- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Manly will allow Josh Schuster indefinite personal leave as he looks to move on from the club, likely ending his time on the Northern Beaches, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph.
The 22-year-old had already been told he could leave the Sea Eagles as soon as he found a new club, and will now no longer be required to attend training or play, with no return date set. He is being provided with support by Manly.
The player had been listed in the squad for Blacktown Workers, the club’s NSW Cup affiliate, but now will not feature this weekend.
The news comes after comments from Tigers boss Benji Marshall, who backed Schuster to return to his best.
The Tigers had been on the list of potential suitors before the Samoa international extended on a three-year, $800,000 contract at Manly, but are now not in the market for either a five eighth or a backrower.
“Let me just say this: He’s a really talented and a really good kid,” said Marshall to AAP.
“He’s probably got a few issues he’s dealing with at the moment. But if he got it right, there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a good player in the NRL. No reason.
“I think there’s this perception out there that he’s done. But if he got fitter and had a point to prove with a chip on his shoulder, in the right system he could be enormous.”
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has thrown his hat in the ring to take charge of South Sydney on a short-term basis as the axe hovers over the embattled Jason Demetriou.
There is speculation the Rabbitohs’ Saturday evening clash with Cronulla could be Demetriou’s last at the helm, although chief executive Blake Solly and chairman Nick Pappas insist they have not begun planning for a new NRL coach.
Demetriou’s side have got off to a 1-4 start and will be without star fullback Latrell Mitchell (suspended) and hooker Damien Cook (dropped) against the Sharks.
The coach was in October handed a three-year extension despite missing last season’s finals.
Souths are adamant they have not made any overtures to Meninga, and the current Kangaroos Test coach said on SEN radio on Thursday he had received no official approach from the club.
But Meninga, who hasn’t coached at club level since a stint with Canberra more than 20 years ago, said he would be open to the move, should Souths give Demetriou the boot.
“I know there’s interest,” Meninga told SEN1170.
“But the first thing I have to say is there has been no official (approach).
“I feel a bit sorry for what’s happening at the club, we want to see a South Sydney Rabbitohs team firing.
“I feel a bit sorry for the coach, there’s a lot of media speculation … (but) I love the idea of being an interim coach.
“I’ve got some big commitments in my life, there’s a lot of consideration that needs to take place.
“I’m happy living in Canberra so, in the short term, it’s certainly something that interests me and I’m flattered my name has been mentioned at all.”
Meninga said he has a good relationship with Souths’ key players – including Cook, Mitchell, Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray, who he has coached with the Kangaroos – and said he would have no issue pulling them into line.
“You’ve got to have a strong rapport, an honest rapport, with them,” Meninga said.
“You need to have these honest conversations and I know they’re having them at the moment.
“But, from the outside looking in, they’re not responding the way they wanted to.”
Meninga was keen to underline he would happily help shape the club for another coach to pick up the baton at the end of 2024.
Former Rabbitohs’ coaches Wayne Bennett and Michael Maguire have both been linked with returning to the club in 2025.
“If one of those guys gets the gig next year then I’m happy to work with them – if I’m there, of course,” Meninga said.
Demetriou is adamant he can not only save his job by turning their season around but see out the remainder of his contract amid speculation he could be axed after Saturday’s crucial clash with Cronulla.
There has been talk that Rabbitohs assistant coach Ben Hornby could also step up to the role on an interim basis, while Wayne Bennett remains unsigned beyond this season.
A bye either side of games with Cronulla and Melbourne would give the Rabbitohs time to settle on alternatives should they opt to part ways with Demetriou, who has made one of the boldest calls of his tenure by dropping Cook.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
“It’s not something I’m thinking about to be honest,” he said in a NewsCorp interview when asked about the rumours about this tenure coming to an end.
“I can’t control what people are saying and speculating. The critics were saying this at the end of last year and they were saying it all off-season, so it won’t make any difference to the narrative whether I think about it or not.
“The only thing that makes a difference is making sure the players feel the energy from me and they respond this week, which I believe they will. I’m handling it OK, I really am.
“It’s not ideal the situation we’re in but it’s not my first rodeo in this environment and it’s business as usual for me.”
Meninga would be unlikely to take over full time but fill in as caretaker for the rest of the season if Souths think Hornby is not ready for that role with Bennett to take over next year, returning to the club after his Dolphins duties are done when he hands over to Kristian Woolf.
Solly insists the Rabbitohs haven’t begun planning for life after Demetriou and club director Nick Hatzistergos was also adamant on Wednesday night that the board had not asked for a short list, and said on social media none had been provided.
“Without a doubt I believe I can get us out of this,” Demetriou said. “It wasn’t long ago I was given a three-year extension.
“I need trust in the players to do the job and I have full trust in the group.”
Trent Robinson has played down concerns over James Tedesco’s latest concussion, confident the Sydney Roosters captain is well on the path to recovery.
Tedesco will miss Thursday night’s clash against the Knights after being knocked out trying to tackle a rampaging Viliame Kikau in last week’s game against the Bulldogs.
Externally, the head knock raised concerns over the fullback’s future, with the concussion believed to be the 10th of his career.
Tedesco himself has been largely unfazed by the situation, stating publicly last Saturday that he had pulled up fine from the knock.
Robinson has also taken confidence.
The Roosters are among the most cautious clubs in the NRL when it comes to concussions, having regularly given players extended breaks to recover.
They also sent medical staff to Pittsburgh last year for further studies on head knocks, including diagnosing different types in line with symptoms.
And with that in mind, Robinson is confident the latest incident is not a major concern for his fullback.
“We feel like we’re in a really good spot compared to where a lot of judgment has been in the last few years,” he said.
“We’re more advanced to look after our players.
“And within that, Ted’s been in a really good space.
“The day after the game he was really clear on conversations he had with the referee … and different discussions before he went off.
“So that memory was quite clear. It is definitely symptoms-based, and he’s on the right track there.”
Robinson said the Pittsburgh trip had prompted his medical staff to look differently at concussions.
“We’ve probably learned more in the last year around concussions than any other time,” he said.
“A lot of people see concussion as one thing. We’ve done a lot of research.
“If you hurt your leg, people will start saying ‘Well, what did you hurt? Did you hurt your knee? Did you hurt your hammy?’
“When people ask about did you get concussion, there’s no more questions, where it’s a little bit deeper than that.
“There’s different types of concussions. And then there’s different treatments to that from what we’ve learned, so that’s been a real benefit for us.”
Robinson also conceded the NRL’s bunker was right to send off winger Dom Young for a high shot on Blake Taaffe last week against Canterbury. After the match the coach said the call was inconsistent with other high shots, but he changed his position on Wednesday.
“From me reviewing it again and talking to both referees, it was definitely a send-off,” Robinson said. “The technical points and actions of Dom didn’t look like a send-off, but the result of his actions definitely did.”
(with AAP)
Captain Clint Gutherson has warned more of his Parramatta teammates may face the axe, claiming the Eels have let Dylan Brown down as he adjusts to life as a NRL halfback.
Seeking to spark the Eels’ 2-3 season, Brad Arthur has dropped winger Maika Sivo and rookie Blaize Talagi for Saturday’s home clash with North Queensland.
Arthur shuffled the deck, bringing Daejarn Asi in for Talagi at five-eighth as Brown juggles his run-first approach with the need to steer the Eels around the park.
The Eels have yet to win a game since halfback Mitchell Moses went down with a broken foot a fortnight ago and Gutherson warned more changes could come if Parramatta don’t respond to last week’s 41-8 hammering away to Canberra.
“Those (dropped) guys haven’t kicked stones, they’ve still got a job to do,” Gutherson said.
“The players that are going to come in, they have to make sure they’re playing well otherwise, they are going to be other people on the chopping block as well.
“Blaize is a rookie, you’re probably asking a lot for him to take the pressure off (Brown and) Daejarn’s done it before.”
Brown’s move to fill Moses’ shoes has been met with plenty of scrutiny, but Gutherson argued such criticism was unwarranted.
“Dyl has been doing that (well), he’s been one of our better players the last two weeks,” Gutherson said.
“He kicked well, he ran the ball and there’s probably a handful of other players who’ve been letting the team down.
“We know what we have to do to fix it and we have to do that this week.
“I’m there to do what I can do for the team, I don’t need to be doing anyone else’s job, the other 16 players have got to do their job.”
Sivo’s axing was the biggest surprise of them all.
The big Fijian winger, who has 90 tries in 105 NRL games, has been a near ever-present for the Eels since his debut in 2019.
But the 10-Test international has clearly been below his best since returning from a suspension in round four.
“It’s probably a confidence thing for Maika because when he’s on and feeling good he’s one of the best wingers in the comp,” Gutherson added.
“He’s got to get back to being Maika.
“We need that Maika every week and the NRL is such a tough sport it’s hard to win games – you need 17 players doing their job and we haven’t had that the last two weeks.”
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.