NRL NEWS: Gus hits back over coach claims, Wally says GF should move, ballboy 'slow', Locky rejects Kevvy talk

Trent Barrett has defended Phil Gould’s decision to jump in on Tuesday’s training and video sessions and the general manager has shot down any talk of him interfering as the struggling Bulldogs try to kick-start their season.

Gould, who won premierships at Canterbury and Penrith before enjoying success at State of Origin level with NSW, took charge of a video session and then had a hands-on role when the team went onto the field.

Barrett’s team won in Round 1 but has since slumped to six straight losses to be in last place heading into Saturday’s tangle with the Roosters.

Gould told Wide World of Sports the kerfuffle over his involvement was a storm in a teacup.

“Trent asked me to present some data to the players before the Broncos game last week. We got a good reaction. He wanted to give it another go this week, which we did. It was an honest appraisal,” he said.

“I was then talking to Trent in the middle of the field while players were doing some skill drills. They were a bit sluggish to start the week and I said to Trent they needed a liven up.

“He threw me his whistle. I was wearing jeans. It was a bit of fun and something different for the players. Not sure that my 1980s approach will change the world, but it was fun.

“I would do anything Trent asked me to do. [The story was a] huge over-reaction, but that’s typical.”

The coach told Fox Sports that he was happy for Gould to have a say in the team’s preparations.

“I wanted Gus to have a voice in a certain part of the field and give the team a bit of a rocket around our discipline and our line speed,” Barrett said.

“We thought it was a good idea. We had a chat last week about some statistics that we keep and then Gus came in and presented to the team.

“It’s not the first time Gus has spoken to the players.”

Barrett is in the second year of a three-season deal at Canterbury after abandoning his stint at Manly due to a dispute with the club over resourcing.

Wally says GF should go to highest bidder

The ARL Commission is putting the heat on the NSW Government to commit to upgrading suburban stadiums by threatening to take the grand final to Brisbane.

After the original deal with the NSW Government for Sydney to host grand finals until 2042 was voided when an agreement to turn Accor Stadium into a permanent rectangular venue was not met, Queensland has entered the race to lure the premiership decider north of the border.

According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the Queensland Government is prepared to offer $10 million per year over the next decade to host the showpiece event.

ARL chairman Peter V’landys is set to meet Dominic Perrotet on Friday to discuss the stadium stoush and the NSW Premier has told The Daily Telegraph that the grand final would not be going anywhere. 

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium hosted last year’s decider between Penrith and South Sydney due to COVID-19 restrictions in NSW but Accor Stadium is scheduled to host the 2022 grand final on October 2.

“No one wants the grand final in Queensland, including Peter,” Perrottet said. “As Peter knows all too well, we have invested record amounts in stadiums and sporting infrastructure.

“He also knows that having the grand final in Queensland is a bad outcome for the NRL, for every club and most importantly the fans. So he’s not taking it anywhere.”

The ARL Commission has successfully lobbied for a new venues at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium and the Sydney Football Stadium and for Penrith’s BlueBet Stadium to get rebuilt. V’landys also wants major upgrades for Manly’s 4 Pines Park and Cronulla’s PointsBet Stadium to give the sport modern venues at all points of the compass in Sydney.

Queensland royalty, Immortal Wally Lewis, wants to see Brisbane stage more grand finals or for the grand final to be sold to the highest bidder to host the match, anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.

“Everybody north of the border thinks it’s an outstanding idea,” he told Channel 9 on Wednesday morning. “There is a little bit of excitement in Queensland about the grand final returning to Brisbane.

“If the NRL are chasing the biggest bidder well certainly it could possibly go to Victoria. The MCG hosting 100,000 fans, it’s going to be very difficult to knock them back.”

Lewis said it’s no longer the NSWRL but the National Rugby League so “if they’re able to please rugby league fans all around the country, it’d be fantastic”.

“It is extremely important for the NRL to share it around the country,” he said.

World’s fastest ballboy says he’s got Hughes covered

Robbie Cliff, the Storm ballboy who became an internet sensation on Monday night, reckons he’s got Jahrome Hughes covered but his dad says he’s not that fast.

Vision of Robbie keeping pace with Hughes and Ryan Papenhuyzen when Melbourne scored the opening ry of their 70-10 rout of the Warriors at AAMI Park went viral as the youngster hot-footed it down the sideline.

Robbie, a 16-year-old junior player who hopes to one day make the NRL, told the SMH that ““I actually think I was just as fast as Jahrome. I think I’m quick.

“All my mates have been calling me the “world’s fastest men”, and there’s been all the stuff on TikTok and Instagram. It’s a bit surreal. I let him [Hughes] catch up to me, but I got him in the end.”

Although his old man, Jason, kept the teenager’s fast feet on the ground by saying he’s actually slower than he looked.

“When it comes to speed I’d say he’s average. He had a 10m head start, and the camera angle was kind to him,” he said.

As anyone who listens to The Grade Cricketer will tell you, it can be tough to get praise from a father.

Kevin Walters has a big job on his hands to rebuild the Broncos. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Lockyer says Broncos board ‘100% behind’ Walters 

Broncos director Darren Lockyer denied there was any concern at board level over coach Kevin Walters’ performance.

Brisbane exercised the option on Walters’ contract for 2023 before the start of this season but the team has only managed a 3-4 record with two of those wins coming against last-placed Canterbury.

“The board’s behind Kevvie,” Lockyer said on the QLDer program on Wide World of Sports. 

“He came in last year and the morale was down, it’s just where the club was at. With respect to [Anthony] Seibold, he tried his hardest. In the end, it just didn’t work but because where the club was at with the wooden spoon, the morale was down so he’s done a really good job of bringing that morale back into the playing group.

“He’s added a couple of players to his roster. [Adam] Reynolds and [Kurt] Capewell have been really good signings for the club.

“There is a lot to look forward to the next year or two and Kevvie’s been a big part of that. It’s news to me and all I can say is the board is 100% behind Kevvie and what he’s doing.”

Sims open to mid-year Storm switch

Tariq Sims has indicated he is open to a mid-season NRL switch to Melbourne after coming to terms with St George Illawarra’s decision not to re-sign him.

Sims admitted on Wednesday he had always envisaged ending his career with the Dragons, only to be left upset when told last year he would not be retained. The NSW State of Origin second-rower secured his future by last week by agreeing to join the Storm on a one-year deal for 2023.

While the Dragons were adamant last week there were no talks of a mid-season switch, Sims claimed the clubs were now speaking about the possibility.

The 32-year-old said he did not know if he wanted the move to eventuate, but indicated he was open to it when pressed further by reporters.

“Yeah, that’s rugby league. It’s the business,” Sims said.  “It’s one of those things where you have to take it week by week and that’s how I’m doing it. 

“I’m pretty focused on just playing good, consistent, hard football. The clubs are talking at the moment, but you’d have to ask them (if it will happen).”

Sims’ current deal with the Dragons is believed to be worth around $600,000, of which half has already been paid with the NRL financial year beginning in November.

Melbourne would need to contribute at least some of the remainder, but only if a deal can be reached between the two NRL clubs.

Any release before the August 1 deadline would theoretically free up some cap space for the Dragons, but the chances of a release coming soon look bleak with fellow forward Jaydn Su’A now ruled out with a syndesmosis injury.

“My love towards the club hasn’t changed, and I don’t think it ever will,” Sims said. “I still love the people in the front office, the fans,” Sims said. “They’re all a very big part of my life in the last six to seven years. They have been nothing but awesome to me and my family. 

“I’ve never taken it for granted to pull on a Red V jumper. It’s a very proud jumper and every time I go out before I always smell it and think about the past players, my family and my teammates.”

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