2013 Demetriou's toughest year

Andrew Demetriou suffered through a tough AFL year. Source: DAVE HUNT / AAP

THERE is no question that Andrew Demetriou's 10th year in charge at AFL House has been his toughest.

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In an Open Mike interview with Mike Sheahan, to air on Fox Footy at 9pm tonight, ­Demetriou rattled off a list of strife and scandal.

"We came off Melbourne (tanking investigation), Adelaide (salary cap infringement and draft tampering), Essendon (supplements), we had an issue with St Kilda with Stephen Milne (being charged with rape) and we had Nathan Lovett-Murray stabbed earlier in the year," he said. "So there were lots of issues, some of them running concurrently."

But in some ways, Demetriou said, the AFL had brought some of that grief on itself.

"I'm not responsible for a club that decides to breach the salary cap; I'm not responsible for a club that decides to have a supplements program; I'm not responsible for a club if it ­decides to stop trying on its merits," he said.

"We invested back in 2008 in an integrity unit. We invested heavily — millions of dollars, resourcing it with people, surveillance, technology — now we're five years down the track and you are going to find out things.

"We make no apology for finding out things.

Saga ... Suspended Essendon coach James Hird and Bruce Reid. Source: News Limited

"The code is in infinitely better shape for finding out these things than have them happening under the radar."

Demetriou said it was for others to judge his performance after a decade in charge, and cited the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval — which replaces AAMI Stadium as the premier Adelaide stadium next year — as one of the great achievements of his team.

"That was coming from a long way back," he said. "I didn't realise the depth of angst between cricket and football — I didn't understand the history.

"To bring those two together and get support from the State Government and transform the whole precinct — I can't wait for next year."

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Demetriou said improved training and administration bases for all clubs also were big-ticket achievements.

It was put to him that as many as six of those clubs would record financial losses this year — with Brisbane's boardroom stoush now putting the spotlight on its on- and off-field problems.

Demetriou, who sat in on a mediation session with warring Brisbane Lions factions on Tuesday, — the talks will continue — butdenied the club was on life support.

He said financial support for the Lions was contingent on board stability, but that did not equate to the AFL dictating who would run the club.

Asked if he wanted Angus Johnson — being challenged by a group that includes triple premiership coach Leigh Matthews — to remain as chairman, Demetriou said: "No, our position is we want a united board to support a united club.

"We'd love Leigh Matthews to be involved (but) it is quite possible (that Matthews won't join the board while Johnson is chairman)."

Demetriou said he regularly faced questions about when he might move on from the AFL — but said he served at the pleasure of the Commission and had no finish date in mind.

Asked what that meant for heir apparent Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou said he had considered it part of his role to "groom the succession plan".

"He's been made deputy CEO . . . he's a fantastic operator, fantastic person, beyond reproach. I couldn't think of anyone finer, but it is not my decision," he said.

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Opponents beware of Bennett's guile

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SPEAKING to Wayne Bennett a few days before Newcastle took on reigning premiers Melbourne Storm last weekend reminded me of a story I once heard about Walter Hagen, the great American golfer of the 1920s.

Chasing his fourth consecutive US PGA title Hagen made the final of the then one-on-one match play tournament.

In the early hours of the morning of the match the notorious playboy was spotted by the doorman at the players' hotel, weaving up the driveway dressed in his dinner suit and obviously a trifle worse for wear.

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"Mr Hagen," said the doorman.

"What are you doing? Your opponent has been in bed asleep for hours."

"He may be in bed," slurred Hagen, "but he hasn't been asleep."

Bennett's opponent on Saturday is Roosters coach Trent Robinson. I'm guessing on Friday night the 36-year-old will be getting to bed early. But he won't be sleeping.

Bennett, on the other hand, is so relaxed it was a wonder he stayed awake during my interview.

How can a man so close to another premiership be so calm, you ask? The answer is in the reply he gave when I asked about what motivated him after so many years and so much success in the game.

"Just to see us all come together as individuals," he said.

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"When I arrived 18 months ago we were way off the pace of being a really good football team. Bringing all that together, getting the mix right, seeing young men fulfil their dreams and being given the opportunity to do that. That pleases me."

And that's why Bennett and his team are the most dangerous combination still chasing the premiership - quite simply, he doesn't need it.

Winning the grand final is meaningless to Bennett personally. He's already been there and done that eight times. Once each in the BRL and Super League and six times in the NRL.

Another premiership won't change Wayne Bennett's life one iota. His reputation as the best coach in the game is guaranteed. Clubs willing to pay whatever it takes for him to sprinkle a little of his magic their way will be knocking on his door until the day he decides he's had enough.

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Which is not to say Bennett doesn't want to win. Of course he does, but not for himself. For his players.

The same can't be said for Robinson, or fellow semi-finalists Michael Maguire and Geoff Toovey.

They want to get their hands on the trophy and the lifetime title of "Premiership-winning coach" that comes with it so badly it hurts.

And that's what makes them vulnerable.

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Robinson will have spent every waking moment this week trying to second guess Bennett. Trying to figure out how to counter the master coach's master plan that may or may not even exist.

Bennett says he won't be making any changes to what the Knights have done the past few weeks, but Bennett always says that and then pulls a double-cross like the infamous Brian Smith doctored scouting sheet of 1993, getting Greg Dowling to bag the Queensland forwards in 1998, or flying Alfie back from England in 2001.

Then there's the way he always manages to take the heat off his team by turning it on to himself when needed.

Like his evasive answer to that media conference question about whether he'd be at Newcastle next year.

A few days out from the Knights' biggest game of the year and that was all anyone was talking about.

The real mystery was who actually asked the question. Maybe Greg Dowling had snuck in the back wearing a hat with a press card stuck in the band.

But the real pressure on Robinson, Maguire and Toovey is that all season they have been expected to win.

Bennett and the Knights were supposed to be making up the numbers.

Bennett doesn't have a Sonny Bill Williams, Greg Inglis or Jamie Lyon, just a collection of old-timers, discards and rejects.

So many of his players have long rap sheets that when they fly to games their plane should be called Con Air, not that it concerns Bennett.

"Some of them have a chequered past," he said.

"But the past is not something we dwell on. We worry about what they are doing now, and what their future is."

To which Trent Robinson could say without humour, "yeah, me too."  

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Five biggest flops of the season

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THEY commanded big pay cheques but didn't produce when they needed to. Dean Ritchie names the five who failed to deliver in 2013.

BEN BARBA (Canterbury)
Personal issues cut down the Dally M winner's season. Barba never went close to reaching the dizzy heights he found in 2012. Subsequently, Canterbury went out in week one of the finals. Barba had to face gambling, alcohol and assault allegations. His form was patchy at best. Finally he bolted from Sydney for Brisbane. It was a season to forget and a sad departure from Belmore.

BENJI MARSHALL (Wests Tigers)
Horror final season in rugby league. Let's be honest, his form was terrible. His kicking game was modest, his running game virtually non-existent.  Even Wests Tigers supporters ended up turning on Marshall. Always had an air of arrogance about him, something fans accepted at the peak of his powers five years ago. Not anymore though. Signed with rugby union and left the Tigers under a black cloud.

TONY WILLIAMS (Canterbury)
Most thought big T-Rex would revel under Des Hasler, the pair having worked up an explosive combination at Manly. But Williams never seemed to lift out of first gear at Belmore. Hasler was satisfied with his form throughout 2013 – but fans expected and demanded more.  "He should stand in front of the mirror to see exactly how big he is," roared former Test prop Steve Roach.

CHRIS SANDOW (Parramatta)
Like Barba, personal issues engulfed his season. Sandow was wracked with gambling issues and failed to see-out the season. The Eels found Sandow professional help for his poker machine addiction. Sandow just couldn't seem to find his groove under Ricky Stuart this year. In fact, he hasn't found his groove in two years at Parramatta. He is proving an expensive flop.

ADAM BLAIR (Wests Tigers)
Cops a hard time from fans – and rightly so. Arrived at Concord from Melbourne last year for a reported annual contract of $550,000. No-one could deny Blair is trying but he has been completely ineffective for two years now. Was among the game's best forwards at the Storm but has failed to make any significant impact at Wests Tigers. Talk continues that the club may attempt to offload him.

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Tinkler jets in to rev-up Knights

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IT'S just the type of heavyweight support that could tilt the scales in Newcastle's favour at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

Despite rumours swirling around about the health or otherwise of his business empire, a relaxed-looking Nathan Tinkler made a rare flying visit to Newcastle on Thursday in a reassuring sign of stability to wish his team all the best ahead of their preliminary final showdown with the Sydney Roosters.

Now based in Singapore, the reclusive millionaire Knights owner had lunch with Hunter Sports Group boss Troy Palmer, coach Wayne Bennett, Knights chairman Paul Harragon and CEO Matt Gidley at Wests Mayfield before chatting with players including Danny Buderus, Willie Mason and Jarrod Mullen prior to the team's departure for Sydney.

It's understood he is planning on attending the game to cheer his side on.

Knights backrower Beau Scott said Tinkler's surprise appearance was a gesture welcomed by the players. 

Nathan Tinkler chats to his players today. Picture: Peter Lorimer Source: DailyTelegraph

"It was good to see," Scott said.

"It was just a friendly chat to show his support."

Gidley said the players would have received a boost out of seeing Tinkler on the eve of the game.

"They always do get a bit of a kick out of seeing him whenever he is in town," Gidley said. 

Nathan Tinkler chats to his players today. Picture: Peter Lorimer Source: DailyTelegraph

"I'm sure he'd like to get back here more often if he could but he's obviously busy.

"Nathan and the boys - they all like spending time together and it was just a good opportunity for him to get into town today and catch up with the guys before our big game."

Gidley said the success the Knights are enjoying is what Tinkler envisaged and has strived for since becoming Knights owner

"Nathan's in great spirits and is as excited as anyone in Newcastle about how the team is going," Gidley said.

"He's just happy that we are doing well for the city as much as anything because he knows the sort of impact it has on the people here when the club is going strong.

"It's why he got involved in the first place."

Winger James McManus is the only injury concern for Newcastle heading into the game.

Bennett will give him as much time as possible to prove his suspect ankle will stand up to the rigours of a finals match.

But you would think he would have to get through a fair portion of the club's final training session today at St Josephs College at Hunters Hill.

Kevin Naiqama is again on standby.

Scott is convinced all the pressure is on the Sydney Roosters and says the Knights will take the same relaxed approach into this game as they have against the Bulldogs and Melbourne.

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Manly risk a fuel crisis: Johns

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MATTHEW Johns runs the rule over both preliminary finals and has his say on where they'll be won and lost.

Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles

ARE Manly running on empty? That is the single biggest question heading into this match.

When these sides have met in the regular season, South Sydney have won on both occasions, but not without an element of luck.

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Manly's speed and energy through the middle worries the giant Souths pack, but is the energy gone?

Of the four sides left in the competition, the Sea Eagles have had the toughest last month.

Their two finals matches, firstly against the Roosters and last week against the Sharks were extremely torrid.

Their last 20 minutes against the Sharks has me thinking they are vulnerable, just like the Storm were last Saturday against the Knights.

The Sharks forwards punched holes in Manly's middle defence at will in the closing stages and the Sea-Eagles looked like a boxer ahead on points, against the ropes, trying to hang on.

Heading into Souths, that's a big concern.

No side in the competition relentlessly pounds your middle defence more effectively than the Rabbitohs.

The Sea Eagles have struggled against big packs of forwards, in 2013 anyway, so this is a monumental challenge for them.

Manly must compete physically with the Rabbitohs tonight or Issac Luke will blow them apart from kick off to fulltime. When talking about competing physically the threat for Manly begins with Greg Inglis. If Inglis penetrates the kick chase, The Rabbitohs set is away and flying.

Daly Cherry-Evans must find a way to nullify Inglis's kick returns with thoughtful kicks.

Put the ball into touch, kick the ball to space, or kick high, where possible to allow the kick chase to attack Inglis flat footed.

While size and power is Souths' greatest weapon, Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans hold the key for Manly. They are rugby league's best halves combination and it's their threat and creativity which give the Sea Eagles their greatest chance of an upset.

Manly are a tough and talented team, if they can find a way to win on Friday night it will go down as one of the gutsiest in the club's history.

Roosters v Knights

WHEN Wayne Bennett took over the reins of the Knights at the beginning of 2012, many Knights fans were not asking "Can he win us a comp?" It was more like "How many are we about to win?"

Expectations were way out of whack with reality.

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For many in the Hunter, the past 18 months have been underwhelming.

The side has had its moments but struggled for consistency and lacked a spark.

But that has changed and the Roosters are in for a mighty battle.

While Souths have sat back, had a week off and find themselves against a battle weary Manly, the Roosters face a Knights team brimming with confidence, riding on a wave of momentum and playing their best football in years.

The Roosters are enjoying a mighty season but there's been a common denominator in defeat, and that's coming up against a pack of forwards who hold their own through the middle of the field.

In round 25 the Titans arrived at Allianz Stadium with one thing in mind, to match the Roosters through the middle. They did it and they won.

The Knights are well equipped to do the same with Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott, Willie Mason and Danny Buderus the driving force, physically and emotionally.

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How the Knights handle the threat of SBW is a big factor. As the season has gone on he's gotten better and has starred whenever the Roosters have needed him to.

But all things considered I get the feeling the battle of the halves will decide this.

The Roosters halves, James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce, have the big game experience and have greatly benefitted from their Origin experience.

The Knights halves, Tyrone Roberts and Jarrod Mullen's rise has typified the explosion in the Knights' form.

A smart play, a clever kick, a brain explosion from one of these four men could decide this contest.

There's so much to look forward to in this match, including one of the best young coaches in the game, Trent Robinson, up against the greatest of all time, Wayne Bennett. Will it be the old or the new?

This game is anything but straight forward.  

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Mystery over Crowe's Playboy promise

Playboy Magazine publisher Hugh Hefner (C) poses with playmates Holly Madison (L) and Bridget Marquardt (R). Source: VALERY HACHE / DailyTelegraph

IT might be the biggest Chinese whisper in South Sydney history, but that's what makes it all the more interesting.

In 2002, long before Russell Crowe bought the Rabbitohs and as South Sydney prepared for their return to the NRL, an incentive was issued to the group of misfits cobbled together for the club's glorious comeback.

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No one is sure whether the offer came directly from Crowe, but the story has ­certainly been repeated over the past 11 years.

If the ­Rabbitohs made the finals, Crowe would organise a party for the players at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

"I heard the same, but I don't think it ever came out of Russell's mouth," former prop Paul Stringer said.

"It may have come out of some coaching staff's mouth that Russell had said it but I don't think it ever came out of Russell's mouth."

History shows the Rabbitohs never reached the finals. Three wooden spoons in their first five years meant Hugh Hefner's kingdom, much like the NRL finals, remained the promised land players could only dream about.

Over time the legend has grown. Some say for the Bunnies to party with the Playboy Bunnies now they must deliver South Sydney a premiership.

Craig Coleman was the coach of the 2002 Bunnies side and laughs when you ask him about the Playboy Bunny carrot.

"It's one of the great stories, people just like to believe it," he said.

Backrower Bryan Fletcher arrived at Redfern a year later and certainly believes there's an element of truth to the tale.

"Apparently he promised (the 2002 team) if they made the eight he would take them to the Playboy Mansion," Fletcher said.

"In my years there I did ask him about it and he didn't really say yes or no."

Russell Crowe surrounded by red and green at a Rabbitohs game this season. Picture: Mark Evans Source: DailyTelegraph

It is indisputable that Crowe's influence on the club and players is beyond measure.

"Russell is very passionate about his football team," former centre Adam MacDougall said.

"He was very hands-on in the early days, and would often be part of training sessions with the boys and encourage them.

"He has been very generous with his pockets and his time and he deserves all the success he is experiencing at the moment with Souths."

Russell Crowe and Mario Fenech in the crowd. Picture: Mark Evans Source: DailyTelegraph

Crowe's involvement did not start in 2006 when he and Peter Holmes a Court officially bought the club. Before their return to the competition in 2002, Crowe invited Coleman's team to Coffs Harbour for a training camp.

The players dined at Crowe's Nana Glen farm alongside Sydney Olympic stars including Kerri Pottharst, Lauren Burns and Jane Saville.

"He took the whole team to his farm and invited all our Olympic gold medallists to have dinner for us," Coleman said.

"He did a lot of things behind the scenes that he didn't want people to know about."

Slowly over time Crowe's influence began to increase, even if it was only in the background without fanfare.

Fletcher remembers his "chalk and cheese" experience of going from a premiership at the Roosters to training at Erskineville Oval on a pitch covered in holes and using outdated gym equipment.

Then, suddenly, new weights arrived.

)Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and wife Crystal Harris. Picture: GABRIEL BOUYS Source: AFP

"I don't know if Russell actually did, I just presumed he did because all of a sudden we got new weight gear," Fletcher recalled.

"When I was there he was just like a sponsor. After the games he would say let's go for a feed and put a feed on.

"He was just a genuine supporter, just a little bit different in the sense he had won an Oscar."

The respect from the rest of the league world was a long time coming. Fletcher, a Test and NSW star, was on the team bus when the Newcastle gatekeeper turned the team away because he did not believe they were first graders.

"We had to park around the corner and walk in," Fletcher said.

"He said 'I don't recognise anyone, you must be the reserve grade side so you have to park around the back'."

It was not that way to their fans though. Stringer's greatest memory is how the Bunnies faithful embraced their team, even in defeat.

"It was crazy, it was hard not to get caught up in it," Stringer said.

"We would get beaten by 40 and go back to the club and there'd be three or four thousand people in the auditorium cheering at us.

"They treated you like a bit of a rock star."

And if the Playboy offer is still on the table?

"If it is, I will be coming with them," Fletcher said.

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