Crash Tackle: Brisbane Broncos should recruit veteran playmaker

Each week Robert Craddock looks at the NRL’s biggest talking points, including a key signing that could turn Brisbane around, young gun’s massive future and a groundbreaking debut.

Andrew Fifita. Picture: AAP

Each week, The Courier-Mail’s chief sportswriter Robert Craddock looks at the big talking points coming out of the NRL, including a key signing that could turn Brisbane around, young gun’s massive future and a groundbreaking debut.

ONSIDE

BRONCOS NEED DIRECTION

Any chance James Maloney can pop into Brisbane for a cameo visit on the way to England?

The Broncos have had a disappointing winter but their squad is maturing by the week and when all their injured players return, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

The last piece in the puzzle could be a seasoned voice to steer them around the park next season, with Matty Johns saying “they have a V12 engine but no steering wheel’’.

Maloney may be 33 and talking about finishing his career in England but he might have one last big kick.

Broncos recruiting committee member Darren Lockyer is a big Maloney fan. Surely he is worth a call.

James Maloney is worth a call for the Broncos. Picture: AAP

ONE FOR THE AGES

The mind boggles at the impact Payne Haas could have on rugby league for the next decade.

At age 19, he regularly makes 200m a game in a pack still learning its craft. Not even Jason Taumalolo was that good that young.

MAL SETS MOOD

Mal Meninga did not sign on at the Titans to be part of the coaching staff but it’s great to see him rolling up the sleeves following the axing of Garth Brennan.

Meninga has been in the thick of things on the training paddock and in the dressingroom, where we understand his mood has been firm but also encouraging for a team down on confidence.

A FAT TIME

Origin warrior Paul Vautin turned 60 on Sunday, a red-letter day for the red-haired star whose passion was the core ingredient in setting the tone for Queensland’s early Origin domination.

Old Queensland teammates, searching for positive reinforcement in an era when Origin players were plucked from Brisbane club football, still talk about Vautin (pictured) lifting them with lines like “honestly, a lot of these Sydney blokes are overrated … you are better than they are”.

GIRL POWER

Belinda Sharpe. Picture: AAP

Belinda Sharpe’s groundbreaking debut as a senior referee sent a simple message to all sports clubs. If you have a good story, spread the word.

Sharpe had a hugely demanding media schedule in the lead-up to her flawless debut as a referee as she told her tale to one and all, creating a positive vibe which flowed throughout the week.

SIMPLY THE BEST

You could just smell it.

The Storm three wins clear at the top of the ladder and resting their stars. The Titans were pumped up after cutting ties with Garth Brennan. The whiff of an upset was in the air. And then reality dropped from the skies like a grand piano and the Storm proved why they are the most remarkable sporting team in the country.

OFFSIDE

FLIP OF THE COYNE

The good bloke syndrome goes a long way in rugby league … sometimes too far.

Mark Coyne is one of these but despite his previously spotless record it’s surprising he has not resigned from his spot on the ARL Commission after being fined $4000 for swearing at police following a stand-off with a taxi driver in Singapore six weeks ago.

The offence was bad enough. But failing to report it for six weeks until it leaked to the media was simply inexcusable. Coyne’s refusal to resign has put his fellow commissioners and chairman Peter Beattie in a dreadful spot.

They will consult all 16 clubs before a decision is made on Coyne’s future yet if he decides to stay how on earth will the code have any credibility the next time it cracks down on a player who fails to report a misdemeanour?

THAT HURT

Players come and go from league clubs all the time but Ethan Lowe’s mysterious departure from the Cowboys to South Sydney continues to haunt his old club.

Not only did he rise from outcast status last year to play in State of Origin III this year but he scored the first two tries against hosts the Cowboys on Saturday night to all but torpedo their top-eight aspirations. Ouch.

Ethan Lowe came back to haunt the Cowboys. Picture: AAP

SCUMMY SCRUM

Not every league rule hits the bullseye but whoever came up with the law to get the ball in and out of the scrum as quickly as possible can take a bow.

People who wonder why fans have turned off rugby union should view the second minute of the Wallabies-South Africa Test at Ellis Park when a three-times packed scrum took almost two minutes. Fans who woke at 1am to watch The Rugby Championship game were quickly put back to sleep.

SILLY SHARK

And people wonder why coaches drink?

Cronulla “bad boy” Andrew Fifita gets the prize for the dumbest act of the round when he sentenced the Sharks to their fifth successive loss with a mindless shoulder charge on Warriors’ Lachlan Burr late in his side’s 19-18 loss in Wellington.

Andrew Fifita’s ill discipline was costly for Cronulla. Picture: AAP