Wide World of Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cHe still has a few options and we will help him any way we can – we just have to wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 22: Daniel Saifiti of the Dolphins is tackled during the round three NRL match between the Dolphins and Wests Tigers at Kayo Stadium, on March 22, 2025, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BULLDOGS ICON CALLS FOR HALVES CHANGE<\/p>\n
The last halfback to lead the Bulldogs to a grand final says he\u2019d like to see a genuine playmaker brought in to lead the team, with Trent Hodkinson calling on Sean O\u2019Sullivan or youngster Mitchell Woods to be given a shot in the No.7 jersey.<\/p>\n
Trent Hodkinson did some terrific things in the blue and white jersey, with the former NSW hero helping them reach the 2014 Grand Final just months after he and halves partner Josh Reynolds ended Queensland\u2019s State of Origin streak. <\/p>\n
The pair worked so well together because Hodkinson was the chief playmaker who controlled the game with his kicking which allowed Reynolds to play off the cuff.<\/p>\n
The partnership ended after the 2015 season when Hodkinson was squeezed out of the club, with the Bulldogs scoring the fewest points out of any top eight team in 2016 with Reynolds and Moses Mbye in the halves.<\/p>\n
Hodkinson has noticed something similar going on this season with Lachlan Galvin and Matt Burton both five-eighths in his eyes, which has seen them lack direction in attack and has led to them scoring the second-fewest points in the league. <\/p>\n
Immortal Andrew Johns has called for Galvin to shift to five-eighth, and Hodkinson agrees, calling on the experienced O\u2019Sullivan to play there, while Woods is also an option once he returns from injury. <\/p>\n
Montoya dropped for Cowboys clash | 01:26<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reminded me of 2015 when it was myself, Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye, and three couldn\u2019t go into two. I got pushed out of the club (but) I truly believe Moses and Josh were two five-eighths,\u201d he said, suggesting Galvin could also play lock. <\/p>\n
\u201c(It\u2019s a) similar situation now. I know Lachie\u2019s been playing seven and he played a really good game the other week (against Penrith) but I feel like they\u2019re very similar players. <\/p>\n
\u201cToby Sexton (who left the club last year) was a genuine seven, and you\u2019ve got O\u2019Sullivan there who\u2019s a genuine seven.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the coach there and Ciraldo gets paid the big money to make the decisions, but I\u2019d even like to see young \u2018Woodsy\u2019. We had him last year in the 19s (Origin team) and he\u2019s a genuine seven. <\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen him too much the last 6-8 months with how he\u2019s going physically, but he\u2019d be more than capable to step up. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Dogs at the moment, they\u2019ve just got to find their groove. There might be a little bit of toing and froing at times, but I\u2019m confident Lachie showed that he could do it against Penrith, so he\u2019s just got to be a little bit more consistent in that way and see how they go. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe can also play lock \u2013 he\u2019s a big body as well \u2013 so we\u2019ll see how that pans out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bulldogs defiant despite poor form | 02:35<\/p>\n
Some people will argue that the six and seven are simply numbers on the back of jerseys, but Hodkinson disagrees. <\/p>\n
\u201cI still think they\u2019re unique positions, I really do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have that one dominant half and that guy that steers them around the field. They\u2019re similar at times but I think they\u2019re still separate positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got a seven, a halfback, and you\u2019ve got a six, a five-eighth. As much as they\u2019re compared to being very similar, they\u2019re still very different in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woods turns 20 next month and there are doubts over whether he is ready for the NRL, but Hodkinson \u2013 who was part of the NSW under-19s Origin coaching staff \u2013 says the only way you can find out is by picking him. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou probably don\u2019t know until you give them a crack and get out there and then they\u2019ve just got to figure it out themselves,\u201d he said of young playmakers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s plenty of eyes at the Dogs or at multiple clubs that know when these young fellas are ready to make the step. It\u2019s exciting, there are some really good, talented young halves coming through and I\u2019m excited to see how they all go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)<\/p>\n
Mitchell Woods Picture: Warren Gannon Photography. NSWRL Junior Reps grand final, SG Ball Cup. St George Dragons vs Canterbury Bulldogs at CommBank Stadium, 27 April 2024.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
NRL SHUT DOWN UNIQUE FALCON TACTIC<\/p>\n
The Sea Eagles literally used their heads to come up with a shock new tactic on the weekend, but the NRL has come out and said that Jason Saab will be penalised the next time he deliberately \u201cFalcons\u201d the ball forward.<\/p>\n
What looked to be a regulation kick from halfback Jamal Fogarty had the heaving hill at 4 Pines Park in raptures when the towering winger headed the ball forward instead of catching it or batting it back to a teammate.<\/p>\n
The first-half incident may have seemed random, but it was the brainchild of assistant coach Jim Dymock who noticed rival teams had been waiting for Saab to catch kicks before they tackled him.<\/p>\n
So to break things up, Saab used his 199cm frame to head the ball forward to gain Manly an extra 15m midway through the first half. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Manly, it\u2019s a tactic it they won\u2019t be able to employ going forward after an NRL spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire that \u201cit is illegal to head the ball forward\u201d and Saab should have been penalised. <\/p>\n
Trbojevic brothers heap praise on Foran | 01:11<\/p>\n
The Saab Falcon needs to be tinkered with to get to the same heights as the Ford model, but the club shouldn\u2019t park it completely if it can find a way to make it look like an accident. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat part is actually down to Jim Dymock,\u201d Saab said after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said during the week that when we put those kicks up, the other team lets me catch them and then they tackle me, so I decided I\u2019d try something different by heading the ball forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t score off it, but it was exciting for the fans. It worked out better than me catching it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a football background at all, but you\u2019ve got to think outside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foz heaps praise on Haumole Olakau’atu | 09:14<\/p>\n
Teammate Haumole Olakau\u2019atu knew the play was on but forgot to chase it through for a potential try.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a funny story,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me during the week that a lot of teams wait for him to catch the ball, so he told me that he was actually going to header it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that moment happened, I kind of giggled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he helped us in a way because we went from instead of him catching it at the 20 (metre line) we tackled Parra five metres out from their try line, so it was a smart play and the crowd loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interim coach Kieran Foran laughed when asked about it at his post-match press conference, with the ploy potentially part of the secret herbs and spices that make up FozBall. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know a few of the coaches quite liked it up in the box. It was a bit different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Jim Dymock has been putting it to \u2018Saaby\u2019 to try that. He\u2019s very good like that, Jimmy, so he\u2019s been challenging the boys to come up with a couple of plays like that. He was very happy in the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)<\/p>\n
Jason Saab uses his head to promote the footySource: Supplied<\/p>\n
SOUTH SYDNEY GREAT SET FOR NEW SUPER LEAGUE DEAL<\/p>\n
2014 NRL Premiership winner Sam Burgess is set to be rewarded for Warrington\u2019s good form to begin the English Super League, with their club chief executive confirming their interest in extending Burgess as coach.<\/p>\n
The Wolves have won nine and lost just two of their games in 2026 across both the Super League and the Challenge cup, after losing their last five games of last season.<\/p>\n
Warrington have a 62 percent win rate across 76 games under Burgess since 2024, with the 37-year-old off contract at the end of this season.<\/p>\n
ST HELENS, ENGLAND – MAY 11: Sam Burgess, Head Coach of Warrington Wolves, celebrates towards the fans following victory in the Betfred Challenge Cup Semi Final match between Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards at Totally Wicked Stadium on May 11, 2025 in St Helens, England. (Photo by Jess Hornby\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
However it\u2019s a situation which club CEO Karl Fitzpatrick says shouldn\u2019t concern anyone, confirming all sides are keen to continue on together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some preliminary discussions already,\u201c Fitzpatrick told the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam\u2019s keen to stay. We\u2019ll just have to watch this space with that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the NRL coaching arena already claiming two coaches in Anthony Siebold and Shane Flanagan so far in 2026, it looks like Burgess will not be tempted to join the league\u2019s coaching ranks just yet.<\/p>\n
Many have touted the former Rabbitoh to be a long-term NRL coach with a return to the red and green not out of the question, while two extra teams over the next few years only adds to the opportunities on offer.<\/p>\n
It comes after Burgess formerly was an assistant at Souths, before infamously being removed by Jason Demetriou after a coming together over training standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manly veteran Jake Trbojevic says his intention is to play on next season, but he insists he wants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,85,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-642491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642491","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=642491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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