No sleep til Brisbane: Broncos kept awake on game eve by music festival

Solly backs Koori Knockout contingent

South Sydney boss Blake Solly has defended the club’s decision to allow their players, including Latrell Mitchell, to play in the Koori Knockout in the Central Coast over the weekend.

Solly said he was not only supportive of the players taking part in the Indigenous rugby league carnival, but encouraged them to play despite the drama surrounding Josh Addo-Carr on Saturday.

Mitchell pulled out of the end-of-season Test matches for Australia because of a finger injury. The Rabbitohs say he did not require surgery and was given permission to play with a stint.

Some clubs are uncomfortable with their players featuring in the tournament, fearing injury dramas, but don’t want to be accused of being culturally insensitive by banning their players.

Yileen Gordon, who played in Sunday’s State Championship grand final for the Bunnies, travelled to Tuggerah on Saturday to sign his name into the tournament in case his team made it through to the finals on Monday. It shows how much the tournament means to the Indigenous community.

Luai to meet with Panthers this week

The Penrith Panthers are this week expected to sit down with Jarome Luai to begin negotiations about an extension.

His three-month notice period with his old management company expires on October 15, meaning he can officially join another agent in a fortnight’s time. The Panthers want to know if he is keen to get a deal done before that date. The conversation will be had later in the week.

Young Panthers fan’s day made

One of the happiest people inside Accor Stadium on Sunday night was 11-year-old Nicholas Tadros, the young survivor of the horror January helicopter crash at Sea World that claimed the lives of his mother Vanessa and three other people.

When ARLC chairman Peter V’landys discovered his passion for the Panthers, he organised for Nicholas and his father Simon to attend the game as a guest of the NRL in one of their corporate suites. It was a fantastic gesture that was greatly appreciated.

The youngster has been through hell over the past nine months. He lost his mother and his right leg in the crash that devastated the family.

The Herald spoke to him on Friday when he found out that he had been invited. His response was priceless. “I can’t believe it. I can’t wait,” he said. “I wish we could just go now.”

Nicholas’ favourite player is Jarome Luai, who first visited him in hospital back in February and built a special bond with him in his darkest hour.

Broncos fanatic Smith changes mind on flying visit

One of Australia’s richest and most well-known athletes is a Brisbane Broncos superfan – and had the red carpet rolled out for him to attend grand final day.

Former The Open champion and Australia’s best golfer, Cameron Smith, was going to be a part of the Broncos’ inner sanctum in the lead-up to the grand final after planning to be in Sydney for the decider.

But the 30-year-old had a change of heart midweek. In his next LIV Golf event in Saudi Arabia in two weeks he could pocket $28 million as the league’s top pointscorer at the end of the season.

As close as he is with several Broncos players, he didn’t think it would be the right preparation for potentially one of the biggest paydays for an Australian athlete.

Broncos buck World Club Challenge

Before Sunday’s grand final, the Brisbane Broncos had decided that they wouldn’t travel to the United Kingdom for the World Club Challenge if they were to win the premiership. The Broncos are part of the NRL’s season-opener in Las Vegas next year and did not want to have to add a trip to England to their itinerary. They wanted to play the World Club Challenge in Brisbane.

Eels eye Harper move

Off-contract centre Morgan Harper has had a medical assessment with the Parramatta Eels as they consider offering the former Sea Eagles player an NRL lifeline.

Harper was expected to head to the Super League at the end of the year, but the Eels are looking to add some depth to their backline stocks.

It is expected he will join Parramatta for pre-season training on November 1.

Grand final heat floors Souths mascot

Reggie the Rabbit was at Accor Stadium on Sunday for the Bunnies’ State Championship triumph over Brisbane Tigers.

Unfortunately, the 79-year-old inside the suit, club favourite Charlie Gallico, succumbed to heat and couldn’t finish the match.

He was seen celebrating the 42-22 win on the sidelines in the dying moments of the game.

Xerri mixes martial arts ahead of NRL comeback

For the past few months, Bronson Xerri has been wrestling and training with former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

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As part of his preparation to return to the NRL, Xerri has been working with Whittaker and other instructors out at Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Smeaton Grange in Sydney’s southwest three times a week. Whittaker is a jiu-jitsu black belt.

“I came in against some of the best fighters in Australia that have been wrestling all their lives,” Xerri said. “I’m getting smashed three times a week, but it’s good for me. It’s such a disciplined sport. I respect those boys so much and I think it’s made me fit and ready to return to training. If I can wrestle and stand my ground with those boys, I can back myself jumping on a footy field.”

Mutual option part of Bula’s mega-deal

There’s an interesting clause that has been inserted into Jahream Bula’s new deal with the Wests Tigers that the club chose not to announce. The final year of the deal in 2027 is actually a mutual option.

The Tigers were at loggerheads with Bula’s management in recent weeks due to the club’s reluctance to agree to a clause that would have allowed the boom rookie to leave in 2027 if the Tigers failed to make the finals in the previous three seasons.

It’s a similar clause that the club agreed to with Stefano Utoikamanu. Some at the Tigers were unaware of the prop forward being granted such a clause and there was a strong resistance from the board to allow Bula to have the same clause inserted in his deal.

The club instead agreed to insert a mutual option for 2027. If Bula takes up the option he is guaranteed $800,000 in 2027, but if the club takes up the option it will be for $900,000. The deal, which has been significantly upgraded over the next two years, is worth about $2.7-$2.8m over four years.

Mountain to climb for Robinson, Buderus, Peden

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson is preparing to head to Nepal this month to climb Island Peak in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the Mark Hughes Foundation. He will join Newcastle old boys Danny Buderus and Bill Peden on the climb. In 2019, Robinson joined 19 other climbers, including Mark Hughes himself, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro over nine days through trying conditions and high altitude. They raised almost $700,000 at the time.

Graham misses retirement parade

Former Cronulla captain Wade Graham was a notable absentee at the NRL’s retirement parade on Sunday. Graham was in Canada preparing for his wedding to partner Karianne Lafrance. He will be honoured at the 2024 NRL grand final instead.

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Kiwis raking for options

The shortage of hookers available for the end-of-season Test matches is likely to see Kieran Foran wear the No.9 jersey for New Zealand. The Kiwis are without Brandon Smith, Jeremy Marshall-King and Kodi Nikorima.

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Sydney Roosters forward Angus Crichton in France watching the Rugby World Cup.

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Eels coach Brad Arthur with his family on their annual end-of-season trip away to Bali.

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