The last few seasons I’ve always considered Sharks over rated and no chance when it gets to the business end. I think that changes this year. Not backing them to win the comp but this year I think they are a genuine chance.

Tim Sheens recently.
I think also Brian McLennan at Warriors a while back

Amongst those players you’ve never heard of is a backline that has a former Australian captain, 2 other premiership winners, a Wallaby, and an England rep and forward pack that has 4 current Origin players and 2 other premiership winners.
After Finishing 3rd last year I don’t think there is any immediate pressure on him. A poor season this year into a 6 poor rounds next year and then there should be some noise.

At this far too early stage I’ve Howarth pencilled in for a centre spot. Holmes if he regains some form next in line for either centre or wing.

Wests definitely are majority owner with Tigers a junior owner. Balmain have been unable to pay their share for years and have been forfeiting parts of their ownership to Wests in exchange for Wests paying the Tigers debts.
As for conditions specified around the licence I couldn’t tell you but as I said we’ve seen a merger fold before with the majority owner simply taking over. We’ve also seen teams change their name e.g Eastern Suburbs/Sydney City/Sydney Roosters so does not appear a requirement to trade under a certain name.
It’s not in Wests interest to simply kick out the Tigers. The club is (Majority) owned by Wests Ashfield. The leagues club is about 6kms from Leichhardt but a long way from Campbelltown. They benefit from maintaining the inner west fanbase. They only stand to lose financially if they alienate the old Balmain supporters and have no more home games at Leichhardt.

But the club would not be defunct, the joint venture would be, not the club itself. The majority owner, Wests, would still hold their assets, including the NRL licence. I don’t see what grounds the NRL would have to take it (although perhaps on your earlier bringing the game into disrepute argument). We’ve literally seen this before with Manly and Norths.

In an era where so many teams have been chasing a classy half the fact that Jack Ahearn hasn’t played any first grade is mystifying.
Outside of him you could count on one hand the names I recognise and still have a finger spare.

And another vote here Tony. If Albert’s pre NRL career is included then i might lean towards him. I’d also punt Uate, move MacDougall to the wing and bring in Hughes (or maybe Gagai). Finally, id bring Perry onto the bench in place of Saifiti.

i tend to agree that his discipline was average but i dont think any of those stats comparisons mean a whole lot. Fainu is somewhat comparable as the other edge backrower but he is a very different player. He is a tuck it under the arm and charge forward type whereas Bateman is more footwork and use the ball. You would expect given their play styles Fainu would average more running metres, yet Bateman actually averaged a few more. Bateman also had double his offloads from half the games (creates more but more errors, again different styles) and 1 more tackle per game at significantly better efficiency (and arguably on the more difficult side). Furthermore on the comparisons Sezer did absolutely no favours to Bateman offereing nothing in attack and a spot defender next to him unlike Galvin for Fainu on the other side.
Pole as a middle should average more running metres (he did 12m more) and less errors and penalties. He should also be missing less tackles given he should rarely be isolated in the middle. His defence was never good but by midseason he wouldnt even put his body in front of opposition runners. He was one i was disappointed in but do acknowledge his impactful running game.

Disappointed that Bateman and Marshall couldn’t sort out their differences. Bateman was one of the few forwards who both knew how to tackle and actually had a crack for the Tigers last year. Not what he once was but still a very good footballer and leaves a hole in the Tigers roster that i can’t see how they will fill.

I completely disagree. Discipline and fitness is not what a coach should be bringing to Origin. They’re already the best players so a Discipline and fitness focus isn’t needed. Game planning and tactics is what needed. Particularly as a shorter preparation doesn’t allow for any fitness gains.

I also don’t think tales of Tiger town showed anything. A few select clips is hardly going to reveal anything of his overall approach.

Tedesco was an Origin rep when signed by the Roosters but your point is nonetheless valid. The bigger factor is Roosters have no fat on their roster. My Tigers for instance reportedly had over a million sitting in reserve grade just on their back up halves. Add that to how much they are reportedly paying the likes of Doueihi, Klemmer, Bateman and Olam and that they rarely get value out of someone like Bula as they feel the need to upgrade and extend well in advance and it is easy to see why they are struggling (amongst a few other reasons). The Roosters most overpaid player compared to what they produce is who Egan Butcher?

Typically basket case clubs will remain so until they find a way to turn themselves around through strong management. For example, I don’t think a draft would help the Tigers make the 8 by parachuting a couple of promising juniors into a struggling organisation. Thus, i think a draft is ultimately pointless and comes with more questions than answers such as junior development that have already been commented on.

I also dont think an elite few is necessarily a bad thing. The sport needs villains and champions, players and teams alike. This elite few provide that and it is the eye of the individual which is which. Nor do i think everyone getting their turn at the top has any real benefit to the game.

That is in no way how Melbourne got a ‘salary cap problem’. They got a problem from cheating the rules of the salary cap. There is no other explanation or justification. I find it deplorable that so many Storm fans try to excuse it away. I understand every club has moments not to be proud of, but few celebrate or excuse theirs like the Storm do.

The reason Melbourne had higher TPAs than other clubs is pretty obvious when you think about it. Firstly, and most simply, companies want to align themselves with winners. In 2019, few clubs were associated with success like the Storm were. Then the more high profile the player the more they can demand for product endorsement. At the time of that report the Storm had some of the most high profile players with about a dozen internationals and the games most decorated player on the books. Additionally, because the elite Storm players are recognisable in Victoria, NSW and Qld whereas most other NRL stars are just recognisable in NSW and Qld companies are more likely to choose a Storm player to endorse their product. Furthermore the likes of Brandon Smith amongst a few other lesser (by popularity) Kiwis and Justin Olam have further market reach in NZ and PNG respectively than the average player.

I would wager that since Smith, Smith and Olam are no longer there (Cameron Smith most of all), Melbourne’s TPAs no longer dwarf all other clubs. Yet i’d also guess they remain at the top due to the popularity of Munster and Papenhuyzen and that all important Vic market reach.

I think D is generous for the Tigers. Green shoots or not 5 wins in a season should only ever be considered an F. For all the incoming players next year an already poor forward pack looks to be going further backwards. I’m not sure there will be enough of a platform for any of Luai or any of the young backs to improve results next season.
It is concerning that all 3 representative forwards have left the club at the earliest possible opportunity whilst the likes of Galvin and Pole are yet to confirm their future at the club. It doesn’t inspire confidence in Benji or the direction the club is headed.

Is there actually a conflict of interest for the NRL to address? There is the potential conflict for 9 to address if he is abstaining from giving insights into the dogs or the reverse would be a conflict for the dogs. However you could just as easily argue he is able to provide 9 with further insights due to his position and anything he withholds from 9 is information they would not have without him there anyways.
I don’t see where the conflict is for the NRL as he is not a decision maker within the NRL.
Whilst I disagree with Gould’s assessment of Fifita I also disagree with you take on Kikau. His off the ball efforts such as kick pressure, kick chase and lead running are elite.

I can say im certainly not pleased with the way things are trending for the Tigers. The 2 wins are a bit of false form. Sharks were terrible in their game against Tigers whilst the eels unsurprisingly bashed the Tigers forwards but were unable to fire a shot in attack off the back of it.
Being easily accounted for by the Dragons and Dolphins does not leave me believing the side is improving.

Ive asked what problems he caused at Roosters or Rep sides. Now lets go over what youve written.
Got dropped from Origin for poor form and a sin bin in 2019.
This is true, he was dropped. He is also one of many players to be dropped from a rep side for poor form. The sinbin also was hardly the ‘stupid’ decision you’ve labelled it. Most players are happy to commit a professional foul to prevent a try. The try Qld scored in that time, a 95m run off an intercept, can hardly be linked to the sinbinning. That aside, it was hardly as though his dropping or supposed reaction was problematic. NSW went on to win the series.

He left Roosters because they would not sign his brother.
There is no evidence of this. In fact the evidence would contradict this. Latrell signed with Souths in 2020. Shaq signed a train and trial contract in 2022 before eventually earning an upgraded contract. Furthermore, if leaving a club for better money and playing opportunities (fullback) elsewhere is considered to be causing problems for Roosters then over half the players in the competition have been causing problems for their (former) clubs.

So, it appears he has caused very few problems at Roosters or NSW. In fact he has helped deliver premierships in 2 of his 4 years of first grade at Roosters. He has won Origin series for NSW and the only season he was dropped for poor form, NSW still won the series.

Onto to the Souths stuff.

Souths signed his brother, paid him stupid amounts of money and let him play fullback.
We’ve touched on the brother. Now to be honest if he isn’t Latrell’s brother i don’t think he gets the opportunity to earn his spot. So i wont disagree that this point is entirely baseless. However, he did have to earn his spot and he has done so.
They have paid him well. Not sure what quantifies as stupid amounts of money but as a player and a drawcard Latrell is rightfully highly paid. Has his performances (on and off field) provided Souths with a return on their investment. Debatable, but certainly not a definitive no.
He has been the best fullback option at the club for some time. I don’t think it is so much they let him play fullback as much as he is their preferred fullback option. This may or may not change in the future.
They sent him overseas for rehab.
Yes. They are protecting their investment. Just like Manly with Trbojevic, Storm with Papenhauzen and a couple others who’s names escape me currently.
Signed Whigton when they couldn’t afford to.
The implication is that Souths only signed Wighton because he is Latrell’s mate. Wighton is also a damn good footballer. I’d say that Souths only had the opportunity to sign him because he is Latrell’s mate but took that option for their own benefit, not Latrell’s. We need to wait and see if he proves to be a good signing.

So whilst all of the above is in fact Souths being good to Latrell. For the most part it is also simply Souths trying to do what is best for Souths.

You go on to say that he has repaid Souths with unnecessary suspensions, poor work ethic and a bad attitude.
I largely agree with the unnecessary suspensions. I noted that in my original comment. I do however question the suspension argument, at least some of it. For example, there is no doubt in my mind he did not intend to hit Manu high. Hit him hard, yes. High, doubt it. Did he deserve his suspension, yes. Do i think he should be blamed for Souths missing their premiership shot as a result, no. Plenty of players are suspended from finals for incidental actions. There have however absolutely been some stupid and easily avoidable suspensions in Latrell’s past, with the latest the prime example.

Poor work ethic and bad attitude. We have no idea what he is like behind the scenes to know if this is true. It may well be that Mitchell indeed has a poor work ethic and a bad attitude and the rest of the team has had jack of it. It could be just as true that he is actually the one trying his best to lift the team in the face of any number other things that are the root cause of Souths current poor performances.
There is something wrong at Souths. Good teams don’t just unravel as they have done without reason. We just dont know if that reason has anything to do with Latrell.

This is a baseless statement. What problems did he cause at Roosters or in any rep side? Aside from missing games due to suspension and injury, it is unkown if he is in fact the cause of any problems at Souths.

Still better than most but not good enough to win the comp.

All fair comments mate. Yet, i see it differently.

I personally wouldnt call them flat as tacks. Yes, the handling errors were poor but if they were truly flat they would not have defended as strongly as they did, nor found the energy to mount some sort of challenge towards the end.
I dont believe either team made a statement. Panthers would be happy for the win, away from home and missing troops as you said. Roosters were well beaten in the sense that they were never truly in the fight. They however weren’t well beaten in the sense that it wasn’t that the Panthers that tore them apart, moreso the Roosters beat themselves.
If i were coaching that side i’d be buoyed by the fact that they held their line for so long and came up with trys (or no trys) in the few attacking chances they had. Yes, the scoreline shouldn’t paper over cracks. But, the loss exposes those cracks that need to be addressed and most appear to be simple fixes. There were plenty of reasons to believe if the Roosters got their handling right they can get over the Panthers in their next match up.
They were never in a position to give Young any ball last night (due to their poor handling). I don’t think it can be judged if the Roosters do/don’t have the structure to utilise Young when they spent the game in their own half.
Nothing you have said is wrong. I just see things differently so will agree to disagree.

Far too harsh in my opinion Barry.
Yes, Roosters were their own worst enemy with their handling but they defended strongly despite their limited possession and field position.
Young’s 2 tries and 4 linebreaks from the first 3 weeks suggest he is not being starved of the ball. Sure he didn’t see any last night, but Roosters rarely had any attacking ball to give.
The gameplan to kick chase and give him no room to move may work when you are dominating field position due to the Roosters mistakes. It won’t be so simple if/when Roosters complete at an acceptable standard.
I still have concerns with Luai at the Tigers. Not due to his ability but I question if the Tigers pack can perform sufficiently to allow Luai to do his thing.

And this Blue hopes Edwards is nowhere near the Origin team.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. The lack of a long kicking game from either half is a real concern when coming out of trouble. I think Smith needs to take on more kicking responsibility as well as the roosters should utilise Sualii’s long kick as well.
However there were good signs in this game for Roosters as well. Despite high fatigue and decent Panthers attack the defensive line held for a long time with the first two Panthers try’s scored off kicks.
Keep that defensive resolve, reduce the errors and address the kicking for when needed and the Roosters will win plenty.

Because the whistle was blown before Api had made his run. This is deemed as the referee influencing the play (due to some defenders not chasing after hearing the whistle) and that run becoming void.