Sport Confidential: Pat Carrigan cops booze punishment while injured, Anthony Milford future
SPORT CONFIDENTIAL: Senior Bronco Pat Carrigan is in strife over a boozy blunder, the NRL hopeful ready to punch on with Payne Haas and the latest on Anthony Milford’s future.
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters has expressed his disappointment in Pat Carrigan following revelations the forward workhorse drank alcohol just hours after being injured against the Warriors last Saturday.
Walters lashed Carrigan for “breaking the rules” after the Queensland Origin hopeful was spotted sinking schooners at Brisbane bar Mr Percival’s within hours of tearing his MCL in the Broncos’ 20-6 loss at Redcliffe.
Carrigan is a member of Brisbane’s leadership group and is rated a future Broncos captain. Walters was disappointed with Carrigan’s lack of professionalism and said the lock had been dealt with internally, but would not confirm if the former Queensland under-20s captain had been fined by the Broncos.
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The Carrigan incident comes in a week in which Payne Haas and Albert Kelly were embroiled in the ‘Shoe-gate’ scuffle, raising concerns about Brisbane’s culture.
“It’s not acceptable and Pat agrees with that,” Walters said.
“He has acknowledged that and we have dealt with Pat internally.
“I feel a bit sorry for Pat. He has had a troubled 18 months and it’s not always fun when you get injured and come back and get injured again. We have dealt with it. We are getting on with things, Pat is getting on with things with his knee.
“To be honest, I have never seen a player more dedicated to his body and making sure it is right every week.”
Walters denied Carrigan was drunk.
“He wasn’t out on the drink, he had two or three beers, which breaks our rules, so we have dealt with him internally,” he said.
“You guys (media) have seen how professional Pat is, that’s the sad thing with this one, Pat is normally so good. It was a little indiscretion.”
Asked if he has been fined, Walters said: “That stays internal, but Pat is aware of the situation, we all are.”
ROOSTERS ROOKIE OFFERS TO FIGHT HAAS
Broncos hulk Payne Haas showed an impressive left jab in his ‘Shoe-gate’ scuffle with teammate Albert Kelly.
Now a monstrous young gun from the Roosters, rising front-rower Xavier Va’a, has called out Haas to jump into the boxing ring in what would shape as an NRL heavyweight blockbuster.
The 18-year-old Va’a, who hails from Toowoomba, made his senior debut for the Roosters in a trial match in February and is keen to go toe-to-toe with NSW Origin enforcer Haas at the end of this season.
At 193cm and 116kg, Va’a has the physical size to match Broncos hardman Haas, who is 194 cm and 117kg.
Va’a is no mug in the ring. He has won Queensland amateur and Australian golden gloves titles and last year sparred Paul Gallen to prepare the former NSW Origin skipper for his showdown with Justis Huni.
Va’a spent three years in the Broncos Academy before joining the Roosters over the summer and is keen to trade blows with the 22-year-old Haas.
“Xavier has a real passion for boxing and he would be interested in fighting Payne Haas,” said his manager Shaun Pyne.
“He signed with the Roosters last year and he is dedicated to them, but he has done boxing all of his life and if there is an opportunity during the off-season to get in the ring with Payne, absolutely he is keen.
“It would be a cracking fight. They are both big boys and Xavier sparred with Paul Gallen and Justin Huni before the Gallen-Huni fight last year.
“Xavier was signed by the Broncos from the age of 15 and he has great respect for Payne Haas as a footballer and athlete.
“It would be like the old bull versus the young bull.
“Xavier has had many junior fights. He has been to Queensland championships, he was meant to go to the worlds in 2020 before Covid hit, so he has genuine boxing ability.”
Haas would require the permission of the Broncos, who may be reluctant to let him fight given his off-field dramas and the fact he is Brisbane’s second-highest paid player on $750,000 this season.
Haas spent the pre-season doing weekly boxing sessions with Australia’s world masters champion Mark Burgess, who likens his natural boxing to the iconic Muhammad Ali.
“Payne is the standout boxer at the Broncos,” said Burgess, a three-time Australia amateur champion who once fought world-title challenger David Tua in a 1994 Commonwealth Games trial.
“He is quite simply a freak. He is one of the best athletes I have seen in all my years of training.
“The way he moves his head in the ring, it’s like Muhammad Ali. Quick, effortless … Payne is a really skilled athlete for a big man.
“If he did some serious boxing training, he could easily be a success.
“I’ve seen Xavier Va’a and he is a very good young fighter, but I don’t know if the Broncos would allow Payne to jump in the ring.”
TRAINER PULLS NO PUNCHES ON BRONCOS CULTURE
LEGENDARY trainer Mark Burgess says there is not a revolt against Brisbane coach Kevin Walters as he lifted the lid on the Broncos’ culture past and present.
Few are better placed to appraise the state of the Broncos than ‘Chopper’ Burgess.
He was at the Broncos when Wayne Bennett’s troops won the premiership in 2000. And he has returned to Red Hill this season to assist Walters in conditioning work with Broncos players.
“The Broncos culture today is 10 times’ better than Brisbane’s culture when they won the comp in 2000,” he said.
“I was at the club back then under Wayne. The Broncos players as a collective today are more accountable and under way more scrutiny.
“We had a number of Broncos players get into fights 20 years ago that never saw the light of day because there weren’t mobile phones and the constant scrutiny.
“I remember two big-name players getting into a massive punch-up at a golf day in front of sponsors and it never made it into the media.
“Today’s Broncos are choirboys compared to the squad the year they won the premiership in 2000.”
Burgess said the Payne Haas-Albert Kelly stink is not a sign of an issue with player morale or Walters having lost the dressing room.
“The players have great respect for Kevvie and his assistant coaches. There is no issue with morale,” he said.
“The place is friendly, respectful and humble. If I didn’t think there was a good culture at the Broncos, I would refuse to help the club.
“I walk into the club today and the attitude of the players is first class. They are respectful, humble kids and as someone who trains with them, whatever I ask, they don’t whinge or whine, they get stuck in.
“Payne Haas has been one of the most impressive trainers I have seen. Being Muslim, he is doing Ramadan at the moment, he doesn’t even eat or drink during the day. Some days at training he can feel the pinch because he is low on energy, but he has come a long way in attitude from the bloke who had trouble with the police last year.
“It was disappointing to see Payne and Albert in a push-and-shove, it’s not a good look, but that is not reflective of the overall culture of the Broncos.
“I’ve been involved in training footballers for 25 years and this current generation of Broncos are as humble as any group I have worked with.”
MILFORD MAY SWOOP IN
Sport Confidential can reveal Milford will return to court this Monday as his protracted legal battle continues after he was charged with assault last September following an alcohol-fuelled night in Brisbane’s CBD.
It is understood two of three assault charges will be discontinued at the hearing on Monday.
That will leave Milford having to clear his name of one final assault charge. If that happens, Milford could be cleared for NRL registration in the coming weeks.
With his Souths deal having ostensibly fallen through, Milford has gone from the financial penthouse to the outhouse. He has had no income since November, and during his time in NRL exile has been training with Brisbane’s feeder-club outfit Souths Logan with a view to possibly playing Queensland Cup this season.
Milford has been spotted running around with the Magpies in recent weeks. Souths Logan are keen to have the former Origin ace on their books, but will not lodge a formal application with the Queensland Rugby League until his legal matter is finalised.
FROM BARCELONA, WITH LOVE FOR ROOSTERS
CALL it the NRL’s version of The Block.
The Sydney Roosters are once again proving the benchmark for NRL clubs with their newly-minted Academy inspired by world football giants Barcelona.
The Roosters had a dinner last month to celebrate their first intake of 12 rookies, who are housed in two blocks of units in the eastern suburbs of Randwick in their dream of one day playing NRL with the Bondi glamour club.
Retired 300-game Rooster Mitch Aubusson oversees the Academy, while former Origin stars Jake Friend and Anthony Minichiello also provide mentoring for the next generation of Bondi stars.
“We are very proud of our Academy. We want to develop our kids to be the best of the best in rugby league and be great people off the field,” Roosters chairman Nick Politis said.
“We got the idea from Barcelona when we visited their football club a few years ago.
“I saw a picture on the wall and in 2011 when they won a stack of trophies, 10 of their 11-man team were from their Academy, including Barcelona legend Lionel Messi.
“We have two blocks of units in Randwick. One unit has five bedrooms and the guys each have their own room.
“’Aubu’ runs the Academy and he knows we want clean cut, good citizens who hopefully become Roosters for life.”
QUEENSLAND FURY OVER NRL RESERVE GRADE
LEADING Hostplus Cup clubs are increasingly concerned about the potential impact of an NRL reserve-grade competition on Queensland’s premier league.
The ARL Commission is exploring the prospect of going back to the future by reviving a reserve-grade competition for the NRL’s 17 teams, including expansion newcomers the Dolphins.
But there are fears an NRL reserve-grade competition would leave the Hostplus Cup in tatters and rob Queensland’s top flight of more than $5 million in funding to develop the next wave of Sunshine State stars.
“If we have a national reserve grade, it will relegate the Queensland Cup to the third tier, which would be an absolute disaster,” Sunshine Coast Falcons chairman Ashley Robinson said.
“A reserve grade comp will push kids to Townsville, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which will pose a development problem for regional areas like us and the Central Queensland Capras.
“Each of the Queensland Cup clubs get $400,000 in funding, but without that funding, how do you develop kids?
“The feeling will be the only way to play NRL is if you are playing reserve grade for the Cowboys, Broncos, Titans or Dolphins.”
HOLBROOK CRACKS HALF CENTURY
GOLD Coast coach Justin Holbrook will notch up his 50th game in charge of the Titans in Saturday night’s showdown with Parramatta at Cbus Super Stadium.
Holbrook has guided the Titans to 21 wins from his 49 games in charge for a respectable winning rate of 43 per cent.
He also took the club to its first finals appearance since 2016 last year, in his second season in the job.
“I’m very close to Justo,” Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“I’m happy for him. He is going to be a big part of my career.
“Hopefully we can get the win for him and celebrate after.”
Holbrook will be looking to notch up a first against the Eels, having never beaten Parramatta during his time in charge of the Titans.
FLEGLER’S CLOSE CALL
THE Brisbane Broncos contemplated heading to the NRL judiciary to defend firebrand forward Tom Flegler following his shocking game against the Warriors.
Flegler was hit with three charges by the match review committee after being placed on report four times during an afternoon to forget at Redcliffe.
While his “hip drop” tackle on Ben Murdoch-Masila was definitely worthy of the two-game suspension he copped, the other two charges were marginal.
Flegler was fined for dangerous conduct on Wayde Egan and Addin Fonua-Blake, but he could have argued those charges.
The Broncos had renowned judiciary lawyer Nick Ghabar look at footage of the charges before deciding against fighting them.
If they weren’t just fines, and Flegler was facing more time on the sidelines, they would have considered going to the judiciary.
DOLPHINS ON THE NOSE
The Dolphins’ inability to land a marquee playmaker so far has seen their odds of creating an impact in their debut NRL campaign blow out dramatically with TAB.
The expansion franchise initially went up as a promising $26 hope to win the premiership in their first year and a $3 chance to make the Final Eight.
But those odds have drifted significantly with reports coach Wayne Bennett could miss out on Kalyn Ponga’s signature as well.
“They’ve been pushed from $26 out to $51 to win the title in year one and out to $5 to make the playoffs. That’s longer than what the Warriors and Dragons currently are to make the eight this year,” said TAB’s Rohan Welsh.
“The money was quite strong when we opened the book at TAB, with Wayne coming on board and names like Ponga, Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith, Harry Grant, Christian Welch and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui being thrown around, but the interest has really cooled.
“Jesse Bromwich is a good pick up, but punters and fans were probably expecting someone of note in the spine by now I think.”
The $51 for the Dolphins to win next year’s premiership is the same odds the Broncos are to win this year’s title.
Brisbane has blown out from $21 to $51 with TAB in the past fortnight and have only five per cent support in the head-to-head market against the Roosters on Friday night.
BOXING YOUNG GUN KEEPS HIS COOL
EXCITING Australian super featherweight Dana Coolwell is facing a nervous wait ahead of the biggest fight of his career next in Brisbane this Wednesday night.
The classy Indigenous fighter is set to headline a Fox Sports event when he takes on unbeaten Venezuelan Ender Luces (16-0, 14KO) for the vacant IBF world youth title at Fortitude Music Hall.
But Coolwell’s big break remains in jeopardy, with Luces still awaiting clearance on a visa to touch down in Australia for the bout.
Nicknamed ‘Deadly’, Coolwell (7-1, 5KO) hails from the Queensland Sunshine Coast town of Nambour and produced a stunning upset knockout of big-punching Miles Zalewski last December.
The 23-year-old is Australia’s sixth-ranked super featherweight but his promoter Mick Francis believes Coolwell can beat national top dog Liam Wilson (10-1, 7KO), who revived his career last month with a stunning knockout of world-ranked Filipino Joe Noynay.
“Dana is a great kid and a great talent,” Francis said. “This is his ninth professional fight and he is already headlining a Fox Sports show.
“Dana is in the same weight division as Liam Wilson and I am very confident he would stop Liam Wilson. He is only 23 and has so much improvement.”
ORIGIN TICKETS BOOST
THE NRL has rolled out extra Origin tickets following the West Australian government’s decision to expand capacity to 75 per cent at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
More than 25,000 tickets have been sold for Origin II in Perth on Sunday, June 26 and an extra allocation has been made by the NRL with Optus Stadium’s capacity now increased to 45,000.
Tickets are available at nrl.com/tickets
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