Blindside: The latest gossip and inside info from the NRL
THE Broncos had dozens of past and present players and 1200 guests at their 30th anniversary gala but they embarrassingly forgot to invite one of the men who started the club.
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THE Broncos have been left red-faced after founding father Barry Maranta was not invited to the club’s 30-year anniversary ball.
Blindside can reveal Maranta was left off the guest list for last Saturday night’s gala ball which attracted more than 1200 guests at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
All 240 players to have pulled on a Broncos jersey were invited to the circus-themed ball to celebrate 30 years since the club’s foundation in 1988.
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In the late 1980s Maranta, Steve Williams, Paul “Porky” Morgan and Gary Balkin banded together to create the Broncos.
Maranta and Williams are the two surviving club founders after Morgan died in 2001 and Balkin passed away last June.
Maranta said he had disappointingly become estranged from the club over recent years and his snubbing was a sign of the times.
“People like ourselves have been photoshopped out of what went on,” he said.
“There has been some sort of estrangement for reasons I don’t know. That’s a matter for the current board and that’s what life is.
“Thirty years is a long time. We sold (the club) 20 years ago and we’ve had very little to do with the club since.
“These things happen. I would have thought someone might pick up a phone but it is what it is.
“Normally a CEO (Paul White) or someone in charge of a function would check, but perhaps they have other things on their plate.
“I’ve just got to recognise things are done differently these days.”
Blindside alerted the Broncos to the embarrassing situation yesterday, prompting new chairman Karl Morris to ring Maranta to apologise.
A Broncos spokesman yesterday admitted the club had made an error in not inviting Maranta, but insisted it was an honest mistake.
“Chairman Karl Morris has rung Barry to apologise unreservedly for the failure to invite him to the 30-year function, which was the result of an honest mistake in the sending out of invites,” he said.
“At the Broncos, we honour the four founding fathers of our club every day with their image and a tribute above the entry to the new Clive Berghofer Centre at Red Hill.
“Barry was there for the opening of the new facility and we’ll ensure he’s invited to all our events going forward.”
The spokesman said Williams was invited, Balkin was invited before his death and Morgan’s family was represented at the function.
LEAGUE’S MOVIE WRITER
LOOK out Steven Spielberg. Former NSW Origin star Jason Stevens is making waves in the movie industry.
Stevens has been kicked out of rugby league’s front-rower’s union for being too intelligent after writing and producing his first movie, which will be screened in 95 cinemas across Australia.
Titled Chasing Comets, the sporting comedy-drama features well-known Aussie actors Peter Phelps, Isabel Lucas and Home And Away’s Dan Ewing.
The movie hits the screens from Thursday, August 23 and represents a 12-year labour of love for Stevens, who did his first screenwriting course in 2006.
“I thought playing State of Origin was tough but this was tougher,” said Stevens, who played 231 NRL games and is now a full-time producer and writer.
“It’s about a footy player who is a bit all over the place. He has a dream to play in the NRL but he keeps sabotaging himself with his decisions off the field.
“It’s about his leap of faith into faith as a means to get his life on track. It’s loosely based on my career and my life.
“I’ve based some of the lines from coaches I worked with. One line in the movie is, ‘I don’t like draws, it’s like watching your mother-in-law driving off a cliff in your new car’. That was Brian Smith (former Dragons, Eels and Roosters coach) who once said that.
“Films cost a lot of money and there’s so many hurdles to jump. I was totally out of my comfort zone but I’m very proud of the achievement. It was great to work with some great Aussie actors like Peter Phelps, he was fantastic and so generous with his time.
“It leaves a good message and I hope people will laugh throughout the movie.”
UNIQUE WAVELENGTH
WE have uncovered the reason for Titans centre Konrad Hurrell’s terrible ball handling — he can’t see the ball.
Here is a photograph of Hurrell emerging from the surf at Broadbeach in dire need of a haircut.
Hurrell was averaging two knock-ons a game in the early part of the season before being dropped to reserve grade by coach Garth Brennan.
He has returned in better form in recent weeks, but a haircut wouldn’t go astray.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
THE Civoniceva name lives on in rugby league. Broncos legend Petero Civoniceva was inducted into the NRL’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday night and now his daughter has taken up the sport.
Big Petero’s eldest daughter, 14-year-old Tallulah, has signed up for the Caboolture Snakes and is loving the game that turned her father into a Queensland Origin and Test legend.
“She’s really enjoying it,” Civoniceva said.
“Caboolture are very supportive of the girls and with the pathways these days, there’s opportunities for women to play NRL which is fantastic for the code.”
SCOTT EYES ORIGIN
COWBOYS enforcer Matt Scott is refusing to retire from representative football and believes he has something to offer the Queensland Origin side next season.
Scott will undergo a second bout of neck surgery at season’s end but insists the operation will not end his NRL career.
In a boost for the Maroons, the 33-year-old Scott insists he is not a spent force at Origin level and is keen to reclaim his beloved Queensland jumper.
The 22-game warhorse was overlooked by Queensland coach Kevin Walters this season but with the Maroons keen to hit back in 2019 after losing this year’s series, Scott’s experience would be handy.
“I’d love to play Origin again,” he said. “It’s a bit harder now but I still feel I have a bit to add to that side. The Origin series (next year) is still a long time away, so I guess it depends how I’m going next year.
“I was always confident I could get back from this neck injury, it’s nice to be back on the field.”
TITAN CHASES CONTRACT
UNWANTED Titans playmaker Kane Elgey has ramped-up plans to secure his NRL future.
Blindside can reveal Elgey will tour Manly and Newcastle over the next week in a bid to secure a new contract for next season.
Elgey is off-contract at the Titans but is unlikely to be handed a new deal after struggling to produce his best form this season.
The Bulldogs are also interested in Elgey but the lure of playing alongside Queensland halfback Daly Cherry-Evans could deliver him to Brookvale.
Elgey hopes to finalise his future in the next fortnight.
STRAINED THEME EMERGES
IT has been a bad fortnight for Queensland NRL club medical staff.
Last week we told you about the knee injury suffered by veteran Cowboys physiotherapist Steve Sartori which had ruled him out of on-field trainer duties.
Now another medical guru has been struck down.
Broncos high performance boss Jeremy Hickmans was spotted hobbling around Red Hill this week with his knee strapped.
The affable Englishman told Blindside he suffered a meniscus injury.
The Gold Coast Titans staff better tread carefully given recent events.
GROWING IN THE RANKS
TEVITA Pangai Jr’s breakout season hasn’t been lost on his Broncos teammates.
Pangai Jr has been in sensational touch this season to bolt on to the radar of Kangaroos selectors, who could attempt to lure him from Tonga.
The barnstorming prop has attracted plenty of headlines with his excellent form and his Broncos teammates have noticed his boom in popularity.
“I don’t want to say too much about Tevita, you all love him enough,” Broncos prop Joe Ofahengaue said to reporters.
“He’s been killing it.”
STAR’S POSTS CROSS THE LINE
WHICH NRL player at a Queensland club has raised eyebrows with his expletive-laden social media posts?
The representative player has posted videos swearing at his young child and can’t seem to understand the fuss around his language.
PLAYING STOCKS
RISING
Anthony Milford
His kicking game against the Sharks last week was the best display of his NRL career. Brisbane’s $1 million man has copped a lot of stick this season but he is working harder on his game management.
Jordan McLean
It’s been a horrendous year for McLean, who broke his foot just a month into the season at his new club. But the Cowboys giant returned last week against Newcastle and had a real dig in his comeback game.
Johnathan Thurston
Deserves credit for competing right until the very end. Had a hand in three tries against the Knights and even scored one himself. The genius has not left him yet.
AJ Brimson
The Gold Coast Titans rookie has been one of the finds of the season and has made the No. 6 jersey his own.
FALLING
Gavin Cooper
The Cowboys back-rower may have scored the matchwinner last week but for 77 minutes he was out of sorts, making three handling errors you would see in the Townsville under-8s.
Mitchell Pearce
Started the season brilliantly at Newcastle but needs to lift to get the Knights to the finals. With the match against the Cowboys in the balance last week, Pearce failed to take control.
Chad Townsend
The Sharks halfback threw nothing at the Broncos with the game on the line last week, proving how big an influence James Maloney was in Cronulla’s success.
The Warriors
Looked like top-four material a month ago but are now in danger of missing the top eight. Their defensive application against the Titans last week was appalling.
Originally published as Blindside: The latest gossip and inside info from the NRL