Sports Confidential: Souths cop official warning for covering TV cameras
THE NRL have issued an official warning to South Sydney after the Rabbitohs twice covered up TV cameras inside their dressing room.
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SOUTH Sydney has been issued an official warning from the NRL against covering Channel 9 cameras inside their dressing room.
The Rabbitohs have placed towels over the cameras twice in the past fortnight during matches against Canterbury at ANZ Stadium and Manly at Brookvale.
Channel 9 made a formal complaint to the NRL.
“We’ve addressed the issue with South Sydney and we wouldn’t expect it to occur in the future,” said an NRL spokesman.
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It will be interesting to see if Souths cover the cameras at halftime in Friday’s grudge match against the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.
One reason for the blackout was to avoid vision be aired of coach Michael Maguire’s halftime blasts in both games.
Asked about what was said during the halftime spray against Manly, Maguire only said: “That’s between the boys and myself.”
Wayne Bennett was the first coach to cover dressing rooms cameras.
Channel Nine is aware of the amazing insight the shots give to their viewers, perfectly illustrated by the vision of Canterbury’s David Klemmer consoling a tearful Chase Stanley after the centre tore a hamstring during Monday night’s game.
JOEY’S AMERICAN DASH
If you think Andrew Johns has been looking tired on air of late, you might be right.
Joey jumped on a plane early in the week to travel to Los Angeles for a three-day break with latest squeeze Satsuki Mitchell, who is better known as Daniel Craig’s former fiancé.
Johns has been madly trying the big commute between Hollywood and Sydney for several months but has hit a snag in recent times with his huge football commitments at Nine.
His three-day break, which includes two 14-hours flights, proves the pair are still trying to keep their budding relationship alive with Mitchell, a Hollywood producer, keen to keep the flame alight. Don’t be surprised to see that familiar Joey glazed look throughout the weekend footy matches and panel shows.
STADIUM WARS CONTINUE
There’s been plenty of false commentary and misinformation spread around town about the NSW Government’s plan for stadiums, but AOC boss, John Coates, took the cake last weekend.
In an article in The Australian where he stated he supported a refurbishment of ANZ Stadium as part of the government’s stadium policy, he didn’t declare he was a member of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority.
“As I understand it, on 20 occasions it is full or close to full each year,” Coates said.
In 2015, ANZ sold out just twice for sporting events — the NRL grand final and for the friendly between Sydney FC and Chelsea.
It did not sell out for State of Origin and hasn’t sold out for the Bledisloe Cup for over a decade. The IOC boss also claimed that Moore Park was not rugby league heartland, but Coates must have forgotten too that it has been home to 80 rugby league grand finals.
The nine NRL clubs have hired one of the most expensive corporate affairs advisers in the country to do their bidding.
Brian Tyson from Newgate is the reason the clubs sound like they are in (rare) harmony on this issue. They were told by Sport Minister Stuart Ayres yesterday that the $1.6 billion on offer for a three prong stadium strategy (Moore Park, Homebush and Parramatta) will be spent elsewhere if the clubs don’t agree to the policy (and it won’t be on their suburban grounds).
PENRITH LEGEND JOINS MANLY
Craig Gower is set to get his break in the coaching ranks at Manly where he is currently coaching a team on the peninsula. Gower will soon move to Brookvale where he will take a role assisting one of the younger sides. Gower has a great footy brain but has not been so lucky in his television career which has stalled in recent times after starts at Fox Sports and Sky News.
NO HELP FOR ROWERS
We never hear much about rowing but there is no doubt the government funded $10 million a year sport is about to hit some rough water.
The men’s eight is trying to qualify for the Rio Olympics in a last-ditch effort in Europe in a little over a month’s time.
Would you thing Rowing Australia might have found the cash to pay for the men’s accommodation while they train in Sydney for the big qualifying regatta? Nope.
Do you reckon they might pay for their meals? No way.
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While Gina Hancock will now help with travel expenses for their European trip, the men were paying their own rent and buying their own groceries until some kind hearted rowing fans stepped in. In what can only be described as a show of great kindness and generosity, random rowing people have spotted the men’s rent and created a cooking roster so they don’t have to cook or pay for their own food.
While we love a feel good story, RA should hang their heads in shame.
Last year, they sent 16 people to Rio (including only two rowers) for a reconnaissance mission of the rowing course. They sent over 40 support staff to Europe last year for more than a month. The first person who needs to have his job reviewed is head coach Chris O’Brien, who took over after the dismal showing at the London Olympics.
SPOTTED
Geoff “Skippy” Huegill enjoying his local watering hole, the Four In Hand, through the week. John Singleton at the yearling sales at Randwick, overseeing the sale of his Frankel/More Strawberries foal.
SPOTTED II
Former Eels CEO Denis Fitzgerald lamenting Parramatta’s salary cap dramas in the same corporate suite as current chairman Steve Sharp during Sunday’s match against Penrith at Pirtek Stadium.
E.T NEEDS A NEW HOME
KIWI Test player Elijah Taylor appears on the outer at Penrith. Taylor is getting very little match time and could be on the move — sooner rather than later.
Taylor didn’t play in Penrith’s match against Parramatta last Sunday. Other clubs would be keen to snap up Taylor should he exit Pepper Stadium.
RIVALS QUESTION GUS
RIVAL NRL clubs are questioning the great Gus Gould, who has decided to move two Panthers games to ANZ Stadium to help the State Government’s plans for a $1.6 billion makeover of Sydney’s three major cities.
One NRL club CEO said: “It just seems strange Gus is right behind the Government’s stadiums policy just when he is about to ask them for more money to build a Western Sydney stadium in Penrith. And let’s not forget the Sports Minister is Stuart Ayres, the member for Penrith.”
YOUNG BLOODS NOT HAPPY
WE hear there is one rising star who has become a real brat on the field. Mouthing-off, being disrespectful. It’s about time his older teammates pulled him into line.
And then there’s the other young gun who wasn’t named in his side’s run-on team last week. He promptly sought a release before being talked out of it.
Gotta love Gen-Y.
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WARATAHS HOOKER HELPS OUT
NSW Waratahs hooker and Manly Marlins skipper James Hilterbrand became an off-field hero last week in the eyes of well-known northside sailor Craig Nicholls.
Having lost his wallet during a night out over Easter in a Uber cab, Nicholls wrote it off as a lost cause. But after receiving a Facebook friend request from a James Hilterbrand, Nicholls accepted and was then blown away by a follow-up message which read: “Hey mate, found your wallet in a cab.”
The pair then made contact with a relieved Nicholls retrieving his wallet from the rugby star. Karma rewarded Hilterbrant with Nicholls organising free membership for the hooker at Manly Skiff Club on the same day the tough number two was called-up for last Sunday’s Super Rugby match against Melbourne Rebels at Allianz Stadium.
NINE HAVE NO SAY ON EELS PUNISHMENT
CHANNEL 9 claim they would not interfere in any NRL decision imposing punishment for Parramatta. There have been suggestions Nine would be upset if the Eels were deducted 10 competition points - thus ruling Parramatta out of finals contention.
That, TV insiders say, would impact massively on Nine’s ratings. But Nine say the NRL will come up with an independent decision any penalty for salary cap breaches - and they won’t intervene.
Originally published as Sports Confidential: Souths cop official warning for covering TV cameras
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