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Soward verbal angers Wests Tigers' Farah
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Date
April 14, 2013 - 8:19PM
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His Wests Tigers are on the slide down the NRL ladder, but it was an ugly verbal attack which had skipper Robbie Farah really seething on what was supposed to be a day of celebration at the SCG.
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The pomp and ceremony which marked 50 years since St George beat Wests Magpies in one of the most famous grand finals in history was quickly forgotten in the heat of the battle on Sunday, when Farah and St George Illawarra pivot Jamie Soward came together mid-pitch.
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The pair exchanged words as they became entangled in some push and shove late in the first half of the Dragons' 13-12 win, which came on the back of a late Soward field goal.
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His late strike would have done little to brighten the outlook of Farah, who appeared in no mood to forgive and forget after the game.
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"I'll leave it on the field," Farah said.
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"I'm not happy about it but I'll leave it on the field.
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"He apologised so I'll cop it but I don't want to discuss it."
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Farah had last week been featured in a press article for giving a character reference in court for friend Joseph Harb, who was at the centre of a drug and corruption scandal.
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He also told the court he had lent his friend $210,00, though there was no suggestion Farah knew of Harb's criminal activity or was involved in any wrongdoing himself.
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Soward too didn't wish to elaborate about the subject matter of the sledge, other than to say he made a mistake and had apologised almost immediately.
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The Dragons five-eighth is no stranger to being the victim of sledging on the field, but even he admitted that he had over-stepped the mark.
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"A lot of stuff gets said, I'm not a person that usually reacts and for me to react is a surprise to myself," Soward said.
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"Once I said it I apologised and moved on from that, I'd like to think Robbie accepted my apology and we move on from that."
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Asked if he had reacted to being sledged, Soward said:
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"I cop it every week, I'm usually just not quick enough to continue on with it.
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"I'd like to leave it at that."
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The nasty incident failed to hide the fact the Tigers have now lost three in a row and are 13th on the ladder, just one win ahead of a group of teams on two competition points including reigning minor premiers Canterbury who are last on points differential.
>
The Tigers return following next weekend's round of representative fixtures to play in-form Brisbane before what is already looming as a crunch round eight encounter against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
>
It will be part of a tough fortnight for the Bulldogs, who take on Cronulla in Gosford on Sunday week - the Sharks with just two wins from their opening six games.
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Ladder-leaders Melbourne are now ten points clear of the Bulldogs, who they beat in last year's grand final, though Canterbury will no doubt take some heart from the fact they are just two wins outside the top eight.
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The Dragons are headed the other way from the Tigers on the back of three straight wins - setting up a monster match-up with the flying Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day when NRL hostilities resume.
>
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/soward-verbal-angers-wests-tigers-farah-20130414-2htvy.html
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Farah stands up for friend turned drug kingpin
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Date
April 14, 2013
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8 reading now
>
Ilya Gridneff
Crime Reporter
>
View more articles from Ilya Gridneff
>
Follow Ilya on Twitter Email Ilya
>
The NRL Wests Tigers captain appeared in court in support of primary school mate, and drug importer, Joseph Harb.
>
>
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Robbie Farah of the Tigers
>
Familiar role: Robbie Farah on the pitch. Photo: Getty Images
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The confessed ringleader of a drug and corruption scandal at Sydney Airport is the lifelong friend of one of the NRL's biggest stars, Robbie Farah, who lent his desperate mate $210,000 and has visited him in jail.
>
On Friday the captain of Wests Tigers was in the District Court in Sydney's Downing Centre giving a character reference for drug importer Joseph Harb, one of his closest friends.
>
Farah told the court how he lent his old primary school mate $210,000 he needed to help pay $850,000 in gambling debts.
New role: Robbie Farrah leaves Downing Centre courts.
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New role: Robbie Farah outside court on Friday. The Wests Tigers captain is an old friend of confessed drug ringleader Joseph Harb. Photo: Janie Barrett
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Fairfax Media in no way suggests Farah had any knowledge of Harb's secret life of crime, or was involved in any wrongdoing.
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>
Farah's testimony was the latest episode in Harb's involvement in a massive drug trafficking ring involving the bribery of Customs officials and importation of illegal drugs worth tens of millions of dollars.
>
Harb, also 29, of Ashfield, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and bribing a customs official and was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in August last year as part of Operation Marca.
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Farah, whose team takes on St George Illawarra at the SCG on Sunday, lost his mother to cancer in June last year and was plunged into controversy in September after tweeting offensive remarks about Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
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Mr Farah told the court, packed with Harb's family and friends, they had been friends for 20 years since they were nine-year-old kids.
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''He's helped me in the past and I wanted to be there for him,'' he said. ''Joseph came to me on several occasions, he was breaking down, desperate, as a friend I felt the need to help.
>
''If I didn't do something, something very bad could have happened.''
>
Farah said the serious offence was ''out of character''.
>
''Joseph fully understands the crimes he's committed and how wrong it was. At the time he didn't realise what he was doing. He was under enormous stress and he's very apologetic now.''
>
But Crown prosecutor Lincoln Crowley dismissed these claims and said it did not diminish the severity of the crimes.
>
''Mr Harb instigated, planned and organised then executed the import, he instigated the bribery,'' he said.
>
Mr Crowley said regardless of Mr Harb's situation it did not affect his motive to commit a serious offence.
>
Mr Crowley outlined how Harb paid a $50,000 bribe for inside information from a Customs officer, Paul Katralis, as well as $15,000 to recruit an alleged drug courier while also paying for travel to Thailand for mules to bring drugs back into Australia.
>
Harb organised and ran the corrupt cell at Sydney's international airport that police say had been operating since at least 2009 and allegedly imported millions of dollars worth of pseudoephedrine, cocaine, steroids and possibly weapons.
>
Fairfax Media understands Harb is linked to the Comanchero outlaw bikie gang that has profited from the drug trafficking carried out by the cell.
>
A Corrective Services of NSW source said Farah made regular visits to Harb who has been on remand at Long Bay Jail.
>
Farah declined to comment outside court.
>
Harb's legal representative Tony Bellanto, QC, told the court his client turned to crime to repay close to a million dollars in gambling debts, of which friends and family also helped pay off.
>
Harb's sister Carla Condoluchi, who also gave a character reference, said part of her brother's problem was heavy alcohol and cocaine use. ''If he was not under that much pressure he would not borrow that much money or commit a crime,'' she said.
>
District Court Justice Robert Sorby adjourned the matter to May 17.
>
As revealed in a Fairfax Media investigation, a total of four customs officers and one quarantine inspection service official are among 17 people arrested by Operation Marca, a two-year federal anti-corruption and organised crime probe into suspected drug trafficking at Sydney Airport's international terminal.
>
The sting has forced massive reforms to Customs, with the wrongdoing described as one of Australia's biggest corruption scandals.
>
Krystle Hill, a 27-year-old part-time model and make-up artist, will face court charged with bringing in a commercial quantity of pseudoephedrine when allegedly running drugs between Thailand and Sydney in 2009.
>
A hearing date is yet to be set.
>
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/farah-stands-up-for-friend-turned-drug-kingpin-20130413-2hs8i.html
>
Date
April 14, 2013 - 8:19PM
\
\
\
His Wests Tigers are on the slide down the NRL ladder, but it was an ugly verbal attack which had skipper Robbie Farah really seething on what was supposed to be a day of celebration at the SCG.
>
The pomp and ceremony which marked 50 years since St George beat Wests Magpies in one of the most famous grand finals in history was quickly forgotten in the heat of the battle on Sunday, when Farah and St George Illawarra pivot Jamie Soward came together mid-pitch.
>
The pair exchanged words as they became entangled in some push and shove late in the first half of the Dragons' 13-12 win, which came on the back of a late Soward field goal.
>
His late strike would have done little to brighten the outlook of Farah, who appeared in no mood to forgive and forget after the game.
Advertisement
>
"I'll leave it on the field," Farah said.
>
"I'm not happy about it but I'll leave it on the field.
>
"He apologised so I'll cop it but I don't want to discuss it."
>
Farah had last week been featured in a press article for giving a character reference in court for friend Joseph Harb, who was at the centre of a drug and corruption scandal.
>
He also told the court he had lent his friend $210,00, though there was no suggestion Farah knew of Harb's criminal activity or was involved in any wrongdoing himself.
>
Soward too didn't wish to elaborate about the subject matter of the sledge, other than to say he made a mistake and had apologised almost immediately.
>
The Dragons five-eighth is no stranger to being the victim of sledging on the field, but even he admitted that he had over-stepped the mark.
>
"A lot of stuff gets said, I'm not a person that usually reacts and for me to react is a surprise to myself," Soward said.
>
"Once I said it I apologised and moved on from that, I'd like to think Robbie accepted my apology and we move on from that."
>
Asked if he had reacted to being sledged, Soward said:
>
"I cop it every week, I'm usually just not quick enough to continue on with it.
>
"I'd like to leave it at that."
>
The nasty incident failed to hide the fact the Tigers have now lost three in a row and are 13th on the ladder, just one win ahead of a group of teams on two competition points including reigning minor premiers Canterbury who are last on points differential.
>
The Tigers return following next weekend's round of representative fixtures to play in-form Brisbane before what is already looming as a crunch round eight encounter against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
>
It will be part of a tough fortnight for the Bulldogs, who take on Cronulla in Gosford on Sunday week - the Sharks with just two wins from their opening six games.
>
Ladder-leaders Melbourne are now ten points clear of the Bulldogs, who they beat in last year's grand final, though Canterbury will no doubt take some heart from the fact they are just two wins outside the top eight.
>
The Dragons are headed the other way from the Tigers on the back of three straight wins - setting up a monster match-up with the flying Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day when NRL hostilities resume.
>
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/soward-verbal-angers-wests-tigers-farah-20130414-2htvy.html
\
\
\
\
Farah stands up for friend turned drug kingpin
>
Date
April 14, 2013
>
8 reading now
>
Ilya Gridneff
Crime Reporter
>
View more articles from Ilya Gridneff
>
Follow Ilya on Twitter Email Ilya
>
The NRL Wests Tigers captain appeared in court in support of primary school mate, and drug importer, Joseph Harb.
>
>
>
Robbie Farah of the Tigers
>
Familiar role: Robbie Farah on the pitch. Photo: Getty Images
>
The confessed ringleader of a drug and corruption scandal at Sydney Airport is the lifelong friend of one of the NRL's biggest stars, Robbie Farah, who lent his desperate mate $210,000 and has visited him in jail.
>
On Friday the captain of Wests Tigers was in the District Court in Sydney's Downing Centre giving a character reference for drug importer Joseph Harb, one of his closest friends.
>
Farah told the court how he lent his old primary school mate $210,000 he needed to help pay $850,000 in gambling debts.
New role: Robbie Farrah leaves Downing Centre courts.
>
New role: Robbie Farah outside court on Friday. The Wests Tigers captain is an old friend of confessed drug ringleader Joseph Harb. Photo: Janie Barrett
>
Fairfax Media in no way suggests Farah had any knowledge of Harb's secret life of crime, or was involved in any wrongdoing.
Advertisement
>
Farah's testimony was the latest episode in Harb's involvement in a massive drug trafficking ring involving the bribery of Customs officials and importation of illegal drugs worth tens of millions of dollars.
>
Harb, also 29, of Ashfield, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and bribing a customs official and was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in August last year as part of Operation Marca.
>
Farah, whose team takes on St George Illawarra at the SCG on Sunday, lost his mother to cancer in June last year and was plunged into controversy in September after tweeting offensive remarks about Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
>
Mr Farah told the court, packed with Harb's family and friends, they had been friends for 20 years since they were nine-year-old kids.
>
''He's helped me in the past and I wanted to be there for him,'' he said. ''Joseph came to me on several occasions, he was breaking down, desperate, as a friend I felt the need to help.
>
''If I didn't do something, something very bad could have happened.''
>
Farah said the serious offence was ''out of character''.
>
''Joseph fully understands the crimes he's committed and how wrong it was. At the time he didn't realise what he was doing. He was under enormous stress and he's very apologetic now.''
>
But Crown prosecutor Lincoln Crowley dismissed these claims and said it did not diminish the severity of the crimes.
>
''Mr Harb instigated, planned and organised then executed the import, he instigated the bribery,'' he said.
>
Mr Crowley said regardless of Mr Harb's situation it did not affect his motive to commit a serious offence.
>
Mr Crowley outlined how Harb paid a $50,000 bribe for inside information from a Customs officer, Paul Katralis, as well as $15,000 to recruit an alleged drug courier while also paying for travel to Thailand for mules to bring drugs back into Australia.
>
Harb organised and ran the corrupt cell at Sydney's international airport that police say had been operating since at least 2009 and allegedly imported millions of dollars worth of pseudoephedrine, cocaine, steroids and possibly weapons.
>
Fairfax Media understands Harb is linked to the Comanchero outlaw bikie gang that has profited from the drug trafficking carried out by the cell.
>
A Corrective Services of NSW source said Farah made regular visits to Harb who has been on remand at Long Bay Jail.
>
Farah declined to comment outside court.
>
Harb's legal representative Tony Bellanto, QC, told the court his client turned to crime to repay close to a million dollars in gambling debts, of which friends and family also helped pay off.
>
Harb's sister Carla Condoluchi, who also gave a character reference, said part of her brother's problem was heavy alcohol and cocaine use. ''If he was not under that much pressure he would not borrow that much money or commit a crime,'' she said.
>
District Court Justice Robert Sorby adjourned the matter to May 17.
>
As revealed in a Fairfax Media investigation, a total of four customs officers and one quarantine inspection service official are among 17 people arrested by Operation Marca, a two-year federal anti-corruption and organised crime probe into suspected drug trafficking at Sydney Airport's international terminal.
>
The sting has forced massive reforms to Customs, with the wrongdoing described as one of Australia's biggest corruption scandals.
>
Krystle Hill, a 27-year-old part-time model and make-up artist, will face court charged with bringing in a commercial quantity of pseudoephedrine when allegedly running drugs between Thailand and Sydney in 2009.
>
A hearing date is yet to be set.
>
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/farah-stands-up-for-friend-turned-drug-kingpin-20130413-2hs8i.html
