Well, Coop's great round of football fantastic, some great performances. Special mention of Stephen Crichton. I thought, do you know watching Crichton twenty four years of age? He's only twenty four, I thought, who does to remind me of just his size, presence, skill and his leadership? Mate? Oh he no, someone else who works in this building, that Maulmininger. Yeah, he reminds me he actually mail. As far as his presence, I.
Can't give this kid, he's not a kid, he's a man enough credit for what he did on the weekend. I think first step was Sirealdo, smart footy coach, knew what he had to say at halftime, knew what they had to fix, and he goes to Stephen Crichton says, mate, I need you to fix it for me. He goes out in the ten minute bursts and literally, this isn't against the team at the bottle of Ladder, flimsy defense.
This is up against the rock solid Canberra team who were playing very, very good, and he threw that team on his back. Some of his runs the ability to just influence the game. And then once he got going kick out on the other side, started to get going and that moment was a second half round ten down in Canberra. Put that down as a little moment for the Bulldogs this year because I think they should go from here and Camra Ray is very a good team.
I hope they haven't been scarred by that. But hell of a performance.
Well done to camera, soeraldo. A couple of weeks ago, we had Toby Sexton and Max King on the shower and before the show it was the game. When they got they got belted? Who belted them? They go Broncos Broncos And I said, geez, how was half time for thirty six? I said, it was amazing? He said Cameron walked into the dressing room. He was really really calm and he actually he said sounds They said, sounds strange, But he actually gave us a lot of confidence coming
to the second half. And I suppose that's perfect, perfect evidence of how he can.
I think he's got that team in the party's handswer all they followed by Stephen Crichton.
They're doing some good things.
Hey, conservative request people just curious. So we oftentimes, in relation to Isaah cat Tol, we talk about telling a lie with the football and you know, he's looking in and playing out and why exactly that works?
Well, you taught me, your brother's taught a lot of other halves, but the whole play in or look into, play out, telling that lie like did you start?
Where's that come from? Now? We got taught it from Alan Bell, who I spoken about a lot, and yep, the real the only the real half. And what he would he'd follow us something from training and just sit sometimes an hour or two on the couch and just show us players. And he showed us. He said, like,
just watch this principle. He said, when you go to the line and you've got a legitimate blake inside you're thinking about like that, he said, the moment you look in, he said, the outside defenders they will either they'll flex out or they'll push in, depending on where they think the ball is going to go. And they said, so when you look in, what they'll do is you know that might be me looking in there. They'll all of
a sudden they go their man. When I look in, they'll watch and they'll actually start to gravitate in and they'll take their eyes off their man gravitating and that loves them susceptible. And I reckon the penny dropped with me with myself was a practical experience I have with it. We're playing the Broncos and I found myself. You know, they hit short and they rip around the other stuff coming around the other side. I found myself left center,
opposite Steve Ranoff fair sale, shitting myself. But Kevy comes. Kenny rips around the short side right, and she was probably from a far post. He rips around and he's got alp and his inside pocket. And I'm opposite Pearl right, and I know what Pearl wants to do. Pearl going to go an outline as he does beaten on the outside. As Kevy gets the ball and he's looking at Pearl, but suddenly he just glances in only a little glance at Alf. And what happens when he glances at Alf.
I glance in as well at Alf and when I look up, look back, Pearl's gone. He's on it. He's picked him up on the appall.
So the context of it is when you look in, you're actually telling a lie of defenders to say, hey, rotate your shoulders in and look what I'm looking at, because in a split second, I'm going to bounce back out and catch you on the outside. So Alan Bell taught you. You and your brother have taught a lot of harves through my generation. But there was a moment on the weekend. Isaiah Cartai has done it better than most over over a.
Period of time. This here is absolute top shell from a young kid.
That's incredible.
He over exaggerates the inside to a point that Mitchell Mo's in that right edge of the paramatter El is turned completely in and he catches them on the outside. Now, Cartel, when he looks in right now, look Mitch, Moses turns in with his shoulders and he bounces back out and Moses gone like that is I don't think we've seen better ball playing than that.
That's as good as get. You don't get better than that. That's Gavin Miller style playmaking and keeps you know other things that we worked on during that time. It's hard to explain now it's sort of gonna need to take it down to a field to really get it. Is the rail shape when we said one's really important here with Katoa is that the man on the inside. That
was a legitimate option. You just can't go sauntering the line and just got he's got You've actually really got it in your mind thinking you're going to put him away on the inside and keeps we we used to call it a rail, meaning the fact that you would just go straight, dead straight between the am b de fender and your whole mission when you yelled out rail
was to put Billy away on that inside ball. But after two steps, when you realize, and you do because you've got good instincts, when you drive past the markers, if you're looking at Slater to put him away on the inside, suddenly you realize that that option's covered. When you yelled out rail, Ryan Hoffman would jem the hole outside the second defender, and so that opened up both options for you.
Repetition of being the right place at the right time. But before the ball was even caught in your hands, you know if you're playing inside to slaughter because there was space second market down slow in between the first defender. If that space closed down, all you did was tell
an absolute light here and then bounce back out. There's a moment the cartel this year as well, just to give the contrast of when you don't look into play out the effect of it that it can have because he did it well on the weekend, and this one against South's same field position, but no inside support, no legitimate look inside and plays the outside and look at all the South City defenders. They just lay off knowing
that he's going to one position on the field. Now, I'm not saying if you hadn't looked in and played out that he scores a trial, sets up a try. But the contrast of this is exactly what we're trying to get across. Is the exaggeration of the inside helped that on the previous occasion that time then there was no exaggeration, no threat to go inside, no threat to run, and the defence just laid off.
But they're comfortable and that glance in I what to do. There's no hard and fast rule as far as mate, They're going to come outside, inn't you? When you glance in and when you tell a lie with the football, whether it's you're looking out to pass in or vice versa, in to pass out, what it does it disorientates the defense line. The defenders in effect lose their bearings. Is that they're up the square, he's you've got your mark,
who's your man? But all of a sudden, the playmaker looks in and they look in that half a second they look in, they just lose their defensive bearings.
And on the flip side we saw the opposite. So that's looking to play out. But the Melbourne Storm did to the Tigers. There's sixty four points or whatever it was. They did a lot of looking out to play a game. They went straight through the Tigers.
It's funny sixty four points and the wingers down score a try. It just shows you where their compass was.
Because like, there's two reasons for that, in my opinion. One, Craig Bellamy made the Melbourne Storm aggressive and direct in the way that he coached their team. They weren't getting fluffy with the way they were going to play the Tigers. They were going nice and straight and aggressive. And the other thing that helped was the Tigers they defended like fence paling. What I mean by that is they were
literally just stationary. There no line speed. It just sat there and instead of going pass past pass, which a fence paling defense wants you to if you play direct and a short pass. The reason why Pabo had four triers, the reason why Munster and Hughes lit it up. Is what you'll find is Monster Hughes ran the football or did a short pass back to back touches. Then the outside to play in. There is the outside to look in,
to look out to play in. So they had it on a string yesterday and this is look at that. That's line look out, play back in through the middle.
Because that's the thing we've spoken about this. The area of defensive vulnerability is in and around those rucks. You know those big guys in the middle of the rucks, they're working their backside of they're leading yardage. They're the ones making the majority of the tackles. They're the blows that are vulnerable.
And the Tiger's defense had big gaps between bodies. And then what the Melbourne Storm did, particularly the halves, they attacked the person then skip to that space and the other defenders didn't move.
They were just stationary.
It's like they were static, like a fence paling and they just went straight through the front door.
We're didn't talk about blade to lung in a second. Fantastic performance from him. It was almost like you're waiting. You know, I've seen you play great games or terrific games. In first grade, but as an outside back of paramounter for him to go in the halves. It was his breakthrough game. Elevates Latrello pretty handy twenty minutes. That last twenty minutes, he just just took the game.
I got so much for respectful Latrella. How he can influence a performance. Try savor here on Mariner trysaver On. I think it was pain has as well that to be able to do that in driving rain, to kick that ball fifty five on the fly, like, there's not too many people that can do that.
But for me, having played with and against.
Latrell over a period of time, he is how going to say this the best moments player we have. What I mean by that is if there is a moment like he can deliver, can be quiet in between, but when the big moment arrives, he can deliver. There. I was watching the game and it was a second kick return I think, and Latrell catches a ball. He's got sort of outside back there, much smaller carry, he runs straight into paint half. I remember watching go on. Actually
that's not what Latrell it does. So there's a little sign early on that he was up for something. Because I was watching going Actually that's when the trail plays well.
He does things like that, and they needed him. That's the thing. There was no there's a lot of injuries, so I was looking down the barrel. Five losses in a row and the importance of that. You know what Wayne, as we know, is pretty understateable. Like if you went to Wayne and said, oh, mate, five in a row, and he'd go and sort of thrift. It's not important. It's early in the season. But the importance of that game was Wayne bringing Steve war into camp and having
under the team. And that's that's Wayne, as far as I know. It doesn't really usually do that sort of stuff. It just showed you the importance of that game. And and Latrell knew it goal.
Kicking too, like he kicked. Yeah, it was.
It was a specially what it was a it's called a fourteen twenty minute period.
That back end place place to lane sider player one try, four try assist. We said last week you could see the combinations start form. Well, the combination is starting to form between Blaze and Nathan no better example and Coops. I don't think it's any coincidence that the moment that but that Nathan started playing really direct again was the moment that we saw Blades start to impact.
I think Blazes to Lungey has had sort of moments at Paramatta in the Penrith Jersey of like, this kid's got some talent, but this one here is the first try he sets up. There's one that Luke Garness scores in a second that this is an impact of Nathan Cleary on Blaze to Lungey. This is, hey, Blaze, come with me down the forty fee We're going to do some practice. When Nathan steps off his left. See how that is exactly the same ye Blaze has been working with.
Nathan said, when I do this, I want you to do that when you get your target defender. So it's the reason why Blaze lung he probably went to Penrith is to have a coach in Nathan Cleary next him on the field to say, hey, you've got some top end stuff. I've seen it, but you work with me. He can improve in this and you'll have a breakout game like that.
That that that really direct run from Nathan. It's it creates for Blaze a lot of times a slight numerical advantage which then makes the defense just hold fraction and gives him opportunity, also creates We just see that that little corridor when he when he laid the triumph for Papaali. That Nathan playing straight looking short out the back to Blaze who rips around akin straight and it just opens a little corridor for him.
Yeah, great space. That's what Nathan's trying to do and make it easier for Blaze so when his vision ces space, he can react to it much better. Nathan pointing arrow straight in the way that he plays, and just even the way that they pass the ball the same. Don't plant their feet outside leg not planned and over that left leg.
Yeah, he was good.
We're going to dive into state of origin. He's talked about some stuff he's going to talk about mentioned Nick our heines. I just want to give him a mention he deserves. He's playing great football, a lot less coming around, a lot less on sweeps, more standing, playing a first receiver role up on the rock line, and.
I like, he's going to Nicker and he's going to fuel Blake. Nicker charges hards, Skittle's defenders quick play the ball, split Fnel, Blake hard to handle, don't get out the back of Cam mcginners stand up first receiver for those two play if one carries.
Probably laying, good, straight talking Queensland state of origin side. Give some injuries going on, some players out of form, who's your starting spine?
So we got no Welsh, Ben Hunt.
Out, Harry possibly Harry Well.
I think I think Harry is going to be there, so I'm going to put Harry in there.
DC. He's going through a bit of a form.
Fight here at the moment in terms of manly, but I still think he's the seven Munster and I think Calebn Pongery my man out in.
The back mainly at the moment, Gess just to detour for it. There's no doubt that this is that the whole DC thing that has gone on the last couple of weeks has impacted him.
I think he's had the right intentions Cherry Evans and no one still doesn't know what he's doing, but I think it's got to the point where like he probably.
Needs to just get it out there and move.
I think so.
I think so.
And the origin part to me is he's a captain of Queensland. He's had a really good REP career at the back end of it. This potentially he needs to stand up because that's my starting spot. It's Ponger Munster, Dc Grant.
It's pretty decent, pretty decent the rookie because Billy likes to bring places Welsh a couple of years ago. He brought the hammer in a couple of years ago.
Yeah, like when you talk about there's a bit of back road Joscelyn around, Trent Liero could be there on a bench something that I think Kurk kate Well has great flexibility, so he could be on that bench cover.
But someone like Pikra like he.
There's no Dave Fea, so you're looking for like this back roller who could play in the middle that can hit hard, carry strong. Might be a chance to getting a spot on the bench and maybe his day, but he could have a little bit of an impact.
As a rookie.
For me, what do you think who's going to be the player this year for Queensland.
So I've got did it on the bench on the bench for that cover. Ben hunts up there whatever, he will just not let down Queensland. So I just put him out there and let him do his thing. But I think if I had to pick up my moment or the player of the series.
Like, it's got to be Monster.
He's in good form, he's as fit as he's ever been, and he has got I'm not saying he's Wily Lewis, but he has got like moments like him, Like he's got moments like the good origin players have where he says, I want the ball and he can deliver. And I think after losing last year, I reckon Monster's our man Coop.
So I think you can absolutely say Monster and Wally in the same sentence. If you look at Monster's state of origin record, what he's done from his debut even to the point during the COVID years, basically off a couple of days off the source after win the Grand Final, will be the player of the series.
I just don't like compairing sort of generations all things like that, but he has definitely got characteristics like Wall and over to your mob, what do you got?
Who's the heart? Give me the helps, give me the hearts.
Well, look, if I'm naming it now, like the obvious one is clear of Moses, but it comes with a bit of a warning. I mean, it appears perfect, but there is always a danger. A picking two chief playmakers together because one has to suppress themselves a little bit, you know, And so there's an argument to saying, you know Cleary Leui, I mean they have got a relationship and a combination that has been formed. Leui is he's a pure six, although he's playing in that primary playmaking
role at the Tigers. So there's a school of thought of that. And I go back to I want your thoughts to when you played alongside j two because it was very, very similar. Is if you go back to going back in time here, but ninety ninety a perfect example. On a kangaroo tour. They're up against Great Britain at Wembley in game one and the two best players in the world at that point were Alan Langer and Ricky Stewart.
So Bob Fulton had a decision to make and then finally went, you know what, I'm going to put him in together, Alfred halfback, Ricky at six. It just didn't work. Work, it didn't work. It was oil and water.
Yeah, Well, I think for me it's Cleary and Moses and it's Laurie's job to realize that the new South Wales Blues Jersey is more important than the individual performance and heroics.
Right.
So using my experience with Thurston and Lucky at different stages, the thing that I had in my favor we had was Cameron, Billy myself right, So didn't no matter if it was the thirty fifth minute of the seventy eighth. We could fall into rhythm. And when Karen picked the ball up on his left side and hesitated, I knew he was bouncing back to the right and Billy reacted to that. The thing about John O is Johnno was the chief guy for the Cowboys for the whole time.
When he sat there and wanted the ball, I had to make sure that he got the ball because when he wanted it, he saw something. So it was my job to maybe flip from the other side of the field to get the ball to Johnno. But the thing that made us work together was that the Queensland origin Jersey was way more important than any individual and that's
Lurie's job. That's exactly what mel. He didn't say that to us, but when you arrived in camp you realized, yes we're both sevens, yes we both want to be chief. But what's more important, of course than for Queensland or being the chief.
Right, And I think clearly, and Moses, I.
Think, yeah, what about Jake Travoyovich.
This is Jake is such a sweetheart, and everyone loves the people who are leaving Jake out. You can They always start with oh, and then they say, but god, God, you know, I'll tell you now right. I have a discussion yesterday with a bloke this we're having a bit of a chat of all things. Wasn't rugby league and we're talking about you know, in the turn going into the twentieth century, the two rules of war used to be. It was a British Prime minister the one said that.
He said, real number one don't invade Afghanistan. Real number two is don't invade but Afghanistan. Right now, that lesson has origin. Now I'll tell you right now that lesson hasn't been heeded. That's that's an old people have learned over a long time. Yet people don't learn it. We seend the Soviets going in there, and then we went in there, and every time someone goes in it's they just don't. It's never a success. The rules of state of origin football, from the Blues point of view is
don't get rid of Jake Voyevich. Two rules Jaja voivis, don't ax him, don't get rid of him, because because Coops, it's been done before, and almost every time that he's been left out of the side or been asked, he's been put in the side for the next game.
Because spirit that right, because he's that's the spirit that's right, be course, because you know, regardless, you know, you look at those without Jake tr Voivig.
We've got the talent, yes, you know, I got the toughness, Yes we got yeah this yep, yep, yep. But when he's in the side, he just gives an injection of emotion and spirit.
Next question, yep, is he a captain or do you start him?
I do start him. He doesn't have to be my captain. You know, he doesn't need to see alongside his name for me, that's not important one. But I do start him. I do start him in the side. I I'm really conscious that if we go, if we gave Cleary and Moses, I want to make sure that the start of the game, we're not going to We're not going to start by
playing two weast west and too much passing. So I start with Jake and I bring Isaiah off the bench, keep Isaiah out of that early stuff, and then bring him on after about twenty twenty five minutes and then start to play a little bit more football. But I want, particularly at the start of the game, I actually want
to see Nathan run the football more than pass. I want to see more running than passing to get himself because that's when I see Nathan start the game and start to take some bumps and get hit, That's when I gave okay, he's on and he's got his campass right.
And then Isaiao comes on and provides that ability to promote the ball.
Does a little bit more of the football. But I'll pick Jake because you know, he's not in great form. He's not a spring chicken anymore. But when I look over at the other Barker, what Coeensley have done over he is they would pick players who are terrible forms sometimes rout his here, and they put him in and he performed. You know, gil mister might be struggling little bit,
but they put him in and he performs. And for me, Jake vorbish is one of those players back line, back line, and look, there's going to be you know, talks about fitness and all that sort of stuff. Let me just pick a side on the surface, what I would do on Dylan Edwards at fullback. On the wings, I'd had Tom Travoyvitch and one wing on the other wing. Next week is going to be a shootout between Brighton Toe and Lomax. Lomax comes back. I thought, there's no doubt
that Brian looked underdone. He would be, he hasn't played a lot of football, but it would be one of those two. And in the center it's simple Stephen Krecht and Latroll Mitchell. And when I look at those blokes, when I look at I look at Dylan Edwards, Tom Travoyevitch, Toe of Lomax, Stephen Krech and Latroll Mitchell. And then I look at myhalves and go Moses and Cleary and I just go, they just can't beat us.
Oh, there you go.
That's that's what in my mind I say. I just look. I look at the talent of that side, you know, but you know there's leadership there. There's some very very special players in that group.
And you just mentioned you've got the seventeen best players in the world playing for New South Wales. So who's the one that stands out? I went, Munster, who have you got the counter monster?
Oh Cleary, Yeah, I think this will be his serious. I think it'll be his serious. And if I had an X factor player, like if we talk him at X factor our fourteen, for instance, it's Connor because the side that I would pick, I would not have a person when I looked at the side and I penned a few things down and things might change and whatnot, but I didn't have a player that if they could slip into that dummy half roll. Yeah, so the fourteenth
for me has got to be Connor Watson. But I see you, mate, if I'm if I'm Laurry Daily, I'm sitting there yesterday going excuse me, I'm actually going, holy holy hell. How do I get Pappenhausen into my seventeen?
I watch, you have the seventeen best players in the world.
Yeah, I know we can do with the and yeah, and we said last week about Toroll. Mate, my temptation would be to put to Rome in the seventeen, but the first game is up in a sun Corps stadium. I'd actually have Terrell eighteenth man and just led him experience the build up outside of being a starter.
I I thought that Torell May's original audition was against Melbourne Storm to go down to Melbourne play their home deck after a big loss. Yeah yeah, after that performance, I think he's taken a back seat.
Yeah yeah, I'd have him. I'd still have him in the squad. I'd have him eighteenth men to get up there and just sample it first time around, right, our coops. Well that's the stat of Orogen series. Done and dusted, Blues three nil. Thanks for coming brother. I can imagine made. I can imagine the courier mail bomba bdew would be just there out to make front page disrespect.