Speaker 1: Sorry, brother, Just sorry, brother, It's just.
Speaker 2: Fiddling around there. I never knew that Frank Sinatra That's
Speaker 2: life that David Lee Roth did a version of it.
Speaker 3: Who cares?
Speaker 1: I care obviously brought it up.
Speaker 3: That's live, that's and I know you've had a big night.
Speaker 1: Well I had to do it. Get up and charity do.
Speaker 1: That's what it is.
Speaker 2: Charity Dodd do you You're on a freaking moon late
Speaker 2: late night, early morning, late night, early morning.
Speaker 3: What were you doing up?
Speaker 1: Where were you? Burly Billy Heads, belly Bears, the.
Speaker 3: Burly Bears an excellent club up there.
Speaker 2: Yes, and q r L also made of mind Damien Driscoll,
Speaker 2: he runs the club up there there.
Speaker 1: Last night it was good. Bennie Iken was there. First
Speaker 1: time to see Bennie oakon for a long time. Madge
Speaker 1: Megre on stage.
Speaker 3: Match McGuire, Well, well we're going to talk about some
Speaker 3: When do we start? Now we started, Yeah, we've started.
Speaker 3: The mics are on in Tapman, Yeah, in Chapman. We
Speaker 3: have what you say is howards Marge, Michael maguire. A
Speaker 3: lot of a lot of press at the moment, with
Speaker 3: a lot of pressure from the from the Broncos. Reese
Speaker 3: wallash boxing his mate, lots of different stuff. How was Madge?
Speaker 1: It is okay? Now, he's pretty good. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: been through it all before, you know.
Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, the broncos of
Speaker 2: five and five, like, you know, it's it's a it's
Speaker 2: a I think because they won that first round so
Speaker 2: convincingly and just absolutely expectation went through the roof through
Speaker 2: the roof and they've got a lot of stuff they
Speaker 2: got to adjust, but they'll get there. I think the
Speaker 2: thing that and I didn't go into a deep with Madge,
Speaker 2: but what'd been disappointing is you know, and it happens
Speaker 2: when you lose, people start to come out and say,
Speaker 2: oh mate, some of the players are unhappy and all
Speaker 2: the rest of it. So you know what, winning solves everything,
Speaker 2: winning does. It's winning solves everything. Once you get back
Speaker 2: to winning ways that all the all that sort of
Speaker 2: noise and the criticism and all that starts to die.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: But he's been through before. He was pretty good match, yeah,
Speaker 2: pretty good.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what what's did he seem like it was bothering
Speaker 3: him or anything like, just because a lot of people
Speaker 3: a lot of the time people go, oh, you know,
Speaker 3: when players are criticized, people go, you got to remember,
Speaker 3: who's a twenty two year old boy. A lot of
Speaker 3: that stuff people forget sometimes coaches they might be a
Speaker 3: bit older in experience, but doesn't mean they are oblivious
Speaker 3: but to feelings, yes.
Speaker 2: I don't oblivious to feelings is the right term. But yes,
Speaker 2: they're human, they are they are human. Mate, know, he's
Speaker 2: pretty good.
Speaker 1: Actually, as I said before, he's been it through before.
Speaker 2: I've seen Madge Madge is not the sort of guy.
Speaker 2: Look when Madge Madge could win twenty games in a
Speaker 2: row and when you speak to him like his head
Speaker 2: is going to fall off anyway.
Speaker 1: Is that type of guy.
Speaker 2: He's an intense guy, you know, that's what he is
Speaker 2: a coach, but made he's good.
Speaker 1: Like I'm not saying like they're not they're not going off.
Speaker 2: A clear or anything like that, but they're going through
Speaker 2: a bad patch of form at the moment.
Speaker 1: They're trying to work things out. He'll get through it.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 3: I think most clubs are going pretty sh inconsistent this year,
Speaker 3: like it's the it's thee apart from Bulldogs really a
Speaker 3: lot of Canberra probably, but well, a lot of clubs
Speaker 3: are so inconsistent.
Speaker 2: I mean the Bulldogs the other night, Friday night. Yeah,
Speaker 2: get flowers out of the Dolphins. That's right, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean?
Speaker 1: Like it's his Dolphins were good by the.
Speaker 3: Way, Dolphins were good, but they've had an inconsistent year too. Azayakatawa,
Speaker 3: you love him, mate, You need you need to stop
Speaker 3: him settling. You love him so much. I'm actually I
Speaker 3: love it.
Speaker 1: I love him as a player. I just think he's very,
Speaker 1: very special.
Speaker 3: He's a good player.
Speaker 2: Twenty one years of age, something like that. And when
Speaker 2: you talk about the best half backs in the game,
Speaker 2: the best, the elite halfbacks in the game, the very best,
Speaker 2: the Krem della crem, the cream of the crop.
Speaker 1: And the crop of the cream, which he's got to
Speaker 1: be in that.
Speaker 3: Something right, And we're going to unpack it. This is
Speaker 3: going to we're going to unpack a lot of state
Speaker 3: of origin. I hate that word unpacked. Say we're going
Speaker 3: to go through We're going to go through a lot
Speaker 3: of state of origin. Just because you don't like something
Speaker 3: doesn't mean everyone else has to follow you, by the way.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 3: But Isaia Katawa, let's say Mitch and Nathan Cleary both
Speaker 3: got long term injuries, game two whatever game. Do you
Speaker 3: think he'd be ready for State of Oder?
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, I do. I do.
Speaker 2: He's just so composed. Every time I see him, he
Speaker 2: just gets better. He's playmaking the other night. The first
Speaker 2: half he controlled the game with his kicking in the
Speaker 2: wet conditions. Second half he control the game with his
Speaker 2: guidance and his clever ball playing. Just dominated. So yeah,
Speaker 2: and it's funny, isn't it, because you think about when
Speaker 2: you think about the state of origin, he's.
Speaker 1: Not a name that comes to mind. No, not really,
Speaker 1: but yeah, he's eligible.
Speaker 2: He represents Tonga, but there are two nations, so he
Speaker 2: can play State of origin football. And I reckon, I
Speaker 2: reckon Laurie should bring him. You know they have the
Speaker 2: extended squad. Bring him to the extended squad.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've got to apologize to people too. I am really,
Speaker 2: I am really young.
Speaker 1: Overs catching up with old mates last.
Speaker 3: Night, and hey, you know what, like we said about
Speaker 3: coaches a humans, you're a human too. Like I know
Speaker 3: you're you're a media icon and as your legend, but
Speaker 3: is that fair thing to say. That's a fair thing
Speaker 3: to say, But that doesn't mean you're not human. Either
Speaker 3: you're allowed to have down days, right.
Speaker 2: Honest, it's down day. I'm just saying that my energy
Speaker 2: levels a little low and I'm a little cloudy. I've
Speaker 2: got these glasses on at the moment just to sort
Speaker 2: of shield my eyes a little bit.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Another shout out Brandon Smith. Yeah, cheesel has he's
Speaker 3: been at the Rabbit Hoz. I saw Latrol Mitchell during
Speaker 3: the week and asked him how Cheese is going. He said,
Speaker 3: he's fitting in like a glove, very easy, very likely
Speaker 3: to get along with. Says he's really happy at the moment.
Speaker 3: You spoke to Cheese as well. During the week.
Speaker 2: I text Cheese and I said, great to see in
Speaker 2: the Cardinal of Myrtle and he that's the colors of
Speaker 2: Sesiny cardinal cardinal and Myrtle. Oh right, your brother played
Speaker 2: for the Mighty Bunnies and you don't even know their
Speaker 2: colors cardinals.
Speaker 1: So you're going red and green, don't you? Green? It's
Speaker 1: so what cardinal of Myrtle?
Speaker 3: Is that the old school way of saying red and green?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a slightly it's not a pure red. It's
Speaker 1: a different, isn't it. Jack? That's right? Yeah? JACKO help
Speaker 1: us out.
Speaker 3: Nice work there, Cooper. It's a softer red and a
Speaker 3: softer green, mate, Yes, you know there it is, Yeah,
Speaker 3: with lighter undertones. I didn't want people to turn off, right, Well,
Speaker 3: that's that's hand. You can tell that Wayne Bennet's going
Speaker 3: to get the best.
Speaker 2: Well, I text Jesus and make Gracie and the Cardinal
Speaker 2: Myrtle and he can said, mate, I love Wayne as
Speaker 2: we just come back with That's all he said. And
Speaker 2: that's people. There's some coaches they just get the best
Speaker 2: out of players. Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett mate, like Brent,
Speaker 2: he's the type of guy that will thrive under those
Speaker 2: those those type of coaches.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and Lucky Galvin that's another big news at the moment,
Speaker 3: saying that he might leave potentially immediately, right.
Speaker 1: It was going to be before June thirty.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so is do you think that's a if I'm
Speaker 3: the Bulldogs, I feel like it's a weird bye. Why
Speaker 3: I look at how good they're going this year, Toby
Speaker 3: Sexton and and I think they are a great pairing.
Speaker 3: They're both young. Like you leave those two there together
Speaker 3: for a five year period, They're only going to get
Speaker 3: better now they're going to get Lachlan Galvin, who, in
Speaker 3: my opinion, is just a younger He is a younger
Speaker 3: version of Matt Burton with how he plays. I think
Speaker 3: they're different. Well, I think their strength of the exact same.
Speaker 3: They're running totally different. What do you think football?
Speaker 1: It's a tricky one for a tricky one for Gus
Speaker 1: and Cameron Sorelda with the Dogs because it's really important.
Speaker 2: You've got to shore up at the future of your club,
Speaker 2: you know, and your future roster. But at the same
Speaker 2: time they're flying, you know, they're they're at the moment,
Speaker 2: and you don't want who You don't basically want to
Speaker 2: plan to the future and hurt the present.
Speaker 1: But this is it's what you've got to do.
Speaker 2: And Galvin is looks to me as though, I feel
Speaker 2: good accounts him as like a once in a generation
Speaker 2: type player that's sort of talent. And so I know
Speaker 2: it's hard and might disrupt things a little bit, But
Speaker 2: as far as the futures concern you, if you've got there,
Speaker 2: if you've if you have the chance to sign Lockie,
Speaker 2: you've just got to sign him. Where they play him,
Speaker 2: I think they will play him.
Speaker 1: We'll put it this way.
Speaker 2: I think the next eighteen months for Lockie that he
Speaker 2: will be in the halves, he'll be.
Speaker 1: A six coups. But long term I see him as
Speaker 1: the thirteen.
Speaker 3: But the question I wanted to ask you, because you
Speaker 3: said you think they're different players, they both play as
Speaker 3: a five eight, as a running five eight. How do
Speaker 3: you think that dynamic good work down Matt Burton Ulockey
Speaker 3: govern as halves.
Speaker 1: They wouldn't play together.
Speaker 3: I don't think they played.
Speaker 2: Together in the halves similar.
Speaker 1: No, because neither of them are pure seven that it would.
Speaker 2: I still maintain you do need someone who's a pure
Speaker 2: seven or more of a natural seven than those two blokes.
Speaker 3: Burton for me is.
Speaker 2: He's a six slash three slash one, possibly possibly thirteen,
Speaker 2: but I see him in an outside back slash six.
Speaker 2: I see Locky Galvin as a six slash thirteen. He's
Speaker 2: a play through the line type player. He's going to
Speaker 2: be when he when he pops and starts to fill out,
Speaker 2: and he's going to be robust shortball playing handful. But
Speaker 2: I don't neither of them are sevens, and this is
Speaker 2: going to be This is why it's going to be
Speaker 2: interesting if they do Land Galvin. It seem very interesting
Speaker 2: what they do with Sexton because they haven't signed Toby yet,
Speaker 2: because and I'm looking at and thinking, okay, how can
Speaker 2: you fit them all in? But I think to bring
Speaker 2: the Locke into that squad and get rid of I
Speaker 2: think get rid of Tab Sexton would be a mistake.
Speaker 2: I still think you need that pure seven. I don't
Speaker 2: see Maddy Burton and I don't see Lockey Galvin. We're
Speaker 2: in a seven comfortably.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I agree. A lot of the reports have
Speaker 3: been Burton playing one this week that has come out
Speaker 3: saying that Burton to one and Galvin and Sexton is
Speaker 3: the combination, which I mean could potentially work. I think
Speaker 3: kind of Tracey's content, he fits into them mold very well.
Speaker 2: So this is what we're talking about when you bring
Speaker 2: a bring a player in the level, just that subtle
Speaker 2: disruption that happens like suddenly, like Toby Sexton.
Speaker 1: I've been looking at Toby in the last six weeks ago,
Speaker 1: what's going through his head? Everyone's still to.
Speaker 2: Be a Galvin going there and he not being re
Speaker 2: signed and being on the outer, And I think what's
Speaker 2: going through Toby's head? And he's been able to compartmentalized
Speaker 2: and actually do really good.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's interesting.
Speaker 2: But I mean I think they've become the favorites to
Speaker 2: sign Galvin. I mean it's always been Paramatter, Paramatter or
Speaker 2: the Dogs. Conspiracy went around last conspiracy theory last week
Speaker 2: that the Roosters were in for Galvin. But that would
Speaker 2: that would be an all time out of left field,
Speaker 2: even by the Roosters standards to do that. I think
Speaker 2: it's either going to be Paramoun or the Bulldogs. I
Speaker 2: think you've got the Bulldogs.
Speaker 3: Okay. And the last sort of story that's floating around.
Speaker 3: Trent Robinson went whack on the Newcastle Knights last week
Speaker 3: about the Dom Young situation. What are you hearing about
Speaker 3: Dom Young? Do you think you'll go this year?
Speaker 1: He'll be there in two weeks two weeks Castle. I
Speaker 1: think he.
Speaker 2: The Knights. The Rooster's played the Knights in a couple
Speaker 2: of weeks time. My understanding is Dom will be a
Speaker 2: Rooster when that game's taple. He might not be on
Speaker 2: the field. It might have been in the first grade side,
Speaker 2: but he will be a Rooster up until full time.
Speaker 2: At full time, the thing that I've heard is that
Speaker 2: he will be the Knights the week after that, so
Speaker 2: it's Roosters versus Knights.
Speaker 1: Take it as given. The next day he'll be the Knights.
Speaker 3: It's been a weird, weird relationship. I think Don played
Speaker 3: very well last year. Obviously for whatever reason, you know,
Speaker 3: he was dropped this year. They didn't think he was
Speaker 3: playing that well. Do you think it'll be a goodbye
Speaker 3: for the Knights going back then.
Speaker 1: Phil Burbon, you think it'd be a good r Yeah, goodbye,
Speaker 1: very very good.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it works, it works well. He gives them a
Speaker 2: lot of punch coming out of hit. Him and Shill
Speaker 2: has been been He's good player, Shiller. But that one
Speaker 2: two combination of Greg marzou and and Dom Young coming
Speaker 2: out of trouble, that one two punch is very very
Speaker 2: good and you know, in some sort of finish it
Speaker 2: but in his big personality up there like it was
Speaker 2: a big loss for the club, Like.
Speaker 1: My I reckon.
Speaker 2: The best image I've seen of the Newcastle Knights in
Speaker 2: the last twenty years is that Canberra game.
Speaker 3: It's a final game.
Speaker 2: When he's running down that right hand touch line, crowd
Speaker 2: we're just going man, that was it was just some
Speaker 2: great shots. Yeah, yeah, it's there's some cult heroes like
Speaker 2: he reminds you of like a like a Wendell Sailor
Speaker 2: for the Broncos, Adam McDougal for Newcastle, that real fan favorite.
Speaker 3: People get around him. Ye, So good to see Dom young.
Speaker 2: If he goes back there, and he'll be back there,
Speaker 2: it'll be good to welcome back to the bosom of
Speaker 2: the Novocastrian bosom.
Speaker 1: Yes, Novocastrians.
Speaker 2: I ran into I was going through the airport and
Speaker 2: the Swans were there and ran into Isaac Heney, old Navacastrian,
Speaker 2: fellow Nevocastrian.
Speaker 3: How was he?
Speaker 2: He was good before I met I met Lucky at
Speaker 2: a Melbourne carp Isaac, you're a now. I met Isaac
Speaker 2: a couple of years ago at the at the Melbourne Cup.
Speaker 1: Good to see him today.
Speaker 2: It's good mate, like good looking for twenty nine. He's
Speaker 2: played a long time. He's twenty nine because he was
Speaker 2: the Arabay League player coming through. He's from black Hill.
Speaker 2: Black Hill is it's it's probably fifteen minutes from from Newcastle.
Speaker 2: It's near s it's sort of in between near Maitland
Speaker 2: and Rutherford and Hexham around that area. So he's a
Speaker 2: black Hill boy. Parents still still live up that way.
Speaker 2: So he's a good player, Jesus, good player, good looking too, good,
Speaker 2: good strapping young lad. He's a good looking chap and
Speaker 2: we know he loves the podcast. Shout out, share, Isaac.
Speaker 3: Lucky, whatever you want to call him. All right, State
Speaker 3: of Origin before we go through the teams, Matthew, you
Speaker 3: played three Start of Origin games?
Speaker 1: Four?
Speaker 3: Do you play four? How many you win?
Speaker 1: Ah? I forget none?
Speaker 3: No no, no, yeah, that's all right. You and Craig
Speaker 3: Bellamy got a very similar wind the dry Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: What about your first Origin experience? What was that like?
Speaker 3: What a lot of the boys who are in there
Speaker 3: now a lot of debutantes who are going to be playing,
Speaker 3: what's it experience like as a first Origin cooper?
Speaker 2: I reckon when you're playing Origin, form is really important,
Speaker 2: but also not just form, but I reckon the type
Speaker 2: of game you play leading into that origin.
Speaker 1: Game is really important.
Speaker 2: And what I mean by that is until you played
Speaker 2: the State of Origin, you've never experienced like pacing intensity
Speaker 2: like it to get there, like it's man, it's it's
Speaker 2: just full on coop.
Speaker 1: And so what happened to me.
Speaker 2: My five there was the Aril Super League split right,
Speaker 2: and they were telling me that if the Super League players.
Speaker 1: Weren't going to be selected to the injury and I
Speaker 1: were going to do the halves. About about six weeks out.
Speaker 2: From Origin, I did mynee, did a PCL and a
Speaker 2: medial and was out for like five six weeks. And
Speaker 2: my game that I came back, I came back against
Speaker 2: the Warriors the week before the Origin, and I was rusty.
Speaker 2: But basically I never realized how rust I was because
Speaker 2: we beat them by fifty points. We put the cluess
Speaker 2: through the Warriors. It was one of the best wins
Speaker 2: to that point in the club's history. We just rolled
Speaker 2: through them, and you know, and when you're swimming, you
Speaker 2: know along in the in the slip stream, and it's
Speaker 2: like things are just working out for you, and you
Speaker 2: actually don't realize a lot like that. Easy wins probably
Speaker 2: covered up for me how rusty I was and how
Speaker 2: much I.
Speaker 1: Needed a little bit more of a hit out.
Speaker 2: Anyway, so we get there and we sit down, we
Speaker 2: go it was myself and Andrew. We're a mum and
Speaker 2: dad's house, and we had no idea we're going to
Speaker 2: be picked or not. All they said that was there
Speaker 2: was going to be a press conference and it led
Speaker 2: the six o'clock news. Channel nine News started the six
Speaker 2: o'clock news. But okay, let's go straight to ROL headquarters
Speaker 2: for the route. They're going to announce the state of
Speaker 2: origin side. Now, we were told that if the Super
Speaker 2: League players were going to be named, then Ricky and
Speaker 2: Laurie were going to be the halves. If they weren't
Speaker 2: going to be named, then Andrew and I are going
Speaker 2: to be the halves. Now, as they're about to read
Speaker 2: out the first name. If they were going to read
Speaker 2: out Brett Mullins at fullback, it meant all the Super
Speaker 2: League players were going to be in. If they read
Speaker 2: out Tim Brasher, it meant it was no Super League
Speaker 2: RL players.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: So we're sitting in front of the in front of
Speaker 2: the box, can Arthur's and John Quayle go through the
Speaker 2: ringing roll blah blah blah blah blah, and we come
Speaker 2: on just fucking say the side played the side yeah
Speaker 2: about five minutes ago. Okay, now the announcement of the side,
Speaker 2: and Ken Arthsen goes, okay, new, So while state of
Speaker 2: origin side number one, you ain't gone wait wait wait,
Speaker 2: Tim Brasher, which so.
Speaker 3: They didn't ring your prior, they didn't tea you up.
Speaker 1: No, Wow, that's bizarre right now.
Speaker 2: I think what it was, Coop. They didn't want to
Speaker 2: cook because the Super League war. They didn't want to
Speaker 2: let it to get out. I think they weren't going
Speaker 2: to select. So it was a complete surprise. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: then Gus rang and I spoke to Gus. We went
Speaker 2: down into the camp and that first camp and.
Speaker 1: I tear Coop.
Speaker 2: You talk about not regrets, but you know, you learn
Speaker 2: your lesson that that week. It was a ten day
Speaker 2: build up into the game, and every single day they
Speaker 2: had me and Joey doing media because you brothers, the
Speaker 2: Blues Marketers and all that stuff. We had to come
Speaker 2: out to Newcastle and shoot an ad for Reom hot
Speaker 2: Water or I had. By the time the game come around,
Speaker 2: I was exhausted. I felt like, yeah, I was just I.
Speaker 3: Was spent And they do a good job. Now obviously
Speaker 3: I was in there a lot last week Monday and Tuesday.
Speaker 3: It's heavy media for the boys, like they're doing so
Speaker 3: much Channel nine Fox or like you know, your Ko's sport,
Speaker 3: like a lot of different brands and stuff, and then
Speaker 3: kind of come come training time Wednesday, most of the
Speaker 3: media is all done, so they kind of protect them
Speaker 3: from it. You have a week of unlike of all prep,
Speaker 3: which is good, but I imagine back in those days they
Speaker 3: would have just been every day there would have been
Speaker 3: something ng a skelter.
Speaker 1: It was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we got that first game Coop and they
Speaker 2: beat us to nil. Well, yeah, so you go from
Speaker 2: a game you've beat the Warriors by fifty points at
Speaker 2: home and then a dry Sunday afternoon and then you're
Speaker 2: playing a night game State of Origin, slippery conditions.
Speaker 1: It was just so nil.
Speaker 3: So just a penalty penalty goal. Wow, is that the
Speaker 3: lowest score ever in severn in history? It's probably right.
Speaker 1: I think definitely it was a nil. And it's funny.
Speaker 2: I went through a few I played the third game
Speaker 2: that series, and that's where I started at the handle
Speaker 2: of how you prepare for those games, because and from
Speaker 2: that first game, I learned a lot about preparation when
Speaker 2: you played, not so much for the Origin because I
Speaker 2: only played a couple more, but playing for the Australian
Speaker 2: so i'd gone away in World Cups. Learned how to
Speaker 2: prepare in the fact that whatever you did, whatever I
Speaker 2: did to prepare when I played for Newcastle. I did
Speaker 2: the same from then on for the Rep teams, going, yeah,
Speaker 2: you do your extras and everything like that. But it's
Speaker 2: funny with State of Origin Coup the game, the last
Speaker 2: State of Origan game. I played my fourth State of
Speaker 2: Origin game, fourth and final. I wasn't named in the side.
Speaker 2: I played the first game in ninety eight and then
Speaker 2: I played. He played about ten minutes off the bench
Speaker 2: in game one and I made way. Laso came in
Speaker 2: for me and if you're going to get replaced by
Speaker 2: some one, then Laza's pretty good blade pretty good.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Anyway, so games game three, I'm not named and it
Speaker 2: was split round for.
Speaker 1: Us at Newcastle.
Speaker 2: So's it was Wednesday night game and so it was
Speaker 2: on Tuesday night. A few of the boys said, what
Speaker 2: are you doing? Are we going to go and get.
Speaker 1: A meal and have a few beers.
Speaker 2: So when I had a time meal and we're having
Speaker 2: a few beers, how about six or seven beers.
Speaker 1: Go home that night?
Speaker 2: And need I get a call ten thirty that night
Speaker 2: with Lorry Day and Joey, I said, mate.
Speaker 1: Turves is Turves was really crooked? Was hooker?
Speaker 2: He's really really crook made if he's crooked in the morning,
Speaker 2: can't play mate. We're just gonna let you know, mate,
Speaker 2: get yourself ready because we're going to put your name
Speaker 2: up hook and.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking of himself. Oh fuck honight, because I was pissed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I had like a massive food, like a
Speaker 2: green curry, a red curry and a dozen beers.
Speaker 1: My belly good.
Speaker 3: Green curry so good with a coconut rice.
Speaker 1: Gorgeous anyway, Coop. So I get up in the morning
Speaker 1: and I'm thinking off.
Speaker 2: It's Tubs like you had toughers. Wake up in the morning,
Speaker 2: get a call from Joey. Hey, mate, Tommy's going to
Speaker 2: call you.
Speaker 1: Mate.
Speaker 2: I think Turbs is out, like, oh fuck, okay, no worries.
Speaker 2: So I'm trying to sweat off his hangover. Then Tommy
Speaker 2: rings me and goes, hey, Skippy, how a you going.
Speaker 2: Joey was Joey and he called me skippy for whatever reason. Skippy, Mate,
Speaker 2: Tubs is out, Maye, you're in. I want You've got
Speaker 2: to be down here within an hour, I said Tommy Newcastle.
Speaker 2: He goes, mate, I don't care. I knew you, okay,
Speaker 2: I knew you by twelve thirty. It was like ten o'clock.
Speaker 2: I need you by twelve thirty. If you know you're
Speaker 2: by twelve thirty, mate, I'm going to find you. I'm
Speaker 2: not even the fucking side right So anyway, So anyway
Speaker 2: they went. So Jeff Carr calls me that the manager
Speaker 2: and goes, mate, gets a Newcastle airport. Be on my airport, mate,
Speaker 2: there's playing there this ticket and get down here. Gets
Speaker 2: straight and yet no problem. So I get to the
Speaker 2: airport a bit after eleven eleven thirty flight John's They go, okay,
Speaker 2: just checking here. Oh no, there's no there's nothing here. Okay,
Speaker 2: So I ring Tommy, Hey Tommy, mate, where are you?
Speaker 1: Where the fuck are you? Mate? I'm still in Newcastle Airport?
Speaker 1: What the fucking doing there? I said, I'm about to
Speaker 1: get on the fly. But there's mate, there's there's no
Speaker 1: ticket for me. I don't give a fuck, mate, Just
Speaker 1: buy a ticket. We'll sorw it that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, got to buy a ticket. So the plane's full.
Speaker 2: Oh fuck, call Tommy, Hey, Tommy, make the planes full.
Speaker 1: I don't give a fuck. I don't give a fuck.
Speaker 2: Skippy you and I down here by twelve thirty, mate,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna fucking find you just get and I'm I'm okay,
Speaker 2: and I'm standing there and I think, fucking am I
Speaker 2: going to get down?
Speaker 1: The pilot comes past and goes, Mattie, here you're going.
Speaker 1: I said, oh, you're right. He is a problem here.
Speaker 2: And I said, fun, you wouldn't believe it. I just
Speaker 2: got named in the Origin side. I've got to be
Speaker 2: down there within an hour. And there's no suits on
Speaker 2: the plane. He goes, oh fuck, okay, okay, okay, okay,
Speaker 2: just walk with me, walk down anyway.
Speaker 1: They get me on the plane. I've got no ticket
Speaker 1: or anything.
Speaker 2: And I sit on the floor in the cop pit
Speaker 2: between the two pilots.
Speaker 3: That has to be illegal, right, What times you get
Speaker 3: down there?
Speaker 1: Got down there?
Speaker 2: Arrived at twelve fifteen, jumped in the cab, went straight
Speaker 2: to the hotel. It was fifteen minutes late. And he
Speaker 2: fined me five hundred bucks.
Speaker 3: How much did you get paid for Origin back in
Speaker 3: those days?
Speaker 1: You've got three grand?
Speaker 3: Three grand? Okay, so still pretty good, right, like three
Speaker 3: greend Jesus, Jesus, that's tough.
Speaker 1: You know what.
Speaker 3: I used to love. You spark my memory before when
Speaker 3: you sit down as a kid and watch as they
Speaker 3: announced the side. They've got to bring that back right now.
Speaker 3: They just posted on sort of their Instagram on social media,
Speaker 3: it comes out, but they got to do the live
Speaker 3: announcement again. I think it was I remember as one
Speaker 3: of my favorite memories of the State of Origin who
Speaker 3: sided During the week, you'd all write your team list
Speaker 3: and you'd sit down there as a family and you'd
Speaker 3: have your one to seventeen and see if it matched
Speaker 3: up as the same as they'd announce it.
Speaker 1: Yep.
Speaker 3: I think I think there's got to be something where
Speaker 3: they bring it back social media, like it just pops
Speaker 3: up on your Instagram or something.
Speaker 2: Now, well, I've always said on State of Origin Knight,
Speaker 2: I reckon they should.
Speaker 1: They should bring more theater to it.
Speaker 2: I reckon they should turn the lights off in the stadium,
Speaker 2: because these days the lights in the stadium come back
Speaker 2: on about five minutes. I dim the lights in the
Speaker 2: stadium and introduced the players one by one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker 1: Would be it'd be crazy.
Speaker 3: I used to love the junior club thing too, with
Speaker 3: the boys that turn around cross their arms, the coup
Speaker 3: of John's, nar ain a Hawk's Hardboard, Devil's and Avalon
Speaker 3: Bulldogs because I played for three clubs. Did jors you did,
Speaker 3: I've got the I've got a few of the teams
Speaker 3: before we actually go off. I wanted to ask you
Speaker 3: being dropped in state of Origin. Yeah, you got dropped obviously.
Speaker 3: Do you get teed up when you get dropped or
Speaker 3: do they just drop you, like do you just when
Speaker 3: they read the next thing and they say, oh, you know,
Speaker 3: and you just notice online that you're not in the side.
Speaker 2: The first time I got dropped, Robert Finch. Finch he
Speaker 2: was my old coach, but he was bore manager at
Speaker 2: the Knights at that point, and he just walked in
Speaker 2: and there were.
Speaker 1: The four of us.
Speaker 2: That was Chief self, Joey, Adam Muir one of the
Speaker 2: other boys. Anyway, we walk in raw standing together and
Speaker 2: he goes, hey, boys, I've just got the team for
Speaker 2: game two. We went yep, sweet, and he looked at
Speaker 2: Chief and went yep, sweet Joey, yes sweet Hertzy yes
Speaker 2: sweet mate, and looked at me. He just looked at me,
Speaker 2: and I looked at him and he just went, sorry, mate.
Speaker 3: Oh that's right down disappointing. Were you like, did you
Speaker 3: ride that? Did that like her?
Speaker 1: Or I did hurt. Yeah, yeah, it did hurt. It's embarrassing.
Speaker 3: So was that that that story with Tommy Dynacas. Was
Speaker 3: that your last Origin?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Last origin? And you know what, Coops, that was the
Speaker 2: best Origin I'd ever played. And it says a lot
Speaker 2: about mindset about you know, like they say might ever
Speaker 2: matter and the mental is more important than physical. That
Speaker 2: is evidence of it, mate, because that was, in theory,
Speaker 2: the worst possible preparation I could have had. Went out
Speaker 2: there nightfall, had a big, big merle, had a bet
Speaker 2: a dozen beers, wake up, hangover day of the game,
Speaker 2: had to fly down there. You sit on the floor
Speaker 2: on an airplane between the between the pilots and the
Speaker 2: cockpit to get down there and play. But I just
Speaker 2: didn't think about it. I just went there and did
Speaker 2: it and it was the best. It was the best
Speaker 2: Origin game I played.
Speaker 3: It's funny, right, like so many players. Camraen Mauster is
Speaker 3: a good example of him. You could tell him on
Speaker 3: the Monday, and he's someone who doesn't really over He's
Speaker 3: a he's a thinker, but he doesn't overthink. So the
Speaker 3: best thing for him he just gets out there. He
Speaker 3: could think all week, but when he gets out there
Speaker 3: everything flushes off him. Yeah, yeah, a blot like I
Speaker 3: would have I would have loved to have found out
Speaker 3: almost in the warm up, like someone goes down and
Speaker 3: they go you're in, so you don't have any time
Speaker 3: to think. I remember Darren Shannig at the Melbourne stormp
Speaker 3: people might remember him. He played a bit of first grade.
Speaker 3: He found out like in the he was eighteenth me
Speaker 3: and someone went down the warm up. He debuted at
Speaker 3: Canberra Goo Stadium and he was like he's he was
Speaker 3: a big overthinker, and it was you played outstanding. He
Speaker 3: played good off the bench. But that sort you can
Speaker 3: see why coaches protect players sometimes by waiting right up
Speaker 3: until the game day to let him know that they're
Speaker 3: going to debut. Yep, protect them from themselves.
Speaker 1: That that is true, coops.
Speaker 3: That's true.
Speaker 2: I mean, and we're talking about like the mental being
Speaker 2: more important than the physical. If someone was telling me recently,
Speaker 2: Lebron James about four or five years ago, he just
Speaker 2: made the decision, you know what, I'm just gonna I'm
Speaker 2: actually going to enjoy my life like apparently he was
Speaker 2: having he'd have a bottle of red every night. Really,
Speaker 2: Lebron James yep, and just played because he's just done.
Speaker 2: It's done it for so long.
Speaker 3: Well, there's there's rumors, there's rooms that go around that
Speaker 3: ray Stone has like a has a drink of like
Speaker 3: rum or something. The night before game has about six
Speaker 3: rumbows would not surprise. I don't. I don't know if
Speaker 3: that's one hundred percent true, but there's a rumor going around.
Speaker 3: The boys up there say maybe he has a drink
Speaker 3: that he looks like a tough homebreak he does know
Speaker 3: it's scary day.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I've made stories about blokes back in the day,
Speaker 2: like your pop. When your pop went from when he
Speaker 2: was he was only young. He went from Curry to
Speaker 2: cessnot in the competition, your pop mate Pop was renowned
Speaker 2: as one of the best young players in the whole
Speaker 2: Newcastle coming through in the seventies, like he was gunna
Speaker 2: play your Pop And I think he was just about
Speaker 2: the youngest bloke evident. A debut for the Curry Curry
Speaker 2: Bulldogs in first grade. Right he's about seventeen now. Curry
Speaker 2: Curry is a very famous club. I mean it's produced
Speaker 2: most Rugby League nationals of like any town in Australia.
Speaker 2: Incredible heritage, and your pop was like, you know, made
Speaker 2: one of their best unions coming through. In fact, the
Speaker 2: reason why Pop went from Curry to Cesnot is because
Speaker 2: they bought a guy in his position called Johnny Raper
Speaker 2: I mortal. They bought Johnny Raper to Curry Curry and
Speaker 2: he went, oh, well, okay, that he's going to take
Speaker 2: my spot. So he was a third and he went
Speaker 2: to he went to Cesnot and and when Dad went
Speaker 2: to Sesnot, he said the first game he played, he
Speaker 2: was like, the players went, okay, what we're going to do.
Speaker 2: We're going to meet at the Wentworth Hotel pub at
Speaker 2: on the main street there, which was a bit of
Speaker 2: a walk, a bit probably five minute walk to the
Speaker 2: ground we're going to meet. We meet there before lunchtime
Speaker 2: for the game, and then we head to the game,
Speaker 2: like okay, nowhere is when Dad turned up, they.
Speaker 1: Were drinking middies.
Speaker 2: But the day of the game, day of the game,
Speaker 2: they were drinking. This is this is early seventies, he said.
Speaker 2: The players were all at the bar, had three or
Speaker 2: four medies and then walked to the game and played.
Speaker 3: I Love I Love the old school. Even that like
Speaker 3: makes me, you know, blokes like Johnny Raper, who are
Speaker 3: playing essentially now we look at it like bush footy,
Speaker 3: but back then it's like you could be playing that
Speaker 3: footy and get picked for state of origin and stuff,
Speaker 3: right yep, Like it's it's bizarre how you didn't actually
Speaker 3: need to be at like an NRL club to be
Speaker 3: playing state of Origin.
Speaker 2: Jake Juke's Jake Jake's uncle who might be his grandfather,
Speaker 2: Phil Duke. He played State of Origin outam Maury.
Speaker 3: I think it was more.
Speaker 1: He's playing more in Bubering.
Speaker 2: He's got picked Deep played for country for Country first
Speaker 2: and got picked. And the other guy was a guy
Speaker 2: at in Newcastle called Rex right. Rex played hooker for
Speaker 2: North's Newcastle, had a good game for Country first and
Speaker 2: got picked for state of origin. Wow, so it used
Speaker 2: to happen.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's weird, Okay, teamless, So we go through there.
Speaker 3: We'll read it out one to seventeen. Dylan Edwards, Bryan
Speaker 3: Stephen Crichton, Latroll, Mitchell, Zach Lomax, Mitchell Moses, Nathan Cleary, forwards,
Speaker 3: Mitch Barnett, Rhees, Robson, payinhass Liam Martin, Angus Crichton, Isaiah
Speaker 3: the Bench, Connor Watson, Spencer, Lanu Hudson, Young, Max King
Speaker 3: and our Man Stretch Stretch Armstrong Campbell Graham eighteenth man
Speaker 3: A good side. What were your thoughts when the first
Speaker 3: and no Ouse to side?
Speaker 2: Beautiful, beautifully balanced side. It's a great side. I really
Speaker 2: like it. There might have been a change here or there,
Speaker 2: but mate, I look at that side and I just
Speaker 2: it just gives me supreme confidence. Do you think there'll
Speaker 2: be any funny game, like anyone who won't start or
Speaker 2: anything like that. I don't think so. It's not Lorie's
Speaker 2: style and it's not belly Ache style. I think they've
Speaker 2: got their team. They're not going to try to play
Speaker 2: mind games with Coensland or without their players. There's the
Speaker 2: side they'll got out there.
Speaker 3: And I will say it is belly X style. Billy
Speaker 3: does that a lot. Yeap used to love a mind game.
Speaker 3: I'll name you at when you're in COVID. When they
Speaker 3: moved it from like you had to name it an
Speaker 3: eighteen or a nineteen to twenty one because people could
Speaker 3: go down. He's like, I'll name you at twenty one
Speaker 3: this week so they don't think you're playing. He do
Speaker 3: that so much with boys. He did it with Harry
Speaker 3: when they played when they lost to the Sharks, so
Speaker 3: he named Harry at twenty one so that they would
Speaker 3: prepare Sharks coach would have to prepare for two players.
Speaker 3: So he does it so the opposition coaches have to
Speaker 3: cut footage for multiple different places.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the opposition coach.
Speaker 3: Yes, a bitch.
Speaker 1: He loves it.
Speaker 3: I think he actually he actually overthinks it. Sometimes. He
Speaker 3: did something with Tyron we shot one time. I'm trying
Speaker 3: to remember what it was.
Speaker 4: I remembering me and goes Billy. Hik's taking mind games
Speaker 4: to a whole new level. To the point it was
Speaker 4: also it was nearly mind gaming wishy. She was like,
Speaker 4: am I playing? Because he had no idea.
Speaker 3: He was actually, don't if I'm playing this week?
Speaker 1: Oh that's good.
Speaker 3: Queensland side Caleb Ponger, Xavier Coach and Valentine Holmes on
Speaker 3: the wing, Robert Toya, Hamaso, Tabio, Fido Munster, Cherry Evans,
Speaker 3: mofod Awaker, Tino in the front row with Harry Grant,
Speaker 3: our Man, Reuben Coottter, Jeremiah na I back row, Patrick
Speaker 3: Carrigan at Locke the bench, Tom did and Lindsay Collins
Speaker 3: both firm Trentleero debutante and eighteenth killer Kurt Man. It's
Speaker 3: a bloody good side too. They had a lot of
Speaker 3: injuries to do.
Speaker 2: Great sides, ye, two great sides. You can see with
Speaker 2: out side. I can see the formula they're going at
Speaker 2: and how they'll play with Coeensland. I don't see the formula.
Speaker 2: I don't know how they're going to play, which is
Speaker 2: actually perfect for them. They'll play Monsta ball, which is
Speaker 2: like unorthodox. I mean, you've got the thing about it
Speaker 2: is like you got Monster and Kalin there, Harry and DC.
Speaker 2: If he's if he can hit top four, that's a
Speaker 2: that's a that's a very very strong spine.
Speaker 3: All the money is with New South Wales, right and
Speaker 3: I think and I think given a lot of rugby
Speaker 3: league is covered in New South Wales by the media,
Speaker 3: so you know, all the all the chat has been
Speaker 3: and this happens every year New South Wales get all
Speaker 3: the media, we hypermnt we go we're gonna win, We're
Speaker 3: gonna win, We're gonna win. No one talks about Queensland
Speaker 3: at all, and then they go out and they shock
Speaker 3: us a little bit. All the money's been in New
Speaker 3: South Wales. But you look at that spine with Kaylon
Speaker 3: Ponger and Camera Munster out there alone. There are two
Speaker 3: blokes that if they go out there and play a
Speaker 3: ten out of ten, nine out of ten, which they're
Speaker 3: so capable of doing, they can win the game on
Speaker 3: their own. That's what probably we don't have in the spine.
Speaker 3: And like they've two x factors that can win a
Speaker 3: game on single handly.
Speaker 2: Let's get let's get straight to the mood of the
Speaker 2: Sandwich year, right, let's talk about let's let's go dilly dell,
Speaker 2: Let's talk about who we think will win and why.
Speaker 2: For me, I'm really bullish on New South Wales. I've
Speaker 2: got supreme confidence and I don't I don't say that,
Speaker 2: you know, being a New South waleshman and being biased anyway,
Speaker 2: shape or form, because there's plenty of times there that
Speaker 2: I have tipped coinsland. Right when it comes to talking
Speaker 2: about Origin, watch it, like I'll be honest with you, right,
Speaker 2: Like I remember Madge Madge last year, he spoke to
Speaker 2: me leaning into the series, he said, oh, Maddie, you
Speaker 2: know we're going to try to get some people who
Speaker 2: are former Blues players to come in to Campbell the
Speaker 2: rest of it, I said, Madge, I'll just stop you there, mate.
Speaker 2: I said, Look, I am not an ultra passionate Blues man.
Speaker 2: I'm just not you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And you know like.
Speaker 2: And say that what you will, but I just can't.
Speaker 2: I can't lie. I'm not going to get here and
Speaker 2: just go mate. I'm not going to absolutely tear myself
Speaker 2: apart and agonize if they get beat first and foremost want.
Speaker 2: I watched the game as a lover of the sport,
Speaker 2: and I admire the players. But I'm not going to
Speaker 2: sit here straight away and just go mate. I'm going
Speaker 2: to be blue, blue blue because of the fact that I.
Speaker 1: Played for you. It's it's not how it's not how
Speaker 1: I work.
Speaker 3: I hate I hate that. I hate watching the coverage.
Speaker 3: And you've got two Blues there too, Moro owns there
Speaker 3: and they both only it's very it's just bias opinion.
Speaker 3: I think it's a It's a beautiful thing where you
Speaker 3: just as you just look at the game itself, you
Speaker 3: look at the players and just be completely objective if
Speaker 3: you if you just because you played for the Blues
Speaker 3: doesn't mean you can't say I think Queen's and can
Speaker 3: win this series. Can't do that, That's right, But there's
Speaker 3: so many there's so many objective people because they because
Speaker 3: they are Blue through and through, and some of them
Speaker 3: might even be employed by the Blues, so they're still
Speaker 3: like they have to.
Speaker 2: But I'll see it is Coode. That's it's way it
Speaker 2: is with football clubs as well. Like you know, Blake
Speaker 2: asked me, and I think I've said this before the podcast.
Speaker 2: He said, Mate, still love the nights. You know what,
Speaker 2: It's hard football clubs change. It's not the same club
Speaker 2: that when you were there. You know what do I
Speaker 2: love mate? I loved I love them, the teammates. I
Speaker 2: love Pool on the Jersey, I love the city, I
Speaker 2: love the fans. The club's different. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's
Speaker 2: just it's just it's different. It's like it is now,
Speaker 2: like you know, like I I yeah, so when I
Speaker 2: when when I when I look at the state of Origin,
Speaker 2: look at a game, I I look at it objectively
Speaker 2: and gay right, who I think is going to win?
Speaker 2: And I've said before me and Joey fell out is
Speaker 2: the fact that in that series, without being a smart
Speaker 2: ass on new Coins, then we're going to win that series.
Speaker 1: I just knew.
Speaker 2: I looked at the side they picked, the dynamic of
Speaker 2: the side and everything else that's going to win this series.
Speaker 1: I see nothing but New South Wales.
Speaker 3: Why is that.
Speaker 2: Quality of the side, quality of the individuals in the side,
Speaker 2: but also the dynamic of the side. It just fits
Speaker 2: perfectly the Rubik's cube. It works. And the reason is
Speaker 2: Coops is if we can just if we can just
Speaker 2: do one thing, New south Wales, if New South Wales
Speaker 2: can consistently get Nathan Cleary into position for attacking kicks
Speaker 2: consistently through the game, we'll win. Because his kicking game
Speaker 2: that produces points and it builds pressure and not position.
Speaker 2: Give him enough, give him enough attacking kicks. It is basically,
Speaker 2: give him ten attacking kicks. You're back into probably pick
Speaker 2: up three or four, four or five repeat sets, a
Speaker 2: couple and a couple of tries from his attacking kicks.
Speaker 2: So what New South Wales has to do now, don't
Speaker 2: be too fancy, don't worry about doing this and blah
Speaker 2: blah blah at the very at the brass tacks. The
Speaker 2: bottom line is we just got to win the yardage game,
Speaker 2: win the yardish game, get Nathan in the position for
Speaker 2: attacking kicks at the end of every set of six
Speaker 2: and we win the football game. We can do that regularly, okay,
Speaker 2: or consistently with Nathan, put him in that position, we win, okay.
Speaker 2: So that's that's the first thing. That's what we have
Speaker 2: to do to win the football game. What gives me
Speaker 2: confidence that we're going to put him in a position
Speaker 2: all the time for attacking kicks regularly is the fact
Speaker 2: that you look at our yardage men. Now I'm not
Speaker 2: talking about the forwards right, I'm not even talking about
Speaker 2: pay Hash he like pain is almost the icing on
Speaker 2: the cake. Look at our back three, our back three,
Speaker 2: the combination is Edwards, Zac Loomax. You do not get
Speaker 2: a better yardish combination than those three blokes. When the
Speaker 2: wrestles on, I reckon, our forwards won't even need to
Speaker 2: handle handle the football.
Speaker 1: They will go.
Speaker 2: It'll be you know, it'll be Edwards to Zak Loomax,
Speaker 2: maybe to again or Edwards again kick out of trouble
Speaker 2: and the way they go, Now, that will reduce, that'll
Speaker 2: take so much stress off our forwards, our big guys,
Speaker 2: and again it will just put us into position constantly
Speaker 2: for attacking kicks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm with you. I had New South Wales when
Speaker 3: a game one up at some uncle. That's that is
Speaker 3: the defining factor, I think. Yeah, But they have our
Speaker 3: back three will if like on paper, does a way
Speaker 3: better job in terms of workload and how they're going
Speaker 3: to carry the football back. Kalin's not a known sort
Speaker 3: of kick returner for that sense. His presence is his
Speaker 3: X factor with the footy, which is going to be
Speaker 3: his sort of game breaker. But I think our back
Speaker 3: three is going to just relieve so much pressure on
Speaker 3: the forward.
Speaker 2: On our back three, what's going to be really crucial
Speaker 2: coups for Zach Zaklomax. Zach sometimes can be he has
Speaker 2: I'll watch him and this is perfectly normal. Most of
Speaker 2: his focuses on attack, he's carrying the football and stuff.
Speaker 1: He works his ass off.
Speaker 2: But occasionally I see him he switches off in defense,
Speaker 2: you know, like he's almost exaes okay, you know all
Speaker 2: the work he does and defensively, Billy will go at
Speaker 2: Zach consistently. They will just go at him, going and
Speaker 2: going que because what happens some signs with Zack when
Speaker 2: he loses focus in defense, he disconnects himself from his
Speaker 2: center and he tucks too much. And I think my
Speaker 2: daughter was game won last year, or it might have
Speaker 2: been the series before. Billy just kept going there through
Speaker 2: Hammer and they just kept finding him out. They'll go
Speaker 2: there again. They'll send Kalin around there on. They sweep
Speaker 2: shapes going at him. So Zach's just gonna be on
Speaker 2: his game.
Speaker 3: And this is going to sound a little technical for
Speaker 3: people something. I'll try to explain it as best as
Speaker 3: I can here. There was a game last year when
Speaker 3: it might have been Zachlomax's first game because he chases
Speaker 3: kicks a lot, and they kick for him, try to
Speaker 3: use him in that sense. When it is time to defend,
Speaker 3: he probably tries to get his breath back a little bit. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that's it, and I knew that chatting to a few
Speaker 3: of the queens Land boys. They had a bit of
Speaker 3: a plan around because Billy's quite good as a fullback.
Speaker 3: He knows that how to exploit the back three in
Speaker 3: terms of trying to kick forty twenties and trying to
Speaker 3: find space with a kicking game so they can't catch
Speaker 3: it on the fall. And they knowing that Zak Lomax
Speaker 3: does a lot of work with his kick chase. He
Speaker 3: probably doesn't think about getting back to shut down forty
Speaker 3: twenty opportunities Dally Cherry Evans. They identified that and there
Speaker 3: was a four tackle where he went and kick to
Speaker 3: forty twenty yep, because they knew he'd just kick chased
Speaker 3: a few. He was tired. So I have no doubt
Speaker 3: that they'll be they'll be looking to exploit that again
Speaker 3: this year.
Speaker 1: Zach will have I reckon probably in the mid twenties.
Speaker 2: As far as carries, he'll work his ass off, but
Speaker 2: it's just so vitally important that mate, when he gets
Speaker 2: back to his edge defensively doesn't switch off. They will
Speaker 2: just go at him, go at him, go at him relentlessly.
Speaker 1: So what do we think? What do you reckon?
Speaker 3: I've got you so well as twenty to eight, en,
Speaker 3: do you what have you got? What's just God?
Speaker 2: I've gone, I've got South Wales twenty six twelve. You've
Speaker 2: got them comfortably. I'm bullish, I'm really bullish.
Speaker 3: I've never seen you this confident because I'm a bit
Speaker 3: worried about Queensland. I think they like fire in their
Speaker 3: belly and I think that you know how much that
Speaker 3: Jersey means to them, and each player has such a
Speaker 3: point to prove. Munster wasn't there last year. Terry's got
Speaker 3: a lot of stuff going on that he wants to shut.
Speaker 1: A lot of people up.
Speaker 3: Harry's Harry's Harry. Can I ask you just two more points?
Speaker 3: I want to bring up to you who spined your
Speaker 3: rate as better? Like if you if you had to,
Speaker 3: if you were coaching a team. Let's say you were
Speaker 3: coaching not so well as quens and you were coaching
Speaker 3: Act and Act said, you get to pick the spine
Speaker 3: of Queensland on New so Wales. Who you're picking, because
Speaker 3: in my opinion, I'm picking Queensland. That's spine.
Speaker 1: I like New South Wales, you like New so Cleary.
Speaker 3: I think the one thing for me, the one thing
Speaker 3: that for me that ticks it over is Harry. I
Speaker 3: think everyone else is kind of pretty even sure, and
Speaker 3: then Harry. Harry is Harry in my opinion, He's just
Speaker 3: out and out the best hooker in it, like by
Speaker 3: a country mile in the NROL.
Speaker 2: H I agree, I agree, but I just love Cleary.
Speaker 2: It's Clear's time, Yeah, it's clear his time.
Speaker 3: Last thing I want to ask you the big match
Speaker 3: up Robert Toyer versus Latrell Mitchell. Robert Toyer, shout out
Speaker 3: to him. Ten games. He's been picked in the centers
Speaker 3: by Billy Slater. He's probably going to be This is
Speaker 3: probably the biggest moment of his career so far, easily
Speaker 3: coming up against probably the most damaging center in the NRL,
Speaker 3: Latrell Mitchell. How do you see that matchup going?
Speaker 1: Well, Robert to to ten games, hell of a footballer.
Speaker 2: And the fact that Billy's picked him says he's ready, Pip,
Speaker 2: is he ready to get well?
Speaker 1: Billy picked him.
Speaker 2: Billy's so thorough he doesn't pick someone that's not ready. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he's ready to go.
Speaker 1: Coops. It's a little bit like a lot of the
Speaker 1: presence of Latrell.
Speaker 2: I liken it to a young boxer stepping into the
Speaker 2: ring with Muhammad Ali, you know what I mean. When
Speaker 2: he's out there, Robert, he'll stand opposite in a look
Speaker 2: against Latrell, and I was just like, that's one of
Speaker 2: those You don't get a lot of those one on
Speaker 2: one ins a lot in the game these days, but center,
Speaker 2: as you do, you just know you're in that ten
Speaker 2: meter corridor for the whole game just steering at each other,
Speaker 2: and there'd be times that he be looking across gun.
Speaker 1: That's fucking Latroll Mitchell.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and Latrell mate Latrell early in the game,
Speaker 2: will try to get an early carry and just you know,
Speaker 2: like try to break his.
Speaker 1: Confidence a little bit.
Speaker 2: It's just important, Like Vittoya, He's just got to get
Speaker 2: up again Latrell's face, but it's going to be. It's
Speaker 2: a great clash. And that's the other thing gives me
Speaker 2: great confidence. Cop Latroll, Mitchell, Stephen Crichton, It's June Miles Malmaninger.
Speaker 2: I mean those two blokes on the when you look
Speaker 2: at those blokes on the team sheet, I just again
Speaker 2: it's not one on paper, victory is on grasp, but
Speaker 2: they just got great presence.
Speaker 1: It's a great it's a great side.
Speaker 3: Oh bloody, it's a it's a cool moment in my opinion,
Speaker 3: like not since probably twenty eighteen, I believe it was
Speaker 3: when it's like Latrell Mitchell up against Will Chambers, who
Speaker 3: was kind of the best. It was almost like a
Speaker 3: passing of the baton on when Latrell started to sort
Speaker 3: of dominate in the NFL, particularly at original level. He
Speaker 3: was a real handful. Gave gave Chambers a rough night
Speaker 3: a couple of times, but Chambers at that time was
Speaker 3: just enging at the end of his career and he
Speaker 3: was one of the best players in the NRL. Now
Speaker 3: it's like it feels a very similar kind of matchup.
Speaker 3: You've got the older ball against the young up and
Speaker 3: karma Robert Toyer.
Speaker 1: Well Cooper a little bit scratch you mate.
Speaker 3: I know I was watching you the whole time, looking
Speaker 3: at the time, just wanting to wrap up.
Speaker 1: You enjoyed it. I'll enjoyed the Origin.
Speaker 2: Twenty six twelve New South Wales first try scorer Zach
Speaker 2: Lomax off a kick from Nathan Cleary, Man of the
Speaker 2: match Nathan Cleary.
Speaker 3: You so w I was twenty eighteen Nathan Cleary, man
Speaker 3: of the match, first try scorer. In my opinion, he's
Speaker 3: a bit of value for you. Angus Crichton, Oh like us.
Speaker 1: Good