DCE in line with Klein as skipper rubbishes subterfuge
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans has slammed suggestions there was anything untoward about his recent friendly chat with State of Origin referee Ashley Klein.
The Maroons skipper has also poured cold water on claims that the playing group has an issue with Brisbane outside back Selwyn Cobbo, who was overlooked for selection for the Origin series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
A story in this masthead on Sunday contained an image of the Manly captain in conversation in the stands a fortnight ago at Brookvale Oval with Klein, who will take charge of the clash on Wednesday night.
NSW legend Ben Elias threw fuel on the fire by stating 'it is that time of year again when Queensland start buttering up the referees', implying the Maroons were trying to get some kind of competitive advantage.
'I'm not going to be able to remember the conversation exactly because I don't remember it being nothing more than just a conversation,' Cherry-Evans said when asked about the chat.
Loading
'We have referees come out to our training sessions weekly at Manly. They are humans. They are people. They have families and more often than not we're just talking about our kids and how much they are misbehaving.
'Read into it what you will, but there's nothing really there for me. We are all human and like to talk about our problems. It's just as simple as that really.'
The Maroons captain was asked if he had a good relationship with Klein.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
News Corp bosses boycott Origin as V'landys goes to war over drugs question
Senior executives and editors at News Corp boycotted the offer of NRL hospitality at last week's State of Origin match in Brisbane amid a war of words with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys. V'landys expressed frustration and displeasure with the editors of The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and Code Sports over the contents of a recently released series about rugby league player-agents titled 'The Deal Makers'. The series was based on a survey of 50 player-agents on some of the biggest issues in the game, including a question relating to the use of recreational drugs in rugby league. The agents were asked, 'Is drug use a problem with players?' with 62 per cent responding yes. That led to a series of heated phone calls between V'landys, and other NRL executives, and News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller, Telegraph editor Ben English, sport executive editor Jason Scott and Queensland editor Chris Jones. Sources with knowledge of the situation – talking on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the phone calls – said V'landys took exception to the way the question was phrased, believing it incorrectly portrayed the NRL as having a widespread issue with drugs. The game has already had to deal with a number of recent headlines relating to players and drug issues – most notably involving Brayden Trindall, Josh Addo-Carr and Ezra Mam – and V'landys believed he needed to protect the reputation of the players. It resulted in several senior News Corp executives ignoring invitations to attend last week's Origin as guests of V'landys in the NRL's corporate suite at Suncorp Stadium.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
News Corp bosses boycott Origin as V'landys goes to war over drugs question
Senior executives and editors at News Corp boycotted the offer of NRL hospitality at last week's State of Origin match in Brisbane amid a war of words with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys. V'landys expressed frustration and displeasure with the editors of The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and Code Sports over the contents of a recently released series about rugby league player-agents titled 'The Deal Makers'. The series was based on a survey of 50 player-agents on some of the biggest issues in the game, including a question relating to the use of recreational drugs in rugby league. The agents were asked, 'Is drug use a problem with players?' with 62 per cent responding yes. That led to a series of heated phone calls between V'landys, and other NRL executives, and News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller, Telegraph editor Ben English, sport executive editor Jason Scott and Queensland editor Chris Jones. Sources with knowledge of the situation – talking on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the phone calls – said V'landys took exception to the way the question was phrased, believing it incorrectly portrayed the NRL as having a widespread issue with drugs. The game has already had to deal with a number of recent headlines relating to players and drug issues – most notably involving Brayden Trindall, Josh Addo-Carr and Ezra Mam – and V'landys believed he needed to protect the reputation of the players. It resulted in several senior News Corp executives ignoring invitations to attend last week's Origin as guests of V'landys in the NRL's corporate suite at Suncorp Stadium.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Cherry-Evans doesn't know if he'll be Queensland No.7
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans says he does not know if he has done enough to keep his Maroons No.7 jersey for State of Origin II in Perth. Billy Slater will make the most important call of his coaching career on Sunday, when he decides whether to retain Cherry-Evans for the must-win match. The halfback's position has been a point of debate since the Maroons' series-opening loss, with Cherry-Evans facing competition from Tom Dearden. The Manly veteran had one of his best games of the season in his first match after Origin last week, being close to the Sea Eagles' best against Brisbane. But like the majority of Manly's team, he endured a mixed outing in the Sea Eagles' 26-22 golden-point loss in Newcastle on Thursday night. Cherry-Evans was heavily involved in Manly's 16-0 halftime lead at McDonald Jones Stadium. The No.7 put a kick out on the full in the second half as the Sea Eagles collapsed, before he was unable to get a field-goal shot away at the death. Cherry-Evans has been one of the Maroons' best performers for a number of years, but there have been calls from the likes of Andrew Johns for him to be axed. Queensland Rugby League CEO Ben Ikin also claimed this week the halfback had been too "sideways" in attack in Origin I. Asked after Manly's loss whether that performance was enough to keep him in the Maroons squad, Cherry-Evans said he was unsure. "I don't know. I will find out Monday or Sunday," Cherry-Evans said. "You always find out on the Sunday or Monday." The 36-year-old also said he had paid little attention to speculation over his position, including suggestions that Thursday night's game was his last chance to make a statement. "I genuinely don't know what has been said," Cherry-Evans said. "I understand it's a pretty busy period when it comes to my name. "But I am just doing my best to keep my head down. Train and play with the Manly boys and be a good dad." Cherry-Evans' position is one of several calls Queensland coach Billy Slater must make. Queensland must find a way to match NSW's early-set yardage, after Zac Lomax and Brian To'o gave the Blues the field position for the Origin I victory. Corey Horsburgh is considered an option to come into the forward pack, while a new No.14 must be found if Dearden does replace Cherry-Evans. Speaking before Thursday night's match, Cherry-Evans' predecessor Cooper Cronk urged his old teammate Billy Slater to meet with the half before making a call. "I think Billy should have a heart-to-heart coffee catch up with Daly and ask him how much the jersey means," Cronk said on Fox League. "Because the series is on the line, and Daly the captain and halfback needs to deliver. "(How he plays against Newcastle), I don't think it matters. Billy would have made that gut instinct call up already."
