Speaker 1: Mitch Moses. Welcome, mate. How you doing? Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: Very good, very good.
Speaker 1: Jeez, the boys played well yesterday?
Speaker 2: They were well, they were well.
Speaker 3: We wanted to put in an 80-minute performance yesterday and
Speaker 3: it felt like we did that. I thought our forwards
Speaker 3: were outstanding and our back five really laid a good
Speaker 3: platform for us to be able to play.
Speaker 4: I think they must be just trying to get some
Speaker 4: actual decent, talented rugby league minds on this show because
Speaker 4: you and I have been doing this for a while.
Speaker 4: I don't think so, not at all. Now Mitch. Is
Speaker 4: there writing on the wall for you and I?
Speaker 1: I thought the same thing when I was watching Super Saturday.
Speaker 4: LAUGHTER yesterday Mitch don't give away too many trade secrets
Speaker 4: but a little bit of the game plan because you
Speaker 4: just never let the Sharks off the canvas at all.
Speaker 3: Yeah we wanted to start fast I think they really
Speaker 3: pride themselves on starting fast and we wanted to come
Speaker 3: out of the blocks and fly at them and I
Speaker 3: felt like we did that straight away and yeah we
Speaker 3: thought there was a bit of we could get a
Speaker 3: bit of joy in an area and they're three man
Speaker 3: there so we wanted to do that as much as
Speaker 3: possible really lay there and and play back through their middle.
Speaker 2: And I felt like we did that yesterday.
Speaker 4: And do you enjoy the, the responsibility or having to
Speaker 4: be the senior ball player, having inexperienced spine members? Like,
Speaker 4: do you enjoy having to be the guy that gels
Speaker 4: everyone together, puts a game plan on and tells everyone
Speaker 4: where to be?
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I feel like early in my career, I struggled a
Speaker 3: lot with that, taking control enough. And as I've got
Speaker 3: a bit older, I feel like I'm, I'm at a
Speaker 3: stage now where I can, I can do that and
Speaker 3: feel really confident in getting the boys around the park and,
Speaker 3: allowing Ronnie to be able to play the footy that
Speaker 3: he's playing and really create for us and me just
Speaker 3: get the boys around the park, kick well and finish ourselves.
Speaker 4: You should take a lot of credit for the Volkman
Speaker 4: performance because part of a senior playmaker is to create
Speaker 4: space for others. And there was a play yesterday. You
Speaker 4: guys drifted across the field, like turning back in some
Speaker 4: back rows at different stages. A lot of teams are
Speaker 4: doing this play where you drift across the field and
Speaker 4: the Sharks defense just come in, and take advantage of
Speaker 4: it and really hit Jack Williams and lose a ball.
Speaker 4: But the key part to this is not the actual play.
Speaker 4: It's actually the conversation you have with Twiddle afterwards. So
Speaker 4: you're drifting across. You've seen something. So what are you
Speaker 4: saying here? Get the group together. What are you trying
Speaker 4: to communicate?
Speaker 3: We had that look, I think, a few sets before
Speaker 3: and I dropped Jackie Williams and then the half actually
Speaker 3: tackled him. So we had that look again and then
Speaker 3: I just felt the back row was coming out and
Speaker 3: really jamming the drop runner. So, which was Jackie Williams,
Speaker 3: so I wanted to grab up her and we didn't
Speaker 3: really get it on, but I said just be aware
Speaker 3: if he comes out again, just for him to hook
Speaker 3: under as well and he'll get a good look there,
Speaker 3: but we didn't actually get it back on, but We
Speaker 3: tried to, we didn't really touch the ball much in
Speaker 3: good ball in the second half.
Speaker 4: It's a good intel to, you know, the yin and
Speaker 4: yang of halves combination, the spine members. When you've got
Speaker 4: one dominant figure and you've got some inexperience, you need
Speaker 4: to get on the same page. Whether it's origin, whether
Speaker 4: it's club football, that key figure in terms of the
Speaker 4: halfback needs to get everyone on the same page.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's almost like, you know, like in big games,
Speaker 5: you know, the art of communication with everyone. Like you
Speaker 5: might get a repeat set and a really big occasion,
Speaker 5: a state of origin, the crowd screaming.
Speaker 1: You know, that.
Speaker 5: Ability to pull the spine in, quickly have a chat
Speaker 5: and disperse again.
Speaker 4: But then in origin, Mitch is playing with Nathan.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Right? So there's a difference. Like both equal level in
Speaker 4: terms of being able to pull the trigger at different stages.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: How's that compared to the inexperience of what is Parramatta?
Speaker 3: Well, I probably took a few lessons out of what
Speaker 3: I learned off Nathan in those situations and took it
Speaker 3: back to club then and probably in those clips, that's
Speaker 3: where you see it. But, yeah, he's so good at,
Speaker 3: you know, there's a break in play, grabbing the spine.
Speaker 3: making sure everyone's calm and everyone knows their role and
Speaker 3: everything like that. And, yeah, I feel like we're all
Speaker 3: on the same page. We both loved our footy, so
Speaker 3: it was very easy to communicate around.
Speaker 2: What we wanted to do and what we wanted to
Speaker 2: get out of the game, I guess.
Speaker 5: It's a great combination because you've got Nathan who plays
Speaker 5: the game like an exact science.
Speaker 1: And sometimes in the state of origin and you pull
Speaker 1: people together.
Speaker 5: At the last moment, it's hard to do that like
Speaker 5: he does at Penrith. It takes time to bed that down.
Speaker 5: But then you've got yourself who's more of a reactive player.
Speaker 5: But the other one too, I think, which is probably
Speaker 5: emblematic of you know, how you guys worked the relationship
Speaker 5: was the fact that, you know, you were doing the
Speaker 5: long kick and he was doing the short kick, which
Speaker 5: just was, you know, the cornerstone.
Speaker 1: Of the win. How did that come about, Mitch?
Speaker 3: I felt like we kind of picked it out from
Speaker 3: the first two games that we weren't kicking the ball
Speaker 3: as far, I guess, in the first two games. And
Speaker 3: how we felt origin footy was played. And if you
Speaker 3: have field position in origin footy, you go a long
Speaker 3: way in winning the game and, putting yourself in a
Speaker 3: position to win the game. So I felt like me
Speaker 3: just releasing Nathan, taking the pressure off him by doing
Speaker 3: the long kicking and allowing him just to free flow
Speaker 3: and take opportunities when he could. And I felt like
Speaker 3: the combination worked really well. And yeah, any time that
Speaker 3: I could roll around and kick a ball, I tried
Speaker 3: to as much as possible just to relieve the pressure
Speaker 3: and allow Nath just to play the footy off the
Speaker 3: back of that.
Speaker 4: Because some of the commentary is that some combos don't work.
Speaker 4: You need to have yin and yang. You need a controller.
Speaker 4: You need a ball runner. At the end of the day,
Speaker 4: that combination between Moses and Cleary basically just says if
Speaker 4: you're willing to do the team first thing and want
Speaker 4: to win for the estate, Any combination can work.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 4: The fact that Nathan and Mitch can go, well, you
Speaker 4: know what, Mitch, you've got a longer effective king game.
Speaker 4: You take the yardage ones and then I'll take these ones.
Speaker 4: But as long as I'm swinging left and you're swinging right,
Speaker 4: we can be first receiver, we can be second receiver.
Speaker 4: It does not matter. So, yes, there's a template for
Speaker 4: controlling half.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 4: But when you get the selfless mentality of that and
Speaker 4: you get the best players on the field, like anything
Speaker 4: is possible.
Speaker 1: That was like, mate, your Queensland side is one of
Speaker 1: those games.
Speaker 5: You've got all these, you know, huge players, guys who
Speaker 5: want quality ball, are used to getting a quality ball
Speaker 5: all the time in good field position, but the ability
Speaker 5: to suppress the ego and coexist.
Speaker 4: Well, Jono was a first receiver, dominant playmaker at the Cowboys, right?
Speaker 4: When we went into camp, he goes, you know what?
Speaker 4: That's your strength. You take care of that with Cameron.
Speaker 4: I'm just going to float around. When I see an opportunity,
Speaker 4: you get me the ball. I mean, so as long
Speaker 4: as that's the mindset, I think any combination can truly work.
Speaker 5: What about this competition, boys, like... We've got a situation where,
Speaker 5: I mean, it's always the way. As we're starting to see,
Speaker 5: you're going, okay, you get an idea on a team, right?
Speaker 5: They're probably the team to beat.
Speaker 1: They're next.
Speaker 5: And all of a sudden, bang, injuries and suspensions.
Speaker 1: Start to happen. Last weekend, there were some big ones.
Speaker 1: The biggest one is Sammy Walker. Yep.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 5: I'm not going to ask, you know, can they win
Speaker 5: the comp? Of course they can win the comp. But
Speaker 5: what does this do, do you think, in terms of
Speaker 5: the other, you know, really elite teams?
Speaker 4: I'll set up for Mitch to talk about the halves
Speaker 4: and the combo. Look, they are individually as talented as
Speaker 4: any other list in the competition. Nafahu White is a
Speaker 4: wrecking ball. Tedesco can break open anything. Mark Nwong and Etowah,
Speaker 4: so every time he touches the ball, something will happen, right?
Speaker 4: So Sam's got this ability to be more effective in
Speaker 4: the red zone than most other halves. He's sure can
Speaker 4: gain the long passing. So you imagine Cherry Evans steps
Speaker 4: in or Savala steps in. Maybe they become a little
Speaker 4: bit more structured. Maybe they become like a bit of
Speaker 4: a set play mentality for one or two, three, and
Speaker 4: then play off the back of that. Like if Sam
Speaker 4: Walker's effectiveness is his unpredictability, right? So maybe the Roosters
Speaker 4: narrow that down a bit and start doing a little
Speaker 4: bit of sequence play to get the best out of
Speaker 4: Savala and Cherry Evans.
Speaker 3: I think having Savala there, it's not a bad thing.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean?
Speaker 3: I think he brings his back rollers onto the ball
Speaker 3: really well. He creates for his fullback in Teddy. He's
Speaker 3: got a long kicking game and I think in finals games,
Speaker 3: in those tight games, you need to be able to
Speaker 3: kick long, hold the ball and really use your defence,
Speaker 3: I guess, as a mechanism. But But, yeah, if he
Speaker 3: can just simplify his game and allow the strike outside
Speaker 3: that you just mentioned and really narrow his footy down,
Speaker 3: they'll go a long way.
Speaker 4: Well, for 20 weeks it was Penrith's title, right? They
Speaker 4: have a bit of a slip-up with Isaiah, lose a
Speaker 4: few games, the Warriors elevate. The Roosters beat Penrith. We go, well,
Speaker 4: the Roosters are in pole position. Sam Walker's gone, they
Speaker 4: lose a couple of games. So it really is the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: Here come the Dolphins.
Speaker 5: And, look, we had a yarn about this before is that, Mate,
Speaker 5: one thing about the old bloke, Wayne knows how to
Speaker 5: press play. And all year, I mean, the last two years,
Speaker 5: they've battled injury after injury, and finally they're starting to
Speaker 5: get their team back.
Speaker 4: So as a Titans owner, you had a front row
Speaker 4: seat to Souths on the weekend, just caught sucking on
Speaker 4: a couple of schooners down 28-4. But seriously, on a football.
Speaker 1: Point of view... Alcohol, when you're down 28-0, alcohol is
Speaker 1: the answer.
Speaker 4: Do you think Souths can do it? Like, do you
Speaker 4: think there's a team in the bottom of the eight,
Speaker 4: maybe it is... South Sydney. After what you saw in person,
Speaker 4: do you think South Sydney can go deep in September?
Speaker 5: There is no coach in the league who knows how
Speaker 5: to time a run like Wayne. Wayne will time a
Speaker 5: run like 90% of coaches won't risk a bad season.
Speaker 5: you know, for the initial outcome. I mean, most coaches
Speaker 5: in the league, they're thinking about playing finals. So come on,
Speaker 5: let's get.
Speaker 1: Off to a good start.
Speaker 5: Wayne will risk missing finals to peak at the right
Speaker 5: time of the year. Now, the biggest thing about South
Speaker 5: Sydney is they're too generous in defence for the opposition.
Speaker 5: They let the opposition play a little too much football,
Speaker 5: but they're coming together.
Speaker 4: When you talk about time in your run... Latrell Mitchell's
Speaker 4: had an injury for eight or ten weeks. Roll him
Speaker 4: out for 20 minutes against the Titans and they got
Speaker 4: the rivalry on Friday night. You could see South Sydney
Speaker 4: turning up Friday night and dominating. Latrell Mitchell's impact on
Speaker 4: South Sydney, just timing the run for the most influential
Speaker 4: player in their team just to start strutting him stuff
Speaker 4: on the left-hand side of the field.
Speaker 3: Well, just before he got injured, he was winning games
Speaker 3: by himself on that left edge.
Speaker 2: He was that hard to stop.
Speaker 4: I remember.
Speaker 3: that game against Newcastle, they obviously lost that game, but
Speaker 3: individually he got them back in the game just by himself.
Speaker 3: And the performance that he can put in when he's on,
Speaker 3: like it's, scary.
Speaker 5: Mate, after the game, after we sort of went in
Speaker 5: and condolences you just sort of.
Speaker 3: Skip across to the other dressing room i see you
Speaker 3: went from condolences to a party.
Speaker 5: Have a beer so yeah saw wayne and mate he
Speaker 5: was up on his toes mate honestly went into the
Speaker 5: south dressing room it was like a nightclub although i
Speaker 5: haven't been to a nightclub in 15 years that's such
Speaker 5: a lie i haven't been to trish come on you're
Speaker 5: in vegas not so long ago yeah.
Speaker 1: That's true um But, mate, it was just rocking. Everyone's
Speaker 1: really happy.
Speaker 5: And I saw Jackie Whiten, right, and I said, oh, mate,
Speaker 5: it's good to have the big fella back talking about Latrell.
Speaker 1: He goes, yeah. He said, mate, did you see when
Speaker 1: Curtis Moran hit him in the first run? Like, jammed him.
Speaker 5: And Jack said he went past. He said when he
Speaker 5: hit him, Latrell went, oh, and he went past and said, you.
Speaker 1: Forgot how hard it is, didn't you? Mate, it's interesting. Boys,
Speaker 1: Waz Knights.
Speaker 5: This is a tough game to really get a feel of, Mitch.
Speaker 1: You wouldn't have seen this game, but... Mate, Wyles were
Speaker 1: awful early.
Speaker 5: Their first 20 minutes was the worst 20 minutes they've had,
Speaker 5: I reckon, in the last two seasons. Mate, defensively, there
Speaker 5: was no energy there at all. You'll see a try
Speaker 5: coming up soon.
Speaker 1: Where I forget who scores it here.
Speaker 5: But even a bloke like Aaron Clarke, who's been so good,
Speaker 5: just basically... doesn't get up.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, the Knights were up for it and the
Speaker 4: Warriors have been up for a long time. Then the
Speaker 4: Sofidi send-off happens and it completely changes it. I think
Speaker 4: Justin Holbrook takes a lot of positives out of that.
Speaker 4: To be down to 12 players for the majority of
Speaker 4: that game and to still score points, to still compete,
Speaker 4: there's something in what Justin Holbrook has instilled in the
Speaker 4: Newcastle Knights that can be a good thing. I don't
Speaker 4: think they can go deep in September, but I think
Speaker 4: they're definitely team of the up. For me, the Warriors,
Speaker 4: I think it was just their... they're not off if
Speaker 4: they make it.
Speaker 5: Like, yeah, they're going to have, there's going to be
Speaker 5: one of those games. They've been up for a long time,
Speaker 5: that slight little dip. But tell you what, it says
Speaker 5: a lot about a football side when you're, that 20 minutes,
Speaker 5: you're awful. And you got without energy and suddenly you
Speaker 5: swing it.
Speaker 4: Well, the part to it is, we've spoken about this,
Speaker 4: like Jack Cleary is a fifth or sixth string halfback.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: But the Warriors system still allows them to score 40 points, right?
Speaker 4: So I think that's probably the key for the Warriors
Speaker 4: is that they can plug in, plug out. but their
Speaker 4: system is pretty structured but super effective when you get
Speaker 4: their festering coming in and setting up tries.
Speaker 3: I feel like the Warriors, they're just such a hard team.
Speaker 3: They've got such a big pack and can roll forward.
Speaker 3: If you're a half in the back of that, it
Speaker 3: really simplifies your game. You kick long to the corners
Speaker 3: and really build pressure like that. They're good at holding
Speaker 3: the ball and completing high and really suffocating you in
Speaker 3: their own end. um yeah like you said they got
Speaker 3: a rookie kid there come in and jet he didn't
Speaker 3: yeah it didn't really yeah and and yeah too you
Speaker 3: like wade egan and aaron clark like they're the work
Speaker 3: they do in that middle yeah in the middle and
Speaker 3: you know to pull in and you know by the
Speaker 3: time the ball hits halves hands on that sweep they
Speaker 3: haven't got a tough decision to make you know what
Speaker 3: i mean like egan's so good at getting out and
Speaker 3: making that initial decision and it's simple for them it's
Speaker 3: pass short or run the football.
Speaker 4: Well, talk us through that, right? So first receiver like
Speaker 4: you or Nathan play a lot of on the advantage
Speaker 4: line and set up players, whereas the Warriors attack is
Speaker 4: a lot of Aaron Clark. And is it easier for
Speaker 4: an experienced half to be at the back of Aaron
Speaker 4: Clark or up the front?
Speaker 3: Well, I feel like even if Aaron Clark doesn't want
Speaker 3: to pass, he has a carry and he gets you
Speaker 3: a quick ruck no matter what.
Speaker 4: And then he'll take as a half.
Speaker 2: And then you can step up and play on the
Speaker 2: front foot.
Speaker 3: So I feel like if you're doing your role, like,
Speaker 3: You simplify your role in that team as a half
Speaker 3: and just get the ball to the big... You've got
Speaker 3: big back rowers there and play off the big forwards.
Speaker 3: And you look at the halves that come in, they
Speaker 3: just plug in there to do their job and they
Speaker 3: get results.
Speaker 1: And Hanson, he's been good the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 4: The strength of a system right up against the free-wheeling Adlib.
Speaker 4: If Adlib works, it looks great and super hard to stop,
Speaker 4: but the system is quite.
Speaker 2: Wade Egan's a big part.
Speaker 3: Like you said, the way he creates for the halves
Speaker 3: as well. on the trial line is massive.
Speaker 5: Tough day for Newcastle, yes.
Speaker 1: The loss.
Speaker 5: Mate, brave effort when you're down to 12 men against
Speaker 5: the Warriors in New Zealand, but Jacob Saifudi's gone for
Speaker 5: the season. If there's an area they're a little short,
Speaker 5: it's middle forwards. And also Francis, Manu, Lele Lua, that
Speaker 5: was a bad one. It's a bad one, you're sucking
Speaker 5: on the green whistle. I mean, the green whistle's fantastic, but.
Speaker 4: Well, I think the Knights know that they're going to
Speaker 4: play finals, right? So... The thing about the Knights is
Speaker 4: they need to win week one. They've got the bye
Speaker 4: now where they finish is yet to be determined. But
Speaker 4: I feel like if they can, you know, the Sharks
Speaker 4: are slipping up. Like if the Knights get a home
Speaker 4: final week one, I think they can win that. You know,
Speaker 4: where the Sofini or all that are there, they're best players.
Speaker 4: At home, I think if you finish in the bottom
Speaker 4: part of the eight to get that home final week one,
Speaker 4: hopefully you get through and then you play a team
Speaker 4: that's been beaten up at the top of the ladder that,
Speaker 4: feels like maybe a couple of injuries or maybe some
Speaker 4: suspensions or something, you might just get an easy way
Speaker 4: into a prelim.
Speaker 1: Mate, what about the Dolphins?
Speaker 5: Like, we sort of said, as this season started to
Speaker 5: move toward the back end, you're watching them start to
Speaker 5: pick up momentum and you're watching the progression of Max
Speaker 5: Plath and Donahue and then Isaiah Katoa coming back. Mate,
Speaker 5: they're coming home with a wet sail. Jeez, they're a
Speaker 5: dangerous team.
Speaker 2: We versed them the other week and we felt the
Speaker 2: full force of it.
Speaker 1: Upper Brisbane, the.
Speaker 3: The way they suffocate you with Cattell's kicking game, he
Speaker 3: puts it in a corner, he makes you come off
Speaker 3: your trial line the whole game. And then the way
Speaker 3: their forwards are just flying off the line, you don't
Speaker 3: have much there. So if you're struggling to get out
Speaker 3: of the backfield, it's going to be a long day
Speaker 3: for you. But their outside backs are just– Herbie Farnworth is– Mate, Herbie.
Speaker 2: He's the hardest man I've ever had to tackle.
Speaker 4: Mate.
Speaker 1: And, you know, the question mark around the Dolphins is defensively. And, mate,
Speaker 1: their defence.
Speaker 4: Did you see that last 20 minutes defensively?
Speaker 1: Sensational.
Speaker 4: Like, try savers everywhere. Dolphins jerseys in the picture. And
Speaker 4: I think this is going to be part of the
Speaker 4: issue with the Roosters on Friday night is go look
Speaker 4: at the game plan that the Dolphins did. That left-hand
Speaker 4: side attack with Herbie Farnworth attacking Daly Cherry Evans. Latrell Mitchell,
Speaker 4: Cody Walker are going to see that and they go,
Speaker 4: you know what? We're doing exactly the same thing because
Speaker 4: that right edge defensively for the Roosters is was under
Speaker 4: pressure from word go. And we all knew that the
Speaker 4: Dolphins attack could do that. But the question mark, was
Speaker 4: their forward pack and their defence able to stop a
Speaker 4: powerful forward pack? Well, the answer's yes. Like what Gilbert, Plath, Donoghue,
Speaker 4: what they all did, they are dead set premiership threats now.
Speaker 5: It's just a question on Max Plath. I played against
Speaker 5: his old man. His old man was just such a
Speaker 5: pain in the arse.
Speaker 1: Just chirped all the time. Just so.
Speaker 2: And I look at Max, I reckon he's just.
Speaker 1: Got a big.
Speaker 4: He's not a chirper.
Speaker 1: He's not a chirper.
Speaker 2: I don't think so, no. Well, he hasn't been chirping,
Speaker 2: but he's.
Speaker 3: A great player. Like, you can play him at nine...
Speaker 3: Locke on an edge as well.
Speaker 2: If you have to.
Speaker 3: He's just such a good player to have in your team.
Speaker 2: And I think he's coming off the bench for him.
Speaker 1: At the moment. Yeah, yeah. And playing edge.
Speaker 4: And not one-dimensional. Like a middle forward on the edge
Speaker 4: playing number nine is a hard worker. Good, you know,
Speaker 4: play long minutes. But Origin, he's got a couple of
Speaker 4: flick passes, fourth plays. Like he comes up with tries.
Speaker 1: He's a competitor.
Speaker 4: He is more than just that sort of middle forward
Speaker 4: that plays long minutes.
Speaker 1: Isaiah Katoa, boys. We spoke to him a little bit, Mitch.
Speaker 1: Do you reckon he could end up one of the greats? Definitely.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's early. I understand that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very early. But, mate, he's a quality player.
Speaker 2: I think– how old is he?
Speaker 1: He's like 23.
Speaker 2: Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and just the way he can control a game
Speaker 3: at that age as a halfback is like– I haven't
Speaker 3: really seen it before besides Nath, really, and yourself, Cooper.
Speaker 4: And Matthew. Yeah.
Speaker 1: No, I sort of.
Speaker 5: I wasn't even playing first grade at 22.
Speaker 1: Go and have a laugh.
Speaker 3: But, mate, he definitely could. Like, he's a quality player
Speaker 3: and he's real professional. Obviously, I had a bit to
Speaker 3: do with him in Origin Camp when he came in
Speaker 3: and he's so professional, wants to learn all the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's really leading that team well.
Speaker 4: Maybe one of the things about the Dolphins is I
Speaker 4: don't believe in the theory that you have to lose
Speaker 4: one to win one, right? But they're going to play
Speaker 4: finals for the first time. They're going to have to
Speaker 4: travel to Sydney at some stage maybe. The intensity of
Speaker 4: getting your best game on a big stadium, because you're
Speaker 4: going to walk up against either Penrith and Nathan, been
Speaker 4: there a thousand times, Fisher-Harris and the Warriors, you're going
Speaker 4: to instill something there. The Roosters are finals hardened over
Speaker 4: a period of time. So the Dolphins are going to
Speaker 4: have to do something that that club's never done before.
Speaker 4: And most of their players outside Felice Cofusi and maybe
Speaker 4: a couple of the Broncos at this stage haven't had
Speaker 4: a lot of finals experience.
Speaker 1: Lachlan Gelden, boys.
Speaker 5: I'll tell you what, I don't know a young player
Speaker 5: who's come in and had so much pressure on his
Speaker 5: shoulders and so much criticism, so much attention than Lachlan.
Speaker 5: But I'll tell you what, at the back half of
Speaker 5: this year, he's been really good.
Speaker 1: And Mitch, it was his best NRL game the other night.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3: I think how the game is at the moment really
Speaker 3: suits how he plays footy.
Speaker 2: He loves to play off the cuff.
Speaker 3: And over the advantage line and plays really flat and
Speaker 3: fast and I think the Bulldogs kind of took a
Speaker 3: little bit to get used to how he plays. And
Speaker 3: obviously the Bulldogs are a very structured team and they'll
Speaker 3: play to this spot to get.
Speaker 2: A big shift on.
Speaker 3: And I think what the Bulldogs did, they really adapted
Speaker 3: to how he plays. And I think that's why they
Speaker 3: were getting a fair bit of joy towards the end
Speaker 3: of the year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that kick showed that he was thinking one thing,
Speaker 4: but the outside players were on a different path. So
Speaker 4: he's got individual bruises. This try here, the one for Preston. Now,
Speaker 4: there's been question marks whether Galvin can play seven. This
Speaker 4: kid can play seven. The fact that He knew that
Speaker 4: Jack Cole had some defensive deficiencies. The ball was going
Speaker 4: to left-hand side. He over-called it. He got to the
Speaker 4: target defender. And the double pump in the combination with Preston,
Speaker 4: like that is halfback 101. Like you could build off that.
Speaker 4: There's a little bit of the communication thing. I think
Speaker 4: that's why Stephen Crichton was moved to six. So he's
Speaker 4: got some development in game management and communication. This guy's already.
Speaker 1: Got, right?
Speaker 4: But pure ball playing. That bloke has set up Preston
Speaker 4: for 100 tries this year. That's gold as a half.
Speaker 3: Even the ball he gave Burton for the Burton try
Speaker 3: as well.
Speaker 4: He used up Preston.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 4: And got McLean interested. That's smart. That's footy awareness.
Speaker 5: I must say, it's the strangest left to right pass
Speaker 5: I've seen how he fires it. I've said that to him.
Speaker 5: I said, mate, it's a strange pass. He goes, yeah,
Speaker 5: everyone's trying to change it.
Speaker 1: But it works. Don't change it.
Speaker 5: Boys, look back on the contenders and the side that
Speaker 5: Mitch played yesterday, Koops, with Cronulla. It's hard to believe
Speaker 5: that a team that goes on such a great winning
Speaker 5: run and who's playing such good football suddenly have a
Speaker 5: loss and loses focus on all the things that got
Speaker 5: them there.
Speaker 1: And I understand there's no trundle. I understand they're tricky, but.
Speaker 4: I think there was a couple of moments that says
Speaker 4: that the Sharks aren't dialed in. The first set, Kautonga
Speaker 4: runs straight through Nico Hines. Now as a halfback, you're
Speaker 4: probably going to make your first tackle your best effort
Speaker 4: and then worry about everything after that. All right, they're
Speaker 4: not playing so well. They get down at halftime. Fitzgibbon
Speaker 4: gets them in the sheds. Kifusi, first hit up off
Speaker 4: the kickoff, tries to offload it out the back. Like
Speaker 4: they're just not doing the things. Now Fitzy, we know Fitzy,
Speaker 4: he's a tough dude. He wants toughness first. and then
Speaker 4: wants to finesse after that. I don't think they're going
Speaker 4: about their game at the moment with toughness. They're just
Speaker 4: not willing to roll up the sleeves. When Nico Hines
Speaker 4: is playing well, he's playing north-south. At the moment, he's
Speaker 4: finessing the ball east-west. Trindle is a big part. If
Speaker 4: I'm Fitzy... I'm getting a lot more out of Newell
Speaker 4: Blake and they're starting front rolls. Braley needs to become
Speaker 4: the focal point of their attack.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: While Trindle's out, yeah.
Speaker 4: And then Nico Hines jumps off the back.
Speaker 5: Cowboys, fellas, I mean, they're dangerous because you just don't
Speaker 5: know what they're going to, you know, no idea what
Speaker 5: they're going to give you.
Speaker 4: Their gap between their best and their worst is that far.
Speaker 4: To get beaten by... the Roosters a couple of weeks back.
Speaker 4: And then to have some games, like I think it was,
Speaker 4: they beat the Broncos at home and Todd Payton came
Speaker 4: out and said they hated Brisbane. Like it put emotion
Speaker 4: and put some fire in their belly and they played outstanding. So.
Speaker 1: And then the week after.
Speaker 4: Yeah. And the week after you get beaten.
Speaker 1: By 84.
Speaker 2: Well, they beat Penrith up there as well.
Speaker 4: Tom Dearden makes them a 10 point, 12 point better team.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I think Tommy coming in the other night, I think
Speaker 3: obviously his first week back and, He probably didn't look 100%,
Speaker 3: but he'll be better for that run.
Speaker 5: Okay, question, Mitch, about finals in September. Okay, if you
Speaker 5: sneak into the eight, okay, and we're talking about that
Speaker 5: five to eight mark, who's the side you don't want
Speaker 5: to play first, do you think, in that bottom run?
Speaker 2: In the bottom bit?
Speaker 1: Probably Sears. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4: Because their ceiling is so big, but their base is
Speaker 4: pretty low as well. But it really depends on how
Speaker 4: their best players roll out of bed. If they feel
Speaker 4: like playing, they could beat you. I don't think anyone
Speaker 4: from the bottom part can do any damage.
Speaker 2: It'll be hard for them, yeah.
Speaker 4: But if there is one team.
Speaker 1: South. South's probably the one. Okay. Who's decided to beat?
Speaker 1: Is it Penrith?
Speaker 2: I think Penrith.
Speaker 3: I think they get Yowie back and... The form that
Speaker 3: Dylan Edwards is in at the moment, he's unbelievable. I
Speaker 3: think even Nath, he didn't have to do too much
Speaker 3: the other night except control the game. And he just
Speaker 3: had some other players come up with some big plays. And, yeah,
Speaker 3: I think he's just priming himself just for this final series.
Speaker 4: A month ago, I thought it was the Panthers and
Speaker 4: only the Panthers. Then two weeks ago, I thought it
Speaker 4: was the Roosters, slipstreaming in.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think Sam Walker going down hurts them. I like
Speaker 4: the Warriors.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: They are the only team that has been, you know,
Speaker 4: have their game style under control for the majority of
Speaker 4: the season.
Speaker 1: There's a God of Rugby League. Oh, the Titans. Titans. Mate,
Speaker 1: next year. Yeah, they can't.
Speaker 5: Hey, Mish, before we go, just before we go, because
Speaker 5: I want to take this opportunity to ask you this question.
Speaker 5: When we're talking about Penrith, and, you know, you give
Speaker 5: us as much as you want. I can understand you
Speaker 5: want trade secrets.
Speaker 1: Yeah. But we're talking about Penrith, right?
Speaker 5: I think if there's any player in the last five
Speaker 5: years in their great run that's had the.
Speaker 1: Most success against Penrith, it's you. and your side pit.
Speaker 1: How do you play them?
Speaker 2: Stay in it. I think that's a big one.
Speaker 3: I think if you turn over easy possession against the Panthers,
Speaker 3: they'll just camp down on your try line and they
Speaker 3: don't care if they score. It doesn't take them the
Speaker 3: first set. They'll stay there for five sets and they
Speaker 3: don't care if.
Speaker 2: They come away with points.
Speaker 3: They just know the damage that they've done to you
Speaker 3: for tackling so much there, they'll get you at the
Speaker 3: end of the game. So if you turn over easy
Speaker 3: possession early against them, they'll make you hurt.
Speaker 2: But you need to take your opportunities.
Speaker 3: When you get down there, there's such a good defensive side.
Speaker 2: You need to take your opportunities.
Speaker 5: I'm a believer that basically how good an attacking side is,
Speaker 5: how intricate they can attack and how much of an
Speaker 5: exact size dictates sometimes how well they defend in the
Speaker 5: fact they recognise shapes. Like, do you guys, did you
Speaker 5: have a lot of success playing more in ad-libs all
Speaker 5: against Penrith? Earlier, yeah, it was probably a little bit
Speaker 5: more offload and try to catch them off guard. They
Speaker 5: were really good defensively, very structured defensively and everyone knew
Speaker 5: their role. So a little bit of ad-lib, a little
Speaker 5: bit of offload and just create a bit of havoc there.
Speaker 3: Early when we had a bit of joy against them early,
Speaker 3: not in the big games, but during the season we did.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think, Mate, they're a quality side. They're
Speaker 3: a hard team to verse. And, yeah, a little bit
Speaker 3: of offload is probably the only way.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think, yeah, their left side defence too is
Speaker 4: a chink. So they need to fix up that if
Speaker 4: those teams are going to attack them.
Speaker 1: Well, Mitch, you've finally made it, mate. You've made it
Speaker 1: on the show.
Speaker 2: Thank you, mate.
Speaker 1: Welcome to first grade. And, mate, it's been a pleasure. Hey, mate,
Speaker 1: appreciate you coming in, mate. Thank you. And congratulations on
Speaker 1: your season.
Speaker 4: How come I haven't made first grade yet? Am I?
Speaker 1: I'm still in. You're still in Holden Cup, mate. That
Speaker 1: is a thing.