Reynolds plans for Manly

Sports

BRISBANE: Recognising their moment in Friday’s National Rugby League preliminary final against Manly and seizing it will be the key to South Sydney snapping their grand final qualifier heartbreak.
That’s the view of captain and halfback Adam Reynolds, who could face the reality of the game against the Sea Eagles at Suncorp Stadium being his last in a Rabbitohs’ jersey.
One of three players left at the Bunnies from their 2014 grand final triumph, Reynolds wants nothing less than to snare a second premiership at his boyhood club before moving to Brisbane for the 2022 season.
Having fallen one game short of the grand final in the past three seasons, Reynolds says the key to snapping that hoodoo and going one better is pretty basic.
“It’s just about us playing our brand of football, being confident to go out there and back ourselves and make sure we come up with the right plays at the right time,” Reynolds said.
“It’s pretty simple for us, it’s about us playing our own game.
“Sounds easy. Just got to make sure we execute on the night.
“They’re tough games and you’ve got to take your moment. You don’t get too many moments in these sort of games and when they present you need to make sure you grab them with both hands.”
Unlike the past three years, the Rabbitohs head into Friday’s game fresh and fit having earned a week off with their upset qualifying final win over Penrith in the opening week in Townsville. – Yahoo Sports Australia


Panthers fined K64,000 and trainer facing suspension

BRISBANE: A Penrith trainer is facing a suspension for the remainder of the season, another has been warned and the club fined A$25,000 (about K64,000) for stopping play during Saturday’s 8-6 elimination of Parramatta.
The Eels were on the attack in the dying minutes of the semifinal when the incident took place.
The National Rugby League (NRL) has issued the Panthers with a breach notice proposing the penalties against the club and their orange shirt trainer Pete Green, who would be banned from accessing the field of play and sideline for the remainder of the 2021 season after an alleged breach of the game’s operations manual.
The manual makes it clear that a head trainer can only stop play after making an initial assessment that a doctor is required to enter the field of play.
However, Green is alleged to have told a touch judge from the sideline to stop the game in the 76th minute after interchange forward Mitch Kenny sustained an ankle injury.
The NRL has also issued a warning to Penrith’s blue shirt trainer for his role in the stoppage. The Panthers have five business days to respond to the breach notice. A provisional suspension applies until the club’s response has been received.
Penrith players fronted the media after the breach notice was announced yesterday and said Green was only concerned with Kenny’s welfare. – NRL


Tigers spare Maguire after review of operations

Michael Maguire

SYDNEY: Michael Maguire will continue as Wests Tigers coach next season following an annual review of the club’s football operations.
Tigers Chief executive Justin Pascoe confirmed that Maguire would continue his role after weeks of speculation since the club’s disappointing end to the season.
The outcome of the review has resulted in structural and procedural changes within the football department but Maguire will remain in charge and will work with the Tigers’ 2005 premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens, who is returning to the club after a stint in England.
“While we always understood this review and process would take time, it was the responsibility of the football committee to ensure all information was considered to make the right decisions for the club moving forward,” Pascoe said.
“Michael has been with the club over arguably its most challenging time with the Coronavirus pandemic, has overseen significant change both on and off the field throughout his tenure and, on behalf of all at Wests Tigers, I’d like to thank him for his effort so far.
“We are firmly committed to building a high-performing club.
“With our strong financial position, increased investment and recent success of our pathways teams, the new Centre of Excellence and continued work on a South West academy, the arrival of Tim Sheens and his experience in National Rugby League systems, this club is posed to reap the rewards of several years of hard work.” – NRL


Storm faring well despite Smith’s departure

Storm forward Kenny Bromwich celebrating a try during the qualifying final against Manly on Sept 10. – nrlpic

BRISBANE: Time and again Melbourne have shown they are no one-man team.
Yet forward Felise Kaufusi admitted he was unsure how the Storm would cope in 2021 following the retirement of arguably rugby league’s greatest player, Cameron Smith.
“To be honest I didn’t know if we were going to be as good without Cameron,” said Kaufusi, who played alongside Smith for six years.
“”I guess it was like being cast into the ocean and seeing if you sink or float.”
But instead of struggling without 430-game veteran Smith, who retired after last year’s grand final victory, Melbourne have only got better.
The Storm this season recorded the greatest for and against in history, scoring 40 points or more in a game 12 times to claim the minor premiership.
And they equalled Eastern Suburbs’ record 19-game winning streak of 1975 on their way to booking a seventh straight preliminary final — much to co-captain Jesse Bromwich’s surprise.
“I wasn’t sure how we would go without Cameron; we had a lot of people on our back so I am very proud of what we have achieved so far,” Bromwich said.
He said the team were doing better because of coach Greg Bellamy and the team management.
Of course Bromwich had heard it all before during his 12 seasons at Melbourne.
The Storm supposedly weren’t the same after star playmaker Cooper Cronk defected to the Sydney Roosters at the end of 2017.
And Melbourne apparently would need time to rebuild after legendary fullback Billy Slater’s 2018 retirement.
Yet the Storm juggernaut kept rumbling along.
The defending champions are hoping to book their fifth grand final appearance in six years this week. – Yahoo Sports Australia