Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: David Gallop leads Sydney’s push for NFL game
The ex-NRL boss leading the push for an NFL game in Sydney, John Hopoate’s dare to the Wests Tigers, and another Knight to test the open market in Saint, Sinner, Shoosh.
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Sydney’s push to host a historic NFL regular season game is heating up with Venues NSW chair David Gallop jetting to England for key meetings with the NFL’s heavyweights.
Gallop was accompanied by officials from Destinations NSW and will be a guest of the NFL at Monday morning’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears at Tottenham Stadium in London.
The NSW government are locked in a battle with their Victorian and WA counterparts as they look to bring an NFL regular season game to Australia next year for the first time.
It is understood representatives of the MCG and Optus Stadium in Perth will also be in London as part of an NFL program where representatives from potential host venues are given a glimpse of what it takes to host a game.
An image obtained by this masthead in August showed Accor Stadium’s big screens welcoming the NFL as part of its pitch process to host a game as early as 2025.
“Australia, along with many other countries and markets, is being considered as a future host market,” an NFL spokesman said.
NSW held a pre-season match at Accor Stadium 25 years ago involving the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.
However, this time around the states are locked in a bidding war for a regular season match as the NFL looks to expand their tentacles around the globe.
Brett Gosper — head of Europe and Asia-Pacific for the National Football League — attended the Rabbitohs-Storm clash at Accor Stadium on August 8.
The NFL schedule this season includes games in Brazil, England and Germany.
As part of their expansion plans they recently confirmed they would open an academy on the Gold Coast and confirmed they were exploring the opportunity to play games in Australia.
The LA Rams have the global marketing rights for Australia under an NFL program that gives clubs the ability to claim international territories.
There are a handful of Australians currently playing in the NFL including Sydney duo Jordan Mailata and Michael Dickson.
Mailata plays on the offensive line for Philadelphia Eagles while Dickson is a punter for Seattle Seahawks.
SAINT
The Panthers. Four straight premierships to cement themselves as the second-best rugby league team of all-time. And the scariest part for the rest of the competition is that their best players are still at the peak of their powers.
SINNER
Former Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma who took to Instagram to mock the Tigers for winning their third straight wooden spoon. Nofoaluma was involved in two of those before being cut by the Tigers. He was later sacked by his Super League club this year.
SHOOSH
Which rising youngster is about to be sacked from his club? His top 30 deal is set to be ripped up because of off-field issues.
SHOOSH II
Which Brisbane Broncos old boy sent an expletive-laden text message to one of the club’s senior figures following the decision to sack coach Kevin Walters. The decision hasn’t gone down well with some of the former players. Nor has the text message with Broncos powerbrokers. And no it wasn’t big Gordie.
SHOOSH III
Which player straight out refused to even entertain signing with a club who were keen on him because of an issue with a former teammate? He had no intention of linking back up with his ex-teammate.
SPOTTED
Axed Kangaroos skipper James Tedesco getting on a plane with his family and heading to Hawaii just days after being dropped from the Australian team.
SPOTTED II
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field being among the punters at the annual Rugby League the Musical event performed by Denis Carnahan in Rozelle.
SPOTTED III
Retired Origin star Dale Finucane singing Simply the Best for the in memoriam at the Kangaroos reunion on Monday. A host of recently retired Kangaroos including Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Aaron Woods, Josh Mansour, Wade Graham and Sam Thaiday were among the guests.
SPOTTED IV
It is wedding season in the NRL with a host of Cronulla players and staff in Bali for Briton Nikora’s wedding to long-term partner Sharmaine Slough.
HOPPA DARES RICHO
John Hopoate has put himself on a collision course with the Wests Tigers and chief executive Shane Richardson after threatening to defy a ban on him turning up at a club function unannounced.
Hopoate was last month banned by Richardson from attending future functions after a confrontation with NSW Rugby League chief executive David Trodden at a 25-year celebration of the club.
Hopoate, who was angry that the NSWRL refused him an application to play with his son Will due to a previous ban, threatened to defy his Tigers exile when he was on the BTFU podcast this week.
“I ran into David Trodden at the Tigers function,” Hopoate said.
“He is the boss of the NSW Rugby League. I didn’t abuse him. I said ‘You are the boss, why did you say no to my application?’
“Shane Richardson … was standing right there. If anything was wrong with it he would have said something. He came and shook my hand and said, ‘Thank you for coming to our function’.
“The next day he says in the paper I am barred for life. I am going to go to a function and I want him to stop me.
“He won’t … and I hope he is watching.”
Richardson did shake Hopoate’s hand, but before he was aware of the altercation with Trodden. He only found out the next day and immediately took action.
The Tigers had their awards night on Friday night which was incident free. Back-rower Samuela Fainu claimed the player of the year award.
BUNNY OFF THE MARKET
One of rugby league’s most eligible bachelors is officially off the market after South Sydney forward Jai Arrow used a trip to Italy to propose to his partner, Berina Colakovic.
It has been a whirlwind romance for the Rabbitohs forward — this time last year, good mate Luke Bateman was tipping Arrow to star on The Bachelor.
Asked about becoming engaged, Arrow told Sunday Sesh he wasn’t sure what to say other than he was glad his wife-to-be said yes!
AFL’S NO NAME BRANDS
The AFL have received another brutal reminder of the challenge they face in western Sydney after GWS was rated the one of the least valuable sporting brands among the country’s football codes — above only the Gold Coast Suns. It also shows how much their expansion teams have struggled despite the code tipping in millions of dollars.
GWS’s brand was valued at a dismal $30 million by Brand Finance Australia — about a quarter of the Brisbane Broncos and well below the highest rated sporting club in the country, Collingwood.
The Gold Coast Titans were the worst-performing NRL club, slightly above the Suns in a sign of how the Gold Coast market is a tough nut to crack.
Surprisingly, the once powerful Dragons brand sit just above the Titans and below arch rivals Cronulla with a $35 million value.
The AFL has ploughed millions into western Sydney but it appears they have little to show for it even though the Giants have been a relative success on the field.
The Brand Finance Australia report suggests western Sydney is still well and truly in the hands of rugby league.
Four-time premier Penrith ($108 million) are the fourth-ranked sporting brand in the country behind only Collingwood, the Brisbane Broncos and Carlton.
Parramatta ($71m) and the Bulldogs ($51m) also feature prominently among rugby league clubs on the list, while even the Wests Tigers - despite collecting three successive wooden spoons — are estimated to have a brand value of $42 million.
DOG IN THE RING
James Graham has taken to his multiple media roles with ease since stepping down from playing. Now the former Bulldog and Dragon prop is turning his hand to professional wrestling. Graham will step into the ring for his debut on Sunday at the MetroTheatre at 4pm. He will be pairing up with Jack Bonza to take on Ricky South and Backman as he eyes a potential career shift. Australian WWE star Grayson Waller was a headline act on Saturday night.
ROSE TORN FROM FIGHT
Former NRL Manly cult hero and Australia’s biggest boxing promoter George Rose could miss the Tim Tszyu World Title in Orlando next weekend after rupturing his biceps in the annual Koori knockout last weekend. Rose laced the boots back on as his team WAC won the tournament that featured Ben Barba and William Kennedy. Rose meets specialists this week as he waits to see if he can make the trip to see Tszyu in Orlando.
Keep an eye out for Aussie boxing next big thing Mateo Tapia on the Tszyu undercard Tapia is a Manly local who many boxing experts are saying will be our next world champion.
ANOTHER KNIGHT TESTS MARKET
Rising Knights star Dylan Lucas is set to ink a two-year contract extension to remain at the club, but another one of his high-profile teammates is set to wait until after November 1 to decide their future.
Lucas was a revelation for Newcastle this year with the 24-year-old cementing himself in the top 17. He made his mark in the back row but was versatile enough to switch to centre when needed. Lucas had 12 months left on his deal but opted not to test the open market.
While Lucas is locked in, his back-row partner Kai Pearce-Paul has indicated he will explore his options once the trade window opens.
He is the second high-profile Newcastle player to elect to do so after Kiwi prop Leo Thompson told the club of his intentions to test free agency in recent days.
Pearce-Paul will command more than $600,000 on the open market as his two-year deal with Newcastle expires at the end of next year.
The 23-year-old had a breakthrough year in his first season in the NRL playing 22 matches.
Pearce-Paul and Thompson are expected to attract interest from a host of clubs.
The pair haven’t ruled out extending their time in Newcastle but now the Knights face a battle to retain them.
STORM’S AWKWARD COLLINS MEETING
Melbourne powerhouse Nelson Asofa-Solomona has buried the hatchet with Sydney Roosters forward Lindsay Collins after sending a text message to ensure the pair carried no bad blood into next season.
Sunday Sesh understands that Collins told Asofa-Solomona there were no issues between the pair after the Storm enforcer knocked out his Roosters opponent with a high shot in the preliminary final.
Coincidentally, when the Storm checked into their Sydney hotel for grand final week, one of the first blokes they bumped into was Collins, who happened to be staying in the hotel for the weekend.
FLANNO TAKES ON GRAHAM
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan is set to provide an intimate view of his plans for the Dragons’ rebuild on The Bye Round podcast with James Graham, where he is one of the guests on the second annual round table.
Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov, the recently retired Aaron Woods and one of your columnists – Brent Read — are also involved as they tackle all the big issues in rugby league. The round table series can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Getting to know your CEO … with NRL boss Andrew Abdo
First Job: I worked as a barman during University. I learned about the rewards for hard work, good customer service and memorising people’s names, orders, prices and calculating bills in my head. I was also able to make money instead of spending money whilst in a pub. It was a great way to meet interesting people and allowed me to save money for travelling.
Greatest personal sporting achievement: Scoring all the points in the Police Rugby Union Club 14-12 win in the 2003 Nicol Shield final in Bermuda (it’s a long story!). I also enjoyed winning the triple crown at home against my wife and kids – table tennis, darts and backgammon.
Sporting team you supported as a kid: Rugby League – Wigan (I loved Martin Offiah’s speed). Cricket – West Indies (ferocious fast bowling and brazen batting).
Who was your sporting hero: My brother Anthony, he was outstanding at rugby union, water polo and surfing.
What did you want to be when you were younger: I wanted to own a pub that was right on a beach somewhere in Italy or the Caribbean.
Most famous person in your phone: Peter V’landys!
What’s at the top of your 2025 wish list: A great adventure holiday in January with my family.
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