Broncos coach Anthony Seibold banishes George Fai from training for being overweight
New Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has shown he means business at Red Hill, banishing one of his emerging young forwards from the Broncos until the player loses some weight.
NRL
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Broncos coach Anthony Seibold has banished one of Brisbane’s emerging forwards from Red Hill after he reported for pre-season training in shocking shape.
Young prop George Fai has been training with his junior club Souths-Logan instead of with the Broncos.
Fai, 22, returned to training after the Christmas break in such poor shape that Seibold has challenged him to prove he wants to play in the NRL.
Instead of running around with the Broncos, Fai has been training with the semi-professional Magpies in a bid to lose weight.
Fai is still on full pay from the Broncos and receiving the support he needs, but Seibold wants Fai to show him he is serious about being a first grade footballer by ripping in at Souths.
Fai will play for the Magpies in tomorrow night’s trial match against the Broncos in Warwick.
If he was training with the Broncos he would have almost certainly been playing for Brisbane instead.
Fai has only managed two NRL games over the past two years, one in each year, and is off-contract at the end of 2019.
He has a lot of work to do to prove he is worthy of a new contract at the Broncos.
Haas signs deal with Puma
Broncos sensation Payne Haas’ star continues to rise with the teenage monster joining the same sportswear stable that sponsors Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt.
Blindside can reveal the 19-year-old Haas has signed a five-year deal with Puma, the sporting giant that provided the footwear for Jamaican flyer Bolt to become the fastest man in the world.
While Haas lacks Bolt’s speed, he is not short on size. At 120kg, Haas is the already the biggest man in Brisbane’s 30-man NRL squad and hopes to be part of Puma marketing campaigns if he can deliver on his potential this season.
The hulking prop made his NRL debut last season but played just three games before a shoulder reconstruction prematurely ended his season. Haas is rated a future Origin and Test star. Unfortunately for Queensland, he qualifies for New South Wales and has no interest in a Greg Inglis-style defection.
Bennett says Johnston’s staying
Souths coach Wayne Bennett has hosed down suggestions Alex Johnston will quit the Rabbitohs. Johnston has been linked with the Cowboys following revelations Greg Inglis is Bennett’s No.1 choice at fullback. But Bennett says Johnston is staying at Redfern.
“He won’t be going anywhere,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to Alex about his role and Greg’s role this season and Alex is on board with it. There’s a lot of rumours flying around but Alex is happy here.”
Benji joins Fox League team
Former Bronco Benji Marshall is rekindling his media career.
The one-time Channel Nine wonder boy has inked a deal with Fox League and will be unveiled as a new recruit for this weekend’s All Stars and World Club Challenge fixtures. Marshall will suit up for a remarkable 16th season of NRL this year, but the 289-game veteran has the intellect and knowledge to forge a successful career in the NRL media.
Broncos training longer under Seibold
What is the biggest difference between Anthony Seibold and Wayne Bennett?
Young Broncos forward David Fifita was asked that question this week and his response was surprising.
Fifita, 18, said the Broncos used to knock off from training at midday under Bennett.
These days, Seibold keeps them until around 3.30pm.
Maybe that’s the old school teacher in Seibold coming out.
Billy Moore’s marathon effort
They say you can’t keep a good man down and Queensland legend Billy Moore is evidence of that.
Bustling Billy continues to stay as fit as a fiddle and is currently in training to tackle the Tokyo Marathon next month.
The North Sydney stalwart is no stranger to the 42km odyssey, having previously taking part in the famous London and New York marathons.
Moore’s wife, an avid runner, is also competing.
We can just imagine Billy charging down the streets of Tokyo screaming “Queenslander!”. Moore will continue his work on Fox Sports this year as a popular panellist on the Queenslanders Only show.
Snapper caught by a blue bottle
The Courier-Mail’s photographers certainly go the extra mile to bring our readers the best snaps.
Gun shooter Peter Wallis was stung by a blue bottle on the Gold Coast this week while photographing Titans duo Jai Arrow and Jai Whitbread.
Wallis was standing on the water’s edge at Currumbin when the nasty jellyfish wrapped around his ankle.
He soldiered on and continued to snap away while a Fox Sports cameraman was also stung.
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.
Future NRL stars dazzle in Australian Schoolboys domination
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