Inglis-backed young guns hit UK

Robert Lane (ball) from Goodooga pictured with teammates. Source: Simon Bullard / Supplied

ROBERT Lane hails from Australia's most boring town.

"Yeah, that tag was lumped on Goodooga in '81,'' the Aboriginal schoolboy grins. "I wasn't even born but since then we've lost the service station, which had one petrol pump, and a shop too.

"So I guess most people probably think we've only gone downhill."

Speaking with The Daily Telegraph in his favourite Goodooga t-shirt, Lane is the living, breathing, smiling proof that rugby league may truly be the greatest game of all.

Still only 16, and hailing from a family that has never travelled overseas, this gifted young fullback now heads a team of indigenous schoolboys who, as you read this, have landed in the United Kingdom for a three-game tour of both England and France - the first of their kind to ever do so.

It's why, suddenly, Goodooga isn't so boring anymore.

Hasn't been for the past three months as, following the announcement that one of their own had made it, the tiny community of 250 rallied in the form of meat raffles, 100 clubs, even anonymous donations from property owners to get their boy on that plane.

It's been a similar story for schoolboys from Cargo, Condobolin and Lake Cargelico. Kangaroo superstar Greg Inglis gave three grand from his own pocket so the entire squad can visit Euro Disney.

Robert Lane (ball) from Goodooga pictured with teammates. Source: Supplied

"So I really hope we get to meet GI over there,'' Lane said. "Just so I can shake his hand and say thanks.

"It's been the same out home, I can't even walk down the street without someone wanting to cuddle or kiss me.

"There's a wonderful sense of community in Goodooga and everyone is so proud when one of their own do well.

"Even the boys in the senior footy side, they're always telling me 'chase your dreams'.''

"Chasing the dream" is exactly what Lane has been doing since 13 when he was offered a scholarship to Nudgee College in Brisbane.

Back in 1981, Goodooga was classified by the ABC as the most boring town in Australia. It's said a local wrote to the ABC explaining how the highlight of their day was to visit the servo and see if the numbers on the petrol pump had changed from the day before.

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Moffat out to copy Dad's success

Father and son Allan and James Moffat shows the passion of motor racing can run in the family. Source: Supplied

JAMES Moffat's phone rang an hour after his first race in a V8 Supercar. It was 2009 and the rookie had won a development series race on debut.

"Tell me about the race?'' said his father Allan.

"What happened?''

James was happier about the call than the race win.

"That was the first time Dad showed an interest in my career,'' James, now driving for Kelly Brother's Racing, said.

"That was the moment when I think I finally got his support.''

Many think that James Moffat is only a V8 driver because of his Dad, Allan Moffat; the V8 legend, the Ford God. The same people that sit in pubs debating whether Allan was better than Dick Johnson, or more talented than Peter Brock, sip their beers and dismiss James as another spoilt kid who has an easy ride. But nothing could be further than the truth. Now finally stepping out of his father's shadows with a break through year that has included a race win, the Nissan factory driver has revealed his father warned him against racing and showed no interest in his son's career until 2009. There was no coaching, no advice, and certainly no money to fund his dream.

"Dad never showed an interest in what I did,'' James said. "I guess I had to prove that I was good enough and committed enough to make it before he did. He never used to come and watch me in the Carrera Cup or Formula Ford. Dad was very guarded when I told him I wanted to make a career out of racing. I guess it was because he knows how hard the sport is. It is easy for people on the outside to think I was given my career, but my surname had nothing to do with it. He didn't spoon-feed me, if anything he ignored me. He never showed an interest, he just sat back, I guess waiting for me to prove I had the talent to make it in the sport.''

And that day came in March, 2009, when James won his first race in the development series.

"I think he saw something that made him believe I could do it,'' James said.

"And he is a lot more interested in what I am doing these days.

James might have cared about the knockers that claim he is living on his Dad's legend before his win in Adelaide. But that one phone call from Dad validated his talent, and confirmed his dream.

"I have heard people say it is all because of Dad,'' James said.

"I have had to live with that all of my life. I really don't care what they say. I guess I showed him that I could do it. We had conversations over that weekend and they continued. He had only seen me race a handful of times before that and now he watched all the time. He saw I was prepared to do whatever it took to make it and he couldn't ignore that.''

A win this year in the V8 Supercar series proper has silence many of his knockers. He is slowly escaping his father's shadow.

"It is nice if I have shut them up because I am certainly not a race car driver because my Dad choose me as a race car driver,'' Moffat said.

"I am doing it because it is what I love and my Dad just happens to have been a race car driver that was very good at it. I am my own man and I don't think about it too much.''

In his third year at the top, Moffat has earned the respect of his peers and shown fans he has enough talent to make it on his own.

"Now it is up to me to earn some of the success Dad had,'' Moffat said.

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Kiwis face big-bopper dilemma

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ONE stands 1.96m, weighs close to 130kg and goes by the nickname Dogzilla.

The other has been described as a wrecking ball.

The reality is that Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney will probably have to omit one from his team to face Scotland on Saturday morning.

It wasn't long ago that it was often a case of who to put in rather than who to leave out of the New Zealand side, but Kearney and assistant Ivan Cleary have some difficult decisions to make as the Kiwis head into the knockout phase of the World Cup.

The defending champions base a large part of their game around forward dominance and have arguably the best pack at the World Cup.

The biggest selection dilemma will be which world-class front-rower to leave out for their quarter-final in Leeds, assuming Kearney opts to go with his best playing 17.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is an automatic choice and Jesse Bromwich and Ben Matulino are also likely starters. That would mean either Sam Kasiano or Sam Moa being left out of the four-prop rotation.

Kasiano and Moa present compelling cases for inclusion for different reasons.

Sam Moa on the charge. Source: Getty Images

Kasiano, the only one of the five props to have played in all three games, is huge (officially 1.96m and 122kg but closer to 130kg) but also has soft hands and a good engine.

Dogzilla, as he's often referred to, is comfortable playing the ball at the line and has produced seven offloads at the World Cup.

Moa is a lot more compact (1.83m and 105kg) and very direct.

It's rare for him to produce an offload but he often provides a quick-play-the-ball, which is when hooker Issac Luke is at his most dangerous.

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CCTV: Billy the boxing Kangaroo

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IT'S nearly 3am on the streets of Manchester at the front of a popular nightclub.

Billy Slater is struck on the side of the head by an open-handed shove from a man who thinks Slater is queue-jumping.

The Australian fullback's retaliation, as shown in CCTV footage screened on Channel 7, is swift.

The star No. 1 throws a strong right hand punch, collecting the other man who instigated the incident.

The man then clashes heads heavily with a woman behind him.

She careers away and is comforted by onlookers. The grainy footage shows Slater is not punched by the 40-year-old as had been previously claimed.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE

But team officials remain convinced that Slater was in the right.

"The first thing to remember here is the player is the victim," Australian team manager Gareth Holmes said.

"The second thing is that this is an eight-week tour and there are times when the players will be given the opportunity to go out and they deserve to be able to do that. We have great respect for our players and they respect their responsibilities."

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Police initially took Slater into custody but he was later released without charge - with police saying he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

Police spokesman Adrian Worsley said Slater had left the Mojo nightclub at about 2.40am and then returned to collect his jacket when another patron, who had been arguing with the doorman, struck Slater.

Slater didn't return to the team hotel until after 8am and spent the day resting while teammates attended a training session in the lead up to Saturday's knockout quarter final against the United States in Wales.

Billy Slater for the Kangaroos. Source: AFP

It's the second late night incident on this tour, with rookie forward Josh Papalii robbed on his first night in Manchester, allegedly by armed thieves after another night out drinking with teammates.

Slater yesterday refused to go into detail about what happened, but conceded the attack was a "wake up call" for all players.

"I think we have to be aware of the situations we find ourselves in," he said.

"I suppose it is probably a bit of a wake-up call for everyone when we do go out."

Slater said the first call he made after the incident was to his family back home to let them know he was not injured.

"That was my main priority, to make sure my family knew I was OK," he said.

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Asked if he could understand the criticism that players shouldn't be out drinking in the early hours of the morning while on tour at the World Cup, he said: "I can understand that perception too. We are over here for eight weeks and it is important to enjoy and celebrate your wins, but obviously you'd like to stay away from these situations."

The Mojo nightclub, where the incident took place. Source: Supplied

It is understood Slater will be available for Australia's World Cup quarter final against the US, but he said he hadn't contemplated if the incident could cost his place in the team.

Slater said he would not be pressing charges.

Asked to explain exactly what occurred, Slater said: "I'm not going to sit here and go through the finer details of the event

"I think it has been well documented and the police report has the facts in it.

"I'm disappointed that spotlight is on this and not the tournament and the games we've played.

"I just want to express my disappointment there and move forward."

Slater said his main priority after being released by police was ensuring his family back home knew he was okay, with his wife Nicole posting this message on Instagram:

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Biggest Roo tour scandals revealed

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THERE was the time AC/DC once complained to management at a French hotel about the noise coming from the rooms of the Kangaroos. And the time Australian players rushed into a bar to fight the moody members of an English band.

The 3am dispute between a Manchester man and Billy Slater outside a nightclub is just one more instance in which off-field action on Australian Rugby League tours have been more newsworthy than what's happened in the Tests.

On the 1978 Kangaroo tour, a member of The Jam viciously glassed the face of Jim Caldwell, the team manager from Queensland, in a Leeds bar. Kangaroo Larry Corowa ran to defend the bloodied Caldwell, was punched from behind himself and raced into a nearby bar to get teammates to provide reinforcements for the brawl that ensued.

One member of The Jam landed in hospital with broken ribs and another was reported at the time to have been charged with assault.

Band ACDC on tour bus in 1976. Picture: Gary Graham Source: News Limited

Senior Australian manager Peter Moore told police that while he could guarantee the behaviour of his players for the rest of the night, he could not guarantee it the day after.

So what was left of The Jam were kicked out of their hotel rooms.

It's a source of wonder that footballers "get picked'' as often as they do. But some blokes just love to have something to boast about to their mates, don't they?

As the Kangaroos are in Manchester on this tour and not Leeds, a football city and not a rugby league one, there's every chance the galoot in the nightclub queue did not realise Slater was an international footballer who can handle himself.

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"You'd think because I'm 6 foot 3 and known for my aggression on the field that people wouldn't want to mess with me in public,'' marvelled Gorden Tallis, showing himself a man with a game plan in his book "Gordie's Tales''.

"(When I was a player, I'd say) if you're that tough, you should be getting paid for it instead of having a fight here. And then when you're getting paid (for playing league) I'll punch the shit out of you and can't be sued for it.

"No one ever did test that out. I've never been in a fight off the field.''

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While some of the most memorable Kangaroo tour stories over the years involve violence, some have none at all.

The mental picture of the members of AC/DC, purveyors of "Highway To Hell'' and all the rest, having their rest disturbed on a tour stop in the south of France by the racket from Aussie footballers in other rooms is one to savour.

From 1967, there was the "man in the bowler hat'' tale 1967 which was pinned on John Raper for 20 years until he wearied of it.

Ultimately Dennis Manteit admitted in an interview for Ian Heads' book The Kangaroos that while the most sensational part of the story was wrong - it was "ridiculous'' that anyone could walk down a town's street in a north of England winter wearing nothing but a bowler hat - he had taken part in a floor show at the hotel one night.

Heads wrote that Manteit wore a bowler hat, a team tie, an overcoat and nothing else, throwing the overcoat wide at the end of the act.

That was the tour Raper brought a jukebox into the hotel to create some fun. He also imported crates of beer for parties when the pub's prices got too high.

But at its end, the ARL docked each player a sum towards payment of a $700 bill for damage at their inadequate Yorkshire hotel, which had precisely two bathrooms.

John Raper with the Kangaroos. Source: News Limited

The 1990 Kangaroos racked up a total of $11,600 in hotel damages and a headline "Aussie Yobs Riot in Bar''. In his book, Ben Elias wrote one teammate "went crazy ... cornered the barman and clobbered him''.

In the 1980s, Kangaroo tourists would pool resources and buy a bomb to drive around during their visit. These were treated with such love and care that one on the 1982 tour was eventually good for nothing else than being pushed into a canal behind the team's Leeds hotel.

Police divers were summoned by a member of the public, alarmed that someone might be in the wreckage.

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Slater and Roos to stay on booze

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THE Kangaroos won't be put on a booze ban despite the second early morning incident during this World Cup campaign.

Yesterday, team officials leapt to the defence of Billy Slater, who was the victim of an unprovoked attack at a Manchester nightclub on Sunday in the UK.

Police initially took Slater into custody but he was later released without charge - with police saying he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

Police spokesman Adrian Worsley said Slater had left the club at around 2.40am and then returned to collect his jacket when another patron, who had been allegedly arguing with the doorman, hit Slater.

Worsley said Slater then defended himself and struck the man hard enough to knock him backwards.

Slater didn't return to the team hotel yesterday until after 8am and spent the day resting while teammates attended a training session in the lead up to Saturday's knockout quarter final against the United States in Wales.

Rookie forward Josh Papalii was also robbed on his first night in Manchester, allegedly by armed thieves after another night out drinking with teammates.

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Slater last night refused to go into the exact details of what happened, but conceded the attack was a "wake up call" for all players.

"I think we have to be aware of the situations we find ourselves in," he said.

"I suppose it is probably a bit of a wake up call for everyone when we do go out.

"But I hope what happened last night doesn't jeopardise anyone else going out and having a good time because that is certainly what I don't want."

Australian team manager Gareth Holmes said: "The first thing to remember here is the player is the victim.

"The second thing is that this is an eight-week tour and there are times when the players will be given the opportunity to go out and they deserve to be able to that.

"We have great respect for our players and they respect their responsibilities."

The Mojo club, where the incident occured. Source: Supplied

Regardless, the attack on Slater occurred at 2.40am on Monday outside a Manchester nightclub.

Slater yesterday said the first call he made after the attack was to his family back home to let them know he was not injured.

"That was my main priority, to make sure my family knew I was okay," he said.

"It's pretty tough on them being over the other side of the world and hearing stuff like this.

"So that was my main priority, to make sure they knew I was okay."

Asked if he could understand the criticism that players shouldn't be out drinking in the early hours of the morning while on tour at the World Cup, he said: "I can understand that perception too.

"We are over here for eight weeks and it is important to enjoy and celebrate your wins but obviously you'd like to stay away from these situations."

CCTV footage of Billy Slater after the scuffle. Source: DailyTelegraph

Slater's wife Nicole posted an emotional message on Instagram where she said the king hit style attack could have "killed" her husband.

"Someone thought it was ok to punch my husband in the face, because he thought he pushed in line. If he had king hit him and killed him I would have to raise my 2 kids alone," she wrote.

"What has this world come to? I have already lost dad. Makes me sick. Think before u act, there is a family behind everyone. And your actions in that 2 sec can change people's lives 4 ever. This has to stop."

It is understood Slater will be available for Australia's World Cup quarter final against the United States on Saturday in Wales but he said at this point he hadn't contemplated if the incident could cost his place in the team.

He said he would not be pressing charges.

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