Boyd Cordner to make history as Kangaroos captain in the wake of Greg Inglis’s drink driving axe
AFTER Greg Inglis won and lost the Australia captaincy in the space of 24 hours, Roosters star Boyd Cordner will instead lead the Kangaroos against New Zealand and Tonga.
NRL
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SYDNEY Roosters star Boyd Cordner will create history by becoming the first player in 82 years to captain Australia, lead NSW to a series win and skipper a premiership-winning team — all in the one season.
And the last man to achieve the same extraordinary feat was another Eastern Suburbs legend — the Immortal Dave Brown in 1936.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga named Cordner as Test skipper after Greg Inglis was suspended for two Test matches after being arrested for speeding and drink driving.
Inglis was appointed captain and had the honour taken away all in 24 hours.
The Queensland and South Sydney champion was desperate to lead his country and pleaded his case to Meninga on Tuesday morning, but to no avail.
Meninga and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg imposed Inglis’ two-Test suspension for matches against New Zealand on October 13 and Tonga on October 20.
Inglis was returning from the Koori Knockout in Dubbo when clocked speeding in Lithgow before allegedly returning a mid-range reading of 0.085. He was charged and will appear in Lithgow Local Court on November 22.
Rabbitohs teammate Dane Gagai has replaced Inglis in the Australian squad.
Influential NRL figures were disappointed Inglis didn’t stand down at a media conference at Redfern Oval. That gave Meninga and Greenberg no option but to step in and make the “difficult” decision.
Cordner has enjoyed the ultimate season — leading NSW to a 2-1 series win over Queensland, captaining the Sydney Roosters to a premiership and now skippering Australia.
Back in 1936, Brown captained Easts to a premiership, NSW to a 3-0 series win and led Australia in an Ashes series against Great Britain.
Cordner will also be the first Roosters player to captain Australia since Brad Fittler back in 2001.
“Both Boyd and Greg were strong candidates for the captaincy so clearly Boyd was next in line,” Meninga said. “Boyd has had exceptional success as a leader this season.
“He skippered NSW to a State of Origin series victory and also captained Sydney Roosters to a premiership. Being able to captain the Kangaroos will cap a great year for him.
“I hope to see (Inglis) back in a Kangaroos jersey next year. Greg has been an integral part of the team for many years and I expect him to be back. He’s accepted the penalty and I think he has shown real leadership by the way he has been accountable for his actions.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Inglis fought hard to retain the captaincy.
“With the Australian captaincy, I would still love to, it’s still something I would really love and to still be the Australian captain,” Inglis said.
“Through my playing career, I have been playing for 13 years, I have never had a criminal charge laid against me or anything like that. I haven’t been involved in any incidents at all through my playing career since 2005.”
Inglis felt he deserved to remain skipper.
“Me, personally, I feel like I do,” he said. “I was ecstatic, over-the-moon (when told).”
He added: “This has got nothing to do with my mental health. This has everything to do with me making one silly, stupid mistake.”
Greenberg offered reasons why he and Meninga took such drastic action against Inglis.
“Greg is not just a great player, he is one of our best role models, but he made a poor decision on this occasion,” he said.
Inglis apologised no less than eight time during his 10-minute press conference.
“I would like to apologise to the public, I know where I stand in the game as a role model to the community. What I have been charged with is unacceptable on my behalf,” he said.
“As a player in this community, it’s not good enough. This is a lesson everyone should take out of this: if you’re not right to drive, have a Plan B.
“I’m standing here before you saying I did make a mistake, that’s the bottom line. I will learn from this mistake and continue to lead my community. It definitely won’t happen again. As a player and person around this community, it’s not good enough.”
Australian selector Laurie Daley took a strong stance on the Inglis issue on Sydney radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.
“Greg’s been a terrific leader for South Sydney and Queensland but I don’t think you can have the Australian captain going DUI,” Daley said.
On Macquarie Sports Radio, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy took a different line, saying: “I’d like to see them just forgive him and let him play and let him be captain, but I know there are standards in the game to uphold.”
A South Sydney statement claimed Inglis would be leaving Sydney for several days this week.
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Originally published as Boyd Cordner to make history as Kangaroos captain in the wake of Greg Inglis’s drink driving axe
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