Kalyn Ponga surprises a young NRL fan, Roosters’ charity support
Kalyn Ponga’a kind gesture for a fan, The Roosters dig deep for charity, the Sharks sack an honest man and the Panthers move tidy up after Gus Gould - it’s all in Australia’s hottest sport gossip column.
SAINT
THERE is another State of Origin game on this Saturday well worth supporting — the Blues v Maroons in wheelchair rugby league at Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park at 3pm. Entry is free. These guys are incredibly skilful. Please get out there to support them.
SINNER
GEORGE Burgess. To eye-gouge an opponent once in 12 months is a terrible act. To do it twice is despicable. The South Sydney Rabbitohs front-rower should be banned for the remainder of the season. And he should be fined by the club under the conduct clauses in his contract.
SHOOSH
WE’RE hearing from north of the border that the Maroons are desperately hoping NSW halfback Nathan Cleary plays in the decider at ANZ Stadium. Why? Because the Blues won the second half in Perth 20-0 while he was off the field and played their best footy in two years.
SHOOSH II
THERE was a story doing the rounds at a posh private school last week of a student wearing a wireless earphone under his headgear to get messages from his coach during a rugby game. Your columnist checked it out with the relevant authorities and was assured it didn’t happen.
SHOOSH III
WHICH ex-senior Bulldogs official has been hired by Penrith to slash costs and spending from the Gus Gould era of expensive coach sackings?
SPOTTED
MANLY legend Geoff Toovey celebrating his 50th birthday with family and mates at North Narrabeen RSL.
LISTEN! In a special one-on-one interview Matty sits down with Sam Burgess to talk through the highs and lows of his career, his desire to play at Manly and his venture into rugby union.
SPOTTED II
BLUES hero James Maloney sitting in economy with his kids on the way home from Perth on Monday. Gentleman Jimmy gave up his business-class seat for his wife.
SPOTTED III
FORMER NRL CEO Dave “Benji Barba” Smith with his wife and two daughters boarding a British Airways flight for London. Dave and his missus were in business class while their girls had to tough it out in premium economy.
SPOTTED IV
NSW Blues assistant coach Greg Alexander in a deep conversation with axed Blues star Latrell Mitchell in a bar at The Star casino on the night he was axed from the State of Origin team.
R.I.P. DUCK
MANLY and St George lost one of their most popular old players with the passing last week of Lindsay Drake. Sea Eagles legend Max Krilich has asked us to pass on the funeral details — ‘Duck’ will be laid to rest at Ann Wilson Funeral Home, Darley Rd Mona Vale on Wednesday.
KP MAKES OLLIE’S DAY
NEWCASTLE Knights and Queensland Origin superstar Kalyn Ponga is much more than just a great footy player.
This email says it all:
“My son (Ollie Daniels) is 8yo, plays league for South Newcastle U9s, and attends The Junction Public School in Newcastle. He recently (Tuesday 25/6) did his public speaking topic on people he looks up to, one of which was Kalyn. His teacher recorded part of the speech and got it to Kalyn via his Instagram. Within hours Kalyn showed up at the school’s front office and asked if he could speak with Ollie.
Kalyn visited Ollie’s classroom, provided him with a handwritten note thanking him for his kind words and saying how he admired him for being able to speak so well in public. He then gave him his QLD Origin headgear.
The visit was completely unannounced and was within 2 days of his Origin loss. Ollie was already obsessed with Kalyn and that has now gone to another level. When I picked him up from school that afternoon, not only was he still excited but all his mates were buzzing.
This was a great example of why the NRL should be doing all it can to ensure players (and people) like Kalyn Ponga remain in its game.”
CHOOKS AND THEIR CHARITY
RUNNING an NRL business is not just about having a successful footy team. The Roosters are doing some great charity work that rarely gets recognised.
The club purchased the old Randwick post office back in 2000. They paid $1.28m for a property that is now valued at $3.8m.
It has added $2.5 million to the club’s investment portfolio but, more importantly, it is now a home for the Ted Noffs Foundation that pays annual peppercorn rent of just $1.
The building is used as an administration centre for a wonderful organisation that helps disadvantaged young Australians get a better chance in life.
Roosters stars, like Luke Keary, often drop in unannounced to help out around the office.
SAM BACKS ANTE OF OLYMPICS
DESPITE the Matildas falling short of the quarter-finals at the World Cup, coach Ante Milicic has formed the strongest bond with the playing group since taking over from Alen Stajcic in such controversial circumstances.
And make no mistake, the girls are backing him to the hilt and are delighted he will remain in charge for their Olympic campaign.
Following the heartbreak loss to Norway in a penalty shootout, superstar skipper Sam Kerr stood up at the after-match function to thank the coaching and support staff for making it the most professional environment they had worked in.
Kerr said FFA had put the best possible team in charge for the tournament.
She went on to say that, while everyone was hurting, the chance to work with Milicic and the rest of the staff through to the Olympics was something they were looking forward to.
Good on FFA for standing up to the Stajcic protesters.
AXING AN HONEST MAN
CRONULLA Sharks have sacked Jamie L’Oste Brown, the salary cap guru who uncovered the rorting that took place under former chief executive Lyall Gorman.
L’Oste Brown was the first man CEO Barry Russell hired when he took over from Gorman to head up business risk and compliance.
Within two weeks of starting, L’Oste Brown discovered dodgy invoices, a fake bank loan and other rorts that were used to pay players outside of the cap and led to a $1 million fine.
L’Oste Brown was the NRL’s salary cap auditor and is regarded as one of the sharpest and most honourable men in the game.
That the Sharks have got rid of both him and Russell is not a good look.
Meanwhile, Sharks chairman Dino Mezzatesta has quit as COO of The Star casino and will have more time to spend on footy.
NINE MISSING IN ACTION AT LOGIES
IT’s interesting that Channel 9 is the only TV network missing from the best sports coverage award at THE Logies on the Gold Coast.
Nine’s Origin and NRL grand final coverage is normally in the mix. Channel 7 also missed out with its AFL grand final but is nominated for the Commonwealth Games. Even the ABC gets a start via the Invictus Games.
MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS COVERAGE
● Australia v India (Second Test in Perth) (Fox Sports)
● Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (Channel 7)
● Invictus Games Sydney 2018 (ABC)
● Supercars Championship: Bathurst 1000 (Channel 10)
● 2018 FIFA World Cup (SBS)
SMITH STORM BREWING
MELBOURNE Storm are furious about rumours Wests Tigers are chasing their outstanding utility forward and Kiwi Test hooker Brandon Smith.
Smith plays under Michael Maguire in the Kiwi side but there is no way in the world Craig Bellamy would even consider allowing him to leave.
He has three years to run on his Storm contract and will be the full-time hooker when Cameron Smith retires at the end of next season.
NO TIME TO REST
ANYONE with even the slightest knowledge of sports science knows that rest and good food is the best form of recovery.
That’s why it was so cruel that Origin stars Kalyn Ponga and Tim Glasby had to catch the Perth-to-Sydney red-eye flight and then drive to Newcastle straight after game two.
This is a serious issue their underperforming players’ union should be addressing.
NRL Market Watch: Titans boot former Bronco to Super League
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Cleary’s cheeky jab at Eels greats as fans flock to cheer Panthers
A huge crowd of Penrith fans have flocked to Panthers HQ to celebrate their team’s historic fourth straight premiership as Nathan Cleary responds to claims that his side could not match it with the Eels outfit of the 1980s.