‘Best thing ever’, footy confession and Zorko shock: Coast gossip

The Sniper is back with all your latest Gold Coast sporting gossip.

THE Sniper is back with all your latest Gold Coast sporting gossip.

RACING

EVEN in the toughest of times, Gold Coast’s leading racing stable can find some joy.

Trainer Toby Edmonds is recovering from being trampled by a horse last week while son and training partner Trent Edmonds is working overtime for the stable while still remaining concerned about his father’s condition.

One thing Trent does know is that Toby isn’t the tackling machine he claimed to be.

Trent said rugby league was in the family’s blood but it appeared Toby didn’t have the same tackling technique as others in the clan.

“His father was on the Kangaroo tour in the 1950s and my dad’s side of the family are all footy buffs from Scone,” Edmonds said.

“One of my uncles played for Manly. Dad fancied himself as a football player at one stage too.”

Toby Edmonds even plays golf with former Australian and Queensland representative Paul Vautin.

“Golf is more his go rather than tackling,” Trent Edmonds said.

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SURF LIFESAVING

YOU’VE got to feel for Surfers Paradise surf life saving athlete Karlee Nurthen.

After opting not to compete in the Coolangatta Gold, the 23-year-old returned for her first race of the summer at Burleigh on Sunday and established herself in the chasing pack early in the race. But drama struck during the second ski leg. As she went to take off, it’s believed the rudder cable on her ski snapped, leaving her stranded on the beach. A replacement ski was found and run down to the shore but Nurthen was unable to close the gap.

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MATT Poole was by far the most dominant man in round two of the Nutri-Grain series, so much so he was leading before the starters gun had even gone. Eager to take off, Poole had a false start and took a few strides towards the break before realising nobody had followed him. The moment foreshadowed what was to come as Poole had one of the most complete Nutri-Grain series performances in recent memory.

Matt Poole celebrates winning round 2 of the Nutri-Grain Series at Burleigh Heads. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

STAYING on Poole, it appears he may have unlocked the secret to his early summer form. The 31-year-old has recently gotten a new tattoo, a menacing looking snake on his right shoulder. “I just go for the big, scary, vicious looking animals so maybe that intimidates the other boys,” he said.

SPEAKING to the Bulletin on Sunday, Currumbin’s Hayden White couldn’t believe his weekend luck.

Not only did he win the open ironman race at the Summer of Surf on Saturday, but he also came second in the Cane Toad classic (where cane toads are placed in the centre of a circle and the first one to hop out wins) with his ironman prize money and to top it all off, his pride and joy Steak Club was featured in Saturday’s Bulletin. “I’ve cleaned up,” he said. “The steak club story is the best thing I’ve read in a paper.”

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CRICKET

WIDE Bay have some work to do in next year’s Schaeffer Shield if the appraisal of Gold Coast Thunder quick Sam Winton is anything to go by.

The Thunder crushed Wide Bay by 142 runs in their representative clash on November 9 and Winton had little positive to say about Gold Coast’s rivals.

“You come up against a good quality Darling Downs (on November 10) and we played Wide Bay the day before and it was just two completely different teams,” the South Queensland representative said.

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RUGBY LEAGUE

BRONCOS legends Alfie Langer and Jharal Yow Yeh were in fine form at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Saturday, sharing some side-splitting home truths with a corporate luncheon crowd.

The best thing about being a professional rugby league player? “I love drinking p---,” Yow Yeh said.

“As a professional rugby league player I loved to enjoy myself and probably not go to Bali.”

When asked if he hoped to mentor the next Alfie Langer at the Broncos, Yow Yeh hedged his bets.

“Well we wouldn’t want kids to be too much of an Alfie off the field, but on the field definitely.”

As if to prove the point, Langer dove into the story of his first Origin training camp and how his battle to keep up with the Queensland greats overnight left him spewing up before each session began.

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RUGBY LEAGUE

THE Titans may be in a rebuild but we won’t lose any sleep over the struggles of the Broncos up the road.

Our arch rivals are a halfback away from NRL contendership, Allan Langer said.

“I think the Broncos are a chance… maybe.

“Depending if we buy a halfback – but I’m not sure.”

Tough break for the young halfbacks at the club who look to the little general for wisdom!

Langer also hinted that the David Fifita would re-sign with the Broncos on a five-year deal.

“Hopefully (Fifita) has learned his lesson, he’s home now, he’s safe.

“And hopefully,” Langer teased, “He’ll be at the Broncos for the next five years.”

AUSSIE RULES

YOU’VE always got to watch your back when it comes to AFL players and little sisters – as Dane Zorko would learn.

Lions teammate Ryan Lester claims Emi Zorko made the move on him when Dayne was overseas in 2012, and the pair had coupled up when he returned.

They married in December last year but Dayne says he couldn’t be happier for them.

“What actually happened was I was in Arizona when all this happened so he went behind my back for a bit,” Zorko laughed.

“But Ryan is probably the only player at the club who coaches would want to date their daughters, so I feel pretty lucky.

“The fact that he’s my best friend means Christmases are going to be great forever.”

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NETBALL

AUSSIE Diamonds firebrand Gretel Tippett is off the market! The Gold Coast netballer’s boyfriend, Queensland rugby sevens star Niko Bueta, popped the question in November.

Niko Bueta and Gretel Tippett.

SPORT

WHICH Gold Coast sporting team did the Sniper catch boozing it up on snapchat just hours before their semi-final clash? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the team will be watching the grand final from the couch like the rest of us.

RUGBY LEAGUE

NEW Ormeau coach Peri Creamer’s work as a police officer is coming in handy when it comes to recruitment for next year’s Rugby League Gold Coast A grade competition.

Creamer, whose role within The Logan Child Protection & Investigation Unit focuses on youth engagement in high schools, has already picked up a couple of players he met while they were studying.

Peri Creamer is the new Rugby League Gold Coast A grade coach at the Ormeau Shearers for 2020. Pic Tim Marsden

“(The job is about) trying to keep them on the straight and narrow. It’s more proactive and you get to engage with kids on their level,” Creamer said.

FOOTBALL

GOLD Coast United have been spruiking their retention and recruitment drive in recent weeks but it’s interesting to note the players who have left the club.

Logan Lightning have signed United quartet Tyler Wagstaffe, Conor Smith, Brandon Lemay and Dean Wernerson for next year’s second-tier QPL, leaving a major hole in Kristian Rees’ side.

The Surfsiders have a youth development policy but their hopes of making the NPL finals for the first time won’t be helped by the loss of those four players.

CRICKET

RISING Gold Coast all-rounder Jack Sinfield has revealed how he slipped through the Gold Coast Dolphins’ net.

The 16-year-old, who will play for the Australian under-18s at next month’s National Under-19 Championships in Perth, spent a season in the Dolphins’ Lord’s Taverners side in 2017-18 before joining Queensland Premier Cricket rivals Redlands.

“I love it up there (at Redlands), it’s great,” Ashmore-based Sinfield said.

“It’s a great culture. There was a bit of a clash of personalities in the Taverners at the Dolphins (when I was there) and Redlands were willing to give me a go and welcome me up there so it ended up being a great move.”