TO: NZRL Staff, Districts and Affiliates and Board FROM: Cushla Dawson DATE: 28 September 2009 RE: Media Summary Tuesday 22 September to Monday 28 September 2009 Auckland, Canterbury in final: Canterbury will host Auckland in the national rugby league final after both won contrasting semifinals over the weekend. Bartercard Cup top qualifiers Canterbury pipped Wellington 20-17 in Christchurch today after trailing 10-6 at halftime, scoring four tries to three in an even contest. Bulls scrape through to berth in Final: The Bulls' big boys Jaye Pukepuke and Chris Bamford scored to deliver Canterbury's first representative rugby league home final in 16 years. But as Bulls' coach Brent Stuart quipped after the 20-17 win: "I won't need a nail manicure for a while" after yesterday's semifinal at Rugby League Park. Stuart watched nervously as the Bulls took 65 minutes to wrest the lead from Wellington and secure a National Provincial Premiership home final against Auckland next Sunday Christchurch's first since Stuart was a frontrower in Frank Endacott's side which routed Auckland in 1993. Sin-binning proves costly: Wellington league coach Trevor Clark is fuming after a crucial refereeing decision bundled his side out of the national provincial premiership. Canterbury beat Wellington 20-17 in yesterday's semifinal in Christchurch and the sin-binning of fullback Greig Dean was the major talking point. Wellington lost 32-0 to Canterbury during the regular season but shot out to a 10-0 first-half lead yesterday as Dean and winger Bureta Faraimo crossed for tries. Iro’s assistance invaluable: After his success with the Warriors' Under-20s and helping the Kiwis, Tony Iro's appointment as assistant coach of the first-grade side working alongside Ivan Cleary was a natural progression. Tony Iro's appointment this week as assistant coach of the Warriors' first-grade side was great news for the club. It's a wonderful promotion for the club's former under-20s coach and it's also a wonderful opportunity for him. Kidwell to coach Rabbitohs U20s: As David Kidwell drives along one of Sydney's streets, he's pulled over by a policeman for talking on his mobile phone. It's against the law in Australia and Kidwell fears the worst. It's his lucky day and he's let off with a warning. Kidwell has had a good week. A couple of days earlier, he was also named South Sydney's under-20s coach, just weeks after the end of his NRL career. Another blow for Kiwis: LESS than a month out from their Four Nations opener, the Kiwis have been struck down by yet another injury blow with fiery enforcer Jeremy Smith now expected to be ruled out of the tour. Back- rower Smith has been carrying an ankle injury for most of the season. It forced him out of the May 9 test before he returned for the Dragons in round 22. But this week it's understood he told Kiwis management he would miss the Four Nations campaign, which starts in October, in order to undergo surgery on the ankle. Underdog status no problem for Waikato rugby league team: The Waikato rugby league team are content to claim underdog status heading into this afternoon's national championship semifinal against Auckland at Mt Smart Stadium. The visitors have their work cut out for them, with defending champions Auckland improving throughout the competition and welcoming back their Fox Memorial players in recent weeks. Lure of home final adds incentive for Canterbury: Canterbury have an added incentive to beat Wellington in their national league semifinal in Christchurch tomorrow. Victory will give Canterbury the rare experience of playing a final at home. This follows Sky Television's agreement to a New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) approach to provide live coverage of the final in Christchurch should Canterbury win. Goodwin keeping excellence in the family: Bryson Goodwin enjoys reading the papers. The Bulldogs winger with the famous dad has been lapping up the hype and hyperbole surrounding tonight's Battle of Sydney against the Eels. With the sort of season he's been having - 19 tries in 22 games for a Bulldogs side that has gone from wooden spooners to contenders - it's no wonder the 23-year-old enjoys his trips to the newsagent. Tigers chase shadows: The Wests Tigers have been left to play guessing games over the fitness of star St George Illawarra centre Chase Stanley in tonight's National Youth Cup preliminary final. Dragons under 20 coach Steve Price yesterday ruled Stanley out of the game, citing an ankle problem. The former New Zealand international was not named in the team for the grand final qualifier, but the Mercury understands Stanley may still be a last-minute inclusion. Blair answered Storm call: GIVEN the way the stars appear to have aligned for Melbourne over the past fortnight, it is easy to forget the predicament coach Craig Bellamy faced just a month ago. In round 24 the Storm was dismantled in front of its home crowd by premier Manly. It was Melbourne's third loss in four matches and with injury and suspension ravaging his squad, Bellamy warned his men they would be watching the finals from the sidelines for the first time since his arrival in 2003 if no one was prepared to lead the side out of its mire. That it was Adam Blair who answered the call should come as a surprise to no one. Former Kiwi Stuart Named Head Coach Of Bartercard Premiership Selection: Successful Canterbury coach Brent Stuart was today named head coach of the Bartercard Premiership Selection to face the Samoan Residents at Mount Smart Stadium on October 10. Stuart, who played 14 Tests for the Kiwis from 1992-95, earned the appointment after the Canterbury Bulls clinched top ranking for the Bartercard Premiership play-offs starting this weekend. PI v NZ Residents: An annual New Zealand Residents 13 versus a Pacific Islands team is the newest fixture on the New Zealand rugby league calendar. The first game will be between a Bartercard premiership selection and a Samoan residents team at Mt Smart stadium on October 10. Home final prospect for Canty Bulls: Christchurch could host its first national rugby league grand final in 16 years if the Canterbury Bulls beat Wellington in Sunday's semifinal in the city. New Zealand Rugby League competitions commissioner Kevin Bailey said the national body has asked Sky Sport if it would be prepared to screen the October 4 National Provincial Premiership grand final from Christchurch. Brown added to Kiwis squad: Warriors second rower Lewis Brown has been added to the Kiwis' train-on squad for the Four Nations rugby league tournament. Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney told TVNZ Brown had been brought in to provide cover for the squad's back row options. "We've lost some of our second row contenders like Simon Mannering, Sika Manu and Zeb Taia so we've called Lewis in to give us some more depth there," he said. Cantabs too classy for Waikato league side: A semifinal awaits them, but the Waikato rugby league team will need to lift their game if they are to be genuine title contenders in this season's national championship. In yesterday's final round-robin match against top-placed Canterbury in Huntly, Waikato showed good touches but fell apart defensively to lose 32-4 and confirm a trip to Mt Smart Stadium No2 to take on defending champions Auckland in next Saturday's Bartercard Premiership playoff. Auckland, Canterbury in final Canterbury will host Auckland in the national rugby league final after both won contrasting semifinals over the weekend. Bartercard Cup top qualifiers Canterbury pipped Wellington 20-17 in Christchurch today after trailing 10-6 at halftime, scoring four tries to three in an even contest. Coached by former Kiwis prop Brent Stuart, Canterbury maintained their unbeaten record but will have their hands full against an Auckland side who thumped Waikato 60-4 in Auckland yesterday. Henry Heta scored three of their 12 tries while doubles went to Cody Walker and James Blackwell. Canterbury beat Auckland 32-30 in their meeting earlier this season. (Source: New Zealand Herald, 28 September 2009) Bulls scrape through to berth in Final The Bulls' big boys Jaye Pukepuke and Chris Bamford scored to deliver Canterbury's first representative rugby league home final in 16 years. But as Bulls' coach Brent Stuart quipped after the 20-17 win: "I won't need a nail manicure for a while" after yesterday's semifinal at Rugby League Park. Stuart watched nervously as the Bulls took 65 minutes to wrest the lead from Wellington and secure a National Provincial Premiership home final against Auckland next Sunday Christchurch's first since Stuart was a frontrower in Frank Endacott's side which routed Auckland in 1993. Wellington threw everything they had at the Bulls and Stuart conceded the capital team "probably deserved to win more than we did" over the entire 80 minutes. "They put more effort in than we did, but one or two of our senior men came through in the end." The Bulls trailed 10-11 when Wellington skipper Anton Wereta potted a 35m field goal after a Junior Salevao try had tied the score at 10-all. Agaese Fiso adroitly broke some tackles to touch down just before the interval. But when cool-headed leadership was needed most desperately, Canterbury captain Jonny Limmer stepped up. The nuggety loose forward made a superb surge upfield to create the momentum for Pukepuke to crash over later and give the Bulls a 14-11 lead.