Newcastle Knights yet to open contract talks with Kalyn Ponga
Despite Kalyn Ponga’s position as the game’s top talent, Newcastle are yet to opening contract talks with the Maroons superstar. PLUS, punters backing Mitch Pearce for Dally M medal.
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SAINT
ASH Barty is not just a fabulous tennis player but a wonderful ambassador and role model. It is so uplifting to have a tennis player we can be proud of on the world stage rather than the two ratbags who have behaved so appallingly over a long period of time.
SAINT II
IN a lovely gesture, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart visited the Raiders’ oldest and longest serving supporter, Myrtle Kelly, to celebrate her 98th birthday last week over a cup of tea.
SINNER
THERE are rumours Anthony Mundine will fight Tim Tszyu in November. It is genuinely sad because Choc has nothing to prove. He was a great rugby league player and even better boxer who should now be enjoying retirement rather than risk getting hurt.
SHOOSH
WHICH not-long-retired NRL star is caught up in a major police investigation into drug supply?
SHOOSH II
WHICH Parramatta Eels star is spending much of his spare time in the company of a high-profile and quite stunning female radio personality?
LISTEN! Check out who nailed their Origin predictions and how NRL stars prepare differently for the big stage. Join Matty, Kenty and Finchy for the best rugby league podcast in the game.
SHOOSH III
WHICH high-profile player manager and NRL club recruitment officer almost came to blows at a schoolboy carnival in Toronto recently.
SPOTTED
RACEHORSE trainer James Cummings on the same flight as the NSW Blues players to Brisbane last week for the winter racing carnival.
SPOTTED II
IT didn’t take long for Queenslander Gorden Tallis to baptise his four-month-old son Billy to be a Maroons supporter for Wednesday night’s State of Origin game in Brisbane.
SPOTTED III
THE latest radio ratings show poor old Aunty ABC is getting absolutely whacked in weekend rugby league, especially on Sundays where it finishes a distant third behind 2GB and Triple M.
FOX FLICKS SMITH FOR CUMMINS
STEVE Smith has been replaced as the face of Fox Cricket by superstar fast bowler Pat Cummins.
The network stood by Smith during the ball-tampering scandal but his contract recently expired and was not renewed.
It has gone for Cummins for his movie star looks and enormous popularity with all demographics.
Cummins won the Allan Border Medal in February and is seen as the long-term face of Australian cricket. He started work last week in England at the World Cup, filing a column within hours of signing the deal.
He is writing the column for Fox Sports digital in World Cup Diary form without a ghost writer. His articulate and professional approach to working in the media reflects his preparation for cricket.
Fox Sports will also use Cummins for promotional campaigns.
TV GURU TO RUN NRL’S MEDIA
CHANNEL 7 sports guru Jim Wilson is being tipped to join the NRL as head of media and communications.
He would replace Peter Grimshaw, the former government spin doctor, who recently quit the NRL after five years.
Wilson has been interviewed by NRL boss Todd Greenberg and commission chairman Peter Beattie and would be a huge acquisition for the game.
As the boss of Channel 7 sport, he has great connections in rugby league, cricket, the Olympics and all major sports. Wilson declined to comment when approached by The Sunday Telegraph.
His role would be to work closely alongside Greenberg and the 16 clubs to enhance the image of the game and relationships with their media partners.
KNIGHTS IGNORE PONGA
NEWCASTLE Knights have still done nothing about upgrading the contract of superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga.
His manager Wade Rushton has not heard from the club for more than three weeks.
The champion fullback is on $600,000 a season at the Knights — about half of what the highest-paid players in the game are earning.
Many good judges now rate Ponga the No.1 player in the NRL.
The Queensland fullback is not off contract for another two years but his agent feels there is a genuine case for an immediate upgrade and negotiations for a long-term deal.
Knights chief executive Phil Gardner is notoriously difficult in contract negotiations.
Yet Ponga is their biggest star since Andrew Johns and there would be a huge backlash in Newcastle if he were to leave.
BAD BOYS COMEBACK
JULIAN O’Neill, the most notorious of all rugby league bad boys, is making a comeback.
He has signed up with the Legends of League organisation to play for the Broncos this year.
Halfback Chris Sandow is also coming out of retirement to play for Parramatta Eels.
The tournament is on in Newcastle on November 16. Penrith Panthers are fielding a team for the first time with 10 players from their 2003 premiership-winning side.
TOUCH AND GO
WE told you last week of extreme bitterness and anger in the NRL refereeing ranks over the appointment of ref boss Bernard Sutton’s little brother Chris as a standby touch judge for the opening State of Origin match last Wednesday night. Rest assured, this will not be happening in Perth. The job will go to a specialist touch judge in what should have been the case for Brisbane.
TSZYU JOINS PAC CAMP
TIM Tszyu has been rushed into camp with superstar Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines as the old legend prepares for a world title fight in Las Vegas.
Tszyu’s manager Matt Rose got a call from Justin Fortune, the Aussie fitness guru and Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach.
Pacquiao will fight American Keith Thurman for the world welterweight title on July 20. “This is invaluable experience for Tim and shows how highly regarded he is,” Rose said. “When you get to spar a legend like Manny, nothing compares to that.”
Tszyu’s next fight is on August 14 against an opponent still to be determined. There is talk Rose is trying to get Shane Mosley Jr (15 fights, 12 wins) as the opponent.
MITCH FOR DALLY M?
The money keeps on pouring in for Newcastle half Mitchell Pearce to win the Dally M medal this year. The TAB has slashed his odds from $126 at round seven (when he hadn’t polled a point) to the new $6 favourite.
In Origin betting, the Blues are $1.70 favourites for Perth with the Maroons at $2.20, despite winning the opening game.
PUNTERS STILL LOVE ORIGIN
Origin I was the highest rating show on Australian TV this year but still well down on previous seasons. The match attracted 175,000 less viewers than last year’s opener and 530,000 less than 2016.
The increased national exposure from playing game two in Perth will no doubt lift figures on June 23 in prime time on a Sunday night.
DADDY’S GIRL
Matty Johns, Braith Anasta and Bryan Fletcher were spotted at Crows Nest Hotel last Sunday night with Brett Finch to celebrate the arrival of his baby girl, Mackenzie Grace Finch.
“I’m the only bloke in the country who actually gets more sleep from becoming a dad,” Finch said. “The first week has been super exciting and it sure changes your social life.”
LONG LIVE LAURIE THE GREEK
You’ve got to love this email from a What’s The Buzz reader:
“My better half is in Brisbane for a Climate Change conference featuring Al Gore and staying at a hotel on the Southbank. She went to the hotel gym and after she hopped into the lift with a guy who had just been to the sauna. When she got out she texted me and said that she had just shared a lift with a very fit “Greek-ish” looking ex-footballer.
I tried to think of who would be in Brisbane for State of Origin that also matched the description. I texted her a photo of a very tanned looking Braith Anasta. Reply … nope. I then texted a photo of an extremely muscled Danny Buderus. Reply … nope, older. My last text was a photo of Laurie Daley. Reply.....that’s him, green machine man.
Long live Laurie the Greek.”
Originally published as Newcastle Knights yet to open contract talks with Kalyn Ponga
Panthers slammed over ‘pathetic’ move
The Penrith Panthers are the all-conquering NRL champions but the club has abandoned their bid to claim the one trophy that’s eluded them.
Panthers celebrations switch from party to formal mode
Penrith Panthers players have ditched their sunglasses and shorts for suits and ties as the premiership party switches to formal mode for their end-of-season presentation night. SEE THE PHOTOS.