NRL Offseason Octopus - Australia's Sam Burgess Insecurity
Australia want you Sammy, I'm not so fussed though.
They say where there is smoke, there is fire. That might explain the current Sam Burgess situation, where Australian media post a different story each week about Burgess and his possible return to the NRL or it might just prove my theory that Australia is a bit insecure about wee Sammy ... as they have with other players who have left the NRL like Israel Folau and Sonny Bill Williams.
Australia's fascination with getting Burgess back offers me a few laughs each week, but that smoke and fire saying has me weary. They smoke and fire situation surrounding Ivan Cleary and Phil Gould came to a climax last week after the smoke was sent billowing out of the chimney a few months ago, so it would be foolish to brush this talk of Burgess' returning to the NRL as Australian insecurity.
This will obviously be an ongoing situation that I'll follow over the summer months as everything suggest Burgess will re-join the Rabbitohs, so allow me to speculate. The Rabbits certainly have cap space to play with, although I'm not certain that moves like off-loading Issac Luke to the Warriors were made to open that cap space for Burgess. Nor do I think that Glenn Stewart's move to Catalans was given the green light by the Rabbitohs solely because they wanted to lure Burgess back; both Luke and Stewart's departures came with whispers of various levels of discontent with coach Michael Maguire.
Burgess' rugby escapade didn't quite work out as well as he would have hoped which influences things on both sides. He might want to stick at it and rectify everything, or he might be over it. I'd suggest that the Rabbitohs (Maguire + Russell Crowe) are well aware of a few holes in their roster, which Burgess would help fill and I wouldn't be surprised if they are doing all they can to lure Burgess back.
I'm not too bothered whether Burgess returns or not. They Rabbitohs definitely need Burgess as their forward pack lacked the mongrel and go-forward that he provides so if I were a Rabbitohs fan I'd be keen. I'm not a Rabbitohs fan and there's enough ruthless forwards in the NRL to keep me entertained. Oh and I'd rather see Burgess enjoy some success in rugby instead of being a flop ya know? Stay tuned though, there'll be plenty of yarns about Sam Burgess coming out of Australia this summer.
Another bit of speculation that I saw was the possibility of Jamal Idris moving to the Melbourne Storm. If I'm not all in on the Burgess theory, in terms of wanting to see it happen, then I'm all in on Idris to Melbourne. The first influencing factor is the kerfuffle going down at Penrith which is all a bit chaotic and with everything changing, Idris is a player on above average money who could become expendable - especially as the Panthers got a good look at other centres like Issah Yeo, Waqa Blake, George and Robert Jennings while Idris spent this season injured.
The Panthers have the personnel to allow Idris to head out the door and the salary cap relief that getting rid of Idris' contract will offer is also a positive. This could also be a handy acquisition for the Storm who have bid farewell to Kurt Mann, who will join the Dragons for the 2016 season and impressed in the centres for the Storm. Mann was an undercover solid NRL centre with the Storm, which gave them options on either flank with their other centre this season being Will Chambers who made his Queensland debut this year.
The prospect of Chambers and Idris playing in the centres has me pretty excited, but it would take a typical Craig Bellamy coaching effort to get the best out of Idris. It's also slightly risky as Idris has consistently battled injury, which might mean that he has to accept less money and rightfully so.
If I were Idris, I might be pretty keen to gap the Penrith scene as well. I'm still riding with the Gould vs Cleary beef as the reasoning behind all of this and news that a Penrith board member was unaware of Cleary's 'termination' only backs this up.
We shall finish with a few signings, that have the kiwi connection #chur. First of all the Dragons have snapped up Junior Kiwi outside back Taane Milne from the Roosters. Milne is an exciting prospect who has already done a fair bit of code-hopping after being a schoolboy rugby star in Sydney and he will offer depth for the Dragons. Milne will struggle to see much game time though and he'll likely battle away in reserve grade until an opportunity presents itself. The Dragons also upgraded the contract of young kiwi Patrick Herbert and also mentioned in their press release that former Junior Warrior Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard had been released from the final year of his contract to explore options with other clubs. The Dragons plucked Tuimavave-Gerrard from the Warriors so it's odd that they are now releasing him, unless Tuimavave-Gerrard asked for a release ... to possibly move home?
The Warriors have picked up Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from the Melbourne Storm's Under 20s program. Having played for the Cook Islands against Tonga, Nicoll-Klokstad returns to Auckland after leaving to join the Storm and he's a powerful back (video below shows him in a few positions) which makes this an interesting signing. The Warriors have no issues producing young backs and currently have a a decent crop on the books while I'd never be upset with signing a young player who has spent time at the Storm. There's a need for quality competition for starting spots and this kid looks like he will be putting pressure on the likes of David Fusitua and Ken Maumalolo, as well as being a suitable replacement for Brad Abbey.