The Mole: Ipswich Jets chairman hits back at David Fifita criticism after team 'got our pants pulled down'
The enigmatic David Fifita has copped plenty of flak for a so-called lacklustre display in the Queensland Cup after being dropped by the Titans.
Fifita made just nine runs for 58 metres in the lower tier competition in a 32—0 loss to Northern Pride, but Ipswich Jets chairman Steve Johnson has jumped to his defence.
"It was one of those days - our middles only had five carries all game," Johnson told Wide World of Sports.
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"On a wet track we got our pants pulled down with no ball and the lad made 20 tackles with no misses.
"He played the full 80 minutes and he is 100 per cent committed to us and was great with the young blokes."
David Fifita in Ipswich Jets colours Ipswich Jets
Fifita's future is now up in the air - the big forward is on around $1 million a season and there is no way a club can carry a player on a deal like that in reserve grade.
Adding to the soap opera, the big back-rower will now be sidelined with a lingering ankle injury and will see a specialist to determine when he can return.
HIA DRAMAS AFTER MAGIC ROUND
The NRL is fuming at one club at Magic Round after the way it handled a player who suffered a concussion at Suncorp.
The player didn't return to the field and is being monitored this week by the medical staff - but was photographed in the sheds immediately after his team played drinking a beer!
Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
NRL medical officials have asked the club for a please explain after another example of HIA protocols not being taken seriously by some clubs.
Who was he? I won't name and shame him but here's a clue - his team won.
HAYNE PLANE'S NEW LANDING SPOT
Jarryd Hayne is just days away from finally returning to the rugby league field after an absence of more than six years.
The 37-year-old was released from jail last June after two years, having won his appeal against a rape conviction.
He has been training with Wentworthville Magpies, based in Sydney's west, in the Ron Massey Cup, but has been dogged by injury for months.
But now, Hayne is finally ready to play again after his long absence and could even take the field this weekend.
Jarryd Hayne during his time with the Eels. Getty
Wentworthville is a feeder club for the Parramatta Eels, but there is no suggestion that Hayne will attempt to return to the NRL after such a lengthy absence.
Hayne has had a colourful and controversial career, bursting onto the the scene with the Eels as a cocky teenager in 2006. He was at the peak of his powers in 2009, winning the Dally M Medal and helping the Eels to the grand final.
He had a brief, much-publicised stint with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL in 2015 before returning to league, but his career hit an abrupt end when the sexual assault allegations arose in 2018.
KNIGHTS UNEARTH YOUNG GUN
Newcastle finished a close second to the Roosters in the Harold Matts Cup last weekend - and unearthed a star along the way.
Young halfback Chase Butler turned plenty of heads - particularly in the light of the club's much-publicised playmaking roles over the past two seasons.
And the good news for Newcastle fans is that Butler isn't going anywhere despite the widespread interest - he's just signed a new two-year deal with the club.
