TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson DATE: 02 March 2009 RE: Media Summary Tuesday 24 Februar
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TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson DATE: 02 March 2009 RE: Media Summary Tuesday 24 February to Monday 02 March 2009 Horo sets new goal on sideline: IT'S a cliche but league is in Mark Horo's blood, always has been, always will be. The former Parramatta, Wests, Warriors and Kiwis star may have hung the boots up over a decade ago but the game remains a huge part of his life. Rhinos in for a tough task, says McClennan: LEEDS coach Brian McClennan has downplayed suggestions his side will crush Manly in the World Club Challenge. Traditionally, Super League sides have dominated the WCC with Sydney Roosters, who beat the Warriors in the 2002 NRL Grand Final, the last team from the southern hemisphere to win the title. Apart from the travel factor - tomorrow's match will be the tenth in a row in the UK - another reason the Super League sides have often claimed the silverware is the timing of the contest. League clubs to address Sparc report: Auckland league clubs will hear the recommendations in the Sparc report into the game and the reasons change is needed, from the review's author Sir John Anderson today. Sir John will speak after the Auckland Rugby League holds its annual general meeting this morning, the ARL board having already indicated it supports the proposed changes to the national make-up of the game. Titans boss warns defectors: Gold Coast Titans managing director Michael Searle has warned "generation Y" footballers they would be foolish to expect to waltz back into the NRL after get-rich-quick stints in rugby union. A season after the NRL went into panic mode at the defection to French rugby of Sonny Bill Williams and Mark Gasnier, a new foe has appeared on the horizon, this time from Japan. Carl’s keen: JONATHON Carl likes what he sees. The Cootamundra Bulldogs key off-season signing has been in town for roughly a month and has had no trouble adapting to his new surroundings or his new teammates and is itching to get on the paddock. League match will be competitive, says Nuku: Forget the thought that the one-off rugby league match being played at the Marist grounds at Memorial Park on Saturday will be little more than a social occasion. Organiser Joe Nuku says the game which features a Wairarapa invitational team against the Petone Panthers will "very definitely" be a competitive affair. Matai to remain ‘permanently’ injured: Manly centre Steve Matai might be known for his elusive footwork and rushing defensive hits - but the feared Kiwi star has quickly gained a reputation as a player that is ‘always’ injured writes Adam Sutcliffe. In any Steve Matai appearance, you are virtually guaranteed to see him go down with some sort of injury. You’ll often see the talented centre sitting on the deck clutching either his head, neck, shoulder or ankles. And this looks set to continue, with Matai being told yesterday he will never fully recover from neck and shoulder injuries which have plagued for most of his short career. ARU to plunder league juniors: THE Australian Rugby Union is focusing on the junior rugby league ranks to find future Wallabies and boost its dwindling player stocks. ARU high-performance manager David Nucifora said yesterday it was imperative it closely look at what talent was available among young league players, while also being on top of whatever prospects continued to emerge from junior rugby. Eastwood adds to Leeds' worries: LEEDS RHINOS, already facing injury problems over their World Club Challenge defence on Sunday, have an added worry about the stalled deal for Kiwi forward Greg Eastwood. Hull’s signing of Tongan prop Epalahame Lauaki from the New Zealand Warriors yesterday has freed up extra money for the Auckland club to take Eastwood on board should he fail in a second bid to acquire a UK ancestry visa. Sheens named Kangaroos coach: Wests Tigers mentor Tim Sheens has been named as the new coach of Australia's rugby league team, replacing Ricky Stuart. Sheens beat out a field believed to include Queensland coach Mal Meninga and NRL coaches Des Hasler and John Cartwright to secure the role. Top league coach back to his roots: Former Kiwis assistant coach Phil Prescott has returned to his boyhood club Halswell to end his coaching career. Prescott said he would have two more years with the Hornets, "and then that'll be it" after more than 20 years of coaching at premier grade, representative and international level. Clubs the key to getting league in schools: Rugby league in schools is here to stay as long as clubs put in the hard work, College Sport Wellington executive director John Hornal says. Last week's hard-hitting Anderson Report into the dire state of New Zealand rugby league highlighted the need to integrate the sport into the mainstream school sporting calendar. Hornal said league, which was introduced at Wellington secondary schools last year, needed the support of clubs if it was to flourish because schools "aren't resourced to deliver the game". UK stuff-up in league of its own: INTERNATIONAL Rugby League lurched into fresh controversy last night after the Australian Rugby League slammed their English counterparts over an "embarrassing" calendar mix-up. Just months after a drama-filled World Cup, RFL officials yesterday officially announced the draw for this year's inaugural Four Nations tournament, to be played through October and November in England and France. ARL has its nose out of joint over early schedule release: THREE months after a sensational World Cup, international rugby league is again in disarray with Australia upset at the early release of details about the proposed Four Nations tournament. The Rugby League International Federation yesterday announced locations and dates for the new tournament to be held in England and France, starting in October. Hull swoop for Lauaki: Hull have signed New Zealand and Tonga forward Epalahame Lauaki on a three-year deal. The 25-year-old has secured a release from the two years left on his contract with the New Zealand Warriors, although the deal is subject to him being granted an entry visa. Touch a piece of sporting history as World Cup visits: The Rugby League World Cup will travel around the Western Bay of Plenty tomorrow, giving fans a chance to catch a glimpse of history. Rugby league sport development officer, Len Reid, will transport the precious cargo from Auckland to Tauranga on Monday, arriving at Tauranga Boys' College for a powhiri about 9.30am. Horo sets new goal on sideline IT'S a cliche but league is in Mark Horo's blood, always has been, always will be. The former Parramatta, Wests, Warriors and Kiwis star may have hung the boots up over a decade ago but the game remains a huge part of his life. The big and powerful second-rower, who was known for his uncompromising playing style during his career, is making an impressive rise up the coaching ranks in Australia. This season he's in charge of the Shellharbour Dragons, the feeder team for the St George-Illawarra Dragons, in the NSW Cup. Horo coached Erina Eagles in the Jim Beam Cup in 2007 and also guided the representative side to victory in last year's inaugural Australian Rugby League Quad Series. Success with Shellharbour will no doubt lead to a job in the NRL for Horo and a welcome return to the big time. "My life is still full of rugby league," the likeable Horo told Sunday News, sitting at the back of the Southern Grandstand at WIN Stadium last week, while his players prepared for a training session. "When I retired in 1997, I came back to Australia and played a bit of park footy in St Clair which is down towards Penrith. I had a great time there and played until I was 41 and during that time I started doing a bit of coaching. "The NZRL had an initiative in 1998-99 where they formed some ex-pat New Zealand under-18 sides in Australia. We brought them back and trialled them in New Zealand and we tried to pick a Junior Kiwis team from it. "The NZRL then went away from doing this but what it did was give me a real liking of coaching. "It meant I was able to put something back into footy because, like most players who retire, you have a void and as a result I've been coaching ever since." Being at the feeder club for St George-Illawarra allows Horo to occasionally rub shoulders with Wayne Bennett, the greatest league coach of all time, who has this year moved south from the Broncos. "I was lucky to have a bit to do with him at the World Cup and, like most people, I was in awe of him and what he's achieved in the game. "It seems to me that he's not only a great coach but behind that he seems to be a very good person in general. He still talks to the people that have left the club and he still holds people in high regard. "He must have been a great father and role model and that might help with football that he genuinely gives a rat's arse and cares." As Horo mentioned, he was involved in the Kiwis' World Cup success last year, but played down his role in the team. "I was the waterboy, that's all I was.