They've been doing it all day sir!
Two Englishmen in Australia, talking sports and life in a new country
They've been doing it all day sir!
Why is Everyone Getting Sent to the Bin?
Ben and Chris unpack a wild Round 5 of the NRL season, where referee decisions and unpredictable results dominated discussion across the league.
Round 5 featured controversial sin-binning decisions and inconsistent high-tackle interpretations across all games. The guys share their predictions for Round 6 matchups, disagreeing on several key games. Both hosts lament their poor tipping form after going 3/8 for the second consecutive week
Join us next week as we analyse all the Round 6 action and see if our tipping fortunes improve!
Welcome to another episode of. They've Been Doing it With Deysa, I'm Ben and I'm Chris. What a weekend of footy. Let's get stuck in.
Speaker 2:How's your past seven days been mate?
Speaker 1:It's been tiring and you know what. One of the reasons why I think it's been tiring change of clocks. Okay, you take it for granted that, going back an hour in time, although we got an extra hour in bed having kids, you do not reap the benefits. Get got an extra hour in bed having kids, does not. You do not reap the benefits of having an extra hour in bed. It also doesn't help that we, uh, may have enjoyed the manly game. Yeah, in fact, not enjoyed the manly game. We may have drowned our sorrows with the manly game a bit too much on sunday night, which certainly had an impact on the start of the week, definitely. How's your week been?
Speaker 2:yeah, it's not been too bad. Actually Went bowling on Saturday, which was always fun. My partner, her nephew, turned three, so we had a little bit of a bowling party.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hope you showed no remorse.
Speaker 2:Midday on a Saturday, we was just screaming kids. Midday on a saturday, we was just screaming kids.
Speaker 1:So it wasn't the uh wasn't the most sensory, best sensory uh. Was that in dy as well? Yeah, it was. Yeah, it's quite a stimulating environment in there as well, it's mad um, but I was absolutely dreadful in the first game.
Speaker 2:um, first ball went straight straight down the gutter like it didn't the sides up no, no barriers Needed to get my eye in. But then ended up winning the second game. So you know you've got to be proud of the little wins, even though they could be against a three-year-old.
Speaker 1:You know you've got to take the victories when you can Got to play what's in front of you, don't you?
Speaker 1:Exactly, can only play the track that you've been put out on. But exactly, I took the kids bowling not too long ago when my mum was over and dy is quite. It's a good little, good little bowling setup. They got there um and certainly want to go back. But I'm not gonna lie, it's a bit infuriating when you have to wait for kids to get the, the ramp, the ramp out, ramp back in. You just want a nice, smooth game of bowling, that just quick game. Quick game is a good game. But one thing I did want to chat about this week is, uh, some, a new tv show that I, that I watched or tuned into. It's been doing the rounds a bit and it's adolescence on netflix. I only managed to get through the first episode. I'm not going to talk about any spoilers in case there's anyone that hasn't seen it. I think I might be one of the only people, but have you managed to?
Speaker 2:manage to watch it. Yeah, ended up binging it um a while ago, now a few weeks a few weeks ago. Uh, extremely incredible. Acting by pretty much the whole cast um steven graham is just unreal yeah, absolutely unreal he's a fantastic act. Pretty much. He does play a similar character in a lot of things he does do um, but no, he's, he's, he's very good and he, he just has such a good on-screen presence, um, when he's there, it's a really good series. So yeah, I won't spoil anything for you.
Speaker 1:One thing about it. Actually, I was speaking to a colleague today at work, like what's weird having kids myself, like watching the program itself, it felt like it pulled on a bit of emotion that I've never experienced before, putting myself in the father's shoes, like the kid seemingly being a relatively normal yeah kid, and then to do what he did is, uh, it's interesting. I'm intrigued to see how it unfolds. But what I look kind of thought about today was there's no music involved in it. I don't know whether, like you know, in films when horrendous things happen, like you know, in films when horrendous things happen, there's often some dramatic drama. The word I'm trying to say is dramatization, or dramatization, that's the word.
Speaker 1:There we go eventually got there and it kind of softens the blow of what is about to be shown.
Speaker 1:Yeah, whereas this, when I found that they revealed what he done there was no music, it's just straight cctv footage and you're watching it and you're like this is this could be real, yeah, and I think it's so well put together, and the fact that it's filmed in one take and there's ashley walters in it as well, which just reminds me of top boy constantly but the only thing I would say um with the one take is you might see a bit further on in the series, but there's just pointless scenes, scenes Someone walking from somewhere to somewhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so instead of where there usually be a cut to somewhere else, you're in this scene and it's just absolute. They're just chatting like a normal day and sometimes you're like, all right, okay, come on.
Speaker 1:One thing I thought about as well how interesting is it that the police station's around the corner from the house?
Speaker 2:which I found quite entertaining.
Speaker 1:And one of the references was this is the quickest that the lawyers ever got to the police station. I was like hang on, it just seems too well run. But fair play to them. Apparently, the first episode took five attempts to film.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really interesting how they did it, like I think they, um, what's it? I think they had 10, 10 or 12 complete um goes at each episode, or may have been less or is, but yeah, they. It was when I thought it was one take. I thought it was like art edited to look like one take, but now it's it's. They rehearsed it for for days and and if there was a mistake they just you just go with it and they just pick the best, best one. So fair play, it's. It's. It's quite nerve-wracking, like it's that mixture of stage acting and tv acting, molding as one, because you've got that element where you can't make mistakes. You can't just go hang on a sec.
Speaker 2:I need to get mine here, um, so that would have been quite interesting to.
Speaker 1:It would have been really cool to be sort of a part of that experience for sure and, as a parent, like it may just made me feel about me in that situation and my kids growing up and it's a scary prospect like, like raising kids in this environment now and you really got to think about so many things. But yeah, it didn't put the fear in me but it's kind of like, wow, I've got a lot to think about as a parent. But anyway, enough about my, my parenting journey. What a weekend of footy it was. What an absolute really was. There was some results out there that I mean we can talk about tips. I think in the in last week I said we could either be sitting here going eight for eight having a good week, or sitting there with egg on our face, and definitely we've gone back to back. Stinkers got some scrambled egg on our face right here.
Speaker 1:We have. We both got three out of eight. So let's get stuck into the games. And it kicked off what seemed like an eternity ago on Thursday nights, and the thing that I find really difficult about reviewing games that are on Thursday nights is so much has happened Between Thursday and now we film on a Tuesday. But yeah, the Raiders knocked over the Sharks 24 to 20. We both got this wrong.
Speaker 2:Massively, massively wrong. It's just one of those things. Where are we starting to see a Sharks where we sort of glossy-eyed with the Sharks of last year and thought they were just going to come in? They had two very professional wins, as I said, to start it off, but now they seem to have lost the spark and their creativity. Um, I think there's a lot of poor decision making going on.
Speaker 2:There they're, they're taking it to the yeah instead of trying to create something, they are just going through the motion. So what I mean by that is, instead of trying to kick on the sixth tackle, they'll just take it into contact like four or five meters short and it's like you need.
Speaker 1:You want that little bit of oomph in there that little error in judgment of someone, maybe knocking it on getting another pressure on we did say it'd be a tight game and it was a tight, it was but what I think as well happened with canola is that when hudson young went to the bin which you can talk about some of the sin binning decisions over weekend which were mental, it felt like they took.
Speaker 1:They were like, well, they've lost one of their best players and we're going to take advantage of this and we're going to score. And they didn't and the Raiders managed to hold on. It was back and forth, I think the first half. There was six tries in the first half and they went in at 18 all and you thought, oh, this is going to set up for a great second half. What an ending it was, by the way, but it seemed to have calmed down a bit in the second half. But looking at the Hudson Young sin bin, we know that there was going to be a focus on high shots this week. There certainly was, and lo and behold, first game of the weekend, hudson Young gets sent to the sin bin. What was your?
Speaker 2:opinion on it. It's a definition of a high contact to the, to the head. It's, it's, it's unfortunate he, he doesn't change his, his stance at all he's stood up throughout the whole process and his shoulder goes into the face of the runner. So it's it's. It's. It's what they look out for as a as a.
Speaker 1:It is, and I think it was a good example of how they were going to highlight what they missed last week. I don't think it was the greatest example to use and obviously this is my opinion. It's so hard nowadays to interpret what the rules are because we're using language like moderate force. Or how do you measure moderate? Moderate to me is different to you what moderate might be.
Speaker 1:I felt like he was absorbing the tackle, so he was in that upright position, but the player was running to his shoulder and things happen in such a split second. How does he change his height? He set his feet to make the tackle and then, all of a sudden, he stuck a shoulder on someone's chin, but he didn't accelerate into it. On the Levels podcast earlier, they spoke about Jerome Luai's hit last week, where he actually accelerated up through and caught whoever it was on the chin, and I don't think Hudson Young did that. Okay, it was a bin in, but we were like, okay, is this going to be the standard of it? And then there were many, many over the weekend.
Speaker 2:They just need to find the middle ground, because you've got to, you've got to put yourself in that position is within. One thing I have noticed in league is there is a lot of high tackles in general and it's all down to sort of the tackler technique is a lot of people, a lot of defenders, are bolt upright a lot of the time when they're going into contact they're not dropping.
Speaker 2:They're not sort of bending at the hips to then go into sort of a stomach region or anything like that they're. They're bolt upright and they're putting themselves in a position where they're going to be that that scenario can happen it's like opening kickoffs as well, kickoffs in general.
Speaker 1:They all come down and try and pinch in and then the third man that comes in that gets knocked off balance, usually because they're bolt upright.
Speaker 1:Next thing you know he's getting a shoulder or a hip through, exactly through his head, and I don't know who it was, I can't remember who. I listened to analyzing about rewarding low tackles, but it seems like because take jake traboyevich, for example great tackler, tackles low down, has to then unwrap off the legs and get up, gets pinged for six again and it's not rewarding someone actually making a safe form tackle, whereas what they want you to do and this is what they were saying I can't remember again who it was, but they were saying coaches are now saying right, first person in, go high, hold them up. Next people in, then come and bring them down, then everyone can roll away and get off quickly. Well, if you're actually doing that, you're promoting people first one being high. But what a gritty, gritty performance from Canberra, the way to win it, what a way to win it at the end, 79th minute, fifth tackle, 50 meters out.
Speaker 2:Had everything in it Carnage, absolute carnage. It's one of those that you as a coach are just like yeah, you've got to be switched on to the last minute. You've got to be able to defend to the last minute. You've got to be able to come up as a line, shift as a line, because of those sort of scenarios. As soon as you get a bit of this distortion in the defensive line in those minutes and you can ship it out left and right, you're going to get the gaps. And fair play to the raiders. They absolutely capitalized on that.
Speaker 1:But grubber kick one-handed offload. There was another offload and then sebastian chris to support and run to get it over. He's everywhere isn't he? Crowd went mental. Sticky ricky went mental. He was hugging people, had people in headlocks. But what a way to finish it. But the one one thing you message me, I'm pretty sure, is there's still 1 minute 30 on the clock.
Speaker 2:Ah, this does my nutting Clock doesn't stop. No, no, and they were able to take a minute 27 off, which is ridiculous. I think they need to introduce what they've done in Union and have the 60-second shot clock, because you then know you can't run off endless amounts of time a good suggestion that I heard this morning on the buy round was last five minutes of the game. Whenever the ball goes dead, the clock should stop, but like two minutes in American football, isn't it somewhat?
Speaker 1:but five minutes, I think, gives it time to then, because the NRL are focused on ball in play time that the ball is in play Well at the moment. If they're losing 1 minute 27, at least every time someone scores, what incentive is that for a team to hurry up? Also?
Speaker 2:just quickly. That result in kickoff I'm 100% sure was knocked on by the Raiders players. So I don't know what happens in those scenarios if there's a knock-on after the buzzer. But I was positive I saw that ball bubble forward. But anyway, it was a great tale of the second rowers for Cranborough, the Raiders. Sorry, they were just incredible Hudson Young and Matty Nicholson representing British boy Exactly.
Speaker 1:He can have run hard as well. Did he only fly over like a week or something before the first game, before vegas, when he got called up, and then he made his debut in round two and from then he's just solidified a starting spot he's well, actually he was out for tarpon, wasn't it because he got suspended, but still to come in. And he's scoring tries, being dominant, running the ball. He's scoring tries, being dominant, running the ball.
Speaker 2:He's definitely setting himself up for success in the NRL and he's very, very quick on his feet as well. He can shift directions. Powerful runner yeah, very powerful.
Speaker 1:Hudson Young was the name of the Raider that I couldn't remember last week when we were talking about New South Wales.
Speaker 2:He is the one.
Speaker 1:He's cementing. He is, but the problem is the physicalness is a big element, but if he's starting he's going to get sent to the bin. But saying that Raiders came out well, great, gritty win I think I've acknowledged this before. Got them wrong, they beat the Sharks. Maybe we got them wrong as well. But on to the Friday game Panthers against the Cowboys. What is going on with the Penrith Panthers against the Cowboys.
Speaker 2:What is going on with the Penrith Panthers? Mate it's. We discussed it briefly on on Sunday in the ground did we?
Speaker 1:yes, we did?
Speaker 2:we did. I think it was at half time. Yeah, probably it's a bit hazy. It's the gentleman who sits next to us. He mentioned about the, the amount of players that the Panthers have lost over the last four or five seasons, and it is massive. They've lost Teruva, they've lost Stephen Crichton.
Speaker 1:They've lost.
Speaker 2:James Fisher-Harris. They've lost. Who's the Bulldog, second rower, kikau. Yeah, they've lost. Um, oh, who's the cowboy the bulldog, second rower?
Speaker 1:uh, kick out yeah but they've lost all of these players coruscant was one of the first ones there as well.
Speaker 2:That left and seemingly they've gone unscathed yeah the loss of jerome lewis seems to have. Really, I know they've still got edwards out, who is a big, but even he didn't have a great start to the season when he was in. Back this week, so it'll be interesting to see how he goes, but they seem to be really struggling without him and it just shows what can happen when you lose such a massive leader.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the difference I did notice, though, from last week to this week is Nathan Cleary. He changes the team. Last week they didn't look like they had any impetus going forward, any kind of creativity, whereas him, he steps in, he runs along the line, he dummies one, dummies, two offloads, don't know where it's going. He can bring it back inside, holds up the defensive line so well, and then he can release it out wide with a great pass. So talking of Cleary as well, his kick for Isaac Tano's try I don't know whether you remember it outside of the boot, swaz just bends round and he runs onto it and dives on it. What a try, what a what a great try, he's, he's.
Speaker 2:He's incredible when he, when he's, when he's on form, he's absolutely fantastic to watch. But again, you can sort of go to a little bit of decision making route throughout this game as as well, because I think casey mclean had uh, what's his name?
Speaker 1:wide open on the left hand side yeah, oh god, is it um?
Speaker 2:oh, it was lindsey smith had him wide open and he decided to go one-on-one instead of offloading.
Speaker 2:Yeah I think he had him and someone else out on the wing and they go over. Then I think they end up winning the game. Um, so it's such a We've touched on it for the last few weeks about decision-making has been really poor. We have a lot of wingers it seems to be a bit of a common theme, but yeah, other than that, I think you've got to Again. You've got to give the Cowboys a shout-out and just say how absolutely gutsy performance and a half.
Speaker 1:Penrith's right edge again, like the Bunnies did last week, got opened up. They got found out and Cowboys opener was on the right edge, which their defense is all over the place.
Speaker 1:So, considering they average conceding 13 points or something. Last year they've conceded over 20 in every apart from the first game of the year every fixture so far. So another two controversial things in this game around refereeing and there's probably going to be a lot that we touch on. But John Bateman got put on report for a high tackle which I don't think he even got fined for. In fact he might have got a small fine for, but he brushed, barely brushed the guy, and he's getting stuck on report. And then Reece Robson goes to the bin. I looked at it again before because I was like, hang on, I don't quite this one. But he's going in for a tackle on the sideline and he is hip height and I think it was Laurie that, yeah, is trying to drive out and is also very low, and Reece Robson catches him with his forearm how is he meant to change his height? And he's putting in what looked like a good tackle and he's been sent to the bin. It's ridiculous.
Speaker 2:Those ones are ridiculous because there's not like genuine force on like I'm going to hit you in the head.
Speaker 1:Sorry, it was Isaac Tango. That was the one on the sideline. Reece Robsons was just, he was rapping.
Speaker 2:He dropped in height.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was it. Laurie was getting tackled and he and he dropped in height and he caught him with his forearm. Tango was the one on the on the sideline, but both are like, how do you react in that moment to change your body position when you're already set?
Speaker 2:and this is the thing it's. It looks also always looks a lot worse in slow motion than than it does in the game and, and I think one one the things even though he did get in the bin, one of the things that does save him a little bit as well from a worse fine, is that he didn't go in with his shoulder and it was his forearm, because if he'd have gone in at that angle with just shoulder and then looking to wrap after that, he could have been in a lot of trouble this week.
Speaker 2:But again, this is the issue with referees trying to dictate games. Half like the after president has already been set yeah, it's because it shifts far too much. The other way you need to.
Speaker 1:If you're going to do, you need to start strong and then work, work your way down because it's almost like that when to use analogies about teachers when another teacher is brought in a few terms through a school year and they're trying to reinforce their behavior expectations, they can't do it because the pre, the precedent's been set before and it's so hard to claw that back and kind of get the rain on the students, you know. I mean so that, yeah, I get what you're saying. They, they needed to go in harder earlier, but penrith at sixes and sevens they. Now I've said this before if there's one team I wouldn't like to face in the final, should they make the eight, it's the Panthers.
Speaker 2:It's the Panthers. I've seen it all over. I've been reading a bit about it today as well. The pundits are already going. Are they going to be the first team to finish outside the top four and win it? It's just one of those really frustrating things. It and it's. It's just one of those really frustrating things you know, if they're they're. If they're at the dance, then yeah, you know there's a good chance that they could end up just doing it just turning it on when it's needed.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think, from their defensive point of view, I think a lot of the defensive systems and and it all starts with the middles and and how they communicate and how they gel together, because they've had such a change throughout the season with injuries, with Edwards going, with Cleary going they need to adjust and have a look at what their issues are and work alongside that. The pack hasn't really changed that much.
Speaker 1:They've lost James Fisher-Harris, which is a big loss. It's a big one at prop.
Speaker 2:But again, you should be able to readjust. There's enough talent within that. You've got the likes of Lindsay Smith, who started on the bench, who's a very good player, and you'd expect him to be able to pop up. But anyway, it will be interesting to see how they readjust and come out fighting next week.
Speaker 1:They've got the Dolphins this week, who surprised everyone. But on to the next game on the Friday night, the ding-dong derby day. The ding-dong derby Panthers you idiot Rabbitohs against Roosters at the Accor, which actually got a better attendance than 22,000, not too bad actually than I expected, but Rabbitohs just seem to be well.
Speaker 1:This can go two ways Roosters looking poor, rabbitohs looking better than anticipated. Have now, though, got some injury issues. They lost Jamie Humphries the myth, the man, the legend, the biggest quads in the NRL, the best legs in the NRL Unsurprisingly to a hamstring injury, probably working the hamstrings too much. They lost cody walker to a hamstring, which is a big loss, and then rava, rava lawa, who is only assigned in recently there's played two games, but big physical winger that can run the ball hard. They struggled after they lost them, so let's see how they go, but managed managed to watch this one. What were your thoughts?
Speaker 2:It was good to see Latrell back. It was. He's moved to the halves in the next game, so it's going to be quite interesting. But I think the biggest highlight of it is again is scoreboard pressure and when you're missing kicks at goal and when you're missing conversions, it doesn't add the same pressure on the other kicker Like Latrell Mitchell don. And when you're missing kicks at goal and when you're missing conversions, it doesn't add the same pressure on the other kicker like Latrell Mitchell.
Speaker 1:Don't get me wrong, he's a very good place kicker, yeah but he messed up two 40-20s and one of them led to a try as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's. It's when the Sandon Smith only slotted one of them yeah they've. He's left another four points out there, so that's 2018. Yeah, it's a completely different game then those last five, ten minutes.
Speaker 1:It's sort of a different ball game in that sense there were some stats in the first half that absolutely blew me away. The Rabbitohs completed more sets in the first half than the Roosters had total sets. So the Rabbits completed 18 out of 22, and the Roosters only had 15 total and completed eight of them. A lot of errors, and there was a possession stat. At one point it was 61-39, but Roosters did start the second half better, but there were a few moments of absolute fluke from dropouts from goal line, dropouts from Latrell Mitchell. One of them just bounced about three meters in front of the goal line and then rolled out to 10 metres and, to be fair, they stripped it off the rooster and then run it away.
Speaker 1:But it's moments like that that you create your own luck, and if you're skilled enough to be able to do some certain things, you create your own luck, and they certainly got away with one there. I used the word gritty win for the Raiders earlier, but this was a gritty win for the Rabbitohs. Got a question, though what's your thoughts about Latrell Mitchell's pass for the winner?
Speaker 2:I genuinely thought it was flat. You can't throw the ball forward. When your hands are going like that, it's impossible for the ball to go forward. It's all about momentum and how you are moving as players.
Speaker 1:James Tedesco for the Roosters. Try the second try, I think it was. It was blatantly forward and no one moaned about that. But because it's Latrell Mitchell, because it was a moment of magic, it was flat right At best it was flat. You can see why there's controversy because of where Latrell Mitchell, because it was a moment of magic, it was flat right At best it was flat. You can see why there's controversy because of where pitches are taken. But it doesn't take into account momentum. But it was a class pass, the speed that it went at the flatness.
Speaker 1:It skipped two people straight out to the winger. It caught every single rooster off guard and Tass to dive over in the corner it was, yeah, a great win.
Speaker 2:I genuinely, when you watch it live, you're like oh, that's an unreal pass, there's no hint of it. Even when we were at the game on Sunday, you were seeing some of these passes like you might as well have handed it in five metres ahead of him. It's ridiculous High shots and forward passes.
Speaker 1:They are some of the most controversial talking points and you can't rule a forward pass for from video evidence, not even that like you can't like obvious ones, clear and obvious ones, but ones that are so tight like this one.
Speaker 1:You're right, it could have gone forward, but from what you're looking at on a tv screen, you can use the logic of momentum and say, right, he's moving forward, he's passed backwards, the ball's moving forward. How, how do you determine whether that's moved forward from a bunker decision? So I understand that, but the Rabbits looking good. They will be interesting to see how they go this week, though, with losing some very, very, very key players.
Speaker 2:But Latrell Mitchell. My boy, Joy Gray, is still putting in the yards.
Speaker 1:He's running away with it as well 357 yards again. He's still putting in the yards. He's running away with it as well. 257 yards again. He's running away with the Dalian, he's like top by four points or something like that.
Speaker 2:He just puts a shift in every game and I think with the amount of injuries that now the Rabbitohs have got, I don't see a scenario where Jerry Gray is not playing fullback for pretty much the whole season.
Speaker 1:Unless he gets injured or something catastrophic happens like he has a stinker of back-to-back performances or something, but I don't think he has. He looks like a good quality player. Great win for the Rabbitohs, though Roosters looking a bit of strife. And then on to another game that we both tipped the same and got wrong, but this one people had this down as like one of the not one of the greatest games of the weekend, as in pre-Prefixers. I think this was one of their games of the weekend.
Speaker 2:Really, it was end to end it was so good.
Speaker 1:And the Eels come away beating the Dragons 23-22, with players from old clubs proving to be thorns inside. So Clint Gutherson gets himself two of those meat pies against against the old club, goes over twice and rubs it into fans when he goes over, which was quite good. Um, it was written in the stars. Really, it was written in the stars that lomax was going to do something and gutherson was going to do something. Uh, but it just shows that his, his quick thinking has has got him one of those tries. And the way he just attacked the marker, like two meters away from the line, just dives over, gets that, gets up, starts celebrating in front of them and valentine holmes turned up with the kicking boots. This week he managed to so it shows that low max.
Speaker 1:Yep, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. And there was one key point in golden point where loki ilias goes to kick, boot the ball away, and you made a point last week that why do people put pressure on the kicker? Yeah, and I think this was a prime example of why you put pressure on the kicker. Loki ilias gets the ball, kicks it away, boots it out on the full low max couple of sets later, bang, slots it over, and that's exactly why you put pressure on the kicker. But you don't have to attack the kicker's leg.
Speaker 2:You don't have to attack, which is what I was getting at Because you do have to get in front of them and you've got to try and stop the kick. If you can put a shot on and you time it Unreal stuff. It's the when the kick's gone and they're arriving five minutes later and then still hugging them. It's just like that's how you can get a penalty against you. Who it?
Speaker 1:was for the Panthers last week when he just went after. Was it Cody Walker? I think it might have been Cody Walker, even Jamie Humphries just after. Was it Cody Walker? I think it might have been Cody Walker, even Jamie Humphries just lifted him up after the ball had gone and then threw him on the floor. That's the stupid stuff that shouldn't happen. But what a finish. Zach Lomax, absolute ice in his veins, just slots the winner effortlessly and the Parramatta Eels get their first victory of the year.
Speaker 1:They've looked better week on week. They've looked better week on week. They have looked better week on week. And who they got this week coming up? They've got the Raiders. We've seen Darwin though That'll be an interesting one We'll preview that in a second but they do seem to be getting better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're ticking along brilliantly. I think Addo Carr started the last couple of games and you can see Passion. Well, yeah, his effect on them. Even against Manly last week they still looked a lot better than they had done in previous weeks Agreed, and they are just creeping up week by week by week. So it'll be interesting to see if they do end up at the spoon. Is the spoon going to end up being someone that we haven't?
Speaker 1:even seen, I believe, the competition this year. Now the bottom teams are somewhat improving. No team is really running away from it. The Bulldogs yes, I think they look good and the Storm look good. Um, and the storm look good when they're on, but everyone's ceiling like or not, so so hang on. How can I try and explain this? Like no, everyone looks like they can beat everyone. If a team is on on their day, there's no team that can stop them and it. And with the bottom teams getting better, it's almost like that. Six to 17 a 17 is wide open.
Speaker 1:It could be wide open and then, as the year progresses, injuries obviously will take their take away. But the prime example of this is the dragons. Beat the storm last week, yep, in horrible conditions, and then so beat the best team. Everyone thought they were going to run away of the tournament, and then they lose to the ills which people are saying when are they going to get their first win? So I think it's so up in the air.
Speaker 2:Dylan Brown also had a better game, which I think is another factor in why the Eels in general had a good game. He started to turn it on a little bit and I suppose, as I think you said a couple of weeks ago, he's got to start showing why the Knights have paid this much money for him. He can't just go and have a hot season holiday where he's just doing a bit of this, bit of that. He needs to show why he's got this price tag on him, um. So yeah, he's. He's turned up again. Let's see if he's going to be consistent. He you talk about it. He got the most fantasy points in in the in the game, so yeah, maybe things are looking on the up for the ills.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll, we'll see what's your space with them. But a team that we have sung their praises a fair bit over the last few weeks dismantled the titans, the gold coast titans, up at the seabust superannuation stadium, got absolutely turned over. Got absolutely turned over by the dolphins. They were 18 nil down at halftime. Tino getting binned in the first minute or whatever it was like with. Yes, it was a high shot. But one thing I did love about this you shouldn't love a high shot kafusi gets up, rolls the ball, plays on.
Speaker 2:None of this theatrics, none of this like there is, you can start to see a lot of this. Oh, valentine holmes.
Speaker 1:Just in the last game eels dragons, valentine holmes got hit in the head on the in the corner and all that he did was rolled over, got up but pointed to his head to the ref. That's how it should be done. It shouldn't be this feigning injury, it should be signaling. I think I got hit to the head and they check it in the bunker and go for there and it because it allows the flow, but Kofusi just gets up, carries on, they review it and it was probably the, I would say, the most correct call out of the weekend, it was definitely.
Speaker 2:To be fair, they only scored one in that 10 minutes. So the Titans did well, but after that they were just all over the place. They couldn't string a good set together and with consistent pressure, and the Dolphins just keyed on them. There was moments in him where they just opened them up continuously. I think they were continuously attacking down there the Dolphins right edge sort of in the Titans left edge and they were just killing them.
Speaker 1:The biggest thing that gets me, though, is who would have predicted the Eels and if anyone did tip the Eels and Dolphins to win out there, fair play. But there was another sin bin in this game. Stone got sent to the bin. At first when I saw it I was like did he even make contact? It was classed as forceful with a forearm, but again it's one of those ones where he's come up, yeah, and I think he's just clipped him on the jaw, so I'll give him credit. But pre this, pre last week, I don't think that goes. I think he puts gets put on report. I don't think he goes to the bin for it. Um, didn't have an outcome on the. Didn't have a impact on the outcome of the game which is good.
Speaker 1:but yeah, would never have predicted that dolphins teamins team turning up the Titans just looking like they had no response.
Speaker 2:Again this was the Titans team that I thought might have been this year is just having no answers for anything and I've been very wrong with us a few weeks with that, but I suppose it can happen. Everyone's got that performance in them.
Speaker 1:Well, maybe we've been sold an absolute play action and the Titans are going to turn into this team that you thought they were going to be. But let's hope for the competition's sake they continue with what they are. But then this was the last game. On Friday night, I believe we had the Broncos against the West Tigers. Yeah, saturday, saturday night, sorry. And for me there was a period of 15 minutes that the bronco, the tigers, sorry looked like a team that were just going to steamroll them. Yeah, they.
Speaker 2:They were really good at times, um, but, as you messaged me, they just ran out of gas they did.
Speaker 1:They put so much effort into it, I think. And look, the broncos ran away with it 46 24 in the end, and they came out in the second half and were just firing. Yeah, pia cora got sent to the bin, which this one definitely agree with, went through his shoulder, I think. He got banned for two weeks. He's getting banned for two games for this, so that was, I feel, the correct call. There's a few soft penalties throughout for high contact, which didn't really have an impact. But one thing I text you during the game was lucky galvin geez. Did he have the ball on a string?
Speaker 2:his kicking was incredible. Just a grubber kicks through chips over like he he had it on a string going everywhere. The boy's got a got a decent boot on him yeah, and Terrell May as well had another good game.
Speaker 1:It was the Terrell May-Painhurst, that's what it was. That's why I wrote about the high shot. Like Painhurst got one early on which looked a bit soft and you just wanted them to be able to go proper physical with each other and it felt like it got shut down a bit early. But there was a point in the second half it. There was a point in the second half. It was quite tight at half time actually.
Speaker 2:What was the score at half time? 14-12.
Speaker 1:14-12. And then you thought right, we're in for a great second half. Here Out they come. Ben Hunt sticks a 40-20 in.
Speaker 2:Yeah unreal. Unreal 40-20 as well.
Speaker 1:Change the game. Three plays later. Broncos go over Momentum shifter. Then I think of the next kickoff. They get down, Adam Reynolds chips it over the top, runs onto it and scores. It looked like he did something to his hamstring, but it's been cleared that he hasn't. But first five minutes of the second half, the Broncos, especially with him going off.
Speaker 2:you're thinking right. If the Tigers can just stop this onslaught and get a good bit of momentum, it can shift the other way, but they just couldn't stop it Blew them away and that 15 minutes after halftime were the Broncos that we saw.
Speaker 1:That I expected after round one. Yeah, definitely. And if they turn up and this is what I was referencing earlier if they turn up like that against the Bulldogs, can the Bulldogs' defence stop them? Similar with the Melbourne Storm If that Melbourne Storm that turned up for two periods against Manly.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about it in a minute, but they look like they've got 13 players each edge when they get set up. But yeah, everyone was banging on about Rhys Walsh having another good performance.
Speaker 1:I didn't see it myself. I didn't either he was shimmying and shaking all about, but he wasn't really getting anywhere. I didn't see it myself. I didn't. Either he was shimmy and shaking all about, but he wasn't really getting anywhere. I thought, from what I saw, he wasn't getting anywhere. He danced around for a bit.
Speaker 2:And then he got hit. He made like three metres. You can run sideline to sideline for as long as you want, it doesn't matter. It's the metres going north to south that counted.
Speaker 1:But he did get decent meters, I think, and I don't know how, maybe it's off kick returns he only got 75. Oh, ignore me then, I'm chatting absolute waffle. But I'll tell you one person I did like for the Tigers, sione Fano, number 17, powerful runner For his try that he got. He just bulldozed straight through the middle, just put their feet head down. I think I'm pretty sure he might have scored last week as well. But who was number 11 for the broncos? He had a few, a few bad ah jack gusco whiskey yeah, I can't don't know, but he killed that absolutely.
Speaker 1:He took a hit on the forearm early on and you're like, ah, has he broken his arm, is he going to come off? He got stiff, armed, armed, he got run over, he got flattened, he had a bad day and he got trucked.
Speaker 2:You might as well have just had a mop playing second row. He was just not there, as you said.
Speaker 1:But to summarise it up, really the Broncos were just better in attack.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they really were. They really were Still a Tigers team. That's lost. Jerome Luai is Again. I don't think he's here next week either.
Speaker 1:No, he got named, but I don't know whether he'll play. That would be a different one. But the guy that filled in. Didn't he break his? I think he might have broken his. Fanu Fan broken his Fano. Fano, yeah, so the other Fano. I think he broke his thumb during the game.
Speaker 2:So there was a lot going on for the Tigers, but you know, they put in a performance that, as you said, at times they looked unreal and losing a leader like Luai. In that you may have expected it to be like a 46-8, maybe so, and not as close, but yeah, it'd be interesting to see how they can go this weekend and we'll talk about it in a bit, but they're playing the Knights, which this is the second time they played them in six weeks.
Speaker 1:The scheduling this year is absolutely horrendous. On to the Sunday games, and I don't even know. I jokingly said that Manly would win 13 plus and wowzers. Could I not be more wrong? Awful.
Speaker 2:Awful, awful performance. I touched on it. Then You're watching the open exchanges and even though Manly, with their first real attack got down, got a two-point penalty, when the storm then came up the other end, you're like shit. They looked so organised.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they hadn't even attacked and I do remember this part. I said I'd be worrying if they score now on their first attack or something like to those lines and bang a. Toya Kamano just goes through untouched. As much as we we in previous seasons. Josh alawaya hasn't been impressed. We missed him at the weekend. His physicalness of running the ball up the middle we missed. And takiyaho I don't know. I wasn't filled with confidence with his first carry off of the back fence. He got driven back and it just felt with perseca out, who's also a physical runner. We need to find someone else that is going to fill the void of like otherwise back this week, which is a massive plus, but we need someone to fill the void of a physical runner that's just gonna and bully. More can do that. But when you come on after you've just conceded three tries in six minutes, yeah, and after 20 minutes you're 18 points to two down, it's a difficult one to come back from. But I'm not going to take anything away from the Melbourne Storm. They look class.
Speaker 2:Unreal. Their attacking structure was just so good. They just always seem to have an abundance of players on one side. So I think because Manly was so poor in the middle, they were able just to run it up the run it up the throat, bring everyone in and then expand out. And when they attack some score, I think they might have scored a couple in down in right in front of us. They did.
Speaker 1:They had about four or five players on the overlap and I question whether, like hoppawati, is great offensively, he's great running the ball, he's great catching the high ball. Can he read the game quick enough? Yeah, as a fullback, to get to fill in on those edges to clean out the, the winger. That's where he needs to improve. Yeah, I feel he needs to get, get better but he's still only 19.
Speaker 2:He's 19 years old and he's got.
Speaker 1:He's got so much to learn, but two people that I thought let's I mean talk about manly positives out of what we can take. Then we'll focus on melbourne a bit and how good they just are. Clayton, falalo what a finish for his his try. Yeah, great finish. Um, nice to see. And I believe he had one chalked off maybe earlier, I can't remember again, memory's a bit hazy. But earlier.
Speaker 1:I can't remember again, memory's a bit hazy, but tolu kola looked very good as well solid, absolutely solid, when he ran, run the ball, standout performer um, and I feel more confident in having him out there rather than like foul again. He's still a bit young, bit unproven saab. We'll see what happens with him, but injuries. But but when Tommy Talal comes back and we have Kola Talal, garik Saab, hoppawate Trebojevic, who he's from, then it's a big toss-up of okay, who are the five out of the six that play, but we will see. But how good, like Jerome Hughes.
Speaker 2:He had for you said in the car over here for a bloke who's got a broken hand. He was incredible. He's exactly what you want from your half, in the sense of he just dictated play all over the place.
Speaker 1:The pass that he threw out right in front of us where, whoever it was that just strolled in the winger that just strolled in. It's like he was looking I don't know whether he sold it to the, to the whoever was in front of him. It's like he was looking at the first receiver, second receiver, and went out of his peripheral could just see that the winger was open. Yeah, looped over the top and it's like away you go strolling. And for the last one as well, just similar sort.
Speaker 2:I don't think it was him who was off at that point, but Manley just looked poor on the edge and I didn't want to say it last week because I didn't want to jinx it, but that's the first time I've seen the Storm beat Manley at Manley and I've never seen a Storm team turn up and have an unreal performance. Yeah. Other than the Sharks last year. That's the first time I've seen a team dismantle Manly to the point of they shouldn't even there was no point in being on the field.
Speaker 1:At one point I I see it a different way right like at halftime, the game was close. Manly did well, so went 2-0 up. Yeah, then we're 18-2 down within the blink of an eye and people are like what, what is going on? We claw it back to 18-10 at halftime and I'm like, ok, we've done well to get ourselves in a position. But this is where the storm just went. We're just going to drop it into another gear and accelerate and within 15 minutes of that second half the game was over. We then showed promise towards the end, but it's like scrubs time, like melbourne, of 48 points to to 12 up, like whatever it was. I do think we can take some positives from it that there's a bit of dog in there to get back into games, but it's the inconsistency that kills manly, and it has done for the last few years, and one of the things that you have been reading about is um and you you touched on earlier the the middle forwards is worrying me a little bit yeah, in the size side of things.
Speaker 2:But you've got a tarsie james and chris patalo who have been playing the new south wales cup, who are two young lads and from what I've been reading, they've been absolutely dominating. And it's when do you get to the point of who's that one?
Speaker 1:that came on as well. Navale, he's played a few times and he played in the. I think his name's Navale, but he is another one that could potentially, and it's when do you give these boys a chance?
Speaker 2:Because we're struggling, as you said, Ethan Bollymore he's a fantastic impact player and we've touched on it previously about Spencer Lenu and it's been talked about again within the the in other podcasts of how he is a impact player and he's one of those players that you want to have on the bench to bring in that energy when you've got against a tiring defensive line yeah, caleb Navarro, yeah, he's a big, big boy that played a few times last year, so maybe it's time to call up some young guys and from what I've been seeing, they've been dominating teams in New South Wales, like this reserve gate team, and it must be coming from somewhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You've got Willett scoring tries for fun. You've got Villegas scoring tries for fun as well. Powerhouse of a runner, but defensively question, yeah, and that's, and that's because he'd come on and he'd be on um kalua's side, yeah. And you've got two blokes there who know probably taller than five foot three, and two bowling ball. Like cannonballs or players, you lose your, your height advantage in the defensive side of things.
Speaker 2:Um, but there's some talent down there and and it is going to be. When is when is Navarone really going to get his chance in the yeah, in the first grade team, because he's been scoring tries for fun and it's it's. These boys are knocking on the door and if you have far too much inconsistency within your first grade players, you've got to. There's got to be this, right. Okay, who's next up?
Speaker 1:I agree. I agree and, continuing on the theme of controversy and referee decisions, I have a feeling, a sneaky feeling, that the referees got together on saturday night, they had a little referees union meeting and went lads, I think lads and ladies, actually, because there's one lady referee apologies, lads, ladies, I think we've gone a bit too hard on the high shots here because Corey Waddell, I mean I had to watch this back again because, again, a bit hazy.
Speaker 1:This is when it was getting proper hazy this is when it was getting I don't even know what time of day it was but Corey Waddell comes in with a forearm from hell and absolutely smashes someone in the jaw, gets put on, report, doesn't get put to the bin, but yet gets a two-week ban. So a lot of softer tackles than that went to the bin. So what the hell is the consistency like if someone that got binned on? Take Hudson Young, for example. He's watching that Manny game and gone.
Speaker 1:I spent 10 minutes in the bin for something less than that. Where's the consistency amongst refs? So they must have had a little union meeting and gone. All right, lads, we've got to calm it down a little bit the thing is about.
Speaker 2:It plays with players heads yeah because you start second, you're guessing yourself in defense and you're like, oh shit, if I, if I go in and attack at this point of view, am I going to end up getting in the bin? Yeah and and that's the last thing you want is players to start having a split second to then change their decision, which is that what results in injuries and what will result in a lot worse tackles yeah, heads in wrong positions, trying to do things you can't do, yeah we both know, coming from contact sports, that you've got to go into these hits 100, confident in what you're doing.
Speaker 2:yeah, because if you do go in 50% or you have that thought to go a different way, as you say, you're going to get yourself hurt and that's the last thing you want to be doing. What they're wanting to do is stop the head injuries for the attacking players.
Speaker 1:The clear and obvious like force through without anything thinking like.
Speaker 2:But the issue is if they're this whistle happy and this bin happy, next, going forward, you're going to start seeing an increase in defensive players getting their heads in the wrong position because of that. They're doubting themselves in what they're doing. So it'd be interesting. They need to go into this week and just reassess and find a middle ground with what they've been doing. And it needs to be said to the players and the referees this is what we're going to be looking for. This is what we're going to be doing, because you can't have one extreme, from on into the extreme to down to the low, because it's just going to cause absolute havoc.
Speaker 1:And I know there's media scrutiny around the refs and it provides a lot of pressure for referees coming through and like wanting to get it right and wrong and maybe even participation in being a ref. But you need consistency and and that's the biggest if everyone's consistent, fair play. But it's the consistency that's that's killing it. Um, onto the final game of the round. Now, apologies, bulldogs and knights fans, but I wasn't in a state to watch this game of the round. Now, apologies, bulldogs and Knights fans, but I wasn't in a state to watch this game. Didn't watch this game, bulldogs. The one bit that I did see of it the Knights were given an advantage or something. It was 2-0 at halftime and then someone got sent to the bin for tripping and it kind of went from there. So apologies, bulldogs. Look good, they're top of the table, but let's see them against the top four team and we'll properly judge them then. That's about as much as I can review this game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pretty much in the same boat, to be honest, with you, mate. They're just Going about it and I think it was a very competitive first half, one of those where you're like, oh my God, this is going to be an unreal second half Because, as you said, it was only 2-0.
Speaker 1:And they're just so good at what they do. Is this the first goose egg of the season? Is this the first time that someone's? Let me just have a quick check of this. But I know maybe someone got close in round one. No, I think, no, 50 quick check of this. But I know maybe someone got close in round one to nothing. No, 50, 40 in this. This is the first shout out, I believe, of the season. So, and that's what one thing I will say like, the bulldogs look very solid defensively. And one thing I heard james graham say earlier, or it might I think it was james graham that you the amount of missed tackles that they don't have. Like the, they have a real low number of missed tackles, which just shows that their defensive scheme is working. Yeah, and they're not putting themselves in positions where they're missing tackles because they're out of position or they're not in the right place, and it's also their physicality as well, like one of the one of the things I've been hearing is about the.
Speaker 2:The teams have passed um bulldogs. They've always had quite a big physical pack, whereas this pack in size are quite a lot smaller, but they've still got the physicality of the likes of Willie Mason James. Graham in that side of things. So it's going to be one of those where they need to play a team in form and see what they can do, because I think Sharks has been their biggest challenge so far and, as the last couple of weeks have gone, you can't really judge where Sharks are at the moment.
Speaker 1:The Bulldogs are on a bye this week. Then they play the Rabbitohs and then they have the Broncos. So two toughish games. I think they'll breeze past the Rabbitohs We'll talk about that next week, but the Broncos the week after will be the litmus test of where they are yeah and again, depending on what.
Speaker 2:Broncos turns up. But it's, they're going to be, they're going to be tested. But I think, because of the origin aspects of it as well, you've got that. But I think because of the origin aspects of it as well, you've got that nitty-gritty stuff. I think they can get the rattled and this is where the scumbag mentality comes in and they're going to rattle the Broncos because if you rattle Walsh he's not having the best of seasons anyway. Won't take much. But the likes of Cobb are always quite head-sand. You don't really ever see him losing his head. But it would be interesting to see if they're rattled. But what the issue is with the Knights is their attack has just left them.
Speaker 1:It's one-dimensional. If you shut down Ponga, you shut down the Knights.
Speaker 2:And even if you stop Bradman Best from doing what he does, it's….
Speaker 1:I do remember one tackle. Actually Bradman best was driving towards the line. He had four guys hanging off him and the bulldogs just stopped him short of the line.
Speaker 2:And that's that effort it goes back to that physicality and it happened to them the week previously against the titans. They were making stupid mistakes in in the red zone and it costs their attack and the westpac red zone, whatever it's called, called. I'm always critical that at a professional level, especially in rugby, where you can get points from different areas, you should never, ever, ever end up on a game and zero.
Speaker 1:I said to the guy that sits next to us, rugby league is one of the hardest sports to score zero in because you've got the opportunity of well how open the game gets when teams get tired penalties, the opportunity to score from their drop goals which never really you rarely see. But teams often switch off towards the end of the game if they're winning big team people tire, they rotate players around. It's very hard to shut a team out.
Speaker 2:Yeah oh no massive like full credit to the dogs doing that, they even scored. They still scored a try in the 70th minute as well. So it's that consistent pressure. They shut them out for 80 and even they got a sort of consolation try in the last 10. But you should not, as a professional team, be getting zero, I'm afraid.
Speaker 1:You shouldn't and I'll tell you what you shouldn't be doing as a tipping person as well. He's getting three out of eight in back-to-back weeks. Don't listen to us, and that's what we've done.
Speaker 2:But we're going to redeem ourselves this week.
Speaker 1:We're going to look at the fixtures ahead. We're going to go into round six, god. And it kicks off with not an easy one to talk about. On Thursday night at the Suncorp we got the Dolphins, who are $3 outsiders, against the Panthers, $1.39.
Speaker 2:Do you? My thought process at the moment is the Dolphins look so good against the Titans. They looked a lot more organized, they looked a lot better. They've got.
Speaker 1:Dylan Edwards is back. This is. This is so tight.
Speaker 2:This is not three dollars against a dollar thirty nine so Panthers have got the halfback combination of Talangi and Cleary, which I thought Blaise Talangi would have played a couple of weeks ago when Cleary was out, so that's going to be interesting to see how that goes. And Lindsay Smith is back starting. They've got Scotty Saracen back. Did he play last week?
Speaker 1:No, no, no, because he got knocked out the week before, didn't he? He's come back. I reckon the Panthers get this done. I'm going to say Panthers are going to beat the Dolphins. We said they can't lose four in a row. They cannot lose five in a row.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a row. They cannot lose five in a row. Um, yeah, their, their, their pack looks good now this week moses leota, luke summerton, lindsey smith, scott sorenson, liam martin as a yeah, that's not a pack. That is going to get the fifth loss of the season I'm afraid. And you've got talangi and cleary who? Talangi is such a good prospect, great prospect, a very exciting. He does like to risk, put on a risk every now and then, which is what we like to see from you.
Speaker 2:He's physical, though he's physical, I like that, and the brilliant thing for him as well is he will have pressure on this game but he can just go about his business because you've got Cleary taking it all.
Speaker 1:You've got Cleary taking all that pressure, taking the pressure off, yeah.
Speaker 2:So he can just on the left side or whatever edge he ends up playing, he can just orchestrate that side get them playing and then let Cleary orchestrate the full team Both going for the Panthers in the.
Speaker 1:Thursday night game. Friday night Dragons $1.53 favourites against the Titans $2.52. This one's down in Wollongong. We've mentioned our questionableness about the stands in Wollongong and that there's only one that kind of loops around Great backdrop, though which Titans team turn up? I don't know. This is a difficult one. The Dragons are going to be reeling off that loss and they look good going forward. They did. They are pacing. I said it last week. It feels like they're good going forward. They did. They are pacing it. I said it last week. It feels like they're clicking and it did click last week. They just couldn't put them to bed. They couldn't put the eels to bed if they would have taken a few more chances. I believe they. Yeah, they beat the eels comfortably and big tino's out. Big tino is out for who is a leader. Yeah, I'm, because of that and because of how I think that the dragon sorry are improving, I'm gonna tip the dragons in this one yeah, um, and I just, I just love christian to a pull to pilato.
Speaker 2:Is it to a piloto? To a piloto? He's, uh, he's a big boy to have on the wing he does and he, he goes over.
Speaker 1:When he goes over, he goes over there's.
Speaker 2:There's no stopping him. They've got some wedge human beings in that team, so I'm going Dragons as well because of really Tino being out and they've lost such a presence.
Speaker 1:They've still got a big pack, but I don't think it's going to with. Tino is a big loss.
Speaker 2:He hits everything that moves, he runs so hard with the ball and he's such a trendsetter, yeah, in an intensity setter. Um, when you lose that, you've got your likes of david fita that you can try and replicate it. Yeah, but once you lose that in that leader who sets the bar, it's very hard to then re-find it.
Speaker 1:Indeed. So both tipping the I keep saying Eels, because they played the bloody Dragons last week, but tipping the Dragons, and then Friday night, Broncos against Roosters. Just going to be straight up with this one. I can only see this going one way. I think the Broncos are going to absolutely steamroll them.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There's going to be an upset somewhere. I don't think this is it. I don't think it's this one.
Speaker 2:They've got Victor Radley back again. Have they brought him back too early?
Speaker 1:it's at the Suncorp as well. Second game in two days at the Suncorp. Is the field going to be cut up? Is it going to make for a do?
Speaker 2:you know what I'm just going to be controversial, the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:No one I need to say is back actually do.
Speaker 2:You know he's six foot four tall yeah, he's massive, he's absolutely enormous, him, and he's in the reserves at the moment, but I imagine he'll probably get brought forward.
Speaker 2:You've got chad chad tanzan in the reserves he's been dropped, yeah, which is about creativity, and you never know, that could spark something from the roosters and and just to be different, I think because we've got to add a bit of controversy and a bit of competition in me and you as well, on here, I'm going to go Roosters on this one. All right, I'm going to back the New South Wales team because I think I hate Broncos more than I do the Roosters in that sense, and I absolutely love watching Dom Young play, so I'm going to go Roosters in that sense. So, and I absolutely love watching Damien play, so I'm gonna go.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna go. Roosters, yeah, fair play. I can't argue that. I think they're the longest odds of the weekend as well. No, the Warriors are against the storm, so not a bad shot. You should actually lump some cash on it and if it comes in, well, wait till it gets up to about nine dollars yeah, and they go from there because weren't they like 26 or something when they played the? Panthers their only victory of of the season Nuts. Then, on to Saturday, we're taking it east, west, west.
Speaker 2:Wait. Yeah, technically east, but it's a long way around. Yeah, you can fly the whole way around the world, actually, and get to.
Speaker 1:Perth, so I got that right Wrong. I don't know why I said east, but yeah, heading west over to the Optus Stadium hearth double header, starting off with the cronella sharks against the manly waringa. Sea eagles sharks dollar 50 favorites sea eagles, two dollars 62, perseca and turbo being out are the ones that skew our odds quite a bit and it showed it's shown.
Speaker 2:I'm just getting out this row, I'm still tipping the sea eagles. Um, as I said, I'm I'm one to never tip against, against your team, because so this could be back-to-back losses and tips tips for me very quickly. Um, I've really struggled about our middle and and what the sharks bring. They've got finua blake who's been running massive massive yards um, which is which is the issue for me, but but I think the only thing that is going our way is how poor they've been going forward. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think our defensive, our backs, are able to defend against that attack.
Speaker 1:Ronaldo Militolo is a gun on the wing, though.
Speaker 2:On his day.
Speaker 1:He's a big.
Speaker 2:On his day, yeah, but he's not had a good couple of days stone street's been all right, kennedy's been all right.
Speaker 1:Jesse rimey, like they've got a decent back line, I'll give them credit for that. I'm gonna join you tipping the seagulls and I genuinely think we can beat the sharks like it's not like I'm tipping this. This is not a heart overhead. I do have a concern about this game, though. The sharks have lost to the bulldogs.
Speaker 1:The sharks have lost to the raiders two very physical teams is this the patch that we speak about, where the sharks often have it throughout the year. They're getting early on. It's on foreign soil. The last time it's not foreign soil, but it's all the way over, all the way over in perth. The last time we played in perth we beat the warriors I believe 24, 22 or something like that. But I genuinely think we can get it done. Josh Aloua, he's back. Not much changing, apart from Sipley dropping to the bench. Aloua in. I love Jaz Tavanga the way he whips the ball around, gets in there quick Again.
Speaker 2:Another started well. He did start well and from that game, compared to the game against the Eels, he looked a lot slower. With his passing he looked a lot slower, but then against the Storm he was proper whipping it out and I just absolutely love him for the electrical tape around his head. It's so old school and I love to see it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think if we beat the Sea Eagles and he has a game of it we might have to put some electrical tape around our heads next week just to hopefully we perform better. Beat the Sharks, you mean not beat ourselves. Whatever I said, Been a long day, but if we beat the Sharks we'll have to put electrical tape around our heads so that we can hopefully get some of that energy to tip better.
Speaker 1:So if he performs well, we perform well. Yeah, all for it. Second game at the Optus later that day is the Rabbitohs, who are not favourites with the bookies, against the Cowboys. So the Rabbitohs are $2.10. Obviously, why didn't I think of this? Because the amount of injuries they have against the Cowboys are $1.75. This one's difficult. This one is difficult. They are ravished with injuries, but they're moving people around and bringing in players to give them the opportunity. Mitchell at six will be a very interesting experiment. I think that's exciting. It is and I hope it stays that way. He's a big boy. He can defend if they want to run at him. It's not like he's scared, but then they're going to miss his physicalness on the edge, which is where you tend to attack the smaller people. But you can always.
Speaker 2:Loop in. You can do a bit of tactical shift and bring Jai Gray down into the halves and then let him loop around in attack.
Speaker 1:You never know what Wayne Bennett could be up to.
Speaker 2:I've just revealed the tactics there. Get me on your tactician team, wayne. I'm looking forward to seeing.
Speaker 1:I think their pack is better than the cowboys pack um, in the sense of mamazula's is having a bit of a season on him as well, and so's kalama tangi kalama tangi um, when they get going sort of from the second round hooker it's, it's going to be they're hard to stop yeah um shy arrows sean keppy's's been playing all right as well.
Speaker 1:He has. I said at the start of the season that I thought he was going all right Last year when he played for him. He didn't look at the races, but this year he seems to.
Speaker 2:And also, you can't forget the Wayne Bennett effect.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So with that, who are you tipping? I'm going to go Rabbitohs, I'm going Cowboys. Okay, cowboys, there's one that's different in that. Again, it's nice to cause a bit of controversy in picking, but I do think the Cowboys are going to get a win over a depleted Rabbitoh side. And then the final game on the Saturday, the Eels against the Raiders. Now, interestingly, this one's in Darwin. Eels are $2.54. The Raiders are $1.52.
Speaker 1:Last year I did a lot of traveling to darwin and back. I think I was there. I was over on the tb islands doing a bit of work and, um, I was actually in darwin for the game last year where they it was against the dolphins, didn't even know it was on because it wasn't really advertised that well, and I was wondering when I was booking the hotel through work, it's like why the hotel's so damn expensive this weekend. Anyway, when got there it turns out that the game was on. I could have gone, could have got tickets. But I'll tell you what, when it's 32 degrees, 80% humidity, and I'd have been standing there in a pool of my own sweat, I was like maybe I'm going to give this one a miss. I'll just watch it in my air-conditioned hotel room so up in Darwin be a sweaty one for sure.
Speaker 2:Heels are on the up, heels are on the up, but the raiders are looking good, looking good, they're looking really good. Um, and they've got, if that pack, if that packet, again sort of just gels and attacks josh papali, tom starling, joseph tapini, hud Hudson, young, matty Nicholson, corey Horsburgh.
Speaker 1:That's a very attacking pack yeah, and then on the bench. They've even got, they've got Morgan. Smithies, big guy like yeah, they've got a few players.
Speaker 2:Junior Paolo hasn't been the player.
Speaker 1:Of seasons, he was physical against the Dragons, though there was a few hit ups where they they got into it. Of seasons, he was physical against the Dragons, though there was a few hit-ups where they got into it. Zach Lomax has moved back to the wing as well, which is an interesting move after what he did at the weekend, so moving from centres to wing. Who are?
Speaker 2:you going with. I'm going to go Raiders, because they've had an extra couple of days as well, so I reckon they would have gone up to Darwin a bit earlier.
Speaker 1:It's a very valid point. The heat will get to, but there will be a drinks break in this game for sure, because the humidity will be off the chart. The Raiders have got enough to get it done. I believe the Raiders are going to win this one. Be a real sweaty one up in Darwin. And who's going to be more efficient in carrying the ball? Who's? And? Who's going to be more efficient in carrying the ball? Who's going to be more efficient in their tackling? Who's going to be not losing as much energy throughout the game will be a key one in this, and just the Raiders, I think, are a fit team.
Speaker 2:And it's what you constantly talk about in pre-season training as well. It's like. This is why we're making you run up a 300-meter inclined hill. It's because of these games.
Speaker 1:And then on to Sunday. We've got the Melbourne Storm $1.14 favourites against the New Zealand Warriors, $5.75. We've got a couple of Ours friends that always get annoyed that we don't tip the Warriors and they're like you're tipping the Warriors this week and I'm like not this week, I can't do it this week. From what I saw from the Melbourne storm at Brookvale Oval, when they turn it on, they are easily the best attacking force in the competition. Have the Warriors lost anyone? I'm not sure whether they have, but I don't see them having enough. They've ground out some gritty victories this year. The Warriors I just believe they haven't got enough to beat this storm side. It's not in New Zealand as well, it's in melbourne, um, and I mean, who's coming back? For the warriors haven't lost anyone. They're coming off of a bye week as well. But when I look at that melbourne lineup I see cam monster. Yeah, ryan pappenhausen, jerome hughesoyo Kamano, Harry Grant Katoa Like there's just too many players there. I believe the Storm win this and I think they win it quite comfortably.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they've got. I think again this is going to be go down at physicality in the middles and yes, they've got James Fisher-Harris, but one man's not going to stop that onslaught that they have up the middle Not at all.
Speaker 1:It's not going to go storm as well.
Speaker 1:And then the final game of the weekend. We got the Newcastle Knights $1.62 favourites against the West Tigers. Interesting fixture, this one. They played each other round one at the start of the season in Campbelltown and they're now going up to the McDonnell Jones Stadium in Newcastle and playing round six. There's some horrendous scheduling this year. I think Manny played the Sharks twice in four weeks or something like that. We see him at Brookie Park, Brookie Oval, in a couple of weeks' time. But this one Tigers' Jerome Luai is back, yeah, but how are they going to bounce back after An absolute drumming and a real energy-sapping game against?
Speaker 2:the.
Speaker 1:Broncos as well. They were out on their feet.
Speaker 2:But Knights played the dogs. This is very true. I'd have said that's a lot more, that's more energy-sapping, because that game was physical.
Speaker 1:Didn't, if I'm reading this right and if I remember right not that I remember much from this game, but the Newcastle Knights lost two players within the first two sets and it was Jack Cogger and Jacob syafiti I believe both to concussions, who are both out but coming back. They've got Kai Pierce Paul, who's someone useful to have back, um, but the Tigers they've got skeletons, backton's back, luai's back. They've lost Latu Finu. Yeah, he broke his thumb. This is a tight one.
Speaker 2:This could be $1.50 either way. What was it?
Speaker 1:It was 12-10, the first game of the season as well, wasn't it? The Tigers have improved since the first game of the season the. Knights, they went up that second game, but they haven't really I'm going to go Tigers for this. Do you know what I'm going to go for the Knights, just so that we're tipping a bit different, but they can't perform. I also do believe that they've got enough to beat them. Ponga Best Gagai. They've got to start turning it on, and this is a game at home, in front of a home crowd.
Speaker 2:Yeah that, I believe they can get it done so I'm gonna, I'm gonna stick with, I'm gonna stick with mine. Go go the go the tigers there we go.
Speaker 1:I didn't you say you're gonna take the tigers every game this season yeah, but I couldn't see him beating the broncos without jerome lewis, so there we go. We've got excuses, but let's just quickly touch on some sport. Back home, we got the return of the Premier League and the footballing league championship League one.
Speaker 2:League one. League one.
Speaker 1:And Birmingham look like they're on the charge Big week, big week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, big week. I've got Peterborough tomorrow morning. If we win that, we're back in the championship. That will read championship and not league one. We're back in the championship. That will read championship and not League One. Then Sunday, a trip down to Wembley for the Virtues Trophy, which is a Football League trophy, which is only a trophy for the lower leagues.
Speaker 2:Sold out, though you sold out your end, Yep taking 55,000, I think including corporate and stuff like that. Nice, Our fan attendance is 43,000, and the attendance to last year's game was 42. So that's big. And then the following week, if we win that game, we go up as champions.
Speaker 1:Lift the trophy. Open top bus parade around Birmingham.
Speaker 2:You'd have to get through all the rubbish bins.
Speaker 1:at the moment it's overflowing with rubbish All the bin men are on strike. It's probably made the place look a bit better. I can't argue with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure but now it's it's. It's been a very positive season for birmingham and I'm really looking forward to seeing how things then progress for next year. Um, the only I'd rather quite happily just stay in the championship, because what's happening with the champ teams that are going to the Premier League at the moment is they're just coming straight back down, and they're coming back down embarrassingly as well.
Speaker 1:Southampton are on nine points, ten points. So, they need to get one more point to equal Derby's record. There's six games to go.
Speaker 2:Earliest team ever to have been relegated as well.
Speaker 1:Are they? Yeah, wowzers, that's a stat. I've mentioned it before. I don't really follow the football slash soccer that much in terms of what's going on. But one thing you do get updated with is how badly Leicester, ipswich and Southampton are doing. Chelsea drew a Brentford 0-0, absolute snorefest and we've got Ipswich next. So, knowing our luck, we'll probably lose to Ipswich. But yeah, it's been an absolute terrible week for Chelsea. But good luck to Birmingham, thank you. Let's hope they get it done so we record this on Tuesday night. They've got their game on Wednesday, tomorrow morning, yeah, quarter five to potentially seal the seal, the promotion. And then, you never know, when we record in next week you might be wearing that Birmingham top because there I do.
Speaker 1:I might do. We'll see what happens. But again, another great episode, jam-packed full of a lot of stuff to talk about. But thanks for joining. Hope you enjoy what you, what you listen to and we'll catch you in the next one. Keep right on.