NRL 2022: Raiders set to swoop for David Fifita and Shaylee Bent | Sport Confidential
Canberra are preparing to swoop on star Titans back-rower David Fifita — but they just don’t want the Tongan international.
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After missing out on Adam Elliott and Millie Boyle the Raiders are preparing to launch their own chase of a rugby league power couple.
The Raiders are preparing to swoop on Titans back-rower David Fifita but they just don’t want the Tongan international — they are also out to sign his partner Shaylee Bent, who plays for St George Illawarra in the NRLW.
Canberra have identified Bent as a marquee player for the club’s inaugural NRLW side. The Raiders women’s team enters the competition next year and Canberra have already suffered at the hands of love, having lost Elliott to Newcastle, the club where his partner Boyle is a star.
The Raiders wanted to have Elliott and Boyle at the club but the timing of Canberra’s introduction into the NRLW competition did not work.
They will now explore the prospect of having Fifita and Bent join them.
Fifita has been flying under the radar as November 1 fast approaches. That is about to change.
Fifita’s manager Michael Hudson will fly to the Gold Coast next week to kick off contract talks with the Titans but given the time frame, he is certain to head to enter the final year of his contract at the start of November.
The fact he is also in England with the Tongan side means contract talks won’t necessarily be easy. That leaves Fifita open to signing with rival clubs and Fifita will have no shortage of suitors despite attracting some criticism over his form at the Titans.
St George Illawarra have already been linked with the Queensland star and Confidential understands a high-ranking Dragons official passed on their number and said they would be interested if Fifita had a desire to test the waters.
Wherever Fifita lands, he is facing a cut from his current contract although the competitive tension for his signature will help mitigate some of the financial damage
SAMOA DODGE MEDIA SCRUTINY AT WORLD CUP
The shutters have well and truly come down for Samoa this week after their embarrassing performance in the opening game of the World Cup.
Media inquiries around attending training were met with a response suggesting coach Matt Parish wasn’t keen to have media grilling his players after they were battered by host nation England in their opening pool match.
Parish’s stance was probably understandable given the way Samoa played against the Poms.
After luring a host of NRL stars into their ranks, they played like they had spent more time around the buffet than the training paddock in the lead-up to the Cup opener.
They weren’t the only nation to decide silence was the better form of valour. England put young star Kai Pearce-Paul, who has been compared to Sonny Bill Williams, off limits amid interest from the Australian media in speaking to him about his impending move to the NRL – he is expected to join Newcastle in 2023 or 2024.
Inquiries about a potential interview with Pearce-Paul were met with a response that suggested he wouldn’t be available to the Australian media until after he broke from England camp.
TIGERS-PANTHERS’ HISTORIC SWAP DEAL REVEALED
Tyrone Peachey will return to the Panthers while the Tigers have finally landed Charlie Staines after a multi-year pursuit.
A Peachey/Staines swap between the two clubs has finally been finalised and is expected to be announced as soon as this week.
The Panthers have also been given an indication that premiership winning prop Spencer Leinu will see out the final year of his deal despite the Tigers also circling.
Peachey and Staines will link with their respective clubs for just one season with Staines set to battle Daine Laurie for the starting fullback spot.
The Tigers have long been interested in the 21-year-old flyer. Staines dropped down the pecking order at the Panthers and only returned to play in the grand final after an injury to Taylan May.
The Panthers first gave Staines permission to test the market in 2020 but he has been unable to find a suitable club given his near $500,000 price tag. Conversations between the two clubs started last month but slowed down to enable Penrith to focus on back to back titles.
Peachey returns to the Panthers have a four year absence. So desperate was he to play for Penrith – Peachey asked the NRL to approve a pay-cut.
Under NRL rules players are not able to switch clubs for less money on the salary cap for the length of their deal.
Both players had just 12 months remaining on their contract.
The Tigers view Laurie as a potential halves option too.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have told Christian Chrichton his contracted will not be extended. Crichton – whose brother Stephen is renegotiating his own deal – played one game this year.
RUGBY LEAGUE POWER COUPLE’S PERFECT PROPOSAL
Fresh from winning a premiership ring Millie Boyle has another piece of bling on her finger after boyfriend Adam Elliott proposed to the NRLW star – on his birthday.
Elliott and Boyle happily shared the snap on social media with Boyle showing off her latest piece of jewellery with a beaming smile. It is understood Elliott redesigned his great grandmother’s ring before getting down on bended knee.
“Cannot wait to marry the absolute love of my life,” Boyle, 24, posted on her social media account.
“A very unexpected morning swim on Adam’s birthday turned into the most beautiful proposal.”
Newcastle Knights’ content creator Jae Nelson was “hiding in the bushes” to take the picture.
Elliott turned 28 on Sunday.
The pair are the first big-name NRL/NRLW couple to follow each other to a new club. Boyle was part of Newcastle’s premiership win earlier this month while Elliott has joined the Knights after spending one season at the Raiders.
They had a long-distance relationship this year as they juggled each other’s sporting commitments.
The pair went public on their relationship last October but have were childhood friends.
They made headlines after they were caught kissing in the toilet of a Gold Coast restaurant last year which led to Elliott’s Canterbury contract being ripped up.
Elliott has a son Lennex with his former partner.
FLASHBACK
Cooper Cronk was headline news on this day five years ago. Cronk confirmed his intention to play on after leaving the Storm to relocate to Sydney. The Roosters were quickly announced as favourites and eventually signed Cronk on a two-year deal which produced as many premierships.
DRAGONS BOARD OVERHAUL
The under-fire St George Illawarra board has undergone a massive revamp with a WIN executive heavyweight and a premiership player now making up a new-look management team.
Former St George Illawarra skipper Ben Creagh will join the Dragons board next month while WIN chief executive Andrew Lancaster will replace Craig Young as chairman.
Lancaster takes over from Young after 12-months. It is part of the arranged rolling chairmanship between St George and WIN Corporation after the two parties agreed to take over the Dragons. Young forms part of St George’s side of the joint-venture. Lancaster will take control for 12 months although there is a push to make the chairmanship be extended by multiple years.
Young will remain on the board.
Creagh’s appointment is interesting. He will replace long-term director Peter Black as a St George nominee to the Dragons board. Creagh becomes the first person fast-tracked onto the Dragons board after the St George side underwent a constitutional revamp last year. The reform allowed the St George District Rugby League Football Club to appoint up to three additional directors. Creagh and ex-teammate Jason Nightingale were the appointments.
Since retiring in 2016, Creagh, who has a master of financial planning, has been working as a financial wellbeing advisor at Shadforth Financial Group.
His first major decision might be deciding between former teammates Dean Young and Ben Hornby as a potential coach.
BADGER TO CREATE RUGBY LEAGUE HISTORY
Kasey Badger is set to create history on Tuesday morning (AEDT) when she becomes the first female referee to take sole control of a rugby league Test match.
Badger, who has been knocking on the door of the NRL for some time, has been nominated to control the game between Tonga and Wales at Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens.
“It is a historic appointment and one that Kasey can be justly proud of,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said.
“She has worked very hard for this success and I have no doubt that the NRL will benefit greatly from the experience she is gaining at the World Cup.
“It is also a great boost for the women’s game and aspiring young female referees to follow in her footsteps.
“Both Kasey and Belinda Sharpe refereed full NRL trial games earlier this season and they are knocking on the door in readiness for their NRL debut when the opportunity arises.”
Badger has been a member of the NRL’s fulltime refereeing squad for some time and has been tipped to make her NRL debut in the near future.
No doubt, head office will be watching Tuesday morning’s Test with interest as they look to give Badger an NRL game at some point in the next 12 months.
Badger’s husband Gavin, himself a former referee, paid tribute to his wife on social media.
“Hard work, resilience, and tenacity pays off,” he wrote.
“So proud of this one, appointed to referee a test match at the @RLWC2021. You amaze and inspire me every day.”
BENNETT STILL WAITING ON MUNSTER CALL
Cameron Munster will wait until after the World Cup to contact Dolphins boss Wayne Bennett as he prepares for the super-coach to give him both barrels.
Bennett publicly rebuked Munster after the Melbourne and Kangaroos star announced he was staying at the Storm without informing Bennett, whose Dolphins had tabled a multimillion dollar offer to poach him from 2024.
Munster vowed to call Bennett when he heard the coach had lambasted him – at one point he had to be told not to ring the seven-time premiership winner given the time difference from England to Brisbane likely meant Bennett was fast asleep.
After taking some time to consider the situation, Munster decided it was best to wait until after his World Cup was over before reaching out to Bennett.
“I haven’t rung him yet,” Munster said.
“I will ring him after the competition. I don’t really need that stress or hard conversation at the moment.
“I am really enjoying my footy and at the end of the day I will probably ring him after the competition is done.
“Then he can spray me if he wants to. I don’t really want to be having that head noise.”
Munster hasn’t had any second thoughts since he made the decision to stay at the Storm on a lucrative four-year extension. He would have been the highest paid player in the competition had he defected to the Dolphins and believes the pressure would have been intense.
“I’m at the Storm, in a good system, have good spine and we can improve and get better as a group,” Munster said.
“If we can do that, there are going to be a lot of happy times at the club.”
PANTHERS TRIO’S ROOS DEBUT
Penrith will have three players make their Kangaroos Test debuts on Saturday morning, a reward for their excellence over the past three years. It could have been more too but for Stephen Crichton and Brian To’o opting to play for Samoa.
As it is Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin will all make their bows at Coventry Building Society Stadium. Confidential’s snapper managed to photograph the trio to mark the historic occasion this weekend.
While Cleary and Yeo were in team gear, Martin was wearing a shirt that screamed “I love Manchester”. No prizes for guessing who won the ‘goose of the week’ award in Kangaroos camp.
MATE VS MATE
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and his brain’s trust have come up with novel way to maintain the competitive environment at training on the World Cup tour.
Meninga and his staff have divided the players into four groups and pit them against each other in competitions in and outside training.
The teams are captained by Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Jake Trbojevic and Lindsay Collins and each team has been named after an Australian landmark and wear shirts to show as much – Daintrees, Pinnacles, Kakadus and the Apostles.
The winning team each week earns the right to be called the Koscioskos. Points aren’t just awarded for work in training.
They’re also awarded for taking a unique photo – every player has been given a polaroid camera. James Tedesco received extra points for his team after taking a photo with the Manchester mayor.
Josh Addo-Carr has been scaring teammates and taking their pictures in the process.
UNDER FIRE STAFFER SURVIVES MANLY PURGE
Manly aren’t expected to appoint a head of football – but one person who is expected to survive the carnage at the club is John Bonasera. Bonasera was dragged into the headlines in recent weeks after it emerged he was the staff member informed of the club’s inclusivity jersey intentions.
He is expected to remain as the club’s football manager.
Scott Fulton will remain in charge of the club’s recruitment while chief executive Tony Mestrov will also play an active role in retention and recruitment.
Meanwhile, incoming coach Anthony Seibold is piecing together his coaching team with Jim Dymock identified as a potential option along with premiership winning coach Shane Flanagan.
PANTHER TURNS DOWN DOLPHINS
Penrith have struck a significant blow in their bid to remain a premiership force after convincing teenage back rower Harrison Hassett to reject an offer from the Dolphins.
Hassett was a star at this year’s Australian secondary schools championship and was expected to sign with the Dolphins after November 1.
However, Confidential understands that he is now staying at the Panthers, providing some insurance for the club after the departure of Viliame Kikau.
Hassett captained the Australian schoolboys side to their big win over Fiji earlier this month.
AMERICAN DREAM CONTINUES
The NRL is still working in the background to try and have the competition proper start in the US next year. Talks remain positive with a number of clubs including Brisbane and the Roosters keen on joining Manly in the contest next year.
Expect a decision in the next few weeks as talk’s amp up.
HALL OF CHAMPIONSHIPS INDUCTEES
Six new athletes will be inducted into the NSW Hall of Championships on November 28.
The athletes are; Brad Dalton (basketball), Craig Johnston (football), Phil Kearns (rugby), Joanne ‘Joey’ Peters (football), Prashanth Sellathurai (gymnastics) and Liesl Tesch (wheelchair basketball and para sailing).
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