May 10, 2013, 3 a.m.
The Knights insist playmaker Jarrod Mullen has been ruled out with a knee injury and will not play against the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on Sunday. But anyone who saw him at training on Thursday could be excused for thinking otherwise. Mullen, right, ran and kicked on his own while captain Kurt Gidley, named at five-eighth, ran in his place at the other end of the training field. The Knights train again on Friday before flying to Canberra, and coach Wayne Bennett could decide to see how Mullen trains then add him to the squad.
Brett Keeble
Cleary maintains his faith in John
Even when Isaac John was losing sleep over what had gone wrong with his rugby league career, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary didn't hesitate to pick up the phone. John's second coming at five-eighth for the Panthers against Melbourne on Sunday comes four years after Cleary handed him a debut at the Warriors in 2009. His NRL lifeline also comes amid a halves crisis at the foot of the mountains. John and halfback Luke Walsh form the fourth Panthers halves pairing in nine matches this season. Just in time to take on a Storm side marshalled by the most reliable general in the game, Cooper Cronk.
Paulo keen to step out of Mateo's shadow
Joseph Paulo is embracing his impact role on Parramatta's bench but does not want to be compared to rival Feleti Mateo. Like Warriors back-rower Mateo, Paulo is a creative lock who can moonlight in the halves due to his impressive ball skills. But the 25-year-old, who gets teased by teammates for his similarities to Mateo, wants to distance himself from the 29-year-old.
''I admire the way Feleti plays, and he's a good mate of mine,'' Paulo said. ''We know each other and respect each other. But really I just want to create my own name.''
Bellamy on the defensive after defeat
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy is convinced defensive frailties exposed by Canberra last week have been resolved for Sunday's trip to Penrith. ''We have to make sure we make teams work hard to score tries and not give them a saloon passage through,'' Bellamy said. ''We individualised what we thought we needed to individualise. Some of that came from the rest of the team, some of it came one-on-one. Hopefully we've covered those areas and those guys can be sharper this week. We're certainly not going to overreact and start jumping at shadows.''
Marshall's 'worth every cent': Lawrence
Benji Marshall has lost his confidence, his Test captaincy and even the strength in his big toe, but the Wests Tigers playmaker still commands the utmost respect of his teammates. Marshall, who will play his second game following a turf toe injury against Cronulla at Allianz Stadium on Friday, put his hand up this week and accepted much of the Tigers' woes this season. Marshall is reportedly close to inking an upgrade of his current contract, which ends at the end of next season, which would keep him at the Tigers on a five-year deal worth $4 million. ''He's worth every cent to us,'' teammate Chris Lawrence said.
The quote
'The Atlanta policeman was obviously saying this because of his concerns for our safety if we ventured south of a certain street due to the bad lighting and high crime rate.'
- ABC commentator David Morrow explains the on-air remark that led to accusations of racism.
71
The number of NRL matches that have gone into golden point since the rule was introduced in the 2003 season.
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