The NRL is planning to stick to its marketing budget. Unwell: Tina Turner with Oprah Winfrey in New York this month. Credit:AP If the NRL paid near $500,000 for Simply The Best it would be a massive win for Turner’s camp, but I’ve been told the NRL consider even that figure too much. I asked the NRL for comment but they won’t talk on the record at the moment because the deal is still being discussed. They do say though that they picked up Bon Jovi’s This is Our House for an estimated $250,000. Turner’s agent knows there is a desire for her to be “the voice” of league again and they know there has been hype surrounding a potential return. That puts pressure on the NRL to deliver. The issue with Turner is she now lives in Switzerland and is in poor health. The NRL are being told she would not sign any deal with performances. The NRL would only get the rights to use the song for the promotion of the competition. There is also talk of additional fees for the broadcasters if they want to use the song to promote the coverage or any shows they have. It’s unclear if the fee that is being charged would allow another performer – Jimmy Barnes has been mentioned to me, as has Jessica Mauboy – to perform the league anthem on grand final day.

Having lived and reported through the Simply The Best era, romantic and nostalgic league fans would love to revisit the days of Tina Turner, but you need to respect the NRL for not being railroaded. Townsville ain’t big enough for both of these Cowboys Valentine Holmes is going to be asked some tough questions by his agent Chris Orr in New York in coming days. Early next week Latrell Mitchell will be in Townsville meeting with the Cowboys, a team heavily linked to bringing Holmes back to the NRL. Only one of them can be a Cowboy.

It would take players being moved on for the club to fit both in. That is highly unlikely. Mitchell has been told that Johnathan Thurston will meet him at the airport to show him around. You couldn’t ask for a better person to be a tour guide. Mitchell will then have a few days off further north to think about what he is going to do.

Mitchell has told the Cowboys he has liked Townsville on the times he has made the trip there with the Roosters. He says it has a similar feel to Taree. He likes fishing as well, and there is plenty of that on offer. If the cap fits: Only one of Valentine Holmes and Latrell Mitchell can be a Cowboy next season. Credit:NRL Photos The Cowboys want to find out what is motivating Mitchell . . . where his head is at. They are flattered that a player of his ilk is interested in them.

Loading Mitchell returned to Sydney yesterday and the idea is that he will meet the Tigers shortly. I’ve been told the Tigers will offer a four-year, back-ended deal – $800,000 for 2020, $900,000 for 2021, $1million for 2022 and $1.1million for 2023. The Cowboys also have that sort of money, but they had it put aside for Holmes. Orr is going to present his client with an outline of where his finances are at and where they are going. It may be the reality check he needs to make his mind up to return to the NRL. Under his NFL deal, Holmes doesn’t get paid between December and May. Holmes is costing himself plenty of money by not playing in the NRL, and that is going to be pointed out to him.

The Cowboys are of the view that Holmes will come home to North Queensland if he returns to the NRL. They won’t say that publicly though. Of course, if the Jets suddenly offered Holmes a playing deal he would snap that up. It may be why Mitchell is in the picture. Over to you, Todd The David Fifita case will be a genuine test of Todd Greenberg’s much-promised tough stand against player misbehaviour. It was only a fortnight ago that this column said Greenberg’s warnings and the ‘‘no fault’’ stand down policy were having little effect. We’ve already had a player charged with a stabbing, a player spend time behind bars for an alleged assault in Bali and a wild melee involving Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona, also in Bali.

The perception in club land is that Greenberg used a lettuce leaf to punish Asofa-Solomona, who will not miss a single game for the Storm despite his punching spree going viral and seriously damaging the code’s image. It was brilliant spin from the Storm, who painted a picture of Asofa-Solomona simply coming to the aid of teammate Suliasi Vunivalu. Now Greenberg has to figure out the punishment for Fifita. Loading The integrity unit have interviewed Fifita and Broncos officials. Naturally, Brisbane have started their public relations campaign, telling journalists Fifita was simply naive and skylarking and shouldn’t receive any further penalty than the days he spent behind bars. If Greenberg and the integrity unit swallow that, they will be setting a dangerous precedent.

Given his promise of dire consequences for off-field offenders, Greenberg has to take the matter out of the Broncos hands and bring down a sanction himself. And a strong one. Greenberg was ambushed with questions about Fifita when he tried to launch next year’s Magic Round in Brisbane this week. He looked fed up.

But the time for tough words and exasperation is gone. If Greenberg doesn’t deliver on his threat and bring down a hefty penalty, the NRL will deserve any backlash from sponsors and fans. SBW’S boot camp Sonny Bill Williams will return to Sydney for a training camp as he changes his body yet again for his return to rugby league. He hasn’t detailed the specifics of what he is doing, but this column has learned he will spend time on the far north coast at some point to get ready for rugby league. He is likely to return to the man he put his trust in at Roosters: Keegan Smith, son of Brian. Keegan’s dietary advice and training techniques were central to the success Williams had at the Roosters.

Souths on semi trail This game throws up some great rumours, and another one came my way this week. A South Sydney backer is trying to bring Semi Radradra to Redfern. That is a fact. Whether Souths are directly involved or involved at all is unclear. Semi was recently linked with the Bulldogs. Regardless there will be denials all round. But I’ve been told a meeting took place between him and a backer recently and that a return was discussed. There is another winger being linked to Redfern too – Josh Addo-Carr. He has two years left on his Storm contract. All of this may be why the Rabbitohs are distancing themselves from talk of signing Latrell Mitchell. Souths did not return calls for comment.

Dog of a decision The Bulldogs have run their eye over the prospects that have been thrown up as potential replacements for Kieran Foran. Aidan Sezer, Josh Reynolds (both Bulldogs juniors) and others have been linked with the club.

Word is none of the players have the exact qualities the club is looking for, but with Foran almost certainly out for the year, they may need to compromise their vision. Cordner torn Boyd Cordner is a proud Taree man who grew up playing for the Old Bar Pirates. To say he is devasted by the bushfires in the area is an understatement.

“The fires hit on the day he was due to fly out,” Cordner’s father Chris said. “He rang me very concerned and said ‘dad, I’m coming home to help’. He said ‘I can postpone the trip’. He was genuine in what he was saying. But I told him he had to go. He was very torn.” Boyd is in New York with his partner Gemma Barge on a well-deserved break. Knowing Cordner, he will do what he can for the community when he returns home. “I got to see the bravery of those fighting the fires,’’ Chris Cordner said. ‘‘I know how tough footy players are, but these people are on another level. ‘‘I was fortunate where many others were not. My home at Wallabi Point is covered in the fire retardant. I could have shaken hands with the pilots dumping water, they were that close. We are the very lucky ones.’’ Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video