NRL 2020: Cameron Smith refuses to answer questions over Yvonne Sampson rumour
The chapter of his life Cam Smith won’t discuss, and Origin’s two biggest rivals asked to step into the ring - it’s all in Sports Confidential.
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State of Origin foes Tino Fa’asuamaleuai and Payne Haas have been offered a collective $80,000 to take their explosive rivalry beyond the field and punch on in the boxing ring.
Sport Confidential can reveal Maroons monster Fa’asuamaleuai and 118kg NSW prop Haas have been approached to be part of an All Stars boxing event involving a number of NRL stars including Origin duo Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo.
Papalii and Paulo’s respective clubs Canberra and Parramatta have given permission for the pair to fight and now promoters have sounded out the Fa’asuamaleuai and Haas camps to gauge their interest in a ding-dong heavyweight battle.
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Promoters have spent the past two months teeing up NRL players for the fight night, which is scheduled for February 12, before clubs have their first and only official trial two weeks later.
Fa’asuamaleuai and Haas suddenly loomed as a mouth-watering proposition after the pair were sin-binned for trading blows in Origin II, sparking NSW and Queensland’s latest forward rivalry.
It is understood Haas has been offered $50,000, while Big Tino was due to pocket around $30,000.
It’s not bad coin for six minutes in the ring (comprising three two-minute rounds), but Fa’asuamaleuai’s impending move to the Titans could throw a spanner in the works as he focuses on settling at his new club.
“We’d already had an offer in for Payne to be part of the night via his manager Chris Orr,” said All Stars boxing promoter Nick Livermore, who is also heading up the Brisbane Bombers’ NRL expansion bid.
“Since Tino and Payne set the stage alight in Game II, we put forward an increased offer.
“We reached out to Tino’s manager to see if we could get the guys interested to participate given the show they put on in Origin II and the reaction to it.
“The timing unfortunately may not work for this pre-season, but don’t rule it out altogether to take place down the track. Just like Origin – anything can happen in boxing.”
Papalii and Paulo will appear on the card, while former NRL bad boy Todd Carney will take on ex-Queensland Origin halfback Scott Prince, who remains in great shape.
“We’ve got a full card of current and former NRL stars we are set to announce with a number of locations for consideration in Queensland for the February 12 event,” Livermore said.
AndFa’asuamaleaui has broken his silence on his Origin II punch-up with Haas.
In the wake of Queensland’s epic series victory on Wednesday night, Fa’asuamaleuai said he had no genuine hatred for Haas, but said he is relishing the prospect of more ferocious front-row battles for years to come.
Asked if he could forge a 10-year rivalry with Haas, the Gympie giant said: “I think we probably can. We are only young so we will be coming up against each other for quite a few years. There will be a good battle there, but at the end of the day we are good mates off the field.”
Maroons icon Arthur Beetson famously ripped into Eels teammate Mick Cronin in the 1980 Origin opener and 40 years later, Tino said he emulated Artie by putting mateship aside to trade blows with Haas at ANZ Stadium.
“We are just two young boys who want to do our families and state proud and it was heat of the moment,” he said of the fight.
“It was nothing personal, but we are both proud and that’s all I want.
“It’s a bit like Artie, there’s no mates on the field. We are mates off the field but when we get out there, there’s no mates and it’s a footy game we want to win.”
CAMERON SMITH GAGS REPORTERS
QUEENSLAND legend Cameron Smith launched his much-talked about autobiography in Brisbane on Monday but there was one chapter he refused to discuss.
Reporters attending the launch at Suncorp Stadium were warned on entry by Smith’s PR to not ask questions about the section in the book where he addressed rumours of an affair with Fox League presenter Yvonne Sampson.
The baseless rumours about Smith and Sampson’s relationship generated huge interest in Smith’s book – The Storm Within.
However Smith was not keen to answer questions about the topic, and why he chose to air it, even though he was the one that wrote about it in a published book.
Media were also told not to ask questions about Smith’s wife Barbara and their family.
Smith cancelled 30 pre-planned interviews on Tuesday, citing a family issue, but fulfilled some of those obligations on Wednesday.
He was also part of Channel 9’s commentary team for the Origin decider despite having a huge falling out with the network over the 60 Minutes Alex McKinnon story.
DYNAMITE DUNAMI UNLEASHES
MAROONS rookie Dunamis Lui, usually as quiet as a church mouse, has launched a stunning social-media attack on NSW critics following Queensland’s against-the-odds series win.
Lui celebrated the greatest moment of his career when he made his Maroons debut in Origin II. Lui was dropped in the wake of NSW’s 34-10 victory, but that didn’t stop the Canberra forward unloading on Queensland’s army of doubters.
The worst team ever just ripped your ass #qlder
— Dunamis Lui (@Nami_Lui) November 18, 2020
Within hours of Queensland’s epic 20-14 win, Lui made his point clear, saying: “The worst team ever just ripped your ass #qlder”.
It was a clear uppercut at the legion of Maroons critics who labelled Wayne Bennett’s class of 2020 the worst Queensland team in Origin’s 40-year history.
MUNSTER’S BALL WILL BE BIG
CAMERON Munster was the undisputed champion of Melbourne’s NRL premiership party and he is set to go to another level in the coming days.
Munster is headed for Byron Bay to celebrate Queensland’s incredible State of Origin series win after he was denied the opportunity to party in the NSW coastal hotspot.
What seemed like half of the NRL was in Byron Bay following the end of the season, but Queensland coach Wayne Bennett knocked back a request from Munster to spend a few days in the party town before joining Camp Maroons.
He will now make up for lost time, with the bulk of the Maroons headed south to celebrate their underdog victory.
Munster used his post-game speech at Suncorp Stadium to invite Australian DJ Fisher to join him.
A renowned party boy, Fisher was in the grandstands watching the Origin decider along with Gold Coast Titans captain Kevin Proctor and AFL star Dustin Martin.
Martin has been hanging out around the Gold Coast since Richmond’s AFL premiership triumph.
Munster, Martin and Fisher in Byron Bay – what could possibly go wrong?
“I feel I’ve done everything I can for the game this year. It’s time to celebrate, let my hair down and go missing for a couple of weeks,” Munster said.
“I wouldn’t say I’m Dusty-like but it’d be nice to catch up with him one day.”
Follow Munster’s shenanigans on his Instagram page here.
MAL TO STAY IN MAROON
IT was viewed as a one-year cameo but Australian coach Mal Meninga may yet return to Camp Maroon in 2021.
Meninga was expected to sever ties as Wayne Bennett’s Queensland assistant to focus on his duties with the Kangaroos next year, but lingering uncertainty over the staging of the 2021 World Cup in England has opened the door for the Maroons.
With international travel unlikely to take place next year due to the global COVID pandemic, the World Cup’s return to the northern hemisphere is in serious jeopardy.
Australia’s national team did not play a game this season and if the Kangaroos are put on ice again next year, the Queensland Rugby League would love to have Meninga back in Maroon.
“The projection is the World Cup may be cancelled, so if that were the case, Mal is sitting in a national coaching role with no-one to coach,” QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher said.
“Mal could be available again next year.
“Rugby league is full of rumours but it’s been mentioned to me recently that it’s unlikely the World Cup will go ahead next year.
“International travel remains unlikely with COVID so there’s a big chance it (the World Cup) will be cancelled given the circumstances, which could bring Mal into the equation again.”
BRONCOS ON THE HUNT
ST GEORGE Illawarra’s $6 million man Ben Hunt has left the door ajar for an eventual return to the Broncos.
Speculation is rife the Dragons are trying to offload Hunt, who is the club’s highest-paid player on an estimated $1.2 million a season. Hunt has had some superb games for the Dragons, but has also had some mixed moments, leading to his axing as halfback to move into the hooking role this year.
Hunt is off-contract at the end of 2022 and says he plans to honour his Dragons deal, but has not ruled out finishing his career with one final stint at the Broncos.
Hunt was graded by the Broncos, chalking up 187 first-grade games for the club and steering Brisbane to the 2015 grand final.
“I’m contracted to the Dragons and I’ll be staying there in my mind,” he said.
“I do love the Broncos, I always have and I would like to end up back there one day.
“You never know what can happen, but at the moment there is nothing at the table from the Broncos.”
DCE DUCKS HOME
ONE player you won’t find in Byron Bay this weekend is Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans.
Cherry-Evans experienced one of the greatest moments of his career on Wednesday night when he became a State of Origin series winning skipper.
But he will not be going on a bender with his younger teammates over the coming week.
Instead, Cherry-Evans told Sport Confidential he could not wait to get back to Sydney and see his wife Vessa and their three daughters.
“DCE” saw his family at the Adelaide and Sydney Origin games, but was not allowed to get within a few metres of them due to the NRL bubble protocols.
“That’s been a really hard part of the camp, the lack of interaction with friends and family,” he said.
“I’ve seen my kids at the last two games and haven’t been able to touch them or cuddle them, that’s really hard to explain to kids.
“They’re the little sacrifices we’re making to put the game on at the moment.”
ALL HAIL KING HENRY
NEIL Henry is the best rugby league assistant coach without a gig in the NRL.
Henry played a pivotal role in Queensland’s remarkable State of Origin series victory after answering an eleventh-hour SOS to join Wayne Bennett’s coaching staff.
Bennett opted to punt Kevin Walters’ assistant Justin Hodges and bring the experienced Henry into the fold given the unique circumstances of the 2020 series.
And it proved to be a masterstroke, with Henry orchestrating some excellent tactical moves to help Queensland secure their first series win since 2017.
Henry had a rollercoaster NRL coaching career at the Raiders, Cowboys and Titans, but there is no doubt the 59-year-old is one of rugby league’s sharpest footy minds.
“King” also has runs on the board in the Origin arena.
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He was spotted wearing a faded Queensland bucket hat in the bowels of Suncorp Stadium after Wednesday night’s decider.
The hat was from Queensland’s 2006 series win, when the Maroons were written off but produced a miracle to snap a three-year losing streak and kickstart the eight-straight dynasty.
Henry was Mal Meninga’s assistant that year and wore the hat on Wednesday as a good luck omen.
He is the Junior Kangaroos coach but could easily be in an NRL system, although he is living a happy life on the Gold Coast without the stresses of day-to-day coaching.
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