🏉 NRL Analysis - Matty is back from Paris

Better than the lego better leg.

I was talking footy in our coops the past month in particular, there's been some really unusual score lines, some blowouts, but lots of points scored forty to thirty six, forty to thirty four, forty eight, thirty and so on. What is is drinking its post origin quicker rucks from the referees.

Have you been watching the footy while having some beers.

On the I listen.

I wasn't having a lot of beers, but I was working at two o'clock every morning.

I actually worked out.

Good to have your back anyway, I'll be watching the.

I realized when I was away with what real work is. It was great. I loved it over there. It was good to answer your question.

Yeah, there has been some blows, and I think there's a gap between the haves and the haves not. The reason why I say has is like storm panthers, like it doesn't matter what mood they're in, doesn't matter what time here, the position on the ladder. They just have this consistency about them that they will fight for every inch every time they lace up their boot. That's the thing that you get confidence as a fan watching your team,

It keeps the best example of that, let let's talk about the Titans. We were saying just recently tightened to that terrible start of the season. With the better start and the way they've been playing or same, my god, not just in the top eight, they'd be starting to press the top four. And then you get I mean, explain this to me. Two weeks ago, their second half against the Broncos they win thirty six nil, probably one of the greatest halves.

Of football in that club club's history.

The next half of football the next week, the first half against the Sharks, they get beat thirty nil, one of their worst How can a professional rugby league side, how can that happen?

I think if you are consistent from the first day in November in pre season, you'll be consistent on Grand Final day. If you are inconsistent throughout the weeks, you will get a great performance one day and you'll get a poor performance the next. And I feel like when it comes back to how can you answer and how can we put like a number on why this is such a big gap. It has to be individual accountability.

It is I just go back to that Titans versus the Broncos game for a sec because being over there, I didn't get an opportunity saw some of the games, but not all of them.

What happened in that second half.

Because is it almost like the Broncos submitted, because it seems to say, but if it was hazard a guess, I would say that that first half against Cronulla has been a byproduct against playing against the side forty minutes before they're basically totally surroundered and let them just do whatever they want.

We always say, you know, compliments sort of yes, shift your focus, whereas criticisms sharpens your sword. And I think there's a little bit of complacency, a little bit of pat in the back, a little bit of all of that. But the thing about the Titans performance is like those wins and the teams that win the Grand Final is because laid the foundation in November. It's not let it turn up in round twenty. Go all right, now we're

With that theme, took the rise of the Kennary Bulldogs and you're saying about how winning starts in the off season, laying the bed rock down, giving yourself that big, strong base. You can see with the Bulldogs the way they're playing their football camera Sorealdo had the real vision of how we wanted to play, and they've recruited on that, etc. And I'll just go back, I'll take a little stlf

And it's just it's going great guns.

To back up that foundation stuff. There's a reason why Craig Bewmy wins every round one under his coaching is because he's layered the foundation. There's a reason why teams make your Grand Final and then miss the finals the

And from round one the football they're playing this year, they attempted to play that football from round one and they haven't so much changed. I mean behind the scenes, week to week you might just get a tiny little change, but they've laned a game plan and a principle down this is how we're going to play it. And as a byproduct of not changing it up, every player as it inside out, and once that starts to happen, you can start to form combinations. Like the first combination that

I think the I think Stephen Crichton started the year at left center and it had all the ingrediens to be the most dominant left sign but for defensively and the team first mentality, Crichton had to go to the right. They're really sure that side defensively, and he's done a wonderful job. The other part too, is they're a small forward pack, but they're getting the job done through heart and character. The flip side is of it, they missed a lot of tackles. They missed more tackles than the

I'll say this, Coop, I think there's two types of misses, and the tackles that they are missing or get it marked down on the street that are missing I think are low risk miss miss tackles. So it's like this, if you move up in the line, nice and strong and you kick out and he bounces off you, you get that as a miss, but it's not. It's a It's not a bad miss missed to a line break absolutely to a quick play there you find your sitting on your hurls and they just go straight through you.

That's a costly miss because it's a smaller pack of forwards.

There's a lot of hitting and players bouncing off, but other guys are making the tackles, so they're not bad misses.

And the challenge will be can Marnie kirk Man, Josh Karen can they do it to Fish? Harris Leoda? Can they do it to Nelson? Those bigger packs consistently? But I'll tell you what, they're working very hard for.

One another moment, a couple of players want to talk about first time we're talking about Kurt Man. And it's clear the camera in Serraaldo has given Kurt Man clear instructions and clear boundaries. Newcastle, they almost let Kurt do whatever he wanted to a certain extent. And you know, he was trying to do a little bit of everything, and he tied himself in knots and.

That he had no breaks. You're seeing Kurt nearly all of the time.

He's running just late footwork, Pogan through the line, play the ball quick, occasionally a nice little pass, the short passer out the back. He's playing. He's just playing. It's the best football I've seen ing players career. He's still got a little bit of old Kurt in him. There's just and that is sometimes he gets he gets married to a decision too long. Look, here's an example here where he's trying to force a little bit.

He overplays his hand big time. Here, Kurt Man, because right now, stop there. If he goes inside shoulder on Mariner creates one on one with kick al and Ben Hunt try it, yep, but he is trying to finesse this. He's already got to his target defender. He overplays it. And turns over the ball. But he all he need to do is go arrow straight the inside shoulder Mariner and that is a try.

And that was that was a lot of times for the tailor of tape at Newcastle. I'd see him, I'd see Kurt and it was a little bit with Connor Watson when.

He was there as well. The high spured, high energy players.

But if you let that, if you let those players basically, if you don't put boundaries.

Around, they're going to do They're going to tie himselves are not sometimes?

Yeah, if the one thing he probably need to learn on that play is count the numbers. Once you've got the advantage as a ball player, you don't need to go sidewones. You've got the five on four, the four and three. It's go straight to create the advantage outside. Good performance and he since he's coming to that football side, they've gone from strength to strength and so is he. Yeah. I think they started off with Drew Hutchinson's steady hand,

This is very smart sugam in it. And that's that's a tough pass.

That that flat cut out pass and decision at the last moment, that's that's a that's a really.

Tough ball Ben Hunt. He realized Ben Hunt turns in on kick out and just opens up that space and threw a bullet past the cherry. So I think he's added to And I think the other part or the indication that says you've been an effective halfback is the space that he's providing for Connor Tracy and Matt Burton. Those guys are getting a lot of touches and cause them damage.

God, what about the role they're on at the moment. Give me a predicted finish. There's one hundred bucks. You tell me where they finish.

I think they finish fifth. I think they play a home final right at the end of the Yet, yeah, i think they've got a core almost sold out. Whoever they're playing. They will win Week one and then it's whether that forward pack can go away to the loser of the type and beat their big forward pack, because you imagine, like the Roosters would be pretty scary for that forward pack to handle. I love what their edge defense is doing. Yeah, but it's just whether they can win that week two.

Yeah, my gud Phil will be the same.

Second week of the finals would would be a fit amazing achievement. I supposedly get if they get through that first week and they come up against the Roosters or a Storm or Sharks, one of those sides, they'll go in with that underdog mentality as we've.

Been playing all year.

But jeez, I just think depending on what side of the droy you sit on, Boyd's, it'd be.

Too fair against the Dragons. They've got a big, powerful food pack and there was a lot of reasons for the Dragons to play well against the Dogs, and they got the job done. Kurt Man vision. There was a lot of space for kirk Man to do his thing. That's the way the Dogs need to play. They need space for the little men to use their footwork and their passing game.

It was soon a bit of comebackside than the peneth.

That like it was. It was scary. Good for the to be just.

Ticking down and you run out of time.

You got fourteen points to pick up, and you just don't panic whatsoever and just get it done.

When Liam Martin went to the sin bin, they actually went up a gear like go back and watch the play. The bull speed, the intensity at which they ran, their ability just to get into this. Here was the player that sealed it. Poor defense from powermatter in that period of time. In the last ten minutes, I ao Nathan Cleary, Yeah, very very good. I loved it. When they were under pressure they actually went a bit harder.

And the setup or the big comeback, the setup for that is the first thirty minutes of football we have seen. They have got so much trust in the way they play. As far as the inside balls starting, I've I've been watching them a little bit and start to think are they starting a little too conservative? But the inside balls, inside balls, inside balls, and as no coincidence, with about fifteen to go, you can see the opposition the middle start that hit the ball.

Before the taruva try so that they score through Brian Tore and they get the kickoff set and it's not Penrith's system it's shift right, shift left, shift right. They went nineteen meters, got an attacking kicking from clear in taruver scores. Right then, I thought, oh, there are a big chances chasing down this school board here.

I once spoke to interview the Great huban Omen about riding Winks, and he said, no matter how far it got behind, he said, I barely had to pull a whip. He said, I would just let Winks tell me what it was right to go nice, impatience. Here's an example here right, Look this Wink stakes and that's on the outside, the first on the outside in the in the blue and white.

Right there.

You think yourself, Nu can't pick him up? Remember this race, and you go no, no, no, no, no no. But from Hugh there's no panic whatsoever. Gives a little bit of a tickle, but mainly hands and heels and ends up winning in a canter.

Huey Bowman's Nathan Cleary.

I was wondering that you put an allergy between Winks and Clearer. Is just showing me how much money you had on Winks that day.

I didn't that day.

I thought it's due to loss, it's dual loss. I did back, but you know what I mean, you're sitting there every time Winks ran, everyone to be standing in the pub, all the club and just.

Going no, no, no, not today, not today. And then Runners.

The other impressive thing about whether it's Winks is on the Unbeate run or Beenth, you just feel like there's going to be a flat spot, but there just isn't.

No.

Nathan's out for how many weeks? Is Leuais steps and gets your job done? Dylan Edwards was terrific. Nathan comes back down by what is it fourteen with tend to go, they get the job done. Grand Final, like there's it's just it's scary good.

It's still there to lose.

Yeah, they are pole position absolutely, I don't know, it doesn't matter what else Skeets said. They are absolutely the favorites right now.

And they've had this certain amount of luck.

I mean, if you look at Nathan, he's playing fresh, he's like different times through this amazing dynasty they've had. They have lost key players at different manument, but it's worked.

For it and they're winning different ways too. It's not as if they've won one way the whole time. They've had challenges behind injuries whatever it is.

Terrific club, terrific Sharks interesting. On the weekend, we spoke to this for another example of becurse of key men, missing key creative men being basically being forced to simply simplify your football.

Don't worry about all the flowery stuff.

Just get back to really simple, direct power football and how you suddenly find your best stuff. Like on the weekend, Blake Brailey's playing half back and they just simplified. They did less, they passed the ball sideways less, They just were very simple power game and that's that's how they should play.

It was a perfect storm for the Sharks for on the weekend because injuries simplifying football, make a really basic approach. And on the other side of the field, well, they got a little bit too carry away with themselves, the Titans, and just came out lacking intensity, lacking commitment, and it just really set them on the course. To you, it doesn't matter if Heinz comes back in or not, like that's how they should play. Then give him the ability to row him around the field and come up with.

What do you think firstly about the Sharks right predicted to finish, what do you think they'll.

Finish top four. But the thing that happens with the Sharks is they haven't won a finals game on a fitzgiven. I don't think they've gone out straight sets and then out can So there's going to be some nervous tension when the Sharks play their first finally and they're going to finish fourth. I means here going to play Melbourne in Melbourne, which they've done all penner. Depending on what happens this weekend, so I think they'll lose Week one, but then it's up to them the win Week two.

Yeah, let us lose again and then if they've.

Got someone like the Dogs, depending on how the ladder falls in place, that's a big challenge, is not wrong.

You don't want to be going out three years in a row like that. That leaves a pretty nasty scar paramatter. This is interesting Jason Rosey, You've had a lot of Rosy. He has got the biggest job in my opinion, this coming up this offseason. He's trying to move players on at the moment. The last one is ringing Hemil Gillard. He's told like a sub and go Ryan Madison's the same, but they get no takers at the moment. Meanwhile, probably the bigger issue is the rumors that are going, well,

Clauses he's signed.

Well, the latest one has been around Mitchell Moses, which was originally that they would probably look to exercise his clause at the end of twenty twenty six.

He going, Oh my god, the end of twenty twenty six, I mean.

Long, A lot of stuff's going to happen between now and then, But then rumors abound, whether it be true or not. I'm not sure that he may aggravate for an early release.

I'm not sure what to make of all the noise, what it's true, what's not, what is reality? But if I'm Jason Ryles, he may have done this already. He may not have. But I'm getting Moses, Brown, Guthson, Will Peraccini, and maybe one or two others, and I'm getting them over to my house for dinner, and I'm saying, listen, this is what I can do, this is the dream,

No matter how much.

If I was Jason Rolls, Mitchell may agitate it for a release.

Never how much. You cannot release him.

Because a halfback of Nathan Cleary, Mitchell moses soone that their quality you just can't replace them.

A little bit. Example is Shane Flanagan with Ben Hunt. He was gone this time last year, and all it takes is a conversation, build a rapport and get someone to buy into what you're doing. I mean, you can turn that around. So I think that comes down to Jason Roles. There's it's a bucket load of noise and I'm not sure what is true or not. But if I'm Jason Rolls, I'm getting those guys and I'm selling this is what I need is in here, this is what we're doing.

I just spoke about Blaze to Lungey off to Penris, which is big move for Blaze. Who he's going to play. There was talk they said they're going to they see him as a six Now, Initially when I heard that, I thought it doesn't appear like a six.

But if you've got if you got.

Nathan Cleary and Isa, you don't really need a bloke in the six finessa the football around.

I think it's the right position for him At Penrith. He's had some fullback stuff for his score and tries. He's been on the wing center. On the weekend he got carved up by the Panthers defensively, like some of the decisions he made was part of the reason why Parentuth came back. But this kid can play. And again it's like disrespecting Paramatta, but he's going to a club that is going to invest in his development, like he is going to sit in the shotgun seat to Nathan

Like we said before, it's their comp to lose. Again, Nathan's still a very young player. How is it twenty six, twenty six seven, We'll played for at least another ten years. How many comps are going to win? I'm looking at four in a row now, continue on this trajectory, it's just kind of get scary.

Playmakers just get better.

Okay, what's the one thing that stops panis? Give me something that stops Penrith. We're literally luck here.

Well as far as this season.

Yeah, this season, just this season right here.

I think I think the biggest one is probably injury. I think an injury to Nathan because it just appears as though they can absorb the loss of just about everyone else. It's incredible still at Edward's like, I don't know there's any coincident. On the weekend, they didn't look anywhere as near as effective without Dylane was there.

He's one, Nathan's the other. Is there anyone else? Now? I think they can absorb the loss.

Yeah. I think when it gets down to prelim final, Grand Final, it is the best players dominating the other best players. So it is, for example, Thursday night, it's two teams Penrith and Melbourne. Great game styles. We know history says that it's good enough to win, but Ken Jerome hughes out point Nathan on the day, so he's going to take star power in the opposition.

To be So that's the thing about it, Coops, you know what's going to stop them and I go loss of form. They don't drop form because they all know what they have to do inside out and.

Not a team that will lack accountability. Like we spoke about before about I don't feel like playing today, even if you don't feel like, there's a responsibility to pull on the Penrith jersey. So you almost have to expect the best case scenario for Penrith when you play them, and then how do you beat the best case Well, fight fire with fire, good defense, good completion rate. They give them opportunities, but when you get your chance, you better take it.

As we start to shift to talk about the Broncos because we haven't done the show for a little while now and it's worth discussing.

You've been on holidays for a month.

Let me see it once again, mate, It was eight o'clock in the morning, sometimes finished at two o'clock, covering all sports fencing. Okay, we're about to talk about the Broncos. But when you talk about okay, the reason. What is the primary reason why it's been such a blood a season for the Broncos. Well, we say oftentimes is success tests your metal.

That's what it does.

So to take a step backwards we're just spoke speaking about then, don't you tip your lead to the Melbourne Storm the Penrith Panthers, regardless of the success individually and collectively, they just the fire and the belly doesn't go out.

Always find a reason why. And the Broncos haven't really on their reason why. You could say our origin, you could say loss of Renolds, you could, but you could say that for Melbourne, Melbourne lost, Mounster parents lost. Clear, it's the same thing. But the work ethic from everyone else covers the loss of that.

Is a big football mad city like Brisbane and oftentimes the one team.

So they've struggled in the last six weeks, the Bronx big Tom but their second half performance. There was a moment in that game where in a seventy fifth minute or something, Cartoni Stags turns the ball over by making a good tackle. Defensively, Ris Walsh runs almost as of score. Cartoni Stags is the right center. He made the tackle force the eerror he ends up scoring as left center. That effort from Cartoni Stags to do that here and then down there, it just has not been enough of

Yeah, across the board, that's sort of effort you're Broncos fan, if your Kevy waalders. More to the point, you're looking game fell us, where was where was that six weeks ago when we needed to do something? This weekend coups, there are some huge games in terms of top two, top four, top eight Penrith versus the Storm.

Are you liking this one?

It's a pen well obviously Panthers. But I'm going to go down the path of what I just said that I think this is the type of game Monster arrives or he doesn't arrive.

He's already yeah, but has his impact on this yeah.

I think so. Like he's been injured out for a bit, Nathan's the superstar opposite him, there's just something that Monster. I might play a hell of a.

Game scratchy the Melbourne Storm the last few weeks, but the bottom line that the Spine has barely.

Played all together. You can see why they little clunky.

They're not a spine that requires ten weeks to get to know each other. Months is the type of guy that would just come in and do it. Jerome Hughes at a sensational year. So if I was to say that something might have I think Monster might deliver.

Now the Dogs, they're pushing towards top four, finished the up against the Dolphins, who are pushing trying to consolidate that top eight spot.

This is a.

Really dangerous game for the Dogs because you know that Wayne the Dolphins have got to win this one, and he'll have them sky high.

Because the Dolphins have got a tough run after this. Yeah, so's it was must win against the Warriors and they got out of jail then too. Yeah, hard to tough to call. This will be super close. I'll say the Dogs just because they're playing better.

But yeah, we're going to watch in Bunderberg. Yeah, Cowboys and the Raiders.

Now on both of these sides, Like Cowboys, what a missed opportunity in the weekend dominated the first half of only led eighten points to twelve. Second half was considered thirty points thirty nil. It's been a little bit like the tailor or the tape for the last eighty months with the Cowboys Raiders. Both of these sides have got to win it.

Like the cows you just can't trust like they have whenever you see them play in terms of names on a sheet of paper and the way they can do it individual at different stages. All they talk about is defensive minds. I say all the right things, but to be up eighteen twelve at home against your rival and to have a second half like that, yeah, like you

And Dragons are going to win this one. Dragons up against the Titans. Titans are going to be well. I was going to say they'll be better than last week. Honestly, you turn the ross completely over.

And even the Dragons off the great performance against the Storm two weeks ago and then at home sold out like there was a lot of reasons for the Dragons to really cement themselves. Now they're outside the eight because they lost and the Dolphins won. Yeah again, this is a bit like the Cowboys and the Raiders.

And then finally you've got the Knights and the Sharks, which is really important. So the Knights can't lose. They're on the razors edge as far as making the top eight, the Sharks trying to hold onto that top four spot. But more than that, the Sharks, wh've got to start to prove they can put two really great performances together back to back.

And the thing with the Sharks, yes, back to back Titans Knights. The issue with the Sharks is they want to win a finals match. They've got it with respect an easier run at the back end of this year, so they need to win these games like it's a tight contest, not like just playing for twenty minutes then putting the Q in the rack. Because if you do that week one against Penrith.

Or Melbourne, that's just what we're going to give it to you. Radio coops, Good staff man, little jet lagged.

From watching all that gold, gold, gold, as Norman May used to say, probably a little bit before your time.

Are you standing up now?

What did you know what I'm