Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Why Darryl Brohman needs to let go of Les Boyd feud, writes Phil Rothfield
Phil Rothfield weighs in on the feud between Darryl Brohman and Les Boyd, Manly set up a pathway 17,000km away from Brookvale, and an untold Origin story in Saint, Sinner, Shoosh.
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The NRL Hall of Fame is not a best-and-fairest award.
The Immortals are not just for straighty 180s either, as can be seen from some inductees.
The honour is recognition of a player’s ability on the football field.
Les Boyd was not a poster boy for clean play. He had a horrible judiciary record.
There are others in the Hall of Fame who are hardly cleanskins.
Noel Kelly was sent off 17 times.
Some of the stuff the great Tommy Raudonikis used to do … well, let’s not go there.
All of these guys have one thing in common in that they were great football players.
Last month 15 judges sat in a room to thrash it out.
We voted 5-4-3-2-1 on a piece of paper in a secret ballot.
I honestly have no idea who voted for who, other than that the esteemed columnist Roy Masters – Boyd’s old coach at the Western Suburbs Magpies – was paying $1.04 to have him up high.
It is a shame that Darryl Brohman cannot move on.
Boyd broke his jaw more than 40 years ago, did his time via a 12-month suspension, and paid out $30,000 in damages (the median house price in Sydney at that time was $80,000, so it was a fair whack of cash).
Banning him from the Hall of Fame would be setting a precedent. Plus there is no criteria that rules out players on foul-play records.
It’s a shame it’s been raised again. This week we should be celebrating the inclusion of some of the greatest players in rugby league history, not turning the clock back four decades to an incident that has already been fairly dealt with.
SAINT
Kieran Foran. 300 not out. Pound for pound as tough as any NRL player I’ve ever seen. A man who fought off the most horrible depression to rebuild his life and his career. After 16 seasons, Foz (or Fossil, as his teammates call him) is still among the top halves in the competition.
SINNER
I said this on social media during the week, and I’ll say it again … NRL players are now free to ram their head into an opponent’s face, stick their nose in a rival’s mouth, make a biting complaint … and then refuse to back it up by not giving evidence at the judiciary #wehaveacrisis. In my humble opinion the Kyle Flanagan case was an utter farce. If Stephen Crichton had done this in the old days, a George Piggins, Noel Kelly, Malcolm Reilly or Blocker Roach would have bitten his nose off.
SHOOSH
We have names for many illegal tackles in rugby league – like the Crusher, Chicken Wing, and Cameron Smith’s old Wingnut. One NRL official has tagged the Stephen Crichton facial on Kyle Flanagan as “the Pinocchio”. Never a dull moment in league.
SPOTTED
The Raygun phenomenon is catching on in the NRL. Roosters and Blues Origin forward Angus Crichton was doing his best impersonations of the Aussie breakdancing Olympian in celebrations during Friday night’s victory over the Eels.
SPOTTED
Venues NSW boss David Gallop has returned home from the Paris Olympics and London, where he was the victim of a pick-pocketer who stole his phone. The ex-NRL boss had no idea until he went to book an Uber – and his mobile wasn’t there.
SPOTTED
North Sydney Bears boss Daniel Dickson chatting to NSW Origin coach Michael Maguire at a fundraiser on Friday. Madge just happens to be available in 2027 when the Western Bears enter the comp.
SPOTTED
A for-sale sign on two-time premier coach Des Hasler’s old northern beaches home with a price expectation of around the $10 million mark.
SEA EAGLES BUILD CASTLE IN UK
Manly Sea Eagles have set up a revolutionary amalgamation with UK Super League club Castleford Tigers to attract the best young rugby league players from the north of England to Brookvale.
Under a unique pathways agreement, Manly will get access from 17,000km away to rising stars who will be given the opportunity to break into the NRL via the Sea Eagles.
Manly already has a rich history with Castleford, the club that produced legendary premiership -winning forwards Malcolm Reilly and Kevin Ward for the Sea Eagles.
Manly chairman Scott Penn and CEO Tony Mestrov have been working behind the scenes for several months to establish the connection with the famous old English club in a first-of-its-kind arrangement for an NRL club.
“We’ve been talking to them around talent in junior and senior levels,” Penn said.
“It’s about trying to attract the best youngsters from the UK. Castleford are creating great talent, kids who are potentially looking for an alternative pathway.
“A lot of their best juniors get poached by some of the bigger Super League clubs.
“I think we can do some pretty special things by setting up an exclusive pathway to the NRL.”
The bonus for Castleford is it believes the best young players in England will want to join the Tigers because of the link to the Sea Eagles and the NRL.
Manly is also looking at an exchange program where its best local youngsters will be offered opportunities to develop their game in England.
There’s also talk of an under-19s match between the two clubs each year.
Recruitment is everything these days in rugby league.
Manly has also worked hard in recent times on its own junior league. The club now has 70 per cent of their Harold Matts and SG Ball players coming from clubs on the northern peninsula.
There is, however, work to be done with its feeder club Blacktown Workers, where relationships have become strained in recent times.
The team has leaked 158 points in the past three weeks in NSW Cup.
GUS’ TEXT TO BUZZ
Gus Gould has confirmed there was interest from Canterbury for Cowboys star Val Holmes, before he agreed to join St George-Illawarra on a three-year $2.5 million deal.
We were told Gus had planned to fly to Townsville last week for talks.
So I sent him a text message, and here’s the response.
“We were prepared to go and meet Valentine and his family to discuss his future,” he replied. “However, after talking to his manager Chris Orr, we realised we couldn’t offer anywhere near the money other clubs were offering, so we politely withdrew our interest.
“We wish Val all the best.”
LAY IT ON THE TABLE
It’s time for some ex-NRL players who work in the media to declare their outside interests.
Willie Mason is a nice bloke who has made a good start on Channel 7’s nightly news with his strong views on the NRL.
However, when he is so passionately defending Canterbury’s Stephen Crichton over the biting saga, people need to know he’s on the Bulldogs payroll.
The same with Josh Reynolds, who took the same stance on the Big Sports Breakfast. He too is on the Dogs’ payroll.
Both ignored the overwhelming public support for Kyle Flanagan and backed their man at the Doggies
WILLIE AND ABLE TO COACH NRL
Ex- Dragons and Rabbitohs half Willie Peters has quietly emerged as a contender for any NRL coaching job that may become available.
Peters has coached Hull KR to the top of the table in the UK Super League, a huge effort with limited resources compared to Super League giants St Helens, Wigan, Catalans and Warrington.
MADGE’S UNTOLD ORIGIN STORY
Blues coach Michael Maguire has revealed he was almost a scratching from the Origin decider after undergoing secret surgery for a neck injury.
Maguire told his remarkable story before travelling to Brisbane as a guest speaker at a fundraiser on Friday.
“I got to the first game and I was completely in agony,” he said. “When Suaalii got sent off, I was in so much pain and thinking ‘what the hell’s going on here’.
“I got through and had a needle the next day.”
But it got worse.
“After game two I saw a surgeon and said ‘I’m buggered, I’m not going to make game three’,” Maguire explained.
“They booked me in for surgery straight away.”
He was in hospital for several days and only those in the Blues’ inner circle were aware of what was happening.
Maguire — now fit and well — jetted out of Sydney yesterday en route to a European holiday.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The NRL is beefing up its senior management team by advertising for four new executives to boost key areas of the business.
In recent weeks, we’ve spotted four jobs advertised – a chief of staff, a chief operating officer, a chief technology officer (hopefully with Bunker experience) and a chief commercial officer.
The game is now growing to such an extent that the independent commission feels there are huge new revenue opportunities via expansion, Las Vegas, and other ventures.
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
Fox Sports has pulled together a documentary on the Las Vegas season-opening blockbuster.
It is a compelling, behind-the-scenes view of the NRL’s most adventurous gamble into the US.
The documentary – Vegas: Dream to Reality – is the work of Fox Sports boss Steve Crawley, Joe Bromham, Charlie Lambert and Paul O’Doherty. It will be shown after NRL 360 on Monday night.
This is never-before-seen footage of how Fox Sports and the NRL took the game onto the world stage.
It features interviews with NRL bosses Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo on how they so successfully delivered the double-header.
Mic’d-up personalities include James Tedesco, Trent Robinson, Damien Cook, Anthony Seibold, Pat Carrigan, Kevin Walters and Jason Demetriou.
Viewers also get to witness the production broadcast and logistics of a massive operation from start to finish in what was to become the highest-viewing NRL round of all time.
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