Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Phil Gould’s call of Tigers games under threat due to fan’s outrage
CHANNEL Nine faces a dilemma over Phil Gould’s commentary position at Wests Tigers games, Freddy Fittler’s son forges his own path and proof Mitchell Pearce is at home in Newcastle.
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CHANNEL Nine faces a dilemma over Phil Gould’s commentary position at Wests Tigers games for the remainder of the season because of the furious outrage over his attempts to pinch their coach Ivan Cleary.
Nine will broadcast the Wests Tigers’ Round 24 match against Manly at Campbelltown and the following game against the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium, both Thursday night TV games.
The Panthers general manager has infuriated Wests Tigers fans by trying to convince Cleary to break his contract at the Wests Tigers as a replacement for Anthony Griffin.
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“It’s not something we need to speculate on now,” said Nine’s director of Sport Tom Malone, “We’ll make a decision on what’s best for the broadcast.”
There is an obvious concern about security at Campbelltown given the level of anger of Wests Tigers fans who are accusing Gould of sabotaging their season and Cleary’s rebuilding program at Concord.
Wests Tigers supporters have savaged Gould and Penrith chairman Dave O’Neill on social media since it was revealed they were targeting Cleary to coach his son Nathan at Penrith.
Gould told Griffin when he sacked him on Monday that the club had made the decision to get Cleary.
Nine has security staff at every game for their commentators but they are rarely needed.
Malone says: “It’s more an editorial decision than a security issue.
“We’ll look at the roster and see who’s best suited for each game. I don’t know if we’ll send him to Campbelltown. If it’s not Gus it’s not Gus.
“He didn’t call Thursday night in Townsville. He doesn’t call every match and we can be flexible with all our commentators.”
SAINT
BILLY Slater. The best fullback I’ve seen and a superstar who has encouraged more junior league registrations than any other NRL player. He was small enough to ride a racehorse but with a heart big enough to become a champion in the toughest body contact sport on the planet.
SINNER
PHIL Gould and the board members at Penrith Panthers who so unfairly sacked head coach Anthony Griffin on the eve of the NRL finals — and then blamed each other. Gus said it was the decision of the club’s board, CEO Brian Fletcher said it was Gus’ call. Surely Griffin has got a strong case for wrongful dismissal.
SHOOSH
WHICH long-time Channel 9 rugby league personality and former player is looking for a new job at Fox Sports and other rival networks for next year.
SHOOSH II
WHICH two big-name forwards at a highly placed NRL club have fallen out over the past fortnight and are not on speaking terms?
SHOOSH III
WHICH highly ranked NRL refereeing official has mysteriously disappeared and had no appointments at matches for the past three weeks?
SHOOSH IV
NO prizes for guessing which $800,000-a-year forward Panthers supremo Gus Gould is trying to offload for next year.
SPOTTED
COWBOYS superstar Johnathan Thurston and Sony Music boss Denis Handlin at the Pink concert on Saturday night. JT jetted in from Townsville, fresh from his last-ever game against Brisbane on Thursday night, to watch the pop icon’s Sydney show at Qudos Bank Arena.
SPOTTED II
ROOSTERS players using the offices of the Waratahs, who have moved out of their Moore Park HQ before the demolition of Allianz Stadium.
SPOTTED III
FORMER league boss John Quayle almost reduced to tears as he spoke about his relationship with Nick Politis at the dinner for the Roosters’ supremo.
SPOTTED IV
ANTHONY Griffin’s manager Wayne Beavis sitting six seats away from Phil Gould at the exclusive dinner to acknowledge Nick Politis’ 25 years as chairman of the Sydney Roosters — on the same day Gould sacked Beavis’ client.
SOMETHING WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT
THE cheerleaders from five NRL clubs celebrated Women in League round with a midweek cocktail party organised by Monique Carroll, the wife of Spud Carroll.
Monique has run the Manly Sea Eagles cheerleaders for more than a decade.
The girls from Manly, Parramatta, Canterbury, Penrith and the Knights caught up at North Ryde for the function in the week the game honours the contribution of female players, coaches, referees, administrators and volunteers.
“Cheergirls are there every week but rarely get a shout-out,” Monique said.
“It was a great get-together and a chance to ensure we have a voice in the game.
“These girls are all high achievers in life with university degrees and great careers.
“And they have been an important part of the game now for 54 years.”
PERSONAL COST OF SACKING A COACH
WHEN the Sydney Roosters sacked coach Chris Anderson back in 2007, the club’s directors paid for his termination payment themselves.
They didn’t feel it was right that club members were left to foot the bill for their poor decision to hire him in the first place.
Each board member chipped in around $15,000.
Which bring us to the Penrith Panthers officials who are showing exactly why the NRL was reluctant to splash their $2 billion TV deal money on $13 million annual grants to clubs that irresponsibly blow the money.
The Panthers have butchered millions by sacking Anthony Griffin, Ivan Cleary and Matt Elliott plus two chief executives, Corey Payne and Warren Wilson.
No wonder questions are now being asked of CEO Brian Fletcher, who might have been a reasonable provincial racing manager but looks out of his depth in the brutal business of rugby league.
FREDDY’S SON SHINES
THE name Fittler lives on in junior rugby league.
Freddy’s 12-year old-son Zac has made the NSW Combined Independent Schools team for the national championships in Adelaide this week.
Zac was ballboy for his dad’s NSW Origin team this year and plays in the front-row.
“This is his third year playing league,” Fittler said. “He wasn’t pushed into it. He finds it a bit challenging because he’s got the surname and he’s a pretty big kid too. But he’s enjoying it. And he’s got a bit of a step too, for a big guy.”
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WE’RE proud to be delivering the biggest stories in rugby league on these pages.
Last year, we told you Cooper Cronk was quitting Melbourne Storm six months before his actual announcement. We also revealed five weeks ago Billy Slater was hanging up the boots
A HEIST OF ADMIRERS
SPORTS stars usually spend off-seasons reading sports biographies or motivational tomes. This year they’ll be reading about eight bushrangers and 77kg of gold. The likes of Johnathan Thurston, Ivan Cleary, Michael Lichaa and Josh Reynolds have colleague James Phelps’ new book, Australian Heist — the incredible story of Australia’s biggest steal — at home already.
GRANT’S MOUNTAIN OF RELIEF
TIM Grant would have considered quitting his new deal with Penrith if the Panthers had succeeded in signing Ivan Cleary.
The Tigers prop recently inked a deal to return home to Penrith but was forced to reconsider after rumours his current coach was to follow him west.
The ex-NSW prop can’t get away from Cleary. Grant was punted from Penrith by Cleary in 2014 before a coaching change at the Tigers saw an unpopular reunion. After Cleary on Saturday put the rumours to bed — for now — Grant’s move is likely to go ahead.
PROBE INTO BETTING STING
THE NRL integrity unit has begun its investigation into a $100,000 betting sting on a game in 2008.
We revealed a fortnight ago that a punter with connections to NRL statisticians put $30,000 on Penrith’s Nathan Smith to top the tackle count in a game against Wests Tigers.
It’s alleged the stats were altered the morning after the game for the punter to collect $105,000 from bookie Con Kafataris and that a current NRL employee may be involved.
NRL senior intelligence and wagering analyst David Lockley and integrity unit chief Karyn Murphy met ex-NRL stats boss Andrew Moufarrige last week.
He’s been asked to provide more documents ahead of a second meeting this week.
There is no suggestion that the players are involved.
PROOF PEARCE IS RIGHT AT HOME
MITCHELL Pearce has settled in so well at the Knights and with the Newcastle lifestyle that he has purchased a $1.2 million house in Merewether.
It’s a good sign the 29-year-old halfback is happy and will play out his career in Newcastle.
“It’s a great spot, the property market is good for buyers, and I’m here for four years at least,” Pearce said. “I’m loving Newcastle and I think the Knights can really go places from next season.
“It’s an exciting time for the club and I want to be settled here.”
Pearce has done well with his investments in the property market. He owns two houses in Sydney that he bought while at the Sydney Roosters.
FITTING FOR PROVAN
ONE of the most valuable pieces of rugby league history was couriered from the NRL’s Moore Park headquarters to the Sunshine Coast on Friday. The jacket for St George Dragons legend Norm Provan as the game’s 12th Immortal will arrive on Monday. Family members will be there to receive it for the legend who was not well enough to attend the official dinner 10 days ago in Sydney.