Michael Uin scores for the Black and White Panthers at the Paul Kelly Memorial Shield and (right) departed English import Reece Lazenby.
RUGBY LEAGUE
THE BLACK and Whites have been stunned by the departure of English pair Reece Lazenby and Ian Kerman, who have quit the club before making a single appearance.
Less than a month after arriving in Griffith, the imports have skipped town after failing to settle. Lazenby is now in Mackay while Kerman has shifted to Perth.
New coach Craig Hannon admitted their sudden exit was a "shock".
"They just took off," he said.
"I don't know much about it but they decided to leave."
Lazenby told The Area News he and Kerman were promised jobs in Griffith by the club but they never eventuated.
"It was all work-orientated, really. We couldn't hang around without a job, it was unfortunate," he said.
"I left Adelaide and Ian left England because we were promised a job but they weren't there.
"We said we weren't going to sign any papers until we had a job and we were stable, so they threw us out of the house they put us up in.
"The people at the club were lovely. But there's someone at the club who just shouldn't be there, that's all I'll say."
Lazenby wished his ex-teammates all the best for the season ahead, and said if the club's new Kiwi quartet stuck around the Black and Whites would become premiership contenders.
The new recruits he was referring to Peter-George Rata, Jeco Makatoa, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Vaai are all set to line up in tomorrow's match with Group 9 outfit Tumbarumba.
"I think everyone's pretty right with clearances. They can't wait to get out there," Hannon said.
"I don't know much about Tumbarumba, they're all new to me. We're just worried about ourselves. We'll just take it as it comes and see what happens from there."
Hannon admitted he was taken aback when he first met man mountain Rata.
"I was quite shocked actually. I had an idea he was a reasonable size but he's massive," he said.
"He's exactly what we've been looking for there in the forwards and he should add a bit of strength and power up front, which is what we've been lacking."
Young half Gospel Toru remains in doubt for the Tumbarumba match after battling illness this week.