TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson
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TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson DATE: 28 October 2008 RE: Media Summary Wednesday 29 October to Monday 03 November 2008 Slater takes place among the greats: AUSTRALIA 52 ENGLAND 4. Billy Slater last night elevated himself into the pantheon of great Australian fullbacks with a blistering attacking performance that left his coach and Kangaroos legend Ricky Stuart grasping for adjectives. Along with Storm teammate and fellow three-try hero Greg Inglis, Slater turned on a once-in-a-season performance to shred England to pieces and leave any challenge to Australia's superiority in tatters. It also came just six days after the birth of his first child, a baby girl named Tyla Rose. Kiwis angry at grapple tackle: The Kiwis are fuming a dangerous grapple tackle on wing Sam Perrett went unpunished in last night's World Cup rugby league match but say they won't take the issue further. Wing Sam Perrett was left lying motionless after the second tackle of the match at Skilled Park, thanks to giant Papua New Guinea prop Makali Aizue. Replays clearly showed Aizue, the Kumuls' cult hero who plays for English club Hull KR, wrapping his arm around Perrett's neck and twisting it. Kiwis flog Kumuls: New Zealand 48 Papua New Guinea NG 6. A possible hamstring injury to Kiwis dynamo Benji Marshall threatened to overshadow his side's big win over Papua New Guinea at Skilled Park last night. Arguably the last superstar left in Stephen Kearney's squad, in the absence of show-stoppers like Roy Asotasi, Frank Pritchard and Sonny Bill Williams, Marshall is widely considered the Kiwis' great white hope. But after a strong opening half, the playmaker failed to take the field for the second 40 minutes despite attention from the physio at half-time. Feeding frenzy threatens to bleed NRL dry: Eight-eight players have left the National Rugby League to play in Europe over the past three years, taking with them almost 11,000 first-grade games' worth of experience. But an agent for an English Super League team warned Australians had only seen the tip of the iceberg. While the World Cup organisers continue to promote the tournament as a festival of football, cashed-up Super League scouts and French rugby operatives view it as a veritable smorgasbord of talent. Team of the Week: New Zealand Rugby League Team. TFF has heard from a good source, staying at the same hotel, that they have been well-mannered, polite and showed great respect for the hotel staff. Source: Peter FitzSimons, Sydney Morning Herald, 01 November 2008 Playing a game of pride: Papua New Guinea is the only country in the world where league is the national sport and, boy, do they take their league seriously. Fans routinely walk for days to get to an international match and often then cannot get tickets, the main ground at Port Moresby, Lloyd Robson Oval, officially holding just over 5000. But crowds of up to 15,000 have been reported there, with every vantage point taken. The nation will declare a public holiday if they beat New Zealand at Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday. Manu eyes quick return: Only 24 hours after being ruled out of the remainder of the 2008 World Cup, New Zealand second-rower Sika Manu has been cleared to return in two weeks' time. The development came after team doctor Simon Mayhew took Manu to a Gold Coast eye specialist on Thursday. "He said while there was a fracture it was a very small one, and his assessment was that Sika would be fine to play again in two weeks," said Mayhew. Manu is still sidelined for the Kiwis' remaining pool games against Papua New Guinea on Saturday and England on November 8, but will be in contention for the knockout stages. Coach Stephen Kearney added: "It's a real boost for him and for us knowing he can play again so soon after being told his tournament was over." Source: The Press Association, 31 October 2008 Marshall, Leuluai told to shape up: Benji Marshall and Thomas Leuluai have been put on notice for tomorrow's must-win Rugby League World Cup clash with Papua New Guinea as Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney continues to resist calls to shift Marshall to halfback. The halves pairing were badly off their games in the 30-6 loss to Australia, though need to be cut some slack as they were operating behind a beaten pack. After an extensive video review session, Kearney said he had demanded better. Darren Lockyer: this World Cup just the start: Darren Lockyer has had enough of the cynics. The tone in his raspy voice is the most obvious giveaway. "Yeah," comes the response when the issue is raised. Lockyer, the Australian captain in the twilight of his career, says he is proud to be a part of the first World Cup since 2000. He has gone above and beyond in promoting the month-long tournament involving 10 nations. It's the same with the rest of the Australian squad. And all the countries involved. But for all their work, scepticism of the cup's worth remains. Life's no party for Kiwis on Gold Coast: It's a dangerous mix for the Kiwis - lounging in one of Australia's party capitals and preparing for a World Cup rugby league match everyone expects them to win comfortably. The weather's warm and their hotel's just a two-minute stroll to the inviting waves and famed stretch of sand known as Surfers Paradise. But that's where the picture postcard ends. The Kiwis are under pressure to perform at Skilled Park on Saturday night and well aware of the match's banana skin potential against Papua New Guinea's Kumuls. Fired-up PNG will give their all: Papua New Guinea will use the drive for a Port Moresby-based NRL team as motivation to fire up against the Kiwis in their World Cup clash on the Gold Coast on Saturday. Among those supporting the proposal are Queensland and Australian great Mal Meninga, Prime Minister Michael Somare and the league-mad country's mining industry, which has promised major financial backing. The Kumuls don't expect to win but they do expect to deliver as stirring a performance as they did when they led England 16-12 at halftime before going down 32-22 in an entertainer at Townsville in round one. Kiwis rocked by another injury: The Kiwis have suffered another World Cup rugby league injury blow, with young forward Sika Manu ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a fractured eye socket. Kiwis team doctor Simon Mayhew said the Melbourne Storm second-rower took a heavy blow to his right eye during Sunday's 6-30 loss to Australia in Sydney. A precautionary x-ray yesterday showed an undisplaced fracture, which wasn't considered serious, but the risk of further damage if he played on was enough to rule him out for at least a month. Slater warned to use head, not feet: Australian coach Ricky Stuart has warned fullback Billy Slater to avoid sliding feet-first into opponents in the rugby league World Cup, fearing his star could get suspended. Slater’s tactic of using his feet to try to prevent opposition players scoring prompted a warning from the tournament’s match review committee that it was dangerous and would no longer be tolerated. No one from the Kangaroos camp would comment today, but a team spokesman said Stuart had addressed the issue with Slater since Australia’s 30-6 win over New Zealand last Sunday night, when the Melbourne Storm player slid into the Kiwi Jerome Ropati. God or guru, it's time to take a hike, Benny: It's time to sack that over-qualified hired hand Wayne Bennett from being the Kiwis' assistant coach so Steve Kearney can find his feet as the head man. Giving head coach Kearney a training wheel the size of an F1 tyre has clearly failed to get them on the right track. This may well be a redundant call, because I suspect the former Broncos boss who can breathe fire with a stare will pack away his Kiwi gear to concentrate on his new job at the St George Dragons. If Benny doesn't decide to go, the NZRL should jettison him after the World Cup. Moves afoot for Australian to whistle Cup final: The World Cup organisers are about to abandon the appointment of neutral referees because none other than the Australians are believed to be up to the standard required to whistle the final. There has been no announcement but moves are afoot in the background to sideline the two Englishmen who officiated in the Australia-New Zealand game on Sunday out of a Kiwis- Kangaroos final, should that eventuate. The Australians have apparently already said they do not want a New Zealand referee if it is an Aussie-England final and no other country can provide one of professional standard. Three changes for Kiwis for PNG clash: Attacking weapons Krisnan Inu and Issac Luke and power forward David Fa'alogo have been recalled for New Zealand's World Cup showdown with Papua New Guinea on the Gold Coast on Saturday night. Inu comes into the Kiwi side for suspended Manly premiership centre Steve Matai while coach Stephen Kearney has promoted Setaimata Sa to his starting side for Sika Manu, who has been ruled out with an eye injury that required a visit to a specialist.