Andrew Fifita was not warned for consorting with criminals because of a jail visit to convicted killer Kieran Loveridge, Cronulla CEO Lyall Gorman has revealed. "He's visited him once in jail," Gorman told radio Triple M, under intense questioning on Sunday over the club's seeming lack of action against the prop. "Any criminal can apply to have someone put on a registered phone list. He asked to have Andrew added to the list. The boy rings him once, twice, three times a week." Gorman denied the club was employing delaying tactics in dealing with the issue, even suggesting he was frustrated with the NRL's slowness in deciding its own position on Fifita supporting Loveridge. But the only measure the Sharks had imposed was counselling.

Cup runneth over

Next year's World Cup is projected to make a $7 million profit; the promoter trying to take the next tournament to the US says he has guaranteed the RLIF "an eight-figure sum" plus "a seven-figure sum" for American junior development … but believes he is still running second. Jason Moore, who brought Major League Baseball to Sydney, wants to hand over a figure bigger than any World Cup profit and then shoulder the financial risk himself. But the British government has offered £15m ($26.4m) plus £10m for infrastructure in the north of England, making the game's birthplace the favourite to again host the tournament. "If we take a World Cup to the United States, the sport will never be the same again," said Moore. "If we go back to England, nothing changes."

Not legit, but not a shoulder charge