Things get tense as Paul Kent grills NSW assistant coach

Cmon now . Sounds all too much like common sense that you’re espousing there . You have to run PK into the ground , simply , well simply because you do . That’s just what ya do , and others will agree and like your comments. That’s just the way it is ok ! Now get with the program, we all nod and agree .

The questioning was completely reasonable and brandy and Freddie for that matter need to accept accountability. Last year, Freddie said he learnt lessons and I hope he eventually sees the lessons to be learned from game 3 selections. He went against his own mantra of only picking players on form and not reputation. Whighton was selected on the bench all series on reputation and then in game 3 he deserves a shot at the no. 6 jersey? No, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Moses apparently also deserved a go? No, no one deserves a shot, they earn it. Im pretty sure another criteria of Freddie's when he started the NSW job was that players had to have already played and proven themselves in big games like finals. Moses has failed at every opportunity. If the Panthers pairing are not available and Rabbitohs pairing, then maybe, he would be next in line. Api was strategically chosen as 18th man for games 1 and 2 because cook plays 80 with ease. He only needs replacing if injured, and having api could be master stroke if Cook was injured from foul play. Putting him in the 17 for game 3, was a reward for being in camp but was a strategically poor choice for a team that already had a new halves pairing. The last thing NSW needed was right on 50mins to replace the hooker with a debutant. It meant that 3 out of the 4 key positions had never played that position before for NSW. The selectors' decisions were made thinking that they could reward players that subjectively deserved a go in origin. The result was a disjointed attack that cost NSW not just the game but had Walker and Reynolds been there, NSW would have likely continued the blue rinse domination with a 13+ win. Kenty wasn't even being aggressive, but after Brandy said that, he backed off a little. He should have called brandy out on his ridiculous, hindsight defence. Many ppl, including Kent, predicted that Moses and whighton would struggle for the exact reasons that they struggled. The assignment was too hard for them to form a combination. A problem that Walker and Reynolds wouldn't have had. Not many thought that the selection of Moses and whighton would be enough that qld could win, but it wasn't difficult to predict that NSW might not dominate with that halves pairing. The other surprising part of brandy's defence, was that he implied that the Rabbitohs pairing are not in form. He asked kenty if he had been watching them play??? Walker leads try and line break assists and I'm sure almost all of those assists actually started with Reynolds drawing in defenders to give Cody the space and overlap. In short, Brandy should have simply owned the decisions and agree that in hindsight some people may see them as bad decisions but he and the selectors stand by them and world do it again.

Journalism has turned American....Rupert could only let them be natural for so long?

A straight answer would have put the matter to bed.

What was wrong with the line of questioning. I thought it was relevant and worth a straight answer. Brandy got defensive because he felt invaded on account of Moses only getting the gig because Joey coaches him and Fitler had a relationship during World Cup with the Lebanon team.

I think it was a fair question and Kenty was just asking what I was thinking. As for Brandy, he doesn’t mind going on Fox and being critical of coaches and players - obviously not keen on being on the receiving end.

Kent just doing his job, and did it well in this instance. Brandy and Freddy should hang their head in shame for losing a game were they have a considerable advantage in talent over the current Maroons team. Cleary and Luai would be hard to beat, but Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds were always the next best option. Not Wighton (the NRL’s most out of form player in 2021) and Moses (failed his audition in all the recent big games for the eels) as a untried, unproven pairing FFS. The Blues have the best backline on the planet, and they hardly saw the ball in game 3.

Brandy is also building a CV of being thin skinned and petulant though. He's more than happy to have incredibly hard whacks as a commentator but loses it every time he's put under pressure and can't dictate the narrative.

It was cheap point scoring and weak attempt to sound like a tough guy. Alexander rightly called him out. He is trying to make himself out to be a hard hitting journalist, when he is just a loudmouth hack with a platform

You mean Kent? Well, he's entitled to ask tough questions, but yeah not the "asked and answered" type of provocation. I think it was fair to call him out on that occasion.

Why is it the guys who achieved so little (or nothing) are the ones with the biggest ego and biggest mouth?

Coachless in O'Covid.

So much to dislike about this interview.. Kent just being Kent and Alexander in massive denial