Paul Gallen frustrated by plans for Barry Hall bout
The bad blood is already pumping for Paul Gallen’s upcoming fight with Barry Hall, with the retired Sharks legend blowing up about plans that will help the former AFL great. PLUS, Cam Smith’s retirement plans.
NRL
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SAINT
There’s nothing like the atmosphere and sporting theatre at a Sydney A-League derby, even more so at the magnificent Bankwest Stadium for Sydney FC and the Wanderers.
SINNER
Michael Cheika’s long overdue departure from the Wallabies coaching job. Good riddance to possibly the most self-indulged person in Australian sport. It should have happened 12 months ago.
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SHOOSH
Which rugby league television personality has had a massive falling out with his business partner that is likely to finish up in court in the very near future?
SHOOSH II
Which former NRL player and TV/radio star got into a physical fight on Everest day at Randwick last week after the last race, apparently over a punter being rude and insulting his wife? We’re told police had to intervene but there were no arrests.
SPOTTED
Former Wallaby and Waratahs star Nick Phipps working with respected high-performance trainer Justin Lang at Woolooware on Tuesday before the talented half takes up a contract with London Irish in the UK.
SPOTTED II
Canberra Raiders assistant coach Mick Ennis in the grandstand at Leichhardt Oval last week as England trained. Ennis was there specifically to take notes on Canberra’s new Pommy recruit who’ll start in the halves, George Williams. He is also a close friend of Wayne Bennett.
SPOTTED III
Newcastle Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce joining Canterbury Bulldogs star Kieran Foran as groomsmen for his brother Liam Foran’s wedding last weekend.
SPOTTED IV
A trifecta of rugby league heavyweights — Peter V’landys, Nick Politis and Todd Greenberg — having breakfast in Rushcutters Bay on Thursday, discussing pertinent league matters.
SPOTTED V
Veteran player-agent Steve “Chimes” Gillis and Harvey Norman commercial boss Al Stephenson in Japan at the rugby union World Cup semi-finals.
SPOTTED VI
The great Parramatta Eels centre Mick Cronin and Illawarra wing legend Rod Wishart at the Kangaroos team hotel in Kiama last week for a civic reception. It was a special moment for coach Mal Meninga, who played his first Test match for Australia alongside Cronin in the centres.
FINCHY STILL SMILING
If Fox Sports commentator Brett Finch was in a rehab facility to deal with his medical issues, he has checked himself out quickly.
The former half-back was spotted at the races in Melbourne on Saturday, enjoying a day out at the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley as a guest of Crocmedia.
Finch was enjoying a beer and a bet and posing for selfies with his fans.
The story emerged this week that Finch had to be assisted off a plane at Sydney airport in a disorientated state with a bleeding nose
Despite his issues, Finch will not necessarily lose his job at Fox Sports because the bosses, Patrick Delany and Steve Crawley, would rather help him than sack him.
His future is not certain yet but they have his long-term welfare in mind.
Finch also has good people who admire him, such as billionaire Roosters boss Nick Politis, who will ensure he gets the right professional help.
HARRIGAN GONG IS BACK
THE NRL has resurrected the prestigious Bill Harrigan award after it was inexplicably axed by former refs boss Tony Archer.
Archer dumped the award despite Harrigan refereeing 393 first-grade games (an all-time record), 10 grand finals, 21 Origins and 25 Tests, replacing it with a new one named after Russell Smith, who did only 30 NRL games.
It was an embarrassment and highlighted the poisonous culture in the refereeing ranks while Archer was in charge.
The NRL’s head of football, Graham Annesley, reinstated Harrigan’s award soon after taking on the role at the start of the season. And Harrigan is rapt.
“It means everything to have this honour,” Harrigan said.
“I’ve dedicated my life to refereeing. “Even when the day comes that I can’t present the award, I hope my children will.”
MACGILL EXITS SCG TRUST
CRICKETER Stuart MacGill has been dumped from the SCG Trust, leaving a shortage in cricket experience. It follows the departure of Steve Waugh from when the previous Trust reshuffle took place.
The new faces on the Trust are both females — Erin Flaherty and Rosheen Garnon — who are both highly regarded in business and government circles.
MacGill’s exit is a shock. He is Test cricket’s second-highest wicket-taker at the SCG and knows the pitch better than anyone. And that right now is the biggest issue in NSW cricket.
The Blues were forced off the ground to play their first Sheffield Shield game at Drummoyne Oval because the pitch wasn’t ready after the football season.
TSZYU ON THE RISE
BOXER Tim Tszyu’s profile is building big-time in the US. His next fight on December 6 against Jack Brubaker will be beamed live into the US on ESPN.
His promoter, Matt Rose, has just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, where he met the sport’s most powerful man, Top Rank’s Bob Arum.
“Tim’s hit the radar on the world stage,” Rose said, “Bob’s watched him fight and rates him highly.
“It’s huge to have him on TV in the US. That’s the magnitude of where his career is heading right now.”
THE TRUE STORY OF GAL
Paul Gallen was at Moonee Valley on Saturday to watch his horse Te Akau Shark in Cox Plate.
As soon as he arrived he bumped into Danny Green, the old boxer who is promoting his fight next month against AFL bad boy Barry Hall. You can tell from the body language it was not a friendly discussion.
Gallen is blowing up about the two-minute rounds.
“They’re trying to set it up for Barry because they know I’m fitter and longer rounds would have suited me,” Gallen said.
“I don’t really care because I’m going to ruin their party anyway.”
■ Gallen was always the player Queenslanders hated more than anyone else in State of Origin but it still didn’t stop two of the all-time great Maroons, Johnathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer, from turning up to his testimonial lunch at the Sharks on Friday.
Both spoke in glowing terms of the NSW enforcer before hitting the road to Wollongong to call Friday night’s Test match on Channel 9.
WALLER’S WALLET
THE highest-paid person in Australian sport is not an athlete. It’s actually champion horse trainer Chris Waller.
We’ve worked out Waller earned $16,420 a second in the Everest last Saturday at Randwick.
That’s $600,000 (10 per cent of winning prizemoney), $90,000 (fourth place runner) and $40,000 (unplaced runner). Throw in another $400,000 as a shareholder of the winning slot.
Not a bad earn for a race over in 1min 7.32sec.
And to think Waller came to Australia from New Zealand with no money in 2000 and lived in the back of a mate’s house, surviving off his wife Stephanie’s modelling wages.
MORE NEWS
How clipped Finch regained captaincy wings
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SMITH SET TO CARRY ON
A MEETING over coffee in Melbourne next week is likely to determine that Storm skipper and 411-game superstar Cameron Smith will continue playing in 2020.
Coach Craig Bellamy, who revealed Smith spoke of retiring at the team’s Mad Monday in late September, will catch up with the champion hooker in the next few days.
“I haven’t spoken to Cameron since we went on holiday,” Bellamy said.
“I think the longer it goes, there’s more chance of him playing on. There’s no time frame on him but we’ll catch up for a coffee next week and see what he thinks.”
Smith was on the receiving end of much criticism last season over a number of issues, including the diamond ring Todd Greenberg gave his wife for his 400 games and the “wingnut” tackle.
However those closest to him say he is desperate to retire after one more crack at the premiership.