Are Parramatta pushing Corey Norman out, Canterbury find Mbye replacement and Artie’s son keeps the Beetson in NSW
CANTERBURY have wasted little time in finding a replacement for Moses Mbye, landing a young gun who had four clubs chasing him.
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CANTERBURY have wasted little time in finding a replacement for Moses Mbye after landing the prized scalp of young Newcastle fullback Nick Meaney.
The 20-year-old has agreed to a three-year deal with the Bulldogs after telling Knights officials of his planned move this week.
Meaney had four clubs chasing him but, with Kalyn Ponga blocking his path, the Ballina Seagulls junior has opted to move on in a bid to play fullback despite the Knights being keen to retain his services.
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He will be given first crack at Mbye’s No. 1 jersey after the Bulldogs fullback signed a four-year deal with the Wests Tigers — which starts next season.
Meaney has been a lower-grades star. He represented the NSW under 20s and NSW Residents last year and won the Knights reserve grade player-of-the-year award. He was also Newcastle’s under 20s player of the year in 2016.
An ankle injury in round one halted his progress this season and he only made his reserve grade return in recent weeks.
PLENTY of player managers remain surprised at Canterbury’s “new” recruitment officer, recently elected board member Chris Anderson.
In a throwback to another time, Anderson has committed to helping the club mine some of the best junior talent around by getting involved himself.
The club’s salary cap position continues to be a concern, though.
SON OF ARTIE PROUD OF BLUE ROOTS
A BEETSON deep within the NSW ranks? You betcha. In a move where some of his siblings think his dad Arthur would be turning in his grave, Kristian Beetson is proudly donning the NSW gear and cheering on the Blues as part of the NSW Rugby League front office.
“I think dad would be all right, he did play 17 games for NSW,” said Beetson who is NSW’s indigenous and community programs manager.
“He would be happy that I’m helping the community and involved in rugby league. If you ask my brothers they say he would be turning in his grave.
“I was born in Balmain. Two of us were born in NSW and two of us in Queensland but I’m the only one in the family who have gone for NSW. Always have, always will.”
KEEPING AN EYE ON INTERNATIONAL BOARD
NRL boss Todd Greenberg has fired a salvo at the Rugby League International Federation for its sanctioning of the Denver Test and said the game would appoint “an observer to attend meetings” in the future.
The letter to RLIF CEO Nigel Wood is signed by Greenberg, while Rabbitohs boss Blake Solly and his RLPA counterpart Ian Prendergast also cc’d.
The letter also pits Greenberg against former Australian Rugby League chairman John Grant, who is now the chair of the RLIF.
The pair had an uneasy relationship towards the end of Grant’s reign. Interestingly, Greenberg also sits on the RLIF board.
“The NRL has determined that it will exercise its right to appoint an observer to attend meetings of the RLIF Board in accordance with clause 25.15 of the RLIF Constitution,” Greenberg wrote.
BOXING’S FAREWELL TO CHAMPION WATERS
THEY hung out their boxing gloves for Troy Waters, the Aussie boxing champion who was laid to rest on Wednesday.
As the shock of Waters’ death spread among the boxing community, with posts from all around the world, the likes of Aussie boxers Jamie Pittman and Nader Hamdan hung out their gloves as a sign of respect for Waters.
Waters died from a heart attack, the victim of a hidden heart disease that failed to be picked up because it was masked by the acute myeloid leukaemia he also suffered from.
10 bells for Troy Waters. Nice touch. #boxing pic.twitter.com/lIKgFYTvRa
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) May 24, 2018
A fundraiser planned for after the funeral to help Troy’s wife Michelle and children Nate and Shontae has been postponed to another date, to be named, so it can be done properly.
Already much of the boxing fraternity have donated signed gloves and trunks and organisers were hoping NRL players would also donate any old or no longer used gear.
Contact us here at: paul.kent@news.com.au.
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BARRY Michael makes his long-awaited comeback to commentary when he works beside Colonel Bob Sheridan at the Jeff Horn-Terrence Crawford fight on June 10.
Michael is in the comeback business of late. He was recently flown out of the Kokoda Track after falling and breaking ribs on the last day, then checked himself out of hospital and flew home when insurance argued to cover him in a Port Moresby hospital.
DO EELS WANT COREY OUT?
PARRAMATTA were quick to defend Corey Norman’s absence from Saturday’s game against Newcastle, citing a foot injury.
The Eels tweeted Norman’s injury after Paul Kent said on NRL360 there were whispers around the game that Norman was being shopped around to other clubs and has gone “on tilt”.
The day after their attempted smother it was revealed Norman was fined $20,000 for drinking while injured, with a further $10,000 added from a previously suspended sanction.
Initially it was said to have been one beer, but Norman, to his credit, told the Big Sports Breakfast: “I’m not going to shy away, I was out. It wasn’t just one drink.”
Still, it speaks of worrying times at Parramatta. There is a deep suspicion the Eels are trying to breach Norman out of his contract. In other words, push him to the point he approaches the club to be released from the final year and a half of his deal. It would explain the size of the breach fine for essentially having one beer, which was issued as a final warning given Norman has been breached before.
Once the cornerstone of the team, Norman has struggled to play alongside Mitchell Moses.
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MORE than 4000 people have signed a petition to keep fan favourite Jason Clark at the Rabbitohs beyond this season but England now looms as his next home. Warrington are the favourites to sign him.
TIX AVAILABLE FOR FOOTY LUNCH
RUGBY league’s best identities will be on hand at a star-studded lunch in June on the eve of State of Origin Game Two in Sydney.
Dubbed “The Ultimate Footy Lunch”, the event — open to the public — will be on Thursday June 21 at the SCG with tickets on sale. Yvonne Sampson will MC while the likes of, Matty Johns, Steve Roach, Ben Ikin, Gorden Tallis, Michael Ennis, David Riccio and Sport Confidential’s own Paul Kent will be among the guests. . The Professor and Brett Finch will also make a cameo.
The Daily Telegraph’s head of sport, Tim Morrissey, promised “all the big names and all the big issues” would be covered at the event.
“With over 200 people expected to attend, and extensive interviews with our hosts and the NRL player panel, this is one of the biggest and most star-studded lunches on the footy calendar for the year,” he said. “We will be probing the big issues and asking the big questions, including all the whispers from the State of Origin camps.”
Tickets are $150 and are available from: ultimatefootylunch.eventbrite.com.au
JAMES CLOSE TO EDGING KLEM
RYAN James came agonisingly close to pipping David Klemmer for a Blues jersey.
Word got back from Blues selectors to James that he needed to get the edge over Dylan Napa and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves last week.
The Blues hierarchy also strongly considered starting Tyson Frizell at prop to accommodate their abundance of in-form backrowers.
Frizell is expected to spend time in the middle on Wednesday, which played a part in Angus Crichton edging out Tariq Sims for a bench spot. Crichton and Frizell both play on the edge while Sims has been playing on the left for the Dragons.
BLUES GIVE A LITTLE BACK
FEEDING the homeless is among the more unorthodox State of Origin preparations but, in its own way, Brad Fittler’s decision to take the Blues to Woolloomooloo PCYC on Tuesday is a winner.
Every year the Maroons find some little corner of Queensland to visit and will spend the day signing autographs and posing for selfies, which has the intended side effect of connecting the team to the community, no matter how small.
The people truly do feel the Maroons represent them.
After hiding away in five-star resorts for the past few years the new-look Blues are now embracing their state and their visit to the PCYC had a similar effect of connecting with community.
WOODS AIN’T NO KNIGHT
AARON Woods has ruled out any chance of going to Newcastle, which was hyped about on the NRL grapevine this week.
Woods prefers a return to Leichhardt with Ivan Cleary’s Tigers now the Bulldogs are quietly shopping him around in a bid to alleviate their salary cap problems.
Parramatta, keen to get some height up front, has also loomed as a possibility.
FITTLER DELIVERS FLEXIBILITY
YOGA has been a staple of NSW preparations. Brad Fittler is a devotee and has offered up optional sessions to his chargers. The likes of the Trbojevic brothers, Jack de Belin, Damien Cook, Tariq Sims and Nick Cotric have taken part.