'Wasting your time': NRL legend responds amid Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler rumour
😃 The good: NRL greats don't think Nathan Cleary will move
😔 The bad: Benji Marshall and Wests Tigers spiralling again
😡 The ugly: Ezra Mam's on-field act during Broncos loss
You're wasting your time. That's the message from four of rugby league's biggest names in response to rumours Nathan Cleary might be eyeing a switch to rugby union.
Former Wallaby Tim Horan fired up the juicy bit of gossip last week, suggesting the Panthers superstar was "quite keen" to leave the NRL for the 15-man game. Another ex-Wallaby, Morgan Turinui, was happy to run with the story, adding "there is interest on both sides".
If you believe the narrative, the rumours have Cleary moving to a UK/European rugby club to be closer to partner Mary Fowler. It all sounds good in theory but is it actually a chance of happening?
Not according to those in the know. "What's today, June 1 - it's not April 1. I'm saying a big fat no. That won't happen," Immortal Andrew Johns told the Sunday Footy Show.
Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater was another to cast doubt on the move. He said: "It would be a pull-off for the Wallabies if they could get Nathan Cleary, but I don't think that would happen. I'd be surprised if Nathan challenged himself with that."
Cameron Smith and Brad Fittler also wrote off the possibility. But we learned a long time ago to never outrightly dismiss any scenario when it comes to rugby league. Watch this space.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by NRL on Nine (@nrlonnine)
Benji Marshall insists the Tigers have left the Lachlan Galvin drama behind them and are sick of talking about the departed five-eighth. That may be the case, but the club's results since Galvin announced he wanted out shows a worrying trend.
Going back to the Easter Monday clash against Parramatta – which Galvin missed after being axed in the wake of his decision not to accept a contract extension – the Tigers have won just two games in six. From occupying a position in the top eight, Marshall's men have now slipped to 13th ahead of a testing run of games.
Alarmingly, they have conceded 146 points in their past four games, which included the nightmare 64-0 defeat to Melbourne. The Tigers showed plenty of ticker to fight back against the Cowboys on Saturday night, but the fact remains they trailed 32-6 at one stage.
The recent drop off cannot all be put down to Galvin's exit but there's no doubt the ongoing circus has been a major distraction. High profile recruit Jarome Luai is doing his best to keep his side in the contest but is clearly frustrated and agitated as he prepares to take on his old Panthers teammates this weekend. After three straight wooden spoons, Tigers fans are starting to wonder whether the supposed revival is fast becoming a mirage.
The out-of-form Broncos have enough problems without Ezra Mam adding to their dramas. The disgraced five-eighth was hit by a barrage of abuse by Manly fans each time he touched the ball during Brisbane's awful 34-6 loss at 4 Pines Park on Saturday night.
It's the first time Mam has played outside of Queensland since returning from a nine-game ban for crashing into car while unlicensed and under the influence of drugs, injuring three people. And while he was given a soft ride back into the NRL in front of his own fans in Round 11, those south of the border clearly aren't willing to forgive and forget.
Mam didn't help his cause at Brookvale, jumping to his feet with arms outstretched in a Christ the Redeemer pose after scoring his side's only try. Some saw his actions as lacking humility and class given his off-field troubles, jumping on social media to condemn his actions.
Sea Eagles life member and veteran media figure Peter Peters said: "I think the booing of Ezra Mam showed the NRL got it wrong in the suspension for what he did. He's got to be a little more humble. He's not everyone's cup of team at the moment.
"To act like he did…to look to the heavens and poke his chest out like he's something special was hard to take. He needs to take a good look at himself."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
14 minutes ago
- New York Times
Tesla Protesters Claim a Victory as Elon Musk Leaves Trump's Side
Elon Musk left the Trump administration with a White House send-off on Friday. That was a victory of sorts for a group of activists who have spent much of the last four months organizing protests against Mr. Musk's right-wing politics by targeting his electric car company, Tesla. A day later, on Saturday, hundreds of people showed up at more than 50 Tesla showrooms and other company locations to continue their protests. The campaign at Tesla sites began in February after Joan Donovan, a sociology professor at Boston University, gathered friends to hold a demonstration at a Tesla showroom in Boston, and posted a notice about her plan on Bluesky using the hashtag #TeslaTakedown. She said she had been inspired by a small protest at Tesla's electric vehicle chargers in Maine soon after President Trump's inauguration. 'That first one on Feb. 15 was me and like 50 people,' Ms. Donovan said. 'And then the next week it was a hundred more people, and then a hundred more after that, and it's just grown.' Tesla Takedown has since expanded into an international movement, staging demonstrations at Tesla factories, showrooms and other locations in countries including Australia, Britain, France and Germany as well as across the United States. The campaign's U.S. growth has been fueled in large part by anger over Mr. Musk's leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed government spending and dismissed tens of thousands of federal workers while gaining access to sensitive personal data. Mr. Musk departed the administration after his involvement in politics hurt his companies, especially Tesla. Sales of the company's cars have tumbled since Mr. Trump took office and the start of protests against the company. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Associated Press
18 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Former top Greek fire officials convicted over deadly blaze, victims' relatives angry at acquittals
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A court in Athens on Tuesday convicted a former Fire Service chief and nine others for their roles in managing a 2018 wildfire that killed more than 100 people outside the Greek capital. The hearing was disrupted by protests from victims' relatives after several former civil administrators on trial were acquitted. The fire, which broke out in the seaside area of Mati, east of Athens, spread rapidly due to strong winds. Many residents died in a chaotic attempt to escape — either by car through a dense forest or fleeing into the sea. Senior officials from the Fire Service and civil protection agencies were found guilty of negligence resulting in loss of life and breach of duty for failing to safely direct the evacuation. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Wednesday due to the delay caused by the courtroom protests. 'My daughter went there for one day and never made it out. No one told her to leave,' Eleni Siapkara, dressed in black and holding a white rose, told reporters. 'They destroyed our family.' Her 35-year-old daughter, Calliope, died in the fire. Siapkara joined other grieving relatives outside the courthouse where they released black helium-filled balloons in remembrance of the tragedy. Six of the defendants were initially found guilty in a trial that concluded last year, but an appeals court prosecutor challenged the verdict, leading to a retrial. None of the defendants was jailed while awaiting the outcome of the second trial.
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Schwarzenegger tells environmentalists dismayed by Trump to ‘stop whining' and get to work
VIENNA (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger has a message for environmentalists who despair at the the approach of President Donald Trump's administration: 'Stop whining and get to work.' The new U.S. administration has taken an ax to Biden-era environmental ambitions, rolled back landmark regulations, withdrawn climate project funding and instead bolstered support for oil and gas production in the name of an 'American energy dominance' agenda. Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor of California, has devoted time to environmental causes since leaving political office in 2011. He said Tuesday he keeps hearing from environmentalists and policy experts lately who ask, 'What is the point of fighting for a clean environment when the government of the United States says climate change is a hoax and coal and oil is the future?' Schwarzenegger told the Austrian World Summit in Vienna, an event he helps organize, that he responds: 'Stop whining and get to work.' He pointed to examples of local and regional governments and companies taking action, including his own administration in California, and argued 70% of pollution is reduced at the local or state level. 'Be the mayor that makes buses electric; be the CEO who ends fossil fuel dependence; be the school that puts (up) solar roofs,' he said. 'You can't just sit around and make excuses because one guy in a very nice White House on Pennsylvania Avenue doesn't agree with you,' he said, adding that attacking the president is 'not my style' and he doesn't criticize any president when outside the U.S. 'I know that the people are sick and tired of the whining and the complaining and the doom and gloom,' Schwarzenegger said. 'The only way we win the people's hearts and minds is by showing them action that makes their lives better.'
