Dusty denies walking out on Tigers

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DUSTIN Martin insists he hasn't walked out on Richmond and just needs time to make up his mind over a new contract.

Melbourne is leading the race for the 22-year-old's signature after Richmond released a statement on Monday saying Martin had told the club he wanted to pursue offers from rival clubs.

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But Martin later took to Twitter to deny he had quit the club.

"There have been a lot of conflicting stories going around about myself and the Richmond Footy Club," he said in the first of a series of tweets.

"At the weekend, I asked my manager Ralph Carr to request an extension of time from Richmond, to allow me to fully consider the options about my future.

"This decision was made purely by me, together with my family.

"As you can understand, this is a very important decision for myself and my family and one that I won't make lightly. I want to make it clear that I appreciate everyone's patience in allowing me the time to make this decision.

"The claims that I have walked out on the Richmond Football Club are totally incorrect. I can tell you that at this time, no decision has been made."

It is believed Demons coach Paul Roos has had several discussions with Martin's manager Ralph Carr in the past week.

The Demons, who could also use its priority pick if it was to receive one from the AFL, confirmed their interest late on Monday.

"Melbourne did make inquiries to his management about his intentions for next year," football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"We are waiting to hear back from them before we discuss any steps we might take as a club."

The Demons are not the only the club who have made inquiries about Martin, who told the Tigers today he wanted to pursue offers from other clubs.

Brisbane, which is without a coach, have also had discussions with Carr.

Greater Western Sydney is another club that will investigate a trade.

The Tigers and Martin were reportedly close to a deal on a new contract but Martin baulked at the club's latest offer.

The explosive midfielder/forward was on an estimated $450,000 this season and the club's offer was believed to be about $500,000 a season.

"Given the considerable effort we have put into Dustin's development both on and off the field, and our efforts to retain him all season, we are extremely disappointed with this decision," Richmond football manager Dan Richardson said.

"We are proud of the way Dustin has developed as a footballer, and as a person, in his time at Richmond, and we have been steadfast in our view that he is a required player who has an exciting football career ahead of him.

"However, we understand the business of football, and Dustin's right to pursue other opportunities.

"We have also stated previously that we are determined to adhere to our payment strategy for all of our players, many of whom have already committed to the Club and its future direction during the 2013 season."

Martin is not a free agent so Richmond will have to do a deal with another club to secure a move.

The Tigers also have the option of forcing Martin into the draft, where GWS has the No.1 pick.

Martin was taken with pick three in the 2009 national draft and has played 86 matches.

His move means two of the top three picks in that draft have left their original team, following No.1 selection Tom Scully's defection from Melbourne.
 
- with Al Paton

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All six officials axed for gaffe

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THE bloodshed started on Monday night with all six match officials behind rugby league's seven-tackle try drama unceremoniously dumped.

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Blundering referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara were the first to go before video referees Jason Robinson and Matt Rodwell were then axed, as were touch judges Jeff Younis and Michael Wise. 

None will officiate another NRL game this season.

The decision is little consolation for North Queensland, who conceded a try on the seventh tackle to lose last Saturday's sudden-death semi-final against Cronulla. 

NRL officials last night announced the refereeing appointments for this week's games and all six were missing.

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"What's it matter to us now?" asked Cowboys football manager Peter Parr.

"It's not going to turn back the clock for us. You'd expect this would happen.

"Someone had to be held accountable and they decided all were six were."

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The NRL has been left embarrassed and battered by this controversy.

It appeared they simply had to dump all six match officials to salvage some dignity from this entire mess.

"Unfortunately, it is the right decision," said former NRL Referee's Coach Bill Harrigan.

"It had to be done. All six have to own responsibility for that decision."

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On Monday the NRL began taking steps to prevent a repeat scandal through a match review conducted by referees elite performance manager Daniel Anderson and NRL head of football, Todd Greenberg. 

As of today, on-field referees will be expected to vocalise each tackle to ensure players and other match officials are aware of how many tackles have been made in each set. 

Each match official has been told to share the responsibility of counting tackles.

"The referees accept that there are consequences for actions and that is likely to cost them significantly in the finals series ahead when Daniel confirms his appointments," Greenberg said. 

"We do need to keep a sense of perspective. At our end we need to ensure that everything can be done to prevent human error. 

"We also need to accept that in a game as intense and as fast paced as rugby league that you will never eradicate all mistakes either on the part of the players or the officials. 

"We will be doing everything we can to ensure this does not happen again."

The NRL also reviewed security which allowed fans to abuse Cowboys players and why a technical breakdown for the match clock occurred in the final minute of the game.

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Bismarck has red card wiped

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THE International Rugby Board has found fault with referee Romain Poite's decision to award the first of two yellow cards against South Africa's Bismarck du Plessis in a Test against New Zealand on Saturday, and Rugby Championship organisers have deleted a subsequent red card from the Springbok hooker's career record.

In a statement on Monday, the IRB said the yellow card awarded against du Plessis for a tackle on New Zealand flyhalf Dan Carter in the 17th minute of the match was "incorrect."

Du Plessis received a second yellow card for foul play in the 42nd minute of the match, meaning he was automatically sent off.

New Zealand went on to win 29-15 as South Africa played most of the second half with 14 men. The IRB said the yellow card decision "was an unfortunate case of human error by the match officials."

Terry Willis, an Australian judicial officer for the SANZAR group which sanctions international rugby in the southern hemisphere, later removed the red card from du Plessis' disciplinary record.

The SANZAR judicial hearing was held Monday via teleconference, with submissions made on behalf of the player and the video footage reviewed.

SANZAR said in a statement that Willis found Poite's decision "was wrong," as the tackle on Carter "was within the laws of the game."

The other yellow card issued against du Plessis, for raising his elbow as he went into a tackle against an All Blacks backrower, remains on his record. 

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Mundine steps up Moseley prep

Training ... Anthony Mundine spars with Shannon King. Source: Glenn Barnes / News Limited

ANTHONY Mundine hits Brisbane this week to start intense preparations for his fight with faded American great Shane Mosley next month.

Brisbane has been a happy hunting ground for the former world champion who scored two of his biggest wins – over Daniel Geale and Garth Wood – at the Entertainment Centre at Boondall.

Mundine is likely to spend four weeks in the Sunshine State sparring with Brisbane's 2012 Olympian Cameron Hammond, whose loose-limbed, sharp shooter style closely mimics that of Mosley, the 42-year-old former world welterweight and light-middleweight champion.

Mosley is not as fast as he was when twice beating Oscar De La Hoya more than a decade ago and on October 23 at Sydney's Entertainment Centre, Mundine hopes to make him the biggest name on a resume that currently reads 44 wins in 49 fights.

Mundine and his mate, Olympic athletics silver medallist John Steffensen, will be in Brisbane on Saturday for the launch of the Brisbane Sports Performance Centre at Kangaroo Point.

Steffensen was a star amateur boxer in his youth and he and Mundine will run a boxing workshop at the facility from 10am.

Mundine will also be in the crowd when the venue hosts its first boxing event on Saturday night with Australian middleweight champ Nathan Carroll expected to manhandle Thailand's Decapon Sunwannalird on a card that also includes Queensland cruiserweight champion Balazs Varga and rising welterweight Ozan Craddock.

Carroll is using the fight as a warm-up for his November 7 middleweight title defence against Irishman Dennis Hogan at Eatons Hill on a card to be televised by Fox Sports.

While in Queensland, Mundine is expected to train at the gym of his former victim, Seoul Olympian Darren Obah, at Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast.

His deal to spar with Cameron Hammond was negotiated by Hammond's manager Matt Clark.

"I told Anthony that there is no one in Australia who so closely resembles Shane Mosley's style as Cameron,'' Clark said.

"He has fast hands, fast feet and is very elusive. Having boxed at the London Olympics and the Delhi Commonwealth Games Cameron has experience against the fastest and most skilled amateur fighters in the world.

"It will be great experience for Cameron to go in against a fighter of Mundine's experience and skill and it should be a great experience for Anthony to box a really quick guy with that Mosley style.''

Mundine was in Hammond's hometown, Moree, a week ago to cheer on the local rugby league team, the Boomerangs, to victory in their Group 19 grand final.

Mundine's arrival caps a big week for Queensland boxing.

On Friday night at Brisbane's Irish Club, Dennis Hogan faces fellow Irishman Gavin Prunty and Frenchman Faris Chevalier faces local super-middleweight Shane Parry.

On the same night at Southport Sharks AFL Club, world-rated middleweight Les Sherrington should hit too hard for Japan's Shigetaka Yonezawa.

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Silver Ferns down Diamonds

Katrina Grant of New Zealand and Caitlin Bassett of Australia compete for the ball. Source: Rob Jefferies / Getty Images

AUSTRALIA'S record losing run has been extended to five games after New Zealand defeated the new-look Diamonds in the opening match of the five Test Constellation Cup in Invercargill tonight.

The 55-51  scoreline was a disappointing result for the Diamonds who had hoped to celebrate Kim Green and Bianca Chatfield's 50th internationals and Laura Geitz's maiden game as captain  with a victory.  

The Diamonds were punished by the umpires whistle, incurring more than double the amount of penalties than their rivals in the opening quarter of the game alone and staying out of  favour for the remainder of the match.

But they were mortally wounded by lapses in defence which allowed the Silver Ferns to go on a five-goal run midway through the first quarter and another scoring rampage in the third stanza of the game.

They were lapses which  sealed the fate of the Australian netball team on the 75th anniversary of their first meeting with New Zealand back in 1938.

That game had gone Australia's way but the early defensive errors coupled with an impressive  full court display by the Silver Ferns gave the host nation the honours tonight.

Caitlin Bassett was a standout for the Diamonds, shooting 100 per cent with her 20 goals in the first half of the match and ending the game with 31 from 31.

"We are pretty disappointed with that," Geitz said The next Test of the five-game Constellation Cup will be played in Auckland on September 19.

The Diamonds and Silver Ferns will then fly to Australia for the final three matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra.

The series is the last the two powers of netball will play with each other prior to next year 's Commonwealth Games. 

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Penthouse & Outhouse: Swans soar

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FOX FOOTY expert Julian de Stoop casts his eye over the second week of the AFL finals.

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IN THE PENTHOUSE

Jarrad McVeigh

McVeigh battled all week to overcome knee and calf injuries but in true Bloods style he gritted his teeth and produced the most outstanding game of his career.

McVeigh finished with 42 disposals and in the second quarter alone he had a record breaking 20 disposals as he burnt off a series of opponents including Chris Judd and Marc Murphy.

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A true captain's game in every sense of the word.

Paul Chapman

Last week the decision to start Chapman as a sub was in 'The Outhouse' and not surprisingly when given a chance in the starting side, the veteran forward showed what a great big game player he is.

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The 31 year old finished with 20 disposals and 4 goals to not only help his side into another preliminary final but also stake his claim for a new contract at season's end.

The only downside was a report for rough conduct which will have everyone at Geelong sweating on the outcome of the match review panel.

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Chapman has been a key figure in the Cats winning streak over the Hawks and his absence would be a cruel blow.

Luke Parker

The Swans don't have to look too far to find an instant replacement for the injured Jude Bolton.

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Parker not only looks like Bolton but plays like him too.

The 20 year-old started as the sub in last year's Grand Final but 12 months on he's playing a much bigger role in this team.

Parker kicked three goals against the Hawks in Round 23 and he repeated the dose against the Blues as well as gathering 22 disposals.

Cats Mosquito Fleet

Matthew Stokes, Allen Christensen and Travis Varcoe were all quiet against Fremantle last week and once again the trio were well held in the opening half against Port Adelaide.

Down by 23 points at half time, the Cats needed a lift and the speedy trio answered the call.

Stokes gathered 14 disposals in the third term, Varcoe added 9 of his own and Christensen chipped in with 7 as the Cats turned the game on its head.

Justin Westhoff's goal

'The Hoff' has had a wonderful year and his last quarter checkside goal from 45 metres was one of the best you will ever see.

Sadly for Westhoff  the 'Goal Of The Year' is restricted to the home and away season only.

IN THE OUTHOUSE

ANZ Stadium surface

The surface at ANZ Stadium has never been up to AFL standard and that again proved to be the case on Saturday night.

It was hardly surprising given there were two rugby league matches on the night before and the grandstands were moved back off the surface less than 24 hours before the Swans hosted the Blues.

Both coaches played down the issue but the shifting surface simply wasn't up to scratch.

The Swans have 3 years left on a contract to play some matches at the venue but let's hope when that expires they can play all their games at the SCG

Swans Injuries

You never write off the Swans but it would take a herculean performance for the battled scarred reigning premiers to upset the Dockers in Perth.

Already missing Adam Goodes, Ben McGlynn, Gary Rohan, Rhyce Shaw, Sam Reid, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Alex Johnson the last thing the Swans needed were more injuries but that's exactly what they got.

Kurt Tippett and Tom Mitchell went down with leg injuries in the first term and both look unlikely to play next week.

The stage is set for the Dockers to advance to their first Grand Final.

Carlton

When Tippett and Mitchell went down early the Blues looked a real chance to cause another upset but in the end they went down without a whimper.

Their third quarter when they didn't score was a major disappointment.

But given the 9th placed Blues finished 4 games behind the 4th placed Swans we really shouldn't be surprised.

It's set to be a big summer at Carlton with Mick Malthouse set to make sweeping changes to the playing list.

Essendon Threatening to Sue Greg Swann

It's not finals related but the Bombers need to focus on 2014 and stop trying to fight every battle.

Yes, Carlton Chief Executive Greg Swann erred by labelling Essendon 'cheats' on radio last week but the Bombers don't need to waste more time and more money in the courts.

The Essendon hierarchy need to focus on securing a coach and a good, strong leader for the football department.

It's time to move on from 2013.

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Red Bull 1-2 at Sandown 500

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Even a botched pit-stop and a drive-through penalty couldn't stop Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell flexing their V8 Supercar championship muscle for victory in the Sandown 500 on Sunday.

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Whincup passed Red Bull Racing teammate Craig Lowndes with 10 laps remaining in the 500km event to build his championship lead and win the lead-up to next month's Bathurst 1000 running away.

Lowndes and co-driver Warren Luff finished second, with Ford duo Will Davison and Steve Owen third.

Whincup fought back from running as low as 25th in the 28-car field after a drive-through penalty.

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Scroll down to re-live the race with our live blog!

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A botched driver change led to Dumbrell illegally spinning the wheels while the car was up on jacks in the pits, earning the ire of officials.

Dumbrell had been mistakenly told he was staying in the car on the radio as he approached, before being hastily ordered out of it once stopped.

Amid the mayhem as Dumbrell tried to unbuckle himself from the car, the accelerator was hit in error and a drive-through penalty ordered.

Yet four-time V8 champion Whincup in recovery mode is usually a sight to behold, and the 30-year-old didn't disappoint with one of his finest rearguard actions.

He picked off car after car, and then stalked Lowndes for 20 laps before catching up and powering past.

The Red Bull pit-stop problem was one of several uncharacteristic errors by drivers and pit crews on the day.

Ash Walsh walked away from this crash. Source: Getty Images

Most spectacular was a huge crash involving Ford driver Ash Walsh, who ploughed his car head-on into the fence at more than 200km/h as he locked up a rear tyre on lap 34.

His Dick Johnson Racing Falcon was badly damaged, but Walsh walked away unhurt.

Worst of the pit stop bungles affected polesitter Davison and Owen, whose team's pit strategy failed them.

Despite sitting third at the time, Ford Performance Racing had them double-stacked in pit lane behind teammates Steve Richards and Mark Winterbottom in a mass pit-stop following the safety car for Walsh's crash.

The delay sent Davison and Owen sliding from third to 22nd and playing catch-up for the rest of the day before making the podium.

V8 newcomers Mercedes also managed their best finish since joining the series at the start of the season, with Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird fourth for Erebus Motorsport.

Whincup now leads Lowndes by 96 points in the overall V8 championship, with Davison slipping to third a point behind Lowndes.

RESULTS - V8 Supercars Wilson Security Sandown 500 (161 laps)

Pos	Driver	Car	Laps
1	Whincup/Dumbrell	Holden	3h22m54.6204s
2	Lowndes/Luff	Holden	3h23m02.8082s
3	W. Davison/Owen	Ford	3h23m12.5627s
4	Holdsworth/Baird	Erebus	3h23m13.5331s
5	Courtney/Murphy	Holden	3h23m20.7710s
6	Winterbottom/Richards	Ford	3h23m21.1369s
7	Coulthard/Youlden	Holden	3h23m25.8664s
8	McLaughlin/Perkins	Holden	3h23m27.9286s
9	Ingall/Briscoe	Holden	3h23m33.1460s
10	Premat/Ritter	Holden	3h23m44.5010s
11	T. Kelly/Russell	Nissan	3h23m46.4287s
12	Van Gisbergen/Bleekemolen	Holden	3h23m54.2584s
13	Webb/Lieb	Holden	3h23m55.1770s
14	Mostert/Wood	Ford	3h24m04.3019s
15	A. Davison/McIntyre	Ford	160 laps
16	R. Kelly/Reindler	Nissan	160 laps
17	Reynolds/Canto	Ford	160 laps
18	Fiore/Halliday	Holden	160 laps
19	Wall/Pither	Holden	160 laps
20	Caruso/Gaunt	Nissan	160 laps
21	Slade/Thompson	Erebus	159 laps
22	Tander/Percat	Holden	152 laps
23	D'Alberto/Reid	Holden	152 laps
24	Bright/Jones	Holden	147 laps
25	Engel/Johnson	Erebus	143 laps
26	Moffat/Douglas	Nissan	123 laps
DNF	Pye/Morris	Holden	135 laps
DNF	Blanchard/Walsh	Ford	33 laps

Re-live all the action with SPEED's Live Blog of the Wilson Security Sandown 500:

Re-live all the Wilson Security Sandown 500 action in stunning HD, Sunday at 11:30pm EST on SPEED (Foxtel Channel 512).

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Noddy: Barba may not see 2014

Bulldog's Ben Barba injures his foot. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

IN his weekly column, Fox Sports expert and Canberra assistant coach Brett Kimmorley offers his thoughts on round 25 of the 2013 NRL Premiership season.

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Rabbitohs v Storm at ANZ Stadium

South Sydney had to respond in this game following the minor premiership lost to the Roosters the week before. I still think South Sydney are favourites to win the competition. They used the physicality of their side to their strength. The whole side played extremely well with Issac Luke claiming man of the match. Adam Reynolds looked like he lost some of his stability and ability to build pressure over the last couple of weeks but against the Storm it all returned for the halfback. Greg Inglis looked a lot fitter then he has in previous weeks and having the week off will only do his body the world of good. 

Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith was quite honest in the press conference after this game. He said the Storm have been slow in their starts for the last half of the season have been extremely poor and Friday night was no different. The Storm were brilliant in the second half but unfortunately they had too many points to chase. Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Smith played extremely well but the other players didn't perform to a standard that would allow the big three to win the game. There was a horrible incident involving Sisa Waqa where he landed on his head, while it was an accident, I hope he is alright. The Storm now faces the Newcastle Knights on Saturday and after watching their win over Canterbury on Sunday, I am confident they will certainly challenge the Storm. 

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Sharks v Cowboys at Allianz Stadium

North Queensland will return home from the finals gutted for the second year. Last season it was a forward pass call and this year it was an incident involving a seventh tackle. The touch judge, referee or video ref should have intervened and they corrected the count on the run. They lost the tackle count and the Sharks call on tackle seven. The Cowboys have every right to feel enormously gutted. Cowboys coach Neil Henry should be very proud of what he achieved after being told he was not wanted. The Cowboys almost stole the victory on full time with Kane Linnett's foot finding the touch line before he could plant the ball on the line. Matt Bowen deserves congratulations on an amazing career. He has been a pleasure to watch him and I certainly get reminded about him regularly thanks to one moment we shared in our State of Origin careers. For a bloke of his size and stature to be so successful for such a long period of time goes to show you don't have to be six foot and 100 kilos to be a football player.

For Cronulla, Todd Carney's fitness is their major issue. Their forwards were very good and will challenge Manly next week however they need Carney to be a chance of winning the match. While we will have to wait and see how he recovers, one thing I do know is that Friday night is sure to be a physical bash-a-thon.

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Roosters v Sea Eagles at Allianz Stadium

I wrote the Roosters off a few weeks ago saying their halves wont win the big games for them. The key to winning big games is your key players and in State of Origin Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney did nothing to prove that they are big game players. I thought they would struggle through the finals but last week Sonny Bill Williams carried them and this week it was the team's defensive traits which got them through. If you don't have to score many points, it is easier to win the game and they have been the best defensive side all year. The Roosters defended the house down and now after a rest they will welcome back Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and possibly Boyd Cordner which will make them an even stronger side. This club has so much athleticism and the best player in the world at the moment in Sonny Bill Williams, which has given them the makings of a team who can claim the title. 

I will admit, I have my doubts over whether the Roosetrs can win the premiership but I am starting to think the Roosters may prove me wrong.

Manly were very good but without Brett Stewart they lacked that killer blow. Kieran Foran was brilliant, while Anthony Watmough was a little bit rusty after having a couple of weeks on the sideline. He will return to his brilliant best next week when they face Cronulla. 

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Bulldogs v Knights at ANZ Stadium

Newcastle played like a classic Wayne Bennett coached side on Sunday. They were defensively tough and frustrated the Bulldogs when they tried to go forward. The Bulldogs then tried to go around them and that has been their issue over the last few weeks. They played too lateral and forgot about going forward. The Bulldogs haven't reached the heights people would have thought. Ben Barba suffered a syndesmosis injury and sometimes that means they have to pin the ligament to the bone. If that's the case he could arrive to Brisbane as the prize signing and not even see the football field next year. Jarrod Mullen's kicking game deserves some praise while the starts of the show were Beau Scott and Jeremy Smith. The Knights were scrutinised for buying old footballers but they are tough players who know how to win big games. I think Newcastle can challenge Melbourne and can possibly beat them. Don't write Newcastle off as a dark horse in this competition. 

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Ricky's wasted our time: Sterlo

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PARRAMATTA champion Peter Sterling has called on Ricky Stuart to explain why 2013 wasn't a wasted year for the Eels under his watch.

Recognised as one of the most respected and measured voices in the game, Sterling has in the past been loathe to criticise his beloved Eels - but on Friday night the four-time premiership winner put forward his questions on behalf of every Parramatta supporter to the outgoing coach.

"There are two sides to every story and obviously Ricky is coming from his side and once you bring family into it, especially the situation with his daughter, it is very difficult to argue with that," Sterling said on Triple M.

"But he also did post-script that by saying that it was the best decision for his coaching future as well.

"As a Parramatta supporter on the other side Ricky came and there was going to be a rehabilitation job on Parramatta, which is desperately needed and this was the first (year) of a longer term process.

"So for that to finish under his watch after 12 months is extremely disappointing.

"I think they have to start again.

"Someone else has to come in now and they will have their own ideas and their own aims. That is pretty tough.

"In some ways it has been a wasted year unless Ricky can come out and tell us how it hasn't been wasted?

"There had to be a turnover in personnel and that would have happened under anybody and maybe from the outside we are not seeing improvements on the inside.

"I'd like Ricky to come out and say why it hasn't been a wasted 12 months for the club and for the players and for the fans."

Sterling also raised the issue about the supposed breakdown between Stuart and the Parramatta board.

"We keep hearing about this dysfunctional board. Are they? I don't know. I'm wondering what Ricky didn't get that he wanted under the board," Sterling asked.

"I'd like to hear that as well.

"If it is dysfunctional up top, where did that filter down in a detrimental way through to the coaching and the playing staff?"

As for the question about who should take over, Sterling said the Eels could do worse than appoint outgoing Cowboys coach Neil Henry.

"I'm a huge fan of Neil Henry. I think he could do a job there," Sterling said.

"You need a strong personality but you need someone who I think has got his best coaching years in front and I think that is Neil.

"I'm not pushing his barrow but I know his name has been mentioned.

"We need to work on the culture at the club.

"We don't necessarily need what the Parramatta culture was in the past.

"We need a culture that is a winning one.

"There are things that worried me that happened through the course of the year.

"When the players were put on notice and I think 12 were told that they wouldn't be required next year, we had one of our best young players in Jacob Loko not turn up to training and got dropped for disciplinary reasons.

"How could you even contemplate doing something wrong when players around you, their futures are being determined and decided and you come up with something like that.

"Even through to the end of the season now where apparently they were told not to have a Mad Monday, we get a guy gets behind the wheel and drives. That is a reflection of the culture.

"I like Ricky Stuart but to walk away from a contract again isn't a great lesson for the players there as to what culture we need to establish."

And as for get-out clauses in the future, like the one that allowed Stuart to escape, Sterling told Triple M: "No get-out clauses for anybody.

"When you sign a player or you sign a coach they put their signature on the bottom line because they want to be at the club and do that job. And you sign them at the club because you want them there.

"Forget these get-out clauses. If I'm a committee man there is no such thing in my vocabulary. You sign someone for a duration, they stay there and let's hope everybody is happy and the end of that and we'll do it again."

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Sreesanth guilty of spot fixing: report

Shantakumaran Sreesanth is charged with spot fixing in the IPL. Source: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AAP

TEST fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and three other players have been found guilty of spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League by an internal probe conducted by the national cricket board, a report said on Friday.

The probe by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s anti-corruption chief Ravi Sawani, also found two other players guilty of not reporting approaches made by bookmakers, The Indian Express said.

Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were found guilty on multiple accounts, including conceding a "pre-determined number of runs per over in exchange for bribes", the paper quoted the leaked report as saying.

The fourth player, Amit Singh, who played in the IPL till last year, was seen as the conduit between the cricketers and bookies, and described by Sawani as "the bad fish that spoils the entire pond".

Siddharth Trivedi and 21-year-old Harmeet Singh were absolved of spot-fixing, but were found guilty of the lesser charge of not informing officials about approaches made by bookmakers, the newspaper said.

Sawani, whose report will be placed before the BCCI's disciplinary committee, has recommended the players be banned for a period ranging from five years to life, the paper said.

"The disciplinary committee may consider my report and impose such sanctions as considered appropriate to send out a strong signal indicating the zero tolerance policy of the BCCI to any corruption in the sport that is so dear to millions of Indians and fans abroad," the paper quoted Sawani as saying in the report.

"Obviously, the anti-corruption education given to the players had no impact on the conduct. Therefore, the players deserve no leniency whatsoever."

A BCCI spokesman declined to comment on the leaked newspaper story, saying Sawani's findings would be discussed by the disciplinary committee and may be placed before the board's annual general meeting on September 29.

The four players found guilty of spot-fixing are among 39 persons who have also been charged separately by Delhi Police in the corruption scandal that rocked this year's IPL.

All four players belong to the Rajasthan Royals franchise, but Sreesanth, 30, is the only one to have played for India. He was part of the teams that won the World Twenty20 in 2007 and the World Cup in 2011.

The players were arrested in May along with scores of bookies as part of a police investigation into the spot-fixing scandal, which had caused outrage among fans in the cricket-mad nation.

BCCI chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan voluntarily stepped aside from the post in June after his son-in-law was arrested, and later released on bail, over alleged links to illegal bookmakers.

Son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is one of the owners of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, a team bought by Srinivasan's India Cements conglomerate when the popular Twenty20 league was launched in 2008.

Gambling is mostly illegal in India, but betting on cricket matches thrives through networks of underground bookies.

Spot-fixing -- in which a specific part of a game, but not the result, is fixed -- is also illegal.

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