Speaker 1: Was talking with my friend Vinnie Webb how Wakefield hadn't
Speaker 1: lost since feb until they met Wigan, the old Cup
Speaker 1: Kings who got themselves back to doing some Wigan like things.
Speaker 1: Victories for hule Kr, Saints and the Wire. Let's see
Speaker 1: who can set Wembley on fire. So many clubs looking
Speaker 1: for a coach. The issue in North Wales is one
Speaker 1: we will broach. Welcome to the seventeenth episode of Super
Speaker 1: League three sixty, a podcast primarily about the top tier
Speaker 1: of British rugby league, but we may go in some
Speaker 1: different directions, such as North Wales. My name is Lee Addison.
Speaker 2: And my name is John Davidson.
Speaker 1: I am a coach in Australia who hosts also the
Speaker 1: Rugby League Coach podcast appear on Zero Tackles Loose Carrey.
Speaker 1: You can find me at Rugby League Coach dot com,
Speaker 1: but au John's a journal.
Speaker 2: In the UK, you can get me in the Eyepaper,
Speaker 2: in League Express, the Guardian and sometimes on the BBC.
Speaker 1: Just everywhere in England. This podcast is also being played
Speaker 1: on the Ash Rugby League podcast platform, the Rugby League
Speaker 1: Coach podcast platform, as well as Rugby League Coach YouTube
Speaker 1: channel two. So if you subscribe to those you won't
Speaker 1: miss a thing. Also, thanks to Rugby League dot Com,
Speaker 1: you are also taking this podcast each Friday. I believe John,
Speaker 1: we've just discussed we're going to do after the Hohoter
Speaker 1: this week on Friday, so Saturday morning Australia time, because
Speaker 1: you'll be at Huddersfield versus Leads.
Speaker 2: Love a bit of West Yorkshire derby with six thousand
Speaker 2: people on the game six you've been okay seven, Maybe
Speaker 2: Leads might bring a thousand or two.
Speaker 1: Say four Cup semi finalists and Wigan Warrington who ky
Speaker 1: Are and Saints and the drawer has happened very quickly
Speaker 1: and ok Are will play Wolves and Saints will play
Speaker 1: Wigan on the weekend of the ninth and tenth of
Speaker 1: May in the Challenge Cup. Which is why we didn't
Speaker 1: do an after the Hooter this last week. John, your
Speaker 1: tweet of the week is going to lead into the
Speaker 1: first subject you can tweet John at Johnny D Day
Speaker 1: at Johnny D. Davidson. The gas lighting of players and
Speaker 1: fans in rugby league in the UK continues ad nauseum.
Speaker 1: John tweeted my Lee's laughing the Rugby League tweet of
Speaker 1: the week was Rick Andrew who said in whose mates
Speaker 1: will be promising a bridging loan? Don't worry. That was
Speaker 1: in response to Christen and In who being appointed as
Speaker 1: coach of North Wales Crusaders and Johnny's jab I'll let
Speaker 1: you talk about that because you wanted to talk about
Speaker 1: clubs going bust, so please.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I can't remember what I said the job was
Speaker 2: going to be, but.
Speaker 1: Ignoring people who think club's going bust is nothing to
Speaker 1: know the Rugby Football League.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I think it's multifaceted. When I mean,
Speaker 2: it depends on the circumstances, but it's multi faceted when
Speaker 2: a club goes bust. Like you know, the Salford Bread
Speaker 2: Devil situation had many elements to it and we went
Speaker 2: through that, didn't we last year or in the year
Speaker 2: in the podcast. I think the Featherstone one did as well.
Speaker 2: The North Wales one is ongoing. But you know, the
Speaker 2: RFL doesn't run the clubs. You know, it's not making
Speaker 2: the decision a sign player X for this amount of
Speaker 2: money whether they can afford that or not. And I've
Speaker 2: never said they did. But the RFL governs the sport.
Speaker 2: They have to approve these owners to take over clubs
Speaker 2: and their track record when you look at North Wales,
Speaker 2: when you look at Salford, you know so many clubs Toronto.
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, their compliance department, the checks and balances
Speaker 2: is a joke, and they have to actually take action
Speaker 2: when these clubs go bust and have to provide a
Speaker 2: system or a competition where these businesses, these clubs can
Speaker 2: actually thrive. But they don't seem to do anything. They're
Speaker 2: just like, oh, it's nothing to do with us. And
Speaker 2: then when they do go bus, they don't comment and
Speaker 2: the players get no support, they don't get paid, they
Speaker 2: go to the RFL, there's no players union, they don't
Speaker 2: get any support. And I know this because I speak
Speaker 2: to them and I've spoken to their partners. And the
Speaker 2: fans get treated like shit as well. You know, happen
Speaker 2: to the Selford fans, happen to the Featherstone fans because
Speaker 2: the clubs themselves don't come out and be honest about
Speaker 2: what's happening, and most of the media coverage is quite
Speaker 2: this poor and doesn't actually push to get answers, and
Speaker 2: the RFL doesn't say anything either. So that's what I
Speaker 2: mean when I talk about the gas lighting of players
Speaker 2: and fans. They get treated very, very poorly.
Speaker 1: Something occurred to me over the weekend as I was
Speaker 1: putting this podcast running Sheet together. Maybe the RFL want
Speaker 1: these clubs to go bus.
Speaker 2: Why would they wanted to go bastly.
Speaker 1: Natural attrition? Maybe they are looking at the fact that
Speaker 1: in the twenty first century, and I'm definitely playing Devil's
Speaker 1: advocate here and probably giving some people too much intelligence,
Speaker 1: maybe they're thinking, in the twenty first century, if you're
Speaker 1: going to make a professional sport from scratch, you wouldn't
Speaker 1: have this model, and you probably wouldn't have a club
Speaker 1: right next to Manchester City and Manchester United in Salford,
Speaker 1: who you're trying to have a Super League franchise, you
Speaker 1: probably wouldn't have the expense of so many teams in
Speaker 1: what were the too lower tiers, but now one here.
Speaker 1: Maybe they're happy for natural autrition just to take place.
Speaker 2: All right. Personally, I don't think that's the case, because
Speaker 2: when you look at the expansion of League One, which
Speaker 2: I can't think came around twenty fourteen twenty fifteen, and
Speaker 2: I came off the back of the forty million TV
Speaker 2: deal which was the largest forty million a year TV
Speaker 2: deal for I think seven years, and niger Wood, credit
Speaker 2: to him, got for the sport a lot of that money.
Speaker 2: There was a number of new League One clubs in
Speaker 2: I think there was Northampton who never played a game.
Speaker 2: There was Glouster, there was Oxford. There was a big
Speaker 2: push to expand the game. You know, we had London
Speaker 2: Scholars and then later on down line we had Cornwall
Speaker 2: and South Wales and North Wales and virtually all those
Speaker 2: clubs are gone now. Scholars are gone, Cornwall are gone,
Speaker 2: North Wales could be gone the end of this week.
Speaker 2: Gloster and Oxford are gone. Northampton, as I said, never
Speaker 2: play the game. And part of that sort of the
Speaker 2: leadership of the arapat with Tom which was Ralph was
Speaker 2: Ralph Rimmer was the deputy CEO and niger Wood was
Speaker 2: the CEO. That to me and you can this is
Speaker 2: reflected in the votes for the council when you look
Speaker 2: at the major decisions, was a bit of a power
Speaker 2: play and niger Wood and Ralph l were very good
Speaker 2: going around and pressing the flesh with all these small
Speaker 2: club owners and basically you know, like politicians do you know,
Speaker 2: kissing the babies they were very good at winning votes,
Speaker 2: buying votes, however you want to put it, garnering support.
Speaker 2: And then if we look at the recent vote for
Speaker 2: the chairman of the RFL, Niger Wood, it was only
Speaker 2: what three Super League clubs have voted against him and
Speaker 2: two Championship clubs and you could argue that York controls
Speaker 2: the Newcastle votes, so it was only really one and
Speaker 2: that was so it was interesting that they all voted
Speaker 2: for niger Wood. But the fact that they're all dying
Speaker 2: off and the TV deals shrinking.
Speaker 1: So that was the key in your answer. So will
Speaker 1: you describe something that happened well over a decade now
Speaker 1: in terms of that the TV deal a decade rugby
Speaker 1: league seemed an amazing sport in the UK compared to
Speaker 1: what it is now quite frankly, over a decade ago,
Speaker 1: and the TV deal has gone down, so there's less
Speaker 1: money to put around all these clubs, and there's less
Speaker 1: money to pay for referees and less money to pay
Speaker 1: for let's play for everything everything. Yeah, and that again,
Speaker 1: as soon as you said that line, I thought you've
Speaker 1: added to my theory. And then you talk about the votes, Well,
Speaker 1: aren't the hasn't Ward and his team. Haven't they got
Speaker 1: the control that they saw now not locked in? And
Speaker 1: then have they not got a mostly consensus around what's
Speaker 1: left anyway?
Speaker 2: I think the element to add there was so when
Speaker 2: when when Wood was kicked it out in twenty eighteen
Speaker 2: and then Simon Johnson came to the top jour and
Speaker 2: obviously there was the split, so you had Super League
Speaker 2: was split from the RFL. Well, for him it was
Speaker 2: still very good at going around all the different championship
Speaker 2: in League one clubs. Simon Johnson never did that, and
Speaker 2: I think he's got a lot of criticism and was
Speaker 2: never close to you know, your Batley's, your Featherstone's, your
Speaker 2: Deewsberries or niger Wood you know goes out for curries
Speaker 2: with them and you know that. I think that is
Speaker 2: a very kind of political strategy to garner specific support
Speaker 2: and I think that's continued on to now. Now there's
Speaker 2: probably less support for niger Wood now than there was
Speaker 2: twelve months ago, but he's still got enough support to
Speaker 2: be in power. But the interesting thing for me is,
Speaker 2: and I've just read the New forty twenty magazine and
Speaker 2: there's a piece written by Paul Cannet, the owner of Leeds,
Speaker 2: who's I don't know exactly how much he's worth, but
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty two hundred million construction magnet, and
Speaker 2: he argues it's really interesting piece. He argues, you know,
Speaker 2: against the NRL coming in. He's not fully against it,
Speaker 2: but he argues against it the fact that they want
Speaker 2: our riches and the NRL is only successful because there's
Speaker 2: no competity. They don't have pre relafe football and there's
Speaker 2: no competition for sport in Australia. Now part of that
Speaker 2: argument is absolute hogwash.
Speaker 1: Anyone the only only country in the world with four
Speaker 1: winter football codes, and cricket is massive, as you know
Speaker 1: in the NBL, while it's not massive, still has fairly
Speaker 1: the NFL. The NFL has been a push in New
Speaker 1: South Wales for the Super Day to be a public holiday.
Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, so Premier League, yeah it's huge.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah. So it's just kind of a nonsense argument.
Speaker 2: But I see this a lot. I say this a
Speaker 2: lot from fans in the UK and the thing is,
Speaker 2: you don't Rugby league in the UK doesn't need to
Speaker 2: compete with the Premier League because you can't beat but
Speaker 2: you could be the second option or even the third
Speaker 2: option in a lot of the markets, it's not even
Speaker 2: the eighth or the ninth option.
Speaker 1: Rugby league needs to compete with itself. It needs to
Speaker 1: beat itself first, rather than it needs to be the
Speaker 1: gremlins within. Right, So let's right, Let's accept that we
Speaker 1: can't necessarily either of us work out a reason why
Speaker 1: the RFL haven't intervened. Let's talk about and god, let's
Speaker 1: talk about what they should do. What should they do?
Speaker 1: I think I think they should be well, first of all,
Speaker 1: they shouldn't be reacting to any of this. They should
Speaker 1: be on the front foot in the weeks leading up
Speaker 1: to the when it's when the news starts to leak,
Speaker 1: if they were in touch with their clubs, if they
Speaker 1: were communicating in the right way with their clubs at
Speaker 1: the not the niger Wood level, having a having a
Speaker 1: having a Ruby Murray. I'm talking about you know, operators
Speaker 1: at the RFL who were checking in with the clubs
Speaker 1: and finding out what's going on and et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1: There'd be ahead of the curve on this and maybe
Speaker 1: a month, maybe two months, maybe three months and be
Speaker 1: listening to what's going on and saying, right, how can
Speaker 1: we help you owners of North Wales. How can we
Speaker 1: help you owners of Salford with your bridging? How can
Speaker 1: we help you? You know that's that's what we ever expect,
Speaker 1: isn't it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it never happens. I mean I've been covering
Speaker 2: the sport in the UK for thirteen years and the
Speaker 2: attitude consistency is don't say only think, look away, pretend
Speaker 2: it's not happening. Yeah, there's just the thing. The thing
Speaker 2: why I don't agree that they are trying to ensure
Speaker 2: that clubs die is because the negative publicity that it
Speaker 2: generates and that you actually get more coverage. You look
Speaker 2: at a collapse of Featherstone and what happened at Salford.
Speaker 2: That was the running story all last year. There was
Speaker 2: like massive headlines, you know, full page spreads the national newspapers.
Speaker 2: You know that massive games, Grand finals and that don't
Speaker 2: get that coverage.
Speaker 1: But John, John, what's what's worse publicity? Let's say no publicity?
Speaker 1: Yeah number one. Number two. Let's say five clubs die,
Speaker 1: Those five clubs die naturally, or those five clubs get
Speaker 1: caught from the league structure. Which one brings the most
Speaker 1: most vitriol on which one brings the worst publicity, and
Speaker 1: I think it's the latter. So so I'm not I'm
Speaker 1: not letting go of my theory yet that they could
Speaker 1: be just letting attrition happen to streamline the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't. I mean you can, you're in tonal
Speaker 2: to your theory, but I don't. I don't agree with you.
Speaker 2: I think it's more den incompetence than anything else and
Speaker 2: a lack of strategy.
Speaker 1: And it, don't get me wrong, I think we're talking
Speaker 1: about strategy from incompetent people don't, so I think we're
Speaker 1: in agreement. Actually, so in terms of in terms of
Speaker 1: North Wales, they did end up on the field this
Speaker 1: week and things mustn't be great there because even Keighley
Speaker 1: managed to beat them very heavily. So there's I've seen
Speaker 1: somewhere that somebody has paid them to play this week.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's my story. Really, you've read my story today.
Speaker 2: I didn't read your story. I saw the tweet and
Speaker 2: I'm not reading that crap. How harsh. Yeah, Look, I
Speaker 2: mean I think stuff's been going. I think it was
Speaker 2: in November last year there was a couple of players
Speaker 2: coming out saying that they were owed money they hadn't
Speaker 2: been paid, and then it's continued on this year. Basically
Speaker 2: I think every month had been paid late and then
Speaker 2: I think they were due to be played at the
Speaker 2: start of April four April, they weren't paid. They still
Speaker 2: haven't been paid. They refused to train. I'd spoke to
Speaker 2: people at the club players who were basically saying, you know,
Speaker 2: if we don't get paid, we won't play. And then
Speaker 2: I got information. Now I know who paid the players,
Speaker 2: and I can't you know. I was told on the
Speaker 2: condition that they didn't want their names published, but they
Speaker 2: made a donator.
Speaker 1: We won't mention Phil cup One's name on here.
Speaker 2: It's definitely not him. They made a donation to and
Speaker 2: not the four months wages, but to ensure that this
Speaker 2: Keithy game went ahead. So some of the players played,
Speaker 2: not all of them. The players and North Wales have
Speaker 2: been told by the club that will be paid tomorrow,
Speaker 2: that is Monday. Those players don't believe that will happen,
Speaker 2: and some people are saying that the couple go bus
Speaker 2: next week.
Speaker 1: Now and this and this is the horrible thing about it.
Speaker 1: This is the bad thing because some of these players,
Speaker 1: what they will do is they'll get cocked around by this.
Speaker 1: They will then some of them will try and find
Speaker 1: another club, but some of them will just walk away
Speaker 1: from the game and they won't play it again because
Speaker 1: some of them will have been through this before somewhere well.
Speaker 1: And it has real it has real life implications on
Speaker 1: mortgages and yeah, people dropping hills and fuel bills and
Speaker 1: mortgages everything.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the whole thing. The whole thing happened
Speaker 2: at Sulford last year and a couple of players retired.
Speaker 2: I feel really sorry for Chris Hankinson because he went
Speaker 2: through it at Featherston and then he went through it
Speaker 2: at Salford and went through it at Salford Leeds. At
Speaker 2: least he's getting paid. But yeah, this is the guest
Speaker 2: lining of the players.
Speaker 1: Let's get ready for Saint Helen's to fold because Paul
Speaker 1: Roll is there.
Speaker 2: Well I didn't say that. I don't think that's going
Speaker 2: to happen.
Speaker 1: But no, no, But my point is he he was
Speaker 1: at too, he was at Toronto, coach at Toronto, he
Speaker 1: was a coach at Salford and so how he keeps
Speaker 1: his pecker up after that is amazing really too.
Speaker 2: But the thing with North Wales the future. Look, I'm
Speaker 2: working on a story that involves them. They probably will
Speaker 2: be out my day on Tuesday. It's a fairly major one,
Speaker 2: so I can't really talk too much about about that
Speaker 2: right now. But things are obviously happening. There's a wider
Speaker 2: play there and well none of it's good basically.
Speaker 1: Yeah, talking of upheaval, talking of carnage, talking of changes.
Speaker 1: There's at least four Super League clubs looking for a
Speaker 1: coach now. So the first crack, the first card dropped
Speaker 1: last week. I think John Cartwright was shown the door
Speaker 1: at the end of the year. M and Whull left
Speaker 1: c therefore need a new coach. Sorry. The first actual
Speaker 1: card was Willie Peters the week before saying he was
Speaker 1: going to PMNG. And then we have Joel Tompkins has
Speaker 1: gone a wall at Catalans Dragons and who's the other club, Udderfield?
Speaker 1: That was it. That was the first card to for
Speaker 1: I've messed up what I thought was an excellent way of.
Speaker 2: And you could say bred Arthur's future beyond this year
Speaker 2: is results.
Speaker 1: You know, you know why I've messed it up. John,
Speaker 1: It's because you've put me on the morning shift again.
Speaker 1: Not only that you were late for our morning shift
Speaker 1: by three minutes, and you've really impacted me because Manchester
Speaker 1: City played Chelsea and I can't sleep when man City
Speaker 1: are playing in the middle of the night. And I
Speaker 1: actually wanted to watch that game and I ended up
Speaker 1: watching some of it, so that's why I messed that up.
Speaker 2: So I was late because I was interviewing a source.
Speaker 2: So I'm very sorry.
Speaker 1: I don't care whether it's hp U, tom Ato Mate,
Speaker 1: whatever source. But yeah, so so four clubs maybe five
Speaker 1: looking for a coach, Well, do I need to come
Speaker 1: back over John and off of my services?
Speaker 2: Well, clearly. And you could say Sam Burgess doesn't have
Speaker 2: a contract for next year this so that's not a
Speaker 2: it's not like he's going to get sacked or anything obviously,
Speaker 2: but yeah, I mean that's another fluid situation. So yeah,
Speaker 2: it's it's it's interesting. And then when you look at
Speaker 2: mainly looking for a coach, aren't they st Georgia Lawa,
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 1: Will will be. Yeah, I think he might be looking
Speaker 1: for one. So yeah, I think fours in a row. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Belly eight might decide times. Look, anyway, let's
Speaker 1: go back to Super League. We've got some questions that
Speaker 1: relate to this. Oli W Clark, that's a very posh
Speaker 1: name for rugby league. What do you make of the
Speaker 1: Steve ma namaras situation? Will he go before the start
Speaker 1: of twenty seven? Carl has said no approach has been
Speaker 1: made at the fans for him. If he does go,
Speaker 1: likely candidates for Wire as new assistant coach or coach
Speaker 1: if Sam golds. At the end of twenty twenty six,
Speaker 1: Rugby League Fan Club said please discuss the John cart
Speaker 1: right the departure, So let's go with hule kr first.
Speaker 1: So for those who don't know, John Cartwright was told
Speaker 1: he wasn't What did I say? Guys don't record better
Speaker 1: when it's a bit later all FC John Cartwright was
Speaker 1: shown the door at the end of the year. Two
Speaker 1: of his family tweeted that he was devastated. So there
Speaker 1: was one of those bullshit statement that statements that come
Speaker 1: out and then reality leaked out somewhere and everybody assumes
Speaker 1: that Steve McNamara a whole FC boy who we've talked
Speaker 1: about for the last couple of months, potentially going back
Speaker 1: to Hull or we originally mentioned Hull k Are and
Speaker 1: Olie is asking if you'll go before the start of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven, Carl, I assume he's talking about the
Speaker 1: Warrington Wolfsey or so put some color into that situation.
Speaker 2: First for me, well, the car Rights situation first, I mean,
Speaker 2: I think we had well we didn't say or I
Speaker 2: didn't say he was going, but we said he was
Speaker 2: under pressure.
Speaker 1: What three weeks ago? Yeah, and what did we talked
Speaker 1: about Steve? What I said was, we're talking about Steve
Speaker 1: McNamara going back to Hall somewhere. So yeah, we've got
Speaker 1: no I'll explain what I heard. So I think it
Speaker 1: was before the Leeds left c game whenever that was,
Speaker 1: and I heard the car Right was under huge pressure.
Speaker 1: You know, they were going to get Steve mcnamary and
Speaker 1: and I was like, well that's big.
Speaker 2: And then you know the implication was if Leeds beat them,
Speaker 2: and Leeds were heavy favorites of that game, they were
Speaker 2: going to suck him. Now played great in that game
Speaker 2: and upset Leeds and obviously you ain't going to sack
Speaker 2: the coach after all. Well, I'm sure it's happened, but
Speaker 2: happen very often, does it. And then the next week
Speaker 2: they beat cat Lands, and then the week after that
Speaker 2: they lost the derby, and then what was it a
Speaker 2: day or two after the derby got sat Now, in
Speaker 2: between that, I spoke to another source who confirmed to
Speaker 2: me that John Cartwright was on thin ice. Now I'm
Speaker 2: not really exactly sure what the circumstances were, but it
Speaker 2: seems to be some sort of breakdown between the hierarchy
Speaker 2: of the club and John Cartwright. They weren't getting on
Speaker 2: and clearly they've decided to move him on. And as
Speaker 2: John cart Wright's daughter, and I think it's his former partner,
Speaker 2: although she goes by the cart right name Suzanne cart
Speaker 2: Wright on Facebook, I think it's his ex wife, but
Speaker 2: I'm not sure exactly. Both said you know he was
Speaker 2: going that and didn't see it coming, et cetera. So yeah,
Speaker 2: the the really interesting thing with this is Lee I
Speaker 2: was told by a couple of sources that the owner
Speaker 2: of LFC, and I believe the CEO, we're out in
Speaker 2: America and the master's big golfence. Now, the claim was
Speaker 2: that John Cartwright was told of his termination by email.
Speaker 2: Now I haven't put that to the club, and the
Speaker 2: club has strenuously denied that. So that's they say that's wrong.
Speaker 2: But yeah, It's a very strange situation because I think
Speaker 2: Cartwright did a great job last year. Things have not
Speaker 2: gone well this year, a lot of injuries, struggling for results.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I think I think the recruitment at LFC
Speaker 2: and this has been you know, it worked last year,
Speaker 2: but I saw a lot of old players, a lot
Speaker 2: of old players with injuries, and you know, I think
Speaker 2: the writing was on a wall a while ago when
Speaker 2: they signed so many senior players and it was like, well,
Speaker 2: this could work in the short term.
Speaker 1: But I'm going to cut this out and we'll put
Speaker 1: it in my podcast about and just change the words
Speaker 1: to Saint George illall Warre. It sounds like exactly the
Speaker 1: same problems. Let's let's let's look at what's on the
Speaker 1: table in front of us. So who's firming for the
Speaker 1: whole k Are job? If anybody I'm talking about whole
Speaker 1: k Are now, well.
Speaker 2: We didn't well I'll just quickly add to that. So
Speaker 2: Steve McNamara a bit. I think it's been reported that
Speaker 2: Holly of C wants Steve McNamara now Warrington. My understanding
Speaker 2: they're holding firm. He's got a two year deal to
Speaker 2: go another year to run after this, some people have
Speaker 2: even suggested that they'd line up mcnamaraon to take over
Speaker 2: from Burgess at the end of the year. I don't
Speaker 2: know if that's true or not.
Speaker 1: That answers allays the question.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I mean there's still there's still a lot
Speaker 2: of people saying that McNamara will be the Hordes Sea.
Speaker 2: I I honestly don't know how it'll go. I imagine
Speaker 2: if McNamara wants to go, you know, he's got his
Speaker 2: heart set on and who will end up there. But
Speaker 2: Warringtons seemed to be holding firm at at the moment
Speaker 2: and he by allccount has made a big difference at
Speaker 2: Warrington this year. Steve matter are obviously a very good coach,
Speaker 2: that leans et cetera. Yeah, okay, okay, yeah that one.
Speaker 2: My understanding is that the club isn't They're not in
Speaker 2: any rush to hire a coach. Obviously, Willy Peters is
Speaker 2: there the rest of the season. They're going quite well
Speaker 2: at the moment. Michael Ernis is a name that I
Speaker 2: was told is interested in the job. Now. I spoke
Speaker 2: to Lake and the CEO he said he has not
Speaker 2: applied as of yet.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you how that will have come about.
Speaker 1: Who's Willie Peters his manager and astor Michael and its
Speaker 1: works for Fox? Hey Graith, do you mind telling him?
Speaker 1: Do you mind telling? Ok? I am interested in that job.
Speaker 2: Well, as I said, but Paul Aiken has told me
Speaker 2: he hasn't applied for the job. Yeah, I guess we will.
Speaker 2: We'll see how that lands. I think I think will
Speaker 2: have a number of applicants. I mean, I think they'd
Speaker 2: be mad if if Anthony Sebo wants to job to
Speaker 2: appoint him. But yeah, I think I think they'll be
Speaker 2: a numbering. I mean Adrian Lamb I think has been
Speaker 2: reported in the sound as a contender. I don't know
Speaker 2: if that's.
Speaker 1: Uddersfield to Adrian Lamb anyone?
Speaker 2: Uh well, I think I think on another podcast, MARKL
Speaker 2: Monahan has been mentioned. I've not really heard much about
Speaker 2: the Huddersfield job. Look, I think about out of all
Speaker 2: the jobs that are available, that's the least attractive for
Speaker 2: a number of reasons.
Speaker 1: I reckon Ralph rimoral coaching and unleashed is a director
Speaker 1: of change. So what bigger change can you have than
Speaker 1: Ralph being the coach? And what's going on at the
Speaker 1: Catalans John so one news organization said that Joel Tompkins
Speaker 1: had left with immediate effects and then changed it during
Speaker 1: the during the day and noticed when nobody else.
Speaker 2: Ran it, what did they change it to?
Speaker 1: And they changed it to set to leave, right, Okay?
Speaker 2: Essentially Yeah, Well, to be honest, the Catalans one seems
Speaker 2: to have come completely from left field. I think it
Speaker 2: was the claim was personal reasons, wasn't it. Now. I've
Speaker 2: spoken a few people who've you know, one person said
Speaker 2: he's heard four different stories about it. Yeah, personal reasons
Speaker 2: can mean anything, kind of can't It can mean you're homesick.
Speaker 2: It can mean you've got a relative who's sick. Anything.
Speaker 2: It could mean a marriage break down. I honestly don't know,
Speaker 2: or I know mental health exactly, and hopefully it's none
Speaker 2: of those.
Speaker 1: I don't like from anything, it could be anything.
Speaker 2: Well, I think Joel conference has not been coaching there
Speaker 2: for a couple of games. It's been Ryan Sheridan.
Speaker 1: So you know what this reminds me of. It reminds
Speaker 1: me of how when Steve McNamara was leaving not leaving
Speaker 1: last year, it came out that he was leaving, but
Speaker 1: then it was never confirmed by the club. Until literally
Speaker 1: about three months later.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that my understanding is because he was sacked. There
Speaker 2: is actually I legal there is some kind of legal
Speaker 2: precedent or rule in France that you can't until an
Speaker 2: agreement has been reached. The club isn't allowed to make
Speaker 2: an official court It's quite I believe it's a strange
Speaker 2: French thing.
Speaker 1: Maybe Joel Tompkins has been sackling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I don't think that's the case, but
Speaker 2: honestly I can't. I don't know. It's just Cataloans are
Speaker 2: a club because of their location and because of the
Speaker 2: size of the rugby leading, but they don't get a
Speaker 2: huge amount of local coverage under or coverage from the UK.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's a real strange one, like right on
Speaker 2: the eve of their Challenge Cup QUARTERFORI which they got
Speaker 2: easily beaten apparently.
Speaker 1: And one of the beauties about being French team and
Speaker 1: being French people is they can quite often decide what
Speaker 1: English they do and don't understand at key stages as
Speaker 1: well when it comes when it comes to deciphering messages
Speaker 1: that are going across the channel. So when it suits
Speaker 1: them they can they can behind that.
Speaker 2: I think if you look at them In more recent
Speaker 2: times the coaches have been English. The assistance at the
Speaker 2: moment of English and Australian, and the majority of their
Speaker 2: squad what they fall back one wing, one center or
Speaker 2: at least two maybe two centers. Both their half backs
Speaker 2: de hook are, a lot of their back rowers are
Speaker 2: all posities are English or Pacific Islanders.
Speaker 1: So I'm mark Addison's prediction there's been a fallout that
Speaker 1: has led to you go, mister Tomkins, and it might
Speaker 1: be the personal reasons thing is being agreed to. I
Speaker 1: don't yeah so, and then they're doing the French legal
Speaker 1: thing too, honestly conspiracy theory at this stage.
Speaker 2: I know the cloud Blashie was was a shambles. I
Speaker 2: know they were supposed to sign another half back, which
Speaker 2: they never did. I think the new travel cost of
Speaker 2: what a million euros has hit them hard so they
Speaker 2: don't spend as much on the cap. There was also
Speaker 2: the Arthur marg situation where they never offered him a
Speaker 2: new contract, so he went the whole car and it
Speaker 2: was great r And then obviously their sacks Steve McNamara,
Speaker 2: and my understanding is that they didn't even interview anyone
Speaker 2: for the job. They just gave it to John Tompkins,
Speaker 2: who'd never been a head coach, so that was bizarre.
Speaker 2: Paul McGregor wanted the job, was even in France at
Speaker 2: one point in that purpose at a game, but they
Speaker 2: didn't interview him. And yeah, it's very strange club. Not
Speaker 2: really sure what's what's going on over there at the Dragons.
Speaker 1: We've got Honestly, if anybody's listening to this podcast for
Speaker 1: the first time and they'll think they were never ever
Speaker 1: going to watch the rugby league in England. It's not like.
Speaker 2: We've got to get onto the Wakefield Wigan Gang because
Speaker 2: that was probably not seen it leave. I was bloody.
Speaker 1: I definitely haven't seen it because you're making me do
Speaker 1: a podcast at after clock. But also this is what
Speaker 1: sets our podcast apart because none of the other podcasts
Speaker 1: talk in detail about this stuff, right, and none of
Speaker 1: them none of them give well mate, I can think
Speaker 1: of maybe one that give serious analysis and thought to
Speaker 1: what might actually be going on and critique so poetry
Speaker 1: and poetry, you know. So yeah, Deloitte have been handled
Speaker 1: to sorry, I have been appointed to handle investment offers
Speaker 1: for the Rugby Football League and Ben Blackwell, our regular
Speaker 1: contributor hey Ben has asked if that's appointment is a
Speaker 1: ploy from Super League and the Rugby Football League to
Speaker 1: strong arm the NRL into coughing up money for any
Speaker 1: potential deal.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's too strong, but it's definitely
Speaker 2: too properly about. I always told us to properly evaluate
Speaker 2: an offer from the RL. That's opinion. Yeah. I mean
Speaker 2: our old commercial are saying they don't have the expertise to.
Speaker 1: Really do that introspection from somebody in rugby league. I
Speaker 1: don't know. I don't know about that, so I'm going
Speaker 1: to hire somebody who does.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that's a rare thing. I think we need
Speaker 1: to praise that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think the interesting questions would be
Speaker 2: which I have already put to the r phone and unsurprisingly,
Speaker 2: three days later, I've had no response.
Speaker 1: Maybe they need to get consultancies on how to answer
Speaker 1: emails and the phone.
Speaker 2: Well, just a proper media relations department. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean how much a delight getting paid? How long
Speaker 2: does the appointment go for? Like? Yeah, but they're not.
Speaker 2: I think a lot of people see it and they're like, oh, well,
Speaker 2: what's this to do with IMG? You know? They're replacing it.
Speaker 2: It's completely separate. Yeah, yeah, but it's interesting. Yeah. I
Speaker 2: think Andrew ab Do. Abdo must be touching down in
Speaker 2: a couple of days or sometime next week, so we
Speaker 2: shall see.
Speaker 1: Great segue this because the RFL CEO interim is now
Speaker 1: going to move to Saint Helens. So you tried to
Speaker 1: get us started by Wigan. Have you seen how well
Speaker 1: planned this podcast is job despite the tight time scales of.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's a bit of a as I think I
Speaker 2: said on Twitter, it's a bit of a left field one.
Speaker 1: Why is it left field? Is a rugby league person? Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's a rugby league person getting a rugby league job.
Speaker 1: Why is that left field?
Speaker 2: He's a rugby league person who was out of rugby
Speaker 2: league for twenty years I think from two thousand and six.
Speaker 2: Apparently worked in property management, but doesn't seem to have
Speaker 2: any online profile of what that was or what he did,
Speaker 2: and then just sort of last year popped out of
Speaker 2: nowhere as part of the niger Wood Review Group and
Speaker 2: then was kind of shoehorned into this interim CEO position
Speaker 2: at the RFL with kind of well there was no
Speaker 2: as my understanding, I could be wrong. There was no
Speaker 2: job hunt, no applications whatever. So it was obviously a
Speaker 2: close associate of Niger Wood, but he was only a
Speaker 2: pointed on an interi basis. And now he's ended up
Speaker 2: at Saint Helen's which is a club where Amy Manas
Speaker 2: is also a close supporter of Nigel Wood. So yeah,
Speaker 2: maybe I'm putting three and three together and getting fifty three,
Speaker 2: but seemed a bit of a surprise for me, a
Speaker 2: bit odd. I don't think he'd run an actual rugby
Speaker 2: league club since Bradford Balls about twenty two years ago.
Speaker 1: I do think he's been involved at lower levels of
Speaker 1: the game and internationally as well. I believe not for
Speaker 1: twenty years. No, I can categorically tell you that that's
Speaker 1: not true because I had a conversation with him involved
Speaker 1: in Nigerian rugby league, for example, who were trying to
Speaker 1: get into a World Cup, and that was within the
Speaker 1: last twenty years, So it's yeah, you know so. But
Speaker 1: he definitely hasn't been a ceover club war anything like that.
Speaker 1: And like you say, there's probably no record of where
Speaker 1: he's been in rugby league over those last twenty but
Speaker 1: I think he's been in and around Rugby League. I
Speaker 1: don't think they just I don't think Nigel would would
Speaker 1: have just gone through his phone. Who can make the interim?
Speaker 2: See, I don't know about that. I don't know about
Speaker 2: that league. I don't really.
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe he's part of the Curry club. You've had
Speaker 1: issues over there with the broadcast again Super League Plus
Speaker 1: whatever that is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well super League Class is the streaming platform that
Speaker 2: the Super League runs. So basically he was around the
Speaker 2: Challenge Cup weekend this weekend the quarterfinals. Now they had
Speaker 2: two games on the BBC, the whole k York game
Speaker 2: on Saturday and the weekend Wakeful game today on Sunday.
Speaker 2: The other two games Saint Helen's cat Lands on Friday
Speaker 2: night and Warrington Lee on Saturday afternoon. We're on Super
Speaker 2: League Plus. Now, what they did was people can subscribe
Speaker 2: a superl in Plus of the year, but they made
Speaker 2: them as pay per view events, so I think you
Speaker 2: could pie one for about eight quid and the other
Speaker 2: one for thirteen, or both of them for thirteen or something.
Speaker 2: A lot of people were pissed off about this. A
Speaker 2: lot of people were like, well every game, well, these
Speaker 2: games should be on Freday air and I do get
Speaker 2: that argument. And obviously, in an ideal world I would
Speaker 2: be I'd be happy to see that. But the simple
Speaker 2: fact is, I mean I'm pretty sure in recently is
Speaker 2: the BBC has never shown all the quarterfinals shown never. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And the simple reality le is a lot of people
Speaker 2: don't want to hear this, but there isn't the market
Speaker 2: there to guarantee the ratings or the audience to make
Speaker 2: it viable for the broadcasters. No, the BBC doesn't want
Speaker 2: to show all four of them. Sky doesn't want to
Speaker 2: show all four of them. So if we want the
Speaker 2: games on, we have to do it ourselves, and obviously
Speaker 2: we have to charge. Now that's the reality of the
Speaker 2: sports broadcasting market that we live in at the moment.
Speaker 2: You know, people don't want to pay. And I understand
Speaker 2: that I didn't pay. I went to the Warrington game
Speaker 2: and covered it, but I didn't pay for the Sanhalan's
Speaker 2: game because I pay one hundred and twenty quide a
Speaker 2: month for Sky, and I pay one hundred and twenty
Speaker 2: quid for every year for Watch NROL. Like I think
Speaker 2: I spend enough on.
Speaker 1: About doing a pay per view for two blocks fighting
Speaker 1: in the street. Really, well, it's like the Tyson Fury.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you watch that. I watched that
Speaker 1: on Netflix. I mean, that was a terrible fight. I'm
Speaker 1: glad it wasn't pay per view, but yeah, so a
Speaker 1: lot of people pissed off. And then the point that
Speaker 1: I think is really crucial is people who paid for
Speaker 1: it then said it was a crap service. It dropped out.
Speaker 2: It wouldn't. So if you're gonna charge people for a stream,
Speaker 2: if me and you that's then example, you're going to
Speaker 2: Womberley and you're getting a stream of the club you
Speaker 2: coach there, and you're going to charge people five dollars
Speaker 2: or ten dollars whatever you want it to work. Because
Speaker 2: it drops people, you've ripped me off. So I think
Speaker 2: that's part of the problem. And I believe yesterday similar
Speaker 2: things happened with the Warrington game. The stream wasn't very good,
Speaker 2: it dropped out. For a lot of people say you've
Speaker 2: got to make sure these things work.
Speaker 3: And how much are the charging for this service? Well,
Speaker 3: the service these games were a one off. I think
Speaker 3: I think for the year a pass which gives you
Speaker 3: every Super League game is like maybe one hundred and
Speaker 3: twenty quid a year. Or something like that.
Speaker 2: It's not like it's reasonable, but these games were a
Speaker 2: one off, so you could buy one of them for
Speaker 2: e quid or you could buy both thirteen quid. But
Speaker 2: the thing is with the streaming. And I remember this year,
Speaker 2: I think it was twenty sixteen when England went down
Speaker 2: to Sydney and played somehow when Wayne Bennett was coached,
Speaker 2: and they did a stream that was like three quid
Speaker 2: and a lot of people got pissed off, but the
Speaker 2: stream was terrible. It worked for people, so you got
Speaker 2: to You've got to make sure.
Speaker 1: I remember I remember in twenty thirteen when I was
Speaker 1: with America at the World Cup and we tried to
Speaker 1: watch another group game that would that would decide if
Speaker 1: we were going through to the quarter finals, and we
Speaker 1: tried to stream it because of whatever TV deal had done.
Speaker 1: I can't exactly remember. This is twenty thirteen. I think
Speaker 1: it was Stata or whatever it was for Premier Sports.
Speaker 1: Actually yeah, but there were some games that weren't on
Speaker 1: or you could only stream or well yea. Honestly, I
Speaker 1: would compare it to trying to watch the moon landing
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 2: And one step.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well there wasn't even that one small step.
Speaker 2: It was stick.
Speaker 1: It was it was Grainy would not do what we
Speaker 1: were watching justice basically, and that was twenty thirteen, not
Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen. So rugby league's got a bit of a
Speaker 1: history of this anyway. Look for all these news new
Speaker 1: people to rugby league that think the sports are basket case,
Speaker 1: one thing that always saves rugby league is the players.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about the games now. So there was
Speaker 1: a game between St. Helens and Catalans on Friday. The
Speaker 1: result was Tristan Sailor fourteen everyone else at Saint Helens
Speaker 1: twenty two Catalans four. Other tries from Saint Helens were
Speaker 1: from Murphy, Davis, Dagnall Whitby who scored two and Whitby
Speaker 1: also kicked a goal compared to Sailors five and for
Speaker 1: Tarpi scored Catalan's only try. Look, I think what's going
Speaker 1: on at Catalans is obviously affecting those lads.
Speaker 2: Two.
Speaker 1: They didn't have a bad start to the season. Catalan
Speaker 1: They've been up and down. Really, they've not been consistent.
Speaker 2: They've had some good performances and some prat ones and
Speaker 2: I think getting the win over to loose the week
Speaker 2: before was a was a better one in a tough game.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean the news comes out of your
Speaker 2: coach has gone the day of the game, You're going
Speaker 2: away to Saint Helens and Helen's coming off a good Friday,
Speaker 2: a good Friday derby win. I think most people expected
Speaker 2: it to be a Ston Helen's winning. It was pretty comfortable.
Speaker 1: Now do you know could you couldn't watch it? Tyro
Speaker 1: Tyron May Yeah, a Tyrone May hat trick helped ol
Speaker 1: KR to beat York forty eight ten or The tries
Speaker 1: came from Sue Broadbent with bred Lewis Burgess. Goals were
Speaker 1: from Martin who kicked for Lewis kick three and listen,
Speaker 1: why are so many different people kicking York? They have
Speaker 1: tries from Harrison and Harrison also it's a goal. I'm
Speaker 1: starting to get worried about York mate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean again, walking wounded, missing a lot of
Speaker 2: top players, and you just got to remember they're on
Speaker 2: half the money of the other clubs, just promoted into
Speaker 2: Super League, got no academy. Yeah, it's it's going to
Speaker 2: be tough for them, and it's starting to get tougher.
Speaker 2: And I think this game was always going to be
Speaker 2: a whole car win. It would just mattered really depending
Speaker 2: on how much. And I think the whole asking it
Speaker 2: scored a minute and thirty into the game and then
Speaker 2: it was one way traffic. If you haven't seen the
Speaker 2: Mikey Lewis try, I'm not sure if you have Lee,
Speaker 2: but go and watch it because it was brilliant. He
Speaker 2: chips over regathers just before the ball goes out in
Speaker 2: the deadline, gets it down. Pure moment of brilliant skill.
Speaker 2: So that was that was a brilliant. But yeah, whole
Speaker 2: care Look, York could struggling a back big time, doing
Speaker 2: it tough and whole care where I was told by
Speaker 2: someone who was at the game that they're in second gear.
Speaker 2: But you know, another another big wig for them. I
Speaker 2: smashed in Hounds, I beat HOLLI of c beat York
Speaker 2: into the cops and we falls there starting to hit
Speaker 2: a bit of former would say.
Speaker 1: Warrington Wolfstone course for a third consecutive Challenge Cup final
Speaker 1: and they beat Lee twenty four to ten, which was
Speaker 1: a bit better for Lee than the forty two six
Speaker 1: that they got hammered last week. Tries for Warrington by
Speaker 1: Walker King and Coury scored two goals were four from
Speaker 1: Snaide Sneid. Lee scored ten and that was Senior and Lamb.
Speaker 1: What too great surnames there. Senior related to Keith Senior?
Speaker 1: No okay, Lamb and Cook. Cook's also a famous rugby league.
Speaker 1: Rugby league as well. They scored They scored ten. I
Speaker 1: remember Lockie Lamb when he was born. What was that
Speaker 1: game like? Or was that I was, yeah, and I
Speaker 1: was at that game. It wasn't look it was a
Speaker 1: tight contest. It wasn't a great game. There was a
Speaker 1: lot of errors Lee were riding.
Speaker 2: It was gritty. It was six all a half time right,
Speaker 2: and then a bit of a turning point when Josh
Speaker 2: Lewis got sin bin for dissent, which Sam Burgess wasn't
Speaker 2: particularly happy about after the game. And then Lee went
Speaker 2: down the field other end of the field and scored
Speaker 2: when Warrington had twelve men and you thought, oh, here
Speaker 2: we go, Lee are gonna sneak a result here, and
Speaker 2: then they kick off and Mulhourne drops it from the
Speaker 2: kickoff and Warrington score well. Also, I forget I missed
Speaker 2: the point that Lee's goal kicking on Saturday was horrendous.
Speaker 2: They missed.
Speaker 1: Not mine, Lee Leopards, not mine. I can kick them
Speaker 1: from anywhere, mate.
Speaker 2: The Leopards go kicking was horrendous.
Speaker 1: Walk up and kick the blood.
Speaker 2: Yer Mulharn knocks on Warrenton score with twelve men. The
Speaker 2: momentum shifts and they put on a couple of tries
Speaker 2: and yeah it was it was a look, it was
Speaker 2: courageous from Warrington to come back. Showed a bit of heart,
Speaker 2: a bit of grit to turn that around. I think
Speaker 2: for Lee Leopards. Adrian Lamb was pretty gutted at the
Speaker 2: end because his team they had a puppy back which
Speaker 2: made a big difference, and they had a lot of
Speaker 2: players back actually and it wasn't improved performance, but they
Speaker 2: just couldn't get the result. They just kind of shot
Speaker 2: themselves in the foot a bit of late. So they
Speaker 2: exit the Cup and Warrington and well I've only one
Speaker 2: lost one game all of this year and the end
Speaker 2: of the cup. Sam Burgess likes the Challenge Cup, doesn't
Speaker 2: he third final in a row? Yeah, look, look Warrenton,
Speaker 2: it wasn't it. They didn't play, they didn't play well,
Speaker 2: but look they won and they certainly was convincing. Yeah
Speaker 2: it was. It was convincing in the end, but it
Speaker 2: wasn't a great performance. But if you're a Warrington fan,
Speaker 2: you've lost one game all year, So happy days, I
Speaker 2: would say.
Speaker 1: And the game you've been so keen to talk about
Speaker 1: a thriller at Bellevue Wakefield twenty two Wigan twenty six
Speaker 1: tries for Wakefield Truman is he related to Fred Truman,
Speaker 1: the bowler, rod Well, Johnston and Scott and three goals
Speaker 1: from Jowett. Wigan had tries from may Goal, Marshall, Field
Speaker 1: and Eckersley who scored two, and Kieran kicked three goals.
Speaker 1: So please talk about this game, John, you've been desperate too.
Speaker 2: Well, I couldn't I couldn't go to Bellvue because I
Speaker 2: had a family commitment, so I watched on the box
Speaker 2: and it was just it was just great theater, great drama.
Speaker 2: It's packed. Bellevue look great on the box. Wakefield when
Speaker 2: I had twelve nil and you thought, oh here we go,
Speaker 2: it's going to be a massive apps well, a fair upset,
Speaker 2: you know, three losses of the Rover Wi Wigan came
Speaker 2: right back into it, even and up, and then it
Speaker 2: was you know, for try, there was a lot of
Speaker 2: nickel in it. Justevanga kicked I think it was Harry
Speaker 2: Smith got you know, and then pretended he got hurt,
Speaker 2: but he still got a yellow card which was a
Speaker 2: stupid thing from him, and there was Yeah, there was
Speaker 2: a lot of niggle in it and yeah warrnt sorry
Speaker 2: Wigan you know, basically fought back Wakefield right in it.
Speaker 2: But just some great some great tries. And the key
Speaker 2: moment apart from brand O'Neill at the end, who some
Speaker 2: key defensive stops right when Wakefer looked like they're about
Speaker 2: to score eight, was Patrick Margo, who I think he
Speaker 2: came from the canber Raiders, and I think he's originally
Speaker 2: a Queenslander or of Samoan heritage. He's a big unit.
Speaker 2: He's you know, he usually comes off the bench and plays,
Speaker 2: you know, twenty minutes and just runs over blokes and
Speaker 2: he's having a great season. He gets the ball and
Speaker 2: throws a cutout pass past three I think three, ye know,
Speaker 2: from past three of his teammate. It spots the gap
Speaker 2: on the wait for the left edge and finds Kiraan
Speaker 2: who draws the winger and puts his winger over and
Speaker 2: just brilliant bit of skill from a one hundred and
Speaker 2: thirty kind round Blake.
Speaker 1: I'm having to laugh because I was driving home from
Speaker 1: to Umba yesterday listening to the Continuous Call team, and
Speaker 1: you know, Daryl Browlman was on the commentary and somebody
Speaker 1: playing for West Tigers for a caught out pass and
Speaker 1: Daryl said, and somebody said to Daryl, did you ever
Speaker 1: do that? Did you ever do that?
Speaker 2: Daryl?
Speaker 1: He went and he responded, did you ever see me play?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: And he said I did it plenty in reserve grade
Speaker 1: when I didn't care about the result. And Darryl Browleman
Speaker 1: was a prop.
Speaker 2: So yeah, well he was a very skillful I don't know. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I remember him as much as I know. He was
Speaker 2: a very skillful big man, skillful plot but you don't
Speaker 2: You don't see a lot of middles in the modern
Speaker 2: game with hands like that or the ability to throw
Speaker 2: that pass and win a game. And that's effectively what
Speaker 2: he did. But it was, it was the best game.
Speaker 2: We always knew it was going to be the best
Speaker 2: matchup of the four court finals than it was by
Speaker 2: a country mole.
Speaker 1: Like I said in the Fantastic Poetry at the start.
Speaker 1: Wakefield haven't lost since February, so big win for Wigham
Speaker 1: that James Harvey asked us, we're going to the questions now,
Speaker 1: is there going to be any more Super League player movement?
Speaker 1: I would imagine there'll be a few lolls.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I look, I think everyone's trying to
Speaker 2: get players, but there's just hardly any players out there.
Speaker 2: And unless I'm not sure, is it usually the NRL
Speaker 2: when they start cutting a few players who become on
Speaker 2: the market or for next year that maybe someone will
Speaker 2: come in. But it's very hard for clubs to try
Speaker 2: and get players. You look at Castleford. They tried to
Speaker 2: offload Zach sonny weeks ago and then they lost their
Speaker 2: two fullbacks and now he's playing a fullback every week
Speaker 2: and they can't get someone in. So it's very difficult.
Speaker 2: And you know, there's not a lot of players either
Speaker 2: in the championship or the money to get players either.
Speaker 2: So yeah, every and every club is doing a tough
Speaker 2: on the injury front.
Speaker 1: So just get your sorry, get your get your Facebook
Speaker 1: ready just in case I miss any of these questions
Speaker 1: when I'm going through because because John's made me get
Speaker 1: up at Sparrow's fart again, I might have missed some.
Speaker 1: Craig cecil Winfield asked he would like to talk more
Speaker 1: around the camera angles and quality of the replays when
Speaker 1: it comes to the video refer and how it affects
Speaker 1: the integrity of the game. I think that's a great
Speaker 1: question from from Craig cecil Winfield. What about the posh
Speaker 1: names that we're getting on socials. You are Johnny D Davidson,
Speaker 1: So I reckon that's a great question. I mean I
Speaker 1: always used to think the integrity of the game in
Speaker 1: the older Super League days when only two games had
Speaker 1: a video referee and the rest had in goal touch judges,
Speaker 1: so that that affects the integrity. You know, one of
Speaker 1: the key things about a fish. One of the first
Speaker 1: rules is they've got you've got They've got to try
Speaker 1: and make sure that the game that happens in let's
Speaker 1: say Castleford is refereed and official official to exactly the
Speaker 1: same standards as what may happen in York or in
Speaker 1: Wigan or wherever. It never is and it never is,
Speaker 1: it never is. So to that question, what do you
Speaker 1: think of the video referee angles?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it comes down look I'm not an
Speaker 2: expert on broadcast, but I think it comes down if
Speaker 2: we're say, comparing it to what happens in the NRL.
Speaker 2: They're doing it on so much a lower budget. There's
Speaker 2: less cameras, no bunker. Steve Mascod wrote a really good
Speaker 2: piece for Patreon this week, basically saying one of the
Speaker 2: reasons out in the NRL they kind of know that
Speaker 2: with the video referee, if they take too long, you're
Speaker 2: going to get so much heat in the media, not
Speaker 2: even and you know they'll kick on super Yeah, any
Speaker 2: scrutiny now, So yeah, look it's not it's not great.
Speaker 1: Look what about the integrity of it? John? That was
Speaker 1: a question from Crazy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a tough one. I mean you could say
Speaker 2: that I can agree with that, Like, how many years
Speaker 2: do we have where we had two video referees and
Speaker 2: four non video referee games, so many incidents that never
Speaker 2: got picked up or tries that were given. I remember
Speaker 2: I used to watch the highlights and how did they
Speaker 2: not give been going on for ages? I think I
Speaker 2: think it is tough. I think with the video referees
Speaker 2: it may be means it needs to be. Okay, we
Speaker 2: want the right decision, but try and get there as
Speaker 2: quickly as possible, because some you do watch a few,
Speaker 2: and there was one in the Wakefield game today, Tom
Speaker 2: Johnston scored an outrageous try in the corner. He was
Speaker 2: nowhere near the sideline. It was slip passing. You know,
Speaker 2: it didn't need a two minute review. You know, sometimes
Speaker 2: just let's just have the confidence to give a try
Speaker 2: and if we are going to review it, just review
Speaker 2: it very very quickly.
Speaker 1: Kio asked us. He asked us two questions. One was
Speaker 1: about the NRL, which I'll save for the NRL section,
Speaker 1: but he did ask who makes a Grand Final in
Speaker 1: the UK for me, Wigan versus Leeds. I have no
Speaker 1: idea who would win though, if you're making a far
Speaker 1: too early prediction now, John, I assume it wouldn't be
Speaker 1: York And to lose.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, if you're in America prediction right now,
Speaker 2: you'd probably have Leeds and Warrington. But I think I
Speaker 2: think Leeds, Warrington, Wigan and howk a are I would
Speaker 2: expect the two teams to probably come from from one
Speaker 2: of those. Word. I think it could be Saint Helens,
Speaker 2: but I'm not being convinced. I'm not being convinced by
Speaker 2: them this year or the recruitment. I know they've got
Speaker 2: a lot of injuries and then obviously Lee are struggling.
Speaker 2: Who else have we got I mean Hall of c
Speaker 2: and not showing March Catalans have not shown much. I
Speaker 2: don't think any of the promoted to will be that
Speaker 2: high up come September. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Did I miss any questions on your Facebook?
Speaker 2: No? I think you got them all.
Speaker 1: Okay, we did get questions about the testing new thing,
Speaker 1: but we discussed before we recorded that we did cover
Speaker 1: that quite significantly at the time. So yeah, we're just
Speaker 1: want to leave it there because there's legal ramifications or
Speaker 1: not legal ramifications. I don't know legal right, All right, well,
Speaker 1: we'll just leave it there anyway, but except all we'll
Speaker 1: say is the optics not fantastic. NRL Penrith loss there
Speaker 1: unbeaten start John.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't. I didn't say this game, so I'm
Speaker 2: not really sure what happened. But actually I totally I
Speaker 2: did see a little bit of it. But yeah, hell
Speaker 2: of a hell of a effort by the dog. He's
Speaker 2: have been under pressure. I mean, Canterbury kind of our Penrith,
Speaker 2: b aren't they They've got an next Penrith coach, next
Speaker 2: Penrith backraw or a next Penrith center and next Penrith six.
Speaker 1: And in them.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it seemed like a great game. And look,
Speaker 2: I think everyone was basically saying Penrith give them the title.
Speaker 2: Now they've already wont it. It just goes to show
Speaker 2: they're not they're not invincible. They're very, very good team.
Speaker 2: But you know, you've still got to get down in
Speaker 2: the grand fall, and you've got to run into some
Speaker 2: form and you've got to perform in the big moment.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, But two
Speaker 1: of the teams under pressure this week, Well, Dragons, they're
Speaker 1: always on perennially under pressure there at the moment. But
Speaker 1: Melbourne Storm four losses on the bounce under Craig Bellamy,
Speaker 1: I think for the first time since A three when
Speaker 1: they weren't the Storm that we know them as now.
Speaker 1: So is that a fact? Is that the first time sink?
Speaker 2: Wow? That's crazy. Yeah, I didn't see this game. Look,
Speaker 2: I still think, you know, if you Craig bell me
Speaker 2: there if though I lost another ten in a row,
Speaker 2: like they're not going to sack him.
Speaker 1: I think what what the pressure is though? To be fair,
Speaker 1: is has has Craig Bellamy time come to a natural end?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I don't we can judge that yet.
Speaker 1: No, but we can certainly start to consider it as
Speaker 1: a as a potential stormer down in thirteenth at the
Speaker 1: moment as the ladder stands. I mean, the problem with
Speaker 1: the NRL ladder though, is you get two points for
Speaker 1: a bye? Why would you get two points for not
Speaker 1: playing a game? I just don't understand that at all,
Speaker 1: because it just makes the ladder so so skewed with
Speaker 1: I want to talk about something else, Jo, Sorry.
Speaker 2: Well, we'll talk about the targets. Yeah, the second in
Speaker 2: the NRL not second? Top are the top? Well? There
Speaker 2: were there were second when I loved this morning.
Speaker 1: They're actually third. I think we're both throng.
Speaker 2: What are there? One? Four from five?
Speaker 1: Thank on? It pounds at the top. What is the second?
Speaker 1: West Tigers are third? Nights or fourth? There you go.
Speaker 2: That's what a start. That's that's going to be the
Speaker 2: best start that West Tigers have had since what twenty eleven?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, apparently fifteen years. Yeah. I think it's just great.
Speaker 2: It's great to see, you know, Benji Marshall doing well,
Speaker 2: the Tiger's doing well. Yeah, yeah, those those bands. If
Speaker 2: you're a Tiger's fan, you have been through it for fifteen.
Speaker 1: Years and again the continuous call team yes, team yesterday said.
Speaker 1: One of the things about West Tigers is it in
Speaker 1: the recent history they tended to have not had too
Speaker 1: many grubby players, so they're actually quite a popular side.
Speaker 1: There's not many people who hate on the West Tigers
Speaker 1: per se. I mean, obviously in the old Bow days
Speaker 1: a little bit different. In the old West Magpie's days
Speaker 1: may have been a little bit different. But West Tigers
Speaker 1: are actually quite popular because Benji Marshall was such an
Speaker 1: integral part of their early years and he's a very
Speaker 1: very very popular player.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think it was my own experience Balmain,
Speaker 2: particularly eighties and early nineties. I think they were quite
Speaker 2: popular because they just had some They had brilliant players.
Speaker 2: You know, Has had Junior Pierce and they had Gary
Speaker 2: Jack and maybe Danny Alas wasn't popular but he was
Speaker 2: a good player. Steve roach zero, you know, they had
Speaker 2: they were they were a great team.
Speaker 1: But I'm thinking I started talking about from the general
Speaker 1: rugby league popular So you might be a Bulldog fan,
Speaker 1: but you won't necessarily hate the Tigers. You might be
Speaker 1: a but you won't hate the Tiger.
Speaker 2: I agree. I don't think they're a team that's ever
Speaker 2: been hated much. And I think I remember the two
Speaker 2: thousand and five year when they just played out standing
Speaker 2: in the camp from nowhere. You know it's probably far Benji, Marshall,
Speaker 2: Scott Prince, you know that were just great to watch
Speaker 2: and I think I think that, yeah, that was kind
Speaker 2: of my I'd probably say my second team. I've always
Speaker 2: had a bit of a soft spot for Balmaine, and yeah,
Speaker 2: I love to watch Benji as a player and great
Speaker 2: to say him doing well, good for the good for now.
Speaker 1: Now again, this isn't a NRL phone fest either, because
Speaker 1: John I turned off. I live in Brisbane. I turned
Speaker 1: off some rugby league this week. I did twice. I
Speaker 1: intended to watch some rugby league for a sustained period
Speaker 1: and I turned it off. And that's because it's turned
Speaker 1: into a points fest. So let me give you some statistics.
Speaker 1: This weekend alone, there's been four hundred and sixty four
Speaker 1: points scored, so that's an average of fifty eight points
Speaker 1: a game. So on average every game was thirty twenty
Speaker 1: eight something like that. Okay, on Friday, Manly got to
Speaker 1: a sixteen mill lead. I think it was I watched
Speaker 1: this game because of the implications for Shane Flanagan. I
Speaker 1: thought there was theater around that game. And you know,
Speaker 1: being imagine Shane Flanagan, a premiership winning coach, a mentor
Speaker 1: who has been around for a long time, loses his
Speaker 1: job after losing to a coach who's coaching his second
Speaker 1: game of rugby league. I think, I think that's a
Speaker 1: great narrative, right And I knew, Saint George, we're going
Speaker 1: to come back. Because I know I recognized as a
Speaker 1: coach for so long that recognized patterns in the game.
Speaker 1: I know what's going to happen. I tried to watch
Speaker 1: the Broncos and the Cowboys, and I'm giving you my
Speaker 1: honest assessment with somebody who rugby leagues in my DNA
Speaker 1: or it's my blood type. And I tried to watch
Speaker 1: the Broncos and Cowboys. I thought this is going to
Speaker 1: be a trifest I turned it off and watch something else,
Speaker 1: and one of my friends was talking to me as
Speaker 1: a Cowboys fan, and I said, don't worry your team
Speaker 1: will come back and guess what happened, and they were
Speaker 1: going through the emotional rollercoaster, and I kept saying, don't
Speaker 1: worry that the game will mill bounce back. And then
Speaker 1: I tried to watch some of Canberra and South the Saturday,
Speaker 1: and it was twenty l or twenty two four or
Speaker 1: something at halftime to Canberra, and I thought, well, I'll
Speaker 1: watch something else. I'll keep an eye on the score
Speaker 1: and either Canberra will run away with it and score
Speaker 1: fifty or South will come back. And I turned it
Speaker 1: back on when it was twenty four to twenty two, right,
Speaker 1: So this isn't the rugby league that so many of
Speaker 1: us know, John, I think the strength of rugby league
Speaker 1: has been if you watch soccer football, you can go
Speaker 1: now twenty minutes without seeing a goal. Sometimes you can
Speaker 1: go to three matches without seeing a goal, and the
Speaker 1: pressure builds waiting for that goal, and then there's a
Speaker 1: pressure release. You go and watch tennis, there's a point
Speaker 1: scored every few hits ping pong, or if you go
Speaker 1: and watch basketball, afl a's points all the time. Rugby
Speaker 1: league has always had a great balance between the build
Speaker 1: up of the pressure the release of the pressure, and
Speaker 1: I think there's probably been something along the lines of,
Speaker 1: you know, scores like eighteen ten or twenty four twelve.
Speaker 1: That's a typical sort of rugby league score for so long.
Speaker 1: There's other things that come into this too. So a
Speaker 1: couple of NRL games that were played this year where
Speaker 1: the score lines were like that were played in Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: where the field is only it's not sixty eight meters
Speaker 1: with So as a consumer, I love rugby league, but
Speaker 1: I'm not loving it as much at the moment. I'm
Speaker 1: actually enjoying watching Super League more at the moment because
Speaker 1: I think what's happening in Super League is the players
Speaker 1: aren't as skillful because there's anybody Australian, for example, a
Speaker 1: lot of them are reserved graders from Australia, and that
Speaker 1: maybe the ten best English players are already in the NRL.
Speaker 1: So I think the players aren't skillful. What's happening in
Speaker 1: the NRL is the players are skillful enough. They have
Speaker 1: good decision making skills, they have the ability to look
Speaker 1: up and play because of their background in touch football
Speaker 1: a lot of them so they're now really experienced with
Speaker 1: the six again rule and they're playing from the halfway
Speaker 1: line and taking chances and because of the momentum in
Speaker 1: the game that's happening because that lower skill level is
Speaker 1: in Super League. I don't think it's happening yet. Also
Speaker 1: this time last year, sorry, this time at the Grand
Speaker 1: Final last year, this time in the first ashes test,
Speaker 1: the rocks were about three minutes long. So so it's
Speaker 1: a completely different sports and new sport. I think in
Speaker 1: a few years time, if we stay on this train,
Speaker 1: super League will become a points fest because they're the
Speaker 1: propensity to defend for sustained periods is nowhere near what
Speaker 1: was in the NRL. But now that propensity to defend
Speaker 1: has completely gone from the NRL because of this these
Speaker 1: rule changes, the six again extension and the and the
Speaker 1: speed on the ruck, and I just don't enjoy the
Speaker 1: sport in the same way.
Speaker 2: John, I think I think there's quite a few fans
Speaker 2: in super LEIGU who would say the same thing and
Speaker 2: say the six again rule is, you know, negatively affecting
Speaker 2: the competition and that there's a swing too far towards
Speaker 2: attack and you don't know what why six again is
Speaker 2: given or for what reason. Who would probably say that, yeah,
Speaker 2: they're not enjoying Super leiguer A much because of that tie. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's an interesting point you make.
Speaker 1: And I don't think. I don't think it's a journey.
Speaker 1: We're on a train that's not going to stop, right
Speaker 1: because I read something not so long ago that the
Speaker 1: Premier League, the financial behemoth that is the Premier League
Speaker 1: and noticing that younger generations aren't watching a full ninety
Speaker 1: minute game as much, and they're taking in the minis
Speaker 1: and the shorter games and the highlights. Well, if you
Speaker 1: look at an NRL highlights package, the four minutes ones
Speaker 1: that are on YouTube, for example, all they are is
Speaker 1: full tries. Now, if they were doing those same highlight
Speaker 1: packages for an eight to four or a ten six,
Speaker 1: you'd be filling it with a lot of errors and issues.
Speaker 1: Now that's the first thing. Second thing, it lends itself
Speaker 1: more to your tiktoks, your snapchats, et cetera, your Instagram's.
Speaker 1: Third thing, the Landers is trying to negotiate a TV
Speaker 1: deal for the NRL, and I think he wants to
Speaker 1: incorporate both sides of the world. One thing that makes
Speaker 1: TV deals more lucrative is the opportunity to put more
Speaker 1: adverts in More tries equals more opportunity for adverts. More tries,
Speaker 1: more referrals to the video referees, which is another reason
Speaker 1: why the video referees isn't going to go away. So
Speaker 1: I think we're in. We're on a train that isn't
Speaker 1: going to stop quite frankly, and I'm worried about it.
Speaker 2: John. Yeah, I don't think you're the only one there. Look, yeah,
Speaker 2: he makes some good points. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't know what to say to you there. Look okay,
Speaker 1: do you enjoy the game as much? Are you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think, Look, I think I do. I do.
Speaker 2: I do get your concerned, though, and I think it's
Speaker 2: definitely valid. And I think a lot of people think
Speaker 2: and feel the same. Yeah, we don't. We don't. I
Speaker 2: personally don't want it to be a a trifest they've
Speaker 2: I enjoy games, you know that might be fifty to
Speaker 2: forty two, but I don't want to see that every week.
Speaker 2: I don't want to see that in every game. You know,
Speaker 2: I grew up with your ten fours and your I
Speaker 2: can remember an era where it wasn't well it was
Speaker 2: maybe two decades ago, maybe three, you know, where a
Speaker 2: team was twelve or sixteen dollar up. That was it.
Speaker 2: You know, they didn't they didn't lose. Now now you'll
Speaker 2: see three tries in four or five minutes quite regularly,
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's definitely changing the fabric. I don't I
Speaker 2: don't know where we go, As you said, I don't
Speaker 2: know where we go from here. I don't know what
Speaker 2: the solution is. I think smaller fields. Well, I think
Speaker 2: I think when you increase the speed of the game
Speaker 2: and you allow less rest time for the entertainment value,
Speaker 2: were obviously going to get more time players, more fatigue,
Speaker 2: which is going to create more holes, people falling off tackles,
Speaker 2: which is going to need more tries, isn't it. So look,
Speaker 2: I think I like I like the idea. I know
Speaker 2: there was a few people pushing it, but I like
Speaker 2: the idea of the six men bench, not only for
Speaker 2: the concussion rule and literally the amount of injuries that
Speaker 2: we have, but I think it that's actually a good
Speaker 2: thing as well. So maybe you can keep players and
Speaker 2: I don't want to go back to the A limit
Speaker 2: the interchange days, but you can keep players, or you
Speaker 2: can rotate players maybe a bit better. Yeah, And we
Speaker 2: can see a variety of players, particularly with.
Speaker 1: Funnily enough the way the game is at the moment
Speaker 1: in the NRL. So for those who don't consume full
Speaker 1: matches in the NRL all the time, imagine the World
Speaker 1: Club Challenge game between who k Are and Brisbane. Imagine
Speaker 1: that happening in every fixture. Basically is the way I
Speaker 1: assess it. Unlimited in change would actually help that and
Speaker 1: ease the burden because the defender. Some defenses aren't even
Speaker 1: moving up. They haven't got time and they knackered and
Speaker 1: they're not getting into position. Ko Week scored a worldly
Speaker 1: try the other day. It was one of the best
Speaker 1: tries you'll see. But somebody made a point, and I
Speaker 1: do agree with them. The defense was nowhere to be seen.
Speaker 1: But you tell me in history when Wayne Bennett's sides
Speaker 1: that he's had for a year or two haven't been
Speaker 1: solid defensively. Yeah, and South were all over the show defensively,
Speaker 1: And I can only put that down to the fatigue
Speaker 1: in the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, generally, the best defensive team and the competition.
Speaker 1: Wins every year, don't they, But not anymore. I mean
Speaker 1: the Broncos were the fourth best.
Speaker 2: I was going to say that was probably one of
Speaker 2: the very few times in recent memory.
Speaker 1: I think it's the second time in thirty years or something.
Speaker 2: And even then that was kind of a remarkable run.
Speaker 2: How many times they came from behind and then the
Speaker 2: head that thing, that was a bit of a freak.
Speaker 2: So whether we say that every year, that will be
Speaker 2: really interesting in a couple of years time if we
Speaker 2: see teams with the fourth, fifth, sixth best defense, but
Speaker 2: maybe the best attack, winning winning coach.
Speaker 1: So on that note, Kyle also asked after this weekend
Speaker 1: results as the best New Zealand Warriors team since the
Speaker 1: last time they were in the Grand Final, and are
Speaker 1: either the West Tigers or the Cowboys title contenders? Can
Speaker 1: I answer that one first weekend results it's the best
Speaker 1: New Zealand's Warriors team since the last time they were
Speaker 1: in the Grand Final? I would stop short of saying that,
Speaker 1: I think it's too early to make that. To make
Speaker 1: that call, I think you're getting a bit excited there
Speaker 1: about them, Kyle. And also, are either the West Tigers
Speaker 1: or the Cowboys title contenders? I think what I'll say
Speaker 1: right now is if either the West Tigers or the
Speaker 1: Cowboys win the comp I'll do the Super League Grand
Speaker 1: Final week podcast in my undercrackers.
Speaker 2: Well, jeez, that's that's one way to kill the audience.
Speaker 1: Unless they do the audio version. I think the concept
Speaker 1: of West Tigers coming from where they've been to a
Speaker 1: Premiership title this year is a bit yeah, I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't think they look like that kind of side.
Speaker 1: Yet they go well. And I think Cowboys they've still
Speaker 1: got some defeats in them because their fullback drink Water
Speaker 1: has done some great things in the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: but he is the definition of Rocks or Times and
Speaker 1: that's just one player. Quite frankly, Yeah, I I think
Speaker 1: they'll both go well. I think they'll both be in
Speaker 1: the eight, but I don't think any of them are
Speaker 1: going to win the title. John and you only thoughts
Speaker 1: and what have said apart from my undercrackers, did the.
Speaker 2: Sorry did that comment? Say the Warriors as well?
Speaker 1: Yeah? He said is it the best side since the
Speaker 1: one that got to the Grand Final?
Speaker 2: The two of twenty eleven? So I was Sean Johnson
Speaker 2: coached by Irvan Cleary. Was was a great team. I
Speaker 2: don't think it's any winning that team and then.
Speaker 1: Stacy Jones still playing them too.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, that was that was Kevin what's his
Speaker 2: name he went to Salford. It was Sean Johnson, it
Speaker 2: was Ivan Cleary was coaching. That was a very on
Speaker 2: the team. Yeah, it was been by mainly in the
Speaker 2: Groend Final and then the im kind of remember was
Speaker 2: it two thousand and four or two thousand and three
Speaker 2: actually I think it was two and three when they
Speaker 2: lost to the Roosters. That was the Stacey Jones team.
Speaker 2: Richard Vila say, any Daniel Anderson I think coached him
Speaker 2: in that grown for they were a very good team
Speaker 2: that I think you have the.
Speaker 1: Half of the Warriors that day with James Maloney and
Speaker 1: Sean Johnson.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean James were only great player. Sean Johnson
Speaker 2: was only a young kid then. But no, the two
Speaker 2: thousand I think it was two and three. That was
Speaker 2: Stacey Jones. I think if you line up those rosters,
Speaker 2: both the one from the two thousands and the twenty
Speaker 2: eleven rosters are much better than the rosters they have
Speaker 2: now by far.
Speaker 1: So Next week in Super League Hall left C play
Speaker 1: Saints on Thursday. Can't see anything but a pull lef
Speaker 1: C win Sorry, a Saints win that day, No, No,
Speaker 1: I think that matter to be a tight game I mean,
Speaker 1: I think there's going to be a response in hole.
Speaker 2: Players refused to try and after the termination. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean they have had a long period off or some
Speaker 2: elans have had a long turn around, haven't I so
Speaker 2: they should be fresh. But yeah, I think St Helens
Speaker 2: will go in to that favorite, even though I think
Speaker 2: they picked up some more injuries on forrinight. So the
Speaker 2: way they're going, I think Chris Joydan might be playing
Speaker 2: for him soon or long.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'll just keep him loaning the players. So they
Speaker 1: beat Whole f C. This is round This is round eight,
Speaker 1: by the way, to lose, also play Whole k Are
Speaker 1: on Friday. Danger game for Whole k Are. I hope
Speaker 1: to lose get a win soon because their season is
Speaker 1: going into a little bit free for ever since I
Speaker 1: called them two wins to lose and started getting excited
Speaker 1: about them, they haven't won to a chuck raffle.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think, okay, win that game fairly easy.
Speaker 2: I think, as I said, to lose half a central distribution,
Speaker 2: they've got to play another million euros and travel costs.
Speaker 2: I mean they've got one point six million, or let's
Speaker 2: say one point four million.
Speaker 1: They're not paying for dinner mate. They're playing Rugby League
Speaker 1: and they've had two weeks off and they're at home.
Speaker 1: M I think it'll be a bit tighter.
Speaker 2: I don't think yeah, I don't think it'll be helped
Speaker 2: by forty eight points, but I think win.
Speaker 1: Huddersfield are unleashed against Leeds on Friday night. You'll be
Speaker 1: at that game. You'll be talking to us from the
Speaker 1: car park.
Speaker 2: I will be Yeah. I think I think Leeds will
Speaker 2: go into this one's favorites right. And obviously Huddersfield have
Speaker 2: won two games and the trout have been a lot
Speaker 2: better last game against the Leeds, but both not in
Speaker 2: the Cup, so both well rested. I don't think the
Speaker 2: Leeds have really got any injury issues bit checked for
Speaker 2: them to. Don't know if they could go top or
Speaker 2: at least go very close to the top.
Speaker 1: So and I reckon we'll get that podcast out by
Speaker 1: the time most people who attend that game I've got home.
Speaker 1: Maybe because we do like to get that out quickly,
Speaker 1: don't we Just that we're going to try and wait
Speaker 1: till after the press conference for better signal.
Speaker 2: It always depends when the coach comes in, whether they
Speaker 2: come in an hour half the game ends or minutes.
Speaker 1: York play Lee.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an interesting one because they lose, they can't
Speaker 2: both well unless they both forward. Yeah, I think it's
Speaker 2: it's a tough one. I think. I think Leeds, I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: Lee were much improved on Saturday but didn't get a result. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I think a bit of a flip of a coin,
Speaker 2: but probably probably Lee the slightest affairs because they are
Speaker 2: getting some more bodies back. I'm not sure who York
Speaker 2: will be getting back for this one. Hopefully they fall
Speaker 2: back and half back.
Speaker 1: On Saturday. Wakefield hosting Bradford Bulls.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an interesting one. I mean Bradford obviously long
Speaker 2: turn around because no cap game. Wakefield were pretty good today.
Speaker 2: I think they'd be really gathered. They didn't get the
Speaker 2: win because you know that, as you said, I had
Speaker 2: lost the game. Since feb we're on a bit of
Speaker 2: a roll. But back at home, I think yeah, I
Speaker 2: think maybe Wakefield have a bit too much for the Bulls.
Speaker 1: Catalans host Warrington Wolves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a while win. Yeah, I mean obviously
Speaker 2: Catland's at home are much tougher prospect, but with what's
Speaker 2: going off the field, who's coaching them. We don't know, Yeah,
Speaker 2: warrant to a line high, aren't they?
Speaker 1: And then on Sunday Wigan host cast that that's a
Speaker 1: repeating a round one fixture? Is that the only one
Speaker 1: that we've repeated?
Speaker 2: I think so, I don't I can remember. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean Casts were dreadful in their last game. We're going
Speaker 2: to be you know, they ended they run of two losses,
Speaker 2: so back at home. Yeah, I mean, I can't really
Speaker 2: see anything but a Wigan win. If Gats pull off
Speaker 2: a winning that game, much like Haddasfield did three weeks ago,
Speaker 2: that'll be a hell of a result.
Speaker 1: You've got a good or a bit well, a big
Speaker 1: article coming out somewhere, a big story.
Speaker 2: Where will people in your eye paper if not on
Speaker 2: Monday or hopefully on Tuesday after it's legal, So yeah,
Speaker 2: keep your eyes peeled for that one.
Speaker 1: Get the eyepaper. You can get John in the eye.
Speaker 1: You can get me at Rugby League Coach dot com
Speaker 1: Beta you or at Rugby League Coach. Take care and
Speaker 1: we'll see you after the hooter on Friday night UK
Speaker 1: time Saturday morning Australia time. We'll get it out as
Speaker 1: soon as we can