Clint Gutherson's role for maligned teammates as Dragons lament 'total mess'
Clint Gutherson admits he has a crucial role to play with maligned halves pairing Kyle Flanagan and Lachlan Ilias at the Dragons this season. And St George-Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan admits the situation around disgruntled prop Francis Molo - who has been a controversial no-show at training during the off-season - is a "total mess" that he doesn't have an answer to.
The Dragons will get a first proper look at their new-look halves combination of Flanagan and Ilias in competitive action this weekend, when they take on the Roosters in Sunday's Pre-Season Challenge. Ilias was brought to the club to replace representative star and former skipper Ben Hunt, who joined the Broncos after spending seven seasons with the Red V.
Ilias had a season to forget for the Rabbitohs in 2024 after being dumped from first grade by former coach Jason Demetriou, before suffering a serious leg injury that scuppered his hopes of returning to the NRL. The halfback was once regarded as Adam Reynolds' long-term replacement at No.7 for Souths but was told he was free to leave the Bunnies and is hoping to resurrect his career at the Dragons.
The 24-year-old Ilias will look to form a deadly halves combination with playmaker Flanagan, who has also had his share of detractors during an eight-year NRL career across four different clubs. Speaking about his teammates after being named Dragons co-captain alongside fellow new recruit Damien Cook, former Eels skipper Gutherson says one of his key roles will be to help convince the halves duo that they belong at NRL level.
"You've got to show them that you believe in them and that you trust in them," Gutherson told AAP. "I think that's what us older guys do, they get the best out of their younger players. It showed in the scrimmage match with Manly (last week), the belief we had in both our halves and it's about building on what we want to do as a team and let them take control of it.
"It's never going to be perfect … They're probably the two most scrutinised positions on the field and people are very quick to judge when they don't get instant success. I think Lachie was doing a great job at Souths and they were probably looking for someone to pin it (their failures) on and then with the injury it was just unfortunate. I think Kyle, people just want to see him down and out, but as captain, as a leader, you want to instil that you believe in what they're doing - that's something we've worked really hard on."
RELATED:
Corey Parker set to 'leave everything' in $3 million move with wife
Wayne Bennett hits back at shock claim in Matt Lodge contract drama
Twist in Broncos hooker dilemma as young gun suffers injury
Gutherson and Cook have been named at fullback and hooker, respectively, in a strong Dragons squad for Sunday's pre-season game against the Roosters. And the former Parramatta fan favourite says they both "have a point to prove" after being let go by their former clubs, with Cook allowed to leave the Rabbitohs under veteran coach Wayne Bennett. Valentine Holmes is another Dragons recruit that was allowed to leave after the Cowboys granted the Maroons star an early release, and he'll start at centre in Sunday's game.
The Dragons' preparations for the new season have been rocked by Molo's stunning stand-off with the club, and his decision not to return to training since an incident last month. Molo - who is one of the team's best middle forwards - reportedly had a "disagreement" with a member of the Dragons' coaching staff and has not been seen at the club since.
The Red V signed Emre Guler from the Raiders to help strengthen their playing stocks but Molo appears to be agitating for an early release from his contract. And Dragons coach Shane Flanagan admits he's not sure if the prop will play for them at all this season after describing the situation as a "total mess".
'I met with the NRL to see where we sit from a salary-cap perspective. There were a couple of things to work through with our roster," the Dragons coach News Corp. 'We are going through the legal process of his contract... It's a legal minefield. Frank is on sick leave until his sick days run out and then I have no idea what will happen. We might not get him back this season, who knows."
with AAP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Where 'playing more offense' makes sense in IndyCar, why Zak Brown's other suggestions don't
Lost in the emotion and vitriol that has emanated from Zak Brown's comments to select assembled media at the Detroit Grand Prix is this: The McLaren Racing CEO's believes Penske Entertainment needs to take bigger swings, and in some cases, risks, in the way in which it steers the IndyCar ship. His ideas — ranging from suggesting IndyCar launch its seasons on the Saturday of the Daytona 500, to challenging the sport's owners to spend big on new events in major markets (particularly on the east coast) and suggesting that less may be more on IndyCar's grid — are no doubt out of the box, and they range from problematic (making some racing media choose between covering Daytona or St. Pete is a losing battle) to grandiose and cruel. One thing they also do: Challenge a status quo that many in the IndyCar paddock believe publicly and privately haven't been pushed enough in the five-plus years since Roger Penske took ownership. It's not to say things haven't changed since 2019. Not only does the schedule have notable updates, but the Indianapolis 500 is back booming again, the grid is meaningfully larger and IndyCar appears to be with a network willing to pull out all the stops and push the needle to help it reach heights not seen in decades. But to many in the paddock, Brown included, the sport continues to operate on the defensive. In some ways, it's a product of a pre-Penske past where the sport was stuck in neutral and is simultaneously trying to play catch-up while also attempting to innovate and break the mold. Next year's Arlington Grand Prix is the latest Penske Entertainment project aimed at trying something big and new and different (at least for this racing series). Past projects like IndyCar's long-awaited video game project (now dormant), a concert-filled doubleheader at Iowa Speedway (no headlining concerts any more), a downtown Nashville street race (which has moved to an oval 40 minutes outside downtown) and the launch of hybrid technology (which was many times delayed, had a new engine formula axed and which has negatively impacted the racing product) lay in its wake. The Penske Corp.'s shift of the Detroit area street race from Belle Isle to downtown Detroit alleviated a longtime rift with a segment of the community concerned of its impact on the park, and it's made the event more accessible to the general public and a hotbed for Penske hospitality customers, but many drivers haven't been quiet as to their thoughts of racing on the "Mickey Mouse circuit." Racing at The Thermal Club, too, has proved a lightning rod topic, and the resurrection of IndyCar racing at the Milwaukee Mile is an endeavor too early in its reboot to suggest whether it'll have long-term legs or not. 'We need to play more offense, and sometimes we play too much defense,' Brown said. ''Cost savings, cost savings, cost savings.' At some point, you've gotta say, 'I want to spend more to make more.' 'There's a difference between sustaining the sport and covering some losses and picking a number, let's say $100 million, and going and doing something like what (F1 owners Liberty Media) did around Las Vegas. Even though that race isn't profitable today, it brought in a ton of new sponsors and got you a more lucrative TV contract.' Unlike so many team bosses in the sport, Brown comes at what he does with a marketing-first brain. In another life, Brown would've taken the IndyCar CEO job offered to him in May 2013 by then-Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles, who's now the president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, but instead, his burgeoning sports marketing firm took him to England and, in 2018, he was tapped to take over the reins of McLaren Racing as its CEO. In less than seven years, he transformed an F1 team with a largely blank racecar experiencing some of its worst results in its decades' long history into World Constructors' Champions. Approaching the halfway point of this season, his two drivers are locked into a head-to-head battle for the World Drivers' Championship while McLaren the runaway favorites to win the Constructors' title again. Both in business as well as sport, Brown views winning as the primary target at all costs, for better or worse, and that goal, particularly when pursued by a program in flux, comes with the suggestion of wholesale changes. When it comes to IndyCar, along with spending sizable sums of Penske's money and taking risks on new races in a couple major cities across the country, Brown's vision for change is a slightly smaller, more exclusive sport filled with more high-energy events and high-powered cars exactly at a time where demand ideally will be rising. So what do some of Browns ideas look like in reality? Let's dive in. In short, finding a way to shrink IndyCar's grid — the idea of Brown's that far-and-away drew the most ire — is the toughest to imagine happening anytime soon, at least at the levels he suggested. It's not something Brown hasn't suggested before, but it comes less than a year after Penske Entertainment handed out 25 charters to the 10 teams competing last year in IndyCar. Though the fine print of the charter remains largely shrouded in secrecy, we know teams were given a max of three per team, leading to Chip Ganassi Racing dropping two cars from its fleet. New for 2025, IndyCar welcomed two unchartered full-time entries to the grid from Prema Racing, making for 27 cars on the grid at non-Indy 500 races — said to be the max field size. Should any more cars show up, the event would see bumping to get into the field for the first time outside the 500 in recent memory. As the grid sits, the easiest way to trim the grid would be for Prema to purchase one or two charters from current holders, slimming the grid back down to 25. But Brown said he'd like to see things scaled back further, suggesting grid sizes from 20 to 24 could make for a more competitive grid top to bottom and lower the supply at a time when demand is rising. In his view, the charter system solidified the status quo — basically allowing for all cars that had been on the grid for several years (minus Ganassi's fourth and fifth) while allowing for the addition of Prema that had been agreed to before the charter system was launched. 'Just a passenger hitting the wall': Robert Shwartzman's Indy 500 fairly tale ends Would it have been tough to tell Dale Coyne, Brad Hollinger and Ricardo Juncos or the powers that be at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing that one of their cars wouldn't be granted a charter come 2025? Undoubtedly, and I'm not sure how you make those distinctions, either. It's no secret Coyne has for several years now had at least one (and last year both) its cars mired at or near the bottom of the Entrants Championship, but they now have a driver sitting 16th in points who was 10th before a pair of back-to-back DNFs. RLL has two cars on the outside looking in of the Leaders Circle chase for the time being — a tough look for a team that occasionally can fight for poles and wins and has been around the sport for decades. Both JHR cars are near the bottom, but both have also finished in the top-10 this year, and Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel is still in his first full season in IndyCar and 12 months ago was a serious Indy NXT title contender. So far this year, 24 of the 27 full-time cars have logged top-15 finishes, with 22 of them having finished in the top 10 at least once (all but both Prema cars, RLL's two cars near the bottom and Coyne's Jacob Abel). Across the entire 2024 season, all 27 cars nabbed top 15s, and 23 finished in the top 10 — 21 of those cars having secured at least two top 10s. Two-thirds of the field finished in the top 5 at least once, and 14 finished on the podium. Knowing that Penske Entertainment ultimately is the owner of all 25 IndyCar charters, I imagine there's some (or likely multiple) mechanisms with which the series owner could yank them back, but I don't know how much benefit you're getting from telling Dale Coyne, one of your longest-tenured team owners, that his No. 51 car no longer has a guaranteed spot each weekend. A move like that very well might put Coyne's other car in a tenuous spot, and if you try doing that to multiple low-performing two-car teams, you could be without a couple cars who with the right circumstances can legitimately run inside the top 10 a couple times a year. Yes, those cars aren't on par with the likes most cars at Penske, Ganassi, Andretti and McLaren, but those four teams aren't your entire series either. And outside them, the other 15 (with few exceptions) can finish just about anywhere on any given weekend. Now, if you were building a series from scratch, I'd be interested to see a 24-car IndyCar field with 12 two-car teams, or maybe one with 10 or 11 teams combined to have 24 cars on the grid — allowing for a little less chaos on the tightest tracks and shortest pit lanes and a bit more exclusivity to generate some actual interest in those on the outside trying to buy their way in. But putting a square peg in a round hole now, and the unnecessary firestorm that would come from it, is just too tough to navigate now. IndyCar had the opportunity to trim its grid to 25 and tell Prema it needed to buy charters in order to compete 18 months ago and chose not to. Until this charter agreement expires, I don't know there's any changing that. At the same time, I think Brown's assertion that decisions on IndyCar's next car and technical regulations need to be made by chasing cutting-edge technology, more speed and horsepower and lighter-weight machines — rather than what's easiest to stomach for teams in the middle or back of the pack — are spot on. And maybe if you do so, we see a bit of a shakeup to the grid anyways. After going more than 15 years without a wholesale change to the car on track, IndyCar can't afford both technologically and optically to make another relatively minor update to what has become a Frankenstein-like car compared to the one Dan Wheldon tested and helped refine in 2011. And the major implication is this: Don't cut corners for the sake of cost-savings. I hate to say it, because I know this isn't going to be an easy stretch for several teams on the grid (even with the friendly loan plan Miles said in March the series is working on to help teams pay for the cars), but this needs to be a car that makes a statement. Use some parts from this car's construction if you can and it makes sense — in other words, don't just pursue change for change's sake. But the series needs to map out a car that best fits this state of IndyCar, and see where the chips fall. Insider: IndyCar planning to introduce new car in 2027, Roger Penske says While better integrating the aero screen, the hybrid (if it indeed is staying in some form) and recent safety updates to IndyCar's new machine, this car needs to be light, sleek, powerful and loud. It needs to be something this series can rally and market around in a similar vein to how NASCAR's NextGen car and IMSA's GTP machines drew increased intrigue in their early years. It's not going to be the peak of technological engineering, ala Formula 1, but it needs to make some noise both literally and figuratively. And that's going to cost some money. And if that's a dealbreaker to some teams, then it's an unfortunate fact the way in which new chapters in racing series spell different phases for teams up and down the grid. It's not uncommon in other series, and it shouldn't be something Penske Entertainment should shy away from. As Brown said, 'We need to get to the point where everyone's chasing the best, as opposed to working toward the lowest common denominator because you're trying to keep the back of the grid in business.' It's enough to not get uber-exclusive and outright boot teams out of the series like Brown suggested, but it should also at the same time be a privilege and a sign of both passion and financial stability to have a couple cars running in IndyCar. Brown's third major pillar is perhaps too soon to suggest breaking ground on, in part because we need to see how a project in the same vein, the Arlington Grand Prix, works next March. The new event, which Miles said he expects to be as big and culturally impactful as the Miami Grand Prix — if not bigger — brings the muscle, marketing savvy, local knowhow and the ticketholder registries of the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers to help IndyCar put on perhaps its biggest event outside the Indy 500 in 2026. It's been said to have been in the works for some time, and for a series desperately in need of more spring races, it adds yet another high-energy street race to the pre-Indy 500 section that already includes St. Pete and Long Beach and hopefully next year will also include Mexico City. The 'race around a stadium' model is by no means new to American open-wheel racing, but having the might of two of Texas' biggest pro sports franchises behind it is a major plus. Insider: What are 3 things to change about IndyCar? Here are our ideas And if next year's debut is as much of a success as it's been pumped up to be, Penske Entertainment needs to shop this around to other pro sports franchises around the country. Target No. 1? MetLife Stadium — the home of the NFL's New York Giants and Jets — and the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Though not a simple project to land — after all, you've got to convince two NFL franchises to join you in this endeavor to really get it to pop — it would be a major step for a series that is adamant it is and will continue to be wholly a North American series, but doesn't race anywhere close to the continent's biggest media market. And if it's something that the NFL franchises would only be willing to minimally support in Year 1 so as to feel out its potential before going all in, it should be a risk Penske Entertainment — which up until this point has shied away from racing in Mexico City on a track rental because it was devoid a local partner and which has emphasized in recent years its willingness to do big things, but mainly with other partners in the mix — should go all in on. As Brown said, massive undertakings like a blowout race under the shadows of the New York City skyline, might not be a profitable endeavor on its own, but it would offer an opportunity to elevate the series' brand as a whole. 'I think we need to be in bigger cities. I know it's going to be fiscally difficult to say, 'I want to race in New York City,' but I think to invest in a few more key markets where races may not be profitable, but (they) drive greater following of the sport and more sponsorship and bigger TV ratings, you get money back in value creation and growth of the teams and the sport,' Brown said. It would be the biggest swing Penske Entertainment has taken to date, but a sport where IndyCar is at the moment isn't going to take meaningful leaps in the sports — and even the racing — landscapes without taking risks. Outside non-Indy 500 blockbuster events like IndyCar's season opener (St. Pete), Arlington, Long Beach, (potentially) Mexico City and anything like Brown suggested in the Greater New York City area, IndyCar needs to elevate the floor of the rest of the events on its calendar. Not every single race can feel like one of the biggest on the calendar in the way F1 grands prix do, but there needs to be an higher level of expectation events that hope to continue to live on the calendar. And that starts with looking for alternatives for events that seem to merely exist like Portland and Laguna Seca. Though the former gives you a stop in the Pacific Northwest that IndyCar otherwise wouldn't race in, it's a race weekend that gets almost zero hype and publicity locally, and the fan turnout isn't anything to write home about. Until a couple years ago, Laguna Seca made sense as a finale in that it offered a somewhat glamorous place for the series and teams to entertain sponsors, even if the race weekend itself was sparsely attended. Now that it's left floating around the summer slate, Penske Entertainment shouldn't be afraid to move off an event even if it's willing to offer a slightly higher sanctioning fee than others. As Graham Rahal and so many others in the paddock have said before, in an age where it's trying to position itself as a growing giant in the motorsports realm, IndyCar should not be racing in places that make it appear unimportant. So as not to completely upend the series' balance of road, street and oval events, I think the series should first look toward natural terrain road course opportunities to swap into. Sonoma fell off the calendar in place of Laguna Seca seven years ago. If Penske Entertainment was better positioned to partner with the track and market the hell out of a return to the venue that's just north of San Francisco, could it have more success than previously? I've been told by multiple parties in the paddock that it's pertinent that IndyCar maintain a presence in the greater central California coast area, which makes giving Sonoma another chance something to consider. Insider: Will Fox, IndyCar find 'rapid growth' it sought after Indy 500? Detroit Grand Prix was a start Could you partner with IMSA on its Six Hour event at Watkins Glen and run Saturday, so as not to completely upend IMSA's six-hour race on Sunday, or find another slot on the calendar that would make sense for the upstate New York track to hold another major race weekend? Could you make a return to Homestead in the spring to give the oval track and the community another race weekend to rally around as it's primed to occasionally host NASCAR season finales and potential other fall playoff rounds in the future? Could you reconsider a return to Richmond, even though Miles vehemently poo-pooed the idea last fall? All these involve returns to tracks that fell off IndyCar's calendar for a reason, but Penske Entertainment clearly isn't afraid to put its marketing and promotional might behind events it needs to find success. In the slim amount of NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports-owned tracks that IndyCar visits, it's clear those two behemoths in the track owning landscape across the U.S. aren't going to just hand IndyCar a race weekend if there's not something for them in it, and in most cases, IndyCar hasn't been able to draw big enough crowds at some venues to make owners of those facilities feel there's enough financial gain for them to promote the race themselves. So find an already big event and see if you can make it bigger, like The Glen, or rent an oval like you do with Iowa Speedway, and pull out all the stops to give a race there a better chance to succeed than it had before. Sometimes in this crowded sports and entertainment market, you need to make your own luck, even if it costs a few bucks, and believe in yourself if no one else will. And if IndyCar is to make a serious jump in the next five years, it can't just sit around and wait for others to believe in the dream if Penske Entertainment isn't out on the frontlines trying to will it to happen.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
League great slams NRL as Benji Marshall spray lands Tigers coach in hot water
League great Greg Alexander has leapt to the defence of Benji Marshall after the Wests Tigers coach's criticism of officials looks set to land him in hot water with the NRL. Marshall blew up over two controversial calls against Jarome Luai during Sunday's loss to Penrith, with the penalty for a late tackle on Panthers kicker Blaize Talagi particularly baffling. Luai was also pinged for an escort penalty during the second half of the 18-14 defeat that Marshall thought the officials also got wrong. But the NRL's head of football Graham Annesley insisted on Tuesday that both incidents were reviewed and the right calls were made. 'It's clear from the vision that Jarome Luai props on his left foot and turns his back to initiate contact with Liam Martin,' Annesley said about the escort penalty. 'Regarding the contact on kicker Blaize Talagi, the rules are very clear, and have been reinforced with clubs on multiple occasions over recent seasons. "Players have a duty of care to avoid dangerous contact with kickers who are in the process of kicking and in a vulnerable position. This is a player safety policy which has been in place for a number of years.' But a frustrated Alexander wasn't having a bar of that explanation and echoed the fan backlash by insisting that Luai made the tackle on Talagi as he was kicking the footy. Luai's shot was not late, high or dangerous and the former premiership winner lamented the fact that current rules tend to penalise defenders for what has long been celebrated as exemplary kick pressure. "The tackle wasn't late, it wasn't high. He was within his rights to make that tackle," Alexander said about the penalty against Luai. "Please tell me that we haven't ruled that out of the game. "Do we just allow a kicker to take all the time in the world to kick the ball? As long as he hasn't made contact with the legs of the kicker - which he didn't - then I think it's gotta be alright. Veteran NRL commentator Andrew Voss agreed it did not warrant a penalty. "If he was passing the ball, then there's no dramas," he added. With the scores locked at 10-10 at the time, the decision proved costly as Nathan Cleary's ensuing penalty goal put the defending premiers up by two, before Thomas Jenkins completed his hat-trick late on to help get Penrith home. Marshall was clearly infuriated in his post-match press conference and suggested the officials decided the outcome, in comments that look to have landed him in hot water. 'The game is so hard and demanding. And I actually feel sorry for our players because they didn't actually get to decide tonight," the Wests Tigers coach said. RELATED: 'Cringey' Galvin promo infuriates fans as Raiders hero cops huge snub Slater under fire for Ezra Mam move as QLD axe skipper DCE 'It was a wrong call. I agree with protecting the kickers, but he didn't take his legs out. They didn't put him in a dangerous position. It was simultaneous when he kicked it and he made contact there. Like, that's not a penalty. "And I thought it actually cost us because we're in a cycle there where they got field position, kicked the goal, got the ball back, went down, got a penalty and then scored, so anyway, I've had my rant.' And it could prove costly for Marshall and the Tigers, with CODE Sports reporting that the NRL is reviewing the comments to determine whether any form of sanction will be handed down. That's two horrible calls by officials this week when it's come to putting pressure on the kicker. You want Luai to do that every 5th tackle play if he could #NRLTigersPanthers — Jay Keegan (@JayMK1994) June 8, 2025 Free 2 points there because of a perfect tackle by luai, game is so far gone. #NRLTigersPanthers — Tiger96🐅 (@tiger959505) June 8, 2025 Jarome Luai has done absolutely nothing wrong then 🤦♂️ #nrltigerspanthers — Alex Sutton (@TosBetting) June 8, 2025 This game is unwatchable. Nothing wrong with that tackle from Luai.#NRLTigersPanthers — Rewster (@Rewster7) June 8, 2025
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Galvin ends month of headlines with try in Bulldogs win
Lachlan Galvin has announced his Canterbury arrival by scoring a try and taking over as halfback, helping the Bulldogs stay top of the NRL in a 30-12 win over Parramatta. After a fortnight of speculation around his playing position, Galvin was forced to wait 57 minutes before entering the field against the Eels on Monday. When the teenage recruit did come on, he did so at half, with off-contract No.7 Toby Sexton shifting to hooker, in the surest sign yet of the Bulldogs' long-term plan. Galvin responded by being heavily involved in Canterbury's attack, and linking with five-eighth Matt Burton in the lead up to a Viliame Kikau try to put the Bulldogs up 18-12. And, after Harry Hayes crossed to make it 24-12, Galvin capped his arrival in the No.23 jersey by scoring his first try in Bulldogs colours to seal the match. After putting fullback Connor Tracey into space on the right edge, Galvin backed up on the play and ran onto a Josh Curran pass to score after a Jacob Kiraz offload. A TRY FOR THE NEW BULLDOG... LACHLAN GALVIN 🗣️#NRLBulldogsEels Telstra Moment of the Match. — NRL (@NRL) June 9, 2025 Galvin had been one of the most divisive figures in rugby league for the past two months, such was the nature of his highly-publicised exit from Wests Tigers. But there was nothing but love from Bulldogs fans, with a crowd of 59,878 in Accor Stadium on Monday. The 19-year-old's name was chanted before he even entered the field and he earned a standing ovation as he ran on and again with each of his first touches. And the roar was enormous when he crossed late in the match, 10 days after officially putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal with the Bulldogs. Notable too was how impressive Sexton's kicking game was for Canterbury before Galvin came on. The Bulldogs' regular halfback also entered Monday under intense scrutiny, given he is off-contract and seemingly unlikely to now be re-signed. Canterbury were able to dominate field position for the majority of the match, only for Parramatta's resolute defence to keep them in the contest. Burton scored early for the Bulldogs when he picked off a Ryley Smith pass from a scrum and went 60 metres to score. But the Eels returned the favour moments later when Zac Lomax intercepted a Burton pass and put Mitch Moses into space to score a 90-metre try. The Bulldogs took a 12-6 lead back when Burton went to the shortside in the 20th minute and sent Marcelo Montoya over. However the match swung again when Viliame Kikau was sin-binned for dagerous contact on a kicking Moses just before halftime and the Eels levelled the score on the next set. Canterbury went 14-12 clear when Moses was penalised for a high shot in the 50th minute, before the Bulldogs ran away with it late with Galvin the centre of attention.
