Sport Confidential: Dragons target Christian Welch on three-year deal | NRL news
With 74 tries in 86 first grade games he’s been called the best finisher in the UK Super League, and now the Dragons have set their sights on the German-born winger.
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A State of Origin star is weighing up a move to Wollongong, a former skipper has put his hand up for the Dragons coaching job, and a German-born winger is on the radar — it’s all happening at St George Illawarra.
The Dragons has tabled a three-year offer worth more than $1 million to entice Queensland prop Christian Welch to the club.
The Dragons were left impressed when they met with Welch on Zoom last week, prompting the club to make a formal offer this week. It is expected Welch’s decision will come down to sticking with the Storm or joining the Dragons with the 26-year-old off-contract at season’s end.
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The Dragons have identified Welch, who played one game for Queensland last year as a much needed addition to beef-up their forward stocks given the departures of Tyson Frizell and James Graham plus the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Jack de Belin – who returns to court next Friday.
While the Dragons are pursing Welch aggressively, they are also looking at former Super League rookie of the year Tom Johnstone. The 25-year-old winger is a try-scoring machine but has been hampered by serious injuries in recent years. He has scored 72 tries from 85 games for Wakefield Trinity and crossed for a treble in his only Test for the Wayne Bennett-coached England in 2018 against France. He was picked in the Super League team of the year that same season. Johnstone missed large chunks of the 2017 and 2019 seasons with torn ACLs in each knee.
The Dragons aren’t the only club sniffing around the German-born star and Wakefield have attached a transfer fee to his signing with Johnstone not off-contract until the end of 2022. If the Dragons land Johnstone that could clear the path for Jason Saab’s immediate exit with the club in negotiations with rivals about a potential player swap.
One person who is interested in the Dragons head coaching role is their premiership winning skipper Ben Hornby. Hornby, who is also the club’s most capped player, is expected to put his hand up for the vacant head coaching role after the Dragons three-tiered criteria for their next coach was revealed on Wednesday. Hornby ticks the boxes – defensive mindset, strong on discipline and has spent time at a successful culture. It has been dubbed the Bennett blueprint. Hornby reunited with Bennett at South Sydney this year as part of a two-year deal.
Interim coach Young said Bennett “gave him a bit of advice” ahead of his first game in charge against the Broncos on Friday night.
“I’d tell you (what the advice was) but Wayne gets cranky when I tell people secrets so I’m not allowed to say,” Young said. “I’ve got six weeks now and it’s a good opportunity to do things my way. I’m pretty good at staying focused on task and my job was to do my job for ‘Mary’ (Paul McGregor) for the Parramatta game and after that was when my mind started going a thousand miles an hour.
“There were a fair bit of butterflies when I addressed the staff and players on Monday morning. I think that’s a good thing
“The players know what I value. I value players who compete, I value players that are disciplined and I value players who are consistent. There is no grey in that. It’s black and white for me.
“You either compete hard or you don’t, you are disciplined or you are not and you are consistent or you are not. It’s pretty easy for me to see and I let the players know on Monday that that is what I value so now it is over to them.”
TIGHTENING THE BELTS
The salary cap is expected to drop by 5 per cent for the next two years while clubs’ football spending cap will be slashed by more than $1 million.
Clubs have pieced together a proposal and given it to the RLPA which details a 5 per cent reduction in the salary cap for 2021 and 2022. There will also be 28 players at each club instead of 30 and clubs will only be able to have between two and four development players. Players and clubs agreed to a 20 per cent pay cut this year.
Club bosses were told on a phone hook-up on Wednesday to expect their football club spending to be dramatically less than this year. The football club cap was to be $6.17 million but will be cut to $5 million – limiting what clubs can spend on coaches and other support staff. Some areas such as welfare which were included in the football club spend have now been taken out of the cap.
Clubs were warned they would face stiffer penalties for anyone who breaks the cap – a 50 per cent tax up from 37 per cent on whatever they overspend by. The NRL told clubs they will make cost-saving measures at head office next month. Given the condensed pre-season clubs were also asked their thoughts of having just one sanctioned trial match next year.
The NRL is also still working out what – if any – biosecurity restrictions players will be placed under once their club commitments end and how that will work for players who finish their season but are still in Origin contention.
SBW’S STRUGGLE?
So this is the Sonny Bill Williams considered not fit enough to play hey?
We can’t imagine what he will look in a few weeks when he makes his rugby league return. Williams said he was battling to regain full fitness while in isolation but the dual-international was looking ripped and raring to go when we spotted him training with the rehab group on Thursday. He’ll join the Roosters for his first team training session on Friday.
BULLDOGS BAN
Corey Harawira-Naera will have to wait until next year before he can face his former club Canterbury with the back-rower banned from playing against the Bulldogs next week.
Harawira-Naera’s new club Canberra play the Bulldogs next Sunday but they will do so without their new recruit. The Bulldogs allowed the 25-year-old to join the Raiders on a two and a half year deal last month following an off-season incident. Under the terms of the release though the Bulldogs will prevent the Kiwi international from lining up against them. Interestingly both parties also agreed to a secret clause which will prevent either party from rubbishing the other.
The Bulldogs will also get a close-up look at new signing Nick Cotric who will arrive at Belmore from Canberra on a three year deal next year.
MIND GAMES
A small stoush has broken out ahead of Wednesday’s big fight in Townsville (available on Main Event), between Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu, over who will walk out last. Both are refusing to enter the ring first, traditionally the domain of the challenger or, without a belt at stake, the lesser credentialed fighter.
While fighters often bicker over the smallest details before a fight Horn and Tszyu are taking it to new levels.
Promoter Dean Lonergan is set to step it up a gear too by offering to buy sponsorship space on the soles of Tszyu’s boxing boots.
“For when Horn knocks him out,” he said.
Julius Francis once famously sold the soles of his boots to English newspaper The Mirror when he fought Mike Tyson in 2000.
Francis hit the canvas five times in four minutes. It was money well spent.
SMALL VICTORY
The junior representative programs are set to undergo a massive shake-up with ages raised from next season. Traditionally the Harold Matthews and SG Ball competitions have been under-16 and under-18 respectively but that is now expected to be bumped up a year each. It is a boost for players who have basically had an entire junior representative season wiped this year. The under-20s competition is also likely to become an under-21s program.
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BUBBLE LIFE TOO MUCH FOR GAL
Paul Gallen a Raider? As unlikely as it seems there was certainly at least one conversation had between Gallen and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart for the ex-Sharks skipper to help solve Canberra’s depleted injury stocks. Life in the bubble and a potential bout with Mark Hunt for Gallen put a quick end to it.
WARRIORS FAREWELL LIVESAVERS
Jack Hetherington will once again be a Panther next week while George Jennings and Daniel Alvaro are also expected to return to the Eels ending their respective loan deals with the Warriors. Hetherington will serve out the final two games of his suspension at the Panthers and could again re-join the Warriors for the rest of the regular season when his ban ends.
“I’ve enjoyed my time,” Hetherington said. “Getting minutes is good. The high tackle wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t so much being aggressive. I tried to ball and all him getting across the field and accidentally clipped (Marty Taupau) on the chin. Lazy things I’ve been caught doing in the past with that right arm getting a bit high.
“(Panthers coach) Ivan (Cleary) said to me to train with the (Panthers) boys for the last two week of my suspension. If all the boys are still fit he has given me the all clear to come back with the Warriors and play the rest of the year out with them.”
Jennings and Alvaro will play their fourth game for the club against the Bulldogs on Sunday before their loan ends. It is expected they will return to the Eels. Jennings said he was open to extending his stay at the Warriors but he will do “whatever both clubs want”.
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KNIGHTS MESSAGE FOR HSC STUDENTS
Newcastle Knights coach Adam O’Brien jumped on a Zoom call to deliver a message on leadership to year 12 students at St John Paul College Coffs Harbour last week. The request came from the school and O’Brien was happy to spend 25 minutes with the students detailing what makes a good leader and certain styles of leadership.
COVID NO BARRIER
Despite the obvious restrictions, Luke Brooks still wanted to catch up with youngster Chase who is battling a type of kidney cancer. The pair met in 2018 and instantly hit it off. Brooks, who is a Footy Colours Day ambassador, wanted to stay in contact and caught up with Chase for a video chat last week.
SOUR FAREWELL
Hopefully Paul McGregor wasn’t waiting by the phone for an apology from prop Paul Vaughan who failed to ring his coach to explain why he broke COVID rules. McGregor and the Dragons parted ways while Vaughan was banned for having breakfast at a cafe on game-day.
NRL STANDS WITH AFL OVER FLAG DRAMA
Much has been made about the AFL’s decision not to use the Aboriginal flag during its Indigenous Round celebrations. But the NRL also took a similar stance because of copyright dramas during their Indigenous Round earlier this month. The NRL’s events teams made the decision early in the piece based on previous concerns. Clothing company WAM bought an exclusive copyright licence to the flag image two years ago and charges fees for its use.
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The latest Everest contender will strut their stuff on Friday morning when recently arrived Adelaide sprinter Gytrash has a barrier trial at Warwick Farm.
The Gordon Richard-trained five-year-old arrived at Warwick Farm on Tuesday afternoon following a long three-day road trip, having to avoid Victoria due to COVID-enforced border and quarantine restrictions.
Gytrash’s racetrack appearance comes in the same week as fellow Everest favourites Bivouac and Nature Strip impressed with devastating barrier trial wins.
Representing the Inglis slot, Gytrash is an $11 third-favourite for the $15m The Everest, to be run at Randwick on October 17.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: JOSH STUART
133 games (111 North Sydney, 22 Northern Eagles) from 1993-2001.
Josh Stuart reckons he gets them every time.
“I was only sent off once,” Stuart said.
“I win a bit of money off that because everyone says I got sent off plenty of times. But it was just once in first grade.”
Those wins would go some way to recouping some of the money from the fines Stuart received during his career. He was whacked with a $90,000 fine and a 12-game ban for two high shots on Newcastle’s Troy Fletcher in 1998.
“I didn’t get sent off for that one,” Stuart said.
“My coach pulled me off.
“It was daunting (going to the judiciary). As you get older you get more mature. Had I went there as a 28-year-old as opposed to a 25-year-old, you would’ve stood up for yourself a bit better and argued that I didn’t intentionally tackle him high.”
He was sent off for a tackle on Magpies backrower Shayne McMenemy in 1997.
Stuart switched to the Bears from Manly ahead of the 1993 season after playing lower grades with the Sea Eagles. He already had a reputation as a bit of a hardman when he joined the club after breaking Billy Moore’s jaw in a pre-season game for Manly against North Sydney.
Stuart said he struggled after the Fletcher suspension.
“There was always someone watching,” Stuart said. “I couldn’t be as aggressive as I once was.”
He said his seven-year stint at the Bears was the “best time of your life” and the players still communicated via a “Bears of the 1990s” WhatsApp group.
Stuart, now a mortgage broker, played out his final two years as part of the ill-fated Northern Eagles.
“It was an absolute nightmare, a disaster,” Stuart said. “In a way it wasn’t a merger, it was a takeover.”
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Dragons target Christian Welch on three-year deal | NRL news