Speaker 1: Nine Podcasts.
Speaker 2: Welcome everyone to another edition of the Billy Slater Podcast.
Speaker 2: We've just had Round thirteen of the NRL and well
Speaker 2: a couple of teams really starting to put their hand
Speaker 2: up as premiership contenders after impressive performances on the weekend,
Speaker 2: especially the Warriors and at the canber Raiders. So much
Speaker 2: to talk about, and as we're doing it all thanks
Speaker 2: to tab Hello, Billy.
Speaker 1: Good morning Salty. Heading into round fourteen, we're pretty much
Speaker 1: halfway through the year and twenty seven rounds, so we're
Speaker 1: nearly exactly halfway through the year and the ladders starting
Speaker 1: to take shape, and there's some some surprises that we
Speaker 1: probably didn't think that we're going to be jumping out
Speaker 1: of the ground at this time of the year. And
Speaker 1: there's certainly some teams outside the eight that we probably
Speaker 1: thought were going to be inside the eight. So halfway
Speaker 1: through the year and the season and start to take shape.
Speaker 2: Billy, just on the ladder, there's three wins between fifth
Speaker 2: and last.
Speaker 3: Have you seen a ladder like it?
Speaker 2: I mean, actually, if you really want to go a
Speaker 2: bit further, between second and last on the table, seventeenth
Speaker 2: on the table, there's only the five wins it's so congested.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and to think yesterday's game Paramatta and Penrith. Penrith
Speaker 1: went into that in the last position. Now they've won
Speaker 1: four games this season. There are teams inside the eight.
Speaker 1: There's two teams inside the eight that have won five games.
Speaker 1: So they went into last weekend's round in last position
Speaker 1: and now there are only one win behind a couple
Speaker 1: of teams that are sitting inside the top eight. So
Speaker 1: it is so close. You put a good month of
Speaker 1: football together and all of a sudden you're thinking that
Speaker 1: you're a chance of winning the competition.
Speaker 2: That was such a high quality game yesterday that we
Speaker 2: saw on nine between the Panthers and the Eels could
Speaker 2: have gone either way. We've seen in recent times the
Speaker 2: improvement the Eels are making under Jason Ryles. But you
Speaker 2: know that was a big two points for Penrith yesterday.
Speaker 3: But Billy, what a high quality game of football it was.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, I agree with that, SALTI. If that was
Speaker 1: game one of the semi finals in September, you'd be
Speaker 1: pretty pretty excited about how the final series is going
Speaker 1: to shape up. And I certainly agree with the improvement
Speaker 1: of Paramatta. Actually, Paramatta were one team at the start
Speaker 1: of the year that I thought was going to take
Speaker 1: leaps forward. They were my pick to climb the ladder
Speaker 1: and be a bit of a surprise. They had some
Speaker 1: injuries to some key players throughout the opening ten rounds
Speaker 1: and that certainly helped. And then on top of that,
Speaker 1: they've they've taken a little bit to understand what Jason
Speaker 1: Roles is trying to implement and all the things that
Speaker 1: that he wants to bring into the football team. So
Speaker 1: they looked really dangerous. They were desperate without the football,
Speaker 1: and then with the football they all looked like they
Speaker 1: were on the same page. And it took a really
Speaker 1: committed Penrith team who probably had the best forward pack
Speaker 1: that they've fielded this year. It was certainly a premiership
Speaker 1: winning forward pack and it took every bit of their
Speaker 1: quality to get over the paramount. Ears thought it was
Speaker 1: a wonderful game and both teams should hold their head
Speaker 1: up high.
Speaker 2: Just one game and what was a terrific Sunday of
Speaker 2: rugby league. The two other winners either side of that
Speaker 2: game made mention of them right at the top.
Speaker 3: The Warriors.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about their performance against sous who also an
Speaker 2: improving team. But the Warriors just keep getting it done
Speaker 2: and importantly Billy on this side of the Tasman Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Warriors are just lining under the radar at
Speaker 1: the moment. They haven't got the superstar key position players
Speaker 1: like some of the other teams do, but they all
Speaker 1: work really well as a football team. Andrew Webster's done
Speaker 1: a great job over there. The other storyline to come
Speaker 1: out of this game is Alex Johnston scored a hat
Speaker 1: trick and he notched up a double century and tries
Speaker 1: in the NRL, only the second player to ever do that.
Speaker 1: He's on his way to be in the all time
Speaker 1: try scorer in our game's history, which is an incredible achievement.
Speaker 1: He's only got twelve to go, I believe, or eleven
Speaker 1: to go or something to go. Yeah, yeah, that's certainly
Speaker 1: a storyline to come out of that game as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're not wrong there.
Speaker 2: And if you have a look at the Rabbit o's
Speaker 2: and who they've got between now and the rest of
Speaker 2: the season, if he keeps going and scores a try
Speaker 2: or two each week, we could get to a round
Speaker 2: twenty seven and he could break the record against the Roosters.
Speaker 3: Yeah, wouldn't that be.
Speaker 1: Something that's incredible And he's done it with a great
Speaker 1: strike rate as well. To think that Cody Walker is
Speaker 1: not on the left hand side of the field at
Speaker 1: the moment and he's still scoring hat tricks. Imagine when
Speaker 1: when Cody Walker gets back and you know he's certainly
Speaker 1: going to put him over for a few as well.
Speaker 2: Be quicker service from your dummy half. For most of
Speaker 2: your career, you might have had over two hundred.
Speaker 1: I know, if you give me the ball a bit
Speaker 1: more often. That's what you got to deal with when
Speaker 1: you play with Cameras.
Speaker 3: The cards dealt with, cards dealt with.
Speaker 1: He's responsible for plenty of more.
Speaker 3: I was like complain, of course, not hello Cam.
Speaker 2: No doubt he'll be He'll be watching Keen viewer of
Speaker 2: the podcast Billy No Jamal Fogardi for Canbra, no problem.
Speaker 2: This was a high quality game last night as well.
Speaker 2: The Roosters, well they're on the precipice of the eight.
Speaker 2: But Canbra they're playing some terrific football, aren't they.
Speaker 1: Yeah, a little bit like Paramounta. The Roosters have really
Speaker 1: got their game on now and they're they're one of
Speaker 1: the teams of the competition. You know, some of their
Speaker 1: star players are playing the best I've seen them play,
Speaker 1: and Victor Radley's doing a great job, and also James
Speaker 1: Tedesco and the young players are really stepping up. But
Speaker 1: the Raiders, the Raiders are they're the team of the
Speaker 1: competition at the moment. And I'll tell you why. They've
Speaker 1: won more games than any other team in the competition.
Speaker 1: I know they're not sitting first, but they've won ten games.
Speaker 1: The Bulldogs have only won nine. Now, the Raiders are
Speaker 1: the only team in the competition that haven't had to
Speaker 1: buy yet. Everyone else has had to buy. And the
Speaker 1: Bulldogs in the Storm, who sit inside the top four,
Speaker 1: they've had two buys. So the Raiders are sitting really
Speaker 1: pretty at the moment. They're playing tough, brave football. And
Speaker 1: then on top of that you think about their key
Speaker 1: position players. The four key position players are really in
Speaker 1: experience that played on the weekend. You've got young Paddy
Speaker 1: at number nine, who's doing an exceptional job when he
Speaker 1: comes on the field, Strange and Sanders who are very
Speaker 1: young in their careers, and then Kylee Wicks who Ricky
Speaker 1: stew has done a fantastic job and put a lot
Speaker 1: of faith in him when he's come up with a
Speaker 1: few errors in his development stage of his career and
Speaker 1: he's really stuck by him and you can see the
Speaker 1: confidence that he's playing with at the moment Because of it,
Speaker 1: they're a team that are probably the team of the
Speaker 1: competition at the moment, but you can actually see where
Speaker 1: they're going to get to in years to come. It's
Speaker 1: exciting for the Raiders.
Speaker 2: I love the camaraderie that they have there. They're all
Speaker 2: not only playing for the coach, but playing for each other.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of pride in that green jersey in
Speaker 2: the nation's capital.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a real connection there, isn't there And that's
Speaker 1: really important in a footy team. So there's a lot
Speaker 1: going well for the Canberra Raiders. And I know it's
Speaker 1: only halfway through the season and Ricky Stewart would be
Speaker 1: keeping a lid on it. There's a massive game down
Speaker 1: in Canberra this weekend with Josh Popole he breaking that
Speaker 1: the all time Raiders record in games played. That's that's
Speaker 1: huge for Big Poppa and knowing how Canberra do it,
Speaker 1: that'll be a celebration and a half down there.
Speaker 2: Sure will tell us about him, Billy, he was an
Speaker 2: Origin teammate of yours.
Speaker 3: You had to come up against him at club level.
Speaker 2: But tell us about Josh and what he brought to
Speaker 2: a team, particularly when you're playing together in Origin for Queensland.
Speaker 1: Well, firstly, he's a real gentleman. He's a real respectful
Speaker 1: person and a great guy off the field, and when
Speaker 1: he's in your footy team, you just walk that little
Speaker 1: bit taller. He's one of those guys that he's a leader.
Speaker 1: He doesn't say a whole heap, but he leads with
Speaker 1: his actions and he makes you feel that little bit
Speaker 1: safer when he's next to you in the same color jersey.
Speaker 1: And he's had a wonderful career in all jerseys, Camber Raiders, Queensland, Australia,
Speaker 1: he's played for Samoa. He's been a wonderful player for
Speaker 1: our game and he's still got plenty to offer. So
Speaker 1: congratulations to Big Poppa and hopefully he can enjoy the
Speaker 1: occasion and you know, I'm sure the campber Raiders and
Speaker 1: the footy team around him will will make it a
Speaker 1: memorable one for him.
Speaker 2: Just a quick little story on that to highlight something
Speaker 2: he said there about him being a gentleman. I know
Speaker 2: that when a devoted Canberra fan was going to Cambra
Speaker 2: to watch the game. A few years ago, when when
Speaker 2: Josh was still playing Origin, Ricky went to the players
Speaker 2: it was the game after an Origin match and he said, look,
Speaker 2: there's this fan coming down and I'm going to go
Speaker 2: to the airport.
Speaker 3: And to meet him. Anyone want to come along?
Speaker 2: And Josh put his hand up and said, yep, I'm
Speaker 2: going to come and they went to the airport to
Speaker 2: meet this fan.
Speaker 3: That says a lot.
Speaker 2: Actually, I think about the whole club there with Ricky
Speaker 2: finding out about this particular supporter who wants to go
Speaker 2: on and watch the Raiders play, and they're just such
Speaker 2: a wonderful group and I think that that highlights as
Speaker 2: you've been talking about the culture within the club and
Speaker 2: Josh as a person.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a wonderful story and that doesn't surprise me.
Speaker 1: You know, they see they see everyone as important and
Speaker 1: you know that it means a lot to him. You
Speaker 1: hear rick you Stewart talk about the support of the
Speaker 1: Canberra people and you know our game is a passionate
Speaker 1: game and to have that passion for your footy team
Speaker 1: and the people who support the footy team. It's all
Speaker 1: rolled into one and yeah, that doesn't surprise me.
Speaker 2: It's a nice story, Billy, just on the Raiders and
Speaker 2: I think you'll know where I'm going from here when
Speaker 2: I bring up Corey Hawes bro Will you impressed with
Speaker 2: his performance on Sunday Night.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's been doing a really good job. I think
Speaker 1: he's had a really good year. He's obviously had a
Speaker 1: big off season and with that, you know, you give
Speaker 1: yourself a chance to play really consistent football throughout the year.
Speaker 1: I remember when he played State of Origin a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago that that was a real a real
Speaker 1: fabric of his game and a foundation of his game
Speaker 1: was his fitness and doing all the little things well.
Speaker 1: And he certainly got himself back to that point and
Speaker 1: that standard of football. So yeah, he's another guy that's
Speaker 1: that's really playing well. He's actually keeping Josh Populi on
Speaker 1: the on the bench who's coming on and doing a
Speaker 1: great job just before halftime. So that's Bigs Volumes.
Speaker 2: When we talk about Origin and looking back to last Wednesday.
Speaker 2: But now I suppose you're at the stage where you're
Speaker 2: certainly looking forward to to Perth and obviously people start
Speaker 2: coming up with all different theories and want to change
Speaker 2: this and and and change that. And I know that
Speaker 2: you there might be a couple of minor changes to
Speaker 2: the team. I don't know you're you're you're the coach,
Speaker 2: but you're very good at blocking out a lot of
Speaker 2: that outside noise, and the players are as well.
Speaker 3: So when you.
Speaker 2: Look when you're moving forward to to Perth, what's in
Speaker 2: your thinking at the moment?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's really important, you know the noise. Once
Speaker 1: you hear something, you can't unhear it. So it's important
Speaker 1: to try not to hear it in the first place,
Speaker 1: that's the first thing, and not let it influence you
Speaker 1: know how you go about things, and you talk about change,
Speaker 1: and you know when you don't, when you don't perform
Speaker 1: well or you don't you don't get the best out
Speaker 1: of yourself and your footy team, you certainly need to change.
Speaker 1: Change is really important because if you if you expect
Speaker 1: to do the same thing and expect the same a
Speaker 1: different result, well you're probably silly. So but change doesn't
Speaker 1: always necessarily mean change personnel. But you can change actions,
Speaker 1: you can change attitudes, and you can change a view
Speaker 1: of how you approach things. So I'm a believer that
Speaker 1: something needs to change. And probably right now it's it's Monday,
Speaker 1: we played last Wednesday, and we go into camp in
Speaker 1: a week's time, So right now I'm probably in that
Speaker 1: transition stage of undergoing reviewing the game, you know, talking
Speaker 1: to the coaches, talking to the selectors, talking to people
Speaker 1: whose opinion I see is important, and then and then
Speaker 1: collating all that information and building a plan for seven
Speaker 1: days time. That's where I'm at now. Change is certainly
Speaker 1: a part of that because we didn't play our best football.
Speaker 1: We were nowhere near discipline enough, and if we don't
Speaker 1: change that, we can't expect a different result.
Speaker 2: When you look at and using that word change and
Speaker 2: people often think that, as you said, it just means
Speaker 2: players in, players out. But you can you can shuffle
Speaker 2: things around, because is it a case of when if
Speaker 2: you do make wholesale changes now And I'm not saying
Speaker 2: you would, but I'm talking more in general terms that
Speaker 2: it can upset your serious preparation, particularly when a lot
Speaker 2: of people start talking about your number seven, and you know,
Speaker 2: when the forwards are being dominated, there's not much DCE
Speaker 2: can it can do when he tried really hard last week.
Speaker 2: But if you were to make a change there, it
Speaker 2: upsets your your serious preparation as well. I suppose there's
Speaker 2: that's one of many factors that you'd have to consider
Speaker 2: when you do sit down over the next week or so.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you just got to You're gonna look look at
Speaker 1: what's important and what's gonna what's going to help the
Speaker 1: footy team play their best. That that's essentially my My
Speaker 1: role is is the guide these guys and help them
Speaker 1: perform their best together. That's that's what a coach does.
Speaker 1: So individually you want to help the guys get the
Speaker 1: best out of themselves, but collectively as a footy team,
Speaker 1: you want them to connect and and play their best
Speaker 1: football together. And that'll be that'll be the focus going
Speaker 1: into the next seven days and then once we get
Speaker 1: into camp, we'll be full steam ahead to try and
Speaker 1: get that happen.
Speaker 3: And is the response from the players too.
Speaker 2: Something you looked at from over the weekend and I
Speaker 2: speak of daily Tom Tom did and just to name
Speaker 2: a couple, and in fact, there was quite a few
Speaker 2: members of the Queensland team that I thought really put
Speaker 2: in impressive performances over the weekend.
Speaker 3: The way they responded is that something you look at.
Speaker 1: Also, I think it shows a bit of character when
Speaker 1: I love seeing players back up. You know, I've been
Speaker 1: one of those players, and it's not easy. It's it's
Speaker 1: probably easier physically than it is mentally, because Origin is
Speaker 1: such an emotional game. It's it's a it's a big
Speaker 1: build up, and it takes so much to get up
Speaker 1: to that level emotionally and mentally, and then and then
Speaker 1: you come down, and then you've got to try and
Speaker 1: get yourself back up there in a short period of time.
Speaker 1: So the mental and emotional roller coaster of Origin can
Speaker 1: really hit you. So to see not just the Queensland
Speaker 1: players I thought, I thought Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses
Speaker 1: really went after the game yesterday, you know, to see
Speaker 1: Origin players back up these days and play the way
Speaker 1: that they did, you know, those three players did in
Speaker 1: Cherry Evans Cleary, that was that was a real professional
Speaker 1: performance by those three guys. And it's a pleasure to
Speaker 1: watch that sort of stuff because it shows a whole
Speaker 1: heap of character.
Speaker 2: When we talk about players backing up, missing me to
Speaker 2: leave out Tino, who was enormous in a beaten side
Speaker 2: on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 1: I think you played about seventy seventy five minutes or
Speaker 1: something like that. And I don't think I've ever seen
Speaker 1: Tino go onto the footy field and leave anything in
Speaker 1: the tank. And he did the same thing for the
Speaker 1: Titans up against the Melbourne Storm, which was a real
Speaker 1: miserable afternoon on the gold Coase. It was torrential rain
Speaker 1: and really hampered both sides with the football. But yeah,
Speaker 1: he's one guy that can really hold his head up
Speaker 1: high most definitely.
Speaker 2: You're always one that thinks a little bit outside the
Speaker 2: box in with the players.
Speaker 3: That you've got in your team.
Speaker 2: Do you start say, I'll throw I'll throw a scenario
Speaker 2: up at you and you give me the sort of
Speaker 2: answer you want, Like a Ruben Kado could play. We've
Speaker 2: seen him play dummy half before. Would you say, look
Speaker 2: at something like that. Bring Harry off the bench where
Speaker 2: he's been really effective in origin in the past. So
Speaker 2: while people are looking at changes and saying this play
Speaker 2: has got to come in and out, do you start
Speaker 2: looking at, okay, that these are the piece of the
Speaker 2: puzzle that I've got already and and look at.
Speaker 3: Different ways to use those within your team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, I look at all different options. But the
Speaker 1: one thing you've got to be careful with Salty is
Speaker 1: is plugging a hole over there and then letting two
Speaker 1: holes leak over the other side. So so when you
Speaker 1: like like people talk about changes, Oh this blake should
Speaker 1: be in the team, you've got to You've got to
Speaker 1: get rid of someone too, you know. So you can't
Speaker 1: have everything. And I understand, you know in the media.
Speaker 1: I work in the media, and it's easy to sit
Speaker 1: there and go, oh, this should happen, that should happen,
Speaker 1: But you've got to think about the repercussions of those decisions.
Speaker 1: So there's a there's a fair thought process to go
Speaker 1: through when when you're thinking about this. But at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, I don't think it's it's a
Speaker 1: personnel thing, you know. I think if if we played
Speaker 1: with more discipline and we played more together in the
Speaker 1: way that we prepared, I think we would have given
Speaker 1: ourselves a better chance. And the other thing is we
Speaker 1: played against a really good team. New South Wales are
Speaker 1: playing really good football at the moment and they're not
Speaker 1: giving their opposition much and when you're not at your best,
Speaker 1: it magnifies things. So they were too good for us
Speaker 1: in game one and it's up to us to rise
Speaker 1: to the standard.
Speaker 2: Just one more on Origin, Billy, looking forward to next
Speaker 2: week and we will catch up next week ahead of
Speaker 2: the game in Perth.
Speaker 3: Does it change anything?
Speaker 2: This game in Perth has often played different conditions because
Speaker 2: a lot drier part of the world, because we're kicking
Speaker 2: off at six pm rather than the eight pm here
Speaker 2: where there's the heavy dew that comes in and if
Speaker 2: there's no rain around. It's a little bit different style
Speaker 2: of origin, isn't it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, you always look at the weather and adjust
Speaker 1: to that style of football, but it won't affect our preparation.
Speaker 1: We just need to work out, you know, where we
Speaker 1: went wrong, how we get our best football on and
Speaker 1: be together and go after it. That that's essentially what
Speaker 1: we need to do. And you know, whether it's a
Speaker 1: six o'clock kickoff, eight o'clock kickoff, it's raining or it's
Speaker 1: dry like at the end of the day, they're little adjustments,
Speaker 1: you know, towards the game. But yeah, that's not the
Speaker 1: foundation of our footy.
Speaker 3: Okay, all right, let's get back onto the NRL.
Speaker 2: And oh there's some soul searching at Redhill in Brisbane
Speaker 2: at the moment. One win in the last seven weeks
Speaker 2: for the Broncos. Ironically it was against one of the
Speaker 2: top teams of the competition in the in the Bulldogs.
Speaker 2: But can you put your put your finger on what's
Speaker 2: going on at Brisbane at the moment.
Speaker 1: No, not really. Look, there's there's a few things obviously
Speaker 1: that they've got a few injuries.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Ezra MEM's just come back into the team, so there's
Speaker 1: some continuity there. Rhys Walsh, he's a real spark for
Speaker 1: the Broncos, which in Selwyn Cobbo played a bit of fullback.
Speaker 1: Jessee Arthur's played fullback on the weekend, so there's been
Speaker 1: a bit of shuffling around within the footy team. But
Speaker 1: at the same time I'm sure there's a bit of
Speaker 1: disconnect as well. They don't look as fluent as they
Speaker 1: have done when they played their best football at the
Speaker 1: start of the year. So yeah, without being inside Redhill,
Speaker 1: you're not really sure on what is going on. It's
Speaker 1: more about just watching their performances and manly they look
Speaker 1: really enthusiastic. They looked like they went after their attack
Speaker 1: and they were just too much for the Broncos I
Speaker 1: thought mainly were exceptional actually.
Speaker 2: Talking about Manly in just a moment. It's a point
Speaker 2: that you make there about the personnel at Brisbane. I
Speaker 2: think off the top of the head, it's six games
Speaker 2: in the last twelve months that or last season and
Speaker 2: this season that Brisbane have had Reynolds, ma'am and whilst
Speaker 2: on the field at the same.
Speaker 1: Time, Yeah, and kind of knew it is really important.
Speaker 1: But they've still got some quality players there. I think
Speaker 1: Ben Hunt's out at the moment, but you've just got
Speaker 1: to look at what you're what you're working with, and
Speaker 1: you know, probably a little bit like the Queensland team,
Speaker 1: you know, the Broncos are probably just looking looking for
Speaker 1: what's happening at the moment and how to get the
Speaker 1: best out of their players, because they've got a fair
Speaker 1: bit of quality in their squad and the teams that
Speaker 1: they're they're feeling at the moment are certainly they're certainly
Speaker 1: not playing to the standard of those players individually. So
Speaker 1: you know, that's up to up to the senior players
Speaker 1: and the coaching staff to work that out, and I'm
Speaker 1: sure they'll do that. It's only halfway through the season
Speaker 1: and they are one of those teams on five wins,
Speaker 1: so you know, a good month of football puts you
Speaker 1: in a really good position.
Speaker 2: You mentioned mainly and how good they were that they're
Speaker 2: forwards terrific, Dce and Luke Brook's outstanding in the halves,
Speaker 2: but Billy psychologically that that performance to do it without
Speaker 2: tom Treboyevich, particularly for the younger players and the team,
Speaker 2: that's got to give them a real boost.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I said it on the Sunday Footy Show yesterday,
Speaker 1: that's that's the first time I've seen them players dominant
Speaker 1: and as as positive and with so much confidence without
Speaker 1: Tommy Turbo at fullback. That that was a really good performance.
Speaker 1: And LeHo Holpawadi, he really stood up. He's a wonderful player.
Speaker 1: I thought the young winger fa Lala, he just everything
Speaker 1: that they threw it him, he handled and then he
Speaker 1: threw a bit back and scored some tries like he was.
Speaker 1: He was outstanding. Some of the acrobatic sort of skills.
Speaker 1: He was about to go into touch and he throws
Speaker 1: the ball in the air and gets back in the
Speaker 1: field to play like that sort of stuff is a
Speaker 1: real highlight. But he did all the simple stuff as well.
Speaker 1: So yeah, Manly were certainly on broncos weren't at their best,
Speaker 1: but that was Yeah, like you said, that's a real
Speaker 1: confidence booster for them because they know their staff fallback
Speaker 1: as well.
Speaker 3: We touched on this one Billy.
Speaker 2: In talking about Tino's performance on Saturday afternoon. But Storm
Speaker 2: given a real fright against the Gold Coast Titans, and
Speaker 2: there was a real turning point in this game. Sam
Speaker 2: Verels dived over the line the bunker in controversial circumstances
Speaker 2: said no try, Melbourne go down the other end and score.
Speaker 2: It was a twelve point turnaround. So now they fought hard,
Speaker 2: the Titans, but Melbourne just getting the job done in
Speaker 2: those horrendous conditions.
Speaker 3: Try or no try, you're the expert, but I'm going
Speaker 3: to try.
Speaker 1: What's your what's your opinion?
Speaker 3: Now I'm going to try. I thought it was a try.
Speaker 1: I thought it was a try to hm hm. So
Speaker 1: I thought they're a bit unlucky there with that one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought there was There's plenty of Melbourne players in
Speaker 1: the rock and I actually don't think that Tino obstructed anyone.
Speaker 1: He just played the ball and stood there. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought it was a try. But you know, sometimes
Speaker 1: they go four years, sometimes they go against you, and
Speaker 1: you know it wasn't It wasn't a great game given
Speaker 1: the conditions, but Melbourne just did enough to get over
Speaker 1: the line. I thought grand Anderson was great. He's he's
Speaker 1: having a really good season. It doesn't matter where he
Speaker 1: plays on the wing, in the centers, he's played fullback,
Speaker 1: five eight. He's having a really good season. And the
Speaker 1: one thing that Melbourne are doing at the moment is
Speaker 1: they're getting reps into some of their development players, the
Speaker 1: grand Anderson's, the Sewer far Alongos, and then when they
Speaker 1: get the will Warbricks and some of their more established
Speaker 1: first graders back, they've got this depth and this competition
Speaker 1: for spots. And also at the back end of the year,
Speaker 1: you know that now there's going to be injuries here
Speaker 1: and there, and a guy like gran Anderson can play
Speaker 1: multiple positions and you know he's going to do a
Speaker 1: great job for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was absolutely terrific. He's uh, he's sneaky quick too,
Speaker 2: isn't he. He maintains that speed. He was in the
Speaker 2: open a couple of times, and a couple of the
Speaker 2: speedy Titans outside backs couldn't get him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's he's deceptive in everything really, like his his speed,
Speaker 1: his agility, and his skill. His football i Q is
Speaker 1: really high and that's why he can play those key
Speaker 1: positions like fullback and five eight and even in the
Speaker 1: centers and on the wing. You've got to be really
Speaker 1: you got to You've gotta be really football savvy. You've
Speaker 1: got to understand the game and your split second decisions
Speaker 1: to make defensive decisions are key. So yeah, he's he's
Speaker 1: decept in a lot of areas, which makes him really
Speaker 1: dangerous and puts him in good positions to take intocepts
Speaker 1: and run the length and that sort of stuff. So
Speaker 1: he's a wonderful player. I think he's leaving the Melbourne
Speaker 1: Storm at the end of the year, so you know
Speaker 1: he'll be a loss, but they're certainly getting they're certainly
Speaker 1: getting their value out of him at the moment.
Speaker 2: Well as talk he's heading to the Broncos, but nothing
Speaker 2: official has been announce yet in regard to Green Anderson
Speaker 2: Cowboys win. But what looked like it was going to
Speaker 2: be a comfortable victory shows a bit of where the
Speaker 2: Tigers are at, doesn't it. That they just kept they
Speaker 2: kept turning up on Saturday night and competing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, six tries to one in the first sixty minutes
Speaker 1: of the game. The Cowboys just went wooshker out of
Speaker 1: the blocks and played some great football. Obviously, Tom Didon
Speaker 1: was front and center in pretty much everything that they did.
Speaker 1: Scott drinkwater and did and really took the leadership role
Speaker 1: with the football, and that just took the pressure off
Speaker 1: Perdue in the number six jersey, who comes up with
Speaker 1: some really good moments. We can see the class and
Speaker 1: the future that Jackson Pershuy is going to have in
Speaker 1: the NRL. But I thought those two guys really stood
Speaker 1: up as leaders of the footy team, especially with the football.
Speaker 1: And then after the sixtieth minute the Tigers scored four
Speaker 1: tries in thirteen minutes. But this is the game at
Speaker 1: the moment you switch off for an instant and it's
Speaker 1: game back on. And it was game on. It was
Speaker 1: game on for the last five minutes and Happy Corrosow
Speaker 1: Actually he put a ball down off a line break
Speaker 1: I think it was, was it Mason?
Speaker 3: Yeah, Mason, yeah, young half and yeah, so.
Speaker 1: Yeah it was. It was a wonderful game to watch,
Speaker 1: but I do think the Cowboys were the better team.
Speaker 1: Tigers also had to do it without a couple of
Speaker 1: couple of players at certain times, two Sinnbins, so it
Speaker 1: was a courageous effort for them to fight back. But
Speaker 1: Cowboys deserve.
Speaker 3: The win, all right.
Speaker 2: And the other team that won over the weekend and
Speaker 2: you talk about Billy those teams that are in the mix,
Speaker 2: like your Eels, Roosters, but the Dragons do you put
Speaker 2: them in the same category as those sides and they
Speaker 2: just keep ticking over some regular victory Shane Fan against Men, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I do. They're getting great value out of
Speaker 1: their experienced signings. I think Cook and Gutherson are doing
Speaker 1: a wonderful job. You know what you're going to get
Speaker 1: from those two, especially Clint Gutherson. He is always in
Speaker 1: the game and he's responsible for a lot of the
Speaker 1: good stuff that happens. Cook made over fifty tackles. He's
Speaker 1: well into his thirties and still doing that. That just
Speaker 1: shows you the commitment he has to the footy team.
Speaker 1: And then some of the younger guys Pacific Pacific Tonga.
Speaker 1: He's a young front roller who's making some noise. He's
Speaker 1: good to try and young King Tonga the half. He's
Speaker 1: doing a great job. So they're developing these young guys
Speaker 1: at the same time as the experience and guys giving
Speaker 1: value to the footy team. So it's starting to come together.
Speaker 1: I think they're probably a little bit of a step
Speaker 1: behind some of the other teams, by they're competing and
Speaker 1: that's the most important thing.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: So they've got a big game coming up this Friday
Speaker 2: when we start talking about Round fourteen a little bit
Speaker 2: later on when they head to Brisbane to take on
Speaker 2: the Dolphins at sun Corpse Stadium in Friday night football.
Speaker 2: This is the Billy Slater Podcast, thanks to Tab the
Speaker 2: Billy Slater Podcast. Time now for Billy m metal our
Speaker 2: best player and team of the week.
Speaker 3: We do it thanks the Tab or Billy.
Speaker 2: Now, you could probably bracket these into your Sunday winners
Speaker 2: as some of the best, because how do you split them?
Speaker 2: Which was the most impressive team this week in your
Speaker 2: Billy MS?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well I've got a clear team winner and I've
Speaker 1: got a three way tie for the player winner. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'll start with a team winner and hands down for me,
Speaker 1: it's the canber Raiders. The canber Raiders. Like I said
Speaker 1: off the top, they're the only team that's won ten
Speaker 1: games this season. They're just flying under the raidar. They're
Speaker 1: the only team in the competition that haven't had to
Speaker 1: buy and the Roosters are flying at the moment. The
Speaker 1: Roosters are a really good football team and they had
Speaker 1: to come from behind. They had to do it the
Speaker 1: tough way, and that's their style. I think the canber
Speaker 1: Raiders are certainly the team of the.
Speaker 2: Week, Okay, and your triple dead Heats or player of
Speaker 2: the week in the BILLYMS.
Speaker 1: Three half back Salty and I've mentioned them before, Cleary
Speaker 1: did and Cherry Evans. I just thought they really stood
Speaker 1: up in the key moments, really went after the game,
Speaker 1: and they're the three players of the week. There was
Speaker 1: a ten minute period at the end of the game
Speaker 1: when the Panthers were under pressure, leading by two points
Speaker 1: and Paramatta were really coming at them, and Cleary he
Speaker 1: kicks a forty twenty and then pretty much has the
Speaker 1: most influential hand in a play that to scores in
Speaker 1: the corner just to give them that eight point buffet.
Speaker 1: It was, Yeah, it was a real key performance at
Speaker 1: a crucial time and didn't and Cherry Evans did similar
Speaker 1: things in their performances. So you know, those three halfbacks
Speaker 1: really stood up and off the back of playing origin.
Speaker 1: You know, only five days before I couldn't split them.
Speaker 3: Just on that forty twenty.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought it up and they were all great,
Speaker 2: that the three halves that you mentioned there.
Speaker 3: But he didn't do too much wrong fall back.
Speaker 2: You've been in that position before where a half is
Speaker 2: going for a forty twenty. But the way Cleary kicked that,
Speaker 2: the banana kick, and the shape that he had on.
Speaker 3: The ball, mate, you would have been flat out getting
Speaker 3: to it. I would have got this I think I'm
Speaker 3: talking about now. I'm sorry about now. I'm not seen
Speaker 3: years ago, and.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't got there now. Motibile. Positionally, he was pretty good.
Speaker 1: Reaction wasn't too bad. The one thing, the one thing
Speaker 1: that you get when you have experience is you think
Speaker 1: like them. And if he was thinking like Nathan Clearing,
Speaker 1: thinking games on the line, ten minutes to go, my
Speaker 1: team's under pressure, I'm going after it. And if he
Speaker 1: was thinking like that, he might have just been thinking
Speaker 1: where's Nathan a little bit more. That's the only thing
Speaker 1: and that comes with experience. He's doing He's doing a lot,
Speaker 1: right Isaiah Youngie. He's a wonderful player and he's I
Speaker 1: think he's going to be a representative player in the future.
Speaker 1: But that's what you get with experience, and that's what
Speaker 1: you get going through these little experiences. Is like in
Speaker 1: that moment, he'll look at that game and he'll go, oh,
Speaker 1: there's Nathan there, Okay. And it was interesting after the game,
Speaker 1: we spoke on the panel to Nathan Cleary and I
Speaker 1: asked him, I said, at what stage did you think
Speaker 1: forty twenty? And his answer was really interesting. He said,
Speaker 1: I was thinking that the whole game. So he's looking
Speaker 1: for those opportunities the whole game, and it just so
Speaker 1: happened to be in the moment that they needed it
Speaker 1: the most. It was there and he took it. So
Speaker 1: the kick was perfect. The kick was amazing. But you
Speaker 1: can always stop it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Well there's a lesson for young Isaiah Eyongi.
Speaker 3: But what a kick from Cleary.
Speaker 2: That was the Billy m Metal Thanks to Tad the
Speaker 2: nrlc's and is here for the best time in sport
Speaker 2: tab has the best app in sport tab.
Speaker 3: Where on you win some, you lose more. For free
Speaker 3: and confidential support, visit Gambling Help online dot org dot au.
Speaker 2: All right, so I look down to the laptop. A
Speaker 2: couple of listener questions that has come through. This one
Speaker 2: from Jack he says, Hi Billy.
Speaker 3: Interesting question here from.
Speaker 2: Jack, he says, high Billy, Beyond the physical battles, how
Speaker 2: much of state of Origin is a mental game? And
Speaker 2: what strategies do you employ as a coach to prepare
Speaker 2: your players for that unique psychological challenge?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's it's hugely important, and not just
Speaker 1: state of origin, like the game in general, and we
Speaker 1: see teams, We see teams putting poor performances and then
Speaker 1: bounce back and and that just shows you that it's
Speaker 1: not all physical. It's a majority mental. And that's that's
Speaker 1: something the players you know, certainly work on, is actually
Speaker 1: focusing on mental aspect and and seeing their game and
Speaker 1: what sort of attitude they're going to take into their game. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's actually a really really interesting point that you know,
Speaker 1: how much is it physical? Because it is physical, it's
Speaker 1: a physical game, But how much is is the mental
Speaker 1: side of things driving the physical as well and driving
Speaker 1: what actions you put out there, so yeah, certainly a balance.
Speaker 3: All right, good question Jack.
Speaker 2: This one also in an origin theme from McKenzie Austin
Speaker 2: who says, Hi, Billy, after the game on Wednesday night,
Speaker 2: what was the first thing you said to the team?
Speaker 3: How do you address the players?
Speaker 1: Probably probably what I've been saying, you know, throughout the media,
Speaker 1: just you know, the discipline side of things, you know,
Speaker 1: the disappointment of of of some of the penalties that
Speaker 1: we gave away. So yeah, look, you can't say too
Speaker 1: much after the game. At the end of the day,
Speaker 1: the game's done, but you can only give what you feel.
Speaker 1: And that was probably the first thing that I felt.
Speaker 1: There's no need to be over the top either. You know,
Speaker 1: you've got a bit of time to do your review
Speaker 1: and let things settle down. So yeah, it's probably just
Speaker 1: important just to talk about how you feel at the time,
Speaker 1: and that was the first thing that I said.
Speaker 2: All right, good question again there from McKenzie. Now, if
Speaker 2: you want to send through a question, the email address
Speaker 2: is Billy Slater podcast.
Speaker 3: At nine dot com. Do AU.
Speaker 2: That's all one word. Billy Slater Podcast at nine dot com.
Speaker 3: Do A You.
Speaker 2: Round fourteen is upon us Thursday night, footy. Big game
Speaker 2: for the nights they host the Sea Eagles. Boy haven't
Speaker 2: there been some good classes between Newcastle and Manly over
Speaker 2: the years, particularly in the Hunter, those great clashes between
Speaker 2: Spud Carroll and Chief Harrigan.
Speaker 3: But yeah, big game for boat clubs.
Speaker 1: Yeah absolutely. You know we talk about the Broncos being
Speaker 1: under pressure. I think the Knights you know, are probably
Speaker 1: in that category as well, and you know there they're
Speaker 1: starting to slip away their season, so they need to
Speaker 1: get back on track. Manly coming off a brilliant win,
Speaker 1: so their focus will be to back it up. So yeah,
Speaker 1: that'll be a beauty. And the Friday night game Dolphins
Speaker 1: and Dragons up at sun Corpse Stadium. Cowboys play the
Speaker 1: Storm as well on that Friday down in Melbourne, so
Speaker 1: you know that'll be a really interesting one. And we've
Speaker 1: got a blockbuster on sundayas and the Panthers. There's plenty
Speaker 1: of Panthers playing for the Tigers at the moment and
Speaker 1: that'll be really interesting.
Speaker 3: It will be lou I v.
Speaker 2: Cleary and yeah, that will be something else. We'll be
Speaker 2: there on Sunday afternoon at Combank Stadium.
Speaker 3: That will be a beauty. The other one too.
Speaker 2: There's a Monday game this week, Bulldogs.
Speaker 3: I'm going to throw one at you.
Speaker 2: Question without notice as they say, Billy, what number jersey
Speaker 2: will lock on Galvin have on this week for the Bulldogs?
Speaker 1: Good question? Good question. Well, you could either do one
Speaker 1: of two things. You could start him off the bench
Speaker 1: and let him filter into the footy team, or you
Speaker 1: can just cut the cord and you give him the
Speaker 1: number seven jersey. I think that that's the two options.
Speaker 1: What do I think they will do. I think they'll
Speaker 1: give him the seven jersey. M that's yeah. I don't
Speaker 1: know what the right thing to do is because I
Speaker 1: think I really feel for Toby Sex and I think
Speaker 1: he's been he's been a wonderful player this season for
Speaker 1: the Bulldogs and they're sitting on top of the ladder
Speaker 1: and it's a big call to drop your half back
Speaker 1: while you're sitting on top of the ladder and performing well.
Speaker 1: So it is a big call. But you don't buy
Speaker 1: Lachland Galvin to keep your powder dry. So it's I'm
Speaker 1: not sure what's going to happen.
Speaker 2: All right, Well we'll wait and see teamless Tuesday four
Speaker 2: o'clock when the team's announces when we'll we'll find out
Speaker 2: danger There isn't there that it could destabilize things at Canterbury.
Speaker 1: I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't
Speaker 1: think it could disabilize adding someone like Lockland Galvin to
Speaker 1: your squad. Yeah, they've got too much going for them,
Speaker 1: the Bulldog and they've got too much team first actions
Speaker 1: for this to unset them. I think he's a wonderful addition.
Speaker 1: He's a great player and you know where he's going.
Speaker 1: Where he's footy. It's done. He going north. So I
Speaker 1: don't think it can. I don't think it'll derail them.
Speaker 1: But it's a big call. It's a big decision.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, it is all right.
Speaker 2: Well, there's so much territory we covered today on the
Speaker 2: Billy Slate podcast. Don't forget. A new episode is out
Speaker 2: each and every Monday. Billy, we will chat to you
Speaker 2: next week when you're in camp with the Queensland team
Speaker 2: preparing for Origin two up on the Sunny Coast. So
Speaker 2: we'll chat there and enjoy the week and we'll see
Speaker 2: it at the footy for Round fourteen.
Speaker 1: Look forward to it.
Speaker 3: SULTI thanks Billy.
Speaker 2: That's Billy Slatter and Peter but Soldiers has been another
Speaker 2: edition of the Billy Slater podcast or thanks to tab
Speaker 2: have a great week.