Bellamy learns off NBA visit

Craig Bellamy and Frank Ponissi in the US. Source: News Limited

A MEETING with NBA coaching legend Pat Riley - who charges up to $75,000 for a speaking engagement - has Melbourne Storm mentor Craig Bellamy bursting with new ideas as he attempts to keep his side in the upper echelon of the NRL.

Bellamy and football manager Frank Ponissi have returned from a two-week fact-finding trip to the United States, in which they spent time with the NFL's Miami Dolphins, the all-conquering Miami Heat NBA franchise and the famed University of Notre Dame.

There were many highlights, but a 45-minute sit down with Riley - the president of the Heat and five-time NBA championship-winning coach - stood out for Bellamy.

Miami Heat's LeBron James shoots a free throw during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Source: AFP

"To be quite honest, that time with Pat was probably worth the whole trip on its own," he said.

"He was very intriguing with his insights on coaching and how a club should run.

"He was very open and honest and we found him to be a really personable guy."

Bellamy and Ponissi attended an NBA game between the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks in Miami.

Watching LeBron James in action was an experience, but it did not compare with the rare opportunity to trade coaching secrets with Riley.

The chance to pick the brain of one of the greatest NBA coaches in history left the two Storm head honchos mesmerised.

"He had some mentalities and philosophies on coaching players and he shared them with us, which was great," Bellamy said.

"He also had some very good ideas on running the club.

"And we found a lot of philosophies were things that we really believed in as well.

The Miami Dolphins prepare to take the field during a game against the Carolina Panthers. Source: AFP

"So it was nice to hear some of our own ideas reinforced by a guy like him."

The Storm pair were granted an all access pass at the Dolphins, which included joining the club on a trip to Tampa Bay for the clash against the Buccaneers.

They were blown away by the military-like precision of the road trip.

"They had 20 coaches and 50 some players on their roster," he said.

"There is a lot of people there so it feels big - everything in America is done big.

"They were very welcoming and opened the doors up to us."

Bellamy and Ponissi made a presentation to the Storm staff last week on their findings from the trip.

He said the insights gained would help Storm next season and the way they operate.

"There was a lot of things that we picked up that we think we can incorporate into our program," he said.

"There were a couple little things for each department that we picked up.

"They were very generous with their time and opened up their doors to us."

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Jarryd Hayne central to Blues

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NSW coach Laurie Daley says Jarryd Hayne has "outgrown'' the wing and is poised to be named in the NSW centres for next year's State of Origin series.

The only problem is that Hayne regards himself as a fullback.

Playing Hayne at right centre to confront Queensland's Greg Inglis would allow Josh Dugan and Brett Stewart to fight for the vacant fullback spot.

Daley's comments come as the draw for next year's Origin series was released with the second game at Sydney's ANZ Stadium to be played on June 18. .

''Jarryd was very impressive at centre,'' Daley told The Daily Telegraph. ''He will be in the team somewhere and I think he has outgrown the wing.

''He can give us another option at centre and more depth. He played centre for Australia so he may well play centre for NSW.

Jarryd Hayne is tackled during the RLWC Final against New Zealand. Source: AFP

''I think we need him in a position where he can do a bit more. I was impressed how he handled centre ... the way he took a knock (in the final) and defended strongly.

''I think the best of Jarryd is still in front of him. As I said, he will be there somewhere.

''Blake Ferguson will be another option at centre if he is available, Josh Morris, Michael Jennings and maybe Hayne.''

Jarryd Hayne beats the Fiji defence to score a try during their RLWC clash. Source: AP

But Hayne still wants to return to the No. 1 jersey.

"I think that is what everyone is talking about (moving to centre) but for me I really enjoy fullback and that attacking side of that,'' Hayne said after the World Cup final.

''Being on the edge is one of those positions where you can have games where you don't really see the ball and you can have games where you see all the ball.

"It is not dictated by how good you play, it is dictated by the halves inside you.

"(At fullback) you get a lot more places to roam and you can sort of have a lot more impact on the game."

Despite criticism the series was too long, NRL officials decided to leave three-week gaps between games.

NRL officials wanted to retain the lengthy breaks between matches to ensure marquee games are not played with Origin stars unavailable.

"We obviously try to place byes strategically through that particular area of the season to help compensate teams that are heavily affected by State of Origin and its impact on clubs," said NRL general manager of football operations, Nathan McGuirk.

"So we obviously also try and reserve marquee events or match-ups from our stand down Origin rounds when our superstars aren't playing and reserve those for rounds outside that time period."

The representative weekend will be played on the weekend of May 2 to 4, with the traditional midyear Test between Australia and New Zealand played on the Friday night and City-Country - to be contested at Apex Oval, Dubbo - on Sunday.

The full NRL draw will be released tomorrow.

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Meninga: Cameron Smith is best ever

CAMERON Smith is now starting to enter the debate of where he sits in the list of rugby league greats of all time.

Already considered by many to be the greatest hooker to lace a boot, Smith's cabinet full of trophies and accolades is now complete after leading the Kangaroos to a World Cup triumph in the UK.

It was the one prize the 30-year-old had yet to collect and now that he has led one of the most dominant tours for Australia the skipper is being lauded for his role.

Smith did not miss a single game for the entire World Cup, leading Australia out for all six matches in a feat only matched by interchange prop Andrew Fifita.

Cameron Smith of Australia celebrates with his winners medal after the Rugby League World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Old Trafford. Source: Getty Images

Smith saved his best for last with a game high 44 tackles in the final win over New Zealand and for a player that averages over 100 possessions a game the sensational hooker made just one error all tournament.

Queensland coach Mal Meninga said there was no doubt Smith was the finest No.9 of all time and was now beginning to be considered among some of the game's greats.

"If he is not the best hooker of all time then I don't know who is to be honest with you," Meninga said.

"I think you talk to any hooker and he is well out in front.

"He is resilient and he is tough and he doesn't seem to get any injuries. He just keeps pounding it out.

"He is one of our greatest ever players, there is no doubt about that."

Maroons legend Gorden Tallis said it was Smith's ability to make his teammates better players that was most impressive.

"He makes everybody look better," Tallis said.

"His ability to make everybody around him look better and go on looking like he is doing nothing is the greatest quality to have in our game."

Cameron Smith offloads during the Rugby League World Cup Semi Final match against Fiji. Source: Getty Images

In 2013 Smith led Melbourne to the World Club Challenge title, Queensland to an eighth-straight series win and the Kangaroos to World Cup redemption.

Starting with an NRL All Stars appearance on February 9, Smith played 35 games of rugby league in 42 weeks and amassed over 1300 tackles and 44 hours of time on the football field.

Cronulla prop Fifita set the record with 36 games in 2013, while Newcastle's Darius Boyd and Manly's Kieran Foran both equalled Smith with 35 appearances.

It was an effort matched by two Wallabies - Stephen Moore and skipper Ben Mowen - in playing 35 games in a calendar year as the two toughest sporting codes continue to push athletes to breaking point.

But it's Smith's efforts, with his high work rate in defence and handling the ball more than anybody else in the game, that is most stunning.

At 30 he is showing no signs of slowing down. Smith has one year left on his Melbourne Storm contract and is expected to be offered a three-year contract to see out his career at the Brisbane Broncos.

If Smith keeps playing until 2017 it would put the champion from Logan on the verge of reaching the incredible figures set by Immortal-in-waiting Darren Lockyer.

Lockyer retired in 2011 after 355 NRL games, 63 Tests for Australia, 38 Origin appearances and two All Stars starts.

Smith has already played 261 NRL games at the Storm, 37 Tests for the Kangaroos, 30 Origins and three All Star matches.

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Players blocks Origin schedule change

Queensland celebrate their State of Origin win after beating the NSW Blues in Game 3 at ANZ Stadium. Source: News Limited

PLAYER power has ruled supreme with the game's elite rejecting moves to shorten the 2014 State of Origin schedule because of concerns about their physical and mental well-being.

NRL head of football Todd Greenberg wanted to reduce the length of the Origin series for 2014 but hit a brick wall when he put the proposal to the Rugby League Players Association.

Fear of a physical and psychological burnout by reducing the gap between each Origin game by one week forced the NRL to abandon any plans to change the formula for next season.

"It was the players themselves that came back to us and said we preferred the current model in terms of the eight-week window rather than condensing it down," NRL general manager of football operations Nathan McGuirk said.

A dejected Mitchell Pearce after NSW lose Game 3 of the 2013 series. Source: News Limited

"The players were concerned about the quick back up within camps by reducing that time period.

"We heeded those calls and we said we will happily sit down with players during this season and try and work on what options are available that meet their needs."

RLPA chief executive David Garnsey said players were keen to consider other scheduling options but were never given the chance to enter into a proper discussion.

"Having consulted with the Origin players their concerns about reducing the Origin period centred on the physical and psychological toll taken by State of Origin football and the inadequate recovery time that would result from a condensed Series schedule," Garnsey said.

"But even with those concerns the proposed schedule change was not rejected out-of-hand, rather we proposed a 'round table' discussion involving all stakeholders that would consider Origin scheduling options and address the Players' issues.

"We're not aware what the reaction was from other parties (broadcasters, clubs etc) but in any event the NRL opted to shelve the idea for 2014."

The NRL yesterday confirmed the Origin dates for 2014 starting with Game One in Brisbane on May 28, with Game Two in Sydney on June 18 and Game Three in Brisbane on July 9.

The series will be identical in length to 2013 and run over six weeks and affect eight NRL competition rounds.

Josh Dugan in action for the NSW Blues in Game 3 of the 2013 Origin series. Source: News Limited

Player burnout had been a hot topic of discussion this year with NRL coaches furious at Origin impacting on one third of the regular season but also wary about player workloads.

As it stands the 2014 NRL schedule will be released just a few hours after Australia's World Cup team returns to the country.

The Test stars will not resume club duties until January, but will be back on the playing field by February for the new Auckland Nines tournament just 11 weeks after the World Cup final.

Maroons coach Mal Meninga agreed the competition schedule was too exhausting for the players and needed to be addressed.

"It's something the game needs to look at closely, it needs to be rectified and we need to come up with a plan about player welfare and the amount of games they play in the scheduling," Meninga said.

Queensland fans are urged to purchase memberships for priority access to next year's Origin games while tickets for the Sydney clash go on sale to the general public later this week.

Meninga said the Maroons were still concluding their planning for 2014 but with Queensland hosting two games for the first time since 2011 he knows they need to start the series firing.

"Game one is really important. It is every season but this year we have two at home and they (NSW) will be really working hard on getting game one and being successful up here that's for sure," he said.

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Lucky George better for the run

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GEORGE Bailey may be Australia's lucky charm.

He played in a resounding win on debut after many of his team mates spent almost all year without success.

Australia's nine Tests without a victory is one of the worst sequences in this country's history so Bailey jokes he's a pretty popular bloke in the dressing room at the moment.

"They rub me," Bailey said with a broad smile.

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"That was pretty surreal," he said about the win. "It brought home how special it was."

It contrasted with another of Australia's late call-ups, Chris Rogers, who went six Tests without a win before basking in Brisbane's 381-run first Test triumph.

"I really enjoyed the week," Bailey said of his first as a Test cricketer.

"It was a fantastic result and particularly seeing how hard those guys had worked for so many months without a Test win, to see the happiness and to be part of that was pretty special.

"It would have been nice to get a couple more runs in the first innings. Hopefully I'm like a race horse, better for the run."

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Bailey reinforced what many who watch Test cricket already believe that overrates could easily be improved, given Sheffield Shield sides must bowl 96 overs, compared to a Test match's 90 in a day.

"The hardest thing I found, certainly in the first innings, was the tempo of the game," said Bailey

"It sounds a little bit silly but it goes a bit slower than coming up from Sheffield Shield.

"It felt like it was longer between overs and longer between balls and having spent a bit of time at short leg looking at how the other guys take their time between balls and take their time to face up that was the big learning curve for me, getting the tempo right."

At 31 Bailey is the oldest Australian batsman to debut for 34 years and after a poor first innings his second innings cameo of 34 included more sixes (2) than fours (1).

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Following on from centurions David Warner and Michael Clarke, Bailey continued what seemed the obvious tactic of murdering spinner Graeme Swann, one of England's most pivotal bowlers, but he claimed the plan was broader than that.

"We certainly wanted to keep bringing their best bowlers back into the game and try and tire them out. That worked," he said.

"Whether that's the same here, it might turn a bit more and reverse swing can play a part here.

"If they happen to be doing that (reverse swing) well and Swannie is trying to tie up one end then it's probably the best option to try and keep the scoreboard ticking along."

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