THE Dragons' return to form appears to have coincided with incoming coach Wayne Bennett phoning a number of players in recent weeks. Sin Bin has been told Bennett not only spoke to the players about his plans for next year but encouraged them to show pride in their performances for the remainder of this season. Among those players understood to have received calls from the premiership's most successful coach are some yet to have played at NRL level, while he has also been involved in negotiations with off-contract St George Illawarra players and ones at other clubs he is interested in recruiting.
Wendell - The TV Show
AFTER his heroic bolt across six lanes of traffic to rescue a baby from a car crash, Wendell Sailor was described by Fox Sports reporter Russell Fairfax - one of Sin Bin's favourite players during his days with the Roosters - as "a reality TV show waiting to happen" and the man himself said the incident was "like a movie". "It happened unexpectedly, I was 15km out of Wollongong and I was driving home and all of a sudden I looked over on the right and saw a white car smash into the concrete slab and spin around and it was pretty full-on, like a movie," Sailor told the Illawarra Mercury. "I pulled up as soon as I could and hurdled across three lanes, over the concrete wall and got to the other side, just to make sure everyone was OK. It was pretty full-on and pretty scary and as soon as I got there I was thinking of the worst-case scenarios because there was baby clothes scattered on the road and there was debris everywhere." Eyewitnesses praised Sailor's actions, with one saying: "I just wondered where the hell Wendell came from, he was so quick. By the time I got to the car Wendell had got the baby out of the back seat and was holding it and comforting the mother. Once everything had calmed down Wendell started clearing bits of the bonnet and other pieces off the road." Tow-truck driver Peter Jovcevski added: "He seemed to be making sure everyone was all right. Then once everyone arrived and he spoke to the police, he walked back down the road a bit, crossed [over] and drove off." A bit like Superman, whose body the Mercury digitally merged Sailor's head onto. Readers were asked to inform the paper if they had "spotted Wendell saving any other young children or pulling distressed kitties out of trees". But Sailor, who 2Day FM presenters Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O suggested should be nominated for a bravery award, played down his heroics. "I am no hero, but at the end of the day you just want to help someone and if you didn't, you wouldn't be very human," Sailor said. "It wasn't a burning house or anything but it was a pretty full-on accident and I am just happy that no one was injured and that the baby was all right."
Jailbird Eagle to play
WHILE there was a lot of hype over Sailor's return last weekend from a two-year drugs ban, imagine what it would have been like if he had been in the same situation as Damien Reid, who Sheffield Eagles are planning to whisk from a prison cell onto the playing field. Reid has been in jail for three months after an assault conviction but is expected to gain an early release and Eagles coach Mark Aston has confirmed he was considering rushing the 24-year-old straight into his side this weekend. "Damien should be in good shape - he's been in prison but he's been working in the gym," Aston said.
Hunt gets tip-off
MAROONS five-eighth Karmichael Hunt clearly wasn't feeling any pressure heading into Origin I. After the team's arrival in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, Hunt texted a Fairfax reporter seeking NBA scores.
Lewis into Rabbit stew
PEOPLE with influence at South Sydney are taking plenty of notice of what Luke Lewis is doing at halfback for Penrith. Lewis, perhaps the most adaptable player in the NRL, has starred in his two games since switching there and the Panthers have broken into the top eight largely on his back. Souths, who signed Lewis ostensibly as a centre for next season, have struggled mightily in the halves this year. First-choice halfback Craig Wing got hurt eight minutes into the first round and hasn't played since. Eddie Paea, Ben Rogers and Jeremy Smith have all been tried, but are languishing in the lower grades. Dean Widders, a back-rower, and Issac Luke, a hooker, are this weekend's halves. Wing will be back eventually, but he is a flexible type too. Lewis could play five-eighth to Wing's halfback, or the other way around.
Sharks scare Buderus
"THEY'RE big boys, aren't they? I'm in the right game here," so said NSW captain Danny Buderus on the eve of Wednesday's opening State of Origin match. He was talking about the players from the Sharks, the South African team who will take on the Waratahs in the Super 14 semi-final tomorrow night. The Sharks were staying at the same Coogee hotel as NSW this week. Craig Bellamy was also astounded at the size of some of the rah-rahs, who were part of the ANZ Stadium crowd. "They told us they were big fans of Origin and rugby league," Buderus said.
Roosters on the Ball
AFTER beating Parramatta last Friday night, Roosters players went back out west the following day to St Marys to cheer the club's SG Ball team to victory in their grand final against the Eels. The idea was the brainchild of Roosters coach Brad Fittler, who organised a bus to transport the players. "The kids would have got a huge buzz out of having the boys there," Roosters recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan said.
Warriors say goodbye
RUBEN Wiki led a haka involving many of his Warriors teammates as the Auckland league community turned out in force yesterday at the funeral of the wife of the club's media manager and respected Kiwi journalist Richard Becht. Warriors players also wore black armbands in their match against Penrith as a mark of respect for Robyn Becht, who lost a long battle with cancer last weekend. Our thoughts go out to Richard and his three daughters.
Brad Walter, Greg Prichard and Andrew Webster
