Roosters half Sandon Smith is reportedly set to join Newcastle on a four-year deal from next season.
A day after the Knights season came to a dismal end at the hands of Parramatta, as the club claimed the wooden spoon, Newcastle-based journalist Barry Toohey is reporting they have won the race for the unwanted Rooster.
Smith, who is likely to only be part of the extended reserves for the finals series, is set to be squeezed out of Trent Robinson’s roster with speculation that an announcement on Daly Cherry-Evans’ arrival will be made soon into the off-season.
With Hugo Savala and Sam Walker the preferred combination to partner with the former Sea Eagles captain, Smith was previously told he could explore his options elsewhere.
The reports of him joining Newcastle come as they are still to lock in a coach to replace Adam O’Brien.
Over the weekend, former Wallabies and Argentina rugby union coach Michael Cheika joined a six-man shortlist of candidates that also includes Justin Holbrook, Blake Green, Dean Young, John Morris and Paul McGregor.
Smith could form a partnership with incoming five-eighth Dylan Brown, who is reported to be earning $14 million over 10 years.
Ronaldo embracing the task of shutting down Marky
Ronaldo Mulitalo has backed himself to be the man to shut down Mark Nawaqanitawase, declaring he won’t be intimidated by the Sydney Roosters star.
Mulitalo will have one of the hardest jobs in the NRL in Cronulla’s elimination final against the Roosters, tasked with marking up on the red-hot Nawaqanitawase.
The rugby convert has scored seven tries in the past two matches alone, taking him to the Ken Irvine Medal as the NRL’s leading try-scorer in his first full season.
Beyond Nawaqanitawase’s try-scoring potency, the ex-Wallaby’s freakish ability to offload, take bombs and move in tight space has made him the must-watch man of 2025.
Mulitalo admitted he had found himself in awe of the 24-year-old, but said that would matter little when the two meet at Shark Park on Saturday night.
“I couldn’t care less what he’s got. It’s me or him next week and that’s all that matters to me,” Mulitalo said.
“You’ve got to respect when players are playing out of their skin like that. The talent is obviously outstanding. I sit there in awe of what he can produce.
“But it’s a different challenge next week. I’ll back myself against anyone. I’ll be looking forward to that challenge.”
Nawaqanitawase was relatively quiet when the two sides last met in July, with his one big involvement outleaping Mulitalo to bat a ball back for a try.
He also scored one try playing at centre in the teams’ other clash this year, with Mulitalo admitting Cronulla had a “piss-weak” attitude for that loss in Gosford.
But the Sharks winger said that was all irrelevant heading into Saturday’s blockbuster.
“The past is the past. I’m not going to hang on to anything that was done before,” Mulitalo said.
“That first game, he played really well against us. In the second game, we were lucky to contain him.
“You can brag on about your year, but this is an open competition.
“I’m excited for that challenge. I’ll meet him at the top, hopefully, and best man wins.”
Ronaldo Mulitalo Sharks celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Cronulla’s complete performance in their 24-6 win over Canterbury on Saturday appeared the perfect warm-up for the finals, before Nicho Hynes was told on Sunday he was facing a ban for a hip-drop tackle.
Saturday’s match marked the first time Cronulla had their back five together for a game this season, while Braydon Trindall will return from a rolled ankle to face the Roosters.
But that good news now appears to be offset by Hynes’ charge for a tackle that injured Bulldogs winger Marcelo Montoya, with the half facing a one-game ban.
“We’ve got guys that are coming back in and firing for us at the right time of the year,” Mulitalo said before news of Hynes’ charge.
“Jesse (Ramien) hasn’t played for three weeks, KL Iro’s just come back into the swing of things, and Sione (Katoa), he’s only played half the year.
“We’ve been around for a long time now … we knew what to expect from each other. To have a big game was important, so I’m really happy with that.”
Peters all but seals Super title
Australian coach Willie Peters has effectively sealed an historic triumph with English Super League outfit Hull KR as they all but wrapped up their first League Leaders’ Shield with a hard-earned 18-4 win over city rivals Hull FC at Craven Park.
Jez Litten ended a period of frustration for the hosts when he burrowed over shortly after the break, and further efforts from Jack Broadbent and Tom Davies made it all but mathematically certain that Rovers will end the regular Super League season in top spot.
Only if they lose their last two games, coupled with two wins for Wigan and a swing of over 100 points in the process, will Peters’ men be denied a position they have held for much of the season.
It would be a fantastic achievement for the 46-year-old Sydneysider, who enjoyed a playing career in the NRL with South Sydney and St George Illawarra and in England with Wigan before enjoying assistant coaching jobs with Manly, South Sydney and Newcastle.
Ironically, the injury-hit visitors, who added talismanic prop Herman Ese’ese to their growing list of absences last week, must now hope for a favour from the Robins if they are to join Rovers in the play-offs.
John Cartwright’s men sit one point behind Wakefield, who occupy the final play-off spot, with two games to go, and with Trinity facing crisis-club Salford on the final day, Hull realistically need Rovers to win at Belle Vue next week to give them a chance.
with AAP
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