Brisbane: Harry Grant has been branded a “cheat” on the eve of Origin III by NSW’s most successful coach regarding his reputation for harassing referees.
A day after this masthead revealed 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, Phil Gould took aim at the Maroons’ No.9.
The topic was raised 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.
“When you do that to a referee, and you’re talking to a referee, and questioning a decision, you never think he’s going to reverse a decision. It’s about what he does with the next one.”
Smith responded: “I’ll be honest. Absolutely. It’s to make them think twice about the next one.”
Gould smiled and said: “One hundred per cent. Anyway, Harry is a cheat.”
Grant, who is not the Queensland captain, isn’t meant to be approaching the referee at any stage during matches.
NSW skipper Isaah Yeo was asked about Grant’s on-field antics and said on Tuesday: “I don’t really notice it during the game, and I don’t think it slows it down. Obviously, Gus has an opinion on it, and he’s probably watched more footy than me.
“He’s probably not doing it when things are going right for them.”
NSW coach Laurie Daley added: “I think the referees do a good job. Everyone tries to push the boundaries. For us, we’re not too focused on what they do.
“I think we have great leaders in ‘Yeoy’ [Yeo] and Nathan [Cleary] and Cam Murray, guys like that. They’ve got their own style. It’s not up to me to change their leadership ways. I’ll leave that in their capable hands.”
Pressed on whether he thought Grant was a cheat, Daley laughed and said: “I’m not getting involved in that.”
NSW hooker Reece Robson said during Origin camp: “Harry must have good relationships with the refs. Is it gamesmanship? He’s good at playing the game. He’s a good player.
“He definitely gets away with a lot of that sort of stuff. I think the whole Queensland side the last couple of games have been better playing that side of the game.
“That’s something we need to improve. Some people seem to get away with stuff, others don’t.
“I’m just thinking about playing the game and playing it as clean as I can.”
Daley confirmed there would be no late changes to the starting team, and Wednesday was not a game that would define Cleary’s career.
“He’s created his own legacy as a player, he’s had a lot of success, and he’s a guy who works really hard – he deserves everything that comes his way,” Daley said.
“I don’t buy into ‘owning Origin’. We’ll all be happy if we can win. We’re not chasing individual accolades – we’re chasing a victory for the state.”
From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
