Matthew Johns urges Jack Cogger to stay with Newcastle for one more season
SPORT CONFIDENTIAL: MATTY Johns’ “mixed emotions” on Jack Cogger potential early release, stars turn out for Choc and former Miss World Australia has a Bash.
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MATTY Johns has “mixed emotions” when it comes to Jack Cogger and whether he should be granted an early release by Newcastle to join Canterbury.
Cogger is signed for 2019 and 2020 at the Dogs, but coach Dean Pay would welcome him now and knows what a good fit he would be along side Kieran Foran.
The Dogs — and Cogger — know the chance to play regular first grade would be better for him, rather than playing park footy as the Knights’ fifth-string playmaker.
Johns has spent some time with Cogger, 20, and labelled him a “super bloke’’.
But if he was Newcastle coach Nathan Brown, the decision was simple.
“If I’m in Browny’s shoes, I’m telling Cogs, ‘you’re at the Dogs next year, but, brother, I need you here this year’,’’ Matty told us.
“Browny is a fair bloke, and just because he’s signed with the Dogs, if he’s playing well enough he won’t have him languishing playing park football.
“Just the other day I was chatting with my young bloke (Jack) and I said, ‘how is training going?’, and he said, ‘dad, ‘Cogs’ is just killing it, he’s training so well’.
“Then the news came out he had signed with the Dogs.
“From a Newcastle point of view, you can’t have too many good players on your roster.
“It could go two ways. He could end up frustrated, or it could be fantastic, he learns off Mitchell (Pearce), and he might even spend a lot of the year in first grade.
“Even though he’s going to the Dogs next year, next year is next year.
“Sometimes I can’t work out the mentality of clubs when a player signs elsewhere, they let the go straight away.’’
Cogger formally requested a release and was told no — for now. The Knights will revisit the matter in the first third of the season if the halves are firing, and there are few injuries.
At the Dogs, it’s a three-way race between Matt Frawley, Josh Cleeland and Nu Brown to partner Foran, who will spent ‘’limited game time’’ in only one of the club’s trials.
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STILL on Matty, he’s feeling refreshed after a decent break where he spent a couple of weeks in glorious Italy, and is set for another big year with Triple M and Fox Sports.
He will also spend time assisting a few clubs, including Melbourne, but refuses to cop any coin so he is free to pot them should they start to perform poorly.
CHOC LURES STARS TO FIGHT
BATTING sensation Chris Lynn was spotted in the crowd at the Anthony Mundine fight, along with model Sam Harris, and a host of NRL stars, including Bevan French and Blake Ferguson.
The first stop The Man made after his KO win over Tommy Browne was to the local convenience store where he snapped up the meal of champions — an energy drink and Kit Kat.
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PENRITH are enjoying a training camp in Port Macquarie, but the hotel they are staying at is undergoing major renovations, meaning the team bus has to park a few hundred metres away and the players walk the decent stretch before and after training.
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SOUTH Sydney halves Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker spent three days with Port Adelaide AFL club this week, fine-tuning their kicking skills. Port sent a few first and second-year players to Sydney before Christmas, with several members of their coaching staff impressed by Reynolds’ kicking ability.
The Bunnies will head to Canberra for a training camp next week.
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SINCE a shoulder injury forced him to retire at just 22, Simon Dwyer continues to prove a huge asset to the Wests Tigers support staff, spotted operating a drone at training ... with just one hand.
BOWLER HAS A DISTANT FAN
CHRIS Green might be regarded as the sexiest man in the Big Bash but former Miss World Australia Erin Holland only had eyes for one man.
Holland was at the SCG on Thursday night cheering her Brisbane Heat beau Ben Cutting against the Sydney Sixers.
“Apparently Chris is a lovely guy, but he’s only 24, he’s young. I know he’s a fan favourite and his nickname is “The Ken doll’, but I’m more a ‘tall dark and handsome’ person,’’ the 28-year-old Holland told Sport Confidential.
A huge cricket fan and North Queensland supporter, Holland, who hails from Cairns spends a lot of time based in Sydney these days, and would love for Cutting to make the move south.
“I’ve tried hard, I’m an ambassador for The Star, they sponsor the Sixers, so that would be ideal for me if he ever did that,’’ Holland said.
“But Ben is the loudest, proudest Queensland you would meet in your life. It would take a lot for me to drag him away from the Heat.’’
Holland and Cutting have been an item three years, but she remembers first laying eyes on her man when he played the party-pooper role at the Gabba and removed big-hitting Chris Gayle with his first or second ball.
Holland posted a picture to her 185,000 Instagram fans of her and Cutting dining with Uzzy Khawaja — Green’s Thunder teammate — and his partner at The Star this week.
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SPEAKING of Green, the Thunder’s pin-up spinner is about to extend his stay at the franchise by a further three seasons.
Green, who will play a big role in trying to keep the Thunder’s slim finals hopes alive against the Melbourne Stars on Saturday night, will remain out west until the end of the 2021 summer.
“The Thunder have shown a lot of faith in me so it was nice to be able to return the faith by signing a long-term deal,’’ Green said.
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SYDNEY Sixers batsman Nic Maddinson pointed out the Big Bash franchise has won two on the trot since he bleached his hair. Maddinson wanted to give the new look a ‘’test run’’ before shooting over to the US at the end of the summer where he plans to take in the annual Coachella music festival.