Big George not going anywhere
April 9, 3.35pm: The Storm have dismissed reports George Rose is set to leave the club, insisting the former Manly prop will see out the season in Melbourne. "George is a valued player at the Melbourne Storm and will remain a key member of our 2014 squad," Storm football director Frank Ponissi said on Wednesday."The club's player welfare team has worked closely with George to assist with his transition from Sydney and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season." It is understood Rose requested a release from his one-year deal with the Storm as he struggles with home sickness in Melbourne. The 31-year-old was cut loose by the Sea Eagles last year and is struggling to cement a permanent spot in Craig Bellamy's side. Rose was not selected in the NRL squad for the Storm's previous two matches and has managed just 62 minutes of action in three first-grade appearances this season.
Storm won't fight Jordan McLean ban
April 9, 9.25am: The Storm are unlikely to fight the seven-week ban McLean copped for his role in the Alex McKinnon tackle. They have until Wednesday to lodge their appeal to the NRL but are leaning towards letting it slide. McKinnon was transferred from Melbourne to a Sydney hospital on Monday and faces a long road to recovery after fracturing two vertebrae in the tackle.
Cleary to lend a helping hand
April 9, 9.15am: Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has agreed to help New Zealand head coach Stephen Kearney prepare the Kiwis for next month's Anzac Test against the Kangaroos. Cleary served as an assistant for Kearney in last year's World Cup campaign but stepped down after the tournament to concentrate on the Panthers. But Cleary has answered an SOS for the one-off Test on May 2 after interim NZ Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden resigned as assistant coach of the national team. "While it's disappointing to lose Andrew, we had included a clause in his contract that enabled him to take advantage of any head-coaching opportunities that might arise," NZRL high performance manager Tony Iro said. "In effect, this leaves us with the same situation we had for last year's Anzac Test in Canberra and we'll revisit the assistant coach vacancy before the Four Nations in October. We are focused on getting the right person for our needs and feel this is the best solution in the meantime."
Greenberg won't be pressured on rule changes
April 9, 8.05am: NRL head of Football Todd Greenberg has declared he won't be pressured into making 'rash decisions' based on emotion amid widespread calls for lifting tackles to be outlawed. The 'devastating spinal injury' suffered by Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon 16 days ago sent shockwaves through the rugby league community. That shock has now turned to anger for many as similar tackles have gone unpunished by the NRL match review committee. Greenberg understands the frustrations of clubs, players and fans but is adamant any changes to the rules will be made based on fact – not emotion. "The first thing I'd say to you is that we won't make any rash decisions without fact and data in front of us," Greenberg said. "And it's very important people understand that we will assess the risks in the game, we will assess information but we simply won't make decisions on fundamental decisions to change rules without all of that information available to us."
Tedesco sidelined for up to nine weeks
April 8, 7.03pm: Boom Wests Tigers full-back James Tedesco has undergone surgery after suffering an ankle syndesmosis injury and will miss between six and nine matches. The injury is a blow for the 21-year-old who was among the form players in the comp over the first five rounds. He is no stranger to injury having torn his ACL on debut in 2012. New Zealand-born Kurtis Rowe will replace Tedesco at fullback after representing the Junior Kiwis last year following schoolboy success at Benji Marshall's old school, Keebra High.