What’s the Buzz: James Phelps’ saint, sinner, shoosh, Bradman Best set for wing switch
The Newcastle Knights are set to pull a shock switch in hope of creating their own version of reigning Dally M winger of the year Brian To’o.
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The Knights are considering a shock positional switch for Bradman Best, hatching a plan to turn the gun centre into a barnstorming winger in the mould of Brian To’o.
At 103kg, Best would challenge Parramatta’s Maika Sivo as the NRL’s biggest winger.
Sidelined with a broken thumb and not expected back for at least four weeks, Best had failed to have the type of impact that he had in 2020 after bursting onto the scene as an 18-year-old wrecking ball a year earlier.
The Knights want Best involved in play as much as possible and believe that he will get more opportunities to run the ball on the wing. Best has had limited opportunities this year with his average possessions per game dropping to 15.
Best has the potential to have a To’o-like work-rate impact on his team given he has both the size and speed to become a yardage machine.
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GALLEN’S SHOCK SHARKS RETURN
Paul Gallen will make a shock comeback for the Sharks this week in a move that will renew his bitter rivalry with the Bulldogs.
News Corp can reveal that the Cronulla legend will make his senior coaching debut on Wednesday after being appointed head coach of the Sharks’ under-16s pathways team.
He will travel to Belmore with his squad for an intriguing trial match against the Bulldogs.
“I have done a bit of coaching before but not at this level,” Gallen said.
“I really enjoy coaching kids and helping them develop. I coach my son’s Under-11s team and that was good fun, so I thought ‘why not’ when an opportunity came up with the Sharks.
“I get a big buzz out of giving back, especially when it comes to kids. Most people think I am all about money, but I do give a lot back. That’s just who I am, but this is mostly about enjoyment. I enjoy doing it so I am doing it.”
There were plenty of smiles from the under-16s players when they found out their coach was arguably the greatest ever Shark.
“I am hopeless with names so that was a challenge,” Gallen said. “But the kids have been great so far. They all ripped in and trained hard, so they haven’t seen my cranky side yet.”
While he is doing a stellar job and is no doubt an asset to the Sharks’ academy, Gallen said he had no desire to take Craig Fitzgibbon’s job.
“I have no interest in coaching in the NRL,” Gallen said.
“I’m doing this to help the kids. I am also doing a day a week with the NRL team, just floating around, and that is enough for me at the moment. I am really enjoying my media roles and that’s what I will continue with in the future.”
SAINT
Everyone who donated their hard-earned money to the Men of League for the NRL’s crazy socks round. We have been told that more than $70,000 has been raised for the organisation that helps our former heroes during hardship. Rugby league fans have a history of digging deep for a good cause. The Mark Hughes Foundation sold their 800,000th beanie this year.
SINNER
The two teens who sent a series of death threats to Parramatta star Mitchell Moses. While having a shot at a player for something he did on the field on social media is apparently accepted in 2022, texting a death threat to a family member of an NRL star is most certainly not.
SHOOSH
Who was the club CEO who took the extraordinary step of fronting players about their on-field performances? Obviously ignoring the demarcation line between the front office and the football department, the CEO pulled in the entire team to put them on notice following a recent loss. We are told it was one hell of a spray. Akin to Phil Gould taking over Trent Barrett’s training session at the Bulldogs this year It may spell the end for the coach in question.
SHOOSH
Commonwealth Bank is now offering gambling restrictions on customer accounts in response to the proliferation of transactions with betting companies, whose advertisements headline the sponsorship of most sports broadcasts in this country.
SHOOSH
Which two star NRL players are rumoured to have a significant stake in the management company that represents them?
SHOOSH
Which high-profile player is odds-on to leave his club despite having a year to go on his deal? The player severed ties with his manager last week and hired another after being promised a new, better deal at another club.
SPOTTED
Shane Flanagan at East Hills Hotel last Friday. The premiership-winning former Sharks coach was helping the mighty East Hills Bulldogs celebrate their season at their annual sportsman lunch. For a very “average footballer” turned “shitty plumber”, Flanno has become quite the public speaker. His retelling of the Todd Carney “bubbler” incident was hilarious. Flanagan and his son Kyle also donated a coaching session to the club as a prize for their fundraiser.
SPOTTED
Ian “Chook” Herron at Cronulla High School’s footy oval on Monday night. The Dragons legend was watching on as his son Jaylan trained with the Cronulla Academy after being selected in the Sharks under-15s side.
The grand final Dragon was a little conflicted about the colours his son — a fullback who has a running style almost identical to his father — was wearing. “It will take some getting used to,” Herron said.
SAAB CLOSES IN ON MAGICAL MARK
Sprint coach Roger Fabri has rubbished suggestions that Josh Addo-Carr has lost pace since his move to Canterbury.
Fabri has also made the stunning claim that Jason Saab is capable of reaching a speed of almost 40km/h on the rugby league field, rating the Manly winger as the only man in the NRL quicker than Addo-Carr.
Once labelled the “fastest man in the game”, Addo-Carr has only clocked the sixth quickest speed in the NRL this year, according to the Telstra Tracker.
“I would be astounded if he was not still the second fastest man in rugby league,” Fabri said.
“I think he has just had a limited opportunity to run this year. These (Telstra Tracker) times don’t take the situation into consideration. Things like whether or not they have the ball, the condition of the field, and what time of the game it was recorded. But I think the biggest thing is that the Foxx just hasn’t had a run long enough for him to reach his maximum speed. “You need them to go at least 50m for them to reach their maximum velocity, and even then it won’t be reached if they are looking for an offload or changing direction.”
But Fabri is adamant all the speedsters in the NRL are chasing Saab, who he said could close in on the magical 40km/h mark.
“Saab is no question the fastest man in the league. He hasn’t actually had an opportunity to really open up this year but he has already clocked a 37.4km/h,” Fabri said. “He is perfectly built for speed.”
But Fabri suggested, down the track, Saab could have a challenger in his young Manly teammate Tolu Koula after he ran the 100m in 10.58 as a 17-year-old.
“He has had to put a lot of weight on to play football so I think he would have lost speed since he ran the time,” Fabri said. “His body will have to get used to carrying that weight before you see him run times like that again.”
Roger Fabri’s Five Fastest
1. Jason Saab (Sea Eagles)
2. Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)
3. Tolutau Koula (Sea Eagles)
4. Xavier Savage (Raiders)
5. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Cowboys)
FINUCANE’S IMAGINE DRAGONS DREAM
Dale Finucane’s dream of being a rock star is a step closer to reality following a shock invite from US rockers Imagine Dragons to cover one of their hit songs.
In a pinch-yourself moment for a guitar-playing prop from Bega, Finucane has fielded a request from the Grammy Award-winning band to cover their song “Sharks”.
Having been outed as a musical whiz in the Blues’ 2019 Origin camp when he was recorded playing piano in the team hotel, news of Finucane’s talents has made it all the way to Las Vegas, where Imagine Dragons are based.
Finucane confirmed the request when we spoke to him during the week but said he had not had a chance to examine the details and would not commit until he knows what is involved.
Finucane did however confirm that he is keen to explore a career in music once he finishes his football career.
A guitar player and singer that also can play piano, Finucane has already belted out a tune or two with Aussie pop royal Guy Sebastian.
“I haven’t had the chance to play much music lately because everything is flat chat,” Finucane said.
“We have two kids now so with that and footy it doesn’t leave much time. But I am really keen to get back into playing again. I love music and I have been lucky enough to play live a couple of times.
“I played at a few pubs when I was in Melbourne and have also played functions and backyard gigs. It is something I would like to get into more after footy.”
GRUDGE MATCH CONFIRMED
Ryan Waters has declared “I can’t wait to punch that c--k in the face” after Junior Talipeau agreed to a fight 15 years in the making.
In a fight that no one thought would ever happen, the two former Australian champions have both agreed to come out of retirement for the ultimate Australian boxing grudge match.
Former training partners who became bitter enemies after a Cronulla street fight, Waters first challenged the then Australian middleweight champion Talipeau to a duel in 2008.
“I have been wanting to knock his head off for 15 years,” Waters said. “And I finally it is going to happen.”
Best remembered for going 10 rounds with Anthony Mundine towards the end of his stellar career, Waters, 37, said his disdain for former Contender contestant Talipeau was real.
“I really don’t like him,” Waters said. “It all began at a 21st at Cronulla surf club years ago. He was carrying on like a d---head and I knocked him out. He was out for about six minutes cold. Both of us were amateurs back then. You can probably say that’s where it all started and will finish when I knock him out again in November.”
The pair have agreed to fight at “catchweight” and will square off at the Southern Districts Rugby Club on November 20. Tickets are available from the South Side Boxing Facebook page.
BOXING’S OLYMPIC SAVIOUR
A piece of technology designed and built by an Aussie boxing training could return boxing as an Olympic Sport.
News Corp can reveal heavy hitting Cronulla-based trainer Losh Matthews has taken the technology he used to create “Boxtag” to the IOC in the hope that boxing will be reinstated in the Olympics.
Boxing, along with weightlifting and Modern Pentathlon, was dropped from the initial program for the Los Angeles 2028 Games after an independent panel found that results from the Rio 2016 Games was subject to manipulation by officials.
LA can add additional sports to the list next year.
Matthews has developed an electronic scoring system using sensors that could render judges obsolete.
Matthews will be exhibiting the technology at the grand opening of his new Strong Arm Boxing Academy in Cronulla on August 27.
DRAGONS CLOSE IN ON HOOKER
The Dragons are on the verge of doing the deal that will land them a new hooker for season 2023. We have been told Jacob Liddle has agreed to join the Red V next year should he be able to negotiate his release from Wests Tigers.
Liddle is contracted next year but is likely to be given permission to leave given the club will welcome Panthers ace Api Koroisau.
DCE TURNS NEW PAGE
Daly Cherry-Evans’ State of Origin heroics for Queensland are set to land him a book deal.
Several publishers are chasing Cherry-Evans, who will consider offers to do what would be an extraordinary tell-all. There have been few figures in the NRL as polarising as Cherry-Evans and publishers are tipping a warts-and-all account of his career would be a bestseller.
VALE BOB HARROW
Softball Australia is mourning the loss of former national men’s coach and pioneer of the sport in this country, Bob Harrow, who died in Canberra on Thursday.
Harrow, who coached the Steelers from 2000-2018, leaves a lasting legacy on the sport. His sons, Mike and Laing, both represented Australia, while the latter is now the current national women’s team coach. His grandson, Matthew Harrow, was last week selected in the Australian Under-23 team to compete at the World Cup in Argentina in October.
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