THE sledge that sparked the fiery grand final rematch between Melbourne and Cronulla has been revealed.

Meanwhile, St George Illawarra table an offer to Gareth Widdop.

And why the Sydney Roosters were fuming about a recent report.

Catch all this and more in The Mail, James Hooper’s weekly column.

Round 19

WHAT SPARKED FIERY GF REMATCH

THE sledge that ignited the grand final rematch opened up two old wounds with all the subtlety of a meat cleaver coming down on a butcher’s block.

It kicked off right on the stroke of halftime when Storm centre Will Chambers allegedly called Sharks forwards Paul Gallen and Wade Graham “drug cheats”.

The cloud of the drawn-out ASADA scandal might be long gone but the mud of Sharks players accepting backdated 12-month bans still lingers, if only for some.

Here’s a quick recap of how it unfolded last Sunday.

As Chambers was taking a regulation hit-up, Graham charged out of the line looking to put a shot on, only to miss and end-up with his right arm flying across the Storm centre’s legs.

Sharks and Storm players get into a scuffle in the grand final rematch. Source: AAP

Gallen then stops Chambers in his tracks, before Graham runs back in and up-ends him by lifting one of his legs.

Chambers gets-up and begins a verbal exchange with Gallen. The pair square-up before drifting apart. As the halftime siren sounds, Chambers is still mouthing off at Gallen. This is where he calls him a “drug cheat”.

Not to be outdone, the Sharks captain quickly retaliates by reminding Chambers how the Storm were the original architects of one of the great salary cap scandals of the modern era.

It cost the Storm two premierships from 2007 and 2009 and as much as nobody likes to talk about it anymore it is still a raw nerve.

With Chambers and Gallen going sledge for sledge, Storm halfback Cooper Cronk attempts to take the sting out of it as both teams are headed for the tunnel and then the sheds.

Now we can see why this old-fashioned slug fest was spiced with so much spite.

Mark down Thursday June 8, round 14, in the calendar. That’s the next time the reigning premiers will host last year’s runners-up at Southern Cross Stadium on a Thursday night.

Ding, ding, ding.

Chambers ended up getting suspended for one week for a shoulder charge on Graham in the second half.

Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover discuss the crazy recent twists in the transfer market and Ikin rates his top 10 off-contract stars that may land at new homes.

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WIDDOP’S DRAGONS OFFER

THE Dragons’ hot start to the season now has rival teams closely monitoring the form of captain Gareth Widdop and fullback Josh Dugan.

The Red V have tabled a three-year offer worth around $2.2 million to keep Widdop in Wollongong.

But the England five-eighth’s electric form has Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm and the Bulldogs all waiting to see what happens in relation to James Tedesco.

As we said last week, the Roosters have emerged as surprise favourites to land Tedesco’s signature.

Once Tedesco makes his call, the rest of the market can begin to take shape.

The Melbourne Storm and the Bulldogs were both making plays for Kieran Foran, although the Storm appear to have gone cold due to his chequered history.

SAINTS MARCHING ON

MARY McGregor’s rebuild at the Dragons is undoubtedly the best feel-good story of the season.

Written off as wooden spoon contenders after an average Charity Shield showing, McGregor has done a magnificent job reinventing the Dragons game plan to suit his roster.

The club’s recruitment manager Ian Millward has also hit the mark by bringing in Paul Vaughan, Cameron McInnes and Nene McDonald.

There’s no reason the Dragons can’t remain on top of the table by rolling an understrength Cowboys on Saturday night.

Then comes the Anzac Day blockbuster against the Roosters.

If McGregor pilots the Dragons to six straight victories then surely the Red V club has to reward him with a new contract.

MORGAN’S INJURY BATTLE

THERE’S been plenty of talk about Cowboys five-eighth Michael Morgan having a relatively quiet start to the year.

Regarded as one of the best playmakers in the competition, what isn’t so well-known is the Cowboys pivot has been carrying an AC joint injury.

Michael Morgan in action for the Cowboys. Source: News Corp Australia

Morgan gets through training but then has to get the injury needled for every game.

Considering the injury, Morgan is entitled to be a little bit off.

CHOOKS FUMING

THE Sydney Roosters were fuming on Tuesday when a report had them linked to Wests Tigers captain Aaron Woods.

Club powerbrokers are adamant the move is less than no chance of happening, especially considering Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Dylan Napa are both signed to long-term contracts.

JWH is at the Roosters until the end of 2020 while Napa is signed until the end of 2019.

Still on Napa, the Roosters firebrand has started running on an Alter-G machine as he looks to fast-track his return from a syndesmosis injury.

The Anzac Day match against the Dragons is an outside chance.

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