Monday Buzz: Weekend highlights, lowlights and talking points

LEBANON gets slaughtered by the referee and Wayne Bennett lashes out to take the heat off — the highlights, lowlights and talking points from this weekend in sport.

Phil Rothfield

2 min read

November 5, 2017 - 8:52PM

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — NOVEMBER 04: Mitchell Moses of Lebanon in action during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup match between England and Lebanon at Allianz Stadium on November 4, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

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CHECK out the highlights, lowlights and talking points from another memorable weekend in sport.

HIGHLIGHT

The wonderful atmosphere in Christchurch for the World Cup match between Tonga and Samoa. Surely this is a message to the NRL that playing a Pacific Nations tournament to coincide with State of Origin is the way to go in future years.

HIGHLIGHT II

Channel 7’s World Cup anchor Jim Wilson. Be it the Olympics, the Australian Open tennis, AFL and now rugby league, this guy is the ultimate professional as a sporting host.

BUZZ: The problem with Australian rugby

LOWLIGHT

The performance of English referee Ben Thaler who slaughtered Lebanon in the game against the Poms on Saturday night.

Robbie Farah of Lebanon makes an official complaint of biting against Jermaine McGillvary of England.

GOLDEN BOOTS

Goalkicking is one area no club can challenge the Penrith Panthers now that James Maloney will play five-eighth outside Nathan Cleary. Cleary had a sensational 90.2 per cent record this year and Maloney 87.6 per cent at the Sharks.

SPOTTED

Fox Sports star Yvonne Sampson with hubby-to-be, Channel Nine’s State political editor Chris O’Keefe, at Derby Day at Flemington.

Chris O'Keefe and Yvonne Sampson at the races.

SPOTTED

NRL media manager Glenn Jackson has been nicknamed the Kangaroos’ 18th man because he’s always wearing the full green and gold kit. The 18th man even sits on the bench during games.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga with media manager Glenn Jackson. Supplied

SHOOSH

The wife of which sporting star has been unfaithful to her husband in recent times. It will be a huge story if it gets out.

SUMMER 360

Don’t forget to catch the summer edition of NRL 360 at 7.30pm on Fox Sports with Ben Ikin and Paul Kent discussing the World Cup latest and all the latest player movements.

BENNETT LASHES OUT TO TAKE THE HEAT OFF

WAYNE Bennett is starting to feel the pressure at the Broncos.

He knows the club signing Kevvy Walters as an assistant is part of a succession plan. He knows anything less than a premiership next year will escalate moves for Walters.

Which is why he used his Brisbane mouthpiece to attack the Cronulla Sharks over their treatment of Jack Bird’s shoulder injury.

Bennett needs Bird on the park and can’t afford a sluggish start to the season.

The Sharks medical team is arguably the best in the country in any sport.

Cronulla's Jack Bird is treated for an injury. Picture: Brett Costello

Bennett should have known this because Andrew Gray, the Sharks’ head of high-performance, worked under the Broncos coach when St George Illawarra won the title in 2010.

He was later poached by the Sharks because of his reputation for player care.

Cronulla’s shoulder specialist is also the surgeon who saved Billy Slater’s career.

Bennett’s contract at the Broncos ends after the 2019 season. He should stick to football and leave medical matters to the experts. Especially as he let Corey Oates play the week after the most sickening concussion case of the season.

NO LEG UP FOR SHANE’S SON

You can never accuse Sharks coach Shane Flanagan of nepotism.

Next season his son Kyle, who recently broke the all-time Holden Cup point scoring record, is expected to be knocking on the door for first grade.

The 19-year-old has now joined the full-time NRL squad and will probably be used as a bench utility.

Yet his dad keeps on putting up road blocks.

First he snared five-eighth Matt Moylan from the Panthers.