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Panthers have a beer with Todd Carney

PENRITH Panthers coach Matthew Elliott was last night questioned by his general manager Mick Leary after Elliott met with sacked Canberra star Todd Carney at the team hotel on Saturday night prior to the Panthers clash with the Raiders.

Carney, axed from the Raiders during the week after his recent public drinking spats, was having a beer with two of Penrith’s coaching staff when Elliott joined them shortly before midnight.

Canberra chief executive Don Furner was concerned about Elliott possibly encouraging Carney to drink, although Elliott stated it was an innocent meeting - where the now Panthers coach did not have a drink himself.

As tensions between the two NRL clubs start to grow yet again, Leary phoned Elliott on his way home from Canberra to confirm what took place.

“I’m not happy about it,” he said.

Furner was seriously concerned, asking how an NRL coach could be involved in a ‘drinking meeting’ with a player sacked for alcohol-related issues.

“The last thing Todd Carney needs right now is to be having a beer with somebody.” Furner said.

“I can’t believe that he would do something like that.”

Elliott, strongly denied calling for the get together, saying he was an innocent party.

Elliott apparently got a phone call while in his hotel room after he had returned from dinner with his children,  the caller saying that Carney was downstairs.

“I walked downstairs to say g’day to them,” Elliott said. “I was in tracksuit pants and a pair of slippers. That’s the truth of it.”

Elliott said he had no idea why Carney was at the hotel, which is next to the Canberra Casino.

“I don’t know whether they were going to the casino, which was right next door,” Elliott said.

“But they were having a beer, I wasn’t. It’s not really my go the night before a game.”

It emerged later that Carney was invited to the hotel by Penrith assistant coach Wayne Collins.

Elliott said he didn’t know Carney, who was with teammate Bronx Goodwin and another player not playing, would be downstairs.

“It wasn’t a pre-arranged meeting at all, I swear on my kids’ lives,” he said.

Penrith tried to sign Carney earlier this year before he re-signed with Canberra and, when it emerged he was going to be sacked by the Raiders, the Panthers again loomed as the club he would most likely turn to.

That has since been derailed with the NRL’s decision to deregister Carney next season, although Elliott claimed he was still concerned for Carney.

SBW home in Sydney to be seized

While Sonny Bill Williams might feel safe in the confines of his French surroundings, his contempt of court in NSW is set to cost him his Carringbah 1.2m home and various other local assets he still has in place.

The NSW courts might not have the power of jurisdiction over his French soil, but it seems SBW’s decision to not send a representative to court could cost him in terms of assets and on-going fines locally.

It’s not not a question of forcing Sonny Bill Williams to play Rugby League or rejoining the Bulldogs; it’s a case of a contracted person breaking his agreement without communication to his employer, exiting the country and refusing to adhere to a court attendance request.

In another interesting twist, the Bulldogs are continuing to pay wages to Sonny Bill Williams in the hope of forcing the star player to see out the remaining four years of his contract despite fleeing to France.

During the NSW Supreme Court hearing, which placed an injunction on Williams banning him from playing with Toulon, it was revealed the July instalment for his $400,000 a-year contract was banked on August 1.

Williams left Australia on July 26, two days before the Bulldogs’ match against St George Illawarra.
Lawyers for the Bulldogs told Justice Robert Austin they would not only continue to pay Williams, but if he came back to Sydney he would be picked to play for the club.

Outside the court, Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said he did not think that would be a problem even though Williams went on Channel Nine’s The Footy Show on Thursday night criticising coach Steve Folkes and saying he had been unhappy at the Bulldogs “for a while”.

“What we’ll do is continue to uphold our end of the bargain, until such time as Sonny comes and talks to us and tells us otherwise,” Greenberg said.

Williams said he wanted to play under former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, the coach at Toulon, and to become an All Black himself one day.

Greenberg did not rule out letting Williams go to fulfil that dream but said he had obligations to the Bulldogs first.

“What we would do is have the conversation,” Greenberg said.

“One of the things we’ve always been open to is to discuss all his concerns with us - put everything on the table.

“When we’ve had that opportunity to talk to both him and his manager previously, that (playing for All Blacks) hasn’t been said.

“We thought we were making progress on issues Sonny Bill had raised. If he’s got other issues, then raise them with us and we’ll deal with them accordingly.”

NSW Supreme Court officers will now try to serve the injunction papers on behalf of the Bulldogs and the NRL, preventing Williams from playing for any other club or code.

The 23-year-old played for Toulon overnight. If the papers were not served on Williams before kick-off, he would be free to play.

But with the papers served, and Williams playing he is in contempt of court and can have his $1.3million Sydney home seized.

NRL lawyer Tony O’Reilly said neither the league nor the club would speculate on whether Williams would comply with the injunction. But he drove home the message behind the court ruling.

“We expect him to comply with the order of the court,” O’Reilly said.

“Orders of the court aren’t like referees telling players to stay on side. Court orders are serious matters and people who are responsible comply with them.”

Despite winning the initial 12-day legal battle against Williams, Greenberg said it was no time for rejoicing.

“Firstly let me say that despite various messages from our legal experts, this is certainly not a particularly joyful occasion for the Bulldogs,” he said.

“In fact it’s relatively sad that we’re in a position of being in court when what we should be doing is filling stadiums and running our football club.

“It is, however, a victory for the sanctity of a contract; it’s a victory for a commitment that one person makes to another.

“I think it’s as simple as that.”

NRL chief executive David Gallop welcomed the decision in upholding the strength of player contracts.

“There have been numerous attempts to distract the game from the fundamental issue, which is that a contract is a binding commitment on the part of both the player and the club,” Gallop said.

“It protects both parties and places responsibilities on both parties.”

Williams had no legal representation in court.

“He had an opportunity today to put his side on what was going to be an important application for him. I can’t speculate as to why he didn’t turn up today,” O’Reilly said.

It is understood the French courts have no role to play in the Williams legal saga.

If he defies the NSW Supreme Court, it could order him to appear to explain himself or begin fining him for every day he remains in contempt.

That money would go to the NSW government and not to the Bulldogs or the NRL.

Manly give Storm a scare a Brooky

Melbourne might just have given Manly a major psychological blow ahead of the NRL Top 8 finals, grinding out an incredibly gutsy 16-10 win over a gallant Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval. It was an intense match, a high quality and full of feeling - as Manly turned the blow torch on to Melbourne in much the same way the St George Illawarra Dragons did only a few short weeks ago.

Manly more than matched the defending premiers for much of the torrid clash, but two pieces of individual brilliance tipped the balance of power Melbourne’s way.

The Sea Eagles were unable to shut down a Cooper Cronk inside ball to Billy Slater, and the Origin star did the rest, producing a stunning one-arm offload to a flying Matt Geyer to open the scoring in the eighth minute.

Slater looked to have gone from hero to villain in an instant shortly after when he butchered an Orford bomb and Brett Stewart was on the spot to dive over, but the video ref saw it differently, penalising Stewart for pushing Anthony Quinn in the lead up.

The home side finally got on the board courtesy of a charging Glenn Hall in the 16th minute, with Steve Matai’s conversion locking it up at six all.

But with the game locked a 6-all with less than sixty seconds left in a hotly contested first half, the Storm’s premiership quality came to the fore.

Cooper Cronk again utilised his almost-telepathic connection with Slater, putting a chip over the top on his own 40 that was picked up masterfully by the Storm custodian, before linking with Israel Folau who streaked away to burn the home side.

Smith’s sideline conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the Storm 10-6 in front at the break, a gutting end to an impressive half from the Sea Eagles.

Manly again found themselves on the wrong side of a contentious decision early in 48th minute, and again it cost the home side points.

Brett Stewart was ruled to have knocked on when contesting the ball with Adam Blair, and the Sea Eagles were unable to diffuse the Melbourne repeat set, as a determined Cronk forced his way over for Melbourne’s third try.

Smith’s conversion was on target to make it 16-6, leaving the Sea Eagles an enormous mountain to climb in the final half hour.

But the Sea Eagles replied almost immediately, catching out a compressed Storm defence on the right edge to go over through David Williams to cut the deficit to 16-10.

Every man and his dog predicted fireworks in this clash of premiership heavyweights - and boy, were they right.

Brent Kite took offence to some extra attention in a tackle from Michael Crocker, and it was on, as both sides came to blows.

Tensions again boiled over mid-way through the second half when Steven Bell took exception to an Anthony Quinn tackle on Williams, but the Sea Eagles couldn’t land a killer blow in the closing stages as basic skill errors continued to let them down.

The Storm seemed to be doing everything to hand the Sea Eagles victory with a number of uncharacteristic handling errors, but Manly couldn’t crack it for a try in a desperate final few minutes, as the Storm held on for a gutsy win.

MELBOURNE 16 (C Cronk I Folau M Geyer tries C Smith 2 goals)

bt

MANLY 10 (G Hall D Williams tries S Matai goal)

Crowd: 18,442.

Sonny Bill Williams injuntion granted

THE New South Wales supreme court has today granted the NRL and the Bulldogs an injunction to stop Sonny Bill Williams from playing for French rugby club Toulon tonight.

Sonny Bill Williams did not even send a representative the court and if he takes the field tonight if expected; it’s widely believed SBW will not be able to return to Australia - as he would most likely be arrested for contempt of court upon arrival.

The court was satisfied Williams and Toulon received the legal papers requesting him to appear in court, after receiving confirmation that they were served to the player after they were thrown over a fence at the Toulon training ground and then handed to Williams.

NRL chief executive David Gallop welcomed the news and said the findings of Justice Austin highlighted the importance of a contract.

“There have been numerous attempts to distract the game from the fundamental issue, which is that a contract is a binding commitment on the part of both the player and the club,” Gallop said.

“It protects both parties and places responsibilities on both parties. The issuing of a NSW Supreme Court order in respect of those responsibilities should provide a stark reminder to Sonny Bill of the importance of him observing the terms of his contract.

“It is a very serious matter for such an order to be granted and anyone who breaks an order of the NSW Supreme Court would face contempt proceedings from that court.”

The NRL and the Bulldogs could face months of legal wrangling in France in their attempt to stop Williams playing rugby union there.

International sports law experts say while the French are likely to take the Australian-issued injunction seriously; they will have to be convinced that they should enforce the order on their home soil.

Williams also faces the prospect of being sued if he ignores the injunction and plays with his new Top 14 rugby club Toulon in the south of France in line with the one-year contract he recently signed.

One London-based international sports lawyer, who asked not to be named, said it was possible to have the injunction enforced based on a series of complex global treaties.

However it is unlikely to be a speedy process, with the French courts possibly even wanting to retry the case before making a decision.

“The rules relating to that are really complicated and require a court in France to enforce a judgment in Sydney will have to go through loads of hoops to make sure that works,” the lawyer told AAP.

“The Australians will find it quite difficult to get an injunction and stop him playing in France this weekend.

“It’s complicated and will be quite difficult to do.”

The Australian-based legal firm Gadens Lawyers also believes there is a chance the French courts could reject the injunction.

“The French courts may take the view that enforcing the injunction would be against French public policy as it prevents a person from carrying on their trade,” the firm said in an overview of the case published on its website.

Before the NSW Supreme Court ruling, Williams’ new club was playing down the effect any injunction would have on their new star recruit.

“His contract is not contestable,” Nicolas Pironneau, the club’s talent scout who helped lure Williams to the south of France, told local newspaper Var-Matin.

“He is as free to play rugby and at RCT (Rugby Club Toulon) as he is to come from football or pole vaulting.”

But Williams does face the prospect of being sued if he ignores the injunction and returns to Australia at any time in the future.

“My instinct is if he flouts the injunction and sets foot in Australia he will probably be a wanted man and sought for contempt of court for ignoring the judgment,” another sports lawyer said.

The difference in Sonny Bill Williams

As former NRL and Bulldogs star Sonny Bill Williams broke his silence on the Channel 9 Footy Show tonight; it was a very different man that everyone saw and heard on the broadcast.

Only 6 short months ago, Sonny Bill Williams was a humble, polite and happy sportsman. His natural boy next door personality won him fans not only from his own club, but throughout the Rugby League world. He was also an icon for the Polynesian community, a culture that is growing quickly in Rugby League - the Polynesian people are both talented, skillful and of a good nature and surely must feel disappointment and loss in what they are seeing from Sonny Bill Williams formerly a prominent icon of theirs.

If you actually closed your eyes and just listened to the audio from the Sonny Bill Williams interview tonight, you could be forgiven for mistaking him for Anthony Mundine. Gone was the humble nature and quietly spoken boy next door, what we heard was an angry young man who seems heavily influenced by his inner circle.

Sonny Bill made a point of trying to convince everyone that he is ‘his own person’ and is not ‘brainwashed’ by the likes of Anthony Mundine or Khoder Nasser. SBW claims he approached Khoder about becoming his manager and considers Anthony Mundine one of his closest personal friends.

It sounds like Sonny Bill Williams was ripe for the picking by Nasser and Mundine; it came to light during the Channel 9 interview that even after 5 years at the Bulldogs club - Sonny said he had ‘few’ if any close friends or mates at the club. When pressed about statements made by Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan saying ‘SBW was not a mate’ and ‘not welcome back at the club’ - Sonny tried to avoid the question and hinted he trusted few if any personalities among team mates and officials at the club.

As Sonny Bill turned some of the blame on Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes, his frustration and aggressive tone continued. SBW said that Steve Folkes ‘Never took an interest in his personal life’ before Anthony Mundine came on to the scene. SBW also said he was angered after Steve Folkes allegedly mocked the muslim religion; a surprising statement considering that Steve Folkes and Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri have been working together for years.

Sonny Bill Williams also went so far to say that the Steve Folkes incident was the straw that broke the camels back; and forced him to walk away from the Bulldogs club. This was probably the most laughable statement to come out of the interview; if Steve Folkes was such a problem for Sonny Bill Williams - he only had to wait around 6 more weeks until the season finished and he was set to be under the instruction of incoming Bulldogs coach for 2009 Kevin Moore.

So there is no doubting, that Sonny Bill has wrongly pointed the finger at Steve Folkes. It simply doesn’t add up.

Sonny also said that money wasn’t the big motivating factor in his move to French Rugby Union.

Now this is another interesting one from SBW; if money wasn’t the issue - why then does Sonny keeping reflecting on the fact he missed out on millions by turning down offers to join the Super League 12 months ago and still harbors frustration that the Bulldogs wouldn’t top up his contract after other stars walked away recently such as Willie Mason and Mark O’Meley.

Williams also put his foot in it again; expressing his anger that Rugby League players are hard done by in terms of earnings and compared Anthony Mundines $600,000 in 1997 to reduced wages of today amounting to around $400,000 for leading players.

So Sonny, for a man not motivated by money - why are you so concerned with the salary cap and hell bent on having your contract topped up by the Bulldogs less than 1 year into your massive 5 year deal?

You see the thing is; there was probably a good majority of people actually feeling sorry for Sonny Bill Williams. The previously shy and humble boy, was now talking tough and telling the world how he was the marquee player for the Bulldogs and the reason kids wanted autographs, posters on their walls and Bulldogs jerseys.

Yes Sonny, you’re probably right. You were big time and kids really looked up to you; you were an icon for the Bulldogs and the NRL. Your previous humble natured added to the respect you used to have; but now you only seem interested in telling everyone how good you are and how tough things were for you; because you could only earn $400,000 a year.

SBW also made comparisons to ‘bus drivers’ saying a driver offered more money by a rival company would surely take up the opportunity. And yes, Sonny you’re probably right - the driver might choose to take the promotion. But, I bet the driver would turn up to the depot - tell his mates the full story and shake hands with the boss. I doubt very much whether he would cut-off contact with his mates and never show his face again. I highly doubt it.

Sonny ended the interview with a message to his young fans; as SBW tried to justify what he had done - he said “He hoped that young fans would eventually over the years understand why he did it.”

Well Sonny, I highly doubt that will ever happen. Forget the excuses, the reasons or the finger pointing. You went about it the wrong way. Had you brought your intentions to the attention of the Bulldogs and the NRL, you could have walked away with your head up high. Yes, some people would have been disappointed - but you could have legally sought a solution and exited with some respect still in-tact;

Instead you’ve exited in the dark of night, now facing lengthy legal battles. Losing all your respect and what little friends you seemingly had in your so-called close knit group.

You seem sure that Anthony Mundine and Khoder Nasser are your closest friends; but ask yourself this question Sonny - how friendly would they be if you got a career ending injury next week and were unable to secure a contract ever again?

Good Luck SBW; by the looks of it - you’re going to need a lot of it.

Adam Sutcliffe - NRL News

Injuries even up Tigers Dragons clash

The Wests Tigers were licking their lips with anticipation as the Dragons players were dropping like flies; this weekends match up between the clubs looked like being a one sided affair to the Tigers after the Saints succumbed to injury with several stars ruled out with niggling problems.

However as both teams fight to secure Top 8 positions, it seems the tables are turning - with the Wests Tigers now with several key big men in doubt for the clash.

The Dragons were already without Justin Poore (knee) and Jason Ryles (thigh) but today the Wests Tigers look set to rule out front rower Bryce Gibbs with a hamstring injury. And team mates Todd Payten (hamstring) and in-form prop Keith Galloway also remain in doubt.

“We’ve got two or three guys that have got issues, it’s been a short week and it’s not easy to get everyone ready,” Tigers coach Tim Sheens said.

“We’re going to be struggling with Gibbs and Payten and there’s still a question mark on (Robbie) Farah as well.

“We’re going to have few last minute decisions on a few players ourselves.”

Farah declared himself a certain starter despite today’s training session being his first run of the week, the hooker-turned-halfback rolling his ankle in last week’s big win over the Bulldogs.

“It’s feeling good … it’s pretty much been in an ice bucket all week and it’s feeling a lot better,” Farah said.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be sweet.”

Dragons coach Nathan Brown has named former Tiger Jarrod Saffy and young gun Dan Hunt in his engine room, and said it was up to those two and rookie Matt Prior to step up in the absence of first-choice stars Poore and Ryles.

“Basically Saffy’s been playing a bit of front row and a bit of back row and obviously Matt Prior’s played a few games in the back row and front row lately,” Brown said.

“We know that they can do a job, it’s just that now there’s a little bit more responsibility in playing a little bit more tired … They’re obviously replacing some pretty handy players.”

With three losses in their last four games, the Dragons suddenly find themselves fighting for their finals lives. A heavy loss tomorrow night and wins for Penrith and Newcastle could see the red and whites slip out of the top eight.

The Tigers are one of five teams two competition points behind the Dragons, those sides all needing at least three wins from their last five matches to book a finals berth.

Broncos sack Sam Thaiday

In-form Brisbane Broncos forward Sam Thaiday has been sacked for this weekends clash with the New Zealand Warriors after failing to turn up on time for training.

The blockbusting Queensland Origin and Australian rep has not made the flight to NZ with the Broncos team, Brisbane management immediately axing the star after he was a late starter at a training session this week.

The Broncos have implemented a tough stance on players failing to attend training and team events on time; with any breaches resulting in an immediate stand-down by coach Bennett and the club.

The loss of Thaiday makes things harder for the Broncos, who have already lost suspended star centre Justin Hodges for two weeks for contrary conduct after he was found guilty of making a rude gesture to referee Tony Archer.

Brisbane could also be without tackling machine David Stagg who remained in Brisbane, with his wife expecting to give birth on Friday.

Stagg could make a rushed trip across the Tasman if the baby arrives on time but there’s a possibility he will miss the clash.

Brisbane will decide their final line-up on Saturday morning with Joel Moon coming into the centres for the suspended Hodges.

Raiders sack Todd Carney

Canberra Raiders half Todd Carney has today officially been cut loose by the Raiders club.

Club CEO Don Furner has confirmed this morning that Todd Carney has been sacked after the Raiders board deliberated over his future after a series off off-field scandals and incidents.

A seriously talented upcoming NRL star, the decision must have been a hard one for the Canberra Raiders. Todd Carney has been protected by the Raiders several times and it seems his off-field behaviour is beyond control or repair.

The Raiders have previously thrown Todd Carney a lifeline, last year pushing Steve Irwin into the firing line to take the fall for Carney and most recently throwing Bronx Goodwin to the wolves and protecting Todd Carney once again.

However after repeated offences off the field, it seems the Raiders have had enough.

The NRL has told the Raiders they will support the club and not allow Todd Carney to be registered with another club for the 2009 season.

It’s expected Carney will seek out a spot in the UK Super League for 2009 and possibly return to the NRL the year after.

Eels, Roosters launch Jack Gibson cup

Parramatta coach Michael Hagan is expecting the prospect of playing for the inaugural Jack Gibson Cup to help inspire his struggling NRL team for their do-or-die clash with the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.

The Eels’ fast-fading finals hopes will go on the line at the Sydney Football Stadium against the high-flying Roosters, with the match now carrying the extra incentive of a trophy launched today in honour of supercoach Jack Gibson.

Parramatta were poor in their 32-12 loss to Newcastle on Monday, and will most likely need to win at least four of their final five games to stand any chance of making the top eight.

“I think it’s a great initiative,” Hagan said of the Jack Gibson Cup.

“We know this is a big game for our club anyway.

“It’s become more important after our performance last week which wasn’t our best performance by any means … but to be able to play for the Jack Gibson Cup puts special significance on the game and I’m sure that will have an affect on our players and the Roosters players as well.”

Gibson, who passed away earlier this year after being named coach of rugby league’s team of the century, guided both the Roosters and Eels to premierships.

Gibson delivered the Roosters back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975 before masterminding Parramatta’s triumphs in 1981, 82 and 83.

The winner of the trophy will be decided on the combined points tally in regular-season meetings between the clubs each year, with the Roosters already holding a 20-point edge for the inaugural cup after winning 32-12 in round 10.

Souths get Rhys Wesser for 2 years

PENRITH veteran fullback Rhys Wesser has managed to negotiate an early contract exit from the Panthers to link with South Sydney for 2 years. The 29-year-old flyer is believed to have agreed to terms with the Rabbitohs today - although club officials were not releasing further details at this stage.

“We have been talking to Rhys, yes,” said Souths’ Shane Richardson.

“If we could get someone on board like Rhys, a member of Penrith’s Dream Team and holder of all those tryscoring records, it would certainly assist what we are trying to do at the club.

“Hopefully there’ll be some news soon.”

Penrith boss Mick Leary said: “We have been chattin to Rhys and his manager and all our talks have been good. I have heard rumours he has decided to leave but I haven’t heard anything for certain.”

Wesser’s contract for 2009 is believed to be ’sub-letted’ to Souths, who are paying him around $200,000 a season. Richardson and Rabbitohs coaching consultant John Lang were Wesser’s mentors when the Panthers took the NRL title in 2003.

The Panthers veteran Wesser joined the club in 1998, making his debut that year against Balmain. To date he has scored 112 tries, including 25 in 2003.

Over the past two seasons Wesser has faced selection challenges from Jarrod Sammut and Lachlan Coote, holding off both to retain his fullback jumper.

He recently said he did not want to leave Penrith and had been kept out of the loop in negotiations to do so.

Leary said the club had room to move under the salary cap regardless of whether Wesser left. The signing is expected to be confirmed by a South Sydney media release this morning.

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