The purpose of the bunker was stated to be to ensure that the number of “howlers” would be reduced or even eliminated. Failure by Graham Annesley and others to keep these guys on track has left us in a situation where the bunker staff have ceased to look for “howlers” and are determined to make every 50:50 call reflect their personal view of what constitutes “the correct decision”.
Bunker staff need to be directed that in a situation like this – where there is no CLEAR evidence to overturn the referee’s call, (and remember the ref was ideally placed in this case) – that they MUST follow the referee’s decision and not overturn it.

Cam, “(b) Topine never, ever plays in the NRL again. I mean, who would sign him?”

Some desperate club that reckons they can pick him up cheap and stick a club legend onto him as a “welfare officer” to try and rebuild his self-respect. At the end of the season there will be at least nine such clubs.

How to fix it ?
1) Instruct the refs to give the tackler ten in the bin for EVERY contact with the ball-carrier’s head, no matter how innocuous it may look. This would have to be introduced from the start of the season, to give coaches a pre-season to sort out their players, but it would have a major impact, as long as NRL Central does not lose focus and stop doing this after a few weeks
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2) Alternatively, restrict the number of defenders in any tackle to two men. (I offer that for consideration – I’m not convinced it would help too much, but it might. If you think the idea is poor then tell me! I’m not wedded to it.)

Barry, Sadly it’s only two weeks. He just has to accept the charge….

Question Given that this cannonball tackle had the potential to end Munster’s season (or maybe career) how does two weeks stack up against Spencer Leniu getting eight weeks for name-calling Ezra Mam a “monkey” ?

Yes, I get they are two different sorts of offences, but the Milne incident had the potential for a much worse long-term, damaging outcome.

Next time I hear Annesley or Abdo mouth the words “the safety of the players is the most important consideration for the NRL…” I will become even more convinced that they are bulls****ing us, to avoid criticism.

The Moses Suli incident reinforces what I have been saying (and boring everyone with) since the 18th man was introduced.
– 3 players fail HIA: you can use the 18th man
– 1 player gets a match-ending injury from foul play: you can use the 18th man

Moses Suli pole-axed after ten seconds: can’t use the 18th man, and the Dragons bench is reduced from 4 to 3, and the rotation is stuffed before a Saints player has even touched the ball.

Solution: Keep the number of interchanges the same, but make the 18th man (and maybe the 19th man) bench players. That would reduce the impact of a player being ruled out by an HIA that was deemed to be from “fair play”

If the Bulldogs have any sense, they will say:

a) Everything that Mr Topine has claimed is completely accurate: he was late for training and forced to do extra wrestling as a penalty.

b) There is nothing wrong in what we did. NRL is not an “amateur, participation” sport. It is a professional job where fitness and practice are of the utmost importance. (For evidence, see how better the Dogs are doing this year with a fully fit team).

c) Players know that, and players accept that. If they did not, they wouldn’t have progressed beyond Under-14s. They would have given up League and taken up another sport which does not have such stringent fitness requirements.

d) Mr Topine has not been victimised or singled out for mistreatment.

e) Even if the court accepts the claim that he deservers _something_ , the claim for $4M is ridiculous because:

– dividing the $12M cap by 30 players gives $400K as an “average” , but spine players and backs take a disproportionately large share, and so the “average” pay for a middle forward is less than the “mean” average.

– the history of the NRL is littered with players who looked really good as youngsters, but who fell away, and never achieved their initial promise. Mr Topine may have dropped off and never achieved much (his attitude suggests this may well be the case).

– the average career of an NRL player is less than 50 games: certainly not ten years.

I suspect that leaving Latrell out of the squad will make him realise that all those people who tell him that League is a _team_ sport may be on to something.

Barry, it’s easy for us to sit here and slag him off for being dumb, but we’ve ALL done really stupid things, often involving alcohol.

I remember one time – in my twenties – I went in for a quick drink (just the one), stayed and got so sauced up I reckoned couldn’t make it to the bus stop without falling over. So, the cars outside, so I’ll take that ! That ended as badly as you would expect. Luckily I only hit a parked car not one with anyone in it.

(For the record, I gave up drinking in 1997. Probably the best decision I’ve ever made, apart from marrying my good lady).

“Get the defence right and run hard and you’ve got the start of a team which can compete.”

Phins last year, Dragons this year – showing the truth of this statement.

“Finucane’s departure is still a major blow …”

Not on-field. He would have struggled to get a place in top 17, if he had declared himself fit.

Off-field – by all accounts – is a different matter. From what I read, and people to whom I have spoken, he is a force-for-good in the squad.

He is on $750K this year and $350K next. I presume the club will pay him out for this year, and the $350K for next year will not be counted in the cap because he retired before the start of the season. (Anyone who understands the rules better than me, please correct me).

So if they have his $350K and Orego Kaufusi’s $600K, then they will have just about covered AFB’s $1000K

Jack, Maybe the $600K is represented by the $400K he has already had for 2024, plus $200K for the rest of the season – just like the remaining three seasons.

“Nat Butcher (41.2), Kurt Capewell (39.6) and Jacob Preston (38.0) work tirelessly without the ball yet with average running metres of only 42, 68 and 77 respectively, they fall well short of the class”
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You said it yourself Stuart – you are penalizing the guys who focus on tackling, and promoting the guys who do the running.
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If you want a more useful metric, have you considered “Tackles + Post Contact Metres” ?
That might help even out the different roles that coaches demand from specific players.
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However, even that is dubious, in my eyes.
I don’t see how Jurbo is going to get a look-in on either your stat or mine, but I would love to have him any team that I support.

…. and in another 12 months he will have completed the transition to Stickey.

Vivalasvegan nailed it when he said “but it’s split second stuff, under pressure, under fatigue.”

There were 34 players, three on-field officials and three more in the bunker. Each one did some great things and some god-awful things.

Coaches only remember the calls that don’t favour their team. They forget the 50:50 calls that went their way.

Chill out coaches. As long as the ref isn’t actually biased, over the course of a match the “dubious” calls that go against you will be balanced by the ones that go in your favour.

Since Barry Gomersall hung up his boots there have been no referees (that I can remember) who have let personal bias determine their professional calls. Chill out !

AJ Mithen says “Cowboys” in his text, but the table says “Sharks”

“change in precedent” does not apply in a commercial setting.

The NRL is not bound by decisions it made in the past. If its management today is more attuned to community sentiment than the managers of a decade ago, then there is nothing to stop them refusing to register Jennings, on the grounds that it will jeopardise the popularity of the sport (or even “bring the game into disrepute”).

“Does he (Demetriou) continue to play Mitchell at his preferred position of fullback, drop Gray back to reserves and hope for the best?”

If the coach wants to change attitudes at South, then going back to the old line-up is not the way to do it. He should put Latrell in the centres, and if Latrell doesn’t like it, then JD should drop him to NSW Cup until he is prepared to put the team before his personal desires.

Yes he is. Uncles, I believe.
For Brett, what I would say is that Iro has been killing them in the reggies last season. Too good to waste there. Sure, first grade is a bit quicker, and he has to get accustomed to working with Ramien and Mulitalo, but give him half a dozen games before you write him off.

If Craig Fitzgibbon does not get off his backside and re-sign Kayal Iro, then I can see Trent Barratt picking up the phone.

I have to say, if Teddy decides a double-digit number of concussions is sufficient, then Roosters will be in serious trouble for their back-line for 2025

Out of interest, Steveng / Mike, do you have any idea who is the Retention & Recruitment manager at Souths?

Or even whether they have such a position, or whether decisions are made by some “collective” of coaches and managers?

“Surely there’s a simpler way to either expand the bench, or to let the 18th man come on as soon as one player is ruled out from a failed HIA”

Couldn’t agree more. Let’s make it really simple. Expand the bench to FIVE players, keep the number of interchanges the same, and scrap the 18th man.

“ … said that he was confident he’d be leading the club to Melbourne after next week’s bye.
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“I won’t walk around with my head down,” he said.
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“I’ve got no reason to. I’ve worked my backside off to get into this position as head coach of one of the biggest rugby league clubs in the world.
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“I’m really proud I get to represent these boys, our fans, members and staff, and I’m excited about turning it around. ”
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Assuming this report is accurate, Mr Demetriou isn’t doing himself any favours, spouting such guff.

He cannot be “confident he’ll be leading the club to Melbourne”, when it’s an open secret that Souths have been talking to Mal Meninga.

He may have “worked his backside off” but the yarstick for successful coaching is about what the coach achieves, not the effort he puts in.

He doesn’t “represent the boys” – he’s there to set the on-field strategy, coach the players to understand it and motivate them to execute it.

“Excited about turning it round” “Excited”? Maybe he is confident that by the end of the season he will have it turned round, and will have Souths pushing for a spot in the eight. If so, he should have said that, rather than blurt out the inappropriate “excited”.

He ought to have accepted that his time as South’s head coach is over, and every statement that he has made over the last week should have been directed at showing he is worth re-employing as a coach at some other club.

Annesley, not Abdo, is the man who has responsibility for sorting out this mess.

But yes, I agree that it’s time NRL Central stopped warming the bench, and sorted out the inconsistencies.

Reece Walsh coming back early?

Can someone explain the concept of “Duty Of Care” to Kevvie, please.

I thought the big problem for a player leaving mid-way through a contract is the rule that says “if he takes a new contract, it can’t be for less than the one he is leaving“. This is the problem that clubs have with Zac Lomax.
The big difference between the two players is the Zac Lomax is playing really well and Schuster isn’t even cutting it in the NSW Cup.
His best option is for his manager to tell him to realise that three seasons at $800K is as good as ever it’s going to get, so buckle down and DO NOT let the club force him out.
Stay there and take the money. , Get fit, play NSW Cup, save as much money as you can, and see what the future brings.
No other club will be interested in him this year, because he is playing badly, and they will want whatever is left of their cap for someone who is fit and going OK.