling down on a 4 year contract.

A bit of extra time thinking:

New Zealand Warriors and Kiwi international Manu Vatuvei is a beast that knows his way to the try line. He has become the first player in history to score at least 10 tries in 10 consecutive NRL season.

Warrington prop Anthony England can count himself lucky to have received just a 4 week ban for spitting on a Giants player at the weekend. There isn’t anything more disgusting than that. 

Something that has gone a little under the radar is the injury suffered by North Wales Crusaders forward Alex Thompson in their match against Rochdale Hornets at the weekend. Thompson took the ball in early in the match and was involved in a legal tackle that took him to ground. Hornets forward Tony Suffolk has hold of Thompson’s leg and then appears to ‘wrench’ his lower leg leaving Thompson on the floor in agony. Thompson had to be carried from the field and has suffered a serious injury – he has ruptures his achilles and has also damaged his medial collateral ligament. All players at this level are part time and Thompson will be on unpaid sick leave for a number of weeks. You can see the video here:   http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/other-sport/rugby-league/watch-moment-left-rugby-league-9472874

Final word goes to a rugby legend of both codes. Jonathan Davies was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to charity – in particular to cancer charity’s. Davies already holds an MBE for his services to both codes of rugby. He has been President of Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre for the last 6 years and has helped them raise over £10million. Davies lost both his father and wife to cancer so has detailed first-hand knowledge of the effect it has on people. ‘Jiffy’ was a hugely gifted fly half in Rugby Union before he turned is hand to Rugby League and made a massive impact with Widnes, Warrington, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wales and Great Britain before going back to Rugby Union to end his career Which RL fan will ever forget his try from full back in the Wembley Test Match of the 194 Ashes Series. Here’s a clip just in case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSCZ-qQTodQ

You can follow me on Twitter @sharpster69

SIX TO GO – DCE, CONCUSSION AND MARQUEE PLAYERS

Welcome to the latest edition of Six to Go, looking at some of the things that have caught my eye over the past 7 days or so.

1.       DCE BACKFLIPS

Daly Cherry-Evans

The answer to the Daly Cherry Evans ‘will he won’t he’ conundrum was finally revealed last week when the Queensland and Australia half back decided to backflip on the 4 year A$4.4million contract that he signed with Gold Coast Titans earlier this year and signed an 8 year A$10 million contract with the Manly Sea Eagles. DCE will now see out his career with the Sea Eagles as his new contract will take him through to 34 years of age but the fact is that his decision has left the Titans in a major hole and the whole saga has been very unseemly and goes against DCE’s image as the boy next door. He said his major reason for backflipping was his family and the job and financial security that the Sea Eagles new offer gave him – family was also the reason he used for the signing of the Titans deal back in March!!! It’s clear that DCE wanted to stay with the Sea Eagles all along and that the Titans deal was just a stick with which to beat them with as he knew that the ridiculous Round 13 rule gave them plenty of time to stew on his decision and come up with an offer that both parties would be happy with. So the Sea Eagles are now only losing one half back. There was no chatter at all about Kieran Foran backflipping on his deal with Parramatta Eels, probably because most of his salary was headed in DCE’s direction. But what happens to the Titans – they have done nothing wrong (neither has DCE according to the rules in place) but they now find themselves without a major half back. They allowed incumbent half Aiden Sezer to sign a deal with Canberra Raiders based on the fact that they were bringing DCE in and Sezer has kept his word and will be a Raider next year. They have inexperienced half backs like Kane Elgey who are quality players but need some experience alongside them. The only positive for the game of Rugby League to come out of this whole drawn out saga is that the NRL have now abolished the Round 13 rule and will now use a 10 day cooling off period between the signing of a contract and it being lodged with the necessary authorities. Still, why a player should need a cooling off period is beyond me. If you sign a contract that should be the end of it. The Titans now have plenty of money available and are desperately searching for a new star half back. Former Titan Chris Sandow has still to be offered a new contract at Parramatta and they are also looking closely at Luke Walsh at St. Helens as his injury hit 2 year contract in the North West of England comes to an end at the end of this season and, as yet, there has been no decision on whether Walsh will stay in England or return to Australia.

2.       A COUP FOR THE WILDCATS

Brian Smith

The appointment of Brian Smith as the Head Coach of struggling Wakefield Trinity Wildcats was the news of the Magic Weekend. Announced live on air by Wildcats Chairman Michael Carter it is a real coup for the Wildcats to have a coach of Smith’s quality and pedigree wanting to join them and help them in their hour of need. As Carter said, how can you turn down Brian Smith? I am sure he would have been on Carter’s wish list but he would probably have thought the chances would have been far too remote to consider seriously. For Smith to offer his services, via former coach James Webster, shows that he still believes he has a lot to offer despite being out of Rugby League coaching since leaving the Sydney Roosters at the end of 2012. It also shows he is still motivated and I think there can be no doubt that he will have a positive effect on the Wildcats. Smith saw at first hand for the first time the task he has as he saw his new team suffer their 14^th successive league defeat, 26-58, at home to League Leaders Leeds Rhinos on Sunday afternoon. Smith has improved all of the sides he has been involved with and has coaching experience on both sides of the world having been Head Coach at Hull FC and Bradford Bulls and in Australia where he has coached Illawarra Steelers, St. George Dragons (before these teams merged to become St. George Illawarra Dragons), Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights and the Roosters. Smith took the Dragons to two Grand Finals, in 1992 and 1993, the Eels to the 2001 Grand Final and the Roosters to the 2010 Grand Final – unfortunately Smith lost all 4 Finals, 3 of them to Wayne Bennett coached sides. He was also named the Dally M Coach of the Year with the Rooster in 2010. So, Carter has done his bit and brought in a coach with huge experience and credentials the equal of almost any coach still plying his trade in the game. It is now up to the players to listen and put into action everything they are taught by Smith. There is no doubt that Smith will use his contacts worldwide to bring in players that can improve the Wildcats squad. There is no chance of the Wildcats making the 8 and there is little chance that he will be able to take them off the bottom of the table but what he must do is have them ready for the Super 8’s and make sure that there performances start on an upward trend immediately. The current playing roster let James Webster down badly – I don’t think they will get away with such lethargic performances under Smith. Wakefield could not have dreamed of a better appointment.

3.       MARQUEE PLAYER RULING

Koukash is celebrating.

Super League clubs last week voted in the Marquee Player ruling, the brainchild of Salford Red Devils billionaire owner Marwan Koukash, at the fourth time of asking. Eight clubs voted in favour of the Marquee Player ruling with four clubs, Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats voting against it. The primary aim of the money is, supposedly, to use it to retain the best of British talent within Super League and prevent our best players from migrating to Rugby Union or the NRL in Australia. I am not sure that the likes of Koukash, Gary Hetherington at Leeds and Simon Moran at Warrington have this thought in their mind and I am positive that at least 2 of these clubs, Leeds and Warrington, will have a contract already written up and winging it’s way to Queensland and Australia half back Cooper Cronk. As a supporter you always want to see your club attracting the biggest names in the game and there is no doubt that the Marquee ruling will enable Super League clubs to at least offer terms that are attractive to the big names in the NRL – whether the lure of the Super League competition is a big enough attraction for Cronk, and his contemporaries, to forego their State of Origin and Australia jumpers is another matter. What I also want to see is my club bringing through local youngsters into the first team. My team, Hull Kingston Rovers, suffered in comparison to local rivals Hull FC because we did not enter Super League until 2007 and it has taken us a few years to catch up – but now we are starting to see some good local products lead by Kris Welham, Jordan Cox, Aaron Ollett, Liam Salter and James Green with Macauley Halett, Steven Holker, Connor Robinson and Sonny Esslemont emerging into the first team squad – I would not want to see these kind of players released too early because there is no place for them in the playing squad. I would much rather the money that will be spent on a Marquee Player outside of the salary cap be used to fund a return of a reserve grade competition. Too many players are being rejected at 18, 19 or 20 years of age because clubs do not have a regular outlet for them to play rugby league at a decent level. Too much emphasis has been put on the dual registration system which does not help the lower league teams when they are chopping and changing their teams each week when they find out which Super League players are available to them. If the Marquee Player ruling is used properly then it could be a force of good in the game but we all know that certain powerbrokers will have their sights set on a headline grabbing major signing. 

 

4.       CONCUSSION ISSUES

Sad news came out of Hull Kingston Rovers last week when it was announced that centre Darrell Goulding had been forced into early retirement, at just 27 years of age, due to on-going problems with concussion. Goulding was a major signing from Wigan Warriors for Rovers this year and was just starting to form a quality partnership alongside Ken Sio when he was injured in the 25-4 defeat at Castleford Tigers in April. Rugby League players are tough hombres and we quickly forget what they put their whole bodies through to entertain us on a weekend and sometimes question why a player does not get back from injury quicker. At the end of the day a player’s health and long term welfare is far more important than the result of rugby league match. Goulding is not the first player to suffer from concussion problems and won’t be the last. New Zealand international Lance Hohaia retired suddenly earlier this season due to recurring problems and former Warrington Wolves hooker Michael Monaghan expressed his concerns about head injury’s when he retired at the end of last season. The new concussion rule that has been brought in this season can only be a positive thing and, hopefully, whilst it may mean that a team loses an important player in a match it will mean that a family will have an important member with them for a lot longer.

5.       TIGHT IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Congratulations to London Broncos on bringing to an end Leigh Centurions club record 27 match winning run and congratulations also to the Centurions for having the ability to go on such a long extended winning run. What the result, 29-20 at The Hive, has done is throw a real spanner in the works at the top of the Championship table. The Centurions and Bradford Bulls now have near identical records as the Bulls only defeat this season came on the opening day at the Leigh Sports Village. Both teams have won 14 out of 15 games, Leigh have scored 572 points to the Bradford’s 566, Leigh have conceded 207 points to Bradford’s 206 which gives Leigh a points difference of 365 and the Bulls a points difference of 360. The Bulls have all but been forgotten about whilst the Centurions have been riding high on the publicity gained from their record winning run, which has included knocking two Super League teams out of the Challenge Cup, and big name signings. Everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that Leigh would be the team to top the Championship table and cause the biggest threat to the existing Super League teams in the middle 8s competition – but the fact is that if the Bulls win all of their remaining fixtures they will top the table at the end of the season and will definitely be a major threat in the middle 8s. The league meeting between the two teams at the Friends Provident Stadium on Sunday 19^th July looks highly likely to be the title decider.

6.       WHO’S ON THE MOVE?

Tom Lineham

It is yet to be confirmed by the clubs but it seems certain that Hull FC winger Tom Lineham will be playing for Warrington Wolves from next season. The Wolves are reported to be paying a transfer fee of £125,000 for Lineham who still has 2 years left to run on his existing contract. He will be a big loss for Hull FC as he has weighed in with 15 tries already this season, including 3 hat tricks, and is back to the form that won him selection for the Super League Dream Team in his break out 2013 season. His move to Warrington looks likely to see Joel Monaghan join his brother Michael at Catalans Dragons.

Salford Red Devils half back Theo Fages has handed in an official transfer request. Fages has 18 months to run on his contract and Salford owner Marwan Koukash has already said that there is no way Fages will leave without breaking the world record transfer fee of £700,000 paid by NZ Warriors for Sam Tomkins.

St. Helens are rumoured to be looking at Kevin Locke for their full back position although I see this as unlikely as they have Shannon McDonnell performing well on a short term deal and they will have Jonny Lomax back for the start of next season. Locke is also on BIG money at Salford.

There are a host of rumours surrounding Wakefield Trinity Wildcats player for next season: Samoan half back / hooker Pita Godinet has been linked with a move to St. Helens, centre Dean Collis could be on his way to Castleford Tigers, half back Jacob Miller has attracted interest from Parramatta Eels where his former coach at Hull FC, Peter Gentle, is on the coaching staff, loose forward Danny Washbrook has been linked with a move back to Hull FC and utility back Craig Hall looks likely to be heading back to Hull KR after just one season away.

Wigan Warriors back rower John Bateman is attracting interest from the NRL, in particular from the Dragons, Rooster and Storm.

Saford Red Devils back rower Cory Patterson will be offered a new deal by Koukash but also has Leigh Centurions and Warrington Wolves interested in his services from next year.

Young Catalans Dragons forward Gadston Springer has Castleford Tigers enquiring about his availability for next season.

A bit of extra time thinking:

A great little story here that says it all about our great game. Young Hull KR fan Connor Lynes suffered a blood clot on the brain after playing rugby league earlier this year and had a fantastic response from all over the rugby league world, especially from his favourite team. Team skipper Terry Campese visited him in hospital as did Head Coach Chris Chester and other member of the playing and coaching staff and now former Rovers player Clint Newton has sent over a signed shirt and a lovely letter to Connor. Newton now plies his trade with the Newcastle Knights but still has a huge fan base in East Hull. ‘Mean Machine’ certainly knew how to put himself about on the rugby field but is an absolute top man off it and is well known for his love of the city and his appreciation of the Hull KR fans.

Todd Carney has realised that rugby league on this side of the world is no easier than in Australia as he has been sidelined with a second long term injury. Carney is out for approx. 8 weeks with a pectoral muscle injury and former Asutralia international centre Willie Tonga is also out for a similar period of time. Both will miss the Challenge Cup quarter final tie against Hull Kingston Rovers at the end of June. It has been reported on and off that Carney is angling for a move back to the NRL next year but apparently he has told team mates that he will be staying in the South of France.  

Referees consistency is not improving at all. I have written previously about the inconsistency with regards to the cannonball tackle and now this inconsistency is coming into play with regards to the high tackle. I cannot understand how Salford Red Devils Darrell Griffin can be sent off at the Magic Weekend for a high tackle whilst just 5 days later Widnes half back Kevin Brown is only penalised for a similar shot against Hull FC and is not even cited by the disciplinary committee. It is this kind of inconsistency from week to week that frustrates fans.

It was amusing during half time of the Magic Weekend Hull Derby to see Hull FC coach Lee Radford mimicking the dance that Hull KR winger Kieran Dixon did when he crossed for his interception try. He was obviously using it to wind his side up and it did the trick!!!

I was disappointed to read that Castleford Tigers forward Frankie Mariano has been ruled out for the season with a bad knee injury. Mariano is a top quality forward who started out at my club Hull Kingston Rovers. I was shocked when he was released by Justin Morgan a few years ago as he had just started to make his way in the first team and you could see he had real potential. He has certainly been fulfilling that potential at the Tigers under Daryl Powell but 2015 has been a bit of a wash out due to injuries.

Sad news as well that St. Helens legend Paul Wellens is unlikely to play again due to an injury that may see him need a hip replacement at just 35 years of age. Wellens is a modern day legend of the game.

Good news for Hull KR that Australians Albert Kelly and Maurice Blair have not activated their NRL get out clauses and will definitely stay at the club for 2016. What I wasn’t sure about though was did this mean that they had received offers from the NRL and had chosen to reject them or had not received any offers and therefore could not activate the clause!!

North Queensland Cowboys scored a club record 10^th successive win with a 36-30 defeat of Parramatta Eels at the weekend. It was the manner of the win that was so impressive though as they came back from 30-6 down with just half an hour left to run in 5 converted tries to complete the third biggest comeback in NRL history.

 

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