Gorden Tallis surprise contender to join Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters’ support staff

Sports Confidential understands that Tallis was one of the names put forward by Walters to be part of the touring party but it is understood he is facing a battle to convince the NRL to approve his inclusion for the three-Test series in England later this year.

Walters and Tallis played together and remain close friends. Walters was appointed to succeed Mal Meninga last month and is yet to confirm his support staff, including his assistant coaches.

Tallis, a regular host of NRL360 on Fox League, played 18 Tests for Australia during a stellar career. Few players wore the green and gold with as much pride and passion as the ‘Raging Bull’ and he would no doubt relish the chance to pass on some of that pride to Walters squad.

It seems the NRL will need some convincing. Meanwhile, the NRL has begun looking overseas for potential assistant coaches to help Walters through the series.

Super League-based pair Willie Peters and Adrian Lam are among those under consideration for roles as his assistants.

Walters has also raised the potential for Brisbane assistants Ben Te’o and Trent Barrett to be on his staff while there was support for Sydney Roosters assistants Matt King and Justin Holbrook.

BIRTHING SUITE TO KICK-OFF: HOW MANLY GUN’S WIFE BEAT COACH’S ULTIMATUM

Manly hooker Jake Simpkin has revealed how close he came to missing the Sea Eagles game against the Wests Tigers after making a frantic dash to the ground in the back of an uber following the birth of his first child.

Simpkin and his partner Cartier – a former contestant on Love Island – welcomed their son Hunter into the world at midday on Sunday, only two hours Manly were due to kick-off against the Tigers at Allianz Stadium.

Simpkin was desperate to play but coach Anthony Seibold, whose side needed a win to maintain their finals push, had given him a 12.15pm cut-off. Simpkin’s son Hunter arrived with 15 minutes to spare.

“It was a full-on day,” Simpkin said.

“He came a week early. (Cartier) came in at midnight on game day and just said, I’m having contractions. I was like, all right, here we go.

“We’ve gone into the hospital around 5am – her water broke around 5am. So we were basically there until 11.55am when he was born.

“I was like 12.15pm is the cut-off love, so you have to get him out, you have to get him out now. She was good about it.

“She was like, if he comes, I’m happy for you to go play. So literally (he was) born, held him for like a couple of seconds and then just out the door, jumped in an uber and then just met the Manly security out the front of Allianz.

“It was rough preparation wise. No sleep, not the best food and all that. But it was all right.”

Having made a hasty dash to Allianz Stadium, Simpkin was given some sage advice from captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

“I had a good chat to Chez,” Simpkin said.

“Chez was pretty good to me, sort of just said mate, you’ve probably not had a chance today to just take a second to breathe.

“So when you get out there, obviously there was all the formalities at the start of the game, just take that time, that minute or two to just have a couple of breaths and just clear your mind before the game.

“So that helped me. I had a couple moments like that, but everyone was really good. Like I sort of got myself in shape and ready to go pretty quickly, so that was good.”

Simpkin and Cartier met five years ago at Clovelly. Simpkin wandered up to Cartier, only to be told by his mum and sister that he was talking to a former Love Island contestant who has a social media following of more than 200,000.

The rest is history. They are now the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy.

“I went up to her and then sort of went from there,” Simpkin said.

“I didn’t watch the show, but I got informed pretty quickly. My mum and sister watched her.

“So they knew what was going on. Everyone’s happy and healthy.”

HOW BROTHERLY LOVE HELPED BURBO WITH ANXIETY

Manly back rower Ben Trbojevic has revealed how a dose of perspective from his older brothers Jake and Tom has helped him feel more at home in the NRL.

Ben Trbojevic has been a fixture for Manly this season, making 19 appearances in a Sea Eagles side that will head into the weekend fighting to keep their finals hopes alive.

He revealed to Sports Confidential that he had battled with nerves in previous seasons but some sage advice from his older brothers – as well as Sea Eagles sports psychologist Andrew May – has helped him feel more comfortable in his skin.

“I’m a very anxious and nervous person before games,” Ben Trbojevic said.

“I’ve just been working hard in that space to calm down and relax. If I make an error on the field, to just move on quickly.

“Obviously in games there are moments where you’re frustrated and I think last year if I made a mistake I would dwell on it a lot, and this year I’m just trying to sort of move on.

“I would go into my shell a bit last year and this year I have tried to just back myself a bit more. I’ve spoken to Jake and Tom about it.

“They’ve spoken to me about perspective. Like, you know, at the end of the day, this is just a game and it’s not who you are as a person.

“So if you have a bad game, instead of dwelling on it and worrying about too much, you have to realise you have your footy self and that is not you as a person.

“You’re not a bad person if you have a bad game.”

Ben Trbojevic has also taken up voice journaling on the advice of May, who has previously worked with the NSW Waratahs and Tim Tszyu. Asked where his nerves came from, Ben pointed the finger at eldest brother Jake.

“He’s very nervous,” Ben Trbojevic said.

“So we’re very nervous together for games just because we don’t want to let people down. We bounce off each other. It is quite funny sometimes.”

ANOTHER KANGAROOS BOLTER REJECTS AUSTRALIA

Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu has reluctantly become the latest high-profile front rower to inform Kevin Walters of his plans to play in the Pacific championships rather than the Ashes.

Utoikamanu, one of the form front rowers in the premiership since the State of Origin series, was believed to be prominent in Walters’ thoughts as the freshly-minted Kangaroos coach stepped up his planning for the series against England.

However, it is understood he recently spoke to Walters and told him he was planning to play for Tonga this year.

Sports Confidential understands that Utoikamanu also made it clear to Walters that he had aspirations to play for Australia but was reluctant to head overseas at the end of the season for personal reasons.

Utoikamanu would likely have walked into the Australian pack given the way he has played in recent months and the lack of depth in the Kangaroos front row.

The Kangaroos have suffered a series of withdrawals led by the decision of Payne Haas to make himself available for Samoa rather than Australia.

The good news is that Gold Coast skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui appears likely to commit to Australia while Walters has other front row options in the form of Pat Carrigan, Reuben Cotter, Max King, Lindsay Collins and Lindsay Smith.

FLASHBACK

Roosters hooker Jake Friend made backpage news on this day 10 years ago. Friend reflected on how just a year before he was fighting for his life after being rushed to hospital having lost two litres of blood. “My lung was scary at the time but I’ve come through the other side,” Friend said.

RAIDERS SWEAT ON STAR’S CONTRACT EXTENSION

The Raiders are sweating on the NRL giving the all clear to Josh Papali'i’s cut-price wage with the hopes of extending the veteran forward by another 12 months.

Papali'i looks all but certain to remain at Canberra next year after opting against a planned move to the Super League.

At 33 he is willing to stay at Canberra for significantly less than the $800,000 he is due to earn this year. The 12-month extension will be about half of what he received this season.

Given he was picked for Queensland this year, the NRL would need to assess if that figure is Papali'i’s market value.

Papali'i isn’t the only one waiting for an answer. If he does remain at Canberra it would see the Raiders cut free rising forward Trey Mooney.

Mooney is expected to join Newcastle if he is granted a release. However the Raiders are naturally cautious. They won’t release Mooney until they know Papali'i’s deal with the NRL is going to be registered.

SOUTHS STAR SET FOR SUPER LEAGUE SWITCH

Experienced South Sydney forward Siliva Havili is on the verge of joining Super League club St Helens next year.

The 32-year-old is off-contract at the end of the season and is expected to be squeezed out of the Rabbitohs following their mid-season signing of Brandon Smith.

Havili has bounced around a few clubs since making his debut for the Warriors in 2014. The Tongan represented also played for the Dragons and Raiders before finding a home at South Sydney in 2022.

PANTHERS TARGET WAHS STAR

The Panthers are set to add some depth to their forward pack by securing Warriors’ Tom Ale.

Ale hasn’t played in the NRL this season for New Zealand but before that the 26-year-old featured in 42 games since making his debut in 2020.

This season he has been relegated to NSW Cup. Penrith’s move comes after back-rower Kayliss Fatialofa used the 10-day cooling off period to backflip on the Panthers to remain with the Warriors.

SHARKS CENTRE REJECTS DRAGONS APPROACH

Outside back Mawene Hiroti rejected a late approach from St George Illawarra to remain with Cronulla. The 26-year-old – who made his NRL debut as a teenager for South Sydney in 2018 – has recommitted to the Sharks for next season. Hiroti has been an important squad member at Cronulla since joining the club in 2020.

DRAGONS MOVE TO CLAIM STADIUM NAMING RIGHTS

St George Leagues Club has put forward a submission to claim the naming rights of Jubilee Oval. Georges River Council is in the process of considering submissions after expressions of interest to sponsor the ground closed recently. It is understood that St George Leagues has submitted a proposal to land the sponsorship for at least the next three years.

While the Dragons are the primary tenants, Sydney FC are hosting Auckland FC at the venue this Saturday night in the Australia Cup quarterfinal.

Netstrata were the most recent naming right holders of the venue.

RISING ATHLETICS STAR’S MAKE OR BREAK MOMENT

Rising long jump star Delta Amidzovski is among a clutch of track and field athletes who face make-or-break weekends in their bid to secure a place in the Australian team for the upcoming world championships in Japan.

Amidzovski, an 18-year-old law student who hails from Wollongong and shattered Sally Pearson’s under 18 100m hurdle record as a 16-year-old, is on the cusp of qualification as the next best long jumper on the world rankings quota.

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The teenager faces an anxious few days ahead of the deadline for qualification on Sunday – and she isn’t the only one either clinging to a world title spot or needing a big performance to snatch a place on the Australian team.

High jumper Emily Whelan and 3000m steeplechaser Matt Clarke are also on the cusp of qualification while 400m runner Cooper Sherman is just inside the quota spots heading into the weekend.

Athletes have two ways to qualify for the world titles – either by meeting the qualifying standard or via ranking points.

Originally published as Gorden Tallis surprise contender to join Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters’ support staff