00:00:05
Speaker 1: Well, hello and welcome to Monday's NRL podcast here at Code Sports. I'm joined by Fatima Kadu. Hello.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Hi, Bulldog.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: What do you make of the weekend? Lots of drama, some great footy, but let's start with the Warriors, Fatima. The decisions over there, the drama at full time with the referees getting pelted. It was vintage rugby league, albeit we obviously don't condone referees being intimidated by the crowd. But what did you make of the whole situation over there, the drama and the controversy?
00:00:39
Speaker 3: I feel that the Warriors will look back on this one and be bitterly disappointed that they were the team that went out in straight sets because a few weeks before the end of the regular season, everybody had them as one of the teams that could actually really trouble Penrith, really, which is the frontrunner. But then all of a sudden, It felt like, and it's probably not out of nowhere, but it felt like their edges, their poor edge defence was exposed. The situation with the halves was exposed and it sort of all came to fruition, unfortunately, in front of a packed house at Eden Park. So there's like a lot of things to address. The fans pelting the referee, like, you know, people say, I've spoken to people this morning who reckon Ashley Cline didn't have his best performance performance as one of the top referees, but there is absolutely no excuse to be, you know, intimidating, threatening or pelting anything at the referee. So it'll be interesting to see how, how the NRL handles that. But before we dissect the Warriors and every little thing that went wrong for them, I think overall though, What they've been able to achieve in New Zealand and the way they've been able to galvanise a whole entire nation, I don't think that should be discounted, but there's absolutely every reason for them to be bitterly disappointed.
00:02:03
Speaker 1: So there's three decisions which got on my goat quite badly on Sunday. We had the flick pass which flicked Leah Tower's thumb, which I thought went against the Warriors. There was the strip on Maju, which I think went against the Warriors, and the main one was the escort late in the game, Tyson Frizzell, from the Knights. That was the main one. What did you make of that one?
00:02:32
Speaker 3: I don't think that one is as black and white and as clear-cut as people are saying. I went back to look at it again this morning, and I don't know. Either Tyson Frizzell deserves the Academy Award for that performance, that game, contest of the high ball. Or if you actually look at it, he doesn't really change his line. The only thing that he does is sort of stand in place. And at that point, I think it's like a halosema who he makes contact with.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: But I don't know.
00:03:03
Speaker 3: It's one of those ones where I don't think it was clear cut and everyone's saying, well, oh, isn't this what the bunker is for to prevent that howler? But looking at it and then watching it again and again, I'm not confident that the bunker would have come up with the call that everybody was hoping and that It should have been an escort penalty.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: What do you think?
00:03:20
Speaker 1: I'm going to disagree. I think it was an escort. I thought it was a clear escort. I thought the Lear Tower flick on the fingers when Bradman Best dropped the ball, I thought was the wrong decision. And I thought the Maju decision was the wrong decision. The Warriors were gypped. There's no doubt in the world the Warriors were gypped. And I feel sorry for them. I love the night story. The Newcastle night story is fabulous. It's the story of rugby league. In 2026. Yeah. And I'm more than happy that they've gone through to a prelim. But I think the Warriors were robbed.
00:03:54
Speaker 2: I do not think the Warriors were robbed.
00:03:56
Speaker 3: The Warriors scored one try last week and kicked five penalty goals, which was probably a big warning sign that they didn't have any faith in their attack. They were probably the better team for the first 10, 15 minutes against the Knights. The Knights were the better team. And again, they struggled to score points on the weekend.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: I don't know. Even if those... Maybe the... The Tyson Frizzell one right at the.
00:04:17
Speaker 3: Death obviously would have changed, you know, potentially the context of the game. But the two before that, I don't know whether it would have really changed things for the Warriors because they simply weren't the better team.
00:04:28
Speaker 2: Well, it would have changed things if.
00:04:29
Speaker 1: They had possession on the 40-meter line. You know, that's a big decision. That's a season-defining decision.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: It is, but what is also season-defining is the fact that their halves didn't deliver.
00:04:40
Speaker 1: They didn't deliver, and I fully get that. They didn't deliver last week either. Look, I think the Warriors will look back with, as you said, enormous regret, enormous disappointment, and I think they'll look back on a season that fell away badly. But look, let's push on to the Knights. What a story they are becoming. I think we all jumped on the Raiders bandwagon last year. They were the feel-good story of 2025, and here we are 12 months later, and there's something similar going on up there in the Hunter.
00:05:08
Speaker 2: There is absolutely.
00:05:09
Speaker 3: And I think I've changed my mind on the coach of the year. I was adamant that it had to be Ivan Cleary because he's absolutely produced another incredible season. But what Justin Holbrook's done from Wooden Spoon to prelim final is absolutely incredible. And it's just sort of the way he's been able to get the best out of every single guy who comes out onto the field. And it hasn't been smooth sailing for them. You know, they've had injuries. They're doing it without Dylan Brown, who's supposed to be their marquee man. Oponga is you know, arguably playing his best football that he has in a very long time. And you just love everything about their doing. I mean, they're two back rowers. They're two, you know, boom, bash brothers. You know, just the way they go about it. Francis Manu Leleua was clearly, he's got a heavy strapping on his elbow, clearly bothered by that injury, showed incredible courage and bravery to get.
00:05:57
Speaker 2: Through the 80 minutes.
00:05:58
Speaker 3: We saw Dylan Lucas make a miraculous recovery, you know, from ankle fracture, dislocation. There's so much to like about them.
00:06:07
Speaker 1: You talk about Ponga. Career best form?
00:06:11
Speaker 3: I think close to, but what we're also seeing with him is a coming of age. Now, I think he realises that he is the most influential player on the field and that comes with enormous responsibility and now he's willing to take on that responsibility and it's showing in the way he's playing. Fletcher Sharp, you know, He was good, Fletcher Sharp again. Yeah, between him and Ponga, I think maybe Fletcher Sharp just gets the money on being the most dangerous player on the field.
00:06:39
Speaker 2: But, yeah, Ponga's been incredible.
00:06:43
Speaker 3: He came off late with a HIA, though Category 2, I think it was, and he passed any of the tests.
00:06:49
Speaker 2: So he should be okay for the prelim.
00:06:51
Speaker 1: I'll tell you who was good yesterday too, Fatima. He's a player that doesn't get a lot of reps. It was Phoenix Crosland. He was like a drover's dog yesterday. He was throwing the balls on the ground. He was first in. He was there every time he needed to be there. He was tidying up. He was tackling. He did everything. And he's very underrated.
00:07:07
Speaker 2: He is.
00:07:07
Speaker 3: And you talk about those season-defining moments and calls and the rest of it. He came up with a couple of maybe two really season-defining moments for the Knights where, like you said, that desperation to retain possession for his team. And I think he finished with like 53 tackles. Back that up from another 50 last week. So... Yeah, there's a lot of unsung heroes in that team, you know, guys like Matt Croker as well, you know, Cody Hopwood, I think he might still be 20, starting forward, taking on that responsibility with No Syphidi and Trey Mooney.
00:07:40
Speaker 2: Lachlan Crouch, who.
00:07:41
Speaker 3: Came off the bench, was another one, just like a dog with a bone, like the whole time he spent on the field. So, yeah, they're definitely the feel-good story and there's a lot to like about them and there's a lot to like about what Holbrook is doing there.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: I looked at week one and I didn't think Newcastle could beat South. They did. I went to week two and I didn't think Newcastle could beat the Warriors and they did. So let's push forward to week three. They play the Panthers. Can they possibly beat the Panthers given what we've seen in the last two weeks?
00:08:12
Speaker 2: No.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: Fair enough.
00:08:13
Speaker 3: But I think they are a confidence team and the confidence that they will get from beating the Warriors at Eden Park in a completely hostile crowd, you can't underestimate that. And I'm sure there'll be a stack of Knights fans who are going to come to a call on Sunday. So look, anything's possible. But I just think, you know, we're hearing that Nathan Cleary is a certainty to play. And I think that changes things for Penrith.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: But no, I don't think they can. What about you?
00:08:47
Speaker 1: No, I don't think they can. I think Penrith will win and win well. But having said that, I've written Newcastle off twice and twice they've come back. To bite me on the backside. So, Fatima, I want to duck back, though, to post-match scenes over there at Eden Park. We're a passionate sport and our fans are heavily invested in the game, but we don't often see referees being pelted. What did you make of it? You would imagine that CCTV will identify the culprits and hopefully they will get life bans. You can't be doing that. What did you make of those scenes as they unfolded?
00:09:23
Speaker 2: They're not good.
00:09:24
Speaker 3: And I think we're better than that now. I mean, we saw there was umpires were pelted as well in the AFL on the weekend. So I hope this is not something that's, you know, becoming a trend all over again, because there was a period in our game where it was a bit of a problem. But I think we've, hopefully we've matured and grown past that.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I agree with you.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: I think, you know, I don't know if it's lifetime ban forever, but they're definitely, if they can identify the culprits, then absolutely. Then, you know, it, These things can actually cause serious injury. You know, there was front-on footage where you could see the ref says they're coming from the field, literally physically having to protect.
00:10:03
Speaker 2: Themselves from being pelted on the head. So it's a bad look. We don't want it.
00:10:08
Speaker 3: And the NRL has to send a message that this is not how we treat referees, regardless of what we think about the decisions they make.
00:10:15
Speaker 1: All right, I'll chuck you right on the spot. We had Adam G, referee. the first game, and we had Ashley Cline referee the second game. Did those two do enough to hold their places for the prelims? Or Grant Atkins is obviously waiting in the wings, as is Gerard Sutton. I thought Gee gave away a lot of six-agains, which was starting to really frustrate me, to be fair. And I thought Cline actually did a fair job up until that last 10, 15 minutes when there were three stuff-ups. Yeah.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I still think that he got the right call with the escort. I'm probably in the small minority in that. But also he had the balls to make that decision. And remember, this is what we want from referees because apparently we can wear it because.
00:11:03
Speaker 2: We don't want bunker. We can't wear it. Well, no, we don't want bunker intervention.
00:11:06
Speaker 3: So, you know, this is the kind of stuff that we're going to have to live with. So, yeah, you know, they're still the top referees, but you never know.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Right, let's move on to the Roosters-Sharks game. Highly entertaining. The Sharks scored a couple of tries after the Roosters jumped out to, I think it was a 10-0 lead and it was game on and then the Sharks just fell away.
00:11:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:11:27
Speaker 1: Is capitulated too strong a word?
00:11:31
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
00:11:32
Speaker 1: And we should mention earlier about Nico.
00:11:34
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: Went off after three minutes with a concussion and never came back. So it was clearly a major setback for the Sharks.
00:11:42
Speaker 3: It was a major setback, but I think, you know, Braden Trindle sort of up until the game got away from them was, you know, injected himself right into the contest and anything good they were doing or going to do was going to come off the back of Braden Trindle.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: You know, we talk about it being a disappointing finals end for the Warriors. I think it's another, you know, Cronulla are another team where you look at the fact that they've had a very stable roster for the last, you know, four years or so under Fitzy, and Fitzy's sort of been very deliberate about that. You almost feel like with the players that they've got leaving and the question marks over Nico Hines and whether or not their premiership window now is closed for the next little bit.
00:12:27
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:12:27
Speaker 3: I mean, I know you've been adamant that they're not a finals contender or a genuine title contender.
00:12:33
Speaker 2: What did you make of it?
00:12:35
Speaker 1: They lost five of their last seven games, so... statistically, they fell away badly again. You could argue two months ago, we were talking about Cronulla as being a premiership contender and a genuine grand final contender. And it happens every year. Is it DNA? I don't know what it is. They've had different coaches. They've tried everything. Craig Fitzgibbon, in the regular season, would have to be one of the most consistent coaches in the NRL. Fitzy gets them there every year. But something happens to Cronulla late in the season and they just fall away so badly. Look, I don't think their forwards have got a lot of mobility. I don't think they've got an X factor. There's multiple reasons why, but the good clubs seem to just find that extra edge. Cronulla in recent years couldn't get past Penrith or Melbourne. Melbourne gone this year. They weren't there. So other clubs have now gone back past Cronulla again.
00:13:31
Speaker 2: See, this is the worry.
00:13:33
Speaker 1: New clubs have gone past Granada.
00:13:34
Speaker 2: Yes, but this is the worry for them, right?
00:13:36
Speaker 3: So you've got Cam McInnes leaving, Jesse Ramian, Sione Katoa, Sifat Talakai, who was incredible, even though that overall hasn't been that great, has been incredible for them for the last couple of weeks.
00:13:47
Speaker 2: You almost feel like.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: That gap between, that gap they've been trying to bridge between themselves and the teams like Penrith and Melbourne is going to be even greater now next season because I don't think they've brought anybody in in, or at least they haven't made any major signings. So, you know, people keep saying they need an X factor, but I don't, I think about them and I think, I don't know where that X factor is going to come from. So I think it's going to be a few lean years for the Sharks.
00:14:17
Speaker 1: The Nico factor, do we make, what do we make of it? Can Nico lead this side to a premiership? Are we too hard on Nico? Nico seems to think he attracts more criticism than Other players, I don't think so. I think if you're a million-dollar player, you've got to stump up every week. And if you clip over the ear, you've got to cop it. You can't go sooking. So can Cronulla win a comp with Nico in their halves?
00:14:44
Speaker 3: Well, they're paying him the money that they believe that he can. And here's the thing, and I wrote about this. It might have been, or maybe not mid-season, sort of leading into the pointy end of the season. that as a halves partnership, that Brayden Trindle and Nico Hines had the most try assists and I think the most line break assists of any halves combination. And that was probably at the point where people were talking about, yes, they're a genuine title threat. So, yeah, they've got the pieces there, but there's still something missing for the Sharks. I mean, at the end of the day, I mean, we're sitting here criticising the Warriors halves, you know, if Katoa blows it on the weekend, Isaiah Katoa, yes, people talk about him, the next Nathan Cleary, the rest of it will criticise him too. So I don't think it's just something pointed at Nico Hines, but like you said, he's being paid the big dollars and the kind of dollars that you pay for a half if you believe that half can.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: Take you to the promised land.
00:15:43
Speaker 1: Now the Roosters, I thought it was a real statement win. They'd been spluttering to some degree. I think they'd lost four in a row, albeit One of them was a game where they rested nine players. Now, Robbo got a bit of flack over resting nine players, but I thought the way that they were energised, fit and fresh and just came right over the top of Grimella with six unanswered tries, I thought vindicated Robbo's decision to rest the players. They looked fresh and fit.
00:16:11
Speaker 2: They did look fresh and fit.
00:16:13
Speaker 3: And I was out at training last week and Sam Walker was looked pretty good for somebody who'd had ankle surgery.
00:16:22
Speaker 2: So he was, you know, sort of jogging around, kicking the ball.
00:16:27
Speaker 3: So I think, you know, they're going to get him at the perfect, perfect time for the prelim.
00:16:32
Speaker 2: But yeah, you're right.
00:16:33
Speaker 3: He did cop a lot of flack, but in the end it proved the difference because you need to be not only fit in terms of injuries, but fit in terms of conditioning and if they get mentally, yep. And if they get Sam Walker back, they're pretty much close to full strength.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: I look at the Roosters side for 10 minutes. It's going to be unfortunate. Someone has to miss out. If Sam comes back, he'll go to seven. Cherry will go to six. That leaves either Hugo Savala into the centres and Billy Smith misses out or Hugo goes back to the bench, you would imagine. I think Hugo filled in admirably at centre throughout the year, but I think Billy's a genuine centre. I think Billy's a left centre, isn't he? So I would be keeping Billy at centre and pushing Hugo back to the bench. It's hard on Hugo. He doesn't deserve that, but I don't know what other option they've got.
00:17:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that is the option.
00:17:29
Speaker 3: There has been some chat that it will be the other way around, that Hugo will go into the centres with Billy Smith being the one who misses out.
00:17:37
Speaker 2: Yes, Billy Smith is.
00:17:39
Speaker 3: is the genuine centre, so to speak. But I will say this, he can be a bit of a liability, Bill Smith, and he can give away a few penalties. So I don't know if that influences Trent Robinson's decision. But, yeah, you've got, you know, Hugo Savala always does the job that he's asked from him. But if Sam Walker is fit to play, you've got to start him.
00:18:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. So we're looking at a crystal ball for Teema. We've got Roosters and the Dolphins as the other option. prelim who wins and.
00:18:11
Speaker 3: Why um oh i i love the feel-good story of the dolphins as well there is we've had a lot of feel-good stories this final series um oh but i think the roosters i think you'd look at the fact that if they get sam walker back they'll be full strength um And they just have every reason to get the job done. Though I'm not willing to count out the Dolphins at home, you know, at a packed Suncorp Stadium.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: What about you?
00:18:44
Speaker 1: I think the Roosters will win. The thing that I've really been impressed with the Dolphins recently is their scramble in their D. I think their defence has been terrific. They're known universally in the rugby league sphere as this brilliant attacking side with Hammer and Herbie and Asako and Bostock. And they can score a million points when they want to. But you don't just win games on attack. You've got to defend. And not only are the defensive structures very impressive, but their scramble has been admirable. Right, well, it's that time of the week. Again, the BS message of the week. And the main one we've got this week is from Coomera, where Jono lives. And Jono writes this for Teema. Everyone will say, quote, unquote, don't blame the refs. But when a season ends on a call that even the commentary team was already awarding as a penalty, obviously referring to the Warriors game, People are going to blow up. Fans are filthy because they lost and they're filthy because they got robbed of a fair finish. Does Jono have a point?
00:19:43
Speaker 2: Yes, Jono does have a point.
00:19:46
Speaker 3: But at the same time, like I said earlier, we want referees to be ballsy enough to make the call.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: And Klein made the calls.
Speaker 1: Well, hello and welcome to Monday's NRL podcast here at Code Sports. I'm joined by Fatima Kadu. Hello.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Hi, Bulldog.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: What do you make of the weekend? Lots of drama, some great footy, but let's start with the Warriors, Fatima. The decisions over there, the drama at full time with the referees getting pelted. It was vintage rugby league, albeit we obviously don't condone referees being intimidated by the crowd. But what did you make of the whole situation over there, the drama and the controversy?
00:00:39
Speaker 3: I feel that the Warriors will look back on this one and be bitterly disappointed that they were the team that went out in straight sets because a few weeks before the end of the regular season, everybody had them as one of the teams that could actually really trouble Penrith, really, which is the frontrunner. But then all of a sudden, It felt like, and it's probably not out of nowhere, but it felt like their edges, their poor edge defence was exposed. The situation with the halves was exposed and it sort of all came to fruition, unfortunately, in front of a packed house at Eden Park. So there's like a lot of things to address. The fans pelting the referee, like, you know, people say, I've spoken to people this morning who reckon Ashley Cline didn't have his best performance performance as one of the top referees, but there is absolutely no excuse to be, you know, intimidating, threatening or pelting anything at the referee. So it'll be interesting to see how, how the NRL handles that. But before we dissect the Warriors and every little thing that went wrong for them, I think overall though, What they've been able to achieve in New Zealand and the way they've been able to galvanise a whole entire nation, I don't think that should be discounted, but there's absolutely every reason for them to be bitterly disappointed.
00:02:03
Speaker 1: So there's three decisions which got on my goat quite badly on Sunday. We had the flick pass which flicked Leah Tower's thumb, which I thought went against the Warriors. There was the strip on Maju, which I think went against the Warriors, and the main one was the escort late in the game, Tyson Frizzell, from the Knights. That was the main one. What did you make of that one?
00:02:32
Speaker 3: I don't think that one is as black and white and as clear-cut as people are saying. I went back to look at it again this morning, and I don't know. Either Tyson Frizzell deserves the Academy Award for that performance, that game, contest of the high ball. Or if you actually look at it, he doesn't really change his line. The only thing that he does is sort of stand in place. And at that point, I think it's like a halosema who he makes contact with.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: But I don't know.
00:03:03
Speaker 3: It's one of those ones where I don't think it was clear cut and everyone's saying, well, oh, isn't this what the bunker is for to prevent that howler? But looking at it and then watching it again and again, I'm not confident that the bunker would have come up with the call that everybody was hoping and that It should have been an escort penalty.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: What do you think?
00:03:20
Speaker 1: I'm going to disagree. I think it was an escort. I thought it was a clear escort. I thought the Lear Tower flick on the fingers when Bradman Best dropped the ball, I thought was the wrong decision. And I thought the Maju decision was the wrong decision. The Warriors were gypped. There's no doubt in the world the Warriors were gypped. And I feel sorry for them. I love the night story. The Newcastle night story is fabulous. It's the story of rugby league. In 2026. Yeah. And I'm more than happy that they've gone through to a prelim. But I think the Warriors were robbed.
00:03:54
Speaker 2: I do not think the Warriors were robbed.
00:03:56
Speaker 3: The Warriors scored one try last week and kicked five penalty goals, which was probably a big warning sign that they didn't have any faith in their attack. They were probably the better team for the first 10, 15 minutes against the Knights. The Knights were the better team. And again, they struggled to score points on the weekend.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: I don't know. Even if those... Maybe the... The Tyson Frizzell one right at the.
00:04:17
Speaker 3: Death obviously would have changed, you know, potentially the context of the game. But the two before that, I don't know whether it would have really changed things for the Warriors because they simply weren't the better team.
00:04:28
Speaker 2: Well, it would have changed things if.
00:04:29
Speaker 1: They had possession on the 40-meter line. You know, that's a big decision. That's a season-defining decision.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: It is, but what is also season-defining is the fact that their halves didn't deliver.
00:04:40
Speaker 1: They didn't deliver, and I fully get that. They didn't deliver last week either. Look, I think the Warriors will look back with, as you said, enormous regret, enormous disappointment, and I think they'll look back on a season that fell away badly. But look, let's push on to the Knights. What a story they are becoming. I think we all jumped on the Raiders bandwagon last year. They were the feel-good story of 2025, and here we are 12 months later, and there's something similar going on up there in the Hunter.
00:05:08
Speaker 2: There is absolutely.
00:05:09
Speaker 3: And I think I've changed my mind on the coach of the year. I was adamant that it had to be Ivan Cleary because he's absolutely produced another incredible season. But what Justin Holbrook's done from Wooden Spoon to prelim final is absolutely incredible. And it's just sort of the way he's been able to get the best out of every single guy who comes out onto the field. And it hasn't been smooth sailing for them. You know, they've had injuries. They're doing it without Dylan Brown, who's supposed to be their marquee man. Oponga is you know, arguably playing his best football that he has in a very long time. And you just love everything about their doing. I mean, they're two back rowers. They're two, you know, boom, bash brothers. You know, just the way they go about it. Francis Manu Leleua was clearly, he's got a heavy strapping on his elbow, clearly bothered by that injury, showed incredible courage and bravery to get.
00:05:57
Speaker 2: Through the 80 minutes.
00:05:58
Speaker 3: We saw Dylan Lucas make a miraculous recovery, you know, from ankle fracture, dislocation. There's so much to like about them.
00:06:07
Speaker 1: You talk about Ponga. Career best form?
00:06:11
Speaker 3: I think close to, but what we're also seeing with him is a coming of age. Now, I think he realises that he is the most influential player on the field and that comes with enormous responsibility and now he's willing to take on that responsibility and it's showing in the way he's playing. Fletcher Sharp, you know, He was good, Fletcher Sharp again. Yeah, between him and Ponga, I think maybe Fletcher Sharp just gets the money on being the most dangerous player on the field.
00:06:39
Speaker 2: But, yeah, Ponga's been incredible.
00:06:43
Speaker 3: He came off late with a HIA, though Category 2, I think it was, and he passed any of the tests.
00:06:49
Speaker 2: So he should be okay for the prelim.
00:06:51
Speaker 1: I'll tell you who was good yesterday too, Fatima. He's a player that doesn't get a lot of reps. It was Phoenix Crosland. He was like a drover's dog yesterday. He was throwing the balls on the ground. He was first in. He was there every time he needed to be there. He was tidying up. He was tackling. He did everything. And he's very underrated.
00:07:07
Speaker 2: He is.
00:07:07
Speaker 3: And you talk about those season-defining moments and calls and the rest of it. He came up with a couple of maybe two really season-defining moments for the Knights where, like you said, that desperation to retain possession for his team. And I think he finished with like 53 tackles. Back that up from another 50 last week. So... Yeah, there's a lot of unsung heroes in that team, you know, guys like Matt Croker as well, you know, Cody Hopwood, I think he might still be 20, starting forward, taking on that responsibility with No Syphidi and Trey Mooney.
00:07:40
Speaker 2: Lachlan Crouch, who.
00:07:41
Speaker 3: Came off the bench, was another one, just like a dog with a bone, like the whole time he spent on the field. So, yeah, they're definitely the feel-good story and there's a lot to like about them and there's a lot to like about what Holbrook is doing there.
00:07:52
Speaker 1: I looked at week one and I didn't think Newcastle could beat South. They did. I went to week two and I didn't think Newcastle could beat the Warriors and they did. So let's push forward to week three. They play the Panthers. Can they possibly beat the Panthers given what we've seen in the last two weeks?
00:08:12
Speaker 2: No.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: Fair enough.
00:08:13
Speaker 3: But I think they are a confidence team and the confidence that they will get from beating the Warriors at Eden Park in a completely hostile crowd, you can't underestimate that. And I'm sure there'll be a stack of Knights fans who are going to come to a call on Sunday. So look, anything's possible. But I just think, you know, we're hearing that Nathan Cleary is a certainty to play. And I think that changes things for Penrith.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: But no, I don't think they can. What about you?
00:08:47
Speaker 1: No, I don't think they can. I think Penrith will win and win well. But having said that, I've written Newcastle off twice and twice they've come back. To bite me on the backside. So, Fatima, I want to duck back, though, to post-match scenes over there at Eden Park. We're a passionate sport and our fans are heavily invested in the game, but we don't often see referees being pelted. What did you make of it? You would imagine that CCTV will identify the culprits and hopefully they will get life bans. You can't be doing that. What did you make of those scenes as they unfolded?
00:09:23
Speaker 2: They're not good.
00:09:24
Speaker 3: And I think we're better than that now. I mean, we saw there was umpires were pelted as well in the AFL on the weekend. So I hope this is not something that's, you know, becoming a trend all over again, because there was a period in our game where it was a bit of a problem. But I think we've, hopefully we've matured and grown past that.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I agree with you.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: I think, you know, I don't know if it's lifetime ban forever, but they're definitely, if they can identify the culprits, then absolutely. Then, you know, it, These things can actually cause serious injury. You know, there was front-on footage where you could see the ref says they're coming from the field, literally physically having to protect.
00:10:03
Speaker 2: Themselves from being pelted on the head. So it's a bad look. We don't want it.
00:10:08
Speaker 3: And the NRL has to send a message that this is not how we treat referees, regardless of what we think about the decisions they make.
00:10:15
Speaker 1: All right, I'll chuck you right on the spot. We had Adam G, referee. the first game, and we had Ashley Cline referee the second game. Did those two do enough to hold their places for the prelims? Or Grant Atkins is obviously waiting in the wings, as is Gerard Sutton. I thought Gee gave away a lot of six-agains, which was starting to really frustrate me, to be fair. And I thought Cline actually did a fair job up until that last 10, 15 minutes when there were three stuff-ups. Yeah.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I still think that he got the right call with the escort. I'm probably in the small minority in that. But also he had the balls to make that decision. And remember, this is what we want from referees because apparently we can wear it because.
00:11:03
Speaker 2: We don't want bunker. We can't wear it. Well, no, we don't want bunker intervention.
00:11:06
Speaker 3: So, you know, this is the kind of stuff that we're going to have to live with. So, yeah, you know, they're still the top referees, but you never know.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Right, let's move on to the Roosters-Sharks game. Highly entertaining. The Sharks scored a couple of tries after the Roosters jumped out to, I think it was a 10-0 lead and it was game on and then the Sharks just fell away.
00:11:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:11:27
Speaker 1: Is capitulated too strong a word?
00:11:31
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
00:11:32
Speaker 1: And we should mention earlier about Nico.
00:11:34
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: Went off after three minutes with a concussion and never came back. So it was clearly a major setback for the Sharks.
00:11:42
Speaker 3: It was a major setback, but I think, you know, Braden Trindle sort of up until the game got away from them was, you know, injected himself right into the contest and anything good they were doing or going to do was going to come off the back of Braden Trindle.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: You know, we talk about it being a disappointing finals end for the Warriors. I think it's another, you know, Cronulla are another team where you look at the fact that they've had a very stable roster for the last, you know, four years or so under Fitzy, and Fitzy's sort of been very deliberate about that. You almost feel like with the players that they've got leaving and the question marks over Nico Hines and whether or not their premiership window now is closed for the next little bit.
00:12:27
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:12:27
Speaker 3: I mean, I know you've been adamant that they're not a finals contender or a genuine title contender.
00:12:33
Speaker 2: What did you make of it?
00:12:35
Speaker 1: They lost five of their last seven games, so... statistically, they fell away badly again. You could argue two months ago, we were talking about Cronulla as being a premiership contender and a genuine grand final contender. And it happens every year. Is it DNA? I don't know what it is. They've had different coaches. They've tried everything. Craig Fitzgibbon, in the regular season, would have to be one of the most consistent coaches in the NRL. Fitzy gets them there every year. But something happens to Cronulla late in the season and they just fall away so badly. Look, I don't think their forwards have got a lot of mobility. I don't think they've got an X factor. There's multiple reasons why, but the good clubs seem to just find that extra edge. Cronulla in recent years couldn't get past Penrith or Melbourne. Melbourne gone this year. They weren't there. So other clubs have now gone back past Cronulla again.
00:13:31
Speaker 2: See, this is the worry.
00:13:33
Speaker 1: New clubs have gone past Granada.
00:13:34
Speaker 2: Yes, but this is the worry for them, right?
00:13:36
Speaker 3: So you've got Cam McInnes leaving, Jesse Ramian, Sione Katoa, Sifat Talakai, who was incredible, even though that overall hasn't been that great, has been incredible for them for the last couple of weeks.
00:13:47
Speaker 2: You almost feel like.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: That gap between, that gap they've been trying to bridge between themselves and the teams like Penrith and Melbourne is going to be even greater now next season because I don't think they've brought anybody in in, or at least they haven't made any major signings. So, you know, people keep saying they need an X factor, but I don't, I think about them and I think, I don't know where that X factor is going to come from. So I think it's going to be a few lean years for the Sharks.
00:14:17
Speaker 1: The Nico factor, do we make, what do we make of it? Can Nico lead this side to a premiership? Are we too hard on Nico? Nico seems to think he attracts more criticism than Other players, I don't think so. I think if you're a million-dollar player, you've got to stump up every week. And if you clip over the ear, you've got to cop it. You can't go sooking. So can Cronulla win a comp with Nico in their halves?
00:14:44
Speaker 3: Well, they're paying him the money that they believe that he can. And here's the thing, and I wrote about this. It might have been, or maybe not mid-season, sort of leading into the pointy end of the season. that as a halves partnership, that Brayden Trindle and Nico Hines had the most try assists and I think the most line break assists of any halves combination. And that was probably at the point where people were talking about, yes, they're a genuine title threat. So, yeah, they've got the pieces there, but there's still something missing for the Sharks. I mean, at the end of the day, I mean, we're sitting here criticising the Warriors halves, you know, if Katoa blows it on the weekend, Isaiah Katoa, yes, people talk about him, the next Nathan Cleary, the rest of it will criticise him too. So I don't think it's just something pointed at Nico Hines, but like you said, he's being paid the big dollars and the kind of dollars that you pay for a half if you believe that half can.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: Take you to the promised land.
00:15:43
Speaker 1: Now the Roosters, I thought it was a real statement win. They'd been spluttering to some degree. I think they'd lost four in a row, albeit One of them was a game where they rested nine players. Now, Robbo got a bit of flack over resting nine players, but I thought the way that they were energised, fit and fresh and just came right over the top of Grimella with six unanswered tries, I thought vindicated Robbo's decision to rest the players. They looked fresh and fit.
00:16:11
Speaker 2: They did look fresh and fit.
00:16:13
Speaker 3: And I was out at training last week and Sam Walker was looked pretty good for somebody who'd had ankle surgery.
00:16:22
Speaker 2: So he was, you know, sort of jogging around, kicking the ball.
00:16:27
Speaker 3: So I think, you know, they're going to get him at the perfect, perfect time for the prelim.
00:16:32
Speaker 2: But yeah, you're right.
00:16:33
Speaker 3: He did cop a lot of flack, but in the end it proved the difference because you need to be not only fit in terms of injuries, but fit in terms of conditioning and if they get mentally, yep. And if they get Sam Walker back, they're pretty much close to full strength.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: I look at the Roosters side for 10 minutes. It's going to be unfortunate. Someone has to miss out. If Sam comes back, he'll go to seven. Cherry will go to six. That leaves either Hugo Savala into the centres and Billy Smith misses out or Hugo goes back to the bench, you would imagine. I think Hugo filled in admirably at centre throughout the year, but I think Billy's a genuine centre. I think Billy's a left centre, isn't he? So I would be keeping Billy at centre and pushing Hugo back to the bench. It's hard on Hugo. He doesn't deserve that, but I don't know what other option they've got.
00:17:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that is the option.
00:17:29
Speaker 3: There has been some chat that it will be the other way around, that Hugo will go into the centres with Billy Smith being the one who misses out.
00:17:37
Speaker 2: Yes, Billy Smith is.
00:17:39
Speaker 3: is the genuine centre, so to speak. But I will say this, he can be a bit of a liability, Bill Smith, and he can give away a few penalties. So I don't know if that influences Trent Robinson's decision. But, yeah, you've got, you know, Hugo Savala always does the job that he's asked from him. But if Sam Walker is fit to play, you've got to start him.
00:18:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. So we're looking at a crystal ball for Teema. We've got Roosters and the Dolphins as the other option. prelim who wins and.
00:18:11
Speaker 3: Why um oh i i love the feel-good story of the dolphins as well there is we've had a lot of feel-good stories this final series um oh but i think the roosters i think you'd look at the fact that if they get sam walker back they'll be full strength um And they just have every reason to get the job done. Though I'm not willing to count out the Dolphins at home, you know, at a packed Suncorp Stadium.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: What about you?
00:18:44
Speaker 1: I think the Roosters will win. The thing that I've really been impressed with the Dolphins recently is their scramble in their D. I think their defence has been terrific. They're known universally in the rugby league sphere as this brilliant attacking side with Hammer and Herbie and Asako and Bostock. And they can score a million points when they want to. But you don't just win games on attack. You've got to defend. And not only are the defensive structures very impressive, but their scramble has been admirable. Right, well, it's that time of the week. Again, the BS message of the week. And the main one we've got this week is from Coomera, where Jono lives. And Jono writes this for Teema. Everyone will say, quote, unquote, don't blame the refs. But when a season ends on a call that even the commentary team was already awarding as a penalty, obviously referring to the Warriors game, People are going to blow up. Fans are filthy because they lost and they're filthy because they got robbed of a fair finish. Does Jono have a point?
00:19:43
Speaker 2: Yes, Jono does have a point.
00:19:46
Speaker 3: But at the same time, like I said earlier, we want referees to be ballsy enough to make the call.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: And Klein made the calls.
