The old acquaintance with a chequered history who is backing Flanagan

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Stephen Dank’s right-hand man, Darren “The Gazelle” Hibbert, has thrown his support behind incoming Dragons coach Shane Flanagan, saying he will have learnt from his mistakes during the Sharks’ supplements scandal.

Hibbert was a central figure during Dank’s time at Cronulla in 2011, working with the sports scientist, who was rubbed out for injecting players with banned peptides, and says that parents who have reservations about sending their kids to be coached by Flanagan should not worry.

“I was mainly working under the direction of Stephen Dank, who was working with [high-performance manager] Trent Elkin,” Hibbert said.

“At NRL clubs, the coaches do not get involved too much with the fitness and strength training, and leave that up to the expertise of the high-performance team and strength and conditioning coach. The head coach is mainly involved in on-field drills. So my view is we have to move on from that time. He has served his time for whatever happened. The water has passed under the bridge.”

The NRL banned Flanagan for 12 months in 2013 for his role in the saga, while Elkin was deregistered, but is now back working with Parramatta. The NRL banned Dank for life, but Hibbert escaped any official sanction.
Hibbert strongly endorsed the Dragons’ decision to give Flanagan another chance in the top job.

“Flanno has proved himself as a top NRL coach,” he said. “Not only did he win a premiership for the Sharks in 2016, he is known for his tactical ability. Plus he has had previous ties with the Dragons, so he knows a little bit about how the club operates.

Vote of confidence: Stephen Dank’s former deputy Darren ″⁣The Gazelle″⁣ Hibbert.Credit: Nick Moir

“He is very good at player development and has a good track record with young talent, helping them to reach their full potential. He will be able to bring out the best in a youthful St George NRL team.

“People not involved with NRL clubs might have an issue because they do not understand fully how a NRL club operates behind the scenes. Because of the way social media is set up for clicks to make money, there are always going to be people who are going to be negative to make the most out of trying to cause controversy and go viral.

“I do not think parents should worry about Shane as a coach or person. The Cronulla Sharks controversy happened more than five years ago. I think Flanno would have learnt from his mistakes in the past, like all top sports coaches do, and there is no chance there will be a repeat of what happened at Cronulla.

“If anything, he would be a better coach now after coming through the drugs in sport controversy.”

Dragons buy time to hunt for star half’s replacement

Ben Hunt’s last-minute decision not to continuing pushing for an immediate release from his Dragons contract was a tactical move to ensure he can leave at the end of the year.

It was an olive branch: give a little now in the hope he can exit at the latest at the end of the year. That is still his hope.

Not leaving immediately gives the Dragons time to work out a plan to manage Hunt’s departure. The Dragons can establish what they need in compensation from another team: a player swap or money, or both.

The Gold Coast Titans halves – certainly Toby Sexton and, depending on who you talk to, Tanah Boyd – are being told they can see what’s on offer at other clubs, which indicates Hunt will be there next year. Or, at least, they are preparing to have him there.

The Titans are trying to offload Toby Sexton to another club.Credit: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

It also gives Hunt and his family time to make a permanent move, and that will not impact his children as significantly.

Hunt showed considerable fortitude to play against the Sharks on Thursday night after being hit hard by illness in the lead-up to the game. Hunt was also in Queensland on Friday – for a sportsman’s lunch, not to go house hunting.

Mal goes all out for Anderson

Mal Meninga has got right behind the fundraising effort for Daniel Anderson with a remarkable opportunity for two members of the public.

Meninga is offering to throw open the doors to the Kangaroos’ inner sanctum as part of the silent auction to benefit Anderson, who suffered a devastating spinal injury during a family holiday on the Central Coast in December when dumped while bodysurfing. He is now a quadriplegic.

Meninga and Kangaroos management are offering the chance to ride on the team bus to Australia’s next Test. The lucky winners of the bid will also be allowed into the dressing room to listen to Mal’s pre-game address, have access to the coaches’ box during the match and return to the dressing room after the game.

The NRL community is rallying around former Eels and Warriors coach Anderson with some other wonderful support for a fundraising lunch on Friday.

Queensland and Roosters forward Lindsay Collins has put up his signed man-of-the-match jumper from Origin II, while broadcaster Alan Jones has made a $50,000 donation to have Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sit at his table. All 17 NRL clubs have bought a gold table for $10,000, as did the NRL. Adam MacDougall has also donated $100,000 through his charity foundation, while the event sold out in four days.

The venue at Royal Randwick has been expanded from 50 to 68 tables to deal with the overwhelming support.
A silent auction is being held and closes during the lunch. All proceeds will support Anderson.
To register to bid or buy raffle tickets: galabid.com/unitefordaniel

Roo-speed economy

Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos players may not know it, but they are at risk of being seen as greedy and above their international colleagues representing nations such as Samoa and Tonga.

A significant sticking point in negotiations between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association for a new collective bargaining agreement is the way players are being paid for international games.

Sources close to the governing body have told me that Australian players are being looked after first and foremost, and the players from other nations can only get equal payment if another source of revenue is generated. It is not individual players driving this, it is the players union.

Under the RLPA proposal, only Australian players get paid from the player payment pool that has been negotiated. Only Australia-New Zealand Tests and World Cup matches for Australia are included in the CBA. Everything else is outside the player payment pool and has to be agreed separately.

The NRL says this is holding back the development of the international game. The NRL wants internationals played each year after the grand final and hosted in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific during a four-week period. They believe this would leave enough space for increased annual leave and would not affect the NRL pre-season.

The NRL wants equal payments for all NRL and NRLW contracted players from all countries. The NRL says player payments come out of the payment pool in the CBA, and the creation of a three or four-team international competition each year with a final would be exciting for fans, provide prizemoney for players and funding for the international game.

Tale of three halves

Daly Cherry-Evans could be excused for doing a double take at Manly’s impressive signing spree in recent times. Those close to him say he raised an eyebrow at the events of the past week.

The astute signing of Luke Brooks from Wests Tigers and a vote of confidence from Josh Schuster, who took less money to remain with the Sea Eagles, is great news for Manly, but they now have three potential halves, tying up about $2.5m of their salary cap.

Schuster could be a Glenn Stewart or Wade Graham-style ball-playing back-rower, but Manly’s halves equation has got the attention of rival clubs, who are looking at the Brooks signing and wondering if DCE could be prised away from the northern beaches.

Sadly for them, Cherry-Evans is very happy at Manly. And if you ask club bosses and coach Anthony Seibold, DCE is at Manly to stay.

Those who know the Sea Eagles captain well say he loves his current lifestyle and has no interest at all in moving. But he has seen this situation before: a club comes under pressure due to results or the salary cap and the big earners are the first people under the microscope.

Cherry-Evans is playing career-best football and, at age 34, he has not ruled out continuing beyond his final two contracted seasons in 2024-25. With so many clubs scrambling for a halfback, he knows if things went badly with the Eagles he could potentially earn more for longer at another team.

Wests side story

Benji Marshall and Scott Fulton put on a united front when they met the Sea Eagles’ talented Fainu brothers, Latu and Samuela, during the week.

Marshall and Fulton have had significant differences of opinion on a number of players – namely Luke Brooks, Shaun Johnson and Tyson Frizell – but they showed they can work together when trying to sell the Tigers dream to the Manly brothers.

Blocking the son

We mentioned last week that there was potential for Bulldogs half and hooker Kyle Flanagan to link with the Dragons and his dad, Shane.
The Bulldogs have turned him into a decent No.9, giving him utility value. When we asked the Dragons if they had interest in Kyle, the club said no.

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