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John Lang to save South Sydney Rabbitohs

Former Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers coach John Lang could be signed to a coaching consultancy position at the South Sydney Rabbitohs as they look to snap their 2008 woeful results.

Lang, who took the Panthers to Premiership glory in 2003 is rumored to be recruited to the newly created advisory job to guide coach Jason Taylor, the Bunnies remaining on only 1 win for 2008 and missing a perfect chance to ambush Melbourne in Gosford on Saturday night even though they had 8 State of Origin players backing up.

“I’m not commenting about that,” John Lang said. “I’ve been linked to so many jobs in the last 18 months … I’m sick of it.”

A previous Dally-M award winner, Lang goes way back with Souths director Shane Richardson, the two forging their friendship which goes back to the 80s, when they got together at Brisbane Easts before working together again at Cronulla and the Panthers.

Lang hasn’t picked up a clipboard since Penrith controversially booted him and installed former Canberra man Matthew Elliott at the end of the 2006 season, while Taylor would have the final say - Lang could be used as a sounding board for tough decisions and provide advice to the under-fire Taylor.

Making Jason Taylor and the Souths players jobs even harder are reports of the arguments between co-owners Peter Holmes a Court and Russell Crowe and now worries about the clubs viability. While Holmes a Court could walk away, you get the feeling the passionate Crowe would do whatever it takes to make Souths a success.

Crowe’s publicist, Grant Van Den Berg, said the Hollywood star would not be commenting, while Holmes a Court didn’t want to talk when asked for comment yesterday - however it is believed the two high profile men did speak yesterday.

Their relationship and worries of the clubs future after David Gallops’ recently coments about the club are certain to be raised at a Souths board meeting tonight.

Holmes a Court’s comments last week that he could not confirm the club’s survival have set off fears he wants to pull the pin on his bankrolling of the struggling club..

Some of South Sydney’s high-profile supporters are believed to have thought about talking to Souths Juniors this week about helping the club financially if Holmes a Court and Crowe couldn’t bail the club out of the financial situation.

But Souths Juniors president Keith McGraw, who walked away from the football club last year over Holmes a Court’s controversial proposal to remove poker machines from the Souths leagues club, killed off any thoughts of this happening.

“We are in no position to help other than what we do already,” McGraw said. “We’re in the same boat as everyone else because of the poker machine tax. Apart from the $2.8 million we put into junior league in the area, there’s nothing more we can do. We’re not in a position of strength to help them.”

Former Souths Juniors president Henry Morris, who was a partner on the ticket alongside former chairman George Piggins opposing Holmes a Court and Crowe taking a 75 per cent stake in the club, said the club’s demise was “disturbing”.

“I’m not into bagging the club when it is down, but these guys were going to be the saviours,” Morris, who is still considered by many as a key powerbroker behind the scenes, said. “They were going to come in on their white horse and save the club.”

Morris said he feared for the club’s future with Holmes a Court and Crowe having majority ownership. “We should never had allowed them to buy 75 per cent,” Morris said. “We should have allowed them to buy 49 per cent and the other 51 per cent should have stayed in the hands of the members. They bought this great club for $3m and now they cannot guarantee the club’s future.”

Wests Tigers hold out Titans in thriller 20-18

The Wests Tigers have turned on some vintage play as they again flexed their attacking prowess to hold out a valiant Gold Coast Titans outfit who worked hard to keep in touch as things rarely went their way today at Leichhardt - the visitors falling just short to the Tigers 20-18.

A large local crowd of 17,493 jammed into the Tigers’ aging home ground at Balmain, the melting pot making for a perfect backdrop on what was an entertaining and at times heated clash between the two attacking giants.

The Tigers came out firing, the home side having a mountain of possession the only blemish on their opening minutes was poor kicking from Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah, who kicked out on the full at various times and allowed the Titans enough breathing room to survive.

Wests were playing their famous up-tempo attacking game with good rewards, but even more impressive was their improved defence and commitment - the side lifting a gear from the previous outing against the Knights. The Tigers were tackling in numbers and driving the Titans back at every opportunity.

The Tigers started with Matt Head at halfback and Benji Marshall at five-eighth, Marshall gaining confidence with every touch but the star pivot will take time to get back his peak fitness and flexibility after such a long lay-off. The Titans had their own reshuffle, with Anthony Laffranchi not backing up from State of Origin and outside back Brenton Bowen having to face a late fitness test after breaking down during the warm-up today.

Ahead 14-6 at the break the Tigers had to hold out wave after wave of Titans attack in the 2nd half, as the visitors made a late charge with 15 minutes remaining. Even when Wests had what looked to be a comfortable lead, they did look to be blowing a bit and the Titans fitness regime under Billy Johnstone looks to be a key to their success in 2008 - as the side seemed to come into their own in the final quarter of the match.

The set plays from the Tigers had the crowd in raptures, a higlight coming when veteran fullback Brett Hodgson took a neat inside pass at fullspeed from Matt Head in the 58th minute to weave through the Titans back markers and crash over for a 20-6 lead. After this hot Tigers try, you could be forgiven for thinking a cricket score was about to come from the home side - with bounce of the ball and possession all going their way.

The large lead probably gave Wests a false sense of confidence, they did seem to clock off for the middle section as both teams went about an arm wrestle as the pace eased somewhat after half time. Spectators had no idea what was about to unfold as the visitors continued to chip away at the Tigers and launch a late counter attack and nearly snatch an unlikely victory.
Quick-fire touchdowns to Brenton Bowen in the 68th minute and Preston Campbell in the 72nd had the Titans storming to within 2 points and a late shot at the win with 5 minutes to play.
The committed Tigers managed to keep the Titans at their own end during the final minutes and, as they threatened to break away with two minutes left, the Titans were pulled up for a forward pass, much to the relief of the vocal crowd. The failure of the final pass seemed to be the order of the day for the Titans, so many times they managed to gain a line-break only to have the off-load or second phase pass go to ground or find the hands of a Wests Tigers player sniffing around the backplay.

For the Tigers, Ben Te’o, Robbie Farah and Hodgson scored tries with Hodgson nailing 4 from 4. While Hodgson and Farah again played well, it’s the Tigers forwards that are doing their bit to keep their side on the rise. Ben Teo is growing heavily in player stocks, as the talented forward continues to impress all-comers and such is the case with Keith Galloway who on current form surely must be within the top ranks of props in the game.

The Titans’ showed their ability with the ball and even with limited chances they managed 4-pointers through Aaron Cannings and Bowen, while Scott Prince converted 3 in his first appearance at Leichhardt since leaving Wests Tigers in 2006.

Tempers flared not long before half time when Mat Rogers played blatantly for a penalty and angered Tigers forward Corey Payne. Milking like an Italian Soccer Pro, Mat Rogers managed to get the penalty but was quickly set upon by Payne and Tigers players as frustrations set in over the acting from Rogers. The wash-up saw Tigers prop Bryce Gibbs and Titans hooker Nathan Friend sent to the bin for 10 minutes because they were the third and fourth into the scuffle. And it couldn’t be called more than a scuffle, sadly NRL Rugby League is now exactly like AFL - when players come together, there is hugging, pushing, rolling and everything else under the sun that makes them look like 4 years old rolling around in the sand-pit; but anyway thats the way it is now.

The large home crowd and dynamic atmosphere at Leichhardt demonstrates the power of the suburban home ground and must surely make Tigers officials stand-up and realise that ANZ Stadium while financially viable might come at the cost of NRL competition points - which on their own mean financial windfalls at the end of the day.

The Tigers were noticeably ‘up’ for this match and after leading 12-0 after only 14 minutes on play when Farah dived over from dummy-half - you got the feeling they were going to score enough points to secure the win.

The Titans hit back in the 21st when Prince laid on a try under the posts for interchange forward Aaron Cannings for 12-6.

But, after Hodgson had missed an earlier penalty shot, the full-back knocked over two points from the O’Dwyer penalty for the Tigers to lead 14-6 at the break.

After 3 matches against the new Gold Coast side, this is the first time the Wests Tigers have managed to secure a victory over the newest NRL franchise.

Roosters remain hot, Warriors lose 38-12

The Sydney Roosters have continued their impressive form streak in 2008, today accounting for the NZ Warriors in the tough melting pot of Mt Smart Stadium to the tune of 38-12.

Again it was the Mitchell Pearce and Braith Anasta show, as the halves combined well and more specifically kicked to perfection to totally dazzle the Warriors from the outset. Early chips and bombs from Pearce allowed Shaun Kenny-Dowall to crash over, the Kiwi outside back getting an early double - then Anasta benefiting from more Pearce kicking magic to send the Roosters away to the best possible start.

The Warriors, welcoming back prop Steve Price were brave early on - with lack of possession and an avalanche of points against them, they somehow hung in to register their own early points and actually keep themselves in contention before it was too late. In a match with plenty of feeling, Rooster James Aubusson and NZ Warriors back Brent Tate cited, the antics stirring up the home crowd of 12,000.

Aubusson was ruled to have tackled hooker Nathan Fien high and late, while Tate was alleged to have used an elbow during a heated moment with opposition five-eighth Braith Anasta.

Even without workhorse backrower Craig Fitzgibbon and custodian Amos Roberts, the Roosters only had to brave a few counter attacks from the Warriors who were pretty much outclassed all day.

With a handy 20-4 lead with 4 first half tries, the home side reducing the margin with a try to Ian Henderson before the break.

The conversion and subsequent penalty by Lance Hohaia got the Warriors back to 20-12.

The Warriors were dead and buried early in the 2nd term, any hopes of a major comeback snuffed out as the visiting Roosters poured on another 3 touchdowns in impressive fashion.

Kenny-Dowall secured his own hat-trick by diving over for his 3rd try in the second half, while pivot and temporary captain Anasta got himself a double in an impressive all-round showing from the NSW Origin hopeful.

With 14 minutes to go the Warriors could have placed themselves back in the match again when Epalahame Lauaki latched onto a intercept but he was unable to score, leaving the gap at 14 points.

It was Kenny-Dowall who put the match beyond doubt when he scored his hat-trick after an intercept of his own, running 80m before diving over.

Winger Sam Perrett iced the cake for the Roosters when he took in an Anasta kick to go over untouched.

Luckless Souths lose to Storm 15-10

While there is no questioning the fact that Souths attack remains in woeful shape, the Bunnies weren’t helped by some mind-boggling calls at crucial times that saw them go down to the tired Storm 15-10. With 8 Storm players backing up from Origin it was always going to be a tough ask and Souths gave them an almighty challenge; putting on an impressive defensive show only to throw it away with poor last tackle options.

Souths while winning the overall penalty count were the victims of some shocking calls, starting with a blatant strip on John Sutton from 10m out. Sutton was unquestionably stripped of the ball by Steve Turner in full view of the video referee, only for Russell Smith to rule scrum from the video box and leave commentators and supports alike dumbfounded with the call. How the NRL continues to get away with incorrect calls with the benefit of video remains such a blight on the game, anywhere else in the world it would be investigated for suspicious dealings.

That wasn’t the end of the bad luck run for the luckless Bunnies, as they struggled to remain in touch with the Storm who were up by 4 points well into the 2nd half. With a towering bomb from Melbourne being spilled by Nigel Vagana only after a sleepwalker play from Matt Geyer which directly threw Vagana out of contention for the catch, allowing Jeremy Smith to scoop the spilled ball and score easily near the posts.

The sleepwalker play continues to remain under the NRL referee radar for the most part, with coaches instructing their team to send up the bomb and directing the first offensive chaser to simply make it look like he is contesting the ball, but rather bump or knock the fullback off the catch so the attacking team get a shot at the spilt ball. Melbourne pulling this off to perfection as the veteran Geyer made no attempt at the ball and hit Vagana hard in the air to shunt the Souths centre off the incoming bomb, allowing Melbourne to snatch what was to be a game winning lead.

The Storm were always going to struggle after last Wednesday’s Origin, but only regular five-eighth Greg Inglis failed to play tonight after picking up a knee injury.

The Rabbitohs have now won only one game from 10 starts this season.

It was 4-0 until the 58th minute with Melbourne scoring a first-half try through centre Will Chambers in a match Melbourne never really looked like losing.

Both sides were content to play safety first football and Cameron Smith knocked over a penalty goal in the 58th minute before second rower Jeremy Smith crashed over following a Cooper Cronk bomb in the 62nd to make it 12-0.

The Rabbitohs gave themselves some hope in the 72nd minute when their policy of bombing Storm full-back Billy Slater paid dividends, with Nigel Vagana winning a race to the ball and touching down.

But Melbourne half-back Cronk sealed the deal with a field goal with five minutes remaining to make it 13-6 before Smith booted a late penalty goal.

Vagana’s consolation try in the 79th minute after a short kick-off regather was too little too late.

Earlier, a bizarre incident soon after half-time almost extended the Storm’s 4-0 lead.

Attempting to defuse a Cronk bomb, Vagana pushed his five-eighth Dean Widders out of the way and the loose ball was almost dived on for a try by Chambers.

An out of sorts Melbourne spent most of the first stanza in their own half after some uncharacteristic errors, but Souths couldn’t make them pay as Widders struggled to ignite his backline and poor last-tackle kicking options failed to exert any pressure.

The Storm made it look easy in the 13th minute when five-eighth Matt Geyer put Chambers through a hole and the big centre strolled through Vagana to touch down.

Storm lock Dallas Johnson had been in doubt after yet another head knock on Wednesday night but was passed fit to play on Thursday.

“It probably looked a lot worse on TV than it actually was,” Johnson said.

“You don’t want to end up a vegetable after footy so that’s why I took the right precautions and I went right through with the docs and did the tests and they cleared me to play.

“Obviously I wanted to play but I put it in their hands this time.”

He said backing up was a tough proposition, but also credited Souths for their territorial dominance in the first half.

“You’ve got a few tender patches but the hardest part is probably the mental side of it,” he said.

“(Origin’s) a big game and it’s a tough thing to build yourself up, you’ve got to get you head right for that and then to come down after a loss and get your head right again for an NRL game is pretty tough.”

Souths coach Jason Taylor was upbeat with his side’s effort after their dismal loss to Canberra on Monday night.

“We’re as happy as you can be after losing a game because we came to Bluetongue Stadium tonight to get some pride back in our performance, to get some pride back in the jersey, the great jersey that we play in and the boys did that well.

“That’s the first step for us, we hit rock bottom last week.

“We came here and our motto was just let’s have a go.”

NRL in turmoil; as clubs struggle

When David Gallop went public this week about the NRL’s concerns for struggling Sydney-based clubs and their short to mid term survival, few realised the seriousness of the problems circulating Rugby League as a whole.

Dwindling crowds, reduced injections from League’s clubs due to the pokie tax, woeful membership numbers and an overcrowded Sydney market in terms of NRL teams are causing major headaches for the games operators.

As the AFL does their best to eat into the Rugby League market by targeting Western Sydney, Gold Coast and a brave buy-out attempt of League HQ at ANZ Stadium, Homebush - we are also hearing news of South Sydney once again hitting rocky roads as their new owners struggle to come to terms with how tough things really are.

Only a week ago we saw the likes of Penrith and St George Illawarra playing in front of crowds that were only marginally above the desperation 5000 mark.

Times are certainly tough and in an extremely competitive sporting landscape - the NRL needs to get strategic and do so very quickly, or risk again going through a similar torture to the Super League War. Sydney’s base of NRL clubs especially need to improve their earnings, while boosting crowds through the gate is important - equally important is the amount of club memberships, something almost all Sydney clubs are failing to capitalise on. Clubs need to create slick marketing campaigns and target their supporters on game day at their homeground. Punters are already paying $10 for cold pies and warm beers, offering an on the spot $5 club membership would be an easy sell - especially if the marketing department arranged some attractive girls in skimpy clothing to draw in the supporters. (You get the idea, I’ll leave the marketing to the various clubs now however)

While interstate clubs, notably Brisbane and the Gold Coast, are flourishing, the game’s traditional home is under siege and stubbornly refusing to heed the warning of NRL chief executive David Gallop, who insists clubs may die unless things change.

Sydney clubs would prefer to blame the New South Wales Government, and its poker machine tax, for their plight. They would rather flog a horse that shows no signs of life than contemplate the more realistic alternative - relocate or merge, a concept that led to rancour during Super League and its aftermath.

Gallop isn’t the only prominent NRL identity suggesting Sydney clubs are in danger. Gold Coast coach John Cartwright promoted the idea of a 12-team competition recently in a magazine column, claiming that Sydney should be divided into four zones.

In effect, Sydney clubs are holding back the game. They are holding earning capacity of players because they can’t afford to pay more money, something that has resulted in superstars Mark Gasnier and Sonny Bill Williams looking overseas for opportunities.

They are holding back the game’s exposure on a national level by refusing to contemplate relocation.

Behind the scenes, an undercurrent of support is growing for the game to revisit expansion at the expense of overcrowding in Sydney. Most won’t say it publicly, but some chief executives privately believe the only way to grow the pie is to make the game truly national.

That means returning to Adelaide and Perth, two clubs sacrificed in the wake of the Super League peace deal. It means putting a plan in place and sticking to it. It means leaving financially stricken Sydney clubs with three choices: Merge, relocate or die.

It’s not a new idea, but it resonates more than ever as Sydney clubs grumble about the unfair situation created by the NSW Government.

The NRL held a two-day conference with chief executives this week at which they discussed their plight and bounced around ideas to raise revenue. What came out of it? It appears very little.

The game still has no direction. It doesn’t know where it will be next year, let alone in five years. The AFL has plans to move into western Sydney and the Gold Coast, with timetables in place. Super 14 is talking about expanding its product and lengthening its season. The A-League, still in its infancy, is looking to add clubs in Queensland and possibly elsewhere.

“At the moment the game is under threat more in Sydney than anywhere else,” Brisbane chief executive Bruno Cullen said of rugby league.

“That’s one issue. The other threats that are coming to our game are the other truly national codes - the AFL and soccer, and to a lesser extent rugby union. They can get the big money for sponsorship and television revenue because they are national.”

Rugby league, on the other hand, is preoccupied with the survival of Sydney clubs when the answer lies elsewhere. With the NRL locked into long-term television contracts with the Nine Network and Fox Sports, there will be no sudden influx of money. That means, unlike the AFL, the NRL can’t afford to prop up ailing clubs. Against that backdrop, frustration grows outside Sydney, a mood which led to the Super League revolution in 1995, which in turn led to a split competition in 1997.

“When you strategise you have to know where you’re at to know where you’re going,” Melbourne Storm chief executive Brian Waldron said.

“What I do know is there is a team called the Sydney Roosters that from my understanding has less players participating in rugby league at junior and senior level than we do in Melbourne.

“There are two teams in (southern Sydney) and surrounding areas (Cronulla and St George Illawarra) that arguably are sharing a low potential supporter base. That’s just my perception.

“The reality is you have to get some research to determine where you’re going. There will be some research that will tell you there’s some markets that you can generate enormous revenue in outside of Sydney, or it may just be rationalisation.”

Waldron, who comes from an AFL background, advocates increased ground-sharing among the Sydney clubs, as is the case in Melbourne, where the AFL sides play most of their games at either the MCG or Telstra Dome. Waldron also supports the NRL leveraging stadium officials to get better deals for its clubs.

Another option for cash-strapped Sydney clubs could lie with privatisation, a concept which has taken hold at the Warriors, South Sydney and Manly.

Each of those clubs survives thanks to wealthy benefactors - Eric Watson at the Warriors, Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court at the Rabbitohs, and Max Delmege and Scott Penn at the Sea Eagles.

“We have the private ownership model in the game now,” said Wests Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce, who has managed to operate his club with minimal to no leagues club support. “That’s something the game hasn’t had a lot of. That’s possibly something people need to look at as well.”

Manly chief executive Grant Mayer said any rugby league investor needed to understand there wouldn’t be significant returns, a fact borne out at Souths where Holmes a Court and Crowe lost $4 million in their first year.

Sea Eagles co-owner Delmege, who bought a share in the club in 2001, is only now starting to realise the benefit of his investment - and only because he is starting to understand the power of the club’s brand.

“Private ownership has got to realise that owning a football club is not about making money — it’s about other opportunities,” Mayer said. “It took Max Delmege six years to see some opportunities for himself after pouring so much money into the club.”

As for the future of Sydney clubs, Mayer said: “The danger is the costs involved with running a footy club are growing - and revenues aren’t.

“Clubs have to find new ways to make money. If you’re competing with seven other clubs in Sydney, that’s a big ask.

“I have no doubt the dark cloud hanging over the game is 100 per cent accurate.

“Literally, a club could fall over within 12 months. I think it would be a wise club to act before its forced upon them and relocate now.”

The NRL is conscious of the benefits of expansion, and $8 million remains on the table for a club which packs up and moves.

South Australian Rugby League general manager Bruce Walker, who won a premiership with Manly in 1978 and toured with Australia that same year, has been lobbying clubs to move games to Adelaide, a city he says is crying out for the NRL.

Like his West Australian counterpart Bill Nosworthy, who wants a team in Perth, Walker believes Adelaide would have sufficient corporate support to back a side.

Initially, he advocates a partial move involving a side potentially playing six games in Adelaide and six at its Sydney home.

To support that bid, he endorses the NRL offering $4 million - half the $8 million on offer for a complete move - to a club which plays half its home games in South Australia.

A partial move would then be the precursor to a club permanently basing itself in Adelaide, and also Perth, by the time the next television deal begins in 2013.

“They could really test the waters by doing that - six games down here and six games at home,” Walker said. “You would get a lot of sponsors to be involved in that. You would make money.”

NRL chief executive David Gallop questions the benefits of a side playing half its game interstate. Asked whether the NRL would consider putting $4 million on the table for a club that partially relocated, with a view to permanently moving its base, Gallop said: “Partial relocation is problematic. We would really prefer a complete move to a new area. But we have got an open mind on any proposal.”

Gallop is reluctant to force Sydney clubs to move, although he understands the benefits of a national competition.

“The game has been through incredible turmoil,” Gallop said in reference to the Super League war. “We have just added a team (Gold Coast) which is successful. We’re not interested in a race to get dots on a map.

“We will be in new places in the short- to medium-term but it’s not the time to be putting more pressure on our existing clubs by adding teams.

“We would love to be in places like Perth and Adelaide, but the local game is not ready.

“It’s not like it was in the AFL where they had thriving competitions.

“We’re building towards it and there will be a point where we can consider those areas.”

Even if it wants to, the NRL is unable to force clubs to relocate under the terms of their current licence agreements.

As such, clubs need to move of their own volition, something Cullen says would benefit the game immeasurably by producing greater sponsorship revenue, which in turn would be drip fed back to the clubs.

“All this talk about rationalisation is not about getting more money in the pool, it’s about survival,” Cullen said.

Waldron is even more emphatic.

“I have been on record since the day I walked into this business, when I heard David Hill (former head of sport at Channel Nine and now a heavy-hitter with Fox Sports in the US) at my first ever chief executives conference say we had the best television product in the world in sport,” Waldron said.

“I have said right from the start the only reason we don’t generate more money than our competitors is because we’re not truly a national game.

“Rationalise the Sydney clubs and make it a national game. Make it a national game and you’ll stop having to worry. We’re not talking about now, we’re talking about a generational approach.

“It’s something that has to happen in the next 10 years.

“What we can’t forget is we still have a magnificent product. It’s a wonderful product. It’s not broken.”

One thing has become patently clear this week: Something needs to change.

“What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” Waldron said. “Many would argue we are insane at the moment in our game.”

Dragons sneak home over Manly 20-18

ST George Illawarra’s Morris twins combined for the clincher as the Dragons pipped Manly 20-18 in a seesawing NRL clash at Brookvale Oval.

The Dragons scored four tries to three, including the 75th minute winner to full-back Brett Morris, to score the upset victory and take their record against the Sea Eagles to seven wins from their last eight games.

Down 18-14 with five minutes remaining, centre Josh Morris stepped cleverly and sent a ball to twin brother Brett, who crashed over.

Jamie Soward’s conversion completed the two-point win.

The Dragons scored tries through Beau Scott, Ben Hornby, Jason Nightingale and Morris while Soward kicked two goals from four attempts.

For the Sea Eagles, David Williams, Steve Menzies and Michael Robertson crossed for four-pointers with Matt Orford booting three goals in front of 12,058 fans.

Manly led 12-10 at half-time after both sides had scored two tries in the first half.

But the Dragons re-took the lead 14-12 with a controversial benefit-of-the-doubt try in the 54th minute.

Winger Nightingale and second-rower Lagi Setu both looked to gather in a Soward cross-field bomb and video referee Phil Cooley saw no clear evidence their multiple touches had constituted a knock-on and allowed the try.

Manly looked to have regained the lead in the 66th minute when Menzies took an inside ball and shredded the Dragons defence on the way to the line but the veteran try-scoring machine came up with a rare error, dropping it as he crashed over.

But the Sea Eagles didn’t have to wait long to hit the front, penalties against the Dragons providing the field position and Robertson grabbing an Orford chip after Chase Stanley had taken an embarrassing air-swing.

The Eagles will rue being denied by Cooley three minutes later when the video referee ruled Brett Stewart had not grounded a Robertson grubber.

The Dragons went into the match without NSW centre Matt Cooper, who failed to back up from Wednesday’s State of Origin clash because of a minor back complaint.

“It’s what you play footy for, to get the tries when you need them,” Brett Morris said.

“I just popped up there, it was a good pass.”

But he denied telepathy between the sons of former Dragons half Steve Morris had come into it.

“It’s just having those years playing footy together, we just know each other’s game so I just showed up where he wanted me and it turned out good,” he said.

Dragons coach Nathan Brown paid tribute to re-signed half Soward after he booted home the conversion that sealed the win.

“His self-esteem’s a bit higher and I think maybe six or eight months ago we might have said give Gaz (Mark Gasnier) or Benny Hornby the kick but because he’s a lot more confident person now it was never thought of,” the coach said.

Brown credited his side’s character in the scrappy contest, in which each side only completed around 70 per cent of their sets, and admitted the Menzies and Stewart no-tries had seen the football gods smile on his team.

“We hung in there and we’re a much tougher team this past five weeks than I think people give us credit for,” Brown said.

Manly came into tonight’s contest in second place but captain Orford said his side didn’t deserve that ranking.

“Until we learn to, after a try, back-up and just get to our kick and once we’ve got our foot on the throat just go on with it, we can’t put ourselves up on a pedestal as a top team,” Orford said.

“There’s still a long way to go and we haven’t learnt that yet.”

Souths: Crowe and Holmes a Court butt heads

Talk of a fallout between South Sydney Rabbitohs heavyweights Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court is gaining momentum, with rugby league commentator Ray Hadley tipping the latter to leave the club by the end of the season.

The Hollywood star and Sydney businessman bought the Rabbitohs two years ago, but the club’s disastrous start to the 2008 NRL season is believed to be taking its toll.

Speaking on his 2GB morning program, Ray Hadley said he had been “reliably informed” that Crowe has been seen out lunching with former Souths CEO Shane Richardson, who was replaced by Holmes a Court after the takeover.

“Not too far away from where Russell Crowe lives Richo [Shane Richardson] has been seen meeting and supping with Russell Crowe, with Peter Holmes a Court nowhere to be seen,” Hadley told his Sydney radio audience.

“The tip I’ve got for you: Peter Holmes a Court to gracefully bow out between now and the rest of the season and disappear from view.”

Holmes a Court has told News Ltd that although he and Crowe had had frequent disagreements in the wake of the Rabbitohs’ season failure, talk of a fallout was off the mark.

“I have known Russell for seven years. He is a very intense person with an incredible work ethic. We don’t always agree,” he said.

“But I don’t think it’s a rift and I don’t believe it’s a rift. I can’t respond to hypotheticals.”

NSW Blues take first blood in Origin 1

The New South Wales Blues have come out firing in Game 1 of the State of Origin series; claiming an impressive victory at ANZ Stadium 18-10 in front of near 70,000 vocal fans.

It was a committed and physical NSW side that stamped their authority from the opening minutes and continued their hard hitting defence style throughout; not allowing the likes of Israel Folau, Billy Slater and Karmichael Hunt any room or time to work their magic plays.

The Blues played smart for the most part when they had the ball in their hands and chose the ideal times to push the pass or attack the line.

Craig Fitzgibbon started for the NSW side and pushed Ben Cross to the bench, his steady hand in defence a key component - however the goal-kicking from NSW let them down, only landing 1 from 4 with Fitzgibbon and Wallace sharing the duties.

Rookie winger Anthony Quinn bagged a first half double while fellow debutant Anthony Laffranchi also crossed along with fullback Brett Stewart as the Blues claimed a 4 tries to 2 win.

The tough Quinn looked right at home in Origin, taking it right to the Queensland opponents and proving a real handful. While damaging in attack, it was the perfect decision making from Quinn in defence that saw the Melbourne flanker kill off several near certain tries for Queensland, in one instance Quinn racing out of the line to smash Billy Slater ball and all in one of the hits of the match.

Debuting halfback Peter Wallace played a superb role for the NSW side, looking calm and having a mountain of time to get his kicks and selective passes away. Man of the match Greg Bird assisted him well, protecting Wallace at times and lending a hand with a pinpoint long kicking game. Bird was at his running best, making the Maroons work hard every time his footwork clicked into gear - the stocky running pivot making good metres and dragging defenders with him every time.

It’s hard to single out various players for NSW, with all the forwards having solid games and the centre pairing in Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper coming up with a stack of line breaks to give their side the upper hand on the fringes. The NSW centres also contained their highly fancied opponents when they had the ball, Greg Inglis rarely able to break free and the same could be said for the well contained Folau.

Queensland wingers Brent Tate and Israel Folau scored tries just before half and full time but the Maroons were never able to recover from NSW’s superb start.

Queensland didn’t show their usual focus and commitment and while they had the sparkling backline, for once the roles were reversed and NSW relied on raw emotion and passion to get them over the line.

Karmichael Hunt could be the victim when selections come round for Game 2, while he was brave in defence he simply had to deal with too much tackling and had no energy left to put on any creative attacking play.

Jonathan Thurston was busy all night and worked hard, probing the NSW line with kicks and darting runs be he couldn’t break the shackles. The on-line defence for the Blues was near perfect, with the line scrambling well to snuff out several close calls as the Maroons threw everything at them at various stages.

Injury concerns coming out of the game remain around Dallas Johnson who was heavily concussed after coming into contact with a Willie Mason knee and Blues back-rower Anthony Laffranchi who suffered a shoulder problem after scoring a late try off a Mark Gasnier line break and offload.

NSW will head to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to try to secure the series on June 11.

Keen Punter loads up 700k on Queensland

A well known punter is looking to cash in a huge $1.2 million if Queensland can win the State of Origin 2008 opening game tonight.

The well-known punter placed $700,000 on Queensland on Sunday at $1.74 with interstate bookie Matt Tripp. He said the bet was one of the biggest sports bet of its kind with millions more expected to be wagered on the Origin encounter around the country.

TAB Sportsbet will hold more than $3million by the time kick-off rolls around at ANZ Stadium with NSW attracting more money on Tuesday than their Queensland rivals for the first time since markets opened.

Queensland were $1.65 with the Blues $2.20. Tripp will be the worst hit should Queensland take out the first game.

“It will be a nervous 80 minutes, the bet is definitely right up there with one of the biggest we’ve written on a sporting event,” Tripp said. “The punter is not a newcomer. He’s one of the biggest in the country.”

Other interstate bookies are expected to brace for a flurry of money on the Maroons given the confidence shown in the six-figure bet with Tripp.

TAB Sportsbet’s Glenn Munsie said money was at one stage running in favour of the Maroons at three to one before the unexpected swing to the Blues.

“Today has been the first time NSW is attracting more interest. We’ve had one punter outlay $10,000 on the NSW win at $2.20, $10,000 with the 2.5 point start at $1.90 and $5000 on a Blues’ half-time/full-time double at $3.75,” Munsie said.

More than $300,000 had been bet on the game by Tuesday night with Munsie expecting that figure to swell to more than $3 million by start time.

“One of the most popular options is the first try-scorer and we’re expecting to be writing 100 tickets a minute leading up to the game,” Munsie said.

Michael Crocker riding major hot-streak

Michael Crocker could prove to be the ultimate weapon for Queensland in their quest for State of Origin glory this year, looking at the current statistics it seems he could be Rugby League’s all-time best sequential winner.

While many talk about Crocker’s impressive run of wins in the NRL for the Melbourne Storm - which is a staggering 28 victories from 28 starts - few know that the 27-year-old second rowers coukd be on the biggest ever victory run in 100 years of League.

He’s won the NRL premiership twice - initially with the Sydney Roosters in 2003 and then last year with Melbourne in 2007 - Michael Crocker hasn’t dropped even one NRL match for club, state or country in almost three years.

The last time he tasted defeat was back in 2005 playing for the Roosters.

That was a tight 17-16 loss to South Sydney some 1005 days ago.

On top of his hot run of wins for the Melbourne Storm, Michael Crocker’s 32-game victory run also covers wins in his final 2 games at the Roosters plus 2 recent Tests for Australia - the 2007 win to the tune of 58-0 over Kiwi Test Side and the 28-12 Centenary Test romp also over the Kiwi side.

Crocker’s dream run is believed to be unequalled in the 100-history of Rugby League, even the master of all records in NRL and Rugby League - David Middleton at odds to name another player that has gone close to achieving such a hot-streak of wins.

It makes for even more impressive reading when you consider the legendary St George side who won an Australian sporting record of 11 straight Rugby League premierships during 1956-66 era, even this memorable squad could not secure back-to-back seasons without a loss.

7 teams in Rugby League history have gone through a single season without losing a game, Balmain achieved this first in 1915 and then St George years later in 1959.

Its worth noting though, in the early days the Rugby League seasons - with only 10 or 12 teams competing - were much shorter than today.

The Roosters hold the all-time Rugby League record for most back to back victories by a club side with 19 wins in 1975, but there has been zero records kept regarding a single players winning run.

Middleton, the NRL’s most recognisable historian was truly at odds to come up with a comparison to Crocker when asked to come up with someone with comparable stats in terms of running wins.

“Crocker’s record of 32 consecutive victories may well be an all-time record,” said Middleton.

“It is, of course, a difficult thing to run down but I have checked the records of St George players in 1959 and none of them had a winning run to compare with Crocker’s.

“It is possible that an Easts player of the 1930s put together a long winning run (Easts were undefeated in 1935-36-37) but many of their leading players experienced defeats at Test or interstate level.

“It is a bit of a needle in a haystack job to find someone who has sidestepped defeat for so long.”

To make the achievement even more potent, just look at Crocker’s importance to Melbourne Storm. The fact is, the Storm’s win ration without him dips to 68 per cent - which is 24 wins from 35 games.

Melbourne looked certain to take out the NRL Premiership in Crocker’s first year for the Storm in 2006 before their new recruit sustained a knee injury in the preliminary final win against St George Illawarra and had to miss the Storm’s grand final defeat to Brisbane.

Having achieved this huge feat for his club sides and the Australian Kangaroo sides, State of Origin remains Crocker’s last Bastian.

Taking home a series win in rugby league’s most demanding face-off is the only achievement Crocker is yet to secure.

The Sydney-born hard man has won only 2 Origin matches in 7 games.

“Being a passionate Queenslander it’s definitely something I’d like to achieve,” said Crocker, a member of losing Queensland teams in 2003-05.

“Origin has been a bit disappointing for me in that I’ve never won a series.

“It’s definitely something I’d like to do before I finish playing.”

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