Origin Confidential: Ex-NSW star Kotoni Staggs to officially re-sign with Brisbane Broncos
After months of speculation, a former NSW Blues star will finally put pen to paper on a new Brisbane Broncos extension. Plus, Karl Stefanovic’s naked State of Origin bet.
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Brisbane are set to officially kick off their retention spree on Thursday with the re-signing of former NSW centre Kotoni Staggs.
Staggs, who played his one and only game for the Blues two years ago, is expected to ink a three-year-deal to stay at the Broncos.
Staggs is coming off one of his best performances of the season a fortnight ago in the Broncos’ big win over the Gold Coast Titans.
With Staggs now under lock and key and Adam Reynolds expected to follow suit, the Broncos can turn their attention to retaining Selwyn Cobbo.
ORIGIN’S R-RATED CLASSIFIEDS
Stop the presses: State of Origin has made the front page in Western Australia.
Well, sort of. The West Australian used it to promote an 8 v 12 AFL match on Thursday.
The one story they did run shares space on the page with the R-rated classifieds, and is almost comically boring, making no mention of the Billy Slater-Aaron Woods feud or the Spencer Leniu kick-off debate.
The Origin preview was buried after reports on such big-time sporting stories as the Bunbury races, HSBC Championships tennis and a third tier rugby union competition.
BEARS BOARD
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys is expected to use this week in Perth to meet at least prospective candidates to be the inaugural chair of the Bears.
The commission has already appointed Anthony de Ceglie to be the Bears chief executive while Immortal Mal Meninga will be their maiden coach.
The next important pieces of the puzzle are the chair and the head of football. It is understood that under the agreement for the Perth Bears to enter the premiership in 2027, the inaugural chair has to be a WA local.
Hence the plans to carry out talks with potential chairs while key NRL and ARL Commission officials are in Perth for the second State of Origin game.
KARLOS’ NAKED ORIGIN BET
The interstate war of words between Triple M stablemates Aaron Woods and Gorden Tallis has continued with Woods firing back at Tallis.
The two came face to face last Wednesday on NRL 360 after Woods described Queensland coach Billy Slater as a “grub”. Tallis was critical of Woods during his Sunday show on Triple M where the former Maroons captain said Woods had been sacked from six clubs.
“He wasn’t that brave when he was a player, he’s braver on the mic,” Tallis said of Woods. Woods took exception to Tallis saying that his son had taken a recent photo with Slater.
“When your spokesman is Gorden Tallis that’s when you know you’re in trouble,” Woods said on his Triple M breakfast show on Wednesday morning alongside Beau Ryan and Cat Lynch.
“He said my son got a photo with Billy Slater. My son doesn’t know who Billy Slater is.
“If you’re going to get your information correct – maybe say the right stuff We don’t call him the raging bull in our house any more – it is the raging something else.”
Woods was talking with Channel 9 Today Show host Karl Stefanovic when he let fly at Tallis. Stefanovic and Woods have made a bet based around Origin II. The loser has to swim naked at Bondi Beach on Friday. Stefanovic tried to bait Woods but highlight Tallis’ comments before the former Kangaroos and NSW prop bit back.
EELS FUMING IN SILENCE
Frustrated Parramatta officials have privately raised concerns regarding the training loads on Mitchell Moses that led to the Eels playmaker suffering a calf injury while in camp with the NSW State of Origin side.
Moses, the Eels captain, is set to miss up to six weeks after damaging his calf while with the Blues in the leadup to the second Origin game in Perth.
The news was a sledgehammer blow to not just to NSW, but also Parramatta and their coach Jason Ryles as they look to climb up the ladder over the second half of the season.
They now face the prospect of being without their highest paid player for an extensive period after he was struck down while in camp with NSW, having joined the Blues in the Blue Mountains the day after playing 80 minutes in the Eels’ loss to the Bulldogs.
Eels officials are believed to be privately seething with the injury to their talismanic skipper, who already missed the start of the season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot.
Moses returned from the foot problem in time to play for NSW in Origin I, but it is understood he has carried a calf problem in recent weeks, prompting the Eels to keep a close watch on his training loads.
Parramatta handed over control of the situation to the Blues when Moses went into camp with NSW and it is understood they told them Moses had been managed in recent weeks.
However, he was only with the team for a matter of days before he went down with a calf problem, undergoing scans which revealed he could spend up to six weeks on the sidelines.
It means Moses hasn’t just been sidelined for Parramatta and NSW, but will also miss the final game of the Origin series.
Parramatta, meanwhile, will play Joash Papalii and Dean Hawkins in the halves against the Gold Coast this weekend with Dylan Brown suspended.
SPOTTED
New Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga and chief executive Anthony De Ceglie, and WA premier Roger Cook was also in the stands at Optus Stadium
STARS’ WA STAY
Kalyn Ponga will remain in Perth after Origin II with his club side Newcastle playing the Dolphins in Western Australia on Saturday night. The timing of the Perth game is excellent for Ponga who does not have to rush home in order to get himself right to play for the Knights. He will rejoin his Newcastle teammates on Thursday. The Dolphins’ Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow will be doing the same.
Originally published as Origin Confidential: Ex-NSW star Kotoni Staggs to officially re-sign with Brisbane Broncos
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