Speaker 1: All right, welcome back, everybody to another edition of Code
Speaker 1: NRL on a Monday, where we're breaking down the big
Speaker 1: stories from the weekend. We're going to look at why
Speaker 1: the West Tigers were so bad? Were the Dragons ripped off?
Speaker 1: And then really exploring was this blunder round two point
Speaker 1: zero again? And what can the NRL do to fix
Speaker 1: the bunker? And for many of my haters, they'll be
Speaker 1: really excited because fozball is starting to look like fraud ball,
Speaker 1: though I deny it. I'm joined by Dean Bulldog, Richie Bulldog.
Speaker 1: How I I'm good, Champion, You're very good. I'm very good,
Speaker 1: and Fatima Cando, how are you good?
Speaker 2: How are you?
Speaker 1: I'm good and I'm Alex. By the way, also known
Speaker 1: as NRL Soapbox. So a lot's going on this weekend.
Speaker 1: Let's look at the West Tigers and why they were
Speaker 1: so putrid? Fatima, why were the West Tigers so bad?
Speaker 3: I think we just saw sort of a culmination of
Speaker 3: what's been going on there the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 3: Post game, a couple of player spoke so they weren't
Speaker 3: distracted by the Luais saga. During the week, they prepared
Speaker 3: really well but they came out very flat out of
Speaker 3: Theo's not a lot of energy given the Bulldogs were
Speaker 3: red hot from the start, and I think that had
Speaker 3: them on the back foot. But yeah, the body language
Speaker 3: wasn't great from them, was it?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 1: I think the bulldogs what's missing in the stories. The
Speaker 1: Bulldogs were fantastic, but the Tigers were absolutely putride.
Speaker 4: What did you make of it?
Speaker 2: Bulldogs? Yeah, they're poor, they're out of form, they're down
Speaker 2: on confidence. This is not the first time they've been bad.
Speaker 2: They've won two from eleven. They are a rabble at
Speaker 2: the moment. There's no way of sugarcoating what's going on
Speaker 2: at Concord other than saying it's a rabbel. We've got
Speaker 2: players who are there who are reading headlines about their leader.
Speaker 2: Their leader wants to go to P and G and
Speaker 2: then the club says we're back him, and they say
Speaker 2: we don't want you anymore. We're going round and around here.
Speaker 2: And the side that started with five from seven and
Speaker 2: all these people were saying this is a year and
Speaker 2: I said at the time, I said, wait, keep your
Speaker 2: powder dry. They are not a final side. They do
Speaker 2: not have a finals roster. It's crystal clear, and people
Speaker 2: didn't want to believe that. That's fine. Since then, they've
Speaker 2: fallen off a cliff. They're gone again. The fifteen year
Speaker 2: drought continues, and the club is let's be honest, let's
Speaker 2: cut to the chase here, the club is becoming embarrassed.
Speaker 2: Like you, well, it's embarrassing. The results are embarrassing. If
Speaker 2: you don't make the semifinals for fifteen years, that is embarrassing.
Speaker 4: It's definitely embarrassing. I'll concede you on that.
Speaker 1: But what about West Tigers Fans will say, we've been
Speaker 1: hammered by injuries and that's why.
Speaker 2: Everyone's got injuries.
Speaker 4: But they've been absolutely slaughtered.
Speaker 2: By everyone's got injuries. And you know what, the good
Speaker 2: clubs build rosters that can overcome injuries. I'm not saying
Speaker 2: it doesn't play a key role, of course it does.
Speaker 2: But the good clubs get by and they've got the
Speaker 2: depth and the positional versatility to cover for injuries, and
Speaker 2: the Tigers don't have that.
Speaker 3: Just on that point, I know we're going to talk
Speaker 3: about the Broncos later, but you know, the Broncos were,
Speaker 3: by that assessment, aren't a good club because they were
Speaker 3: decimated by injuries and they didn't have the roster and
Speaker 3: the depth to sort of keep them in the final
Speaker 3: spight even though technically the still live. But just back
Speaker 3: on the Tigers, it's got to take its toll. You know,
Speaker 3: only twelve months ago, what fifteen months ago now, a
Speaker 3: similar situation happened with Lachlan Galvin, you know, and that
Speaker 3: sort of derailed this season when Lewis agreed to go
Speaker 3: to p ANDNG. It was I can't remember, with around seven,
Speaker 3: around nine, but it was a shark's game where they
Speaker 3: also lost Adam Dewey and Samuel Feinnu for a long time.
Speaker 3: They were without Appy Corus Sale there for a long
Speaker 3: time as well due to suspension. So I really think
Speaker 3: because they do like a bit of depth, that injuries
Speaker 3: have hurt them. But the way they sort of feel
Speaker 3: that that spark about them, yes they're a confidence team
Speaker 3: is just completely gone. How much of that has to
Speaker 3: do with Jerome Louai. I guess we'll find out this
Speaker 3: week because this week they potentially without Adam Dewey and Latu.
Speaker 2: That's where I want to know, is it Jerome Lewai?
Speaker 2: And if it is Jerome Lewai, who's following him, because
Speaker 2: do you want to follow a bloke who wants to
Speaker 2: leave your club?
Speaker 1: Well, it's easy, like okay, So Jerome Lewi demands attention
Speaker 1: and he that's just who he is. He's an outspoken personality.
Speaker 1: I think when you look I looked at the weekend,
Speaker 1: he looked like a frustrated leader. He's meant to be
Speaker 1: the chief enthusiast officer of the chief energy officer, and
Speaker 1: you could see him chastising the players. So I don't
Speaker 1: think it's so much about the players are off him.
Speaker 1: I think Leui's off the situation. Like he was so
Speaker 1: frustrated in that game. There were some people, even Bulldogs,
Speaker 1: that were saying maybe the West Tigers should drop Lewis
Speaker 1: it's not working. Well, I did a piece this morning
Speaker 1: in Bulldog's Bite and I said, I don't know if
Speaker 1: for Tim you did something on the Tigers as well,
Speaker 1: So we'll come back to you in a moment. What
Speaker 1: I said is the last four games they've scored twenty
Speaker 1: two points. So if Jerome's key role is to ignite
Speaker 1: that attack, it ain't working.
Speaker 2: Yep. That's an average of just over five points a game.
Speaker 2: So apart from the off field distractions someone in that club,
Speaker 2: and I eat, let's basically say it's Jerome because he's
Speaker 2: their key Manah, he's their million dollar player. He's not
Speaker 2: doing his job because that side is stagnant and pedestrian.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well that is a good point because of all
Speaker 3: the injuries that have necessarily had a lot of opportunity
Speaker 3: with their first choice swine. They had that against Cannipy
Speaker 3: and they weren't able to fire a shot. What does
Speaker 3: Benji do with Jerome Lewai? Does he start looking to
Speaker 3: the future now? I mean when Jerome addressed the media,
Speaker 3: he said himself like he's had that discussion with Benji
Speaker 3: and if it gets to the point where Benji feels
Speaker 3: like he's no longer the guy for the job, like
Speaker 3: he's happy for Benji to go with those young guys,
Speaker 3: it's not going to be this week because, like I said,
Speaker 3: Dewey and latsu Fa it looks like they're going to
Speaker 3: be suspended. This is the week though, for Jerome to
Speaker 3: answer that question like is he the guy that people
Speaker 3: want to follow? This is going to be the week
Speaker 3: where he sort of you know, he's got no option
Speaker 3: but to find a way to gather a nice this group,
Speaker 3: and you know, I do agree looking at Lui and
Speaker 3: how frustrated he is that he's probably just off the
Speaker 3: situation as a whole.
Speaker 2: Alex Twiles little Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 4: That was awesome, Jush.
Speaker 3: Current and Jamn seven towards the end. I mean, he's
Speaker 3: a passionate guy, Tini, but.
Speaker 4: You don't you don't see that ever level.
Speaker 3: Of frustration, and Benjie said that it probably epitomizes exactly
Speaker 3: what the club is going through. There's this element of
Speaker 3: frustration and if they can't shake it, things are about
Speaker 3: to get worse for them.
Speaker 2: Well, the Tigers, they wanted to push ahead without Jerome. Correct, yeah,
Speaker 2: next you can go. Yeah, so tomorrow is now today
Speaker 2: for the Tigers. If that's their theory, then let's start now,
Speaker 2: let's start now, bring some young I think it's crazy
Speaker 2: to Jerome Louis what you're saying about the injuries because
Speaker 2: they can't do it this weekend. But I'm thinking, is
Speaker 2: that the way forward?
Speaker 1: I think it's crazy. I think he should get more scrutiny.
Speaker 1: But there's another twelve players on the pitch that weren't
Speaker 1: putting in the effort. They were terrible in that first half.
Speaker 1: So Jerome definitely has to sholder some responsibility. But those
Speaker 1: players like that's the issue with the Tigers right now,
Speaker 1: not just Jerome Lewi. It's the team's not putting in
Speaker 1: the effort. They're letting their coach down. All right, let's
Speaker 1: move on from the abysmal West Tigers and talk about
Speaker 1: how impressive the Bulldogs were. I have been saying, and
Speaker 1: thousands of Bulldogs have been saying, this is the spine
Speaker 1: that they should have Seano Sullivan game managing it, kicking
Speaker 1: two forty twenties I think was all over the place,
Speaker 1: freed up Galvin to actually just play creative, attacking footy.
Speaker 1: This is the spine that Sialdo should have gone with
Speaker 1: at the start of the season, because sometimes the boring
Speaker 1: choice is the right choice for team.
Speaker 4: What did you make of the Bulldog spine?
Speaker 3: I don't think it was a boring choice. Look at
Speaker 3: how they played their attack. It was probably the most
Speaker 3: exciting they've looked all seasons. So yeah, I made a
Speaker 3: point of it last week that when short O'Sullivan came
Speaker 3: on for Stephen Crichton, he set up straightened their attacks
Speaker 3: and set up two tries right at the death there.
Speaker 3: And what I found like worked really well for them
Speaker 3: was he and Galvin just seemed to understand what the
Speaker 3: other was doing. They would switch in and out of
Speaker 3: first receiver. I mean to me that his second footy
Speaker 3: twenty was far more impressive than the first one because
Speaker 3: he noticed that his team was on the back foot,
Speaker 3: needed to get them out of trouble the way he
Speaker 3: straightens the attack and opens space up for their edges.
Speaker 4: And now that the.
Speaker 3: Preston back kick ours back as well. Yeah, and Burton,
Speaker 3: Burton's been playing really worse. I know he thinks he's
Speaker 3: a five eight moving forward, but in that team, his
Speaker 3: best position at the moment is probably a center. The
Speaker 3: question is, because Sero has been experimenting all season, and
Speaker 3: I'll put it to you, Bulldog, does he go back
Speaker 3: to his critter experiment, which he seemed to really champion,
Speaker 3: or does he stick with sure No Sullivan.
Speaker 2: I don't know the answer, but my opinion would be
Speaker 2: he sticks with Ose Sullivan. I think it worked.
Speaker 4: He's got to do it, mate.
Speaker 2: He's been mucking around this spine from this point last year.
Speaker 2: He's been doing for twelve months. Yeah, and I get
Speaker 2: Sero doing it. He's trying to find the right combination.
Speaker 2: Maybe he's done it, maybe he's finally found he's a
Speaker 2: pure half. O'Sullivan. He's not elite, he's not let's not
Speaker 2: He's not going to be a million bucks a year player,
Speaker 2: but he's a pure half. He kicks well, as Fatima says,
Speaker 2: he struts up the attack. Galvin played better with him
Speaker 2: in the solid but with Critter back, I would put
Speaker 2: Critter back to the centers. I leave Burton and I
Speaker 2: think Tuala is the one to probably miss out. Whether
Speaker 2: he goes out onto the wing to be confirmed, But
Speaker 2: I think after all the changes, all the experimentation, all
Speaker 2: the condemnation, I think maybe Soirello's finally found the harves
Speaker 2: combination to take him into the final.
Speaker 4: Sean O'Sullivan definitely played half back in that game. We're agreed.
Speaker 4: He wasn't playing six.
Speaker 1: So why are the Bulldogs continuing to put seven on
Speaker 1: Galvin's back? Do you think it's a pride thing?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 2: I don't know whether it's a pride thing. I just
Speaker 2: don't think they found or they didn't think they had
Speaker 2: found a pure seven to take over from Galvin. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: and look a lot of people are critical of Seano
Speaker 2: Sullom because he's sure he's what would you say, he's
Speaker 2: not a makeshift play. That's probably unfair, but yeah, he's
Speaker 2: not a first choice pick every week, is he? But
Speaker 2: now yeah he should be. Yeah, he's been given the chance,
Speaker 2: he's taken it. If you're going to give him Bake
Speaker 2: a chance and he performs, well, then you've got to
Speaker 2: support him.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I think Bulldogs fans will be frustrated because they've had
Speaker 1: Seaun O'Sullivan available to them all year they needed. He
Speaker 1: isn't elite, That's why I say he's boring. He's not
Speaker 1: a star. He's meant to be in reserve grade and
Speaker 1: back up. But they didn't have a proper game managing halfback,
Speaker 1: which is what they needed. And O'Sullivan's fantastic. He may
Speaker 1: not be elite, but he's unbelievable at following the game
Speaker 1: plan that the coach gives him, which in his postmatch
Speaker 1: interview you talked about that we did video on. This
Speaker 1: is incredibly intelligent. Joey John's back in the day he
Speaker 1: said he was the smartest footballery's seen. So this is
Speaker 1: not some schmuck that the Bulldogs have in reserve grade.
Speaker 1: This is a guy who could really help them.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And if he's the guy that brings the best out
Speaker 3: of Lochland Galvin and allows him to play that sort
Speaker 3: of instinctive style that we that everyone thinks Lochland Galvin is,
Speaker 3: then yeah, he's got to be the guy that goes there.
Speaker 3: But again, going back into the Pride question, is Galvin
Speaker 3: still wearing the number seven jumper out of Pride?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Maybe a little bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm begging cam Serroaldo please keep Sean o' sullivan
Speaker 1: playing half back and just switch the numbers. It's okay
Speaker 1: to admit you got it wrong. The Bulldogs looks so
Speaker 1: much better when Seawan oh sullivan's playing half back.
Speaker 2: It's not even wrong. So he didn't fish. It's not wrong,
Speaker 2: per se. It's experimenting, try the right combination. I'm with you,
Speaker 2: I change it, but it's a matter of saying I
Speaker 2: got it wrong. But my experiment here, there and everywhere,
Speaker 2: this is what we're finally come down to. So I
Speaker 2: don't know what it's be getting wrong, but I think
Speaker 2: it's about I would totally let's change it and let's
Speaker 2: stick with it.
Speaker 1: I would totally concede on that, except Saldo has been saying, no,
Speaker 1: this is our spine. He hasn't said, hey, we're on
Speaker 1: a twenty four month experiment experimentation journey. He's kind of gone, no,
Speaker 1: Galvin is our seven. And then as time has gone on,
Speaker 1: there's the realization he's just an excellent number six.
Speaker 4: That's my thought. Well, Broncos thought this day would never come.
Speaker 1: After I think eight consecutive losses, Brisbane Broncos, that defending
Speaker 1: champions have finally won a game, one that no one
Speaker 1: expected that they would win. They showed up put in
Speaker 1: maximum effort for Tima. Can the Broncos make the eighth?
Speaker 3: Well, watching them play, they almost had shades of the
Speaker 3: Broncos that went on that surge at the end of
Speaker 3: last year. But they have a really, really tough run
Speaker 3: and I think they've left it too late. In their defense,
Speaker 3: they were close to full strength. I think there were
Speaker 3: a couple of guys still missing. But I think it
Speaker 3: showed really that they have really really been hurt this year.
Speaker 3: Their title defense has been hurt by the fact that
Speaker 3: they've had significant injuries pretty much a year.
Speaker 4: But do you think they can make it? The run's
Speaker 4: too hard.
Speaker 3: But then again, who knows if they come out and
Speaker 3: play the chip on their shoulder, because they absolutely did
Speaker 3: come out and play with the chip on their shoulder,
Speaker 3: and I don't know whether they lifted or found that
Speaker 3: extra year because Penrith was the opposition incredible scalp by
Speaker 3: the way, Yeah, amazing, you know, after going so horribly wrong.
Speaker 3: I just think they're run. They've left it too late
Speaker 3: and their runs too hard.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And the other key difference is that Reese Walsh blitzed
Speaker 1: it like he's been missing in action for a few months.
Speaker 1: I reckon if he played like that and was playing
Speaker 1: for Queens and they would have won three nil. It
Speaker 1: was back to twenty twenty five Grand Final run Reese Welsh.
Speaker 1: He was electric everywhere, dominating one of the best teams
Speaker 1: in the comp bo.
Speaker 4: Do you think the Broncos can make it? No?
Speaker 2: No, in a word, yeah, no, okay, and then follow
Speaker 2: up the team is right, they've left it too late
Speaker 2: to go win every game. They're on eighteen points. Yeah,
Speaker 2: the Cowboys won twenty four and eighth position, so they're
Speaker 2: still six points outside. Can they do it again? Skill wise? Possibly?
Speaker 2: But I just don't think because you've done it one year,
Speaker 2: it gives you can't blunt I think you can do
Speaker 2: it the next year. It's too hard regularly, it's too
Speaker 2: hard to be streaming together six seven, eight wins. It
Speaker 2: was a gentle reminder on two fronts of how good
Speaker 2: they are, and it's also a gentle reminder of how
Speaker 2: they've fluffed their lines this year because that side that
Speaker 2: we saw beat the Panthers should be playing finals footy.
Speaker 4: They definitely should be.
Speaker 1: I also think it does show there's been a lot
Speaker 1: of noise about Michael Maguire, that he's perhaps lost the
Speaker 1: dressing room, that the boys aren't playing for him. That absolutely,
Speaker 1: in the past month, I feel like it's true. That's
Speaker 1: a team that's playing for their coach, their high maximum effort,
Speaker 1: they're showing up, they're in the collision, they're giving them everything,
Speaker 1: and they piped a team that they should never have beaten,
Speaker 1: especially when they're on an eight game skid, Bulldog. Do
Speaker 1: you think this silence is the noise around Maguire?
Speaker 2: Absolutely? I think it should should I think it should
Speaker 2: and what will happen probably two different things. Madge, wherever
Speaker 2: he goes as a human headline, he can't escape it Madge,
Speaker 2: it's under the part before round one this year, outreached,
Speaker 2: he lost the World Club Challenge and ben Terre walks
Speaker 2: out and he's already on the skids out of the Joy.
Speaker 2: He's a defending Premiere coach. So no matter what Madge does,
Speaker 2: there always going to be critics out there and that's fine.
Speaker 2: But look, he'll be there next year as there's no
Speaker 2: doubt in my mind that Madge will start the year.
Speaker 2: Whether he finishes the year, I guess it's like any
Speaker 2: professional sporting organization. It will come down to results. But
Speaker 2: he's got surely he's got the runs on the board
Speaker 2: from last year. To have a year where they don't
Speaker 2: make the finals and all sits well as opposed to
Speaker 2: going let's get the noose.
Speaker 4: Out and get him out of the Joy. Yeah, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: It's even a topic of conversation, but it is a
Speaker 1: lot of people have been calling for his head. Let's
Speaker 1: move on to the Panthers. Should Panthers fans now be worried?
Speaker 1: I think it's three losses out of their past four.
Speaker 1: They've lost to three teams that when they played them
Speaker 1: were outside of the eighth. Is there any is there
Speaker 1: any concern here for Panthers fans.
Speaker 3: For Teama, oh, I had to double check the fact
Speaker 3: that it had been three from four losses. It's sort
Speaker 3: of creeped up, I think on most fans because they've
Speaker 3: been so dominant for so long this year. No, I
Speaker 3: think I still think it's it's them and Daylight Second.
Speaker 3: To be honest, there's probably a couple of other clubs
Speaker 3: that are going under the raider a little bit like Crenula,
Speaker 3: though I don't know whether Cronulla had what it takes
Speaker 3: to be a Grand finalist. But No, I think once
Speaker 3: their full strength and once they get to that point
Speaker 3: the end of the season, I think they'll be fine.
Speaker 4: It goes to show how I think there's a muscle
Speaker 4: memory there for them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, like they just know how to do it, and
Speaker 1: they know they often do this in the middle of
Speaker 1: the season. They kind of drop games or they don't
Speaker 1: they don't play their full squad.
Speaker 4: Origin obviously affects them.
Speaker 1: It goes to show how unbelievable they are as a team,
Speaker 1: that they're one of the least for one of the
Speaker 1: teams in the worst Formula comp right now, and no
Speaker 1: one's questioning can Panthers.
Speaker 2: Do it no problem whatsoever with Penrith losing a couple
Speaker 2: of games. It happens during a year sometimes, you know what,
Speaker 2: it's not a bad thing just to pull back the
Speaker 2: jets for a couple of weeks and then they'll go again.
Speaker 2: We know what they can do, we know how they
Speaker 2: can find another level.
Speaker 4: I think it's a traffic I think they're just deceiving
Speaker 4: the commentary.
Speaker 2: I'm a bit like I think before this run of
Speaker 2: losses the gap between Penrith and the closer side was
Speaker 2: as big as it's been in their tenure.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think they.
Speaker 2: Are clearly ahead of the rest. If you want to
Speaker 2: go through and look, okay, Penrieth from the Grand Final
Speaker 2: right around that, who do they play? There's not that
Speaker 2: many options. The Roosters will be close, the Warriors. I'm
Speaker 2: still yet to be convinced and win a Grand Final.
Speaker 2: Darks are emerging, but we know Corla do in September.
Speaker 2: That's lose. There's other clubs sort of sniffing around, but
Speaker 2: I'm not convinced that there's a horde of teams coming
Speaker 2: to get the Panthers.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Well, if you'd asked me, a couple of weeks ago
Speaker 3: would have said the Dolphins. But sixty six points. I
Speaker 3: mean it was incredible bounce back on the weekend. But yeah,
Speaker 3: it's really hard to pick it. I worry about the Warriors,
Speaker 3: whether they might run out of steam, you know, But
Speaker 3: my gut feeling is it might be the Warriors.
Speaker 1: I think it's tough for the Warriors right because they've
Speaker 1: been a perennially failing club that no one's believing them
Speaker 1: right now.
Speaker 4: But what else can they do?
Speaker 1: They're winning games, they're playing great footy, they've been hammard
Speaker 1: by injury.
Speaker 2: They get two finals. They were if they got that
Speaker 2: top two fifinishes, that's right, I go bang at Hard.
Speaker 2: But they win that, then they in the primin final
Speaker 2: back at Hard. You know the side that Penrith would
Speaker 2: fear most, Yeah, the Broncos.
Speaker 4: Yeah they were. They're not going to do that.
Speaker 2: That's side that Britain send out each week, which is
Speaker 2: packed full of origin players. They're the side they can
Speaker 2: beat Penrith. They showed it last year. Obviously they won't
Speaker 2: be there, but that's the one team I think Penrith
Speaker 2: will be having a little gent to look over their shoulder, right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, I reckon the Warriors are going to be there.
Speaker 1: I think they're actually playing fantastic footy. They we talk
Speaker 1: about teams getting hit by injury. They they've certainly been hammered,
Speaker 1: but they've found the depth in the squad to keep
Speaker 1: getting results and if they get that home final, I
Speaker 1: think they're a shoeing for the Grand Final.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 1: Whilst on the topic of the Warriors in their victory
Speaker 1: over the Dragon, there was another storyline that popped up
Speaker 1: all over the weekend. Plenty of coaches talked about it.
Speaker 1: Fans across the country were furious at what's been going on. Fatimi,
Speaker 1: You've called it blunder round two point zero. The Bunker
Speaker 1: once again fails the standard that fans require of it.
Speaker 1: Tell me how many mistakes or what kind of absolute
Speaker 1: blunders did the Bunker mat this weekend.
Speaker 3: I can't tell you a definitive job, but there felt
Speaker 3: like a couple of howlers like you mentioned in that
Speaker 3: Warriors Dragon gave you a feel for the Dragons because
Speaker 3: they put they paid with so much heart, put in
Speaker 3: so much effort. In the end, it was a couple
Speaker 3: of refereeing decisions that I think cost them. So one
Speaker 3: of the most contentious ones was the Dallan Waturny's ears
Speaker 3: neck try that was clearly off a last pass that
Speaker 3: was forward and so and I know we don't want
Speaker 3: to open the can of worms with a bunker ruling
Speaker 3: on forward passes, but I still maintain on the last
Speaker 3: pass of a try, I think the bunker should be
Speaker 3: able to have a look.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so that was why shocker.
Speaker 3: That was a shocker. And then Paul vow Home, who've
Speaker 3: been having a go out all year on this podcast,
Speaker 3: got absolutely stiff on an escort penalty when you could
Speaker 3: hear the bunker saying, oh that vow deliberately changes his
Speaker 3: line to running to tain to a picky I think
Speaker 3: it was when you see the replay, he was literally
Speaker 3: just turning around to see where the ball was going.
Speaker 3: And I think they the Warriors took a penalty goal
Speaker 3: on the back of that. So yeah, a try that
Speaker 3: went against them, a penallly that went against them, and
Speaker 3: in the end I think it might have cost.
Speaker 2: Them the game.
Speaker 1: And there was some unformu There was also the unfortunate
Speaker 1: one where Ceta too is me that line break, he gets,
Speaker 1: the ref calls play on it gets the bunker calls
Speaker 1: are back saying it's a tackle, but then the momentum's
Speaker 1: gone for the Dragons. The Warriors have a fully set line,
Speaker 1: so Dragons fans will feel ripped off. My hot take
Speaker 1: is that they still weren't going to win, like they
Speaker 1: needed the fifty to fifty calls to go their way
Speaker 1: to maybe steal a win. The Warriors were just definitely
Speaker 1: the better site. Doesn't mean the Dragons were bad, just
Speaker 1: that the Warriors are an excellent team. The Dragons shouldn't
Speaker 1: be embarrassed about the performance that they.
Speaker 4: Put on refereeings.
Speaker 1: The referee should like it wasn't just in this game,
Speaker 1: particularly with the bunker Bulldog.
Speaker 4: Did you happen to catch that? Was it on? Nat Butcher?
Speaker 4: That tackle? The the comb over? I think he called
Speaker 4: it Fatima.
Speaker 2: I saw it. I can't believe what I saw, but
Speaker 2: I did unfortunately saw it was a day off too. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so I'm trying.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're feeling smug after defending laws.
Speaker 4: You just want to enjoy the spoilers.
Speaker 2: I mean, it was an absurd penalty. It was ridiculous.
Speaker 2: It was embarrassing for the game. Hopefully we never see
Speaker 2: such a.
Speaker 1: But that's the issue though, isn't it bulldog like? We
Speaker 1: are seeing these issues pop up time and time again,
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 2: Who who is making that call? Is that? Is that
Speaker 2: in his ear? Is that a touchy you reckon? Or
Speaker 2: is it the referee? That one was a referee on
Speaker 2: field from memory? Yeah? Yes, So I mean how does
Speaker 2: he see that and think that's a penalty? How does this?
Speaker 2: How does this happen?
Speaker 3: Well, something like that shouldn't happen because when you have
Speaker 3: situations of illegal or foul play, right like, especially if
Speaker 3: it's a high tackle the rest of it, the bunker
Speaker 3: can intervene when it's being looked at and decide force.
Speaker 3: You know, there's moderate force the rest of it. Blah
Speaker 3: blah blah. Yeah, that should have been a situation where
Speaker 3: the bunker should have also gone. Actually, hold on, there
Speaker 3: is no But.
Speaker 1: That's a rule thing, though, isn't it? Like they're not
Speaker 1: allowed to currently in how the game's operating. The bunkers
Speaker 1: it can only step in on offenses that are worthy
Speaker 1: of report. So when I'm suspecting, maybe I'm assuming wrongly.
Speaker 1: We don't expect referees to be perfect, right, So then
Speaker 1: how many errors do you think is a referee can
Speaker 1: make in a game and it'd be a good performance.
Speaker 1: So here's my rationale. I'm going to throw this one
Speaker 1: out there. I got hammered online for it. If you
Speaker 1: watch a good game of footing, you'll probably see at
Speaker 1: least eight errors and a bunch of mistackles. Like a
Speaker 1: really great game of footy is at least going to
Speaker 1: have eight errors, say ninety percent completion rate from both teams,
Speaker 1: that's going to be an amazing game with a bunch
Speaker 1: of errors. Now, the referee is involved in every single play,
Speaker 1: so I reckon a good ref performance includes eight to
Speaker 1: ten errors.
Speaker 2: Thoughts I disagree. I'm more concerned about the level of
Speaker 2: the eight to ten. If you're referring to a player
Speaker 2: laying on the board a bit longer, I can live
Speaker 2: with that. It's an error, but it's more the cleanup. Again,
Speaker 2: they've got to watch out for. And look, referee is
Speaker 2: a human. We all love the kicking refs. I've kicked
Speaker 2: mess for thirty exactly, and they get it wrong a lot.
Speaker 2: But at the same time, if you ask the NRL,
Speaker 2: they've got the KPIs and the stats there which show
Speaker 2: that the referees are striking success at about ninety six
Speaker 2: twenty seven. Yes, if you want to believe those stats exactly.
Speaker 2: But I'm just saying we're never ever going to get
Speaker 2: the perfect game because there's human error involved. Even though
Speaker 2: the bunker, which I hate, yeah's still going to someone
Speaker 2: in there, still at the button. Yeah, and he's a
Speaker 2: human being, So it will never be perfect. I don't
Speaker 2: mind the smaller errors. We just have to live with them.
Speaker 2: We have since done one hundred and eight yea, And
Speaker 2: it's like, but it's the tackles on the weekend and
Speaker 2: some of the decisions over there. I want to say,
Speaker 2: the TACKLEMN Butcher tackle and some of those Dragons runs,
Speaker 2: they were just poor. And the game's better than that.
Speaker 2: It's got to be better than that, and it's got
Speaker 2: to be more professional.
Speaker 1: So if the bunker is officiating poorly and we're getting
Speaker 1: frustrated and we are seeing these clangers or these howlers
Speaker 1: or these flunders, what are some ideas on how we
Speaker 1: fix this?
Speaker 2: You've got you're not going to fix Yeah's impossible.
Speaker 4: Yes, I think there's some ways to fix it.
Speaker 3: Here's the thing, like, as Bulldog mentioned, the their KPIs
Speaker 3: and how well they're actually doing is actually quite high.
Speaker 3: It's just the fact that there are clangers just about
Speaker 3: every single weekend, which is why we're talking about it.
Speaker 3: I don't know how because of the human element, if
Speaker 3: there is a process that's going to eliminate every single
Speaker 3: human error unless we turn referees into AI referees, I don't.
Speaker 4: Know the robots.
Speaker 1: But don't you feel like the fans in the football
Speaker 1: community are owed more like should here's my thought. Should
Speaker 1: the NRL reveal to us the scorecard of how they
Speaker 1: how they judge referee performances. I'm not saying give the
Speaker 1: scorecard for that ref I'm just saying, let us know
Speaker 1: why you're saying the refs are performing at a high level.
Speaker 2: They could. But the KPIs are very complex. Yeah, I've
Speaker 2: seen that, Michelle. It's very complex, and to go through
Speaker 2: a game means with that complexity, it would be quite
Speaker 2: an arduous. So Graham and as he did for a
Speaker 2: few years, brief front up every Monday and explain decisions.
Speaker 1: I felt like he was I feel like he gassed
Speaker 1: lit a lot though, didn't he like he was always defending.
Speaker 2: Well, it's such a subjective game. You can look at
Speaker 2: a decision, go that's bullshit, that's wrong. But technically Anathon
Speaker 2: might say, you know what that is right, It's like
Speaker 2: a ruck and mall in rugby union. Yeah, thirty two
Speaker 2: different decisions. You can make twenty of them one and
Speaker 2: then aiding the reverse. There's no right or wrong, they're
Speaker 2: both subjective.
Speaker 3: So doing defense in that situation because when he used
Speaker 3: to have his briefings, I attended quite a few of them.
Speaker 4: Now, very paw, did you survive.
Speaker 3: No, But if the view was that the referee got
Speaker 3: it wrong, they would concede.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you know what, hopefully well I
Speaker 2: won't be need to, but younger than you'll be sitting
Speaker 2: here in ten years time, and you know what, we'll
Speaker 2: still be talking about refereeing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I guess that's it's possible to around.
Speaker 2: We've tried him and we've got the bunker now, our
Speaker 2: games worth billions of dollars. We've been bluing about referee
Speaker 2: since don ure nay, and it's going to continue. Well,
Speaker 2: that's my argument, no excuses, don't get me wrong. I'm
Speaker 2: not sticking out no, no totally just saying, but to try
Speaker 2: to totally eradicate the referee in their errors it's impossible.
Speaker 1: That's why I feel like the sentiment, the negative sentiment
Speaker 1: is a bit of a waste of energy because it's
Speaker 1: not going to like there's things we can do to
Speaker 1: tweak it, but they're not going to be perfect.
Speaker 4: They are going to make it.
Speaker 2: You just hope as a supporter that it will roll
Speaker 2: around and by the end of the year at fifty
Speaker 2: to fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And onto our new segment BS Messages of the Week,
Speaker 1: where we hear from you the fans, about what's really
Speaker 1: got you hot, what's got you riled up, what's some
Speaker 1: bullshit that you want to call out. We've got some
Speaker 1: great ones this week. This one comes from Keith in Sydney.
Speaker 1: Hello to you, Keith. He says, ticket prices of NRL
Speaker 1: games some Thursday night games are more expensive than concerts
Speaker 1: for international bands and magic that your real name. Pretty
Speaker 1: Cool from Queensland says buying a round of beers at
Speaker 1: the footy game is giving off just one round is
Speaker 1: enough vibes our fans getting priced out at the footy Bulldog.
Speaker 2: It's been a bugbear of mine for one hundred years.
Speaker 2: It's the price of going to a game of football.
Speaker 2: But the crowds are massive, so they are still going.
Speaker 2: People will complain. I get that, and times are tough.
Speaker 2: We're all watching our pennies at the moment, but they
Speaker 2: are still going to the game. That's why clubs are
Speaker 2: promoting memberships. You can buy a membership and get four, six, eight,
Speaker 2: twelve games and they are a lot cheaper than buying
Speaker 2: a one off ticket. But I hate it. I think
Speaker 2: it's a working class game. Well certainly was a working
Speaker 2: class game, and I think all fans should be able
Speaker 2: to take their kids to the footy and go as
Speaker 2: a family and enjoy those memories and moments that having
Speaker 2: a sluggy for two three hundred bucks. Sadly, it's live entertainment.
Speaker 2: You go to any concert these days, the prices are
Speaker 2: the same. It's bloody expensive.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be rough, especially if you're a
Speaker 1: Roosters fan heading to Alion Stadium and you've got Maryvale
Speaker 1: catering it. You're not going to get a cheap feed
Speaker 1: at the footy anymore. I don't think that's a working
Speaker 1: class mill. Their Bulldog fans getting priced out for Tima.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when you think about you know, if you're trying
Speaker 3: to take a family to a footy game. You know,
Speaker 3: some family tickets started about few hundred dollars. Then the
Speaker 3: kids haven't even had their pigs and their hot ships
Speaker 3: set and all their soft drinks. Maybe you want to
Speaker 3: buy a couple of drinks yourself, and then you're looking
Speaker 3: at you know, or maybe five hundred dollars just to
Speaker 3: go to a game of footage, especially in the cost
Speaker 3: of living crisis. Yeah, I do think some families are
Speaker 3: being priced out, though some clubs that are taking the
Speaker 3: initiative to make tickets as affordable as possible. I know
Speaker 3: last year, you know, Canterbury had that ten dollar ticket
Speaker 3: offer and towards the end of the year you saw
Speaker 3: those massive crowds at a core stadium. So yeah, I
Speaker 3: think they are being priced out and clubs should be
Speaker 3: doing more to and sure as many fans as possible
Speaker 3: can accessuse.
Speaker 2: The problem with also got is we do stick to
Speaker 2: suburban grounds, which I love. But when those suburban grounds
Speaker 2: are full and it doesn't take a lot to fill,
Speaker 2: and Brookie always like, can't they can charge top dollar
Speaker 2: because everyone's cramming to get in. It's okay for the
Speaker 2: Bulldogs for example, or Souse to say cheap tickets. I
Speaker 2: love that, mind you, But they've got sixty thousand empty
Speaker 2: seats so they can put a few more bums on seats.
Speaker 2: But while we're at suburban grounds, they have that ability charge.
Speaker 4: High Keith and Magic sorro Man.
Speaker 1: Just the unfortunate reality of the game being so popular,
Speaker 1: the prices aren't going down.
Speaker 4: Mate. Final one from Tony in Bellmere, Queensland.
Speaker 1: When a try is awarded, Rather than celebrate, I breathe
Speaker 1: a sigh of relief. The ref and bunker over officiating
Speaker 1: is ruining the game? Is it that bad guys? Is
Speaker 1: it ruining the game?
Speaker 2: Ah, it's not ruining the game. You know what. I
Speaker 2: don't like the bunker. They stick their bibbin, They drive
Speaker 2: me nuts. They've given me these gray hairs on both
Speaker 2: my temples. Having said that, I think it's still a
Speaker 2: better option than what we had when it was just
Speaker 2: eyes and a touch judge. Blunders were being made left,
Speaker 2: right and center. Back then. Of course, we didn't know
Speaker 2: the blunders were being made because we didn't have fifty
Speaker 2: eight thousand cameras at every game, and we just moved on.
Speaker 2: It was a different world back then. But I think
Speaker 2: ultimately as much as the Bunker gets in our face
Speaker 2: and I wish they'd leave us alone, at times, it
Speaker 2: is a more accurate game in terms of decisions being made.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Tony, you would be much more furious if we
Speaker 1: didn't have the bunker, and those senior match officials like
Speaker 1: you would be pulling your hair out if you've got
Speaker 1: any minds going anyway. Okay, so that wraps up our
Speaker 1: BS segment. If you want, we want to hear from
Speaker 1: your fans. We want to start talking about what's what's
Speaker 1: got you? What what's got you riled up? Head to
Speaker 1: cod sports dot com dot au. You can't miss it
Speaker 1: a NOBS section. Click on there, submit your answers or
Speaker 1: submit anything that's giving you a grievance and we'll talk
Speaker 1: about it on the show. That wraps it up for
Speaker 1: us for this week. Thanks so much everyone. We'll catch
Speaker 1: you next Monday.