Stokes-owned WA media gives State of Origin sex ad snub
Of the 60,000 fans expected at Optus Stadium, 54,000 of them are locals with just 6000 fans travelling interstate for the game. This columnist has been in Perth since Monday and the support from the locals towards the Bears and rugby league has been an eye-opener.
Australian Queensland cricket legend Mitchell Johnson, who now lives in Perth, spoke strongly about the interest in rugby league from the locals when chatting off-air before he appeared on Freddie and the Eighth on Tuesday.
You wouldn't know it judging by the local newspaper or Channel Seven, who recently ordered Perth Bears CEO Anthony De Ceglie to be cut out of shots at the announcement of Mal Meninga as the inaugural coach.
The Seven West Media snub comes after the 'Bad news Bears' headline they whacked on the front page of the newspaper on the morning of the team's official announcement last month.
The bad blood between the AFL-aligned Seven West Media and the NRL has been exacerbated by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys' decision to poach the company's national news director De Ceglie as the Bears CEO.
De Ceglie has declined to get into a slanging match with his previous bosses at Seven West Media, where he worked for both Channel Seven and The West Australian newspaper.
'The Perth Bears are looking forward to earning the respect of WA sports lovers and earning our right to be in the sports pages of The West Australian alongside the AFL teams,' he said on Wednesday.
'If we're winning on the park and off the park, if fans are turning up to our games and we've created a club that stands for strong values then the newspaper hopefully has to cover us. If we're doing these things and they're still not covering us then the only people missing out will be the readers.
'It's not that Perth is an AFL state. Perth is a sports state. West Australians love sport. They love Aussie Rules, tennis, basketball and NRL. They show up to all sports and are passionate about all sports. There's no rule that says you can't barrack for an AFL team and an NRL team.'
The West Australian newspaper editor Chris Dore did not respond to this masthead's attempts to contact him.
In a recent statement sent to the ABC's Media Watch program, Dore rubbished suggestions that his publication was acting in the best interest of the AFL.
Loading
'The idea that somehow our coverage at The West Australian is dictated, or even remotely influenced, by some fanciful proposition that a rugby league team in Perth would diminish the AFL and therefore somehow have a financial impact on the broadcaster is laughable,' Dore wrote.
'It also misses the point that the NRL are desperate for Seven to be a bidder for the free-to-air rights when they next come up – before the Bears play their first game.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
5 minutes ago
- The Age
Surface tension: Roosters stars losing patience with Allianz Stadium pitch
Sydney Roosters players have described the playing surface at Allianz Stadium as 'slippery', 'wet', and 'not too crash hot' as the $828 million Moore Park venue prepares to host four rugby league games in just three days as part of the NRL's Gadhu Gathering. Less than an hour after the Bulldogs and Manly clashed at the venue on July 27, ground staff were straight to work on the playing surface. And on Monday morning, giant heat lamps were baking grass at the northern end of the venue. There was also a sprinkler with a heat lamp positioned over a bare patch of grass in the north-western corner. Giant puddles and divots have become a common feature of NRL games at Allianz, with Venues NSW awaiting the findings of a review into the turf and drainage systems. The Roosters and Bulldogs meet on Friday night, followed by South Sydney and Parramatta Saturday night, then the Wests Tigers and Manly on Sunday afternoon, including the NRLW as a curtain-raiser. Tigers CEO Shane Richardson said there were no contingency plans to relocate the Sunday game, and had full confidence the surface would remain safe by the end of the weekend. Roosters skipper James Tedesco said the surface made life difficult for his side, and said stadium chiefs had to 'sort that out'. 'For a first-class, elite stadium like this that hosts a lot of topline clubs in Australia, and around the world, the surface needs to be top class, as the stadium is,' Tedesco said. 'They need to sort that out. 'Every time we play here, it's slippery and wet. It's not the driest conditions.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
NRL 2025: Allianz Stadium playing surface criticised by Sydney Roosters james Tedesco and Lindsay Collins
Sydney Roosters players have described the playing surface at Allianz Stadium as 'slippery', 'wet', and 'not too crash hot' as the $828 million Moore Park venue prepares to host four rugby league games in just three days as part of the NRL's Gadhu Gathering. Less than an hour after the Bulldogs and Manly clashed at the venue on July 27, ground staff were straight to work on the playing surface. And on Monday morning, giant heat lamps were baking grass at the northern end of the venue. There was also a sprinkler with a heat lamp positioned over a bare patch of grass in the north-western corner. Giant puddles and divots have become a common feature of NRL games at Allianz, with Venues NSW awaiting the findings of a review into the turf and drainage systems.
Daily Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
AFL 2025: Nathan Buckley's admission over growing links to Melbourne Demons job
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley remains uncertain about his aspirations to return to coaching but says 'this is the first time' since finishing at the Pies that he's wanted to explore the possibility further. It comes as Buckley has been highly touted as one of the leading candidates for Melbourne's vacant position following the dismissal of Simon Goodwin. It also comes after initially-fancied premiership mentors John Longmire and Adam Simpson openly voiced their unwillingness to return to the coaching landscape next year amid newfound personal ventures. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Buckley, 53, coached Collingwood between 2012 and 2021, including a grand final berth in 2018 and five finals appearances. At the outset of Fox Footy's On the Couch on Monday night, asked point-blank by Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown if he wanted to coach next year, Buckley said: 'I don't know if I do or not. And I think I've been pretty transparent and clear with that. 'There's a spot available now, and this is the first time that I've actually wanted to go further down the track to find out what that challenge would be, and whether it would fit for where I'm at in my life, as well. 'I'm going to explore it a little bit harder this time around.' On the Couch: Jonathan Brown asks Nathan Buckley about his coaching aspirations. Buckley, who has now been out of coaching for almost four years, had a career 117-99-2 record with the Magpies after a 28-game, Brownlow Medal-winning playing career. He was prompted on what that 'exploration' looks like. 'It's more to understand Melbourne's challenge, and where they think they're at, where they think they need to go forward. But before we get to all of this, I am but one of many candidates that will be really good options for Melbourne going forward,' he said. 'And they'll go through their process, and they'll choose the person that they think is best-placed to take them forward, whether that's for the next three years, five years, whether they're looking for 10 years. 'In the end, that's their remit, to work that out. There's multiple good options, there's multiple good decisions. It's not just one person, so I think that's got to be really clear up front.' Buckley acknowledged 'it could be' a reality that senior coaching is ultimately done for him, despite externally shaping as a frontrunner in Melbourne's process. 'But I'm stepping into a space, now, that I haven't at this point. So, I'm just taking the next steps to explore it for myself, and obviously through the lens of one club at the moment,' he continued. 'I have kicked around with Tassie as well, to have a look at that. But that's been dormant for probably six months. So, that's as open as I can be about it. 'I'm going to be asked as I go along, and (I'll) have a microphone in front of me every second day, but I'm not going to be giving blow-by-blows (updates) on Melbourne's process on their system, on where we're at in terms of our communication. 'I could think one thing this evening and think something different tomorrow evening. So, it wouldn't be fair on me or them to try and do a blow-by-blow, because it will ebb and flow until either they or I or any other candidate gets to a final position.' The Demons are after a new coach after axing Simon Goodwin. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Brown proposed the idea that the 'attractiveness' of the Demons' win-now list might play a hand in Buckley's desire to partake in their process. 'Ultimately, you're really governed by the list that you have at hand,' Brown posed, to which Buckley replied: 'Yes and no.' Brown suggested that perhaps the state of West Coast's list last year played a key hand in Buckley's unwillingness to participate in the process that ultimately ended with Andrew McQualter winning the senior coach role. 'Was that because I didn't like West Coast, or was it because I wasn't ready?' Buckley answered. 'I took a call from Don Pyke (Eagles chief executive), but I said to him 'I'm not in the space to consider that', and I think I'm in a space to consider it now. 'You look at the list, but then you've got to consider what's the state of your TPP (total player payments). I've been in a position where the TPP is not in a great state. Maybe it's not a position I want to step into in that regard — I don't know that yet. 'Then the other is where do you train? What's the structure of your leadership? Because at the moment, it's still quite transient. 'What are your plans going forward in terms of facilities and where you want to be? And where do you think you sit? When do you want to contend? I don't have any answers to any of those questions.' Originally published as 'This is the first time': Buckley's admission over growing links to role
