WEBVTT - ROUND 19 REVIEW: 'BENJI DROVE LUAI OUT' — The real reason behind the Tigers fallout. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:10.039 Hello and welcome to the Code NRL Podcast. I'm Dean Richie, 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:11.880 joined by Fatima Kado. How are you? 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:13.080 I'm good, BOARDO are you? 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.040 I'm very well. Let's trip straight into a Fatima. The 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:19.599 West Tigers on the ladder slippery slide. After such a 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:22.280 promising start of the season where they won five from seven, 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.680 they've now lost eight from ten games. It's imploding at 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:29.640 Concord and that's only been worsened by the news that's 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.839 coming out about Jerome Lewis. What do you make of it? 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.280 Well, I think it's the Tigers are doing. You know, 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:38.959 they're the ones who put the clauses in the contract, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:41.839 and you know, Jerome Lway is really just exercising the 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:46.080 right that he has contractually to have tested the market. 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:51.200 What has gone wrong from April where you know he's 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.559 decided to join the Chiefs. He said he's still got 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.000 eighteen months, he's locked in the next eighteen months. Ben 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:59.000 she seemed like he's on board, and all of a 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.080 sudden we hear that maybe things between him and Benji 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:05.480 haven't been great since that Pang decision, and it was 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.360 Benji that drove, you know, the move to have him 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:10.160 leave the club at. 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:11.400 The end of the wall. Why why do you think 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:12.800 Benji's done this? Fatima? 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:16.080 Well, I say credit to Benji because if you look 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.400 back to the start of the year when the Tigers 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:21.360 released that documentary of a very sort of tough talking, 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:24.440 tough love Benji Marshall, who was laying down the law, saying, 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.440 if you know you're not buying into club standards. 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:28.920 What we're trying to do here, here's the door. And 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.760 the reality is, even though I think Romi is in. 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.160 His rights to do what he's done, the fact that 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.800 he didn't stay at Concord and decided to go with 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.720 the Chiefs shows he's probably not sold completely on the 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:44.880 vision at the Tigers. And it's a way, you know, 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:47.160 if I'm Benji, I'm thinking, is he fully buying in here? 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:47.840 No? 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:50.360 And then that becomes a roadblock to what Benji is 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:54.040 trying to do. So from a football point of view, 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:58.200 I understand it has something gone on outside of that, 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:00.240 who knows. There was a post on social media that 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.200 Triple M had that said I think it was Danny 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.840 Widelid that was suggesting that since the P and G move, 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:10.040 that the relationship between Romey and Benji maybe hasn't been 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:14.559 as great and Romy's father liked that post. 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:18.400 So Fatima, what what do we think the reason is? 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:21.839 I mean, obviously they were tight. Yeah. Do you think 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:23.480 it was just a P and G move? Do you 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:27.120 think there's been an attitude change at Concord? And I 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.000 guess the question I really want to ask you is, 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:33.200 how will history remember Jerome Lewaite's stay at Concord. Has 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.600 it been a success and has it lived up to 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.880 the hype which we all thought and anticipated that we 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.399 would have when he left Penrith for such a big move. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.400 This is a hard one because, like you said, they 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.320 started off the season doing pretty well, and then if 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.440 he had and if they kept on that trajectory and 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:51.160 he did still leave at the end of the season, 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.960 you'd say, Yep, you know it was a success. I 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.280 still think I absolutely, like you know, knowing Romy that 0:02:57.320 --> 0:02:59.640 when people say that he's lifted the standards there, I 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.120 agree with that. Obviously he was a magnet for other 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.760 players to come there. So it just depends. If your 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:09.960 yardstick is finals footy, then you say, well, no, it 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:11.799 hasn't been a success, and you think about how much 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.320 money it cost them. You at one point two million 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.240 dollars a season, and then you'd say, no, it hasn't 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:20.160 been a success. I don't know how it'll reflect on Romy. 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.079 Romy is a guy, he's a leader. He's a guy 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:27.359 who can galvanize the group. Whether he can galvanize them 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:29.520 for the rest of the season and somehow salvage something 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.120 from the season, then maybe that changes how he's remembered 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:34.639 it at the Tigers. But I wouldn't say it's been 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.440 a complete failure. But obviously on the footy fields so 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.280 far we haven't seen the results. 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:41.560 I still can't help but think though a team of that. 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.520 This goes back to Shane Richardson, and Richard's well respected 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.440 throughout the game. We know that. But he decided in 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:52.400 his wisdom to get Jerome Louy to Concord, he had 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:56.720 to include these clauses in his contract. And as you 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.960 said before, quite rightly, it allowed Jerome every year or 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.640 almost to go there and test the market. It must 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:06.160 have driven fans mad to think that their elite player 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:09.240 every year almost can go out there and see if 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.360 anyone can do I will make a better offer for him. 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:14.080 Yeah. Well, and here's the thing. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.360 At the time, the Tigers had one three wooden spoons. 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:21.760 So I understand from an administrative point of view, from 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.280 Richer's point of view, why those clauses might have felt necessary. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:27.640 You know, it's maybe that last you know, dangling that 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:29.160 character get him like. 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:29.799 Over the line. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.320 But the problem for Tigers fans is, like you said, 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.480 then they had to live through the headlines. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:36.880 Is he staying? Is he going? 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.880 He only ever really half you know, would commit publicly 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:42.080 that he was all in and then he wasn't. At 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.640 the end of the day, he's clearly not buying in 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.400 into whatever the vision is. And you know, good on 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:50.480 Benji for saying we need to move forward. 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:55.799 Eight out of ten in terms of losses, most people 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.559 think they're gone. Are you a believer that they can 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:00.719 pull out a miracle and make the fin or is 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.880 it curtains for the sixteenth consecutive year. 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:06.720 I don't think they can make the finals. And what 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:10.800 we haven't said in all of this is, yes, you 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:14.200 can coincide Romey's decision with their slide on the ladder. 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.280 But at the same time, too, they've been without Adam 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:19.400 Deuey for periods. They've been without Samuel la Fanu, who 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.280 I reckon was probably the form player before he got 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.560 injured at pic Corrisale wasn't there for a couple of weeks, 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:27.360 so they've had excuses as to. 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:28.360 Why they haven't performed. 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:33.120 I'd like to think that Benji is the kind of 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.160 coach that can galvanize this script to the rest of 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.280 the season so it doesn't completely fall apart. But I 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:38.640 don't think it's going to be enough for them to 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:39.160 make a final. 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:42.840 Let's stay in Western Sydney and I want to ask 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.440 you about Paramatta because they look like they are going 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.680 to sign Jerome lit White to a one year contract. 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.200 Now Paramatta has gone down this path with Jonah Peasant 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:55.600 and even if you want to go back to Zach Lomax, 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:57.760 they signed him for four years and after one year 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:02.040 he left. The club is becoming a transit lounge. And 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.919 do you think Paramounta is wise to sign Louife for 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.120 such a small amount of time, not forgetting for team 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.200 of the World Cup is on as well, so the 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.720 time Jerome gets there and then leaves, it's only about 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:13.279 nine months. 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.520 Really, it is an interesting one because if you take 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:18.760 the Jonah Pezet situation, you would say that that was 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.680 an experiment that failed didn't really work out as they 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:26.000 would have hoped. It makes me wonder. And I know 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.279 the Knights offer Dylan Brown a ten year deal and 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.760 that's you know, that blows them completely out of the water. 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:34.240 But I wonder how much now, reflecting on how well 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.200 Dylan Brown's doing at the Knights, if they've fumbled that 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:38.440 a little bit because I haven't been able to find 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:42.800 a replacement for him, would I sign Luai for a year? 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.320 It just depends on what roles as plan is. And 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:47.320 we could have an answer on Lui in the next 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:49.719 couple of days. It's looking like And obviously the Bears 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:51.040 are sort of going to have a guy at him 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:55.720 as well, but is it one year so they can 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:59.160 have a go at Burden potentially maybe Cameron Monster if 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:01.880 the storm to lock him in before November one and 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.200 he's got that relationship with Jason Roles from the time 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:10.960 of Roles is in Melbourne as an assistant, or Lorenzo Talentina, 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.880 who's a talented twenty year old half back that they've 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.120 coming through. Is that giving him one more year of development? 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.000 So it just depends on what Rauls is thinking, you know, 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.680 and look, he will make their team better and with 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:27.240 due respect to peasant, romy still is a full time 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:31.000 Premiership winner. He's one on origin with Mitch Moses, so 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:33.800 he will improve their roster. But I think the bigger 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:38.120 problem for Ills fans is they still don't really know 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.480 what Roles's plans for the halves are moving forward. 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.440 Simply a bit confused at Paramount. A lot of the 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:48.320 fans certainly are in terms of where their future is, 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:52.240 what path they're taking, and how are they going to 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.720 get to this promised land which we've been waiting forty 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:55.240 years ago. 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.080 Considering what you know we've seen from Jerome at the Tigers, 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:01.320 do you think gets the right move for Roles try 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:01.920 and get him. 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:02.320 In for one year. 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.080 No, I wouldn't do that. I think these quick fixes 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:07.800 in regular league don't work. I wouldn't get him in 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.280 there for one year. I think they've got to look 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.880 to ParaMed I've got to instilled in their jersey, in 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.440 that logo which was so special in the nineteen eighties, 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.320 what it means to play for PARAMATTERA, not just short 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.600 term fixes. They don't always work. Getting a player in 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:24.560 for one year I think sends a bad signal. It's 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:27.080 a sign that the club is unstable and they don't 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:28.720 know where they're going, and they're just trying to find 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.400 anyone to stick a band aid over the problem which 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:33.839 have been looming out there for years. Jason Rowls is 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:35.400 a good coach, there's no doubt about it. But his 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.200 tenure at Paramatta has not been a success. There's no 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:40.480 sugarcoating that, and I think they've got to start to 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:42.839 look for going out in the market and trying to 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:44.800 buy some players that they can get for two, three 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:49.360 four years, not just sort of sugar hit where it's 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.200 for nine months. Look, it may well work. I don't know. 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:53.679 Jerames is a very good player, but I think for 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:55.800 the culture of the club, for the future of the club, 0:08:55.960 --> 0:09:00.720 they should look elsewhere. Talking of the Bulldogs, what do 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:02.800 you make of that? Because they got flogged by the 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.000 canber Raiders in the weekend. That had a bit of 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:09.040 a period there where there was some success, but we've 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.000 gone right back to where we are now. And again 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.720 I asked you about the finals before the Tigers. I 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:17.000 don't think the Dogs can get there now thoughts. 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.360 I think they're in a I know they got powered 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:22.720 up by Canberra, but also can I just say as 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:24.760 a camera fan. That was a very frustrating game because 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.480 I sat there going where was this like fifteen weeks ago? Anyway, 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:33.760 I think they look like a more improved team Canterbury. 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:38.080 What worried me was before Stephen Crichton was stretched off 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:41.320 with that neck nerve injury, so that the attack started 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.520 to look a bit pedestrian again. And then Sean O'Sullivan 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:48.680 comes in, who really is their only genuine half back, 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.079 straightens the attack and has a hand in there. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.240 Too late tries. 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.760 So I just think, you know, and I feel like 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:00.559 Galvin has been unfairly targeted for all their attacking this year. 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.520 I don't think he's the problem. I just think they 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.720 don't have a number seven. It'll be interesting to see 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:08.719 what Siro does this week with Stephen Crichton. We are 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:12.679 hearing that his injury is not as bad as suspected. 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.120 There is even a small chance he might play this weekend, 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.400 whether he goes back to burden at number six, moves 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:21.920 him into this from the centers into number six, or 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:27.240 whether he you know, gives Sewn O'Sullivan a crack. So look, 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.640 I don't there's such a log jam between those six, 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:33.360 seven and all the way down to you know, thirteen fourteen, 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:39.560 so they do have a difficulty run home, but yeah, 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:41.640 I don't know. They're another one who might miss the 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.000 finals like Canberra. You know, Canber's no. 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.280 Chance as I wrote, and Bulldogs by today, Fatima. Some 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.680 of those Western Sydney clubs are really in porch shape. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.120 And I mentioned the Eels, Dogs and Tigers, three issues 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:57.360 we've just discussed. Thank goodness for the Penrith Panthers. They're 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:01.560 saving the vast Western Sydney from NRL embarrassment. 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:02.520 With the new South Wales Blues. 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:06.000 They defied all the odds going up to sun Corp 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:07.040 winning the decider. 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.280 Laurie Daily easily, you. 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:12.880 Know, the most underseieged man in rugby league at the time. Bulldog, 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:16.840 you were there, you're his really close mate. Before we 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.600 talk about the Blues, let's talk about Lorrie. He was 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:22.680 so he was emotional. As soon as full time went, 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:24.920 he saw him waving to the crowd. They were cheering him. 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:28.280 He had tears in his eyes. I bet you're pretty 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.120 happy for him and proud of your close mate. 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.760 Yeah. Absolutely. He was under a lot of scrutiny, some 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.120 of it fair, some of it unfair. A lot of 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:40.400 it was personal, which I thought was unfair. Look, we 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:45.560 in the media have an obligation to query, scrutinize and debate. 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:50.160 I think some of the arm, some of the flack 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.520 flung at Lorrie I thought was unfair. And in the end, Fatima, 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:56.600 I don't want to sound like a smart ass, but 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:01.520 he who laughs last laughs loudest, and Lourie has given 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:03.079 it to his critics, each and every one of them, 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.240 with one of the most comprehensive Blues victories I can 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.600 remember in recent years. And it was justification for Lorry 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.319 in terms of his selections, in terms of his tactics, 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.400 in terms of his ability to lift the side, in 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:20.120 terms of the criticism directed him him, in terms of 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.160 them being such heavy underdogs. No one gave the Blues 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.840 a chance. No one gave them a chance. And I 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.120 kept saying to people, without saying like a dickhead in hindsight, 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.160 I kept saying, it's one all, get it through your heads, 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:34.720 it's one to one. We have not lost this series. 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.800 And I had it in a gut feeling word from 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:40.720 the start, I should say that the Blues would go 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.360 up there and they'd put on a master class, and 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:46.360 the performance in Melbourne was a poor one. It was 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.680 always going to be better than that, and everything Laurie 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:51.440 touched that game turned to gold and all the critics 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:53.440 can now eat humble pie and coins that can go 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:56.520 away and sook for a year because New South Wales 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.680 now are the supreme nation or stuff, I should say 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:02.560 in terms of state of Origin. 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:07.040 I must admit after that game too, I do remember thinking, 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:09.360 why does it feel like the Blues have lost a 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:11.840 series and there was still a game to go? So 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.160 I do agree there was a bit of that, you know, 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:16.320 and you are right there were things, especially after the 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.200 first two game that you could criticize Laurie for the 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.920 selectors for. But you know, but even going into game three, 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.560 you know Leah mardin coming into the side. I know 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:27.800 people say, oh, there's guys that are just made for Origin, 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.320 and he's one of those guys. He wasn't playing really 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:31.959 good at all. He paid four games, he was a 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:35.080 little bit underwhelming. Bradman Best had only just come back 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.960 from a hamstring injury, and even though to me the 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.400 side looked well balanced, I still worried a little bit 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:44.240 that maybe he wasn't making the right calls. But you 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.360 know Bradman best does a repeat of twenty twenty four 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.040 and the decider Leah Mardin for me is probably one 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:53.000 of the well paynhats was incredible in that game as well, 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:54.480 but one of the best forwards on the field. 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.319 And yeah, I. 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.960 Think what it does too. I think we can now 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.040 finally and emphatically put to bed any debate about Nathan 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:08.839 Cleary's greatness. I said before State of Origin, Nathan Cleary 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:13.200 is a great who is heading headfirst toward regular league immortality. 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.079 I don't think he particularly needed to win the decider 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.560 for that to happen, but he's won it. He had 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:22.360 three cracks at it before. It was almost like the 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:27.600 last frontier that he hadn't quite conquered. He now conquered unbelievably. 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.680 Two tries set up another one, and Nathan's performance in 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.040 Game three up there at Hostile Sun Corpse Stadium proved 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:37.640 once and for all that he is one of the 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.880 all time greats, and certainly the greatest of the modern era. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.160 And for Nathan's detractors, I think that can now just 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.400 squirrel away and hide under a rock, because Nathan's done it. 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.520 He's done it well. Some of the names. I want 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.000 to mention Hudson, Young Layer, Martin, the Bash Brothers. They 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:57.440 were unbelievable in that game. Paynehas's first half was out 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.560 of this world. He is just a machine. Payeharp I 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.840 thought Mitchell Moses' kicking game was unbelievable. His general play 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.480 wasn't brilliant, but his kicking game was. 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:08.520 His long kicking game was. 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.960 Out of this world. You mentioned Bradman Best. There wasn't 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.800 a bad player in that blue side, and for them 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.920 to go up there and not only win but win, well, look, 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:19.840 there's an elephant in the room. We should touch on it. 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:24.080 There was the Bradman Best dry which replays him indicated 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.960 did flick Jack Bosstok's finger and went forward. But crime 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.200 me a river, Crime me a river. We've been on 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.920 the end of so many dug decisions over so many years. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.800 Queensland get one that goes against them and the tears 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.160 start flowing across from col and Gata into tweed heads. Well, 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.800 I don't particularly care. Look at the scoreboard. It's two 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.560 to one. Queensland's now lost two of the last three series. 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.720 Billy Slater's won four of his last ten, so we'ren't 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.160 we going to start to question Billy Slater as Queensland 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:52.000 coach when. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:56.920 Well, probably not straight away because that's not what Queenslanders do. 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:02.280 But speaking of coaching features, everyone seems to suspect that, 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:05.480 reading between the lines of what Lurie's been saying since origin, 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:07.960 that he's not going to coach next year. 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:10.880 If anyone would know, it's your bulled on what do 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:11.160 you know? 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:15.240 Look, I don't think Laurie will coach next year. No, 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.880 that's that's mcgart feeling. Look, I haven't Laurie hasn't come 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.480 out and said it publicly. So until Laurie says it publicly, 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.480 I guess we're all guessing a fraction. But I'd be 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.480 stunned if Lurie's back next year. And it does leave 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.240 an interesting proposition for the new South Walge Rugby League 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.600 because we all seem to think that Ivan Cleary will 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.720 coach the Blues from twenty twenty eight. Of course, it 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.960 leaves a gap year of twenty twenty seven. Look, I'm 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:41.160 sure Dave Trodden at the new South Iage Ruge League 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:42.880 would love Larry to come back for one more year, 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:46.920 but I think Lorry's days are done in charge of 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:51.520 the Blues. I think if he had any England to 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.200 come back, I think victory almost ended up the Deemer. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:55.920 I think it was a beautiful way to Lauriy to 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:59.240 go out an amazing win, a win which will go 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:02.080 down in Origin Flare go down in Origin history, one 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:04.680 of the greatest upsets we've seen in Origin. What better 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:06.679 way if Lorrie does pull a pin for him to 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:09.000 leave the Origin arena, If it is just. 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.600 For one year until Ivan Cleary can come in in 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:13.120 twenty twenty eight, who do you think? 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:16.399 It is a hard one year? Yeah, it is just 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:17.879 a year, And I think it's going to be very 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:19.360 hard to tell a coach for a team that you've 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.879 got one year. What happens Hypothetically if that coach wins 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:25.800 three mil do you then say sorry, you're out. It's 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.240 going to be a very difficult one. Look on face value, 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:30.960 you think that King would be favorite. That King was 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:35.879 the other candidate with Lori for this tenure, So you 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.320 think King, you would come in for a year. Look, 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:42.280 is there a possibility that maybe I've in coaches Origin 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:45.200 next year and that allows Peter Wallace to take over 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:49.680 the Reins mid season. That would obviously help him snowball 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.439 into twenty twenty eight when he's full time coach. Just 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.440 a couple of options to throw out there. I don't 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.360 know the answer. No one does at the moment because 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.159 Lourie hasn't formally stood down. But if Lurie does, I 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:00.920 think they'll go with. 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:04.080 Matt King, yeah, which you know, and there are a 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:05.840 couple of other sort of He's got some really good 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:09.080 assistant coaches, Laurie Daily, so and you know, if I'm 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.480 Matt King, I know Matt King has NRL head coaching ambitions, 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:14.639 But you know, you take over for one year and 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.600 then maybe you then have to take a step back 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.720 to Ivan Cleary. But that's you're taking a step back 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.679 to Ivan Cleary. Like imagine as a coach in waiting, 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.000 what you learn from a guy who's won four premierships 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.400 maybe five premierships by the time he finishes. So it's 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.800 not actually a bad deal for an up and coming coach. 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:31.960 Let's jump back to Queens that, okay, because I want 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.720 to ask you about this was an unlosable series if 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.760 Laurie lost the unlosable last year, which I don't think 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.680 unlosable is a right term because I don't think any 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.240 origin is unlosable because every game is different. But if 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.120 Billy did lose the unlosable this year, is he under pressure? 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:52.399 Should he be under pressure? And yeah, is Billy safe 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.880 for next year? Sorry for Tim, Let's be honest. If 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.199 we cut to the chaser, Queensland choked. They choke And 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:02.480 it's a very difficult word to spit out for Tima 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.480 because it's a very heavy handed word, but they choked 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:10.200 and froze under the pressure of expectation and being favorites. 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:10.560 Yep. 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.320 And that was a very poor performance from a side 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:17.400 everyone thought had these lofty standards and they were had 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:20.400 their pants pulled down early by the Blues and they 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.360 kept their decks around their ankles for the whole game. 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:22.960 Yeah. 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.960 Well they were absolutely ambushed, you know, And I think 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:29.000 they were ambushed by the intensity by the Blues energy. 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.639 How they would not expect that the Blues would come out, 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:34.919 you know, with that sort of fire in the belly 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.879 really surprised me. I thought, you know, Billy Slater probably 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.280