"The ham in the sandwich of an underworld dispute" – that's how a prominent Manly official has described the match-fixing allegations. Peter Peters says he was asked by coach Trent Barrett to speak to Sea Eagles players on Friday about allegations two game were fixed last year."Where's the proof rugby league isn't the ham in the sandwich here in an underworld dispute and innocent lives are being affected and a great football club and its players are being seriously defamed?" Peters told Sky Sports Radio. "Where is the evidence of the bets? A bet of that magnitude has to be registered." Interestingly, Peters said in the interview that "in my experience" it would be possible to interest one or two players in such nefarious activity. Peters said current Manly players were being "treated like criminals" by the media.

Selective memory

The week before Jack Wighton was charged with illegally touching linesman Brett Suttor, he admitted hitting the same man with a football. When the Canberra fullback made one of two costly errors against Canterbury last Sunday, he flung the ball away in disgust and accidently struck Suttor on the legs. Wighton quickly forgot his own woes and apologised profusely to Suttor, who smiled in response. When I interviewed Wighton on Triple M at fulltime eight days ago, he said: "Blokes get suspended for touching them, I hit him with the ball!" Presumably the match review committee missed the first incident. Wighton faces a one-mach ban for the second one.

Earning Zak

This should be bigger news than it is: Zak Hardaker, the reigning Super League Man of Steel, was transfer listed over the weekend "to satisfy his NRL dream." Hardaker's Leeds Rhinos won all three trophies last year and contested the World Club Challenge, have had a dismal year and are in the relegation zone. Following a loss to Catalans it was revealed Hardaker, who has a chequered past when it comes to controversy, would be allowed to leave. It should not surprise that Canberra recruitment manager Peter Mulholland was at the Magic Weekend in Newcastle recently and the Raiders are the first club linked to him. The issue is the transfer fee – Stg300,000.

Chick rolls out of Penrith?

Penrith coach Anthony Griffin says the only problem with James Segeyaro is that Peter Wallace is in better form. The PNG star's fortunes have been in reverse since he was photographed with Junior Paulo and Corey Norman at dinner with underworld figures. "He wasn't selected in this team but he's a contracted player," Griffin said after the 24-6 loss to Melbourne on Saturday. "There's no issue with anything else aside from the fact that, as I said during the week, we want to go with one hooker and Peter Wallace is the form hooker in our club at the moment. That's just a selection thing." Segayaro pulled out of a NSW Cup game on Saturday during the warm-up due to the aggravation of a groin injury.

Should we stay or should we go?

Serious discussions took place at Allianz Stadium on Sunday about postponing the waterlogged Sydney Roosters-Wests Tigers match. Just after 2pm, half a plastic advertising hoarding blew off the western grandstand and landed on seats below. Had someone been sitting there, it's possible an injury could have resulted. NRL official Nathan McGuirk was then seen in deep conversion with the ground manager about whether it was safe for the first grade game to proceed after Under 20s was postponed. But workers marking the lines were instructed to continue with their labours. The NRL has a better record for persisting in trying conditions than the US Mail.

A pictorial of a pectoral

Like Set of Six, you may have thought the new Injury Surveillance Tent on the sidelines at NRL matches was just there for concussions. There is a video screen on a little table at the front of the tent, which team doctors can review to decide whether a player needs an HIA, or Head Injury Assessment. But on Friday at GIO Stadium Manly prop Brenton Lawrence and a medico used the screen just after halftime to find out how he had suffered a pectoral muscle injury. Based on what they saw, Lawrence returned to the sheds for further treatment. With injuries to Daly Cherry-Evans (ankle), Jamie Lyon (hamstring), Jamie Buhrer (concussion) and Lawrence, the Sea Eagles had no reserves at one stage of their 30-18 defeat.