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Home , Big League, Dallas Johnson, Jarryd Hayne, Paul Osborne, Peter Wallace, Super League war

TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board

FROM: Peter Cordtz

DATE: 18 December 2009

RE: Media Summary Tuesday 1 December to Friday 18 December

Re-signed Hayne eyes code change in four years After finally committing his future to for the next four years, Parramatta superstar has warned that the NRL has to do more to keep the game's best talent from rival codes…

Promising trio get to display wares at Storm: Three promising youngsters have taken the first step towards fulfilling their league dreams, gaining scholarships to train with the NRL champions Storm…

NRL teams seek loophole to quit competition: Frustration at Rugby League's rejection of an offer to nominate two candidates for election to an independent commission has been revealed as a key reason behind the summoning of players and officials from the NRL's 16 clubs to a historic meeting next month, considered by some as a declaration of war…

Wiki, Seuseu welcomed back to Warriors family: Jerry Seuseu and are back with the , with the rugby league club's former greats taking up positions in a restructured football department…

Warriors old boys ready to make another point: The Pt Chevalier Pirates are set to become arguably the strongest third division rugby league side in the world with up to five former internationals expected to line up for them next year…

It’s ‘full steam ahead’ for Busy Bellamy: It seems the word rest is not in Craig Bellamy's vocabulary. Since winning his second NRL title with the in October, the supercoach claims he's had a holiday in Europe, but admits he was kind of working then too. "We had a look at a few football clubs to pick up some ideas," Bellamy said, before teeing it up at a charity golf event in Wellington yesterday…

Kemp appointed NZRL’s football manager: Former Kiwi and current high performance director Tony Kemp has today been appointed the 's new football manager…

Lowe will take on Manly despite health scare: Newly appointed Manly chief executive Graham Lowe says he is determined to take up his position at the club despite a health scare at Airport…

City dips out on games: New Plymouth will not host any international rugby league matches next year when the Four Nations competition is played in New Zealand…

Radical State of Origin shift to NZ suggested: State of Origin rugby league could be played in New Zealand if wins the right to host the 2018 football World Cup…

Auckland blackout threatens to deny fans: Auckland could miss out entirely on genuine international rugby league next year despite the Four Nations being hosted down under, NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle has admitted…

Kiwi Sa happy to be in France: New Zealand rugby league star Setaimata Sa declared himself to be delighted at entering a new stage of his sporting life as he arrived at side Catalan Dragons today…

News, ARL to pick commissioners on way out: The last act of News Ltd and the ARL before handing over control of the game to the clubs will be to choose the eight members of the new independent commission, which will be headed by ARL chairman Colin Love…

Take your time deciding future, Broncos tell Lockyer: Champion five-eighth will have as much time as he needs to decide whether he wants to continue his representative career or call it quits.

Promising trio get to display wares at Storm (Sam Worthington, Dominion Post 16 Dec)

Three promising youngsters have taken the first step towards fulfilling their league dreams, gaining scholarships to train with the NRL champions Melbourne Storm.

The trio will travel to Melbourne in April for a week's training after being picked out by Storm coach Craig Bellamy and scout Darren Bell during a camp in Wainuiomata at the weekend.

Upper Hutt pair Pride Petterson-Robati (Wellington under-14) and Frederick Lika Pule (Wellington under-16) and New Plymouth's Isaac Robinson (Taranaki under-16) all have one foot in the door at a club widely regarded as the NRL's most professional.

Wellington Rugby League general manager Jason Hemson said the relationship with the Storm was going from strength to strength.

"It was very good," Hemson said.

"We had nearly 105 kids and about 30-odd coaches. The Melbourne guys are very keen to keep things moving and come back again, so it's a good opportunity for us to formalise something a little bit stronger over the next year or so with them."

Hemson said the Storm were targeting young New Zealand talent because their under-18 and under-20 squads were strong but Melbourne lacked younger, home-grown talent.

"Being down in Melbourne, it's a little bit more difficult for them to get the numbers in those younger age groups."

Hemson said Bellamy's coaching forum, in which he fielded questions from local mentors, was invaluable.

"For us, it's more about our coaches than the kids. Because once our coaches can see the type of things that those guys are looking at, then they can start training for it.

"If we can get kids at 10, 11, 12 and start coaching them the things those NRL clubs are looking for, then what it means is we can keep them here a little bit longer because we know they're getting trained well.

"And when it comes time for the NRL clubs to be looking at them, they can see where the kids are at in terms of their development along the NRL lines."

NRL teams seek loophole to quit competition (Brad Walter, Morning Herald 14 Dec)

Frustration at the 's rejection of an offer to nominate two candidates for election to an independent commission has been revealed as a key reason behind the summoning of players and officials from the NRL's 16 clubs to a historic meeting next month, considered by some as a declaration of war.

With tensions running high over the refusal of ARL directors to accept a deal tabled at last week's board meeting in Brisbane, a source close to the negotiations confirmed the Sydney Morning Herald's report on Saturday that forming a breakaway competition had been considered if an independent commission did not come to fruition.

But, said the source, a breakaway competition would be pursued only as a last resort because getting out of the NRL licensing agreements would be a long-winded and difficult process.

The SMH has been told that lawyers have been looking to find a loophole in the agreements. But waiting until the licensing agreements expire in 2012, the same year the NRL's television deals also finish, is considered a less risky proposition. The January 18 meeting of the chief executives, chairmen, coaches and captains of all 16 clubs - the first time such a gathering will have happened without the presence or organisation of the NRL - is officially an information meeting, as few of the 64 representatives in attendance are aware of the details being negotiated on their behalf. Even members of the NRL's restructure subcommittee, charged with the formation of an independent commission, were caught unaware by talk of a possible breakaway competition.

A number of other options to try to overcome the impasse are likely to be canvassed at the meeting. There was even talk last week that the clubs might withdraw their players from State of Origin to fire a shot across the ARL's bows.

The meeting is intended as a show of unity by the four most influential people at each club to put pressure on the ARL and News Ltd to hand over control of the game.

Should they fail to do so, it would highlight the fact the clubs have no say under the current set-up, in which the ARL and News Ltd, the two protagonists of the , appoint three representatives each to the NRL partnership committee, which is responsible for overseeing the running of the game.

Even if the clubs vote 16-0 on an issue at a chief executives meeting, the NRL partnership committee is not obliged to act on their wishes.

The ARL views the meeting - called by Titans chief executive Michael Searle, who described it as ''one of the most significant in the game's recent history'' - as provocative, and officials have told the SMH they would not be bullied into agreeing to the terms negotiated by the clubs and News Ltd.

Primarily, the ARL objects to the fact the eight independent commissioners will be elected by the 16 clubs and the leagues want to either be able to appoint directors or be given significant voting power.

In an attempt to appease the ARL, an offer was made before last Tuesday's board meeting in Brisbane to enable the NSWRL and QRL to nominate one candidate each for election. Other candidates need the support of three clubs to gain nomination and all commissioners must win 75 per cent of the vote to be elected. To be eligible, a candidate cannot be the director of any club or league.

The initial commission, to be chaired by ARL chairman Colin Love, would be chosen by News Ltd and the ARL, who must agree on each of the eight appointments, and would remain in place for three years.

After that, two seats would be up for election each year, meaning it would be six years before an entirely new commission would be in place.

However, the ARL board rejected the proposal, as the candidates put forward by the NSWRL and QRL would not be guaranteed to win election because they would still require 75 per cent of the vote of the clubs.

Talks between the ARL and News Ltd are expected to resume this week.

Wiki, Seuseu welcomed back to Warriors family (NZPA, www.stuff.co.nz 13 Dec)

Jerry Seuseu and Ruben Wiki are back with the New Zealand Warriors, with the rugby league club's former greats taking up positions in a restructured football department.

Club chief executive Wayne Scurrah said Seuseu, 35, will be the new welfare and education manager as well as managing the Junior Warriors in the National Youth Competition (NYC).

He joins former Kiwis teammate Wiki, 36, who has signed on as high performance assistant.

Wiki, with 55 international caps has been working with the club's National Rugby League squad since the players began their off-season training programme early last month. Scurrah said the club would benefit enormously from having two such highly-respected and admired former players back at the Warriors.

"It's a real boost for us to be able to bring back Jerry and Ruben," he said.

"They were hugely popular as players in their time with the Warriors, they both had outstanding careers and have great standing in the sporting community.

"Jerry will be responsible for our welfare and education programmes for all players from our NRL, NYC and development squads as well as filling the team manager's job for the Junior Warriors," Scurrah said.

After 132 games with the Warriors from 1997-2004, Seuseu retired after a two-year stint with Wigan in 2005- 2006. From 2007 until recently he was in charge of the schools' programme as a football development officer.

He's a qualified school teacher with two degrees - a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of education.

Since retiring in 2008 after 312 NRL games - 87 of them for the Warriors - Wiki has been involved in a range of projects and has now added a part-time contract to rejoin the club in a role which will involve him mentoring players.

Head coach said Seuseu and Wiki brought impressive qualities to the club, "first and foremost as people".

"Ruben has already proved an outstanding acquisition in his new role. We missed his presence once his playing career finished and it's really good to have him back around the place," Cleary said.

Warriors old boys ready to make another point (Aaron Lawton, Sunday News 13 Dec)

The Pt Chevalier Pirates are set to become arguably the strongest third division rugby league side in the world with up to five former internationals expected to line up for them next year.

The Pirates, who play in Auckland's third division Phelan Shield competition and won only one game this season, will be coached in 2010 by Warriors legends Awen Guttenbeil and .

Both players are former club juniors and it appears they've used their star power to lure some fellow Kiwi sporting identities down to training.

Retired Kiwis hard man Monty Betham, 31, Wairangi Koopu, 29, who played for the Melbourne Storm last year, and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning New Zealand Sevens star Karl Te Nana are also likely to turn out for the Pirates.

Guttenbeil, who retired from professional footy in 2008 after a stint with English club Castleford, said there was also a chance he and "The Little General" would also dust off the boots for a few games.

"Stacey and I are going to coach Pt Chev next year," he told Sunday News last night.

"Whether we will play or not, well that's a different story. You could probably say we are going to be coaches that might play.

"We basically wanted to go back and help out our old club really.

"I know that Stacey, like me, has finished playing and he was very keen to give something back to the club.

"They didn't go too well this year; I think they only won one game so we just want to try and help them turn things around on and off the field. "We'd love to get the club back to where it once was."

Guttenbeil wouldn't speculate on which of his "friends" would be turning out for the Pirates next year.

But 34-year-old Te Nana – now a television host – confirmed yesterday he might "give league a crack".

"I've been having a run with the boys during the pre-season but I haven't made the full call on whether I'll play yet," he said.

"I'm undecided. I'm actually quite enjoying it, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

"I've never played any serious league before but the pressure's on now.

"Wairangi Koopu's been down training with the boys and Monty Betham's been down there as well.

"He's going have a couple of games too. It's going to be good for the young fellas."

Former Warriors captain Betham is still only 31 and in great shape.

"We've had a couple of training sessions and I guess everyone is talking about getting out there and playing some games for Pt Chev next year," he said.

"Even Awen reckons he's going to lace up the boots a few times as well.

"As for me, I might have a bet with Stacey and I'll tell him I'll play every game he plays. If he puts his body on the line a bit more I might do as well!

"I don't know if a foot long Subway sandwich is going to cut it for me in terms of payment

"I think Stacey will be able to convince all the boys to get out there and have a game together."

It’s ‘full steam ahead’ for Busy Bellamy (Sam Worthington, Dominion Post 12 Dec)

It seems the word rest is not in Craig Bellamy's vocabulary.

Since winning his second NRL title with the Melbourne Storm in October, the supercoach claims he's had a holiday in Europe, but admits he was kind of working then too.

"We had a look at a few football clubs to pick up some ideas," Bellamy said, before teeing it up at a charity golf event in Wellington yesterday.

Bellamy has just re-signed as coach for next season – State of Origin being the one prize that has so far eluded him.

"So it's full steam ahead," he said. "I wanted to get the season finished and then have a bit of a think about Origin.

"It was important that we planned around Origin for the Storm so we got that down pat and that was the reason to wait till the end of the season to get it done."

Bellamy is in Wellington this weekend as part of a joint initiative between the Storm and .

Today, Bellamy will run a forum for the region's coaches and a training camp for 120 wannabe youngsters at Wise Park.

Tomorrow, he'll watch over the most promising kids during under-16 and under-18 trial games. If any catch his eye, he'll tap them on the shoulder and sign them up.

"Darren Bell, our recruitment guy's been coming over for a few years," Bellamy said.

"I came over last year and I really enjoy the weekend. Hopefully, the kids get a fair bit out of it and we've got a couple of younger players that we've seen from this weekend that are over there working with our under-20s at the moment."

One is strapping young Porirua forward Uiti Baker, the other is Hawke's Bay utility Tahu Harris.

"Hopefully, those two young guys can continue to develop and if they work hard it'll give them a chance to play NRL. It's just about spreading the word of rugby league and hopefully the kids will have an enjoyable weekend and learn a little bit at the same time. I don't do this anywhere else because it's hard to get the time."

The Storm have strong ties to Wellington through Wainuiomata league identities Johnny Lomax and Ken Laban and their assistant coach, , is a product of the Kapiti Coast.

Bellamy has no doubt Kearney is a future NRL coach.

"Steve's very committed to New Zealand at the moment with the Kiwis and it would obviously be hard to do both jobs. But he's certainly a really good coach in his own right and he's done a wonderful job with New Zealand, they've won the World Cup. He's certainly a great young coach and he's a huge asset to our club at Melbourne and at some stage we all know he's going to be coaching an NRL team somewhere."

The pair have a yin and yang relationship, Bellamy says.

"He seems to be always cool and calm, I'm the excitable one. When I give directions, he probably translates those messages in a lot calmer way than I give them. We're two different personalities working good together."

Kemp appointed NZRL’s football manager (NZPA, www.stuff.co.nz 11 Dec)

Former Kiwi and current high performance director Tony Kemp has today been appointed the New Zealand Rugby League's new football manager.

The football manager's role was one of three new senior jobs identified by NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle when he unveiled a revamped management structure in late October.

"We received a significant number of high-quality applications but Tony stood out as the best choice for what is a critical position in our strategy to create a robust and effective football department," said Doyle.

"He covers so many bases as a former international and experienced professional player as well as having a background in top-level coaching, serving as a national selector and working in the high performance area.

Taranaki-raised Kemp, 41, appeared in 25 tests for the Kiwis from 1989-1995 and played for several clubs in Australia and England including Newcastle, Castleford and Leeds. He later joined the Warriors' coaching staff as Daniel Anderson's assistant, going on to fill the head coach's position in 2004-2005.

"This is a wonderful opportunity and I'm grateful to be given the chance," he said.

"So much work has been done to rebuild the game in New Zealand but there is much we still have to do. That's a challenge I want to be part of."

As a consequence of Kemp's elevation to lead the NZRL's football department, his vacant high performance manager's position will have to be filled. Doyle said this would now become a priority. He added Kemp would lead a department comprising not only the high performance manager but also the still- to-be-appointed coaching and development manager as well as the competitions commissioner and the national referees' co-ordinator.

Doyle reiterated the management restructure was designed to help the NZRL in its mission to rebuild rugby league's public image, to secure significant sponsorship, to improve its communications with its members and to work a lot harder at grass roots level.

Lowe will take on Manly despite health scare (NZPA, www.stuff.co.nz 9 Dec )

Newly appointed Manly chief executive Graham Lowe says he is determined to take up his position at the National Rugby League club despite a health scare at Auckland Airport.

The former Kiwis, and Manly coach collapsed on Monday as he was waiting to board a flight to Sydney to start in the role. He was taken to hospital, where he had blood tests.

Lowe, 63, told the Manly Daily newspaper that he had a virus and would stay in New Zealand until next Monday. "I've got some sort of virus and was feeling unwell," he said.

"I don't think it's good to be flying when you feel like that. The in-house doctor came and saw me. I went to hospital and they did blood tests. Those tests were all okay so I was released."

Lowe has a history of ill health, but said he had no concerns about his ability to do the chief executive's job. "Absolutely," he said. "There are no worries. I'm as sweet as a nut."

Manly chairman and co-owner Scott Penn described the incident as "a bump in the road". He said Lowe's health was discussed before his appointment and it was something the club would monitor carefully.

Two weeks ago, Lowe accepted a $A240,000 ($NZ306,000) one-year package, with a two-year option, to return to Manly.

Former chief executive Grant Mayer resigned in June after months of in-fighting between factions aligned with club co-owners Scott Penn and Max Delmege.

City dips out on big league games (Tony Bird, Taranaki Daily News 10 Dec)

New Plymouth will not host any international rugby league matches next year when the Four Nations competition is played in New Zealand.

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Jim Doyle was in New Plymouth on Tuesday and confirmed the city was not one of those being looked at as a possible venue for the Four Nations.

Yarrow Stadium hosted the Kiwis-All Golds rugby league match last year and it appears the venue has had its turn – for the next year anyway.

Doyle said although the experiment of playing an international in Taranaki on that occasion was deemed a success, it was not as successful as anticipated.

He said there was a lack of crowd support – only 5000 people turned up for the match.

He said other regional venues deserved the opportunity of hosting matches between the Kiwis, Kangaroos, England and Papua New Guinea.

"We're looking at maybe trying to spread things around a bit." Doyle could not confirm the venues because NZRL was awaiting the New Zealand 's decision on whether to cut next year's Air New Zealand Cup from 14 teams to 10.

Doyle said that just because New Plymouth would not get a match next year, the city was "certainly not excluded" from hosting international rugby league games in the future.

Doyle was in Taranaki meeting with Sport Taranaki chief executive and Kiwis selector , and other league officials from around the mountain.

They discussed ways to further develop the sport in the province.

It was the Englishman's first visit to Taranaki since his appointment four months ago.

Doyle is in charge of guiding NZRL through a rebuilding process and improving its public image on the back of an in-depth Sparc review completed earlier this year.

The review was ordered when the code was in crisis following a scandal involving the misuse of pokie funds.

"What has been created from [the review] is that it has laid a foundation for changing a lot of negatives along with utilising a lot of the positives from the past in order to create something with a lot more substance."

Doyle said it was an ideal time to rebuild and develop the sport given the Kiwis were the world champions and there was a deep pool of talented New Zealanders playing in the NRL and the United Kingdom.

Doyle is working on selling the advantages of clubs tapping into the facilities and knowledge within their local regional sport trusts.

"You look at Sport Taranaki and it's a model that a lot of other [provinces] can learn a lot from," he said.

"The facilities, the people and how they work together from a multi-sport perspective – rugby league should tap more into the structure."

Doyle supported the playing competitions introduced to rugby league last season, saying they had been a success.

He viewed the system – where players played for their clubs first, then at district level and finished the season in a national competition and then a New Zealand Residents rep team playing Samoa – as a sound structure.

"One of the positives that happened this year was that it was a shorter competition rather than a season-long Bartercard Cup."

Doyle confirmed NZRL would continue its focus of running training camps and academies for age-group players under his leadership.

Radical State of Origin shift to NZ suggested (Brad Walter & Michael Lynch, Sydney Morning Herald 8 Dec)

State of Origin rugby league could be played in New Zealand if Australia wins the right to host the 2018 football World Cup.

The suggestion was one of several put forward when it was revealed yesterday that stadiums such as ANZ Stadium, the SFS, Suncorp Stadium and Etihad Stadium would all be unavailable during the World Cup.

Others include shifting Origin to March before players have the chance to impress for selection or playing it after the World Cup and just before the NRL finals series that usually begins in early September.

The scheduling of Origin - and venues - are major issues concerning NRL officials ahead of a meeting with Football Federation Association representatives later this week as Australia's 12 largest sporting venues would be given over exclusively to the World Cup for nine weeks in the middle of the NRL season, which would start on February 2 - the height of summer.

And with the Confederations Cup to serve as a test run a year before the World Cup, the disruption to the NRL and other domestic sporting competitions would be for two years if Australia was successful in its bid to host the tournament in either 2018 or 2022.

NRL chief executive David Gallop said yesterday the code didn't want to be an obstacle to Australia winning the right to host the world's biggest sporting event but said there are concerns that need to be addressed by the bid organisers.

''We've got a meeting with them later this week and that will hopefully shed some more light on it,'' Gallop said.

''We don't want to stand in the way of the World Cup, but it's difficult to see how we could be expected to fall off the face of the earth. Certainly ideas like running Origin over a three-week period are a major concern to us.''

It is unclear what impact the World Cup would have on television deals or whether the NRL will be offered any compensation.

With FFA due to lodge bid documents with Fifa by Friday promising all bid requirements will be met, the issue is set to come to a head and state premiers yesterday discussed the World Cup at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Brisbane. FFA officials have worked on the bid for more than 18 months but rival codes have complained about the lack of consultation or detail provided to them.

The NRL, AFL and other major sporting bodies affected are believed to be keen to collectively discuss the issues surrounding Australia hosting the World Cup but the FFA has so far resisted.

However, FFA chief executive Ben Buckley was adamant that he and his organisation had kept the NRL and other codes in the loop over the bidding plans for more than a year, refuting suggestions from AFL boss Andrew Demetriou that a season-long lockdown would be required to accommodate the World Cup.

''We have never asked the AFL to shut down their season,'' Buckley said yesterday. ''We have only outlined to them the various requirements under the Fifa regulations to host the World Cup.''

However, he did concede that the NRL and AFL would be required to surrender access to major stadiums for at least six to eight weeks to accommodate the World Cup.

''The requirements are that we need to get access to the venues four weeks prior to the competition for the preparation for the pitches, some of the stadia overlays that are required by Fifa, and of course we need the venues for the duration of the tournament,'' Buckley said.

''In our estimation that's somewhere between six to eight weeks depending on where the finals are played and depending on what venues we use.

''Based on all the estimates we have done, maximum disruption would be around eight weeks. If a venue is not playing in the semi-finals or final those venues could come on line sooner.''

Buckley said that the FFA had first talked to the AFL in late 2008 and had kept it aware of ''a range of scenarios and options that would need to be considered''.

The FFA has until May to have all the relevant sporting bodies and stadia on board as that is the due date for its World Cup bid book to be handed to FIFA. With the MCG and Etihad Stadium contractually bound to host AFL games during the winter months, the FFA must rely on goodwill from the code.

Auckland blackout threatens to deny fans (Steve Kilgallon, Sunday Start Times 6 Dec) Auckland could miss out entirely on genuine international rugby league next year despite the Four Nations being hosted down under, NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle has admitted.

Plans for a double-header pitting the Kiwis against the Kangaroos and England against Papua New Guinea at Eden Park may be stymied by a competing bid from AMI Stadium in Christchurch.

And the Sunday Star-Times understands issues over Eden Park's resource consent for floodlighting late-night matches won't help its case to host the November double-header – which shapes as an attractive debut fixture for the remodelled venue.

Eden Park may instead get the consolation prize of hosting the 2011 between New Zealand and Australia, which could return to New Zealand for the first time in 14 years.

Doyle said the double-header was not "definitely" set for Christchurch, but admitted that AMI Stadium bosses – who have just successfully bid for the Roosters-Warriors NRL game – had tabled an "extremely good" bid.

He conceded Eden Park's resource consent had been an issue.

Eden Park is permitted to turn on the floodlights for only a fixed number of nights per year.

With Australian TV not wanting the telecast to start before its evening news had finished, the earliest kickoff time for the late game of the double-header was 8pm.

"In discussions we had more recently with Eden Park, that seems to have been resolved, they are working with the council on that," said Doyle.

"[Originally], as soon as we had finished, they would have switched the lights off and people would have found it hard to get out of the place. They know it is an issue they have to address going forward as part of the [rugby] world cup campaign."

With New Zealand's game against England likely to go to Westpac Stadium in Wellington, and Waikato Stadium and Rotorua the frontrunners to host the final Kiwis pool game against PNG, Auckland may be left with only a Kiwis warm-up game against Pacific Island opposition. A New Zealand-Samoa game would not be a big ratings winner with Auckland fans: barely 5000 fronted for a similar friendly with Tonga two years ago.

Doyle couldn't confirm the venues because he and the bidding stadia were waiting on the NZRU's decision on whether to cut next year's Air NZ Cup from 14 teams to 10. Some grounds have said that rugby final bookings could take precedence, but because of the demands of English and Australian TV audiences, league bosses want guaranteed Saturday night slots.

"We are still working with the venue holders and the Australians and we certainly can't finalise anything – the spanner in the works is the [Air NZ Cup]," Doyle told the Star-Times.

"The NPC never know where the final is going to be until the competing teams are known and that means some stadia can't guarantee a game on the Saturday night."

The Star-Times can reveal the tournament dates are October 23 for New Zealand v England, October 30 for New Zealand v PNG, October 6 for the double-header and October 13 for the final in Australia.

KIWIS SKIPPER flew in to Auckland last night for the funeral of his adoptive father, who died last week. The funeral is to be held in Whakatane.

Kiwi Sa happy to be in France (AFP, NZ Herald 2 Dec)

PERPIGNAN - New Zealand rugby league star Setaimata Sa declared himself to be delighted at entering a new stage of his sporting life as he arrived at Super League side Catalan Dragons today. The 22-year-old Samoan-born centre - a member of the Kiwi side that stunned Australia in the 2008 World Cup final - arrived with his wife and nine month old son to begin his two year contract with the Dragons, who enjoyed a spectacular season last term, narrowly missing out on the Grand Final after losing 27-20 to eventual champions Leeds in the Super League play-off semi finals.

"I am very happy to be in France," said Sa, who will train with his new teammates tomorrow.

"This is a new challenge which is beginning for me," he added.

Sa, who has joined from the , is the Dragons third new signing for next season, which gets underway for them in February next year.

The other two new faces are Super League rivals Harlequins reserve team stand-off Tony Gigot, who also signed a two year contract, and 26-year-old Australian backrow forward , who signed a three year contract from the Melbourne Storm.

The Dragons have a tough opening schedule with four away matches in the first five weeks starting with Wakefield on February 7 before going to London the following week and begin their home campaign on February 20 against 2009 Grand Finalists St Helens.

News, ARL to pick commissioners on way out (Brad Walter & Greg Prichard, Sydney Morning Herald 1 Dec)

The last act of News Ltd and the ARL before handing over control of the game to the clubs will be to choose the eight members of the new independent commission, which will be headed by ARL chairman Colin Love.

The revelation comes as former NRL chairman John Chalk hit back at accusations the NSW and Queensland Rugby Leagues were obstacles to the formation of the independent commission and said Love was the right man to be the first chairman of the new body set to take over the running of the game before next season.

There is even speculation that negotiations could be finalised as soon as next week and momentum for change has gathered such pace in the past week that some officials close to the negotiations are predicting it will happen by the end of the year.

However, it is expected to take two years before the new body is truly independent as Love will oversee a transition period that involves News Ltd and the ARL selecting the other seven directors to sit on the inaugural commission.

After that, the 16 clubs will nominate and vote for the eight independent commissioners, who must receive 75 per cent support to be appointed.

Initially, News Ltd and the ARL will each nominate four candidates, who must have no affiliation to News Ltd, the ARL or any club. The other organisation must then agree.

With so many people from outside the game being appointed to the commission, which will effectively replace the NRL partnership committee that met yesterday for possibly the last time, Chalk said Love's experience would be invaluable.

''As far as Colin Love goes, he would be an excellent choice as chairman,'' said Chalk, who is a member of the NRL, ARL and NSWRL boards. ''He's already in a position of great responsibility anyway, as a member of the NRL partnership committee. He hasn't gone out there and pursued the job - it's only natural he is being considered.

''Colin knows the ins and outs of the league's television deals, and he did a great job running the World Cup last year - so much so that his business suffered because of the amount of time he dedicated to the tournament. He isn't tied to any club, so he would be genuinely independent - and if you're going to have an independent commission, you've got to be careful not to include people who might have conflicts of interest.'' Chalk, who is one of the game's most experienced administrators, said officials who would have to relinquish various degrees of power for the commission to be formed merely wanted to see it done right.

''The people on these boards are not standing in the way of this happening,'' Chalk said. ''But no-one is going to say yes if what they see put in front of them is bullshit. It's a huge for the game, and they just want to be sure it's done correctly.

''The good thing is that people are willing it to happen - if it's done right. It's what the game needs. There is too much competition out there for rugby league now - we have to be fair dinkum about what needs to be done.''

Chalk also said descriptions of long-serving league officials as ''blazer-wearers'' who didn't want to give up perks for the good of the game were disrespectful and insulting.

''We're talking about a wide variety of people who have worked hard for the game and done tremendous things for it,'' he said. ''They don't sit around - they've got a lot of drive and they use it on behalf of the game.''

Take your time deciding future, Broncos tell Lockyer (AAP, NZ Herald 1 Dec)

Champion Brisbane five-eighth Darren Lockyer will have as much time as he needs to decide whether he wants to continue his representative career or call it quits.

Lockyer, still to formally sign a new two-year contract with the Broncos, is weighing up his representative future after a season in which he led Queensland to an unprecedented fourth straight Origin series and set several personal records in taking Australia to a Four Nations series win in Britain.

There's been talk that at 32, and with 50 tests and 30 Origins taking their toll on his body and with nothing more to achieve, Lockyer should step down as Queensland and Australian captain and save himself for the Broncos' premiership cause.

But Brisbane coach Ivan Henjak yesterday said Australia's most capped player would be allowed to make up his own mind without pressure or interference from him or the Broncos.

"I haven't, and the club has never put any pressure on Darren in terms of rep footy," said Henjak, who'd like to have his champion playmaker around during Origin when the club's halves depth is usually tested.

"He's earned the right to make that decision on his own and we'll let him do that," said Henjak.

"I'm not going to pressure him in any way and I've told him the decision is his.

"He's got some time to think about it and I'm sure he has been thinking about it even before he went away on tour," said Henjak.

Lockyer was solid in the Four Nations opening games without starring but, as he so often does, pulled out a big game in the final against England.

"He's achieved everything he can in rep footy, he's broken all those records and he's got nothing else to prove," said Henjak. "He'll make the right decision I'm sure."

Should Lockyer seek exemption from representative duty after so many years of service, it would greatly help Brisbane negotiate its Origin bogey.

And with former Parramatta bad boy Tim Smith looking to resurrect his NRL career via side Brisbane Easts, which would allow the Broncos to call on his services in 2010, the club would be well equipped to cope even if halfback Peter Wallace was required for the NSW Origin team.

Re-signed Hayne eyes code change in four years (Liam Fitzgibbon, AAP www.stuff.co.nz 18 Dec)

After finally committing his future to rugby league for the next four years, Parramatta superstar Jarryd Hayne has warned that the NRL has to do more to keep the game's best talent from rival codes.

The 21-year-old Dally M Medal winner yesterday penned league's most prized signature, securing a new four- season deal with the Eels reportedly worth A$500,000 a season plus third party deals.

It comes after months of speculation surrounding his future, with reports he was being offered more than A$1 million a season to join the AFL's new western Sydney franchise.

Hayne, who was typically relaxed during a public signing at a shopping centre at Rouse Hill in Sydney's west, said he always wanted to stay with the Eels, believing he still had plenty to achieve in rugby league.

But he bluntly admitted it would be hard to resist the advances from rival codes in four years time, citing the new challenge and financial incentives offered by rugby union and AFL as ''very appealing''.

And amid speculation Test halfback is also considering a code switch, Hayne passionately believed the NRL should be more flexible with the salary cap to help stem the flow of talent.

''I think I'm too young [to switch codes] now, but I think when it comes up next time it's going to definitely be an option,'' Hayne said.

''It'd be sad to go but it just seems like the NRL's just letting players go, it'd be good to see them sort of step in.

''There's a lot of big name players going and the way the [NRL] sort of sees it is that one player doesn't make a whole competition.

''But when you're losing such quality players in consecutive years the question's got to be asked, how many more are we going to let go?''

''You want to play against the best, you don't want to see them go to other codes, like Sonny Bill [Williams], , Craig Gower, .

''Everyone loves league but the challenge and the financial side of things to go to other codes is very appealing.''

Hayne's current contract had been due to expire at the end of next season but that has been replaced by a much-improved four-year deal negotiated by manager Wayne Beavis.

The NSW Origin and Test star said he was relieved to have secured his future for the coming years and was clear about his ambitions having taken the blue and golds to the NRL grand final against Melbourne this year.

''I think the top two goals is to win a and win the big one [grand final],'' he said. ''They're the two massive goals every player in the comp wants to achieve.''

Eels chief executive Paul Osborne said he was always hopeful Hayne would remain with the club, calling it a great day for rugby league as a whole.

''It would have been an absolute disaster for us if we had have lost Jarryd given I can't recall any player that dominated a year like he did this year, week after week, after week,'' Osborne said.

''For us to have lost him to another code would have been diabolical.''