Amos Roberts could take James Roberts to South Sydney
Former NRL flyer Amos Roberts has emerged as the secret confidant in broking any deal between James Roberts and South Sydney. PLUS, West Tiger Josh Aloiai’s very own magic round.
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Former NRL flyer Amos Roberts has emerged as the secret confidant in broking any deal between James Roberts and South Sydney.
While Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has publicly stated he has had no discussions with Roberts, uncle Amos has reached out to the club and Bennett to see if there was any interest in having James return to where he made his NRL debut in 2011.
It was Amos who initiated a meeting with Bennett to raise the possibility of Roberts returning to the club as a replacement for the retired Greg Inglis. Souths are unable to make any move until the NRL make a ruling on the club’s salary cap dispensation appeal.
That could be among the discussion points at next week’s chief executives meeting in the lead-up to Magic Round in Brisbane.
There is little doubt Roberts wants to continue his career under Bennett after forming a close partnership with the coach during their three seasons at Brisbane.
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Twitter can be a harsh place at times but it was nice to see Melbourne forward Christian Welch using it to good effect this week.
Welch put the call out on Wednesday asking for contacts for Brisbane hotels as he wanted to do “organise something special for a kid and his family next weekend for Magic Round”.
On Thursday, Welch tweeted this:
Social media cops a hammering at times but last few days have been amazing. I’ve had so many people reach out looking to help. Thankyou everyone, such an amazing league community. We’ve managed to organise some special experiences for next weekend for a family doing it toughðŸ‘
— Christian Welch (@clwelch94) May 2, 2019
JOSH HAS A FEW TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE
Josh Aloiai is stunning teammates with his card tricks, and the NRL could do worse than use the in-form Tiger to promote next week’s inaugural Magic Round.
“One of my hobbies outside of footy is card magic,” Aloiai told Confidential. “I do it on all the away trips to show the staff and the players. It’s a bit of on obsession. I haven’t gotten into any other magic.
“Madge (Tigers coach Michael Maguire) asked to see a few tricks to see if I was legit or not. He said I had to show him how I did it, otherwise he would drop me from the team. So I showed him all my tricks. I was too scared to say no.”
Teammate Matt Eisenhuth said Aloiai was the real deal.
“He is legit, pretty good,” Eisenhuth said. “He hates doing it in front of me because I’m always trying to catch him out. I get him sometimes but other times I’m sitting there thinking ‘how did he do that?”
VAUGHAN DIDN’T LIKE HIS TRIP OF A LIFETIME
St George Illawarra prop Paul Vaughan has come in for a lot of stick from his Dragons teammates after tripping over himself untouched when he made a rare break against the Roosters last week.
Vaughan had steamed on to a pass from James Graham and, instead of trying to run over Roosters fullback and NSW teammate James Tedesco, opted to use his, err, speed, to get around one of the fastest players in the game.
“I have to learn from it,” Vaughan said. “Next time I will put my head down. I should have gone straight over him.”
Teammate Blake Lawrie enjoyed ripping into Vaughan during this week’s video session.
Despite the stumble, Vaughan is the form front-rower in the game and will reclaim his Blues jersey.
He said missing the back end of last year with a serious ankle injury was driving him.
“I used that as a bit of motivation and drive. When I play footy I don’t take anything for granted,” he said.
“I’ve always been a pretty headstrong person. If I want something — on and off the field — I’ll get it. If I have something in mind I’ll dedicate myself to making sure I achieve it.”
Vaughan lines up for his 50th game for the Dragons on Sunday.
EAGLES CHICK IN ACTION
Manly have plenty of pedigree in and around their under-18 SG Ball team ahead of their grand final against Illawarra on Saturday afternoon.
The Sea Eagles feature Ben Trbojevic in the centres while Zac Fulton — the son of Scott and grandson of Bob — plays in the back row. The team is coached by Zac’s uncle Brett.
Newcastle play Canterbury in the Harold Matthews grand final while the Knights play Illawarra in Tarsha Gale Cup. Kick-off from 11am at Bankwest Stadium.
LISTEN! Matty reveals the biggest lie he ever told coach, the song he can’t get out of his head, an Origin rumour that won’t go away and what it’s like to have a video session under Tommy Raudonikis. Don’t miss this week’s episode of the Matty Johns podcast.
DE BELIN PAPERS PILE UP
As Jack de Belin waits to find out his immediate playing future, more court documents surrounding his case against the NRL were released this week.
The latest — a whopping 683 pages — includes correspondence between NRL officials and the RLPA, fan emails voicing concerns about player behaviour and high-ranking exchanges between club officials and ARLC chairman Peter Beattie.
Among them is an email from Gold Coast Titans chairman Dennis Watt to Beattie.
“Our view is players changed with serious criminal offences, especially involving women, should be suspended until the resolution of their charges,” Watt wrote on February 20.
“And then a further determination needs to be made as to whether the suspension is lifted following the court decision.
“Even if acquitted, given the circumstances, it may well be there is sufficient evidence to take further action against the player if it can be proven that he has brought the game into disrepute etc. As we well know it is very difficult to gain a guilty verdict in the sorts of cases we are discussing.”
Pat Kinnersly, the chief executive of Our Watch — an organisation focusing on ending violence against women and their children — praised the NRL for its stance on players facing serious criminal offences.
“I have been watching this matter closely and think your leadership on this has been courageous,” she wrote to the NRL’s head of government and community relations, Jaymes Boland-Rudder, on February 28. “This is such a tricky issue, I feel like you have come up with a proposal that is fair and serves to make a clear statement to all.
“This type of action could only have been led by one of our leading codes, and I hope it serves as a catalyst for other sports in the country.
“I don’t underestimate the effort involved.”
“You have come up with a proposal that is fair and serves to make a clear statement to all.”
PARRA PAST AND PRESENT
To welcome the Parramatta Eels home to their heartland and celebrate the opening of the new Bankwest Stadium, the NRL commissioned a mural celebrating the blue and gold past and present.
The mural features Eels captain Tim Mannah and legends Nathan Hindmarsh, Peter Sterling and Ray Price. The artwork by Sid Tapia is a continuation in a series of murals that commenced last year, popping up around Sydney streets and celebrating the pivotal role NRL clubs play within their local community.
SPOTTED
Controversial former NRL player John Elias at the South Sydney captain’s run on Wednesday.
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Two-time premiership winner Luke Lewis was one of the toughest players in the game.
So it was no surprise Lewis battled on with hayfever last Sunday while commentating in his new role with ABC Grandstand. Lewis used countless tissues to curtail the damage, including these beauties.
CRONK’S OWN RECORD
A significant NRL milestone has crept up this weekend with little fanfare.
Cooper Cronk will join Darren Lockyer on 355 career games when the Roosters play the Tigers on Saturday night.
That will leave Cronk equal second on the all-time player list, behind former teammate Cameron Smith who will line-up for his 392nd game for the Storm tonight.
Originally published as Amos Roberts could take James Roberts to South Sydney
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