Moves, Rumours,Judiciary, Injuries ...

[Graham]

Canberra have landed a big man double whammy with the signing of English prop Ryan Sutton from Wigan Warriors, set to be complemented by the retention of Queensland enforcer Josh Papalii.

The Raiders have hit back in the scramble for marquee front-rowers, luring Sutton from Wigan on a two-year deal from next season.

The club had money to spend and a 240kg void to fill up front with Junior Paulo returning to Parramatta and Shannon Boyd moving to the Gold Coast in 2019.

A new three-year deal for Papalii, which will keep the Logan junior in the nation's capital until the end of 2021, is expected to be announced in the next week.

Canberra have already ruled themselves out of contention for Bulldogs bookend Aaron Woods, who could potentially be moved on to ease Canterbury's dire salary cap situation despite signing a lucrative four-year deal only 12 months ago.

At the age of just 22, Sutton has already notched up 100 SL appearances.

[DavidM]

2 hours ago, Graham said:

Wests Tigers have got their man with Moses Mbye signed, sealed and delivered on a four-year deal after he was released by the salary cap stricken Canterbury.

Mbye had already conceded that it was just a matter of time before he would be leaving the Belmore-based club and the move was made official on Tuesday afternoon.

Good move for him joining a team with an attacking plan 

[Graham]

Billy Slater has announced his retirement from Rep footy after this Origin series. I’m not surprised. It seems a perfectly sensible decision. It follows on from similar decisions by Cam Smith and Cooper Cronk. It seems reading between the lines that he will carry on playing next season though.

[Farmduck]

Young T'onomatopoiea is quitting the Storm immediately to assume the missionary position in Berlin. I didn't even know he was a Mormon.

[Farmduck]

Once every season you wish you'd watched the Channel 9 version:

Quote

Realising immediately what he’d done Gould tried to escape from the c-bomb halfway through and say “kid” instead.

“He made his entry into first grade and everyone said how good’s this c***t — kid gonna be?... And he got lost for about two seasons,” Gould continued as if nothing had happened.

But it was too late, and the viewers certainly picked up on it.

 

[Graham]

7 hours ago, Farmduck said:

Once every season you wish you'd watched the Channel 9 version:

 

No, I’ve been there previously with Premier Sports in previous seasons. More like Channel Nein  as my friend Bourbon Rat used to call it.

[Graham]

On 5/31/2018 at 9:32 AM, Farmduck said:

Young T'onomatopoiea is quitting the Storm immediately to assume the missionary position in Berlin. I didn't even know he was a Mormon.

Is it me, or does this sound like strange logic?

He’s going to Germany on a mission?

If he sees the need, aren’t there more likely destinations. Does he speak German?

The club had trodden carefully here by listening and understanding.

His contract with a higher being trumps his one with Storm.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he genuinely believes in his cause, but why now at this stage?

Good luck to him.

I know other players have done this before him, but other than that I have no knowledge of these missions. Have other players gone, returned and successfully picked up with their playing careers successfully?

Edited June 1, 2018 by Graham

[Farmduck]

They go to some weird places for missions. Some have gone to NZ, Philippines, Rapana went to UK, Will Hopoate only went to Brisbane.

[Graham]

Found this.

n.b. It’s wiki!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary_(LDS_Church)

[Graham]

Warrington Wolves have signed versatile forward Jason Clark from South Sydney Rabbitohs on a two-year deal starting in 2019.

Clark, 28, was told he was surplus to requirements at Redfern beyond 2018, prompting a fans' petition to try to persuade the club to change their mind.

The 2014 Premiership winner, who has made 157 appearances for the Rabbitohs, will now move to Super League.

"The past 11 seasons have been a young boy's dream come true," Clark said.

"All I've done is wear the red and green, and following discussions with Steve Price, Simon Moran and Karl Fitzpatrick, I'll be able to extend my career in the primrose and blue of Warrington.

 

[Graham]

Parramatta forward Kane Evans has escaped sanction for an alleged racial slur after the NSWRL withdrew charges stemming from an incident during a reserve grade game last week. Playing for Eels feeder side Wentworthville, Evans was put on report after an official complaint was made by Warriors forward Joseph Vuna during their NSW Cup clash. The case would have been referred to the Human Rights Commission had the NSWRL deemed there was a case for racial vilification. However, the Eels released this statement on behalf of chief executive Bernie Gurr on Thursday. "NSW Rugby League has withdrawn charges against Kane Evans for an alleged incident during Saturday's NSW Cup game against the Warriors," the statement said. The incident came late in Wentworthville's loss to the Warriors, when tensions arose between the two teams following an error by Evans. "What we've got is an on-field complaint about a racial allegation," referee Todd Smith said on the field at the time. "We're going on with the game and will leave it there." Evans, who played four NRL games for the Eels since switching from the Sydney Roosters in the summer, has been named to play for Wentworthville again this week.

[Graham]

Storm centre Will Chambers will miss Sunday’s clash against Brisbane as he deals with some nagging injuries.

Chambers will also not contest his dangerous contact charge from the State of Origin game. Due to the consequences, Storm have decided not to contest the charge made by the match review committee.

Therefore, Chambers will only receive 20 carry-over points rather than the 90 points he would have received with an early plea.

Chambers will attempt to be back in the side for the Storms trip to Newcastle to face the Knights in Round 15.

[Graham]

Aussie rock band Jet will perform as the pre-match entertainment for Origin II at ANZ Stadium on June 24.

[Graham]

Aaron Woods realises that he may only be at Bulldogs for this one season. Their salary cap woes have put them in a position where they just can't afford to keep him.

He says he's happy there and would like to stay but also that there are other forces at play in this.

[Graham]

Rumoured that Blake Ferguson could be off to the Knights next season.

Edited June 8, 2018 by Graham

[Graham]

Michael Jennings is a free agent at the end of this season so has to decide where his future lies. Will it be at Parramatta or elsewhere?

[Graham]

Moses Suli has been dropped by Manly for missing trainin.

[Graham]

Raiders forward Charlie Gubb and Titans prop Jarrod Wallace will both sit out round 15 with suspensions over charges from Friday night's round 14 NRL games.

Gubb was hit with a grade two dangerous contact charge over a 47th-minute tackle on Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary and has accepted a one-match ban with an early guilty plea.

Wallace will also miss this round after pleading guilty to a grade one dangerous contact charge due to 20 carryover points from a previous offence.

Rabbitohs forward Jason Clark meanwhile has avoided suspension with an early plea after being charged with making dangerous contact to the head or next of Titans halfback Ash Taylor.

Eels debutant Reed Mahoney was charged for a dangerous throw in his first NRL game, against North Queensland on Saturday night, and will have 75 carryover points to his name.

Brisbane's Josh McGuire is facing a fine for contrary conduct over an incident involving Storm prop Tim Glasby in the 78th minute of the Broncos' loss to Melbourne on Sunday.

[Graham]

Sharks skipper Paul Gallen is still undecided whether or not he will play on next season following a dominant performance in his side’s win over the Wests Tigers.

[Graham]

Moses Mbye claims to have had no conversations with anyone at the Bulldogs about leaving the club early and heading to the Wests Tigers for the remainder of the 2018 Telstra Premiership season.

But the goal-kicking fullback is quick to add that anything can happen in the NRL so he's not guaranteeing he will be with the Belmore club until round 25. Speculation in rugby league circles is that he will transfer before the June 30 deadline.

"In terms of an early move, no there hasn't been anything discussed," Mbye said after a strong game in Canterbury's 18-16 loss to the Dragons on Monday.

[DiddyDave]

Joe Greenwood has been released and will join Wigan for the rest of the season. For some reason Garth Brennan doesn`t like him as Greenwood hasn`t played for the Titans since Brennan arrived,indeed he`s only been warming the bench for Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup. I for one will be sorry to see Greenwood go,he`s a far better player than Hurrell and Cartwright,that`s for sure. Maybe Brennan couldn`t understand his Owdum accent.

[Farmduck]

“Peter Wallace has informed the club and his teammates of his decision to retire, effective immediately,” Panthers General Manager Phil Gould said in a club statement.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/panthers/former-blues-player-and-panthers-skipper-peter-wallace-retires-from-nrl-due-to-chronic-injury-problems/news-story/4bfa88447a81cb9649bee790ce7a6898

Russell Packer and Ben Matulino retire from NZ rep teams.

Aaron Woods could be running out for the Sharks this Saturday night, according to veteran rugby league journalist and Cronulla supporter Phil Rothfield.

[Sports Prophet]

I think Woods on a reduced contract would be a good buy, especially for an ageing forward pack like the Sharks.

I value him at about $500k a season at most.

[Farmduck]

Referees will be given discretion to sin bin players for serious instances of foul play – even if the victim is able to continue playing – under a change to the NRL Laws and Interpretations.

Chairman Peter Beattie said the ARL Commission has endorsed a recommendation from the Competition Committee to strengthen the sin bin rule to protect players from foul play.

"No one wants to see players taken out of the game through acts of foul play," Mr Beattie said.

"Sometimes those acts do not warrant a send off – but they do deserve 10 minutes in the sin bin.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/06/12/arl-commission-endorses-changes-to-sin-bin/

Quote

The Commission also endorsed a proposal which will allow salary cap relief for Clubs in the event their players suffer long-term injuries during Representative fixtures.

New rules will allow that:

• if a player suffers a long-term injury while participating in a representative fixture, Clubs will be able to sign a replacement player as well as access a salary cap exemption for a portion of, or all of, the replacement player's value;

• The cap exemption will be on a dollar-for-dollar basis compared to the injured player, up to $350,000;

 

[Farmduck]

So it turns out that Peter Wallace has been playing these last 2 years without an ACL.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-12/peter-wallace-played-for-two-years-without-an-acl/9861170