25 November 2008 RE: Media Summary Saturday 15 No
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TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson DATE: 25 November 2008 RE: Media Summary Saturday 15 November to Tuesday 25 November 2008 Kiwis are content to polish the silverware: KEEP your opinions to yourselves and we will keep the World Cup. The message from across the ditch was yesterday loud and clear following revelations Ricky Stuart will be investigated for verbally abusing referee Ashley Klein the morning after the Kangaroos' disastrous defeat. New Zealand Rugby League general manager Peter Cordtz said New Zealanders were too busy enjoying the historic victory and the prestigious silverware to worry about the controversy whipped up in Australia or Stuart's opinions. Stuart to be investigated over abuse claims: Australian coach Ricky Stuart will be formally investigated following a complaint he abused World Cup referee Ashley Klein and a top England official after Saturday night's shock World Cup final loss to New Zealand. Rugby League International Federation chairman Colin Love confirmed the RLIF would follow-up on a complaint from England's director of referees Stuart Cummings that he and Klein were abused by Stuart in the foyer of the team's Brisbane hotel the morning after the Kiwis downed the Kangaroos 34-20. The real loss for Rugby League: I'll declare from the outset that I'm from an AFL state, Victoria. ....and while we support Melbourne Storm to the hilt, the focus here is very much on the AFL. It borders on being an obsession. But you don't have to have too much of the Rugby League smarts about you to know a bunch of sore losers when you see them. The fallout from Australia's loss to New Zealand in Saturday night's final of the World Cup has been both staggering and sad. Kangaroos point finger at ref: Australian prop Brent Kite has hit out at the penalty try ruling which helped send New Zealand on the road to victory in Saturday night's rugby league World Cup final. Kite left no doubts as to his perceptions of video referee Steve Ganson's decision late in the second half of New Zealand's 34-20 win which put them eight points up with time running out. On top of the world: Twenty-four exhausted but ecstatic Kiwis were pinching themselves in Suncorp Stadium's visitors' dressing room, coming to grips with the knowledge that they were now world champions. New Zealand had never won a rugby league World Cup, never even beaten Australia in a World Cup game. Eight games to zip the swaggering Kangaroos had won against the Kiwis since the Tri-Nations final in 2005, but the mouse had roared again in one of New Zealand sport's great upsets. What the Aussie media are saying: For some reason, the Australian sports writers prefer to talk about cricket this morning, rather than their beloved rugby league. Funny, that. Conspiracy claims and rumours of coach Ricky Stuart's imminent departure dominated the Sydney Morning Herald's league coverage. New World Order: So, a marvellous end to a fantastic five weeks has seen a shift in power at the top of international rugby league, and with due deference to the deposed Aussies, the significance of the final outcome cannot - and should not - be underestimated. If what had gone before, whether it be the pride of Papua New Guinea, the endeavour shown by the Irish, the historic first World Cup win for Scotland, or fantastic Fiji, all of those notable performers were put in the shade by Saturday's superb win for the Kiwis. Physio revels in cup success: Dunedin physiotherapist Karl McDonald did not sleep on Saturday night, but he was not complaining of tiredness yesterday. McDonald has been the New Zealand rugby league team's physio for a year - and he revelled in the Kiwis' shock 34-20 win against Australia in the Rugby League World Cup final. Dean Lonergan: Kiwis' success should Sparc rethink from bureaucrats: The Kiwis' win over Australia in the World Cup final is the biggest upset and the most-important result in New Zealand rugby league history. To a man, the Kiwis team were magnificent. After an up-and-down tournament where they kept producing a high mistake rate but were also managing to win, there was no one bar themselves who gave them any chance of beating what was regarded as one of the best-ever Australian sides. Myself included. No regrets with 'Kiwi' Bennett: NO REGRETS! That was the motivation behind Saturday night's shock World Cup defeat of Australia, which earned New Zealand the game's No. 1 tag. Amid euphoric scenes in the Kiwi dressing room, Wayne Bennett - the Australian coach who lost to Brian McClennan's Kiwis in the 2005 Tri- Nations final - was revealed as being responsible for the inspiring message across photos of each player that were stuck on their lockers before the game. First-class return for surprise rugby league world champs NZ: Members of the world champion New Zealand rugby league team flew home to a heroes' welcome on Sunday, greeted by hundreds of ecstatic supporters as they arrived in Auckland with their trophy. To chants of "Kiwi" and an impromptu haka, Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei and Evarn Tuimavavae emerged from the arrivals hall with the cup following their shock 34-20 win over Australia in Saturday night's final in Brisbane. Fans welcome rugby league World Cup to NZ: Hundreds of people were at Auckland Airport this evening to welcome the rugby league World Cup, along with members of the Kiwis team who won it last night. Team members Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei and Evarn Tuimavavae arrived home just after 6pm, along with manager Gordon Gibbons and several support staff. For the first time in Kiwis history the Rugby League World Cup was with them. Aussie media slates 'Silly Billy': The Kangaroos' shock demise rather than the Kiwis' stunning triumph was the focus as Australian media digested last night's rugby league World Cup final upset in Brisbane. Australian fullback Billy Slater, whose wild pass midway through the second spell was snapped up by Benji Marshall for a try that tilted the contest New Zealand's way, was firmly in the gun, less than a week after being named International Player of the Year. Kiwis stun Australia in rugby league World Cup final: NEW Zealand have claimed their first ever rugby league World Cup with a stunning 34-20 upset of Australia at Suncorp Stadium. Billy Slater's season of magic spontaneously combusted in a moment of madness and, combined with a penalty try, helped give the Kiwis a stunning victory before 50,599 fans. Massive underdogs heading into the match, the Kiwis pulled off the biggest upset in World Cup history - the Kangaroos surrendering their No.1 ranking to their transtasman rivals with their first loss since 2006. League upset spurred us on, say All Blacks: New Zealand's stunning 34-20 victory over Australia in the rugby league World Cup final on Saturday helped inspire the All Blacks to a hard-fought win over Wales in a rugby union Test here. The All Blacks battled back from a 9-6 half-time deficit for a 29-9 win and both coach Graham Henry and captain Richie McCaw said the players had drawn on the passion shown by their rugby league compatriots. Players will want Aussie mentor to stay: NEW ZEALAND league bosses will consult senior players at the end of the World Cup before deciding whether to extend coaching advisor Wayne Bennett's tenure with the Kiwis beyond 2008. But based on the polarising media coverage over the former Broncos boss last week, it's almost a given they will tell the NZRL to keep him on board. Is this brave team the greatest?: THOSE brave Kiwi soldiers that won the World Cup for New Zealand in stunning style last night deserve to go down in history as one of the greatest teams ever to represent this country in any sport. Their extraordinary win is on the same level as the 1987 All Blacks and 1976 and 1972 Olympic hockey and rowing gold medal groups. We are the champions!: KANGAROOS 20 KIWIS 34. MOVE over All Blacks from the class of '87. New Zealand sport has a new team of heroes after Stephen Kearney's unfashionable Kiwis last night completed one of the biggest upsets in sport by trouncing the Kangaroos to win the Rugby League World Cup final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Even with the dream coaching duo of Kearney and Wayne Bennett it wasn't supposed to end this way. Workload could push Slater to rugby: THESE are the numbers that could drive the world's best player, Kangaroos fullback Billy Slater, to rugby union - and perhaps by the end of next year. Slater finally finished the most gruelling season of his career last night, the World Cup final in Brisbane taking his 2008 tally to 38 matches in eight months. Kearney hails 'wonderful' Kiwis: Within an hour of masterminding one of the biggest upsets in rugby league history, New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney was already planning for the future. Just four weeks after being outplayed in their opening pool match by the Kangaroos, the Kiwis stunned a disbelieving 50,559 crowd at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium with a performance of passion and sheer class to wrest the World Cup from Australia's vice-like grip in a 34-20 win. Kiwis re-write rugby league history: New Zealand have defied history, the form guide and the odds to score a sensational 34-20 victory over defending champions Australia in the rugby league World Cup final in Brisbane.