The first match of the NRL’s Magic Round is already done and dusted, and there are plenty of intriguing fixtures to anticipate at Suncorp Stadium this weekend.
Brisbane will enjoy an away match against Manly at their own home ground at 8:05pm on Saturday night, and some somewhat unexpected selections have been announced heading into the clash.
The Broncos have dropped 2018 Dally M Rookie of the Year Jamayne Isaako along with centre James Roberts ahead of the fixture, with Kotoni Staggs and Gehamat Shibasaki reportedly coming in to replace the pair.
Roar rugby league Expert AJ Mithen joined Andrew Miller and Matt Petherick on today’s episode of the Game of Codes podcast to debate whether or not Brisbane made the right call, and share his take on the club’s decision to keep Darius Boyd in the squad despite a disappointing run of form.
Listen to the discussion:
Manly and Brisbane met twice in 2018 in high-scoring affairs: the Sea Eagles took the chocolates in Round 10 with a 38-24 victory, while the Broncos got the points in the last match of the season after a 48-16 result.
Visit our Game of Codes hub to catch the full episode and be sure to subscribe and review on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever else you’re listening.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Isn't the game on tonight? Any other inaccuracies in your article?
Flexis
Roar Rookie
Yes I agree. And I think they (Bird moreso than Oates) were more honest than the usual rhetorical answers.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The players aren't in a position to honestly answer many questions about their team mates. It's a bit like asking them about the coach, why would you take much notice of that? You find out what players think 10 or 20 years down the track when they write a book or do a podcast.
Flexis
Roar Rookie
Both Bird and Oates have come out and expressed their surprise at the axings. Bird fell just short of completely disagreeing. I’m not trying to make this a big deal, but it feels more and more like the playing group aren’t in the same page as Seibold just yet. The interesting question is whether it is the entire playing group.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Dropping an under performing sports person because he isn’t going all that well somehow has become absolute madness. I suppose the thousands of other times where it’s happened and the player comes back a better player or even never comes back and shows it was a good move don’t count? Manly dropped Elgey a couple of weeks ago and everyone won out of the situation except the teams Manly beat, in part due to his form when he returned. Isako is an established 1st grader and I’m hoping the coach has made a grave error being a Manly fan. Coaches seemed to get bagged if they don’t drop players and also if they do drop players. If NSW lose the 1st game it will be the selectors fault for either dropping the halves or not dropping the halves, the critics will be winners either way.
Peter Piper
Guest
You probably don't want to hear this as much as we don't want to hear about Game of Codes. It sucks