Mar 5th, 2018

Mar 5th, 2018

Daley emerges as shock contender for Kiwis

Laurie Daley has emerged as a shock contender for the New Zealand Test coaching job.

Sacked by the NSW Blues after losing last year's State of Origin series, the highly respected Daley looked like having a break from coaching this year.

But he is being pushed across the ditch to rescue the reputation of the Kiwis, which is in tatters after last year's disastrous World Cup campaign.

Former NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley has a part-time role at Newcastle. (AAP)

Following the sacking of David Kidwell, the NZ Rugby League originally declared that a Kiwi resident had to be his successor.

But they have changed their stance in recent weeks and Daley is now being touted as the man to replace him.

Daley recently accepted a job as a halves coach at Newcastle but that is only a part-time role.

The Kiwis have a busy schedule this year with six Tests - and at this stage Daley is the favourite to lead them into battle.

Madge to the foot of the mountains?

Michael Maguire remains a coach in waiting as the season kicks off, with men like Penrith's Anthony Griffin and the Warriors' Stephen Kearney starting 2018 looking over their shoulders.

Plenty of people across the ditch are already linking Maguire with the Warriors gig but I can tell you that is the one position the former Souths coach will NOT be interested in.

Former South Sydney coach Michael Maguire has emerged as a contender for the Penrith job. (AAP)

Maguire is well settled in Sydney's southern suburbs and has a young family, with kids in school.

He doesn't want to relocate his wife and kids to another country - but the Penrith job definitely has appeal.

And unless Griffin starts the season with a few early wins, it could become a real possibility.

Manly rookie to cop baptism of fire

I'm hearing Lachlan Croker is in for a very torrid baptism of fire for Manly against the Knights this weekend.

The 21-year-old - with just one NRL game at Canberra to his credit before changing colours over the summer - looks like filling the key five-eighth spot at Brookvale.

Former Canberra five-eighth Lachlan Croker could face a tough initiation in his first game for Manly. (AAP)

Croker is a classy attacking player - but the Knights coaching staff have been studying him on video and believe they have identified weaknesses in his defence.

As a result, they plan to run plenty of traffic at the youngster in what is certain to be a tough initiation to the big time.

Shirvo helps the 'Dogs speed up

Look for the Bulldogs to have an extra spring in their step - and an extra metre or two in pace - this season.

Players are raving about the influence of new sprint coach Matt Shirvington over the summer.

Former Australian sprinting champion Matt Shirvington has been working with the Bulldogs. (AAP)

The former champion runner has joined Dean Pay's staff and players have warmed to his sprint training sessions.

"You will see a marked improvement in speed on the field this year - wait and see," a Bulldogs source tells me.

Canberra prop suffers setback

Tough prop Liam Knight has suffered a setback in his bid to win a top-grade spot at the Raiders.

The former Manly and Roosters forward damaged a pectoral muscle in pre-season training and will miss at least the opening round of the season.

Former Manly forward Liam Knight has suffered an injury setback at the Raiders. (AAP)

Pec injuries can put a player out for a season, but Knight's is at the lower end of the scale and I'm hearing he should be right in a week or two.

Look for him to grab a spot in Ricky Stuart’s top 17 - he’s hard as nails and very old school in his approach.