SPORT llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ntnews.com.au Battle to be No.6

RUGBY LEAGUE since returning from the are Campese, Warriors No. 6 for NSW, most with the No. 6 finished off last year he’s been igin side is selected for the string of injury setbacks that James Maloney, Newcastle on his back. great as well. I just hope we annual clash with City in FORMER NSW State of Or- virtually halted his career for pair and Jarrod ‘‘Campo showed against the have the full complement to Mudgee on April 22. igin skipper 18 months, Campese joined Mullen and former Dally M Tigers he’s in good form and pick from. With injury and All six five-eighth hopefuls has declared the race for the the five-eighth selection bat- winner , who ap- he’s one of the biggest out of suspension you don’t know are eligible for Country. NSW No. 6 jumper wide open, tle that includes up to six con- pears to have landed on his the lot of them — he’s running what’s going to happen.’’ ‘‘The unfortunate thing is with Canberra playmaker tenders for the series opener feet at Cronulla after a forget- the ball really well and he’s While the contenders have we won’t be able to fit every- the latest to in on May 23. ful 2011. only going to get better over another six matches before one in,’’ said Barrett, who throw his hat in the ring fol- Incumbent ‘‘It’s good — we’ve got some the next month. the team is named for Origin along with being an assistant lowing an eye-catching dis- heads the field following a depth in some areas we ‘‘Sowie’s kicking game is I, the frontrunner will rise to to with NSW play against . strong first Origin campaign, haven’t had in the past,’’ said his strength, Maloney the the surface in just three will also work with Country In his best performance but breathing down his neck Barrett, who played 11 games way he’s started the year and weeks when the Country Or- coach . Souths big man Burgess ready for taste of England Tigers

SOUTH ’s Sam Bur- gess is looking forward to his keep NRL battle of the Brits show- down with on Sunday, but won’t be winding cubs in up the Wests Tigers star with

PUB: any pre-match banter. The pair, who both hail front-row from Yorkshire, are good friends and two of the prem- SOUTH Sydney’s fearsome TNEWS NT ier back-rowers in the NRL. pack should be licking their However, with their sides lips at the thought of facing both sitting at 1-3 after poor Wests Tigers’ struggling for- starts to the season, Burgess wards, but says there’ll be no contact un- is refusing to write off their til after the game. young NRL front-rowers. ‘‘I know big Gaz quite well ’ side go into DATE: and I am looking forward to Sunday’s clash at the SCG the challenge of coming up smarting from three suc- against him,’’ Burgess said. cessive losses, with props ‘‘He’s been their best , 21, and Matt 28-MAR-2012 player for the last three years Groat, 20, learning about life and a great competitor who’s in the NRL the hard way. been the Tigers’ best player So the last thing Sheens for the last three years. needs is the prospect of stop- ‘‘There might be a bit of ping Crocker, , talk out there on the field, but and Dave Tay- it’s all in good fun. I love lor, smarting from being Gareth as a player, love dropped to the bench. watching him play and enjoy Woods and Groat have PAGE: coming up against him. come up against represent- ‘‘I’m not sure yet if he’ll be ative front-rowers Jason on my side, but it will be good King, , David to face him.’’ Shillington, and 48 Souths have squandered in their winning positions in two of past three games and really

COLOR: their three defeats this struggled. season and Burgess admits a However, Crocker, who lack of attention to detail on made his debut for Sydney the field is costing them. Roosters at a similar age, be- ‘‘It is such a tough compe- lieves Sheens is too long in tition, the salary cap is so the tooth to expose players

C tight, and games can be won to first grade if they’re not and lost on the smallest up to scratch. M thing,’’ he said. ‘‘If the coach thinks ‘‘It’s probably just our con- they’re ready then they Y centration at around the 60-70 are,’’ Crocker said.

K minute mark. That’s where ‘‘But it’s unusual to see games are won and lost and such young front-rowers.’’ we need to be better. Despite Woods’ recent ‘‘We are playing OK foot- worries, he has a big fan in ball we just need to take a the former Queensland star. firm grip of the game when ‘‘I was impressed with we have control.’’ young Woods last year. He’s Burgess will have special got very good footwork for a reason to get one over Ellis, young kid,’’ Crocker said. with his mother flying in ‘‘It’s just a matter of get- from England for the game. ting his fitness right, build- ‘‘She just loves her football, ing his confidence and he’ll she has four boys who all play have a long career.’’ and she played a bit herself,’’ It wasn’t supposed to be he said. like this for the Tigers. ‘‘She gets very worried Beaten semi-finalists last when we play. I used to watch year, the arrival of New with her when my brothers Zealand forward Adam were playing in England and Rabbitoh Sam Burgess will come up against fellow Englishman, Wests Tiger Gareth Ellis, this weekend. The Souths back- Blair was supposed to be the it was quite painful at times.’’ rower will also have his mum, who has flown from England, in the stands watching the match Picture: PHIL HILLYARD final part of the jigsaw as they assumed the mantle of premiership favourites. However, after four rounds, only a hapless Par- Warriors boosted by the return of veteran Rapira ramatta side is below them . Sheens said he needs to FRONT-rower is a pre-season game. The Second-rower Feleti Mateo Manu Vatuvei, who both Glen Fisiiahi, who played work on the issues affecting set to make his first NRL ap- 24-year-old, 123-game veteran is listed to start with Lewis came out of the 26-6 win four NRL matches last year, his side. pearance of the season after has been selected on a bench Brown moving to the bench. against the Titans requiring has been included on the ‘‘You’ve got to be able to being named on the bench which also includes Kiwi ‘‘It’s great having Sam medical attention. bench. He has scored nine defend and discipline has for the Warriors against prop and Uku- ready this week,’’ McClennan Vatuvei sat out most of the tries in his past two been an issue,’’ he said. the Roosters in Sydney on ma Ta’ai. said yesterday. ‘‘He was close second half with his left NSW Cup matches for the ‘‘Being down 9-3 this week Saturday. Warriors coach Brian against Gold Coast but the de- hamstring iced but he trained Vulcans. and 8-3 last week makes it He has been included on a McClennan has made just cision was made to give him yesterday. The Warriors will encoun- really hard for us. six-man interchange bench one change to the run-on another week.’’ Locke is recovering from a ter a Roosters side chastened ‘‘But you’ve got to keep after being sidelined combination used to beat Also named are cork above his right knee and by a humiliating 44-4 loss to working at it. We’re a close with a shoulder injury since Gold Coast last weekend. Kevin Locke and winger didn’t train. the Storm last Sunday. group here.’’

48 NT NEWS. Wednesday, March 28, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au