Cameron Ciraldo has signed a five-year deal to take over as Canterbury head coach next season.
Key points:
Cameron Ciraldo will leave his role at the Panthers at the end of the season
He has been the Bulldogs’ preferred choice as a long-term replacement for Trent Barrett
Last year, Ciraldo helped the Panthers win the NRL premiership
The in-demand Penrith assistant has helped mastermind the defending premiers’ climb to dominance under Ivan Cleary.
However, Ciraldo has decided to take the step up into the head coach role at the Bulldogs after previously knocking back the Wests Tigers’ job.
Interim Bulldogs coach Mick Potter was keen to stay on after taking over from sacked coach Trent Barrett earlier this season.
However, Canterbury general manager of football Phil Gould wanted Ciraldo — who has been in various coaching roles at the Panthers since 2014 — to fill the position.
Ciraldo’s arrival at Belmore will likely keep star playmaker Matt Burton at the club.
Burton worked with Ciraldo at the Panthers before linking up with the Bulldogs this season.
Camerone Ciraldo’s signing will likely mean Matt Burton (pictured) stays with the Bulldogs.(Getty Images: Matt King)
“As the club continues to build for long-term, sustained success, we are pleased Cameron shares the vision of ensuring our football programs are best-in-class,” a Bulldogs club statement read.
The Panthers confirmed Ciraldo would depart the club at the end of the season.
“On behalf of all at Panthers, we would like to congratulate Cameron for his appointment as an NRL head coach,” Panthers chief executive Matt Cameron said in a statement.
“Although we’re saddened to see Cameron depart the club at the end of the season, we’re thrilled to see him progress to the next chapter of his NRL coaching career.
“A highly-respected member of the coaching staff, Cameron has played his part in making our club a source of community pride, and was influential in providing an environment for players to thrive.”
Ciraldo played for Penrith, Newcastle and Cronulla during his 94-match NRL career.
He finished up with the Panthers in 2013 and joined the club’s coaching staff the following season as an assistant coach in the under-20s program.
Ciraldo later served as the Panthers’ under-20s head coach, before becoming an assistant at the NRL level.
He was defense coach when the Panthers won last year’s premiership, while he was caretaker head coach in 2018 after the club parted ways with Anthony Griffin.
Rugby league coach Josh Hannay has described the industry as “brutal” while reflecting on the sudden death of his “friend and mentor” Paul Green.
Key points:
Josh Hannay took over as Cowboys coach in 2020 after Paul Green stood down mid-season
Hannay and Green had both spent time in coaching roles with the Maroons in the past two seasons
The two had caught up on the weekend during a Cronulla reunion
Police said Green, 49, died by suicide on Thursday morning.
“I’ve spent the last 12 hours or so trying to comprehend what’s happened, why it’s happened,” Hannay told ABC Radio Brisbane on Friday morning.
“This industry we’re in, right, it’s a brutal industry.
“I know that on a professional level, the last few years have been really challenging for Greenie, given what happened at the Cowboys and with Queensland.”
Green left the Cowboys midway through the 2020 season after recording three wins from the first 10 games, with Hannay stepping in as interim coach.
Last year Green coached Queensland in the State of Origin and stepped down after the Maroons lost the series.
Hannay said the industry was either “lifting you up or tearing you down.”
“The highs are the highest of highs and the lows are the lowest of lows,” he said.
Green was at the helm of the Cowboys when the team won its first premiership in 2015.
Hannay, who played with Green and later became his assistant coach, said he caught up with his “friend and mentor” at a Cronulla Sharks reunion in Sydney on Saturday.
“It was great to see Greenie. I hadn’t seen him in about a year,” Hannay said.
“It was always good fun having a beer with Greenie. Life of the party. Plenty of good stories.
“I feel really fortunate now, given the circumstances, that I got to have that time with Greenie on Saturday night.”
Hannay said Green loved the song It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett.
John Cartwright was given an opportunity at the Cowboys under Paul Green, after he was let go by the Gold Coast Titans.(AAP Image/Action Photographics: Colin Whelan)
“I can hear him now singing it. It didn’t matter where you were, he’d find some way to get that song over the speakers,” Hannay said.
“I’ll be playing that song at some point today.”
A minute’s silence will be held across all NRL games this round to remember Green.
John Cartwright, who was an assistant coach to Green when the Cowboys won the 2015 tournament, said Green had given him a second chance at coaching.
“I was not in the best place myself at the time,” Cartwright told the ABC’s News Breakfast program.
“[I was] coming to the end of my coaching career at the Titans and was a little bit lost.
“and [I received] a call out of the blue — Greenie asked me to come up there and join the Cowboys.
“Initially I just sort of said, ‘Mate I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I wouldn’t be able to give you any sort of help,’ and he said, ‘Look, have the off-season to think about it and I’ll give you a call in January,’ and he did.
“I’m so glad that I took the opportunity that he gave me to go up there and help out.”
The gold rush continues at the Commonwealth Games, All Blacks defeated and Ian Foster’s job hands in the balance and a New Zealand one-two finish at the latest Indycar race in Nashville – Cheree Kinnear gives the highs and lows of the weekend’s sport all in 90 seconds. Video/Photosport/Sky Sport
Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea has hit out at what he believes has been an irresponsible and hurtful social media backlash against beleaguered coach Ian Foster.
Foster has borne the brunt of criticism over the past month for his team’s historic form slump, with news media, rugby pundits and fans all weighing in with myriad opinions as to what leadership mistakes he may have made.
However, Savea says some of that criticism has gone too far, especially on social media where opinions well outside the realm of Foster’s coaching expertise have been loudly voiced.
“Shocked and disturbed at some of the comments and remarks I’ve seen and heard about Ian Foster on social media lately,” Savea wrote on his Twitter account.
Former All Black Julian Savea says criticism of Ian Foster has gone too far. Photo / Photosport
“In a country where mental health is a big issue, where 72 per cent of suicides are men and a high number of depression amongst men, you would think people would be a bit kinder and think about their words before they make remarks on someone’s integrity , appearance and character, especially when they don’t know them on a personal level.
“I’m ashamed that this is how a human is treated and dragged in the media here in NZ.”
Savea makes his point from a place of experience, having been through his fair share of social media strife; including death threats made toward his baby daughter while playing in France.
That was just one episode from a career he says was full of similar moments, with public judgment and criticism a constant in his time as a professional player.
“Been a constant up and down battle with mental health during my years as a rugby player,” he posted on Instagram in April, 2020.
“From the pressure it brings into my life and personal life to the judgment that is constantly being made about my career.”
Savea’s call for the public to back off when it comes to Foster echoes that of former Scotland coach Matt Williams who said following the side’s series loss to Ireland that the public and media response was embarrassing.
“Ian Foster has suffered far more public criticism and humiliation than any coach should be forced to endure for a sporting defeat,” he wrote in a column for the Irish Times.
“Not for the first time, the reaction to defeat by the New Zealand media and their wider rugby community has exposed a deep flaw of character. The treatment of Foster by his own community has been nothing short of shameful. As a coach, criticism comes with the badge but the personal vilification he has had to endure is simply not acceptable.”
Julian Savea (left) in happier times with Ian Foster in 2012. Photo / Photosport
Foster himself has conceded the criticism leveled towards him is taking its toll, telling media after the first-test loss to the Springboks last weekend that the evidence was plain to see.
“I’m going gray and my hair is receding pretty quickly. It’s never easy,” Foster told media.
He will be hoping, along with millions of New Zealanders, that the All Blacks squad will bounce back on Sunday in their rematch against the Springboks and the social media noise will quieten.
A shocked Mat Rogers says his former rugby league teammate, Paul Green, will be remembered as an “incredible competitor” who never took a backward step.
Key points:
Mat Rogers spent time with Paul Green last weekend
The pair played together for Cronulla and Queensland
He described Green as a “really good block”
The rugby league world is in mourning following the sudden death of 49-year-old Green, who represented Queensland in State of Origin and was a premiership-winning coach.
Rogers spent the past weekend in Sydney with Green at a Cronulla players reunion, with the pair having been teammates at the Sharks for three seasons since 1995.
They were roommates in the Queensland Super League representative team in 1997, before spending two years together in the Maroons State of Origin side.
Paul Green represented Queensland in State of Origin.(Getty Images: Darren England)
Green later enjoyed a successful coaching career, guiding North Queensland to its first NRL premiership in 2015.
Rogers said he and Green played golf and then sat next to each other to watch the Sharks beat St George Illawarra on Saturday night.
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“It was great — we played golf on Friday together and spent time at the reunion together,” Rogers said.
“He was telling me about the new boat he’d just bought for the family and I was looking forward to going for a ride.
“I can’t believe he’s gone… it makes me appreciate that time I got to spend with him.”
Rogers said half-back Green — who stood at just 167 centimeters tall — played well above his diminutive size.
“We played together for years and he was just an incredible competitor,” Rogers said.
“There was nothing of him and he just never took a backward step.”
Rogers said Green had been a sounding board for him recently as he set up his new player management business, while the father-of-two was also an ear for others who needed advice.
“He’s just been helpful with a lot of our young players and, out of the football world, I know other guys have had their troubles and he’s been there for them,” Rogers said.
“He’s just a loved guy, a really good bloke.”
Rogers said Green harbored ambitions to return to coaching in the NRL, having been in charge of the Cowboys until midway through the 2020 season.
He was linked to an assistant position at NRL newcomers the Dolphins, as well as other head coaching roles.
“He had a lot of ambition to continue on, in the NRL path,” Rogers said.
“He’s proven to be a great coach and he still had plenty of years left in him at that level but, unfortunately, we’re never going to see it, which is really sad.”
Another former Sharks teammate, Martin Lang, paid tribute to Green on Twitter.
“This is so sad. Paul was a close mate. We moved to Sydney together in 1993 … the beginning of an outstanding NRL playing/coaching career,” Lang wrote.
“My sincere condolences to Paul’s wife, children and his dear mum and dad.
“Rest In Peace mate.”
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Green moved to the Sharks in 1994 after a stint with Easts Tigers (now Brisbane Tigers) in the then-Brisbane Rugby League.
He won the now-defunct Rothmans Medal — the NSWRL/ARL best and fairest award — in 1995 and, two years later, was a member of the Sharks’ side that reached the Super League grand final.
Green represented Australia during the only season of Super League in 1997.
After leaving the Sharks following the inaugural NRL season in 1998, Green played with North Queensland, the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta and Brisbane Broncos before retiring in 2004.
Green then went into coaching, winning back-to-back Queensland Cup titles with Wynnum Manly in 2011 and 2012.
He joined Trent Robinson’s coaching staff at the Roosters in their 2013 premiership season, before replacing Neil Henry as Cowboys head coach the following year.
Green coached Queensland in the 2021 State of Origin series, losing 2-1 to NSW.
Eighty-two per cent of people sampled in a study conducted by Victoria University have reported experiencing at least one form of interpersonal violence when participating in community sport as a child.
Key points:
Three-quarters of respondents said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect in children’s sport
Seventy-three per cent experienced violence from their peers, and 66 per cent said they had from a coach
Women experienced higher rates of sexual and psychological violence, as well as neglect
The survey, which is the most comprehensive of its kind in Australia, asked 886 adults whether they had experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, as well as neglect, from either coaches, peers or parents during childhood.
Seventy-six per cent said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect, 66 per cent reported physical violence and 38 per cent reported sexual violence.
One in three respondents, meanwhile, said they had experienced all four forms of violence.
The respondents had participated in a large variety of sports, with nearly 70 represented.
Seventy per cent of respondents experienced physical and psychological violence from a peer. (Designed by The Infologist for Victoria University)
While such large numbers may come as a surprise to some, study co-author Mary Woessner said she was not shocked.
“From the literature, and knowing what’s happening internationally, I would say that’s right about what we were expecting,” Dr Woessner told the ABC.
“One of the first things you need to create change, positive change, is generate understanding that there’s a problem.
“We just want people to know it exists, so we can make evidence-based decisions to change it.”
Dr Woessner’s co-author, Aurélie Pankowiak, explained that the survey asked participants about explicit examples of violence they may have experienced in a sporting context.
Aurélie Pankowiak co-authored the study with Mary Woessner.(ABC News: Andie Noonan)
For neglect, for example, participants were asked if they had experienced being refused time off for medical injuries.
For psychological, participants were asked whether they had been insulted, threatened or humiliated (for example by being bullied, given an unwanted nickname violence or otherwise ostracised).
“We had very concrete examples of different types of violence, so we did not leave it up to the person’s interpretation of whether or not what they experienced was violent,” Dr Pankowiak said.
One reason for this, the authors say, is that it can take victims a long time to recognize that what they experienced constituted violence.
“The average reporting time for sexual abuse can be 20 years or longer,” Dr Woessner said.
“At the moment we have a system that relies on children telling us what happened while knowing that the vast majority of literature says they won’t [come forward] for years to come.
“That’s why in this study, the easiest and safest way of collecting this data was to do it retrospectively. [by asking adults].”
Most children experience violence from peers
In a first, the study sought to break down children’s experiences of violence by who perpetrated it, including peers and parents as well as coaches.
This breakdown showed that 73 per cent of respondents experienced violence from their peers, followed by coaches (60 per cent) and parents (35 per cent).
Most respondents had experienced violence from a peer. A coach was the next most common.(Designed by The Infologist for Victoria University)
Dr Woessner said distinguishing who was perpetrating violence was important because most academic literature, as well as media coverage, has focused on violence perpetrated by coaches, usually at the elite level.
This includes high-profile cases like that of Larry Nassar, the former US Olympic gymnastics team doctor who is serving an effective life sentence for sexually abusing at least 40 girls and women.
Australian swimmer Maddie Groves also recently came forward with the allegation that she was sexually abused by a former coach who is still working in the sport.
“You can distance yourself from an Olympic athlete experiencing abuse and start to think that it only happens at the elite level,” Dr Woessner said.
“There’s a mentality, ‘well that’s not my child, it’s not happening in my sport, or at my club’ … but I think with this data we can show that it might be.”
Data collected by Dr Pankowiak and Dr Woessner also showed significant gendered differences in the types of violence being experienced by men, women and gender-diverse people in childhood.
Women were more likely to experience sexual violence compared to men, while they were also more likely to experience psychological violence and neglect.
Men, on the other hand, were more likely to experience physical violence from a peer.
“When you talk about a gendered experience, we sometimes focus only on women,” Dr Woessner said.
“But it’s not that men aren’t experiencing violence, they’re just experiencing different types.”
Women experienced higher rates of sexual and psychological violence, as well as neglect.
The authors also analyzed a third category, gender-diverse people, encompassing those who identified as non-binary, gender questioning or selected “don’t know” for their gender identity.
While the sample size was small, at 17 people total, the authors found gender-diverse people experienced higher rates of many types of violence compared to cisgender men and women.
“We know from the literature broadly that marginalized communities experience institutionalized violence,” Dr Pankowiak said.
What was less clear, Dr Pankowiak said, was how the experience of systemic marginalization translated into interpersonal violence in a sporting context.
“We need an understanding of what’s driving those rates,” Dr Woessner said.
“We are talking about gender diversity here, but we know that the LGBTQI+ community broadly, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, they all have higher risks. We just don’t fully understand why and how that’s happening.”
A wake-up call with ‘no quick fix’
While this particular study did not look at the impacts of the childhood experience of violence, the authors said there was clear evidence that it could have lifelong detrimental effects.
“We do know that there are long-term impacts,” Dr Woessner said.
“Often they [victim survivors] leave sport. They might only leave the team they’re on, but there are some people who leave sport entirely.
Co-author Mary Woessner hopes the study will be a call to action for Australian sport.(ABC News: Andie Noonan)
“Beyond the individual, you see families torn apart, you see communities torn apart.
“Community sport is led by volunteers, and when something like this happens, it impacts not just the individual but their friends, their family, and by default the community.”
Moving forward, the authors argued it was essential to intervene early so that children and adults could continue to enjoy the many benefits sport provides.
“What we’re seeing in the data is that we have a cultural normalization of violence in sport,” Dr Woessner said.
“It’s systemic, there’s not one type of violence or only one type of perpetrator and it’s happening across all sports.”
Dr Woessner added that while there was no “quick fix”, there were clear steps sports could take to safeguard children.
“When we’re thinking about changing culture, we need to go a step further than just education and policies,” Dr Woessner said.
“We need to go from the ground up and work with clubs on initiatives that are long-lasting and can create behavioral change.
“I would hope that this data starts to change public perception on the prevalence of these experiences in community sport and that it calls sports to action.”
If you believe you have experienced violence during your childhood participation in sport, you can lodge a complaint through Sport Integrity Australia’s online portal.
Jake Arthur’s second half against the Sea Eagles last Friday shows just how fickle rugby league can be because the Parramatta fans who were booing him last month would’ve been cheering as he helped up set a famous win on the road.
Filling in for the injured Mitch Moses, Arthur produced his best 40 minutes in the NRL and set up two tries to keep the club’s top-four hopes alive ahead of a brutal run to the finals.
The fact Arthur was able to do that after a small section of fans at CommBank Stadium had booed him only a few weeks earlier because his dad is the coach speaks volumes about the 19-year-old.
“I haven’t really worried about it,” he said.
“I’ve just waited for my opportunity and I’ve just been trying to play my best footy in Cup.
“It was just good to be able to wear that No.7. That’s where I feel most comfortable trying to control the game and letting Dyl (five-eighth Dylan Brown) play off the back of it.”
The first of those try assists against the Sea Eagles was a Harbor Bridge pass over the top of giant winger Jason Saab that some experienced halves wouldn’t have had the confidence to throw.
Eels teenager Jake Arthur throws a Harbor Bridge ball.Source: FOX SPORTS
“I was a bit worried because I told myself all week that I wasn’t going to throw that pass because he’s that tall,” he said.
“But in the moment I saw the space and I had to back myself to throw it.”
Teammate Shaun Lane spoke glowingly of Arthur’s maturity and how he handled himself after a difficult couple of weeks.
“I always chat to the young kids to see where their headspace is at around certain things, but I think Jake is quite a naturally resilient kid,” said Lane, who is studying a graduate diploma in psychology and faced his own problems off the field earlier in his career.
“I think it helps that his old man has helped along the way to understand what he probably would have faced ever since he was a kid.
“Growing up with his old man as the coach of Parramatta coming through the grades, he probably understood that he’d be facing a lot of scrutiny were this to happen.
“He’s definitely approached this maturely and I probably wouldn’t have been the same when I was that young.
“He’s stayed off social media, he hasn’t read into any of the negatives, and he’s gone about doing his job. I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s handled himself.”
Shaun Lane has been impressed by Arthur’s maturity. Picture; Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Arthur’s reward for playing so well against Manly was an appearance on Channel Nine’s post-game show where he got to pick the brain of childhood hero Johnathan Thurston.
The former Cowboys halfback gave him some sage advice and adds to the lessons Arthur has learned from Immortal Andrew Johns as well as Moses.
“I’ve always looked up to ‘JT’ and studied how he played,” the teenage half said.
“It was good to be able to get the chance to speak with him and even ask for a bit of advice.
“I just wanted to ask him to see what I could do better. He told me to run the footy a bit more late in halves and to dig deep in the line once I’ve set up the game with my kicking game.
“I’ve always looked at ways to try to get better. Joey really helped me with that. He’s always ringing me and helping me out, and Mitch has also been massive for me since he got injured. All year he’s been helping me, and now he’s really stepped up.”
Jake Arthur’s second half against the Sea Eagles last Friday shows just how fickle rugby league can be because the Parramatta fans who were booing him last month would’ve been cheering as he helped up set a famous win on the road.
Filling in for the injured Mitch Moses, Arthur produced his best 40 minutes in the NRL and set up two tries to keep the club’s top-four hopes alive ahead of a brutal run to the finals.
The fact Arthur was able to do that after a small section of fans at CommBank Stadium had booed him only a few weeks earlier because his dad is the coach speaks volumes about the 19-year-old.
“I haven’t really worried about it,” he said.
“I’ve just waited for my opportunity and I’ve just been trying to play my best footy in Cup.
“It was just good to be able to wear that No.7. That’s where I feel most comfortable trying to control the game and letting Dyl (five-eighth Dylan Brown) play off the back of it.”
The first of those try assists against the Sea Eagles was a Harbor Bridge pass over the top of giant winger Jason Saab that some experienced halves wouldn’t have had the confidence to throw.
“I was a bit worried because I told myself all week that I wasn’t going to throw that pass because he’s that tall,” he said.
“But in the moment I saw the space and I had to back myself to throw it.”
Teammate Shaun Lane spoke glowingly of Arthur’s maturity and how he handled himself after a difficult couple of weeks.
“I always chat to the young kids to see where their headspace is at around certain things, but I think Jake is quite a naturally resilient kid,” said Lane, who is studying a graduate diploma in psychology and faced his own problems off the field earlier in his career.
“I think it helps that his old man has helped along the way to understand what he probably would have faced ever since he was a kid.
“Growing up with his old man as the coach of Parramatta coming through the grades, he probably understood that he’d be facing a lot of scrutiny were this to happen.
“He’s definitely approached this maturely and I probably wouldn’t have been the same when I was that young.
“He’s stayed off social media, he hasn’t read into any of the negatives, and he’s gone about doing his job. I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s handled himself.”
Arthur’s reward for playing so well against Manly was an appearance on Channel Nine’s post-game show where he got to pick the brain of childhood hero Johnathan Thurston.
The former Cowboys halfback gave him some sage advice and adds to the lessons Arthur has learned from Immortal Andrew Johns as well as Moses.
“I’ve always looked up to ‘JT’ and studied how he played,” the teenage half said.
“It was good to be able to get the chance to speak with him and even ask for a bit of advice.
“I just wanted to ask him to see what I could do better. He told me to run the footy a bit more late in halves and to dig deep in the line once I’ve set up the game with my kicking game.
“I’ve always looked at ways to try to get better. Joey really helped me with that. He’s always ringing me and helping me out, and Mitch has also been massive for me since he got injured. All year he’s been helping me, and now he’s really stepped up.”
Andrew McFadden will return to the club he has once coached. Photo / Photosport
Former Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden is returning to the club.
The 44-year-old will take on the new role as general manager of recruitment, development and pathways.
His arrival will coincide with the departure of current football general manager Craig Hodges, who is leaving to pursue coaching opportunities in Australia.
McFadden has extensive background with the Warriors.
He arrived as an assistant coach to Matthew Elliott in 2013, then took on the top job when Elliott was sacked early in the 2014 season.
McFadden was in charge of the first grade team for three seasons – at a time that was successful by current standards – before he stepped down before the 2017 season.
But he stayed on as assistant to Stephen Kearney for two years, before moving to his current role with Canberra, working under Ricky Stuart for the past four seasons.
I have helped the Raiders reach the 2019 grand final and the preliminary final a year later.
McFadden also has an association with incoming Warriors head coach Andrew Webster. Webster was an assistant coach under McFadden at Mt Smart in 2015 and 2016.
“He has a great affinity with the club and with New Zealand,” said Warriors chief executive Cameron George. “He’s driven now to step away from coaching at NRL level and step into the critical area of recruitment, development and pathways.
“We’ve invested heavily in development and pathways while being based in Australia for the last three years and we have even bigger plans in this space with our full football operation coming back to New Zealand from next season. Part of his role will be to identify and mentor young coaches in our system.”
Hodges had a close association with former coach Nathan Brown and was always unlikely to be a long-term prospect at the Warriors after Brown left the club.
“He has wonderful qualities and has made a fantastic contribution but he still has a strong desire to coach so unfortunately, with no position here, he is looking for opportunities in Australia,” said George.
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