1. DCE BACKFLIPS
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| 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
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| 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 14th 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
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| 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 19th July looks highly
likely to be the title decider.
6. WHO’S ON THE MOVE?
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| 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 10th 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.
You can
follow me on Twitter @sharpster69
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