Campbelltown a frontrunner for new A-League franchise, Jason Clark’s Super move, and what Bogut means for the Kings
CAMPBELLTOWN emerges as frontrunner to win a third A-League franchise, who wants Jackson Hastings, Jason Clark’s Super move, and what Andrew Bogut really means for the Kings.
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CAMPBELLTOWN emerges as frontrunner to win a third A-League franchise, who wants Jackson Hastings, Jason Clark’s Super move, and what Andrew Bogut really means for the Kings.
SAINT
JOSH Dugan survived Anzac Day without getting chucked out of Cronulla RSL. Instead, he attended a memorial ceremony at Miranda. Onya Duges. #respect #NRLtalkthegameup.
SINNER
THE NRL bunker. Why spend millions to have all the flash technology when the same old officials keep making the same old mistakes and are never held accountable. #NRLfixthegameup.
NO CHARGE: DCE cleared over gouge
FREAK: Ponga would ‘thrive’ in Origin
SHOOSH
WHICH very senior NRL club official was sprung by his wife having an affair with a much younger woman on a recent business trip and is now fighting to save his marriage?
SHOOSH II
WHICH Polynesian NRL star is struggling to produce his best form this season because of arguments with his family over getting a share of his footy earnings?
SHOOSH III
WHICH NRL club has made discreet inquiries about signing unwanted Manly Sea Eagles halfback Jackson Hastings for the remainder of the season, provided Trent Barrett pays a fair portion of his contract money.
SPOTTED
SWANS superstar Kieren Jack at the Anzac Day blockbuster at Allianz Stadium in a Sydney Roosters jersey. Sadly, he’s still estranged from his mum and dad, Garry Jack, the former champion Balmain fullback.
SPOTTED II
JOHN Grant and his wife, Helen, in the Allianz Stadium Trust suite on Anzac Day as guests of chief executive Jamie Barkley. You would suspect Grant has a lifetime pass on the very elite SCG Trust guest list considering he gave Barkley $750,000 of rugby league money two years ago to spend on a feasibility study for the new stadium in Moore Park.
SPOTTED III
SUSPENDED cricketer Dave Warner, his wife, Candice, and their two girls doing grocery shopping at Coles in Maroubra Junction on Anzac Day.
SPOTTED IV
CHANNEL 9 Footy Show star Erin Molan buying nappies at Baby Bunting in Moore Park to prepare for the birth of her first child in a month.
SPOTTED V
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg presenting Greg Inglis with his jersey for the Rabbitoh’s 250th game on Thursday night at ANZ Stadium. Inglis became close to Greenberg during his tough times last year and nominated him as the person he wanted to share the honour with.
CLARK TO INVEST IN SUPER
SOUTH Sydney Rabbitohs discard Jason Clark is off to the UK Super League at the end of the season. His agent, Steve Gillis, is flying to England next week to try to get a deal done. Despite a huge members’ backlash and a social media petition to keep Clark at Redfern, the 28-year-old fan favourite is resigned to leaving.
The outrage will make no difference with coach Anthony Seibold, who reluctantly released Clark to ease salary cap pressure. Clark is certain to attract plenty of interest in the UK.
KINGS-SIZED OVERHAUL
THE signing of Aussie NBA championship winner Andrew Bogut on a two-year deal is just the start of a major overhaul of the Sydney Kings. We understand that TEG, the high-profile promoter and owner of Ticketek, will soon take a major ownership stake in the Kings in partnership with owners AEG Ogden.
TEG chief executive Geoff Jones has been bullish on basketball’s prospects for years and now the game is ready to boom. TEG is the promoter of the massive Boomers v US series in Melbourne next year and has a strong marketing partnership with Basketball Australia. TEG also owns the lease at Qudos Bank Arena, the Kings’ home court.
Sounds like a super club in the making.
TV STING FOR HORNET
JEFF Horn’s next fight on June 9 against US superstar Terence Crawford in Las Vegas will be shown live on pay-per-view in Australia after all. There were fears Foxtel had an unbreakable commitment and contract to show Robert Whittaker’s UFC fight on the same day at the same time and that Horn would miss out in the biggest fight of his career.
Fox technicians have since found a way to beam both events into Australia as pay-per-view shows. Pubs and clubs across the country are likely to show both on the afternoon of Sunday, June 10.
OFF AND RACING
SPORTS presenter and model Abbey Gelmi has quit her role on Sky News’ 24-hour sports channel.
We’re hearing Channel 7 is now chasing the popular host to head its 20-meeting coverage of Sydney’s major race days in a deal with NSW Racing.
Gelmi is a regular racegoer who has done promotional work in the past for the Australian Turf Club. Her partner is Sky Racing host Ben Way.
AD-FREE CRICKET
FOX Sports has confirmed its cricket coverage from next summer will be advertisement-free — the same as its NRL games. It will give the pay-TV network a huge advantage over Channel 7 during the change of overs to display graphics, show replays and take expert comments. And, in a major coup, Fox Sports has signed Adam Gilchrist as one of its lead commentators.
HEAVIES BACK SOUTH-WEST A-LEAGUE BID
CAMPBELLTOWN is emerging as the frontrunner to win the licence for a third Sydney A-League franchise.
While crowds are down 12 per cent this season and TV ratings have plummeted, there’s no shortage of bidders for the two A-League licences up for grabs starting from the 2019-20 season.
Among the 10 bidders from Brisbane to Hobart, South West Sydney FC in Campbelltown could be the surprise packet.
Some heavy-hitters in business and soccer circles are getting behind the bid, which represents a 500,000-plus population in the southwest that doesn’t have its own full-time national sporting club, given the sporadic visits by the NRL’s Wests Tigers.
The Macarthur region has produced stars such as David Carney, Mark Bridge and Brett Emerton.
FLAGS LINK EELS TO NAVY CREW
A “PIECE” of the Parramatta Eels travels with HMAS Parramatta’s crew wherever the ship sails around the world.
Last year, Parramatta’s Bevan French donated the blue and gold army flag used in the official ceremony during their Anzac round clash with Penrith to the crew.
The flag is now raised on the ship as a sign of goodwill.
It has become a tradition that a member of the ship’s crew raises the flag at the Eels’ Anzac round game and that will be no different for the Eels’ clash with Wests Tigers on Sunday, with able seaman Grant Robinson raising the flag before kick-off.
The club is also using Sunday’s match to raise money for Legacy Australia in a further sign of its magnificent commitment to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force.
CHIN UP MILTON
OUR thoughts are with the family of legendary old greyhound writer and mad Parramatta Eels supporter Gary “Milton” Manning who was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident last weekend. Milton was just four minutes from his Port Macquarie home, having driven from Sydney after his beloved Eels won their first game of the year against the Manly Sea Eagles. Doctors are hopeful he will make a complete recovery.