2021 KFC SuperCoach NRL Cheapie Bible: We rate the rookies
Rugby League by Rob Sutherland, Wilson Smith, Tom Sangster, Fatima Kdouh and Nick Campton 21st Dec 2020 11:59 AM
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Zac Saddler (Sea Eagles) FRF, 2RF - Rookie When Zac Saddler finally cracks into the NRL you should do two things. Firstly, prepare yourselves for inevitable he s the tallest man in rugby league commentary, and secondly, snap him up as he looks a quality cheapie. Saddler, a 201 centimetre tall prop/second-row, almost quit the game after an unhappy stint with the Bulldogs, but Des Hasler and Noel Cleal talked him into joining the Sea Eagles instead. In his one game for the Blacktown Workers in 2020 Saddler ran for 105 metres, and made 15 tackles, two tackle breaks and an offload in 33 minutes at prop. More enticing was his performance for the Indigenous All-Stars where Saddler played 60 minutes mostly on an edge running for 83 m
November 2019
November 21: Melbourne captain Cameron Smith confirms his decision to play on in 2020, declaring he is feeling really fresh now and looking forward to next year .
Wests Tigers re-sign talented rookie Tommy Talau until the end of the 2022 season.
November 22: The Sydney Roosters extend the contract of premiership-winning prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves through to the end of 2023.
Wests Tigers sneak under Parramatta’s guard to sign promising Eels’ front-rower Stefano Utoikamanu to a three-year deal, starting in 2021.
A meeting of NRL coaches hears a proposal for teams defeated in golden point to be rewarded under a revised allocation of competition points. Only half of the NRL’s 16 coaches attend the meeting where several other initiatives are discussed, including an NFL-style golden point right of reply , where both teams have an opportunity with the ball in the extra-time period.
In a series analysing who will line up in each position for all 16 teams in the opening round of the Telstra Premiership in 2021, NRL.com looks at the Penrith Panthers.
NRL.com says: With Josh Mansour now a South Sydney player, any doubt over Charlie Staines and Brian To o starting as the wingers is over.
Brent Naden lost his starting centre spot in the 2020 finals to Tyrone May. Naden won t be considered for selection in the first month due to his positive drug test late last year and new recruit Paul Momirovski looks set to get the role ahead of May.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Panthers centre Brent Naden, seen tackling the Storm’s Josh Addo-Carr, tested positive to cocaine on grand final night.
Former Panthers star James Tamou said he was stunned by news of Brent Naden testing positive to cocaine on grand final night, and felt sympathy rather than anger for a young teammate struggling with Covid-19 life. Tamou started training with the Wests Tigers this week, three weeks before he was officially due to begin pre-season, and said the Naden drug shock caught everyone off guard. The international prop also anticipated the current mass pillaging of the Panthers by rival clubs. Matt Burton, Daine Laurie, Zane Tetevano, Spencer Leniu and Stephen Crichton have all been targeted.