Bill: Sharks-Cowboys refs must go

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FORMER referee's boss Bill Harrigan has called for the entire team of match officials overseeing Cronulla's controversial elimination final win against North Queensland to be stood down for the rest of the NRL finals series.

The Sharks were awarded a try in eighth minute of Saturday's 20-18 victory at Allianz Stadium on what appeared to be the seventh tackle in the set.

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On-field referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara miscounted the number of tackles and allowed Sharks prop Sam Tagataese to play the ball after a barnstorming run on what should have been a handover on the last.

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Harrigan, who along with Stuart Raper was sacked in 2012 after a controversial season at the helm, said the mistake could have been the result of the two referees switching positions.

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"But even when you're working in the pocket, you still should be doing the tackle count and the video ref keeps a tackle count," he said during Triple M's Finals NRL coverage.

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"If this is a seventh tackle try, the whole three in the team ... you shouldn't see them again for the rest of the finals and that'll be unfortunate."

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The NRL confirmed immediately after the match it was an error, after head of football Todd Greenberg reviewed the incident.

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He said there would be an inquiry into how the mistake was allowed to happen.

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"We do not want to see mistakes like this made in any match, especially a finals game, and we will be meeting with (referees boss) Daniel Anderson and the match officials to examine just how this happened," Greenberg said in a statement.

"What is most concerning is that there are checks and balances across the entire squad to safeguard against the referees making such a mistake. We don't want this happening again.

"We can't take points away or change a result of a match due to such a decision but we do have to be able to reassure players and fans that this won't happen again in any game."

Anderson later said the referees will have to pay the price for their mistake, but stopped short of saying they will be sacked.

"It's not about public vilification right now, but there will be a price to pay. I think we all know that," he told Triple M.

"I can't apologise enough on behalf of the NRL match officials crew."

Anderson said the referees had counted a couple of the tackles on their fingers, before mistakenly calling the fifth tackle number four.

"At that stage we've got enough fail-safe stuff up here with video ref, touch judges - but the fail-safe's failed unfortunately," Anderson said, adding he advised all officials at half-time of the incident.

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Wallabies escape with patchy win

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COURAGEOUS, proudly physical, ugly. The Wallabies were all those things on Saturday night in rain-lashed Perth but most of all they were victors for the first time under new coach Ewen McKenzie and first-time skipper Ben Mowen.

1 Tries 1
Israel Folau 28'	Juan Leguizamon 65'
0 Conversions 1
	Nicolas Sanchez 66'
3 Penalties 2
Christian Lealiifano 12'	Nicolas Sanchez 8'
Christian Lealiifano 17'	Nicolas Sanchez 61'
Christian Lealiifano 40'

The Wallabies were kept pointless in the second half by the surging Argentinians but the grinding 14-13 success was as satisfying and as important as a 20-point win.

A huge Nick Cummins tackle that forced a key turnover, an Adam Ashley-Cooper charge-down, an ankle-high tackle just off the ruck by replacement Saia Faingaa, a full-body check by Sitaleki Timani, Michael Hooper again and again...all reflected the second half intensity of the Wallabies.

It had to be desperate with the wind behind the Pumas for the final 40 minutes and it was. New halfback Nic White had a fine 80-minute game.

His ground-gaining kicks were vital to the resistance plan. One kick out on the full and another charged down were minor tax for the big metres and pressure his boot applied. Will Genia was not used off the bench.

It was confidence of the most tangible kind after a four-loss spiral.

The crowd of 18,214 who braved the appalling conditions in ponchos and windcheaters deserved medals. It was still the smallest turnout to a Wallabies' Test on home soil since the 15,438 crowd in Canberra for the Australia-Fiji Test that opened 2010.

The Wallabies were under huge pressure to open the second half when Argentina's juggernaut scrum turned up the heat with a rash of penalties and four straight scrums.

The Wallabies buckled but rebounded with a strong, twisting response of their own that turned into a breakdown penalty and great relief.

The defensive line speed of the Wallabies was exponentially better than the previous week against South Africa.

Hooker Stephen Moore was spot on with his lineout throws, a key source of possession.

"I said before the Test I'd take a 3-0 win. I'll take a one-point win. I'm stoked," new Wallabies skipper Ben Mowen said.

"We just needed a win.

"The way we hung in and scambled when we were under scrum pressure on our own line in the second half was a very big defining moment."

Swirling wind and constant rain were miserable conditions for a Wallabies team trying to resuscitate their season because it took quicksilver backline plays out of their armoury from the start.

The Wallabies chiselled out a 14-3 lead with the wind by half-time in an arm-wrestle of attritional forward play, kicking for territory and pressuring for mistakes.

The cannon in new halfback Nic White's boot was an asset just 12 seconds into the game when he spanked the ball 60m downfield from the ruck to set up an Aussie lineout. It was from ground gained by his boot that the Wallabies set up the patient and precise pressure for the opening try.

White searched for a runner and centre Christian Lealiifano punched over the advantage line. It just the momentum needed for a quick relay of passes from Quade Cooper and James O'Connor into the bucket hands of Israel Folau.

The giant fullback stepped off his right foot, twisted through three defenders and dotted down for his fourth and possibly most significant try of his short Test career.

Lealiifano kicked three-from-four in the first half.

Mowen knocked on with his first touch as captain but was every bit the demanding general that coach Ewen McKenzie wanted because he directed the metre-gaining rolling mauls and waves of forward runners to keep the acid on the tourists.

Winger Cummins ran with relish although being caught on his own tryline when trying to defuse a tricky little kick was heart-attack time. His most powerful charge was chopped down so emphatically by Argentinian No.8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon that Cummins appeared to clap him.

Sekope Kepu, Faingaa and Scott Sio finished the game in the front-row and were part of the gutsy and starchy fight to keep the Pumas at bay in the final scrums.

Young Pumas flanker Pablo Matera, just 20, was a high workrate rival who returned the Matera name to the stadium for the first time since the days of West Coast Eagles AFL brothers Peter and Phil.

McKenzie was well satisfied with White's first effort as a starter.

"With the conditions that were dealt us on the night, we relied more heavily on him than we thought we would. His game management and kicking were important," McKenzie said.

"It was a difficult decision not to pick Will but now we have another very good Test halfback in the squad."

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Tomahawk's back 'day-to-day'

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GEELONG forward Tom Hawkins has revealed his troublesome back injury remains a "day-to-day proposition", but is confident he will be right to go in Friday night's preliminary final showdown with Hawthorn.

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Hawkins appeared to be struggling in the first half of Friday's elimination final against Port Adelaide with even his former teammate Cam Mooney suggesting he should have been subbed out of the game.

But the 25-year-old responded with a strong second half, kicking two goals and providing a structure that helped the Cats to finish over the top of the Power.

"I felt fantastic; it was as good as I could hope for," Hawkins said after the Cats set up a mouth-watering clash with long-time rivals.

"It was great to be back out there after missing last week.

"As 'Scotty' (coach Chris Scott) said, it has been a day-to-day proposition.

"But I knew that I was feeling really good (this week)."

Hawkins urged fans to remain patient with him, admitting to some frustration that the back injury he has nursed for months has impacted on his mobility and effectiveness.

"As frustrating as it is for the fans, I can tell you that it is twice as frustrating for me," he said.\

"So we will keep doing whatever we can. I can assure everyone that I am doing everything that can be done to be in the best condition that I can."

Asked if he was a certainty to play against the Hawks, Hawkins said: "I would like to think so, I've felt great (this week)."

Hawkins missed last week's qualifying final loss to Fremantle, saying he just felt that he couldn't play his role for the team.

"I was just a bit sore leading in (to the Fremantle match)," he said. "It was really tough, I sat up in the coaches' box, so I was really craving to get back out there again."

Tom Lonergan said Hawkins' teammates had great admiration for how he had been able to play through the pain for much of the season.

"We know he is battling with a back issue," Lonergan said. "If he just gives us a contest up forward and puts pressure on, that's all we expect from him at the moment.

"His back is clearly debilitating for him, so it's a real pat on the back for him to play through the pain."

When Hawkins kicked the first of his two second-half goals, almost all of his teammates rushed to him to celebrate.

"I have had a lot of support and it's great to be back out there," he said. "It's always exciting to kick a goal in a final."

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Sore Swans bully Blues

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LIKE a mirage in one of those old movies set in the Arabian desert, it vanished in the blink of an eye.

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On a balmy night at ANZ Stadium, Carlton's preliminary final dream was crushed by the masters of ruthless reality - Sydney.

3.3 (21)	Q1	2.3 (15)
8.6 (54)	Q2	4.8 (32)
13.8 (86)	Q3	4.8 (32)
13.8 (86)	Q4	8.14 (62)

Luke Parker 3	Jarrad Waite 3
Harry Cunningham 2	Eddie Betts 2
Kieren Jack 2	Dennis Armfield 1
Jarrad McVeigh 2	Bryce Gibbs 1
Jude Bolton 1	Mitch Robinson 1
Lewis Jetta 1
Josh P. Kennedy 1
Ryan O'Keefe 1

The Blues were made to look every bit the ninth-placed charity case by a hardened Swans unit that defied injury to bully a side out of its depth.

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Sydney dominated, before easing to a 13.8 (86) to 8.14 (62) win in a war of attrition that saw three players lost to game-ending injuries in a frenzied first half.

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The Swans advance to a preliminary final against Fremantle. Carlton faces some tough questions.

The Blues, riding a wave of feel-good momentum into the west of Sydney, got smacked between the eyes.

Carlton was down by 22 points at half-time, but this time there was no knight in shining navy blue armour; no four-goal hero Nick Duigan called up to dominate mid-sandwich, no Chris Judd on one leg ripping the opposition apart.

Instead, it was just the cold reality of September elimination. The Blues conceded five goals to two in the second quarter before being blown to smithereens in a five-goal to zip third term.

Down by 54 points at three-quarter time, they salvaged some respectability with the only four goals of a last quarter that was purely junk time.

For Sydney, it was a win dripping with irony.

The Swans were sore and tired, they said. Battered by injury for much of the season, too much was supposed to have been left to too few.

John Longmire's men were hit by even more injury pain last night, but it only made the victory more emphatic.

First they lost Kurt Tippett to a knee injury five minutes in. He was joined five minutes later by Tom Mitchell, who had rolled his ankle.

But two men down, they proceeded to run Carlton into the ground.

The Swans amassed a staggering 97 more disposals, had 19 more tackles and five more inside 50s. Also controlling the contested ball, they ran forward with a ferocity that had Carlton labouring.

Sydney players looking for a breather was regularly turned away from the bench due to a lack of rotations, but still Carlton couldn't go with them.

Sydney had a whopping 89 more handball receives, highlighting the willingness to charge into space.  They controlled everything, the Swans. It was a monopoly, AFL-style.

Jarrad McVeigh had helped himself to 25 touches by the main break, a staggering 20 and a goal coming in the second term alone. Duigan was ordered to his side in the second half, but it did nothing to curb a 42-possession best on ground performance.

Dan Hannebery had 22 disposals at half time and cruised to finish with 33. Ryan O'Keefe wound back the clock playing almost exclusively at half-forward and caused endless problems. It was all too easy.

The trio's dominance was compounded by Carlton's own injury woes, with stopper Ed Curnow subbed out in the second term with a knee injury. But the undermanned Swans were running riot well before the injury stick whacked Carlton.

Pinned well back inside their defensive half for much of the night, the Blues' forward structure was non-existent at times. They regularly bombed the ball forward to a sea of red and white and when they inevitably conceded possession they couldn't apply pressure.

Jarrad Waite was super in last week's win over Richmond. Last night, until junk time kicked in in the last quarter he struggled to sniff it opposed to Ted Richards, while Levi Casboult had no influence.

The final margin would have been even greater had it not been for the defensive heroics of Andrew Walker, Lachie Henderson and Kade Simpson, who were their sides only winners.

Bryce Gibbs - opposed to Josh Kennedy - and Marc Murphy - Craig Bird - got hands on the ball, but soon found Sydney weren't going to give the same latitude afforded by Richmond. Judd was also harnessed.

To be frank, it was a final margin that flattered Mick Malthouse's men.

Now comes the less than flattering post mortem.

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Sreesanth cops life ban

Shantakumaran Sreesanth is charged with spot fixing in the IPL. Source: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AAP

UPDATE: TEST fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has been banned from cricket for life after being found guilty of spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League, authorities said Friday.

Ankeet Chavan, a teammate of Sreesanth's in the Rajasthan Royals, was also handed a life ban following a probe by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) anti-corruption chief Ravi Sawani.

"Sreesanth and Chavan have been banned for life from playing any representative cricket, or in any way being associated with the activities of the BCCI or its affiliates," the board said in a statement.

The BCCI's disciplinary committee, taking action on Sawani's report, also handed a five-year suspension to Amit Singh, who played in the IPL till last year for his involvement in spot-fixing.

Rajasthan Royals' Siddharth Trivedi was suspended for one year after being found guilty of the lesser charge of not informing officials about approaches made by bookmakers.

The case against Harmeet Singh, a 21-year-old spinner, who had also been suspected of hiding a bookmaker's approach, was "closed in the absence of evidence against him", the BCCI statement said.

The BCCI did not announce any action against another Rajasthan Royals player, Ajit Chandila, who was also accused of spot-fixing by the anti-corruption officer.

The BCCI did not release Sawani's report but the Indian Express newspaper said that Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan were found guilty on multiple accounts, including conceding a "pre-determined number of runs per over in exchange for bribes".

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Wallabies are sport's Labor Party

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IT'S been hard to know who has a worse run over the past few years: the Australian rugby team or the Australian Labor Party. Infighting, scandal, leadership changes, public apathy and a horror 2013 campaign that saw humiliation unfold last Saturday.

And Labor has been pretty bad too.

So with Wallaby fans desperately crying out for solutions, a plan of radical ideas is required to rescue Australian rugby. 

There was only one man for the job, so here is Jaymes Diaz's six-point plan to stop the boatload of losses*.

(*Disclaimer: Jaymes Diaz was unable to be found, so Iain Payten stepped in.)

1. Turn back the Boks (and the Kiwis).

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Defence was once the cornerstone of Wallaby world dominance, and if not that, it was at least a red-brick footing of competitiveness. In recent times, the Wallaby defence has had all the solidity of balsa wood – averaging almost 32 points per Test – so plugging the leaks has to be a major priority.

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The solution for Ewen McKenzie lies in a raid of the northern hemisphere, where two of his old colleagues now ply their craft.

McKenzie needs a specialist defence coach, and he should do all he can to poach Les Kiss back from Ireland. Kiss was McKenzie's defence specialist at NSW from 2004, where the Waratahs averaged less than 16 points a game in the three years they made finals (2005, 08) and a semi-final (2006). 

The Wallabies have a defence coach in Nick Scrivener, but his is a makeshift role. Scrivener was the skills coach under Robbie Deans.

The sticking point is Kiss just signed a new three-year deal with the IRFU, but what's a contract these days? Am I right Ricky?

If Kiss can't be poached, McKenzie should yank Matt Taylor back from Scotland. Taylor was the defence guru who got Queensland down from 28 points a match to less than 18 points. The Reds won the title in 2011, holding the Crusaders to just 13 points in the final.

2. More 457 visas for skilled migration to rugby

Signing backs from rugby league is fine, and there've been a few good-uns. That Israel Folau shows potential with his three touches a game.

But if there is to be recruiting of leaguies in the future, how about looking to target an area in need – the forwards?

Australia need far more hard men willing to mix it up on the aggression front with the Springboks and All Blacks. The Wallabies are suffering from mongrel deficit. 

Every NRL pack is stocked full of mongrels. Blokes who not only love belting ball-runners, but know little else. Blokes who know their role is to bring the muscle and patrol the advantage line, ejecting people with prejudice.

It's an open secret rivals view Australia as soft at the contact, but put Nate Myles and Anthony Watmough in the backrow and enjoy the show. Yes, league forwards may take time to learn the set-pieces and the breakdown nuance, but stuff nuance. Dominant hits trump nuance.

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It might not be that far off, actually. Michael Cheika talked about wanting a Burgess brother in his pack, and he seriously eyed off a Roosters prop.

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3. More factional brawling

Otherwise known as "more biff". The Wallabies can come across as vulnerable to being pushed around even.

There is no better signal to a Springbok pack, for example, that you are not soft than a bit of a blue. Dan Vickerman used to love sparking them, and Nathan Sharpe deliberately started pushing and shoving over precisely nothing in Perth last year.  It was all tactical, and he conned hothead Eben Etzebeth into headbutting him.

Punches are rare because one will get you binned these days, but the value of an old-fashioned handbag session can sometimes be worth the risk to ignite passions, connect a team and tell a rival you won't be bullied.

4. Immediate policy backflip

It'd be great if the Wallabies' run-run-run strategy won games. Right now, it doesn't and the sooner Australia lets go of a supposed "Wallabies style", the sooner it can get back in the business of winning.

The All Blacks and Springboks are privately delighted Australia tries to attack doggedly from their half all game, lining up for defenders like bad-guy fodder in a ninja movie. The Kiwis and Boks hoist endless highballs and long kicks, and back themselves to force turnovers or penalties in the Wallaby half. Then they pounce. 

So if you can't beat them, hurry up and join them. The Wallabies need to mirror those tactics, with a focus on using pressure, not pizazz, to score points and win. 

Benevolent Kiwi guru Graham Henry reckons it's not wise, saying yesterday: ""I don't think you are going to win games by playing chess-board rugby and kicking the balls in the air and chasing it. That's not the way Australians play, and they haven't got the forward pack that can give you that sort of dominance."

Thanks Graham. Attention Wallabies, here's the new gameplan: play chess-board rugby, kick the balls in the air and chase it.

Defend, contest, defend, scrap and defend some more, and when the ball is won in the opposition half, then have a crack.

It might not meet head office's desire to entertain the masses, but seriously ARU, if you think the last three weeks qualifies as entertainment, I have a bridge to sell 

you. It can't get any worse.

5. Pick and stick in key seat

Decide on the best no.10, and keep voting for him. If in doubt, lean towards a candidate who can tackle and wasn't also a project player in the last World Cup cycle.

6. Control the front bench

Or, as it is called in rugby, the front row. It is ludicrous – and quite clearly a factor in Australia's ongoing scrummaging woes – that Wallabies props continue to swap sides more often a nervous independent. Ben Alexander plays mostly loosehead for the Brumbies but then becomes tighthead for the Wallabies. James Slipper is mostly no.3 for the Reds but then no.1 for Australia. Sekope Kepu plays both sides within weeks, and so does Scott Sio.

Here's a quick thought: can someone please just play tighthead all year and get damn good at it? Is that so crazy? Clearly New Zealand and South Africa don't think so. 

Yes, Super Rugby coaches have different ideas from Wallabies selectors but take a look at the next crumbling scrum (any second now) and try arguing with a straight face that it's all working out well. It's not. Top-down control is required.

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Bunnies one win away from big one

Issac Luke scores for the Rabbitohs. Source: Mark Evans / DailyTelegraph

SOUTH Sydney turned Melbourne's championship blueprint on the premiers to move within 80 minutes of their first grand final appearance in 42 years.

3 Tries 2
Dylan Farrell 8'	Billy Slater 54'
Jeff Lima 26'	Will Chambers 72'
Issac Luke 67'
3 Conversions 1
Adam Reynolds 10'	Cameron Smith 55'
Adam Reynolds 27'
Adam Reynolds 69'
1 Penalties 0
Adam Reynolds 22'

The Rabbitohs delivered Michael Maguire his first win in five attempts over his old club with a clinical display of choking defence that kept the Storm at arms' length all evening.

Showing great enthusiasm after their shattering loss to the Roosters on the same turf last week, Souths harassed Melbourne's big three - Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk - into a string of uncharacteristic errors.

As a result the Storm could not build any meaningful chances until after halftime, when the trailed 14-0.

Slater brightened a gloomy night when he responded in the 54th minute, but man of the match Issac Luke sealed the breakthrough win for Souths with a determined try 14 minutes later.

The victory gives the Rabbitohs a fortnight to heal their wounds before returning to Olympic Park, while Melbourne have now been pitched into a sudden death semi-final against the winner of Sunday's Bulldogs-Knights eliminator at AAMI Park next Saturday night.

The key to South Sydney's victory was their start, which has faltered in previous encounters against the Storm, most notably last year's qualifying final where they trailed 18-0 after as many minutes.

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But while the level of ball control and attacking cohesion on last night's greasy surface was never going to deliver a torrent of points, Souths looked more assured than their seasoned rivals.

"Obviously they were disappointed about last Friday (against the Roosters)," Maguire said.

"They just wanted to play the way they can. We played against a very good quality team that's used to this arena and we turned up tonight."

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The same couldn't be said for Melbourne, who were draped in error-plagued disguise for much of the game.

Slater's first half was forgettable, with two regrettable moments leading to each of South Sydney's opening two tries.

In the eighth minute, Slater threw a wild pass to Justin O'Neill, who turned over possession on the Melbourne 20 metre line. Souths snapped up the ball and set Dylan Farrell across for opening points.

In the 24th minute the star fullback fumbled himself on the same patch of grass and moments later Jeff Lima steam rolled through his ex-teammates.

Cronk's kicking game wasn't quite on, while straight after halftime Smith didn't even get to his kick when he was caught on the last tackle.

But Melbourne refused to concede, and Slater was only denied a double by a contentious video refereeing call.

In the flashpoint moment of an otherwise staid contest, the fullback touched down from a kick, only to be denied when the men upstairs ruled that Storm centre Will Chambers had impeded Nathan Merritt.

Maguire conceded the call was lucky for his side, but not so for Smith.

"I thought it was a fair contest between Chambers and Merritt," Smith said.

But the skipper was more intent on turning the blow torch onto his players for a lack respect for the ball.

Even with top choice pivot Gareth Widdop making a fairytale comeback from a dislocated hip, the Storm were anything but fluent and now face a difficult task to make history and become the first NRL team to win back-to-back titles.

"We can't hold onto the footy, we invite the opposition down to our end - it should be the other way around, especially at this time of year," Smith said.

"It's really frustrating. We need to make a decision where we go this season. It's really up to use where we go from here.

"We've got to turn it around quick on that performance."

***

THE finals campaign - and long-term health - of Melbourne flier Sisa Waqa was in doctors' hands last night, following an horrendous crash landing.

Play was suspended for over five minutes as medicos fitted a neck brace to the Fijian, whose head drove into the turf at a right angle when he was spectacularly flipped while trying to regather a bomb over South Sydney's try line nine minutes from the siren.

Bouncing off the shoulder of Souths defender Dylan Farrell, Waqa was upended mid-air and fell defenceless toward the ground.

His head struck terra firma with sickening force that jolted his neck sideways and left Farrell with grave fears.

After being taken from the ground in a medicab, Waqa was transported to Westmead Hospital for observation.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said initial tests had indicated no threatening injury, but there were fears Waqa had injured a disc in his neck.

Although contact is permitted for attacking players in the air, Farrell was placed on report. He joined veteran prop Roy Asotasi, who also has a possible case to answer over a crusher tackle on Jason Ryles in the first half.

"Certainly Dylan meant no ill-will to Sisa's health," Bellamy said.

"He tackled him early before he had the ball. He knocked him off balance before he had the ball - that's why it ended up so ugly.

"That's a situation that's been waiting to happen with that rule, but it's a hard one."

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What is wrong with GI?

Greg Inglis is tackled by Storm's Will Chambers. Source: Mark Evans / DailyTelegraph

IS there something holding Greg Inglis back?

Before the champion fullback suffered his knee injury Souths were building their season around his amazing kick returns.

He was the best player in the game by a country mile and a standout for the Dally M Medal.

On Friday night you had to go searching to make sure he was even on the field before he bobbed up late to send Issac Luke over for the match-clinching try.

In the first half Inglis had six runs for 51 metres.

Billy Slater had 12 runs for 106 metres.

In fairness, some of Inglis' defensive work was exemplary and he shut down several try-scoring opportunities.

But it definitely wasn't the Inglis we remember from earlier this season.

In recent weeks Michael Maguire has made a point of saying it was Inglis' decision to play on each week when many couldn't understand why he didn't have a rest prior to the finals.

At least now Souths have the week off it gives Inglis extra time to get ready for the next stage of this mission.

If the Rabbitohs are going to end their 42-year premiership drought, they need GI at his explosive best.

WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE, DAVE?

Friday night definitely didn't equal E-squared.

Remember Dave Smith's infamous call from early in the season, his grand vision to take the game into the future?

Well, if Friday night was it we have a major problem.

Last Sunday at the MCG 94,000 turned up to watch Carlton and Richmond.

On Friday night they had 21,609 at ANZ Stadium for a semi-final - and if you were at the ground you would be debating that figure.

One fact people in Club Land keep bringing up is that Smith has three times as many staff as David Gallop had at his disposal.

But has he made three times the difference?

There was a wonderful initiative Friday night that allowed any junior rugby league player under 12 to attend the game for free - but how many parents were made aware of this?

For all the criticisms of Gallop at least he always put his head up and got his message across.

Smith is the new Mr Invisible.

Always too busy to tell the fans what is going on.

***

BRING BACK BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

Surely at the end of the season referees boss Daniel Anderson will admit he stuffed up with the new ref's call rule.

It is robbing the game of common sense.

A few weeks back it was exposed in Manly's controversial loss to Souths when a Steve Matai try was denied.

On Friday night Sisa Waqa got dudded and Storm fans have every right to be blowing up because that try could have turned the match.

You can accept Shayne Hayne's "no try" ruling because referees make mistakes.

But the real issue is how the video ref is then forced to back up a bad call because there is not "sufficient information" to overturn a rotten call.

The video ref got it right. The rule is wrong.

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Craig firms for Lions job

Neil Craig could take over from Michael Voss. Source: DAVID CROSLING / AAP

NEIL Craig has emerged as a key contender to be the next coach of the Brisbane Lions, with the club understood to now firmly favour a Paul Roos-style succession model.

The Lions' coaching subcommittee — which includes triple premiership coach Leigh Matthews — is yet to make a recommendation.

But the Herald Sun understands the club considers it risky to appoint an untried assistant as Michael Voss' successor.

Craig, who has a year to run on his contract with Melbourne, has been interviewed for the Lions job. Other interviews were held on Wednesday and yesterday.

Former Adelaide coach Craig took the helm at Demons after Mark Neeld's mid-season sacking, but will not stay at the club after the appointment of Roos.

Former Dockers coach Mark Harvey — a senior assistant to Voss — has told the club he does not wish to be considered for the senior job.

But it is not known if the succession idea has been put to him.

Harvey has been linked to the caretaker role at his original club Essendon, with James Hird serving an AFL-imposed suspension for much of next season.

John Worsfold — who ended his tenure at West Coast last week — has declared himself out of the running for the Lions job.

If the Lions opt for a succession model, they will be competing with Melbourne for the services of emerging coaching talent, such as Hawthorn assistant Adam Simpson.

The decision not to offer Voss a new contract and the Lions' approach to Roos has been the catalyst for a bitter boardroom split that looks set to see an extraordinary general meeting.

A ticket led by directors Paul Williams and Mick Power is seeking to have chairman Angus Johnson removed and Matthews join the board.

That push now has the signatures of more than the 5 per cent of eligible voting members required to trigger an EGM.

The request for an EGM is expected to be lodged with the club within days.

The club then has 21 days to announce an EGM.

Williams told the Herald Sun letters had been exchanged with Johnson in recent days.

"Neither party seems real happy with the others' proposal — but there is any number of members screaming for an EGM," Williams said.

"We think Angus needs to step down and he is not prepared to do that for some time."

Williams said the handling of Voss and then the botched approach to Roos had been the catalyst for the board push.

"There was certainly a lot of noise from members and certainly a lot of the key financial supporters at that time but certainly the Vossy decision and then I suppose the approach to Paul Roos … I suppose it brought things to a head," Williams said.

"And then at that stage Leigh (Matthews) was in a position where he wasn't prepared to join the board while Angus was chairman."

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said this week the AFL Commission would this month consider giving the Lions extra financial assistance because of a short-term cashflow problem.

But Demetriou said the league would not intervene in the coach selection or boardroom affairs.

The Lions, the AFL, the Ipswich City Council and Springfield Land Corporation last month signed a heads of agreement for the development of a multi-million-dollar development of a new training and academy centre.

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Dons sue Blues CEO over 'cheat' jibe

Greg Swann is being sued by Essendon. Source: SIMON MOSSMAN / AAP

ESSENDON had launched legal action and demanded an apology from Carlton CEO Greg Swann after he labelled the Bombers "cheats".

Appearing on radio station SEN during the week, Swann said the Blues deserved to be in the finals because Essendon had "cheated", in reference to the club's supplement's saga.

Legal papers were lodged on Tuesday, the day after Swann's comments, but the Blues have not made any comment.

It is believed the Bombers are demanding an apology from Swann.

The Blues CEO was asked about the Blues' unlikely finals appearance by SEN's Kevin Bartlett.

"Oh look we've been asked that a lot, we felt we deserved it. Because I was asked that yesterday and I mean, Essendon cheated, simple as that," Swann said.

"So they lost their points and lost their picks and the AFL fined them so we were the next cab off the rank, we finished ninth."

The Blues were the major recipients after Essendon was sanctioned, moving from ninth to eighth before beating Richmond in Sunday's elimination final.

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