It's a touching gesture, but I'm not really sure what it will achieve. The Old Fox has always given me the impression that he is at his happiest when he is grumpy.

Maybe the socks will be a size too small and make his feet hurt when he wears them, and then he'll have an excuse to be cranky, which should put a smile on his face.

On the subject of grumpy, I receive some feedback from reader Bev, of Hamilton: "Oh dear Robert Dillon what a pathetic diatribe regarding our PM's visit to the Sharks game last Saturday! You've lost me."

Jeez. And there I was thinking Scotty From Marketing's only fans were "the quiet Australians".

Anyone know where I can buy Bev a pair of happy socks?

OF all the clubs in the NRL, none has been harder hit by the impact of the bubonic plague than the Brisbane Broncos.

The Broncos are obviously completely paranoid, and tonight they take social distancing to extremes by refusing to come within 1.5 metres of any Wests Tigers player carrying a football.

I'm actually quite surprised they didn't run out for kick-off wearing surgical masks.

The Tigers rack up a 48-0 win that places more pressure on Broncos coach Anthony Seibold and high-profile players such as Darius Boyd.

Darius is releasing a book soon entitled "Battling the Blues". But this season he's not battling anyone. He's deadset waved the white flag and surrendered.

Commentators are saying Brisbane's players look "confused", and is it any wonder when Channel Nine's Freddy Fittler presents the "VB hardest-working player award" to Payne Haas?

Presumably Freddy reckons if Payne hadn't been working so hard, the Broncos would have been lapped by 100.

BRONCOS winger Corey Oates makes a miraculous recovery from a career-threatening injury.

Oates is carried from Leichhardt Oval with what medical staff initially fear is a compound fracture of his femur.

"I was in shock in the ambulance," Oates says. "I was running options through my head thinking what job can I do now ... the chance of me coming back if it was a compound fracture was slim to none."

But X-rays reveal no sign of a broken bone. It's fake news. It seems Oates has instead suffered a scratch and a bruise and will be back on the field in a matter of weeks, after doctors prescribe a daily teaspoon of cement powder.

At Bankwest Stadium, there's not a lot for the Old Fox to be happy about - whatever socks he is wearing - after the Knights beat the Bunnies 20-18.

The main post-match talking point is Kalyn Ponga celebrating a try by planting a kiss on Mitchell Pearce's cheek.

It raises the question of whether all these months in the NRL isolation "bubble" is sending players stir crazy.

A SNIPPET in a Sunday gossip column about former Knights, Roosters and Dragons coach Brian Smith catches my eye.

Apparently Smithy is based in Brisbane these days and earning a quid as an Uber driver.

If I was Anthony Seibold, I'd be booking a ride with him to and from training and games. He might learn a few tricks about how to forge a long-term career as an NRL coach.

THE voice of reason, Foxtel commentator Braith Anasta, offers his thoughts after Trent Barrett emerges as the hot favourite to be appointed as Canterbury's new coach.

"Is Barrett ready for that gig at the Bulldogs right now?" Braith asks himself.

"He's either going to be a success story, a young coach who turned one of the biggest clubs around, or a disaster - there will be no in between."

Anasta adds that the Bulldogs need "a Bellamy or a Bennett ... they need a powerful figure at the helm."

Maybe so. But if the Dogs need Anasta's advice, they're probably in more strife than anyone realises.

PAUL Green reckons he will have no problem picking up a new coaching gig after parting company with the Cows.

"Whilst my time coaching the Cowboys has come to an end, my time as a head coach is not," Green says. "I'll be looking for an opportunity at some stage. ... I am not worried about not getting another job.

"I am not blowing my own trumpet but my record speaks for itself. By the looks of it, there is going to be plenty of jobs up."

Green is immediately linked to the Broncos, Warriors and Sharks, but I reckon he'd be a natural fit at Canberra.

After all, they are known as the Green Machine.

I STUMBLE on an intriguing website story in which former Knights owner Nathan Tinkler is quoted, spruiking a get-rich-quick scheme.

"Right now, my number one money-maker is a new cryptocurrency auto-trading program called Bitcoin Income," Tinkler is quoted as saying.

"It's the single biggest opportunity I've seen in my entire lifetime to build a small fortune fast ... you may be sceptical because it sounds too good to be true.

"I get that because I thought the same thing when a trusted friend told me about it. But after seeing with my own eyes how much money he was making, I had to try it for myself."

Sounds like a tempting investment opportunity to me. What could possibly go wrong?