Milford stays in spotlight after uninspiring effort

FIRST it was his work ethic — now Anthony Milford’s head space is a talking point after Jordan Kahu’s field goal sealed Brisbane’s 13-12 NRL win against Canberra on Friday night.

Milford appeared distracted in a muted display at Suncorp Stadium in the wake of Fox Sports TV’s explosive claim that Brisbane teammate Benji Marshall believed the pivot took short cuts at training.

It was still a surprise when Milford took a back seat in the dying minutes to let unheralded winger Kahu seal the 30m match-winning field goal, albeit after it clipped the right post.

It was in stark contrast to Milford 12 months ago when he was Brisbane’s Round 4 hero, breaking North Queensland hearts with a late field goal of his own.

But 200-game hooker Andrew McCullough backed Milford to regain his confidence after a challenging week.

“Milf has a bit on his plate at the moment and Jordy can kick them pretty well — I am glad he put it over,” said McCullough, who notched 61 tackles and a second-half try.

Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett was forced to confront Marshall at training on Thursday after Fox Sports TV claimed the veteran believed Milford was a lazy trainer.

Marshall denied he said it and Bennett believed him before launching a scathing attack on the media.

Asked how Milford had handled the controversy, McCullough said: “It’s a professional sport.

“He’s a big enough boy to block the external stuff out.

“I don’t think that other stuff bothers him.”