Two separate but intertwining careers began their journey to an end last week.
I was in primary school when David Mundy played his first game for Fremantle and high school when Josh Kennedy first stepped out on to Subiaco Oval for the West Coast Eagles.
You can measure the impact of a footballer in the wake of their leave, in the flowing tributes and flowery obituaries for their playing careers.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.
In Kennedy and Mundy, both West Coast and Fremantle fans are losing people who represented their teams with grace and brilliance, but also perfectly reflected the ethos supporters clung to.
The Eagles have prided themselves on their big name players and they have not had many bigger than the generational key forward with an iconic beard, who ended his career as a member of the 700-goal club.
Kennedy arrived as the consolation prize in the Chris Judd trade but as it turned out, the three-time All-Australian helped West Coast win an unwinnable trade.
West Coast’s Josh Kennedy waves goodbye after his final game. Credit: simon santi/The West Australian
It is rare a club trades away a generational midfielder and winds up happier in the long-run but Kennedy, who kicked 429 goals between 2011 and 2017 and kicked three crucial majors in their 2018 grand final, became the Eagles’ greatest forward of all time .
Kennedy may not have actively sought out the limelight, but like so many bullet passes inside 50, fame found him as he became one of the AFL’s star forwards.
If West Coast are kings of the big game, Kennedy was football royalty and even among a plethora of fellow stars — Nic Naitanui, Luke Shuey, Jeremy McGovern — he stood and head and shoulders above them.
Throughout his spell at West Coast, the club have been driven by a pursuit of excellence and sustained success and no Eagle has personified those traits more than Kennedy.
His final bow was a fitting finale, an eight-goal avalanche showcasing his prodigious talents one final time to drag West Coast kicking and screaming into a close contest, his star shining brightest among the on-field mire that has plagued the side this season.
If Kennedy was the perfect West Coast servant — a loyal clubman with a star profile and elite ability in spades — the reliable and understated Munday was an equally excellent representative of Fremantle.
When Mundy had the ball, the sense of relief among Fremantle fans was palpable; the level of comfort was akin to settling on to the coach with a bucket of popcorn to watch your favorite film.
David Mundy following Fremantle’s win over the Western Bulldogs. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images Credit: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
You could count on your hand the amount of times Mundy, the epitome of the savvy veteran, made the wrong decision and even when he did turn the ball over, the intent was right.
Part of the allure of Mundy for Fremantle fans was not just his dependability, but also how underrated he was around AFL circles.
Mundy won his lone All-Australian jersey in 2015 as a 30 year-old, but Fremantle fans had known how good and consistent Mundy was long before then.
He was understated around the league, never getting the headlines his more famous teammates Nat Fyfe and Matthew Pavlich earned, even though he was almost as deserving.
In many ways, Mundy reflected the Purple Haze, and Fremantle fans saw so many of the traits they revere and have bought into Mundy.
He has always been a hard-working, passionate battler who has gone about his work to the nth degree, despite perhaps not always getting the wider plaudits he has served.
The Dockers’ history book devotes many a page to their identity as an industrious outfit who may not always have been the star attraction in a footy-mad town, but will always be honest in their performance and Mundy fits the bill to a T.
For all of Pavlich’s goals and Fyfe’s game-breaking ability, Mundy’s steady hand and unerring consistency made him the Docker’s Docker, a player best equipped to embody the anchor.
In Kennedy and Mundy’s retirement, Perth has lost two icons who served their club to perfection not just on the field, but off it too.
Former Canterbury cult hero Josh Reynolds has played down claims he’ll finish his career at the Bulldogs after reports this week linked him with a return to the club.
The 33-year-old is coming off two seasons playing in the Super League for Hull, after finishing his NRL career with Wests Tigers in 2020. He made his NRL debut with the Bulldogs in 2011 and played in two grand finals across seven seasons at the club.
The former Origin player is currently holidaying in Cyprus and was in the gym when his phone “started going off” after news of his potential meeting with the Bulldogs surfaced.
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He said he’d love to join the club for one last season but has not been offered a deal.
“I was actually in the gym and my phone just started going off. Notifications from my Twitter and stuff and I thought what the hell is going on,” Reynolds said on Sky Sports Radio’s The Big Sports Breakfast.
Josh Reynolds holds out hope of returning to Belmore in an off-field capacity. (GettyImages)
“There were articles galore and people congratulating me and I’m getting free coffees again at Belmore – and I’m gonna take them – but it was just mental to be honest.”
Reynolds added that he was taken off guard by the way the reports were framed, because it appeared he himself had leaked the information to the media.
“I was actually a bit disappointed because it actually looks like I’ve said something but it clearly hasn’t come from me,” Reynolds said.
“But look I’ll put it out there – I would 100 per cent love to go there. I’ve always said that I’d love to finish (my career) there.
“I love the club but at the same time I’m not sure if Gus (general manager Phil Gould) has those plans. But if that doesn’t work itself out, I’d still love to be at the club in some capacity .
“I’m coming back in the next week or so and I’m going to start having all those chats but last week was a bit of a whirlwind and it was nice to get some nice messages from people saying they’d love me back there so we’ll see how we go.”
Gould addressed the reports surrounding Reynolds’ future, revealing he’d spoken to the five-eighth about a potential off-field role at the club.
“Josh Reynolds sent me a message from the UK two months ago saying he was returning to Australia and that he’d like to assist in junior league and or community programs,” Gould tweeted.
“I told him to come see me when he gets home.”
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The backstories and controversies that have ignited feuds involving athletes
Penrith legend Greg Alexander has shut down claims he was sent in by the Panthers to fire a premeditated attack on Melbourne ahead of Thursday’s clash between the clubs.
Speaking after Patrick Carrigan’s ugly hip drop tackle on Tigers star Jackson Hastings, Alexander sparked controversy when he claimed the Storm were to blame for the wrestling tactics which have infiltrated the NRL.
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Carrigan’s tackle led to Hastings breaking his leg and the Broncos forward copping a four-match suspension.
Storm legend Cameron Smith and Melbourne boss Matt Tripp have fired back in the bitter stoush with Alexander but the footy great is standing firm.
Journalist Brent Read suggested on NRL 360 on Wednesday night Alexander’s comments were timed to add spice to Thursday’s clash and the upcoming finals series.
“I don’t think the club’s gone to Brandy and said, ‘Hey Brandy, how about you go on radio this week and give it to Melbourne’,” Read said.
“But I’m sure there’s a little something in him in the argument that it’s a good time to bring it up, to raise it and point the finger at Melbourne.”
Alexander replied on Thursday, saying “even (Read) didn’t believe what he was saying, the rest of the panel certainly didn’t tumble into it”.
Alexander shut down suggestions he was launching a media campaign against the Storm on behalf of the Panthers.
“It’s ludicrous to think there was any planning in the comments I made,” Alexander told SEN Breakfast. “We made the comments based on our listeners and what they were saying.
“It was about the Patrick Carrigan hip drop and the no-charge to Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
“That’s how the story came about. I just mentioned a couple of things thinking it wasn’t any great revelation. Cam Smith had his say of him, I had my say.
“End of story, there was no planning and nothing to do with Penrith, it was just me.”
Brandy hopes that’s the end of it. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
It comes as relations between Alexander and the Storm sour, following Tripp’s stinging public rebuke of the Penrith co-chairman. .
Alexander said he was “surprised” by the initial backlash, adding: “I thought it was just a general consensus that over the last 20 years that all the tackles, the wrestling techniques had come out of Melbourne.
“I might be generalizing or even jumping to a conclusion, but I don’t think I am.
“These tackles over the last 20 years, all the different types of techniques, they appear in the game and it takes the game a little while to catch up to them.”
Smith had labeled Alexander’s comments “really unfair” but Tripp went much further, claiming Alexander has been “a Melbourne Storm detractor for many years, to the extent that when he’s commentating one of our games, most of us down here in Melbourne have to watch it with the volume turned down because he’s so biased and so one-sided and so anti-Melbourne that not only is he embarrassing himself, but he’s embarrassing the broadcasters he represents”.
Tripp added the accusation was “beyond absurd”, then doubled down.
“For the deputy chair of one of our biggest competitors, a week out from having to play them, to make unfounded and stupid comments as he has done, just goes to the arrogance of that club and their perceived status in the game at the moment ,” he told The Ageadding it was “borderline defamatory” and “I can’t believe that his continued witch hunt for us for over 20 years still goes on to this day”.
Cameron Smith defended his former club. Photo by Mike Owen/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Alexander hit back at those comments.
“I wasn’t even aware that in Round 22 Penrith were playing Melbourne on Thursday night. I haven’t got enough room in my brain to think about weeks ahead,” Alexander said on Monday.
“I’m a journalist that chases clickbait stories? If there was someone in the game chasing headlines at least, I might fall into that category with a number of others.
“Another claim was that I’ve been singling out and campaigning against the Melbourne Storm for years.
“That’s just garbage, it’s just fanciful and it’s in the fairytale realm that I speak about sometimes, that’s just made up.”
Others have also come to Alexander’s defence.
His SEN co-host Andrew Voss said “Melbourne is the best at it” when it comes to wrestling tactics.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis told NRL 360: “There’s no doubt the Storm have a chip on their shoulder as soon as anyone mentions the word wrestle.”
Braith Anasta added: “You know what I think about Melbourne, I think they only hear the negative.
“We sit here every week and we commentate their games and we praise them every week about the powerhouse they’ve been since they’ve come into the competition.
“The success they’ve had, their continued success year after year after year under Craig Bellamy and their organization and the head honchos has been unbelievable and unrivalled.
“But if anyone criticizes or criticises Melbourne in any way, shape or form it’s Sydney against Melbourne and we’re attacking Melbourne Storm.”
Cameron Smith’s imminent defection is being viewed as the biggest “coup” to date for LIV in their quest for legitimacy.
Until now, The PGA Tour and its supporters could argue that the rebel league is merely a competition where washed up pros go to fill their bank accounts. No longer.
While tour veterans Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia were the initial names linked to the financially lucrative competition, the domino effect can’t be denied.
Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson – three of the biggest names on the US PGA – have taken the money and left.
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Cameron Smith’s pending defection to LIV Golf has been met with a mixed reception. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP
Smith’s signing however is being seen as a game-changer.
At 28, he is only now coming into the peak of his powers, he is the most recent major winner and he overran Rory McIlroy, the biggest name in world golf since Tiger Woods, to claim the Open Championship.
Nonetheless, Smith’s pending defection, which the Australian remained coy about ahead of the FedEx Cup playoff opener, hasn’t been filled with overwhelming excitement and a popping of corks.
Indeed, there’s an overarching sense of disappointment, inevitability and sadness about Smith’s likely defection; financial security has won over legacy and moral compass.
McIlroy reveals tension with LIV golfers | 01:30
Writing for the UK Telegraph – the same publication that broke Smith’s defection on a deal worth more than $AU140 million – chiefs sports writer Oliver Brown emphasized that Smith’s defection “might” capture an audience that eventually garners a TV deal.
“His signing is arguably the Saudis’ most significant coup to date, and could represent a tipping point for the competition – a moment where a gilded freakshow turned into a sporting event which might demand the world’s attention,” Brown wrote.
At the heart of the appeal of LIV Golf, Brown hit the nail on his head when he revealed the ridiculous sums of money today’s stars were forgoing by resisting a move from the PGA Tour.
“Against this backdrop, you can see why the initial contact from Greg Norman, LIV’s ringmaster, became an offer Smith could not refuse,” he wrote.
“(Henrick) Stenson, a 46-year-old who has failed to reach the weekend in seven of his last nine majors, is the type of player he should be beating for breakfast. And yet the Swede, quickly forgetting his defenestration of him as Ryder Cup captain, earned more for a glorified three-day exhibition at Bedminster than Smith did for winning the 150th Open at the Home of Golf.
“From Smith’s perspective, this is an imbalance that urgently needs correcting. If he takes home the maximum loot of £3.93 million on his LIV debut in Boston next month, he would eclipse even the £2.98 million he earned at the Players Championship in May, in what was then the richest prize ever offered by a single golf tournament. Why should the leading man tolerate making less than some forgotten members of the chorus line?”
Cam Smith and others set to join LIV | 01:30
Brown continued by highlighting the ridiculous Saudi-funded money on offer but said the sheer financial sums couldn’t, at least at this point, match the theatre, drama and excitement on show at the PGA and DP World Tours.
“The numbers are so absurd, the golf itself has been rendered a sideshow. When Stenson holed the decisive putt at Bedminster, for the grandest payday of his career, the moment was greeted by the faintest rustle of polite applause. Even the winner himself did not look unduly bothered,” Brown wrote in The Telegraph.
“Here lies the sadness in Smith’s defection. With his talent in the fullest bloom, he deserves to be playing in front of the largest galleries, for the highest stakes. LIV ultimately offers him neither. It is a realm with all the money but none of the prestige. Smith, you sense, understands what true glory in golf means. As he gave his acceptance speech on the 18th green at St Andrews, the Claret Jug in his hand, the quaver in his voice suggested he was genuinely overwhelmed.
“For Smith to be swapping such moments for hollow, show-me-the-money exercises is a cause for lament. At one level, his departure from him in his prime from him demonstrates the scale of the Saudis’ ambitions. But at another, it is the grimmest possible reflection of the schism they have wrought.”
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Australia’s Cameron Smith’s decision not to answer whether he is joining LIV has been described as “cowardly” and “lame”. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP
At the USATodayAndy Nesbitt, was far more scathing.
In particular, the publication took aim at Smith’s decision to deflect questions around his future and offer no definitive answer on whether he intended to shift allegiances.
“In doing so, (Smith) tarnished a reputation that just a few weeks ago was one of the best in professional golf,” Nesbitt wrote.
“Smith didn’t deny it and he didn’t confirm it, he just said he had “no comment” on that, which is a really lame way of ducking the question while also pretty much confirming the report to be true.”
Nesbitt went as far as saying his responses were “cowardly.”
“But to not come out with a definitive answer when asked about it before the start of the PGA Tour playoffs is a pretty cowardly thing to do.
“Now it’s a little harder to cheer for a guy who just a few weeks ago was the coolest golfer in the world.”
Terse Cam refuses to address LIV rumors | 00:43
Thomas Kershaw from The Timestoo, wrote that Smith’s pending defection was the competition’s “biggest coup”.
“It has been very easy up until now to dismiss the gimmicks of LIV’s format — featuring shotgun starts, 54 holes and no cuts — as a watered-down exhibition lacking the essentials of elite competition. Critics could point to the players who shrugged off missed putts knowing their money was guaranteed beforehand and the rebel series was derived as a refuge for those who had cashed in on the twilight of their careers,” Kershaw wrote.
“The signing of Smith is a significant riposte to that narrative. LIV may already have a horde of relatively recent major champions but Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka have battled injuries and indifferent form while Phil Mickelson still seems a ghost of his former self. Smith, 28, is the first to defect who is not just at the peak of the game but still entering the prime of his own.
He continued: “Smith remains LIV’s biggest coup to date and also symbolizes another aspect of their revolt that could bring considerable success. Smith had been vocal in urging the PGA Tour to bring a major golf event back to Australia but while those calls fell on deaf ears, LIV — and Norman — have been only too keen to hear them. When LIV expands into a 14-tournament league next year, it is reportedly scheduled to stop in Sydney in April, where Smith is expected to feature in an all-Australian team.”
Australian Cameron Smith is coming under renewed scrutiny ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on August 10, 2022 in Memphis. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP
Closer to home, James Erskine, the former manager of the late Shane Warne, who also managed Greg Norman in the past, told The Sydney Morning Herald the emergence of LIV was “destabilizing”, but didn’t accept the argument that players had blood on their hands given the competition is being backed by Saudi Arabia.
“It’s destabilizing the fabric of professional golf. I’m on the board of the PGA of Australia and we have to look after all professionals and professionals coming up. They all start as amateurs somewhere and are nurtured through the pathway so they could play golf, and then they get cards and qualify professionally,” he said. “So many people do business with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, where they have very different rules and regulations and different respect for women.
“But you can name just about any company and they will probably have a link to Saudi Arabia, Rolex, Range Rover, Rolls Royce, Ferrari. Everyone’s doing business with them, so I think it’s very unfair to turn around and say because you’re a professional golfer, you shouldn’t deal with Saudi Arabia.”
Meanwhile, Erskine said Smith would be welcomed to play in Australia even if he joins LIV Golf.
Cancer survivor Ben Cunnington has opened up on the “overwhelming” feeling he had when first diagnosed with testicular cancer as he prepares to play his first AFL game in 13 months this weekend.
Cunnington survived two bouts of cancer that kept him out of the AFL since he last played in round 19, 2021 and revealed things got “pretty real” for the 30-year-old and his family when a check-up last November revealed the recurrence .
Ahead of his return against the Adelaide Crows on Saturday, Cunnington, a two-time North best and fairest, spoke about his battle and the support from his family and the club that helped him fight his way back.
“The first diagnosis was very overwhelming,” he said.
“You never think you are going to be that person. You see and hear and read about it, but when it’s you, it’s very overwhelming.
“We had the operation and we thought that everything went well so you moved on.
“But when it came back in one of my check-ups and then the chemo got involved, that’s when it got pretty real. It was a bit of a battle, yeah.”
A reluctant giver of interviews, Cunnington’s comments were published on the North Melbourne website, where he outlined his battle to get back to senior football, which included a calf issue and then a bout of Covid on the eve of his return and a fear he may not get back.
“I had a couple of little setbacks during the rehab, but when I did that calf pretty good, we thought we might be in a little bit of trouble,” he said.
“But the club were great, they sent me back to the farm for a couple of days to regroup, then I got back on the horse, recovered well.
“It was all looking pretty good, then I came back again and got struck down with Covid, which has been a long time coming. It was always going to happen the week leading up to my first game.
“But finally we’ve got to where we are now.
“It feels amazing. I can’t stop smiling, especially where I have come from.
“You do a little bit of reflecting, but to finally get here, it’s been a bit of hard work and some ups and downs, but to finally get here, I can’t stop smiling.”
Cunnington, who played his first game in the VFL last weekend before getting the nod to return to the AFL team on Wednesday, said his happiness was reflected in that of his family and friends when he told them he’d get back to doing what he You see it.
“It hasn’t just been me on the journey, I’ve had a lot, especially family, close friends and even people within the footy club coming on this journey with me,” he said.
“To tell them, and see their happiness, relief, excitement, it was a nice feeling all around.”
A group of Melbourne men have been absolutely roasted online after they were snapped all wearing the same, very popular outfit.
It’s no secret that Aussies love a good North Face jacket, with the black puffer jackets coming out any time the temperature drops below 15C.
Australia’s obsession with this jacket is a long-running joke, which is probably why Tahlea Aualiitia couldn’t resist taking a snap when she spotted five men all sporting the clothing item.
“Surely Melbourne has a collective noun for this,” the ABC reporter wrote on Twitter above the image.
The picture shows everyone in the group wearing a black North Face jacket, black or navy pants and RM Williams boots.
The tweet has received more than 10,000 likes and almost 800 retweets.
“Always the boots … Australians cosplaying as farmers,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another person said: “I’ve got one of these coats myself. I thought it was great until I went to Melbourne wearing it and discovered that it seems to be part of a uniform there.”
The post was also also shared to the Reddit group r/Melbourne, with the poster suggesting a “puff of people” could be a good name for the phenomenon.
This prompted a long list of hilarious suggestions from users, including Kathmandudes, a Clusterpuff, Puff Daddies and a MacPack.
“The classic black puffer jacket and RM Williams combo,” one user wrote.
“RM Williams, for all that rugged outdoorsy stuff you do in your day to day life in the inner city. Like climbing in and out of the drivers seat of your Prado before hiking the 10 meters from your driveway to the front door,” another added.
One person said: “Ah yes the common Melbourne male. He can be seen with a latte in one hand as he obnoxiously takes up the whole footpath with his work colleagues. ”
While others were ridiculing the group for their matching fashion, one Reddit user was quick to jump to their defense.
“Look, it gets bloody cold in Melbourne and there isn’t anything warmer, lighter and functional than a down-filled jacket. Puffer jackets are a necessity not a fashion choice – they are a very intelligent addition to a winter wardrobe in Melbourne,” they wrote.
“The problem (it isn’t a problem) is lack of choice. Every store has puffer jackets but the styles and colors available are extremely limited. So you buy a black one that will go with anything. What looks good with a black jacket? Black jean. So you wear it with black jeans.
“Interstate visitors often mention the ‘Melbourne uniform’ (because we wear a lot of black). We don’t choose to wear black, black chooses us. I’m ignoring the black and brown Chelsea boots, because they are an Australia-wide plague.”
The North Face jacket obsession is so widespread, that a British expat dedicated a whole TikTok to mocking Aussies over it.
Daniel Olaniran, known as @olantekkers, is originally from the UK but has lived in Australia for over two years.
The former professional footballer is clearly no stranger to chilly English training sessions, which is probably why he thinks Australia’s obsession with mountain wear brands North Face and Kathmandu as soon as it gets cold is a bit rich.
“Australians in the winter man, you lot are funny man,” he said.
“You guys can’t wait to bring out the North Face jackets… I’m seeing big puffy North Face jackets looking Arsène Wenger, you know what I mean.”
One video captioned “mornings in Bondi” showed dozens of Sydneysiders in huge puffer jackets with the sun out.
He said he’s noticed the amount of Aussies in “North Face drip from head to toe, including the hat and gloves, like what is this man”.
“It’s not even that cold man, all you need is a light jumper and you’re ready to roll bruv.”
“In Sydney I really don’t think it gets too cold… it gets chilly but not on the level of a winter in London,” he said via the Daily Mail.
“I think most Aussies struggle because they’re obviously so used to the sun.”
The Penrith Panthers have been defended against claims of arrogance directed at the club from Storm chairman Matt Tripp ahead of their grudge match on Thursday night.
Ahead of their Round 22 clash, the Panthers rivally with the Storm was ignited by Penrith chair Greg Alexander’s comments suggesting Melbourne brought the wrestle into the game, prompting a fiery response.
“Ivan Cleary has responded to explosive comments from Storm chairman Matt Tripp that labeled Penrith deputy chairman Greg Alexander and the Panthers club arrogant after Alexander accused Storm of pioneering wrestling tactics in the game,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
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“Tripp hit back with this pointed attack: “For the deputy chair of one of our biggest competitors to make unfounded and stupid comments, just goes to the arrogance of that club and their perceived status in the game.”
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary defended the club after Tripp’s scathing attack in light of Alexander’s comments in his role as a commentator, which has nothing to do with Penrith as a club.
“Absolutely unfair,” Cleary said.
“I’m not here to judge anybody else. I know that Brandy (Alexander) is an outstanding commentator. He is a decorated figure in the game for many years as a player and a commentator. I think if anyone is able to have an opinion it is Brandy and most of his opinions of him are spot on.
“That was his opinion in a different role so I don’t think it is fair for everyone else at our club to be labeled what we were.
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Ivan Cleary has defended his players and the Panthers as a club.Source: News Corp Australia
“I don’t know why people say it, but I don’t believe it is true. The consistency we have shown over the last three years, I don’t think there is any way you can do that if you are disrespectful or arrogant.
“I’m not sure how every other club does it, but if there is any team that has players that spend more time with the public and kids, particularly after games, than our boys do then I would like to see it.
“We are very proud of our club and our boys. We are probably not perfect, but I would like to think we are doing a decent job.”
“The Penrith Panthers are not doing a decent job, they are doing an outstanding job,” Anasta said.
“They have been marvelous the last few years and they are close to greatness looking to go back-to-back. Are they arrogant?”
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Jarome Luai has been accused of crossing the line on the field at times.Source: Getty Images
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read believes there needs to be a clear line between what the Panthers do on and off the field and defended any perceived arrogance from players during matches.
“I think you have got to differentiate what they are like on the field and off the field,” Read said.
“Ivan was talking about how they do a lot of work with kids. Off the field those guys like Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary are fantastic blokes.
“On the field they play with swagger. They play with a bit of arrogance. You have got to have that to be successful.”
Anasta agreed that arrogance can be a powerful tool for a sporting team when used correctly.
“Don’t you want that?” Anasta said.
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“In any sport you have got to have confidence. Some people think they cross the line a little bit but you need confidence. You need a little bit of arrogance. You need to go out there thinking, I’ve got you covered.”
Paul Kent believes the Panthers are an outstanding club off the field and if the players show arrogance on the field, their success has given them the right to express themselves.
“It all shapes in narratives,” Kent said.
“They do have swagger. They are confident and they are aggressive and they let you know it and they actually reveal it in showing you how well they are going.
“That’s on the field. Ivan didn’t address that at all. I have addressed them off the field where he was 100 per cent right.
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“They are tremendous the way they interact with their fans and give back to the community.
“I think it is not a bad thing what they do on the field. It annoys me sometimes. I don’t like seeing some of the things, but it is part of the big picture.
“Everyone wants it to be completely black or completely white. They are neither. They are somewhere in the middle and that is where the fun happens to be honest.
“They are a little bit arrogant on the field, but it is a healthy arrogance.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield believes the Panthers players are expressing themselves and their upbringing, which they are very proud of.
“You don’t want a dull boring footy team,” Rothfield said.
“You want personality. You want characters.
“What we see from Penrith on the football field is these boys who have grown up in the district in tough areas around Mt Druit and St Marys and they are characters.
“They just love celebrating it. I don’t think it is arrogance.”
Fremantle’s Brennan Cox is believed to be on the radar of Adelaide.
The Crows have been linked with Cox previously and it is understood that they are showing plenty of interest once again.
SEN SA Breakfast’s Andrew Hayes reported the Crows’ interest earlier this week.
“He’s absolutely gettable, he’s a Woodville-West Torrens junior,” Hayes said.
“There have been some half murmurs for a while. He would top up their backline beautifully.
“As it stands right now, Nick Murray and Jordon Butts are doing a good job, but Brennan Cox would come in and lead that defense.”
7 News Adelaide later suggested the Crows will “dangle the carrot” in front of the Dockers defender who hails from SANFL club Woodville-West Torrens.
However, Cox is contracted until 2024 which presents somewhat of a problem according to Matt Rendell.
The former AFL recruiter says Fremantle’s desire to bring in Luke Jackson from Melbourne, along with Griffin Logue’s out-of-contract status, Rory Lobb’s strong links to the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide’s interest in Gold Coast’s Izak Rankine makes the Cox situation a fascinating one.
“The really interesting thing with Freo is, maybe they’ve got to tip a few players to fit Jackson in,” Rendell said on SEN SA’s The Run Home.
“We know Lobb is going, but I would have thought Lobb would just about cover it.
“Griffin Logue isn’t contracted yet and I really like him, and Brennan Cox is contracted so this is a really interesting situation.
“If they (the Crows) can get him, great, but they’re not going to be able to get him and Rankine, I wouldn’t have thought.”
Kym Dillon suggested Adelaide’s salary cap would easily accommodate both Cox and Rankine.
“Really? They’ve got plenty of money in their cap,” he said.
Rendell doesn’t see it as an issue cap-wise, but cannot see how the Crows bring both players in from a trade viewpoint.
“Financially, not a problem, they’ll fit them both in easily,” he replied.
“They’ve got a war chest there. But how are you going to trade for him? He’s in contract.
“You’re going to lose a hell of a lot of picks for Rankine if you get him. He’s obviously the first choice.
“They (Freo) have all the cards for Cox.”
Cox, 23, has enjoyed a career-best season for the Dockers in 2022.
Melbourne forward Sam Weideman was also floated as a potential target for the Crows, but Rendell cannot work out why they would pursue him.
The Crows have seen Darcy Fogarty excel in the second half of the season and with Taylor Walker playing on and Riley Thilthorpe expected to get more opportunity, they would have no use for Weideman in the eyes of Rendell.
“It doesn’t make sense to me at all,” he said of the Demons forward.
“He is in contract as well. I think if Melbourne could find him a home, they would.
“The Crows don’t need Weideman, not with their forward line.
“We’ve seen Fogarty and how much he has improved. He’s 22 and he looks a gun.
“Thilthorpe is obviously going to come back in and Tex is going to play at least one (more year) and possibly two.”
Weideman, 25, is contracted with Melbourne until next year.
He has played 10 games in 2022 for a career total of 59 across seven seasons.
“I joined the Indigenous Football Australia council to share my life experience in sport and business to help others on a similar journey. I am looking forward to learning from other experts who are on the council. But most of all it is about the young people and giving them the best opportunity to achieve their dreams.”
While Goodes has rarely – if ever – spoken about the AFL since his retirement, he has occasionally opened up on his lifelong affinity for soccer, and once revealed he did not miss a moment of Alessandro Del Piero’s magical two-year stint at Sydney FC, which coincided with his final years at the Swans.
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“I even left [former Sydney Swans player] Benny McGlynn’s engagement party at the Clovelly Hotel halfway through,” he told a Fox Sports podcast two years ago when he was announced as a patron of the Moriarty program.
“The boys were like, ‘where are you going?’ I said, ‘Del Piero’s playing Adelaide tonight at the footy stadium, I’ve got to go watch.’ That’s just the passion and love that I have for the game, when these greats of the world come to Australia to play, albeit in the twilight years – for me, it’s incredible just to see the best.
“Here in Australia, we’re starting to develop some of the best players in the world – and what I want to see is some of those best players in the world being Indigenous players.”
IFA is not directly connected to Football Australia, which last year launched its own National Indigenous Advisory Group headed by ex-Socceroo Jade North. But John Moriarty Football is Australia’s longest-running and most successful Indigenous soccer initiative and has expanded across the country in recent years after starting out in Borroloola, the remote community where Moriarty was born.
Also on the majority-Indigenous IFA council are Goodes’ Waverley Old Boys teammate Craig Foster, ABC journalist and presenter Stan Grant, current A-League Women players Gema Simon, Allira Toby and Jada Whyman, and Danny Townsend, the chief executive of the A -Leagues.
“The diversity and strengths of this Indigenous-led Council are unparalleled,” Moriarty said. “Each member is more than a symbolic appointment. They all bring unique, lived experience plus skills, aligned values and goals for Indigenous football in Australia. Each member is committed to creating tangible, equitable and lasting change.”
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Controversy swirling over the upstart LIV Golf series got “a little more personal” when 11 LIV rebels sued the US PGA Tour this week, according to Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy and fellow US PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas both welcomed a judge’s ruling that denied a request by three LIV Golf players for a temporary restraining order that would have allowed them to play in the St. Jude Championship this week, the first event of the US PGA Tour’s season-ending playoffs.
The three players qualified for the playoffs were among 11 golfers who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the US Tour challenging the indefinite suspensions imposed by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan upon those who played in any of the Saudi-backed LIV tour’s first three events.
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Rory McIlroy says the PGA had a little win against LIV Golf after a court’s decision to bar three players from playing in the FedEx Cup at TPC Southwind. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
McIlroy, who has been a critic of the new series offering stunning $20 million purses for its 54-hole events as well as signing bonuses reportedly worth tens of millions for some stars, said he believed golfers had the right to choose the new tour — but the US PGA Tour also had the right to exclude those who made that decision.
“Guys are going to make their own decisions that they feel is best for them and that’s totally fine,” McIlroy said after playing a pro-am round at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
“I don’t begrudge anyone for going over to play LIV or taking guaranteed money.
“I think where the resentment comes from the membership of this tour is the fact that they want to try to get their way back in here with no consequences, and anyone that’s read the PGA Tour handbook or abided by the rules and regulations, that would feel very unfair to them.”
Cam Smith and others set to join LIV | 01:30
As a PGA Tour board member, McIlroy has even-handedly fielded questions about LIV Golf — spearheaded by Australian Greg Norman — for months. It comes as the Australian world No.2 Cameron Smith is said to have joined the rebels on a deal worth $140 million.
But I have acknowledged that the lawsuit hit close to the bone.
“I certainly have a little more respect for the guys who haven’t put their names to the suit,” McIlroy said.
“It’s become a little more personal because of that.”
The fact that Australian Matt Jones and Americans Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford weren’t given temporary relief from their suspensions to compete in the playoffs was, McIlroy said, “a good day for the Tour and for the majority of the membership.”
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I have noted, however, that it remained to be seen how the full lawsuit would play out.
“It’s like you birdied the first hole, but you’ve still got 17 holes to go,” he said.
– Play golf, stop worrying –
Thomas said he’s not looking too closely at what promises to be a protracted legal battle.
“The only thing I really care about is this golf tournament and trying to play well and trying to win the FedExCup,” Thomas said.
“And to be honest, I just don’t care about all that stuff that’s going on.
“However it’s going to happen is going to happen. I may have an opinion here or there, but at the end of the day, once it gets to this point, it’s way out of my hands in terms of getting to lawyers and judges and things of that nature.
“So I just want to play golf and stop worrying about it,” added Thomas, who described being asked about the controversy at a wedding he attended recently.
That said, Thomas agreed with McIlroy that the lawsuit, and the demand of LIV rebels that they be allowed to return to the PGA Tour, intensified feeling around the issue.
“You can have your cake, but you don’t need to eat it, too,” he said.
“And they got their fair share of a large, large amount of cake and go eat it on your own means. You don’t need to bring it onto our tour.”
