Why Roosters coach fears for future of the kick-off

Rabbit invasion angers rivals

The Roosters and Storm are the fiercest of rivals, but they have a common enemy in the area of player development – South Sydney.

The Storm are fuming that the Rabbitohs have tried to pick the eyes out of their slim but growing junior playing ranks.

The Storm have been working overtime to kick-start their pathways programs, and they are making progress. They have been stunned to watch the Rabbitohs complain that the Roosters have invaded their space by using Matraville Sports High School as a base for their rising stars.

The Storm feel the Rabbitohs are being hypocritical.

Souths are making a major incursion into Melbourne, and have not tried to hide it. On their website, they boast: “The South Sydney Rabbitohs have kicked off their partnership with the Victorian-based Iron Armour Academy for season 2025, with players, coaches and staff visiting both organisations in the early weeks of the year.”

Rabbitohs head of pathways David Furner visited the Iron Armour Academy in Melbourne in January, taking players, coaches and staff through a training session and a presentation about what it takes to make it to the highest levels of the game. Iron Armour Academy is a not-for-profit organisation focused on sporting development through high-performance training, mentoring and scholarship programs.

“The ground-breaking partnership between the oldest club in rugby league in Australia and the long-established Melbourne-based academy is unique, with players, coaches and staff from Iron Armour coming to Maroubra to check out the USANA Rabbitohs Centre [of excellence] in February.”

There are photos on the Rabbitohs website of Melbourne youngsters dressed in South Sydney gear at the Rabbitohs’ Maroubra facility. It is a clear effort to tap into a new area of junior development.

South Sydney’s expansion into other areas is smart, but expressing anger at rival teams for doing something similar leaves them open to criticism.

The Gold Coast Titans are also unhappy about Souths making inroads into their heartland. Again, it’s a smart move, but it makes their criticism of the Roosters harder to digest.

The Rabbitohs announced their move this way: “The South Sydney Rabbitohs are delighted to announce the commencement of a three-year exclusive affiliation agreement with renowned rugby league school Keebra Park State High School [on the Gold Coast], which will see the expansion of the Rabbitohs’ elite male and female pathways into south-east Queensland.

“Keebra Park State High School is regarded as one of the premier sporting schools in Queensland, with a particular focus on rugby league through the school’s male and female academies. This partnership will enable the Rabbitohs to expand its reach into Queensland for elite young players and coaches to add to the talent from the South Sydney district and other recruited players from New South Wales and beyond.”

“I had a good meeting with [Storm CEO] Justin Rodski on Thursday and explained our position,” South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly said. “There is one major and fundamental difference here: we are not training our Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Jersey Flegg teams in Melbourne – the Roosters are training all their girls and boys representative pathways teams in our district.”

Roosters making space for DCE

Those doubting whether the Roosters would fulfil any obligation they may have to Daly Cherry-Evans don’t understand the character of chairman Nick Politis.

If Politis has done a deal to bring DCE to Bondi, there is no way out for the Roosters. He would not dud Daly.

If Cherry-Evans plays on next year, it will be with the Roosters.

The season was only three rounds old when Cherry-Evans dropped the biggest bombshell of the year, announcing he would be leaving Manly at the end of their current campaign. He also hinted he may play on in the NRL.

Moves are already being made to accommodate DCE’s potential arrival at Bondi Junction. Rising star Hugo Savala is being told to ignore offers from elsewhere, on the promise that he will learn from DCE. Sandon Smith has been told he can go to another club.

Also, the Roosters are set to part ways with the man who helped deliver them the 2018 and 2019 titles, Cooper Cronk. Cherry-Evans will be positioned as a coach down the track.

Roosters have last laugh

Brandon Smith has been in the headlines recently, and behind the scenes, the Roosters are breathing a sigh of relief. They are also having a bit of a chuckle at their arch-rivals South Sydney, who took Smith off their hands.

The Rabbitohs have had to deal with questions about why Smith was spoken to by police last Sunday. No charges have been laid.

The Roosters now concede they made a significant error in signing Smith, who is being warmly received by the South Sydney playing group. The Roosters did not do their due diligence into his character away from football before signing him to a very rich deal. Smith has had a number of off-field issues during his career.

Melbourne were also happy to see the back of Smith, not because of his football ability, but because he was not seen as someone who passed the Storm’s character test. At the time, this column was heavily criticised for suggesting that.

Unfortunately, the Storm’s judgment was better than the Roosters’. To the credit of the Bondi-based club, they went to great lengths to try to get the best out of Smith as a player and a person, including appointing a mentor to help him through some off-field issues.

It is unclear whether all of that work benefited Smith. Now Wayne Bennett has the challenge of dealing with this latest matter and getting the best football out of him, because there is no doubt he is a talent.

Smith needs to keep his nose clean for the remainder of his career so that he can take advantage of his obvious media talent. He could make a significant living as a television identity if he can finish his career off well.

Brook-fail: Sea Eagles growing restless

The talk of dissatisfaction with the coaching style of Anthony Seibold is coming from the Manly playing group. It is not made up, nor is it a criticism of him as a person.

While there are some on the fringes of the club with personal gripes or agendas, it is not those views that are the biggest issue for the club – it is the opinion of the players that is of concern.

The Sea Eagles were tipped as potential premiership threats at the start of the season, but have slumped to 10th heading into Sunday’s clash with Wests Tigers and are in real danger of missing the finals altogether.

The situation has not been helped by Manly’s admission that there is a succession plan in place for Seibold. Nor does it help that there is dissatisfaction in some quarters with chief executive Tony Mestrov, and even chairman Scott Penn.

One thing that is certain is that respected player agent George Mimis is not sitting in the background trying to have clients Michael Ennis and Matt Ballin take over from Seibold.

Mestrov has already admitted Ennis is being looked at as part of a succession plan.

Ballin has strong support from past players, but he needs to work out if his future is going to progress while he is an assistant at Brisbane.

Silva mettle

Tallyn Da Silva and Mitch Moses came together at full-time after the Eels halfback gave his hooker one of the all-time on-field sprays last Sunday in their win over the Cowboys.

They had a quiet word and there was no conflict between them after that.

Da Silva might look like a flashy player who is not from the school of hard knocks, but he can absorb what Moses dished out, and plenty more. There is a tough side to a player with all the tricks.

When the players came together again during the week at training, Da Silva picked Moses in his walk touch team to show there is no ill feeling between the pair.

Sharpe operator

The appointment of Mal Meninga as head coach of the Perth Bears is considered the most significant acquisition for the new team – but they are close to securing a vital backroom signing, with Meninga pushing for David Sharpe to be general manager.

Sharpe has worked for the Raiders, but was also the chief executive of Sports Integrity Australia. It was a huge job and a great stepping stone into a role where he has to help build a club from the ground up in a hurry. Especially in a market where clubs are trying to lock down their stars and sure up their juniors.

Bailey mail under scrutiny

Parramatta are privately mystified by the way Bailey Simonsson has reacted to being made to play his way back into the first grade team. They also want to know how news of his request for a release made its way onto NRL Tonight – a show that rarely breaks news – on Fox Sports.

It is worth noting that Simonsson’s partner works for Fox. She is a reporter who is held in high regard by her colleagues.

Simonsson was re-signed by Eels coach Jason Ryles, but insiders say he has behaved his way out of the club.

London calling for Kev’s Kangaroos

It is clear that the Kevin Walters Kangaroos coaching era will involve a heavy input from his players. Walters has already consulted leading players in the game, predominantly from the Panthers and Storm, about the Kangaroo tour in October and November.

Walters consulted the players before deciding where they will be staying. The players want to largely base themselves in London, rather than in the north of England.

Walters has also been speaking to players who are undecided about their availability, and he has started assembling his team. He has considered Australians coaching in England to be part of his staff. Names that have been mentioned include Willie Peters (Hull KR) and Adrian Lam (Wigan). Walters is believed to be moving away from that idea, however, preferring coaches who can help get his team ready without focusing too heavily on the English side.

Staff from the Mal Meninga regime have been waiting anxiously to find out if they have a role under Walters.

Zac race: Kelly successor locked in

The departure of Roz Kelly from the Channel Nine newsroom left a gap in the sports department, and Kelly’s role as back-up sports reader has just been filled by one of the best and most respected journalists in the NRL media, Zac Bailey. He will now be the understudy to the smoothest host in sport, James Bracey.

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Bailey’s rise to the Friday and Saturday night role is a deserved one.

“I grew up watching and admiring the great Ken Sutcliffe and to be doing the role that I’ve been given behind someone as accomplished and respected as James Bracey is a pinch-myself moment,” Bailey said. “As someone who watched Nine news with my family all my life, I can’t explain what this opportunity means to me.”

Bracey is a big fan.

“There’s very little Zac hasn’t done in the rugby league media world and this feels like the natural next step for him,” he said. “Hard worker, great bloke, and those eyebrows – they deserve more air time!”

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