Cameron Murray’s enthusiastic support for Michael Maguire in his bid for the NSW coaching job
Cameron Murray, a NSW back-rower, played under Michael Maguire at South Sydney and says he “would love to rekindle” his relationship with the hard-nosed coach at the Blues.
Following rumours this week that Maguire had verbally accepted the post of Brad Fittler’s replacement, the NSWRL board issued a statement explaining the situation.
“NSWRL chairman Paul Conlon has advised that Michael Maguire is the preferred candidate, however the process is ongoing and there has been no appointment at this stage,” the statement went on to say.
Murray praised Maguire as the new man for the position after appearing in Australia’s 38-12 win over Samoa in the Pacific Championships on Saturday night, when asked about the situation on Nine’s Sports Sunday.
think it [his relationship with Maguire at the Rabbitohs] got cut a little bit short,” Murray said.
“Thought I was going to be under him for the 2018 season, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
“Madge was a massive part of my career, particularly early on. He was in and around the club since I was about 15, 16 years old coming through the junior ranks and instilled a lot of belief in me and he was a great mentor for me coming through and … gifted me my debut. That’s where my career started and I’ve got a lot of admiration and gratitude towards Madge for what he did for me at the start of my career.
“So it’d be awesome to team up with him again and play under him in one of the biggest arenas that rugby league produces.
“We’ll wait and see what happens there, but it would be awesome.”
Wests Tigers announce re-signing of cult forward Alex Twal
The club has announced that Wests Tigers cult figure Alex Twal has signed a three-year deal.
The forward was previously bound to the joint-venture club until the end of 2024, but has now been extended until the end of 2027.
The Tigers’ declaration comes after The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday that Twal had been included to the club’s 2024 plans.
The Tigers were looking to get Twal’s $525,000 deal for next season off their books but rival clubs interested in securing the front-rower’s services were unwilling to pay the full amount, forcing a rethink, according to the Herald.
The Bulldogs and Sea Eagles were the two clubs that entered negotiations with the 27-year-old but were unable to reach an agreement with the Tigers to secure his release.
Twal’s management was informed of the club’s change of position on Tuesday and told that coach Benji Marshall wanted him in his team next year.
Another pivotal point in the negotiations was the future of Manly forward Sean Keppie, who just signed with the Rabbitohs.
The Tigers and Sea Eagles had talked about swapping players, but Keppie’s choice to join the Rabbitohs instead of the Tigers put a halt to that.
Twal’s decision to stay at the club, which will be managed by rookie coach Marshall next season, comes on the heels of new contracts for Api Koroisau, who has extended his stay at the Tigers until 2026, and boom fullback Jahream Bula, who has signed a lucrative contract that will expire at the end of 2027.
