The Obstruction Rule

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The Weekend Wrap: 17/6/18

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The Cowboys have lost star utility Michael Morgan for the remainder of the season, after he tore his bicep during his side’s loss to the Warriors.

Warriors forward Adam Blair is facing a three-week suspension due to a dangerous contact charge on Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt.

Panthers prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard will miss at least six weeks, due to a fractured jaw suffered during his side’s loss to the Roosters.

The Panthers may soon find a short-term replacement, with the club reportedly targeting Sea Eagles forward Lloyd Perrett for a pre-June 30 switch.

Roosters centre Joseph Manu is facing a one-game ban for a dangerous contact charge, stemming from the same match.

The Sharks have granted winger Sosaia Feki permission to negotiate with rival clubs, in the hope of clearing the salary cap space to add Bulldogs prop Aaron Woods.

Storm fullback Billy Slater is expected to be fine to play in Origin 2, despite missing his side’s win over the Knights due to a hamstring complaint.

The Storm have beaten out the Broncos to retain head coach Craig Bellamy, re-signing their coach for a further three years.

Having missed out on Bellamy, Wayne Bennett may yet remain in Brisbane, after Bennett tabled a proposal to the club for an extension.

The Raiders are set to continue their recent string of re-signings, with forward Sia Soliola and hooker Siliva Havili reportedly close to being announced on two-year contract extensions.

The NRL have officially confirmed the “NRL Brisbane Magic Round” – an entire NRL round to be played at Suncorp Stadium next season, from May 10-12.

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Rabbitohs planning to re-sign Seibold

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Tucked away at the bottom of another piece about the future of Storm coach Craig Bellamy (he’s apparently staying in Melbourne now, FYI) was an interesting snippet about Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold.

According to SMH, the Rabbitohs “are attempting to extend his stay at Redfern” – and they wouldn’t want to waste any time, if it is indeed true that the Broncos will miss out on Bellamy, and that Seibold is their Plan B.

Seibold has done an extraordinary job with the Rabbitohs so far, and looks like a long-term NRL head coach.

Hopefully for the Rabbitohs, it’s at South Sydney.

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Storm, Broncos in battle for Bellamy

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Typically in rugby league, the Broncos get who the Broncos want. But then again, the same could be said of the Storm. So, when the two go head-to-head for the biggest name coach in the business, it’s anyone’s guess how it’ll pan out.

It appears to be on though, with nrl.com reporting that both the Broncos and Storm have tabled long-term offers to Melbourne head coach Craig Bellamy.

According to the report, the Broncos offer is worth close to $5 million over four years, while the Storm offer is “a significant” three-year offer.

It’s also mentioned that Bellamy has received another expression of interest from an unidentified third club.

Bellamy has coached the Storm since 2003, with a career winning percentage of 67.7%. He’s won premierships in 2012 and 2017.

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The Weekend Wrap: 6/5/18

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The Des Hasler era of the Bulldogs is officially behind them, with Hasler and the club reaching an out-of-court settlement over his sacking last year.

The Broncos are likely to be without giant Payne Haas for up to a month, and possibly utility Jack Bird for a week due to an ankle injury and a quad injury, respectively.

Panthers fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak hasn’t been charged for not striking Kyle Feldt (he was inexplicably sin-binned though).

Panthers forward Trent Merrin missed the team’s loss, due to a compound fracture of his finger suffered during the warm-up.

The Panthers have apparently begun exploring possible solutions to their shortage of wingers, with Sea Eagles winger Akuila Uate reportedly given a tour of the Panthers facility.

Despite taking immediately to hospital with a rib contusion, Titans forward Jai Arrow potentially may not miss any time.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has conceded that it’s unlikely the club will be able to keep forwards Junior Paulo and Shannon Boyd, saying “If Junior and Boydy are getting this astronomical money offered from other clubs, they go with my best wishes”.

Despite all failing to finish the game, Stephen Kearney is optimistic that Adam Blair, Shaun Johnson and Isaac Luke could all be available for next weekend’s clash with the Roosters.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan has revealed that the Sea Eagles have “made enquiries” about half Trent Hodkinson; however he won’t be releasing Hodkinson, because “it’s not (his) job to look after Manly”.

Sharks second-rower Wade Graham is in doubt for State of Origin 1, after tearing his hamstring again in his side’s win over the Eels.

The Storm are set to open negotiations with head coach Craig Bellamy about an extension, as early as Monday.

Despite being road-blocked from getting Hodkinson, Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett has ruled out making a play for Todd Carney “at this stage”.

also raised the issue of cannonball tackles, after five-eighth Dylan Walker suffered an hyper-extended knee.

After deciding to remain at Manly this week, Barrett may also eventually have to learn arabic, with a Qatari consortium reportedly launching a bid to buy the Sea Eagles.

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The Weekend Wrap: 8/4/18

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Raiders halfback Sam Williams is set to miss 4-6 weeks due to an MCL injury suffered in the Raiders’ win over the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs forward Josh Jackson is facing a one-week suspension for a dangerous contact charge on Aiden Sezer late in his side’s loss.

Off-contract Dragons winger Jason Nightingale has revealed he “could never play for another club“, as speculation begins about his future.

The Tigers have sacked fringe first-grader Taane Milne due to a second violation of the NRL illicit drugs policy.

Wests also have concerns about forward Russell Packer, with their star forward in doubt for next week to a knee injury suffered in the win over the Storm.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has revealed that he’s considering stepping down as Melbourne’s head coach at the end of 2018, saying that “I have got to just decide whether I go on as a head coach or not and then we can go from there.”

Knights lock Mitch Barnett faces a possible one-week suspension for a dangerous throw on Broncos big man Tevita Pangai Jr.

Knights coach Nathan Brown has taken a cheeky jab at Wayne Bennett, in which he refer’s to Bennett’s “little head” (hint: he’s talking about his penis).

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