Sport Confidential: Ricky Stuart fuming over Dolphins’ raid, Ash Taylor’s rugby league return
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has been blindsided by the Dolphins’ poaching raid on a key member of his off-field staff.
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Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is understood to be livid after being ambushed by Dolphins rival Wayne Bennett for the services of conditioning guru Jeremy Hickmans.
As first revealed by Sport Confidential, Hickmans was on the Dolphins’ radar and Bennett has successfully lured the current Canberra high-performance chief to the Dolphins.
Hickmans was contracted to the Raiders and Stuart had no intention of losing the highly-respected Englishman, only to be blindsided by Bennett’s latest Dolphins poaching raid.
Bennett has a long history with Hickmans and regards him as one of the best trainers in world sport.
Hickmans has previously worked with Bennett at the Broncos, Dragons, Newcastle and the England national team and now the pair will be reunited again for the Dolphins’ big splash in the NRL next season.
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The Dolphins have recruited five other high-performance staff to work under Hickmans, including Mal Meninga’s Australia Kangaroos physiotherapist Sam Madden.
“We have worked really hard on piecing together a world-class staff to ensure the Dolphins are at the cutting edge of performance in our first season in the NRL,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
“The Dolphins have already signed the most successful grand final coach in history in Wayne Bennett and this staff will be great support for him.”
$1M NRL RETIREE MAKES LEAGUE COMEBACK
Former Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos halfback Ash Taylor has made a rugby league comeback following his premature retirement.
But he won’t be strapping on the boots – at this stage.
Taylor has signed on to coach Toowoomba A-grade club Newtown Lions next year.
At age 27, Taylor will be coaching players older than him at a club that didn’t win a game this season and lost multiple matches by more than 100 points.
But he can’t wait to rip in.
“Thank you for all your support,” Taylor wrote on a post announcing his appointment.
“I look forward to helping rebuild this club and be successful again.”
Taylor was forced into an early retirement this year due to painful hip injuries which restricted his movement.
His early departure from the NRL was one of the great shames given the talent he possessed.
Taylor played 116 games for the Broncos, Titans and Warriors and was the Dally M rookie of the year in 2016.
But he never quite reached the heights he was capable of and returned to his home town of Toowoomba this year after calling quits on his NRL career.
BENNETT’S BLAST FOR DOLPHINS CRITICS
Wayne Bennett has blasted critics of the Dolphins following accusations Redcliffe has become one of the NRL’s most despised teams before they’ve even entered the competition.
The Dolphins have come under fire for their recruitment tactics from a number of furious rivals as the expansion club scrambles to put together a roster for their 2023 NRL launch.
Sport Confidential has spoken to numerous clubs who have accused the Dolphins of trying to coax players out of contracts after only being given 12 months to sign 36 players.
The Dolphins have also come under public attacks from the Storm and Rabbitohs for their interest in superstars Cameron Munster and Latrell Mitchell.
A frustrated Bennett lashed criticism of the Dolphins and said Queensland’s fourth club was working within the NRL’s rules after being given little time to put together a team.
“It’s ridiculous, what do clubs want us to do … take the field with no players?” he said.
“Let me get one thing straight because people don’t seem to know the rules – we can approach any player at any time for talks. There is no rule preventing us from doing that.
“There is no restriction on approaching players. There is only a restriction on signing a contracted player until the 1st of November.
“To be honest, people should be directing their frustrations to the NRL. The NRL are the ones who introduced a 17th team to the competition.
“They gave us the same framework as everyone else, we had to sign 30 players and we are working within the rules and the guidelines.
“Of course we are out there asking players if they are keen on playing for us. We had to sign 30 players in a year, our pre-season starts in November, what did the other clubs expect us to do?
“Does everyone want to find fault with the Dolphins and see us as the fall guys? I’ve got no idea.”
At the crux of the criticism is the NRL’s murky November 1 contracting rule, which has caused misinformation to spread across the game.
Bennett is correct in saying there are no rules preventing the Dolphins from speaking to any player in the game, regardless of their contract status.
However, the Dolphins are not allowed to coax players out of contracts without the player seeking permission from their current club to explore their options.
Like every other club, the Dolphins can’t formally sign players until they enter the final season of their current contract, which begins on November 1 of the previous year.
There is nothing stopping the Dolphins from reaching a verbal agreement with a player like Munster well before his Storm contract expires.
It would be wrong to suggest the Dolphins are the only club pushing the boundaries with recruitment tactics as it’s commonplace across the game.
But given they’re the new kids on the block, it hasn’t gone down well with some rivals and sets the scene for a spicy 2023 season.
AXED BRONCO’S PLEA TO NRL CLUBS
Jake Turpin has appealed for an NRL lifeline after speaking of his heartbreak at being shown the door by the Broncos for next season.
Just 12 months after winning Brisbane’s Most Consistent Player award, Turpin is unwanted at the Broncos and running out of time to press his claims for a career-saving contract.
The tough-as-nails rake has been linked with the Titans, Dolphins and Newcastle, but all three clubs have ruled out signing Turpin - leaving the 25-year-old fighting for his future in the NRL.
Turpin requested an immediate release from the Broncos in June, but after a rumoured mid-season transfer to the Knights collapsed, he showed resilience to fight his way back into Brisbane’s top squad as their starting hooker.
However, with the Broncos refusing to table a fresh extension for 2023, Turpin is headed for the Red Hill exits and his NRL career is on thin ice as he auditions for a new deal.
Turpin concedes Brisbane’s dismal 60-12 drubbing against the Storm last week hasn’t helped his battle for a new deal to remain in the NRL next season.
“My management are working hard to find something,” Turpin said.
“Performances like that Melbourne game as a team don’t help my cause.
“I have to put my best foot forward over the last few games and if I’m playing good footy that will sort itself out.
“I’m sure my management are working hard on it now (trying to find a new deal) ... I just need to play good footy.”
The Titans considered signing Turpin, but when they pounced on Roosters hooker Sam Verrills, the industrious rake hit another dead end.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has also ruled out making a play for Turpin, who was hoping to finish his career at the Broncos after amassing 58 games since his 2018 debut.
“It will be hard to leave, absolutely,” Turpin said.
“Any player that spends a decent amount of time at one club always finds it hard to go.
“I have some lifelong friends here and some cracking memories. It will be sad to leave but that’s rugby league. Everyone has to do it, at some stage you have to move on, but I will move forward and see what’s out there.”
“I always pride myself on being a team player and I will put the team first and whatever the team needs to get results, that’s what I will do.”
IKIN’S MEMORIES OF GREEN
Broncos football chief Ben Ikin has spoken about the death of close friend Paul Green and what he will miss most about his former Origin teammate.
Ikin and Green played for Queensland together in the 1999 Origin series but it wasn’t until years later that they developed a tight bond.
Both students of the game and deep thinkers, Ikin joined Green at Wynnum-Manly in 2011 in a unique role.
“I was trying to figure out whether or not I wanted to be a coach. I asked him if I could help out and he said absolutely,” Ikin said.
“I signed up to be the assistant to the assistant. It became a bit of a joke after we lost the first six games that year that I stepped in and took over for a while to get us back on track and we won a premiership.
“I figured out at the end of that year I didn’t want to be a coach. He kept coaching and won another competition at Wynnum then went down to the Roosters and Cowboys.”
Ikin was on the board of the Cowboys when Green was appointed head coach in 2014 and he was a director of the QRL when Green got the Maroons job last year.
“There are a lot of guys that spent a lot more time with Greeny than I did, but I don’t think there were too many people in my life who I respected more as a man,” Ikin said.
“Greeny had a big brain and huge intellectual grunt. He could multitask, think through big issues and unpack them.
“I loved that process with him. We could go down rabbit holes together and think differently about things that I hadn’t seen before. In our friendship, I felt really safe that I could do the same with him.
“I could give him an elbow in the ribs, intellectually, and know it would never damage our friendship. I could give him a home truth and he’d respect me for it, vice versa.
“I’m just going to miss our chats more than anything. If there was something big in his life, or he needed an objective opinion on, we’d end up on the phone together. It was the same for me. You take it for granted when it’s there.
“This has reminded me how blessed I was to have someone that can provide that for me in my life. I hope that he felt the same.”
TRIPLE M TREAT
Leading radio network Triple M is celebrating record ratings in the wake of the explosive Anthony Maroon walkout saga.
The addition of England Test legend James Graham has produced stunning results with Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin show surging in the ratings and claiming the No.1 ranking for male listeners in the 25-54 age group.
The Sin Bin show was seemingly in crisis just three months ago when long-serving host Maroon sensationally quit after an on-air spat with award-winning panellists James Hooper and Paul Kent, the latter of whom also resigned.
But with Graham on board and a new host in Ben Dobbin, bolstered by Hooper and Queensland legend Gorden Tallis, the show has sensationally come out of the Sin Bin to dominate ratings.
With an overall market share rising from 5.7 per cent to 9.1pc, Triple M’s Sin Bin is closing in on long-time kingpins 2GB, who are under siege at 9.3pc.
Former Bulldogs and Dragons front-row enforcer Graham has proved a smash hit with his intellect and forthright analysis of the NRL’s hottest topics.
WHIZKID WALKER IN THE MONEY
Queensland Origin hopeful Sam Walker is on the verge of a $1 million-plus upgrade as the Roosters ramp up plans to extend the classy playmaker.
Sport Confidential can reveal Walker’s manager Clinton Schifcofske will travel to Sydney next week to advance talks with Roosters management on the eve of this year’s finals.
Walker is already contracted to the Roosters until the end of next year but Bondi bosses want to prevent the 20-year-old going to the open market before he becomes a free agent from November 1.
A member of Queensland’s extended Origin squad this year, Walker is worth more than $700,000 on the open market.
The Roosters have yet to finalise terms but a two-year extension would be valued at around $1.5 million for the Ipswich Grammar whizkid, who is currently on less than $500,000 and did not make the NRL Rich 100 list this season.
The 2021 NRL rookie of the year has had another fine season and is being groomed to be Daly Cherry-Evans’ successor at the Queensland Origin scrumbase.
Walker has fielded interest from a number of NRL rivals but Schifcofske says the goalkicking halfback has no intention of leaving the Roosters.
“I think Sam will stay,” he said. “The Roosters have been great to Sam and he is happy there, so I can’t see any reason for him to leave.
“He is one of the best halfbacks in the comp at 20 years old and he is only going to get better.
“Sam has the finals coming up so that’s his immediate focus.”
LATRELL URGED TO JOIN DOLPHINS
One of Wayne Bennett’s former proteges believes Latrell Mitchell would be a revelation under the super coach at the Dolphins.
Broncos great Justin Hodges famously fell out with Bennett when he quit Brisbane to join the Roosters, but the pair smoked the peace pipe and Hodges was his captain in the 2015 grand final against the Cowboys.
Bennett is armed with a $4 million deal to bring Mitchell to the Dolphins and Hodges says the South Sydney superstar should consider reuniting with his former Rabbitohs mentor at Redcliffe.
“I would love to see Latrell at the Broncos ideally, but he would be great at the Dolphins,” Hodges said. “He has come back in unbelievable form.
“Whatever he did in America (fixing his injured hamstring) he needs to keep doing.
“Before he came back, Souths were in danger of missing the finals but since he has come back, the side looks a chance of challenging for the title.
“The Dolphins have a big chequebook at the moment and plenty of money to spend. He has worked under Wayne before and Wayne would be going hard for him.
“It would be good to see him in Queensland at the Dolphins.”
DOLPHINS SNAP UP PNG STAR
The Dolphins have bolstered their NRL stocks with Redcliffe back-rower Jeremiah Simbikin clinching a development deal with the new NRL franchise.
Born in Papua New Guinea, Simbikin moved to Canberra at age 11 and has clinched a three-year development contract with the Dolphins after impressing for their feeder club Redcliffe in the Queensland Cup.
The hard-running 22-year-old has been a revelation in Redcliffe’s sensational 13-match winning streak.
“Jeremiah has been in tremendous form in the Hostplus Cup and that has made us sit up and take notice of him,” said Dolphins CEO Terry Reader.
“He has demonstrated what an attacking weapon he can be with 13 tries in 14 matches for Redcliffe, including eight tries in his last four games.
“We are pleased to be giving a player that has joined the Dolphins at state league level a chance to graduate into the NRL.”
WALLACE ROBBED OF FAREWELL
Titans prop Jarrod Wallace has been robbed of a home farewell after being dropped for what would have been his last game on the Gold Coast.
Wallace has been omitted from the Titans’ 17 for Sunday’s clash against Newcastle at Cbus Super Stadium.
After playing 117 games for the Titans over six seasons, Wallace will not get the chance to play one last match on the Gold Coast before he joins the Dolphins, unless there is a late change to the team.
Coach Justin Holbrook has opted to hand Klese Haas his NRL debut and retained Herman Ese’ese on the bench ahead of Wallace.
The Titans will finish their disappointing 2022 campaign against the Warriors in New Zealand next weekend.
STORM SMASHING ‘NEVER HAPPENED’
Broncos coach Kevin Walters employed a left-field tactic following Brisbane’s 60-12 thrashing by Melbourne.
Walters refused to make his team sit through a video review of the 48-point hammering and instead told them to forget about the debacle.
With a short turnaround into Thursday’s clash against Parramatta, Walters wanted the Broncos to forget about the thrashing as quickly as possible and get on to their next task.
“We threw it in the bin – it’s gone. It didn’t even happen,” he said.
“I feel like we had to get on to the next game. We had to reset our mind, reset where we are and go again.
“The coaches looked at it but we didn’t show too much to the players.”
AGENTS OF CHAOS
Which leading player agent has caused a stir in the management world by attempting to steal Storm stars Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant from a rival stable? NRL player accreditation boss Paul Massey would be advised to keep a close eye on the brazen poaching bid.
SPOTTED
Former Gold Coast Titans stars Greg Bird, Anthony Don and Ryan James lapping up some sunshine with their families at the stunning Tallebudgera Creek.
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Ricky Stuart fuming over Dolphins’ raid, Ash Taylor’s rugby league return
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