CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n‘Arrogant Broncos?’ Arrow & Mam exchange | 00:41<\/p>\n
IS NATHAN CLEARY A KOALA BEAR?<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s time the NRL started issuing playmakers with their own koala suits.<\/p>\n
Either that, or we cut back on this ridiculous over-protection of kickers.<\/p>\n
The two dubious penalties awarded to Nathan Cleary in the Panthers\u2019 thumping 48-12 win over the Knights were just a joke.<\/p>\n
In one instance the Knights defender actually got to Cleary before he\u2019d even kicked the ball, and there was only minor contact.<\/p>\n
We all know what a champion player Cleary is.<\/p>\n
So surely he doesn\u2019t need the refs treating him like he\u2019s a protected species to give him an added advantage.<\/p>\n
Andrew Johns spoke about this exact topic in his weekly Sydney Morning Herald column just last month.<\/p>\n
Johns wrote: \u201cFor years, I\u2019ve been a loud voice when it comes to protecting playmakers in the NRL.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I think we\u2019ve gone too far. In 2025, halfbacks can now play the game wearing a koala suit \u2013 they\u2019ve officially become a protected species.\u201d<\/p>\n
We can only hope the NRL listen to respected judges like Johns on this one.<\/p>\n
While it didn\u2019t make a difference to the result in this game, you\u2019d hate to see one of these penalties decide a big game in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Roosters record 12th straight win | 01:01<\/p>\n
ARE ROOSTERS HATCHING A DCE GET-OUT?<\/p>\n
Sam Walker\u2019s magic show in the Roosters\u2019 big win over the Dolphins has only raised more questions about the pending arrival of Daly Cherry-Evans.<\/p>\n
We already know it\u2019s just crazy that the Roosters are even considering signing an ageing playmaker who will be 37 when he arrives next year, especially when they have the most talented young halfback in the game who is still only 23.<\/p>\n
Which is why it would not shock me one bit to see the Roosters hatch a plan to get out of the DCE deal given the contract is not yet registered with the NRL.<\/p>\n
Buzz Rothfield even floated an idea on Triple M over the weekend that DCE could be offered a job on Trent Robinson\u2019s coaching staff for the next three years as a way to meet the club\u2019s financial agreement, but not have the wage included on their NRL salary cap.<\/p>\n
While Buzz never indicated the idea came from the Roosters, it\u2019s no secret Buzz is extremely tight with Nick Politis.<\/p>\n
Call me a cynic but it made me think a sneaky curve ball might be just around the corner.<\/p>\n
Throw in the fact the Roosters also have another gifted 23-year-old playing five-eighth in Hugo Savala (and a couple of more young guns in Toby Rodwell and Jake Elliott waiting in the wings).<\/p>\n
To think Ethan Strange was also a former Rooster let go because he had too much competition ahead of him at the Chooks.<\/p>\n
What would the Roosters pay to get Strange back now after the 21-year-old demolished DCE to finish with a hat-trick in the Raiders\u2019 28-12 win over the Sea Eagles?<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, over at Manly some angry fans are now calling for DCE to be dropped for the final weeks of his of his decorated 15-year career at the club.<\/p>\n
4 Sin Bins in Roosters huge win | 02:08<\/p>\n
SIN BIN FIASCO STINKS OF UNFAIRNESS<\/p>\n
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf had every right to blow a gasket over the fact his team had two players sin binned along with two Roosters after the push-and-shove following Mark Nawaqanitawase\u2019s try.<\/p>\n
And the audio of referee Gerard Sutton calling for two players from each team to be identified during the drama has certainly raised some serious questions.<\/p>\n
Billy Slater pointed to out on Nine\u2019s Sunday Footy Show exactly why it was \u201cnot fair\u201d to sin bin two players from each team given the fact Spencer Leniu was clearly the instigator after he basically challenged the Dolphins players to a fight.<\/p>\n
Slater said: \u201cThe Dolphins were just standing there after they got a try scored against them. So, what did you want the Dolphins to do?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concerning thing for me was the referees asking for \u2018two and two\u2019 \u2026 asking for two players from the Dolphins and two players from the Roosters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not refereeing the game, that is trying to make it fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not actually fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slater makes a very good point.<\/p>\n
Does it mean a player from both teams should be sin binned every time there is a bit of push and shove in the future?<\/p>\n
While the fans love a bit of old-fashioned aggression, you can\u2019t punish a team when it\u2019s the opposition player who clearly goes looking for trouble.<\/p>\n
TEDDY DESERVES DALLY M AND KANGAROO CALL UP<\/p>\n
Still on that game and James Tedesco must surely be the favourite to win the Dally M Medal.<\/p>\n
The Roosters captain turned into another inspirational effort to finish with two tries and four try assists.<\/p>\n
Given he is the form fullback of the competition, it will be interesting to see if Teddy gets a call up for the end-of-season Kangaroo tour.<\/p>\n
Of course, he missed out on the Origin series with Dylan Edwards the Blues fullback and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow replacing Kalyn Ponga for the decider ahead of Reece Walsh.<\/p>\n
Flanno takes issue with bunker decisions | 06:28<\/p>\n
SHARKS\u2019 PENALTY TRY A BLIGHT ON THE GAME<\/p>\n
Before we get to the finals the NRL must do something to stop the blight on the game that allowed the controversial penalty try awarded to Sharks forward Teig Wilton.<\/p>\n
Dragons winger Tyrell Sloan was initially going up to contest the bomb.<\/p>\n
But once Sloan was beaten for the ball, his natural instincts kicked in and he tried to tackle Wilton on his way to the ground.<\/p>\n
As Kevvie Walters and Steve Roach said in Fox League commentary, what was Tyrell Sloan meant to do _ just allow Wilton to score the try without Sloan making any attempt to stop him?<\/p>\n
Thankfully it didn\u2019t decide what was a very brave win from the Dragons who have now knocked over the Sharks and the Raiders in consecutive weeks.<\/p>\n
While Clint Gutherson was again the best on ground, the Dragons also unearthed a couple of players of the future who were on debut in this game.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old backrower Jacob Halangahu looks a real weapon, while young Gerringong centre Hayden Buchanan scored a try and set one up.<\/p>\n
As for the Sharks, just when you thought they were about to emerge as a genuine title contender they\u2019ve taken a significant step backwards.<\/p>\n
They have a relatively easy run over the next few weeks with the Titans followed by the bye and then the Knights.<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t be until the final round against the Bulldogs we get to see where they really are at heading into the finals.<\/p>\n
Ciraldo puts wet weather rumour to bed | 03:55<\/p>\n
CIRALDO NOT SCARED OF MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS<\/p>\n
Just when you thought Cameron Ciraldo couldn\u2019t make a tougher call than dropping Toby Sexton, now Bailey Hayward has taken over the dummy half duties from Reed Mahoney.<\/p>\n
Hayward was outstanding in the 32-14 win over the Warriors, while Mahoney didn\u2019t get on the field until the final 16 minutes when Hayward moved to the middle to give Kurt Mann a rest.<\/p>\n
Hayward certainly did more than enough to make sure he will own the spot as long as he stays fit.<\/p>\n
It was a terrific win from the Dogs who played terrific wet-weather footy.<\/p>\n
The tries to Viliame Kikau and Jethro Rinakama when they used the wet turf to slide over from close range just summed up how switched on they were for this one to silence a few of the critics who questioned their ability to handle the wet conditions.<\/p>\n
What about the booming 20\/10 from Matt Burton that was a big and as good a kick as we\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n
Lachlan Galvin also deserves a wrap for playing with a hand injury that clearly was uncomfortable but he showed great courage in tough conditions for a 20-year-old playmaker.<\/p>\n
MOSES BLOW UP VINDICATES TIGERS\u2019 CALL TO KEEP API<\/p>\n
You could only feel sorry for Tallyn Da Silva who copped a triple roast from Mitchell Moses due to some shonky dummy half play late in Parramatta\u2019s win over the Cowboys.<\/p>\n
Da Silva couldn\u2019t put a foot right from the moment he entered the game, and no doubt Moses was well within his rights to let the youngster know he wasn\u2019t happy.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no question Da Silva is an immensely talented player.<\/p>\n
But this perhaps confirmed why Wests Tigers didn\u2019t think the 20-year-old was ready to take over from Api Koroisau just yet.<\/p>\n
Trell stars as Bunnies win ‘spoon-bowl’ | 02:01<\/p>\n
SOUTHS SOLVE ONE PUZZLE, BUT IT OPENS UP ANOTHER DILEMMA FOR WAYNE BENNETT<\/p>\n
South Sydney may have avoided the wooden spoon for this year, but the gutsy win over thew Titans has created a dilemma for Wayne Bennett heading into next year.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s clear Latrell Mitchell must stay in centres and Jye Gray deserves to remain fullback, who will make way for Latrell when both Jack Wighton and Campbell Graham are available?<\/p>\n
Potentially Graham could play on the wing, although he is a world-class centre.<\/p>\n
The other option would be to move Wighton into five-eighth and play Cody Walker at halfback.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, Mitchell showed with his classy performance against the Titans why centre is now his best fit.<\/p>\n
In his first game back from injury he set up two tries and saved another when he thumped the ball out of Jayden Campbell\u2019s hands when the Titans halfback was slow grounding the ball after he\u2019d crossed the line.<\/p>\n
In the end that moment came back to haunt the Titans who went down 20-18 after a controversial finish when Campbell copped one on the chin but didn\u2019t get the penalty that could have locked the game late in front of the posts.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s easy to blame the Titans\u2019 loss on that call (in the fair dinkum stakes it should have been a penalty), perhaps Campbell should have been a bit more urgent in the early stages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blog with Paul Crawley from 12.30. Submit your questions below. Cooper Cronk used to say the rugby league…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[18743,48257,38148,64,63,689,21686,11170,4428,7618,5084,1653,38379,48268,48269,11101,48252,48279,4430,783,36261,48264,4591,21683,24831,48262,763,48260,32115,2485,48253,45123,4517,25821,48272,4578,4494,48265,4415,23995,48283,48282,48263,779,4470,48254,48255,38155,647,4466,6407,22326,48259,761,762,48266,673,48267,158,677,48261,8015,11396,48271,19966,48277,701,48256,13391,4478,4583,48276,48278,45629,48280,4439,85,48281,47895,670,48275,48258,48270,48274,48273,4440,45262,22317,28816,4539,660,1651,4515,47899,3517],"class_list":["post-59218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-andrew-johns","tag-arrow-mam","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-hunt","tag-billy-slater","tag-brisbane-broncos","tag-cameron-ciraldo","tag-campbell-graham","tag-cody-walker","tag-competition-heavyweights","tag-concerning-thing","tag-controversial-penalty-try","tag-cooper-cronk","tag-cracking-try-saving-effort","tag-crunch-time-trainer","tag-daly-cherry-evans","tag-dolphins-coach","tag-dragons-coach","tag-dragons-winger","tag-dylan-edwards","tag-ezra-mam","tag-fans-love","tag-final-weeks","tag-fox-league","tag-genuine-title-contender","tag-gerard-sutton","tag-gold-coast","tag-gun-pack","tag-hamstring-injuries","tag-hamstring-injury","tag-hand-injury","tag-handy-halves-combination","tag-jack-wighton","tag-jai-arrow","tag-jake-elliott","tag-james-tedesco","tag-jye-gray","tag-karma-bites","tag-koala-bear","tag-koala-suits","tag-kristian-woolf","tag-kurt-mann","tag-line-break","tag-line-break-assist","tag-mam-exchangenrl","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-storm","tag-michael-maguire","tag-mitchell-moses","tag-moses-blow","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-natural-instincts","tag-new-south-wales","tag-nick-politis","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-old-fashioned-aggression","tag-opposition-player","tag-paul-crawley","tag-players-sin","tag-premiership-hopes","tag-protected-species","tag-queensland","tag-real-weapon","tag-reece-walsh","tag-sam-walker","tag-shane-flanagan","tag-shonky-dummy","tag-sin-bin-fiasco","tag-sin-bins","tag-sneaky-curve-ball","tag-south-sydney-rabbitohs","tag-sports","tag-started-issuing-playmakers","tag-steve-roach","tag-sydney","tag-talented-player","tag-talented-young-halfback","tag-tallyn-da-silva","tag-terrific-wet-weather-footy","tag-time-trainer-incident","tag-toby-sexton","tag-triple-m","tag-try-assists","tag-try-scored","tag-tyrell-sloan","tag-victoria","tag-wayne-bennett","tag-wests-tigers","tag-wet-weather-rumour","tag-young-guns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59218","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=59218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}