NRL advise players to cut handshakes and limit contact with fans amid coronavirus worries
St George Illawarra are readying a huge new contract in a bid to keep Kangaroos forward Tyson Frizell out of Newcastle’s hands. PLUS, coronavirus hits the Matty Johns show.
NRL
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Players have been told to minimise contact with fans and been asked to back slap rather than hug or shake hands at the end of matches under measures put in place by the NRL in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.
Sport Confidential obtained the email sent to all 16 club bosses by chief executive Todd Greenberg just hours before the start of the NRL season.
It comes as worried clubs start number crunching about how much money they will lose if games are played in front of empty stadiums. One club boss fears the figure could be in the millions and may lead to staffing cuts in a bid to stay solvent.
The email from Greenberg told players to limit their interaction with fans.
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It included: avoiding handshakes with the general public, avoid contact with fans as they walk out onto the field, replace and shakes with alternatives such as back slaps, steer clear of selfies and avoid taking pens to sign items.
Clubs have been told to restrict dressin -room access on match day, including limiting access to media organisations, family and friends.
Community activities such as visits to hospitals and schools should be minimised to “help mitigate the risk of players contracting the virus and it will reduce the burden on these facilities and organisations that are already facing challenges with hygiene supervision”.
Clubs have also been told to avoid sharing towels and water bottles and consider using disposable paper cups.
The four-page document tells players to report any illness to their medical officer immediately.
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The NRL finance committee met on Monday to consider various investment strategies for the game before Roosters boss Nick Politis offered a prudent thought.
Politis suggested sitting on the money for the short term given there was a chance the coronavirus might cause the cancellation of games and a bank might be necessary to help the clubs through the short term. Wages still need to be paid.
Within days, the World Health Organisation announced a worldwide pandemic and various sports suspended their seasons.
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The coronavirus affected The Late Show with Matty Johns on Thursday. The crowd was cancelled and Fox Sports staff volunteered to fill the seats.
DRAGONS’ BIG OFFER FOR FRIZ
St George Illawarra are confident their $2.1 million three-year deal will be enough to keep Kangaroos forward Tyson Frizell at the club.
The Dragons are locked in a battle with Newcastle for Frizell but hope their deal — which includes the third year with an option in Frizell’s favour — has put them in the box seat to keep the 28-year-old.
It’s understood the Dragons have offered about $1.5 million in the first two years.
The Warriors also had a crack but Frizell is expected to decide between the Dragons and the Knights.
The Corrimal Cougars junior was hopeful of locking down a deal before the start of the season but that is unlikely.
Frizell and Canberra winger Nick Cotric are the only incumbent Australian players off-contract at season’s end.
And Frizell isn’t the only player the Dragons are throwing cash at.
They are in serious discussions with Manly’s Moses Suli and have offered the 21-year-old a three-year deal which would make him one of the NRL’s highest paid centres.
The Sea Eagles would need to give Suli a longer term deal to combat the Dragons’ offer.
St George Illawarra has a host of players off-contract at season’s end including centres Euan Aitken and Tim Lafai.
Matty Johns is back with his No.1 podcast! He delves into all the big issues facing the NRL in season 2020 including the clubs and coaches under the most scrutiny.
Could a familiar face be back among the management ranks at St George Illawarra?
There is word out of the Dragons camp that former long-serving chief executive Peter Doust may take up a seat on the joint venture’s board.
He has been touted as a possible replacement for the man who replaced him as boss – Brian Johnston. Johnston will stand down from the board when he finishes as chief executive which could happen as soon as this month.
The Dragons will appoint former Tigers chief operating officer Ryan Webb has its new chief executive.
Doust has remained on the board of the St George Leagues Club and St George District Club since stepping down from the chief executive role and Dragons board in 2018.
DOGS COULD PAY FOR BAD BEHAVIOUR
Canterbury is already out of pocket millions of dollars after losing a major sponsor because of the latest sex scandal and the club could be forced to cough up more money to the NRL.
The Bulldogs were whacked with a $250,000 fine after their disastrous Mad Monday in 2018. Half of that was suspended for two years by the NRL on account of the club’s contrition.
The Dogs are essentially still under a good behaviour bond so we checked with the NRL to ascertain if Canterbury would have to cough up the remaining $125,000 — but as it stands the club has not been breached.
Players have and can be individually breached but that won’t impact on the club’s good behaviour.
So that six-figure fine — pending further inquiry — seems safe for now.
HAIR-RAISING PLAN
Corey Norman is not the superstitious type. Regardless of his performance on Sunday night, his bleached blond hair is here to stay. Norman is following in the footsteps of former Dragons teammate Gareth Widdop by going for the Eminem-look.
“It’ll be there,” Norman said. “My hair has nothing to do with the way I play. That’s all irrelevant. When it grows out it grows out.”
SHOOSH
Which superstar sent a scare through his club last week with fears he had suffered a serious arm injury that could have ended his season? Scans revealed otherwise — which eased all the panic.
GREATEST HITS
Jorge Taufua’s massive hit on Cameron Munster last year gave the NRL a cut-through in the US it has long craved.
The bellringer went viral when picked up by US sports highlights channel ‘House of Highlights’.
“I won’t lie, I’ve seen it a few times,” Taufua said. “I get tagged in it a lot on social media. I try to leave it there. It’s a new season.
“It was crazy to see (it go viral). Hopefully our game gets more recognition over there. We are some of the toughest athletes in the world. It was a pretty cool time.”
While the hit attracted worldwide interest, Taufua was keen to play the tackle down ahead of his rematch against Munster at the same venue on Sunday. He is wary of expectation that he’s the game’s latest hitman.
“I hope everyone doesn’t have that expectation,” Taufua said. “It’s out of my control.
“Fans are going to be like ‘go out and do another hit’. I just got lucky.”
Taufua plays his 150th top grade game on Sunday.
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NICE BUNS
It may look out of place but there’s a reason why the glamorous Manly cheerleaders are going to have “monkey bun” written across the backside of their outfits this season. The Monkey Bun burger bar in Pittwater RSL Club has come on board as sponsors of the Manly Seabirds. Sea Eagles legend Mark “Spudd” Carroll — who’s wife Monique coordinates the Seabirds — was on hand for the “cheeky” announcement.
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BLAST FROM THE PAST
Tim Brasher
244 games (Balmain 185, South Sydney 40 and North Queensland 19) from 1989-2002. 21 games for NSW, 14 for Australia.
When you skim across Tim Brasher’s career, it is hard to imagine the superstar No.1 didn’t play another finals match after his second season.
He would go on to play 12 more years of first grade and become an automatic selection in NSW and Australian teams, but his finals appearances ended with a 1990 preliminary finals loss to Manly, having featured in Balmain’s grand final defeat in 1989.
“It is crazy to think that,” Brasher said. “That’s why I loved playing rep football so much. It was my chance to lift up a trophy.”
Brasher, who made his top-grade debut for the Tigers while still at school, would have played in more finals had a four-year deal with Canterbury come to fruition. The ARL-aligned Brasher had signed with the Dogs before the 1998 season but at that stage the game was still split.
“We were banking on the game coming together,” Brasher said. “In the meantime, Souths got wind and offered me a decent contract. I had
to pull out of the Canterbury one and they understood. Two months later the ARL and Super League joined back together and Canterbury made the grand final. We ended up coming near the bottom. That’s life.”
After retiring in 2002 following a stint with the Cowboys, Brasher did a solo trip around the US. He bought a 10-year-old jeep and became far removed from rugby league stardom.
He bought a bar in Canada, which by chance led to him becoming a successful golf caddie for the likes of Terry Price and Tim Wilkinson.
Brasher returned home in 2008 after being “sick of the nomad lifestyle” and is now a bookkeeper in Newcastle.
“I wish I could do it all over again,” Brasher said of his footy career. “It was such a good life.”