Blindside: Sharks snap up Nudgee rugby prodigy likened to Johnathan Thurston
THE Cronulla Sharks have struck a major cross-code blow by signing a Nudgee College rugby sensation who has been likened in style to NRL champion Johnathan Thurston.
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THE Cronulla Sharks have struck a major cross-code blow by signing a Nudgee College rugby sensation who has been likened in style to NRL champion Johnathan Thurston.
The prestigious GPS competition helped develop Queensland Origin young gun Kalyn Ponga, and now 18-year-old Jangala Bennet has been snapped up by the Sharks.
The indigenous attacking wizard has signed a two-year deal with the 2016 NRL premiers, after a superb year in which he helped Nudgee clinch back-to-back First XV titles last month.
Bennet had interest from the North Queensland Cowboys and the Australian Rugby Union, but the teenager is keen to crack the NRL and believes he can do it at the Sharks.
Bennet scored 15 tries for Nudgee this season and can play fullback, wing, five-eighth or halfback.
Scouts say the 76kg livewire has the game sense of Thurston with the attacking magic of former Dally M golden boy Ben Barba.
As a coach, he makes a good mate
MEANWHILE, the real Thurston has broken his silence on his relationship with former North Queensland and Titans coach Neil Henry.
For years there was speculation the pair did not get on during Henry’s tenure at the Cowboys. In his new autobiography, Thurston finally lifts the lid.
While praising Henry’s tactical knowledge and describing him as a “mate”, Thurston admits he had professional problems with the ex-Queensland Origin assistant coach.
“I always found Henry to be a difficult coach,” Thurston writes.
“While he was a tactical master, I don’t think he was particularly good at managing players as men.
“He became hard to talk to in 2013 when things weren’t going well. He wasn’t very approachable and not even I, as club captain, felt comfortable talking to him.
“Still, nobody likes to see a person lose their job. Henry was a good bloke and will always be a mate. We had plenty more good times than bad and he was a big part of my rugby league journey.”
Titans’ Chambers of secrets
THE whispers won’t go away about Will Chambers and the Gold Coast Titans.
The Storm centre has previously told teammates he is open to moving to the Gold Coast, and the Titans’ decision to offload Konrad Hurrell will free up funds in the salary cap.
The Titans would have to pay over $600,000 a season to lure Chambers, but the Maroons ace would certainly add some presence to their three-quarter line.
As revealed in Blindside a fortnight ago, Hurrell will be released from the Titans to join Super League club Leeds.
The Tongan international has quickly fallen out of favour with coach Garth Brennan, who before last season rated Hurrell his favourite player in the NRL.
Cowboys planning new corral
THE North Queensland Cowboys have ramped up their planning for a new high-performance centre in Townsville.
Cowboys figures travelled to Melbourne and Sydney this week to inspect the setups of top AFL clubs.
Football boss Peter Parr was one of the crew, which also included architects as the Cowboys scouted setups such as that of the GWS Giants.
The Cowboys will move into the flash new Townsville Stadium in 2020, and now want a new headquarters nearby.
Their current digs at Kirwan are about 20 minutes from the Townsville CBD and are quite dated.
Thanks garth, all the best mate @GCTitans @Joey12g pic.twitter.com/bH5TrkbXNx
— Dan Sarginson (@Sargmiester) October 14, 2018
No love lost
FORMER Titans flop Dan Sarginson has taken a shot at coach Brennan.
Sarginson and fellow ex-Titans player Joe Greenwood won the Super League final last weekend with Wigan.
Both were both pushed out of the Titans by Brennan when he took over from Neil Henry last season.
Sarginson left before the 2018 season kicked off, while Greenwood stuck around a while longer before eventually returning to England.
Sarginson posted a photo on Twitter of him and Greenwood holding the Super League trophy together with the caption: “Thanks Garth, all the best mate.”
A little practice run
SUPERCARS legend Craig Lowndes drove 3000km to win the Bathurst 1000.
Lowndes racked up his seventh Bathurst victory in dramatic circumstances a fortnight ago, in what was his final race as a full-time driver at Mount Panorama.
But he covered about three times that many kilometres to make it happen.
Lowndes and wife Lara towed their caravan about 1000km from Brisbane to Bathurst, won the 1000km race, then towed it back.
“We drove down with the caravan,” Lowndes said.
“You do a Bathurst drive down, do Bathurst, then a Bathurst drive home.
“We rarely get the opportunity to see our back yard in Australia, so to drive down the east coast was amazing.”
Bitter brain snap
QUEENSLAND’S Marnus Labuschagne is facing the prospect of being a two-Test wonder.
Labuschagne will be kicking himself following a shocking run out as he looked to rescue Australia in the Second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
Labuschange was simply not thinking when he was run out for 25 following a duck and 13 on debut in Dubai.
The South African-born Queenslander needed to impress on this tour to keep his spot in the Test team, and luckily his bowling has been handy on the spinning decks.
Originally published as Blindside: Sharks snap up Nudgee rugby prodigy likened to Johnathan Thurston
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