AFL legend Adam Goodes inspires at the NRL’s indigenous program and Rabbitohs-Roosters arch rivals come together
SYDNEY Swans AFL legend Adam Goodes crossed codes to talk at the NRL’s indigenous program, Bellamy blew the whistle and two Rabbitohs-Roosters arch rivals come together.
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SYDNEY Swans AFL legend Adam Goodes crossed codes to talk at the NRL’s indigenous program, Bellamy blew the whistle and two Rabbitohs-Roosters arch rivals come together.
SAINT
GLENN Maxwell. A century off 58 balls against the Poms in Hobart. What a player. What an excitement machine. And what an embarrassment for the Australian selectors and skipper Steve Smith, who left him out of the one-dayers.
SAINT II
LAST week’s appointment of Australia’s most dynamic sporting administrator, Peter V’landys, on the independent commission. This is a massive coup for rugby league.
MORE WHAT’S THE BUZZ: Fresh twist in Graeme Langlands case
SINNER
MOST NRL teams like to heavily promote their stars on the eve of the premiership. Melbourne Storm instead chose to lock out their members, casual fans and media for the trial match against Newcastle at AAMI Park on Wednesday. And they wonder why rugby league struggles to get any recognition in an AFL-mad city.
SPOTTED
MORE hookers than the old Touch of Class brothel at the George Piggins tribute dinner last night — the guest of honour, plus Steve Edge, Max Krilich, Benny Elias, Sean Garlick and Mario Fenech.
SPOTTED II
IT was only fitting that trainer Peter Moody was the first person to stay in the luxurious $1200-a-night Black Caviar suite at the five-star William Inglis Hotel next to Warwick Farm racecourse. He checked in on Wednesday for the Classic Yearling Sale, which started last night.
SPOTTED III
FORMER referee Bill “Hollywood” Harrigan catching the train from Central to Coffs Harbour for the State Cup Oztag tournament over the weekend.
SPOTTED IV
ALAN Jones as MC at the wedding of singer Mark Vincent at Hyde Park’s Doltone House last night. It’s why he had to miss the George Piggins tribute dinner.
SHOOSH
WE’RE hearing Channel 9 commentator Matthew Thompson will be calling the odd game for Ray Hadley’s Continuous Call Team on 2GB this season. Hadley’s a huge fan.
SHOOSH II
WHICH star player from a Sydney-based NRL club has taken to an online dating app to find love? One clue to narrow it down slightly — he plays rep footy.
SHOOSH III
WHO’S the divorced ex-Kangaroo who, after a few months, still hadn’t told his three kids they now had a half-sibling with his new partner? They found out through a third party.
SHOOSH IV
WHICH veteran rugby league writer has had his accreditation application rejected by the NRL for no apparent reason?
AS GOODES AS IT GETS
IT’S great to see Sydney Swans AFL legend Adam Goodes helping out his rugby league counterparts.
The former Australian of the Year was a guest speaker at an NRL indigenous program last week which 50 players attended — including Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston, Wade Graham, Cody Walker, Connor Watson and Joel Thompson.
Goodes told his story of being a young indigenous kid with no money and with no connection to his culture, to being one of the most influential and recognisable people in the country without a cent of debt.
He spoke openly to players about the importance of giving back, but also being able to confidently say no to family, friends and fans if it’s going to have a negative impact on their immediate or long-term future.
POLITIS HONOURED BY PIGGINS GESTURE
FOR years, George Piggins and Nick Politis were arch rivals in the good old South Sydney Rabbitohs-Eastern Suburbs Roosters feuds.
The Roosters pinched so many of their star players — the great Ron Coote, Craig Wing, Braith Anasta, Bryan Fletcher and, more recently, Angus Crichton. But deep down there has been this enormous respect.
And it’s why Piggins insisted Politis be a guest on his table at his tribute dinner on Saturday night.
More than 500 guests couldn’t believe their eyes when they walked into Doltone House at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh — two absolute enemies were seated together.
Politis had bought two tables to the dinner and planned to sit with his guests, including his son-in-law, Kean Booker, a Rabbitohs tragic.
But Piggins changed the seating.
“It was an absolute honour,” Politis said. “There has been a great rivalry but always great respect.”
Others on the main table included the great Gus Gould, Joyce Churchill, John Sattler and Mick Cronin. All money raised went to Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
STERLO REPLACED BY FAN
LIFE goes on at Fox Sports without my old mate Peter Sterling. “Sterlo” will be replaced on Wednesday nights with a new show called The Fan, which will be hosted by Andrew Voss at 7.30pm.
The Fan is a half-hour segment for all rugby league lovers. It’s a look at rugby league through the historical lens of the game’s biggest fan. The show will be built around that week’s round, with “Vossy” reflecting on the game from the fans’ point of view.
BELLAMY BLEW WHISTLE
WE revealed last week how the Kangaroos had covered up the fight between Cameron Munster and Ben Hunt during their World Cup campaign at the end of last season. It was originally thought coach Mal Meninga had ordered Munster to leave camp and return to Melbourne.
Turns out it was the other way around — it was Storm coach Craig Bellamy who made the decision to bring Munster home for a severe spray before he returned to the Kangaroos camp.
CLEARY NOT
NICK Politis has taken us to task for publishing the rumour last Sunday that the Roosters were chasing both Ivan and Nathan Cleary in a package deal as coach and halfback when Cooper Cronk retires at the end of next season.
“Robbo (coach Trent Robinson) is here for life,” Politis declared.
BIG DOLLARS FOR TIMMY
WHO would have thought Channel Nine’s sporting guru Timmy Gilbert would be as popular as Shane Warne in the corporate world. It’s true.
Warne and Gilbert have both attracted record calcutta bids in Canberra ahead of the 2018 Ricky Stuart Foundation Pro-Am at Royal Canberra Golf Club on February 19.
Smithfield RSL Club shelled out $16,000 to have Warne in their foursome, while Amalgamated Property Group paid the same for the Today Show’s sports presenter.
The Calcutta raised a record $101,000 to support Stuart’s foundation, formed seven years ago to raise autism awareness. Ricky and Kaylie Stuart’s daughter, Emma, is autistic.
Others to attract big bids were Stuart ($7000), Darryl Brohman ($6500), golfers Brendan Jones ($6000) and Matt Millar ($5000) and Nine’s Leila McKinnon ($5000).
The foundation’s respite facility in Canberra, Emma Ruby House, named after Emma Stuart, opens late this year.
GREAT RESULT
A LOVELY story of honesty from the North Sydney TAB branch.
A punter last Saturday accidentally left a $1277 voucher in the self-service terminal. A really decent person found it and handed it over at the counter.
The punter walked in on Monday morning and the shop owner returned the voucher.
IT’S INVITATION LONELY
BIG-spending ARL chairman John Grant appears to be having trouble getting the numbers for his farewell bash at the Museum of Contemporary Art this month.
We can confirm a number of powerbrokers are boycotting the event but, rather than cutting back the size of the dinner and saving money for junior players, Grant is simply inviting more people in an attempt to fill the room.
Through the week, a new batch of invites for people who were on the “reserves bench” went out, including to my colleague Michael Carayannis who, by his own admission, has had little to do with Grant.
That hasn’t stopped the outgoing chairman who continues to spend the game’s money on himself.
In fact, Grant has also arranged a party for his Brisbane friends on the night before his Sydney bash.
And still this columnist can’t get a start!
NAMING RIGHTS FOR $100
WHILE money is being wasted on Grant’s $200-a-head send-off, NSW Country rugby league clubs are dying.
Here’s an example. Moss Vale Dragons, in Group 6, desperately need a major naming rights sponsor for $15,000 to stay afloat. A fundraising dinner for February 17 was cancelled due to lack of support.
So club committeeman Daniel Bennett has come up with a great idea.
The club will conduct a raffle. You buy a ticket for $100. There will be 150 tickets available.
The winning ticket becomes the major sponsor. The winner gets all the perks that go with such a sponsorship. Todd Greenberg has donated four A-reserve tickets for the NRL grand final. If this works, it could be a blueprint for so many CRL clubs who are feeling the pinch, big time.