Sports Confidential: Brad Fittler wants a team song for NSW Blues and why Canterbury are in such a mess
BLUES coach Brad Fittler’s fresh approach to Origin brought the shield back to NSW — now he wants a song to go with it. PLUS, why the Dogs are in such a mess and what Alfie said to Boyd.
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AYE aye yippee yippee aye! You know it. We’ve heard it sung so often over the past 12 years.
Even the Kangaroos had a crack at it — to the angst of some of their Blues counterparts — so there’s no doubt the Maroons’ victory song is well known.
As for NSW? Zilch. While regenerating the side and leading them to a series win, Blues coach Brad Fittler has embarked on finding the team a song ahead of Origin III in Brisbane.
MATTY JOHNS: Cronk takes on the old mates
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“We are working on a song,” Fittler said. “I don’t think NSW has ever really had a song. I remember singing a song, but a song might’ve come in one year and then been gone. Not having a song is an uncomfortable moment after a game.”
Fittler improvised last Sunday and put on some music, which set the tone for those dressing-room photos that captured the celebrations.
The song of choice? Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons, which has been a theme song during the campaign.
“The shots showed the boys going wild,” Fittler said. “If I didn’t play that song, the photos would have been of just blokes sitting there.”
BLUES rookie Matt Prior had been part of two historic grand final wins, helping end the Dragons’ long premiership drought and being part of Cronulla’s first title-winning team. But nothing compared with running out at ANZ Stadium.
“I always thought the grand final was the biggest event of the year,” Prior said. “But after playing Origin and the week that I went through, I can see Origin is a little bit above it.”
ICE GUY DIDN’T FINISH LAST
MUCH has happened since Nathan Walker last stepped on the ice in Australia about six years ago.
Walker became the first Australian to play in the NHL last year, scoring on debut for Washington before joining Edmonton and rejoining the Capitals at the back end of the season.
He lifted the Stanley Cup as part of the Capitals’ title win this month despite not featuring in the finals series. In the interim, he also fielded a call from prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“It’s been a wild run,” Walker said. “The whole year has been crazy. Lifting the cup and being No.1 has been something I have dreamt about since I started playing. It was incredible.
“The city was electric. It went nuts.”
Walker is back in Sydney for the first time in about 10 months and will take to the ice to represent Team USA against Team Canada for the Ice Hockey Classic at QUDOS Bank Arena on Saturday night. The Sutherland Shire-raised Walker has a year left on his Washington contract.
FOX SPORTS’ JOLLY JULY
THE weather may be cooling but Fox Sports is planning a special “FOXMAS” in July.
The feast of sport includes 11 competitions or events spanning eight codes, starting this Sunday when Australia’s cricketers clash with Zimbabwe and Pakistan
in a seven-game T20 tri-series.
Wimbledon starts on Monday before the British Open tees off on July 19. There will be plenty of motorsport on show, with the Supercars’ Watpac Townsville 400 (July 6) and Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint (July 20), while the Formula One grid heads to England (July 6), Germany (July 20) and Hungary (July 27) throughout the month.
The Super Rugby finals series kicks off from July 21 and the AFL and NRL start their finals road home.
WITH GREAT POWER …
THE GWS Giants will be channelling every bit of Spider-Man’s speed and strength when they take on Hawthorn as part of the AFL’s Super Round this week.
GWS co-captain Phil Davis took time out to pose alongside Spider-Man as the Giants hit form with a three-game winning streak.
To celebrate the round, children get in free at Spotless Stadium on Saturday night, when the ninth-placed Hawks travel to play the 10th-placed Giants.
MORE DOGS IN THE HOUSE
WHILE their on-field performances may take some time to turn around, Canterbury are getting their off field departments back on track with some key appointments.
Sport Confidential can reveal the Bulldogs have landed Manly’s Gareth Holmes to join the club as general manager of football. His appointment will see Bulldogs stalwart Andrew Farrar shifted to team manager of the NRL.
Holmes is highly regarded and the Sea Eagles were desperate to cling onto him. He played a large part in the Kangaroos success before joining Manly at the beginning of last year with his role with the Australian side giving him some pulling power with the elite players. Holmes was also instrumental in getting the Jillaroos to become a professional outfit.
Bulldogs legend Mark Hughes also re-joins the club as a talent scout as the Bulldogs look to put measures in place to advert the calamity which has occurred in recent years. Hughes will work alongside recruitment manager Warren McDonnell.
Just on Manly, they have advertised for a “recruitment and list manager” after missing out on Peter O’Sullivan who has joined the Warriors. They will also now be on the look-out for a replacement for Holmes.
EELS SHAKE-UP AFTER BAD YEAR
PARRAMATTA boss Bernie Gurr fired off an email to the Eels football staff this week telling them of an impending review into the club’s poor season.
Staff had heard whispers of it but the scope of the probe was not known.
Gurr told them that review “includes all aspects of football operations”, meaning coaching and support staff, recruitment, retention, player roster management, junior development and high performance will all come under scrutiny.
Gurr went on to write that the review was expected to take about eight weeks and interviews were under way as the club looks to find what the “best practice” is for the organisation.
One outcome expected is the appointment of a head of football.
The Eels are in the midst of finding an external party to support the review, which will be led by two club directors.
DOGS’ BACK-ENDED MESS
A LOT of Bulldogs fans are asking where the NRL was when Canterbury were busy blowing up their salary cap these past few years.
The NRL was aware of the problems the Bulldogs were heading towards but were continually assured they were being addressed.
“They put a plan to us about the players they weren’t going to sign,” NRL boss Todd Greenberg said. “They were telling us how they were going to plan to move other players on.
“They had plans for how they were going to do it.”
An example of this was prop Greg Eastwood, who signed a heavily back-ended contract.
When Eastwood was about to activate the option for this year he was given a sharp talking to about his future at the club and told he would be best served by looking elsewhere for 2018 because if he stayed at Canterbury he would play in the NSW Cup.
It was an aggressive move from the club. Eastwood called the bluff, partially motivated, you have to believe, by the fact no other NRL club would take on his $800,000 salary for this season.
That is the Bulldogs’ other problem. They have deals well above market value.
If ever the NRL needed a reason to ban back-ended contracts, the Bulldogs’ predicament is it. They are banned in the AFL. They are the root of most salary cap problems in the NRL.
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MELBOURNE are set to land Warriors forward Albert Vete before the transfer deadline ends at midnight Saturday.
The Storm have been hit with a raft of injuries. They fear Jesse Bromwich and Sam Kasiano will be sidelined for the season.
Felise Kaufusi is also struggling with an ankle injury, which has left the Storm’s forward stocks severely depleted, while Dale Finucane is also sidelined.
DON’T MIND ME, BROOKSY
FOR so long Robbie Farah was the Wests Tigers, but he knows his role is totally different this time.
Ahead of what is expected to be a hero’s welcome for the return of one of the club’s favourite son’s this Sunday, Farah wants halfback Luke Brooks to take control of the side.
“I don’t want Brooksy to go into his shell at all,” Farah said. “I told him I’m there to help him and this is his team.”
In Farah’s 18 months away he has seen a new Brooks, who was a young half trying to find his feet when Farah was forced out and joined Souths. Now the 23-year-old is a much more confident Tiger.
“He is a lot chirpier and a lot more confident in barking orders,’’ Farah said.
ALFIE THERE FOR BOYD
COURAGE turned back the clock to a different era in Origin II.
Boyd Cordner knocked himself out on the hip of Roosters teammate Dylan Napa and scrambled from the turf to get back in defence. But he was clearly disoriented.
The first to come to Cordner’s rescue was Maroons trainer Allan Langer, who always was a whole smarter than the average bear.
Vision cut to Alfie helping Cordner, encouraging him to stay down and wait for the Blues trainers.
“Stay down mate, you don’t want to be part of this,” Langer was saying as he tried to help the Blues skipper.
That was the word out of the Queensland dressing room, anyway.
ORIGIN SALUTE TO CAM
CAMERON Smith will get a farewell tribute at Suncorp Stadium before State of Origin III.
The NRL is already in the early planning stages and there are plans to blow the budget.
“There will be a significant tribute,” NRL boss Todd Greenberg told us. “It will be a big spectacle for him, his family is coming up.”
CORNERING CONTROVERSY
PHIL “Buzz” Rothfield returns to your TV screens on Sunday when Controversy Corner moves to the 7pm timeslot. Joining Buzz will be Graeme Hughes, Steve Roach, Bill Harrigan and Ben Elias.
“Some of us are old enough to remember the first Controversy Corner with Rex Mossop, Alan Clarkson, Noel Kelly, Col Pearce and Ferris Ashton, plus the Patra orange juice, Meapro ham and Paramount shirt giveaways,” Fox Sports’ head of television Steve Crawley said.
It was can’t-miss TV. So why not give it another fling.
SPECIAL SOUTHS TRIBUTE
TWO Souths junior rugby league sides will come together at Yarra Oval on Saturday for two very special reasons. La Perouse and South Sydney Mustangs will play a game to celebrate the lives of two beloved players, Dylan Monkhouse and Matt Farbman, who died last year.
The Mustangs formed an A reserves team this year in honour of Farbman and will wear a special jersey. Monkhouse played juniors and in the A reserves at Lapa.
Before the 1pm kick-off, Dylan’s younger brother Byron will play for La Perouse against Marrickville. There will be a special tribute to both players at 1145am, while Beyond Blue will take donations on the day. Anyone needing support should contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Originally published as Sports Confidential: Brad Fittler wants a team song for NSW Blues and why Canterbury are in such a mess
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