‘He can unlock me’: Moses says Storm recruit the perfect fit for Eels

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At about 2.30am local time two blasting sounds about a minute apart woke most of the players. Travelling Kangaroos staff said they all heard the commotion. The tourists head of security Dale Hall rushed downstairs to investigate - but there was no police involvement or follow up.

“I thought it was a bomb,” one Kangaroos staff member said.

Australia’s Tino Fa’asuamaleaui takes on the English defence in the third Test in Leeds.

Australia’s assistant coach Willie Peters said he heard the noises and called reception to check the situation. In the foyer before the team walk the playing group were discussing the bangs.

This columnist, who was also jolted awake from the very loud bangs, saw two men running down a nearby street where the hotel is located in Leeds.

Hall was satisfied it was nothing serious when we asked him about it.

The bangs had little impact on the result with Australia wrapping up the series 3-0 with a 30-8 victory.

Munster pestered

Cameron Munster is the most accommodating of footballers – but even he has standards. Munster has been getting requests from last week’s pitch invader to go for a drink. Yes – the man who snuck onto the field has been wanting to make it up to Munster by going for a drink. We heard about it and Munster confirmed the information in the foyer of the team hotel after the captain’s run in Leeds ahead of Australia’s third Test against England overnight.

For those who missed it, Munster was followed on to the field at Hill Dickinson Stadium by serial pest Daniel Jarvis. He tried to squeeze in between Munster and Pat Carrigan in the anthem but eventually had to settle for a position beside Munster.

The Storm superstar told this column Jarvis has been direct messaging him on Instagram. Munster has no desire to meet with him. Jarvis has also been asking media to help him organise a meet and greet without luck. Munster does see the light side of it – at the team photo before the captain’s run a voice screamed out, “Where’s Jarvo?” Munster later confirmed he yelled it out and it brought a smile to the faces of the players. Jarvis is before the courts in Liverpool over the pitch invasion.

Walters’ shout

NRL bosses Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo, and select media were invited into the Australian dressing room at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool last weekend to celebrate an Ashes win 22 years in the making. It was a rare moment.

And it was the man who led the Kangaroos to victory, Harry Grant, who stole the show. In a pokey room in the bowels of one of the most amazing stadiums in world sport, Grant made V’landys and Abdo skull a beer alongside team favourite Ethan Strange, man of the match Cameron Munster, the sin-binned Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Andrew Johns, who was invited into the inner sanctum by coach Kevin Walters.

Grant picked out the people to down a beer as the players heckled the game’s top brass in a bid to try to get them to throw them a party. V’landys said it should be the responsibility of Rugby League Players’ Association chief executive Clint Newton. The squad was also encouraged to sing a team song that Bob Fulton had made previous Kangaroos sing. The words were on a chart they read off. Walters wanted the players to relate to the history of the Kangaroos and spoke with emotion to the squad after their 14-4 second Test victory.

“You know I don’t like to say too much but I’m really, really proud as an Australian person of your efforts and the way you played. You were up against it in so many ways. I can tell you we had all the answers in the coaches box. All the answers.

Passionate Australia coach Kevin Walters.

“As I said to you before the game it’s easy to talk about it, but harder to back up with actions. That’s what I love about you guys. They say that defence is an attitude and that comes from coming together as a group and I’ve seen that over the last couple of weeks. We saw that last week and they only scored the one and they didn’t get over the line this week and that’s great.

“Well done today. Winners have parties so we are going to f---ing party. I want to thank the staff and the players who didn’t play today and have not played yet. The reason why we were able to defend as well as we did was because of the pressure you put on at training. We’ve got a couple of days off and enjoy your win.”

Triple Marky Mark?

They are calling Mark Nawaqanitawase “The Triple” and the rugby-bound superstar says he’d like to take part in rugby league’s World Cup next year. Nawaqanitawase is an Olympian, having represented Australia in rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and now a dual international, hence the nickname. And even though he has declared he is headed back to rugby in 2027, he knows the value of representing his country.

“It’s been amazing,” Nawaqanitawase said of his Kangaroos experience in England.

“It’s been fun and pretty chilled. Being away with the Kangaroos is very similar to a rugby side ... and if the opportunity comes to do it again I’d like to do it ... it’s a long way away.

“I loved playing with these guys ... representing your country is a very special honour. I’ve enjoyed it with the group of lads here as well. Right now I want to have some time off and then try and win a competition with the Roosters.”

There was no hesitation for Kangaroos selectors in picking Nawaqanitawase, even though he was rugby bound. Coach Kevin Walters is waiting on his appointment for the World Cup, but he says the fact Nawaqanitawase is going to rugby should not be an issue.

Mark Nawaqanitawase in action for the Kangaroos.

“Mark is a great athlete and a great talent ... his ability in the air is unbelievable,” Walters said. “In the first two Tests he didn’t get that many chances ... we didn’t see the best of him but his defensive plays have been outstanding.

“If he is playing well it doesn’t worry me he is going to play rugby. He is up to this level and should be picked, no risk. He has given so much to the game and I don’t mind he is off to another sport. While he is playing league, he should be considered to be picked for the World Cup.”

Media muzzled

We have previously told you about the NRL’s overreach in trying to control the narrative of the media and its rules around public comment. They have overstepped the mark with complaints about content on shows that are specialised football programs, and we have told you about the obsession with Nine’s Today show and its league content. It’s thought police stuff.

They have now muzzled almost every former player and coach in the game in an extremely ill-conceived policy. Every male member with a club affiliation on 100% Footy, a show this columnist regularly appears on, is 100 per cent gagged. And NRL 360 is now NRL 180 – only the journos on the show can have an opinion without consequence. In this column’s view, they have now really entered dangerous territory relating to muzzling the media.

Of course, it’s being sold as a Phil Gould rule. Blame Gus to make it acceptable to some in the media. Gould’s comments on 100% Footy about Lachlan Galvin were glowing and somewhat surprising, but were made months before he signed with the Bulldogs. They were made by a paid commentator and if you think Galvin went to the Bulldogs because of that you are delusional. So now Gould can’t praise players and he can’t bag officials or referees. It shows the NRL is thin-skinned and scared of home truths. Fans know who’s who in the media zoo and they are also being disrespected.

Testing times

The Kangaroos knew they were in for a rugged Test match at Hill Dickinson Stadium from the moment they walked through the gates and were booed by the crowd. They knew that the English would be niggling when team manager Sam Tomkins was making it difficult in the warm-up for Reece Walsh to practice his kicks on the largely empty ground by standing in his way. Some of the Australians saw red and there was very nearly an incident before kick-off. Australian assistant coach Gorden Tallis was the one who noticed what was going on and is lucky that he didn’t lose his cool and get hold of him. Tallis fortunately knew it wouldn’t have been a good look if things had got physical between the coaching staff.

Last-minute Scotland switch

The Kangaroos’ Scotland escape was a last-moment one that was hatched in the hours after winning the Ashes as they celebrated in Albert’s Schloss pub in Liverpool. It was driven by Isaah Yeo and Harry Grant and the exercise, which cost tens of thousands of dollars, was supported by the NRL. The bosses of the game want players to have a positive experience on these tours and to tell other players about them. They stayed in quality accommodation and were given the best food and training facilities and care to ensure they had a great experience. Half the side came
back early from Scotland – some of those to return early had partners on tour with them.

Sea change at Manly

Daly Cherry-Evans is officially off to the Roosters in 2026.

Roosters recruit Daly Cherry-Evans’ main issue at Manly was the way he and others at the club were treated by management – and it would not be a stretch to say if he was given a smidgen more respect he would have finished his career on the northern beaches. His issue was with the bosses, not the coach, and not the players. The same issues that he faced Tom Trbojevic also dealt with in his negotiations. This column has been saying for months that departing chief executive Tony Mestrov was on the nose at Manly but it was constantly denied by those above him and the man himself. News of his departure this week – apparently it was his call – therefore should not have been a shock to readers of this column.

It makes it very difficult to take club owner Scott Penn on his word any more. Penn told this column that Manly’s future was locked in with coach Anthony Seibold and Mestrov. This was among speculation that there was a move against Penn which he laughed off. That came from very good sources and it won’t disappear. Similar sources to the one who told us that Mestrov was on the way out told us about Penn.

The focus at Manly will be on what happens with Penn and whether there is a move against him as chairman. Penn is an extremely successful and smart businessman, but the issue is his level of interest and hands-on involvement with the club. Manly need Penn’s greater attention and involvement as they stumble through another change of CEO. The Sea Eagles have a terrible record of churning through club bosses.

The departure of Mestrov was predictable and needed. Even though Manly say others were dealing with the Cherry-Evans contract, the bungled handling of the DCE deal was the beginning of the end for Mestrov. As this column has maintained for months there was no offer put to Cherry-Evans despite claims from Manly that there was. Not until the knee-jerk reaction to a story that Nine News and the Herald broke about Cherry-Evans’ decision to leave Manly did they make a move to retain him. Mestrov said regularly he had made an offer but the truth is the first offer Cherry-Evans was made was via a television program after Cherry-Evans had made his mind up to leave.

New boss Jason King is fortunate there are quality people at the club like Tom Trbojevic, who had to deal with a bungled offer from Manly that left him questioning his future at Brookvale before he elected to sign on until the end of 2027.

Arthur’s eye on NRL return

Ex-Eels mentor Brad Arthur is making a great life in Leeds and is grateful to be the Rhinos coach but be sure he has eye on what is happening in the NRL. What is interesting – he is taking a wholistic approach to his next step. He has decided to go it alone without an agent after years of good service from Pacific Sports Management. He is a grown man and figures he knows his worth. And clubs will know what he can do.

It’s a sign of his continued growth as a coach and as a person. Having his Eels job taken away from him made him grow. A club could do worse than put Arthur on their radar. He has shown at worst he can build a club. And he took Parramatta to a grand final. And that could be useful in this time of change in the NRL.

A Super League title would make him an irresistible option much in the way that Willie Peters has placed himself at the front of the queue after guiding Hull Kingston Rovers to the treble (Super League premiership, League Leaders trophy, and Challenge Cup champions). Peters would be an ideal fit at Souths when Wayne Bennett decides he’s had enough.

Friendship behind Titans buy-in

Don’t discount the relationship between Matthew Johns’ wife Trish and Titans owner Rebecca Frizelle for the Johns’ financial investment in the Gold Coast NRL club. It is this column’s understanding that Trish and Rebecca had talks about the investment and Matthew was obviously keen given his love of rugby league. Matthew is of the firm belief that rugby league is on the up and an investment in a club now is a good idea. He’s also aware he will be open to criticism as an owner and being a member of the media. He doesn’t care about any barbs that may come his way. And you could only imagine Gorden Tallis will be of the same view.

Munster’s off-field impact

We named Cameron Munster as our man of the year in this column. And he further enhanced his reputation in my eyes on the Kangaroos tour. At training in Leeds he spied a kid in a wheelchair and made a beeline for him and his mum. He handed over his shirt and cap and then called team management over to organise tickets for Issac who was suffering with a brain tumour and had been to chemotherapy that day.

Munster didn’t want credit, acknowledgement or publicity for what he did. It’s typical of his big-hearted behaviour. He found out Kangaroos assistant coach Willie Peters’ son was a Storm fan and gave him a call. He wanted to give him all of his kit after one of the Tests. Other Kangaroos sought out homeless people and gave them clothes. That initiative was driven by Harry Grant and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

Madge for England?

There is plenty of talk about the England coaching job. It’s a tough ask whoever takes it on for the World Cup. We’ve heard the likes of Sam Burgess, James Graham and Wayne Bennett mentioned. All worthy as a team or individuals. The one name that need serious consideration is Michael Maguire. He can manufacture spirit and change quickly. Witness the Broncos, the Blues and New Zealand. Just add Madge and you have success. He has a winning history in the UK and a huge reputation in those parts.

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