News 28/3: Thaiday 'betrayed' by Tahs

[jamesgould]

Thaiday 'betrayed' by Tahs
By Dean Ritchie
March 28, 2006

Newcastle fullback Milton Thaiday says he felt betrayed by rugby union officials who cut him from the Waratahs.

THE NRL's most explosive player, Newcastle fullback Milton Thaiday, revealed yesterday that he felt betrayed by rugby union officials who cut him from New South Wales Waratahs.

Thaiday, who ripped the Bulldogs to shreds with a slashing three-try performance on Friday night, has emerged as one of the hottest properties in the rugby league premiership.

But while speaking openly about his drinking problems of the past, Thaiday told how he emerged from an alcohol rehabilitation clinic in 2004 only to be later told he was unwanted at the Waratahs.

With his wife Ruth and daughter Taita also having left him because of his problems with alcohol, Thaiday returned to rugby league in the hope of picking up the pieces.

Raised in Townsville, Thaiday, 26, had a Waratahs contract for last season but ended up with the Knights.

"I was keen to stay with the Waratahs," Thaiday told The Daily Telegraph.

"But they told me I had opened the door and they would let me go. It hurt at first.

"I still had a contract for the 2005 season.

"They told me to go and do something [about his alcohol problem] but then they changed things.

"That shocked me.

"I felt I kept my side of the bargain. But things happen for a reason.

"I'm glad they sacked me."

Thaiday, who is re-united with his family, said that he always harboured a desire to return to rugby league, the game he played as a junior.

"I always knew I would end up back playing rugby league," Thaiday said.

"It was just a matter of when. It feels like I was never away.

"It's been a while since I've had a good pre-season.

"I feel good but still don't think I've reached my peak just yet."

Newcastle coach Michael Hagan said union's loss had been rugby league's gain.

"Milton fell in our lap a little bit," coach Hagan said."I didn't know a lot about him during his days with the Waratahs.

"But he's going very well.

"He is an exciting footballer. He knows where to be and where to run.

"He's also enjoying playing with Andrew Johns, Danny Buderus and Matt Gidley. "And those combinations will only improve as the season goes on."

But Hagan did warn: "We've taken Milton on board but there are some issues he needs to keep under control. He has to show some responsibility."

Thaiday said he had been determined to beat the booze.

"When I lost my family I lost interest [in rugby union] - it felt like I had no one to play for," he said. "But I went to rehab, I was with the Salvation Army for a couple of months.

"I think I went in for the wrong reasons in the first place.

"But I wanted to save my contract with the Waratahs.

"After a week or two in there I knew it was the place where I needed to be. I kept my head down and got better."

From: http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,18629202-23214,00.html

Knights' NRL rise 'unprecedented'
March 27, 2006 - 3:39PM

Bookmakers say Newcastle's rise from wooden spooners to NRL premiership favourites is unprecedented and may never be seen again.

But they say the Knights haven't been that well backed, as punters wait to see if the injury-prone Andrew Johns can survive the season.

Alice Springs based-Centrebet and Sydney's TAB Sportsbet both have the Knights at $5.50 to win the premiership ahead of North Queensland at $6 and St George Illawarra at $7.

Centrebet's Gerard Daffy says he's never seen such a turnaround before.

"And you may never see it again, and that's in any code with a salary cap," Daffy said.

"It's just impossible to change your personnel enough to have that turnaround within a year.

"Of course, we all know what the factor there is, and provided (Andrew Johns) stays fit they'll be around $5.50."

Newcastle's form has continued from the end of last year, when they won eight of their last 11 games, despite collecting the wooden spoon.

Johns has been instrumental in the Knights being undefeated at the top of the table after just three rounds.

He scored 30 points in Newcastle's 70-32 round two walloping of Canberra, almost outscoring the Raiders on his own.

He then backed up with 18 points in 66 minutes, during last Friday night's 46-22 win over the Bulldogs, outscoring the Canterbury side on his own until being rested after 67 minutes.

The Bulldogs scored 16 of their points after Johns came off.

Daffy says on form the Knights should be shorter than that, but he says punters are waiting to see if Johns' injury jinx continues.

"With Johns getting taken off the other night and being wrapped up in cotton wool, they're taking precautions," he said.

"We haven't seen too many big bets on them and I don't expect we will until closer to the finals series when people can see if Andrew Johns is still playing.

"If he was eight years younger and hadn't had the injury problems that he's had, they'd be three bucks, and you'd be happy to take it, too."

From: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Knights-NRL-rise-unprecedented/2006/03/27/1143330976579.html

Knights back and shiny
by: Scott Brooks

It wasn't all that long ago the doomsayers were predicting a lean few years for the Newcastle Knights.

The combination of a parlous financial state due to a lack of traditional leagues club support, a massive injury toll and the resulting succession of losses, painted a bleak picture for the best supported NRL club in New South Wales.

But it's amazing what an off-season can do. Many of the Knights stars have fully recovered from their 2005 ailments, the club has worked out an arrangement with the high profile Western Suburbs (Newcastle) Leagues Club and the crowds at the new-look EnergyAustralia Stadium remain as solid as ever.

The most heartening aspect to emerge from last season's horror story was the fact the fans never swayed. Despite losing their first 13 games of the season and finishing with the wooden spoon, the Knights still managed an average crowd of 18,469 - up seven percent on the previous year's figure.

These loyal fans are now being rewarded in the best possible way with their side beginning this season in spectacular fashion, winning their first three games and scoring a massive 141 points in the process.

Watching them put the cleaners through the Bulldogs on Friday night was rugby league at its slickest. We all know the health of the brilliant Andrew Johns is paramount to any Knights' success, but it sure helps when the players around him are looking as fit and as enthusiastic as ever.

A case in point is prop Josh Perry, who has been lambasted in the press countless times for not living up to his undoubted potential. The former New South Wales prop faced a daunting task against a massive Bulldogs pack, fresh from their thorough smashing of the premiers in round two.

But Perry took it upon himself to make an impact from the on-set and won the battle up the middle with some barnstorming runs into the Bulldogs' defence.

His good early season form and the experience and skill of Danny Buderus, Craig Smith and Steve Simpson give the club a formidable look in the forwards – something Newcastle have lacked in recent seasons.

Add injured trio Luke Davico, Daniel Abraham and Clint Newton to that list and the club has immeasurable depth up front.

The Gidley brothers are also firing and are obviously buoyed by presence of a fit Johns, as is Irish winger Brian Carney – a renowned top class finisher at the highest level.

But probably the biggest bonus for the Knights in recent times has been former Waratahs flyer Milton Thaiday. Newcastle picked him up at a bargain basement price after a well-publicised battle with alcohol saw him fall from grace in union and return to park footy.

Experts are already touting him as a possible representative player for Queensland following his stunning three-try effort against the Bulldogs and a few eye-catching performances at the back-end of 2005.

If all these players can pitch in to ease the ageing Johns' workload then there is no reason why the Knights cannot continue their terrific early season form, fully erasing those bad memories from the first half of last year.

From: http://www.sportal.com.au/league.asp?i=news&id=80313