Round 15 Takeaways and Origin II Preview

See what I'm doing it, Coops, what are you doing that?

Mate?

Gone to Origin one? You had a bit of a cheap shot at me. We're in a marine jumper.

We recruits.

What happened, mate, We won and I'm a I'm heartless superstitious.

We recruit everyone to anyone, but we're not having to Mate, take that shirt off and go back and look.

At the end of the day, I just want a good game.

Yeah, me too. Rugby league is a winner. What's happening Coops?

Before we get in Origin, it's a little bit of chat about club Land at the moment. The top four sides on the ladder anyway, Dogs Raiders worry his Storm. What do you rank them? Wonder four?

One of four?

As the ladder sits, it's obviously Dog's Raiders worry a storm, right. I think Storm is still the competition favorites as long as they're injury free. I feel like if they get to the finals and their good players are fit, they are prelimp final bound and what happened to them last year, we'll drive to win the camp The Warriors, look, they're a good team.

They're playing with a lot of energy at the moment. A lot of confidence.

Mitch Barneck gone, I just don't feel like if they have another injury or two, they could be in trouble. And they almost need to have week one at home, whether they finish second or fifth. I think week one at home would be better for them. Like I don't know.

They keep defining the odds.

They they do and they record away from New Zealand is good, but I just feel like for the week one of the finals, they might need the New Zealand.

Basically the whole country behind them at one stage. Raiders, have you seen their draw?

Ye, I think they'll be premiers. Oh yeah, that would be it'd only bed be a collapse of sorts. Yeah, from not to get the minor premiership.

Their runner is good, their confidence is sky high. Not really exposed to original that much.

This is a testing it self though, because they've been operating on momentum as well nomnimy concerts. This this first buy. I'm interesting to see how they come out of it, because there is the tendency to exhale a little bit, you know, and then you've got to get yourself back on the tracks.

They've got a good draw, they've had a couple more buyers compared to other teams, and Ricky's been thereabouts. He's going to ride this confidence all though. It just depends how far it takes them. The Dogs like their game style holds up well. They're a good team, but I fear like with their origin players like being exposed a lot this year, they'll fall in a flat spot in round twenty two. They might drop two or three games or something.

Like that, but they'll ramp back up. But yeah, they'll be hard to beat in a big game.

I've gone purely on form the mount of Good Raiders one gone Warriors too. On that that Shark's win was that was pretty special? Was not a pretty special win. That was a special win. Dogs three Dogs. In the last a month, I'm not going to say they've come off a little bit, but you know, there's a couple there's been a couple of pretty big losses. I mean the Dolphins one it was a bad one, and and the game yesterday. I thought that like there was an

Now, now do you have them four for the rest of the year. Who's your favorite.

Out of those to win the camp Raiders. Yeah right, I've got Raiders slightly ahead of the storm. But the Warriors and Dogs they can nab it. We talk about all the time, but we say, maybe this competition is so tight that has not necessarily been the case in the previous five years. There's been the top couple, then the dramatic fall away this competition, Mate, there could be a side just come out of the blue like a Dolphins.

You think attack is good?

Well, I well told me this on the Sunday Night Chat a couple of weeks ago. I said, at what point do we actually really start to take this side seriously as a contender. And the temptation was to go, ah, not yet, yep, but wait what yeah, well that's right, why not? Why not? You know, he's just playing They're playing great football.

They really are a food pack is down like no Gilbert, no Plath, no Sofeti. And they've got good workers in their team. Can they mix it physically with that dominant Raiders pack with Fisher Harris?

The challenge one thing they have is their outside backs work really hard.

To say this, if they can get any type of momentum for car On Ni Karima. Yep, Yes, they can win a game if they don't.

Just on Storm. This this is almost unheard of as far as the Melbourne Storm under crad Melbourne Storm in general, Melbourne Storm usually excel at night games because you blakes play in slippery night conditions all the time down in Melbourne. This year they've struggled at night. In the day they just blast sides apart. At night they've struggled quite a bit. It's just been really totally the opposite from previous years.

Yeah, I just feel like what happened to them last year, Like it's just going to be this burning desire that we cannot answer that question until it gets to a couple of weeks out for the finals. I think their Origin players, if they get through on Scathe, will have a bit of a dip inform and energy. But once it's two weeks to go, I think they go like that and you do not want to be playing them with this burning desire of making up for last.

Year and one eye on the Panthers. Oh, one eye on the Panthers coming out of this. If they can come out of this Origin series and they're still going a fair bit of petrol and Tank and those key men aren't injured. They are really dangerous.

We've said this. Have they used all their bullets?

That's going to be the question to catch up.

Yeah, you wouldn't want to be a team playing Penrith in the finish eighth.

Put it that way. Yeah, you rather another way.

In talk about the dogs. Yesterday I thought Galvin Sexton I thought in the first half worked well as a combination. Question is does Brands dis camera Serldo allow that combination to cultivate? If he does, Now where does Burton fit in all those things? Did one thing yesterday? I just want to talk about and show on on Galvin. What he does. Galvin lays lays on a pass to Bronson Cherry, who in turn gets a lot of mentorya for the try. Now what he does he does something which to everybody

And there's a point of difference because if Galvin's not there, it's normally cherry and kick out in a different layer or a different formation. And it's one of the pluses of a half pass into a half because if you put a middle ford in that, it's slower and it's not as effective. If you go back and have a look, the South's defense was tight. Yes, space was where Montoya

My brother Andrew once said that he was talking to it was one of the playmakers at Newcastle and there was Dane Ga guy there and there was Bradman best. And Andrew was encouraged Bradman to talk to more to dang Gaguy, but come on, learn center play learn the nuances, but also talking to the playmakers you know, about how to operate with the center and gag guys went. He said,

And that comes with experience and repetition when you're a ballplayer to know the cues of what that center is doing before you get the ball across. But the Dogs have had a soft landing with this Galvin situation. Like I really like what they did week one. They waited to the game was sort of in their favor because if you had to come at a half time it was twelve all I think it was they lose.

Everyone's talking about Galvin.

Yeah you got him.

In the last twenty minutes to go, the game was tied up.

He scores a try. We're all celebrating, No Burnton. So Sexton was terrific.

He was. I'm telling you, I got so much admiration for Taby with all this going on. He has he had, his form has held and he's been able to remain focused where other people sometimes will be just chewing their fingernails.

And his first try was pure half back play.

He went to kick with option one in his head, realize the South defense was retreating. Wait a minute, I can take this space here, and then the cover came across back inside.

That is that's good half back play.

Cameron Suldo is a good enough coach sometimes and not proud enough to go you know what, I'm going to change my mind here, Like I'm sure they've got a plan in place, but if you know with Sexton, it's just like, yeah, Toby, just keep playing the way you do, mate.

You know that obvious. The obvious plan is no Sexton galving in. But kudos to Sexton. I like what he's doing.

It made some of these opposition clubs. If the dogs want to let him go, there's mate something to invest in there. I would say most teams in the competition could do with a seven in the side. Talking about sevens.

You talk about yourself.

Here, I was a six, Isaiah Cato.

I know why you're six because you were seven.

Yeah, that's right. I controlled it. Sometimes the Matthew.

The player you're about to talk about, you and I could play six outside.

This guy at his age, I've never seen a playmaker do the things that he is doing.

This one here, that is that's beyond his years. He has gone to the line. John McLean's reached out and instead of advancing the ball further, he actually slows up and hooks Jordan McClain to say come to me, which ties up the outside defender.

Like we we could do a show on this kid.

Mate, we could well, honestly, it's we're spoken about this kid more than anyone had competition.

Last year it was clearing and on this show we are doing cartel most weeks. He is doing things that he's manipulating defenders to the point that defenders don't want to defend that way, and the coaches are saying, don't do that. But the way that he holds his body, his hips, the ball movement, that stutter step, the gears are fast and slow.

Like he's he is driving defenders mad like that one with mcclan where As you said before, he's recognized instinctively he's going to come out the line of me and then go bush push and then just push backwards right and McLain he almost falls over him at the end there.

The contrast to this is that some halfbacks would keep going and McLain would wipe that half back out right and probably don't engage that next defender as much. But because he hooked and stopped, McClain went reached and therefore Cafusi on the outside held up the next one. Then Nickoreema gets space and that's the reason why they collapse on the outside.

I was talking to someone the other day, I said, how did the Dolphins end up with this young bloke? And they said, what had happened is, you know, as is the way with great clubs like Penrith is you know, they're looking five years in events and they look at they looked at Nathan and Jerome coming through and they thought, as this side, this young Penriside starts to get better and better and wins one camp after the next stuff.

He obviously spoted him.

But I think we need to give Christian Wolf a huge rap too, like his development under him in the first fifteen weeks of this competition year has gone from this kid's got talent, so he's a genuine start of the competition. And speaking to Christian Wolf and hearing him talk like he doesn't over complicate things, like to give a bit of example why I think the Dolphins are where they are. Remember back at the study, I lost four in a row and the cyclone was in Southeast Coinsland.

Origin Origin. Now what is touched on this? Quickly? The dropping of dce ah two things on this and Billy has put everybody on notice by dropping DC. In my opinion, you know no one is safe right now people will thinking, oh he mean no one safe. I mean Munster and Harry Grant that surely they're safe. I heard Monster interviewed yesterday, right They asked the question. They said, when Billy called you and asked you to come to his room, what did you think do you think it was about the captaincy?

I think there's two parts this.

I was either way with Cherry Evans or did I think Queensland could win Game two with Cherry Evans?

Or did it halfback right?

The way that Daily Cherry Evans responded for his team against the Titans showed me that.

Billy made the right call.

Now I don't even know what Tom didn is going to do, but I would have thought with the disappointment that Daily chair Evans would have come back and been the best player on the field. Now, this is his performance against the Titans, and see how he is sideways made We spoke about the directness of car See everything is sideways. Now he's a good player, but the outside runners get caught up, they're not in the best timing and it's just a little bit not engaging the defensive line.

Right.

So I think off this performance and his ballplane, it shows that Tom Dinnan is the right call. Reason being is Tom Didan is arrow straight. He might not have the kicking game that Daily Cherry Evans has, but Tom Didnan will threaten the line. So some of his performances, Tom like he is more straight than what Daily Cherry Evans. Is that creates space for Munster. It is also a threat for this guy to do something like this.

Yeah, he's like I love him as player coops. I love that story where Billy picked him a few years ago they were under the park, lots of injuries. Is he knocked on knocked on on Tom's door at the hotel and told him and Tom started crying. And actually they're the sort of players that you want. He's all hard, he can't be discouraged. He is not. They've picked him for his fight and his energy you have.

I would tell you that the fact that he got that emotional with his debut would have been a big part of Billy's decision here. Yeah, because he knows.

How much it means.

I won't say it doesn't mean to daily. I'm not saying that. I'm saying that this kid will not take a back footstep.

He's not a pure playmaker, not in the same post code as a Nathan Cleary. So he's a different type of hard packed. So I think it's a big responsibility on Munster on the left, but a huge responsibility on Kaylen Ponger. You know, I expect Calen Pomer played a lot of first receiver.

And I think you'll do a bit of the kicking now on the flip side. Moses gone, He's out four to six weeks. Leui comes back in. Now the band's back together. That Anderth machine is back together. And I really am speaking on behalf of Luis. But he's been grinding a way at the Tigers, wrestling between being a six outside Nathan with a seven on his back, and he's doing a decent job. But now he's putting on those comfy shoes and Moses is a more dominant.

Player than Jerome.

So in game one, Moses would kick the ball, Moses would chase on the right hand side, Moses would want to get his hands at first receiver and do all these things. Jerome Lewie, if I'm trying to predict this, he's going to sit on the left hand side, and he's going to wait, and he's going to wait. He's going to wait till he gets the advantage. He's going

Him coming into the side. It will be less work for Laurie in a lot of ways.

Big time. It's prob he went with him over Burton.

Like Burton this at this point, in my opinion, is he utility play at origin level. That's what people are going hang on his eighteenth man. He sh'll go in at six. No, no, at you know, if you needing to play six, there's an injury at eighth man, he can go in there and do the job. But as far as the pure six, it's Slewi first, second and third mate, energy, arrogance after wrong with that, mate, you know, arrogance been able to get into the griddle of the opposition.

If you're the half back of the Tigers, like trying to find your best form, your stress levels are almost here in most weeks. And he's going to go into the biggest game of the year so far, and he's stressed that this might sound weird, but he stressed level is going to be so much like going to be so free.

He'd be like, it's true, curbs, right, let's let's talk about I want to talk about Queensland, how hell they play, but I want to talk put this Perth, this Perth game. Perth's been a really great place for New South Wales because traditionally it is a really fast track. Generally it's dry that's talking. Might be a bit of rain in this one, but dry thirty eight six, forty four to twelve.

There's no doubt two scores at Perth.

Yep. New South Wales now want that show. If Queensland go out there to make this an attacking shootout, I think New South Wales wrap up the series comfortably. Queensland are going to want to make this, want to make this a tough, gritty game. Now, in my opinion, the person who's under the most pressure in this game is going to be the referee, because I've got no doubt that he'd been given the directive less penalties, let's a little bit, a little bit, let more go, a bit

Mean, Just like.

I can guarantee Queensland won't going in with a shootout mentality.

That won't happen. A couple of reasons.

Why one in Game one at Queensland, in the first ten minutes even shortened, I was going to say twenty, we're we say ten. They didn't bring the crowd in the contest, they did not lay on the ruck, they did not pull off big line speed wax on. Anyone who didn't pick anyone up in rag doll them back. They gave away a couple of penalties which let New South Wales off the hook, right yep. So when Billy's under pressure, he doesn't try and create.

A way around it. He walks into it.

So I think, Tino, he's going to take it upon himself and he's going to stop paying ass in the first fifteen minutes. Does that mean bring back the bif does that mean, you know, pushing the boundaries. I don't know what it means, but I'm going to back TEENA to stop paying half to that little bit. The other reason why I say that is you talk about leadership. Munster's leadership is not going to be fluff. It's not going to be words of wisdom. It's going to be

So they won't miss the start. I don't think they're missus start.

I look, I'm certain I've seen this a million times. Coop, you guys coins ay kind of come out in a frenzy the intensity be through the roof and one of the most important, the most important factor for New South Wales is matching their energy and their desperation because, as we've said before, having to win as opposed to know so like even when your blokes dominated for years andsink there was only one clean sweep. It just shows you if your desperation drops that much, you're going to give bo.

What So if Queensland play that way, how did New South Wales play?

Okay, if I'm Laurie, I'm not giving Queensland what they want. I think Billy to look at this game and say, Rada, where you know, where was the pebble in the pond? You know where did that initial impact have? That set all the reverberations out and it was our back three, right and best. The best example is at the start of the game Lomax check hit Harry Grant, driv him back a meter or two, play the ball and away pain hasse went. It'll be very I think one of

Yeah.

I think on the flip side for Queensland, I think Kaylen needs to be way more involved. The halves need to run the ball like I think they were getting two finesse sideways trying to create that extra number. I think with Didn's directness, yep, when months is directness, Kaylen needs to be that guy that if did and runs months ago. As Kaylen goes again, I think the spine when one moves the other one needs to don't worry about this whole Get the ball one on one out

Yeah, I've no doubt, isn't it. See old Wayne Bennett thiing where he coached that year with Monster and Monster just come off for a couple of days party in the Grand Final, went to the first half, just pushed the ball sideways and Wayne's halftime speech was a month to run the football and he did. Got Ment of the match. Give me five predictions in this game.

Five predictions. I said Tino will dominates. I think Monsters captain c will be a big talking point after this game. I think Xavier coats up against Brian Toal.

I think he gets three tries.

Wow, I think. I think Queensland obviously win. Score line I'll say twenty eight to six.

Okay, Okay, I've gone first prediction. I think this could be one of the great Origin games. Everything is set for it or the theater in game one. I've never like I've seen Queensland sides in the past. Have there been criticized, but I've never heard them have their gumption criticized or questioned over the Spencer situation. Queens will come out in a frenzy and I think it's set the scene for one of the great Origin Games. My second prediction is I think this could be the arrival of

Yeah, I really like Isaiah Oh in this match because we're talking about physicality.

He knows when to hold it, he knows.

When to pass it, and that combination Nathan Cleary and Isaiahoh, he's worrying for fantastic.

That's a great way of finish it.