Trash talk gives Jeff Horn ammunition for Terrence Crawford, Matty Johns beats the Footy Show and Kalyn Ponga’s Dally M odds
Trash talk gives Jeff Horn ammunition for Terrence Crawford, Matty Johns smashing the Footy Show, John Sutton’s future talks and Kalyn Ponga’s Dally M odds.
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WHAT’S THE BUZZ: Trash talk gives Jeff Horn ammunition for Terrence Crawford, Matty Johns beats the Footy Show, John Sutton’s future and Kalyn Ponga’s Dally M odds.
SAINTS
NEWCASTLE footy fans — whether it’s the NRL’s Knights or the A-League’s Jets. Two wooden spoon sides from last year yet still backed parochially and unconditionally by the most passionate and diehard supporters in the country.
SINNER
FOR all those AFL types concerned for the welfare of accused drug trafficker Mark “Bomber” Thompson, spare a thought for the families of those who have had lives destroyed by the substances the former coach and star player has allegedly been profiting from.
ORIGIN REHEARSAL: McInnes out to crack Smith duck
KENT: Cap problems forecast dark days at Belmore
SHOOSH
WHICH NRL club is trying to sign a disgruntled Manly Sea Eagle who’s lost $100,000 in contract earnings since salary cap investigators uncovered a rort in his deal?
SHOOSH II
WHICH Queensland Origin star’s ego is so far out of control even his clubmates are off him? And the Maroons are all talking about NOT wanting to share a room with him.
SPOTTED
AUSTRALIAN cricketers Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood at last Sunday’s Tamworth Cup race meeting enjoying a beer and a punt.
SPOTTED II
NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler reading all about his rookie candidates on the back page of Tuesday’s The Daily Telegraph.
SPOTTED III
OLD rugby league bosses Ken Arthurson, John Quayle and Colin Love enjoying lunch on Wednesday while they were all in town for the funeral of long-time colleague Bob “Balloons” Abbott.
SPOTTED IV
GORDEN Tallis and Brett Hodgson bumping into each other at ANZ Stadium last week. The pair haven’t caught up since Tallis famously rag-dolled Hodgson into touch at the same venue during a 2002 Origin match.
SPOTTED V
UNDER siege Manly Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett walking his kids to school in Freshwater in a rare break from the pressure of NRL coaching.
SPOTTED VI
CANBERRA Raiders legend and Sky Sports Radio breakfast host Laurie Daley having coffee with former Socceroos star Robbie Slater in Forestville.
MORE AMMUNITION FOR HORN
TOP Rank boss Bob Arum has slammed boxing champ Jeff Horn in a fiery exchange with his promoter Dean Lonergan in a London restaurant.
When the pair met for dinner in Mayfair before the recent Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker heavyweight blockbuster, Arum unloaded on the former Brisbane schoolteacher.
“I started telling him how disappointed we were that they’d changed the date for the fight,” Lonergan said.
“And you know what Bob said? ‘No one in America gives a f … about Jeff Horn. You’re lucky to have the fight anyway. You might as well hand the belt over now’. That’s what he said. And you know what? I couldn’t wait to tell Jeff what he said.
“Now that Bob doesn’t have an option on Jeff after this fight, he’s saying no one gives a f … about him. We’ll see what Bob’s got to say once he knocks out Terrence Crawford.
“Jeff can do it, don’t worry about that. The world will sit up and take notice.”
Horn will fight Crawford on June 9 in Las Vegas, the fight beamed into Australia on Foxtel’s Main Event channel.
MATTY BEATS FOOTY SHOW
MATTY Johns continues to break ratings records at Fox Sports. His Thursday night show attracted its highest figures ever and beat Channel 9’s Footy Show for the first time in the city markets.
It was an extraordinary result considering Fox Sports is in only 30 per cent of homes. Johns’ show attracted 143,000 viewers after the Broncos-Bulldogs game while The Footy Show in Sydney and Brisbane was down to 110,000.
Fox Sports’ boss Steve Crawley said it was a reward for all the hard work Johns puts in.
“Everyone see the fun side of Matty but he’s also an incredibly hard worker,” Crawley said.
“And right now he’s at the top of his game.
“The show’s producers, Jamie Lockyer and Ben Churchill, are doing a brilliant job, too.
“And don’t forget Fletch, Hindy, Gordie, Hannah Hollis and Kenty. It’s a great team.”
It was new Foxtel boss Patrick Delany who hired Johns from Nine and who always said he would knock off The Footy Show one day.
No doubt Matty will be letting his little brother, Joey, know all about it.
SUTTON’S FUTURE TALKS
SOUTH Sydney forward John Sutton is facing a huge decision on his future after 15 years at the Rabbitohs.
The 290-game veteran, who started way back in 2004, is off contract at the end of the season. He’s 34 in November but still playing well.
Coach Anthony Seibold said they hadn’t even spoken about next year.
“In a few weeks, we’ll sit down and have a chat,” Seibold said. “He’s enjoying his footy and playing really well.”
Sutton captained the 2014 premiership-winning team and will soon become the first player in Rabbitohs history to play 300 games.
Whatever happens, Seibold said Sutton had a huge future in rugby league.
“He could be a really good coach,” he said. “He understands the game as well as anyone I’ve coached and has been really good for our younger guys, including Angus Crichton.”
SLASHING PONGA EFFORT
THE TAB has slashed Knights star Kalyn Ponga’s price to win the Dally M Medal from $51 to $9 after a stunning start to the season.
Ponga, who went into round nine leading the count, is second favourite.
Gareth Widdop is $8 to win the medal, having started the year at $17. Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos skipper Cameron Smith has firmed from $21 to $11 since round five.
EELS CHIP IN
WE told you last week how legendary greyhound writer, punter and Parramatta Eels fanatic Gary “Milton” Manning had been seriously injured in a car accident.
In a lovely gesture, the Eels responded by sending Gary a get-well card and a jersey signed by all the players to his intensive care ward at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
ROAR TO RECOVERY
RUGBY league bad boy Paul Carter continues to rebuild his life with the Cessnock Goannas in the Newcastle competition. The 25-year-old forward recently got his car licence back after a three-year driving ban and showed off his P-plates on Instagram. He eventually hopes to return to the NRL but, considering his track record, it would seem highly unlikely.
MAD NOT TO USE MACDOUGALL
IT’S hard to believe the NRL hasn’t jumped on the pulling power of one of the game’s great characters, Adam MacDougall, following his success in the health food industry. “Mad Dog” is a huge supporter of the Mark Hughes Foundation, the Ricky Stuart Foundation and Mark Taylor’s Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation as well as sponsoring the Knights.
On Monday he’ll launch the latest series of The Man Challenge, an online interactive exercise and diet program that’s transformed the lives of thousands of men (www.themanchallenge.com.au). The NRL could do worse than use MacDougall’s brand and following to help lift its image in challenging times and show young players what can be done in life after footy.
THOROUGHLY WONDERFUL
THERE are some wonderful stories of camaraderie at bush football clubs.
Last weekend the Scone Thoroughbreds had their under 7s present the first- grade side with their jerseys before a home game against Greta-Branxton. The kids also helped the first-grade players with their warm-up before the match.
The first-grade team ran on to the field with the under 7s players for the kick-off to give the youngsters a glimpse of what it’s like to be involved at the top.
Just a lovely example of a community coming together through the local rugby league club.
BELIEVERS BACK
PARRAMATTA fans are the most passionate in the NRL. When the Eels lost their first six games this season, sales of their 2018 jersey nosedived at Peter Wynn Score. Two wins later and it’s a different story.
“The last fortnight has been unbelievable,” Wynn said. “We’ve made up for the first six weeks and our sales are back to what we budgeted for.”