Sivo’s ban ‘not acceptable’
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is confident the decision to “break the ice” by handing Ethan Strange his NRL debut last season will only help him in 2024.
Although he concedes it will take 40 or 50 games before we see the youngster’s best as he steps into the massive boots vacated by Jack Wighton.
Strange couldn’t have asked for a more daunting debut, with Canberra going down to the Storm 48-2 in Melbourne, but the experience will only help the teenager who has been named to start at five-eighth against Newcastle as he looks to build on a stunning performance for NSW last year.
“It went through my mind last year that I could have gone another way, but I thought I’d break the ice with Ethan, so I put him outside Jack Wighton so he had experience around him,” Stuart said.
“It wasn’t the result we chased, and it was a pretty tough day on that left edge for our whole left edge, but I know that just breaking the ice has been a major advantage for Ethan’s preparation this week.”
Strange impressed in the trials with a dazzling solo try against the Cowboys and will now start alongside Jamal Fogarty, with Kaeo Weekes missing out on the 17 for the trip to Newcastle.
Two words summed up why the Eels missed out on the finals last year – injuries and suspensions – which is why superstar five-eighth Dylan Brown says Maika Sivo’s three-game ban is “unacceptable” and something he’s desperately trying to work on.
The Fijian winger took the early guilty plea for a grade 2 careless high tackle on Gold Coast’s AJ Brimson during the trials that left him “pretty sore that night with a sore neck and a bit of a headache”.
The Eels will be without their try-scoring machine until they face Wests Tigers on
“It was pretty late, the decision itself (to pick Strange at five-eighth),” Stuart said.
“These players that we’ve got here, the new recruits and some of our younger players, they are going to be long-term NRL players. That’s Kaeo, Ethan and a number of other players.
“The younger players in the offseason this year have really given so much enjoyment to an off-season.
“I know it’s difficult to enjoy hard work, especially with the loads we’ve put on the players this year, but it’s been a fun off-season.”
The Raiders went down to the Knights in extra time in an epic elimination final last year.
“We basically built our off-season off that game,” Stuart said.
“I thought it was a wonderful game of courage. We had a number of players who were out through injury or suspension.”
Joseph Tapine will skipper the side with Elliott Whitehead nursing a calf injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for at least three weeks.
Easter Monday, with Sivo also copping a four-match suspension for a high shot against the Titans last year.
Sivo scored 20 tries in 20 games last season but was one of several high-profile stars who missed large chunks as the Eels fell out on the top eight a year after they reached
McDonald Jones Stadium, Tonight, 7pm AEST Watch on Fox League, Kayo the grand final. “It’s not acceptable in the game and he knows that,” Brown said, with the NRL sending a memo to all clubs in 2023 warning them that outside backs would earn lengthy bans if they jammed in and caught attackers in the head.
“There are times, moments in the game, where he just gets his technique wrong.
“There are headhighs all over the place and his ones are obviously a bit worse.
“It’s something he’s practised on a lot, and unluckily, he caught him high again. It (the ban) is fair. He knows he’s got to continue to work on it and take it out of his game.”
All it takes is five minutes with Cameron McInnes to know that he’d be the perfect fit for the Blues this year, with the newly appointed Cronulla cocaptain keen to see the jersey “become sacred again” no matter who is chosen to represent NSW.
McInnes, 30, has been part of an extended squad in the past and was chosen for a 36man camp earlier this year led by new coach Michael Maguire.
The workhorse lock forward has plenty of similarities to Queensland’s Reuben Cotter, who has shone in the State of
Origin arena, with the pair playing together for the PM’s XIII last year when McInnes scored a try.
“It was a special camp,” McInnes said, with NSW desperate to win back the shield after back-to-back series defeats.
“There was a squad of 34 there and a few who couldn’t make it, but whoever gets the opportunity to make the team will be well supported.
“It’s not just about the 17, this is about everyone. It’s all about making sure that blue jersey becomes sacred again. This wouldn’t be my jersey, it would be NSW’s jersey.
“NSW is blessed with a lot of good back-rowers, so I’ll just put my hand up with how I play for the Sharks each week.”
Tackling machine McInnes will start the new season at lock, with fellow co-captain Dale Finucane named on the bench for Friday’s clash with the Warriors in New Zealand.