Sport Confidential: Tyrone May shuts down socials, Roosters gain big grant
The Gold Coast Titans are eyeing off a veteran Eel and the Dogs have given a South Sydney discard a life – it’s all in Sport Confidential.
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Parramatta has been in talks with Will Smith over a new deal but they may face a fight for his signature amid talk that the Gold Coast are interested in the versatile veteran.
Smith’s contract at the Eels comes to an end in a matter of weeks and Parramatta are keen to keep a player who captained the side in the latter stages of the season.
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However, the Titans are also on the lookout for an experienced half to provide cover now that Jamal Fogarty has departed to join Canberra. Smith fits the bill.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are set to hand South Sydney outside back Steven Marsters a lifeline. Marsters will have a train and trial contract with Canterbury, trying to impress to earn a full-time deal. Marsters, 21, played six games for the Rabbitohs after making his NRL debut last year.
TYRONE MAY’S SOCIAL SHUTDOWN
Tyrone May hasn’t made a lot of smart decisions of late but clearly someone has got in his ear and convinced him to take a break from social media.
May’s Instagram account – which has been shut down – attracted negative headlines after the grand final when he appeared to portray himself as the victim after he narrowly avoided jail for filming a woman without consent.
The NRL is looking into the post and are expected to hand down their findings on Friday after investigating a series of incidents involving Penrith.
The expectation is that the club will be sanctioned, but May could be singled out for attention as well given his recent history.
CHOOK COUP
The state government has committed $5.7 million to help fund the Roosters’ $10.6 million centre of excellence.
The training facility will be part of a revamped Sydney Football Stadium and will house high-performance training facilities, office space, medical rooms and an education theatre in the heart of the Moore Park precinct.
It will be home to the Roosters NRL and NRLW teams.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the Roosters “are part of the fabric at Moore Park”.
“I’m sure current and aspiring players, fans and club officials will be ecstatic to have their future home cemented in the Chooks’ heartland,” Stokes said. “There will be opportunities for schools and local junior football teams to visit the centre and enjoy a Roosters rugby league experience.”
The centere of excellence is expected to be completed in late 2022 and will be ready to use heading into the 2023 season. The SFS is scheduled for completion by the 2022 grand final.
Minister for Sport Natalie Ward said the sporting centre would “complement” the new stadium.
CIRALDO’S DILEMMA
The lure of taking over from Ivan Cleary at the end of 2023 may be enough to convince Cameron Ciraldo to reject overtures from the game’s newest club, the Dolphins.
Ciraldo, having recently been linked with the Wests Tigers, is believed to be one of the coaches in the sights of the Dolphins to work alongside Wayne Bennettin the club’s formative years.
It would mean Ciraldo packing up his bags and moving his family to southeast Queensland with the promise that he would become an NRL coach when Bennett’s tenure came to an end, most likely after three years.
Interestingly, Ciraldo’s deal with Penrith is due to expire at the end of 2022, meaning he comes off contract only months before the Dolphins are due to kick off their inaugural season.
His interest in a move north is likely to hinge on Cleary’s plans for the future. He has two years remaining on his contract with the Panthers and, having climbed rugby league’s premiership mountain, he may decide to pull up stumps after that at the end of 2023.
Ciraldo is next in line and would walk into the job. That, however, would require a leap of faith and plenty of patience from Ciraldo given there are unlikely to be any assurances around Cleary’s future.
Ciraldo isn’t the only coach in discussions to work alongside Bennett. St Helens mentor Kristian Woolf is also in the mix after guiding the club to the Super League title.
So too Josh Hannay, who did such a sterling job in an interim capacity at Cronulla.
Crucially, both are Queenslanders and as such would be attractive options for the Dolphins.
Ciraldo, however, is regarded as the next in line among the game’s assistant coaches and it is only a matter of time before he takes on an NRL job.
MORE TIGERS RETURN
Incoming Wests Tigers head honcho Tim Sheens is not the only ex-Tiger who is set to return to the club.
The Tigers are in talks to bring long-term recruitment manager Warren McDonnell back into the fold just months after they parted ways.
Sheens and McDonnell are close after being at the centre of Wests Tigers’ premiership success in 2005.
Sheen is slowly asserting his authority at the club, and this latest move leaves little doubt as to who now controls the Tigers.
Coach Michael Maguire and head of football Adam Hartigan report to Sheens, although there could be further changes to the football staff.
McDonnell worked at the Magpies before the merger then was headhunted by the Bulldogs. He was at the Bulldogs for two seasons before rejoining the Tigers in 2019.
He has worked in real estate the past few months and was set to go into player management before the chance to link up with Sheens arose.
Sheens’s attention will turn to helping the club decide on two new assistant coaches. Shane Flanagan, Nathan Cayless and Rayn Carr were interviewed for the positions last week
ANTI-SOCIAL
Police have closed the book on their investigation into threats and racial abuse directed against Manly pair Sean Keppie and Marty Taupau on social media.
Keppie and Taupau were targeted after the Sea Eagles’ loss to Newcastle in May.
In a statement obtained by this column on Thursday, NSW Police confirmed they had exhausted all avenues of inquiry.
“Following extensive police inquiries, no further police action is expected,” a police statement said.
DOLPHINS’ GROWING NET
The Dolphins have been linked with a host of players in recent days but it appears they can forget about signing Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards.
Edwards, off contract at the end of 2022, is about to sit down with the Panthers to discuss a new deal. He will do so with his reputation soaring. Few players emerged from the Panthers’ grand final win with as much credit as Edwards, who played the latter stages of the season with a broken bone in his foot.
Edwards’ manager Darryl Mather confirmed he was about to start talking about an extension with Penrith as they look to ward off the advances of the Dolphins.
“Penrith have advised that Dylan is in their plans going forward and I hope too soon commence discussions about his future,” Mather said.
ROUND ONE COUP
The Broncos may have a rival when it comes to kicking off the 2023 competition with a game against the Dolphins.
It is understood Dolphins officials have earmarked the Sydney Roosters as their round one opponent as they look to honour one of their favourite sons – Artie Beetson.
Beetson played three seasons at Redcliffe in the old Brisbane competition – his first in 1964 and his last remarkably 17 years later in 1981.
Beetson also had a longstanding relationship with the Roosters, having played, coached and recruited for the club.
In his book, Beetson talked about his dream of the Roosters playing the Dolphins in the NRL one day.
That day is not little more than a year away – and it could kick off the 2023 season if the Dolphins and Roosters have their way.
TAKING A ‘DOUBLE’ PUNT
Michael Dickson says his instincts just kicked in.
The Sutherland Shire product turned-NFL punter set the game into a frenzy with his double punt last week which was labelled as “a play of a lifetime”.
His Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said it was one of “greatest kicking plays in the history of the league”.
Dickson was charged down but regathered the ball before booting it again. The double punt even left the commentators questioning if the play was legal, such is the rarity of it.
“I felt there was a good chance it could get blocked,” Dickson told Sport Confidential fresh off the practice pitch on Thursday.
“I heard the double thud and I knew instantly I had to start looking for the ball to get the first down. I had it in my head to kick it again. I kind of knew the rule. I’d asked my coaches but I couldn’t remember the answer.
“I’ve tried to ignore most of the attention – I don’t want to get caught up in it. The skills come from Aussie rules but it is a totally different situation. In Aussie rules you only have one or two people trying to tackle you, here I am expecting to get smacked because there are 11 dudes trying to chase me down.”
The one-time Sydney Swans academy member re-signed with the Seahawks on a four-year contract worth up to $21 million in June. Covid-19 has kept him away from home since February last year.
“It was hard not being able to get home,” Dickson said. “I’m a little homesick.”
CHANGES TO THE TRINITY?
The NRL has promised a wide review into three areas of the game.
Sport Confidential has obtained an NRL email sent to clubs which says on-field, match review committee and operational matters are to be reviewed.
On-field matters include entertainment value, competition balance, competition integrity, impact on training, on-field performance and health and safety.
The review will also explore foul play, the match review committee and judiciary code, while operation matters include on-field rules, injury stoppages, trainer access and interchange rules.
SHOOSH
Which NRL player found out his club was not re-signing him after reading an Instagram post from the club’s official account?
SIGNING SPREE
The Newcastle Knights have revamped their training staff, this time landing experienced Craig Catterick.
Catterick has worked for a host of clubs, including Parramatta, Cronulla and the Gold Coast. He spent the past few seasons working as Penrith’s rehabilitation co-ordinator before joining the NRL as its medical operations manager this year. He has also spent the past few years working with the NSW and Kangaroos teams.
The Knights will also add former Rabbitohs, Roosters and Bulldogs head strength and rehabilitation coach Harry Harris, and have signed Penrith’s head of performance Hayden Knowles.
SEVENS BLOW
Sydney has missed out on hosting the World Rugby Sevens tournament for another year due to Covid-19 border restrictions.
The Sydney Sevens had become a regular summer event for local rugby fans, but was cancelled earlier this year due to the pandemic and will not be staged in 2022 either.
World Rugby has instead given events to Spain and France, who have more relaxed border and quarantine rules.
ALL EYES ON
The Everest. 10,000 fans will get the chance to see if champion sprinter Nature Strip can race home for trainer Chris Waller.
FLASHBACK
Willie Mason was a marked man on this day 15 years ago. Mason had mouthed off during the Kiwis haka and they made him pay. David Kidwell battered Mason with a shoulder charge and then stood over the fallen Kangaroo. Australia won 30-18.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
There is uniform agreement that uniforms play a role in increasing the confidence of girls and young women to participate in sport and physical activity.
A landmark national study this year highlighted that the type of sports uniforms available to girls when deciding to play sport are critical factors in making them feel confident about being active.
Cadbury, partnering with Women Sport Australia, has announced $150,000 worth of grants to encourage young women to play sport.
For more information and to apply for a grant, visit: www.womensportaustralia.com.au/get-in-the-game-grant
GILLY’S SMORGASBORD
Fox Cricket’s marathon of cricket is underway, with over 1300 hours of live play to dominate screens this summer.
Leading commentator Adam Gilchrist (right) will be on air for at least 200 of those hours. Gilchrist had to leave family for the entirety of last summer due to Western Australia’s strict border laws, and he’s facing a similar prospect this season.
However, he’s salivating at the deluge of cricket, starting with the women’s WBBL this week, men’s World Cup next week and then the Ashes.
“There’s no bigger year than an Ashes year and I’m excited about it. I can’t wait and hopefully fingers crossed we’re all at the games and can be part of that experience and help deliver the atmosphere and the mood to the viewers as best we can,” he said.
“The Big Bash kicking off at just about the same time as the Ashes means it’s going to be a smorgasbord of cricket.”
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