2013 NRL Discussion

Injuries leave Titans short for NRL clash

By Ed Jackson
AAP
Tue 27th August, 1:51pm

Gold Coast will be forced to ask the NRL for salary cap concessions in order to field a full team for Sunday's clash with the Sydney Roosters.

Titans coach John Cartwright could only name 16 fit players on Tuesday for the must-win game at Allianz Stadium with forwards Mark Minichiello (eye) and Ashley Harrison (hand) out for the season.

Luke Bailey and Greg Bird were both named to make their return from injury but that pair as well as Jamie Dowling and Brad Takairangi are all facing fitness tests later in the week.

It means the club must find a back-rower from their feeder squads and get the okay from the NRL to free up the money to let them play against the Roosters.


Read More: http://www.nrl.com/injuries-leave-titans-short-for-nrl-clash/tabid/10874/newsid/74270/default.aspx

 
Luke Burgess looks back to the death of his father to communicate the bond the Burgess brothers share



TO understand the bond between these boys, Luke Burgess on Tuesday took us back to 2007 - when they lost their father Mark to motor neurone disease when he was just 45.

At the time, the twins Thomas and George were in their mid-teens. Luke was 19, Sam was 18.

"You know, it is something that you never ever get over,” Luke recalled, on the day the Burgess boys wrote their names in Australia’s rugby league record books, by becoming the first four brothers in 103 years to be named to play first grade together when they take on the Tigers on Friday night.

"To lose your father at such a young age, it’s something you think you will never have to deal with."Especially the twins, they were far too young."They would have been 14, 15.

"We have always been a close family mate."My dad always brought us up to be really close and we always looked after each other."It just brought us even closer.”


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s-brothers-share/story-fni3gki8-1226705309212


- - - Updated - - -

Gold Coast Titans name 16-man team for Roosters clash after side decimated by injuries


  • TRAVIS MEYN
  • GOLD COAST BULLETIN
  • AUGUST 28, 2013 12:00AM

THE Gold Coast have a 15-man, $2.7 million casualty ward that has all but crushed the Titans’ finals dreams.

Coach John Cartwright yesterday went to the extreme measure of naming a 16-man team for Sunday’s do-or-die clash against the Roosters in Sydney which will decide the Gold Coast’s fate.Cartwright was left with no choice but to leave jersey No.17 blank and will later this week decide who will fill the final spot in the team.

The Titans have exhausted the $375,000 second-tier salary cap, meaning they cannot field a player from outside their top 25 who has not represented the club this year without gaining an exemption from the NRL.

Cartwright wants another back-rower on the bench following season-ending injuries to Ashley Harrison (hand) and Mark Minichiello (cheek) but may be forced to play rookie prop Mark Ioane, who hasn’t played in over a month because of a knee injury.

Cartwright’s other options are Steve Michaels, Jordan Rankin or under-20s duo Jahrome Hughes and Hymel Hunt, who made their NRL debuts earlier this season.

"We just haven’t got enough players to choose from at the moment," Cartwright said."It’s pretty simple. I’m not playing any tricks."There’s too many guys named in the squad that have got to get through fitness tests and maybe we’ll have to get permission to use some guys depending on how they get through Thursday.

"We’ll have to wait and see who’s fit and who’s not. We probably won’t be able to make a decision until we go down on Saturday."


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ated-by-injuries/story-fni3grk4-1226705362451
 
I 100% agree, if you want to break a contract and its not mutual, but from the players point of view then you should have to pay for it.

I wouldn't say 10%, more like 30%

Even 50%.
 
Cronulla Sharks Beau Ryan and Paul Gallen ignite heated rivalry against Sydney Roosters



UPDATE: IT has emerged that the Sydney Roosters were out to get Sharks joker Beau Ryan on Monday night over his Sonny Bill Williams gags.

While the post-match controversy has focused on Paul Gallen and Brian Smith, Sharks winger Beau Ryan went into the game with a target on his head.

Some Roosters players felt The Footy Show prankster had crossed the line with his weekly impersonations of Sonny Bill Williams and wanted revenge.

Coincidentally, Ryan was whacked hard early and sat-out the second 40 minutes with concussion.Twice Williams conceded penalties to get at Ryan, with a wild shoulder charge just six minutes in and by roughing him up on the ground after 15 minutes.

Ryan was then left groggy after being smashed in a strong tackle from Michael Jennings and James Maloney after about 25 minutes.

And after Monday night’s spiteful encounter - both on the field and Twittersphere - Gallen is no longer a Tri-colours sympathiser.

His father’s remarkable spray at former Roosters coach Smith - the man who thought Gallen was too short to play NRL at Parramatta more than a decade ago - headlines a hatred between the two teams that could explode should they meet again in next month’s finals.

The biggest on-field flash point came near half-time when Roosters rookie Dylan Napa squared-up Gallen with a seismic shot.Asked about the hit at the break on Triple M radio, Gallen replied: “I ran at him (Napa) three times and he got me once, so I’m up!"

That remark triggered a proactive tweet from Smith: “He ran at him once and got smashed next two times he ran away from him to avoid further embarrassment."Moments later, Smith then replied to a tweet mentioning peptides - the banned substance Sharks players have been accused of taking in 2011.

And it’s not the first time he’s weighed into the drugs debate.In early February, Smith wrote an online article recalling an unnamed player who had morphed into a superstar after being told to try elsewhere.

"A pretty fair player who fitted the ‘before’ photo in a bodybuilding mag left my club as we did not think he would get ‘the rig necessary to cut it in the NRL’," Smith wrote."To our surprise, he bobbed up at another club just a couple of seasons later looking like the ‘after’ photo!

"He has absolutely carved it and is now one of the top line in our sport. Did he cheat to get there? I have no proof."Perhaps the latest big investigation will uncover the validity of these types of accusations or innuendos to clear that player or condemn those who have taken the short cut."

Later on Monday night, Gallen’s father Garry used his son’s Twitter account to fire back at Smith with a series of barbs about his coaching record.

Gallen then opened-up on his feelings about Smith during an interview with Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday."I won’t be going back and forth with Brian Smith to give his life any significance," Gallen said.

"He can have his time in the sun for the next 24 hours and that’s about all he’s good for. I won’t be getting involved with him anymore.

"Obviously he didn’t like me at Parramatta when I was a kid. I had a meeting with him about 2003-04 to go back there and (since then) I’ve had nothing to do with him."



Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-sydney-roosters/story-fni3gol8-1226705293874
 
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Graham Annesley quits politics for Gold Coast Titans CEO job


  • NEWS LIMITED NETWORK
  • AUGUST 28, 2013 3:39PM

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Graham Annesley has quit politics to become the new CEO of the Gold Coast Titans. Picture: Peter Kelly Source: DailyTelegraph


NSW Sports Minister Graham Annesley has quit parliament to step into the vacant Gold Coast Titans CEO position.

Annesley resigned from parliament on Wednesday afternoon to return to the game he was previously involved in as a referee and then an administrator.Annesley has only been in parliament for two years, having been elected in 2011 after an unsuccessful attempt to stand for the seat of Miranda in 2007.

He was seen as one of the rising stars of cabinet.Annesley, a one-time top flight referee, rose up the ranks in the NRL to become its Chief Operating Office before he quit to pursue his political career.

“I have always believed the Titans have an incredibly bright and exciting future," Annesley said."The club has the potential to consistently rank among the leading and most recognisable brands in the country - sporting or commercial.

“With the potential to build on the sound foundations that have been established over the past seven years, I have no doubt the best is yet to come and I’m excited about what lies ahead.’’


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...t-titans-ceo-job/story-fni3grk4-1226705867550
 
Is he trying to get out of Canberra? Worked for Dugan.

He's got a release clause if Furner isn't coach, so I'd say he's gone at the end of this season anyway.

It's hard to think of a stupider player in rugby leagues history, tbh haha.
 
Penrith Panthers extend coach Ivan Cleary's contract until 2016


  • JAMES MACSMITH
  • AAP
  • AUGUST 28, 2013 8:58PM

PENRITH have extended the contract of coach Ivan Cleary until the end of the 2016 NRL season.

The former Warriors mentor joined the Panthers at the start of the 2012 season on a three-year deal and has been rewarded for the club's surprisingly good form during this year in earning an extension through the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Panthers supremo Phil Gould said in a club statement announcing the extension that Cleary was the man to take the Panthers forward.


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...tract-until-2016/story-fni3gfvk-1226706057974


- - - Updated - - -

Horror season has four NRL clubs in a shambles



ONE-quarter of the NRL's club are in a shambles.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal exactly how badly four clubs - Brisbane, Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra and Parramatta - have performed this season.

With two rounds remaining, the winning stats are damning.

They are:

* Brisbane is confronting its worst season in 26 years.

* Wests Tigers is facings its equal poorest season in 14 years.

* St George Illawarra is looking at its worst year in 15 years.

* Parramatta is likely to have its worst season in 18 years.


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...bs-in-a-shambles/story-fni3fbgz-1226706051431
 
In this week's issue of RLW, The Mole has reported the Following...

- The NRL is bringing forward it's expansion plans by 12 months with the Western Corridor (QLD) the favorite to be the next team in the NRL

- Cowboys defensive coach Peter Ryan doesn't know if he will be at the club next year with a new coach set to come in

- Craig Young has quit as Australia team Manager to focus on the Dragons next year

- Brett White has become eligible to play for Ireland in the World Cup via the Grandparent rule and has made himself available

- 2 Players in the Ron Massey Cup have been stood down for recreational drug use, They are from the same club, No Names yet

- Melbourne Storm are interested in Niel Henry for an Assistant Coach role under Craig Bellamy
 
Penrith league players cop 92 years in bans over all-in brawl



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The Penrith Panthers' chairman, Don Feltis Source: News Limited


SEVEN Penrith under-19 rugby league players have been banned for a total of 92 years, with three being banned for 20 years or more over an ugly all-in brawl involving more than 50 spectators at a semi-final in western Sydney earlier this month.

Penrith Panthers District Junior Rugby League Compliance and Legal Coordinator, and Penrith Leagues Club Chairman, Don Feltis said the brawl was one of the worst in his four decades of junior league administration.

He laid the blame solely on the parents and spectators of the boys for escalating a small scuffle into a violent melee, where some players were allegedly stomped on.

"If the spectators had stayed off the field the ground officials would have had it under control," he said.

"This will damage the image of the game across Australia."I am so annoyed they took it on themselves to charge onto the field."

Mr Feltis said there was no alcohol being served at Turnbull Oval in North Richmond because it was a junior game, but police couldn't confirm if alcohol was brought to the game by spectators.

The brawl erupted when two players started fighting after the Penrith Waratahs won the semi-final match 14-12 over the Hebersham based Western Tigers in extra time with a penalty goal.As the brawl escalated spectators and players poured onto the field with officials helpless to stop the violence.

All but one of the 10 players who fronted the junior judiciary at the Panthers home ground, Centrebet Stadium, on Tuesday and Wednesday night were from the Western Tigers team, including two players already suspended from an incident the week before the August 11 match.

One of these players copped the longest ban of 25 years, while two other Tigers were banned for 20 years, one of whom was "Jordan" who was photographed trying to stomp on one player's head, and the second, already suspended player, received a 12 year exile.

The Tigers fullback was banned for 10 years, a centre five years, while another was banned for 12 matches.

A Penrith Waratahs player and two Tigers were found not guilty of kicking, but one Tiger was banned for six matches for behaving in a contrary manner.

Mr Feltis said there was nothing ground officials could do to stop the violence and Hawkesbury police have formed strike force Bardwell to investigate the incident.


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...over-allin-brawl/story-fni0cx12-1226706501415
 
He's got a release clause if Furner isn't coach, so I'd say he's gone at the end of this season anyway.

It's hard to think of a stupider player in rugby leagues history, tbh haha.

OH I thought he surely couldn't JUST be that bloody stupid but I was wrong. Amazing. :doh:
 
Cronulla Sharks funny man Beau Ryan vows to tone down Sonny Bill Williams jibes



BEAU Ryan has offered to tone down his impersonations of Sonny Bill Williams if the Roosters superstar is genuinely offended by his Footy Show antics.

The Sharks winger regularly pokes fun at the champion forward on his light-hearted SBW TV segment where he also takes off Benji Marshall, Sam Burgess and Kevin Rudd.

Ryan says he will stop the moment Sonny Bill asks him too.SBW went looking for Ryan in last Monday night's game at Shark Park, collecting him with a shoulder charge.Ryan went off suffering from concussion after another big hit later in the game.

"I spoke to him after the game," Ryan said. "It's all fun and he was alright.

"Obviously they were filthy because they lost. I just shook his hand and said hope your family is well, stuff like that. "He just said to be careful with a few of the things I said. The day he taps me on the shoulder and says don't do it, I'll stop.

"I guess it's lucky for me the shoulder charge is banned because he would have come looking for me more often."I'll probably ease up. He's a good guy. I respect him and think he's the best player in the game."Look, if he pulled me aside and said stop it, I would."

Footy Show executive producer Glenn Pallister says he was surprised by the reaction on Monday night.

"Everyone knows Beau hasn't got a vindictive bone in his body," he said. "He's a very respectful man who laughs with people, not at them.

"He would never purposely be disrespectful to someone of Sonny Bill's stature."


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...l-williams-jibes/story-fni3gol8-1226706924546
 
Sinning Sydney Roosters are rugby league's Public Enemy No.1



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Referee Shayne Hayne penalises the Roosters. Picture: Mark Evans Source: DailyTelegraph


FORGET Blake Ferguson and Sandor Earl, when it comes to rugby league's great sinner the Sydney Roosters are Public Enemy No.1.

In a worrying revelation on the eve of the NRL playoffs, the boys from Bondi Junction are the most heavily penalised of all 16 teams, having been pinged a whopping 55 times in the past five weeks.

Worse, numbers supplied by Fox Sports Statistics reveal that, in the past five years, the current competition leaders have been the most penalised team three times and second most penalised twice.

Speaking with The Daily Telegraph yesterday, Roosters playmaker James Maloney confirmed coach Trent Robinson had spoken to his side about the worrying trend.

"It's something we're working on," Maloney said.

"We've been through the tapes to discuss the penalties we can live with compared to those can't and the ways to lower them. "Of course, the other thing is that when you do give up a penalty, you have to be able to defend it. That way it's not an issue. But obviously the less penalties we give the less tackles we have to make."

Despite conceding an average of 8.6 penalties per game, the Roosters have gone well above that in the past five weeks against Newcastle (14), Penrith (9), Canberra (11), Wests Tigers (11) and Cronulla (10).

Incredibly, the Tricolours have also been among the top two most penalised teams since 2009, despite being led by three extremely different coaches in Robinson, Brian Smith and Brad Fittler while also experiencing a vast turnover of players.


Read More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...public-enemy-no1/story-fni3gn3s-1226707728248
 
Bird fit for Titans-Roosters NRL clash

By Ed Jackson
AAP
Sat 31st August, 12:05pm

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Greg Bird has overcome the injury he suffered against North Queensland and will line up against the Roosters


Gold Coast star Greg Bird will play for the Titans in their must-win NRL clash with the in-form Sydney Roosters on Sunday.

The NSW State of Origin representative was given the all-clear after training on Saturday and will make his return after missing last weekend's loss to the Warriors with a back injury.

But stand-in fullback David Mead has officially been ruled out after sustaining a broken back against the Warriors, with Kevin Gordon to move in from the wing to wear the No.1 jersey.

Outside backs Steve Michaels and Jordan Atkins have been promoted to the side with prop Mark Ioane named as 18th man for the injury-hit Titans.


Read More: http://www.nrl.com/bird-fit-for-titans-roosters-nrl-clash/tabid/10874/newsid/74369/default.aspx

 
We ended the Broncos hopes last night, Warriors have ended the Raiders, let's hope Bulldogs can do the same to Penrith next and Cronulla and Roosters can end the Cowboys and Titans season tomorrow.
 
We ended the Broncos hopes last night, Warriors have ended the Raiders, let's hope Bulldogs can do the same to Penrith next and Cronulla and Roosters can end the Cowboys and Titans season tomorrow.
I hope the Panthers beat the Bulldogs, honestly. If we trust our ability and can finish off the Eels a home semi looks good, hopefully with other results going our way because of our 1 point buffer.
 
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