Sport Confidential: Maroons’ virus scare, Queensland prepares 10-year Magic Round deal
The rumour that forced North Queensland to confront star half Chad Townsend, the ‘man-flu’ that floored the Maroons and more in SPORT CONFIDENIAL.
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The Cowboys have shot down speculation Chad Townsend wants out of Townsville.
Rumours sweeping league circles suggested Townsend could cut short his stint at the Cowboys after a removal truck was recently seen at the co-captain’s Townsville home.
Townsend is contracted to the Cowboys until the end of 2024, but there were suggestions the veteran No.7 could return home to Sydney at the conclusion of this season for family reasons.
The whispers had become so strong that Cowboys officials recently asked Townsend if he was plotting an early departure.
After a sensational first season at the club in 2022, Townsend has struggled for his best form so far this season in an erratic Cowboys side, but the premiership halfback made it clear he is totally committed to the club.
It turns out there was a good reason for the removal truck – Townsend has purchased a new home in Townsville and was simply moving house.
The 232-game NRL veteran recently told Sport Confidential he had every intention of honouring his three-year Cowboys deal.
“I’m here next year and beyond that I’m not too sure,” he said.
“I turn 33 next year and physically I feel good. I’ve got energy and a buzz to compete every day and get better.
“When I don’t have that, I think it will be time for me to stop.
“At the moment I’m giving my all and trying to make the most of my situation.”
QLD PREPARES MONSTER DEAL AS MAGIC ROUND FIGHT HEATS UP
The Queensland government is considering a monster 10-year, $20 million offer to keep NRL Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium until the end of 2034.
Sport Confidential can reveal high-powered Queensland powerbrokers have discussed tabling a multimillion-dollar proposal to ensure Magic Round stays in the Sunshine State for the next decade.
The fourth edition of NRL Magic Round this season attracted a record 147,105 fans across three days at Suncorp and the eight-game event is a massive money spinner, injecting an estimated $28 million annually to the Queensland economy.
The success of the event has piqued the interest of rival states, with NSW, Melbourne and Perth considered as possible destinations for future instalments of Magic Round.
The Queensland government pays around $2.1 million annually for Magic Round and has contractual rights for another 12 months before the event is up for sale from 2025.
The NRL has not ruled out taking the concept to other markets as part of a Super Bowl-style sell-off to maximise fan and commercial interests, but the Queensland government is up for the battle.
It is understood Queensland heavy-hitters are privately resigned to the NSW government winning the rights to this year’s NRL grand final and are prepared to bypass a bidding war for the decider to secure Magic Round.
The Queensland government has been urged to make a 10-year play for Magic Round. If they maintain their current investment, a decade-long deal would deliver at least $20 million into the NRL’s coffers to keep the footballing festival at the home of Queensland rugby league.
Since the birth of Magic Round in 2019, a total of 541,923 fans have passed through the Suncorp turnstiles – headlined by a record average crowd of 49,035 this year.
Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns covered the action last month for Channel 9 and he urged the NRL to keep the Magic in Brisbane.
“It’s the perfect location,” Johns said. “If you took it somewhere else, I think it could work at Eden Park in Auckland, but I don’t see any reason to move it away from Suncorp.”
Cowboys and Maroons Origin legend Johnathan Thurston added: “I can’t see it working anywhere else in the country, it should be here in Queensland for the next 100 years.”
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys said he is open to keeping Magic Round at Suncorp.
“Naturally Queensland has the inside running, but they have to come up with the right agreement,” he said.
“I’ve always said that rugby league is a tribal game and where it is made evident is during Magic Round.
“You go down the middle of Brisbane and you will see Parramatta jumpers, Dragons jumpers, Souths jumpers, Dolphins jumpers … the tribes are there and the passionate supporters of the game are out in droves.”
INSIDE BENNETT-SEIBOLD FEUD AS RIVALRY REIGNITES
It is one of the most fascinating personal duels in rugby league.
Wayne Bennett versus Anthony Seibold.
Key figures in the infamous Broncos Civil War, their worlds will collide again on Friday night when Seibold’s Sea Eagles take on Bennett’s Dolphins at 4 Pines Park in Sydney.
It will represent the first clash between the two rivals in the NRL since Seibold’s resurrection at Manly this season — three years after his tumultuous stint at the Broncos as Bennett’s successor came to an explosive end.
Publicly, neither man will be interested in firing brickbats or providing ammunition. But make no mistake, there is a little-known history between Seibold and Bennett.
If anything, the tension largely flows one way — and has its roots in a verbal lashing Bennett gave Seibold at a Queensland Emerging Origin squad camp during Mal Meninga’s reign as Maroons coach.
A former Brisbane reserve grader in 1992-93, Seibold had great respect for Broncos first-grade premiership coach Bennett.
Post-football, he developed a liking for educating, mentoring and coaching, a mindset that saw Seibold employed as Queensland under-16s coach in 2012.
He then progressed to the Queensland under-18s between 2013-15, pulling off an epic defeat of NSW with a class of 2015 that included Jaydn Su’A and Brodie Croft.
It was during that period that Seibold earned the wrath of Bennett.
While Meninga was the head coach of the mighty Maroons juggernaut between 2006-15, Bennett still made trips north to help oversee the Emerging Origin camps he helped set up with the Queensland Academy of Sport in 2001.
During one training session, Bennett watched proceedings. Something about Seibold’s behaviour as Queensland’s junior-reps coach irked him.
Many emerging Maroons stars, such as Croft, found Seibold dedicated, loyal, passionate and confident. Bennett detected brashness. He feared Seibold was crossing the fine line between confidence and arrogance.
In the eyes of Bennett, never a man to chest beat, Seibold’s demeanour was not the Queensland way. He pulled him aside for a chat.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing,” Bennett told Seibold, then in his late 30s. “Our Queensland program is about humility, just remember that.”
It was a genuine pull-through from Bennett, a stern reminder of Seibold’s place among the pantheon of Queensland Origin greats and forefathers and the culture of performance he and Meninga were driving.
Asked in 2019 about his time working with Bennett in the Queensland program, Seibold said: “I had a couple of years at the QAS and Wayne oversaw that program. He let us run our program how we wanted. He would come in and observe and give some feedback.
“There is no negativity in my mind in and around Wayne.
“His longevity is second to none. We won’t ever see a career like his again so I only have positive things to say. I can’t compare myself to what he has done and I never would. There is no comparison there.”
Asked about their coach-player relationship at the Broncos in the early 1990s, Bennett once snapped in an interview: “I don’t think I was a mentor, I didn’t see a lot of him (Seibold).
“He didn’t play in the first grade squad.”
While Seibold endured a turbulent stint succeeding Bennett at the Broncos, Brisbane chairman Karl Morris was the man who provided a character reference for the embattled coach’s move to Manly.
“History had showed Anthony was a good coach. He was coach of the year (in 2018),” Morris said.
“Sometimes people land at a place at the wrong time. I was hoping that was the case when he was here at the Broncos because I know how stressful and awful it was for not only him, but all of us.
“I thought some time away from the game would help him learn some new skills and he could come back stronger somewhere else.
“I’m very pleased that he’s got another opportunity. I think Anthony is a good person.”
Adding to the intrigue is the reality that the new-age Seibold is everything the old-world Bennett is not.
During his time at Souths, Seibold introduced techno music at training. His research as a university scholar found that high-octane beats helped boost testosterone levels among male athletes at training sessions.
When Bennett first walked into Redfern in 2019 and saw DJ Sam Burgess in charge of the playlist, the super coach snapped.
“Get that s*** off,” Bennett fired.
The boombox never returned during Bennett’s three-year reign at the Rabbitohs.
There were other conflicting methodologies.
The studious Seibold is a fan of meetings and liked his players taking notes on tactics and game plans.
Bennett hates paralysis by analysis, his theory being that most NRL players are not book-smart, but enjoy learning by simply playing football.
When Bennett saw several Souths players such as Adam Reynolds, Damien Cook and James Roberts arrive at training holding notebooks, he gave a simple instruction.
“Get rid of them,” he said. “We’re not at university, we’re here to play football.”
When Bennett started at Souths, he asked where Seibold sat during his successful one-year reign that saw him named NRL coach of the year in 2018.
A Rabbitohs staffer pointed to the back of the room.
“Put me at the front,” Bennett said.
“And leave my door open so the players can see me whenever they want.”
In many ways, that final tale could succinctly sum up the obverse worlds of Bennett and Seibold.
In Seibold’s ill-fated final season at the Broncos in 2020, when Brisbane were hurtling towards their first wooden spoon, the under-pressure coach went looking for answers.
He sought feedback from a trusted senior player.
“You know my door is always open,” Seibold said to the Broncos player.
“Yeah, we know that,” the player replied. “But it doesn’t feel like it’s open to us.”
Shortly after, Seibold fell on his sword at the Broncos, a year before Bennett took South Sydney to the NRL grand final.
And therein lies the magic of Bennett, his ability to strike the universal common touch Seibold must find in his second incarnation to save his NRL coaching career at Manly.
RAIDER FINDS SUPPORT AFTER SEIZURE
The last Raiders and Kiwi player to suffer an on-field seizure has offered a message of hope to Canberra star Corey Harawira-Naera.
In a frightening incident, former Canberra forward Dean Lonergan collapsed playing for New Zealand in their famous 24-8 Test defeat of Australia at Olympic Park in Melbourne in 1991.
Lonergan attempted to smash Australian prop Steve Roach and came off second best, convulsing on the turf for several seconds as a Kiwi doctor rushed to his aid.
Three decades later, fellow Raider Harawira-Naera suffered a seizure in Canberra’s Round 13 victory over Souths at Homebush.
The 28-year-old Harawira-Naera posted a social-media video saying he is “feeling better” and the NRL’s chief medical officer is working with Canberra medicos to map out a recovery plan for his return to action.
Lonergan was 25 when he suffered his seizure and while he played just one more top-level game for the Kiwis before retiring, the 57-year-old, now a successful boxing promoter, says he made a full recovery.
“I don’t remember my seizure at all,” said Lonergan, who played four games for Canberra in 1988 and 11 Tests for New Zealand.
“I remember charging at Steve Roach because I was keen to take on him and after that, my mind is blank.
“I stayed at home in bed and when I got home to New Zealand, I had an MRI and everything showed up normal.
“I was cleared to play two or three weeks later and in hindsight it was dumb, but concussions weren’t treated as seriously then as they are now.
“I haven’t seen massive side effects from my seizure. I hadn’t had one before that night and thankfully I haven’t had one since.
“I guess it was one of those things.”
While Lonergan backed Harawira-Naera to play again, he believes the NRL’s 11-day stand-down period for concussions is too lenient.
“I hope he is OK and makes a full recovery to come back for Canberra,” he said.
“It’s not a good thing to see someone go through that.
“I don’t think 11 days is enough for a stand-down period.
“Players concussed in the NRL should be sidelined for four to six weeks. With the size, speed and power of NRL players today, heavy collisions can do damage to the brain.”
MAROONS VIRUS SCARE
The Queensland Maroons had a secret health scare in the lead-up to last week’s Origin I victory against the Blues.
Sport Confidential can reveal a senior member of Billy Slater’s support staff tested positive to Covid in the early days of the build-up.
The staffer immediately left Camp Maroon to avoid spreading the virus and didn’t rejoin the team until game day in Adelaide.
There are no Covid protocols in the NRL any more, meaning players don’t have to test and can play if they are positive.
However the Maroons didn’t want any more players or staff to get sick and potentially not be at their best, which is why the staff member left camp.
Assistant coach Cameron Smith hinted it wasn’t an entirely smooth preparation in his game-day press conference.
“There’s been a bit of a man flu going around at the moment – mainly in the staff, not the players,” Smith said.
Luckily for Queensland, they were able to contain the virus and produce a stunning upset win.
BRIMSON ON THE MOVE
Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has conceded star fullback AJ Brimson could be set for a positional switch if his worrying run of injuries continues.
Brimson was set to make his return from his latest hamstring setback in Thursday night’s clash with Wests Tigers at Cbus Super Stadium.
He has missed six games this season due to hamstring problems in both legs and has had a nagging groin issue for over a year.
The physical demands of fullback could be too much for Brimson’s battered body to handle, which is why Holbrook has kept Jayden Campbell and Keano Kini at the club.
Holbrook said Brimson was Gold Coast’s version of Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco and he would consider a positional switch to extend his career.
“He is as important to us as Turbo is to Manly and Tedesco is to the Roosters. He is that good,” Holbrook said.
“There is (concerns) off the back of what’s been happening. That’s a concern of mine.
“He’s so important to our side. Whenever he plays, we play a lot better.
“But the durability is a concern. In his own eyes there’s none and that’s the most important thing.
“That’s why I’m big on keeping ‘JC’ and Keano. We’ve got plenty of guys that can play fullback.
“Possibly (I could move him to five-eighth), that can take a bit of a high speed out of him. But I feel his best position is fullback.
“I think JC is more comfortable at five-eighth than AJ. We tried AJ there last year and he’s probably not as comfortable with the footy.
“If he’s pulling up too sore and the workrate’s too big we’ve got to look at it and possibly move him.”
SHOOSH
Which Queensland-based star is being lined up for a blockbuster fight with Parramatta powerhouse Junior Paulo? It would be a ding-dong heavyweight battle.
KEVIN SENT FOR COBBO
Brisbane sensation Selwyn Cobbo has praised Broncos coach Kevin Walters for helping him into another Origin campaign for Queensland.
Cobbo was embroiled in a pre-season shock with his infamous podcast interview, recorded in New Zealand, that was critical of Walters.
But Cobbo, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday, later apologised to Walters and said he has smoked the peace pipe with the Broncos coach, whose off-field support has underpinned the winger’s return to the Queensland side.
Cobbo was outstanding in Origin I, scoring a double to spearhead the Maroons’ 26-18 defeat of the Blues in Adelaide.
“Me and Kevvie are past that point,” Cobbo said.
“He’s been really helpful towards me. He is doing his job and is very proud of where he is at and with the boys.
“He has brought us all together and we are all knit as one.
“Whatever we do at training we take on the field. We always turn up for each other and it is working.”
HEY XAVIER, WHO ATE ALL THE PIES?
Artie Beetson was known for his love of pies and the late, great Roosters legend will be looking down with pride at Queensland young gun Xavier Va’a.
The Roosters prop and Queensland under-19s skipper was a guest judge at the Baking Association of Australia’s best pie and pastry competition held in Sydney last week.
More than 100 pies were entered across a range of categories. Va’a and fellow Queenslander J’maine Hopgood, who has been outstanding for the Eels in the forwards this season, were among the judges.
“The boys’ eyes were too big for their stomachs,” said their manager Shaun Pyne, who was also a judge via his company Pyney’s Pie Reviews.
“I told Xavier to pace himself because we tasted about 58 pies, but he went too hard too early.”
HALF TON FOR BILLY
Billy Walters reaches a special milestone on Saturday night when the unheralded Broncos utility plays his 50th NRL game against the Knights.
Walters rarely steals the headlines but the son of Broncos coach Kevin has become an important member of the side, having nailed down a starting role in the crucial No.9 jumper.
The 29-year-old starts for the 15th consecutive game at hooker this season against the Knights and is relishing his dummy-half combination with super sub Cory Paix.
Walters played the full 80 minutes against the Storm a month ago and is enjoying his extra minutes as he prepares for his 38th Broncos game this week after two match at the Storm and 10 at the Wests Tigers.
“I’m happy to be playing longer minutes,” Walters said.
“We have a different plan at the moment.
“Instead of bringing me off in the first half and bringing me back on, ‘Kev’ (coach Walters) is letting me go as long as I can and letting ‘Paixy’ finish the game.
“We are turning up for each other and we are really clear in our roles, especially around the rucks.
“The energy is going on around the middle and making sure we have inside pressure and make our tackles. It’s working so far.”
BRONCOS YOUNG GUN FIRING
Emerging Broncos hooker Blake Mozer continues to impress as he pushes for an NRL debut.
Mozer scored the opening two tries in Souths-Logan’s 36-22 Hostplus Cup win against Burleigh last weekend.
Mozer, 19, is starting to become a dominant player in Queensland’s top competition and is keeping the heat on Brisbane’s NRL hookers Billy Walters and Cory Paix.
He has scored five tries in 11 games for the top-of-the-table Magpies this season and has a 94 per cent tackle efficiency.
The Broncos planned to develop Mozer in the Hostplus Cup this season, but he could come into NRL calculations later in the year if he continues his rise.
STORM WARNING FOR LODGE
Melbourne have ruled out a return for Matt Lodge following revelations the controversial prop will be squeezed out of the Roosters at season’s end.
Salary-cap pressures will force Lodge out of Bondi and the 28-year-old is on the lookout for a sixth club after stints at Melbourne, Wests Tigers, Brisbane, the Warriors and the Roosters.
The fiery front-rower began his career at Melbourne in their under-20s and it is understood Lodge was recently shopped to the Storm to continue his career in 2024.
But Storm coach Craig Bellamy is happy with his current roster and also lacks the salary-cap space for Lodge to come full circle at Melbourne.
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