- Gorden Tallis slams Aaron Woods for remarks about Billy Slater
- Former NSW star kicked off war of words on his radio show
Queensland rugby league legend Gorden Tallis has taken aim at Aaron Woods after the former NSW star recently labelled Maroons coach Billy Slater a ‘grub’.
The controversy erupted last week, when Woods criticised Slater for replacing Daly Cherry-Evans for State of Origin game two this Wednesday night.
On Sunday, Tallis fired back at Woods for his remarks on his Triple M radio show, saying he has more courage on the microphone than showed on the field as a player.
‘He got sacked from six clubs so he knows what it feels like, and when Queensland start listening to a bloke that played his last six years in reserve grade, we’ve got problems,’ Tallis said on Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin program.
‘He wasn’t that brave when he was a player, he’s braver on the mic. That’s a good comeback, isn’t it?
‘He wouldn’t have said that when he was playing, so that’s my point.’
Queensland legend Gorden Tallis (pictured) has taken aim at former Blues star Aaron Woods
Tallis said Woods (pictured) has more courage on the microphone than he did as a player
Tallis again slammed Wood’s character for not calling out Slater’s ‘grub’ behaviour during his footy career.
‘If you didn’t say that (he was a grub) when you were playing against him and you keep on holding him accountable for what he did as a player, we’re all in deep s**t here,’ he said.
‘Every single person in our game has done something wrong. But as a coach I think he’s doing a pretty good job.
‘You know, Woodsy went and took his son about a month ago and got a photo taken with him (Slater), and if I thought someone was a grub you wouldn’t go ask him for a photo.’
For the record, Tallis was mistaken when he said Woods had been sacked by six clubs – he only played for five in the NRL – and neither was he in reserve grade for his final six seasons.
Woods, who played with Cherry-Evans at Manly for two seasons, wasn’t impressed with seeing the playmaker replaced by Cowboys star Tom Dearden.
‘To me that’s p**s poor form from Billy Slater,’ Woods said on Triple M’s Breakfast with Beau and Woodsy show.
‘After game one in your press conference you said it wasn’t about the personnel, you said you didn’t play too well.
Woods recently torched Queensland coach Billy Slater (pictured with wife Nicole), branding him a ‘grub’
Woods said that it was ‘p**s poor form’ for Slater to drop Daly Cherry-Evans
Tallis (pictured with partner Jemma) slammed Woods for playing the last six years of his career ‘in reserve grade’
‘You’ve come out and axed your captain Daly Cherry-Evans. You’ve said it wasn’t a scapegoat, but mate it’s a scapegoat.
Woods then turned his attention to Slater’s on-field indiscretions and the time he was suspended for a seven-matches after kicking Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis in the head.
The Queensland star was charged 10 times during his impressive 319-game career, guilty on nine occasions and suspended for 13 matches.
‘It’s so funny because you watch these blokes up north and they say we don’t get Origin and they use this pick and stick mentality. Well Billy you’ve just turned on your skipper,’ he said.
‘I want to see the real Billy Slater come out – the grub that we know of. This is a bloke who kicked John Skandalis in the head and got a six-week suspension. Everyone wants to go ‘oh he’s such a nice bloke’.
