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Josh Addo-Carr’s removal from the Australian team after his involvement in a brawl at last weekend’s Koori Knockout may not be the only issue for the star winger.
There are increasing concerns about his future at the Bulldogs.
There had been rumours Canterbury were preparing to move him on. They were incorrect at the time – but it could become an option. At $500,000 a season, Addo-Carr is well paid, particularly for a winger, but his profile is valuable for the Bulldogs – as long as he is behaving.
Addo-Carr is a fan favourite, but he is on the nose with some at Canterbury. There is a mixed view of him at every level of the club – from the board to the playing group. Some love him, but some expect more of him as a senior player.
There is no question he is still a valuable contributor on the field, and he was the player of the tournament at last year’s World Cup in the UK in the eyes of many. His ability is not in question.
It is fair to say the Bulldogs have gone above and beyond to accommodate his every need and want. His outside activities and promotions for his own sponsors are all factored in to his workload. He is easily the club’s highest profile player and that’s why officials are bitterly disappointed he was at the centre of the Koori Knockout incident. It damages every part of his image – one the Bulldogs have encouraged him to foster.
Canterbury star Josh Addo-Carr is out of the Kangaroos after his involvement in a brawl at the Koori Knockout.Credit: Getty
Addo-Carr has been talking privately about appealing his two-match ban for his role in the brawl and, if there are extenuating circumstances, he should.
Having seen grainy footage of Addo-Carr throwing a punch during the incident, it’s hard to argue with the decision of the ARL Commission. It is hard to understand why Addo-Carr was named for the Kangaroos on Tuesday, given the video of the incident was aired on Channel Nine News.
Crichton still eyeing rugby shift
Angus Crichton is still looking at a code change with talks under way with two Super Rugby franchises.
Crichton’s agent, David Rawlings, says the addition of his client would help a “broken game”, and he hit back at Rugby Australia amid accusations of exaggerated offers and deliberate leaks after a deal to move to rugby fell over during the week.
Angus Crichton could be off to rugby union next year.Credit: Getty
“We didn’t push an inflated figure or make the initial contact with the media outlet for the story in question, despite what [RA chief executive] Phil Waugh has been stating,” Rawlings said. “This was a simple negotiation: a player with the right skill set, tenacity and experience to contribute immensely to a broken game, holding a genuine desire to get to a fair outcome.”
Rawlings described the manner in which rugby officials had conducted themselves as “concerning”.
“We had already sought the appropriate permission to negotiate from the Roosters,” he said. “And we have a Super Rugby club with a well-thought-out plan to fast-track the transition. The deal almost does itself. You just need to have confidence in your processes to reach the right outcome.
“But when a headline grab becomes more imperative than the actual transaction, such as in this instance, then it can spectacularly backfire. It’s concerning behaviour. We have left the door ajar and have had two of the Super Rugby franchises already connect with us.”
Loz no gamble
Laurie Daley will be forced to stop working as a spokesperson for the TAB on Fox Sports programs if he is appointed NSW coach in the coming days.
This column revealed last weekend Daley was being pushed by influential figures in the game and was still in the frame to make a stunning return to the Blues fold. That was rubbished by News Corp journalists, who declared Raiders coach Ricky Stuart the “$1.01 favourite”. Stuart has since pulled out of the process, and Daley is still very much in the frame.
Daley will be allowed to continue as a host of the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio, as that is not seen as a concern when it comes to betting. “We are reviewing the entire betting and working for football clubs situation,” ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said. “What I will say is Laurie’s integrity is beyond reproach.”
Right man for the job
With South Sydney’s credibility on the line next year, Rabbitohs grand final skipper John Sutton has made a notable return to the club’s coaching ranks after it appeared he was destined for a role with Souths Cares.
It appeared the Rabbitohs had a desk job lined up for Sutton with his team role confined to being the “blue shirt” runner on the field on match days.
Souths Cares — established in 2006 as an “independent, public benevolent institution” — is a great organisation and it was a good job, but Sutton appears to belong at the coal face.
He gives the coaching staff grit and South Sydney DNA — things they need following the departure of Sam Burgess in acrimonious circumstances late in the season after he questioned what he believed was the preferential treatment of stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker.
Ire of the tigers
Wests Tigers are privately unhappy about former coach Ivan Cleary following his speech on Wednesday night at Penrith’s annual awards when he revealed his delight at an offer from then chairman Dave O’Neill to return to the Panthers.
Cleary snr’s response as he recalled the offer for the Penrith faithful was, “F— yeah”. We will never know, but maybe Cleary decided to reveal that moment because Balmain great Ben Elias, speaking at an official grand final lunch last Friday, referred to Cleary as “the man who f—ed the Tigers”.
Elias was talking about Cleary’s short stint at the club in 2017-18 and some signings that did not work out. Three competitions in a row and four straight grand finals later, Cleary can put Elias and the Tigers very much in the rearview mirror.
More than a ‘Cog’ in the machine
Nathan Cleary has revealed the key to the greatest grand final heist in history: the most unheralded Panther on the field, Jack Cogger.
When Jarome Luai left the field with half an hour remaining and the Panthers on the back foot, it looked like their premiership dream was over. But the preparation Cleary and Cogger had done while Luai was recovering from his dislocated shoulder paid real dividends.
“I know I’m getting all of the praise,” Cleary said, “but I think the key to what happened for me was Jack Cogger unlocking me. Without him seeing the right things and saying the right things I couldn’t have done what I did. I owe it to him and obviously the rest of the team.”
Truly grand finale
This job can put you in special places on occasions.
I remember I had the misfortune of standing in the tunnel with Justin Hodges′ parents as they were preparing to run onto the field to congratulate their son in the last minute of the 2015 grand final. But Michael Morgan, Kyle Feldt and eventually Johnathan Thurston ruined that moment as North Queensland defeated Brisbane in extra time.
On Sunday night, I watched the Panthers’ historic grand final charge unfold sitting behind the exercise bike near the Penrith bench.
I could hear every word amid the organised chaos as they searched at one point for Scott Sorensen, who was in the dressing room after suffering a head knock, and I could hear the calls for Moses Leota to get on the field.
Less than three metres away from me, the bench players were riding every move on the field. However, the coolest person throughout the tumultuous finale was the badly injured Jarome Luai. He had been injected with several needles and treated by physiotherapists, but was unable to complete the full 80 minutes.
As Cleary crossed for his match-winning try, I turned behind me to watch his mum, Bec, lose her mind as she was surrounded by her other children in arguably the greatest moment of her son’s achievement-filled life.
In the moments after full-time, Ivan Cleary made sure his whole family was on the field with he and Nathan to enjoy the moment.
“Because that’s what it’s all about really – it’s about these boys there and their families,” Ivan said. “It’s about enjoying the moment like this with my family. These things don’t happen often in your life, and last year I didn’t get them on the field, so I wanted to make sure that they were there with Nathan and myself for this.
“I know how good this feels, but when I returned to Penrith and at one point we were 2-8, there were plenty of people asking questions about whether I was the right person for the job. When I got here, there was more work to do than I thought, and we had to make some tough decisions and a night like this is the reward.”
When I put it to him that he had matched Jack Gibson’s achievement of three premierships in a row (at Parramatta from 1981-83), Cleary was taken aback, but he knows there’s no denying it.
“I remember those Parramatta days – I remember watching it – and to think that we are here now … well, it’s just hard to believe,” Ivan said. “But the hard work that these players put in day after day, the long hours working on themselves physically and mentally, they are the reason we are in this position.”
When I asked if he could now be referred to as a “supercoach”, the term that was initially used for Gibson, Ivan replied: “You can call me anything you want.”
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