Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Blake Ferguson’s shock Wallabies bid
Parramatta are in talks with a Canterbury star as a potential replacement for departing winger Blake Ferguson - all the latest NRL chatter and more.
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NRL star Blake Ferguson wants to play rugby for the Wallabies at the 2023 World Cup.
The 31-year-old winger is leaving the NRL after 249 games at the Sharks, Raiders, Roosters and Eels, during a colourful career in which he played for NSW and Australia and won a premiership.
There has been interest from Japanese rugby union and Perth’s Western Force about switching codes.
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“My manager (Sam Ayoub) is looking into it,” Ferguson told News Corp. “There are some very good opportunities now in rugby union.
“One of my goals is to play for the Wallabies. You’ve got to aim high. It would be a fantastic achievement to be a dual international.”
Ferguson insists he is in good enough shape to play footy for another three years. He would, however, have some hurdles to overcome before he would qualify to play for the Wallabies.
Laws were relaxed this year during Covid to bring two players back from Japan.
There is also pressure from various stakeholders to permanently scrap current rules that would stop Ferguson from wearing the Wallaby jersey while playing overseas.
There is also the option he could play a full season in Japan and then return for the back end of the Super Rugby season with the Force.
Ferguson had options to continue in the NRL but faced a hefty pay cut.
“Brad (Arthur) said he’d love to still have me but the offer would be a lot less than what I was on,” Ferguson said. “So I’ve played my last NRL game.
“It’s been a good ride and I got to achieve every goal that I set for myself.
“There has been some drama but it was all just part of the journey.
“I owe a lot of all my clubs and all my coaches and the special people who have looked after me along the way, like Nick Politis and Anthony Mundine.”
All the latest NRL chatter and more in Australia’s hottest sport gossip column.
SAINT
We need more clubs that treat their fans as well as Melbourne Storm. In a wonderful gesture the club is offering free membership next year to as many as 23,000 members who have stuck loyal over the last two years despite missing out on 17 home games at AAMI Park and two finals series. It will cost the club $3.3 million.
SINNER
Critics have always blamed Anthony Seibold for the Broncos’ poor culture and repeated ill-discipline and misbehaviour. That’s one reason why Kevvie Walters came on board. Yet since Seibold’s departure we’ve had serious drama involving Payne Haas, Anthony Milford, Kotoni Staggs, Jordan Riki, Tom Flegler, Tesi Niu and Teui Robati. And the off-season has only just begun. Seriously, this club is the worst behaved in the NRL.
SHOOSH
The biggest loss for the Wests Tigers next year is the departure of their high-performance guru Andrew Gray, who previously worked with the 2010 St George Illawarra Dragons and 2016 Cronulla Sharks premiership winning teams under Wayne Bennett and Shane Flanagan.
SPOTTED
Aussie boxing guru Hussy Hussein is in intensive care at Westmead Hospital, struck down by Covid. The 45-year-old former Olympian and world title challenger is known as an absolute gentleman in a vicious and brutal sport. We wish him a speedy recovery.
SPOTTED
Why the big fuss about Michael Maguire and his future at the Wests Tigers! We told you all back in June, and quoted Tigers club chairman Lee Hagipantelis giving his iron-clad guarantee Madge’s job was safe.
SPOTTED
Old Gold Coast Titans coach Garth Brennan back at the Newcastle Knights as head of pathways. Brennan was in a similar role at the Penrith Panthers and helped identify and coach many outstanding players now in the NRL. It’s a great appointment.
SPOTTED
At a recent independent commission meeting to discuss TV rights chairman Peter V’landys asked the commissioners what network they watched rugby league on – Channel Nine or Fox Sports. Each and every one of them said they don’t watch Channel 9 unless it’s Origin or the GF.
SPOTTED
Veteran Knights half Mitchell Pearce spending the first days of his off-season holiday catching up with former Roosters teammate Todd Carney on the NSW north coast. Carney won the Dally M Medal playing outside of Pearce in 2010.
RICKY REACTS TO RAIDERS’ POOR SEASON
Ricky Stuart has emerged from the disappointment of Canberra’s failure to make the NRL finals with an admission the Raiders’ results were “unacceptable”.
It has forced the club legend and eight-year Raiders’ coach to fast-track changes to his coaching and high-performance staff to ensure the green machine gets back on track next year.
“The results this year are unacceptable and there’s no other way of looking at it,” Stuart said in his first interview since Canberra bowed out in the final-round loss to the Sydney Roosters.
“In three years we’ve gone from a grand final, to a preliminary final to missing the eight.
“We all have to be held accountable, myself included. It’s just not okay.”
It was a tumultuous year for the Raiders in which English halfback George Williams walked out mid-season and centre Curtis Scott had his contract torn up over an alleged nightclub assault.
“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Stuart said.
“But we’re not making any excuses. I’ve got a great bunch of players to coach, I’m very confident and positive we can do a lot better. I know we’re a lot better football team than the results showed this year and we’ll prove that next season.”
There will be changes to the Raiders coaching staff.
“I thought this transitional phase was going to happen in 12 months but we’ve brought it forward,” Stuart., “It will reinvigorate our whole football structure.”
Highly-regarded Mick Crawley rejoins the coaching staff as pathways manager and attacking coach. Jeremy Hickmans, who worked under Wayne Bennett in his last stint at the Broncos, is also joining the Raiders as head of high performance.
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH BELLYACHE
Amazon Prime is working on a documentary with Melbourne Storm’s super coach Craig Bellamy which could take rugby league to a worldwide audience.
It would be similar to Fox Sports’ Tales From Tiger Town but filmed over two years.
It’s the same organisation that produced the documentary The Test with the Australian cricket team on the last Ashes tour of the UK which exposed the tantrums and intense character of coach Justin Langer.
An Amazon Prime cameraman spent the entire pre-season with the Storm in January and February. Filming was put on hold when the coaching staff and players were forced into a biosecurity bubble.
General manager of football Frank Ponissi and chief executive Justin Rodski will sit down with Bellamy at the end of the season to discuss continuing the show.
It would give fans a fantastic insight into the most successful football club and coach in Australian sport.
Bellamy is a fascinating personality and renowned for his explosive coaching-box temperament.
It would be a huge promotion for rugby league that would show Melbourne Storm to the world via Amazon Prime’s huge international reach in Europe and the United States.
Channel 9 is also hoping to do a documentary next year about State of Origin.
The fact the two coaches — Brad “Freddy” Fittler (NSW) and Billy Slater (Queensland) — are both employees of the network and on the NRL commentary team should help get it over the line.
SOUTHS STAR WITH A POINT TO PROVE
South Sydney skipper Adam Reynolds has proved a point to Fox Sports NRL commentator Cooper Cronk by steering the Rabbitohs into next weekend’s grand final.
At the beginning of the season Cronk supported the Rabbitohs’ tough stance on Reynolds’ contract, saying: “He’s got to three prelims in the last three years and failed.”
Reynolds wasn’t happy.
“I don’t care what he thinks of me or his thoughts,” Reynolds said. “I haven’t had anything to do with him. If it comes from my coaches or someone within the club, I would care.”
GALLEN TO FIGHT SEA EAGLES ENFORCER
Paul Gallen’s next heavyweight opponent can be revealed – Manly Sea Eagles front-rower Josh Aloiai, who has a huge reputation in the fight game.
Contracts have been signed for the pair to fight on the Gold Coast on Friday night, December 10, on Foxtel’s Main Event.
Talking up his boxing prowess, Aloiai declared last year: “I’d back myself against anyone in the NRL.”
The Manly front-rower has had shots at Gallen on social media. He had one amateur fight in 2017 and knocked his opponent out in the second round.
Gallen’s advisor and corner man Peter Mitrevski junior said it would be one of former Sharks star’s toughest fights.
“Everyone in the fight game knows Josh can fight,” Mitrevski said, “Gal will have to be at his best. Outside of Justis Huni, this could be his most difficult fight.”
EELS HAVE EYE ON BULLDOGS STAR
The Parramatta Eels are in talks with Canterbury Bulldogs star Nick Cotric as a potential replacement for departing winger Blake Ferguson.
Cotric is under contract at Belmore until the end of 2023 but the Bulldogs are open to discussions around a possible early release.
He is on $600,000 a season and a switch to Parramatta would substantially ease pressure on Canterbury’s salary cap.
The Eels are desperate for more attacking strikepower out wide and coach Brad Arthur has a huge opinion of the former Test winger.
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