Newcastle will welcome back Anthony Quinn to the club this season after the former Melbourne winger agreed to a one-year contract with the Knights.
Quinn played 103 first grade matches for the Knights between 2002 and 2006 before linking with the Storm.
The 29-year-old made three appearances for New South Wales in the 2008 State of Origin series.
Tags: rugby-league, nrl, sport, newcastle-2300 First posted January 07, 2013 14:11:53Anthony Minichiello has been named captain of the Sydney Roosters for the 2013 NRL season.
The 32-year-old fullback, who made his first-grade debut for the foundation club in 2000, will be supported by four vice-captains in Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend, Jared Waera-Hargreaves and Boyd Cordner, the Roosters announced on Friday.
Minichiello, who has been at the Roosters since he was 16, was delighted to land the job.
"It's a massive honour, a huge honour to be named captain of the Sydney Roosters - it's such a historic club. There's been great captains all the way through since 1908, it's a foundation club and we've played every season in the league since 1908.
"It's a really special time for myself, my wife and my family - they're really proud and excited.
"It's probably the most meaningful highlight of my career to date. It's a pretty special moment."
Rookie NRL coach Trent Robinson said he took some time in the off-season to assess his squad before Minichiello emerged from the pack.
"Since we've come back to training, it's been clear that every day at training that Anthony's been leading the way on and off the field," Robinson said.
"The spirit and the work ethic that we've been trying to instil in this club, Anthony's been living it for a long time now and it's time for Mini to step up and lead the way on the field as well as being our captain."
Meanwhile NSW Origin forward Greg Bird has been re-signed by the Gold Coast Titans until 2017.
The Titans said they fought off offer from several other clubs to extend Bird's contract.
“I think the fact that Greg has committed to the club long term when he had big money offers from elsewhere says a lot about the type of character he is and also how much the Titans mean to him,’’ Titans chief executive David May said.
AAP
Sydney Roosters remain in a strong position to snare New South Wales Origin centre Michael Jennings despite 11th-hour interest from Gold Coast sparking a potential bidding war for his services.
The Titans, in need of firepower out wide following the departure of Beau Champion, are desperate to lure Jennings north on a big seven-figure deal.
But it is understood the Penrith star is keen to stay in Sydney.
That means the Roosters may still be able to offer less to keep the 24-year-old, who appeared on the way to Bondi Junction at the start of this week.
Despite Jennings being on the outer with Panthers officials, Penrith still holds a key to where he will play in 2013.
He's currently on a $600,000-per-season contract but the Roosters are reportedly willing to offer less - $2 million over four years.
With Jennings and his management not interested in a pay cut, and the Panthers reluctant to pay any part of his salary elsewhere, the Titans could come up trumps by stretching themselves with a massive deal.
Gold Coast, which suffered from salary cap pressures last season, now appears to have room to move under the cap after releasing foundation playmaker Scott Prince and Champion, who has returned to South Sydney.
Jennings' signature would add a match-winning back to their list of potent Origin forwards containing Nate Myles, Greg Bird, Dave Taylor and Jamal Idris.
Captaincy candidate Myles was tight-lipped on speculation Jennings could be an off-season recruit but admitted he would be a more than welcome acquisition.
The Titans have fresh memories how the Penrith centre, sensationally dropped by coach Ivan Cleary midway through last year, returned from injury in round 25 to inspire a 36-22 victory at Panthers Stadium.
"Any club that Michael is going to be an asset to with his speed and agility," Myles said on Wednesday.
"He hurt us in the second-last round of the year just with his skill so we know what he's capable of first-hand."
At a Gold Coast junior rugby league promotion, Taylor also spoke of the boost Jennings could provide the Titans but was not about to get his hopes up.
Myles is considered among the favourites to replace Prince as skipper
"Don't get me wrong I'd really enjoy the responsibility ... but we're rich for players who can do it," Myles said.
AAP
Tags: nrl, rugby-league, sport, bondi-junction-2022, nsw, robina-4226, qld, australia First posted January 09, 2013 18:52:56Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has admitted he is weighing up a move to another NRL club, believed to be the St George Illawara Dragons.
Bellamy led the Storm to the NRL crown this year, a particularly sweet triumph after the side was stripped of its previous title in 2009.
The master tactician is in the last year of his contract with the Storm and is uncertain about his future.
A potential $6 million five-year contract with the Dragons is apparently on offer and Bellamy admits he faces a tough decision - especially as he expects his next coaching contract to be his last.
"It is either Storm or one other club and I want to make the decision in January," Bellamy told News Limited.
"It might be three years or it might be five years. It will see me out. I'm 54 now and that's probably long enough for my liking.
"I probably shouldn't say that but it's how I feel.
"The important thing is, I don't want this dragging on and on.
"The decision needs to be made in January or certainly before we go to England for the World club challenge."
Bellamy says the prospect of leaving long-time players such as captain Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk makes the decision difficult.
"Of course it would be hard to leave them," Bellamy said.
"That's part of the decision I have to make. We're all very close."
Tags: sport, rugby-league, nrl, melbourne-3000, wollongong-2500, nsw First posted December 30, 2012 15:01:29South Sydney junior Beau Champion will return to Redfern for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the NRL club announced on Tuesday.
Champion will re-join the Rabbitohs after being granted an immediate release from his contract with Gold Coast.
The former representative centre was pushed out of Souths before the 2011 season to create room under the salary cap for the arrival of Greg Inglis from Melbourne, after the Queensland and Australian representative's deal with Brisbane fell over.
But the 26-year-old Champion returns to Souths as the club bids to find an effective centre combination after Inglis' spectacularly successful move to fullback.
"I'm over the moon at having the opportunity to return to South Sydney," Champion said in a statement.
"(It is) the club where my career began, the team which I supported as a kid and the club which I've always dreamed of playing for," Champion said.
"I appreciate everything the people at the Titans and Storm have done for me over the past two years, and I think my time at both clubs have made me a better player and better person."
Champion spent 2011 with Melbourne and last year with the Titans.
The release of Champion by the Titans has fuelled speculation the Gold Coast club are moving in on Penrith representative centre Michael Jennings.
Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire welcomed Champion's return to the Rabbitohs.
"Beau is a very experienced NRL player ... we're very happy to be able to add a player of his ability to our squad at this stage of the pre-season," Maguire said.
"Beau's inclusion to our squad increases the challenge for spots in our first grade team, which is always good for performance and team development.
"Beau is South Sydney, through and through."
A veteran of 90 NRL games, including 70 for the Rabbitohs from 2005-'10, Champion only played nine matches for the Titans during an injury-plagued 2012.
He has played twice for City Origin and for the Indigenous All Stars in 2010 and 2011.
AAP
Tags: nrl, rugby-league, sport, redfern-2016, nsw, australia, robina-4226, qld First posted January 08, 2013 14:57:27