Spencer Leniu has copped eight weeks in the naughty corner for referring to Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam as a "monkey", even though Roosters officials insist the trash-talking prop is not a racist, just a bit of a dumbo. Meanwhile, all manner of high-profile supporters are of the opinion that, even if it is proven in court that Matildas skipper Sam Kerr called a London policeman a "stupid white bastard", it does not constitute a racist slur.

It's all as clear as mud, and you'd think most players will be biting their tongues this week. Not Latrell Mitchell, who drops half-a dozen F-bombs in a live radio interview after the Broncos sink the Bunnies, then tosses in for good measure: "I don't care if I'm swearing, honestly."

A bit of fruity language doesn't worry Seven Days in the slightest, but I'm wondering how many stupid white bastards are going to take offence?

I CATCH part of an interview in which Brisbane's Test and Origin prop Payne Haas tells Yvonne Sampson that, as a young kid growing up in Woodberry, his dream was to play for the Newcastle Knights.

The big fella reveals that his hero at the time was his uncle, Mark Taufua, a rugged forward who did not debut for the Knights until the age of 25. He proceeded to play 67 NRL games for his home-town club and a further 21 for Cronulla.

And nobody was cheering for him more loudly than young Payne, who as you can see in the above photograph, was a fair lump of a kid from an early age and wanted nothing more than to wear the blue and red.

All of which reaffirms the theory that it's a fine line between pleasure and Payne.

THE Raiders' 32-12 demolition of Wests Tigers is overshadowed by what the Canberra Times describes as a "curious case of poo dunnit".

Apparently there is a rotten-egg type smell that permeates the dressing rooms, post-match media room and operational areas.

"I feel sorry for those people there with the stench," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says post-game, with a peg on his nose. "I know people laugh at it. But we are the capital of Australia."

I'm wondering if the poor old Tigers are responsible for the pong. I mean they've been on the nose for a decade.

REMEMBER after the Dragons lapped the Titans in round one when new coach Shane Flanagan laughed off the prospect of the wooden spoon?

"Won't happen," Flanagan boldly declared. A week down the track, after his side cop a 38-0 pizzling from the Dolphins, Flanno is not sounding quite so confident.

"Today's performance just wasn't good enough for a Dragons jersey," he fumes.

Poor old Flanno. You'd think he'd been around long enough not to tempt fate.

THE Canberra Stadium stink mystery is rapidly turning into a shitfight, in more ways than one, after ACT Sport Minister Yvette Berry claims the Raiders had been "inadvertently" the source of the smell.

This is soon refuted by venue management after a plumber's inspection.

"The failed pump wouldn't have allowed the sewer pit to release," Venues Canberra boss Matt Elkins explains. "There's been no effluent that has left the pit, but the pit has got to its absolute capacity and that caused the smell in the pit room."

Apologies if you are eating your breakfast.

I AM intrigued by a Sydney Morning Herald story about Bradley Charles Stubbs, the mysterious "coach whisperer", who has worked closely with the likes of Trent Robinson, Michael Maguire and Graham Arnold.

In it, Stubbs declares he took Roosters coach Robinson "astral travelling", which he describes as being a state where "your spirit leaves the body and goes into the future, then returns to the body. You see the result out there and you get clarity and unshakeable faith in your belief of the vision."

He reckons the Chooks slaughtered the Broncos 59-0 in their next game.

Unfortunately the astral travelling must have a limited lifespan, because the two-time premiers bowed out in the semi-finals later that season.

Spare a thought for the Underdog, who has slipped from first to worst in the tipping panel in the space of a week. It's a ruff gig.