WEBVTT - 🏉 NRL Analysis - The Road to Finals 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:01.040 Better than the Lego. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:14.720 Support Coops Rooster Sunday. He was nothing short of a disaster. 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:17.880 I've really seen anything like a semi walker, a C. L. 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:23.239 Brandon Smith shortly after a cl Victor Radley scapular similar 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:24.360 the one you did shoulder. 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:26.320 So he's going to delay surgery. 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:28.960 But I'm sure if he'd be back Nat Butcher Hia, 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:30.040 he'll be okay. 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:34.080 But I went from being genuine contenders to now sort 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:38.519 of a question mark with some of those. But in 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.200 terms of their performance on the weekend, like I think 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:44.680 even before Sam work at Walker went off injured, some 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:48.919 of their play, particularly their attack was very sideways. It 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:50.839 was past past past week going to score. Yeah, they 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:54.720 was looking for shortcuts to start with. But I think 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.920 sometimes you've got to find where the glass full approaches 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:02.800 to that because Kiri, in my mind, he did in 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.960 twenty eighteen. He's done it for a couple of times 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.160 where he's been the seventh, He's got it in his 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.800 kit bag, So you're going to be a test on 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:13.000 the scene. He players big time. 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.280 Cooper, it's funny, and you said that, let's go back 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:17.320 to their attack a little bit. 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:19.800 It was funny. I see the Rooster's occasion. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:21.640 They get out in the game and their attack gets 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:25.080 very floury. As you said sidelined to sideline, that they've 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.720 got an idea in their head how they want to play, 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:30.479 but it's not really suiting the game, if that makes sense. 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.440 There was a little bit like an example, particularly in 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:37.720 the second half Torell Mate toyroll Mate. He was standing 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.280 in the middle of the field. Now to in my opinion, 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.959 is a bloke a little bit like Spencer. He just 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.120 wind him up and let him go. But he found 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:48.680 himself in the middle of the field trying to playmate 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:50.880 and just pushing the ball sideways. 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:52.320 And Lindsay Collins out of position. 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.720 They're just a zero thrust of going forward before going sideways. 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.720 And this is a real critical thing. And one of 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:02.360 the things that I picked up during the game is I 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:06.560 get this whole notion of ad lib free play, play 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.600 with your eyes, as people say, but sometimes when the 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:13.639 opposition gives you an advantage, structure needs to take over. 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.320 So what I mean by that is Jordan Rapen went 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:18.680 off with a broken nose, means that Weeks went to the 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.200 fullback and they moved a middle forward edge back rather 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:24.360 to three in defensive on the red in Simmessani right, 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:26.720 So you've got to get one on one space for 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.720 Tedesco to do his thing. So move to the right 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.240 side of the field, create a normal play where Tedesco 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.680 can be the threat, and then when Whitehead goes off 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.480 for twenty minutes, you've got an opportunity that a middle 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:39.440 forward is going to be standing next to a middle forward, 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.440 and that is the opportunity to go. Okay, the whole 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:46.160 eyes up approach. It's great, it's cool when it works. 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:48.160 But you know what, let's move two plays to the 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.600 right hand post and let's get speed and indecision around 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.840 these two guys. So I thought they were frantic to 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:59.560 start with and never really reset that approach to Okay, 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.960 oppositions given us something here. We need to go away 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.400 from this frantic free play and go you know what, 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:07.959 We're going to be a little bit structured here for 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:10.919 the next ten minutes because the team and the oppositions 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:11.919 given us an advantage. 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.399 It's funny, Coops, Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Forget about 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.720 all this other stuff. That's our target. That's where we 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.519 go set up player there. It's funny with the roosters 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:23.800 their natural game seems to be the sideways game, and 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.240 it takes them a lot of discipline to sort of 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.639 get back and start to drill the middle. 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.400 Can I make a suggestion that what I do, what I. 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:35.360 Will to do, you will? But what would you do? Maddie? 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:38.480 Thank you? And I'm waiting for you to push back 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:39.880 on this, which I know you will. 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.440 What's this going to be if you've got a situation 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:46.400 here where look, you're losing Brandon for parts through the middle, 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.720 You've got Sammy Walker who it was he was taking 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.520 over the team, so you need to play a little 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.440 bit different. I think if they try to play too 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.600 structured and a little bit too sideways, nothing's going to happen. 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.520 I would actually I'd put Joey Marno at six. I'd 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.440 put Kiriy at seven. I'd either put sand in Smith 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.120 or doctor clay in at nine. I would keep kind 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.600 of Watson at fourteen and bring him onto the field. 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.680 I think the best avenue for them to beat the 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.880 top teams is Manu and Tedesco just one two punch 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:18.599 through the middle. 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:19.120 Yeah. 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:23.440 Look, I'm not sure what they'll do, but from my position, 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:27.040 I think Luke Keery's got it. Luke Keirry has got that. 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.000 We've spoken about. You know, some of the great halfbacks 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:31.960 have spirit, They've got presents. 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:32.279 Yep. 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:34.680 Luke Keary's got that at the Roosters. 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.360 So give him the responsibility of running the side and 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:39.640 letting the other guys fall into place as opposed to 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.960 trying to be a bit at ying and yang and 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.520 work through it. At the end of the day, you're 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.400 missing some top line players. Get talent in the team 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:50.760 and work out everything else around it. But the key 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.640 players to the Roosters will always still be the same. 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.400 It's the leadership of Tedesco, Kiri har Graves when he 0:04:56.480 --> 0:05:03.039 comes back. But they can't sidestep any challenges ahead. They've 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.440 already got a poor record against Melbourne and Penrith. What 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.839 was probably going to be at home final against maybe 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.800 Penrith is now potentially going to be an away final 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:14.080 against Bennerth. So going to stare it in the face 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:15.920 and take it on right. 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:17.400 What we're going to do in the week's lead up 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.240 to the Grand Final, We're going to pull the sheets 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:20.880 back on some keys. 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.120 My podcast. We're doing it. 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.680 I know what you do when you pull the sheets back, 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:30.159 you listen, listen. 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.440 So we're going to talk about the dogs. 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:37.680 We're going to talk about where they are, but what 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:39.919 they have done to get them in this position. You 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:41.680 know why they've improved out of right now the lost 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:46.159 versus manly. Top teams suffer surprise losses going in the final. 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:46.840 It's not a big one. 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:48.760 I mean a couple of weeks ago, the dragon's knocked 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:49.359 over the storm. 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:50.560 It just happens. 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:53.880 But the style of football coops, tell me, what do 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.280 you think? What what has got them? What has been 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.240 responsible this dramatic improvement? 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.919 Real number one defensive way have gone from being the 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:03.800 worst to the best. That is a huge jump in 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:08.479 points allowed to the opposition, which gives you an opportunity 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.440 to win every football game you're in. In terms of 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:16.800 their attack, I like the fact that they've not got 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.960 how can I say this skill or high end talent 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.840 into trying to fix it. They've just gone with character 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:28.040 and reliable players. They've got footwork, they've got smaller bodies, 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.400 but then they go to the fringes and their fringes 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.640 are probably bigger bodies. You mean, they've got Crichton and 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:37.039 Jerry got kick out there as well. So what they 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:39.440 do is got a lot of footwork, dynamic through the middle, 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.520 and then they've got the big bodies as a threat 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.080 on the outside and they've put a good balance together. 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.320 They're not straight up and down the middle third of 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.240 the field with smaller bodies. They move the ball sideways 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:51.400 a little bit. They do the old you know, we 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.479 talk about gaining momentum before we shift. They probably do 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.279 a little bit of shift to gain momentum if that 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:58.040 makes it well. 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.760 It's funny that I said last week side that they 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.839 remind me most about and a little bit so the 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:06.279 way that chain passed through the middle and high IQ 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:09.120 middleman is the Tigers in two thousand and five, just that, 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:11.400 you know, just just a little bit of a different 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.720 way of playing for the forwards. And you know there 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:17.360 was little things. You know, they were very good young 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:19.680 blace that were scanned do a little bit of short ballplaying. 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.840 Of course Toddy Payton was a main state. But you know, 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:25.239 you think about the Tigers and you always think about 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.240 how they played sidelines to sideline, but it was very 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:32.560 much this that high IQ short passing chain passing that 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:34.120 brought him a lot of results and. 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:38.120 What they did with their middle forwards, not the biggest 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:39.000 middle forwards a. 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:40.600 Bit like the Dogs. So they're not going to ram 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:41.600 down the front door. 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.000 But what they did their big bodies got into contact, 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:47.200 got down, play the ball quick. Any ballplayer can play 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.080 for quick play the ball. That is gold standard, and 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:50.440 I think the Dogs have been doing that. 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.080 So you see they're like, I'll tell you what, Jiz, 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.240 he's going to be a lot. He's a lost k Kurkman, 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.440 a real loss. Kurt was at Newcastle. He was always 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:00.960 betwixt and between what he wanted to do. He sort 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:02.000 of had scattered folks. 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:04.679 We were talking about footy IQ that play the Kurtman 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.800 knows his target defender and he got there perfect the 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:11.040 same as then using kickout up as the threat condense 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:12.880 defenders and the space out of the back. Think that 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.840 was Sam and the ball played then. So their ballplayers 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:18.720 are pretty switched on in terms of which defenders they 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.080 need to get to. A big body, straight through, hard 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:22.640 to handle on the fringes coops. 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.440 Right up, he just said something there, Right, Let's talk 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:28.200 about their defense for one second, and you're right. You know, 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:32.400 going forward in the game, the middle of the field 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.680 is so fast now and it's so hard for a 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:37.359 defensive side once the role starts to get any ascendency. 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:39.959 If you've got really big forwards in the middle of 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.800 the field, or one too many big forwards, oftentimes they're 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:45.319 the third man that's got to get back. 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:45.520 Ye. 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:47.640 I mean that takes a big toll. 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:52.240 I was told at Souse when Wayne coached Souse and 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.080 they had the real big body, Tom Burgess in the pack. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.840 Whenever Tom was involved in a three man tackle, regardless 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.160 of where he was, they said, don't send Tom back. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.280 Because his athleticism doesn't get him back to the line 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.120 to fill the line, make it thicker. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:09.640 And you can't get up. Whereas the dogs complete opposite. 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.600 Right, yep, get backwards and forwards really quick. 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:15.480 You got morn Reid, Kurtman, Samonger's names off the top 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:18.199 of my head that have the ability and athleticism to 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:20.040 get back to that third line come up and feel 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.960 so no one's ever not in the line one of 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:24.920 the things. And I really love what the dogs have 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:30.880 done their desperation defensively, statistics show up, but the alarming 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:32.800 thing for me is they missed the most amount of 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:36.480 tackles in the comp right. What most mistackles lead to 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.679 is quick play the balls. What most mistackles lead to 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.080 is line breaks. And there was a couple of tries 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:45.400 on the weekend, Turbo's first try where a lot of 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:49.880 mistackles led to quick ruck which meant to fatigue and 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:53.720 retreating defense, which made a good team capitalize. 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:53.760 On the mistackle. 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:55.959 And you're right, Coop, so what it was, even though 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.640 they've missed a lot of tackles through the season, they're 0:09:58.640 --> 0:09:59.959 not and I think we spoke about this. 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:01.200 They're not bad, Missus. 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:06.000 They're they're there, but still miss get up. Whereas on 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:08.280 the weekend sometimes I caught on their heels and they're 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:12.080 driving through. Like, I'm not alarmed by what happened the 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:16.520 other night, because you know, there's strength of weaknesses in 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.480 both sides, and all sides have got strength of weaknesses. 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.800 And what we saw the other night is the big 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:25.200 pack versus the smaller pack. And probably what happened was 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.720 the Dogs did not dictate the terms of the fight 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:30.600 and make it their style. Now you know, they got 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.720 beat up, the big pack beat the smaller guys. But 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:35.640 if they went out and played tomorrow, you don't know, 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:38.360 the Dogs might play a style of football that brings 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:40.280 them into the fight and they might knock them over, 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:41.960 so the loss doesn't really worry. 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.440 I'm with you on that one. I'm not saying that 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:46.480 they're zero chance now. Off the back of that, I 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.360 still believe that they've got the game style to win 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.920 Week one of the finals potentially do some damage. Off 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.640 the back of that one thing, I was sort of 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.000 disappointed in a little bit of the Bulldogs and it's 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:00.319 one of the things that I'll have to handle on 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.840 a Week one of the finals is big, home, crowded, 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.760 a core. There was a lot of reasons to play well. 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.120 They'd been up for a long period of time playing 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:08.760 against Manly. 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:09.800 A lot of talk. 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.560 We've spoken about this before, the experience of big games 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.280 in their team. If you just dial it back a 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.840 little bit or redline too much, you're probably going to 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.560 miss your sweet spot. So that might be a lesson 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:23.520 for Cameron Sireldo to talk about. 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.760 Let's have listened to a couple of things now, myself 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:28.600 and Cooper John's interviewed Cameron. 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.080 Coober Yeah for second favorite son. 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:35.000 We interviewed Cameron Serrauld at the start of last week, 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.160 and the question I asked him is the style of 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.440 football you're playing? Did you have are you playing that 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.160 style of football because of the guys you found you recruited, 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:47.120 or did you have in mind how you wanted to 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:48.880 play and then got those guys just listen to what 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:49.520 he had to say. 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.680 I think we truly found our style until probably six 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:54.160 weeks ago. I think there was a lot of try 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:56.720 and trial and error for the first probably nineteen rounds. 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:58.000 Some things worked, some didn't. 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.280 Then we were able to have the last buy sort 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:01.640 of sit down and have a look at what was 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.040 working and what wasn't. And but we still feel like 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:05.840 there's another couple of levels in us that we'd like 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.360 to find over the next few weeks. But obviously with 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.920 the way we wanted to place, especially around defense, we 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.640 need a guys who are fitting mobile, and our recruitment 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.040 strategy was more around character than anything. It was all 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:18.120 about getting good people who want to work hard, but 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.040 are also good connectors of people. 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.600 Right up right up now. The other night, let's show 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.560 one more clipman seat. The other night, the big loss. 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.640 Let's not forget the fact that they didn't have Kurt Man, 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:31.800 that he won't return, so he's gone. But Stephen Crichton, 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.679 who is so important to decide what a loss that is, because, 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:36.319 as we know, when you're sitting in the dressing room 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:38.880 and you look over and you've got Stephen Crichton, we're 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.480 a player like him pulling these boots on, you go okay, 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:43.960 We're going to be okay. Particularly the importance that he 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:44.760 is to that team. 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:46.880 Don't care how old Stephen Kricht is. This is a 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.600 guy that's one three in a row. And if I'm 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:53.320 an inexperienced dogs player, I'm looking at him saying, okay, 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.679 how do I deal with this next period of time? 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.080 That's a bit, That's right, That's exactly what I'd be 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:58.680 asking him. 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:00.360 So his present. 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.600 And it didn't deflate the balloon, but it definitely came 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.120 back a little bit and everyone got a little bit 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:08.839 I don't know, anxious or whatever. 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:11.439 Well slightly yeah, Well, let's have a listening to Cameron 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:13.520 s Frald. I had to say about Stephen Crichton. 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.320 The moment he walked in the doors of Belmore, there 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.520 was a different Stephen Crichton, the one I'd left at Penrith. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.760 His first week, Stephen was into an army camp and 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:22.600 the way he walked into that army camp and just 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:24.960 took hold of the team. We're all sitting there going, hold, 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:28.160 oly shit, this is incredible. But then for the six 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.679 weeks after that back of training, he just led. People 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.240 followed him so and the guys around that, like Reading 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.480 Bird especially, have been so supportive of him. He's just 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:37.800 a winner, like he understands what winning looks like. He 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.960 turns up wanting to win every day and his preparation 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:42.559 feeds into that. And the scary thing he's only twenty 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.320 three and he's never going to stop having that hunger 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:46.600 to win. 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:49.280 Now, Coops, let's. 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:52.760 Go from a well a leader who's really at the 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.679 start of his career, only twenty three years of age too. 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:58.240 Blake who had the fairy tale finished, not the Grand 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:01.199 Final fairy tale finished, but he last possession in rugby 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:05.320 league double cut out pass for the try Seawan. I 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.560 never had the opportunity to play against Sean. What was 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:09.480 he like to play against? Was he a big chirper 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.400 on the field? No, very quiet. 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.800 Didn't really notice him on the field until he did something, 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.520 and sometimes that was a lot of the time that 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:22.240 he played. I really love Sean came in as a 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.640 genuine touch footy player. His ability to bounce left right, 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:29.480 evade defenders, skip and jump and avoid contact with ball 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.760 was better than most at his age. But then remember 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:36.640 what he did last year. He became this game managing leader, 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.760 sort of spiritual director of the game plan really. 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.320 Which he hadn't done for years before. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:46.520 So I like that he evolved, and it's very poetic 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:51.640 that in his last game his first try assist was 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:54.480 one oh one Sean Johnson where he goes to the 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.240 target defender on a short side four and four, skips, 0:14:57.320 --> 0:14:59.520 jumps of ages, throws the dummy, goes straight through and 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:04.520 sets up and then his very last touch is all 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:07.240 on him. He knows exactly what he wants to and 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.440 he gets his look and he just throws his double 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.120 cut out pass that ends up winning the game. 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:16.080 For honestly, yeah, a tear like a tear, they've really lost. 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:19.320 It was evidence the other night was Luke Metcalf was 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:21.840 a huge loss to that team right through the middle 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.320 of the season because he balanced the football team. He 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:28.560 balanced the creative players, you know, where as he had 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:32.880 Wade Egan last year and started this year and Sean 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.000 sort of pushing the team around the park and everything. 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:36.640 Metcalf was just a pure runner. 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.040 He wasn't going to push the ball sideways, he wasn't 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.480 going to step on their toes. And the loss, the 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:46.160 loss of Metcalf brought brought to Samari Martin under the top. 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.760 He was fantastic, but the combination just didn't work. 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:52.320 And we spoke about they actually changed their system to 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.960 accommodate Tomatow. Martins then seven, and Sean came back one 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:59.840 week and played five eight and like it was well done. 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:01.880 The sh on like tip my cap to him in 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.640 that way that he finished. But if I'm a Warriors fan, 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:09.200 I'm sitting there going, yeah, where's that being? Where's that 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.480 play being? Because off the back of up the wires 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.560 and everything, they had a lot of reasons to be 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.080 in the top four, and to be honest, probably should 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:18.880 be playing finals in a couple of weeks time. 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:20.080 I totally agree with that. 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:25.240 Right, Sewan Johnson, give us your top five entertainers entertainers of. 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.520 The NRAL era, NRL era. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.320 Well, I'm going to go I'm going to throw it 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:32.440 Alf because he's just the greatest of all time in 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:33.320 terms of entertainment. 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.040 But he came in a little bit after that. 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.520 Before that, Thurston, the guy that played a lot of 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:42.000 footy with Slater, was obviously one of the greats. But 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:43.520 I will tell you this one out of the bag. 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:49.920 Chris Sandow right as a halfback. Chris Sandow was pure entertainment. 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.240 He could win or lose you the game with one play, 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:54.720 like the times you try to go after the biggest 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:56.480 guy on the field and shoulder charge, get bumped off 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.640 and lose, but then you chip and chase from forty 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.280 meters out of his own line, regather kick the ball 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:03.920 down the other end of the field. So entertainment plus 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:04.760 for him. 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.040 I've gone g I you played a lot of food. 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:11.760 The only player that I've ever thrown the ball to, 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.399 and just started moving down the middle of the field 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.159 because I knew eventually he beat three players. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.040 Fen went off, jump over the other one and get. 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:21.600 Down some of that stuff he did, like he won 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.800 a Clive Churchill Medal at five eight alongside you. But 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:28.280 they went to South South played center early on the mayment. 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.960 He went back to fallback was house. Everything changed, credible player. 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.240 I've gone Matt Bowen, Maddie Bowen, like was when the 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:40.280 Cowboys first come into the comp Kube in a few weeks. 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.080 They like they were a struggling team, you know, they're 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.840 always probably in the bottom few, and all of a sudden, 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.040 Maddie Bowen arrives right and you would oftentimes tho were 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:52.880 the late game on a Saturday night, and you'd sit 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.000 up and watch this game purely for Maddi Bowen. 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:55.800 He had. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.399 If there was any young kid looking at how to 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.000 throw a done me and break the line, it's watch 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.399 Matt Bown highlights. He throws a dummy. And most players 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.439 will slow down when they throw that dummy. He actually 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:12.919 doesn't change place. He throws it elaborately and still accelerates 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:13.320 through the whole. 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:14.360 That's why you're so dynamic. 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:16.639 What a great shame he wasn't in that side that 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:20.000 won the Grand Final and we were the Cowboys, absolutely 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:24.639 deserved to be. Benji Marshall, of course, Benji Marshall one 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.480