Buzz’s highlights and lowlights: Moment players’ NRL logo protest literally came unstuck
The player pay war protest came unstuck, literally, over the weekend and the RLPA’s general president Daly Cherry-Evans was at the centre of it, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
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Phil Rothfield reveals his highlights and lowlights from a blockbuster weekend of sport in his weekly gossip column, Monday Buzz.
HIGHLIGHT II
Cameron McInnes and his phenomenal effort of 84 tackles for the Cronulla Sharks against the Panthers. The scoreline would have been far greater than 28-0 if he wasn’t out there.
HIGHLIGHT
Daly Cherry-Evans and his 300 games. There is now a debate about Manly’s best ever halfback – DCE or the great Geoff Toovey.
After Saturday night I’ve got DCE a nose in front.
LOWLIGHT
Melbourne Storm’s decision to purchase replica trophies for the 2007 and 2009 grand final winning sides that had an unfair advantage over their rivals by blatantly cheating the salary cap. The trophies should have been retrospectively awarded to Manly and Parramatta.
SPOTTED
The RLPA protest came unstuck, literally, over the weekend. Both Latrell and Daly Cherry-Evans had their tape over the logo come off in the heat of battle. DCE was splashed across the front page of the Sunday Telegraph sport section for his 300th game with the NRL logo as clear as daylight. And he’s the RLPA’s general president.
SPOTTED
Johnathan Thurston, Craig Young, Neil Henry, Kevin Campion and Billy Johnstone among a stack of old footy types at a function on the Gold Coast over the weekend to mark the 10-year anniversary of the passing of the late, great and much-admired Graham Murray.
SPOTTED
Manly’s win over the Dragons was their first victory in Wollongong in 20 years. That was the day a rookie St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown slapped Trent Barrett in the face – and copped a $5000 fine from the NRL.
DOLPHINS ARE PLAYING $2 MILLION UNDER CAP
The Dolphins’ performances this year have been all the more remarkable in that the club is playing almost $2 million under the salary cap.
Rather than panic buying when a number of huge names including Cameron Munster, Kalyn Ponga and Brandon Smith knocked them back, coach Wayne Bennett and recruitment boss Peter O’Sullivan decided to save the money.
Instead they have advanced payments to players from their 2024 and 2025 contracts which gives them more space in the salary cap for the next two seasons.
It suited the likes of hooker Jeremy Marshall-King who recently used his advance to put a deposit down to buy his first home in Brisbane.
It also allowed the Dolphins to outbid rival clubs for the likes of Herbie Farnworth, Tom Flegler and Jake Averillo, who comfortably fit into their cap next year.
That the Dolphins have been such an incredible success this year after many tipped them to win the wooden spoon is a credit to the recruitment skills of O’Sullivan.
So many rival clubs panic buy and pay over-the-top amounts to fill the cap space rather than strategically use the money for down the track.
O’Sullivan is also the man who built the New Zealand Warriors roster to where it is now before leaving to take on the job alongside Bennett at the Dolphins.
360 VIEW
Catch you Monday on NRL 360 On Fox League at 6.30pm with Braith Anasta, Gorden Tallis, Brent Read and Cooper Cronk to discuss all the biggest issues from the weekend round.
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