Aug 13th, 2018

Aug 13th, 2018

Hook game plan highlighted Panthers problems

THIS 10-word ‘game plan’ - leaked to WWOS by a member of the Panthers’ coaching staff - is a major reason why the club decided coach Anthony Griffin had to go.

The game’s elite coaches spend days preparing match plans, studying the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and putting them into long, detailed documents for their players.

(Supplied) The 10-word game plan that forced Penrith Panthers to sack coach Anthony Griffin. (Supplied)

When Phil Gould called Griffin ‘old school’, this is what he meant. The former Panthers coach kept it simple to the point that the players felt they were learning nothing and gradually lost confidence in the man in charge.

Griffin gave the players this document before the 50-18 loss to the Broncos in round 19 - and it was then that Gould realised he had a real problem and the club set the wheels in motion to find a new coach for 2019.

By the way - before anyone asks - ‘C.O.T’ means coming out of trouble (I had no idea either).

Star Shark poised to return home

Cronulla has put together a massive five-year deal for Valentine Holmes - but I’m hearing the glamour boy is set to reject it and return to North Queensland.

Holmes will remain with the Sharks in 2019 and has an option his way for 2020 which he is unlikely to take up.

(AAP) Cronulla Sharks fullback Valentine Holmes is poised to leave the club when his deal ends. (AAP)

After living in Sydney with the Sharks since he was a teenager, Holmes is missing friends and family in the far north and wants to move back to his roots.

But that leaves the Cowboys with a headache for next season - Lachlan Coote is leaving the club and they need to find a stop-gap fullback for 12 months until Holmes returns home.

England beckons for Cowboys grand final hero

While on Coote, he’s played in two of the past three grand finals, but word is that his NRL career is all but over.

Coote is certain to leave the Cowboys at the end of the season and his manager is currently hawking him around to English clubs.

Coote wants to move back to Sydney and is still one of the game’s most explosive fullbacks on his day.

(AAP) North Queensland fullback Lachlan Coote is looking at a move to England to continue his career. (AAP)

But injuries are starting to catch up with him and his other problem is that just about every Sydney club already has an established fullback on their books for 2019.

The 28-year-old former Panther starred in the Cowboys’ historic maiden grand final win over the Broncos.

He overcame several injuries to regain his place in the team for last year’s grand final loss to the Storm.

Raiders’ English star comes at high price

Canberra last week confirmed what I reported months ago - that it had signed Wigan and England star John Bateman.

But what hasn’t been made public is that the Raiders paid a sizeable transfer fee for the Test forward.

(AAP) Canberra paid a hefty transfer fee for Wigan star John Bateman to ward off interest from rival clubs. (AAP)

Wigan hasn’t revealed the figure either but my well-placed source there says it is around $250,000.

While that is a big figure for a player who only had one year left on his deal, Canberra realised several other clubs - including Cronulla - would be rivalling them for his signature if they waited they 12 months for it to run out.