The reason for Canberra\u2019s slow start has been pinpointed amid criticism around an inexperienced playmaker.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Broncos have been implored to copy a \u201ccreed\u201d used by Penrith during their four-year premiership reign.<\/p>\n
Read on for the key Talking Points ahead of Round 6. <\/p>\n
LEGEND\u2019S OMINOUS WARNING OVER BEST-EVER PANTHERS TEAM<\/p>\n
Bulldogs vs. Panthers Thursday 9th of April @ 7.50pm<\/p>\n
The 2026 Penrith Panthers may not be the best team they have had on paper, but Luke Keary fears they are the best NRL team ever, which should put the Bulldogs and the rest of the NRL on notice. <\/p>\n
Coming off a stunning 50-10 win over the Storm, which was the first time since 2003 a Melbourne team has conceded a half century, Penrith are at the peak of their powers. <\/p>\n
James Graham noted on the Bye Round podcast that the Storm didn\u2019t even play that badly and still conceded 50 points. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Panthers are mentally marinating teams during the week,\u201d Graham said on the Bye Round. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Storm completed at 94 per cent. Like what do you do? Bellamy must be just scratching his head.\u201d <\/p>\n
Keary revealed the 2026 Panthers are the best team he has ever seen in his life, which is remarkable given they won four straight titles while he was still playing. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the best team I have ever seen and it is not the best team they have had on paper,\u201d Keary said. <\/p>\n
The Panthers have lost several players in free agency over their glittering journey.<\/p>\n
However, according to Graham, their two best players of this era have remained and seem to be going as well as ever. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not (best team on paper) but I think Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo have got better with age from those early 2020s,\u201d Graham said. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously when you throw Kikau, Crichton, Luai, Koroisau, Fisher-Harris and Burton into that team they look better, but you can\u2019t have too many stars. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think they have got a good hierarchy at the moment with Cleary and Yeo pulling all the strings, the others just fit in around them and Edwards is back to his best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary are at the peak of their powers.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Keary revealed the Panthers were the only team he played against in his career where he felt he had to change his own game plan to beat them. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t change your game plan unless you play this Panthers team,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn my whole career in the NRL, they were the only team where we ever thought, OK we need to mix it up a bit here over the 12 or 13 seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last couple of years versing them we thought, we are going to have to do something a little bit different here because we can\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham challenged Keary that the Panthers made him feel beaten before he even got on the field. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo they are in your head before kick-off,\u201d Graham said. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the week you are like, we are going to have to go away from what we have practised all year and our philosophy of football and we are going to have to roll the dice really.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd is that a bit of an admission of defeat there? Saying what we do week to week is not going to be good enough?\u201d <\/p>\n
Keary likened it to the Roosters when they won back-to-back premierships, but believes this Panthers side is so far ahead of the rest of the NRL. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes subconsciously you get that,\u201d Keary said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what a great team does. When we had that run in 2018 and 2019, we saw teams come up against us and change the way they played because they probably thought they couldn\u2019t beat us and Penrith have that. It is very ominous.\u201d <\/p>\n
Has Burton been disrespected at Dogs? | 02:18<\/p>\n
CALLER\u2019S FREAKY PREMONITION REVISITED AS CLEARY ARRIVES AT SPECIAL MILESTONE<\/p>\n
Bulldogs vs. Panthers Thursday 9th of April @ 7.50pm<\/p>\n
Nathan Cleary will step out for game 200 on Thursday night when the high-flying Panthers take on the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a special milestone for a special player who will achieve the feat at just 28 years of age. <\/p>\n
Given he\u2019s still got several years in the tank, Cleary has the time to reach 400 before it\u2019s all said and done. But let\u2019s cross that bridge when we get to it. <\/p>\n
\u201cHave we seen a better 200 games from anyone? I don\u2019t think we have. The first 200 games from him are the best I\u2019ve seen from anyone, including Cam Smith and Andrew Johns,\u201d journalist Michael Carayannis said on NRL360.<\/p>\n
Fox League commentator Andrew Voss remembered the night Cleary scored a hat-trick as a teenager back in 2019.<\/p>\n
In game No. 32, Cleary crossed for three tries in an epic performance as the Panthers downed the Warriors 34-22.<\/p>\n
Calling one of Cleary\u2019s three tries on Fox League, Voss predicted the then 19-year-old was destined for great things.<\/p>\n
\u201cCleary\u2019s gone through again. What a game he\u2019s having, hat-trick for Nathan Cleary. I\u2019ll say it, future NSW halfback right there, maybe in the green and gold somewhere down the track. He\u2019s only 19, he has scored a hat-trick here tonight, he kicks everything\u2026what an amazing young talent,\u201d Voss called back in Round 19, 2017.<\/p>\n
Speaking to foxsports.com.au, Voss also recalled calling Cleary years prior in a schoolboys game, now admitting he didn\u2019t think back then he\u2019d turn into the superstar he is now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had called Nathan as a schoolboy playing for St Dominic\u2019s (Penrith) and I remember being out at games and seeing his dad just in the stands but to be honest, Nathan as a schoolboy was nowhere near a standout, if I was to say other players involved in the competition,\u201d Voss revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were in the second tier of the national schoolboys competition and and you would have said good player, but not great player. You weren\u2019t saying he was definitely gonna be a superstar this kid. Yeah, he was just a good player, a really good player at schoolboy level.<\/p>\n
\u201cJump ahead to that night with a hat-trick against the Warriors, and I stand by everything I said there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe confidence of Nathan Cleary, I don\u2019t think he\u2019d mind me saying, but I knew from very early in the piece that he was a rugby league nerd. I mean, he studies the game, he watches everything. Everything to give him an edge to be a better player. He ticks every box.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a consummate professional. His goal kicking, general play kicking, his composure, he\u2019s the complete package and it\u2019s not often Nathan loses.\u201d<\/p>\n
An 18-year-old Nathan Cleary on debut for the Panthers against the Storm in 2016.Source: The Daily Telegraph<\/p>\n
DRAGONS\u2019 DEVELOPMENT UNDER FIRE AMID LOSING STREAK<\/p>\n
Dragons vs. Sea Eagles Friday 10th of April @ 6.00pm<\/p>\n
The Dragons\u2019 player development and recruitment has come under fire as they try to break their losing streak against Manly to save Shane Flanagan\u2019s job, <\/p>\n
St George Illawarra have lost their first five games in their worst ever start to a season and have lost 10 straight games dating back to last year, with Flanagan needing a win desperately or risk being sacked in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n
Round 6 has seen Flanagan move out of favour young gun Tyrell Sloan to fullback for the injured Clint Gutherson, with Kyle Flanagan returning at halfback and Daniel Atkinson switching to five-eighth. <\/p>\n
Sloan was given permission to leave the club last season and has started just one game on the wing in 2026 in a loss to the Titans, but now he is rumoured to be the preferred fullback, even when Gutherson returns from a hamstring injury. <\/p>\n
The club also missed out on luring Trai Fuller from the Dolphins and are still interested in Scott Drinkwater from the Cowboys. <\/p>\n
Gorden Tallis noted the Dragons have struggled to turn promising youngsters into NRL stars for some time and put the blowtorch on their development and recruitment. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look at the Dragons no one\u2019s gone there and developed,\u201d Tallis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have been calling for Sloan for a number of weeks. I watched them play against Parramatta and he was in everything in reserve grade and they won by 30 points. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou need X-Factor. You look at Melbourne Storm, they throw on a young kid in there. You just have got to defend their mistakes. <\/p>\n
\u201cReece Walsh, a couple of years ago, he made more errors than anybody else in the competition, but look what he did within two years. He won them a competition.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tyrell Sloan has gone from out of favour to the Dragons\u2019 No.1 jersey.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
Tallis warned the Dragons need to put faith in their young players and allow them to make mistakes and learn from them on the big stage. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think when you\u2019ve got these young talent, we don\u2019t have reserve grade. We can\u2019t sit them there where they get tough and they learn how to play,\u201d Tallis explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey come pretty much from school, get thrown into playing with men and we judge them on that. But when they\u2019re there, I think you\u2019ve got to teach them on the run and try to develop them. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think at the Dragons, when I sit there and look at them, all their young kids just haven\u2019t been able to take the next step.\u201d <\/p>\n
Braith Anasta fears Shane Flanagan\u2019s hard line approach won\u2019t work on some of the young rising stars at the Dragons and warned the game has changed and he needs to change with it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI look at Sloan and I just look at a kid that looks like he needs a cuddle,\u201d Anasta said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of those coaches, like Wayne Bennett, to get in there and get the best out of him and show him some love and put some faith and belief in him. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the recruitment and the way they\u2019ve gone the last couple of years, their emphasis has been on older senior players that come in for a quick fix, more so than actually development, which is big these days. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe game has changed. It\u2019s not the same as it was a decade ago, 15 years ago. It\u2019s very different.\u201d <\/p>\n
Anasta pointed out the Dragons have plenty of promising young players and a great nursery, but they need the right coaching to turn them into NRL stars. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to put faith, trust, belief, work, time and effort into the kids you\u2019ve got,\u201d Anasta said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got a great nursery and they\u2019ve got some great kids coming through. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey won the SG Ball a couple of years. They\u2019ve been there in all grades for a long time now. They\u2019ve got the cattle. It comes down to development and coaching.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, Paul Crawley is concerned the Dragons are leaking details that Gutherson won\u2019t return from injury in the fullback jersey. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have no doubt that they need to shake things up,\u201d Crawley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy reaction there was to do with the fact that I thought there was a lack of respect. Even if that\u2019s going to happen, there\u2019s ways to do things. And leaking it to the media is not the way when you\u2019re talking about your captain.\u201d <\/p>\n
Anasta agreed it is a sign of where the club is at: \u201cIt\u2019s just a bad sign. It\u2019s a sign of a club that\u2019s in a bit of trouble and everyone\u2019s passing the buck a little bit and fighting for survival.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dave Riccio warned the fullback spot going forward will depend on how Sloan fares in Gutherson\u2019s absence. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it absolutely just comes down to Tyrell Sloan,\u201d Riccio said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Sloan plays a game and shows enough, I think he retains the full back spot.\u201d <\/p>\n
Crawley unloads on Dragons’ recruitment | 03:26<\/p>\n
HOW BRONCOS CAN MIRROR PANTHERS AMID INJURY CRISIS<\/p>\n
Broncos vs. Cowboys Friday 10th of April @ 8.00pm<\/p>\n
The Broncos have been urged to abide by a \u201ccreed\u201d adopted by the Panthers during their four-year premiership reign. <\/p>\n
The Panthers have often adopted a \u2018next man up\u2019 mentality over the past five to six years, either due to players leaving in free agency, covering injuries or when they\u2019ve rested stars throughout the season. <\/p>\n
Brisbane were hit hard by the injury bug during last weekend\u2019s win against the Titans, with three star playmakers suffering setbacks. <\/p>\n
Ben Hunt and Reece Walsh will both miss anywhere between four and eight weeks while halfback Adam Reynolds was ruled out of the game against the Cowboys on Friday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was Michael Maguire, my advice to his players would be \u2018do your job\u2019. We talk about next man up a lot to win a competition. When Penrith went through their four straight years of winning them and Cleary missed slabs of football, Penrith really lived and breathed by that creed and now the Broncos have to do the same,\u201d Fox League commentator Andrew Voss told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201dThey\u2019re always going to be the hunted this year as defending premiers so they carry that burden through the year, but now they really have to live up to what their words are in the next man up and get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Reynolds ruled out, Tom Duffy will slot in at halfback.<\/p>\n
It will be Duffy\u2019s club debut and come against the team he started his career at and grew up supporting.<\/p>\n
The Townsville-born Duffy played six games for the Cowboys before being granted a release to join Brisbane. <\/p>\n
If Duffy is relied upon on Friday, his teammates believe the revenge factor could play in their favour<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone coming from a different club and playing their previous club, it makes you want to play well against a team that let you go. It has happened to me in the past, and I am sure Duff will be excited if he gets the call up,\u201d Broncos speedster Jesse Arthars said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though he is inexperienced, through good prep he will be fine and we have a lot of experienced players around him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthars has been named to replace Walsh at the back.<\/p>\n
The absence of the superstar No. 1 will hurt, but Voss believes the Broncos are well built to perform really well even without him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Reece Walsh was incredibly influential last season but you don\u2019t win a competition on Reece Walsh alone. These are very players with big scrapbooks, representative level players,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cowboys will fancy their chances but I\u2019d be surprised if the Broncos didn\u2019t go well Friday night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Broncos could turn to the inexperienced Tom Duffy for their QLD Derby clash against NQ.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
ACHILLES HEEL HAS DEFENDING MINOR PREMIERS CLOSER TO SPOON<\/p>\n
Rabbitohs vs. Raiders Saturday 11th of April @ 3.00pm<\/p>\n
This time last year the Raiders were one of the form teams of the competition on route to a stunning minor premiership, but if it wasn\u2019t for the Dragons they would now be wooden spoon favourites. <\/p>\n
It is a stunning fall from grace for the Green Machine, who have looked a shadow of the team that lit up the competition last season. <\/p>\n
Paul Crawley warned if they don\u2019t fix their discipline and attention to detail fast, the Raiders risk not making the top eight in 2026. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s discipline,\u201d Crawley said on NRL 360. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s players giving away penalties and getting thrown in the sin bin. It\u2019s six-agains, not contesting bombs. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll these individual mistakes are adding up and it has put the Raiders in a position now where after five rounds they are sitting second last on the ladder. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have got the Rabbitohs next and then the Storm and the Tigers and I truly think that their crunch time has come now.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year\u2019s minor premiers are deadset in a position where if they don\u2019t turn it around fast they won\u2019t make the top four and the longer it goes on the more chance they are of missing out on the eight and it all comes down to their own bad habits. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it can be one or two players one week and the next it can be six or seven and you just can\u2019t win football games when you are giving away that much opportunity. I think they completed at 70 per cent on the weekend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gorden Tallis noted that the Raiders\u2019 built their 2025 minor premiership on effort in defence and off the ball. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey just had more green jerseys in the picture last year,\u201d Tallis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey worked really hard defensively. Everyone was talking about their attack, but they were really gritty in defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan Sanders has struggled to ignite the Raiders.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The biggest change for the Raiders this year has been their halfback with youngster Ethan Sanders replacing veteran Jamal Fogarty and Braith Anasta questioned if he should be feeling the pressure. <\/p>\n
\u201cEthan Sanders had such a great start to his Raiders career as starting half, but is there pressure mounting on him off the back of these results?\u201d Anasta asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cRicky Stuart has a lot of faith in Sanders,\u201d The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dave Riccio replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought the Raiders would start slow just on the basis of their combination changes in the spine with Sanders and Strange together for the first time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it would be a tough initiation and he is a young half.\u201d <\/p>\n
Anasta noted the changes on the Raiders\u2019 edges is affecting their defence, after they tried to plug the issues that Matthew Timoko had in the finals last year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a concern last year with their edge with Timoko there and you can get exposed on the edges with injuries,\u201d Anasta said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow with new players coming in and a new halves combination being formed they are doing it tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they started the season well and were just going to kick on this year, but I have been a bit shocked with the way they have played.\u201d <\/p>\n
Crawley reiterated the Raiders have the players to fix their current issues, but warned they must improve one area to be any chance of making the finals. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have got the ability to turn it around,\u201d Crawley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw what they could do last year if they get it going. They have got the players, but at the moment they haven\u2019t got the discipline.\u201d <\/p>\n
WHY STORM SHOULD BE \u2018WORRIED\u2019 AS UNWANTED RARE AIR LOOMS<\/p>\n
Storm vs. Warriors Saturday 11th of April @ 7.35pm<\/p>\n
It was only 25 days ago when the Storm were atop the NRL table and premiership favourites after putting on 98 points in the first two rounds.<\/p>\n
Given that blazing start, the lows they\u2019ve stooped to since are hard to fathom.<\/p>\n
Melbourne have lost three straight games to plummet down the ladder, with one of those losses an embarrassing 40-point loss to Penrith. <\/p>\n
Granted, a heavy defeat to the Panthers won\u2019t be uncommon this season, but for the Storm, they are simply losses they don\u2019t endure. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s early in the season and the overwhelming sense is that the Storm will turn things around but Fox League\u2019s Andrew Voss believes there\u2019s cause for concern.<\/p>\n
\u201dYes they should be worried. I\u2019m in shock,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think Craig Bellamy would come out publicly and say but I think there\u2019d be a little shock factor. The two previous weeks giving up two double digits lead and then conceding 50 points. That\u2019s most unlike Melbourne. <\/p>\n
The Storm come up against a Warriors team who is also in the midst of a mini slide, having lost their past two games despite starting the season strongly. <\/p>\n
At AAMI Park, it\u2019s a game that the Storm really should be winning.<\/p>\n
For that reason, Voss says the Storm are in a high-pressure environment that the club seldom finds itself under. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we learn a lot from Melbourne this Saturday night, I really do,\u2019 Voss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think of teams under pressure this week, it\u2019s easy to say Dragons quite obviously are under pressure, the Bulldogs are under pressure but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re under any more or less pressure than the Storm given the last few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bar is set so high for Melbourne that the thought of them losing four in a row this early in a season, wow that\u2019s like we\u2019ve entered another universe. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s never happened so there\u2019s massive pressure on Melbourne and I think there would be part of Craig Bellamy who isn\u2019t 100% sure where things have gone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munster admits attitude change is needed | 00:52<\/p>\n
HALVES DILEMMA FACING BENJI AS STAR CLOSES IN ON RETURN <\/p>\n
Tigers vs. Knights Sunday 9th of April @ 4.05pm<\/p>\n
Few would have predicted before the season that a Round 6 Sunday afternoon clash between the Wests Tigers and the Newcastle Knights would be a top four blockbuster. <\/p>\n
Benji Marshall and Justin Holbrook deserve plenty of credit for getting their teams to second and third on the ladder respectively behind only the undefeated Panthers. <\/p>\n
The Knights finished wooden spooners last year and are missing Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown, still managing four wins from five starts… but more on them later.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the Tigers finished 13th after three straight wooden spoons and have only lost one game to the Rabbitohs and are without Jarome Luai due to injury. <\/p>\n
Fox League\u2019s Paul Crawley paid tribute to Marshall and Luai\u2019s replacement Jock Madden, who is set to give his coach a huge selection dilemma when the star No.6 returns in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is just so much excitement about the Tigers at the moment and the footy they are playing,\u201d Crawley said on NRL 360. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat game was so unreal. Benji has done a great job.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really feel so good from Adam Doueihi to Jock Madden. A guy that hadn\u2019t played NRL for more than a year and he\u2019s come back in two games and put himself in a position where I think when Luai comes back, how do you not find a spot for him?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could stay at No.7 and Luai and No.6 and maybe move Doueihi to the centres.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dave Riccio can\u2019t see Doueihi being moved from the halves even given Madden\u2019s starring displays in Luai\u2019s absence. <\/p>\n
\u201cDoueihi has been the glue that has unlocked this team,\u201d Riccio said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am going with Doueihi and Luai, with the greatest respect to Madden, who has been absolutely sensational. <\/p>\n
Jock Madden has given Benji Marshall a huge selection dilemma.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could use Madden as a No.14 off the bench. But I\u2019m not moving Doueihi, who has been one of the key reasons for their success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crawley clarified that he would not drop Doueihi from the starting team, but would find a spot for all three and Latu Fainu in the 19. <\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t put Doueihi out of the team, but it is a great headache for Benji to have,\u201d Crawley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would fit the three of them in. And they have got Latu Fainu there too.\u201d <\/p>\n
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis put forward the option of playing Doueihi as a ball playing lock to keep all three stars in the starting team. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you play him as a ball running lock?\u201d Tallis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust sitting on an edge and just go and play what is in front of him.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, Braith Anasta feels Doueihi has been too important to the side\u2019s success to move him out of the halves. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be hard to move him,\u201d Anasta said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are looking long-term and at a premiership. Madden has been amazing and he can fill the void there and Benji may keep him there, but I don\u2019t think it will happen. I think Doueihi and Luai will be the halves.\u201d <\/p>\n
Golden point settles wild Easter clash | 07:22<\/p>\n
INSIDE THE UNDERESTIMATED DETAIL OF STUNNING KNIGHTS START<\/p>\n
Tigers vs. Knights Sunday 9th of April @ 4.05pm<\/p>\n
As mentioned above, the Tigers deserve adulation and plaudits for their hot start to the year but it\u2019s their Sunday opponents who have been the real surprise packets of 2026. <\/p>\n
Even the most one-eyed Knights supporter would not have envisaged their side be sitting third on the ladder through five rounds, especially with $2.7m of the salary cap in Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga on the sideline. <\/p>\n
In fact, outside of Penrith, they are the only team with at least four wins this season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite the turnaround given they lost ten on the bounce to end 2025 and finish with the wooden spoon.<\/p>\n
Adam O\u2019Brien was sacked and replaced with former Titans coach Justin Holbrook. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear the joint needed a change. Not only has Holbrook brought a fresh perspective and a new coaching staff, whatever he\u2019s doing is working as he is an early favourite for Dally M Coach of the Year. <\/p>\n
With essentially the same roster as last year, Holbrook is so far getting the absolute best out of his playing group.<\/p>\n
4-1 is a stunning start. Not only because of their results last year but according to Fox League\u2019s Andrew Voss, he had concerns during as recently as February.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalling them in the Pre-Season Challenge, I was really worried. I thought the baggage of last year was still with them when they didn\u2019t score a point against the Bulldogs with pretty much a full strength team,\u201d Voss told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon there\u2019s evidence he stripped back everything and I know it sounds like words but absolutely went back to the drawing board and to square one. He started all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Knights boast talent such as Fletcher Sharpe – who has been outstanding – but it\u2019s the role players who have stood up in a big way. <\/p>\n
Sandon Smith is a new recruit that wasn\u2019t in the starting side in Round 1, earning a spot after Dylan Brown\u2019s injury. Smith has been terrific in the halves, as has hooker Phoenix Crossland, who could be accused of being inconsistent in 2025. <\/p>\n
The sharp improvement of some of these Knights is a sign that the coach is doing an excellent job according to Voss.<\/p>\n
\u201dHe probably made things really simple to start with and gave clarity on the roles that each player has in the team and I see it through players like Phoenix Crossland and Mat Croker, who is getting more time in 13,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not superstars of our game, but they\u2019re playing great roles. <\/p>\n
\u201cSandon Smith comes into the team and knows straight away how much authority he has on that side… no Ponga, no Brown, no problems and all the players replacing them come in confident, know their roles and that is the strength of a really good coach.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A multiple premiership-winning player has made a startling Panthers claim as their superstar halfback prepares to celebrate a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[22318,48361,8300,35864,64,63,9421,118613,4567,290953,16701,17343,4437,11096,52527,34150,36267,128952,222174,4516,224651,37308,763,122380,18664,290956,37304,30193,26120,84257,289125,4517,5094,4518,21384,72590,222177,247373,5332,56527,4746,4466,16695,761,762,4495,158,4472,11396,4598,46093,183068,13391,290955,7291,168419,265011,78645,4583,8088,85,59137,167585,7663,11089,4539,1651,4515,69037,19121,290954,19054],"class_list":{"0":"post-596076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-achilles-heel","9":"tag-afternoon-clash","10":"tag-andrew-jackson","11":"tag-attitude-change","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-benji-marshall","15":"tag-broncos-legend","16":"tag-cameron-munster","17":"tag-combination-changes","18":"tag-crunch-time","19":"tag-daily-telegraph","20":"tag-daniel-atkinson","21":"tag-daniel-nuttall","22":"tag-dave-riccio","23":"tag-duke-of-montrose","24":"tag-dylan-brown","25":"tag-edwards","26":"tag-ethan-lee-chalk","27":"tag-ethan-sanders","28":"tag-fisher-harris","29":"tag-football-games","30":"tag-fox-league","31":"tag-fullback-jersey","32":"tag-game-plan","33":"tag-getting-thrown","34":"tag-golden-point","35":"tag-gorden-tallis","36":"tag-green-machine","37":"tag-halves-combination","38":"tag-halves-swap","39":"tag-hamstring-injury","40":"tag-isaah-yeo","41":"tag-jamal-fogarty","42":"tag-jock-madden","43":"tag-justin-holbrook","44":"tag-lee-chalk","45":"tag-line-approach","46":"tag-losing-streak","47":"tag-luke-keary","48":"tag-mark-st-john","49":"tag-melbourne-storm","50":"tag-minor-premiership","51":"tag-national-rugby-league","52":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","53":"tag-newcastle-knights","54":"tag-nrl","55":"tag-panthers-team","56":"tag-paul-crawley","57":"tag-penrith-panthers","58":"tag-player-development","59":"tag-promising-young-players","60":"tag-reece-walsh","61":"tag-replacing-veteran","62":"tag-ricky-stuart","63":"tag-right-coaching","64":"tag-sam-charlwood","65":"tag-selection-dilemma","66":"tag-shane-flanagan","67":"tag-sin-bin","68":"tag-sports","69":"tag-starting-team","70":"tag-stunning-minor-premiership","71":"tag-talking-points","72":"tag-tom-sargeant","73":"tag-tyrell-sloan","74":"tag-wayne-bennett","75":"tag-wests-tigers","76":"tag-wooden-spoon-favourites","77":"tag-young-players","78":"tag-young-rising","79":"tag-young-talent"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596076","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=596076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}