Blindside: Maroons’ ‘Coach Whisperer’ is back
Done. Done. Done! Rugby league’s famous “Coach Whisperer”, Bradley Stubbs, has turned his attention to the most frustrating sport on the planet. PLUS, Heat back Metricon and a league legend’s heartbreak.
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Rugby league’s famous “Coach Whisperer” has now turned his focus to golf.
Bradley Stubbs, the man behind Queensland’s 2-1 State of Origin series loss this year, is advertising workshops for golfers.
“It takes only one session to change your thinking, to have you hitting your driver 5-10% longer and drop down 1-2 clubs” Stubbs posted on Twitter.
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— Bradley C Stubbs (@BradleyCStubbs) December 28, 2019
Stubbs said he had sessions available in Sydney and Melbourne early this year.
Blindside also spotted Stubbs at the Gabba last month before a Brisbane Heat Big Bash game.
The Heat could certainly do with some help.
Done. Done. Done!
HEAT PLAYERS BACK METRICON
Brisbane Heat want to continue playing games on the Gold Coast despite having a terrible record a Metricon Stadium.
The Heat’s dismal loss to the Scorchers on New Year’s Day ensured they have lost all four matches at the home of the Gold Coast Suns.
The Heat struck a three-year agreement last summer to play two games a season on the Gold Coast.
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Two years into the deal they are yet to win a match and have had mixed crowds.
The 20,135 that packed Metricon for the Scorchers game was the best non-Commonwealth Games crowd at Carrara since 2014.
But the Heat’s fans went home disappointed after the team’s shocking 40-run defeat.
Fast bowler Ben Laughlin said the wicket had improved since its Big Bash debut last summer and the team enjoyed playing there.
“It’s a great venue and it was a great crowd,” he said.
“The boys said the wicket last season wasn’t great, but I felt it seemed pretty good.
“It’s a beautiful stadium. We love coming down here.
“Hopefully we can keep it for a few more years.”
Only 11,969 turned out for the Heat’s pre-Christmas loss to the Stars, but the New Year’s Day crowd was excellent and the franchise will push to retain the timeslot next year.
LEAGUE LEGEND’S HEARTBREAK
The rugby league community is expected to rally around legend Ron Coote after his home was burnt down in NSW’s bushfire crisis.
Coote lost his home of 35 years in Lake Conjola on New Year’s Eve after it was engulfed by a raging fire.
The 75-year-old and wife Robin battled bravely to try and save the house before having to jump into a nearby lake to escape the inferno.
Coote is the honorary president of the Men of League Foundation – an organisation that helps people associated with rugby league through tough times.
Coote helped found the Men of League in 2002 and now finds himself going through a tough time.
“It happened so quickly, all of a sudden on top of us,” Coote said on Channel 9.
“We were defending there, we had fire hoses, pumps and had to use the water out of the swimming pool, then it got up into the eaves of those house … then she went up mate.
“It’s a bit daunting of a morning when you get up and you have no clothes to put on.
“We used to get up and go to the drawer to put something on and away you’d go, but unfortunately that’s happened.
“That’s life, you get on with it … we’re not going to let this interfere with our great life we have down here.”
RENSHAW BACK OPENING RIVAL
Matt Renshaw has launched a passionate defence of his sparring partner and Test opener Joe Burns.
Burns’ place in the Test team has come under scrutiny again following a string of average scores this summer.
Burns has already been dropped from the Test arena six times in his 20-match career.
Renshaw, 23, has also been in and out of the Test team despite making a promising start to his international career.
And the Queensland opener said Burns’ critics should lay off after he started the summer with a solid 97 against Pakistan at the Gabba.
“He missed out a few times and that can happen as an opener and now people are saying he has to be dropped,” Renshaw told Blindside.
“That’s not fair on him. He’s working really hard on his game.
“As an opener it can be so fickle at times. Three games ago he scored 97. That’s as good as a hundred in my opinion.
“He is a great batsman and has been for Queensland for the last few years. When we won the Sheffield Shield (2018) a lot of it was down to him.
“I back him every day of the week.”
BRONCOS GO STATE WIDE
The Broncos are covering a fair bit of territory in Queensland during their pre-season campaign.
The Broncos will play trial matches in Cairns, Rockhampton, Wynnum and Redcliffe to prepare for the 2020 NRL season.
Every NRL team will participate at the Nines in Perth on February 14-15.
The Broncos will also play a trial match on February 15 against the Central Capras in Rockhampton.
A Broncos team will face the Cowboys in Cairns on February 22, the night after a group of Broncos players plays Wynnum-Manly at Wynnum Juniors on February 21.
The Broncos will finalise their preparations with a trial match against the Gold Coast Titans at Redcliffe on February 29, a match which is expected to be close to full strength.
Originally published as Blindside: Maroons’ ‘Coach Whisperer’ is back
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