Ben Hunt is likely to be just one of the halfbacks the Bulldogs speak to as they accelerate their quest to land a No.7 and No.1 in the coming months.
It’s an open secret the Bulldogs are looking to offload Kyle Flanagan, but even if they can’t, it appears they will bring someone in over the top of him.
Fullback is also a priority and the Dogs will examine prospective No.1s carefully. They have already been linked to Penrith’s Stephen Crichton, who has played predominantly as a centre, but has had impressive stints at fullback.
Hunt’s meeting with Canterbury on Friday is an interesting one. It comes on the back of revelations on Channel Nine that he has been made a very low offer by the Dragons.
“Yes, I met with Ben and his manager,” Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould told me. “He is a very impressive person, but at no point did we talk about an offer or money. It was a conversation to get to know him. I simply said if things don’t work out we’d like to chat to him then.
“We are after a halfback and a fullback. Ben Hunt is an obvious choice and he has a lot of the qualities a club looks for.”
Kyle and Shane Flanagan. Inset, Ben Hunt. Credit:NRL Photos, Getty
The Bulldogs’ interest puts pressure on the Dragons to act on their star halfback. If Hunt does
re-sign with St George Illawarra, Canterbury will most likely target his understudy, Jayden Sullivan.
There is another element to this story: the man managing the Dragons’ salary cap and recruitment is Shane Flanagan, the father of Kyle, the player the Bulldogs are trying to replace. It appears to be a lose-lose-lose situation for Flanagan snr. If he signs Hunt and doesn’t let Sullivan go, he will have a disgruntled player at his club. If he signs Hunt and lets Sullivan go, his son will be on the outer at Canterbury. And if he doesn’t sign Hunt, who is off contract at the end of 2023, he may go to the Bulldogs and replace his son anyway. This relates to a story we broke earlier this year where we revealed Canterbury were proposing a swap deal, Sullivan for Flanagan. It didn’t happen.
Ire of the Tigers
There is no love lost between Tim Sheens and Michael Maguire – and a fair chunk of the blame for that rests with Wests Tigers management.
Sheens returned to Australia to take up the role of “head of football performance” at the Tigers, working on the assumption that Maguire was happy to have him in place as the top man.
But Sheens has been telling people in recent weeks that it quickly became apparent Maguire wasn’t keen on Sheens being his superior.
Maguire kept Sheens at a distance and, as it turned out, Sheens and the Tigers pulled the trigger and sacked the man affectionately known as “Madge”. Maguire rarely took Sheens into his confidence, and you can understand his paranoia, given what happened.
In fairness, Sheens did not seek Maguire’s job initially. He tried and failed to land Panthers assistant Cameron Ciraldo, who joined the Bulldogs after knocking back the Tigers.
Poor old Brett Kimmorley has been left to pick up the pieces as the Tigers’ season has spiralled out of control, with none of the club’s future coaching team – Sheens, Benji Marshall or Robbie Farah – sitting next to Kimmorley to explain where the club is heading. Unfortunately for Kimmorley, this stint as an interim coach has done nothing for his prospects.
Ace in the pack
It’s a big day for Souths junior rugby league player Luca Ace-Nasteski, who flies out to the US to try and make it big in basketball.
Ace-Nasteski grew up playing in the same South Sydney junior teams as Joseph Suaalii and was being positioned as a top-30 player with the Rabbitohs, but he has a huge opportunity in the US.
Ace-Nasteski has been recruited by the IMG Sports Academy, where he gets to develop as an athlete and then show the colleges what he is made of. Harvard University has been very keen on Ace-Nasteski, but there are a host of others who will have a crack at securing him. He stands at 208 centimetres and has speed and agility.
Luca Ace-Nasteski.
“That’s [agility] from playing rugby league,” he said. “I can take what I learnt from my league days into this next sporting step. I’m putting myself out there by going for this … it was a dream to play with Souths, but at six feet 10, well my body is suited for basketball. It’s an opportunity I’m so determined to make the most of. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am.”
Luca won’t be the first person in his family to be a star. His grandfather was Michael Ace, the original Solo Man. Solo Man was a 1980s TV ad action man, who was so famous that Paul Hogan used to parody him.
“He was such an inspiration for me when I was young,” Ace-Nasteski said. “I just wish I was old enough to have had a Solo with him.”
Shining light on Ray
The Nine Network is shooting a documentary tribute to the great Ray “Rabbits” Warren.
James Bracey conducted the main interview with the great man on Thursday and he told stories about his life for two hours.
There will be interviews with colleagues, including Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling, Phil Gould, Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, David Gyngell, Billy Birmingham and Giaan Rooney.
Among his career highlights, Rabbits talks about:
- His genuine fear of Kerry Packer, who he met only once and thought he didn’t like him;
- Why he never caught a flight before midday;
- His run-in with Snoop Dogg;
- Why doing a Bluey Origin special was a fitting end to his career;
- Being the voice of swimming in the golden age of Aussie swimming
The documentary is likely to air in NRL grand final week.
Burgess fired up as Redfern return gets green light
Sam Burgess has been given the all clear by the NRL to return to the game in a coaching capacity. His former club, South Sydney, are comfortable he has ticked every box required.
Souths wanted to make sure he was doing everything by the book. They didn’t want to leave themselves exposed to any kind of threat or accusations from rival clubs or Burgess haters in the media that they snuck him back into the game without meeting the NRL’s demands.
Souths quietly inquired with the game’s bosses and they have given him the green light.
“I’m confident I’ll be able to add value in what Souths are paying me to do, to be an assistant coach,” Burgess said. “I’ve learnt a lot in a short space of time with the Orara Valley Axemen [in Group 2]. We got the team back on top and now we are in a grand final, next weekend.
“Building a club from scratch is quite an experience and I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself.
I’ve done it to be a better person and to be the father to my kids that I want to be.”
A big reason Burgess accepted an offer to coach at South Sydney, over the Dolphins and supercoach Wayne Bennett, was proximity to his children.
“I don’t need to say how much I miss them,” he said. “They are my life.”
Russell Crowe and Sam Burgess after the 2014 NRL grand final.Credit:Getty
Burgess is more motivated than ever to succeed.
“This time away from the NRL has relit the flame in me,” he said. “I’m a competitive person and excited for my next steps.”
Burgess was fined $30,000 in March and banned from the NRL for taking illicit drugs and threatening Roosters rival Billy Smith. However, he was cleared of domestic violence allegations.
Lodge Gamble pays
It is impossible to describe the signing of Matt Lodge as anything other than shrewd.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson did a careful character assessment and decided the good far outweighed the bad when it comes to the former Bronco and Warrior. It was a genuine gamble, but Lodge has been tremendous and has been a significant contributor to the Roosters’ resurgence. The tricolours are looking to re-sign him.
Play it again, Sam
The Roosters have started the negotiation process with star young half Sam Walker.
The club is confident it can lock him down despite an obvious link with the Queensland clubs through his family and upbringing north of the border.
Walker, Joseph Suaalii and a host of their other rising stars were taken out for dinner at Bar Reggio last week to form a bond between the young crew. Smart move from a club always looking to the future.
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