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Malcolm Knox<\/a>Journalist, author and columnist<\/p>\nMarch 23, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
March 23, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Cameron Murray looked pretty pleased with South Sydney\u2019s win over the Tigers when he arrived at the post-match press conference on Saturday with his coach. By the time Wayne Bennett was finished, Murray was almost apologising for a humiliating victory.<\/p>\n \u201cWayne,\u201d the questions began, \u201cit\u2019s been described as a tough, fighting, gritty performance. What words would you put around that win?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, not much.\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n \u201cSurely you can add to those descriptions. The smirk describes you\u2019re relatively happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re never unhappy with a win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou must be happy with the defence … Talk to us about the defence?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTalk to Cam.\u201d<\/p>\n As spokesman for defence, Murray\u2019s smile was already dimming as he tried to look as disappointed as the coach, who soon received another question.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes it change anything to carry that confidence into a bye weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah. It\u2019s a bye.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the debut of Moala Graham-Taufa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw him out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA bit hard to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article The dialogue was more Beckett than Bennett by the time he was asked if he was unhappy about Souths\u2019 attack, given how good their defence had been.<\/p>\n \u201cYou watch the video and work that out. I\u2019ve said enough about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the coach.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m coaching them, I\u2019m not coaching you.\u201d<\/p>\n Specifically, he was coaching Murray, who, having arrived with a big winner\u2019s smile, left with a face adjusting downwardly to be in sync with someone who had just got through the 964th time he has done the job he loves so much.<\/p>\n Dialectical materialism and rugby league<\/p>\n The kerfuffle around there being too many six agains turning rugby league into \u201ctouch footy\u201d? Same as past kerfuffles on obstructions, high shots and … six agains.<\/p>\n The Peter V\u2019landys era embraces the Hegelian dialectic. The league states a thesis, whingeing coaches state an antithesis and we meet in the middle with a synthesis.<\/p>\n In the first two rounds, the number of ruck infringements had doubled this year, from about five a match up to 10. In round three, the average was seven a match.<\/p>\n The team caught infringing more often had won more matches than they lost. Between \u201cwrestlemania\u201d and \u201ctouch footy\u201d, the NRL has taken three rounds to strike a happy medium. As it does every time.<\/p>\n One criticism of the six-again glut was that the reason for infringements wasn\u2019t being communicated to the players. All we get is a referee waving his arm overhead and the gong on the PA.<\/p>\n Referees get a hard time, but praise where it\u2019s due. Their ability to remember players\u2019 first names is astonishing. They have to memorise at least 34 a match.<\/p>\n A debut reserve forward runs on and the ref is right onto it. \u201cLuke, get off him!\u201d It\u2019s hardly ever \u201cNo.17, stay back!\u201d<\/p>\n A lot of memorising goes into referee preparation. You know what\u2019s missing? A sense of poetic justice. I\u2019d like to see a professional referee-botherer, such as Clint Gutherson or James Tedesco, get told: \u201cUm, you. Sorry champ, I\u2019ve drawn a blank. No.1, what\u2019s your name again?\u201d<\/p>\n Buyer\u2019s remorse and seller\u2019s regret<\/p>\n Talk about Daly Cherry-Evans\u2019 return to Brookvale will inflate like a balloon this week.<\/p>\n But after three rounds, I\u2019m guessing the Roosters and Sea Eagles have more pressing issues.<\/p>\n Related Article For the Roosters, DCE\u2019s arrival has brought little change: bullying wins over weak teams, mistake-fests against strong teams and Trent Robinson yet again crashing dad\u2019s Ferrari. A win over Manly would not change that pattern.<\/p>\n At Manly, losing DCE\u2019s game management has removed the last fig leaf from Anthony Seibold\u2019s standing as a coach.<\/p>\n But Seibold still believes in his players, which is as reassuring as the Penns, the club\u2019s owners, giving a board position to a 24-year-old family member, which was celebrated, bizarrely, as if it\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n Most Manly fans have a keen grasp of reality. One day the club might catch up with them.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Rabbitohs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f352c01ec964c6490df3b6d01ddc8613049be0d7.jpeg\")
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ff6dbc79715ced91db2ef40798854c97673e1f31.jpeg\")
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James Tedesco questions a call from referee Wyatt Raymond in the Roosters\u2019 round one clash with the Warriors.NRL PhotosName blame game<\/p>\n![\"Daly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c68203a333f2f178f96383cc9594ba59d6baffde.jpeg\")
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