Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Trent Barrett’s coaching return, Russell Crowe’s stadium backflip
Two years ago Accor stadium was the ‘best football ground’ in Australia, but now the Rabbitohs have been accused of an Olympic-class backflip. That and more in Australia’s best sporting gossip column.
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Sacked Canterbury Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett has been interviewed to make a shock comeback at the St George-Illawarra Dragons.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Barrett is on a short-list to join Anthony Griffin’s coaching staff as an assistant next season as part of the club’s coaching staff shake up.
Barrett met with Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb last week as the club prepares to replace Peter Gentle, Mathew Head and James Graham, who were axed in recent weeks.
Barrett played three seasons at halfback for Illawarra and then eight years at the joint venture club before finishing his playing career at the Sharks and retiring in 2010.
“There have been plenty of people putting their hands up for the assistant jobs,” Webb said. “I know Trent’s very highly thought of as someone who connects very well with players. He wouldn’t be on the short list if he wasn’t highly respected.
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“Does he have the qualities to compliment our coach? As an assistant I think he does so he’s definitely in the mix.
“It’s the coach’s team so it will be his decision. We’ll look at what we think he needs and Hook will do the same.”
Barrett struggled in his two seasons as head coach at the Bulldogs, finishing with just five wins from 34 games for a 14.7 per cent win record.
He was axed by Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould with two years remaining on his contract.
However prior to that Barrett did a superb job as Ivan Cleary’s assistant at Penrith, helping develop the then young playmakers Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai into Origin players and grand final winners.
SAINT
The tragic loss of Paul Green at just 49, a great rugby league coach and smart player, a mentor and leader, a humble man and a really decent fella. A good bloke who loved a beer and a chat about footy. Taken from his loving family and friends way too soon.
SAINT II
Olivia Newton-John performed at the 1997 Super League grand final in Brisbane for the pre-game entertainment. The great lady not only performed brilliantly with Jon Stevens but stayed around all night in the main corporate suite to mix with guests. Such a lovely, down to earth person.
SINNER
Russell Crowe’s backflip on South Sydney’s future home ground. Two years ago, he told me he wanted to stay at what was then ANZ Stadium. “From my perspective, it is the best football ground in the country,” he said, “When you break down the geographic location of where our members live in Sydney, ANZ is the most convenient for the most people.”
SHOOSH
Rugby league high-performance guru Hayden Knowles has upset many at the Newcastle Knights with recent comments around team culture. His relationship with players and key staff members is now at breaking point. Don’t be surprised if he is soon looking for a new job.
SHOOSH
Which hair transplant company has approached Fox Sports star Matty Johns to do a TV advertising campaign after years of ribbing about his receding hairline by colleague Bryan Fletcher.
SHOOSH
Which Cronulla Shark is Wayne Bennett chasing for the Dolphins in 2024, although we’re tipping another knock-back for the old super coach.
SPOTTED
There are some nice footy bloodlines in Cronulla Sharks juniors with De La Salle’s Under 6s. Ben Ross’ son Thomas, Andrew Fifita’s son Laynz, Beau Ryan’s son Jesse, Luke Lewis’s son Levi and Dean Halatau’s son Lewy all play in the same team. The proud dads are there each and every Saturday morning to cheer on the boys.
SPOTTED
David Gallop hadn’t been seen at NRL headquarters in Moore Park since he was unceremoniously – and unfairly – marched out by John Grant 10 years ago. We were in the area on Tuesday to check out the new Allianz Stadium and found Gallop standing out the front of the building. He too was there for a tour of the new stadium. It was Gallop who secured the funding from the state government more than a decade ago to build the impressive NRL HQ on Driver Avenue.
* * * * *
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been accused of performing an Olympic-class backflip over their decision to abandon Accor Stadium from next season to join the Sydney Roosters at Moore Park.
For years their owners and officials have spoken of their membership shift to Sydney’s western Suburbs and the convenience of playing out of Sydney Olympic Park.
Former chief executive John Lee told The Sunday Telegraph: “Our Homebush deal has delivered many new Souths members, mainly people who couldn’t afford to live in the inner city, and moved to the western suburbs.
“The killer fact is that the Rabbitohs have more members that go to Homebush than when we have a game in the eastern suburbs. Our fans are voting with their feet.
“We’ve had our highest growth, 20 per cent year on year, out of western Sydney.
“It’s the proximity issue in having a venue with train services and parking.”
Now they want to move against the wishes of the State government and the Roosters, who already have their own signage on the outside of the new Allianz Stadium ‘Home of the Sydney Roosters’
Souths boss Blake Solly however denies it is a backflip.
“This is all about the government walking away from a commitment to invest in Accor,” he said.
“Last Monday the government walked away from those discussions.
“If they’re not going to invest in it, why should we?
“We actually believe in the site but no-one else does.”
“We’ve always said that’s where we’d prefer to be and we’d stay there if it was refurbished. We want to stay there.”
Souths remain contracted to Accor next year for all but three of their home games.
Venues NSW boss Tony Shepherd is trying to work on a compromise.
“We’re happy to talk about bringing their three uncontracted games to the new stadium,” he said, “We’ll see if we can fit them into the schedule.”
* * * * *
Garth Brennan can relate to the private pain of being an NRL coaching outcast.
In 2019 he was dumped as head coach at the Gold Coast Titans.
He’s agreed to talk in the week we tragically lost Paul Green.
“It’s tough,” he says, “Greeny went through a lot of shit when he lost the Cowboys and then the Maroons Origin job.
“It takes its toll. I’m always thinking about Trent Barrett and Michael Maguire who lost their jobs this year as well. It’s a pressure job and it’s very public.
“Everyone has got an opinion but there’s a human element that we all have to think about.
“At the end of the day these guys have families and they’ve lost their job. It can be very stressful.
“And sometimes, when they’re at their lowest, they get kicked when they’re down.”
Brennan admits he did it tough. He was uncontactable for months.
“There were things said about me that hurt. It was f. ing hard. I shut down and closed things off.
“In a way I was prepared from my old job in the police force.
“I saw some stuff no-one should ever see.
“Having to tell parents their kids have been killed in a car accident. Things like that.
“That’s next level tough. Yes, I lost my job at the Titans, but I’ve been through worse.”
After his sacking Brennan stayed on the Gold Coast for the remainder of the year while his daughter was doing her HSC.
Then he escaped to New Zealand for a holiday with his wife.
Some special people reached out.
“Guys like Flanno (Shane Flanagan), Ivan Cleary and Gus Worland reached out,” he said.
“It was nice to know that people cared. It really was. It helped me so much.”
* * * * *
One of the reasons behind the success of the North Queensland Cowboys this season has been the team’s incredible discipline.
The records show they are the only club in the competition that hasn’t had a player suspended this year. It has meant that coach Todd Payten has had to use only 25 players this year, the least of any club.
The Cronulla Sharks have been the worst offenders with the match review committee. They’ve lost players for nine weeks.
* * * * *
Troubled ex-cricketer Stuart MacGill was a surprise guest at the Chappell Foundation fundraiser at the Sydney Cricket Ground last week.
It was one of the few times he has been seen in public since becoming the victim of an alleged kidnapping and assault earlier this year over an alleged drug transaction.
It was a huge night at the SCG to raise money for the homeless.
Test captain Pat Cummins was the guest speaker with heavy hitters including ex-PM John Howard, John Singleton, John Coates, Todd Greenberg and James Sutherland in the audience.
* * * * *
It’s not just rugby league that has become the victim of a Stuart Ayres backflip over stadium funding. Ayres’ office promised the Sydney Dragway $33 million over three years for track improvements in 2017. They received the first payment of $11 million but not a penny since.
* * * * *
A couple of eastern suburbs primary school boys know how it pays to be honest.
Ten-year-olds Sam Crawford and Ollie O’Donnell recently found a credit card on a street in the eastern suburbs belonging to Roosters star Lachlan Lam.
They took it home and their parents contacted the club to arrange for the young halfback to get his card back.
He rewarded the boys for their honesty with signed Sydney Roosters jerseys and a free meal at Easts Leagues Club.
Lam is now off to the UK to continue his career in the Super League with Leigh Centurions, the club his dad Adrian coaches.
* * * * *
Veteran 2GB footy caller Ray Hadley will never miss a big game or a moment of sporting history.
He will call the first match at the new Allianz Stadium on September 2 for the Continuous Call team, out of the magnificent new media facilities in Moore Park.
Hadley called the last grand final at the SCG in 1987 and the first grand final the following year at the new Sydney Football Stadium.
He also called the first game at the Sydney Olympic Stadium in Homebush, a double header in March 1999 and the Dragons-Storm grand final later that year.
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Originally published as Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Trent Barrett’s coaching return, Russell Crowe’s stadium backflip
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