Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
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Speaker 2: This week on The Big League Podcast, Michael Vergis and
Speaker 2: I will debrief everything you need to know about the
Speaker 2: Warrior's remarkable turnaround against Manly and whether it'll remain consistent
Speaker 2: with the resurgent Roosters looming, Plus Stacey Jones and a
Speaker 2: bid for Caleb Ponger to play for the Kiwis. My
Speaker 2: name is Nathan Limb. Let's go Big League podcast, right,
Speaker 2: Everyone get a spoon. Luke Metcalf and Chanelle Harris Tavita
Speaker 2: have served us up a nice healthy portion of humble pie,
Speaker 2: and my word, does it taste good. No one saw
Speaker 2: that coming, no one. There was zero indication that a
Speaker 2: turnaround that massive was en route, and yet it was
Speaker 2: seen across the competition. The Roosters beat the Panthers as
Speaker 2: eleven dollars outsiders. The Raiders punished the Broncos, who looked
Speaker 2: untouchable last week. Nothing in this competition is certain except
Speaker 2: for the Titans being bang average. Michael Burgess, Senior in
Speaker 2: New Zealand Herald writer, Are the Warriors back? Are all
Speaker 2: our fears are late?
Speaker 3: Certainly our fears of where the season was going after Vegas?
Speaker 3: Or are late? Aren't they? Everyone's feeling a lot better
Speaker 3: that hey, the positive feelings about the preseason. Everything we're
Speaker 3: hearing about how well the preseason had gone behind the scenes.
Speaker 3: You at least started to see a bit of that
Speaker 3: on Friday night, whereas after Vegas it was like, what
Speaker 3: the hell's happened? Where is this campaign going? So yeah,
Speaker 3: very heartening, but a long way Togo. We're going to
Speaker 3: talk more about the match in detail, but I would
Speaker 3: say that it's not it was unexpected the result. The
Speaker 3: performance was excellent, but there were a few things. I
Speaker 3: think Manly were a bit unlucky with a couple.
Speaker 2: Of They were a bit lucky with a couple of.
Speaker 3: Let me finished, they've been unlucky with a couple of
Speaker 3: chances early on. They could have scored three tries in
Speaker 3: the first ten to fifteen minutes and then it's possibly
Speaker 3: a different game. The ref I'm being Devil's advocate here.
Speaker 3: The referee was also pretty tough on them with the
Speaker 3: set restarts. I think eleven to two so there were
Speaker 3: a few things that helped the Warriors. And the other
Speaker 3: thing that people have forgotten about that actually helped the
Speaker 3: Warriors that we never really thought of was that they
Speaker 3: had basically two weeks off, so they had a long
Speaker 3: lead into this game, mainly had quite a short turnerund
Speaker 3: after playing the Cowboys had to travel here. All those
Speaker 3: things added up and actually helped help the Warriors. But yes,
Speaker 3: excellent performance, great desire, great intent, and now they've got
Speaker 3: a real platform to build on, haven't they.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I suppose the talk leading into this game
Speaker 2: was what was the explanation for the Las Vegas showing
Speaker 2: and the way their attack looked so directionless, And the
Speaker 2: explanation was that they went away from that game plan.
Speaker 2: I think Luke metcar From said himself was talking about,
Speaker 2: you know, they sort of went away from what they
Speaker 2: talked about. Perhaps you know, the occasion of Las Vegas
Speaker 2: really did get to them. And then back at Mount
Speaker 2: Smart suddenly the short passes come out. We've got a
Speaker 2: little bit more variation. We're kicking the twenty the Warriors,
Speaker 2: which is something that just wasn't really there in round one.
Speaker 2: So to see that turnaround, I suppose there was obviously
Speaker 2: a mental shift and the amount of talk there was
Speaker 2: in the week from the likes of US and the
Speaker 2: media and the fans that pressure. I suppose the fact
Speaker 2: that they could cope with that and turn up against
Speaker 2: a team that put on what fifty points in round one,
Speaker 2: that shows, I guess the mental resilience. And we were
Speaker 2: talking about the young harves combination or fairly and experienced
Speaker 2: half combination of Luke Metcalfin, Shanell Harris Tavita. They could
Speaker 2: stand up under that pressure.
Speaker 3: There was some pressure. You're right, there was some pressure,
Speaker 3: and there was quite a good feeling from both ten
Speaker 3: minutes onwards that no matter what happened, the Warriors weren't
Speaker 3: going to let this result slip. In other words, they
Speaker 3: were determined to get a win on Friday night, no
Speaker 3: matter what, no matter how the game had twists and turns,
Speaker 3: et cetera, et cetera. There was a real intense desire
Speaker 3: there because they had a lot to prove. Yes, the
Speaker 3: attack started to click, but it was all built on
Speaker 3: the defense. The defense was much better, mainly apart from
Speaker 3: the say, the first ten to twelve minutes and they're
Speaker 3: winning the ruck. You know, they're winning the collisions. Their
Speaker 3: forwards really really got going. Mainly's got the bigger pack,
Speaker 3: but the Warriors outmuscled them in the forwards, outplayed them
Speaker 3: generally across the park, and so good signs. Good signs.
Speaker 2: We're going to debrief all the action later discuss the
Speaker 2: odds of Kayla and Pong are playing for the keywiste.
Speaker 2: But first, here are the highlights. Warriors thirty six, Seagles sixteen.
Speaker 4: As he hens the whistle, and we're underway here at
Speaker 4: mounts My twenty twenty five. Good hands sub with the
Speaker 4: gas knuckers here in its travinments. This is mainly at
Speaker 4: their best.
Speaker 2: And it's got line of this has been topped.
Speaker 3: Not so far.
Speaker 4: The res caveda is there. It can be dangerous to
Speaker 4: pretty more than dangerous. Nickle scer a m and there's
Speaker 4: a tower. Looks look nice hands from Suber and Chase
Speaker 4: some sad scores.
Speaker 2: In the corner.
Speaker 4: Reg Yes, that is it, way logan, look the heir.
Speaker 2: And now the tribe turn us a sick.
Speaker 4: Turns a sick tricky he's hat tower her.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Chavin audio cur to see of Fox Sports
Speaker 2: could be held. Let's go through this game in a
Speaker 2: little bit more detail. And obviously, as we mentioned before,
Speaker 2: the big topic in the leading with the Harps Luke
Speaker 2: Metcalf looking far more composed short passes, holding the space
Speaker 2: a lot better. Janelle Harris to looking composed as well
Speaker 2: on the left. I really liked his kicking game. Kicking
Speaker 2: it in the twenty wasn't we were seeing so much
Speaker 2: in Las Vegas? They were running the ball. But what
Speaker 2: was behind this turnaround? What was what did they do differently?
Speaker 3: Well? The question coming into this match was all about
Speaker 3: how much had their performance in Las Vegas been about
Speaker 3: just the complete lack of any platform that they had
Speaker 3: to play off because the forwards were beaten up so
Speaker 3: badly in Vegas, and how much of it was to
Speaker 3: do with them being uncertain and unsure and making bad decisions.
Speaker 3: Andrew Webster told us a few times, Nathan, that that
Speaker 3: it was all about the It was a bit unfair.
Speaker 3: It was all about the fact the team just didn't
Speaker 3: turn up, so that referts back to the halves. It
Speaker 3: was probably a bit of both. You know, Metcalf and
Speaker 3: Chanelle didn't go so well against Raiders, so they made
Speaker 3: they made better decisions. They got some confidence. I mean,
Speaker 3: I think Luke Metcalf is a good example. He's a
Speaker 3: real confidence player and you could you could even see
Speaker 3: that on Friday night. You know, he didn't actually start
Speaker 3: that well. There were a couple of you know, the
Speaker 3: first couple of sets they got, they got a couple
Speaker 3: of repeat sets after manly and didn't really work. It
Speaker 3: was a bit lateral. But once they got going, he
Speaker 3: played a key role in that first try to Chanel.
Speaker 3: You could see his confidence left and he got better
Speaker 3: as the game, as the game progressed, and that's normal,
Speaker 3: Like we forget this is it was a second ever
Speaker 3: start at number seven in the NRL, you know, even
Speaker 3: though he's twenty six and all that sort of thing.
Speaker 3: So you know, he's still learning and he even though
Speaker 3: backs himself, he's got to really believe he can do it,
Speaker 3: and we started to see that.
Speaker 2: Coach Andrew Repster talking afterwards, Wrapped. They stuck to their
Speaker 2: game plan this week. They stuck to their guns. We're
Speaker 2: not where we.
Speaker 3: Want to be.
Speaker 2: It didn't play, but we're wrapped that we stuck together
Speaker 2: this week.
Speaker 3: We look way more like ourselves, way more. No one's
Speaker 3: going to be perfect in early rounds but that's what
Speaker 3: you're going to do. You're going to defend well and
Speaker 3: chase well.
Speaker 2: If you look across the team stats, they had the
Speaker 2: edge and runs, run meeters, post contact meters, thirty nine
Speaker 2: tackle breaks. It is something that really stands out. And
Speaker 2: another player in particular that stood out was Aaron Clark
Speaker 2: one hundred and forty nine meet is from eighteen runs,
Speaker 2: twenty two tackles. Obviously playing lock forward, he's a different
Speaker 2: kind of player to Tahu Harris. What does he bring
Speaker 2: that I suppose provides a point of difference.
Speaker 3: I mean, he's a guy I think we're going to
Speaker 3: talk about a lot this season, and I feel like
Speaker 3: he's a great signing and one of the most under
Speaker 3: the radar signings. They didn't sign too many players in
Speaker 3: the off season, did they, but really really good pickup
Speaker 3: Aaron Clark. He's not that big, you know, he's not
Speaker 3: too much bigger than you, which is compliment, Yeah, but
Speaker 3: he's just this sort of ball of muscle and he's
Speaker 3: got the special ability to he's quicker than you think.
Speaker 3: So he gets to the defensive line before their set,
Speaker 3: which allows him to get post contact meters meant much
Speaker 3: more post content meters than a guy his size should
Speaker 3: be able to get. So he regularly hits the line earlier,
Speaker 3: the defense doesn't see it, and he gets the post
Speaker 3: content meters. The other thing I like about him is
Speaker 3: he's quite a ballplayer, so because his background. Of course,
Speaker 3: he was a half growing up, and then he was
Speaker 3: a hooker. So that's a really good thing I feel,
Speaker 3: because he's like Tahu and Mitch Barnette, to a lesser extent,
Speaker 3: Dylan Walker. He's another four that's really happy with the
Speaker 3: ball in his hands, and I think we're going to
Speaker 3: see that more and more as the season progressed. But yeah,
Speaker 3: he was excellent, and it just adds to the mysteries
Speaker 3: to why he didn't start in Vegas. But that's another matter.
Speaker 3: He was excellent, really laid the platform, really helped to
Speaker 3: lay the platform. Although all the fourds were great, weren't they?
Speaker 2: Yeah? They were, But there were also obviously some backs
Speaker 2: that stood out. A couple other than the haves that
Speaker 2: I wanted to talk about. Roger to Varsa, Sheck is
Speaker 2: probably the player that I thought played the best in Vegas.
Speaker 2: I thought he had a really good game, actually, Roger,
Speaker 2: and he showed up again this week, but again producing
Speaker 2: another dynamic performance. Charles Loik a crook start as well.
Speaker 2: I felt he went missing a little bit in Vegas,
Speaker 2: and he showed up this week with one hundred and
Speaker 2: seventy one run meters, which is the most in the game.
Speaker 2: Injecting himself, I think a little bit more than we
Speaker 2: saw in week one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I thought Chance was. I still don't
Speaker 3: think he looks like he did in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3: You know, he was, he was better in the second
Speaker 3: half on Friday. I think he's still building it to
Speaker 3: his game. But with Roger, what did you think of
Speaker 3: his defensive reads?
Speaker 2: Defensive well, mainly found space down the edges, didn't they? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: what's the issue?
Speaker 3: So that's I only asked you that, mate, because it's
Speaker 3: like that that'll be his work on and it's a
Speaker 3: blameless situation. It's so hard as a winger to defend.
Speaker 3: He was trying to he was trying to compress and
Speaker 3: to stop the threat of Daboyevich and he misread it
Speaker 3: twice which led to two Manly's tries. Really, and the
Speaker 3: good thing about Roger though, is he owned that. So
Speaker 3: after the game he said, you know, I got skinned
Speaker 3: a couple of times. Not good enough. Got to work
Speaker 3: on that. But that's his work on and that's something
Speaker 3: that all wingers and he's like a new winger. But
Speaker 3: you're exactly right. Apart from that, his work rate, his desire,
Speaker 3: just the way every time he gets the ball, it
Speaker 3: kind of feels like he's foundness position, doesn't it.
Speaker 2: I mean a lot of people would argue with that
Speaker 2: and say, given the amount of work he does with
Speaker 2: the ball in hand and how much he stands out
Speaker 2: with the ball, get his hands on the ball as
Speaker 2: much as possible, where are you going to do that
Speaker 2: at full bail?
Speaker 3: Or that's a whole other podcast. That's a separate we
Speaker 3: should do a separate special edition. But yeah, but he
Speaker 3: certainly much looks more comfortable and more threatening it on
Speaker 3: the wing that it's sent it, doesn't he?
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I suppose you talked about that defense. Webster
Speaker 2: was impressed with their defense overall during the game, crediting
Speaker 2: that and their keck pressure for what they were then
Speaker 2: able to produce on attack. If you're defending more and
Speaker 2: you're putting pressure on our position, points come and if
Speaker 2: you don't defend well, you don't get through the score points.
Speaker 3: You're not willing to play the long game and keep
Speaker 3: well and chase well.
Speaker 2: You don't put any pressure in our position, and tonight
Speaker 2: we did that. Now, in terms of manly side of things,
Speaker 2: I am convinced that the NRL have employed Stevie Wonder
Speaker 2: to work in the bunker, because you'd have to be
Speaker 2: blind to not see that Jason sab loses the ball
Speaker 2: forward as he places it over the line. Am I right?
Speaker 2: Or am I correct? Yeah?
Speaker 3: It's one of those, you know. Three of the three
Speaker 3: or four, there's five replays. Four of them showed a
Speaker 3: completely lost control. There was one that showed a fingertip
Speaker 3: still on the ball, and that is enough these days,
Speaker 3: and we love that when it goes for the Warriors
Speaker 3: next week and there's a finger tip and they say try.
Speaker 3: So it was. It was pretty annoying. But when they
Speaker 3: slot right down and looking for something, yeah it was.
Speaker 3: It was dicey, wasn't it? It was dicey, as was the second.
Speaker 3: Their third try was also dicey. But I didn't wind
Speaker 3: that much so much because that was just a wonderful effort.
Speaker 3: So I'd rather see that sort of try awarded for
Speaker 3: the benefit of doubt than than scrubbed off when they
Speaker 3: think that, oh maybe the edge of his big toe
Speaker 3: did did bisect the dead ball line?
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean you talked earlier about Manly maybe
Speaker 2: get a hard rap from the referees in terms of
Speaker 2: the number of six segenstor because it seemed to me,
Speaker 2: I mean just based off the number of six again
Speaker 2: calls seven in the first half alone, they seem to
Speaker 2: live off side and that culminated with Jake ja Boyvitch
Speaker 2: getting sinband later in the second half. How much do
Speaker 2: we have to factor in that? I suppose in terms
Speaker 2: of the Warriors go forward, oh a lot.
Speaker 3: Like the set restarts killed Manley. There were just so
Speaker 3: many like mainly may have been off side. But you know,
Speaker 3: I really really do not like the six skin rule.
Speaker 3: I don't like the way it's applied. And if you
Speaker 3: if we're trying to be neutral, how can how can
Speaker 3: the Warriors get eleven it restarts so it was and
Speaker 3: mainly get two. I just well, the Warriors really that
Speaker 3: perfect because next week, you know what the Roosters like,
Speaker 3: We're going to be saying the same thing when the
Speaker 3: Roosters get a million set restarts, so it definitely helped
Speaker 3: the Warriors, which which was nice. Then they needed that help.
Speaker 3: But you know, we also should mention James with Harrison
Speaker 3: Mitch Bunnett. It's easy to forget the sort of the
Speaker 3: two Titans in the middle but far out. Mitch Bennett
Speaker 3: goes what was it fifty four minutes in his first
Speaker 3: stint and was evolved in just about everything. James, mister Harris,
Speaker 3: I think he wrecked up forty tackles, you know for
Speaker 3: a prop in the middle was it was pretty good going,
Speaker 3: So I think those guys show showed what they can
Speaker 3: do as well.
Speaker 2: Up next, we'll preview the roosters and discuss Calen Pong
Speaker 2: has potential Kiwiz question.
Speaker 5: Mark The Big League Podcast podcast The Big League Podcast
Speaker 5: on the Warriors bad wagon since day one.
Speaker 2: Now, in what was probably the other massive upset of
Speaker 2: the round, Roosters thirty eight Panthers thirty two roosters. They
Speaker 2: were eleven dollars outsiders coming off of fifty to fourteen
Speaker 2: drubbing by the Broncos. No one gave them a chance.
Speaker 2: Sounds pretty familiar. James Tedesco named it their greatest win
Speaker 2: after the fact, I mean I was stunned when I
Speaker 2: saw the scoreline to this game, because again I wrote
Speaker 2: them off the amount of talent that Dave lost this year.
Speaker 2: But Jared Warrio, Hargreave, Luke Keary, Joey marn who all
Speaker 2: shifted overseas half back Sam Walker is out for the
Speaker 2: year with an ACL injury. Tedesco was on fire, he.
Speaker 3: Was, And they've got a special a special culture, the Roosters.
Speaker 3: They had it for years. I mean they've been in
Speaker 3: three Grand Finals in the last since twenty thirteen. That
Speaker 3: you know, they were a big club. They were always
Speaker 3: going to bounce back. Not many were tipping that. I
Speaker 3: do feel though that eleven dollars price was a bit
Speaker 3: over the top. Someone at the Australian TIRB got a
Speaker 3: bit carried away, I think because the Roosters were still
Speaker 3: at home Penrith was still coming off a tough match
Speaker 3: in Vegas in the travel and the Roosters have still
Speaker 3: got some couple of really good players in their pack
Speaker 3: and some good players in their back line. So the
Speaker 3: odds were a bit over the top, but fantastic given
Speaker 3: by the Roosters and it sets up Friday really well.
Speaker 2: And obviously they've got numerous threats in their back line.
Speaker 2: Dominic Young on the wing, Mark na wang Anita Wase,
Speaker 2: former Wallaby and Waratah union player. He's playing at center.
Speaker 2: Australian commentators routinely calling him Marky Mark, presumably to avoid
Speaker 2: saying his last night.
Speaker 3: I love the way you did say his last name.
Speaker 3: It's very shows your professionalism and it shows the way
Speaker 3: they avoid it. The Aussies are pretty good at there
Speaker 3: anything tricky, they're just let's throw a nickname in there.
Speaker 2: I suppose we've had from both of these sides of
Speaker 2: the Warriors and the Roosters, two completely different performances across
Speaker 2: round one and round two. So it is very difficult
Speaker 2: to judge where these sides are ound at this point
Speaker 2: in the competition and what could potentially play out when
Speaker 2: they come up against each other. So in terms of
Speaker 2: the Warriors, what are the next steps?
Speaker 3: Do?
Speaker 2: Look at the controllables? What do the Warriors need to perfect?
Speaker 2: For me? It's their edge defense because that was exposed
Speaker 2: immediately at Mammy.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, not not too much to there's defense. They
Speaker 3: still look a bit uncertain and that's normal because look
Speaker 3: at their back line. Who is who on Friday night
Speaker 3: was in the same position they're in at this time
Speaker 3: last year. Adam Pompey wasn't playing this time last year,
Speaker 3: Tain's on the wing, Roger was at center, was new,
Speaker 3: and we've got another another new winger. So that's that's
Speaker 3: the thing. That's the thing they've got to sort out.
Speaker 3: And that's kind of normal the communication. You can do
Speaker 3: it all in pre season, but comes to a game
Speaker 3: and a split second decision do I come and do
Speaker 3: I take my man? The communication, but with Adam and
Speaker 3: Roger probably wasn't there at times and even on the
Speaker 3: other edd. So yeah, that that's a work on, And
Speaker 3: they've also got things to work on on attack. Like
Speaker 3: as much as the scoreline looks great if we if
Speaker 3: you look closely, which they will if you look closely
Speaker 3: at the amount of ball they had, the mount of
Speaker 3: good ball they had and all those set restarts, there
Speaker 3: was consecutive penalties at different times and it really felt
Speaker 3: sometimes didn't make the most of those opportunities. So that
Speaker 3: that's going to be that's definitely a work on as well,
Speaker 3: isn't it.
Speaker 5: The Big League Podcast.
Speaker 2: Podcast, right Burch an interesting story emerged over the weekend,
Speaker 2: and that was a topic that has come up before.
Speaker 2: Stacy Jones has expressed interest in acquiring Calen Palmer, who
Speaker 2: was obviously committed to Australian rugby, so that he can
Speaker 2: play for Queensland, he can play for State of Origin.
Speaker 2: It's not something that was that's unusual. He spent five
Speaker 2: years of his life in New Zealand, born in Australia.
Speaker 2: His father is Marty. He played for the Marty All Stars.
Speaker 2: Of course, is this something that could happen because malm
Speaker 2: and Inger's come out swinging, say nah, he's Australian. Get
Speaker 2: out of it, Stacy, what do you make of all
Speaker 2: of this?
Speaker 3: It's funny, isn't it? Because it's not a new story.
Speaker 3: This top has been bubbling all for a while. Michael
Speaker 3: maguire talked about Ponger. They've been approached to Ponger for years.
Speaker 3: I remember Ponger coming to spend years ago, in maybe
Speaker 3: two thousand and fifteen or sixteen. The Key was having
Speaker 3: a training at Mount Smart before they went off on
Speaker 3: tour of England and Ponger was there and they wanted
Speaker 3: to get him into the camp and you know, feel
Speaker 3: what it was like in Kearney. But that stage was
Speaker 3: saying I'd be great to have this guy, and then
Speaker 3: of course he opted for Queensland. So this is not new,
Speaker 3: but it's great that's been talked about again because something
Speaker 3: has to happen. You know that these these origin rules,
Speaker 3: the way they've progressed don't really make sense because it
Speaker 3: works for every country except New Zealand. So there's all
Speaker 3: these kids growing up in New Zealand and Australia that
Speaker 3: have tong And or some own heritage that can say, Okay,
Speaker 3: I'm going to play for Summer and Tonga and that
Speaker 3: means I can still play Origin. But a key We
Speaker 3: guy has to make the choice New Zealand are born
Speaker 3: and born in Australia, has to make the choice between
Speaker 3: g do I take the forty to fifty grand to
Speaker 3: play for Queensland in New South Wales or do I
Speaker 3: play for the Keywis. It just doesn't it just doesn't
Speaker 3: feel right, And that's what Ponger has to consider, doesn't
Speaker 3: it If he is considering it.
Speaker 2: Well, it's the tea. It's the way the tear system
Speaker 2: works right in terms of origin. So the rules are
Speaker 2: that if you are playing for if you want to
Speaker 2: play origin, you have to declare for Australia as a
Speaker 2: Tear one nation or a Tear two nation. So some
Speaker 2: more in tong are Tear two nations. But it's not
Speaker 2: based on how good they are their performance. It's based
Speaker 2: on the way the rugby league system is set up
Speaker 2: in that country. So then someone and Tonga obviously they
Speaker 2: don't have the same systems and structures in terms of
Speaker 2: development that Australia and New Zealand have. But it seems
Speaker 2: like it's sort of unfairly because somewhere in tong are
Speaker 2: both very strong international sides. This is all sort of
Speaker 2: set up unfairly to disadvantage New Zealand in a way,
Speaker 2: because New Zealanders are the ones who are the only
Speaker 2: ones out of you know, this Pacific region who have
Speaker 2: to make that choice. As you said, so do we
Speaker 2: need to just do away with this tear system?
Speaker 3: That could be one that's certainly an argument out there,
Speaker 3: isn't it. I Mean, I always thought it would be
Speaker 3: crazy to see New Zealanders playing state of Origin. Iways
Speaker 3: thought that's just mad. It would be so weird because
Speaker 3: there was talk about that years ago. People would say,
Speaker 3: why can't Benji Marshall play state of Origin. Why can't
Speaker 3: Sunny Bill. I mean, they're probably bad examples because they
Speaker 3: weren't eligible, But I'm talking about guys that are actually eligible,
Speaker 3: that maybe went to Australia when they were young or
Speaker 3: were born in Australia, but they're Kiwis and I was thought, oh,
Speaker 3: that's just too weird. You know, state of origin is
Speaker 3: a but the NRL have sort of turned State of
Speaker 3: Origin into an all stars game, you know, that's what
Speaker 3: it's starting to feel like, where players are picked from
Speaker 3: all over the place. So I don't know, do you
Speaker 3: open it up to everyone? Do you say that Kiwis
Speaker 3: can play state of Origin eligibles and they've got some
Speaker 3: link to Queensland And because at the moment this is
Speaker 3: just say New Zealand is the one that's suffering the
Speaker 3: most and it's only going to continue as Toma and
Speaker 3: Somo get stronger. I don't think Australia particularly cares, but
Speaker 3: that all Australia cares about, justicially is Australia. But there
Speaker 3: has to be some kind of solution because it would
Speaker 3: be fantastic if Ponger really wants to play for the Kiwis.
Speaker 3: How good would it be how good would be for
Speaker 3: the sport if he plays for the Kiwis. But somehow
Speaker 3: it can still play for Queensland if they want him.
Speaker 3: They might not want him. They might say, look, if
Speaker 3: you're going to play for the Kiwis, we don't want you.
Speaker 3: We've got Reece, Welsh, We've got this, We've got that.
Speaker 2: I don't think this is going to happen. I don't
Speaker 2: think Calen Pong is going to end up playing for
Speaker 2: the Kiwis. I think this is just noise. That's my take.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm a bit surprised that Stacy Jones has played
Speaker 3: his card so early because the Test matches out to November,
Speaker 3: you know, so there's a lot of time for all
Speaker 3: this maneuvering to happen. So I'm not sure why he
Speaker 3: wants to put it out there now. But he was
Speaker 3: asked and he was honest. You would be keen. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's hard to see. It's hard to see him playing
Speaker 3: for the Kiwis, but if he really wants to. But
Speaker 3: the thing, that's the thing, He's already played for Queensland,
Speaker 3: so in theory that makes him ineligible. If he's played
Speaker 3: for Queensland as a Australian he obviously can't play for
Speaker 3: the Keys.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if Canon Pong was that
Speaker 2: fast with playing for Australia because he made himself unavailable, remember,
Speaker 2: because he wanted to focus on his preparation for playing
Speaker 2: for Newcastle into this year. He made himself unavailable for
Speaker 2: the Pacific Championships, then backflipped on that decision. I think
Speaker 2: though that it would involve administrators in Australia collectively going yep,
Speaker 2: let's change the rules and then effectively they lose a
Speaker 2: really good player. So I just I just do not
Speaker 2: see it happening.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the rules have also got to be changed
Speaker 3: at the at the top level with the International Rugby League.
Speaker 3: It's a it's an ongoing discussion. I know Greg Peters
Speaker 3: at the NEWSBIA League he wants something done because he
Speaker 3: doesn't feel it's quite right at the moment.
Speaker 1: LV The Big League Podcast for the Biggest League for.
Speaker 3: BIRS.
Speaker 2: Quick fire predictions for Round three of NRL Action. We're
Speaker 2: kicking off with a doozy and who knows, who knows
Speaker 2: what will happen Storm Panthers in Melbourne.
Speaker 3: First of all, though I've already got quite a healthy
Speaker 3: lead after only two weeks. Are you feeling the pressure?
Speaker 2: I'm not kidding, count what are you talking about? Healthy lead?
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, I got six seven out of eight in
Speaker 3: the first week when you were in here with Nick
Speaker 3: and yeah, anyway, storm storm for me. But as you say,
Speaker 3: toss a coin. Panthers are want to bounce back. This
Speaker 3: is always a fantastic matcher. I just think the storm
Speaker 3: at home will make the difference.
Speaker 2: I don't think I think Ivan Claire is going to
Speaker 2: put a rocket up the Panthers bums after that performance
Speaker 2: against the Roosters and Nathan Claire even afterwards saying it's
Speaker 2: not good enough. We were awful basically, and I can't
Speaker 2: see the Panthers dropping too in a row. Storm will
Speaker 2: be tough though. It'll be a tight game and it
Speaker 2: could go either way. Warriors Roosters.
Speaker 3: That's the beauty, isn't it. Both teams played so well,
Speaker 3: as we said, both teams with a remarkable turnaround, and
Speaker 3: both teams on a Friday night, so they've got the
Speaker 3: equal amount of preparation set up perfectly. What to make
Speaker 3: the difference? Hard to say. The Roosters have been dominated
Speaker 3: the Warriors for a long time. Over the years. Will
Speaker 3: Friday not be different, Let's hope. So I'll go with
Speaker 3: the Warriors and a close.
Speaker 2: One Broncos versus the Cowboys.
Speaker 3: Broncos the bounce back. They weren't as good against the Raiders,
Speaker 3: but the Raiders were excellent. The Cowboys are in a
Speaker 3: bit of a hole and I think Todd Payton's already
Speaker 3: under pressure, like they'll be better for the Queensland Derby,
Speaker 3: but yeah, it's a tough place where North Queensland are
Speaker 3: at the moment.
Speaker 2: Definitely the o from two to start the year. Sharks
Speaker 2: Bunnies in Cronella.
Speaker 3: Yeah, quite a hard one to tip this one, but
Speaker 3: you've got to like what Kranella are doing. They were
Speaker 3: really good against Pendeth and Las Vegas. That was a
Speaker 3: close game. They've continued that on with the Round two win.
Speaker 3: Rabbit is excellent the way they got home against the Dragons,
Speaker 3: but they've lost so many players to injuries and that
Speaker 3: it's got to take its toll sooner or later.
Speaker 2: I'm going to go with the Sharks. The Bunnies were
Speaker 2: two very tight wins, but as you say, they've lost
Speaker 2: quality Dolphins. Tigers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, wow, the Tigers. I am so happy for Benji
Speaker 3: in the way they won, and you know his little
Speaker 3: revolution with all the young players he's playing, and it
Speaker 3: was just to beat a team like the Eels the
Speaker 3: big weston Derby. Fantastic for them. I do think the
Speaker 3: Dolphins do something though they're back at home, so I'll
Speaker 3: go with the Dolphins here, even though the Tigers have
Speaker 3: got all the momentum.
Speaker 2: I'm going to go with the Tigers for that reason,
Speaker 2: the momentum, and we love an underdog story. Jerome Leui
Speaker 2: going to the Tigers. Can he turn it around? In
Speaker 2: the club Titans versus the Knights. As we mentioned at
Speaker 2: the top, the Titans have got some issues. They've got
Speaker 2: a really good forward pack, they've got pace out wide,
Speaker 2: but they just don't seem to have it.
Speaker 3: Doesn't seem to jel for them with the spine. I'm
Speaker 3: not sure what the issue is, but they've obviously got issues.
Speaker 3: So the Knights. Look, I'll be looking about back, but
Speaker 3: you'd say the Knights will be will be too good here.
Speaker 2: Eels Bulldogs.
Speaker 3: Oh this is for me. I remember so many times
Speaker 3: last season tipping the Eels and saying, surely they'll come right.
Speaker 3: I'm going to do it again. I'm going to say,
Speaker 3: surely the Eels have come right at home against an
Speaker 3: arch rival, even though the Bulldogs are looking great. I'm
Speaker 3: giving you I'm throwing you one here, I'll go Els.
Speaker 2: You're throwing me a bone bird. But you've got such
Speaker 2: a lead, they don't you want to consolidate it.
Speaker 3: No, I'm pretty confident.
Speaker 2: I'll go with the Bulldogs. Put forty points on the
Speaker 2: Tiger Titans over the weekend. And finally the Seagles versus
Speaker 2: the Raiders.
Speaker 3: Hmmmm, it kind of depends.
Speaker 2: This one's well, the raidst the Raiders beat the Broncos.
Speaker 2: That's untouchable.
Speaker 3: They did. No, no, no, I'm going to go with
Speaker 3: the Seagulls at Brookvale, but it depends. I'll put a
Speaker 3: cavit on that depending on the injury situation with some
Speaker 3: of their players, So I reserve the right to change
Speaker 3: my tip. Can't works later in the week.
Speaker 2: This is final sequels gay for the Raiders three from three.
Speaker 2: Thank you Michael Burgess for your time, your wisdom, your insight.
Speaker 2: Will see you next week on the Bigger League Podcast.
Speaker 2: Please follow and rate the podcast. We'll be back next Monday.
Speaker 2: My name is Nathan Limb. Have a great week.
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