The Weekend Hangover is back with all the drama from round 19 of the NRL.
This week, there's news on a blow up in Penrith, Joey's change of heart and more mystery from Wayne Bennett.
The match officials involved in the contentious Penrith-Canberra match have until Monday morning to submit written reports to the NRL if they wish to take their case against Ivan Cleary any further.
Cleary approached head referee Ashley Klein in the Panthers Stadium tunnel at halftime and gave him some free advice over his handling of the game.
Klein was dealing with Penrith captain James Tamou at the time and claims he didn’t hear Cleary’s bleating.
Graham Annesley contacted referees boss Bernard Sutton as soon as he was made aware of the situation.
He told Sutton to tell the match referees to put their findings in a written report if they felt the incident warranted further investigation.
Cleary might be lucky he is softly spoken and was in a very noisy area.
The Panthers coach was very reluctant to elaborate on the incident and became quite terse when asked about it after the game.
“No more (frustrated and confused) than any other week…c’mon guys, it’s not a big deal," he said.
“I might have spoken to them but it was nothing untoward. I just wanted to clarify certain things.
“I’m sure if you asked the refs they’d say the same thing.”
Andrew Johns' re-think on Raiders chances
Canberra have the second longest premiership drought in the competition – 25 years and counting.
Not since 1994 has the premiership trophy resided in the nation’s capital, back when the likes of Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley, Ricky Stuart and Steve Walters ruled the rugby league world.
Those guys are long retired and now in their 50s – and a whole new generation of Canberra fans has been left waiting for their turn to celebrate something.
But after dismantling the in-form Panthers on their home patch – ending the locals’ seven-game winning run – there is a growing feeling this could be Canberra’s year.
“Coming here today I thought there were three teams in it – Storm, the Roosters and Rabbitohs,” Immortal Andrew Johns said.
“I didn’t think the Raiders were a genuine chance, but looking at them today they are a well-balanced side.
“They’ve got Joseph Leilua and Nick Cotric to come back. They are a red-hot chance.”
The next five weeks will test the Raiders in a big way.
The play the Warriors (away) followed by the Roosters (home), Storm (away), Sea Eagles (away) and Sharks (away)
“But I don’t think clubs mind a run like that. It’s what you want going into the big games," Peter Sterling said.
“It’s a more physically and mentally tougher Raiders side than we’ve seen and that’s showing in their defence.
“That’s the big improvement. That’s what you win big matches on.”
Manly's media ban on Ben Trbojevic
Manly are continually turning down interview requests for young Ben Trbojevic in the hope of keeping the hype down.
The young centre, who recently extended his deal at Manly, has been setting the Jersey Flegg competition alight after being promoted from the Sea Eagles’ SG Ball side.
That’s brought a wave of attention on the back of his older brothers’ exploits for the first grade side.
The NRL’s media team even went to the trouble of producing a highlights reel on Ben.
But the club is desperate to shield the teenager from the spotlight for as long as possible.
“He’s a kid…just let him play. He will get enough media attention when the time is right but at the moment he’s just starting out,” a club insider told the Weekend Hangover.
Can we believe Wayne Bennett on Sam Burgess?
Depending on which rumour you want to run with, Sam Burgess will either suit up for Souths against Cronulla on Saturday night or won’t be seen again this year.
The influential Englishman has missed the Bunnies’ last five games following shoulder surgery that led to a nasty infection requiring the insertion of a Picc-line drip.
The drip is due to come out in the next couple of days and Burgess wants to play next weekend, but others are not so sure.
Wayne Bennett has labelled talk of Burgess sitting out the rest of the season as a figment of the media’s imagination – no doubt concocted over a few lattes and flat whites at the regular coffee catch-ups we’re all supposed to have.
But as Wendell Sailor told Triple M on Saturday: “Wayne's been telling a few ‘porkies’ (lies) lately so how can we trust what he says?”
Stars on the move?
There are several nervous individuals over at Fox Sports.
Rumours persist that heads will soon roll and some of the network’s league team will be among the victims.
Costs need to be trimmed to money spent elsewhere, presumably on Shane Warne’s ridiculously high salary.