RLPA visit Manly Sea Eagles to advocate for out-of-favour Jackson Hastings, plus the NSW continue their community work
SPORTS CON: BENJI Marshall’s key role in bringing Robbie Farah back to Tigerland, the Manly v Jackson Hastings showdown is on again plus a Fox in the boxing ring.
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IT is a nice touch that Robbie Farah’s return game with Wests Tigers will be a Sunday afternoon in the fading sun at Leichhardt Oval — and that the old firm of Farah and Benji Marshall will ride off into that sunset together.
What few know is that Marshall played an integral role in getting Farah back to Leichhardt.
Talks about a return to the Tigers began earlier this season but coach Ivan Cleary was content with his roster.
Stuck in reserve grade at South Sydney, Farah had approaches from other clubs but stayed for two reasons; he liked the coaching and direction of Anthony Seibold, and he did not want to play for a third NRL club.
Then a month ago Marshall texted Farah to say the club needed him. Talks were reopened and Cleary was keen to see it through.
HOMECOMING: Why Farah can have instant impact
"I've got a strong emotional attachment to the club and that never changed."
— Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) June 21, 2018
🎥 MORE ≫ https://t.co/R0zcuTQ76w pic.twitter.com/d2Ggtpx0F4
Cleary received a sharp lesson in the value of a quality rake last Sunday when Josh Hodgson made a very successful return for Canberra against his team.
Farah made his first appearance since rejoining the club at the Tigers’ sportsman’s lunch on Thursday. It was also his first opportunity to see some of the board members who helped decide his fate earlier this week.
Club chair Marina Go backed Farah’s return.
“The board fully supports the decision of our head coach Ivan Cleary to sign Robbie for the rest of the season,” Go said. “We welcome him back.”
The Tigers play Gold Coast next week and Farah will run out for his 248th game for the club.
RLPA RAMPS UP HASTINGS SAGA
THE Manly v Jackson Hastings showdown is on again.
Rugby League Players Association boss Ian Prendergast quietly made the trip to Brookvale on Thursday to get answers for why a pathway to the NRL is not being made for Hastings, as is the basic requirement in his NRL contract.
Many believe it could be the making of him, much like it flushed out Blake Green’s talents. Green was a good player lacking confidence when he left the NRL for England, but returned with a renewed confidence and is now one of the NRL’s premier playmakers.
Hastings is desperate to make it in the NRL.
What nobody will say is that the answer might be to put Hastings’ father, Roosters legend Kevin, on the plane to England instead.
While he remains a blue-collar legend in the game, his constant natterings on social media, blaming his son’s teammates for losses and poor performances, put Hastings in a difficult position and caused the first wedge between him and the Manly players.
WHAT NOW FOR TAPAU?
MARTY Tapau’s future at Manly seems to be a daily discussion, the latest being that Parramatta and Manly are negotiating a swap between Tapau and Corey Norman, which makes sense.
The Eels’ pack lacks the kind of punch Tapau offers and the Sea Eagles are struggling for depth in the halves. Whether any exchange takes place will all depend on what happens at the negotiating table.
There is also talk the Eels are about to put a broom through the coaching staff, excluding head coach Brad Arthur, in a bid to spark fresh ideas and get back to winning.
A MATT FINISH ON EMERGING FIJIANS
NEW Fijian coach Matt Adamson delivered a simple message when he got his hands on the Bati squad for the first time this week.
Adamson is the interim coach replacing Mick Potter.
“One of the first questions I asked was how did they feel going into the game against Australia,” Adamson said. “How did they feel after it and how did they feel since. What can we do as a nation to take that step forward?”
Adamson takes control in an interesting time for Fiji. They stunned many by beating New Zealand in the quarter-finals before losing 54-6 to Australia in the World Cup semi-final last year. But the team was plagued by unpaid fees to players.
Fiji will be boosted by World Cup players including Jarryd Hayne, Kevin Naiqama, Aku Uate and Suli Vunivalu for their match against PNG on Saturday. They will be without the likes of injured duo Ashton Sims and API Koroisau.
PACIFIC TEST: Tongan princess to take in Campbelltown clash
🎥 @JarrydHayne takes us behind the scenes of Fiji camp ahead of Rep Round.
— Parramatta Eels (@TheParraEels) June 21, 2018
Watch: https://t.co/eaqxX095oI pic.twitter.com/0e2B07f32M
Adamson, who played 175 top grade games for Penrith, Parramatta and Canberra plus three games for NSW, has spent time as part of Melbourne Storm’s director of coaching in Queensland. He had applied for the job four years ago.
“I was approached by the board when Mick stood down,” Adamson said. “I’ve been paying for myself to fly back and forth from Fiji. I love the developmental side of the game so I’ve spent the past three weekends watching the local competition and building relationships with local players.
“My vision is to think about the development process and looking to the 2021 World Cup and see how Fiji can take a step further in the tournament.”
A FOX IN THE BOXING RING
DON’T mess with Josh Addo-Carr, while James Maloney should not give up his footy career. That is the observation from rising boxer Bilal Akkawy, who was drafted into the Blues camp by coach Brad Fittler this week. Akkawy put the Blues side through his paces and liked what he saw from Addo-Carr.
“I liked the way he moved,” Akkawy said. “He looked like he had good balance. He was good on his feet and posture. He looked the most natural. The rest of them looked out of their comfort zone … James Maloney should stick to footy.”
The 25-year-old undefeated boxer gave the Blues a simple message.
“They wanted someone who was young and fresh,” Akkawy said. “We are at as similar points of our careers so we spoke about trying to get that next level and being hungry.”
Akkawy returns to the ring when he co-headlines a card involving Lucas Browne next month with plans to make his US debut later this year.
BLUES SADDLE UP FOR A GOOD CAUSE
BRAD Fittler continues to reinvent the Blues.
Fittler brought former Blue Mark Hughes into camp during the week to talk to the players about his battle with brain cancer and what he is now trying to do by raising funds for research through the Mark Hughes Foundation.
Then on Wednesday, Fittler threw his support behind a fundraiser for Hughes’s foundation organised by Richie Callander, the brother of the late Channel 9 rugby league boss Matt Callander.
Matt tragically lost his life last year to brain cancer but not before getting behind Hughes’s massively successful Beanies For Brain Cancer initiative.
Callander has coaxed leading jockey Hugh Bowman to donate to the foundation the saddle champion mare Winx carried to her third consecutive Cox Plate victory.
Trainer Chris Waller bid $40,000 for it but has since been trumped by a $50,000 bid from Winx’s part-owner Debbie Kepitis. Bids close Saturday.
Fittler will take his Blues to the track on Saturday to help support the auction, which also includes a life-size horse sculpture made of horse shoes. Fittler wants his team to be seen among the community and to be more representative of NSW after growing alarmed at the amount of children wearing Maroons jerseys in NSW during his annual Hogs For The Homeless rides.
State of Origin ticket holders will be given free entry into Saturday’s Randwick meeting.
All they need to do is show their Origin ticket at the gate.
THE Blues also took some time out of their State of Origin II preparations to pay a visit to the Sydney Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.
The whole NSW squad spent more than an hour giving some much-needed cheer to those children doing it tough.
A WHEEL HIGHLIGHT
THE men and women of State of Origin take centre stage this week but there is another interstate battle looming — the Wheelchair Rugby League Interstate Challenge between NSW and Queensland on Sunday. The match starts at 3.30pm at Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park and entry is free.
ROACH LIGHTS THE FUSE
BLUES legend Steve Roach fired a shot at Queensland’s forward pack, labelling them “soft”. Speaking at the inaugural Ultimate Footy Lunch at the SCG on Thursday, Roach said the Blues forward pack would have too much firepower for the Maroons. More than 200 people attended the event, which included Matty Johns, Gorden Tallis, Ben Ikin and Mick Ennis which is destined to become a regular fixture on the footy calendar.
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ISSAC Luke may have wound back the clock on the field this year but the Kiwi rake is battling to be re-signed by the Warriors. The club is feeling the salary cap bite and Luke may be a victim of his own success.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
THOSE wondering why Angus Crichton is such a good bloke probably should realise the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Crichton’s father, Charlie, is a farmer at Young and has teamed up with another farmer, Tom White from Walgett, to help indigenous sport in the area.
“Country towns are being ripped apart by drug and alcohol use due to boredom resulting from a lack of facilities and guidance,” White wrote in an email.
Young Angus has got involved and they have formed Boots for the Bush, a raffle to raise money to buy boots for indigenous communities and guide them back into sport.
Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/2lq5fKy.
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Originally published as RLPA visit Manly Sea Eagles to advocate for out-of-favour Jackson Hastings, plus the NSW continue their community work
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