Speaker 1: I'll get out there for rugby league fans around the
Speaker 1: country and indeed around the world, and welcome into the
Speaker 1: Mad Monday podcast again for another Monday. My name is
Speaker 1: Mina Stewart and I am joined down the line from
Speaker 1: a gloomy looking why he by Ben Hurley, Good afternoon,
Speaker 1: being hey, getting on mate.
Speaker 2: Well, look, let's just say that the weather is kind
Speaker 2: of reflecting my mood. This in ourl season is just
Speaker 2: a gloomy day with patches of drizzle.
Speaker 3: It is, it is.
Speaker 1: It's I think that game kind of summed up our
Speaker 1: whole season, didn't it. We lost to the Dolphins thirty
Speaker 1: to thirty two and golden point, and it was just
Speaker 1: it just summed up like an okay start patches where
Speaker 1: we completely fell off some really heartbreaking one hundred meters
Speaker 1: breakaway tries. Then we come right back into it only
Speaker 1: to get beaten not just by a drop goal, but
Speaker 1: by a two point field goal, which I think was quite.
Speaker 3: Poet in the way that we lost. That wasn't it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've never scored a two point field goal, right,
Speaker 2: I can't remember one in the Warrior's history. I mean,
Speaker 2: we barely scored a field goal. It's just not something
Speaker 2: we do well. And you know, as exciting as it
Speaker 2: is going to Golden Point, you know, my heart just
Speaker 2: sinks because it's just not something we're good at.
Speaker 1: No, and I think, Oh, somebody mentioned on one of
Speaker 1: the Reddit threads that I was trawling this morning looking
Speaker 1: for some sort of glimmer of hope, and they've done
Speaker 1: the numbers on if we had have made all of
Speaker 1: our kicks where we'd be sitting, we'd actually be inside
Speaker 1: the top eight. There's so many of these games where
Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, we lost a couple of kicks here,
Speaker 1: we don't really have a kicking option. In defense of that,
Speaker 1: they would say, because someone came up to me this
Speaker 1: morning and said, how come we don't have a kicker?
Speaker 1: It's like we do. We've got four of them. This
Speaker 1: is just the fourth one, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: It shouldn't actually be on his shoulders. Is it as
Speaker 1: simple as we missed all our kicks?
Speaker 2: No? Oh, I've got something to say about Shane Harris
Speaker 2: Devita and I professed this in our thread last night.
Speaker 2: I think he's a great player. I'm just not sure
Speaker 2: he's a half. I'm not sure he has those little
Speaker 2: you know, a little skill that you know, those little skills,
Speaker 2: kicking skills, and he does make the odd mistake. I
Speaker 2: would like to see him put on ten kgs and
Speaker 2: move into the thirteen role. I think he's really good
Speaker 2: on defense. He's a brilliant reader of the game. And
Speaker 2: you know, why not have a ball playing possibly kicking
Speaker 2: number thirteen in the in the style of like a
Speaker 2: Brad Fittler.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't mind it. I do know he is
Speaker 1: actually quite a lot smaller than you'd think he'd be.
Speaker 1: I remember when he first started. This was a few
Speaker 1: years ago now. I interviewed him and this was when
Speaker 1: he'd just broken into the squad and I said, what's
Speaker 1: your because we actually had I think snacker chingy chips
Speaker 1: in the studio and I was offering them around, like
Speaker 1: you guys are allowed to eat these or what? And
Speaker 1: he goes, yeah, I'm allowed to eat anything I want.
Speaker 1: The coaches want me to put on as much muscle,
Speaker 1: as much weight as I possibly can, So yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: with you. I reckon just go healthily the this summer,
Speaker 1: tuck in Christmas time, go nuts and then and then
Speaker 1: come back with a bit of bulk.
Speaker 3: I agree with.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think if Metcalf can come back next year
Speaker 2: the and I'd love to mind him. Martin in the
Speaker 2: in the halves. I just think he's he's so good
Speaker 2: and he was one of our best players the other day.
Speaker 2: But he can't do everything. He's so solid. So him
Speaker 2: and Metcalf and the halves and and SNeW Harris Tavita,
Speaker 2: you know, potentially replacing like a Jazz and Dila Walker.
Speaker 2: You know, we are going to be short of a
Speaker 2: ball playing back rower next year unless we signed someone,
Speaker 2: you know, then yeah, that's it's it's not a it's
Speaker 2: not a win all it's not a cure all. Rather,
Speaker 2: but it's a possibility.
Speaker 1: It's not the panacet for me though, despite the fact
Speaker 1: that we lost that and yeah, reflecting on the fact
Speaker 1: that it was a loss, it's heartbreaking, etcetera, etcetera. I
Speaker 1: actually really enjoyed that game, particularly the last twenty minutes.
Speaker 1: There was a turning point. The first sixty was like
Speaker 1: fucking hell, here we go again. Then the last twenty
Speaker 1: and I actually had to jot it down just so
Speaker 1: that I could remember the sequence of events that turned
Speaker 1: it around for us. It was Ali Leadsawa makes a break.
Speaker 1: He goes the length of the field and then a
Speaker 1: tackle later or two tackles later, he crosses the line
Speaker 1: and fumbles the ball cold. At that point, Id Cossey,
Speaker 1: who's running through celebrating what was a botch to try,
Speaker 1: gives him the flying People's knee from hell to the
Speaker 1: side of the head.
Speaker 3: Knocked them.
Speaker 1: Stone Gould the only dude who showed up with his
Speaker 1: boots laser that on Sunday. He got knocked out, Hia,
Speaker 1: he's gone. He'll be gone next week because it didn't
Speaker 1: come back. On a couple of plays later, we then
Speaker 1: do score to Maty Martin and tom Ally they bonk
Speaker 1: Hids and all of a sudden and there's four concussions
Speaker 1: out on the field, And that is what turned at
Speaker 1: least around the commentary. We were just saying, everybody out there,
Speaker 1: high speed hongies for the Warriors, get them behind your team.
Speaker 1: Hit but whoever you're watching the game with texts coming in,
Speaker 1: I've head butted the dog, I've head butted my nan,
Speaker 1: I've heit buttered the mirror. They've all been sent for Hias.
Speaker 1: And I think that turned the game around, at least
Speaker 1: just for the commentary, but it felt like for the
Speaker 1: Warriors too.
Speaker 2: I mean, potentially it's good that we're having a terrible season.
Speaker 2: Otherwise there could have been more injuries. You know, more tries,
Speaker 2: more celebrations equals more injuries.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I was just thinking, God, if we win this, we
Speaker 1: have to fully lean into high speed Hongies for the Warriors.
Speaker 3: It's the only way around.
Speaker 1: I went over and hit buttered Chris and the commentary
Speaker 1: just to get a bit of money going.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, a Hongy from Chris is quite
Speaker 2: a heavy duty thing anyway, with his Schnods.
Speaker 1: Area code hongies going around at the ground. Yeah, it
Speaker 1: was o Sullivan and Ice that Ccht had a couple
Speaker 1: of cracks at it. He shanked both of them, but
Speaker 1: I think they're under a fair bit of pressure. Would
Speaker 1: you have liked to see Tomighty have a shot at
Speaker 1: one of those drop goals?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. Is it part of his skal seen?
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure he can drop kick
Speaker 2: a ball. But it's funny how they tend to have
Speaker 2: specialists for these sorts of things, don't they.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because when and he missed it, but Jemina Sako
Speaker 1: had a crack from it, felt like halfway and when
Speaker 1: it got to the post it was still going up.
Speaker 1: It was mammoth shot, but he missed it, thankfully. But
Speaker 1: in the end it didn't matter. I think the other
Speaker 1: one I dug out a bit of a statistic here
Speaker 1: for you. Webe only used six interchanges on the weekend.
Speaker 3: Now you're allowed ten.
Speaker 1: And I think this is that would shock anyone who
Speaker 1: hadn't watched the Warriors this season, But anyone that has,
Speaker 1: you know that he, I mean, did last even Come on, I.
Speaker 3: Don't think he did. Played zero minutes, played zero minutes.
Speaker 1: So on top of the fact that we're already struggling
Speaker 1: as a squad, it doesn't it feel like we're playing
Speaker 1: with one hand tied behind our backs when he's not
Speaker 1: putting these guys on.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's weird with Lasso, isn't he Because he really
Speaker 2: is only can only really play one position. That's that's
Speaker 2: why I think we are going to miss Jazz next year,
Speaker 2: because and Dylan Walker, because there's such great utilities, you know,
Speaker 2: and and Jazz can play hooker as well. You know.
Speaker 2: There's been a lot of criticism about Webbe's use of
Speaker 2: the bench all year, and no one has a solution.
Speaker 2: No one gets the theory here. What is what is
Speaker 2: the tactic? You know, we're a team which is traditionally
Speaker 2: not necessarily the fittest team, and I'm not sure that
Speaker 2: we're getting any fit of this year, so why not
Speaker 2: make use of the resources?
Speaker 3: Is it a trust issue?
Speaker 1: Because you know, I've been fielding texts from my dad
Speaker 1: this whole season being like he's been so pigheated. When
Speaker 1: is he going to when's he going to finally switch
Speaker 1: out years back? When's he going to make use of
Speaker 1: the interchanges? Is it just that he has a group
Speaker 1: of players that he trusts and he doesn't want to
Speaker 1: stray away from that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's important, that trust thing. And you know, players
Speaker 2: feeling comfortable in their roles and all that. You know,
Speaker 2: they don't call them we're blesso for no reason. You know,
Speaker 2: he's definitely a holistic coach if you like. So. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that's the only reason I can see is that he
Speaker 2: wants people to feel comfortable in their roles and and
Speaker 2: not feel like they're under scrutiny every single minute of
Speaker 2: every game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, do you think Sean Johnson would have made a
Speaker 1: difference to that game?
Speaker 2: Not this year?
Speaker 3: Even just the drop goal. You know he's got absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, of all the players we've got, he's a
Speaker 2: guy who can ice games. Yeah yeah, absolutely, no good
Speaker 2: call on that one. But Tomty's just done such a
Speaker 2: great job in that seven jersey for well, they played
Speaker 2: in the eighteen jersey. Yeah, yes, but yeah, he's just
Speaker 2: something done so and for some reason he won't play
Speaker 2: them together anymore.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this there just seems to be like a I
Speaker 1: think he's just finally admitted they don't click together. And
Speaker 1: then but that's brutal because you know, tomoighty's going to
Speaker 1: be our half back presumably next year, so I don't know,
Speaker 1: benching him, how does that go for you next year?
Speaker 2: Is there just an aesthetic clash in that Shawn Johnson's
Speaker 2: always been the handsomest guy at the club, and now
Speaker 2: there's a new handsomer potentially, I'm not saying necessarily, you know,
Speaker 2: it's down to individual tastes, but definitely a you know,
Speaker 2: pretender for the crown of handsomest.
Speaker 1: I think I think you've put the phit the nail
Speaker 1: on the head there, Ben, I think that's exactly what
Speaker 1: it is. There's a there's a problem there with you know,
Speaker 1: we talk about overlapping skill sets. You've got two beautiful,
Speaker 1: beautiful men and Seawan Johnson's walked out unto the field.
Speaker 1: Just go fucking hold on, I hang on, here's how
Speaker 1: this works, mate.
Speaker 2: It's too much sexy, too much sexy on the field.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 1: And I think if anyone's proven that this year, it's
Speaker 1: the Broncos. You know, they've got too many hot thirds
Speaker 1: all across the park and look how that's turned out
Speaker 1: for them. So yeah, you're right, maybe a few more
Speaker 1: I goes in the team next year could be the guy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just to you know, just to add to my
Speaker 2: gloomy mood about this. In ourl season, my other team
Speaker 2: lost the Broncos in the weekend, So I'm really not
Speaker 2: I'm just really not feeling this season. I'm kind of
Speaker 2: wishing it's over.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean mathematically, they asked web after the game,
Speaker 1: how do you feel? You know, what's the plan for
Speaker 1: the rest of the season, and he goes, well, the
Speaker 1: highest we can finish is on twenty nine points, and
Speaker 1: we don't know how the other teams are going to go,
Speaker 1: so that could potentially get us in the top eight.
Speaker 1: So we're just going to fire a shot over the
Speaker 1: next three or four weeks, whatever it is. I don't
Speaker 1: think he actually believes that. But but if the Warriors
Speaker 1: are out, who is your second team?
Speaker 3: It's usually the Cow, isn't it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Cow, it's the Cow's lost to the Broncos. The
Speaker 2: Broncos have lost about four in a row and then
Speaker 2: suddenly turned it around against my team in the weekend.
Speaker 2: So I'm just I just didn't have a great weekend
Speaker 2: on on the NRL. I must have met.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're all focusing on the Olympics. I think for me,
Speaker 1: I'm going to jump on the bull Dogs. They're going
Speaker 1: to be my second team this year. I think they've
Speaker 1: found something in these last couple of weeks and they're
Speaker 1: just firing shots, I would say, and I actually said
Speaker 1: this on the commentary. When we started that game, it
Speaker 1: looked like we were going to have a crack, and
Speaker 1: we did throughout the game, but it was a bit messy,
Speaker 1: But like I felt like we were shifting early. Do
Speaker 1: you think we'll said a bit more of that? Do
Speaker 1: you reckon now that you know it's kind of out
Speaker 1: of reach? Do you think we're just fire a few
Speaker 1: shots and have a crack.
Speaker 2: That's what it did seem like at the start of
Speaker 2: their game. And then Hurley Hancock's really fun with grabs
Speaker 2: the ball and runs one hundred me doesn't. Now I
Speaker 2: think we've got shell shocked after that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, big time.
Speaker 1: We've got gun sho Ray gunshow after Yeah, it was
Speaker 1: just a brutal, brutal knocked back from chance. So then
Speaker 1: our fullback's not there. Hummu fun with goes the whole length.
Speaker 3: Of the field.
Speaker 1: I don't know, how do you think, So, presuming Sean's
Speaker 1: back for the rest of the season, do you think
Speaker 1: there'll be an element of the farewell tour of Sean
Speaker 1: Johnson that will help us?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you'd hope. Have we got two more
Speaker 2: home games, so it was one of the dogs, that's it.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 2: So I mean, assuming you'll play that game at least
Speaker 2: And yeah, I don't even know what's wrong with him.
Speaker 1: If I'm honest, they said it was a quad issue.
Speaker 1: Now I wonder if he it must have happened between
Speaker 1: when he announced his retirement, because surely you don't announce
Speaker 1: your retirement if you know you're not playing that week.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it must look I don't know. I hope he's
Speaker 3: back for those games anyway.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like I said, the last game is the twenty
Speaker 1: third of August against the Bulldogs that has sold out
Speaker 1: four and twenty four pack price pack is one of
Speaker 1: the only ways you can now get this a segue.
Speaker 1: By the way, Ben, each one the Mad Monday.
Speaker 3: Team again, thank you you're broadcaster.
Speaker 1: Four tickets the Warriors and four and twenty five ouches.
Speaker 2: He did.
Speaker 1: Just text the monthly keyword to three two three six.
Speaker 1: Listen to podcast apps like this one to find out
Speaker 1: the new keyword. And this month it is game. So
Speaker 1: game to three two three six your last chance to
Speaker 1: get tickets to Sean Johnson's farewell game. We're going to
Speaker 1: take a quick break and we'll come back with the
Speaker 1: Stonker off the Round.
Speaker 3: All right, now, it is time for the Stalker off
Speaker 3: the Round.
Speaker 1: And it was Friday Night's fixture between the Eels and
Speaker 1: the Panthers. In the end it was thirty six to
Speaker 1: thirty four. But this was one of the wildest games
Speaker 1: of the season. I think, Ben, where did you watch
Speaker 1: this one?
Speaker 2: I was just watching this at home and just a marvelous,
Speaker 2: marvel game, amazing comeback from a champion side. I actually
Speaker 2: wanted to talk about about the Panthers and how good
Speaker 2: they are. They are so good that when they win,
Speaker 2: when they win the whole competition, whoever they play in
Speaker 2: the Grand Final next year is so demoralized generally has
Speaker 2: a shitter of a year the next year. So in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one, sorry, in twenty twenty they played the
Speaker 2: Sorry in twenty two one and I was right, they
Speaker 2: played the rabbit Os and beat them in the Grand Final.
Speaker 2: The next year, the Rabbits was seventh, The following year
Speaker 2: they played the Eels in the Grand Final, and then
Speaker 2: the following year after the Eels were tenth. Last year
Speaker 2: they played the Broncos beat the Broncos in the final.
Speaker 2: The Broncos are currently thirteenth, So they not only beat them,
Speaker 2: they demoralized them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this team, they ripped the beating hard on them.
Speaker 1: The Rabbits and the Eels second last and third last
Speaker 1: respectively this year.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's a continual slide. Why don't you lose
Speaker 2: to the Panthers in the Grand Final. You're poked for
Speaker 2: like three years.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not like you just have a shit of
Speaker 3: the next season. No, no, no, no.
Speaker 1: The Spirals at Rotts and that's why we did well
Speaker 1: to avoid the Grand Final last year.
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, there was a tepic moves. It served
Speaker 2: us well.
Speaker 3: The highlight of this game for me, This game actually bloom.
Speaker 1: I was watching this round in the mate's place and
Speaker 1: I got ober home a halfway through the second half.
Speaker 1: I was like, Panthers are going to ice this one.
Speaker 1: I got home to catch the end of it. I
Speaker 1: was just like, oh my god, what is going on?
Speaker 1: The most insane captain's challenge that you will see in
Speaker 1: a game of rugby legus. It was off the kickoff,
Speaker 1: the Eels kick it off, the Panthers knocked it on
Speaker 1: and what I thought was one of the clearest knock
Speaker 1: ons that you will see. And I wonder if it
Speaker 1: was just because it was the last two minutes. I like,
Speaker 1: fuck it, stop the game. We'll just challenge it because
Speaker 1: we've got it up our sleep. They challenged it only
Speaker 1: was a correct call. Yeah, it was a stone cold
Speaker 1: knock on off the Panthers. They then found that Cleary
Speaker 1: had shepherded one of the players and so that gave
Speaker 1: the Eels the chance at winning the game or tying
Speaker 1: the game, right which they blew, which they then blew.
Speaker 1: And this is not the first time that Gutho has
Speaker 1: done that this season, is it.
Speaker 2: No? I'm look, Garthuson's a great player, but Nathan Cleary
Speaker 2: is a champion and that's the difference, isn't it.
Speaker 3: Like Yeah, yeah, just that whole Panthers team. I don't know.
Speaker 2: They keep losing players they keep every year. I guess
Speaker 2: salary cap or you know, just because you win the
Speaker 2: competition and you're worth more. You know, they'll lose two
Speaker 2: or three key players and then then they're back again.
Speaker 2: I mean, you can't see them missing the Grand Final
Speaker 2: this year. I think it'll be it. I think everyone
Speaker 2: assumes it's going to be a Storm Panthers final. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 2: and that'd be five Grand Finals in a row.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I got to be honest, I think four
Speaker 1: championships in a row as well.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that's what's on the line.
Speaker 1: I was thinking that this game was a little closer
Speaker 1: than it needed to be, and the only note that
Speaker 1: I wrote down in this game was that if this
Speaker 1: was a playoffs game or a finals game, I feel
Speaker 1: like the Panthers would have actually taken this one away.
Speaker 1: I don't think they would have let it get as
Speaker 1: close as it was. I don't really understand why, but
Speaker 1: it just seemed like, fresh off beating us the Eels,
Speaker 1: they really found something there and then really pushed.
Speaker 2: They're the bogy team of Penrith, aren't they? They seem
Speaker 2: to have It's the West Sydney rivalry situation. They seemed
Speaker 2: to rise to the occasion versus Penrith except in a
Speaker 2: Grand Final.
Speaker 1: Except obviously in a Grand Final and then subsequently every
Speaker 1: game since then. I idea, if if it was a
Speaker 1: finals game, I really think that the Panthers would have
Speaker 1: hunt them one. Nathan Clary just another master class. He's
Speaker 1: by far the best player in regular league right now,
Speaker 1: isn't here?
Speaker 2: Yeah? How did you look? It's just a little bit
Speaker 2: of supercoach too, because I had him at the start
Speaker 2: of the season. Then he got injured, but I managed
Speaker 2: to keep him, and then he came back and I
Speaker 2: was like, I'm feeling pretty good because I still had him,
Speaker 2: put him back in and he was terrible for like
Speaker 2: two or three games, and so then I sell him,
Speaker 2: thinking because then he gets injured again. Then I sell
Speaker 2: him and I think, oh, this is fine. You know,
Speaker 2: he's not going to be the player this season that
Speaker 2: he usually is, and then you how did you all
Speaker 2: know to buy him again?
Speaker 3: I just all know.
Speaker 1: I just think I think it's one of those ones
Speaker 1: where it's like, if you're going to be wrong, how
Speaker 1: do you want to be wrong? And you want to
Speaker 1: be wrong by picking Nathan Cleary and he has a
Speaker 1: shit it because I think that's you know, less likely
Speaker 1: than picking Nathan Cleary, and he goes, well, that's my
Speaker 1: whole thing was just fuck it.
Speaker 3: You have to have Nathan Cleary.
Speaker 1: And I don't want to lose because the other guy did,
Speaker 1: because then I'll be like, oh, obviously.
Speaker 3: You have to have Nathan Cleary. He's the best player.
Speaker 2: But you must have sold him the first time when
Speaker 2: he got injured.
Speaker 1: I brought him back here. Yeah, I couldn't have played
Speaker 1: it any worse. I sold him, then mortgaged my team
Speaker 1: to bring him back when he first did the hammy again,
Speaker 1: So then I sold him again, and then yeah, brought
Speaker 1: him back early.
Speaker 3: It's paid.
Speaker 2: You brought him three times?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, right.
Speaker 2: See, I just didn't think he was going to I
Speaker 2: just didn't think he was going to be on the
Speaker 2: park for the rest of the season.
Speaker 1: It didn't matter because in our head to head league,
Speaker 1: Adams knocked me out this week anyway. But the only thing,
Speaker 1: the only thing that kept me in it was a
Speaker 1: captain Ponger and he Captain Cleary, and so I came
Speaker 1: within about five points.
Speaker 2: And well, I was unbeaten in our in our league
Speaker 2: for the first five weeks. I've had a very similar
Speaker 2: season to the Brisbane Broncos, and that I am now
Speaker 2: seventh on the table.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you got out to a flyer and then I
Speaker 1: just got reeled back in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was the Origin period that. Yeah, I always
Speaker 2: I always just forget about that and I always end
Speaker 2: up picking loads of Origin players, which just screws you
Speaker 2: for that period.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I got really arrogant because in our head to
Speaker 1: head leg I was a hit by quite a bit.
Speaker 1: And so then I started like trying to project ahead
Speaker 1: and get players in for like the run home. And
Speaker 1: then I dropped a game to you, and I dropped
Speaker 1: the game to the guy who runs Flavor the radio station,
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, I lose this game.
Speaker 1: Don't get a second shot at it.
Speaker 3: I'm more of an.
Speaker 1: Overall guy anyway, to be fair, Just quickly I know,
Speaker 1: we've got to hur the heroes, and we'll get to
Speaker 1: it in a sick There was a couple of other
Speaker 1: things I wanted to mention before we got there.
Speaker 3: Did you see the.
Speaker 1: Shane Flanagan Stephen Crichton nose by debacle? No, so he
Speaker 1: was taking I mean, as it happened, Stephen Crichton, I
Speaker 1: believe he had tackled Flannagan and then he's just hid
Speaker 1: into Flannagan's head and his nose ended up in his mouth.
Speaker 1: And now there's a bit of conjecture as to whether
Speaker 1: Flanagan actually bit down or not. But when he came
Speaker 1: back up, Crichton had blood coming out of his nose.
Speaker 1: And when he's taking photos of fans after the game,
Speaker 1: he's got blood coming out of his nose.
Speaker 3: He's laid a formal complaint.
Speaker 1: With the NRL, said the Shane Kyle Kyle Flanagan bit
Speaker 1: his nose. And so that's in front of the judiciary
Speaker 1: this week. We'll probably find out by tomorrow whether it's
Speaker 1: happened or not.
Speaker 3: That's like a six week ban.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's like a Mike Tyson type situation a different sense. Organ.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there was a photo I saw this morning and
Speaker 1: you could see his noses in Flannagan's mouth and its
Speaker 1: stretched out you can see.
Speaker 3: So I was like, he's definitely but on their brain explosion.
Speaker 1: And the other one I wanted to get to is
Speaker 1: I don't know whether I've got a bit of like
Speaker 1: Trump derangement syndrome about this new eighteenth NRL franchise stories.
Speaker 1: You know, it was going to be the Kia in
Speaker 1: the South Island, then it was going to be Papua
Speaker 1: New Guinea. The latest story is that it's been confirmed
Speaker 1: that it's going to be the Bears and they're going
Speaker 1: to be playing out of Perth.
Speaker 2: Oh is that confirmed?
Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing. Every report that I see
Speaker 1: sees that it's all confirmed. But they said that about
Speaker 1: P and G, they said that about fucking the care.
Speaker 1: I don't know what's really anymore.
Speaker 2: Well, I heard it from somebody in the know in
Speaker 2: the weekend that there's going to be three new ones.
Speaker 3: All in the one go.
Speaker 2: That's what I had heard, and one of them will
Speaker 2: be the Bears. And that's all I know.
Speaker 1: Oh, so maybe what's so confusing is they're all they're
Speaker 1: all confirmed.
Speaker 2: Maybe maybe it's a P andng A Bears and a South.
Speaker 3: Island Southern care Yeah, potentially.
Speaker 1: All I know is as someone with family that lives
Speaker 1: over in Western Australia, that flight to Perth sucks if
Speaker 1: marking sucks man, because it's like a three hour flight
Speaker 1: to wherever Sidney or Melbourne, whichever way you go. That's
Speaker 1: another five six hours over to Perth plus the time
Speaker 1: zone difference Like that is it? It only serves to
Speaker 1: punish the Warriors further. But now if we find out
Speaker 1: that they bring in P and G as well, I
Speaker 1: guarantee you if that happens in the same season, the
Speaker 1: Warriors will be the only team who have to play
Speaker 1: Perth and then in Port Moresby back to back.
Speaker 2: Are they going to play out of Port Moresby or
Speaker 2: they play out of Brisbane?
Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2: Have a team in the Queensland competition, don't they?
Speaker 3: Oh, I don't know. I don't know if they do.
Speaker 2: I think the team in the Bringing competition, yeah right.
Speaker 1: I just yeah, I don't know how they're going to
Speaker 1: play that. I would hate I don't think it would
Speaker 1: work if they brought it in a P and G
Speaker 1: team and then played them out of Brisbane Because I
Speaker 1: feel like you've sort of end up where Morena Pacifica are,
Speaker 1: where it's like, oh, it's a team for the Pacific Islands.
Speaker 3: It's like I'm going to play out of the other. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't know. Anyway, Western Beers apparently coming out of Perth.
Speaker 2: The Western Bears, I mean doesn't really. I don't think
Speaker 2: that's really going to satisfy the North Sydney Bears fans
Speaker 2: who have felt aggrieved for many, many years.
Speaker 1: No, No, I don't think so either. It's I don't know.
Speaker 1: But again, like I said, you see these reports every
Speaker 1: other day. We'll find out that the Warrington Wolves are
Speaker 1: during the NRL next year. Now, all right, we're going
Speaker 1: to take a quick break. When we come back, we're
Speaker 1: going to have Hurley's Heroes. But just before we do,
Speaker 1: there's a couple of spots left on our trip and
Speaker 1: for legal reasons earlier love this to join the ACC
Speaker 1: team for a massive rugby league weekend in March of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. I'll tell you what's going on there.
Speaker 2: But we've got oh okay, nah, but rugby league themed
Speaker 2: weekend in the United.
Speaker 1: States, that's right, And the key word that you need
Speaker 1: to text to book your spot is Vegas. Now that
Speaker 1: I don't want you to read too far into that
Speaker 1: for legal reasons, but Massive Rugby League weekend first weekend
Speaker 1: of March twenty twenty five. If you want to join
Speaker 1: the ACC team, you can text Vegas three two three
Speaker 1: twos Little three two three six to book your spot.
Speaker 3: Quick break, we'll come back with Hurley's Heroes.
Speaker 2: Okay, welcome to Hurley's Heroes. Just a little side note.
Speaker 2: The Papua New Guinea Hunters are a professional rugby league
Speaker 2: team based in Papua New Guinea. They play in the
Speaker 2: Queensland Cup. They are a feeder team for the Dolphins.
Speaker 3: Oh they go, but they are.
Speaker 2: But I was wrong about them being based out of Brisbane.
Speaker 2: They are in the competition, but they are a Port
Speaker 2: Moresby side. Anyway, let's get into this week's Hurley's Heroes and.
Speaker 4: Lighter Shawn Johnson retiring, I thought we could take a
Speaker 4: look at another Warriors legend. I was a self proclaimed
Speaker 4: average rugby union player at school and when I moved
Speaker 4: to Wellington, I joined the Wellington Workers rugby league team
Speaker 4: and began attracting attractive attention from professional clubs. I had
Speaker 4: offers from the Bulldogs and from the Paramatta Eels, but
Speaker 4: turned them both down to play for the Warriors. I
Speaker 4: played three hundred and one games for the Warriors, scoring
Speaker 4: sixty three tries. I averaged seventy six minutes a game
Speaker 4: throughout my career and only missed ten percent of the
Speaker 4: available games through injury. Since retiring, I did a building
Speaker 4: apprenticeship in Nelson. I've also done some assistant coaching roles
Speaker 4: with the Black Ferns and the Broncos NARLW team am I,
Speaker 4: Simon Mannering, Stacey Jones, Michael Luck, Arwyn gutenbeil All, Lee
Speaker 4: Odin Ryan.
Speaker 1: I like that there's a couple of extra ones in there,
Speaker 1: because you knew you'd have to put Lee Odin Ryan in.
Speaker 3: There to chuck a couple more red hearings in there.
Speaker 1: Look, unfortunately, I've just been out at Mount Smouth Stadium
Speaker 1: the Giant Mural. It's got a number on there that
Speaker 1: really gave it away. I also know about the the
Speaker 1: apprenticeship thing, and in a couple of weeks the Warriors
Speaker 1: are going to have their Night of Knights where they
Speaker 1: named the Clubman of the Year. That medal is named
Speaker 1: after the one and only Simon Mannering.
Speaker 2: Yes, I thought it might be a little bit easy,
Speaker 2: but look, do you know what well done manya? And
Speaker 2: I just thought it would be nices think about a
Speaker 2: nicer time in Warriors history. And we love Simon Manoring,
Speaker 2: a very humble and private guy, definitely not a celebrity,
Speaker 2: and you know, lives a pretty quiet life these days.
Speaker 2: I think he was.
Speaker 3: Oh what a player he was. Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 1: That actually did spark a bit of joy in me.
Speaker 1: And like I said, there's a mural out there of him,
Speaker 1: sort of like a Spartan from the movie three hundred
Speaker 1: and it's got three hundred.
Speaker 3: And one on it.
Speaker 1: That's out in the car park out there at Mount Smart. God,
Speaker 1: how would you go being Warriors legend Simon Mannering just
Speaker 1: on various building sites. Can you imagine how hard he
Speaker 1: must get punished?
Speaker 2: Oh my god, I thought exactly that. When I was
Speaker 2: researching this, I was just like, you must spend your
Speaker 2: entire life talking about specific Warriors games, particularly the twenty
Speaker 2: eleven Grand Final, no doubt.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that'll be a big part of it.
Speaker 1: But I also there'd be people like who would have
Speaker 1: such a firm memory of you doing something. But to
Speaker 1: the players themselves, it's like asking someone what they did
Speaker 1: at work three years ago on a Wednesday at four
Speaker 1: in the afternoon. I have no fucking idea. Also sety
Speaker 1: as a part of it, but I think there'd also
Speaker 1: be There'd be the guy who hits you up straight away,
Speaker 1: Oh I'm a huge fan, blah blah blah. They'd be
Speaker 1: the guy who sidles up.
Speaker 3: To your lunch. Hey, you there are Simon Manoring, aren't you.
Speaker 1: Then there'd be the other guy who'd be like, oh,
Speaker 1: so you can play three hundred games for the fucking Warriors,
Speaker 1: but you can't get the door hinges on my last time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you can't put some framing timber up in the rain.
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Oh god, yeah, I feel so much better about myself now.
Speaker 1: Just thinking back to club legend Simon Manoring, I.
Speaker 2: Could get a Simon Manoring tattoo, I reckon.
Speaker 3: Just about where would you get it? Of his face?
Speaker 2: Maybe of his faith, or maybe it was just a jersey.
Speaker 3: Simon mannering jersey just on the on the side.
Speaker 2: A few different positions. So he played scenery, he played locke,
Speaker 2: he played back row.
Speaker 1: I think back row would be That's what I associated
Speaker 1: with When I think of the great man Simon Minoring,
Speaker 1: he did any he did anything the club asked of him. Well,
Speaker 1: thank you very much for joining me on the podcast
Speaker 1: this week, Hurley, greener pastures ahead. I'm sure, as we said,
Speaker 1: the last game for the Warriors, our last home game
Speaker 1: for this season at least is on the twenty third
Speaker 1: against the Bulldogs. I'm just friends looking up who we've
Speaker 1: got this week. It is the Sea Eagles, who we've
Speaker 1: only played once this season. That was the draw, the
Speaker 1: draw at the start of the year. That is on Friday,
Speaker 1: eight pm. And I think that's Chris and Die commentating
Speaker 1: that one. We'll have another podcast episode on Thursday for
Speaker 1: you to sink your teeth in.
Speaker 3: But thank you very much for joining us early and
Speaker 3: we'll see you later on.
Speaker 2: Anybody