What’s the Buzz: Aaron Woods hoping for Origin whitewash, Mundine the safe driver and Todd Carney’s pony
ANTHONY Mundine will miss the start of this year’s Origin series as NRL teams lining up to speak to Aaron Woods’ manager plus more on Corey Norman and the Eels.
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OUT-of-favour Canterbury prop Aaron Woods could be on his way south and wants his former NSW teammates to claim an Origin whitewash. PLUS, Todd Carney’s pony!
SAINT
NO players walking out of camp for a day on the booze. No big bonding sessions. Instead, a night out for the NSW Blues in Woolloomooloo feeding Sydney’s homeless. Nice work, boys.
SINNER
REFEREES’ boss Bernard Sutton’s shocking treatment of the game’s No. 1 whistleblower Matt Cecchin. We offered Sutton the opportunity to publicly explain his position via the NRL media department. He declined.
SHOOSH
WHICH NRL star is having second thoughts about joining a club in 2019 with which he has signed?
SHOOSH II
WHICH 2017 Blues State of Origin player is dirty he didn’t get a phone call from coach Brad Fittler to explain his axing? It should have been obvious because he’s been playing dreadfully.
SHOOSH III
THERE’S a sneaky tip from within the NSW Blues camp that coach Brad Fittler could start Manly Sea Eagles middle forward Jake Trbojevic on Wednesday night instead of using him off the bench.
SPOTTED
EX-NRL boss David Gallop chatting to NSW coach Brad Fittler at Coogee Crowne Plaza where the Blues are camped. Gallop was there with his FFA executive team for an A-League conference.
SPOTTED II
BRETT Finch at the AFL Hall of Fame dinner at Crown Palladium in Melbourne where his father-in-law Wayne Johnston, the former Carlton star, was inducted into the code’s most exclusive club.
SPOTTED III
FORMER rugby league bad boy Todd Carney with the white pony he bought for his mum and proudly showed the world on Instagram.
SPOTTED IV
NSWRL chief Dave Trodden at the Maroons Origin launch in Brisbane wearing a pair of joggers with his lounge suit. The bag with his black shoes was misplaced on the flight to Brisbane.
SPOTTED V
CANTERBURY Bulldogs front-rower Aaron Woods enjoying the bye weekend in Noosa.
SPOTTED VI
MAL Meninga in his official Kangaroos polo flying from Sydney to the Gold Coast on Wednesday morning. The big fella looked all squished in his economy seat.
SPOTTED VII
FORMER independent commission chairman John Grant still loves getting out and about. Despite his allegiance to Queensland, Grant and his wife, Helen, were at the NSW Blues launch at The Star on Monday night.
AXED WOODS WANTS A WHITEWASH
KANGAROOS prop Aaron Woods is refusing to speak publicly about his axing from the State of Origin side but has declared he wants the Blues to win 3-0.
Woods sent us a text message to declare there were no sour grapes and he would be desperately cheering for a NSW victory on Wednesday night.
“Big Buzz, I’m not dirty bra. I want them to win 3-nil. Got a few of my best mates in there. Just trying to keep a bit low (profile) for a couple of weeks brother.”
Rival clubs are lining up to speak to Woods’ manager, Isaac Moses, about his future. We were told during the week he may even join the Sharks by the end of this month.
We can confirm Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has spoken to the Bulldogs about a possible release as part of a plan for life after and Luke Lewis.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights have also shown plenty of interest.
Given that they already have the Burgess brothers, Souths’ interest was surprising but genuine.
MUNDINE TO MISS THE JET
BOXER Anthony Mundine will miss his “brother” James Roberts run onto the MCG on Wednesday night because he is doing a Traffic Offender’s Course as part of a six-month licence suspension.
The program runs for six weeks on Wednesday nights at Rockdale until nine o’clock.
“It’s a shame but I’ll be home for the second half,” Mundine said. “I’m actually glad I’m doing it to get a better understanding of your responsibilities on the road.
“I’m cautious now when I’m a passenger in a car when even my mum is driving.
“We have about 20 people doing the course and I’ve learnt so much from it.”
Mundine has applauded the selection of indigenous centres Latrell Mitchell and Roberts in the Blues side. “They’ve finally picked the right side and they’ll both have blinders,” he said.
HUGH’S ON BLUES
NSW are hoping the magic touch of Winx’s champion jockey Hugh Bowman will rub off on the Blues on Wednesday night.
Bowman, a rugby league tragic, dropped into training at Coogee and then had lunch with Brad Fittler.
“I played league when I was a kid at Dunedoo, until I was about 8,” Bowman said. “Then I played rugby at school. I was halfback but a bit small, so I didn’t get much of a run.
“I only got home on Tuesday from Japan and so I rang ‘Joey’. I didn’t even know the boys were here and he said to come down and have a look. They look really impressive.”
FLAGGING FORTUNES
THE premiers of NSW and Queensland will again have their traditional State of Origin bet, but this year there will be a slight twist.
If the Blues get up, the NSW flag will be flown over Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club and, if the unthinkable happens, the Maroons’ flag will be atop Manly Surf Life Saving Club. Being born in Manly, Gladys Berejiklian has staked her local cred on a win for Brad Fittler’s men.
It’s understood she will watch the first Origin in her office as parliament is sitting.
GREENBERG FEELS FOR AXED CECCHIN
NRL boss Todd Greenberg has broken his silence on the controversial sacking of Matt Cecchin from Origin and his demotion to an assistant referee.
“We’ve got to make these appointments on criteria and performance, not public sentiment,” he said. “But I know Matt’s well respected and well liked and he’s a great referee.”
Social media went into meltdown during the week over the treatment of Cecchin.
Matt Cecchin is the best referee in the NRL. Why is he (1) not refereeing State of Origin and (2) the pocket referee for the #NRLSouthsSharks game? @NRL @NRLBunker
— Jake Wholohan (@jake_wholohan) June 1, 2018
@Todd_Greenberg . Mr Greenberg you need to intervene on Bernard Sutton and his treatment of Matt Cecchin. If you don’t do anything it’s on you
— Greg Hancock (@GregHancock2905) June 1, 2018
The treatment of Matt Cecchin is a disgrace but there is no accountability in the world of Tony Archer. It's plain and simple bullying.
— Michael Jones (@Mikey8868) May 31, 2018
“The NRL’s a big business which generates more than half a billion dollars a year and, in a job like mine, I’ve got to trust the people heading up departments and the processes we have in place,” Greenberg said.
“But having said that, I’ve got to ultimately hold them accountable for their performance. And that’s not just refereeing. We are held accountable in every area of the game, based on performance and results. We have sponsorship targets, TV ratings, overall revenue, refereeing, corporates and fan engagement.”
EELS WATER-TIGHT
THE revelation Corey Norman was fined $20,000 for a code of conduct breach was not leaked by the Eels. And how do we know this? Because the club is hoping to release Norman before June 30 or at the end of the season and didn’t want to scare potential suitors away with off-field issues. We told you in January there was a problem between Norman and coach Brad Arthur, which was denied.
TAB’S SHORT QUOTE
NSW TAB has the Blues at $1.55, their shortest price against Queensland ($2.50) in 13 years for game one of the series.
The last time the Blues were shorter was in 2005 for game three at Suncorp Stadium when they won the game and the series. Without Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk and Jonathan Thurston, punters are all over the Blues to open with a win with their new-look team.
James Maloney ($9) and Damien Cook ($13) are the most popular players in man- of-the-match betting.