The Kiwi legends at the heart of Warriors bold Queensland takeover bid
On Monday, a training academy and community program was announced in Logan, which would provide a hunting ground for new talent from a community that produced Cameron Smith, Josh Papalii and Corey Parker.
And George confirmed his intention to reach out to former Warriors star Mark Tookey and Test hooker Issac Luke in a bid to take the pathways forward.
Luke forged an illustrious NRL career, amassing 286 games and 43 Test caps, and has since coached at Marsden State High School, along with fellow Kiwi international Zeb Taia.
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George described Tookey, born and bred in Logan, as 'a great part of our history', along with Luke.
'There's a lot of ex-Warriors that are in and around the area,' he added. 'You'll see us slowly start to build a program and a presence here, and really connect locally and work with the kids and families.
'Those guys will play a part in it for sure.'
Australia's NRL clubs are littered with athletes who have been identified in New Zealand – dating back to Benji Marshall's move to Keebra Park, and continuing with Broncos enforcer Xavier Willison, Cowboys prop Griffin Neame and Titans fullback Keano Kini.
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Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alex Johnston is about to become rugby league's Don Bradman
Irvine had his own superpower: he sprinted professionally and ran 100-metre times that could have made him an Olympic Games finalist. The Bears signed him up for life when he was 17 – but of course, a life sentence at North Sydney often meant a parole period at Manly. Amazingly, Irvine would be selected in the notional all-time teams for both of his clubs, and in 2008 he was an easy pick on the wing for the Australian Rugby League's centenary dream team. Old records are usually broken by a statistical advantage of later eras: modern players often get more chances and more games to pile up whatever stats they need. But Johnston's try-scoring rate is almost identical to Irvine's. This is the most astonishing of all his statistics. Irvine played 236 first-grade games, and Johnston has played 237. In game No.234, he crossed the line four times against Melbourne. Souths, inevitably in this season when Johnston has played outside fill-ins and makeshifts, lost the game. The one advantage Johnston has had over Irvine is the NRL's sensible rule change, back in 2010, to make the corner post inside rather than outside the field of play. It has enabled wingers to score tries that would have been disallowed before 2010. Similar to Irvine, on the other hand, Johnston's career winning rate is 57 per cent, well below those of Slater, Lamb and Menzies. He started out in Souths' feeder team in 2013 – which was, appropriately, North Sydney. His debut first-grade season was Souths' 2014 premiership-winning campaign, but he hasn't spent his career sitting pretty outside Greg Inglis. Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have done their bit, but Johnston manages to get the ball in space in even the weakest Bunnies teams. The Sydney Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, raised a few eyebrows this week when he kept going on about 'Roosters footy' – whatever that is, some kind of 'brand' – but there's no jargon or kidology about what 'Rabbitohs footy' is: just get the ball out to the left wing. This week, Johnston has signed a two-year extension with Souths, meaning that in all likelihood he will turn an 'Irvine' into a 'Johnston'. He's still only 30 years old. In our lifetimes, it's impossible to imagine anyone reaching the mid-200s he is sure to retire with. Daniel Tupou, who on Friday moved into fourth place on the all-time list, is four years older than Johnston. The magnitude of Johnston's achievement is a thing of wonder. The question remains how rugby league will celebrate. They'll have to be ready with the balloons and streamers. Please don't let them spoil the moment with Sweet Caroline. This one is unique. Happily, Johnston has turned his left wing into a quiet space where the only enemies he has made in rugby league are the touch judges. His indigenous heritage means his record will offer a special inspiration beyond the rectangle of play. Johnston also has Lumi ancestry from Papua New Guinea, and if he's not still playing when the PNG team enters the NRL, he will be offered an ambassadorial role. Loading Which is to say, in the weekly reality show that the NRL can be, the Irvine becoming the Johnston will be one of those beautiful moments to just stop, stand, and applaud. Here is someone who has truly let his footy do the talking. The day it happens, whoever is at the ground should be allowed to leap the fences, charge on and mob him in the way that Lockett was back in 1999 and Lance Franklin was when he went past 1000 goals in 2022. The field invasion is a thing of the past, and security guards tackle better, some days, than Souths' current middle forwards. But the joy of this record should be allowed to overflow. It won't happen again while any of us are alive.
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
Alex Johnston is about to become rugby league's Don Bradman
Irvine had his own superpower: he sprinted professionally and ran 100-metre times that could have made him an Olympic Games finalist. The Bears signed him up for life when he was 17 – but of course, a life sentence at North Sydney often meant a parole period at Manly. Amazingly, Irvine would be selected in the notional all-time teams for both of his clubs, and in 2008 he was an easy pick on the wing for the Australian Rugby League's centenary dream team. Old records are usually broken by a statistical advantage of later eras: modern players often get more chances and more games to pile up whatever stats they need. But Johnston's try-scoring rate is almost identical to Irvine's. This is the most astonishing of all his statistics. Irvine played 236 first-grade games, and Johnston has played 237. In game No.234, he crossed the line four times against Melbourne. Souths, inevitably in this season when Johnston has played outside fill-ins and makeshifts, lost the game. The one advantage Johnston has had over Irvine is the NRL's sensible rule change, back in 2010, to make the corner post inside rather than outside the field of play. It has enabled wingers to score tries that would have been disallowed before 2010. Similar to Irvine, on the other hand, Johnston's career winning rate is 57 per cent, well below those of Slater, Lamb and Menzies. He started out in Souths' feeder team in 2013 – which was, appropriately, North Sydney. His debut first-grade season was Souths' 2014 premiership-winning campaign, but he hasn't spent his career sitting pretty outside Greg Inglis. Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have done their bit, but Johnston manages to get the ball in space in even the weakest Bunnies teams. The Sydney Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, raised a few eyebrows this week when he kept going on about 'Roosters footy' – whatever that is, some kind of 'brand' – but there's no jargon or kidology about what 'Rabbitohs footy' is: just get the ball out to the left wing. This week, Johnston has signed a two-year extension with Souths, meaning that in all likelihood he will turn an 'Irvine' into a 'Johnston'. He's still only 30 years old. In our lifetimes, it's impossible to imagine anyone reaching the mid-200s he is sure to retire with. Daniel Tupou, who on Friday moved into fourth place on the all-time list, is four years older than Johnston. The magnitude of Johnston's achievement is a thing of wonder. The question remains how rugby league will celebrate. They'll have to be ready with the balloons and streamers. Please don't let them spoil the moment with Sweet Caroline. This one is unique. Happily, Johnston has turned his left wing into a quiet space where the only enemies he has made in rugby league are the touch judges. His indigenous heritage means his record will offer a special inspiration beyond the rectangle of play. Johnston also has Lumi ancestry from Papua New Guinea, and if he's not still playing when the PNG team enters the NRL, he will be offered an ambassadorial role. Loading Which is to say, in the weekly reality show that the NRL can be, the Irvine becoming the Johnston will be one of those beautiful moments to just stop, stand, and applaud. Here is someone who has truly let his footy do the talking. The day it happens, whoever is at the ground should be allowed to leap the fences, charge on and mob him in the way that Lockett was back in 1999 and Lance Franklin was when he went past 1000 goals in 2022. The field invasion is a thing of the past, and security guards tackle better, some days, than Souths' current middle forwards. But the joy of this record should be allowed to overflow. It won't happen again while any of us are alive.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Calm him down': Madge opens up on big Walsh issue as ‘cute' error cruels Broncos
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has defended Reece Walsh after his error ridden performance in the Broncos shock 22-20 upset loss to the Eels in Round 21. Walsh had a rocks and diamonds display and nearly stole the game at the death, but his try was denied due to him being off-side. Maguire conceded Walsh needs to play the long game more often, but that was true of all his players after a disappointing display. 'I think that is for all of us, he is going through exactly the same as what we just spoke about, playing the longer game,' Maguire said. 'It's about making choices, so we will review and go through that. Reece has been spectacular for us at times and he had a bit of a tough night in some of the periods in his game, so we just need to be thorough in that and how we go about our roles and the captain will steer that well. 'Over the last period we have captured the things that we want to be, but we need to do it for longer periods of time.' Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds denied the Broncos' all-star spine of Walsh, Ben Hunt, Ezra Mam and himself are still trying to work out their formation amid suggestions they are getting in each others way at times. 'No I think the spine generally moves like that anyway, so there is different parts of the game where he will get more involved and it just depends on how the game is going I suppose,' Reynolds said. 'We all love what Walshy brings. He is an excitement machine and he is a big part of our team and he is a big reason why we are where we are. 'You don't want to take that away from him, but it is my responsibility to calm him down at times when he gets a bit sideways.' Maguire was disappointed his team were not willing to build their performance and were guilty of forcing the issue at times. 'It was disappointing, they played the long game and we didn't,' Maguire said. 'We just tried to caress our way and do it cute in some periods through that second half and we didn't build pressure and they did.' The Broncos held their breath when Payne Haas went up the tunnel before kick-off and he later limped off after an ankle injury, but Maguire denied he is in any danger of missing games. 'Payne is okay, he just has a temperamental body at the moment, which he is sorting through,' Maguire said. 'That's his challenge at the moment to get himself right.' 'That's just Payne putting his body on the line, but he is alright I just spoke to him, so he is okay,' Maguire said.
