Speaker 1: Better than the Lego, better than let Hoover.
Speaker 2: Right a week one of the finals, Mate, we're going
Speaker 2: to talk about first which game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're going to do Storm and the Sharks. So
Speaker 3: we've thought about, like, what are the strengths and weaknesses,
Speaker 3: what happens, what has to happen in these games to
Speaker 3: get the opposition on top. I think for the Storm
Speaker 3: to win, I think they need to put Nico Hines
Speaker 3: in a phone box. He needs to feel like he's
Speaker 3: playing a game of football in a confined space. There's
Speaker 3: already question marks whether they can deliver in a big game.
Speaker 3: The Sharks were ultra impressive on the weekend. They haven't
Speaker 3: won underfits given they're going down to Amy Park where
Speaker 3: they won early in the year. But I feel like
Speaker 3: a halfback has the presence and the spirit of their
Speaker 3: team in the finals, and if he walks in like
Speaker 3: he owns the joint at Amy Park, the Sharks could
Speaker 3: do something. But if he balks and the Melbourne Storms tim,
Speaker 3: I think that goes a long way to Melbourne dominate
Speaker 3: that game.
Speaker 2: We said a few times about Nick it's I think
Speaker 2: in this game for the Sharks to do less.
Speaker 4: Now what we saw early in the year when they
Speaker 4: beat Melbourne in Melbourne.
Speaker 2: This go around to be is the fact that there
Speaker 2: was Blake, Brawley and Atkinson and the halves. Before that game.
Speaker 2: You're looking so Bradley playing a half beat. They're playing
Speaker 2: the Melton's now chance. But they just they were forced
Speaker 2: to do less, they were forced to simplify. Their power
Speaker 2: game took over and they looked a far bet of
Speaker 2: football side. When they've gotten in the finals before, They've
Speaker 2: played two sideways, they've played two floury, They've skimmed across
Speaker 2: the defense. I would almost it almost would Nicko. If
Speaker 2: I'm coaching Nicko, I almost go to him and say,
Speaker 2: in the lead up to the game, so nick how
Speaker 2: I want you to go into this game almost with
Speaker 2: the fullbacks mentality. And I think because you know, once
Speaker 2: he gets into the battle, he'll fall into that same role.
Speaker 2: But leading up to the game, it simulated is running
Speaker 2: and probably just alleviate a bit of pressure going in.
Speaker 3: And that's the example because on the other side of
Speaker 3: the field for the Storm, I think if the Sharks
Speaker 3: that a win down to Amy Park, they need to
Speaker 3: stop their spine from running the football. Like if you
Speaker 3: think about a play the ball anywhere on the field.
Speaker 3: You've got Pappenhausen, Grant near the ruck, You've got Hues
Speaker 3: and Munster at any stage and every play the ball.
Speaker 3: These four guys could run the football. So if the
Speaker 3: Sharks are a win, Nico has to be confident. But
Speaker 3: there you have to defend for every play the ball
Speaker 3: for the whole entire eighty minutes and come up with
Speaker 3: a great defensive performance. Because Melbourne Storm when their halves
Speaker 3: click and run the ball, they saw what they did
Speaker 3: against Penrith.
Speaker 5: They get confidence from that.
Speaker 3: So I think if the Sharks the win, they were
Speaker 3: shut down their spine running the balls.
Speaker 2: It's always easy to get bias with what they called
Speaker 2: it recency bias.
Speaker 4: Anyway, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: It's not fun, but you know where all of a
Speaker 2: sudden you fall in love with the next player that
Speaker 2: comes along. But I was sitting there and I think himself,
Speaker 2: have I ever seen a half back with as good
Speaker 2: a running game as Jerome Hughes and like alf was
Speaker 2: rapid they have the line gap, but I don't know.
Speaker 4: I don't think I have.
Speaker 3: Well, I think it's the fact that he's got a
Speaker 3: combination and he uses the combos he has around him
Speaker 3: as support because he can go to Karto.
Speaker 5: So then people start worrying about that. They went about
Speaker 5: Monster on the other side of the field.
Speaker 3: Harry Grant has a bit of craft around so they're
Speaker 3: worried about that. And as soon as he feels like
Speaker 3: there's space is right foot back inside. And his performance
Speaker 3: on the weekend in that warming up against Brisbane was
Speaker 3: pretty impressive.
Speaker 5: He might have just sealed the dally Am with that performance.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, day football, day football, I think will suit the
Speaker 2: Sharks down there. Night football and Melbourne, you know better
Speaker 2: than anyone, is very very difficult to suit you blokes Downley.
Speaker 4: What do you think. I think it's going to be
Speaker 4: a really tight game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it will be tight. I think Melbourne
Speaker 3: Storm get the job done. I think they're halves and
Speaker 3: probably about like Melbourne Storm. What do they need to
Speaker 3: improve in the last couple of years to go that
Speaker 3: extra mile? I think defensively they need to improve better
Speaker 3: for longer periods of time. But their best players need
Speaker 3: to play well at this time of year, and I
Speaker 3: think they are all play well, including Nelson as a
Speaker 3: solo owner. In that conversation, so Storm to get done huge.
Speaker 2: Storm home by a fraction on the back of their spine.
Speaker 2: But an upset would not surprise me at all. After
Speaker 2: Sunday afternoon, one occasion, that's going to be the course
Speaker 2: stadium be massively rocking.
Speaker 3: Fifty sixty thousand people hopefully for the Dogs to win.
Speaker 3: I think they need to attack the merely halves defensively.
Speaker 3: I think we'll have a look at some stuff Brooks.
Speaker 3: Cherry Evans can get caught out at different stages. He's
Speaker 3: save Farth going through inside shoulder on Brooks and he
Speaker 3: knows that the threat of Preston on that side of
Speaker 3: the field up against Brooks. They need to power through
Speaker 3: Brooks and make him make a lot of decisions. In
Speaker 3: the eighty minutes here again comes up too far past
Speaker 3: the footy and Presston goes straight through. So the fact
Speaker 3: is Brooks gets a bit jittery. He doesn't know where
Speaker 3: they go out come up last of football. If they
Speaker 3: get that disconnects, I think that's what happens. Jerry Evans,
Speaker 3: for an experienced half, he is reckless sometimes with the
Speaker 3: way that he puts pressure on his outside guys. The
Speaker 3: Dogs did it to him in the last couple of
Speaker 3: weeks the Sharks did it to him on the weekend.
Speaker 3: Here's another one, like you just don't come up and
Speaker 3: turn in like that. It basically says to the dogs,
Speaker 3: pass around me and we'll get the try in the corner.
Speaker 3: This one here was crazy. You just come up, turn
Speaker 3: in and don't give your outside players a chance to
Speaker 3: follow you in. So I think Jerry Evans and Brooks,
Speaker 3: I think Camera Seruada would have a look at the
Speaker 3: game on the weekend and how they got them last time.
Speaker 2: It's been a couple of years now at DCE, and
Speaker 2: I like Kawa Tu struggling, and you're right, it's hard
Speaker 2: to believe in a Blakelood DC who is such a quality,
Speaker 2: experienced player and those the nuances of playmaking inside out
Speaker 2: and could obviously ud shapes company's way that he still does.
Speaker 3: If I'm Matt Burton, the further I am away from
Speaker 3: the trial and I'm giving kick out early ball, I
Speaker 3: don't think Cherre Evens can handle the physicality of what
Speaker 3: kickout does. The closer I get to the line, I'm
Speaker 3: going to make Cherry Evans make that decision defensively. So
Speaker 3: give a big fire early ball once you get down
Speaker 3: there put a lot of decisions around Cherry Evans rodo coops.
Speaker 2: This is a game of whoever dictates the style of
Speaker 2: the fight will probably win. Because you've got too big,
Speaker 2: you've got mismatches, you've got dogs who are who's forwards
Speaker 2: are smaller, lighter, more skillful bit of football IQ and
Speaker 2: the big, powerful, manly pack.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Dogs have been on the skids defensively the
Speaker 3: last couple of weeks, but I think the Cowboys just
Speaker 3: show the blueprint to the whole competition how to beat
Speaker 3: the dogs. The way that they played the Cowboys was
Speaker 3: powerful and short passes through their middle create ruxby retreating defense,
Speaker 3: and you go at them again with either a show
Speaker 3: and go or a short pass. So I don't think
Speaker 3: going around the dogs is the approach. It's about going
Speaker 3: through them. And the fact is when you generate quick
Speaker 3: play the balls and miss tackles, then it leads to
Speaker 3: something what mainly did the other week against the Dogs.
Speaker 3: Perseca decent play the ball, shift out to the side,
Speaker 3: another mistackle, bounced off, ineffective. They get lucky here. But
Speaker 3: when your misstackles, quick play the balls leads to opportunities.
Speaker 3: So I think the Cowboys showed exactly the way to
Speaker 3: beat the Bulldogs.
Speaker 2: Can I ask you a question there, because you've been
Speaker 2: in the position that a number of those sides have
Speaker 2: been in in the fact that the Bulldogs will Whilst
Speaker 2: they didn't have a home semi final locked in, they
Speaker 2: had their final spot locked in to a certain extent,
Speaker 2: they were treading water.
Speaker 4: And I'll send new blokes to it.
Speaker 2: At the Melbourne Storm where you're six points clear, you know,
Speaker 2: eight points clear with three or four rounds, it's a
Speaker 2: difficult situation to find yourself in because look at the
Speaker 2: effort there defensively of Villi Army and also Bronson Cherry.
Speaker 2: That is that is nothing like what they've offered this
Speaker 2: year as far as effort is concerned.
Speaker 3: Your hope that Sirealdo can turn it on and turn
Speaker 3: it back on. But also remember it's been a long
Speaker 3: year for the Dogs with that small pack working really
Speaker 3: hard in defense. I hope they've got a little bit
Speaker 3: of energy for this game because if they are on
Speaker 3: the back foot making soft tackles, it's going to create
Speaker 3: the rugsby that Cherry Evans.
Speaker 2: Needs sensing an upset here, you know, thinking manly, no, no,
Speaker 2: sensing an upset on sensing bull Dogs hitting back on.
Speaker 4: The skids too, just could a bit of a gael.
Speaker 3: I think that what we just explained is exactly where
Speaker 3: this game sits. If Kickout can dominate Cherry Evans, they win.
Speaker 3: But if the mainly forward pack can dominate through the
Speaker 3: middle and generate quick play the balls, I think that's
Speaker 3: enough for Brooks and remember turbos back to back Dogs,
Speaker 3: he will be hard to handle.
Speaker 5: If that's a retreating to.
Speaker 4: Dogs that I make.
Speaker 2: This are really fast, personal, fast game, keep the ball
Speaker 2: in play, try to fatigue that big pack.
Speaker 3: Let's be honest, this is the biggest game in the
Speaker 3: Dog's recent history. That's how big it is. It's going
Speaker 3: to be fifty sixty thousand people at a core. There's
Speaker 3: a team that hasn't got a lot of finals experience
Speaker 3: outside of Crichton kick Our a little bit of burning
Speaker 3: at our car. There's a huge game because they've turned
Speaker 3: around the the ladder position, and if they go on
Speaker 3: the skids three losses in a row, that's that's a
Speaker 3: different way to go out of the final.
Speaker 2: You're thinking there, I've forgotten the fact that I live
Speaker 2: in the Manly area. And off to the dogs problem
Speaker 2: because a lot of my neighbors are real dead shits.
Speaker 4: It's you know, that's all right.
Speaker 5: Your house sits on top of the hill and everyone
Speaker 5: else is down below.
Speaker 2: So they went to the hill close to the boast
Speaker 2: of that Cowboys Knights. Yeah, this is interesting. And the
Speaker 2: reason I give the Knights a great chance.
Speaker 5: Talking about bias here or just generally thinking.
Speaker 2: Generally, and I mean they see what you think about
Speaker 2: it is that dolphins. Dolphins are very good crafting too.
Speaker 2: They graft and they grind, they get in the arm wrestle.
Speaker 2: Of these moments in the game the other day that
Speaker 2: they're sort of just going there. They work, and I'll
Speaker 2: starting to see a bit of the gas going out
Speaker 2: of our.
Speaker 5: Defense, and I'll see, you know what our defense, the
Speaker 5: Knights defense.
Speaker 2: The Red and Blues, And I thought, but they hung
Speaker 2: in there and they got through it. What's the one
Speaker 2: thing I reckon the Cowboys will struggle with this year.
Speaker 2: Cowboys come out of it, They burst out of the
Speaker 2: barriers and they try it. They just go for it.
Speaker 2: Hence the reason why there's a big difference between their
Speaker 2: best and their worst. And you just don't know what
Speaker 2: you're going to get that for me, the fact that
Speaker 2: the Knights can get there and they can make this
Speaker 2: an ugly stop start game, and just to grind, I
Speaker 2: think they can beat the Cowboys.
Speaker 3: When there's a huge gap between your best and the worst,
Speaker 3: the best way to highlight the worst. So I'll give
Speaker 3: you the best chance of playing is bring the game
Speaker 3: into the trenches and make it really tough and uncomfort
Speaker 3: If you make it stop start, if you make it
Speaker 3: free flowing and flamboyant, then that team that can go
Speaker 3: to a heighlight the Cowboys will find it. But if
Speaker 3: you make it really ugly, it might just drag the
Speaker 3: Cowboys out. But I think the Knights they've got to
Speaker 3: wrestle around with the Cowboys inconsistency, and then Kaitlyn has
Speaker 3: to strike like you did on the weekend on the
Speaker 3: flip side.
Speaker 5: Did you see the Cowboys performance on the weekend?
Speaker 3: Wow, it was a statement in my mind that I
Speaker 3: had question marks around the Cowboys and then they delivered
Speaker 3: that and I'm thinking, holy hell, if they can do
Speaker 3: that again for the month, they could just be.
Speaker 4: A teams through this season.
Speaker 2: We've done that four or five times, Yes, yeah, four
Speaker 2: or four times I've going Wow, become the Cowboys, and then.
Speaker 3: Their defensive intent on the weekend through the example of
Speaker 3: Cotterer was tremendous I love. And then Diden's like direct
Speaker 3: style in the that he ran the football forced everyone
Speaker 3: else to follow him. So I think their leadership is
Speaker 3: key to how the Cowboys.
Speaker 4: Go Coops, Roosters and Penrith russus in there.
Speaker 2: They've lost the last and nine times against Penrith. Okay,
Speaker 2: you tell me how the russ is going to win this.
Speaker 2: How do they change their formula so it's not ten
Speaker 2: losses in a row.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: See, I think most people will automatically think to scoring points,
Speaker 3: and I understand that that's the way the game's got
Speaker 3: to score more points in the opposition. But I think
Speaker 3: they need to have their best defensive game of the season.
Speaker 3: I know with Walker out Brendon Smith out, they lose
Speaker 3: a lot of that scoring instinct play, but they actually
Speaker 3: are a better defensive team with the players that come in,
Speaker 3: So I think it's the best defensive performance of the
Speaker 3: year might give the Russes a chance.
Speaker 2: Nathan is most likely he is He's a lot to play.
Speaker 2: My male is he's going to play? Which I'm really
Speaker 2: curious to see because he comes back into the side
Speaker 2: and they reunite, he and Jerome. But he's coming into
Speaker 2: the side and reuniting with Jerome. With Jerome in career
Speaker 2: best form, does.
Speaker 5: They worry what they've done? Last month? Panthers had fifteen
Speaker 5: errors on the weekend. They won. Haven't been clunky, they.
Speaker 2: Haven't really been able to use the slaterism get their
Speaker 2: game on. Haven't been able to But again, I come
Speaker 2: back to the fact that I give them the benefit
Speaker 2: out a little bit like the dogs, is that there's
Speaker 2: been an element of treading water and coops.
Speaker 4: They've just they know what it takes.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying they can just turn it on,
Speaker 2: but you know they've been and done it before. They
Speaker 2: do know what it takes to I think.
Speaker 5: They can turn it on. It's that autopilot for them.
Speaker 3: And I feel like the emotional rush of Leui and
Speaker 3: Fisher Harris, the last ride that this whole crew is
Speaker 3: going to get together, will be like that driving force
Speaker 3: for them to not have the fifteen errors, to not
Speaker 3: have the lapses in concentration. Nathan comes back in, But
Speaker 3: how do the roost do the ruses have to play
Speaker 3: a different style.
Speaker 5: I said, double down on defense.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 2: They need to the score points with the football. They
Speaker 2: need to play a style of football coop. They don't
Speaker 2: need to be they don't need to be flash and
Speaker 2: fancy and come up with miracle plays, but they they
Speaker 2: have to. They've got to take the petrol out of
Speaker 2: the tank of the big middles of Penrith's. That's the reason.
Speaker 2: And I know it won't happen, but I would be
Speaker 2: putting Manu to six and I'll be just I would
Speaker 2: be just doing a middle field assault on those big
Speaker 2: on those big fours from Penrith.
Speaker 4: I mean, you look, and it's just one example.
Speaker 2: If you have a look at you know that night
Speaker 2: with Tyren Wishart sort of showed the way a little.
Speaker 4: Bit and just go I'm not going to mark around.
Speaker 2: I'm just going to go bang and take one of
Speaker 2: those big guys on, take them on the footwork, make.
Speaker 4: Them miss a little bit, takes a bit of petrol
Speaker 4: out of the tank.
Speaker 5: Well, that's why I think.
Speaker 3: Doubling down on the and if this game is close
Speaker 3: at the semith minute mark, the Rousters have the talent.
Speaker 5: For it, said Esco.
Speaker 3: To break through a Tideline or Swali or Marnu to
Speaker 3: come up with a play. I don't think they're going
Speaker 3: to blow Penrith away at home twenty eight to ten, right,
Speaker 3: But if it is close and their defense is on
Speaker 3: and it's frustrating Penrith, then I think if it's ten, ten, sixteen,
Speaker 3: or would tend to go, one of their gun players
Speaker 3: can do it. And I think that's why sometimes in
Speaker 3: big games, you don't worry about how your score points.
Speaker 3: You're more focused on how you can restrict the opposition
Speaker 3: and just play it out in the long game.
Speaker 2: I have Penrith as my competition favorite still that Melbourne.
Speaker 4: The bookie is the favorites.
Speaker 2: With Melbourne with Nathan coming back into the side the
Speaker 2: way Jerome has been playing, I see Penrith getting it right.
Speaker 4: They're still my favorite.
Speaker 5: How confident about Nathan's shoulder, I don't know. Actually, like
Speaker 5: a boss of a coin.
Speaker 2: For me, it's a blind comment because I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't know the extent of it. They kept it
Speaker 2: very much under wraps. I'm not sure, and they win
Speaker 2: it if he's not there. I still think they can't.
Speaker 2: I think they're still capable.
Speaker 4: But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3: There's obviously an injury there, right, so it can only
Speaker 3: stand the test of time over a period however long,
Speaker 3: what happens. But he's a true pro, like he is
Speaker 3: not just sitting at home twiddling his thun playing PlayStation like.
Speaker 3: Whatever medical assistance is there, he's done it. And the
Speaker 3: fact is that he's playing tells me that he's super
Speaker 3: confident about it, because I would consider him not playing
Speaker 3: saving him, because Bendick would be confident enough to beat
Speaker 3: the Roosters with that record at home to get through
Speaker 3: to the prelim, right, But the fact that he's playing
Speaker 3: tells me that he's close to one hundred percent.
Speaker 2: Ken halfbacks go in with a bad shoulder and arm
Speaker 2: injury and high enough but cower enough in the defense
Speaker 2: line to basically not being supposed.
Speaker 4: I don't know. I'll let you think about that the
Speaker 4: course of the week.
Speaker 2: That's the nine terams who season he's done and dusted
Speaker 2: and time's up. Let's debrief them, debrief they're quickly canber Raiders.
Speaker 2: The question I'm going to ask you through this is
Speaker 2: what went wrong? And I don't think for the canber Raiders,
Speaker 2: I don't think that's the right term, what went wrong?
Speaker 2: Because I thought that considering things that had a good season,
Speaker 2: I suppose to Jamal Foggarty that lost the middle of
Speaker 2: the year, that was that was a tough one.
Speaker 4: It's not.
Speaker 5: It's more around like how can they win more games?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 3: Because they've been on the cusp for a lot. I
Speaker 3: think they need to find a different way to win games.
Speaker 3: If they're not got that gritty nature, they don't seem
Speaker 3: to win. So I think their attack needes evolve. But
Speaker 3: I'll tell you what, Yeah, Fogerty's was a miss, but
Speaker 3: tarp and he was the best player.
Speaker 4: By Yeah, he was very good. Young Strange had his moments,
Speaker 4: good first.
Speaker 5: Week weeks and was a good Yeah fine too.
Speaker 4: So yeah, there's a lot to be a lot to
Speaker 4: look forward to there.
Speaker 2: I think going forward next year, I've got them in
Speaker 2: between six and ten, probably around the same spot. A
Speaker 2: couple of extra wins will push them into the AK.
Speaker 3: That's why they need to find different ways to win,
Speaker 3: because if they lose a couple of those games by
Speaker 3: two or four, they need some more fire powder to
Speaker 3: score those points.
Speaker 4: Dolphins.
Speaker 2: Now, this is legitimate question what went wrong because in
Speaker 2: the middle part of the season coupe, they are on fire.
Speaker 4: They little like they're on course for top four.
Speaker 2: The wheels just came off the last third of the season,
Speaker 2: and I reckon. I reckon the bloke that probably typifies
Speaker 2: that most is and his big fuseon Isaiah Catawa, but
Speaker 2: like he was really at a gas plot.
Speaker 3: I would say the area that that spine needs to
Speaker 3: get better at is making the right decision in big moments.
Speaker 3: There's a couple of times where if you had decided
Speaker 3: to do something else, probably a better chance of winning
Speaker 3: the game.
Speaker 5: But his upside is pretty good.
Speaker 3: Nick Remott a career best year, Hammer was good as
Speaker 3: all his point of difference.
Speaker 5: But I think if if their spine become a little.
Speaker 3: Bit more experienced and can manage games better, like the
Speaker 3: biggest one is led Penrith at Penrith by a bit
Speaker 3: with twin minths to go, if Isaiah Cartel takes that
Speaker 3: shot at a field goal does something, there's a win
Speaker 3: that they probably need to get any.
Speaker 4: A big question here for Christian Wolf.
Speaker 2: There's only ever been Tim Shoens that has taken the
Speaker 2: baton from Waine and made a success ongoing, and that
Speaker 2: was the camera side all that camera side that was
Speaker 2: about to boom the green machine.
Speaker 4: He was co coached with Don Ferner.
Speaker 2: He leaves, goes back to the Broncos, shoon, takes shoes,
Speaker 2: takes a side, and away they go. Every other coach.
Speaker 2: They've gone off a cliff. It's like, you know, when
Speaker 2: Jason Mutro took over. I said to a mate, I said, mate,
Speaker 2: Wayne's left a turd under the bed somewhere. He can
Speaker 2: smell it. He just can't find it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, well, I reckon, mate, I can't find that up.
Speaker 5: That's a great analogy. That was good dragons.
Speaker 2: Dragons, great suasan for Flanner, Great suason for Flanner. Big
Speaker 2: improvement the fact they went into that, you know the end,
Speaker 2: they were in a chance to make the eight, and
Speaker 2: they'll be disappointed they didn't make the eight.
Speaker 4: That's a big improvement. It's just getting used to winning again.
Speaker 3: It's almost like they've had bad habits for long period
Speaker 3: of time and the bad habits turned up at the
Speaker 3: wrong time for them.
Speaker 5: I don't like you.
Speaker 3: Look, they joked they had the eighth spot in their grasp.
Speaker 3: All they had to do was win one of those games,
Speaker 3: and they conceded a lot of points.
Speaker 5: Their intensity went out. That's the one thing that they showed.
Speaker 3: When their forward pack was dominant and playing physical, that's
Speaker 3: when they played their best football. And when they didn't,
Speaker 3: that's when they do it.
Speaker 4: Look, there's wipe in a stead boy.
Speaker 2: Last year's success and the adulation and the expectation that
Speaker 2: came with that success poisoned the well. And as far
Speaker 2: as next season is concerned, the bottom line is they
Speaker 2: need a lot of self assessment if they're going to
Speaker 2: go anywhere.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when you sit there and sieve through like the
Speaker 3: football reasons why, like you could go tack defense, discipline errors,
Speaker 3: whatever it is. But the thing that underpins that whole
Speaker 3: thing is I think the Broncos last year, individually and
Speaker 3: as a team had a real like sort of laser
Speaker 3: focus to improve and get better. And I don't think
Speaker 3: they had that this year, and that's ultimately why they
Speaker 3: missed out on the finals.
Speaker 5: I don't think they.
Speaker 3: Worked hard enough individually to improve their game and ultimately
Speaker 3: collectively to do it.
Speaker 5: Because yeah, it's it was super disappointed just.
Speaker 4: To get the mindset there.
Speaker 2: Coops, you said something that and I think to myself,
Speaker 2: a lot of teams will get to a Grand Final
Speaker 2: and get beaten. And there's two ways of think, and
Speaker 2: you either go away filthy and you say with failed
Speaker 2: or you go off triumphant and say we didn't win it,
Speaker 2: but fantastic season.
Speaker 4: I think with the Broncos it was the latter.
Speaker 3: The example is Pendrith got beaten by the Melbourne Storm
Speaker 3: of that Grand Final and they came back in that offseason,
Speaker 3: started working harder. Look what they've done. They've improved each year.
Speaker 3: Paramatta got beaten in a Grand final, Bush and Bank. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Brisbane got beaten in a Grand final, went Bank. If
Speaker 3: they don't work hard enough.
Speaker 2: To improve, Bunnies, sure bunny for another one by another one.
Speaker 2: The Warriors, this is my greatest disappointment, just simply because
Speaker 2: I've loved to have seen them win the competition.
Speaker 4: A lot of expectation. Look, a lot of things didn't happen.
Speaker 4: And I said this last week.
Speaker 2: I thought lut Metcalf been absent for a long stretch.
Speaker 2: I think it really affect the balance of their attack.
Speaker 2: I think that was a contributing factor.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the Warriors got comfortable. They played some
Speaker 3: really predictable, slow moving, some lacking intensity consistently but then
Speaker 3: their last performance against the Sharks showed that they can
Speaker 3: do it. So where has that been fifteen weeks prior
Speaker 3: player Mitch.
Speaker 2: Barnett agree with that, Yeah, Mitch Barnett next year. So
Speaker 2: no Shawn Johnson, no fanil Blake, but they get James
Speaker 2: Fisher Harris. Warriors always a difficult, very difficult side to
Speaker 2: get a handle on whether I think.
Speaker 3: The Fisher Harris signing is more about spirit and example
Speaker 3: of what a winner looks like as opposed to adding.
Speaker 5: Value to the way they play like I think what
Speaker 5: he's done to that Ford.
Speaker 3: Pack at Penrith, I Moses Liota, he will do to
Speaker 3: that next up coming New Zealand worries for Ford front
Speaker 3: row really So.
Speaker 4: Now the Titans.
Speaker 2: The Titans going into this season, the for me why
Speaker 2: it was going to be such a tight competition because
Speaker 2: I thought, we're de going there, all those players a
Speaker 2: year old. I thought, mate, this team is going to
Speaker 2: play finals. I don't know if it just took them
Speaker 2: a long time to adjust to Dez's methods. I'm not
Speaker 2: sure exactly was the last of TEENA was a big one,
Speaker 2: but trying to work out the puzzle, which was the
Speaker 2: spine a lot going on.
Speaker 3: Think about the Titans for me is they need to
Speaker 3: get a good balance on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 3: The defense needs to compliment their attack and their attack
Speaker 3: needs to compliment defense. At the moment, it's either they
Speaker 3: defend really well and win games, or they defend bad
Speaker 3: and their attack is so good that it's firepower and
Speaker 3: score on points. They just need to find that perfect
Speaker 3: balance between that paramatta.
Speaker 4: What went wrong? There's numerous things, one of which was
Speaker 4: no offense.
Speaker 2: Brad did a great job, but they probably hung on
Speaker 2: with Brad a season too long.
Speaker 4: That's my opinion.
Speaker 2: I think that they needed to change the formula. I
Speaker 2: think the players got too comfortable under Brad. My opinion
Speaker 2: the loss of Mitchell mos of course the middle of
Speaker 2: the year and Gutha that was a factor, but they
Speaker 2: never looked like a final side.
Speaker 4: He's got a bit way through their.
Speaker 2: Even just in attitude, because what's a lot of the
Speaker 2: players interviewed like if I got a new coach coming
Speaker 2: in and they say, Maddie, you're looking for the roles,
Speaker 2: you come and can't wait.
Speaker 4: Fantastic new start.
Speaker 2: Here is a great bloke, but it was very it
Speaker 2: was almost like a resentment that the Brad was gone
Speaker 2: or Trent wasn't going to be the coach.
Speaker 3: And we're also taled team that played a Grand Final
Speaker 3: two years ago. Yeah something for me, it tells you
Speaker 3: that they lacked the inspiration to want to climb that
Speaker 3: mountain again because they did it to get there.
Speaker 5: Then all of a sudden they've dropped off.
Speaker 3: They two years ago they were playing in Grand Final
Speaker 3: and on the weekend they played.
Speaker 5: In the spoon ball.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Dylan Brown was their best play but a lot
Speaker 2: happened over the course of the weekend.
Speaker 4: And wait for.
Speaker 3: I think he's okay partial to Yeah, yeah, I think
Speaker 3: he's okay. That's a huge thing for Jason Rowles. If
Speaker 3: you've gone five eight, he's out for half of the season.
Speaker 5: That's a huge thing wrong for all.
Speaker 4: That South was a disastrous season.
Speaker 5: What went wrong?
Speaker 4: Well, the Chickens come home to roost. We've said that before.
Speaker 2: They've been aside that has you know, there's been carelessness
Speaker 2: around their football, there's been lack of focus, there's been distractions.
Speaker 4: Jason Demitri clearly wasn't the man.
Speaker 2: Look, Wayne goes there next year, but it's going to
Speaker 2: take more than just a bit of magic dust from way,
Speaker 2: ain't it.
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: They lacked intensity, consistency, all those things that make you
Speaker 3: a good team. This was a club that's on his knees.
Speaker 3: In the first half of the season, they were bad,
Speaker 3: really bad. And if it was anyone other than Wayne Bennett,
Speaker 3: You're probably thinking, where's light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 3: But Wayne's got this ability to make Cody and Latrell
Speaker 3: work harder than what they normally do. And if they
Speaker 3: can do that, they're a good team.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, the Tigers. Look what went wrong before we
Speaker 2: get to that. We'll talk general before we get to
Speaker 2: that last game. They just didn't quite have the experience
Speaker 2: of the confidence in key positions to win consistently.
Speaker 4: Last performance, Coop was the shocker. It was I hope
Speaker 4: that they are embarrassed bite because Coop.
Speaker 2: In that month leading up to that last game, there
Speaker 2: was a real great feeling about the Tigers. You know,
Speaker 2: the fans were turning up, everyone was excited. You got
Speaker 2: Leway coming and Taruva so on, and.
Speaker 4: I couldn't believe what they served up in that last game.
Speaker 3: Craig Belly as you to say this Tommy year. Yeah,
Speaker 3: good and bad habits show up. So if you've improved
Speaker 3: and got more good habits than your good footy kinks
Speaker 3: in if you're bad habits, there the Tigers for me
Speaker 3: to play against the Paramount Eels, who conceded five tries
Speaker 3: in the last ten minutes a week before. All the
Speaker 3: Tigers needed to do was be disciplined and make their
Speaker 3: tackles yep and hold onto the ball, and they would
Speaker 3: have run through the Paramount Eels at some stage.
Speaker 5: But what they did coras how got sinbinned. They turned
Speaker 5: over errors.
Speaker 3: They were flamboyant from the start, and Galvin is the
Speaker 3: shining light. But if you're investing a lot of time
Speaker 3: like we did about the Dolphins, in young kids in
Speaker 3: key positions to make all the decisions in a game,
Speaker 3: you're going to have a lot of learnings as opposed
Speaker 3: to good times. Yeah, that was one of the more
Speaker 3: disappointing performances of the season overall.
Speaker 2: Some of the worst defensive effits I've ever seen. Yeah,
Speaker 2: oh well, Tigs and those other sides. Twenty twenty five
Speaker 2: will come around pretty quick.
Speaker 4: But looking forward to this week, Coops