What’s the Buzz: Fox Sports close to signing Yvonne Sampson; Andrew Fifita shows his softer side

WHAT’S the Buzz: Fox Sports are close to pinching Yvonne Sampson from Channel Nine and bad boy Andrew Fifita shows loyal Sharks fans his softer side.

Yvonne Sampson is close to signing with Fox Sports. Picture: Richard Dobson

FOX Sports is on the verge of pinching Channel Nine’s popular rugby league personality Yvonne Sampson.

As the ratings war between the networks hots up, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Nine’s main anchor is on the verge of quitting the free-to-air station.

Sampson has been secretly in talks with Fox Sports bosses Patrick Delany and Steve Crawley for weeks. It was Crawley who gave the former Brisbane sports reporter her opportunity in Sydney where she quickly became a star on the Sunday Footy Show, in the newsroom and then as main host of the State of Origin series.

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Yvonne Sampson is close to switching from Channel Nine to Fox Sports. Picture: Richard Dobson

And Delany has been super impressed with her on-air presence and knowledge of the game.

Nine would recall Cameron Williams to host rugby league in Sampson’s role. He has already returned to the network to replace retiring sports newsreader Kenny Sutcliffe from next year.

It would leave Fox Sports with four outstanding female presenters in Lara Pitt, Jessica Yates, Megan Barnard and Sampson.

Nine will still have Erin Molan and rising star Julie Snook on its footy coverage.

The pay-TV network is introducing a 24-hour rugby league channel next year and has been busily locking in talent.

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GOOD DEED FROM A ‘BAD BOY’

Sometimes it’s easy to sit back and write off wayward Cronulla forward Andrew Fifita as a mug. Your columnist has often been his harshest critic. Then this email arrives out of the blue to show a completely different side to him.

“AS a tragic Cronulla Sharks fan from the age of 8, (I’m 47 now) I did not think that anything could get better than the grand final win.

“Well, how wrong I was and just as my delirium from the win was beginning to subside, I was given something else that both myself and my family will cherish forever.

“It was about 8.30pm on a normal Wednesday night in sleepy Griffith when my 2 noisy dogs alerted me to 2 strangers at my front gate.

“To my absolute shock and amazement we were visited by grand final star Andrew Fifita, accompanied by one of his close local mates with the actual Premiership trophy!!

(Apparently he was sent to visit me by the Sharks due to my long-term membership.)

Andrew Fifita with the Bertolin family.

“What happened over the next 30 minutes was incredible as Andrew nonchalantly came into my house and talked to myself, my wife and 2 teenage children like he was someone we had known for the past 20 years (and it) will stay with us forever.

“Considering all he had been through in recent times we were blown away by his generosity, humility and down-to-earth nature. It’s also worth mentioning in the subsequent days the huge amount of goodwill he spread throughout Griffith and Leeton for not only the Cronulla Sharks but also for the game of rugby league.

A friend of mine who is a teacher at Griffith High School could not speak highly enough of the way that he conducted himself and the way he captivated and related to the kids he was speaking to. The kids were ‘spellbound’ by him.

On behalf of my family, we can only thank both Andrew and the Cronulla Sharks for the joy they have given us over the last couple of months and for finding the time to give back to their loyal fans.

Up Up Cronulla!”

The Bertolin Family

Griffith NSW

GUS BACKS HEAVIES TO UNSEAT GRANT

ONE of the key players in moves to sack John Grant is none other than Panthers general manager Phil Gould, who lost confidence in the NRL administration months ago. He has been working hard behind the scenes alongside his mate Nick Politis, Parramatta Eels boss Max Donnelly and other influential club chairmen. He would also be pushing for former Nine boss David Gyngell to get a seat on the commission.

Phil Gould is a key player in trying to sack John Grant. pic Mark Evans

It’s interesting because Gus was very much involved in the last big administration shake-up when News Corp left the game. So it’s fair to ask …. who will he be happy with?

WELL SAID, MR GOULD

STILL on Gus. It’s great to see he is looking after Chris Grevsmuhl, the troubled young Panthers forward who was granted a release from the club on Friday on compassionate grounds.

Gus told us: “Chris is committed to making a change in his life to deal with some difficult personal issues. The Panthers are working closely with NRL Welfare to ensure Chris gets all the support he needs. He is a great kid and I’m confident he will come out the other side. It definitely leaves a big hole to fill in our playing roster but it’s more important that we help ensure Chris’ long-term wellbeing. The person is always more important than the footballer.”

Chris Grevsmuhl has been released from his Panthers contract. pic Mark Evans

CODE QUICK TO CASH IN

THE AFL knows how to cash in on a rugby league crisis. On the day the NRL went to war with the 16 clubs and left the code in crisis, the AFL sent out a press release to boast about its huge participation increases in NSW and the ACT.

The overall numbers reached 237,549, an increase of 10.4 per cent. The growth was driven by a 23 per cent increase in women participating in the game. All this at a time when the Sydney NRL clubs have no idea how much they can invest in junior pathways because they have no future funding model.