Sport Confidential: Manly to hold crisis talks with Channel 9 over Daly Cherry-Evans’ on-air bombshell
Manly and Channel 9 will meet after their relationship evaporated during Daly Cherry-Evans’ on-air revelation he would leave the club at season’s end. Plus, Staggs’ multicultural round centrepiece.
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Manly hierarchy are set to hold crisis talks with Channel 9 bosses in the wake of the Daly Cherry-Evans contract bombshell.
Sea Eagles chief executive Tony Mestrov will meet with Channel 9 chiefs to ease tensions with the network following the ructions triggered by the DCE saga last week.
Channel 9 broke the news of Cherry-Evans’ shock decision to leave Manly at season’s end, leaving Mestrov and Sea Eagles bosses reeling.
Cherry-Evans then made an exclusive appearance on the network’s 100% Footy program last Monday week, wearing casual clothing with no Sea Eagles branding, despite being Manly’s captain and key ambassador.
Channel 9 asked Mestrov to make a guest appearance on The Footy Show last Sunday before the Eels clash at Brookvale but the Manly boss declined the opportunity.
There were suggestions the network would be banned from Manly’s dressing-rooms for post-game interviews but that is unlikely to eventuate.
Mestrov, however, has agreed to meet with Channel 9 executives to discuss moving forward after what was an emotional week for both parties.
BRONCOS GO GLOBAL
The Broncos have gone global in their search for new talent amid fears the NRL’s 20-team expansion vision will create a rugby league player drain in Australia.
Brisbane is hopeful of landing the next English sensation like Sam Burgess or Adrian Morley after deciding to cast its net across the globe.
Broncos recruitment chief Simon Scanlan has returned from a scouting mission in England last week as part of a new long-term vision for the NRL powerhouse.
Instead of only targeting current Super League stars, the Broncos are looking to set up a sustainable model for identifying prospective NRL talent in the northern hemisphere.
The NRL is eyeing a takeover of the Super League which could further open up pathways for English talent to transition to Australia.
The Broncos were also linked with a potential takeover of namesake London Broncos, however Brisbane denied it was interested in a buyout of the cash-strapped club.
Scanlan presented his findings to Brisbane’s powerbrokers at a scheduled board meeting on Tuesday where coach Michael Maguire also briefed directors following the first month of the NRL season.
Brisbane’s England experiment doesn’t mean the club is abandoning its talent programs in Queensland.
But the battle for players has never been more fierce and is set to intensify with a Papua New Guinea franchise to enter the NRL in 2028, guaranteeing an 18-team competition.
The NRL is also hoping to introduce a Perth outfit from 2027, meaning upwards of 72 elite quality player roster spots could need to be filled in the next three years. The game’s ultimate goal is to reach 20 teams.
The PNG club is expected to heavily target Queensland talent given its geographical location and will come armed with the incentive of tax-free salaries.
The Broncos have traditionally held a stranglehold on Queensland, particularly the southern half of the state.
But the Cowboys now dominate the north and the Dolphins have gone hard on the corridor from Rockhampton to the Sunshine Coast. The Titans have strengthened their pathways around the Gold Coast.
Realising the looming competitive threat, the Broncos have expanded their scouting horizons abroad.
The club has had mixed success with English imports in its 37-year history.
Forward Harvey Howard played in Brisbane’s 2000 premiership team while Herbie Farnworth moved to Australia in his teens to chase his league dream.
While the Super League is an inferior competition to the NRL, England has produced many elite level players.
Burgess is one of the NRL’s greatest ever forwards while the likes of James Graham, Gareth Widdop and Morley have had success in Australia.
The Raiders have developed a successful system for recruiting overseas and Brisbane will look to bring more English players to Australia.
STAGGS PARTY A HIT
Kotoni Staggs is poised to ink a four-year, $3 million extension and the Broncos centre celebrated with a monster feast.
To honour the NRL’s multicultural round this week, the Broncos held a cultural team dinner on Wednesday night where every Brisbane player brought along a food dish linked to their heritage.
Some Broncos kept it simple with meat pies and hot chips, but Staggs stole the show, arriving with a massive pig on a spit for the team to enjoy ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Tigers.
Staggs boasts Indigenous and Tongan heritage and honoured his Polynesian bloodlines with a feast for the ages.
BENNY ON MADGE-BENJI BUST-UP
Balmain legend Benny Elias says he has buried the hatchet with Michael Maguire as the Broncos coach prepares for a spicy showdown with Tigers counterpart Benji Marshall.
Maguire’s turbulent three-year tenure at the Tigers created some waves.
The passionate Elias was highly critical of Maguire at the time, while the then Tigers coach was fingered as the architect of letting club legend Marshall go at the end of the 2020 season.
Maguire insists salary-cap pressures were the reason for Marshall’s exit to South Sydney, but the playmaker’s controversial departure is more ammunition for Benji to bring down the Broncos on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Elias lifted the lid on his one-time feud with Maguire. In 2019, he accused Maguire of “broken promises” after failing to have club legends Elias, Steve Roach and Wayne Pearce involved with the club, with ‘Balmain Benny’ also calling for heads to roll during Madge’s drama-charged stint.
But Elias told Sport Confidential the pair smoked the peace pipe last year when he and Maguire, as NSW coach, spent six weeks together promoting the Blues’ 2024 Origin campaign.
“We actually flew to Melbourne to launch the series and it was the elephant in the room,” Elias said.
“I had a go at Madge at the time at the Tigers and we had to sort things out.
“We got it off our chest straight away.
“Madge said, ‘Benny, you are a club legend, I understand what you said’. I said to Madge it was nothing personal and it’s a results-driven business in the NRL.
“We shook hands and for the next six weeks during the Origin campaign, we were like brothers.
“I really connected with Madge and appreciated how professional he is, how much effort and time he puts into coaching.”
Elias believes Maguire and Marshall will privately be desperate to claim bragging rights this weekend.
“There is no doubt for me there is a personal edge to this for Madge,” Elias said.
“It didn’t work out for Madge at the Tigers but he is a real competitor and I’m sure Madge will have some extra motivation.
“It will be personal for Benji, too. There will be square-ups and personal encounters at Suncorp Stadium.
“Both coaches are under the microscope. They are the two of the most scrutinised coaches after the first month and it will be no different this weekend.”
KING OF THE RING
He is the humble quiet achiever from Queanbeyan making huge noises - literally - on the world stage.
Meet Stephen Peios, the nation’s No.1 ring announcer who has a rare slice of history as the only Australian to officially call the moment Argentina soccer icon Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup.
Peios has captured global attention with his slick performances behind the microphone and the 39-year-old will be the ring announcer for Sunday’s blockbuster fight between Tim Tszyu and Joey Spencer.
Peios was FIFA’s official MC when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022 and he has become the king of ring announcing in Australia, introducing the likes of boxing stars Jai Opetaia, Liam Wilson and Tszyu.
When Tszyu walks to the ring at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Sunday, ‘Golden Tonsils’ Peios will be whipping the sellout crowd into a frenzy.
“I was about 11 years old when I saw Michael Buffer announcing on WCW Monday Nitro. I thought to myself, ‘That guy has the best job of the lot’,” Peios said with a laugh.
“I also remember Jimmy Lennon Jr announcing Mike Tyson when he was, ‘The baddest man on the planet’.
“I knew from then I always wanted to be a ring announcer.
“I believe I’m the only person in history to ever announce a boxing world title and a FIFA World Cup final so I’m very grateful.
“You get to play a part in the big performance of what is show day, help the fans to enjoy and build moments in the show that create memories for everyone.”
The skill of a world-class announcer is making the job look easy. Now in his 13th year, Peios has impressed with his energy, timing, accuracy and seamless delivery.
“It always means the world to me to be doing the biggest shows on the biggest stage,” he said.
“I have great memories of Tszyu-castle, having announced some big shows there, so I can already feel the excitement ahead of it. The magnitude isn’t lost on me either. This is make or break for Tim and the pressure is on everywhere.
“I love the feeling of being able to hear the energy transferred through the microphone into the crowd, see the fighters as they ready to give it their all.
“Hopefully I can continue entertaining on the biggest stages. To be held in the same regard as some of the great ring announcers would be a dream come true.”
HASLER COY ON ‘DCE’
Titans coach Des Hasler continues to play games in the media when it comes to making a potential bid for Daly Cherry-Evans.
‘DCE’ will depart Manly at season’s end, making him a free agent for the 2026 NRL season and beyond.
The Sea Eagles skipper shocked club officials when he requested a release before the 2024 season to return to Queensland with an unnamed club.
The Dolphins and Broncos have denied it was them, but the Titans have dodged the question.
It would be a remarkable story for Cherry-Evans to sign with the Titans given he infamously backflipped on a contract with Gold Coast in 2015.
But ‘DCE’ and Hasler have a strong bond, dating back to Manly’s 2011 premiership season.
Last year was also Hasler’s first season in charge of the Titans.
Hasler last week refused to rule out making a play for Cherry-Evans and provided the following response when asked again this week: “He’s going to play here in two weeks’ time. There’s a good scoop.”
When pressed on the Titans’ interest in Cherry-Evans, Hasler said: “There’s no updates there.”
MAROONS QUEENS OF KINGAROY
The Queensland men’s team have travelled all over the state to spread the Origin gospel and now the female Maroons are going bush to connect with fans.
Sport Confidential can reveal the Harvey Norman Maroons are heading to regional Queensland for the first time with a historic trip to Kingaroy.
The South Burnett town, 220km north-west of Brisbane, has produced a number of sporting stars, including former Queensland Origin forward Chris McQueen, ex-Wallaby Berrick Barnes and Test cricket legend Matt Hayden.
Now Maroons coach Tahnee Norris and her Queensland squad will descend on Kingaroy to launch the 2025 Origin series with a Fan Fest on Saturday, April 26.
“Many country girls have represented the Maroons from regional areas so it’s exciting to take it to the regions for the first time ever,” Norris said.
“All the women are really excited to be heading to Kingaroy to kick things off.
“To showcase the squad and thank the regions for all their support is so important, the Maroons women don’t underestimate how much it means to them.”
The men’s team have visited towns such as Roma, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Longreach and Norris said the Kingaroy trip will be added fuel in their quest for a hat-trick of Origin crowns.
“We’re looking for three in a row and these girls are excited to be the ones to try and go for it,” Norris said.
“Some great Queensland talents are coming through the ranks and they are all looking to put their hand up and grab an Origin spot.”
‘NO DEAL’ FOR HAAS
The Broncos have closed the door on a potential 10-year contract for superstar prop Payne Haas.
Haas is a free agent from November for the 2027 season and beyond, with the Broncos hoping to lock him up before he hits the open market.
There have been suggestions Brisbane should consider a decade-long deal for one of the NRL’s top props.
But Brisbane won’t be following the lead of North Queensland (Jason Taumalolo) and Newcastle (Dylan Brown) with a 10-year offer for the 25-year-old Haas.
Broncos board member Darren Lockyer, a member of the club’s recruitment committee, said a 10-year deal was “crazy”.
“Look, it’s nothing against the individual,” Lockyer told Channel 9.
“We know that both Jason and Payne are extremely great players.
“Payne’s obviously a bit younger, but there’s just too much risk involved with a long-term deal like that, in particular with a forward.
“Payne, early on, every week he played. The last year or two he’s probably picking up a few niggling injuries.
“So again, it’s nothing against the talent, it’s just more around the risk versus the reward.
“I just think that 10 years is crazy.”
GORDON SPILLS BEANS
Wallabies convert Carter Gordon has lifted the lid on the “dark arts” of wrestling in the NRL following his switch to the Gold Coast Titans.
Gordon has been sidelined indefinitely by a rare back injury that has put his code-switch on hold.
But he has learnt plenty since arriving in the NRL last year, particularly under the ‘Mad Scientist’ coach Des Hasler at the Titans.
“We do a lot more wrestling,” Gordon told Rugby Bricks podcast.
“We’d be on the field for three hours, then gym, then wrestling. They’re solid days and I wasn’t used to that at all.
“In the first week I’ve never been as sore as that in my life.”
Gordon impressed Hasler with his fitness during the pre-season, but he was surprised by the amount of wrestling that goes on.
Controlling the ruck has become the number one factor when it comes to winning NRL games over the past 15 or so years.
“I don’t think I won a wrestling session for a while until I learned some dark arts, some of the secrets,” Gordon said.
“It was pretty tough at the start. It’s not just power and strength, it’s technical and there’s little skills.
“There’s guys that think outside the box, like Brian Kelly (Titans centre). He does little things like holding your thumb on the ground so it’s uncomfortable to get up and play the ball.
“He’d move your wrists and hands so you can’t play the ball quickly. You have to re-adjust your grip otherwise you’ll drop it.
“It’s all about slowing the ball down.”
Now we know what was going on in Des’ dojo at Parkwood before it was flooded.
ABDO’S PVL PLEA
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is hopeful Peter V’landys doesn’t walk away from rugby league, labelling the ARL Commission boss a “machine”.
V’landys is reportedly weighting up his long-term future given his dual demands as ARL Commission chairman and the boss of NSW Racing.
V’landys was appointed ARLC boss in 2019 and was re-appointed for another term last year, with the respected administrator locked into the Commission until 2026.
But V’landys has previously hinted at not seeing out the entire term and has trumpeted ARLC Commissioner Kate Jones as a possible successor.
Abdo, however, hopes ‘PVL’ soldiers on, saying the pair have formed a successful partnership in steering the code to record revenue in excess of $700 million.
“Peter is a machine,” Abdo said on NRL 360.
“He really does handle the pressure well.
“He has been a distinguished sports administrator in racing as the CEO for many years and the last five years leading the commission.
“We work well together, but the X-factor is our game is the passion of our stakeholders.”
EELS SURGE PAST PHINS
The Eels have overtaken the Dolphins in the NRL’s wooden spoon betting race.
Both clubs remain winless after four rounds, but punters are backing the Eels ($3.25) to record the most losses ahead of the Dolphins ($4) with TAB.
“There was a major splurge on the Dolphins in TAB’s Most Losses market during the pre-season which saw us tighten them from $9 into $5 favourites for the Wooden Spoon,” said TAB’s Rohan Welsh.
“That eased off after their trial form and the Dragons were reinstalled as favourites to run last.
“The first month has looked pretty tough going for the Dolphins and you are starting to wonder where that first win of the season comes from if not this weekend at Robina (against the Titans), especially considering there’s the Premiers (Penrith), competition favourites (Melbourne) and a road trip to Canberra facing them.
“Hopefully we’re not looking at an early ‘Spoon Bowl’ showdown with the Eels in Round 10.”
While punters have eased off the Dolphins slightly, few are expecting Kristian Woolf’s team to make a miracle recovery and win the comp.
“The Dolphins are also the worst backed of any side to win the Premiership with less than one per cent of total outlays on them after they’ve blown out from $34 to $81 since opening prices went up with TAB on grand final night last year,” Welsh said.
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