Crash Tackle: NRL bid favourites must get on front foot for inclusion
Darius Boyd holds his head high, the NRL expansion talk heats up and why the Gold Coast Titans aren’t the only team who should be worried about being culled.
Broncos
Don't miss out on the headlines from Broncos. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SKIPPER: Why Boyd won’t be a cap burden
Each week, The Courier-Mail’s chief sportswriter Robert Craddock looks at the big talking points coming out of the NRL.
ON SIDE
TIME TO FIRE UP
THE Redcliffe Dolphins are in pole position to become the next NRL team – but they must lift a gear to snare the prize.
In a typically unpretentious peninsula sort of way, the Dolphins decided to “let the rival bids talk themselves up’’ and be the quiet achievers of the race to become the next NRL side.
That must change. It’s time to bound on to the front foot.
Stream the 2019 NRL Telstra Premiership on KAYO SPORTS. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Get your 14 day free trial >
MORE NRL NEWS
MATTY JOHNS: KNIGHTS BETRAY CLUB’S FOUNDATIONS
NINE’S SECRET AGENDA TO KILL OF SYDNEY CLUB
In the bible the meek inherit the earth but in rugby league the meek get trampled by the more ambitious.
It’s time for Redcliffe to sell their case far and wide, spend money to make money, assess their flaws, be proactive, make sure their leagues club remains vibrant and modern.
AIMING UP
SAY what you like about Darius Boyd but you have to admire his mental toughness.
Boyd has been under fire all season at the Broncos yet he has buckled down and kept scrapping away, ignoring the criticism and refusing to hold any grudges against his critics. He is not what he was but he is handling his decline with a poise beyond many sportsmen in the same position.
DAVID IS GOLIATH
David Fifita has put Broncos fans at rest by declaring he wants to stay at Red Hill. The big question now is for how long?
While this column has never been one for sprouting the virtues of long term deals this is one time when a contract in the five to seven year range would be worthwhile for a forward who’s rampaging surges are taking Broncos fans back to a similarly destructive Gorden Tallis.
HAPPY HOLMES COMING?
The Cowboys pursuit of locally-bred crowd magnet Valentine Holmes is a tricky affair.
News that Holmes had missed the New York Jets NFL squad would have made pulses quicken up Townsville way but he may still make a reserve spot on the practice squad.
The Cowboys would love to lure Holmes back for the opening of their new stadium next season but how long can you keep a $900,000 stash aside in your salary cap?
GUTS BY THE GALLEN
Paul Gallen has long been loathed north of the border but he has the type of spirit Queenslanders traditionally admire.
Being sent off by a capacity crowd at Cronulla on Sunday was nothing less than he deserved after staying a one-club man for an astonishing 19 years, a noble feat in this era of shallow club loyalty.
OFF-SIDE
THE BIG CALL
CHANNEL 9 have every right to express their wish that the competition have two Brisbane teams in the next television deal.
But it does leave a provocative question hanging in their air … what if they don’t get the rights?
Imagine if the NRL wore the blow torch and acceded to Channel 9’s request to cut a Sydney team then another station snatched the rights. Stranger things have happened.
Our tip is that no Sydney team will be culled because in a game where a forward pass can create instant outrage, culling a team would create too much hysteria for the game to handle.
HOOK … LINES AND STINKERS
Anthony Griffin is officially the unluckiest coach in rugby league.
“Hook’’ Griffin was sacked as Penrith coach four weeks from the finals last season when his team were in fifth place on the ladder and four points of the competition lead.
The Panthers spent $8 million tying up Nathan and Ivan Cleary and paying out Griffin … all to miss the finals this year and become a side with such limited attack they are all but unwatchable.
TITANIC STRUGGLE
IF the Gold Coast Titans are struggling to attract crowds what on earth do we make of the struggles of Cronulla at the Dragons?
The Titans are the unofficial whipping boys in the debate over which team should be culled from the NRL to make way for a second Brisbane team and the collective effort of their players this season has been dreadful.
Yet before the just completed round their average home crowds of 11,600 were a handful ahead of the Sharks, whose numbers surged on Sunday with Paul Gallen’s farewell match, and almost 2000 clear of the battling Dragons. There’s no doubt the Titans are fighting for their future but their crowds in their first three years averaged around 20,000. They key is obvious – they need to win.
ALWAYS WELCOME
Fancy the NRL fining Alfie Langer for spending too much time on the field in Broncos games in his role as trainer.
Haven’t they got something better to do?
What Maguire, Broncos can learn from grand final masterclass
Michael Maguire was in the stands for Penrith’s epic grand final win. There was plenty for the new Broncos coach to ponder, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
Broncos’ Bellamy blunder: How Brisbane fumbled Bennett successor
It’s the sliding doors moment that cost Brisbane the signing of Craig Bellamy and put Melbourne on the path to a two-decade dynasty. See the inside story of how the Broncos botched their Wayne Bennett succession plan.