TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board

FROM: Cushla Dawson

DATE: 21 September 2009

RE: Media Summary Tuesday 15 September to Monday 21 September 2009

Canterbury clinch top ranking for semis: Canterbury finished with a perfect record of five wins to clinch top ranking for next weekend's provincial Rugby League Premiership semi-finals. After earlier wins over Auckland, Wellington and Taranaki, Canterbury, coached by former Kiwi Brent Stuart had to play its final two round-robin matches - both on the road - in 48 hours.

The calm before the Storm: Last week's 40-12 win over the Sea Eagles, combined with losses for both the Dragons and Titans, was enough to give the a week off from finals footy. Having a week off at this time of the year can affect you in one of two ways. Sometimes you can lose your momentum while at other times you benefit immensely from the rest. It's a situation we've been presented with and now it's up to us to deal with it in the best way possible.

Kiwis may be hungry but underdone: The Kiwis are in danger of being underdone heading into next month's Four Nations against Australia, England and France. It's a common and unavoidable situation for the world champions and some key players won't have touched a football in competitive action for almost six weeks when they meet in a warm-up in Rotorua on October 14.

Four Nations tipped to be big success: WITH just over a month until the first game of the 2009 Gillette Four Nations Trophy between England and France kicks off at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium, the Rugby Football League are confident of building on the success of last year's World Cup in Australia. Set to be screened in more than 35 countries, and broadcast on Sky Sports, BBC and Orange in the UK and France, the tournament is set to showcase some of the best players in the world to around 70 million homes around the globe.

Wellington league team need focus, says coach: Countering complacency is the biggest concern for coach Trevor Clark as he looks to book a semifinal ticket by defeating national provincial premiership strugglers Bay of Plenty at Petone Rec tomorrow. Even if Wellington are guilty of looking ahead, last-placed Bay of Plenty should be too tired to take advantage after playing competition leaders Canterbury in Rotorua last night.

Women lose league crown: South Auckland has surrendered the Auckland women’s rugby league crown. Defending champions Papakura were beaten 12-4 by the Richmond Roses in the grand final at Mt Smart Stadium last Saturday. It was a disappointing end to the season for Papakura Rugby League Club in general.

Lower Central Zone Directors Named By NZRL: New Zealand Rugby League chairman Scott Carter today confirmed three Wellington Rugby League administrators would step down from their roles to take up positions as directors on the new Lower Central Zone board. After announcing directors for the Auckland and Southern Zones in recent weeks, Carter said Gibson would chair the Lower Central Zone board with the directors being John Bishop, Mark Feary, Jonathan Hanton and Eddie Jansen.

Kearney names Kiwis for Four Nations: Coach is confident his world champion Kiwis will mount a strong challenge at the inaugural Four Nations tournament despite the number of unavailable players. Melbourne prop was already ruled out with an ankle problem before the selectors named a 45-strong train-on squad last month.

Warriors stars Vatuvei, Rapira to miss Four Nations: Warriors stand-outs and are among the big name drop-outs for the Kiwis' end-of season Four Nations tour. Vatuvei struggled with a knee complaint for much of the NRL season but was still the Warriors top try-scorer, with 11 in 18 matches, while Rapira, who is nursing a chest injury, was the team's best-performed prop.

Young Warriors prop eyes up Kiwis: has put this year's disappointing Warriors campaign behind him and is focusing on another black jersey. The big Manawatu prop is in the 45-man training squad for the Kiwis and is hoping to force his way into the final team to play in the Four Nations tournament against Australia, England and France in Europe next month. But the 19-year-old said he wasn't packing his bags for the northern hemisphere just yet. League team ready for anything: The Takahanga Marae rugby league team resumed training at the weekend. The number of players present was indicative of what's in store on Saturday, as the team prepares for a re- match against Blenheim. Good numbers are encouraging and the boys are well aware of what they all need to do to secure a win, especially on home soil in front of a home crowd.

Canterbury clinch top ranking for Rugby League semis Canterbury finished with a perfect record of five wins to clinch top ranking for next weekend's provincial Rugby League Premiership semi-finals.

After earlier wins over Auckland, Wellington and Taranaki, Canterbury, coached by former Kiwi Brent Stuart had to play its final two round-robin matches - both on the road - in 48 hours.

They beat Bay of Plenty 66-16 in a catch-up game in Rotorua then defeated Waikato 32-4 in Huntly yesterday.

Auckland beat Taranaki 52-20 and Wellington beat Bay of Plenty 60-24.

Canterbury have 10 points, two ahead of Auckland with Waikato on six and Wellington four.

Auckland will host Waikato at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday and Canterbury will be at home to Wellington on Sunday at Rugby League Park.

(Source: Radio New Zealand News, 21 September 2009)

The calm before the Storm Last week's 40-12 win over the Sea Eagles, combined with losses for both the Dragons and Titans, was enough to give the Melbourne Storm a week off from finals footy.

Having a week off at this time of the year can affect you in one of two ways. Sometimes you can lose your momentum while at other times you benefit immensely from the rest. It's a situation we've been presented with and now it's up to us to deal with it in the best way possible.

At the Storm, we feel if we manage this weekend off effectively we will get more benefits out of it with a longer preparation for our preliminary final next weekend than if we had to play this weekend.

Look at the NRL schedule in any given year and it would be fair to say it's gruelling.

Our guys play 26 rounds of footy and when you throw in Origin and test matches on top of that, it's a fair bit of work to put your body through.

I was reading an article this morning that highlighted just how much footy the likes of our skipper and fullback have played. It also mentioned how our starting 13 have played more minutes than any other team in the competition.

From that point of view, having the week off gives our guys the opportunity to recharge the batteries and recover from any little injury problems they might have.

We have kept the week pretty much the same as we normally would if we had a long turnaround between games in the regular season. We normally give the lads a couple of days off and the rest of the time is spent in business mode.

We are also very fortunate our under-20s side is in the exact same position as us with a week off before their preliminary final.

Yesterday, we had a mock game between them and our senior side to keep everyone on their toes.

A lot of people have been talking about the dominance we showed during last week's win over the Sea Eagles.

However, I must say, that victory took us in the coaching box by surprise a little. The lads probably haven't played that well all year. The win was pleasing and has certainly given us some confidence but it's not something we are dwelling on.

Almost from the fulltime siren, our focus turned to preparing for next weekend's preliminary final showdown.

Do we worry about who we are going to play? Not really. It's about getting our own house in order. Whoever we play will be just as desperate as us to make the Grand Final.

Since last week's win over Manly, there's been a lot of talk about whether the Storm have the goods this year to go all the way as we did in 2007.

If you look at this side's record since 2003 (we've made the finals every year since then) it's pretty impressive. People often ask me to identify why the Storm are consistently in the finals and I guess you could say it's because of a number of reasons.

For one thing, we are fortunate enough to have a squad which includes some very talented players. A lot of our guys are big-game players with big-game experience and that really helps.

We've also got an outstanding coach in Craig Bellamy, who leaves no stone unturned when preparing for a match, be it round one, seven or a Grand Final.

Craig has instilled a real winning attitude into this club along with structures and processes, which are clearly very effective.

Of course, you can have the best players in the world and plan everything down to the finest detail and sometimes that's not good enough.

I can assure you, however, we will be doing our best to succeed in a week's time.

Injured players

On Friday it was announced that , Newcastle back-rower Zeb Taia, winger Taniela Tuiaki and Warriors , Sam Rapira, and Manu Vatuvei (knee) had been ruled out of our Kiwis squad for the upcoming Four Nations.

It's obviously disappointing for all those individuals. But unfortunately that's the nature of our brutal NRL competition.

My focus is on the individuals we will have in the squad. I'm confident they will be super committed and hungry to do their very best.

(Source: Stephen Kearney - Sunday News 20 September 2009)

Kiwis may be hungry but underdone The Kiwis are in danger of being underdone heading into next month's Four Nations against Australia, England and France.

It's a common and unavoidable situation for the world champions and some key players won't have touched a football in competitive action for almost six weeks when they meet Tonga in a warm-up in Rotorua on October 14.

Already Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney has trimmed his original train-on squad from 45 to 38 because of injuries.

They have lost some significant firepower with the likes of Manu Vatuvei, Roy Asotasi, Simon Mannering (all knee), Sam Rapira (chest) Taniela Tuiaki and Sika Manu (both ankle) sidelined.

But others are on enforced convalescence, including , , , , and , who have all been off since the beginning of the month with their teams failing to make the playoffs.

Others joined them this weekend as their teams were bundled out of the finals.

There is an argument to suggest this is a good thing. It allows players to rest and recuperate after a long, hard season and tackle the Four Nations with renewed enthusiasm. But players often talk about the fact match hardness can't be beaten, especially in international football.

The Kiwis often point to the fact they get better as a series develops. Combinations improve with more time together. It won't help, then, that many won't have played for a number of weeks.

"It's just one of those things," Kearney said. "It's unavoidable. It's not a great concern to me because it's can't be helped and we have got in place the train-on squad and that's what it's for. The positive is that we still have a number of the squad involved in finals football."

There were 15 of the wider squad of 38 involved in the playoffs in both the NRL and UK heading into this weekend.

But only five from this year's Anzac test side - , , , and - were still involved. Australia had nine, including their entire backline save for Johnathan Thurston, and four others played last weekend.

Australia have a much larger pool of players to draw from and their important players tend to guide their teams into the important games at the end of the year. Many will still be match hardened when they begin the Four Nations.

The NZRL have arranged the Tonga test in Rotorua as a warm-up and had also tried unsuccessfully to schedule another against Fiji. Kearney said they will play an in-house game on October 10 as an alternative to work on combinations.

The 23-man Four Nations squad will be announced after the NRL grand final on October 4 and assemble two days later.

It will still be a decent Kiwis touring squad, despite the combined difficulties of injuries and enforced layoffs. As many as 16 of last year's World Cup-winning squad are in the train-on squad.

They have experience in the likes of , Hohaia, Halatau, and Marshall and others are in good form, like Ben Roberts, , Blair and Jeremy Smith.

They also have some exciting talent to choose from in Kevin Locke, , , , Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and .

"I'm very happy with what we have," Kearney said. "I'm very mindful of the players who can't make it but I'm very confident that whoever steps into the jumper will be fully committed to the cause and that's all we can ask for. It will be a very committed and hungry group."

Kiwis schedule * October 14 vs Tonga, Rotorua * October 25 (NZT) vs Australia, London * November 1 (NZT) vs France, Toulouse * November 8 (NZT) vs England, Huddersfield * November 15 (NZT) - Four Nations final, Leeds

(Source: Michael Brown, Herald on Sunday, 20 September 2009)

Four Nations tipped to be big success WITH just over a month until the first game of the 2009 Gillette Four Nations Trophy between England and France kicks off at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium, the Rugby Football League are confident of building on the success of last year's World Cup in Australia.

Set to be screened in more than 35 countries, and broadcast on Sky Sports, BBC and Orange in the UK and France, the tournament is set to showcase some of the best players in the world to around 70 million homes around the globe.

It will be the first time world champions New Zealand have played in the UK since losing the Albert Baskerville shield in 2007, and it will also be Australia's first visit to these shores for four years.

Despite losing last year's World Cup Final, Australia will, according to the RFL's official bookmakers, William Hill, start the tournament as 2/7 favourites.

New Zealand, who have featured in the last three major international finals – winning two and losing the other on a golden point – are priced at 11/2.

England, who made the semi-finals of last year's World Cup, will be determined to perform better on home soil and this is reflected in their status as 5/1 second favourites.

Despite playing two games on home soil in Paris and Toulouse, France, under the stewardship of Bobbie Goulding, will start as 50/1 outsiders.

Goulding visited the stadium complex this week to check on the training facilities available to his squad and came away impressed.

(Source: www.thestar.co.uk 19 September 2009)

Wellington league team need focus, says coach Countering complacency is the biggest concern for Wellington rugby league coach Trevor Clark as he looks to book a semifinal ticket by defeating national provincial premiership strugglers Bay of Plenty at Petone Rec tomorrow.

Even if Wellington are guilty of looking ahead, last-placed Bay of Plenty should be too tired to take advantage after playing competition leaders Canterbury in Rotorua last night.

The ridiculous schedule is a result of teams running into flight problems earlier in the season. Even Clark who faced similar issues with catch-up games last week couldn't help but be sympathetic to Bay of Plenty's plight.

"It's going to be tough for them so it'll be interesting to see what team they come up with on Sunday," he said. "But we've just got to be clinical.

"If we can do that then hopefully we can come away with a lot more confidence as well."

A Wellington win would tie up a semifinal berth against Canterbury, Auckland or Waikato and kickoff is at 2.45pm, following under-18 and under-16 curtain-raisers.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Rugby League chairman Scott Carter confirmed yesterday that three Wellington Rugby League administrators would step down from their roles to take up positions as directors on the new Lower Central Zone board.

Carter said Tim Gibson would chair the Lower Central Zone board. The directors would be John Bishop, Mark Feary, Jonathan Hanton and Eddie Jansen.

(Source: Sam Worthington - The Dominion Post, 19 September 2009)

Women lose league crown South Auckland has surrendered the Auckland women’s rugby league crown.

Defending champions Papakura were beaten 12-4 by the Richmond Roses in the grand final at Mt Smart Stadium last Saturday.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Papakura Rugby League Club in general.

The women’s team was the club’s best hope for a championship after the men fell in their Fox Memorial Trophy grand final against the Mt Albert Lions.

It was the fourth time in five years that the men have ended up bridesmaids. The women were bitterly disappointed too because they’d beaten the Roses 16-8 in their first semifinal two weeks earlier.

Stand-in coach Alwyn Peters says Papakura have no excuses. "Richmond have been the form team all season. They had as many Kiwi Ferns as we have but were hungrier. They were the better team on the day."

Peters says Papakura were hampered by a New Zealand Rugby League ruling restricting club and representative football to players aged 17 and over. At least five Papakura girls were sidelined by the ruling, he says.

"We had to bring a number of players out of retirement to make up the numbers. We’re disappointed because this rule is going to affect the development of the women’s game at the club level.

"There are no structures or competitions in place for girls rugby league so a lot of girls will be taking up rugby instead."

Peters stood in for coach Rusty Matua who was away coaching the Auckland men’s team playing Wellington in the national provincial championship.

Krystal Rota scored Papakura’s sole try.

Many of Papakura’s leading players will be in action again this Saturday and Sunday when the Mangere East Rugby Club hosts an eight-team international women’s tournament.

Other teams taking part are the Cook Islands (Tokoroa), Auckland Samoa, Wellington Samoa, Counties Manukau, Richmond Barbarians, Wellington and Nga Hau E Wha (Auckland). First round matches start at 10am.

The tournament is being organised by New Zealand Women’s Rugby League.

(Source: Alan Apted - Manukau Courier 18 September 2009)

Lower Central Zone Directors Named By NZRL New Zealand Rugby League chairman Scott Carter today confirmed three Wellington Rugby League administrators would step down from their roles to take up positions as directors on the new Lower Central Zone board.

After announcing directors for the Auckland and Southern Zones in recent weeks, Carter said Gibson would chair the Lower Central Zone board with the directors being John Bishop, Mark Feary, Jonathan Hanton and Eddie Jansen.

"In accepting their positions as directors on the zone board, Mark Feary, Jonathan Hanton and Eddie Jansen have confirmed they will step down from roles they have with the Wellington Rugby League," said Carter.

Feary, currently on the WRL board, also chairs the WRL's chairmen's committee, while Hanton is on the WRL judiciary and Jansen is also a WRL board member.

The Lower Central Zone comprises the Wellington district league.

The formation of seven zonal boards was a key recommendation made by the Independent Review Committee when it announced a range of constitutional reforms in February following a game-wide review.

Carter said it was expected the directors for the remaining four zones would be named over the next few weeks.

(Source: www.voxy.co.nz 18 September 2009)

Kearney names Kiwis for Four Nations Coach Stephen Kearney is confident his world champion Kiwis will mount a strong challenge at the inaugural Four Nations tournament despite the number of unavailable players.

Melbourne prop Sika Manu was already ruled out with an ankle problem before the selectors named a 45-strong train-on squad last month.

After medical assessments, New Zealand team doctor Simon Mayhew has confirmed that seven in the expanded group are now also out of contention. They include South prop Roy Asotasi (knee), Wests Tigers winger Taniela Tuiaki (ankle) and Warriors Simon Mannering (knee), Sam Rapira (chest), Jerome Ropati (shoulder) and Manu Vatuvei (knee).

The other is uncapped Newcastle back rower Zeb Taia (shoulder).

Manu, Mannering, Rapira, Ropati and Vatuvei all played in the World Cup final victory over Australia in Brisbane last November.

Kearney said today that there was no point in dwelling on players who had been ruled out.

"My focus is always on the players we will have, not on those we won't have," he said.

"While it's obviously disappointing when players are unavailable, it's also a reality when you're dealing with a competition that's as tough as the is."

Kearney said many players were sidelined from the World Cup in Australia last year.

"But we still had a very committed group of players who were desperate to represent New Zealand and had a real belief," he said.

"It's exactly the same now. The players ruled out are bitterly disappointed but we know those left in the squad have a huge desire to be involved in this campaign and to be the best they can be."

Kearney said he was encouraged by the quality and the depth within the squad, with many player having experienced finals football, either in the NRL or in the English Super League.

Thirteen were still involved as the NRL enters the second weekend of finals.

In Britain, Leeds fullback Brent Webb and Wigan halfback will line up for their clubs when the Super League playoffs begin this weekend.

A 23-strong New Zealand tour party for the Four Nations will be named on October 5.

The Kiwis will play a one-off test against Tonga in Rotorua on October 14 before flying out for Britain three days later.

The opening Four Nations match is against Australia in London on October 24.

The New Zealanders face France in Toulouse and England in Huddersfield on successive weekends after that.

The tournament final is in Leeds on November 14.

Amended train-on squad is: (Warrington), Adam Blair (Melbourne), Luke Covell (Cronulla), Greg Eastwood (Bulldogs), David Fa'alogo (South Sydney), Nathan Fien (St George Illawarra), Kieran Foran (Manly), Alex Glenn (Brisbane), Bryson Goodwin (Bulldogs), Dene Halatau (Wests Tigers), (Canberra), Lance Hohaia (Warriors), (Parramatta), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (), Thomas Leuluai (Wigan), Jeff Lima (Melbourne), Kevin Locke (Warriors), Issac Luke (South Sydney), Benji Marshall (Wests Tigers), Steve Matai (Manly), (Warriors), Fuifui Moimoi (Parramatta), Jason Nightingale (St George Illawarra), Frank-Paul Nuuausala (Sydney Roosters), Russell Packer (Warriors), Sam Perrett (Sydney Roosters), Eddy Pettybourne (South Sydney), Frank Pritchard (Penrith), Ben Roberts (Bulldogs), Setaimata Sa (Sydney Roosters), Junior Sau (Newcastle), Jeremy Smith (St George Illawarra), (Sydney Roosters), Chase Stanley (St George Illawarra), Fetuli Talanoa (South Sydney), Jared Waerea- Hargreaves (Manly), Brent Webb (Leeds), Antonio Winterstein (Brisbane).

(Source: TVNZ Sport, 18 September 2009)

Warriors stars Vatuvei, Rapira to miss Four Nations Warriors stand-outs Manu Vatuvei and Sam Rapira are among the big name drop-outs for the Kiwis' end-of season Four Nations tour.

Vatuvei struggled with a knee complaint for much of the NRL season but was still the Warriors top try-scorer, with 11 in 18 matches, while Rapira, who is nursing a chest injury, was the team's best-performed prop. The Warriors have also ruled out Simon Mannering (knee) and Jerome Ropati (shoulder) from the Kiwis and captain Steve Price from the Kangaroos.

Other confirmed withdrawals from the 45-man Kiwis train-on squad include former skipper Roy Asotasi (knee), prolific Wests Tigers wing Taniela Tuiaki (ankle) and Knights forward Zeb Taia (shoulder).

Despite the withdrawals coach Stephen Kearney was still confident of putting together a competitive side.

"My focus is always on the players we will have, not on those we won't have," he said.

"We lost a lot of players who were in contention for the World Cup last year but we still had a very committed group of players who were desperate to represent New Zealand and had a real belief. It's exactly the same now."

The 38 players left in the train-on squad include 16 from the Kiwis' World Cup-winning squad, while 12 have yet to make their international debuts.

A final touring squad of 23 will be named on October 5, with the team assembling early next month to prepare for a one-off test against Tonga in Rotorua on October 14.

Their first Four Nations game is against the Kangaroos on October 24, with tests against France and England and possibly a final to follow.

(Source: Steve Deane, New Zealand Herald, 18 September 2009)

Young Warriors prop eyes up Kiwis Russell Packer has put this year's disappointing Warriors campaign behind him and is focusing on another black jersey.

The big Manawatu prop is in the 45-man training squad for the Kiwis and is hoping to force his way into the final team to play in the Four Nations tournament against Australia, England and France in Europe next month.

But the 19-year-old said he wasn't packing his bags for the northern hemisphere just yet.

"I'm just in a 45-man squad, it's a long way to go," he said.

"So hopefully I'll just knuckle down and try as hard as I can and make the squad."

He will face some stiff competition for prop berths with Melbourne Storm's Jeff Lima, Warrior Sam Rapira, Roy Asotasi and prop Fuifui Moimoi all in the squad.

There is a question mark surrounding Rapira's fitness as he struggles with a chest injury.

The Kiwis were due to begin their camp this week and for the last 10 days Packer has been enjoying some time off following the end of the Warriors' season.

At the club's awards night last week, he was named young player of the year.

"It was a good honour. It was a good achievement for me," Packer said.

By his own admission, there are a few things he needs to touch up before next season.

"Get my weight down a bit and get a bit fitter. I've got to work on a few core skills that have let me down a bit this year.

"Just a bit of tackling, technique and passing... We've got a big pre-season, so I'm sure we'll improve it then."

Packer played 21 games in the NRL this year and only three times for the under-20 team, but couldn't say who the toughest opponent was he met up front.

"They're all tough props. I'm not too sure I can really single anyone out, everybody's playing in the NRL for a reason because they're decent players." He said the Warriors would bounce back next year.

"It was a disappointing season, but a lot of the squad is young and a lot of us are returning next year and we will try to come back bigger and better.

"I think we've just got to find more consistency, definitely on the road."

The 111kg front-rower didn't have a tip for who was going to take the grand final out.

"It's certainly up in the air. I couldn't pick anyone."

(Source: Daniel Richardson - Manawatu Standard 17 September 2009)

League team ready for anything The Takahanga Marae rugby league team resumed training at the weekend. The number of players present was indicative of what's in store on Saturday, as the team prepares for a re-match against Blenheim.

Good numbers are encouraging and the boys are well aware of what they all need to do to secure a win, especially on home soil in front of a home crowd.

"Hopefully the local Hapu, Kati Kuri, turn up en masse to support the boys with close to 95 per cent of the team being of local bloodlines," said captain Les Hoerara.

"It's very important for the boys to feel and know that the Hapu (sub-clan) and Iwi (nation) are present, especially with large stakes in Marae Mana on the line, even more so on Takahanga Domain."

None more than Maurice and Tim Manawatu, who are both aware of what is due this Saturday and what this really means to the locals.

"We will be playing for pride in ourselves, in our community and what it means to be Maori, we won't be holding back this Saturday."

The buzz circling around the community is also very positive with plenty of questions being asked of players as to how the preparation and training sessions are going.

Local police and current Kaikoura rugby club senior players are also intrigued in the hype and will front this Saturday alongside many others in a supporting role.

Many local rugby players are also impressed with the number of players involved in the league with as many as 26 on Sundays and Tuesdays.

The Strawberry Tree plays host to the teams and supporters after the fixture with a private hakari, where food will be provided by the marae and local whanau, the McDonalds preparing the hangi kai, hopefully with a taste of local delicacies also a strong possibility.

"As a district we need to show our manaakitanga (hospitality) to our visitors as this is tikanga and kawa (customs and behaviours) based and must also be adhered to," said team manager Maurice Manawatu.

The league team will need and encourages local support, so come prepared to cheer along where being loud, proud and nicely boisterous is the theme of the day.

"I'm more than positive that when the league boys appear from the changing rooms at 12.59pm that the old wise cliche of `let's get ready to rumble' will resound loudly around the lofty peaks of Tapuae-o-Uenuku to the mesmerising shores of Marokura under the food storehouse of Rakihouia," said Mr Hoerara.

"Ka mau kee te Wehi! Game On!"

(Source: Kaikoura Star 16 September 2009)