Gorden Tallis has lashed out at Wayne Bennett following the Dolphins coach declaring he would like to sign Titans star David Fifita to the new expansion side.
Tallis, who played under Bennett during the Broncos’ premiership-winning glory years in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, claimed the record-breaking coach “never told me once how to play back row”.
Fifita, a fellow second-rower, is contracted to the Gold Coast until the end of next year but that didn’t stop Bennett during the week declaring his interest in the highly paid Maroons star if he becomes available.
“If Wayne thinks that he can fix him, honestly, I played in the same position. He never told me once how to play back row so unless he’s learnt how to tell a back-rower how to play,” Tallis said on NRL 360.
“I am serious. Dave is still learning his craft.
“I don’t have what Dave’s got. He is one of those Ferraris, when it’s under pressure and they give him the ball and nothing seems to be on, his natural instincts take over.
“I think playing as a team and getting the combination with the seven and six, and the big one – the seven is new and the six has been changing so he hasn’t played with a guy for 20 weeks and trained 20 weeks and got that combination yet.”
Tallis said Bennett would use “the Wayne Bennett aura, come with me and I will protect you” as his sales pitch to Fifita.
He pointed out that Bennett would like it if he was in Justin Holbrook’s position at the Gold Coast and a rival coach was using the media to try to lure one of his contracted players away.
Storm prop Tui Kamikamica has issued an apology for the off-field incident which happened late last year which led to him being stood down by the NRL before being fined $10,000 and copping a nine-game suspension.
He will be free to play in Round 10 as long as he completes mandatory personal development and tailored rehabilitation programs with NRL Wellbeing & Education. Queensland Police charged him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which was dismissed in the Queensland Magistrate’s Court on April 27 but after the NRL sanctioned him after reviewing CCTV footage of the incident which showed Kamikamica in a physical altercation with a female member of the public.
“Late last year while out with my family and friends, I was involved in an altercation and acted in an unacceptable way. I would like to publicly apologise for my behaviour,” he wrote in a statement published on the Storm website.
“I am grateful the charges against me have been dismissed, but importantly, I want to reiterate that I am completely opposed to violence and in particular any form of violence towards women. During my time stood down from playing, I have reflected on my behaviour and undertaken independent counselling to ensure I am never in this position again.
“I will continue this personal development and education, as well as share my learnings when and where appropriate to ensure issues surrounding women’s safety, violence and respect are upheld within both the entire NRL and wider community.”
With the NRL looking likely to add an 18th team within the next few years after the Dolphins enter the premiership in 2023, Papua New Guinea has launched a bid to join the big league.
The only country on the planet where rugby league is listed as the official sport, PNG’s bid has the backing of Prime Minster James Marape.
Following the success of the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup over the past few seasons, they believe they can develop the infrastructure to compete with other bids likely to come from Perth, the Central Coast and New Zealand.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“We know there are other teams within Australia and New Zealand that have put their hand up,” PNG Rugby League chairman Sandis Tsaka told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It will be a competitive process. For us it’s about getting our work done, so we can put in a bid that can compete and be selected to be the 18th team in the NRL. We are confident we can do that.”
Papua New Guinea hosted matches during the 2017 World Cup and several NRL stars are from Australia’s northern neighbour or are eligible to represent the Kumuls, including Storm stars Justin Olam and Xavier Coates, Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston and Broncos veteran David Mead.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has revealed Te Maire Martin is on the verge of a multi-year contract extension after blitzing it in his return from a brain injury that looked to have cut short his NRL career.
The 26-year-old retired in 2020 when unable to recover from a bleed on the brain a year earlier while playing for North Queensland.
Lured to Brisbane where he expected to spend the season in the Queensland Cup, injuries and exits have fast-tracked Martin’s NRL return in the unfamiliar position of fullback.
But in just two games back he’s surprised even Walters with his confident defence and offensive flourish, helping Brisbane improve to 4-4 and into the top eight ahead of Thursday’s clash with South Sydney.
“It’s out of my lane, but we expect to re-sign him for a couple of years,” Walters let slip.
“He’s been really good for us, a good pick up. We didn’t know how quickly he could accelerate, but he’s playing good footy and since he’s been at the back there we look a different team in attack.
“He’s helping Adam in our spine be a little bit more creative; his pass selection is good, skills are great.”
Eager for some continuity, Walters will persevere with Tyson Gamble at five-eighth alongside halfback Reynolds and resist any temptation to shift Martin, who scored a try as a No.6 for the Cowboys in the 2017 grand final loss to Melbourne.
“Not at the moment, he’s doing such a good job back at fullback, we’ll keep him there for the minute,” Walters said, pointing out his selection of try-saving tackles in the last fortnight.
“And he’s surprised us a little bit there (in defence); his organisation is good, gets the numbers right and when he needs to make a tackle he’s in there.”
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