After Andrew Johns pulled out following premature retirement, Darren Lockyer was the man identified as the Dally Messenger character for the New Zealand v Northern Union centenary celebration game at Warrington in the autumn. Now Darren Lockyer is ruled out following a cruciate knee ligament injury which has curtailed his season. The NZRL are now scouring the leagues for a suitable replacement. Johnathan Thurston is the early favourite, but there's been a rapid shortening of the odds on Richie Spedding getting the call.
Speaking exclusively to this website, Spedding said "It would of course be an honour to reprise the role played by Dally Messenger. Even to be mentioned in those terms is humbling", but he failed to say whether he would or would not accept the invitation were it to be extended. "The NZRL will have their opinions and I'm sure they'll invite someone of appropriate standing in the game soon", he said, coyly, though Wayne Bennett who will be taking charge of the 'All Golds' is a known fan of the undoubted superstar of the modern generation.
The only problem could be if the new Prime Minister calls an early election for October, as predicted by the Conservatives, where Spedding is rumoured to be lauching a bid for Parliament.
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Spedding Slams Salary Cap Cheats
It's been the worst kept secret in the game but following Thursday's official announcement from the RFL confirming that Bradford, Saints & Wigan had all breached the 2006 salary cap, we finally tracked down the game's foremost oracle to get the definitive view in what the RFL should do next.
"All 3 clubs have offended before", Spedding told me, "and that should prove to the RFL that their penalties in the past have been far too lenient. It's about time we followed the Australian example & made it clear that this rule is not optional & offenders will be very harshly dealt with. Canterbury lost all their points one year while we routinely hand out 2 point penalties or warnings. Can they really be surprised when the clubs overspend given that the rewards routinely outweigh the penalties?"
While Saints took the Super League title at the end of the season in question, most of the talk has centred around Wigan's breach which many had widely predicted from the moment that Stuart Fielden made his world record move from Odsal to the JJB with such gay abandon. The arrival of the prop-forward that loves to take it in hard sparked a Lazarus-like revival for the Riversiders who had seemed destined for trips to Batley & Dewsbury beforehand & most observers think that his big salary is what pushed Wigan over the cap.
"If that's the case then the RFL have to hand out the maximum punishment available, a 12 point deduction. That would leave Wigan in a similar position to where they were when they decided to throw the rule-book out of the window & will serve as a fit & correct punishment. If the punishment is a mere 4 points then what deterrent is there to stop Hull KR, Warrington or Salford from breaking the bank to bring in a few world-class players that might keep them up. Sure they'll effectively start next season on minus 4 but given that there's a very good chance that next season's basement-dwellers won't be relegated with the franchise system coming in for 2009, surely that'd be a risk worth taking."
Spedding had nothing but sympathy for 2006's relegated outfit; "Castleford Tigers have every right to be furious that Wigan have effectively cheated their way out of trouble. Cas are now stuck in NL1 and are faced with a tough battle to get back in the top-flight, sadly no punishment can correct the injustice handed out to the Tigers and that's way the salary cap going live next season is the only way to go. If it had have already been in place as it should have been, the auditors would have been able to block Fielden's transfer & we might have been looking at a very different outcome to the season."
A clearly mischievous Spedding had a crumb of comfort for the Tigers though "Sheffield United have been relegated by a side that cheated their way into staying in the Premiership & they're launching a £50M lawsuit against the FA while Castleford are supposed to be contemplating a similar move against the RFL. Sheffield are being supported by a very altruistic man called Dave Whelan, I'm sure he'll be happy to help out the Tigers". With a cheeky grin lighting up his beautiful face, Spedding had to leave to help flood victims in Doncaster & Hull.
"All 3 clubs have offended before", Spedding told me, "and that should prove to the RFL that their penalties in the past have been far too lenient. It's about time we followed the Australian example & made it clear that this rule is not optional & offenders will be very harshly dealt with. Canterbury lost all their points one year while we routinely hand out 2 point penalties or warnings. Can they really be surprised when the clubs overspend given that the rewards routinely outweigh the penalties?"
While Saints took the Super League title at the end of the season in question, most of the talk has centred around Wigan's breach which many had widely predicted from the moment that Stuart Fielden made his world record move from Odsal to the JJB with such gay abandon. The arrival of the prop-forward that loves to take it in hard sparked a Lazarus-like revival for the Riversiders who had seemed destined for trips to Batley & Dewsbury beforehand & most observers think that his big salary is what pushed Wigan over the cap.
"If that's the case then the RFL have to hand out the maximum punishment available, a 12 point deduction. That would leave Wigan in a similar position to where they were when they decided to throw the rule-book out of the window & will serve as a fit & correct punishment. If the punishment is a mere 4 points then what deterrent is there to stop Hull KR, Warrington or Salford from breaking the bank to bring in a few world-class players that might keep them up. Sure they'll effectively start next season on minus 4 but given that there's a very good chance that next season's basement-dwellers won't be relegated with the franchise system coming in for 2009, surely that'd be a risk worth taking."
Spedding had nothing but sympathy for 2006's relegated outfit; "Castleford Tigers have every right to be furious that Wigan have effectively cheated their way out of trouble. Cas are now stuck in NL1 and are faced with a tough battle to get back in the top-flight, sadly no punishment can correct the injustice handed out to the Tigers and that's way the salary cap going live next season is the only way to go. If it had have already been in place as it should have been, the auditors would have been able to block Fielden's transfer & we might have been looking at a very different outcome to the season."
A clearly mischievous Spedding had a crumb of comfort for the Tigers though "Sheffield United have been relegated by a side that cheated their way into staying in the Premiership & they're launching a £50M lawsuit against the FA while Castleford are supposed to be contemplating a similar move against the RFL. Sheffield are being supported by a very altruistic man called Dave Whelan, I'm sure he'll be happy to help out the Tigers". With a cheeky grin lighting up his beautiful face, Spedding had to leave to help flood victims in Doncaster & Hull.
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