{"id":797448,"date":"2026-07-13T11:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/797448\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:43:11","slug":"thats-weak-journos-erupt-in-heated-on-air-origin-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/797448\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018That\u2019s weak\u2019: Journos erupt in heated on-air Origin debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This year\u2019s Origin series may have wrapped up with a famous Blues victory five days ago, but there\u2019s still plenty of feeling around the result as evidenced when journalists Brent Read and Dean Ritchie went head-to-head in a fiery debate.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchie predicted a Blues ambush and upset win last week and was more than happy to revel in his glory on Monday night\u2019s episode of NRL360.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kayosports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;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<p>In doing so, he also took aim at Read, who was strong in his criticism of the job Blues coach Laurie Daley did in Games I and II.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was one of the great nights in Origin history and it was one of the greatest nights I\u2019ve covered rugby league and it was even better to bore it up this bloke right here who stuck it to Laurie and the Blues every chance he got,\u201d Ritchie said while pointing at Read.<\/p>\n<p>How do Dogs fix their spine problem? | 02:28<\/p>\n<p>MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n<p>TALKING POINTS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-nrl-talking-points-and-analysis-round-19-recap-review-scores-stats-jarome-luai-tigers-benji-marshall-manlys-troubles-rugby-league-news\/news-story\/a8b29f4c73e3fcc6ab8bcc76fe05c6c1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u2018Ugly\u2019 fear in Tigers\u2019 Luai mess; what is behind Manly\u2019s slide<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TEAM TIPS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-round-20-team-tips-team-lists-ins-and-outs-injuries-suspensions\/news-story\/fe5abf7127ea0fc857954cfefff8d7b9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Big Broncos boost, welcome Bulldogs news&#8230; and heartbreak<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Noting the Kalyn Ponga send off in Game I, Read fired back at Ritchie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt goes back to Game I, you fluked that game. You fluked it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>Daley was widely criticised throughout the series about whether he was up to the role as Blues coach.<\/p>\n<p>The rugby league legend shook it off for weeks until the post-match press conference last Wednesday night when he hit out at the criticism and what he believed<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/state-of-origin\/state-of-origin-2026-laurie-daley-slams-critics-in-press-conference-full-replay-video-nsw-blues-rumours\/news-story\/a953e23e2aa8a22d9ab511e86c3ffac7\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"> were \u201chidden agendas\u201d against him.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Monday, NRL360 host Braith Anasta asked Read and Ritchie if the criticism of Daley was valid, with Read sticking to his guns, leading to a heated exchange. <\/p>\n<p>Read: No doubt it was valid but Laurie outcoached Billy in Game III that\u2019s why Billy copped criticism for his decisions in the decider. In terms of selections, interchanges, Laurie got it hopelessly wrong in Games I and II. No question about it. <\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: What about Billy in Game III?<\/p>\n<p>Read: I just said he deserved criticism for what happened in Game III.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: So are you going to put the same scrutiny on Billy\u2019s position as Queensland coach that you did with Laurie? You said if Billy loses the unlosable series, he\u2019s botched and blundered. <\/p>\n<p>Read: Coming into this year\u2019s series, Laurie had won one out of seven series. <\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: Billy\u2019s won four out of his last ten games.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Billy\u2019s won three out of five series. You can\u2019t compare the two. It\u2019s a completely invalid comparison. Billy had credit in the bank, Laurie had none. <\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: Billy\u2019s lost two of his past three series. That isn\u2019t enough for you to be critical of him?<\/p>\n<p>Read: If he loses next year, maybe it\u2019s time to call a day on Billy. I won\u2019t argue with you on that. <\/p>\n<p>Drama ignites around Benji-Luai fallout | 03:30<\/p>\n<p>Ritchie, who is a close friend of Daley, noted that he didn\u2019t necessarily agreed with some of the selection calls the Blues coach made during the series.<\/p>\n<p>However, he soon honed in on Read again, believing his colleague\u2019s criticism of Daley was \u201cpersonal\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: I didn\u2019t make it nasty. I didn\u2019t make it personal. I didn\u2019t make it ugly. He potted the Blues every chance he got. <\/p>\n<p>Read: That\u2019s Origin. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/state-of-origin\/state-of-origin-2020-game-3-result-old-maroons-beat-nsw-blues-worst-queensland-team-ever-dean-ritchie-highlights\/news-story\/7ecdef2d5c76ff3fd804328f3e1ff264\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">You called Queensland the worst team that ever existed six years ago and they shoved it in your face<\/a>. How nasty is that? You slandered a whole football team.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchie: Hang on, I said a football side. You picked out an individual. That\u2019s weak.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019ve never bagged players in Origin. What are you talking about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s Origin series may have wrapped up with a famous Blues victory five days ago, but there\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-797448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797448","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=797448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}