Latest news with #CampbellGraham
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Bennett fires cheeky jab at Gus Gould
NRL: Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has responded with a cheeky jab of his own after Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould cast doubt over the club’s decision to pull Campbell Graham from State of Origin selection.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Quietly confident': Stephen Crichton expected to play Origin opener as the Blues investigate how a photo of his injury was taken and leaked
Blues coach Laurie Daley is 'confident' that strike centre Stephen Crichton will overcome a corked thigh to take his place in Wednesday night's State of Origin opener, with the NSW camp set to investigate how a photo of the injury was leaked on Monday. Crichton hobbled from the field at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane after media were asked to leave the training session as has been the case for the past couple of series. But a picture of Crichton's heavily iced left leg soon surfaced on social media, prompting the Blues to get in touch with Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton, telling him he should be on standby if his club teammate was ruled out. Campbell Graham will start at right centre if Crichton is ruled out, but Daley is optimistic that the game's best defensive centre will be good to go. Word from NSW Origin camp this morning … “Stephen Crichton has pulled up quite well this morning … Medical staff are optimistic about him playing, but no guarantees … We will continue to hold Matt Burton on standbyâ€� … — Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) May 27, 2025 'We'll see how he is tomorrow morning, but we're quietly confident that he'll be OK,' the NSW coach said, with Burton to come in as 18th man if required. 'Campbell Graham will come straight into the starting team. Campbell is aware that if anything happens overnight, that he'll be straight in. 'He's been here all camp. The fact that he's a right centre doesn't change anything for us. 'We'll just see how Steve is tomorrow and then we'll make a call. It's only a cork, nothing other than that. '(I want to see) mobility. That's the key. That'll be guided by the swelling.' Blues skipper Isaah Yeo has played plenty of big games with Crichton and is backing him to overcome the uncomfortable knock. 'It's never ideal, but it feels like this week just throws up challenges,' he said ahead of his first series in charge. 'He's got a challenge that he's got to overcome, but I'm really confident. There were no scans needed. It was just an innocuous bump, so he'll be fine.' The fact people know about the injury has angered the Blues, who will investigate in the coming days how someone was able to take the photo at a closed session. 'You prefer none of that to get out, but when we do our game one review, we'll have a look at that,' Daley said. 'That's not my focus at the moment. My focus is on being able to prepare the team, do some little things today just to top off, and we'll be ready to go. 'I don't know (if the Maroons were behind it), but you'd like it to be a private session. At the end of the day, it is what it is. 'I'm not concerned about that now, but I'll worry about that after the camp.' There is better news for Daley ahead of his second stint in charge, with Broncos behemoth Payne Haas cleared to start after a disrupted week where he had to deal with a quad strain as well as wild weather in NSW that forced the team to move their training from Leura to Penrith on Saturday. The stress of it all has been alleviated by having Storm coach Craig Bellamy in camp, with Daley adamant that Melbourne's main man hasn't divulged any intel on how to contain Harry Grant, Cameron Munster and Xavier Coates. 'Craig has been fantastic, but Craig hasn't had anything to do with the tactical part of the game,' he explained. 'Craig has been an influence on us coaches for us to run things by him and how to plan our sessions and the messaging of our meetings. 'It's invaluable to us knowing that we've got a bloke sitting in our corner (like him) reviewing everything. 'I didn't think it was fair (to ask him to reveal the Storm's secrets). I didn't get him on-board to come up with game plans – that's what we're here for. 'We'll do strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, but Craig is all about us coaches and making sure we are prepared as best as we possibly can be to make sure the boys are ready.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Are the NSW Blues using a complete smokescreen to get around ridiculous State of Origin rule?
Matt Burton is reportedly a genuine chance to leapfrog Campbell Graham and start in the centres if Stephen Crichton is ruled out of State of Origin 1. And it suggests the selection of Graham as 18th man might have been a smokescreen to get around a farcical rule that continues to frustrate NRL clubs. NSW coach Laurie Daley raised eyebrows when he named Graham as 18th man, but was it simply designed around the fact South Sydney had the bye last weekend? If Daley had named Burton or Tom Trbojevic as his 18th man, they wouldn't have been allowed to play for Manly or the Bulldogs in Round 12 because neither NRL team had the bye. But the fact he named Graham meant he avoided any drama at club level because the centre didn't miss any games for Souths. The Bulldogs were left fuming last year when Burton was once again named 18th man for Game 1 - the third time it occurred in four games. Because the 18th man is required on game-day should anyone be ruled out after an act of foul play, they're not permitted to play for their club team the weekend before. It meant Burton was unavailable for the Bulldogs with no guarantee he'd get on the field for the Blues. And the same occurred for the Bulldogs this year with Kurt Mann named as Queensland's 18th man. The gun utility was in Maroons camp when the Bulldogs lost to the Dolphins last weekend, but is unlikely to make his Origin debut on Wednesday night unless something dramatic happens. Coach Cameron Ciraldo couldn't hide his frustration when discussing the situation last week. 'Considering we play Thursday night and Origin isn't until next Wednesday [it is a bit frustrating]," he said. "But in saying that, we want our players in and around that arena, especially someone like Kurt, who has worked so hard for a long time. 'We would never begrudge him of that, but it is quite frustrating to lose a player to 18th man. I haven't spoken to the Maroons, that's not for us. We're just really happy that he's there. We hope he has a great week and comes back to us a better player.' It begs the question as to whether Daley avoided naming Burton (or even Trbojevic) as his 18th man so he didn't hamper their respective NRL clubs. With Crichton under an injury cloud after suffering a corked thigh at training on Monday, Burton was rushed into the squad. Graham filled in for Crichton at training, and Burton's inclusion would seemingly be as the new 18th man if Crichton is ruled out. But reporter David Riccio revealed on Tuesday morning that there's every chance Burton will be parachuted into the starting team. "There is a suggestion that Burton could actually be parachuted in ahead of Graham," Riccio said on SEN radio. However the Blues are said to be confident Crichton will be right to play. RELATED: Fresh blow for Broncos with more bad news about Reece Walsh Craig Bellamy forced into brutal move in NSW State of Origin camp Graham played three Test matches for Australia at the World Cup in 2022, and was banging down the door for Origin selection in 2023. But injuries derailed his hopes of playing for the Blues that year, and he hasn't managed to recapture the same form. Burton has seemingly been in much better form, and many would have him in the team on Wednesday night ahead of Graham.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘He's gone': Matt Burton rushed into NSW Blues camp as Stephen Crichton set to be ruled out
Matt Burton has been rushed into the NSW camp after the side was rocked by yet another injury, this time to influential centre Stephen Crichton who is reportedly set to be ruled out of State of Origin Game 1. The 24-year-old picked up a quad injury at Blues training as footage of him leaving the closed training session with ice and heavy strapping caused a stir online. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The centre got a scan on Monday afternoon and while the Blues camp remains hopeful he can play on Wednesday night it isn't looking promising. In case he can't take his place in the side, 18th man Campbell Graham is expected to come into the starting side at centre, with Burton the new 18th man. Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould revealed Crichton's quad injury is 'worse than first expected' and he is in serious doubt. 'It's a little worse than first expected,' Gould said on 100% Footy on Monday night. 'He's now in the hands of the NSW medical staff and I trust them. He'd have to be 100 per cent. 'I said to them that he's a very resilient chap. He plays with injuries all the time. He'll know whether or not he can play it.' While on SEN on Tuesday morning, former NSW selector Greg Alexander gave an even more damning update, stating the centre will be ruled out. 'He's gone, he's done. The cork that he picked up from the training session was bad enough to rule him out,' Alexander said. Payne Haas expected to be cleared for Game 1 However, the news is not all bad for Daley, with Haas expected to overcome a quad injury that has him in doubt. Haas was hurt in Brisbane's loss to the Dragons eight days ago and Daley revealed it was a 'seven to 10 days' injury. Daley said he'll give Haas until kick-off to prove his fitness. 'This is his big moment, this is his big day. We're training at 10:30am this morning,' Daley told Big Sports Breakfast Radio on Monday. 'I haven't consumed myself too much in it, I've just let the medical staff do their job. I haven't wanted to be a pain with Payne and ask him every day how he's going because I don't think that's good for anyone. 'So I've just left him and touched base with the physios, we'll see where he is today and I reckon we'll have a better idea of what we can expect but look if he's not right, I've got every faith in Stefano coming in and doing a wonderful job for us. 'I'll give him right up until kick-off. They tell me it's not the main quad muscle, it's away from the main quad muscle, so it's not a serious injury and it's one that heals in seven to 10 days so it's right on that boundary. 'He's tracking really well if it was a major tear or in the main quad muscle then he would have been ruled out but the fact that it's been an 11-day campaign and we're right on the cusp, it's one of those things we've just got to wait and see. 'He's progressed really well and obviously he has to do a part of the session today, if he can't do anything we'll know straight away.'
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Latrell cleared but Souths star sent for scans
The Rabbitohs are sweating on scan results after the club confirmed that the luckless Campbell Graham suffered a hand injury at training this week, but there is better news with Latrell Mitchell cleared by the NRL to play in their season opener. Graham missed the entire 2024 season due to a sternum injury that required surgery, with the star centre hoping to finally return in round 1. But those plans are now on hold with it unclear just how serious the injury is, with Graham to meet specialists this week. 'Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham has sustained a hand injury at training this week,' the club confirmed in a statement. 'He has gone for scans on his hand and will see a specialist this week to determine a course of action for rehabilitation of the injury. 'The Rabbitohs will update members and supporters once more information is known.' Graham won the George Piggins Medal in 2023 having scored a career-high 16 tries that year, and he spoke recently about how excited he was to be back after the Rabbitohs were ravaged by injuries last year. 'I never really had any doubts in terms of playing. It was more angst to get back out there,' he said late last year. 'The end of this rehab journey is over. I'm fully training and my focus is back on playing footy.' There is some better news for the club with the NRL confirming that superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell will be available for round 1 after it decided that he could include the All Stars clash as part of his one-match ban. Mitchell was suspended, fined and ordered to undergo education training for bringing the game into disrepute after a photo was released on social media showing him standing near a white substance in a hotel room in Dubbo last season. The decision from head office means he's free to face the Dolphins in round 1 on March 7 in a spicy clash between Wayne Bennett and his former side. Mitchell has played in six All Stars matches, with the Souths fullback captaining the Indigenous side last year. The NRL has also allowed Josh Addo-Carr to serve part of his four-game ban in the annual clash, with the Eels recruit set to make his club debut against his former side the Bulldogs in round 3.
