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Hannant leaves alleged slur behind GLENN JACKSON
June 4, 2010
BULLDOGS prop Ben Hannant holds no grudges against Wests Tigers counterpart Bryce Gibbs, who was accused of religiously sledging the Mormon earlier this season.
''I don't have any grudges against anyone,'' Hannant told the Herald yesterday, despite their fiery clash in round six this season. ''That's all done and dusted.
''I've got more important things to worry about - getting back on the field [after a knee injury] and getting games under my belt. It would be selfish to worry about that, so I'm not going to.''
Hannant is understood to have asked Gibbs to apologise shortly after full-time when the two teams met at the SFS. When Gibbs refused, the pair almost came to blows. Hannant was deeply upset at Gibbs's remarks but chose not to take the matter further and the Bulldogs declined to complain under the NRL anti-vilification code.
The NRL match review committee committee investigated 14 scrums involving Gibbs and Hannant, as well as four separate occasions in which they had come together in tackles, but could not find any evidence to charge the Tigers player.
''Obviously I got a bit upset, but I've moved on,'' Hannant said. ''That's all finished.''
Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan said the other players had similarly moved on from the drama.
''We haven't spoken about that at all and I haven't spoken to any of the players individually about it so I don't think it will be much of an issue,'' Ryan said.
**Gibbs, who was unapologetic at the time of the accusation, has apparently been warned by his club to ''do your talking with your shoulders, not with your mouth''.**
The match-up adds spice to the clash at ANZ Stadium tonight, with the Bulldogs attempting to snap a four-game losing streak against a side not far free of its own string of four straight defeats. Moore said he was confident his team could respond this week.
''Not once have we picked the same 17 week in, week out [this year],'' he said. ''We've done that this week so for me that's a great opportunity to improve on last week.''
One of the players who will no doubt improve is Hannant, who returned from a knee injury last Sunday against Melbourne and subsequently suffered a cork to the area. Hannant had his first run of the week yesterday and is little chance of missing his final chance to convince Maroons selectors, of his resurgence.
Ryan said that with a bit of luck - and a better outlook - the Bulldogs would find the form which had them playing for a spot in the grand final last season. He admitted that if they wanted to repeat that effort, they would have to turn around their season swiftly.
''Kev probably touched on it through the week … we looked like we've got the weight of the world on our shoulders [against Melbourne] and I suppose that was right,'' Ryan said. ''We probably need to just be confident in our ability and get out there and play footy and enjoy it.''
Meanwhile, Jake Foster, who made his debut for the Dogs against Penrith in round 11, was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery yesterday. Foster was named to start against Melbourne but dislocated his shoulder on match eve.
June 4, 2010
BULLDOGS prop Ben Hannant holds no grudges against Wests Tigers counterpart Bryce Gibbs, who was accused of religiously sledging the Mormon earlier this season.
''I don't have any grudges against anyone,'' Hannant told the Herald yesterday, despite their fiery clash in round six this season. ''That's all done and dusted.
''I've got more important things to worry about - getting back on the field [after a knee injury] and getting games under my belt. It would be selfish to worry about that, so I'm not going to.''
Hannant is understood to have asked Gibbs to apologise shortly after full-time when the two teams met at the SFS. When Gibbs refused, the pair almost came to blows. Hannant was deeply upset at Gibbs's remarks but chose not to take the matter further and the Bulldogs declined to complain under the NRL anti-vilification code.
The NRL match review committee committee investigated 14 scrums involving Gibbs and Hannant, as well as four separate occasions in which they had come together in tackles, but could not find any evidence to charge the Tigers player.
''Obviously I got a bit upset, but I've moved on,'' Hannant said. ''That's all finished.''
Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan said the other players had similarly moved on from the drama.
''We haven't spoken about that at all and I haven't spoken to any of the players individually about it so I don't think it will be much of an issue,'' Ryan said.
**Gibbs, who was unapologetic at the time of the accusation, has apparently been warned by his club to ''do your talking with your shoulders, not with your mouth''.**
The match-up adds spice to the clash at ANZ Stadium tonight, with the Bulldogs attempting to snap a four-game losing streak against a side not far free of its own string of four straight defeats. Moore said he was confident his team could respond this week.
''Not once have we picked the same 17 week in, week out [this year],'' he said. ''We've done that this week so for me that's a great opportunity to improve on last week.''
One of the players who will no doubt improve is Hannant, who returned from a knee injury last Sunday against Melbourne and subsequently suffered a cork to the area. Hannant had his first run of the week yesterday and is little chance of missing his final chance to convince Maroons selectors, of his resurgence.
Ryan said that with a bit of luck - and a better outlook - the Bulldogs would find the form which had them playing for a spot in the grand final last season. He admitted that if they wanted to repeat that effort, they would have to turn around their season swiftly.
''Kev probably touched on it through the week … we looked like we've got the weight of the world on our shoulders [against Melbourne] and I suppose that was right,'' Ryan said. ''We probably need to just be confident in our ability and get out there and play footy and enjoy it.''
Meanwhile, Jake Foster, who made his debut for the Dogs against Penrith in round 11, was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery yesterday. Foster was named to start against Melbourne but dislocated his shoulder on match eve.