Gaz bows out as Moore is pushed

INS & OUTS: A bumper week for NRL exits as GWS make their move for Scully and Liverpool spends another £20m.

NRL / AFL / Rugby Union / Football / Cricket

NRL

The Moore family's long-standing hold on the head coaching job at the Bulldogs is over, with Kevin Moore quitting this week after being told he wouldn't keep the job at the end of the season.

Moore, who had followed brothers-in-law Chris Anderson and Steve Folks into the Bulldogs coaching job, took out the 2009 Dally M Coach of the Year in his first year in the role but lost the confidence of his board after a recent poor run of form. Some news reports claim current Bulldogs players had approached board members over their concerns with Moore's performance.

Assistant coach Jim Dymock will begin his role as caretaker coach this weekend.

Meanwhile in a more surprising exit, Mark Gasnier has announced he'll retire from rugby league at the end of the season.

Gasnier, who is still yet to turn 30, said he had made the decision some time ago after struggling with the mental side of the game. He will reportedly miss out on $1 million by quitting with three years remaining on his current contract.

And in another big move, the Wests Tigers have apparently splashed $2 million on signing up Storm forward and New Zealand vice-captain Adam Blair on a four-year deal.

Eels centre Joel Reddy and Panthers forward Matthew Bell have also signed up with the Tigers, who had recently offloaded props Bryce Gibbs and Andrew Fifita (to Cronulla) plus backline utility Tim Moltzen (to the Dragons).

There is speculation Chris Heighington and Beau Ryan are the next in line to leave Wests next season.

And the Sharks have kept the recruits coming by confirming the arrivals of Knights pair Isaac De Gois and Mark Taufua, plus Dragons forward Jon Green.

For all the moves completed for 2012 so far, check out our NRL player moves page.

AFL

Greater Western Sydney has reportedly made a bumper offer for 20-year-old Melbourne Demons star Tom Scully, reportedly offering the youngster a five-year deal worth $1 million a year.

The incoming AFL franchise is out to make the 2009 No.1 draft pick their marquee signing, alongside NRL convert Israel Folau.

The development has ignited concerns that one-club players could be a thing of the past in the sport, with North Melbourne's Drew Petrie calling the money on offer in the modern game "ridiculous".

Meanwhile, we thought we'd help out GWS by taking a look at five stars beside Scully who could be a better fit at the new franchise.

RUGBY UNION

The Wallabies have suffered a major blow ahead of this year's World Cup after prop Benn Robinson was ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.

The 26-year-old will undergo surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out of the Cup starting on September 9 in New Zealand.

Meanwhile in better news for the Queensland Reds, the new Super Rugby champions have re-signed young gun Jono Lance on a two-year deal following his strong performance in the Super Rugby final win over the Canterbury Crusaders.

FOOTBALL

Liverpool are set to continue their trend of spending big on overpriced English talent, having a £20 million ($30.1m) bid accepted by Aston Villa for winger Stewart Downing. It means the Reds are now free to begin contract talks with the 26-year-old.

Sir Alex Ferguson has denied Manchester United is close to signing Inter Milan and Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder, following reports a £35m ($52.7m) deal had been reached.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp continues to insist Luka Modric will be staying at Spurs, despite the Croatian star handing in a transfer request. Tottenham has already turned down bids of £22m ($33.1m) and £27m ($40.6m) for the player from Chelsea, who still look set to get their man.

Former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is set to make a less glamorous move to the English Championship, with the 32-year-old undergoing a medical with relegated West Ham. The Iceland international had been released by Stoke and looks like a handy free transfer for the Hammers.

Diego Maradona's son-in-law and up-and-coming Argentina star Sergio Aguero is one step closer to joining one of Real Madrid, Chelsea or Manchester City after declaring this week he will be leaving Spanish club Atletico Madrid.

Former Arsenal captain turned Manchester City veteran Patrick Vieira has announced his retirement at the age of 35. The French international plans on taking an off-field role at City.

Cesc Fabregas is apparently "suffering" as much as the rest of us over the prolonged Arsenal-or-Barcelona saga, at least according to Barca midfielder and Fabregas's Spain teammate Xavi.

Xavi said the Arsenal skipper wants to leave the London club and is waiting for the Gunners to let him go, suggesting he couldn't even relax in party island Ibiza. "I spoke with Cesc in Ibiza and he told me that he was suffering because he wants to come here," Xavi said. "It's what he wants most and he's done all he can to come, he wants Arsenal to let him leave."

Meanwhile Robin van Persie has urged Arsenal to start spending in the transfer market, after being concerned by the departure of Gael Clichy and the rumoured exits of Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Meanwhile back home, the cashed-up Newcastle Jets have landed another marquee signing, with a former teammate of Lionel Messi signing on for next season.

Sure, he may only have played with the world's best player as a youngster with Barcelona's B-team, but 30-year-old Brazilian defender Tiago Calvano does have plenty of experience after stints in Spain, Switzerland and Germany.

Socceroo Jason Culina is next season's other marquee signing for the Jets, who were purchased by mining magnate Nathan Tinkler midway through last season.

Meanwhile one of Culina's international teammates, midfielder Mile Jedinak, will make the move to England after signing on with Crystal Palace on a free transfer.

Former Socceroo Tony Popovic is a first-team coach at Palace, which has a history of signing Australian stars including Nick Carle, Kevin Muscat and Craig Foster.

CRICKET

The upcoming Big Bash League has landed a couple of new international stars this week, with West Indies Twenty20 specialist Kieron Pollard signing up with the Adelaide Strikers.

Pollard played for South Australia in last year's Big Bash and is regarded as one of the world's best players in the shortest form of the game.

Meanwhile fellow West Indian Fidel Edwards has joined the Sydney Thunder, where he will form a bowling strike force alongside another new recruit in Doug Bollinger.

The full list of contracted players for the tournament, which starts in December, is here.

Leave a comment