Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Fox Sports lock in Warren Smith as Ray Warren retirement looms
Fox Sports have moved fast to lock down their star commentary team with Nine on the lookout for new talent, as legendary caller Ray Warren is set to hang up the boots after the 2020 season.
Phil Rothfield
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Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has had an unexpected meeting with former Gold Coast Titans forward Bryce Cartwright.
The pair bumped into each other in the carpark at Coogee Oval during the week, where Cartwright was training under sprint coach Roger Fabri.
Robinson was there having a walk with his children. They got talking about football.
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While it is too early to suggest anything will come from it, the Roosters have not ruled out having another chat after the NRL finals.
Cartwright is now living in the eastern suburbs with his family at Maroubra.
For a player who promised so much yet has underperformed in recent years, the Roosters would be a nice fit — as long as he is prepared to play on a contract at the lower end of the scale.
Cartwright’s had a chequered NRL career after debuting as a 19-year-old in 2014 for Penrith.
The problem for Robinson and the Sydney Roosters is that they have other forwards at the club including highly rated Sitili Tupouniua, who are the priority signings for next year and beyond.
If there is money left over in the salary cap, Cartwright could then become an option.
“I want to play NRL again,” Cartwright recently told News Corp. “That hasn’t changed. I feel like I’ve still got so much more to offer.
“I won’t stop trying. It will come down to me proving to people that I can do it and I will do it.
“Ninety-nine per cent of people think I’m done. That’s another driving factor.”
Check out all the latest NRL chatter and more in Australia’s hottest sport gossip column.
SAINT
Dean Jones AM. A glorious and brave attacking batsmen with a spectacular style that inspired a generation of kids to enrol in junior cricket as much as any player from his era. The tributes from around the world from true legends of the game have summed him up beautifully. RIP Deano.
SINNER
In a year in which we’ve experienced the most fatigue-related injuries in memory, the NRL is still trying to make the game harder and faster. There have been too many rugby league rule changes. The game needs to take a chill pill. We all want less structure and more entertainment but it’s gone too far.
MORE NEWS
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Origin boost: 40,000 set to shake Suncorp for Game III
SHOOSH
Powerful Manly Sea Eagles figures will be encouraging star No.1 Tom Trbojevic to rule himself out of Origin to ensure a full off-season to prepare for 2021.
SHOOSH II
Channel 10 newsreader Sandra Sully was by far the most popular guest in Peter V’landys’ suite at Randwick last Saturday, handing out a $19 winning tip in the last which allowed many facing a losing day to leave the track with plenty of cash.
SPOTTED
Old broadcaster Ray Hadley got a new Apple watch for his 65th birthday from fiance Sophie. It didn’t go down well with his playing partners at Castle Hill Golf Club as it kept beeping whenever a new text arrived, often while they were on the green putting. Being absolutely hopeless with technology, Hadley had no idea how to turn it to silent.
SPOTTED II
The two wooden spooners in The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph tipping comps at least have an excuse. Canterbury legend Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer tips his beloved Bulldogs every week. The Australian’s Brent Read is a Broncos tragic and puts loyalty before credibility by tipping them in every game too. Disclaimer: This writer has had his own tipping issues this year.
SPOTTED III
You can’t beat the culture at the Roosters. After fulltime at the SCG last Saturday night, Sonny Bill Williams, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and several other players visited the Sharks dressing room to check on Shaun Johnson who snapped his Achilles during the match.
SPOTTED IV
Ex-Cowboys coach Paul Green watching his old side beat the Broncos on Friday night with mates Andrew Gee and Craig Greenhill as guests of Bartons Motor Group.
MY SHOUT
Despite a behind-the-scenes backlash from certain old Sea Eagles types, Kieran Foran’s return to Manly is being celebrated up and down the peninsula. This massive BRING BACK FOZZA sign is hanging outside the Brookvale Hotel. Cheers!
TUNKS FOR NOTHING: DOG’S DALLY DUDDING
The Dally M debate over Craig Gower missing out on the 2003 medal has brought back bad memories for former Kangaroos, NSW and Bulldogs front-rower Peter Tunks.
Tunks contacted us during the week with claims he was robbed of the Dally M front-rower of the year award in 1987.
“I had a call from the organisers to say I’d won the award but I’d just signed to play the off-season with Leeds so I couldn’t make it on the night,” Tunks said.
“I told them my mum and my brother Geoffrey would accept the trophy for me. Then mum got a call a couple of days before and was told Ian Roberts had won it, not me.
“Good luck to Ian but we were pretty upset about it at the time. It was disgraceful.”
In those days the award was run by the NSWRL and the old Daily Mirror afternoon newspaper.
WARRIORS ALL CLASS AS PERFECT GUESTS
The New Zealand Warriors have left a huge impression with the management of the Star of the Sea resort in Terrigal.
“There’s never been a group of players like them,” says resort general manager Bob Lloyd, “We have had so many compliments about these young men.
“They’ve been here five months and there’s been not one complaint.
“The old days of footballers trashing places … seriously. They are such a wonderful group and a credit to the game and their country. They’ve become family and we’re really going to miss them.”
TIGERS COP FINE FOR CAMERA COVER-UP
The Wests Tigers have become the first club to be fined by the NRL this season for covering up dressing-room cameras during TV broadcasts.
It’s happened twice this year with Josh Aloiai and Luciano Leilua placing towels over the cameras before and after games while the networks are trying to get fans closer to the action.
The NRL handed out a $5000 suspended fine after their Round 8 game against the Panthers. The fine was then enforced when it happened again in Round 13 against Newcastle.
The TV broadcasters provide more than $300 million a year to cover the game and get access to justify their huge investment.
NRL FAREWELLS ARCHER
The NRL has axed former referees boss Tony Archer as part of its cost-cutting blitz. An old Todd Greenberg favourite, Archer’s been working in pathways for three years since being controversially removed from the refereeing ranks after years of turmoil among whistle blowers.
Another former ref and bunker official, Steve Clark, has also been made redundant.
Sadly, some good people in the media and communications department are leaving as well. Tom Gallimore and Tim Ashworth did outstanding work behind the scenes to promote the game.
TITANS ODDS SLASHED FOR 2021
The TAB and bookies are bracing for a huge betting plunge on Gold Coast for the 2021 NRL premiership.
The signings of David Fifita from the Broncos, Herman Ese’Ese (Knights) and Tino Faasuamaleaui (Storm) have convinced the bookies the Titans will play finals for only the second time in 10 years.
The new signings combined with their huge improvement this year will see the Titans open betting at $19 to win the title, compared to $101 this year.
Their price of making the semis next year will be slashed from $5 to $1.75.
SMITH SIGNS ON WITH FOX SPORTS
With broadcasting legend Ray Warren edging closer to retirement at Channel 9, Fox Sports has signed commentator Warren Smith to a new contract following speculation Nine was interested.
Smith signed for three years on Friday.
This leaves Channel 9 in a difficult position with only one caller, Matt Thompson, for Sydney games should Warren call it quits.
Now 77, Rabs says he will call State of Origin in November but is undecided about 2021.
Fox Sports now has Andrew Voss, Smith, Dan Ginnane, Brenton Speed and Matt Russell under contract for at least next season.
BIG WEEKEND FOR SAM AND SUPER BRO
It’s a huge weekend for the Canberra Raider Sam Williams and his family.
Sam had the honour of captaining the Green Machine for the first time against the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday night.
His brother Tim, an ex-sports journo, is running second of 140,000 players in SuperCoach and chasing the $50,000 first prize.
SHARK TOPS ALL-TIME GOLF LIST
Golf Digest magazine has celebrated its 50-year anniversary by naming the top 50 Australian golfers of all-time in a souvenir issue.
No surprises on top with Greg Norman rated number one. The Shark spent 331 weeks or six years as the world’s number one golfer, winning 89 tournaments, including two majors.
The great Karrie Webb is number two. A member of world golf’s hall of fame, Webb was the youngest winner of the Womens’ British Open in her rookie season in Europe in 1995 at just 20 years of age.