By Danny Weidler
South Sydney officials have told the Blues Latrell Mitchell has been doing double the number of rehabilitation sessions required on his troublesome calf as he strives to return to the team for Origin II.
Whether he makes it back or not, it shows his genuine desire to play, which flies in the face of a whispering campaign that has taken place. Queensland figures with connections to the Maroons are trying to drive a wedge between the Blues and superstar Mitchell.
They are sniping away in the background suggesting that Mitchell wasn’t desperate to play for the Blues in Origin I when he pulled out just four days before the game. Questions about Mitchell’s commitment have been put to me by several people in various forms – text message, phone calls and face to face – in recent times.
It’s hard to determine if it’s a coincidence or a campaign. It’s unusual, to say the least.
If it’s a tactic from the Queensland camp to unsettle NSW, it’s very interesting. The Blues are aware of it and are unsurprised and unimpressed.
Mitchell was unhappy with the way he was treated at state level when dropped by Brad Fittler in 2019, but that wound had healed and picking at that scab is only going to inspire him in games to come.
Latrell Mitchell was a big loss for the Blues in Origin I.Credit: Getty
The problem with the rumoured Queensland approach is that it is wrong – they are trying to generate controversy where there is none.
Mitchell was devastated to miss that game. His true emotions about the Blue jumper were revealed when he addressed the team to tell them he was out of Origin I. He was overwhelmed with emotion and had to stop talking to gather himself. His words to the group were heartfelt and full of belief in his teammates. Mitchell was committed to the cause from the moment he entered NSW camp. He loves the blue jumper.
Queensland heard about Mitchell being spotted shooting hoops a day or two after the injury and they tried to seize on that as a sign that he could have played in Origin I. But the fact that he didn’t play for South Sydney against the Dragons yesterday shuts down that notion.
Train and suffering
The Blues are furious about attacks on their training methods following injuries to Latrell Mitchell, Cameron Murray and Nathan Cleary.
Mitchell was the only one injured while in Blues camp (Cleary tore a hamstring playing for the Panthers against the Dragons last Sunday night, and Murray strained his groin playing for Souths on the Gold Coast last Saturday).
Former NSW players and at least one high-profile official – who has an issue with the Blues – have targeted the training methods. The facts are this year the Blues did considerably less training than in other camps in previous years. It was planned that way after training staff listened to NRL clubs.
They did so after seeing the toll on players who took part in the World Cup – particularly Penrith players who have had niggles, including Liam Martin, who came into camp off a limited preparation and a season plagued by hamstring problems. And he was NSW’s best player.
The NSW line-up contained a few players who were carrying minor complaints and some, such as Josh Addo-Carr, were returning from more serious injuries. As a consequence, the first training day in camp was a walk through for the majority of training.
Nathan Cleary leaves the fray against the Dragons on Sunday.Credit: Getty
To highlight the level of interaction between the Blues and NRL clubs, Penrith’s high-performance manager, Tom Lovell, is a key member of the NSW support crew. He monitors workloads and obviously had a head start with Panthers players. Lovell shares data with all the NSW players’ NRL clubs immediately after the game. Staff at NRL clubs receive phone calls from Blues physios and performance staff to make sure specific needs are met, and clubs receive data and feedback on players to decide whether their players back up.
For example, Penrith assessed the risk knowing Cleary came into Blues camp after playing a Thursday night game against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. The Panthers assessed his workload during his Origin preparation and the club was happy for him to back up against the Dragons last Sunday night.
The Blues have had no contact from any club’s physical or medical staff with any concerns about the approach to training.
The reel deal
George Burgess isn’t just pursuing an acting career in rugby league retirement, he is also working behind the scenes as a producer to try and make a movie called League.
Reece Vincent, an Australian based in America, has written a screenplay for the movie based on the greatest game of all, but the pair are looking to polish the script and have identified successful writer Trent Dalton as a person they’d like to get involved in the project.
Vincent tried to make it with the Melbourne Storm but it didn’t work out. His love for league didn’t die, however, and the one-time Nana Glen local has a genuine belief that this movie could work well with the NRL’s push into America.
He and Burgess have raised the idea with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys. Burgess will seek input from South Sydney part-owner and Hollywood star Russell Crowe once the screenplay is finalised. Crowe has already seen a version of it. Burgess wants to act in the movie, which is being described a “dramady”.
“The fact that the NRL are taking the game to Las Vegas over the next few years is massive for this project because we decided we need to start selling the game to American more and there’s no better way than a movie like this,” Burgess said.
“And, yes, when it comes to Russell, we just want to get it perfect before we go back to him and he will help it in lots of ways.”
Clouds remain over Sheens’ future
We were chastised by rival media for suggesting a few weeks back that Tim Sheens could be headed for an early exit from his coaching duties at Wests Tigers.
At that point we didn’t say it was locked in, but talk of Sheens not seeing out his two-year deal as head coach won’t go away.
Sheens is said to be perplexed by what is happening at the club, and he is angry that he has lost his right-hand man, Warren McDonnell, his former head of recruitment. The significance of that is McDonnell was regarded as a non-negotiable when it came to Sheens taking the job.
Benji Marshall and Tim Sheens.Credit: NRL Photos
A few weeks ago, Sheens was blindsided by a tweet we put out saying Scott Fulton was heading for the Tigers. Sheens was not part of the negotiations that secured one of the sharpest recruiters in the business. The relationship between Sheens and Fulton will be worth watching.
Fulton’s signing was shrewd but for Sheens it’s a red flag, no matter how the club wants to spin it. Then there was a promise that the recruitment men could work together, given, the story went, that they had strengths in different areas.
Fulton has the full backing of Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe and chairman Lee Hagipantelis — he was their most-prized recruit — so he is in a position of strength. Fulton was always going to survive the recruitment power struggle, and now he has the keys to the playing roster.
What will be interesting is how much say Sheens has. Sheens caught some at the club by surprise with his recent declaration that the club was going to offer much-maligned halfback Luke Brooks a new contract.
Not everyone at the Tigers thinks Brooks is the solution and the future of the club. The Tigers had a crack at signing Shaun Johnson in a clear indication that not everyone wants Brooks to stay. Sheens did not respond when contacted for comment.
Pascoe replied after our deadline. Sheens passed on the text questions we sent to him to Pascoe. He said: “There is absolutely no desire at all to alter our agreed path - Tim is our head coach until the end of ’24 and Benji will transition nicely into head coach ’25 onwards.”
Dogs hit by Carr
This won’t make Bulldogs fans happy. Following a review of the initial NRL review, the club was told by head office that the referee got it wrong by not awarding a penalty with 1 minute 24 seconds to go in Sunday’s 25-24 loss to the Roosters when Josh Addo-Carr was taken out chasing a kick.
Josh Addo-Carr.Credit: Getty
The penalty would have been nearly in front and 40 metres out. The Bulldogs lost by a point, and while Matt Burton still had to land the goal, it was frustrating for them, to say the least.
Addo-Carr is a victim of his reputation as someone who always appeals for penalties. The referees are aware of his reputation.
Young puts boot in
Hudson Young thought he had lost his boots and, more importantly, his orthotics in the lead-up to his Origin debut.
There was a search for new boots and replacements for the orthotics. After a new set of boots arrived, it turned out that he had packed the originals in a zip compartment of his bag and had them stored safe and sound all along.
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