Bennett invests loyalty in tried and tested -  By: Michael Hagan,  The Weekend Australian, 16 APR 2005
KNOWING Danny Buderus' passion for representing Australia and Newcastle -- and being aware of national coach Wayne Bennett's belief incumbents should 
have an advantage in Test selections and that we should create regular Test `icon' players -- don't rule out Buderus being rushed into the Kangaroos side for Friday's Test against New Zealand.  I'm not campaigning for `Bedsy' as his club coach. Whether he is considered from outside the 23-man preliminary Test squad rests on how he gets through the 60 minutes we plan to play him against the Warriors tomorrow.  But after Mark O'Meley -- who also did the job so well once he finnally cracked the Kangaroos side on the Tri-Nations tour last year -- was this week put into the squad with less than half a game under his belt for the Bulldogs, the precedent may have been set. This weekend marked the return from injury of O'Meley and Buderus. I know Bennett and Australia's selectors are keen to establish an elite feel about earning a Test jumper and then rewarding those who perform well, as in past decades when we had perhaps fewer genuine international quality players to pick from. When you look at the 23-man squad, and the 17 I think will be chosen for the Test, there will be few changes from the team that was so impressive in the Tri-Nations final. I endorse that policy, as it was one of the most awesome showings by any football team in many years.  I expect the side to be something like this: Anthony Minichiello, Luke Rooney, Willie Tonga, Shaun Berrigan, Matt Sing, Darren Lockyer, Brett Kimmorley, Jason Ryles, Luke Priddis or Danny Buderus, Petero Civoniceva, Nathan Hindmarsh, Craig Fitzgibbon, Tonie Carroll. Interchange: Andrew Ryan, Mark O'Meley, Steve Price, Craig Wing.
No matter who is picked, I know one thing: they'll have enormous pride and passion for the green and gold jersey. And I know Bennett has been determined to stimulate that since taking over the national coaching job last year. I don't want to profess to knowing Wayne near as well as others who have more dealings with him. But I am getting to know him better and have learned a lot, about football and about Wayne as a coach and character.  His record of success and longevity in such a tough and unstable profession is extraordinary. There is no need for him to put his hand up to coach Australia on top of his Broncos commitments.
But I know he does it because he felt so deeply about the number of players, about 18 if I remember, dropping out of the 2003 Kangaroo tour because of 
injury, many under pressure from their clubs. He felt the green and gold jersey had been devalued.  It was with the same general caring for the welfare of the game that he elected to coach Queensland in 2002 after the Maroons lost 3-0 in a series that ended in a 56-16 hammering in 2001. That is one of the things I have learned about Wayne Bennett that doesn't match his image -- of being aloof, abrupt and totally concerned with the Broncos and little else.
Firstly, he can be a really fun person, he generally feels for the game's wider benefit and is very much a one-on-one person with his players, and people in general.
He doesn't tolerate fools, demands loyalty and gives it back and doesn't mind putting little tests in front of you to gauge your real character. Mine, I suspect, was when he asked me into the Queensland camp on his coaching staff in 2003. My first taste was that January with the Emerging Queensland squad, a Bennett idea that has done enormous good in preparing players for Origin and making us stronger over the past three years. We were at an army commando course just outside Brisbane. He'd split the players into groups of seven but was two short in one group. So he grabbed Steve Walters and myself to join the ``drill'' when we thought we were there to observe how the players handled it. It is the worst physical torture I have ever experienced. We climbed over and under things I could never imagine, through streams, up hills, through thick bush. I reckon we ran 12-14 kilometres that day in oppressive heat.  And we were denied water for the first hour just to make sure our minds were up to the task. ``Benny'', who despite the 12-year age difference is a few levels higher in fitness than me, didn't join in but was an interested observer. I ran into him a few weeks later and remarked that it had been an interesting camp. He just gave me a wry smile as said ``yeah, that's the toughest one we've ever done''.
But at rep level, as I have learned as Wayne's successor as Queensland coach, it's not about coaching and tactics but managing and inspiring; making sure cohesion is there and that the elite gel at the highest level. And it's about knowing that when you do it well, and consistently, you'll get the nod before others when the next team is chosen. Bennett is not easily influenced to drop players or change his mind,  regardless of the media or public pressure. I saw it first-hand in 2003, before Wayne's last game as Queensland coach. The series had been lost and the Maroons had been flogged 27-4 in the second match. Despite calls for mass sackings he stayed loyal and Queensland won 36-6. It happened again after Brisbane's thumping against the Storm. Bennett did not make one forced change, and his team responded with a 54-14 win over Parramatta.  That's why the 23-man squad was built mainly around those who did so well for Australia in the Tri-Nations, why O'Meley was given a chance to stake his claim this weekend and why Buderus may be a late inclusion. He is at that elite level of Test performers Wayne wants to establish, recognise and reward.

Hagan pulls pin on next year's Origin -  24 Apr 05 
QUEENSLAND coach Michael Hagan will walk away from the Maroons at the end of this year's State of Origin series. Hagan told The Sunday Mail he is unlikely to seek reappointment to the Origin job, so that he can concentrate on rebuilding his beleaguered Newcastle Knights. "At this stage, it's fair to say that I won't be applying," Hagan said. The Knights, last and the only side without a win after six rounds, are a club under pressure and could sink further if they are beaten by the Bulldogs at EnergyAustralia Stadium today. But Hagan is unwavering in his desire to return Newcastle to the success that saw it clinch the 2001 premiership. 
To prove it, he may toss in the Queensland job – but not before plotting NSW's downfall this season. "I knew I'd do it (coach Queensland) for only a year or two and that's my thinking at this stage," Hagan, who replaced Wayne Bennett as Maroons coach last season, said. "I've made a commitment to do the job (this year) and I will fulfil that. But six months ago I couldn't have forecast the position I'd be in now." 
Hagan says his experience with the Maroons ranks up with the most satisfying assignments of his career, but with the Knights beset by one of the most traumatic periods in their history, he admits he can't afford distractions. "I don't know that I'll be making myself available next year (for the Maroons) because I knew it would be a one or two-year assignment and it would take a lot of energy for those years," Hagan said. "All my focus at the moment is to resolve the issues we have at Newcastle. I'm not even thinking of Origin yet. The QRL determines the coach. You're invited. At this stage, I won't be applying." 
Hagan's likely resignation would come as a shock for the Maroons, as he has proved a popular and capable successor to Bennett. But Bennett, now the Maroons' coaching director, would support Hagan because he is acutely aware of the stress of juggling club and representative coaching commitments. "It will be a great shame if Michael Hagan can't continue as Queensland coach," Bennett said late last year as Hagan stalled on committing to a second term. "But if he does abandon the post, I will be one who understands why." 
Hagan's likely withdrawal and Bennett's unavailability has thrown the door open for other candidates. And former Maroons captain Trevor Gillmeister says would jump at the chance if asked by the QRL, possibly as a co-coach with fellow Queensland legend Mal Meninga. In his exclusive column with The Sunday Mail, Gillmeister said he "would love" the job, but was unsure whether Meninga – at present walking the Kokoda Track – was still interested. 

Hagan smiles, jest not enough -  April 25, 2005
MICHAEL Hagan looked anything but the coach of a side which is winless after seven rounds of the Telstra Premiership yesterday. He was upbeat and even cracking the odd joke despite the loss to the Bulldogs. "It shouldn't be Hagan's Zeros," he said in reference to a Daily Telegraph headline following an earlier loss. 
"It should be Hagan's Heroes after today." Newcastle came away empty-handed but Hagan could not praise his team enough. "I thought it was a tremendous effort," he said. "The desperation by us and them typified where both teams are at at the moment." 
If there was a feeling within the town that yesterday's clash with the Dogs was virtually a foregone conclusion given the injuries, and in particular the loss of Andrew Johns, it wasn't felt within the team. They led 4-0 early and 8-6 for a long period of the first half despite losing prop Daniel Tolar early on with a scratched retina. 
Tolar did not come back on, leaving the Knights a man short on the bench, and all looked lost at 24-8 down midway through the second half. But there was nothing lacking in the commitment and courage they showed in storming home to nearly snatch the game at the death. They scored two tries in three minutes in a stunning counter attack which breathed new life into the game. Hooker Danny Buderus was inspirational, as was Steve Simpson, while Kirk Reynoldson, relishing being back at lock, had his best game for the club. "Things aren't too bad - we didn't get the result but the effort was there," Buderus said. There was a feeling in the Knights camp that Salkeld may have been able to link up with support on the inside before being crunched in the Patten tackle with seconds left. But no one was blaming him. "It all happened so quick," Buderus said. "It was a great tackle."

Determined men prove heart still beats strong at our club -  By: Michael Hagan 
IT is an obvious understatement, but I am going through my toughest period  since being blessed to win a premiership in my first season as first-grade coach in 2001. And the Knights are going through our toughest period as a club since we became regular finalists a decade ago.  Just as we were getting some confidence and some troops back on the field we lose four players in one match, including skipper Andrew Johns. We ran out of energy, and ran out of troops as we squandered a 20-0 lead in a game we were desperate to win last Sunday against the Warriors. Last Sunday at EnergyAustralia Stadium, and the couple of days that followed, were among the toughest I have gone through in rugby league. But you always find there is someone doing it tougher than you, or someone you 
really feel for, or someone who simply gives you inspiration. When I went to the dressing room at half-time last Sunday, as we led 20-6 on the day we opened the magnificent new grandstand, I was pretty satisfied for the first time this season with the way the team was playing. The first image the players and I were greeted with as we entered the rooms was Daniel Abraham lying in agony on the rubbing table as the support staff  had gone through the painful procedure of cutting his boot, sock and strapping off a shockingly broken leg. Comforting him was his wife, Chantelle, who had a tear in her eye because she knew what pain he was in and what he had gone through over the past 12 months. 
Here was a bloke who had gone through months of rehab last year after first breaking his leg in the City-Country game, then returned for a couple of games near the end of the season only to find the bone had separated again, and it had to be re-broken and reset, with seven screws and a plate inserted. Now he has 17 pins and three plates in his right leg from knee to foot and I really expected his initial reaction was to think it's too much to go through again, and he might call it quits on his career. But when I spoke to him later, he was just relieved he could be told he can play again and has promised he'll back for game one, 2006.  Also in trouble at half-time was Todd Lowrie, who was in all sorts of pain with what the medical staff thought was a rib injury. With ``Abes'' out of  action, Todd had no hesitation in agreeing to carry on for a while with the aid of a painkiller, so conscious was he of what it meant to win this match. When he was diagnosed next day it was found he had ruptured a kidney and had he had another blow to the area, he could have suffered internal bleeding and been in a lot more bother than we anticipated. He's now out for at least six weeks. 
After the game I came in to find Johns, who just dominated like we'd come to expect when at the peak of his powers, in a distressed state after breaking his jaw. His mum and dad and partner, Cathrine, were with him as he was spitting out saliva and writhing in pain, unable to take any more morphine because his body had started to react against it. It was a hell of a day and just brought home to me what sacrifices footballers make, and what pain and risk they endure. But you know the person who best typifies what some of the guys in the NRL go through, is a guy called David Seage -- who had become Johns' personal rehab partner for the best part of the past year. He's probably a guy you only vaguely know of. ``Seagey'' came to us last year from the Queensland Cup at age 25, just delighted that someone had given him a crack at the NRL. He played fullback in our first two games of 2004 and was somewhat of a revelation. He wrecked his knee the same night Joey did -- round three at Parramatta Stadium -- and hasn't played since. He travelled with Andrew to Sydney for tests, special rehab sessions, they have done weights together, going through the same frustrations, the same endless work. They've really struck up a great friendship. David is probably even more desperate to succeed and earns probably a 10th of what Joey does but you don't hear about him. He makes his long-awaited return to the field tomorrow in premier league against the Bulldogs and how he performs is as important to me as any of the high flyers in our club. 
On Monday, I met Milton Thaiday who is best known as a rare talent from the Waratahs rugby union side who has publicly admitted alcohol had ruined his career and his marriage (which he has now salvaged) but who is now really getting his life together. He's been playing rugby league at Ballina and as we spoke I could just tell he didn't want to waste the opportunity we were talking of giving him in the NRL, where his second cousin Sam is progressing at the Broncos. He spoke of 
what he had gone through and how low he had sunk but how determined he was to turn it around. Considering our dilemma, we thought we had to give him a chance. When I went home for dinner with my wife and three daughters that night thinking how I was going to clear all the hurdles the Knights had been handed and admittedly feeling a bit down and frustrated by it all, I sat there and thought of Joey, of Abes, of David Seage and Milton Thaiday and what they have all gone through. Not one of them has any fibre in his body that says he'll give up. That's what keeps you going as a coach, that's what keeps you positive. That's why I'm looking forward to turning up at EnergyAustralia Stadium tomorrow to take on the Bulldogs. I expect nothing but for all of us to have a dig and do our best with every single play. I hope I can walk away knowing like I did last Sunday, as heartbreaking as the result was, that rugby league continually throws up people with real character.

I won't walk out on Queensland -  By: Michael Hagan
I CAN understand why some Knights fans feel strongly about my decision to coach Queensland this year considering we haven't won a game, but I have never considered standing down as Maroons coach. I have never walked out on a commitment in my life and not one as big as the honour of coaching the Maroons. After this season, I may well relinquish the extra duties of coaching the Maroons on top of Newcastle. When I made the commitment to Wayne Bennett -- 
head of the emerging Queensland program -- and the QRL it was only for two years, with the understanding we would review it from there. Firstly I would not have taken on the extra role if I thought it would unfairly affect the Knights. Secondly, I have full faith in my full-time support staff Craig Miller, David Fairleigh and Billy Peden in the time I'll be away.  And lastly, I have arranged to be back for the final Friday training sessions for all pre-Origin matches the Knights play and will be back on Thursdays in preparation for the two post-Origin clashes (we have the bye after Origin I).  What some people don't see are the benefits of me having the great opportunity and honour of coaching Queensland, like the expertise and facilities at the Queensland Institute of Sport that we have been offered for the treatment of Andrew Johns' and David Seage's knee injuries.  There is exposure to the thoughts and experiences of players from other clubs which I think has widened my knowledge as a coach. There is the relationship I have been able to build with Wayne Bennett and how he has opened my eyes to the club's need to improve football and medical facilities if we are to continually compete with the elite clubs in the NRL.  After a rewarding four-day Emerging Origin camp in February, the focus is now pretty much limited to three weeks of intense build-up in the week-long camps before each match. So it really isn't the big distraction some people make out.  And I have the full support of the Knights management and board of directors. What I am thinking about when it comes to Origin is just how fortunate we Queenslanders are in the depth of talent and the amount of in-form players we have at our disposal. It is far greater than this time last year, even 
taking into consideration Shane Webcke's retirement from representative football and Jason Smith's decision not to play after being chosen in the squad on Monday. And I can guarantee players outside of the 22 (it's now 21) they are still in contention, so hard was it to restrict the selection to that number.
We have three fullbacks in brilliant form in the squad in Rhys Wesser, Matt Bowen and Billy Slater with no room for Clinton Schifcofske, who has been 
outstanding for Canberra. With Matt Sing reconsidering his decision to stand down from rep football, livewire Cowboys winger Ty Williams missed the squad but is certainly still in contention. We are blessed to have the two Anzac Test centres, Willie Tonga and Shaun Berrigan, plus last year's Tri-Nations tourist Brent Tate 
and Cowboy Paul Bowman, who can also give us value off the bench.  That meant Josh Hannay, who has also been in fine form for the Cowboys, couldn't be fitted into the 22. Nor could Steve Bell, who has been a tremendous performer for the Storm. Test captain Darren Lockyer picks himself at five-eighth but if he were to 
be injured, and touch wood that doesn't happen, we still have cover there with Johnathan Thurston, who has been brilliant for the Cowboys at No.6 and 
No.7.  Last year Brett Seymour was injured on the eve of Origin One and it meant we had little choice but to blood Scott Prince at halfback, an opportunity he 
took with open arms. We have the Test lock in Tonie Carroll. Dallas Johnson has really emerged this year as a quality defensive player, meaning Ashley Harrison, whose name has come under consideration for the past two years, misses the squad despite his consistent form for Souths.
There are plenty of options in the second row with Mick Crocker, Carl Webb, Chris Flannery and Brad Thorn, meaning players such as Kirk Reynoldson and 
David Stagg missed out on Monday's squad. Then in the front row we have the Test starting props in Steve Price and Petero Civoniceva, with Carl Webb and Ben Ross the perfect sort of players to add impact from the bench. That means emerging Maroons camp members Shane Tronc and Corey Parker are also waiting their turn, along with Sharks' Danny Nutley, who has been tremendous for his club.  And at hooker, Cameron Smith is the frontline contender, but PJ Marsh has played Origin before and is back in the mix, while Aaron Payne was in the February camp and we have been impressed with his form.
So in a nutshell, we had to leave out blokes such as Schifcofske, Karmichael Hunt, Williams, Hannay, Parker, Harrison, Tronc, Nutley, Neville Costigan, 
Seymour, Hannay, Payne, Stagg and Kurt Reynoldson from our squad -- that's 14 players who can all be regarded as being in excellent form. That's the sort of depth, considering Queenslanders make up less than a third of NRL players, you can only dream of. I'm excited about the prospect of coaching the Maroons, knowing it won't be at the expense of the Newcastle Knights.

Hagan's Law continues at Newcastle -  May 3, 2005
MURPHY's Law doesn't quite do justice to the awful luck of Newcastle coach Michael Hagan in 2005 – and it is showing no signs of waning.  Three more players look set to take the injury list of Hagan's NRL side to 12. And desperately-needed forward Clint Newton won't make his long-awaited return from a 12-game NRL ban against the Sydney Roosters at Aussie Stadium on Sunday due to a hamstring injury suffered two weeks ago. "That sums things up for us at the moment," Hagan said of Newton's injury today. So it's no surprise Hagan has a back-up plan should injury strike skipper Danny Buderus, centre Matt Gidley or forward Steve Simpson when they run out for NSW Country against City at Lismore on Friday night. "I'm getting used to contingency plans," Hagan laughed.
"We are delighted those players are being acknowledged and selected, but the rep season is upon us and it is something you have to manage among other things – fingers crossed they can back up."
Hagan – who doubles as Queensland Origin coach – returned from a one-day Maroons camp yesterday to learn forward Kirk Reynoldson (shoulder) was out for six weeks, hooker Luke Quigley (testicle) was out for a fortnight and George Carmont (hip) was in serious doubt. To boot, former international forward Craig Smith fronts the NRL judiciary tomorrow night facing a two-game ban for an alleged head slam. It's not the ideal preparation before taking on a heavyweight Roosters outfit desperate to bounce back from five losses in six games. "It's been a case of so close, yet so far in the last three games," Hagan said of Newcastle's recent near misses. But we need to come up to the mark again on Sunday. We know it will be physically and mentally demanding with guys backing up from City-Country. So it will be a real challenge for the group of people who take the field."
In a sign of Newcastle's desperation to break a seven-game losing run, former NSW Origin prop Josh Perry will start against the Roosters in his first game of 2005 after recovering from wrist surgery. "Ideally we would like to start him off the bench, given that he hasn't played since a trial at Gosford," Hagan said of Perry.
"But he has played enough first grade and done more work than anyone in a little while so he will definitely come into the starting side."
Perry – who returns from injury with winger Anthony Quinn (shoulder) – said he was champing at the bit to return to the form that took him to 2003 Origin honours. "It's been a very frustrating last couple of months, so I am definitely ready to go," he said. "We have been trying really hard every week, a win is not too far away – hopefully I can add a little something so we can get the two points."
Hagan could only shake his head after a hamstring injury denied Newton's long awaited NRL comeback. "He's disappointed and upset at not being able to help the team out this week," he said. "Clint was probably the only other player who is now able to participate in the game, but he is considered a risk for this week – he's another week away."

Hagan baffled at Johns' exclusion -  May 10, 2005
NEWCASTLE and Queensland coach Michael Hagan said yesterday he was disappointed the NSW selectors had left Andrew Johns out of a preliminary 30-man squad for the State of Origin series. Johns, a veteran of 21 games for the Blues and captain of the winning team in 2003, was the most notable omission from the squad which will be trimmed to 17 on Monday for Origin I at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on May 25. The winless Knights have only one representative in hooker Danny Buderus. Hagan said he felt selectors could have also found room for Johns and Country's Steve Simpson and Matt Gidley. "I would have assumed he (Johns) would have made the 30 so I'm not sure about that," Hagan said yesterday. The series is over three games and if he's part of their plans he's entitled to be named but that's for NSW to work through." 
The 30-man squad includes only two halfbacks with Cronulla and Test incumbent Brett Kimmorley tipped to have the edge over Penrith and City half Craig Gower. The fact Johns was left out is something of a blow for the Knights captain, given he had stated his intention to return and take part in the series after he had broken his jaw against the Warriors. "Definitely my priority is with the Knights but it would be a nice bonus to get a game in Origin as well," Johns told the Nine Network last night. NSW coach Ricky Stuart defended the decision to omit Johns, who is still a fortnight away from making his comeback, saying he was mentioned before being discarded. But all is not lost for Johns, with the Blues coach indicating that he could still play a part in the series. "He's (Johns) had a very unfortunate season in regards to injury," Stuart said. "He's got the ability to play at this level and higher levels as he's shown before and we haven't named him because we didn't want to place him under any more pressure. It's important now for Andrew Johns to come back and start playing football more so than having to worry about Origin. We're comfortable with the squad we've named." 

Fans stick by Hagan -  13 May, 2005
THE city of Newcastle is bracing itself for a heartbreaking milestone it would never have thought possible. A loss to the Wests Tigers on Sunday will give Newcastle the worst start to a season by any club since Newtown were defeated in their first nine games in 1969. But amid the gloom and depression, somehow some good has come of all this. The Newcastle people have stuck solid behind embattled coach Michael Hagan. And so has the club's board. Hagan deserves their support. He is going through a horror stretch - one he would not have encountered before since his debut as an NRL coach in 2001. It's obvious Hagan can coach. In that 2001 season, he catapulted Newcastle to a spectacular grand final win over Parramatta.  He does not deserve to be ridiculed and has thankfully avoided any severe batterings from Knights fans and media. The coach has been forced to endure one of the worst injury runs any club has seen in recent times. It seems every time Newcastle get one player back from injury, they lose two more. In 2002, Penrith lost their opening eight games. A year later they were premiers. It was an achievement Newcastle should use as inspiration. THIS week I interviewed Souths five-eighth Ben Walker over the fact he missed as many tackles as he made in the loss to the Dragons last week. I anticipated the interview would be awkward given we were questioning Walker's defensive ability - a touchy subject among players. But as usual, Walker was polite and honest. He spoke openly and ended the interview by saying: "Nice chatting."  If only all players were so cordial. He deserves a wrap. 

Hagan's personal worries -  May 17, 2005
COACH Michael Hagan says the only person in Queensland's Origin squad struggling for form is himself. "The players are in good form, I don't know about the coach," said Hagan whose Newcastle Knights have lost all nine NRL games this season. It's been a really difficult number of weeks but I'm looking forward to working with this group of players over the next six to eight weeks." 
Fullback Rhys Wesser and halfback Scott Prince missed selection with Queensland officials opting for Melbourne marvel Bill Slater in the No.1 jumper and the unpredictable Johnathan Thurston in the No.7 to hopefully give them an edge over the Blues whose selection bolter was Newcastle forward Steve Simpson. 
Thurston, who vowed to play his own uninhibited game and not be overawed by the huge occasion, has been in sparkling form for the Cowboys. His ability to run the ball to line, to defend head-on and kick in general play were key factors to deny Prince who turned in a tip-top effort at the weekend in a bid to hang onto his Origin jumper. 

Big chance to leave ranks of `the others' -  By: Michael Hagan
FROM the time the Queensland players join our State of Origin camp on Monday in Brisbane, the fact that it's the 25th anniversary will never be far away. The great tradition will hang over both teams for all three matches and so it should, what a history to celebrate. But one thing I've always believed in: there are genuine State of Origin players then there are ``the others''.  Now, I'm not attempting to discredit anyone who reaches what is a great achievement in just being selected for NSW or Queensland. Frankly, I was in ``the other'' category and feel fortunate that I played five games in 1989-90. But I knew my place when I looked around in awe at guys like Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga, Alfie Langer, Paul Vautin, Gene Miles, Bob Lindner, Sam Backo, Trevor Gillmeister and Gary Belcher, who were such a big part of the Origin legend.  Throw in a larger than life character in our coach Arthur Beetson and manager Dick ``Tossa'' Turner, you always look back on that time in your career with fond memories.  The Blues have had them too in Brett Kenny, Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley, Steve Roach, Andrew Ettingshausen, Brad Clyde and more recently Ben Kennedy, Andrew Johns and even Luke Bailey. Queensland has boasted Shane Webcke, Gordon Tallis and Darren Lockyer. Then of course there are players like Steven Price, Petero Civoniceva and Paul Bowman who have been tremendous Origin servants in recent years and who will all play an integral part in this year's series.
This year's Queensland side has a lot of players with the opportunity to take their game to a new level -- to break from being, like me, one of ``the others''.  And you only do that by confronting the pressure, the enormous pace and intensity Origin is played at in your first series, then learning so much from it, you become a player that says to the selectors ``you must pick me''. When we go into camp it is now customary to have a FOG (Former Origin Great) come in and present the players with their jerseys and tell of their own Origin experiences. Last year we had characters like Rohan Hancock, Brad Backer, Norm Carr and Kerry Boustead (all Origin legends) to talk to our players about what to expect and what it means to play for Queensland. This year we are breaking tradition and coming into camp next Monday (it's usually Wednesday for Queensland) -- nine days out from the match. Mainly it is to fit in an overnight trip to Rockhampton next Wednesday to take part in festivities around the Legends Walk involving some of these genuine Origin heroes. How the players react too that, and use it, will be a test in itself. I remember vividly going into camp, which I suggest was a lot more social and less structured than these days, in 1989 to be on the Queensland bench. It was the first time four replacements were allowed instead of two and I was probably fortunate to be anywhere near blokes like Wally, Mal, Alfie Langer, Marty Bella, Bob Lindner and big Geno Miles.
I just wasn't a good enough player to ever progress to their level. But I believe I have quite a few players in the Queensland side this year who definitely are good enough. If ever they want to be one of ``those players'', I couldn't think of a better stage than this anniversary year. People ask me that surely we have the Queensland 17 pretty much earmarked now and we will just rubber stamp the names when the selectors and I hook up by phone on Sunday night. Well, of course there are some ``must pick me'' players in the category mentioned above. But genuinely there are several positions up for grabs, particularly when you consider we have lost Willie Tonga, Jason Smith and Brent Tate from the 22-man squad picked a couple of weeks ago.  Still, when you consider Darren Lockyer wasn't available for the first game last year and Shaun Berrigan missed the whole series, and Carl Webb and Brad Thorn weren't in the picture then, we are definitely stronger -- touch wood. I know we've lost a virtual Origin institution in Shane Webcke, but I think we can fill the void with Civinoceva who is in such good form; Price is so capable of taking on that senior, pack leadership role and Ben Ross has last year's experience behind him. Our planning has been more about what we'll do in camp than who will be in it, and the addition of conditioner Billy Johnstone is a real bonus, having the experience of doing the job at Test level. And I don't know if the scheduling was coincidental or planned, but the Cowboys-Broncos clash tonight in Townsville will be the most appropriate full-scale selection trial we've probably ever had. The fullback and halfback spots will obviously have the most debate -- Brett Seymour and Johnathan Thurston clash in Townsville then Scott Prince takes on my Newcastle side. Ashley Harrison and Dallas Johnson go head-to-head in the Souths-Melbourne clash, so we'll be keeping a particular eye on that match too. I just know that we don't have to be a whole lot better to get the trophy back. We went down 9-8 in the first game and won the second 22-18 before we were never in the hunt in the decider last year. The experience some of our blokes picked up should make us better. But I've learned to take nothing for granted from State of Origin football, other than you have to have ``those'' players who just never let you down.

The keeper of dreams -  21 May 2005
Michael Hagan knows all about the ups and downs of coaching as he turns his thoughts from trying to win a game with Newcastle to trying to win a State of Origin series with Queensland. Paul Malone reports. IF Michael Hagan were in the business of singing the blues, this would be the most productive time of his life.
But the coach of Queensland's State of Origin team and the misfiring Newcastle Knights is trying to beat the Blues, so this is simply his most challenging time. 
Hagan, coach of the winless Knights, would have been excused if he was unusually snappy in attitude and showing signs of being stressed by the cards dealt him this season. In recent weeks, he has been in the unusual position of having to select and prepare one team to soar like eagles while at the same time trying to stop another side from drowning in an unexpected flash flood of mediocrity. Yet Hagan has appeared much like his normal self, viewing his life in football with a half smile on his face and a dry quip on his lips as he stands in charge of Queensland's favourite annual sporting ritual. Hagan said on Thursday before he returned to Newcastle to take its final session for tonight's NRL home match against St George Illawarra that his twin responsibilities might have made the week after Newcastle's ninth consecutive loss a little easier. "It helps you to put it behind you, knowing you have something else to focus on. You might stew on it for a day or two if you are in Newcastle and going through videos," Hagan said. "It's a juggling act but I promised myself I'd separate one from the other if I can. I'll be back in Brisbane on Sunday and Queensland breaks camp over Friday and Saturday, so it won't impact on the team here. It takes a lot of energy out of you and I certainly felt the pinch a bit at the end of last year. I'll be happy to do it this year and re-assess after that if I want to coach (Queensland) next year." 
Hagan knows he is the state's keeper of dreams, the man ultimately responsible for providing happy endings for an entire state and incidents to be told and re-told down the years. In Queensland, or much of its male society at any rate, Origin has been for many of its 25 years a touchstone of shared memories. Reading through The Courier-Mail's daily flashback series this week on 25 years of Origin, it's an inescapable conclusion that a history of storytelling has developed around these matches. It's a game millions can play, starting with the words "Do you remember when. . ." 
On Hagan's watch last year, Billy Slater scored an unforgettable solo try, even if the series ended with a 34-16 thumping in the decider at Telstra Stadium. "It's a privilege to be involved. It's a very good education for me and Newcastle will get some benefit from it, even though we are doing it a bit tough at the moment," he said. NSW's Game Three last year gave it a lead for the first time in Origin's series-won count, 12-11. Hagan pulled out the video of the loss to study a few times before he joined camp in Brisbane this week. "We had Tonie Carroll and Paul Bowman unavailable after they had been tremendous for us in the first two games. Billy Slater was tipped on his head in the first half and it had an effect on his confidence," Hagan said. 
He points out skipper Darren Lockyer missed the first game through injury – many feel he was hampered by rib soreness during the other two – and Shaun Berrigan, Brad Thorn, Carl Webb and Johnathan Thurston are four key additions to the 2004 team. "It's like club footy – you need your best players when it's up for grabs and we came up short in a couple of areas," he said. "We had a lot of players in their first series who hopefully now know how to go about it differently." 
Hagan says he would understand why some Knights fans might feel he should have been in Newcastle for the three weeks of Origin preparations this winter, but he prides himself on not having walked away from a commitment in all his 40 years. He joked last week that Newcastle was lucky to get two points for a bye, given its form. Hagan is secure enough to say publicly that he was "fortunate" to have played five games for Queensland in the 1989 series "Maroonwash" and the 1990 defeat. Queensland's cool man for a crisis says he does not expect NSW to play much differently under new coach Ricky Stuart. Stuart, three years younger than Hagan, played against him at club and Origin level and also was coached by him at Canberra in 1998 when the Queenslander was Raiders reserve grade coach. 
"We share the same passion for the jobs we have," Stuart said. 

Hagan's one regret
IT shows the quality of person that Michael Hagan is that two beaten NSW players were very much on his mind as the Maroons went out to celebrate a magnificent Origin victory on Wednesday night. Much of the pre-game talk centred on Hagan's disastrous year at the Knights and the fact it had been eight months since he last tasted a victory. "As pleased as I was with Queensland winning, you can't help but feel disappointed for blokes like Danny [Buderus] and Simmo [Steve Simpson] given that they've been through it it all in Newcastle as well," Hagan said. "Unfortunately there was always only going to be one winner. I didn't get to see them after the game. I left them to it but I was certainly thinking about them." 
The Maroons had a post-match function at the team hotel with families, officials and sponsors. They moved on to Icebar, the establishment owned by Darren Lockyer. "I guess after what's happened with the Knights, it was nice to enjoy a few beers again," Hagan said. "We were out to a bit after 3am. Queensland know how to enjoy a win, that's for sure. We enjoyed it but we haven't won anything yet. "There's a lot of football left in this series and the players all realise that." 
Hagan finally caught up with Buderus and Simpson yesterday morning for the flight home to Newcastle. "We had a bit of a chat and talked about the game," Hagan said. "They were obviously disappointed, the same as I would have been. But they've got the weekend off and then we'll start preparing for the Brisbane game. They both had strong games and can be proud of the fact NSW recovered so strongly to make it such a great game of football." 
With the Knights travelling so poorly, Hagan revealed several weeks ago he was unlikely to apply for the Maroons job again next season. But after Wednesday night's victory, you get a feeling he is not so certain about throwing away one of the most prestigious positions in rugby league. "I haven't officially quit," he said. "I'm still assessing it and I'll weigh it up at the end of the series. We've obviously got a lot of work to do in Newcastle." 
That work starts again in the offices of the Newcastle Knights first thing this morning. Even though the Knights have a bye this weekend, Hagan will be at work at 9am to start planning for the match against the Broncos the following weekend. "There's always something to do, even if we've got the weekend off," Hagan said. "We've got to try to salvage a bit of confidence. We'll have four or five blokes coming back from injuries. There's still a lot we can achieve over the remainder of the year and that's basically winning some football games." 

In the right state of mind -  May 21, 2005
Michael Hagan is a glass-half-full type of guy. Which is just as well as he leaves a struggling Knights side to mastermind Queensland's assault on league's greatest prize. ROY MASTERS reports. Queensland and Newcastle coach Michael Hagan is a glass-half-full type of guy but given what's happened to the Knights this year, he could have been excused for swigging straight from the bottle. The agonising run of injuries has been such that the team picture should be taken with an X-ray machine. Newcastle's senior players are publicly advocating privatisation to turn around a $1 million-plus shortfall in June. Earlier this year, following a trial game in Bathurst, 12 of the Knights players broke curfew and one player had his contract cancelled. The scandal soured the start of yet another season and left Newcastle as the only NRL club without a major sponsor. So, with his team having the worst start to a season since 1969 when Newtown also went 0-9, how can Hagan possibly be up for the start of the 2005 State of Origin series in four days?
How can a man walk from a club, where he is effectively coaching premier league players, to the most elite competition the code can boast and not carry some of that negative baggage with him? Isn't it akin to the director of a small amateur theatre company being asked to take charge of an opening-night production on Broadway?
Well, Hagan has been to Broadway before ... as a player, he was the understudy to Allan Langer and assumed the starring role when the little half broke his ankle. And he was also the Maroons coach last year in their losing series to NSW. Ask Hagan after nearly half a season of defeat after withering defeat how he can possibly be in the best mental state to take charge of Queensland and he laughs softly. "You need to separate the two," he says. "That would be the first port of call. You'd hope the coach can find some form like the players who are selected will be in form."  But how can he devote all his attention to the Maroons and leave Newcastle with the least successful coaching and training staff in the NRL? He smiles again and you can see why that middy glass is half full. "It's improved from last year because I now have a full-time premier league coach in David Fairleigh, who has assisted me these last three months."  Yet only one person could help Hagan when Canberra beat the Knights at home in round eight by four points and he limped to his Newcastle home to pack for a flight early the next day to Brisbane, where he would meet a Queensland squad of 19 players. "I spoke to my wife over a cup of tea," he says. "We were discussing the events of the day, the theatre of that Sunday afternoon. I was quite puzzled by yet another turn of bad luck and she said, 'It's a good thing you're going up there to mix with and talk to different people'. I did feel better about the situation on the Monday in Brisbane, mixing with different players and officials. I got to the realisation we hadn't done too badly against the Raiders, getting within four points against quality opposition with my 12 top players not playing."
The meeting with the Maroons squad was at the Treasury Casino building, the reminder of another woe. A year earlier, when Hagan assembled the 2004 Queensland team at the same hotel, he set a curfew that was broken within hours. "Chris Walker and three or four others chose to go out and Walker became involved with the police," Hagan says. "It was my introduction to Origin coaching. Some of them had played Sunday and had had a few beers. As a coach might say, there was a very ordinary smell about the whole thing that night."
Ask Hagan, a former journalist, how he felt when he woke to learn of the betrayal and he is initially silent. Maybe there is a word in some other language that explains how a coach feels in such a situation, one something close to nausea and not too far from stricken. Finally, Hagan answers with a sentence. "I don't know what else a coach can do in that situation," he says, conveying the abject frustration he felt. "We changed the plan on the back of that night. This year, the players assembled on the Monday, got kitted out and were gone by 3pm."
Then, in this year's pre-season, Hagan had another experience of players under his control breaking curfew. This time it was not Origin players in Brisbane but Knights players in Bathurst. After the "dirty dozen" broke curfew, prop Dane Tilse was suspended by the NRL for a year for entering a female student's dormitory room at the university. "They're very similar situations," says Hagan of the broken curfews in Brisbane and Bathurst. "I didn't want to go through it all again."
Asked how he felt, he measures his words as carefully as a greengrocer might weigh truffles. "Given that we'd spoken about the behaviour issues and what the game had gone through ... The players chose to go outside the boundaries."
Hagan had gone to bed just after midnight and because he had to drive to a premier league game in Sydney the following day, he did not have a beer. The players returned, as agreed, at 3am, checked in, then left again. "On the drive back home on the Sunday, there were radio reports of a fire extinguisher going off and a push bike ridden on," Hagan says. "I thought to myself, 'Well, it's not great but I'll live with it'. Monday morning, when the dormitory thing surfaced, I had a feeling go through my bones that things weren't going to be good for a while. We'd just had the best ever training camp at Nelson Bay, the first alcohol-free one in the club's history."
So how did he feel? Again choosing his words as though they might shatter, he says: "It put me and [football manager] Mark Sargent in a fair bit of anger and disappointment." Hagan is the ultimate team man: if there was any sympathy going, he wanted to share it with Sargent. And blame should be equitable, too, which possibly explains why he declined to comment on the suspension of Tilse. The NRL needed a fatted calf: justice had to be swift. For the sake of society, it did not need to be accurate. Tilse has subsequently agreed to join the Raiders next season. "He'd been with us four or five years and now Canberra get the benefit of that training and development," Hagan says, leaving the question open. But coaches are taught not to weep for their woes, nor shun their duty. "I don't have the answers other than that I've a job to do there [Origin] and a job to do here [Newcastle]", Hagan says. Ask Queensland Rugby League chief executive Ross Livermore if he is confident Hagan is up to the task of inspiring the Maroons and Livermore does what all northerners do: finds fault with NSW. 
"Ricky Stuart [Roosters and NSW coach] hasn't had a lot of luck, either," he says. "He's been ripping his hair out, too." You get the feeling with this Origin series that it could come down to the coach with the harder edges, the one with most steel inside, the one who can philosophically answer the challenges. For example, ask Hagan how he feels about the Knights losing Andrew Johns to a broken jaw so soon after his return from a knee reconstruction and he says: "If Andrew was out there running the show, life would be a lot more enjoyable."
But he also knows a fit Johns could destroy Queensland. "The game changes so quickly these days," he says. "Your options may be totally different to what we are talking about now. Last year, Darren Lockyer was ruled out for game one and Tonie Carroll for game three. NSW had a run of bad luck in the halves. Both states have their share of drama and Origin has a sense of drama attached to it."
Hagan will retire as Queensland coach at the end of the series. "When I spoke to Wayne Bennett about taking the job on, he said there was a lot of prestige and a lot of pressure but the pay wasn't real good," Hagan says. "I asked if there was any opportunity for a two-year term. He said you have to do a really bad job not to get a second year."
Last year, Queensland lost 2-1 but the first game went into extra-time and was won by NSW when coach Phil Gould sent five-eighth Shaun Timmins out, saying: "You're too good to be sitting here. Get us a try." Timmins kicked a field goal but Queensland didn't have a lot of luck earlier. You can see how Origin works if you trace a life given to the game, as Hagan has done. You see sponsors change from Stubbies (the shorts, not the bottle) on the back of Queensland jumpers in 1980 to Wizard (owned by GE, one of the world's biggest companies) on NSW jumpers today. You see antiquated grandstands at Suncorp Stadium give way to luxury boxes and players assemble two weeks before the game instead of on match eve. The stage gets bigger, the crowds louder and the TV ratings higher. But with understated men like Hagan in charge, you see how the lights draw power from the shadows.

Hagan heaps praise on players for allowing him to rediscover that winning feeling -  May 26, 2005
An animated Queensland coaching director Wayne Bennett walked up to Michael Hagan last night in the victorious Maroons dressing room and said simply: "There is a God after all."  As coach of the winless Newcastle side enduring the worst start to a season by any club in almost 40 years, Hagan finally broke his drought with Queensland's 24-20 extra time win. But for much of the second half reporters were getting ready to take Hagan's name out of their copy and replace it with NSW captain Danny Buderus as the Blues fought back from 19-0 down to take the lead for the first time after the Knights hooker scored in the 70th minute. "I think at that stage Michael was getting ready to confess every sin in his life," Hagan's brother Bob, the former Bulldogs chief executive, said.
The Queensland coach was still struggling afterwards to comprehend what he had witnessed in the 83 minutes until Matt Bowen's extra-time intercept of a Brett Kimmorley pass. "I think what can happen in that period of time at this level just defies belief," Hagan said. "It's very hard to explain. All I can say is that it's great to be involved. Probably the game is as good as it can be at the moment. That will rate through the roof on television and it was very important for Queensland, I think."
But if it meant a lot for the Maroons to have prevented NSW from taking the lead in the number of games won for the first time in the 25-year history of Origin, it was also important for Hagan to finally be able to enjoy a celebratory beer. After 11 premiership rounds, the Knights sit at the bottom of the NRL ladder with their only two points coming from a bye. "I guess, in terms of the series, everyone knows how important it is, but I haven't won too many games, so it's reasonably important to me," he said. "But I don't think it's too much about me. It's really about the players and Queensland and what it means to them. In the end, the players are the people on show and the ones doing the work. We've got a great support staff and I'm sure they were just as happy as I was that we were able to win a game of football. It means a lot to Queensland, that's the main thing."
Despite the Blues' loss, Buderus said he was happy for Hagan. "At least he's got one [a win]," he said. Hagan consoled Buderus, his Newcastle captain, saying: "I knew one of us wasn't going to be feeling too good."  Highlighting how short-lived such moments are was the reaction of the fans as Hagan walked to the ground-floor lifts to go back up to the coach's box after half-time. Most of the large crowd standing nearby cheered loudly but one dissenting voice yelled: "It will be the only win you'll have all year." At least with Newcastle having a second bye this weekend, he was able to enjoy his drought-breaking win for a bit longer than normal.

Hagan's desperate plea for help -  June 4, 2005
Newcastle coach Michael Hagan fears the Knights will wither and die unless management makes swift and significant improvements to football staff resources and player facilities. In a stinging attack last night, Hagan and football manager Mark Sargent said the Knights needed to restructure the way the club treated injured players, starting with the employment of a full-time physiotherapist and rehabilitation manager. Sargent compared Newcastle's plight with putting retreads on a Ferrari and believed at least $500,000 needed to be spent immediately on support staff to put the Knights on an equal footing. Hagan said seeing Kurt Gidley break down with a torn quadriceps at training on Thursday was the last straw. Gidley, who will be sidelined for up to six weeks, had hoped to return from knee and shoulder surgery against Brisbane tomorrow. The Knights have regularly had up to 10 and as many as 12 of their top 25 players injured and unavailable at any one time for most of the past two seasons and took the step last year of commissioning an independent review. Hagan and Sargent said the club's current medical or support staff were doing the best they could in tough circumstances. "It's getting to the point of we either make significant changes or we perish," Hagan told The Newcastle Herald. "As a club we've done extensive reviews and investigated what is the best model or the best practice, but it all comes down to revenue and resources. At some point you've just got to say enough's enough. Something needs to change and the structure needs to improve. We're not looking for a band-aid. We're looking for a better structure to support the football team and, in turn, the fans can support a healthy football team on the field more often."
Hagan and Sargent hoped their comments would reopen the privatisation debate. "Because of the salary cap, everyone accepts that you can't have a team full of internationals, but you've got to keep the ones you've got on the field," Sargent said. "You don't put retreads on a Ferrari. We invest roughly $5 million in the football team, and blokes are going to get hurt. But where we're short is doing the work to get them back on the field in the best possible shape in the shortest period of time." Sargent said it was up to chief executive Ken Conway, chairman Mike Tyler and the board of directors to address the crisis.

Ricky's rant a Blues tradition, a point of difference - Weekend Australian,  By: Michael Haggan
I MUST admit that, as Queensland coach, I was rather intrigued with the media talk and mind games emanating from the NSW camp over its Origin players being ``on trial'' in club football as far as selection in game two is concerned. In fact, I'm intrigued by the whole media dissection of the game and the microscope put on the Blues' performance, individually particularly, considering the game went to golden point and they scored four tries to two in normal time. I suppose it has become part of the NSW Origin culture, a legacy, I guess, of the much larger media attention in NSW compared to Queensland, and the number of players they have to choose from compared to the Maroons. Phil Gould was the master of using that extreme media focus to plant some psychology on his players and it seems Ricky Stuart has picked up the baton. If we go back to Gould's public criticism of Andrew Johns a couple of years back to fire him up, and other comments aimed at motivating his players, it means that the events of the past week -- in which Ricky expressed disappointment in the performance of some unidentified players in backing up for their clubs after Origin I, and that he had put some outside the first game's squad on notice they were ``on call'', was nothing unusual.I'm not criticising it at all, mind you. But it did press home to me the difference in tradition, and circumstance, I suppose, between the two states. Over the years we've had little speculation on selection scenarios played out in the media by virtue of the fact we've not often had a lot of options compared to the Blues. But also, it is something that we've always tried to keep in house. To be honest, I'm expecting two changes only to the NSW 17 when it is announced on Monday -- and probably only on the bench. One would be the addition of another prop, someone like Anthony Tupou or Joel Clinton, and perhaps one other forward change. I would expect Brett Kimmorley to be retained. 
The other issue of players backing up for their clubs and how they play is important. And the form of our players wasn't of great concern to me -- although I am 
absolutely delighted by how well quite a few Queenslanders performed back at their clubs, which I think was easier to do than for the NSW players, seeing 
as ours were coming off a victory. My biggest concern was that they got through without injury and that is something that is even more important this weekend. We've already lost prop Steve Price, man of the match in Origin I, and will keep a close eye on Carl Webb, who didn't play last Friday night because of a groin injury. Pricey's knee injury certainly throws Corey Parker, Danny Nutley and Shane Tronc into the selection picture and that's the biggest decision we'll have to make in choosing our side for game two, as well as fitting Tonie Carroll back into the make-up of the squad if he proves his fitness this weekend.
Sure, consistency in club form is important over the Origin period but consistency in the three interstate games, how the players manage their recovery from Origin games, their lifestyle during the physically tiring period and how we as an Origin coaching team best manage all that are certainly our major priorities. Having said that, I was obviously delighted to see the stats that, of the 14 players who backed up last weekend after Origin I (Brad Thorn, Carl Webb and Paul Bowman didn't play), 13 of them were in winning teams and quite a few performed very well -- particularly Matt Bowen, Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith and Shaun Berrigan. Ben Ross, who looked certain of being on the winning team when Penrith led Manly at 26-6, was the odd man out, on a losing team. I was talking to Cameron Smith after a fairly specific recovery session the morning after Origin I -- aimed at having them in the best possible condition to go back to their clubs -- and he admitted he found it easier to back up from Origin for a Friday night game 48-hours later than a Sunday game almost four days after. He, like a lot of the players new to the Queensland Origin side last year, admitted he struggled in handling the extra workload and mental demands of  tuning in and out of club and Origin football. It really is a challenge. But as the Queensland coach, I put far more emphasis on how they perform game to game in Origin than for their clubs, where it can only be natural that they have some sort of let-down. I'm not saying we don't assess their form, but our major concern really is monitoring how they recover physically and mentally and how we can alter their workload in camp to have them in the best condition to go again in the next Origin game.
If a player was picked because we thought he could do the job in game one, it's how he handled that occasion that is going to determine to me whether 
we should pick him in game two. And I'm fortunate that there was no one in our initial 17 that left us with any doubts. I'm not expecting miracles from Johns in his return from his fractured jaw tomorrow against the Broncos, but I admit I'm excited about seeing him and Darren Lockyer on the field together. Because every time it happens, something special comes out of it. The setback of having Kurt Gidley, who was also set to return, injure a quadriceps muscle at training on Thursday and find himself out for at least a fortnight, was not the preparation we needed. And it really highlights the issue, as a club, we have to confront with the amount of resource we put into our medical and rehabilitation at the Knights -- we are well behind most clubs but without the finances at present to catch up. Andrew is fitter now than at any time in the past two seasons and I'm relieved for him that he can put all his energy and focus into helping us work towards a much-needed victory.

Frustration was part of a tough week - By: Michael Hagan,  11 June 2005
IT has been a hell of a week. My comments on the lack of injury treatment facilities at the Newcastle Knights landed me in hot water; I watched Tonie Carroll hurt his calf at Newcastle and become unavailable for my Queensland side; my good mate Mark Sargent resigned as Knights' football manager; and then I got the news that Andrew Johns had been called into the Blues' team and may come to haunt me next Wednesday night at Telstra Stadium. Beyond that, with all the publicity about money problems and lack of facilities at the Knights, there was speculation about whether I will follow ``Sarge'' and walk out of the club. Firstly, can I put that to rest. I was taken a little aback and didn't answer as well as I should have the question thrown at me about whether I could guarantee being Newcastle coach next year. I am contracted to the Knights for the 2006 season and am committed to honouring that contract. Sure, I am frustrated. My team is judged on performance and it is being greatly affected by injury. A contributing factor to that is the disadvantage we have in medical and rehabilitation resources compared with other clubs. The Knights are aware of the situation and I hope we will find a way to improve our facilities under the financial restraints that we have.
But I can only stress generally how important ``back room'' staff and facilities are in professional sport these days. No matter how good your talent, any shortfall in those important areas is going to make you vulnerable. Although I am not blaming our relative lack of facilities for all the injuries we have suffered this year -- and last year for that matter -- it has been a major factor towards our injury list. That has in turn been the major contributor to why we are at the bottom of the competition ladder. And ultimately, as a coach, that position on the ladder is what I live or die by. With the salary cap now stringently enforced, injury prevention and treatment is an extremely important part of a football department's operations.  I spoke to Wayne Bennett about it this week and he revealed the Broncos had 
put more money and resources into that side of their business than ever before, because he knows that keeping players on the field, as much as possible, is far more important than ever before. My comments last weekend weren't meant to criticise the current board or administration or anyone in particular; it was just to make it clear what a priority it must become if we are to compete at this elite level. Most NRL and AFL clubs have a full-time physiotherapist, available and on call almost all of the time. The performance director has become an integral part of the coaching staff, someone who is tertiary education and has a good background and understanding of training techniques and injury treatment. I have been told that AFL clubs now spend $10.5million-$12million on their football departments: that's players, coaches, back room staff and facilities. And a large amount of that is going to keeping their players healthy. That's why you see teams on the field now doing cooling down exercises after matches, and specific recovery sessions the next day or two after a match. The best example of how beneficial it can be to a player is Test forward Ben Kennedy. He continually battled with lower leg injuries with us and played only 29 games out of 49 in his last two seasons at Newcastle. His new club Manly has a full-time physiotherapist and a part-timer plus a full-time masseur and has the benefit of training at the Sydney Academy of Sport with high tech facilities. And he is thriving.  The Knights' administration is aware of our problem and working towards a solution.
I HAVE no doubt whatsoever that Andrew Johns, despite having played only one game in a couple of months, will be a massive threat to my Queensland side 
next Wednesday. Sure, he will be underdone physically, but he has worked so hard on his knee while being sidelined with the fractured jaw, he will go into the game in the best shape he has been all season -- and, naturally, with the best talent around him than he has had for a long time. It will bring out the best in him. He'll have to get through on adrenaline and his enormous willpower in the back end of the game. I know that and he knows that. But, because of the occasion, he will still be the player most likely to provide a knock-out blow -- and I am very wary of that.  I have never coached against him, so it's a first for us both. He was out injured in last year's series, my first as Queensland coach.  The Blues are a stronger and better balanced side now. They will be able to play with a lot more width, and that is a danger with the strike-power they have out wide. Joey has the best kicking game of any player available to them and will give them more direction. He has played 10 more Origin games than anyone else in the Blues team, with Ben Kennedy next on 11. I know how single-minded Joey was about playing State of Origin again. The thing is, after a fairly traumatic week as it is, I now have no Andrew Johns in my Newcastle side that takes on Parramatta tonight, and then I have to contend with him as an opponent for the first time next Wednesday. But I'm very happy for him. He didn't want to say much, and knew he had no right to demand selection with the little football he's had and the fact other players have been playing better, but deep down he was determined to play rep football this 
year.

Why I fear my mate Joey -  June 11, 2005
IF Michael Hagan's heart sank just a little when he was told Andrew Johns had been called in the NSW Blues squad on Thursday, he wasn't letting on yesterday.
No one has seen Johns work his magic first hand more than the Newcastle and Queensland coach and no one is more aware than Hagan just how big an influence he could have on Origin II. But his first emotions were for a mate. "I was genuinely happy for him," Hagan said. "I knew of his desire to play Origin again and I know how hard he has worked, particularly since breaking his jaw, to make it happen. To be honest, I thought they would have picked him in the first place after the way he came back against Brisbane. It's just the x-factor he provides that no one else can. I thought they may have gone with him - and now they have."
It's that x-factor Hagan will be trying not to lose sleep over in the next couple of days when he takes off his Knights coaching hat and rejoins the Maroons camp tomorrow. Hagan won't seriously entertain thoughts of stopping Johns. But he must also contend with the conflicting emotions of sending his Queensland forwards in Johns' direction knowing in the back of his mind he is putting pressure on Newcastle's only hope for the future. Hagan's club side has not had a win this year and now their best player - who has just come back from injury and iss their biggest hope of securing a win - must put his body on the line in NSW with his coach sitting on the opposition bench. When asked if the Maroons will be running traffic in Johns' direction Hagan admits: "That is par for the course for any play-maker in any big game."
Even more so for Johns, given his lack of football. But he is also realistic enough to say it is more a case of trying to lessen his impact on the result. To his way of thinking, Johns' inclusion strengthens the Blues, even allowing for the fact he has played just one game in eight weeks. And he claims the pressure of expectation that will be on Johns to deliver with the Blues one down in the series won't be a factor either because "he thrives on it. Origin is a challenge for anyone who hasn't played it before or even for those who haven't played it for a while," he says. "It is a lot quicker and a lot harder. Andrew may not be completely match-fit but he has done a lot of work. And no one in the game at the moment has the mental capacity to handle it like he can."
Hagan says the skill factor is only part of what Johns brings to the table for the Blues. "He'll add a new dimension to their footy team," he said. "Just in his ability to lift the players around him. That's aside from his kicking and passing game which is better than anyone else in the game."
As for his plan to nullify Johns' influence, Hagan admits he has his work cut out. I guess the irony is only a week ago, we were working together on ways to keep Darren Lockyer quiet [when the Knights played Brisbane]," he said. "Now the shoe is on the other foot."
He makes no secret of the fact Johns will see plenty of Queensland traffic heading his way. "That is par for the course for any play-maker in any big game," he says.
Even more so for Johns, given his lack of football. Hagan also knows if his forwards can dominate the Blues like they did for a long period in game one, the chances of Johns cutting loose will decrease. They are the sorts of things we will look at," Hagan said. "With Andrew there now, they [NSW] will want to play an expansive game so that is something else we will have to consider. But to be honest, we have basically concentrated on ourselves over the past few days and haven't worried too much about them. We'll look at that in the last few days before the game and see what we can come up with. One thing is certain though. The game was already a promoter's dream but having Andrew there has just taken that to an even greater level." 

Hagan puts club woes aside -  June 13, 2005
MICHAEL Hagan rejoined the Queensland camp yesterday vowing to somehow push aside Newcastle's ongoing woes and dedicate energy to engineering his second win of the season against NSW on Wednesday. The Maroons coach broke camp to oversee the Knights' disastrous 50-point loss to Parramatta on Saturday night, the struggling club's 12th consecutive loss of a hapless season. The loss came after a week of attention on the club's teetering physical and financial state, with Hagan's football manager Mark Sargent resigning in disgust. But after flying back to the Gold Coast where Queensland remain in camp until today, Hagan said he is confident he can switch focus to the Maroons in coming days. "I have been able to separate my roles as best as I can," Hagan said. "I try not to carry the baggage from Newcastle up with me, if that is the right expression to use. Being in Origin camp is enjoyable and I am trying to enjoy it, but obviously there is still disappointment there of how we are going at the Knights." 
Hagan revealed in his absence the Knights coaching staff organised a team dinner last Thursday night where former Newcastle stalwarts Marc Glanville, Tony Butterfield and Peter Johnson addressed them in the hope of inspiring the injury-hit and still winless side. Up against a red hot Parramatta, however, the Knights were simply outclassed. "The spirits in the group are as good as they can be, it's a battle. We are trying to keep their spirits from dropping, and we are trying to keep quality people around them," Hagan said. "Everyone has been very understanding of the situation, the fans in particular. There is no secret to it. You can't compete against quality teams when you are struck by injury to 12 or so members of your top side." 
Meanwhile, Souths lock Ashley Harrison has been included in the Maroons squad as 18th man. Harrison's call-up topped a big weekend for the Rabbitohs captain after Souths thumped competition heavyweights Manly 44-6 at Aussie Stadium on Saturday. Harrison could well find himself in the 17, with several Maroons carrying injury - including forward Brad Thorn. I have heard a couple are struggling so I will have to prepare as if I am playing," Harrison said. 

It's taxing time for clubs, tougher for tradesmen - Michael Hagan, June 25, 2005
NOW is the toughest period in a rugby league season. And not just because it's Origin time; or because it's getting to crunch time for a team's challenge for a finals position. It's because June 30, the anti-tampering deadline, is almost upon us. I'm like any coach I suppose. I've had to sit with players this week, along with Paul Harragon and Steve Crowe who are sharing the role of football manager since Mark Sargent's departure, and tell some they are better off looking around for another club. It's certainly not a popularity contest, I can tell you. And when you have a situation like the Knights have had this season through injury, which creates a situation where you have to call on lesser-credentialled and lower-paid players than the stars that are missing, it's an even tougher task. No player likes to bust his gut for the club, play 20 or 30 first grade games over a couple of years and feel he probably deserves a pay rise as a reward for his achievements only to be told, 'sorry, under salary cap forces, we can't employ you any more. We are taking away your livelihood'. 
All aspiring NRL players are told to back themselves, train hard, give that extra bit. But if you're not a top-line player, the salary cap rules have very little compassion for you. I've had to tell several Newcastle players this week they should see what they could get elsewhere because we are not going to be able to meet their expectations at Newcastle. With 12 weeks of the season to go, when you need all the motivation from those players, it's the most difficult part of the game. And while a salary cap is absolutely essential in the NRL, I still don't think there is enough flexibility to give you anywhere to go in some situations. 
First, the cap has hardly moved in seven seasons, although there are now some concessions which allow you to stretch it a little bit. Second, you are penalised heavily if you have injuries to your top players - mainly because you have to pay their replacements, who are on incentive agreements, a great deal more to replace those leading players. And the system is such that you suffer a double penalty for it. Say a player is on a basic $40,000 sign-on and $3000 a first grade game, which would be common in the NRL for "borderline first graders", and he plays, say, 14 top grade games because of your injury toll - and thus earns $82,000. 
You have to pay him the $82,000 this year but the $42,000 incentives don't go on your salary cap until the following season, a mechanism to assist clubs as they can't estimate at the start of the year how much in "incentive" payments they have to pay out. So even if the player is still on the $40,000 base, and hardly plays first grade because the top-line player is back, you have to register him at the $82,000 on the salary cap the next year, which has an impact on whether you can afford to keep him. So it really is about making tough decisions. It's not much fun but an essential part of running a football department. The other way an injury run hurts you is you can only pay out a maximum $300,000 in second-tier payments in any year; that is, to players outside your declared top 25 squad who must fit under the $3.25million cap. Again, because of our injury situation, Newcastle is up to $297,000 for second-tier payments. We've had 11 debutants, seven of whom came from outside our first grade squad. We are in a situation where we might have a young guy in premier league or even Jersey Flegg who is a player of the future, whose form warrants him to be promoted to fill a hole in your first grade side but you can't use him because you'd break the second-tier cap. 
That can lead you to putting players out on the paddock who aren't quite fit enough but you have no choice - other than willingly breaking the salary cap, notifying the NRL you have to do it and leaving it up to the NRL to understand and give you some sort of exemption because of circumstance, which is difficult for them to justify to other clubs. This year, we have even had situations where players didn't play for us, but under the rules still had to be counted under the cap. Dane Tilse is one. He was sacked after the "Bathurst incident" but his contract is still on our cap. The other area that can really hurt you, and I think needs reviewing, is when a player is injured playing representative football. A club appreciates that medical expenses are paid by the state or national body but the player could miss a significant part of the season - injured not even playing for the club - but you still have to have his contract count under the salary cap, as well as those extra payments to his replacement. The cap has effectively been stretched through the 10-year rule (up to an extra $100,000 in total can be spent on players who have given the club 10 years or more service), and players can earn extra if they genuinely work in sponsor servicing or junior development. But there is too little flexibility when it comes to piecing together your side with players on incentive-based players. But irrespective of that, it's a tough period right across the league at the moment as clubs have to calculate what a player is worth, how much to put aside to allow for incentive payments and what the balance of next year's team is going to be - even though there is almost half of this year to go. Just pay those draw-card players less, you say? Well, market forces don't allow that and, in our case, we had to make a decision to let go Timana Tahu and Ben Kennedy last year to keep younger players. With most clubs designating probably 40 per cent of their salary cap to the top five players - and with a market at that level it is only going to be driven upwards with the introduction of Gold Coast and an aggressive plan by South Sydney to strengthen its side - the rugby league tradesman is facing a tough time. And it's no fun telling them that.