The Canberra Raiders are set to drop club legend Jarrod Croker for Round 1, with the centre set to feature in the reserve grade list when the first teams of 2022 are named tomorrow.
Croker played just 12 games last year but featured in trials as he returns from a knee injury.
“Jarrod is doing a lot more than he could do at training last year after the stem cell surgery,” coach Ricky Stuart told the Daily Telegraph.
“I am really happy that he is progressing well. At this stage we would just like to give him a bit more time.”
Dragons rep duo set to miss out on season opener
More team drama is coming out of Kogarah, where the Dragons are set to leave their NSW Blues rep forward Tariq Sims and England international George Burgess out of their squad for Round 1.
Sims did not feature in the trials as he nursed a calf complaint and was scheduled to return to full training ahead of their Saturday evening clash with the Warriors, though it is unclear if he featured today.
Sims’ contract is up at the end of 2022 and he has already been told that he is free to speak to other clubs.
Burgess played in the Charity Shield victory over South Sydney, but is not yet at full fitness and it is thought that he will benefit from a run in reserve grade before coming back to the NRL.
Clubs bosses say salary cap cheating rife with third-party deals
The NRL still has a massive problem with clubs cheating the salary cap, according to the club chief executives and chairmen.
A poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday of executives from the clubs has revealed concerning news for NRL powerbrokers with 70% of team officials saying they think there are sides making illegal payments to players outside the salary cap.
Salary cap rorts have been a constant bugbear for the NRL stretching back to 2002 when Canterbury had their competition points taken away for an elaborate system of paying players outside the system.
Melbourne’s cheating of the system was the most infamous, leading to the club playing for no points in 2011 after having their 2007 and 2009 premierships taken from them.
In more recent years, Parramatta and Cronulla have received heavy sanctions after being found to have been breaching the salary cap rules.
Fans hate the shady nature of third-party deals which are paid to players in murky agreements supposed to be “at arm’s length” from clubs because they believe it creates an unfair advantage to richer teams.
The 23 club CEOs and chairmen also rated the referees’ performance a solid 3.5 out of 5, while 70% voted in favour of the recent rule changes improving the sport and 96% said the 40-metre zone tweak to the six-again call would make matches better.
The club executives also denied the NRL had a drug culture problem with only 26% saying it was the case despite incidents in the off-season involving Brandon Smith, Cameron Munster and Reece Walsh.
Stem-cell surgery reinvigorates Tedesco
Roosters skipper James Tedesco underwent stem cell surgery on his left knee during the off-season, when doctors mixed fat and blood and injected it to strengthen his leg.
Now Tedesco feels like he’s running on two fit legs for the first time in years.
“I’ve been hurting after games and just getting through,” the Roosters and NSW State of Origin captain said. “The rehab we’ve been doing and the program I’ve had during this pre-season has been really good.
“I feel stronger than ever and the body feels really good as well. It’s a great start to the season.”
The Roosters open their 2022 campaign against Newcastle on Saturday at the SCG and new recruit Kevin Naiqama tipped Tedesco to wreak havoc this season.
“A fully fit James Tedesco is a dangerous one,” Naiqama said on Monday.
Blues back-rower Angus Crichton is also fully fit after off-season elbow surgery and five-eighth Luke Keary is likely to be lining up in round one after recovering from knee and ankle operations.
“We just need to get the team healthy and we’ll be right,” Tedesco said. “But it takes a bit more than that. We’ve showed that during pre-season. We’ve worked really hard. There have been no complaints, no excuses.
“A lot of our young guys from last year got that experience out there. They’re even more ready for first grade. We have a lot of healthy guys coming back, as well. It’s definitely a big positive for us going into the start of the year.”
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Yep keep telling yourself players play for certain teams for reasons other than money or it being their junior club. Good to see you found out how to turn caps lock off too Mr. Genius McSmugman
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I've got no problem with some fans sticking to an opinion that the new rules have stuffed up the game. I've always thought they were needed and I'll stick by that as well. It looks more like a vocal minority who think the game has gone backwards to me. It was always going to take time for some teams to adapt and that is a reasonable price to pay for progress. The new rules were always going to need adjusting as the coaches exploit them and that's never going to stop.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Yep. Club Execs can have an opinion and so can fans. Why is one more valid than the other? Personally i don't see how they can all say the rules changes have improved the game, then be in support of the rule change coming in to try and fix the rule change they think improved the game...
Malo
Guest
Crocker has been such a great player for so long
KenW
Roar Rookie
These daily news columns - as welcome as they are in principle - are giving worrying vibes for sensationalism. 'More team drama is coming out of Kogarah' = A minor calf complaint for Sims that might see him miss 1 game, and the unremarkable observation that George Burgess could start his comeback season in NSW Cup after a couple of years out recovering from major surgery.
Gags
Roar Rookie
At the risk of sounding negative, can we drop the inaccurate sensationalist headlines please? Leave that to the main stream media
Tony
Roar Guru
Well if you know so much about the rorting champ, please feel free to share
EastOfDivide
Guest
Just as I said Tony. The haves & the have nots in the NRL. ( & before it was the NRL )The haves just found new ways of overspending, since the salary cap came in. You denier’s just keep sticking your head in the sand now . That a boy …
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Well said Rossi. Regardless of other commentary, those who have done the maths note that about 8 mill of a 9.5 odd mill Salary Cap at the Roosters is spent on half their squad, leaving around an 1.5 mill to unbelievably spread around the other half. They wouldn't be the only ones of course, but given loyalty is thin these days it might be time to try and reintroduce a draft?
Succhi
Roar Rookie
It’s the 30% that think there is no salary cap cheating and that everything is above board that worries me. That’s 3 clubs that are either extremely naive or are perhaps guilty!
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
They're telling us something that most people already . Is this statement from the CEO whose face appears on the promo . Seems like the ones complaining are probably the ones missing out . And we also have an investigation into NSWRL and clubs thinking of leaving . The NRL need to be on the front foot here . If they do nothing about it after the polls they are looking very stupid .
The Barry
Roar Guru
PS - I never said the new rules ruined the game, but they certainly contributed to it being less enjoyable Great that the NRL has admitted there was a problem and tweaked the rule… credit where it’s due it’s a common sense change, hopefully it works
The Barry
Roar Guru
I’m happy to wait and see how the season pans out… If we get a top 6 that wins ~95% of their games against teams outside the top six and record numbers of 20, 30 and 40 point floggings like we did last year, I’ll probably stick to my guns despite what the CEO’S say… If this year’s new rule corrects it, I’ll be happy…
Tony
Roar Guru
Mate, I wouldn't have a clue to be honest.
mushi
Roar Guru
I think the others are all required to have an annual third party audit. (Broncos should be semi annual) That said it's fraud either way, can't see the typical audit uncovering a decent fraud. It's easy enough to monetise your support base without this though.
mushi
Roar Guru
Once saw a presentation where senior executives across a range of industries were asked does their organisation behave ethically ~90% yes; do people view them as trustworthy ~70% yes; how many of your competitors trust worthy ~20%..
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
70% of the club's bosses say the rule changes have improved the game and the new change will make it even better. Are the punters who have claimed the new rules have rooned the game sticking to their guns?
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Lol. Or play for love!
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
‘Arranged/organisation/persons…paid/donated…’
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Hi Tony. I’d like ‘which clubs do YOU think are rorting?’