Bellamy’s plea to Slater
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has appealed for Maroons ace Billy Slater not to walk away from rugby league as he fights to prevent the decimation of the Storm’s Big
Three.
With just four weeks until the playoffs, the champion fullback remains off-contract and has yet to notify the Storm whether he will ink a 12-month extension the club tabled two months ago.
Veteran halfback Cooper Cronk will be the first domino to fall from Melbourne’s Big Three when he quits the club at season’s end, leaving skipper Cameron Smith to drive their famous culture next year.
Smith and Slater were born on the same day in the same year — June 18, 1983 — and Bellamy is adamant the Maroons custodian has more magic left following his superb fightback from two shoulder operations.
The Storm are desperate to get one more year from Billy Slater.
“I think Billy has more in him,” Bellamy said.
“Physically, he has a whole heap in him but he has to make sure that mentally he will be right.
“Hopefully he will say yes to that question.” If Melbourne win the title this season, it could be the fairytale finale for Slater, but the 292-game veteran says his future won’t hinge on a premiership ring. “Winning the comp drives me every year but it’s not going to determine whether I play on next year,” Slater said.
“I can’t leave Cam on his own can I?
“I know I need to make a decision soon. It’s purely physical for me. I’ve been doing it for 15 years now and it’s a tough game. If this is my last season, it’s been a great ride and I’ve enjoyed every moment.”
Smith will turn 35 midway through next season and while he has not suffered the serious injuries that have buffeted Slater, he believes his former Norths Devils colleague is not ready for retirement.
“The decision is up to Bill and whether he feels he can get through another season,” he said.
“It’s easy to say that he looks great on the field and is playing great footy. But to be able to be in that position physically and mentally, you have to put yourself through a lot of hard work and we have to finish this season first. “A lot of people just see NRL game day and fans enjoy watching guys like Billy play footy but there’s a lot of sacrifice you make to play NRL and most of it all falls on your family.
“It is a huge decision for Bill. He is one of our greats. In his own time he will come to a decision.” Starting with the sixth-placed Cowboys this Saturday night at Pepper Stadium the Panthers play four teams all still fighting for a finals berth and could either crush their dreams or see their own hopes of a top eight finish fall by the wayside.
A win this week could see Penrith move as high as sixth on the ladder but a loss could see them again drop out of the top eight, a position of power that Buderus says they must take full advantage of.
“With a month left we’re getting closer to the final makeup of the top eight,” Buderus said.
“There are 32 games left in the regular season, but the run home that will cause the most intrigue is that of Penrith, who sit eighth on the ladder.
“They face the Cowboys (sixth), Raiders (10th), Dragons (ninth) and the Sea Eagles (seventh) in the remaining rounds – all contenders to either make it or keep their place in the top eight.
“The Panthers’ destiny – and that of their rivals – is in their own hands, which is better than saying the ‘mathematical chance’ line that you often hear at this time of the year.”nrl.com Vave spent the 2016 season with Buhrer at Manly but the two go back way further than that – to the days Buhrer was Vave’s captain for Patrician Brothers Blacktown during their high school years.
Vave admits he’s happy to see the likes of Buhrer, the Saifiti twins and Mata’utia brothers put some smiles on Knights fans’ faces but – playing for his own spot and his own team’s top-four aspirations – will be desperate to shut those players down when the Eels host the Knights at ANZ Stadium on Friday evening.
“Yeah I grew up as a Newcastle fan, they had a great forward pack when I was growing up and I was a halfback at heart so I loved ‘Joey’ Johns coming through,” Vave laughed when asked by NRL.com about the prospect of facing the Knights this weekend. “When my family first came to Australia they settled up at Broadmeadow up there in Newcastle and I think that’s how we became Newcastle fans as kids growing up.” Vave said he has been impressed with the improvement in the Knights in recent weeks, even prior to their current two-game winning run.
“They’ve been unlucky this season. They’ve got a real good side and been in front in a lot of games but they haven’t had that killer spark to finish off teams,” Vave said. nrl.com