Ref barred from Souths games, Dogs duo in line for Dally double, Manly star reveals concussion nightmare

The NRL is banning Kasey Badger from officiating in any more Rabbitohs matches to remove any perceived conflicts of interest due to her husband Gavin working as a consultant for the club.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley was unaware Gavin, a former long-serving referee, held a role with Souths where he helps the team at training and on game nights so they don’t fall foul of the whistleblowers.

Annesley told NewsCorp that Kasey, who was in the NRL bunker on Saturday night for South Sydney’s clash with Cronulla at Shark Park while Gavin was in the coach’s box with Ben Hornby, will not officiate in Bunnies fixtures in the future.

“It won’t happen again,” said Annesley.

“We do not question Kasey’s objectivity or professionalism but we acknowledge it’s not a good look.”

The problem of the Badgers’ unique situation was discussed at an NRL senior management meeting on Monday after Fox League highlighted the fact that they were both working at the same game in vastly different roles.

Canterbury duo in line for Dally double

The remarkable revival in Canterbury’s fortunes makes Cameron Ciraldo and Stephen Crichton leading contenders to be named the Dally M’s coach and captain of the year.

That’s the view of veteran Bulldogs utility Kurt Mann, who has marvelled at the stunning turnaround at Belmore in the space of 12 months that has the club dreaming of its first finals berth since 2016.

If Ciraldo and Crichton did the double, it would mark the first time since Melbourne pair Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith in 2019 earned a club the game’s best coach and captain award in the same year.

The push is all the more impressive considering Canterbury finished 15th last season with the worst defence in the NRL.

But a year on and they sit fifth and are knocking on the door for a top-four finish heading into Saturday’s away trip to face a resurgent eighth-placed St George Illawarra at Kogarah.

The Dogs looked at long odds to break their finals drought when Ciraldo and head of football Phil Gould spent the off-season signing journeymen utilities.

Mann was among that crop of misfits but the recruitment drive of small but spirited underdogs has turned Canterbury into a dark horse for the premiership.

Asked if Ciraldo deserved to be the front-runner for the Dally M coach of the year gong, Mann said: “The turnaround in this place in the last 12 months has been phenomenal and I’d be talking about him in that (space).

“We did hear a lot about it (our lack of size) in the pre-season.

“But ‘Gus’ (Gould) is a pretty smart man, he’s been around a long time, there’s a method to the madness.

“He had that vision and knew where he wanted to go with it.

“A lot of people didn’t really believe in it, and I think a few people are starting to see the wheels turn.”

Crichton, whose appointment as captain without playing a game for the Dogs was met with ridicule, has gone on to cement his status as one of the NRL’s elite players.

“His (Crichton’s) energy is contagious … he doesn’t wait for anyone else to bring it,” said back-rower and former Penrith teammate Viliame Kikau. “He brings it as soon as he walks in the building. Everyone knows that and it’s contagious – it spreads through the team.”

Mann, who played alongside Smith at Melbourne, said the Samoan international carried himself with a presence beyond his years.

“He’s my captain of the year,” Mann said. “I always forget how young he is, I think he’s a 40-year-old bloke that’s been playing for years with way he speaks and just the knowledge he has.

“Everyone forgets he’s only 23 so he’s still a young young man. As long as they keep him around here, this place will just go on leaps and bounds forward.”

Croker comes back from concussion nightmare

Manly’s Lachlan Croker has opened up on his hard road back from concussion, saying he feared for his long-term health amid ongoing nausea, balance issues and eye problems.

The hard-working Sea Eagles hooker went down with a head knock during the round-nine loss to Canberra in early May, but had always bounced back quickly from similar injuries in the past.

So when he woke up the next day feeling unwell, Croker knew something was wrong.

“To not feel fine the next day, and then months after, it was something that rattled me and played with my brain a little bit,” Croker told AAP.

What followed was a three-month journey to return to the field, one that would take him through doctors’ offices and into consultations with neuroscientists and physiotherapists.

In that time, Croker has struggled to make sense of the feeling of what was described to him as a “vestibular concussion” – a head knock mostly affecting the inner ear.

“It wasn’t so much an issue with my brain, it was sort of my eyes and my balance and a lot of sort of nausea type feelings and that sort of stuff,” he said.

“My eyes didn’t feel like they were focusing properly things just took longer to get into focus.

“That made me feel sick and I sort of had that feeling where I was about to vomit but never actually vomited. 

“It hasn’t been fun.”

The constant sickness was one thing, but the uncertainty around his return-to-play timeline was tougher to swallow for such a process-driven player as Croker.

“You sort of wish it was just a simple injury where you got a six-week plan and you can break it down into little portions to know where you’re going,” Croker said.

“It was a really difficult thing to put on someone who just wants to play football.”

At one point, Croker had felt ready to return to the field, only to experience a sudden onset of symptoms during a conditioning session at 4 Pines Park. By his own estimation, that one episode set him back weeks.

“I felt sick almost straight away. That was when I realised that I was further away than I thought I was,” Croker said.

In his darkest times, Croker had fears for his playing career, and his health after it.

“There always is when it’s your head, which is probably why I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, because it’s a scary thought, post-football,” he said.

Croker made his comeback for Manly’s NSW Cup affiliate Blacktown Workers late last month, having finally passed concussion protocols.

As he prepares for a long-awaited return to first grade this Saturday, coincidentally against the Raiders, Croker finally has a spring in his step again.

“You can only back what (doctors) are saying,” he said.

“Everyone that I’ve spoken to has been really positive about the whole thing, and head knocks and concussions in general. It’s been comforting in that regard.”

with AAP