Saint, sinner, shoosh: Adam Reynolds v Pat Carrigan not the only teammate bust-up this year
Saint, sinner, shoosh: The Reynolds v Carrigan wrestling match wasn’t the only off-season fight between teammates. Another pair of high-profile players were reportedly involved in a training scuffle.
NRL
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The South Sydney Rabbitohs are reluctantly leaving winger Izaac Thompson at home for the Las Vegas season opener … because of his criminal record.
NRL lawyers advised the club that it was unlikely he would be granted a U.S. visa because of police arrests when he was 18, 20 and 23.
It’s a shame because Thompson is now one of the game’s most genuine redemption stories.
A 27-year-old who has impressively rebuilt his career in recent years.
Souths are desperately short on back-five talent with Tyrone Munro and Campbell Graham injured, and Jack Wighton, while Jacob Gagai has been cleared to play after intially being ordered to serve a one-match ban.
Under normal circumstances, Thompson would have been straight on the plane to America.
In an interview with colleague David Riccio in 2022, Thompson would not go into detail around his previous indiscretions as a youngster that landed him in trouble with police.
Further investigations by court reporter Brenden Hills reveal he was found guilty on drug charges in 2019 and sentenced to nine months in jail.
He avoided going behind bars with the court allowing him to serve the sentence in the community by way of an intensive corrections order.
It has been a remarkable comeback story.
How, when he was in trouble, his weight ballooned to 140kg and his rugby league career appeared to be on the scrap heap.
Thompson cut out the junk food and trained his backside off.
He lost 30kg in four months to make a comeback with Souths in NSW Cup before Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou gave him his opportunity in the NRL on a train-and-trial contract.
Thompson impressed in seven first-grade games for the club last year.
Surprisingly, Souths are still favourites for the game despite their shortage of centres and wingers although Manly’s price has tightened from $2.50 to $2.10. Souths are at $1.73.
As for Thompson, he will no doubt get his opportunity later in the season.
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SAINT
It’s nice to see the NRL give back some of the tens of thousands of dollars they have fined Ricky Stuart over the years for his colourful outbursts. Chairman Peter V’landys and CEO Andrew Abdo generously donated $25,000 to the Ricky Stuart Foundation at last week’s fundraiser dinner.
SINNER
It was hardly the crime of the century but the NRL didn’t need two senior Broncos players, Adam Reynold and Patrick Carrigan, plastered across the front page of Tuesday’s Courier Mail and leading TV news bulletins in Brisbane for behaving like boofheads after a night on the drink.
SHOOSH
Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta is standing for the NSWRL board at next week’s elections but is struggling to get the support of powerful Sydney clubs Souths and Penrith. It probably means he won’t have the numbers.
SHOOSH
The Adam Reynolds v Patrick Carrigan wrestling match wasn’t the only off-season fight between teammates. Two big names from another club — not far away from Brisbane — apparently had a physical disagreement at a recent training session. And it wasn’t the Dolphins.
SHOOSH
We’re hearing from a Wests Tigers powerbroker that Shane Richardson has three months to decide if he is a chief executive or a player manager. The interim CEO will be asked to stand down from the Rich Digital agency if he is to take on the Wests Tigers job permanently. As he should be.
SPOTTED
Old rugby league excitement machine Phil Blake dropped into Gold Coast Titans training last week as a guest of coach Des Hasler to watch a session.
SPOTTED
Celebrity chef and keen league fan Matt Moran cooking for guests at the St George-Illawarra season launch on Wednesday night.
BIG BREKKY
Catch you on the Weekend Big Sports Breakfast on Sunday morning at 9.30am with Ray Thomas and Dean ‘Bulldog’ Ritchie to discuss all things rugby league.
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HOSPITAL MERRIT SQUAD
Nathan Merritt and his family are almost on first-name terms with the doctors and nurses at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
It was in October last year when the former South Sydney winger was placed on life support at the hospital after having an adverse reaction to prescribed painkillers.
One of the Rabbitohs’ all-time favourites, Merritt miraculously recovered and is now doing well, back at home with his family.
Then it was his dad’s turn. Tony Merritt was himself a handy footballer at South juniors.
Three weeks ago he complained of chest pains and was found to have blocked heart arteries.
He was rushed to RPA to undergo a triple bypass.
Like Nathan, Tony is recovering well from surgery and hopes to be back at work soon.
VEGAS GETS HUGH JACKED
Hollywood star Hugh Jackman will be in Las Vegas for the NRL double header as a guest of Manly sponsors Shaw and Partners’ co-chief executives Allan Zion and Earl Evans.
Shaw and Partners are a sleeve sponsor at Manly and have extended their deal for another 12 months.
Jackman, who appears in the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie alongside Ryan Reynolds, is a Sea Eagles tragic and has been invited to have dinner with the team before the game.
ABC FROZEN OUT OF OLYMPICS
Nine Entertainment has rejected an approach from the ABC to share radio broadcast rights with 2GB for the Paris Olympics.
It will be only the second time in Olympics broadcasting history that the ABC has not covered the games. They were not in Tokyo in 2020 because of Covid.
The ABC has a fine tradition of outstanding Olympics coverage via legendary commentators Norman May, David Morrow, Alan Marks, Neville Oliver, Tim Lane, Jimmy Maxwell and the likes of Gerry Collins, Tracey Holmes and Tim Gavel.
Sadly, the talent pool is not the same.
RIP TO LEAGUE VISIONARY
Rugby league has lost one of its greatest entrepreneurs with the passing of Colin McLennan, the promoter who launched the midweek Amco Cup back in 1974, the first sporting competition in Australia that was created for TV.
It was McLennan’s idea to play the competition on Wednesday nights over four quarters to allow more advertising and make it more appealing for Channel 10.
The prizemoney back in those days helped keep struggling clubs afloat. Col was the father of Hamish McLennan, the former Rugby Australia boss.
CLEARY’S CHASE TO ECLIPSE THE GREATS
Ivan Cleary has fast become a rugby league super coach.
All-time greats Wayne Bennett and Jack Gibson may have won more premierships, but Cleary could break a record this year that not even they could achieve.
No non-playing coach in the history of the game has ever won four straight grand finals.
Back in St George’s great era of 11 straight premierships, captain-coach Ken Kearney won five in a row between 1957 and 1961.
Norm Provan then stepped in to win four straight – again as a captain-coach.
Back then there was no salary cap and the Dragons sides were worth triple that of many of their opponents. They had four Immortals – Johny Raper, Reg Gasnier, Norm Provan and Graeme Langlands.
It is an amazing story in that Cleary was sacked by Penrith in 2015, replaced by Anthony Griffin.
He was out of work, couldn’t get a coaching job and went to work at the NRL as a lowly paid referees’ consultant.
Cleary’s record since returning to the Panthers is all the more remarkable considering the calibre of players he has lost because of the salary cap.
From 1981 to 1983 when Gibson achieved his three-peat at the Parramatta Eels he had no spending restrictions.
It was the only reason why they could keep a backline together that featured Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe, plus the great Ray Price at lock forward.
Cleary has lost so much outstanding talent – Api Koroisau, Billy Kikau, Matt Burton, Kurt Capewell and now Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu. Yet he keeps on winning.
UNHAPPY DOG AT BELMORE
The boardroom bloodshed at the Bulldogs that brought down popular chairman John Khoury has gone down poorly with one influential figure who is closely aligned to long-time members.
There will be no repercussions at Sunday’s AGM because there are no board nominations, but chairman-elect Adam Driussi has much work to do to win back the support of angry members.
LEAGUE’S REFEREES’ SUPPORT
It’s great to see the NRL looking after the welfare of their referees who are under such intense glare and scrutiny from clubs, the media and fans.
Michelle Farnhill, a former international hockey umpire with a degree in psychology, has been appointed as a wellbeing manager.
She has a wealth of experience working with athletes to improve their confidence, motivation and communication skills and will be doing weekly sessions with the whistleblowers.
NRL CLUB AUDITS COMPLETE
The NRL last week completed official salary cap audits of all 17 clubs.
Their finance department spent two full days during the off-season at each club.
“They don’t miss anything,” said one chief executive. “They even check dental fees, cars, home loans, property, third party sponsors, everything.”
Clubs will be queried on anything suspicious before the start of the season.
Your columnist understands that no major breaches have been uncovered.
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