The Centralian Advocate Tue 28 Sep 2021
Centralian Advocate; NewspaperNT
2021-09-28
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Alice Springs; Tennant Creek (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Alice Springs (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Australia, Central -- Newspapers
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/851641
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/851644
30 SPORT TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2021 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 Losing cool cost Storm CAMERON Smith believes Melbourne Storm played a hot-headed brand of footy in its preliminary final loss to Penrith. Coming off an extra weeks break and virtually at full strength, Storm was tipped to breeze past the Panthers and into the grand final. Instead, the supposedly burnt-out mountain men ambushed the Melburnians, who were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball in the 10-6 loss. Smith said he would have tried to calm the troops down had he been on the park. I feel as though there were moments when they probably played a little bit too hotheaded, he said on SEN. BLOCKBUSTER Saturday afternoon TV ratings have reignited the debate for a daytime NRL grand final. The Penrith v Melbourne cliffhanger preliminary final on Saturday afternoon attracted almost 2 million viewers on Nine, Fox Sports, Foxtel Go and Kayo a far bigger audience than Friday nights Manly Sea Eagles v South Sydney Rabbitohs game (1.5 million). ARL Commission chairman Peter Vlandys (pictured) and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo say they will review the scheduling with broadcasters Channel 9 and Fox Sports at the end of the season. The overall audience on Saturday afternoon was up more than 30 per cent on the same game last year, which was played in the 7.50pm timeslot. Obviously, being in lockdown helps. For Foxtel it was their highest-rating finals game in history. Vlandys was blown away by the figures. Well talk to our broadcast partners, listen to our fans and review it with everything else during the off-season, Vlandys said. It was a fantastic game of football. Saturday afternoon NRL wins PHIL ROTHFIELD Viliame Kikau wheels teammate Brian Too to the media session. Picture: Annette Dew PANTHERS RACE FITNESS CLOCK PENRITH face a double injury blow with winger Brian Too and forward Tevita Pangai in doubt for the NRL grand final against South Sydney on Sunday. Too was in a jovial mood on Monday when he arrived at Penriths grand final media session in a wheelchair with his left ankle heavily strapped and in a brace. The winger, who returned to play against Melbourne after he was ruled out of the Parramatta clash in week two of the finals, said he wasnt sure if he would be fit enough to play on Sunday. Too said his ankle had swelled up after a gruelling encounter with Melbourne in the preliminary final. Its the same ankle I had surgery on Im just trying to get rid of the pain, he said. After the game it was pretty sore but hopefully I will be all right. Pangai meanwhile was spotted at Penriths base at Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast sporting a heavily strapped leg and wearing a knee brace. Panthers coaching staff have not ruled out the prop as they wait on scans on a medial knee injury. Prop Moses Leota said he would be fit to play after missing the Storm game. FATIMA KDOUH AND PETER BADEL Joyce Churchill with the medal in 2014. THE widow of South Sydney Immortal Clive Churchill wants departing Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds to win the prestigious medal named in her husbands honour. Joyce Churchill is hoping Reynolds can lead Souths to a famous grand final win in Brisbane on Sunday and claim the Clive Churchill Medal for man of the match. Some of the greatest players in THE ARL Commissions expansion hopes have received a massive boost with one of Sydneys powerhouse clubs, grand finalists the Rabbitohs, insisting they are not leading a revolt against a 17-team competition. ARL Commission boss Peter Vlandys is set to stare down the clubs over expansion following Sundays NRL grand final after calling a meeting of chairmen and chief executives to discuss the addition of a second Brisbane team for 2023. Vlandys has promised to take the clubs on the expansion journey and next weeks meeting shapes as the final step before the ARLC announces the addition of another team in South East Queensland. While the Dolphins remain the prohibitive favourites, the Brisbane Firehawks and Jets havent given up on securing the extra licence. The clubs held a fiery meeting with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo last Friday and will now get their shot at Vlandys as they seek assurances that the numbers stack up and the existing clubs wont suffer with the addition of a new side. It is understood the NRL has also told the clubs that they will provide them with updates on broadcasting talks and their finances next week. There have been suggestions that South Sydney are among the clubs chiefly opposed to expansion. However, Souths boss Blake Solly denied that was the case and backed plans for a second Brisbane club to rival the Broncos if financial forecasts are strong. I wouldnt say we are antiexpansion at all, Solly said. Souths are not against 17 teams BRENT READ AND PETER BADEL rugby league history have won the medal including Peter Sterling, Bradley Clyde, Ricky Stuart, Allan Langer, Darren Lockyer, Andrew Johns, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Sam Burgess, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk. The award, its 35th season, was created to honour Churchill, who died in 1985. Unable to attend the game because of Covid restrictions, Joyce, 94, will watch from her Sydney home with a bottle of champagne. I cant go to Queensland but Ill be sitting here with a champagne and thinking about who is going to win Clives medal and I would like Adam Reynolds to win it, Joyce said. Ive been watching him play a lot and I think hes a great player. I love watching him and I think Souths are silly to let him go. He is such a good kicker. He sometimes reminds me of Eric Simms. A lot of footballers are in the news for the wrong reasons but Adam has a nice family life and hes a loyal clubman. He is competitive on the field and hes never in trouble off the field. I think hes good for the image of rugby league. Unbelievably, Clive Churchill nicknamed The Little Master played a direct role in nine of Souths 21 titles five as a player, four as coach. He has always been regarded as South Sydneys greatest player. Joyce keen for Reynolds to win Churchill Medal Adam Reynolds. Picture: NRL Imagery DEAN RITCHIE We just want to get more of an understanding about why expansion would be good for the competition. To Peter and Andrews credit, they said they would always bring that business case back to us and take us through it. We are waiting for that before we make our minds up. The clubs just want the security over the funding model for 2023 as well. I dont think you can say there is any real resistance towards expansion, there is just a process to go through and the clubs are waiting for that to take place. Andrew and Peter have said we will be better off as a result of expansion and if the finances show that, then none of the 16 clubs are going to stand in the way. Vlandys has already assured the existing clubs that they will be no worse off in a 17-team competition and they believe they have the security of an agreement struck five years ago that guaranteed they would not go backwards when a new side entered the premiership. There is a genuine belief at Rugby League Central that adding a new side will only increase the games revenue. At the heart of that belief is the value to the broadcasters of an additional side in Brisbane at a time when the NRL is enjoying bumper ratings through the finals series. The commitment that Peter and Andrew have given us is that there will be more money because thats what they want expansion to achieve, Solly said. They think the existing clubs will be better off because of expansion. As long as we have the security from the NRL that the game will be better off with expansion, we will be happy.