NRL SET OF SIX
Best on planet
Bulldogs custodian Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is bracing for his first game this year against superstar Roosters No 1 James Tedesco as he insists his new club can still make something of 2019. The New Zealand skipper last faced off against Tedesco in round 15 last year when he was at the Panthers; his first game for new club Canterbury was against the Roosters just five rounds ago but Tedesco was among a host of Roosters stars absent from that game. It didn’t stop the Tricolours racking up a 38-12 win in round 15 and the premiers looked even more dangerous in last week’s 48-10 demolition of Newcastle with their stars back and Tedesco running amok with 14 busts, nearly 300 metres and a try. “Tedesco, he’s on another planet that fella,” WateneZelezniak said when quizzed by NRL.com about his opposite number’s form ahead of Sunday’s game in Sydney. “It will be a good opportunity to test ourselves. He’s one of the best in the comp.”
Nines targets
Warriors and Kiwis star fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is one of a number of top NRL players who are being targeted by Pacific Nations for the upcoming World Nines tournament in Brisbane. NRL.com reports Samoan officials have also reached out to the Warriors captain about potentially changing his allegiances for the tournament as well as young Brisbane Broncos prop Payne Haas. International rules now allow players to turn out for second-tier nations without ruling themselves out of playing Origin or representing Australia and New Zealand.
Api hooker
The Manly Sea Eagles have given hooker Apisai Koroisau permission to gauge interest from other clubs around the NRL, and the Warriors are reportedly one of the interested parties. The Sydney Morning Herald suggests the Warriors are one of the three clubs to have already expressed their interest in the 26-year-old, who still has more than two years on his contract.
Benji blast
Kiwi star Benji Marshall has slammed the NRL’s judiciary, claiming the game is driving away fans with its lack of consistency. He’s one of a number of players to have questioned the judiciary, with Dragons prop James Graham suggesting to Fox Sports’ NRL 360 there is no consistency in the rulings after a tackle from Dragons fullback Matt Dufty was overlooked while Penrith forward Viliame Kikau got a two-match ban for a similar hit.
Sharpe as a tack
While the NRL’s match officials have found themselves under constant scrutiny this season, the league’s first female referee Belinda Sharpe has been praised for her performance on debut last weekend. North Queensland Cowboys great Johnathan Thurston called Sharpe inspirational as she became the first female to referee a first-grade game in the 111-year history of the competition.
Benny warning
Wayne Bennett has warned the new Gold Coast coach will need two or three years to turn around the struggling Titans. Veteran South Sydney mentor Wayne Bennett yesterday confirmed reports he was interested in that task when coaching Brisbane but unwanted there for 2019. The Titans stuck with Garth Brennan before sacking him this month with the team anchored at the bottom of the ladder. The seven-time premiership coach said resurrecting the Titans had appealed to him as “the game needs the Titans to be good” and the club had a lot going for it. Bennett added he was “very happy in Sydney” after moving to the Rabbitohs.