Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n‘Going to improve’ Walsh | 04:13<\/p>\n
BROWN\u2019S $13M STATEMENT<\/p>\n
Dylan Brown was excellent in the group stages of the Pacific Championships, but the real test came in the form of a must-win final against Samoa.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say he passed with flying colours.<\/p>\n
The gun playmaker signed a 10-year, $13 million contract to join the Knights in 2026 with the Newcastle club hopeful he can lead them to the finals.<\/p>\n
It looks likely he will partner Fletcher Sharpe and wear the No.7 \u2014 playing the role of the dominant playmaker in a side that won the wooden spoon.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a big ask to inspire a monumental turnaround, but if Brown can carry his Pacific Championships form into the NRL, Newcastle could be dangerous.<\/p>\n
Brown, alongside superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga and Sharpe could forge a scary spine that could certainly produce points.<\/p>\n
On Sunday afternoon, Brown showcased the full extent of his playmaking abilities, recording nine tackle breaks, five offloads and three try assists.<\/p>\n
Dylan Brown of the Kiwis is congratulated by Jarome Luai of Samoa.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It was his run-first mentality that allowed him to be the gamebreaker, and he also tallied 169 running metres.<\/p>\n
\u201cDylan Brown, the story of the Pacific Championships,\u201d Michael Ennis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs he heads up the freeway towards Newcastle, they have themselves a player in supreme confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been brilliant, he has been such a threat, it\u2019s remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
After taking a look at his statistics, Andrew Voss also made a bold claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s getting to Reece Walsh, grand final performance areas here. I have never seen a five-eighth with these numbers, ever,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho has done that before?\u201d.<\/p>\n
So, needless to say, the Knights will be desperate Brown can continue his form in the famous blue and red jumper.<\/p>\n
Kiwis comeback to win Pacific Champs | 02:51<\/p>\n
KEVVIE SHOULD GET RESPECT HE DESERVES DESPITE ATTACK WOES<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos\u2019 attack was clunky all series, but the 3-0 series result should get Kevin Walters the respect he deserves, despite doubts around his future as Australian coach. <\/p>\n
Fletcher believes keeping the nucleus of the team together heading into the World Cup can have the team firing in time for the 2026 tournament. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Harry Grant spoke about it, he said, the cohesion was obviously not there in the first couple of games,\u201d Fletcher said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw this towards the end of that second half, where they started throwing the ball around a bit. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019s right. If they can keep the nucleus of this side together, and because we\u2019ve got the World Cup obviously next year, it\u2019s only going to help our cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johns praised the impact of Walters and Gorden Tallis to get the Kangaroos on the same page to win the series 3-0 on short notice. <\/p>\n
\u201cGorden Tallis said, this side they can coach themselves, but it\u2019s a great achievement for Kevvie, but also Gorden,\u201d Johns said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause taking a touring team away is not easy. Particularly these players, you\u2019ve got to pull all these players together. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to teach them, well, not teach them, but you\u2019re hoping that they can suppress their egos. And everyone has their wants and needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other thing is, at the end of a very long season, finding the balance between having a great time and playing great football. <\/p>\n
\u201cBob Fulton was the best at it. You would go over there and some of the best times of your life, but you won. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, Bozo used to say all the time, listen we\u2019re gonna have a great time, but to have a great time, we\u2019re gonna train hard. And from what I understand, Kevvie\u2019s had the same philosophy.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kevin Walters and Gorden Tallis led the Kangaroos to a 3-0 series win.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
Fletcher has no doubt Walters should be the coach heading into a World Cup year. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely yeah three-zip,\u201d Fletcher said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019ll definitely be the coach moving forward, surely.\u201d <\/p>\n
Johns agreed it shouldn\u2019t be a debate based on the Ashes series whitewash. <\/p>\n
\u201cSurely he starts to get the respect he deserves, Kevvie,\u201d Johns said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, there\u2019s been times that people for whatever reason, I mean, he got the Broncos to the grand final. From the position he got him in, they should have won that game. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut, he just doesn\u2019t get the respect he deserves and this is another example. As soon as he arrives back, they should sign him on for the World Cup.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hodgson pointed out that England beat two of Australia\u2019s southern rivals, which makes the Kangaroos\u2019 performances even more impressive. <\/p>\n
\u201cEngland beat Samoa and England beat Tonga and Australia have gone over there and beaten England 3-0,\u201d Hodgson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I don\u2019t know really what more he could do. And I know England will be disappointed, but Australia put it to him and he certainly got them going.\u201d <\/p>\n
Walters was criticised for not using six players on the tour, but Fletcher defended that decision given players don\u2019t want to give up the jersey when they get it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019d won two in a row, the fact that those blokes wanted to (play), it\u2019s very hard to go over and win three-nil in any form,\u201d Fletcher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the players that have done the job in game one and two, they didn\u2019t want to give their jersey up. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I can understand there was people making conversation or making noise saying, oh, they\u2019ve gone over there and they\u2019re not going to get a run. Well, at the end of the day, we want to win, and we\u2019ve done the job.\u201d <\/p>\n
Johns warned that with a year to go until the next World Cup, no one has a mortgage on the jersey anyway and the players will have to deliver next season to be picked. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about cohesion and combinations, just because we\u2019ve won this series three-nil doesn\u2019t mean that incumbency spills over the World Cup. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, we\u2019ve got some young guys in the game, like Ethan Strange and you see the improvement of Mitchell Moses year by year. Those jerseys still are for grabs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019ve got young players in the game getting better at million-miles an hour, so those players they\u2019ve got a big task to hang on to their jerseys.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘I hope to be there next year!’ | 02:00<\/p>\n
MUNSTER PLAYER OF THE SERIES <\/p>\n
All the talk was around Reece Walsh and Nathan Cleary ahead of the series, but Cameron Munster outperformed both to be crowned player of the series. <\/p>\n
Munster was player of the match in game two, with Walsh winning the honour in game one and Grant in the third. <\/p>\n
However, Munster was the most consistent player across the series and deserved the honour, according to Hodgson. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a testament to how good of a player he is, that he\u2019s been so consistent year on year,\u201d Hodgson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as you said about Queensland, it was a bit of devastating news for him, and he managed to go on the field and put out an unbelievable performance and get Queensland over the line, and him and Harry Grant have been unbelievable this Test series. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen you\u2019ve got two players like that in your side, it just makes everyone around them look even better.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cameron Munster was crowned player of the Ashes series.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
Johns praised Munster for evolving his game as he gets older, given his speed isn\u2019t what it once was and forecast longevity for the Storm and Queensland star amid the subtle tweaks. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou see the adjustments he\u2019s made to his game,\u201d Johns said. <\/p>\n
\u201cMunster\u2019s spilling into his 30s now, starting to move into his 30s, and the other thing is he\u2019s had a lot of hip and groin problems, pelvis problems. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo that can rob Munster of his greatest attribute, his running game. You can see he\u2019s lost a metre, but importantly for Munster, he\u2019s altered his game. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a lot more thoughtful in how he plays and picking and choosing his moments. I think the feature of this series from Munster hasn\u2019t been his running game, it\u2019s been his kicking game. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019s making that adjustment, which for playmakers gives you longevity.\u201d <\/p>\n
Munster is now one of the favourites for the Golden Boot after taking out the player of the Ashes series award, which will be announced next month. <\/p>\n
Walsh dazzles with solo scrum try | 01:01<\/p>\n
FORAN BOWS OUT A CHAMPION<\/p>\n
It was fitting, for a player of Kieran Foran\u2019s stature, to go out with a win.<\/p>\n
The veteran five-eighth declared he was set to retire at the end of the 2025 season, but that didn\u2019t rule out a last-chance saloon with his beloved Kiwis.<\/p>\n
After an injury to Jahrome Hughes, a spot in the halves opened up in fairytale scenes and Foran forged a strong partnership with Dylan Brown.<\/p>\n
While Foran will join the Sea Eagles as an assistant coach next season, he leaves behind a strong legacy on the field that includes a premiership and 34 Test for his country, winning the Pacific Championships in his last.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was as nervous as heck today to be honest,\u201d Foran said after the victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just so badly wanted this, it\u2019s been a pretty difficult year for myself up north.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got asked to come in here given Jahrome Hughes\u2019 injury by Stacey and I just found it would be the icing on top if we could win this Championship.<\/p>\n
Kieran Foran of the Kiwis celebrates with his family.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted it so badly for New Zealand, it has meant to much for me playing for my country… I just wanted to finish with a win with the guys here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foran also paid tribute to head coach Stacey Jones, who gave him the opportunity to have one last crack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to remind myself and pinch myself that I am being coached by Stacey Jones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was an absolute idol of mine as a young kid growing up in New Zealand… he is just such a calming influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see why he was such a great player and a great halfback because nothing phases him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how he coaches, he has got this ability to stay calm under pressure. Even at halftime, 14-6 down, he was full of optimism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really do feel blessed he backed me, coming in here at the end of my career and giving me an opportunity to lead the boys around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel extremely luck to end on this note.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I badly wanted this” Foz on Pac Champs | 04:57<\/p>\n
WHERE TO NOW FOR DISAPPOINTING ENGLAND<\/p>\n
England had high hopes of springing an upset, but after a 3-0 Ashes series loss, they are left to pick up the pieces ahead of the World Cup, with coach Shaun Wane under pressure. <\/p>\n
Reports suggest Broncos coach Michael Maguire could be in line for the England post a year out from the World Cup. <\/p>\n
England were brave in defence and up for the fight, but their attack needs a lot of work if they want to be serious about contending for the World Cup title. <\/p>\n
Hodgson believes England will be hurting and now know the level they need to get to in order to challenge the Kangaroos at the World Cup. <\/p>\n
\u201cProbably tactically there\u2019ll be some things they would like to change looking back at it, but I think it just gives them that level of understanding, how long the Australians can stay at such a high pace,\u201d Hodgson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs we saw at the end of this game today, they put on a couple of tries in the last 10 or 15 minutes. It was pretty close until the last 15, I think it was 18-8. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo just the standard that they can hold for that length of time, and it\u2019ll probably give the English boys a bit of a thing to say, that I want to go to another level the following year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a World Cup, and if we want to win it, everyone individually needs to go up a little bit more. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got some fantastic players in our team and some real strike, and unfortunately in England, just because the game\u2019s not as big as over here, we just don\u2019t have the same amount of depth, which can be a bit of a challenge if you get a couple of injuries. <\/p>\n
\u201cA big 12 months for the boys, and they\u2019ll be really hurting. I feel for them and it\u2019s been a really tough camp, I know hard it is when you get beat for your country and this is the Ashes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough camp, but I think they\u2019ll get a lot of lessons from this and I imagine Shaun Wane will stay.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fletcher believes the effort is there from England, but they need to get fitter so they can match Australia for 80 minutes. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think their effort was there,\u201d Fletcher said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that in every game they were good for 60, 65 minutes, and then there was a last sort of 10, 15, which is what we work on. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the NRL, it\u2019s all about getting to that last 10 minutes and you\u2019re sort of testing yourself out. <\/p>\n
Shaun Wane is under pressure after England lost 3-0.Source: AP<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I found when I played over in England, it was exactly that. The first 60 minutes was as hard as an NRL game, but it sort of just drops away towards the back end. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then their attention to detail, the errors and the tiredness just comes in, and that\u2019s when we sort of make the score look a lot better for us than what it really was.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hodgson agreed the score line flattered Australia at times throughout the series. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the score didn\u2019t really reflect the game and I thought they were a little bit the same last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we really took it to them, and if you look at the score line, it looks like it probably wasn\u2019t as close as it was.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hodgson was surprised with a number of selections that England made and forecast potential changes ahead of the World Cup. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Morgan Smithies the first game would have been in there,\u201d Hodgson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure whether Nicholson at Canberra was injured or not, because he didn\u2019t get a selected. Then Luke Thompson, who was at the Bulldogs, who was back at Wigan, obviously played NRL a bit, obviously knows the standard. I thought he\u2019d maybe got a selection.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then Jake Connor, I know there was a lot of controversy about him in England. I played alongside Jake in 2018 when we beat the Kiwis in the Test Series, and he was arguably should have come into the squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was arguably probably one of the players of the game, and he got Man of Steel over there, which is the equivalent to the Dally M here, and got left out of the squad, so that was a surprising one. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you\u2019re a coach, you\u2019ve got to pick the team that you think\u2019s going to do the job, and you can\u2019t cater to everybody, because then if you get beat, you\u2019ll be looking back with a bit of regret, so Shaun\u2019s got to pick the team.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hodgson believes one man has to come straight back in when his ban ends. <\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Radley too, that hurt not having him there,\u201d Hodgson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about him, he wears his heart on his sleeve wherever he plays. He\u2019s a traditional sort of English player, tough, loves the physical side of it, so we really missed him through the middle too. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut now it\u2019s going to be a big 12 months for us. Morgan Knowles coming out here to the Dolphins, I think that\u2019ll help us. Definitely will raise his game, and I thought he had a decent series.\u201d <\/p>\n
England end 80-minute try drought | 01:14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rugby league season came to an end on Sunday afternoon. The Kangaroos won the Ashes series and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[19974,13285,24164,159013,159021,64,63,689,15913,18580,159041,52535,10122,4567,47929,145762,159019,101477,1208,34688,2057,159037,159014,4603,159017,763,122333,11288,110094,159033,159040,159038,130924,8095,159015,4575,159036,4582,144777,3194,4744,4484,159018,129525,4746,159039,159026,32917,6407,22326,159030,761,762,1736,40041,7204,3583,158,677,132830,159028,159025,159031,159016,3252,159024,36257,13391,82517,159035,130928,7623,130926,159022,159012,159032,17059,47911,159029,159034,44219,38704,159027,85,123435,75159,11375,7663,38713,11089,159023,22317,157917,4534,21418,159020,106245],"class_list":["post-273941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-andrew-voss","tag-ashes","tag-assistant-coach","tag-attack-needs","tag-attack-woes","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-coach","tag-australian-side","tag-ban-ends","tag-bob-fulton","tag-bryan-fletcher","tag-cameron-munster","tag-coach-heading","tag-deadline-passes","tag-disappointing-england","tag-dominant-playmaker","tag-england","tag-english-player","tag-europe","tag-fairytale-scenes","tag-fantastic-players","tag-final-game","tag-final-performance-areas","tag-fox-league","tag-george-williams","tag-grand-final","tag-grand-final-performance","tag-grant-stars","tag-gritted-tee","tag-groin-problems","tag-gun-playmaker","tag-harry-grant","tag-incumbency-spills","tag-jahrome-hughes","tag-jake-connor","tag-jarome-luai","tag-josh-hodgson","tag-kevin-walters","tag-kicking-game","tag-kieran-foran","tag-last-chance-saloon","tag-luke-thompson","tag-mark-st-john","tag-marker-fullback","tag-match-display","tag-michael-ennis","tag-michael-maguire","tag-mitchell-moses","tag-must-win-final","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand-kiwis","tag-north-melbourne-kangaroos","tag-northern-europe","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-pac-champs","tag-pac-champsrugby-league","tag-pacific-champsrugby-league","tag-pelvis-problems","tag-platform-upfront","tag-player-movement","tag-real-strike","tag-real-test","tag-reece-walsh","tag-rock-star","tag-rock-star-approach","tag-rugby-league-ashes-live","tag-run-metres","tag-running-game","tag-score-line","tag-score-look","tag-series-award","tag-series-finale","tag-series-loss","tag-series-result","tag-series-three-nil","tag-series-whitewash","tag-series-win","tag-special-debut-series","tag-sports","tag-stacey-jones","tag-tackle-breaks","tag-tackle-busts","tag-talking-points","tag-test-series","tag-tom-sargeant","tag-tough-camp","tag-try-assists","tag-try-drought","tag-victor-radley","tag-world-cup","tag-yeah-three-zip","tag-young-guys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}