That’s all for today, settle yourselves in for a cold one and another Friday night double-header.
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In the biggest news of the day, the stalemate looks set to continue at Brisbane after chief executive Paul White refused to clarify the club’s long-term plan and whether it involves Wayne Bennett beyond 2019. White fronted media at Red Hill on Friday morning in an attempt to the quell speculation around the coaching job. Bennett is off contract at the end of next season and wants to continue as an NRL coach, but White refused to detail the club’s long-term plan except to say the master coach wouldn’t be sacked ahead of next season. MORE: Wayne Bennett future uncleas as Broncos saga rolls on REVEALED: Broncos set sights on Wayne Bennett replacement ROBERT CRADDOCK: How will Bennett play his last card? There is news breaking at every club throughout the day and our rolling coverage will keep you posted on everything you need to know.
Live Updates
FLANAGAN SET FOR THE LONG RUN IN THE SHIRE
Shane Flanagan is going nowhere from Cronulla, declaring he wants to coach the Sharks for the next 10 years.
The man who led the club to their inaugural premiership in 2016 is one of the safest mentors in the NRL.
Coaching dramas have plagued up to half of the clubs in the competition this year, but Flanagan is one of the few bosses to have escaped scrutiny due to his consistent record.
He was asked about his long-term ambitions ahead of the Sharks’ clash with North Queensland at Southern Cross Group Stadium on Saturday night.
“I think myself and all the people involved in the club over the last four or five years have worked so hard to get the club to what it is at the moment,” Flanagan told reporters on Friday.
“We’re a top-four, semi-final team year in, year out.
“I think the future looks really bright for the club and I want to be apart of that.”
The Sharks sit sixth on the ladder but are only one game outside of the top-four with three games against non-finalists to end the regular season.
But Flanagan says his team wouldn’t be resting on their laurels after beating the Storm in Melbourne last Sunday to prevent the reigning premiers from sitting atop the ladder.
That famous win at AAMI Park came after a shock golden-point loss at home to Manly a week earlier.
“It was important we started to take a few steps towards what team we believe we are,” Flanagan said.
“We need to back it up in the next month of football and last week means nothing if we can’t play well again (against the Cowboys),” Flanagan said. But in a major blow to the Sharks, they’ve lost star second-rower Wade Graham to a knee injury, putting his season in doubt. Scott Sorensen will replace Graham in the No.12 jersey.
Flanagan says his team is ready for the latest chapter of Johnathan Thurston’s farewell tour, which sees the retiring Cowboys legend play his final game in Sydney.
North Queensland round out the season with a home fixture against Parramatta and a clash with the Titans on the Gold Coast.
Paul Green’s team heads to Shark Park without suspended star Jason Taumalolo. The Cowboys, who were pre-season premiership favourites, sit at the bottom of the ladder as they look to avoid their first wooden spoon since 2000.
STATS THAT MATTER
– After turning 37 on Tuesday, Paul Gallen will become the seventh player in premiership history to play after his 37th birthday.
– The Cowboys are chasing three straight wins over the Sharks for the second time in their history. They won their round one encounter this year before losing the next five games to slump out of finals contention.
– Cronulla have been testing the hearts of their supporters as 13 of the Sharks’ last 15 matches have been decided by eight points or less.
– Oliver Caffrey
MALONEY INJURY A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
Penrith caretaker coach Cameron Ciraldo has revealed he was looking to rest James Maloney before the veteran was ruled out for up to three weeks with a knee injury.
Maloney is likely to be out until the NRL finals after suffering a medial tear during last week’s win over Gold Coast, with utility Tyrone May to start at five-eighth against Newcastle.
“We spoke about resting him anyway and his scan came back that he had the grade two medial so it was an enforced rest,” Ciraldo said on Friday. “He probably would’ve been not playing this week anyway. Tyrone was going to get a shot at five-eighth. Hopefully it’s a blessing in disguise, but we won’t know until later in the year.” Maloney, who had been battling through neck, toe and hand issues since State of Origin, was seen limping into the Panthers’ training headquarters with a knee brace.
But Ciraldo is hoping to have his NSW star back by the finals series. “We’re hoping two weeks or three weeks and he’ll be right for the semi-finals. He’s limping more because of the brace more so than the injury,” he said. Maloney’s absence comes as the Panthers look to secure an all-important spot in the top four.
Ciraldo’s fourth-placed side sit equal with third-placed Melbourne on 30 points, two ahead of St George Illawarra, Cronulla, Brisbane and the Warriors, with three games remaining in the regular season.
He admits the dust is only just beginning to settle after a dramatic fortnight that began with the sacking of Anthony Griffin and reports of Ivan Cleary’s return to the club from Wests Tigers.
Griffin’s axing paved the way for Ciraldo to become the second youngest coach in NRL history.
“They’ve both been pretty crazy weeks, but we’ve got a lot of help around the academy here and everyone’s done a really good job preparing this week.” He remains unsure of whether he has ambitions to be the long-term coach of the club.
“I haven’t had time to think about that,” he said.
“The only time we’ve had is to prepare for the Knights and review the Titans. I haven’t even had time to see the family too much let alone think about what’s going to happen next year.” Meanwhile, Panthers forward James Fisher-Harris is a late scratching after succumbing to a shoulder injury.
Kaide Ellis will start at lock and Liam Martin is likely to debut on the bench. For the Knights, Kalyn Ponga is set to start at five-eighth, resulting in Nick Meaney getting the call-up to play fullback.
-AAP
MCGREGOR: I CAN HANDLE THE PRESSURE
Paul McGregor hasn’t sought assurances from St George Illawarra bosses about his job despite Wayne Bennett being linked with a shock return to the Dragons. McGregor’s name has been dragged into the NRL coaching embroglio as uncertainty over Bennett’s future at the Brisbane Broncos ramps up.
A Courier Mail report said Dragons management want to reinstate the man who steered them to the 2010 premiership and had held private discussions with Bennett.
McGregor is ignoring the speculation, saying he is confident of seeing out his contract through to the end of 2019.
He has not approached club management to clarify his position. “No, not at all. I’ve got a year to fulfil on my contract and I’m here to do that,” a relaxed McGregor told journalists on Friday.
“I’m comfortable. We’re one win out of the top four. It’s taken three years to build this team. It’s a team I want to coach, it’s a team I enjoy coaching and I’ve got staff that I’ve built over that period of time as well.” McGregor’s position hasn’t been aided by another Dragons late-season meltdown. The early leaders have dropped five of their last six matches heading into Saturday’s pivotal match away to the ninth-placed Wests Tigers. It mirrors previous poor finishes under McGregor, something the 50-year-old is prepared to take flak for.
“If anyone needs to get hit with a stick, it’s me and not the players,” he said. “I’m the leader of them so criticism can come high at me but I’d prefer everyone just back off the players a bit.” McGregor said speculation of a coaching merry-go-round since Anthony Griffin was sacked by Penrith two weeks ago did not surprise him.
He described it as part of the job in a professional environment and as “character building”.
“When people are off contract or names come around or a team sort of dips in form, people talk about it. It’s something to talk about,” he said. “It’s strange isn’t it? But it is what it is.
“It’s nothing I can control so I’d never give energy to something I can’t control.”
-AAP
NFL HEADS DOWN UNDER TO RAID RUGBY LEAGUE TALENT
From The Courier-Mail’s Blindside column:
By Peter Badel and Travis Meyn
AMERICAN scouts from the NFL are coming Down Under in an unprecedented recruiting raid on local talent.
The success of former Souths under-20s hulk Jordan Mailata has sparked interest in Australian and Pacific region athletes, prompting the creation of the first NFL International Combine on the Gold Coast on October 5-7.
NFL scouts will descend on the glitter strip to run the rule over potential American football recruits between the age of 20 to 25.
There will be testing days in Fiji, Samoa, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Brisbane before 75 athletes will be chosen and flown to the Gold Coast for the Combine to be assessed by NFL scouts.
Up to five players will make the final cut to attend the famous IMG Academy in Florida, where the 150kg Mailata learnt the ropes before clinching an NFL contract in April with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“This is a great initiative from the NFL,” Mailata said.
“It will provide so many players from back home who thought there was no pathway to the NFL, a real chance of making it.
“Last November I started my journey and last week I played my first NFL game for the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a real rush, an unbelievable experience.
“If you think you have what it takes, sign up and have a crack.”
READ MORE BLINDSIDE: https://goo.gl/xPVQbd
MALONEY REST COULD BE BLESSING FOR PANTHERS
Penrith caretaker coach Cameron Ciraldo has revealed he was looking to rest James Maloney before the veteran was ruled out for up to three weeks with a knee injury.
Maloney is likely to be out until the finals after suffering a medial tear during last week’s win over Gold Coast, with utility Tyrone May to start at five-eighth against Newcastle.
“We spoke about resting him anyway and his scan came back that he had the grade two medial so it was an enforced rest,” Ciraldo said on Friday.
“He probably would’ve been not playing this week anyway. Tyrone was going to get a shot at five-eighth. Hopefully it’s a blessing in disguise, but we won’t know until later in the year.”
Maloney, who had been battling through neck, toe and hand issues since State of Origin, was seen limping into the Panthers’ training headquarters with a knee brace.
But Ciraldo is hoping to have his NSW star back by the finals.
“We’re hoping two weeks or three weeks and he’ll be right for the semi-finals. He’s limping more because of the brace moreso than the injury,” he said.
Maloney’s absence comes as the Panthers look to secure an all-important spot in the top four.
Ciraldo’s fourth-placed side sit equal with third-placed Melbourne on 30 points, two ahead of St George Illawarra, Cronulla, Brisbane and the Warriors, with three games to go in the season.
He admits the dust is only just beginning to settle after a dramatic fortnight that began with the sacking of Anthony Griffin and reports of Ivan Cleary’s return to the club from Wests Tigers.
Griffin’s axing paved the way for Ciraldo to become the second youngest coach in NRL history.
“They’ve both been pretty crazy weeks, but we’ve got a lot of help around the academy here and everyone’s done a really good job preparing this week.”
He remains unsure of whether he has ambitions to be the long-term coach of the club.
“I haven’t had time to think about that,” he said.
“The only time we’ve had is to prepare for the Knights and review the Titans. I haven’t even had time to see the family too much let alone think about what’s going to happen next year.”
– AAP
NRL JUDICIARY: THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Just in from the NRL: “Please be advised that there were no charges from the NRL Match Review Committee following Thursday Night Football from Round 23.”
WATCH: BRONCOS BOSS ON DEFENCE IN TESTY GRILLING
Brisbane CEO Paul White has the media following speculation over the future of Wayne Bennett and who will coach the Broncos beyond this season.
Watch the video below
BRONCOS BOSS ADDRESSES MEDIA ON WAYNE BENNETT’S FUTURE
More from Brisbane CEO Paul White:
“There’s a desire to put some pressure on us and force our hand a little bit,” White said.
“I’m hoping that after today, as much as people will be critical of me or the club, on balance we are making the right decision for our future.
“I haven’t spoken to Anthony Seibold and I haven’t spoken to Michael Maguire.
“I’m committed to getting through this year and making sure we have the time and space.
“We are acutely aware that Wayne wants to coach on into 2020.”
BRONCOS BOSS ADDRESSES MEDIA ON WAYNE BENNETT’S FUTURE
More from Brisbane CEO Paul White, this time on BBQ-gate.“It is an event I have annually,” White said.
“The majority of players were caught on a flight in Townsville that was delayed five hours.
“The players are entitled to support their coach and I don’t see that as a bad thing.
“Wayne told me on Friday morning he wasn’t coming around to my place.
“Darius (Boyd) sent me a text message saying he was going over to the coach’s house and I support that.”