Tallis hits out after Beattie 'headbutt'
By Brad Walter, at Toyota Park
August 1, 2004 - 12:01AM
The Sun-Herald
Broncos 16 Sharks 12
A war of words between Brisbane captain Gorden Tallis and his former Queensland Origin teammate Chris Beattie over an alleged headbutt by the Cronulla prop overshadowed the dramatic golden-point win by the Broncos at Toyota Park last night.
Test centre Brent Tate, shunted to the wing because of Brisbane's heavy injury toll, snatched victory for his side with an 87th-minute solo try, but it was the altercation between Tallis and Beattie that dominated post-match discussion in the dressing rooms.
Tallis, who had threatened to take matters into his own hands when referee Jason Robinson declined to take action over the 75th-minute incident, later accused Beattie of being "a grub" and "a cheap-shot merchant".
"He headbutted me . . . he punches in the scrum, he's a grub. The game doesn't need players like that, it's as simple as that," Tallis said.
On the field, a clearly angered Tallis told Beattie: "If you headbutt me again, I'm going to bash you."
When his complaint fell on deaf ears, he said to Robinson, "that's shit", before adding "f--- off Beattie" as he walked away.
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Tallis then unsuccessfully raised the issue again with Robinson during the brief break before extra time, and said afterwards: "If I punch him, they get a penalty and we lose the game, and he knows that.
"He thinks he's a tough guy but tough guys don't go around punching little 70-kilogram blokes in the scrum. If they want to take you front on, good. He's a cheap-shot merchant."
Told of Tallis's comments, Beattie fired back at the 31-year-old former Australia skipper, who is unsure whether ongoing neck problems will force him into retirement at the end of the season.
Beattie, who is heading off to France to continue his career with the Perpignan club, which was recently admitted to the 2006 British Super League competition, said: "Gordie's been giving it out for years but he can't take it back any more. He's getting old and cranky."
