Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika isn’t willing to talk about suggestions that he is the mastermind behind the Sydney Roosters’ pursuit of All Blacks player TJ Perenara.
What he is happy to discuss is whether he thinks Perenara would be able to make the transition to the NRL. On that count at least, the answer is an emphatic yes.
Cheika coached against Perenara during his stint as Wallabies coach and over time, built up a casual friendship with the All Blacks star.
The physical tools are there according to Cheika. More importantly, the desire and hunger is present as well.
“These are the things you can see pretty clearly from watching him play and coaching against him – without building him up too much because it is a different game – he is the triple threat player,” Cheika told Weekend Read.
“He can run as a halfback in rugby. He has a great running game. He is physical with it. He can kick – he has a good left foot kick.
“And he can distribute obviously with all type of pressure on him. The other thing you see pretty clearly is that he is obviously really well respected and a leader because he is called on to lead the haka.
“That is a pretty big deal over there. So I think you look at those things, you see the type of guy he is, this would be something if he is chasing it, he would want to make sure he succeeds at.
“We’re also talking about one of the premier coaches in the game in Trent (Robinson). If he doesn’t see it is something he would be able to do, he wouldn’t be even entertaining the idea.
“He wouldn’t be going off watching a couple of videos either. He would be doing his research. That’s the type of person he is. He is very thorough.
“I think these things always work when it is a two-way street. In a different situation you talk about a guy like Marika (Koroibete), who came the other way, he really wanted it to work.
“He put everything into it. He wanted to learn and it happened quickly for him – he was voted the best player in a game a few years ago.”
Perenara is coming to the end of his season in Japan, where he has turned around the fortunes of the NTT Red Hurricanes. Players of Perenara’s ilk earn upwards of $1 million in Japanese rugby union.
A potential switch of codes has nothing to do with money given he is expected to earn less than $150,000 for a short-term stint in the NRL.
Perenara wants to scratch a long-term itch. He comes from rugby league stock and was once in the sights of the Melbourne Storm after attending one of their camps in Wellington.
He also knows a number of NRL players – Cronulla back Josh Dugan this week revealed he is in a WhatsApp group with Perenara. It is understood he plays online poker with others.
The switch from rugby union to rugby league has been a bridge too far for some great players over the years and Perenara’s task will be made all the more difficult by the fact he will come straight from Japan, where the intensity and standard is well below the NRL.
“This guy has got 10 years of muscle memory of playing in one of the best teams that international rugby has ever seen, maybe any sport,” Cheika said.
“He won the 2015 World Cup. He has been top of the game. That doesn’t happen by accident. I don’t see it as an issue.
“If it does happen, you have to bank on Trent and his coaching team making sure that he will be ready. He has had an outstanding season over there (in Japan) as well. He has transformed a team that was coming bottom to a team that is playing finals. Not on his own, but he made a significant difference over there.”
You get the feeling Cheika would love to see it happen. Not just because he is involved with the Roosters, but because like so many others, he would like to see Perenara challenge himself in the NRL.
“All these crossovers, if the player really wants it and is up for it, then there is a good chance it will work because he is not thinking about something that is impossible for him to do,” Cheika said.
“If he is thinking about this type of thing, I think he would make a good fist of it. I know him. I have met him casually just by chance. I have got to know him a little bit.
“He could be looking to prove something to himself that he can do it, because he is at the top of his game in the other code.
“It is not like he is struggling for an opportunity.”
Panthers back Ciraldo
Penrith chair Dave O’Neill always had a feeling Cameron Ciraldo would turn down the chance to join Craig Fitzgibbon at Cronulla.
“He told me that if he was going to go anywhere he would ring me straight away,” O’Neill told Weekend Read.
“We’re not going to kid ourselves. We know as an organisation that somewhere along the line, Cam is going to get a chance as a head coach. I just hope it is the right job for him.”
By that, O’Neill is no doubt referring to Trent Barrett, who was an assistant at Penrith last season but now finds himself at the helm of Canterbury, winless through six rounds of the competition.
Ciraldo is reluctant to discuss his decision out of respect for those involved. He was flattered by the interest from the Sharks and his good friend Fitzgibbon. But he also had another year on his contract at the Panthers and was loath to break it. If anyone can understand that, it is Fitzgibbon.
He had job opportunities at St George Illawarra and the Warriors that he knocked back because he didn’t want to do the wrong thing by the Sydney Roosters.
The only way Ciraldo would have broken his contract would have been if Penrith and coach Ivan Cleary felt it was best for him to move on.
Ciraldo sought assurances from Cleary that his voice was still resonating in the dressing room. When he was told it was, his decision was easy. He will be at Penrith for another year.
Beyond that, head coaching awaits.
Holy Moses could lead Broncos
Parramatta have upped the stakes in their bid to keep Mitchell Moses. Having initially offered only a one-year extension for the 2023 season, Weekend Read understands that the Eels are now willing to discuss a further year in an attempt to keep their No 7.
Moses hesitated on the initial deal amid interest from elsewhere – there had been talk that the Brisbane Broncos were monitoring the situation as they look to shore up their halves. The Sharks would no doubt also be keeping an eye on proceedings.
Moses had an option in his contract for next season. He has until round 10 to take up the option and until then, Parramatta are in a holding pattern. Moses’ decision has the ability to reshape the entire club, not to mention the futures of a handful of clubs.
Should he decide to leave at season’s end, Parramatta would need to find another halfback. On that front, they are unlikely to encounter any problems, although it may end up hitting them in the hip pocket.
The playmaking market is stacked as it stands. However, they have put time and energy into Moses and believe he is the man to take them forward.
Moses could yet simply take up the option and go on the market again on November 1. With expansion on the radar and a new team expected to enter the competition in 2023, you would imagine Moses would be the sort of player a new side could build a club around.
The wildcard is the Broncos. They desperately need help in the halves and the quickest fix is to sign a player like Moses to a long-term deal. Better yet, sign Moses and Shaun Johnson as your halves, set them free behind a quality forward pack and the Kevolution – under coach Kevin Walters – will quickly gather momentum.
Karmichael comeback gathers momentum
Karmichael Hunt is expected to be back at Broncos training next week. Hunt will return on a train and trial contract, the only impediment now the green light from the NRL and chief executive Andrew Abdo.
Hunt has had his troubles in the past but he hasn’t put a foot wrong since returning to rugby league with Souths Logan Magpies in the Intrust Super Cup.
The expectation is that the NRL will rubberstamp his return to the Broncos and Hunt could be back in contention to play in the premiership in coming weeks.
He will have to wait. But it won’t be long.
readb@newsltd.com.au
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