The Blues camp is saying that there is nothing personal behind Reagan Campbell-Gillard’s exclusion from Origin III – but I can assure you there is.
Campbell-Gillard is a former Panther and comments he made after he left the club at the end of 2019 left a sour taste in the mouths of the hefty Penrith contingent in the Blues camp.
In an interview with Nine at the time, Campbell-Gillard admitted: “When you’re in the position I was in, coming off the bench and playing 25 to 30 minutes, you tend to think, ‘Stuff it, I’ll start doing this and that and not caring about it’.”
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Star Blues halfback Nathan Cleary even declared at the time that the comments did not go down well.
“Reggie is just like that, people want to take his head off, he’s a chirpy bloke,” Cleary said. “He makes some silly comments sometimes. It’s just how it is. When he said that he stopped trying last year, a few of the boys were quite pissed off about that. It might have been frustrating for him, but it was frustrating for everyone else, too.”
As a result, to ensure team harmony, Blues coach Brad Fittler went for the shock selection of Knights prop Jacob Saifiti, whose form has been well below that of Campbell-Gillard this season.
Hopefully it’s a move that won’t come back to bite the Blues tonight.
Rabbitohs land boom youngster
Souths have scored a coup by signing the standout player of the Australian Schoolboy Championships held last weekend.
Jye Gray, an 18-year-old from The Southport School on the Gold Coast, led Queensland to victory in the event and was being chased by just about every club in the NRL.
Luckily for them, Souths jumped the gun and signed the young half on a three-year deal before the championships kicked off.
Remarkably Gray wasn’t named in the Team of the Carnival despite dominating the event.
Fast, smart and tough, Gray is a halfback and could put pressure on Lachlan Ilias for the number seven jumper when he links up with the Bunnies on a fulltime basis next year.
Ilias has had a fair start to his NRL career filling the big boots of Adam Reynolds but good judges see Gray as a more exciting long-term prospect.
Warriors already looking to 2023
Don’t be surprised if new Warriors coach Andrew Webster brings in a fresh face on his coaching team next year – his brother James.
A former Tigers and Eels halfback, James coached in junior league in Australia before stints with Wakefield, Hull KR and Featherstone Rovers in England.
He is regarded as a bright mind in the English coaching ranks and has connections with plenty of good young players who could boost the Warriors’ stocks.
Ugly incident mars junior match
Parents behaving badly in junior league footy is again in the spotlight after a shocking incident in Souths juniors recently.
A 14-year-old referee was reduced to tears after copping abuse from angry parents, prompting an inquiry and an edict that any future incidents would result in fines and suspensions.
“We have enough trouble getting young referees as it is without them having to put up with this rubbish from parents and spectators,” a spokesman for Souths junior league told Wide World of Sports.
“The young referee was shaken but he has been looked after and hopefully he will return to the game.”
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