NRL 2020: Paul Green rejected St George Illawarra Dragons approach
Queensland Origin star Josh Papalii has previously revealed a desire to jump into the boxing ring which may happen sooner than expected. Plus, Paul Green is close to scoring a top NRL job.
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This is the strongest evidence yet that former Cowboys coach Paul Green has his heart set on the prestigious Broncos job.
Sport Confidential can reveal St George Illawarra hierarchy made a secret approach to Green last Monday week as they prepared to announce Anthony Griffin as their new coach from 2021.
Green fielded a call from Dragons bosses asking if he was available for the position. With Green having spent the past eight weeks in relaxation mode after severing ties following seven largely successful years at the Cowboys, he was clearly a free agent.
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However, the Dragons received a polite ‘thanks but no thanks’, with Green reluctant to go chasing other opportunities until he knows the outcome of the battle to succeed Anthony Seibold at Red Hill.
In any event, there was a feeling Griffin already had the job, with Green viewed by the ‘Red V’ as a possible contingency in the event the Dragons couldn’t strike a deal with the former Broncos and Penrith coach.
Green is the best credentialed coach on the open market but there are only two jobs he covets right now - the Broncos or Queensland Origin positions.
The Broncos will kick-off formal interviews for the coaching position over the next week and the one certainty is that Green and Walters will be granted interviews as the ding-dong battle commences.
Intriguingly, Green beat Walters for the Cowboys post in 2013. Green blew Cowboys bosses away with his job interview, but Walters is the sentimental favourite with Broncos fans and club legends.
Green still keeps in touch with Cowboys colleagues and they report the 48-year-old is looking refreshed after he walked away from the stress of the North Queensland job in July.
BRONCOS DEFEND AWARDS SNUB
The Brisbane Broncos have hit back at suggestions they have snubbed the Queensland community after failing to nominate a player for one of the NRL’s most prestigious awards.
The Broncos were one of only two NRL clubs to not submit a nomination for this year’s Ken Stephen Medal, which honours work done in the community.
Players are nominated by their clubs for “going above and beyond in their involvement in charity work, youth development or community support”.
But no Broncos player will be eligible to win this year’s medal after the club opted not to submit a nominee.
The Broncos and Dragons’ omissions have been noticed by rival clubs, particularly given how often Brisbane brags about the amount of work the club does in the community.
But Broncos CEO Paul White defended the club’s decision, saying COVID protocols had restricted the ability of players to interact with the community.
“Our players, ambassadors and staff spend more than 60,000 hours doing community work each year - but due to the COVID lockdown, our players have been restricted to doing that work through video and remote connection,” White said.
“As a result, the club didn’t feel it was appropriate to single out just one player when the entire playing group has done their bit to work together in helping the community during these tough times.
“The club’s widespread community programs have continued to function due to the great work of our staff and ambassadors such as Scott Prince, Justin Hodges, Ali Brigginshaw, Sam Thaiday and Petero Civoniceva.”
The Dragons responded similarly to Sport Confidential, admitting the players hadn’t mingled with the community since February.
BIG PAPA ENTERS RING
Queensland Origin enforcer Josh Papalii is a fearsome sight on the football paddock and now he is ready to become a boxing heavyweight.
Sport Confidential can reveal Papalii is keen to jump in the ring as part of plans for a series of past and present NRL stars to stage a charity fight night early next year.
Papalii has spoken of his passion to test himself in the boxing ring with the Maroons hardman having previously called out NSW Origin rival Paul Gallen in what would be a mouth-watering heavyweight NRL clash.
Papalii’s club coach, Ricky Stuart, is aware of the Canberra hulk’s interest in boxing. Papalii’s cousin, Logan’s Alex Leapai, famously lost his world-title fight against Ukraine heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.
“Boxing is something I will be happy to do in the near future,” Papalii said last year.
“It is something I am passionate about and something I want to do before I am all dusted up. I would love it. Ricky (Stuart) knows my passions and I’ve been with ‘Sticky’ for so many years now. He understands what I want to do in the near future and he will be all right with it.”
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“I’ve got a lot of cousins who box and my little brother (John) got forced into the ring when we were younger.
“We stuck to it and our old man would take us to parks and to boxing rings.”
Scott Prince and Sam Burgess are others being considered to take part in the proposed charity event.
NO HORN-TSZYU 2.0
The Tim Tszyu camp has ruled out a rematch with Jeff Horn after their failed bid to clinch a world-title fight in December.
Tszyu’s manager Matt Rose claims he went within a whisker of securing a world-title shot for the son of Kostya against WBO king Patrick Teixeira, who has been mandated to fight Argentina‘s Brian Castano.
“We were very close to securing a world-title shot for Tim,” Rose said.
“We spoke to Castano the challenger, we tried to work out a deal for him to step aside to let Tim have a shot and if we won the title we would fight him straight away.
“Castano thought seriously about it but we just couldn’t cut a deal.
“Now that‘s not happening, we will look at another domestic fight in December.”
Tszyu pocketed more than $300,000 from his defeat of Horn last month, but the prospect of a Townsville rematch is remote.
While Horn is considering fighting on, Rose says Tszyu is looking to greener pastures.
“Jeff was a great champion but Tim beat him easily and he wants other opportunities,” Rose said.
“Tim is certainly excited to come to Queensland again. He enjoyed his time in Townsville and he has a legion of fans there that would want to see him fight again.
“He loved the stadium set-up in Townsville, although Bankwest in Sydney is another option for us.”
TITANS CAPTAINCY BUNGLE
The Titans have assured Kevin Proctor he has not been sacked as captain as he prepares to return from a biting suspension for Saturday’s clash against Manly.
During Proctor’s four-match stint on the sidelines, Jamal Fogarty was installed as Gold Coast’s skipper and the ‘C’ again appeared beside his name when the Titans team was named for the Sea Eagles clash.
It sparked fears that Proctor’s biting indiscretion had cost him the captaincy, but Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook insists the Kiwi Test veteran has not been axed.
“Justin said I’m still the captain,” Proctor said.
“He clarified it with me and said it was a mistake.
“I don’t know what happened but in the team list it said Jamal was captain, but Justin came up to me and said it was a typo.
“Justin said I will lead the team out this week, so that’s nice to know that I’m still the captain.”
SOUR PEACHEY TURNS SWEET
Titans coach Justin Holbrook has revealed a heart-to-heart with Tyrone Peachey has inspired the NSW Origin star’s form reversal.
Peachey has come to life in recent weeks after shifting to starting lock and is starting to discover the form that made him an Origin player in 2018.
Peachey reluctantly moved to the Gold Coast from Penrith last year after attempting to back out of a signed contract and his form in 2019 was woeful.
But he has shown promising signs lately after Holbrook urged him to lift.
“I’m really happy with Peach, I shook him up a bit a couple of weeks ago and told him we needed more from him,” Holbrook said.
“I just had a good chat to him. He knew he wasn’t playing well.
“He knew that himself. It’s not very often as a coach you’re telling players things that they don’t understand. They already know themselves.
“It’s about helping them get out of it and having a good discussion with him.
“He’s been the energetic Peachey we knew he could be.”
A GENTLE TOUCH
Broncos caretaker coach Peter Gentle has done an admirable job steering the club through the Anthony Seibold crisis.
Gentle has made it clear he has no desire to be a head coach but he has won praise for the way he has handled being thrown into the hot seat.
Gentle has been honest with his views on the club and it‘s no surprise Brisbane’s displays have improved with his more simplified game plan.
The affable Gentle lost his playmaker Brodie Croft to a freak injury at training ahead of the Eels game on Friday night, but still kept his sense of humour.
“I was over the other side of the field and I saw a bloke go down and I thought who is it?” he said.
“Then I get closer and it’s Brodie and I say, ‘Great I’ve lost a playmaker’.
“Tyson Gamble comes in and gets his chance. He’s a good young kid, so hopefully he goes well against the Eels.
“It’s been a nightmare year for injuries. When it rains it pours.”
ORIGIN TICKETS BONANZA
The Queensland Rugby League remains hopeful more Origin tickets will be available for Maroons fans for Game Three this year.
State of Origin will celebrate a belated 40th birthday on November 18 when the Blues and Maroons do battle in what is hoped to be a series decider at Suncorp Stadium.
Under current COVID restrictions, Suncorp Stadium‘s crowd capacity may be reduced by 50 per cent to around 26,000, but the QRL has not given up hope of a near full house just yet.
“We continue to be involved in discussions between the NRL, government representatives and venue partners with regards to the crowd capacity at each match,” QRL chief operating officer Rohan Sawyer said.
“We are hopeful that there will be an allocation of new tickets released to the Suncorp Stadium Game Three closer to the date.
“First and foremost, I’d like to thank the fans and our members for their support and patience.
“We understand how much Origin means to the people of Queensland, and we’ve felt their frustrations following the postponement of the series.
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“We are excited now that we have some certainty with the dates and venues locked in for our three men’s Origin games as well as the Harvey Norman Women‘s Origin.
“Fans who have already purchased tickets are reminded that the NRL may be required to implement additional conditions subject to COVID-19 government restrictions. Full refunds are available to fans who cannot attend the new date.
“While it’s a challenging time for everyone, we’re determined to ensure that another fantastic Origin spectacle can be enjoyed by our passionate and loyal fans, both at the ground and through broadcast.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Paul Green rejected St George Illawarra Dragons approach