Brisbane: Melbourne Storm part-owner and chairman Matt Tripp will not seek a public apology from Phil Gould for calling their skipper and Queensland No. 9 Harry Grant a “cheat” – twice – on national TV.
Gould stirred the pot ahead of the Origin decider in Brisbane on Wednesday night when he spoke about Grant and his constant hounding of referees on Nine’s 100% Footy show.
Nine
Tripp said Grant laughed when he first heard about the comments, but there were no plans to take the matter any further.
“This is what we’ve come to expect from ‘Gus’ [Gould] – we couldn’t care less what he’s got to say,” Tripp said.
“This time last year Gus said Harry was Queensland’s best player to try and put pressure on him, and unnerve him.
“Now he’s doing the same thing but this time calling him a cheat in the hope he gets under his skin.
“It’s water off a duck’s back for Harry. It’s a really strange thing to say about a player who is one of the fairest in the game.
“To call him a cheat is pretty ridiculous. It certainly hasn’t annoyed Harry.”
After a report in this masthead about how Blues players hoped Ashley Klein would not fall for any of Grant’s antics, including his constant conversations and pleas for set restarts and penalties, Gould was happy to share his thoughts.
The topic was raised during a light-hearted discussion on Monday night’s edition of 100% Footy, when former Queensland captain Cameron Smith, the modern-day great who was known for regularly approaching whistleblowers during games, said: “You need to keep the referees honest.”
“Back me up ‘Gus’ [Gould], that’s been happening since 1908, hasn’t it,” Smith said.
“You took it to a new level,” Gould said.
“Let’s call it for what it is – Harry is a cheat.
No doubt fans will be eager to see what happens with Grant and his interactions with Klein at the start of the game on Wednesday.
Arrow wardrobe malfunction
Jai Arrow was married on Sunday, then flew to Brisbane where he did his best to speak on stage at a Queensland former Origin greats’ luncheon at Suncorp Stadium.
Arrow was meant to marry partner Berina Colakovic in Italy in October, but was so worried his motor neurone disease would prevent him from saying “I do”, he fast-tracked the nuptials.
He was in great spirits a couple of days later when joining some of the Sunshine State’s finest players.
Sam Thaiday was the MC and ordered Corey Oates to skol a beer when he realised he was wearing a light blue shirt.
“You can’t wear that colour in here,” said Thaiday, referring to the NSW blue.
The crowd did not know what was going to happen when Arrow took to the stage and realised he was also wearing blue.
Thaiday being Thaiday, he told Arrow: “I don’t care what you’re battling, mate, you’re wearing blue, which means you have to skol, too.”
Arrow took the jibe in good nature, joining the room in laughter in response.
The support for the 30-year-old with post-try arrow celebrations the past few weeks has been overwhelming, and taken off in rivals codes, including rugby and the AFL.
“It’s been crazy, and I honestly don’t know what I can do to thank everyone,” Arrow told this masthead.
“The amount of support shown has been overwhelming but in a good way. I never expected any of this at all.”
Pay rise for Origin
There is early talk about Origin payments rising from $30,000 to about $50,000 a game after the NRL announced its $5.3b seven-year broadcast deal on Tuesday.
According to the NRL’s website, Origin payments rose to $12,500 in 2006, then $30,000 in 2013. During the COVID pandemic, the payments dipped to $10,000. The money saved was used to top up the salaries for all players the following year.
There has been talk the salary cap will rise from $12m next year to as much as $18m to $20m the following year. Should it be the latter, that means a 75 per cent jump, and some league officials are assuming the Origin payments will rise accordingly.
All 19 players receive $30,000, while the 20th man, and players who help during the training camps, receiving a smaller fee.
Addin Fonua-Blake was paid $3333 a minute for his Origin II nine-minute cameo in Melbourne, but says there is no price you can place on running out alongside champions like Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo.
“I’ve been paid enough throughout my career, and when it’s all said and done, I can look back on my career and say I’ve played in these big games and rubbed shoulders with some of the greats,” Fonua-Blake said.
Suaalii to pass on catch-up
Joseph Suaalii is not expected to catch up with his former NSW Origin teammates in the sheds after full-time, despite being in Brisbane with the Wallabies.
Suaalii’s only appearance for the Blues was the opening game of the 2024 series when he was sent off for knocking Reece Walsh out.
The 22-year-old is in town for the Wallabies’ Test against France on Saturday. And an early training session on Thursday means a quick catch-up with some of his old rugby league mates is unlikely.
Future Wallabies coach Les Kiss, who played rugby league for Australia, Queensland and North Sydney will be at tonight’s Origin decider.
Good to see you, Madge
The last NSW coach to win a series decider on Queensland soil joined the Blues for dinner on Tuesday night.
Michael Maguire spent more than an hour talking about the magical Origin win in 2024, as well as some old tales from his Canberra days with Blues coach Laurie Daley.
“Madge” is renowned for waving a baseball bat to motivate his players, but there was no sign of his Louisville Slugger when he arrived at the team hotel.
“If you cut Michael Maguire open, his heart is the size of a watermelon,” Blues’ assistant coach Matt King said.
“He’s one of the nicest guys in rugby league, he’s under the pump at the moment [at the Broncos], so for him to put that to one side and come in share a meal, swap stories for about an hour and a half … Laurie and Madge were swapping old Canberra stories, which was great for us younger guys to hear.
“Madge is part of the Blues’ brotherhood after what he did two years ago. He’s always welcome in our camp.”
Uber cool driver
The Uber driver who drove this masthead from Gold Coast airport to NSW’s Kingscliff training camp was none other than Toby Sexton’s grandfather.
After vowing to give me a one-star rating for being a New South Welshman, Sexton’s pop, Raymond, told the story of how Sexton met with Canberra and Cronulla before Mal Meninga convinced him to start his career on the Gold Coast. It is fitting Sexton and Meninga will reunite on the other side of the country next year with the Perth Bears.
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