Sport Confidential: Booze ban the making of Munster, South Sydney eye Roosters gun
A Dragons star could reunite with two of his pals from the infamous BBQ, inside Cameron Munster’s commitment to rehab and more in Sport Confidential.
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Cameron Munster insists he has had no problem coming into State of Origin camp and maintaining his booze ban. Munster, speaking after Queensland’s win in the opening game of the series at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night, was surrounded by teammates celebrating the victory with cans of XXXX in their hands.
Munster celebrated with a bottle of water instead and praised his teammates for the way they have supported his decision to avoid alcohol.
“Everyone is really good about it,” Munster said.
“When Alf (assistant Allan Langer) gets a couple of drinks into him he wants his little buddy back. Everyone has been supportive.
“I guess at the end of the day if they want me to play my best footy, they need to be more supportive.”
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The proof is in the pudding. Munster was man of the match in Origin I as he maintained the form that has many suggesting he is now the best player in the game.
“It has been a good six weeks for myself,” he said.
“I don’t know what to say - just getting lucky I think, not drinking, being fitter, being more present in training. I am probably giving a lot more to the younger boys coming through and giving them a bit more guidance.
“They listen to me when they can. I have been getting a lot of good kicks out of that. It has been easy. It doesn’t faze me to have beers any more. I haven’t had an urge or feel like I am missing out on anything. I can have a good time without having a beer.”
BBQ PALS TO REUNITE IN ENGLAND
St George Illawarra forward Josh McGuire is on the verge of joining Canterbury prop Paul Vaughan at English giants Warrington next season.
There was talk that McGuire could stay at the Dragons but it is understood he is close to inking a deal with Warrington that would see him finish his career in Super League
Vaughan has been linked with a move to the northern hemisphere for some time - the Bulldogs made it clear weeks back that there was no deal for him at the club. Vaughan will reunite with ex-Dragons and current Bulldogs teammate Matt Dufty at Warrington next season.
Dufty and McGuire attended the now infamous BBQ at Vaughan’s house last season.
RABBITOHS CLOSE IN ON ROOSTERS BEHEMOTH
South Sydney have ignited their feud with the Roosters by landing one of the game’s best rising talents.
It is understood the Rabbitohs are closing in on Daniel Suluka-Fifita who will grow a long list of players to swap between the two archrivals.
Suluka-Fifita is a South Sydney junior who made his top grade debut for the Roosters as a 20-year-old in 2020.
The prop has gone on to play 18 matches and the Roosters wanted to keep him.
He will be a handy addition to an emerging South Sydney forward pack. Davvy Moale and Tevita Tatola have been anointed as the club’s long-term prop options with Suluka-Fifita now in the mix.
Thomas Burgess has a year left on his rich contract which will set up one of the best middle rotations alongside skipper Cameron Murray in the competition. The Roosters salary cap continues to bite with uncertainty surrounding Angus Crichton’s stint at the club despite agreeing to an extension for next season.
Tensions between the Rabbitohs and the Roosters remain at an all-time high following last years dramatic finals clash between the two clubs. The likes of Crichton, Latrell Mitchell, Nat Butcher, Joseph Sualii and Crichton have swapped between clubs in recent years.
Suluka-Fifita won’t have to introduce himself to his new teammates having been banned for punching Jai Arrow in the back of the head during an explosive clash last season.
BOXING ACE NETS GREYHOUND
Australian boxing rising superstar Harry Garside has reaffirmed his love of greyhounds by becoming an owner of ‘Princess Alice’.
Garside was in Newcastle this week to meet Princess Alice. He has come on board as a greyhound ambassador and will rehome Princess Alice when she retires. “I’m extremely proud to become an ambassador for Greyhound Racing NSW and Greyhounds As Pet’ and now that I have Princess Alice I can’t wait to be a part of her racing to rehoming journey from track star to couch potato,” Garside said.
“I love dogs and I have always been fascinated by the athletic nature of greyhounds. They are the most beautiful animal and they truly are a man’s best friend.
“‘I will be trackside at the Gardens in Newcastle on Saturday to watch ‘The 715’ and I can’t wait to meet the fans and hear ‘Nollsy’ (Shannon Noll) belt out a few tunes.”
TIGERS’ MASSIVE PLAY TO LAND CIRALDO
Wests Tigers are considering offering Cameron Ciraldo an unprecedented five year deal to entice the Panthers assistant to the club.
The Tigers have officially begun the search for Michael Maguire’s replacement but hope they will not have to look further than Ciraldo.
He has long been earmarked for the position with Tigers officials working in the background last season to bring him to the club.
Now they believe they are a genuine chance and in doing so could be prepared to offer him a five-year contract to help lift the Tigers from struggling club into a premiership force.
A contract length that long is almost unprecedented for a rookie coach. Craig Fitzgibbon inked a three-year contract with the Sharks last season despite being the most wanted coach-in-waiting.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson signed a five-year contract earlier this year but already has three titles to his name. Anthony Seibold was given a five-year contract with the Broncos after just one year at South Sydney.
Ciraldo has reached out to some in the game to gauge their thoughts on him taking up the Tigers position in a sign he is seriously considering the role. The Bulldogs would also like to land him but could shift their attention to Maguire now he is a free man.
Tigers head of football Tim Sheens said this week they were on the lookout for a development coach – leaving Ciraldo as the firm favourite.
Sheens also hit back at suggestions the club could lose players as a result of Maguire’s departure. Earlier in the week, Canterbury head of football Phil Gould accused the Tigers of failing to read the room and claimed as many as six players could head for the exit door if Maguire was sacked.
The Tigers privately believe it was Gould’s way of tilting the fight for Ciraldo in Canterbury’s favour given the Bulldogs are also in the market for the Panthers assistant.
Sheens has started initial contract talks with the likes of Jackson Hastings and Adam Doueihi, two players who are believed to be Maguire fans.
In Doueihi’s case, the club is confident that he will commit his long-term future to the Tigers. Hastings may be a different story given his close relationship with Maguire, although Sheens insists no players have requested releases.
Nor does he expect any to do so.
“There has been nothing from the agent or the players,” Sheens said.
“From my point of view, we’re business as usual. They’re on contract next year. We have already approached their agent. We know what they are looking at roughly. “
TIGERS DEFEND CEO NO-SHOW
The Wests Tigers are privately bemused that chief executive Justin Pascoe has been criticised for failing to front the media in the wake of Michael Maguire’s sacking.
Head of football Tim Sheens was the public face of the decision, having opted to take ownership of the difficult call.
That prompted suggestions Pascoe had gone missing in action.
Confidential understands the Tigers looked at the way Canterbury handled the recent departure of their former coach Trent Barrett as they considered their response.
Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould owned the Barrett call rather than Canterbury chief executive Aaron Warburton. No-one batted an eyelid on that occasion.
NRL TO DELIVER NEW $10M SALARY CAP REVAMP
The NRL has told club chief executives and chairs that they are set to offer landmark rewards for developing players and a salary cap of $10.5 million next season, a figure that is likely to be hastily rejected by their union.
The clubs were also told that the grant would be around $15 million from 2023, another figure that may require some massaging if it is to win widespread approval.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys fronted club bosses only hours before the State of Origin began at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night where pay talks were the centre of attention.
At the heart of those talks was the players’ cut of future revenue. Confidential understands that V’landys outlined a 32 percent revenue share for the players, meaning next year would start with a cap of $10.5 million.
The cap this year, before Covid cuts came into effect, was scheduled to be $10 million. It is understood the Rugby League Players Association quickly became aware of the $10.5 million figure after talks with people inside the meeting.
They are likely to give it short shrift, although negotiations on the future of player pay will be on hold until they resolve their historical dispute over the cuts they were forced to take during Covid.
The union say they are still waiting to receive accurate and detailed financial figures from those years, the delay becoming a source of frustration to the players.
“We would obviously love for it to be sooner but as a collective we are happy to stick it out and take as long as it takes,” Cleary said.
“It is just a constant battle.”
In a game first, clubs will also be rewarded financially for developing local products. The NRL told clubs they were in the process of working out how the change would work but it would include payment on top of the club grant to club’s who produce
home-grown talent.
KNIGHTS DELIVER ANOTHER BLOW TO RAIDERS
Newcastle look to have scored another victory over Canberra after it emerged that Canterbury firebrand Jack Hetherington was leaning towards joining the Knights next season.
Hetherington has been given permission to leave the Bulldogs, leaving Canberra and Newcastle to jostle for his services.
The Knights already landed a blow on Canberra when they stole Adam Elliott for next season.
They look set to repeat the feat after the Raiders were told that Hetherington was likely to join Newcastle next season. Confidential understands that family reasons rather than money were a major consideration for Hetherington as he weighed up his next move.
He won’t be at the Bulldogs next season despite having a mutual option to remain at the club.
KAMBOSOS CAUGHT IN TRICKY CONTRACT WRANGLE
Devin Haney’s former promoter Eddie Hearn expects the world champion’s new promotional team to ask George Kambosos to forego his promised rematch so their fighter can chase a big-money bout with Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko.
Kambosos is due a rematch with Haney under the terms of the contract to their first fight, but Hearn - the boss of Matchroom - believes it will be a hard sell because of the lopsided nature of their bout in Melbourne.
With that in mind, he thinks Haney’s team will chase Lomachenko and offer Kambosos the chance to meet the winner. Haney split with Hearn so he could sign with Lou DiBella and Bob Arum, and win a shot at Kambosos.
“Just too good - too awkward, too clever,” Hearn said on DAZN’s Hearn Unleashed.
“It was a clinic. He was much too good for George Kambosos. This is a really difficult thing as a promoter when this kind of thing happens. As much as I wanted to be involved in the first fight, I wouldn’t like to be involved in the contractual situation for the second fight because ... it appears Kambosos has a rematch clause.
“He will call on the rematch and you have to pay the money as the promoter for a fight that isn’t really necessary to be all honest. Right now, knowing how the business works, Arum and those guys will go to Kambosos and say let Haney go and fight Lomachenko.
“You fight the winner automatically. George Kambosos will say no thank you, I want the rematch right now back in Australia.”
EELS-BULLDOGS UNITE OVER TRAGEDY
CANTERBURY and Parramatta will play for the I4Give Cup for the first time on Monday. Respective skippers Josh Jackson and Clint Gutherson were on hand to launch the new trophy alongside Danny Abdallah and his family,.
The trophy has been named to represent Abdallah’s forgiveness as his response to the memory of his children and niece being killed in a car accident in Oatlands.
Abdallah will present the trophy to the winning team.
NSW SUFFER FRESH BODY BLOW
Hot on the heels of their State of Origin defeat, NSW have suffered another blow in the Supreme Court after the judge in their case against the ARL Commission ruled that the commission was under no obligation to continue to fund the state body.
Justice Michael Ball handed down his judgement on Thursday and ordered both parties pay their own costs. He also ruled the commission was under no obligation to fund the NSWRL, albeit with the caveat that funding was only withheld because the commission was arguing that the state had breached their services agreement.
The court found it had not. Good luck working out what it all means for NSW, although Confidential understands the commission continues to consider the state’s business plan.
“The substance of the dispute between the parties was whether ARLC was obliged to continue to provide funding to NSWRL,” he wrote.
“NSWRL lost on that issue. However, the only reason that ARLC gave for refusing to providing funding was on the basis that NSWRL was in breach of the services agreement.
“It was apparent that at least until the hearing ARLC was willing to continue to provide funding if the asserted breach was cured. NSWRL was successful on that issue, as reflected in the declaration to be made by the court.”
COWBOYS KEEN TO WARD OFF TIGERS’ RAID
North Queensland say they have no concerns over the future of coach Todd Payten after whispers emerged that he could be a target for his former club the Wests Tigers should they miss out on Cameron Ciraldo.
Payten, an early contender for coach of the year, has another year remaining on his deal with the Cowboys and the club is yet to sit down to talk about extending that agreement.
That, and his close relationship with Tigers head of football Tim Sheens, has prompted suggestions he could be an alternative target to Ciraldo for the Tigers.
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