Blindside: Latest NRL gossip and inside info
THEIR clubhouses are only 75km apart, but a new poll has shown the massive gap between NRL rivals Brisbane and Gold Coast.
Teams
Don't miss out on the headlines from Teams. Followed categories will be added to My News.
JUST 75km separates the best supported club in the NRL from the worst.
A Roy Morgan poll has revealed the Brisbane Broncos have more supporters than any other NRL club, while the Gold Coast Titans have the least amount of support in the competition.
The annual Roy Morgan NRL supporter ladder released this week showed the Broncos’ supporter base has grown 6.5 per cent to 1.09 million.
The Broncos held off the quick growing Melbourne Storm, who increased their supporter base a whopping 26.7 per cent to 1.05 million.
The North Queensland Cowboys continued to punch above their weight with a 5.1 per cent growth to 639,000 supporters.
The news wasn’t so good for the Titans, whose Parkwood base on the Gold Coast is only 75km from the Broncos’ Red Hill headquarters.
According to the poll, support for the Titans dropped 35.1 per cent to 122,000, putting them just behind Penrith (139,000).
“The two most successful NRL clubs — the Brisbane Broncos and the Melbourne Storm — are once again the two most widely supported NRL clubs in 2018,” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.
“The Brisbane Broncos with 1.09 million supporters (up 6.5 per cent on a year ago) and the Melbourne Storm with 1.05 million supporters (up 26.7 per cent following last year’s Premiership) are the second and third most widely supported football clubs in Australia behind only the Sydney Swans in the AFL (1.17 million supporters).
“The North Queensland Cowboys, who this year farewelled their favourite son Johnathan Thurston, are the third most supported club with 640,000 supporters following last year’s grand final appearance and a first NRL premiership in 2015.”
Castle may jump to Titans
COULD Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle be a shock contender for the vacant Gold Coast Titans CEO gig?
The Titans are on the hunt for a new chief executive following the NRL’s poaching of Graham Annesley to head up its football department.
Castle is a close friend of Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle, who rates Castle incredibly highly as a sports administrator.
Castle left the Canterbury Bulldogs CEO role late last year to take over from Bill Pulver as the boss of Rugby Australia and has had a challenging tenure in the role.
The Wallabies are the lowest they have ever been ranked, and Castle has had to deal with the unprecedented case of Israel Folau’s religious beliefs.
Blindside spies spotted Frizelle and husband Brett in the Cbus Super Stadium corporate area for last weekend’s Wallabies-Argentina Test match as guests of Castle.
The biggest impediment to the Titans snaring Castle would be cash as she would likely have to take a six-figure pay cut to replace Annesley.
The Frizelles weren’t the only NRL figures at the Wallabies Test. Cowboys coach Paul Green was also getting about the Gold Coast as well as the Broncos’ elimination final against the Dragons.
Peachey saga turns ugly
THE Tyrone Peachey saga has taken another twist with the Gold Coast hitting back at Panthers supremo Phil Gould over claims the Titans tried to offload the NSW Origin star.
Gould last week alleged the Titans offered to swap Peachey for Panthers pivot James Maloney. Peachey’s manager Sam Ayoub continued the attack yesterday when he claimed the Titans have twice tried to release Peachey to another club.
But the Titans are adamant they have never tried to off-load Peachey and expect him to honour his three-year deal starting November 1.
It is understood Titans coach Garth Brennan met with Gould last month and casually mentioned the club would be interested in Maloney if he was available. Gould insisted he wasn’t up for sale, but Brennan never mentioned Peachey’s name as part of a purported swap.
Titans boss Graham Annesley accused the Peachey camp of holding the club to ransom and is baffled at suggestions they don’t want the Origin utility. “Our stated position of last week hasn’t changed. We have no further comment to make.”
Peachey’s claims of player welfare issues on the Gold Coast have been blown apart by the Titans’ track record.
The Titans’ welfare department was voted the best in the NRL in 2016 and 2017, and was among the top performers again this season.
Player welfare manager Jen Cross has been at the Titans since its foundation in 2007 and was this year named employee of the year at the club’s awards night.
Her colleague, Pete Smith, is also a long-serving employee and popular among the players.
This is nothing but a money grab from Peachey, who signed the $1.5 million deal in February before he became an Origin player for NSW and now believes he is worth more.
Ryan slams dark art
NEW Broncos technical adviser Peter Ryan has hit out at the art of wrestling in the NRL and insists he won’t be teaching illegal tactics to improve Brisbane’s defence.
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett has reached out to former Broncos lock Ryan — one of the code’s most feared hitters in his prime — to bring a harder edge to the Broncos after they conceded 548 points in 25 games this season.
Melbourne are the NRL’s defensive benchmark, but they have weathered enormous criticism over their methods. Bennett hates wrestling in the NRL, believing it ruins the spectacle, and Ryan agrees with the super coach.
“I won’t be teaching wrestling, that’s a load of s***,” Ryan fired. “It’s not the way I coach, it’s a blight on the game.
“You can tackle well without wrestling blokes’ heads off and putting them in uncomfortable positions where they fear their neck may be broken.”
Unlucky Ryley has contract hope
MELBOURNE playmaker Ryley Jacks is officially the unluckiest bloke in the NRL. Jacks has had three solid contract offers fall through, but has his fingers crossed that the Raiders will come to the party with a deal.
In the past two months, Jacks has been chased by Brisbane, the Titans and Parramatta, only for all three clubs to pull their offers off the table at the eleventh hour. However, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is said to be a fan of Jacks and the 26-year-old hopes to finalise a deal with the Green Machine over the coming days.
Jacks has won 20 of 25 games at the Storm for an excellent 80 per cent success rate but has fallen out of favour with coach Craig Bellamy, who is showing faith in rookie halfback Brodie Croft.
Woolf grateful for Roos’ sacrifice
TONGA coach Kristian Woolf has praised Australia’s top players for giving up a collective $289,000 to allow their Mate Ma’a counterparts to be paid equally for next month’s historic Test match.
Blindside understands both Australia and Tonga players will be paid $3000 each for their inaugural international at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium on October 20.
It bridges the huge financial gulf between the two countries at last year’s World Cup, where Kangaroos top-liners receive $20,000 for each Test, while Tongan stars such as Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita received around $500.
Woolf lauded Australia’s generosity and believes the beefed-up competition provided by Tonga, Samoa and Fiji could one day lead to a Five or Six Nations tournament.
“Both teams will be paid the same amount which is the first time it’s ever occurred. It’s a massive step in the right direction,” he said.
“The Kangaroos have been good enough to accept less money for the betterment of international rugby league.
“It’s nice to be recognised, it’s not a huge amount but it is great that our guys are getting some reward for their efforts.
“In the past there was a massive disparity in pay. Now it’s great that the Australian players have agreed to play for the same amount, it’s a huge step forward.”
Nine’s ruthless grand final call
THE Intrust Super Cup grand final faces being bumped to a minor TV channel if it runs into extra-time on Sunday.
The premiership decider between Redcliffe and Easts at Suncorp Stadium will be broadcast live on Channel 9 from 3pm.
However the network has warned the broadcast will be cut at 5pm, regardless of whether the game is finished or not.
If the game continues past the allotted time, it faces being bumped to GEM and losing a stack of viewers.
Ratings for the competition have plummeted this season after it was shifted from Sunday to Saturday afternoons.
Luckily the grand final will be played on a Sunday, ensuring a bigger audience for Queensland’s top competition.
Where did it go wrong?
THE Brisbane Broncos have conducted a season review and gathered information from players about where they feel the club went wrong this year.
The Broncos bowed out of NRL premiership race in a 48-18 humiliation to St George Illawarra in the first week of the finals.
The result turned up the heat on coach Wayne Bennett, who is fighting to save his future at Red Hill.
Broncos players conducted their season reviews and the information will be passed on to the board to help them determine the direction of the club.
Bunnies great on right track
RABBITOHS legend John Sattler has made some positive steps forward in his recovery after suffering a stroke.
Sattler is recovering in a hospital on the Gold Coast and eagerly following South Sydney’s tilt for a second NRL premiership in five years.
Wednesday marked the 48th anniversary of his proudest football moment after he played the entire 1970 grand final with a broken jaw and shattered teeth.
That should be some form of motivation for the Rabbitohs when they face the Roosters in tomorrow’s preliminary final at Allianz Stadium.
WHISPER
WHICH first-grader at one of the NRL’s remaining four finals teams is still stuck in the 1970s, smoking at least 20 cigarettes a day. No wonder he can’t punch out an 80-minute performance. Let’s hope his coach doesn’t find out.
PLAYING STOCKS
RISING
Adam Reynolds
The Rabbitohs halfback produced a clinic in how to win close games with his three field goals in last week’s triumph over the Dragons.
Chad Townsend
The Sharks No. 7 has never been rated as one of the NRL’s top halfbacks but he is one game away from a second grand final in three years.
Campbell Graham
What a future the Rabbitohs rookie has ahead of him. The 19-year-old was brave against the Dragons last week and could find himself playing in a grand final as a teenager.
Matt Moylan
Took some time to find his feet in the Cronulla halves but showed sublime touches of class to sink his former Penrith club last week.
##
FALLING
Ben Hunt
From hero to zero in the space of a week. His decision to run the ball on the last tackle against Souths was one of the dumbest plays in finals history.
James Maloney
If he is picked as Australia’s No. 7 next month it’s a joke. Maloney produced his worst game of the season last week and his defence has been woeful all year.
Anthony Milford
The Broncos five-eighth has been terribly unlucky to undergo a second shoulder reconstruction in the space of a year which will impact his 2019 preparations.
Tyrone Peachey
The Panthers utility is quickly eroding his reputation as he tries to weasel his way out of a contract with the Gold Coast Titans.
Disgraced ex-NRL player’s new life revealed
The new life of Jamil Hopoate has been revealed after the sacked Broncos player was imprisoned over his role in a $154 million cocaine haul.
Madge makes a call on Broncos captaincy
Adam Reynolds has made his feelings clear over the Broncos’ contentious captaincy under incoming coach Michael Maguire.