Sports Confidential: Tino Fa’asuamaleaui could have landed at Cowboys before choosing Storm
It could have been so different up in Townsville. Fresh from a grand final appearance in 2017, the Cowboys went hard to recruit one of the big success stories on the Storm’s current roster.
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Tino Fa’asuamaleaui will be a key weapon for the Storm in Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith but the Melbourne giant could easily have joined glamour club, the Roosters or the Cowboys.
Sport Confidential can reveal the Roosters and Cowboys were so keen on Fa’asuamaleaui they invited the former Broncos young gun to inspect their respective set-ups in 2017.
At the time, the Cowboys were on the way to making the 2017 grand final, which they lost to the Storm, while the rich Roosters were on the verge of two consecutive premierships in 2018-19.
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The 112kg back-rower or prop, off contract at the Broncos and unsure of his future, flew to Townsville for talks with then Cowboys coach Paul Green before heading to Sydney to meet Roosters mentor Trent Robinson.
Fa’asuamaleaui, who will join the Titans next season, has been a revelation this season for the Storm and is set to make his Queensland debut in Origin I on Wednesday week.
“I spoke to the Cowboys,” he said.
“I met with Paul Green and I looked around the set-up in Townsville, but I just felt the Storm had a special culture as a club and I have never regretted my decision.”
Fa’asuamaleaui’s manager Simon Mammino said the 17-year-old rookie was blown away to meet the likes of Robinson, Green and Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
“Tino was chased by four clubs including the Roosters, the Cowboys and Newcastle,” Mammino said.
“The Knights didn’t end up putting an offer in but the Roosters and Cowboys went hard.
“We flew up to the Cowboys, we looked at the set-up and Tino had a good chat with Paul Green.
“Then we flew to Sydney to meet with the Roosters and inspect their set-up. It was a pretty extensive process.
“In the end, the Roosters also pulled out. I don’t know the reason why but Tino did speak to Trent Robinson.
“The clincher for Tino was the system Melbourne had. They probably showed more desire to get him than any other club and Tino, being a country kid, liked that Melbourne were a bit isolated from the rugby league hype in Sydney.
“He has a great work and liked Melbourne’s culture of working hard.”
Munster out of the doghouse
Cameron Munster must be relieved the forces of fate steered him to the Melbourne Storm instead of the Canterbury Bulldogs.
As a 17-year-old in Rockhampton, Munster made his Intrust Super Cup debut for the Central Capras, who were coached by Jason Hetherington, the tough-as-nails hooker who played 118 NRL games for the Bulldogs.
Hetherington was ready to send Munster to Belmore when Melbourne recruitment chief Paul Bunn got a call out of the blue from a trusted scout in Central Queensland in June 2013.
“I have two scouts in Central Queensland I trust,” Bunn recalls.
“So I get a phone call one day and my mate said, ‘There’s a kid you have to sign right now. His name is Cameron Munster. Get up here or someone else will get him.
“I rang his coach, Jason Hetherington, and Jason was honest. He said, ‘I’m a Bulldogs man and I am trying to get him to Canterbury’.
“I watched some tapes of him in the Queensland Cup and thought this kid has something special.
“So I rang Cam’s agent straight away and said let’s get a deal done. Thankfully he signed very quickly.”
While the Bulldogs haven’t won a title since 2004, Munster plays his fourth Storm grand final this week and won a premiership ring in 2017.
The Storm sensation has done the hard yards, working at Melbourne’s reception desk selling memberships when he was 18.
“I remember Cam in the office making calls selling memberships, he has never forgotten where he has come from,” Bunn said.
Ryles sells Storm short
Storm assistant coach Jason Ryles made it sound like Melbourne had little support at their adopted home on the Sunshine Coast.
The Storm held an open training session on Monday and were approved to have 1000 fans attend in line with COVID protocols.
But they were left a little deflated after seemingly overcompensating.
“We had a fan day the other day and about five people turned up, so it was pretty funny,” Ryles said on Big Sports Breakfast.
“It is a lot different in that regard and therefore there is a lot less focus on them.”
Sport Confidential checked with Storm officials if that was the case and were told around 250 fans made an appearance throughout the day at training and the fan session.
It was still a far cry from the thousands that pack Melbourne’s home training field at Gosch’s Paddock for grand final fan days.
Safe Lodge at Broncos
The Broncos have moved to quell speculation controversial prop Matt Lodge is set to be axed as part of Kevin Walters’ Red Hill revolution.
Walters has made it clear there will be changes to Brisbane’s roster next season. Lodge was understood to be in the firing line, prompting the Warriors, whose recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan is Lodge’s father-in-law, to express interest in the rugged bookend.
But Brisbane board member Darren Lockyer, also part of the club’s recruitment-and-retention committee, insists Lodge will be at the Broncos next season.
The 25-year-old, touted as a Broncos captain just 12 months ago, is contracted to the Broncos until the end of 2022.
“Matt went on holiday after our presentation and he won’t be back until the pre-season starts,” Lockyer said.
“Kevvie hasn’t had a chance to talk to ‘Lodgey’ face-to-face. I think it’s just about those two guys having an honest chat about Lodgey understanding what Kevvie’s expectations are.
“There is no view to offload him at all, it’s just whether Lodgey is happy to work with Kevvie and be on the same page.
“Matt has acknowledged he has to get a bit lighter because the game is faster. If he gets his body and his injuries right, he has a lot to offer. Matt has qualities that other forwards don’t. He has aggression and a good football brain, so we’d like to keep him.”
Reynolds pays the price
Souths have suffered a blow with star halfback Adam Reynolds set to miss the start of pre-season as he prepares to undergo groin surgery.
The toll of a brutal 2020 campaign has been felt across the NRL with several top-liners to miss next month’s Origin series and Reynolds is the latest big name to go under the knife.
Underlining his toughness, Reynolds carried an Achilles injury through the final weeks of the NRL season and he also had a groin problem which flared up during Souths’ grand-final qualifying loss to Penrith last week.
Reynolds could miss the early stages of the pre-season but the good news is he will be on deck for the 2021 premiership.
‘Paps’ won’t die wondering
Melbourne fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has promised to continue his attacking ways in Sunday’s NRL grand final.
Papenhuyzen has been in sensational form throughout the finals series and will be one of the key players in the decider against Penrith.
But he made a key error in the grand final qualifier against Canberra last Friday when he attacked a loose ball and produced a knock-on, when he should have probably just cleaned it up.
Papenhuyzen said he would not be changing his approach even on the biggest stage.
“That’s just my game – I’ll always take it on,” he said.
“It didn’t pay off on one play and I was disappointed in that because it was a big part of the game and I have to execute.
“I don’t think I’ll change anything. I’ve got to be aggressive.”
Broncos football chief survives
There has been some high-level departures at the Broncos but besieged football operations chief Peter Nolan is tipped to remain at Red Hill next season.
Nolan has come under fire for Brisbane’s roster management, with leading Fox Sports analyst and former Bronco Ben Ikin labelling the club’s roster composition “disgusting” earlier this season.
Nolan has been criticised for being part of the recruitment-and-retention committee which handed Anthony Milford a $1 million deal, while failing to develop leaders in recent years and a halfback to steer the team around the park.
But Sport Confidential understands Nolan will not be sacked by new coach Kevin Walters, with the long-serving official having the backing of the Broncos board.
Wombat on the warpath
There is a reason why the Storm are the NRL’s benchmark. It comes down to the ultra-professional standards driven by coach Craig Bellamy and his key right-hand man, football manager Frank Ponissi.
Ponissi, nicknamed ‘Wombat’, is the heartbeat of Melbourne’s football department and he laid down the law at Storm training on Monday.
Several Storm players had their socks down as they gathered for a team photo at Sunshine Coast Stadium. Ponissi walked along the group like a school headmaster and demanded every player have their socks pulled up.
It’s those one percenters that sum up the attitude of Melbourne’s bosses.
Burgess in firing line
The recent explosive allegations surrounding Sam Burgess could cost him dearly at the Rabbitohs.
It is understood Burgess is unlikely to be Souths’ SG Ball coach next season due to the fallout. His good mate, premiership-winning former skipper John Sutton, tipped to take charge of the under-18s in 2021.
The NRL integrity unit is investigating a number of serious claims against Burgess, including allegations he assaulted his pregnant partner following a drug-fuelled bender.
Burgess, Souths’ 2014 premiership hero, has vehemently denied the allegations.
AFL Grand Final bash
Sports fans seeking to solve their dilemma of how best to spend the historic Brisbane AFL Grand Final day now have the perfect option.
A Banquet in the Brewery event will take place inside the hallowed ground of the Keg Room inside the XXXX Brewery Milton on Saturday.
The COVID-safe fundraising sports lunch, organised by Forte Event Management, will be a pre-grand final warm up to remember with high-profile sport speakers, first-rate entertainment and two top quality hospitality packages available.
AFL Brownlow Medallist and Hall of Famer Jason Akermanis and Olympic gold medal winning beach volleyballer Natalie Cook will address the key theme of the event: Is Queensland going from the Sunshine State to the Sportshine State?
To book for the Banquet in the Brewery, visit brisbanetickets.com.au/event/11895 or call Forte Event Management on 0432 327 455.
Payten makes a play
New Cowboys coach Todd Payten has made his first signing by bringing New Zealand forward Lachlan Burr to Townsville.
Burr will join the Cowboys on a two-year deal after being thrown a lifeline by Payten, who must have been impressed by him at the Warriors.
Burr made his NRL debut for Canterbury in 2013 and had two patchy seasons at the Titans in 2015-16.
He fell off the NRL radar for a couple of years, but managed 37 games for the Warriors over the past two seasons.
Burr, 28, is far from a star signing, but Payten has made the first addition to the squad he inherited from Paul Green.
Glenn’s silver lining
Alex Glenn is in danger of losing the Brisbane Broncos’ captaincy and had a horror year with injuries in 2020.
But there has been a silver lining for the popular Kiwi, who is expecting his third child with partner Jemma-Lee Morgan.
Glenn announced this week that a sibling for Miller and Giselle was due early next year.
Glenn, 32, only managed eight games this season but he is determined to make up for it next year in what is shaping up as his farewell campaign.
Originally published as Sports Confidential: Tino Fa’asuamaleaui could have landed at Cowboys before choosing Storm