Anzac super team to take on Poms

Enemies to friends ... Kangaroos and Kiwis will play together in 2015. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

There'll be no 2015 Test at Gallipoli, but Kangaroos and Kiwis stars could join forces to take on Great Britain to commemorate 100 years since troops landed at Anzac Cove.

Turkish authorities blocked Australian and New Zealand rugby league officials' attempt to hold the Test match near the battleground because they feared a logistical nightmare.

New NRL chief operating officer Jim Doyle, the former NZRL boss, said: "We were told very clearly by the Turkish Embassy they cannot cope with what is coming their way with the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli.

"There was no way they would sanction an event that would bring more people there. The area will already be under massive pressure, they said."

But ambitious plans are now afoot with New Zealand and England league officials for a team comprising Australia and New Zealand's biggest names to take on Great Britain's finest in a tribute Test match.

"We are looking at picking an Anzac team to play against a British side. You could have Benji Marshall and Johnathan Thurston in the same team. That would be something special," Doyle said.

Under the original proposal - as revealed by News Ltd two years ago - players from both nations would attend the dawn service at Anzac Cove before playing at the home ground of Turkish football league powerhouses Fenerbahce or Galatasaray.

A curtain-raiser between Australian and New Zealand defence forces has also been slated, with both matches to be played in front of the legions of Australians and Kiwis who make pilgrimage to Turkey for Anzac Day each year.

"We'd also found a stadium that was relatively close to Gallipoli that would hold about 15,000 fans," Doyle said.

"We spoke to people connected to travel companies, and they looked at the stadium and the locations of accommodation. We did a lot of work on it but the Turkish government knocked it on the head. It's a shame."

The news will come as a shock to Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens, who expressed excitement about the match ahead of last week's Test in Canberra.

But Doyle and NRL game development general manager Andrew Hill are now hatching an alternative plan that could see the cream of both countries combining against the best of the British.

"We could have the Kiwi-Kangaroo Test match, but you only get a chance like this in a hundred years to do something different," Doyle said.

Said Hill: "We are in discussions with the New Zealand Rugby League and the English Rugby League." 

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How Roosters built a super team

Sydney Roosters ... renaissance as a rugby league superpower extends well beyond signing SBW. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

It began with a handshake between a man of great wealth and a footballer of great talent.

But the Sydney Roosters' renaissance as a rugby league superpower extends well beyond the mutual affection between Nick Politis and Sonny Bill Williams.

Williams aside, it began over breakfast at an Italian restaurant in Sydney's eastern suburbs in November, 2011.

When Todd Carney was shown the door at the end of that season, there was only one player the Roosters wanted.

Roosters recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan considered James Maloney the perfect foil for Mitchell Pearce - a competitor who would chase lost causes and loom in support when others lagged in backplay.

The bonus was that season, he had kicked at more than 80 per cent and indicated a desire to return to Sydney.

Other clubs were interested, including South Sydney, the Roosters' opponent in the season opener at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.

Over coffee at Zigolini's in trendy Woollahra, O'Sullivan and Smith convinced Maloney and his manager Wayne Beavis that he should join the Roosters.

The only catch was that both parties would be forced to wait a further 12 months as the Warriors had forced Maloney to serve out the remaining year of his contract.

It is only early, but indications are that Maloney was worth the wait. That, however, was only the start.

Michael Jennings had been looking to extricate himself from Penrith for some time.

Rumours of his discontent had been swirling for months.

He shaped as a perfect fit for the Roosters but salary cap constraints became an issue.

O'Sullivan says it was "on for young and old" over the Christmas break as the Roosters and Penrith attempted to strike a deal.

Again, South Sydney was interested.

Again, O'Sullivan sat in on the crucial meeting, only this time he was joined by new coach Trent Robinson and Jennings' manager Stephen Moses.

At a meeting, the Roosters sold Jennings on why he should join the club.

"I said to him that he was exactly what we needed and I believed we could give him what he needed," O'Sullivan said.

"That meeting was the tipping point. Everyone was pumped."

Even then, the Roosters needed some help from Penrith.

For that, the Roosters can thank Panthers general manager of football Phil Gould, who cleared the way for Jennings' move by agreeing to stump up some of his contract money.

The Roosters had the strike centre they craved.

The final piece of the puzzle was a surprise.

Luke O'Donnell had spent recent years in England but like Maloney, he was desperate to return to Sydney.

The Roosters took some convincing.

At one point, Liam Roach - son of former Test forward Steve Roach and a friend of O'Donnell - called the club and encouraged them to take O'Donnell, who himself was pushing for the move and made it clear he wanted to play under former teammate Robinson.

O'Donnell was on the field the night Robinson made his first grade debut for Wests Tigers in 2000.

The pair had stayed in touch when Robinson coached Catalans in the English Super League.

A lunch sealed the deal, although the Roosters still had to move Brad Takarangi and Anthony Cherrington to create room under the salary cap.

That done, O'Donnell was on his way back from England and the Roosters had completed the most compelling overhaul of any side in the NRL.

So influential were their signings, bookmakers dramatically slashed their odds and the Roosters are regarded as genuine premiership contenders.

Williams has quite understandably hogged the limelight.

For all the the club's transfer activity, O'Sullivan takes greatest solace from two players who were already in the Roosters system and signed long-term extensions in recent weeks.

Pearce and Boyd Cordner will be the cornerstone of the Roosters for years to come.

"They saw the difference in the direction we were heading," O'Sullivan said.

"As much as those guys are great, the re-signings were best." 

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Sheens open to Super League move

Going abroad? ... Super League is an option for Tim Sheens. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

Australian coach Tim Sheens will be looking to get back into club football in 2014 and has not ruled out the prospect of working in Super League, but warns potential suitors to hold off until after the World Cup.

The 62-year-old, free of club commitments following his departure from Wests Tigers at the end of last season, has taken the opportunity to make a whistle-stop trip to England and Ireland to check out facilities ahead of the Kangaroos' visit later this year.

"I've made it clear I will be looking to coach again, whether that's in Australia or England," Sheens told Press Association Sport.

"I will have to see what might be available but all my focus at the moment is on preparing the national team. I don't want to take my eye off the ball."

Sheens was re-appointed as Australian coach for a fifth term in December to spearhead their bid to wrest the World Cup from New Zealand.

They get their campaign under way against England as part of a tournament-opening double-header at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on October 26 and meet Ireland at Limerick's Thomond Park a fortnight later, and Sheens has used his visit to look at both venues.

Organisers appear to have taken a gamble in taking a match to the rugby union stronghold of Limerick but Sheens has been encouraged by the reaction of the locals.

"The response has been excellent," he said. "Thomond Park is a first-class facility and you could tell dealing with people at the university and the hotel that there is a lot of interest in the game.

"They are expecting a good crowd. I think ticket sales are going quite well, as they are in Cardiff.

"Both rugby and league can do well simultaneously. A lot of people in Australia enjoy watching both games and I imagine it is the same in Ireland."

Sheens will return to Australia on Saturday, in time for the start of the 2013 NRL season, but admits he will be keeping a closer eye than usual on Super League this year.

England coach Steve McNamara will name his elite training squad on Tuesday but Sheens admits that much could change between now and October.

"It's still early in the year, it's all about getting through a long domestic season," he said.

"I'll keeping a much closer eye on Super League this year to see who he's going to pick at halfback and five-eighth etc.

"I'll be interested to watch the Exiles game and, from my point of view, I've got State of Origin to get through.

"Then there's New Zealand and whether Sonny Bill Williams is going to be available or whether he plays for Samoa. There are a lot of things to be played out before the year is out."

Sheens admitted some surprise that Benji Marshall was replaced as Kiwi captain but added he wouldn't question what New Zealand was doing.

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NRL to take on Super League's best

Super League and NRL ... are the two competitions set to take part in a revolutionary world series? Source: Anna Gowthorpe / AAP

English music promoter and owner of the Warrington Wolves Simon Moran - worth $350 million - has personally written to eight NRL clubs wanting to introduce a revolutionary rugby league World Series.

Moran wrote a letter to Canterbury, Souths, Manly, Brisbane, Melbourne, Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra and Newcastle seeking approval for the historic concept involving the top NRL and Super League sides.

Moran asks clubs for a straw poll "as to the level of interest" in having a three-game weekend in England where the two premiers play - still for the World Club Challenge - with sides running second and third in both competitions to also do battle.

The nation with the most wins would claim the trophy.

It would be a spectacular weekend - to be played after this year's World Cup - for English rugby league.

Moran's email was copied to chief executives at Leeds, Wigan and St Helens.

"We believe this would be a very exciting proposition for the sport and really elevate the present World Club Challenge," Moran wrote.

"Timing would work very well following on from the 2013 World Cup in the UK. As per the World Club Challenge the costs of the NRL clubs taking part would be guaranteed.

"There would also be some level (to be agreed) of prizemoney for the winners of the World Cup Challenge and the World Series."

But the feedback from NRL clubs was only lukewarm after recieving the letter.

Although it could prove highly lucrative, clubs spoke about the physical burnout on players and whether a pre-season Nines tournament would add to an already hectic schedule.

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