What’s the Buzz: Saint, sinner, shoosh — the latest sports gossip
KNIGHTS star Trent Hodkinson is this week’s saint, Phil Gould is the sinner and five Blues players were spotted on the pokies two nights before Origin II.
KNIGHTS star Trent Hodkinson is this week’s saint, Phil Gould is this week’s sinner and five Blues players spotted on the pokies two nights before Origin II.
SAINT
IN a week of backstabbing and bloodshed over our failed State of Origin campaign, how refreshing that Knights star Trent Hodkinson can get rugby league on to the front page with the beautiful story of him accompanying terminally ill teenager Hannah Rye to her high school formal.
SINNER
THERE’S no denying Phil Gould had a tremendous State of Origin coaching record and is entitled to his opinion on the Blues. Yet, he didn’t have to coach against Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Greg Inglis or Billy Slater. He also had the benefit of Andrew Johns, Laurie Daley, Brad Fittler, Brad Clyde, Ricky Stuart, Glenn Lazarus and many other champions in his NSW teams. He also lost the “unlosable” 1995 series 3-0 to Fatty Vautin during the Super League war.
SPOTTED
FIVE NSW Blues players playing pokies on the Monday night before Origin II at a pub in Homebush. Probably not a good look 48 hours before what could have been a series-clinching game.
SPOTTED II
BOZO Fulton can’t be too worried about the salary-cap investigation into his Sea Eagles. He’s spending two weeks with family relaxing on the beach in Hawaii.
SPOTTED III
FORMER Test cricketer Stuart MacGill celebrating his injury settlement payment from Cricket Australia with lunch at Lees Fortuna Court in Crows Nest on Friday.
SPOTTED IV
BOXER and model Lauryn Eagle doing a session with Manny Pacquiao’s legendary trainer Freddie Roach at his f Wild Card gym in Los Angeles. The great Miguel Cotto was there, too.
SPOTTED V
QUEENSLAND and Storm star Cooper Cronk and Fox Sports’ Tara Rushton at ANZ Stadium watching Arsenal v Sydney FC. Cronk was on the lemonades, just 24 hours after the Maroons beat the Blues.
SPOTTED VI
SOUTH Sydney Rabbitohs centre Bryson Goodwin shopping at Rebel at Westfield Miranda on Thursday afternoon.
SHOOSH
WHICH boofhead NSW Blues player wants the media banned from next year’s State of Origin camp following coverage of the drinking exploits of Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan?
SHOOSH II
Which lowly placed Sydney NRL club is chasing Roosters, NSW and Kangaroos winger Blake Ferguson for next season, despite his well-publicised recent dramas?
Gal-SBW anything but a main event
THE proposed Paul Gallen-Sonny Bill Williams off-season fight is in danger of falling over because of a lack of interest from Foxtel’s Main Event channel.
There is concern the Sharks skipper and All Blacks superstar won’t attract a big enough pay-per-view audience on their own to make the fight viable.
Promoter Khoder Nasser remains in talks with the network. Meanwhile, Anthony Mundine will fight Sam Soliman in Melbourne on September 2, the fourth time they’ve met. There is talk of former Sydney Swans enforcer Barry Hall fighting on the undercard.
Fergo cashes in on Origin camp night
THE State of Origin campaign wasn’t a total wipe-out for Blues winger Blake Ferguson. The players had a team dinner at the Brunswick Heads Hotel on the Monday they arrived in camp. It’s the pub owned by former Channel Nine boss David Gyngell. Ferguson and a few of his teammates played the poker machines after dinner. The Roosters star was later spotted collecting a $1000 jackpot from Gyngell before the Blues returned to their training base at Kingscliff.
Green takes to sky
THERE’S a lot more to Paul Green than his footy coaching in the NRL. The Cowboys coach has had a pilot’s licence to fly planes for 20 years and is now training to fly helicopters.
“I’ve got 13 hours flying to go,” Green said, “It gives me an interest away from football, which is important.
“Others play golf or go fishing in their spare time. I’m learning to fly a chopper.
“I started at the beginning of the year and hope to be done by Christmas.
“I’m still trying to get my wife keen but she’s not overly enthused about it.”
Sharks five-eighth James Maloney has suffered a broken hand that requires surgery. The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield and David Riccio discuss what it means for Cronulla and young gun Jack Bird.
A CAP IN TWO CAMPS
SPARE a thought for Tony Shepherd who somehow juggles two jobs — chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and the GWS Giants. It’s a tough one leading into the AFL finals because the Swans want a semi-final against GWS played at the SCG but the Giants don’t want a bar of it. Shepherd wants big games at the SCG but his own club refuses to play there. It’s an obvious conflict that only a man of his stature could handle.
ARCHER OF THE MARK
WHAT is going on in the NRL’s refereeing ranks? With Origin over, we have seven weeks of high-pressure football leading into the finals. So refs boss Tony Archer rests one of his main men, Gerard Sutton.
And what a shame that in Women of League round, Kasey Badger didn’t get a shot in first grade. This wouldn’t be a token appointment. Kasey has proved herself in Holden Cup and deserves a chance.
CRONK’S FIRST FOX DATE
MOST footballers don’t like doing NRL match commentary on TV while they are still playing because it’s hard to be critical of opponents. It hasn’t stopped Cooper Cronk, who will debut in the Fox Sports commentary team for this afternoon’s St George Illawarra versus Manly game.
Cronk is still to decide on his playing future but we do know he and his fiancee, Tara Rushton, are looking at property in Sydney which is far more expensive than Melbourne. It might be a hint that he will continue playing to help pay the mortgage with a $1 million-a-year deal.
HONOUR FOR WHITE
IT’S wonderful to hear former racing scribe Tony White will be inducted into the Maroubra Boardriders Walk of Fame at Maroubra Beach. Tony had a serious stroke recently and is restricted to an electric wheelchair. He will travel from Yamba for the ceremony.
RIVALS UNITE
Rival TV networks are combining to help Brett Kimmorley and his four beautiful daughters as they struggle to overcome the tragic loss of their mum Sharnie to brain cancer.
Channel 7’s Jim Wilson and Fox Sports’ Yvonne Sampson will host a tribute evening to Sharnie with the NRL, the Men of League and The Star.
“The loss of any close one is incredibly traumatic, let alone a lifelong partner and mother,” said NRL boss Todd Greenberg. “Brett has given so much of his life to rugby league and supporting others and it is our time now to support him and his family.”
Tickets are available at: www.kimmorleyfundraiser.eventbrite.com.au
Originally published as What’s the Buzz: Saint, sinner, shoosh — the latest sports gossip
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