Teig Wilton steps out of John Morris’s shadow to make debut for Cronulla Sharks
Sharks coach John Morris has handed out eight debuts since taking charge of the NRL team, but giving the nod to his latest rookie, Teig Wilton, was extra special. Find out why?
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The Bulldogs and Corey Harawira-Naera have agreed to a secret clause which will prevent either party from rubbishing the other as part of the back-rowers release to sign with the Raiders.
Harawira-Naera has agreed to a two and a half year deal to join the Raiders immediately as a replacement for John Bateman, which could be announced as early as Friday.
The release not only prevents Harawira-Naera from playing against the Bulldogs in round 16, it will stop both him and the Bulldogs from criticising one another.
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The Bulldogs officially released Harawira-Naera on Thursday but will keep winger Jayden Okunbor at the club.
“Jayden expressed his desire to remain at Belmore and apologised unreservedly to the club and the wider rugby league community for the harm he had caused to all parties,” the Bulldogs said in a statement.
“He has since undergone counselling as part of his rehabilitation and has pledged to offer his time to be involved in a full reintegration into the Bulldogs community program.
“Corey also apologised for his actions to all parties concerned, however, after further discussion with the player it was felt that in the best interests of both parties he get a fresh start away from Belmore.”
Chair Lynne Anderson said “at the end of those conversations it became clear that while Jayden very much wanted to be given a second chance at Belmore”.
“We totally understand that the behaviour that took place was unacceptable, we also looked at the opportunity for a second chance and for the ability of the individuals to redeem themselves,” Anderson said.
Teary moment for young Shark
John Morris simply wrote 539 in big letters on the whiteboard in his Cronulla office on Tuesday.
Skipper Wade Graham was already there when Morris called Teig Wilton.
“See that number behind me, you know what that is?” Morris asked the young Shark.
“That’s your Sharks number — you’re going to make your debut this week. He teared up a bit.” The moment was made extra special given Wilton is Morris’ nephew – the son of the Cronulla’s coaches sister Vanessa and her husband Glen.
Glen was a handy footballer in his own right playing alongside Adam O’Brien and Brad Arthur at Batemans Bay.
Wilton instantly called his mum and put her on loud speaker so the family could share the moment.
Wilton was a shadow for Morris during his 300-game career. He was born on grand final day in 1999 when Morris was part of Newcastle’s Jersey Flegg team playing Canterbury.
One of Wilton’s first memories is leading the Tigers onto Leichhardt Oval before one of Morris’ games.
“He got us all jerseys with our names on the back,” Wilton said. “Me and my brothers didn’t take them off playing footy in the backyard until they were torn to shreds.
“I used to go for whoever he played for. He was my idol growing up. He was everything I wanted to be. I love being coached by him.”
Long earmarked to be a future NRL star, Wilton lived with Morris and his wife Michelle when he was just 16 when he left his Narooma home to embark on his NRL journey with the Sharks. Morris said Wilton struggled with the move.
“He wasn’t quite ready,” Morris said.
“He was homesick. I had been through a similar path when I left home but I was a year older. I caught up with my sister and his dad and said they had to take him home. He was not himself and I didn’t think it was the best thing for his development.
“They were taken aback that I was sending him home. The eventually came around to it. It was the best thing that could’ve happened. He got better and had that desire to give it a real crack. He came back a different person.”
Wilton returned to the Sharks the following year and instantly starred. He made the Australian Schoolboys and captained NSW’s under-20s last year. Morris also handed him his debut for Cronulla’s under-20s team when he was just 17.
Last year rival clubs came circling. Rich offers came his way with no less than four clubs trying to secure him before Wilton opted to ink a deal until the end of 2023 last year.
“He is really passionate about the club and family,” Morris said. “The offers out for him were pretty big. Serious money. I knew what the best pathway for Teig to play NRL was. He looks up to Wade, so we told him that was his best opportunity to learn from someone like Wade.
“He knows he will have his day to get the bigger money.”
Graham approached Morris on Monday to tell him he had to hand Wilton his debut. Morris had already made his mind up given Briton Nikora’s suspension and Scott Sorensen’s injury but to hear it from the skipper reassured the coach ahead of the clash against St George Illawarra on Saturday.
“When we signed him I was confident he would make his debut this year,” Morris said. “It hasn’t come before his time. He has been knocking on the door last few weeks. He stands for everything I’m trying to build. He is young, enthusiastic, a real competitor and level-headed.
“I’ve handed out eight debuts and they are special moments. To hand one to my nephew is surreal.”
Sydney-siders banned from Knights v Bulldogs
SYDNEY residents have been banned from attending Newcastle’s match against the Bulldogs on Sunday.
The Knights have implemented the strict measure in a bid to minimise the chances of COVID-19 spreading to the area.
This means anyone from outside Canterbury’s 55-person bubble are unlikely to attend while Sydney-based Newcastle members won’t be able to go.
“The premier and chief medical officer have requested the public reconsider non-essential travel due to the unfolding COVID-19 situation in Sydney and elsewhere,” a Knights statement read.
“This has also been emphasised by Hunter New England health.
“Public health and safety is paramount and the Knights are committed to ensuring the highest possible standards are met so as to ensure members and fans can continue attend matches this season. We know all clubs and the game itself are of the same view.”
The game was always slated as a members-only event for Newcastle with about 7000 people expected, making it easy for the Knights to enforce the policy.
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“We took the decision that tickets to Sunday’s match would not be extended to anyone residing in Sydney,” the statement read.
“This extends to Knights members who meet this criteria as well as to Bulldogs representatives and guests in public areas of the venue.
“This criteria does not apply to anyone who is essential to the operation of the game.
“Should the Canterbury club deem the attendance of any staff member as being essential to the operation of the game we will accommodate them.”
Graham set to sign long-term contract
SOUTH Sydney are set to lock-down boom outside back Campbell Graham to a long-term deal.
While Graham isn’t off-contract until the end of next year, discussions between Graham and the Rabbitohs are close to ensuring he remains at the club until at least 2023.
He has been a revelation since playing his first game while still at school in 2017.
South Sydney have also continued to bolster their outside back depth by signing Taane Milne to a two year deal from next year.
Milne, 25, played one top grade game for the Warriors last year after making his debut for the Dragons in 2016. He tore his ACL in the pre-season.
Dally M Voting correction
Because of a submission error in the voting process, the incorrect points supplied to The Daily Telegraph and were published for the round 10 match between Melbourne Storm and Gold Coast Titans The verified correct points are: Cameron Munster (three points), Cameron Smith (two), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (one).
Politis dumps Broncos shares
EVEN the NRL’s richest man is abandoning the bumbling Brisbane Broncos.
Roosters godfather Nick Politis is offloading his Broncos shares in the wake of the club‘s form crisis.
The Broncos have seen more than $15 million wiped off their value over the past two years.
Politis had more than 200,000 shares and helped his mate Paul ‘Porky’ Morgan raise capital for the birth of the Broncos in 1988.
The billionaire will retain some shares but has sold around 100,000 in recent months amid concerns over decreasing share price.
Draw released, but fears of cancellation
THE draw for next year’s rugby league world cup was announced earlier this week amid fears the tournament could be cancelled because of COVID-19.
The RLWC chief executive Jon Dutton said they were “contingency planning”.
“We’ve had to look at every area of the tournament,” Dutton.
“Options to push the tournament back. The government in the UK are supporting us. We will have to be agile. For the time being we have a great degree of confidence.”
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Luke Patten
282 top grade games for Illawarra, St George Illawarra andCanterbury (1998-2010)
INITIATIONS didn’t come tougher for an 18-year-old slender Luke Patten when he made his debut for the Steelers against the Knights.
“Two things stuck out in my mind,” Patten said.
“I remember talking to Trent Barrett before the game and he said ‘don’t stuff up’ which really helped my nerves a lot. Then Joey (Andrew Johns) sending up torpedo bombs in a windy Wollongong and letting me know every time that I was skinny and he would keep kicking them. It was a pretty full on.”
Patten stayed on when the Steelers merged with St George later that year but by the end of 2000 he was on the move to Canterbury.
“I was going to stay at the Dragons and they offered me a deal but pulled it,” Patten said. “Amos Roberts had come onto the scene so I had to go. It was Melbourne or Canterbury. I met with (Storm coach) Chris Anderson and he told me not to go to the Bulldogs because I was going to make 30 tackles as a fullback. I met Folkesy (Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes) and he was a straight shooter. I wanted to stay closer to home.
“There was disappointment with the Dragons. That disappointment turned to anger. I resented them doing it to me and I used that anger as fuel.”
If Patten thought his first grade debut was tough, nothing prepared him for his first few days at Belmore. While still living in Wollongong, he struggled.
“I couldn’t hold my arms on the steering wheel because training was so hard,” Patten said. “You either melted or you became as hard as steel mentality. For a few weeks I didn’t know if I could handle the training.”
Patten, who works in the Helensburgh mines three days a week and as part of the NRL’s match review committee, played out his NRL career with the Bulldogs, winning the 2004 grand final, before spending his final two years at Salford.