Sport Confidential: Cordner to have stem cell surgery, Kiwis eye Test in America
BLUES captain Boyd Cordner will have revolutionary stem cell surgery on the knee injury which threatens his longevity in the game.
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NSW captain Boyd Cordner will have revolutionary stem cell surgery next week as concerns regarding his ongoing knee injury grow.
Any potential World Cup celebrations will be short-lived because he is booked in for an operation days after Australia’s World Cup final against England in Brisbane.
Cordner, 25, has a debilitative knee injury which threatens his longevity in the game.
It is hoped the stem-cell procedure will accelerate the regeneration of damaged cartilage in Cordner’s knee, which he has had an ongoing battle with after a number of serious injuries.
Surgeons will inject Cordner’s own fat tissue — via liposuction — into the affected joint or tendon.
Next year looms as pivotal for Cordner, who is off-contract at season’s end and eyeing a contract worth nearly $1 million annually.
Injuries, including a ruptured pectoral, have limited Cordner to just 30 games for the Roosters in the past two seasons.
The latest operation won’t delay his start to the NRL season because he is expected to return to Roosters training in the middle of next month.
Cordner’s Kangaroos teammate Aaron Woods had the surgery in 2013 and said it had helped resurrect his career.
Trent Hodkinson and Cordner’s new Roosters teammate James Tedesco have also had success with stem cells to repair injured knees.
TWO-MODE ALLIANZ WILL BE PLACE TO BE SCREEN
THIS is the cutting-edge technology that will transform the new Allianz Stadium from a big-event venue to a boutique 30,000-seat ground at the push
of a button.
As part of the $700 million knockdown and rebuild, Allianz Stadium will come equipped with giant mesh LED screens that fold back into the roof for sold-out events such as the A-League’s Sydney derby, the NRL’s Anzac Day Cup and Wallabies Tests.
For regular-season matches, Allianz will switch to “club mode”. The screens, which will be composed of a weatherproof fabric often used on building facades,
will fold down and give Sydney’s sporting fans a whole new live experience.
Team imagery will be displayed on the screens using hi-tech light projectors, the same technology that transforms Sydney during the Vivid Festival.
“This is a concept we pioneered some years ago as a way to best serve the needs of our home clubs and sports,” SCG Trust chief executive Jamie Barkley said.
“In terms of events, Allianz Stadium is the busiest major rectangular stadium in the country.
“But we operate at two speeds, with at least 10 major events of 35,000-plus each year at the same time as we host regular-season matches of about the 20,000 mark.
“Club mode will give NRL, Super Rugby and A-League fans the close-to-the-action experience they crave at what will be a world-class stadium on the doorstep of the Sydney CBD.”
KIWIS AND POMS EYE A TEST IN AMERICA
ADVANCED discussions have taken place for England and New Zealand to play a historic Test in Denver in the middle of the 2018 NRL season.
Plans are well under way for the two nations to meet in June when the NRL grinds to a halt for a stand-alone Origin game.
Both countries have been offered up to $500,000 for the match. It is understood England have all but agreed to it but New Zealand are reluctant because they face logistic issues.
The idea is the brainchild of Jason Moore, who is desperately trying to get exposure for rugby league in the US after landing the rights to host the 2025 World Cup in that country.
If the Kiwis don’t agree, expect them to play a Test against a Pacific nation on the same weekend.
Australia’s only Test next year is against New Zealand at the end of the season before the Kiwis tour England.
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TO say Jack Bird could not be happier to be out of Cronulla would be a huge understatement.
Our spies up north told us Bird is relieved to be as far away from the Shire as possible.
He has bought a pad close to the city and quickly struck up a close bond with Jimmy “The Jet” Roberts.
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WILL Chambers has been the chief antagonist for the Maroons in recent years and is public enemy No. 1 for NSW.
But the Storm centre has won over a stack of the Blues-based Kangaroos during the World Cup. While the Kangaroos now share a tighter bond than ever, let’s hope it does not end the Origin fireworks.
NO FESTIVITES FOR FIFITA
ANDREW Fifita missed the hero’s welcome his Tongan teammates received in Tonga after he had ankle surgery. He had an arthroscope but is in no doubt to start the NRL season.
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PAUL Vaughan was lucky to fly back from Bali the day before volcanic ash grounded planes. Robbie Farah and Lebanon teammate Nick Kassis were not so lucky, with Kassis getting a Cedars tattoo to pass the time.
DJ HAVANA ROCKS JERSEY LAUNCH
DJ HAVANA Brown was almost a bigger hit than the NSW Blues’ new playing strip at a very funky jersey launch inside The Star casino on Wednesday night.
The We Run The Night star hit the decks as the likes of Gus Gould, Steve Roach, Benny Elias, Cliffy Lyons and Steve Mortimer tried to hear each other talk while working out who the hell the petite blonde was.
Brown was more than happy to support the Blues. New coach Freddy Fittler and fullback James Tedesco were happy to pose up next to Brown. After watching Brown’s first set, NSWRL chairman George Peponis said it reminded him of his days carving up at the ‘’discotheque’’ after Canterbury games.
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FITTLER made a point of taking Lebanon’s World Cup players for a stretch the day before a game, and ignored calls to abort the practice in pouring rain one day. Tedesco told us after hearing the story from housemate and Lebanon halfback Mitch Moses.
“But Freddy came charging out and did this big slide in the wet, then said to them, ‘longest slide wins’,’’ Tedesco said.
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LAURIE Daley has been recognised for his contribution to sport with the inaugural The Waratah gong at the NSW Sports Awards.