By Casey OÇonnor
The NRL circus rolls on and what a circus it has become with lots of clowns and a very angry ring master.
The Covid bubble looks like it is in danger of exploding not just bursting following the raft of protocols breaches in the past week.
Now we all know that Wayne “Super Coach” Bennett has feet of clay and is human after all. Privately he is probably feeling like a bit of a goose. Pizza may no longer seem so appetising after the last one cost him a $20,000 fine.
Paul Vaughan on the other hand has probably sworn off coffee after his $10,000 fine.
Seriously, did Alfie really think he and a couple of mates could get away with a trip to the Caxton to celebrate his birthday and no-one would notice or spill the beans?
While the actions of Tevita Pangai Jnr simply beggars belief and gives new meaning to having a “Bad Hair Day.”
As this column gets put to bed the news looks to be worse for Pangai with reports the Broncos are set to show him the door following his blatant disregard of the NRL rules. If his contract is to be torn up it is a move which shows that the club officials, like Broncos fans may have had enough.
While coaches have been put on notice – do not think you can call into question the integrity of referees and get off lightly. Ivan Cleary is now $20,000 lighter in the pocket.
With six rounds of fixtures remaining, the ring master Peter V’Landys has put the clubs, players and officials on notice. The ARLC commission chairman is furious. Anyone who breaks rank by stepping outside the NRL bubble causing another breach of protocol could crush the code and cost it more than $200 million in losses.
Don’t imagine anyone wants that on their CV?
Really people, how difficult can it be.
Casey
Casey’s NRL Round 14 Results
Storm; Panthers; Eels; Sharks; Rabbitohs; Raiders; Knights; Tigers
WINNING WEEKEND FOR TIGERS
The Noosa Tigers continued their excellent start to the 2020 with a strong win over Beenleigh this past Saturday. It capped off a great weekend for the Tigers with wins to all four senior teams. At the halfway in this shortened season all are in contention for the finals.
The Senior Men had several changes to their side with the inclusions of two 16 year olds in Shadeau Brain and Jed Aitken. Both took the step up in grade in their stride. Making your senior debut while still a teenager is a great effort at any level. Congratulations to both boys. The performance of Brain (younger brother of 2010 premiership player, James) was terrific. When the game was in the balance early and at its quickest Brain was probably the best player on the ground.
He oozes class and is confident, taking on the opposition. He looks to have all the skills coaches and fans like to see in a footballer.
Skipper Aaron Laskey was also once again very influential with Darcy Sullivan (three goals) and Mitch Fraser among the best for the Tigers. Final score 10.7-67 to 5.5-35
This week the senior men take on UQ in an away game at St Lucia.
Tony Brennan’s reserves showed plenty of grit with a come from behind win over their Beenleigh opponents.
After trailing early they pulled away for a solid win. The final score 11-4-70 – 8-4-52. Adam Curry kicked seven goals and was instrumental in the win. Ben Annett was also very impressive for the Tigers.
The Coolum Noosa Colts had another solid win away in their game against the Redcliffe Tigers. They led at every change in a good all round team effort. The team now prepare to face the strong Victoria Point side in an away game at Redlands this Saturday. It is sure to be a tough game between the two undefeated sides.
Topping off a good weekend for the Tigers, the Women’s team scored a comprehensive victory over North Shore.
Seniors are away to UQ in Brisbane this Saturday and all the best to all Noosa Tiger teams playing this weekend.
SCHEDULING MESS FOR WOMEN’S CRICKET
One of the superstars of Australian cricket, Alyssa Healy, has taken a swipe at organisers for a change in scheduling that will see a clash between the WBBL and WIPL.
At a time when Women’s cricket in Australia is on the rise, it appears to be a strange move and has angered Healy and plenty of her teammates and overseas counterparts.
The Australians are set to miss out on the women’s Indian Premier League exhibition series yet again, with Alyssa Healy describing a needless schedule clash with the WBBL as “sad”.
Healy and other teammates were shocked to read a report on Sunday night that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was looking at a window of 1-10 November.
“The WBBL and BBL don’t run simultaneously,” Healy posted on Twitter.
“So why does the IPL and WIPL have to?
“Considering how fantastic the WBBL is for the internationals who play in it (and for us). Would be a sad move for our sport.”
There appears to be plenty of support for Healy’s stance.
Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes tweeted that “while the game continues to grow, premier domestic competitions do not need to compete against each other” while teammate Jessica Jonassen posted “I have no words for this”.
DOPHINS MAKING AN EARLY SPLASH
The Noosa Dolphins have fired some early shots across the bows of their opposition with two wins from two outings since the restart of the season.
If actions speak louder than words then there was no mistaking their desire to be in the thick of things at the end of the season after claiming a win over the current premiers Caloundra last weekend.
The Dolphins backed up their first round win with a 21-12 over the Caloundra Lighthouses. It capped off a great day for the club with wins in all three grades.
The club looks to have found its mojo with the inclusion of some English imports adding some starch to the pack.
The team has been solid in defence a fact that has their coach liking what he is seeing at the moment.
Captain Brandon Mayhew, flyhalf Borore Howton and flankers Nick Colvin and Adam Waring were instrumental in the win over Caloundra.
The club has made a good start to the season and is looking to get their hands on the silverware at the end of the season for the first time since 2017.
MIXED BAG FOR PIRATES
After a wet weekend of rugby league, the Noosa Pirates came away with a mixed bag of results in round three.
The Pirates suffered a win and a loss in the games played at home on Friday night.
In the wet conditions, the Under 16’s scored a gritty 16-8 win over Caboolture.
The Under 18’s were beaten 18-4 in their game against the Snakes. This week the Under 18’s enjoy a bye while the Under 16’s have an away game against the Bay at the Kawana Sports centre on Friday night.
The Under 16 Girls also found the vesting Caboolture team too strong and went down 24-14.
On Friday night they play the Kawana Beerwah girls in an away game.
In a tough encounter the under 15’s went down 14-12 to Caboolture. The Under 14 boys had better luck with a 22-20 win over Caboolture in their game played on Saturday.
ICC POSTPONE T20 WORLD CUP
The new dates for the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup were announced late last week.
The World Cup which was to take place later this year has been put on ice. The tournament has been postponed until October / November 2022.
The 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will go ahead as scheduled and will be hosted by India in 2021. All teams that qualified for the Australian 2020 event will automatically qualify to play in India.
A new fixture and qualifying pathway for the 2022 World Cup is yet to be announced.The ICC completed a comprehensive contingency planning exercise before making these announcements. With the health and well being of players and supporters front of mind and because crowds are such an important part of any global event, the ICC believes the postponement will give Australia the best chance to safely host the T20 World Cup with full stadiums. and keeping everyone involved safe and healthy is the number one priority.
Organisers are hopeful that the proposed tour of Australian by India later this year will proceed.
The fate of the Boxing Day Test is in limbo however due to the Victorian Lockdown.
Cricket Australia believe they still have plenty of time left to decide whether they would shift the Boxing Day Test match between India and Australia from the Melbourne Cricket Ground. NO surprise there has been plenty of lobbying from the GABBA, Perth and SA.
