Sport Confidential: Dragons make big call on Ben Hunt, Manly coach Des Hasler fighting for his future
The fall-out from Manly’s pride jersey-fiasco carried over to last weekend’s game with reports of a ‘rainbow ban’ being imposed on some young fans.
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Young fans were apparently told they could not have their faces painted with rainbows as the fall-out from Manly’s pride jersey-fiasco continued last weekend.
While the club said they had no knowledge of a “rainbow” ban when quizzed by Sport Confidential, one of our spies said they had been told by the face-painters that they were instructed not to paint any rainbow faces.
The person told us that one of the young girls was taken aback when denied the request last Friday night during the clash between Manly and Eels at 4Pines Park.
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The bizarre banning came as Manly tried to move on from the headlines after the players returned to the field for the first time since boycotting a match last week.
None of the Manly seven are yet to comment publicly about their boycott after six players returned to the field last week. Prop Josh Aloiai is yet to make his return from injury.
DRAGONS’ POWERBROKERS MAKE BIG CALL ON HUNT
The St George Illawarra board has given chief executive Ryan Webb the green light to table a big-money bid to keep Ben Hunt at the club beyond his current deal.
Confidential understands the board met on Tuesday where they were given a briefing by Webb on negotiations with Hunt and an outline of what it would take to keep the Dragons captain at the club when his contract expires at the end of next season.
It is understood the board gave Webb their imprimatur to do what it takes to retain their skipper, who was leading the Dally M voting when it went behind closed doors earlier this year.
The Dragons have opened initial talks with Hunt over a deal that would keep him at the club for a further two years after his existing deal expires at the end of 2023.
Given the size of the deal, Webb sought the approval of the board to step-up negotiations.
Hunt’s future promises to have repercussions for the club given young half Jayden Sullivan may seek a release should the skipper continue his career at the Dragons beyond 2023.
Meanwhile, the board meeting on Tuesday prompted a flurry of phone calls after the players were sent home and told they could have some time off.
The suspicion was that the board was meeting to discuss the future of coach Anthony Griffin. It turned out it was just a coincident that the board meeting took place on the same day that Griffin had opted to give his players a rest.
Hasler’s fight for coaching future revealed
The Gold Coast have won only three games this season but Manly coach Des Hasler will remarkably head to the glitter strip under more pressure than his Titans counterpart Justin Holbrook this weekend.
Confidential can reveal that Hasler is fighting for his future at the Sea Eagles after the club’s board opted not to alter his contract in the wake of the Pride jersey debacle.
Hasler had a clause in his contract that would have given him the 2024 season had he made the top eight this year and there was a push from his camp to have his contract reviewed after the recent defeat to the Sydney Roosters — without seven players — cruelled their finals hopes.
It is understood the club’s board resolved to retain the contract as it stands, meaning Hasler will head into the off-season with his future at the Sea Eagles on the brink.
Hasler needs to finish this year well and start next year on fire or he could be replaced. It adds another layer of pressure to Sunday afternoon’s game at CBus Super Stadium, where Manly need a win to keep alive their slim hopes of playing in the finals this year.
A loss would leave Hasler under intense pressure heading into the final three games of the regular season given the club would be officially out of finals contention.
Confidential understands Manly have not got to the point of considering alternative coaches but they won’t be short of options to take over from Hasler should they head down that path given Michael Maguire and Shane Flanagan are among the premiership-winning coaches on the open market.
A cluster of assistant coaches are also knocking on the NRL door led by Cronulla’s Josh Hannay, North Queensland’s Dean Young and South Sydney’s Ben Hornby.
Confidential understands the Sea Eagles also have a high opinion of Hasler’s assistants, most notably Steven Hales. Hales was formerly the coach at Westfield Sports High, where he was involved with a number of Manly’s current stars.
He was then coach of Blacktown in the NSW Cup competition before graduating to become an assistant under Hasler. The likes of Josh Aloaia, Jason Saab and Josh Schuster have all paid tribute to Hales for the work he has done with them over the years.
If the Sea Eagles do ultimately decide to part ways with Hasler, he would likely be offered a job within the organisation, potentially as a consultant.
Haas playing dangerous game with Broncos
Brisbane are facing a huge off-season as they deal with some significant contract decisions. The most glaring is the future of Payne Haas and Confidential can reveal there is a school of thought that the Broncos would be better off severing ties with the NSW prop if he agitates for more money.
Brisbane have Thomas Flegler off contract at the end of 2023 and Patrick Carrigan the year after. Keeping them would be made more difficult if Haas was to stay, particularly if the Broncos meet his demands for a seven-figure salary.
If he pushes too hard, the Broncos may choose to let him go and focus on retaining Flegler and Carrigan. Haas and his representatives are playing a dangerous game with the club and it may cost him his career at the Broncos.
Hynes’ salute to his saviour
Nicho Hynes has revealed the moment Aaron Booth saved his life.
An emotional Hynes took to the field last Saturday night for the Sharks with the initials “AB” written on his wrist. He did so to pay tribute to Booth, who just 24 hours earlier suffered a serious knee injury playing for the Titans against the Storm.
“There was a moment I was curled up in a ball in the floor of my house balling my eyes out with no idea why,” Hynes said. “He came over to me and made sure I was OK. He is close to my family.
“He was there for me and saved my life. I want to be there when he is going through tough times.
“When I was in the worst point of my life with depression, if I didn’t have such a good mate in him with me I don’t know what would have happened.”
Hynes was watching on when Booth suffered the season-ending knee injury.
“I was watching the game but I couldn’t watch the replays,” Hynes said. “It was sickening. For someone who is such a good person and works extremely hard – he is the hardest working person I’ve ever met. He is a genuine guy. It breaks your heart.
“I hate seeing injuries to anyone in the rugby league world especially your best mate. He has been there for me throughout my whole career.
“We both landed in Mackay at the end of 2016. Our relationship blossomed from there. He has been my best mate since. He is something I will do anything for.”
The pair ended up in Melbourne together with Hynes playing alongside Booth when Booth made his NRL debut in 2020.
“He has worked so hard. Injuries seem to stick around. I am going to back him to get back where he needs to be. I want to play for him this year because he deserves it.”
Raiders lock down young gun
Canberra may have had a week to forget off the field but it has not been all doom and gloom for the Raiders, who have tied down boom youngster Xavier Savage to a long-term deal.
The Raiders earmarked Savage as their long-term fullback and showed their commitment to the 20-year-old by signing him until at least the end of 2025.
The Queensland flyer has impressed in his time in the No.1 jersey and Canberra saw enough to release Kiwi fullback and fan favourite Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to join the Warriors at the end of the season.
Savage was contracted until the end of next season but has now agreed to a long-term deal before hitting the market on November 1, when he would have been in the sights of rivals given his blistering speed and ability to break open games.
He has played 13 matches this season, scored four tries and made seven line breaks.
Rookie’s jersey brings top dollar
Gus Worland raised more than $300,000 for his Gotcha4Life charity with the recent game between Manly and the Sydney Roosters.
A large chunk of that money was from the sale of autographed jerseys. Jerseys signed by Hugh Jackman and Des Hasler were sold for $2100 apiece but the biggest bid was remarkably for the jersey worn and signed by rookie Zac Fulton.
The jersey, which was worn when Fulton went toe-to-toe with Roosters hardman Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, went for $3010.
Roosters trump Rabbitohs at new home
The Sydney Roosters have scored another win over South Sydney when it comes to the new stadium at Moore Park with Confidential spotting the logos for the tenants being installed at the new ground.
Just above gate one at the new ground, an area has been set aside on the stand for huge logos of Sydney FC, the NSW Waratahs and the Roosters. There was no sign of the Rabbitohs logo, although that may change when the state government gets round to making a call on whether the Pride of the League can return to their spiritual home.
As it stands, Souths are in limbo. They have a deal with Accor Stadium but are at the mercy of politicians. Confidential understands the Rabbitohs held further talks with the NRL on Wednesday as they look to have the matter resolved.
Players back Newton’s swipe
The NRL and players union are about $1 million apart on the salary cap for next season but the gap between them appears wider than ever after players were enlisted to use social media to promote a quote from chief executive Clint Newton lambasting head office.
The quote, which appeared in a story which ran on News Corp websites (story below), blasted the NRL over slow progress of talks over the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Penrith star Nathan Cleary, Manly prop Josh Aloaia and St George Illawarra front rower Aaron Woods were among the players who posted the quote on their Instagram feeds.
Talks over the salary cap and assorted other big ticket items began to ramp up on Thursday when the players union and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo separately addressed the 16 NRL clubs about their plans for next season.
Confidential understands that the players union wants the salary cap to be increased to around $11.5 million. That would represent roughly a $1 million rise on what it was meant to be this year before the players agreed to take pay cuts due to the Covid crisis.
RLPA’s savage spray for NRL
The players union has finally ended protracted talks over back pay by landing a $38 million windfall, but the celebrations were short-lived as they quickly set their sights on head office, accusing the NRL of being “unprofessional and disrespectful to players and clubs”.
The Rugby League Players Association sent an email to their playing group in which they confirmed that they had finally reached an agreement with the NRL on historical payments during the Covid crisis, when players were forced to take significant pay cuts to help the game survive.
In the email, which has been obtained by News Corp, RLPA chief executive Clint Newton declared that they had faced considerable resistance — presumably from the NRL — but their “relentless pursuit” had secured a huge coup for the players.
The final figure was $38.35 million, to be paid to players who took pay cuts in 2020, 2021 and this season. The email also took aim at the NRL over the length of time it has taken to each an agreement on back pay and the impact that has had on talks over the future.
“We understand this may have felt like a long process,” the statement said.
“It has been. We wish it wasn’t the case but if we had not responsibly investigated the NRL’s finances and pursued the issues that we uncovered, we would have not secured such a good outcome for the players.
“With that in mind, we have requested the NRL meet as a matter of urgency to commence substantive negotiations. The fact we are two months from the end of the season and yet to start negotiating in any meaningful way, is unprofessional and disrespectful to the players and clubs.”
Newton then vented to News Corp and called on the NRL to allow former Nine Network boss Hugh Marks, hired as a consultant by head office, to do his job.
Remarkably, with the new contracting season set to commence on November 1, the clubs and players still don’t know what the salary cap will be for next season. The situation is even more dire in the women’s game, which is due to expand next season by adding four new teams.
“Never in my history as a player or with the association have I seen such delays, despite repeated requests to get going and repeated promises that we are going to get a financial proposal from the NRL,” Newton said.
“Our frustration, which mirrors the players and you would suggest clubs too, is reaching a tipping point. When you consider there are 240 NRLW players and four new clubs that have no idea when their season is, how long it is, what their terms and conditions are or who they can sign, how would you consider this situation as fair and respectful.
“It’s ridiculous. Put simply, all players and all clubs need certainty and clarity. We spoke publicly earlier in the year about our optimism of Hugh Marks being brought on as negotiator.
“But clearly, given where we are, Hugh hasn’t been given the opportunity to do the job he was brought in to do, which was to rip into the detail and negotiate a fair and reasonable CBA for all parties within an appropriate amount of time.
“These are complex matters that require time, yet here we are and the entire industry will be put under pressure that could have been avoided if these negotiations were prioritised. We have less than three months until the end of this term. We would support Hugh being given full licence to get on with it.”
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said it was important that they resolved the past before they looked to the future.
“We have a positive and optimistic outlook for revenue growth in the game and with the resolution of a number of outstanding matters, look forward to talks with the RLPA over a new CBA,” Abdo said.
The NRL had initially offered $10.8 million in back pay to the players. The RLPA then forensically investigated the NRL’s accounts for the past three years and were able to negotiate a revised figure of $30.3 million. Further investigations secured an additional $2 million before the parties arrived at $38.35 million.
It means players from the past three years will receive a surprise in their bank accounts in coming weeks.
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