What’s the Buzz: NRL stars show their soft sides
They might be rough on the field, but NRL players can be far softer off the turf, especially when it involves their much-loved canine companions. All that and more in Saint, Sinner and Shoosh.
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Channel 9 is refusing to confirm if rugby league immortal Andrew Johns will be told to drop the drama and work alongside Erin Molan on the network’s NRL coverage next year.
Following the appointment of a new director of sport, Brent Williams, we contacted Channel 9’s media department to get their new man’s views on the much publicised commentary box falling out.
I emailed: “Any chance I could ask Brent please about the Joey and Erin relationship for my column on Sunday? Would he consider getting them together to ensure they can work together on the NRL coverage?”
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And the reply from publicist Jason Evans: “We won’t be commenting on that.”
This is an issue that won’t go away for Channel 9.
We’re told Williams wants to get a fresh start but Joey has been stubborn in his unwillingness to work alongside the talented host.
SAINT
The Australian cricket team and the access-all-areas pass they have given the Fox Sports for the Test match in Brisbane to deliver the game into our lounge rooms like never before.
SAINT II
Fox Sports is raising much needed funds for those devastated by the bushfires. The network’s V8 team in Newcastle is auctioning this magnificent piece of artwork. You can check it out at www.pickles.com.au/campaigns/foxsports. The auction closes after Sunday’s racing.
SINNER
A shocking over-reaction by Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption unit to suspend Hobart Hurricanes player Emily Smith from all forms of cricket for the entire summer after innocently posting her team’s line-up on her personal Instagram account an hour before a Big Bash game.
SHOOSH I
Which player manager is under investigation for alleged betting on NRL and Canterbury Cup games during the season? Accredited agents cannot bet on rugby league.
SHOOSH II
Which NRL club is on a cost-cutting mission and planning to play $500,000 under the salary cap next year, much to the unease of their head coach?
SHOOSH III
Television ratings for soccer’s struggling A-League have slumped to an average of 38,700 per game on Fox Sports this season. This compares with 68,200 four years ago. The game has massive issues and faces a huge broadcast rights fee reduction in three years.
SHOOSH IV
The Cowboys were never really interested in signing unwanted Roosters star Latrell Mitchell. They took him to dinner in Townsville — and made sure the TV cameras were there — as a tactic to put pressure on Valentine Holmes to quit the NFL and return home to North Queensland.
SPOTTED I
Richmond’s AFL superstar Dusty Martin having a night out on Sydney’s northern beaches with Manly Sea Eagles legend Brett Stewart and Paul Severino, the owner of Manly Pavilion.
SPOTTED II
Cricket superstar Steve Smith getting stuck into a healthy meal at the new plant-based restaurant Eden in Bondi. Dishes such as organic teriyaki-style tofu, edamame, brown rice, cucumber, smoked carrots, radish, avocado, toasted sesame, pickled ginger & wasabi mayo show how far our cricketers have come with their diets since Warney’s endless days of pizza, baked beans and a packet of smokes.
SPOTTED III
Recently engaged 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley shopping at a babywear store at Castle Towers … hopefully for his grandchildren.
SPOTTED IV
The Fox Sports cricket commentary team and senior production staff having a Test eve dinner in Brisbane at Harvey’s Bar + Bistro in Fortitude Valley on Wednesday night.
NRL STARS SHOW SOFT SIDES
Footy players aren’t always the rough and tough gladiators we watch each weekend on an NRL field.
Especially when it involves their much-loved canine companions.
This week Manly Sea Eagles star Brendan Elliot posted the most beautiful image of his cavoodle Archie on a bike ride around Centennial Park in a canine sack.
All season players have been posting photos on their social media accounts with their dogs in their down time.
Sharks star Shaun Johnson even flew his bulldog Ella to Australia from New Zealand when he first joined the Cronulla Sharks.
Blues Origin stars Boyd Cordner, Tyson Frizell and Jack Wighton also own bulldogs.
NO STOPPING TOMMY AS UK AWAITS
There’s no holding back old warhorse Tommy Raudonikis despite his health issues.
It’s been well documented Tommy is tenaciously fighting cancer and the original diagnosis was grave in that he had only 12 months to live.
Doctors have since put the 69-year-old legend on an experimental drug that has not just kept him alive but he’s now planning a trip to England next year with the Kangaroos.
Tommy has signed up as a tour leader for the three Kangaroos v Great Britain Test matches in October and November. The stories he will tell over a beer will be better than the actual football.
Contact 1300 885 718 for details on how to spend three weeks with this remarkable man and watch the Kangaroos go into battle for the Ashes.
ANNESLEY SET FOR BIG MOVE
The NRL’s Head of Football Graham Annesley is escaping the high-pressure environment of Moore Park headquarters to move back to the Gold Coast.
He plans to remain in his role and work from the Sydney offices three days a week and the rest of the time from the Gold Coast.
It is an interesting move considering it is such a stressful, high-profile role that would usually require a hands-on style of management.
LUSSICK READY TO PUT HODGES ON CANVAS
It wouldn’t be a footballer’s fight without a colourful pre-bout verbal exchange.
Right on cue, Darcy Lussick has begun sledging Maroons legend Justin Hodges in the countdown to their heavyweight fight on December 6 in Sydney by questioning the standard of opponents in Hodges’s two professional fights, both of which didn’t last one round.
Hodges’s most recent bout ended in farcical circumstances after just 20 seconds.
“I’m better than the last bums he fought,” Lussick said, “They wouldn’t win a fight at the pub on a Saturday night.”
The former Manly Sea Eagles enforcer is also dirty he was forced to fly to Brisbane for the fight press conference to suit Hodges, considering the event is in Sydney.
“To be honest, I can’t wait to get into the ring and knock him out,” Lussick said.
The fight night at Sydney’s International Convention Centre is headlined by Tim Tszyu’s fight against Jack Brubaker, a tough brawler having his first fight under legend Jeff Fenech.
AUSSIE LINKS UP WITH BOXING MEGASTAR
Australia’s rising boxing star Daniel Lewis is off to the United States to work as a sparring partner for the world’s No.1-ranked fighter Terence Crawford.
Crawford, a four-weight world champion, is the boxer who knocked out Jeff Horn to win his world title belt.
He is fighting Russian Eridanus Kavaliauskas on December 14 at Madison Square Garden in a mandatory defence of his welterweight title.
This is a huge result for 25-year-old Lewis from western Sydney. Crawford’s trainer, the infamous BoMac (Brian McIntyre), saw Lewis’s dominating performance in his US debut last month and invited him into camp.
RED HOT BUNNY IN HIGH DEMAND
Souths star Cameron Murray has become hot property in the corporate world. Every footy boot manufacturer was keen to sign the Origin and Kangaroos forward before he agreed this week to a three-year deal with Asics. The TV networks are also chasing the rookie Rabbitoh.
SELFLESS WEBSTER CONTINUES GOOD WORK
One of the all-time great men of horse racing, legendary Randwick trainer Pat Webster, continues to give back to the sport that has been his life.
Best known in recent years as the trainer of popular galloper Happy Clapper, Pat has also devoted huge amounts of time in helping the racing industry and those in the wider community battling drug and alcohol addiction and rehabilitation.
As an accredited drug and alcohol counsellor himself, Pat has been a mentor for young jockeys and others in the industry on the demands of the sport.
After a 50-year plus career in racing, Pat’s own remarkable story as a jockey, trainer, husband, father and grandfather is being told in a new book, Don’t Die Wondering, the Pat Webster Story.
It is being launched on Tuesday at Randwick. True to the heart, Pat is directing all proceeds from the book toward charitable organisations that deal with drug and alcohol treatment and assistance.
LEAGUE STARS RALLY AROUND SEARLE
Some great footy names are rallying around Gold Coast rugby league identity Tom Searle at a fundraiser at the Kirra Beach Hotel on Friday, December 13. Johnathan Thurston, Ben Ikin, Preston Campbell, John Cartwright and the great Neil “Bing” Pringle will be there to salute the man who played a huge role in the birth of the Titans. Searle has been battling serious health issues. Tickets are $100 for food and beverages.