Speaker 1: Hunts are back.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the sixteenth episode of Super League three sixty,
Speaker 2: a podcast primarily about the top tier of British rugby league,
Speaker 2: but who knows where will end up. My name is
Speaker 2: Lee Addison and my name is John Davidson. He survived
Speaker 2: the man flu. For those who are with us for
Speaker 2: after the Hooters on Friday, John just told us about
Speaker 2: his man flu ordeal and he's still here.
Speaker 1: He's still here.
Speaker 2: For those of you who are wondering who I am,
Speaker 2: I'm a coach in Australia. I'm the host of the
Speaker 2: Rugby League Coach podcast. I'm at Rugby League Coach dot
Speaker 2: Com AU Rugby League Coach on Socials. John a journo in.
Speaker 1: The UK.
Speaker 3: Right for the ipaper, League Express, The Guardian and have
Speaker 3: written for leag Quickly, for The twenty Magazine, The Times,
Speaker 3: the saan De Mirror, the Telegraph, everyone, everyone, whoever else,
Speaker 3: whoever whoever pays me and thank you to Rugby League
Speaker 3: dot Com who who also run this every week. We
Speaker 3: covered the first three games of the round in after
Speaker 3: the Hooter on Friday, So if you are wondering when
Speaker 3: we talk about the games this week that we have
Speaker 3: got in today's running order, and we don't mention those games.
Speaker 2: That's because I've already mentioned them. That is in an
Speaker 2: extended after the hooter that came out on Friday. Warrington
Speaker 2: Wolves top of the ladder ten points, but the others
Speaker 2: on ten points a lead Rhinos, Wigan Warriors at Wakefield,
Speaker 2: Trinity and Saint Helens. So quite congested there. But I've
Speaker 2: just read them out. In read those out in position order.
Speaker 2: Catalan Dragons are sixth on eight points. Whole kr have
Speaker 2: shot up the table now they're seventh on six points.
Speaker 2: Bradford Bulls are in eighth, still on six points or
Speaker 2: left c on six so congestion there too.
Speaker 1: To lose.
Speaker 2: Huddersfield, York Lee and Castle for Tigers round off the
Speaker 2: table in that order. Castle Ford at the bottom to
Speaker 2: lose in tenth and they're all on four points, so
Speaker 2: quite congested.
Speaker 1: John very congested.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there's been a few comments about results
Speaker 3: this weekend, people like, oh, you know, just so so
Speaker 3: many points out of the top six. I mean we're
Speaker 3: in round seven, so you know, the tape was going
Speaker 3: to change a lot, but yeah, it is. It is
Speaker 3: quite congested. There's not I guess apart from maybe Warrington
Speaker 3: after Wiggans last two results. Has not been a staying
Speaker 3: out team, hasn't it. So everyone's been beating, everyone's had
Speaker 3: a loss, and it's not a massive form line, I
Speaker 3: would say at the moment, except for maybe a couple
Speaker 3: of times.
Speaker 2: John's tweet of the week at Johnny D Davidson, what's
Speaker 2: French for handbags? And that was on the fifth of April.
Speaker 2: Just for the record, John, it's soccer man, sacer man
Speaker 2: or soccer may You did that on the fifth You
Speaker 2: did that on the fifth of April. What was all
Speaker 2: that about?
Speaker 3: There was just there was a bit of handbags and
Speaker 3: the French Derby between cat Lens and to Loose and
Speaker 3: socer Man. Yeah, the typical the typical push and shove
Speaker 3: and whatever. I mean we called the French Derby and
Speaker 3: it is a French Derby. But probably two thirds of
Speaker 3: the players on the picture either in English or Australian.
Speaker 3: But no, it was good. It was a good in
Speaker 3: all pinis. It was a really good game that one.
Speaker 3: The cat Lens to Loose game, I mean to Loose
Speaker 3: had some well some very tough course. It seems like
Speaker 3: every call win against them, but it was a really
Speaker 3: entertaining game, and you know, I think that's we can
Speaker 3: talk about promotion relegation, but I think that's the benefit
Speaker 3: of having to loose, you know, permanently in the competition,
Speaker 3: is that you build that came up and you build
Speaker 3: French rugby League up over time.
Speaker 2: The Rugby League tweet of the week is from Sky
Speaker 2: Sports commentator Stuart Pike, who said, just wanted to say
Speaker 2: to the mowners and their constant moanings, Sky Sports Rugby
Speaker 2: League do a fantastic job. Sometimes things go wrong. That's
Speaker 2: telling for you. For thirty years, Sky has revolutions revolutionized
Speaker 2: the sport we love now seven get live games a week,
Speaker 2: proud to be part of it. And that leads us
Speaker 2: into one of the topics we're going to discuss today,
Speaker 2: which are the Sky and the issues with a few things.
Speaker 2: Dazz Eastwood wrote to us and wanted us to talk
Speaker 2: about this the post standard of commentary and coverage, he said.
Speaker 2: Polker Brothers said, the games on Skyplus when there are
Speaker 2: other sports such as football, cricket, tennis, golf or with
Speaker 2: their own channels, and they're also in either Sky Action
Speaker 2: or Main Event, while we are on Skyplus with headphones
Speaker 2: and five minute build up and annoying music between halves.
Speaker 2: I need to do better. So over to you, John, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Think we talked.
Speaker 3: I thought we talked a fair bit about this on
Speaker 3: on Friday Nightly. But yeah, there's a huge difference between
Speaker 3: the main games that are on Sky. They get the
Speaker 3: full coverage, you know, you're half an hour pre game
Speaker 3: and you're half an hour postgame and whatever, and then
Speaker 3: those on the Plus system.
Speaker 1: And I did speak, I did hear from someone who
Speaker 1: worked the Sky over the.
Speaker 3: Weekend and they have been cutbacks that Sky and there's
Speaker 3: I believe a different production company handles those Plus games
Speaker 3: and it is a really different if you're in Australia
Speaker 3: and you don't watch Superligue.
Speaker 1: Really it's a real different level of coverage.
Speaker 3: As you just said there, you know it starts ten
Speaker 3: minutes before, there's no pre game halftime, it's just music.
Speaker 3: And over the weekend there was a lot of issues
Speaker 3: with the Breadford game, with the Catalans game, the picture
Speaker 3: would just drop out, the sign the sound would go,
Speaker 3: it wouldn't buffer. And at the end of the day,
Speaker 3: we can look at this at lots of different Anglesly,
Speaker 3: but if you're looking at purely from a fans point
Speaker 3: of view, as a consumer's point of a review.
Speaker 1: You pay, I think I pay something like one.
Speaker 3: Hundred and twenty quite a week, so once that two
Speaker 3: hundred and forty dollars, it's a lot of money. My
Speaker 3: primarily reason to have Sky and the same as I
Speaker 3: have watched NRL, the app is for rugby league.
Speaker 2: So you want to stay is one hundred and twenty
Speaker 2: quite a week? It's no, no, sorry, one hundred tweket
Speaker 2: Did I say a week?
Speaker 1: I met a month? A month?
Speaker 3: Yeah, And look, I know I watch other sports, but
Speaker 3: I don't watch as much other sports now as I
Speaker 3: used to. I don't watch nearly as much football as
Speaker 3: I used to. I wouldn't watch darts unless you paid
Speaker 3: me to watch that. So yeah, Sky has been a
Speaker 3: fantastic partner for Super League, for rugby league in UK
Speaker 3: for a long time. But at this point in time,
Speaker 3: I don't know if the value of having every game
Speaker 3: on TV is.
Speaker 1: What it could be or should be. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I think there's a bit of debate about that because
Speaker 3: Sky clearly not able or willing to give full coverage
Speaker 3: to every game for what the rights are worth. What
Speaker 3: they're getting paid and I think you know, fans are
Speaker 3: are suffering because of that. And I like to say
Speaker 3: I think a lot of the BBC coverage of the
Speaker 3: Super League games isn't fantastic either.
Speaker 1: It's it's hidden on the red button. It's not necessarily
Speaker 1: the best.
Speaker 3: Their Challenge Cup, the Big Challenge Cup games with you know,
Speaker 3: Mark Chapman and the Ashes are fantastic, great, but I
Speaker 3: think BBC also does some of the games, shall we say,
Speaker 3: on the cheap as well.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think.
Speaker 3: The whole Sky thing, where in the past we used
Speaker 3: to be on main event or on several of the
Speaker 3: main channels. I think the Wigan Saints Davey was on
Speaker 3: the main event, but the other games are not, and
Speaker 3: we've slipped down the packing order at Sky massively, behind darts,
Speaker 3: behind you know, women's football, and that for me and
Speaker 3: you and the hardcore fans who are listening to this
Speaker 3: podcast probably doesn't matter that much. But if you're a
Speaker 3: casual fan, and I know a lot of casual sports
Speaker 3: fans and you might be like flicking around, You're not
Speaker 3: going to rather across a super big game, are you,
Speaker 3: And that's going to hurt the ratings.
Speaker 2: Look at the end of the day, it wouldn't be
Speaker 2: British rubiligue if we weren't complaining about the coverage. Somehow
Speaker 2: you can go back as far as Eddie Wearing for
Speaker 2: that to be an issue. Johnny's job would probably this
Speaker 2: would be Johnny's job normally, but I've made Lee's job
Speaker 2: instead of Lee's laugh of doing Lee's job this week.
Speaker 2: And I was on the punchbag yesterday, so I know
Speaker 2: how to throw a jab. I was driving home from
Speaker 2: the gym and Ben Dobbin and Brent Reid were on
Speaker 2: the radio and Triple M Golden Tallis was there too,
Speaker 2: And I'm bringing this up because I want you to
Speaker 2: tell me if you think this happens in England too,
Speaker 2: and you're a journalist. Dobbin was talking about Penrith and
Speaker 2: how good they're going, and then cut to an interview
Speaker 2: with Nathan Cleary who spoke at length for about two
Speaker 2: three minutes, which in radio is a long time. And
Speaker 2: then as it went back to the studio, I was
Speaker 2: expecting some kind of dissection of what Nathan Cleary had said,
Speaker 2: Dobbin literally, without even pausing, said everything Penry is doing
Speaker 2: Big Credit must go to one of the assistant coaches
Speaker 2: I forget who it was, and basically made it sound
Speaker 2: like everything was down to him. And then Brent Reid
Speaker 2: came in and said, yes, and the other assistant coach
Speaker 2: has been there quite a while.
Speaker 1: Blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 2: Now Number one that was nothing to do with what
Speaker 2: Nathan Cleary did was discussing number two. Ivant clear he's
Speaker 2: the head coach. Number three. It was a very strange.
Speaker 2: There wasn't even a segue right, thirdly it's smacked off
Speaker 2: or secondly, sorry, it's smacked off. They were just trying
Speaker 2: to feather the nest of these assistant coaches. And I
Speaker 2: assume that it was because they have good agents who
Speaker 2: they trade information with. And this happened quite a lot
Speaker 2: of think on some of the shows, and some are
Speaker 2: not very good at hiding it.
Speaker 1: I think we deserve better.
Speaker 2: Because Cameron Serraldo got a lot of this treatment, and
Speaker 2: I'd question anybody who says Cameron Serraldo is able to
Speaker 2: coach attack based on what we've seen at the balls
Speaker 2: for at least the last year and a half now.
Speaker 2: And then what an insult to Ivan Cleary too and
Speaker 2: the players look and the players. Yeah, I think it
Speaker 2: was blatant, John, it was blatant.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, Lee, you worked in Roubay League a
Speaker 3: long time as there's a lot of agendas to play,
Speaker 3: particularly in the media, a lot of relationships that are
Speaker 3: quite obvious on air, Anny Ridge.
Speaker 1: The first part. I mean Ivan Cleary.
Speaker 3: I don't know how long he's been at Penrith now
Speaker 3: I'm in the second time, eight years, seven years, whatever
Speaker 3: it is, maybe longer they've gone through. He's gone through
Speaker 3: a lot of assistance, hasn't he Sralo Andrew Webster, There's
Speaker 3: been quite a few. I mean the concert has been
Speaker 3: Ivan Cleary. So at the end of the day, he's
Speaker 3: the head coach. I'm sure the assistants make valuable contributions,
Speaker 3: but he's the one who calls the shots, and you
Speaker 3: know he deserves the credit. Look, he's unbelievable coach and
Speaker 3: I think the I don't know who him at all,
Speaker 3: but I think Ivan's interesting in that I don't think
Speaker 3: he's particularly close to a lot of the media. He's
Speaker 3: not not that he's unfriendly to the media, but he's
Speaker 3: not a coach unlike some others. I'd probably say Shane Flannagan,
Speaker 3: who's got very close relationships with established media, of the
Speaker 3: established members of the Sydney Press.
Speaker 1: Your second bit one hundred percently.
Speaker 3: You know, there was a certain journalist who seems you're
Speaker 3: very close to Isaac Moses, who was pushing Blake Green
Speaker 3: for the manly job, you know, and you know he's
Speaker 3: said on air that he's got a close relationship with
Speaker 3: Isaac Moses.
Speaker 1: I think that happens all the time that it happens
Speaker 1: in the UK.
Speaker 3: In the UK, it's probably arguably worse because there's fewer
Speaker 3: agents and you can often, you know, usually tell by
Speaker 3: what's written and how it's framed and who gives what stories.
Speaker 3: And there's a recent example where you could say the
Speaker 3: person running a club are certain club was not named
Speaker 3: or criticized, but everyone knows. Fans, no, most fans are
Speaker 3: not stupid. They know who's to blame him. So yeah,
Speaker 3: you could say it's a poor reflection on the media
Speaker 3: when when the media isn't as impartial, as balanced as
Speaker 3: it should be.
Speaker 2: And I think you get criticized a fair bit because
Speaker 2: you try and go straight down the line as much
Speaker 2: as you can. Yes, well, you as a journalist, you
Speaker 2: you know. It's also your currency, isn't it. I mean
Speaker 2: it is our mutual friend. Chris explained when he was
Speaker 2: in the crime section of a newspaper for a while,
Speaker 2: he could really rip into the person who's done a
Speaker 2: murder or a robbery or whatever it may be, because
Speaker 2: they'll be in jail for the next ten years, Whereas
Speaker 2: if a top player in the NRL did rob somewhere
Speaker 2: or something, it'd have to go quite easy on it
Speaker 2: because he probably need that player in a few weeks
Speaker 2: while they're away to their court case or something like that.
Speaker 1: So yeah, one hundred percent, you do.
Speaker 3: You do.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you have to be careful. But in saying that, I.
Speaker 3: Think you you you're doing yourself a disservice if you're
Speaker 3: not as honest and upfront as you can be. Look,
Speaker 3: I think you try and be fair. It's never personal,
Speaker 3: and you know you you you know people. Some people
Speaker 3: will take a tart, some people will have a conversation.
Speaker 3: Some people understand the profession and what it is. And
Speaker 3: I'd say with several clubs like I'm not on their
Speaker 3: media lists anymore and they don't really facilitate any interview
Speaker 3: request and that's that's how it is like, for me,
Speaker 3: while that's disappointing, it's not going to stop me doing
Speaker 3: my job. It just sort of means that certain club
Speaker 3: isn't going to get specific coverage in about a player
Speaker 3: or whatever because they don't want to play that role.
Speaker 1: And that's that's fine, but you have to be honest.
Speaker 1: You have to be.
Speaker 3: Truthful because fancy through the bullshit I think I think
Speaker 3: a lot of fans do. And that sort of ties
Speaker 3: onto the recent Bradford Martin Vickers thing where the Bradford
Speaker 3: CEO is trying to paint my story as some sort
Speaker 3: of agenda against the Bulls when it's absolutely nonsense and
Speaker 3: the vast majority of Blood fans and I think the
Speaker 3: vast majority of rugby league fans can just see what
Speaker 3: a nonsense say is and even you know, give massive credit.
Speaker 3: I don't know Nathan, but Nathan Atfleck Atkinson, the Bradford
Speaker 3: Bulls reporter for the Bradford Paper, the Telegraph and artist
Speaker 3: wrote a penny piece about that, and you know he's
Speaker 3: a Bradford fan and you can see that appointment sticks.
Speaker 1: Anyone with half a brain can see it.
Speaker 3: There's no agenda against Bradford from me that's just a
Speaker 3: very questionable lodgy appointment, which is unneeded. The amount of
Speaker 3: players that I've had who either were ripped off by
Speaker 3: Featherstone or had to take Featherston to court over recently,
Speaker 3: and I won't name those players, but you know there's
Speaker 3: still people who are thousands of pounds from you know,
Speaker 3: a certain person's tenure at a certain clubs. So you know,
Speaker 3: you can try and fool people and spin things and
Speaker 3: you know, playing the media for agendas all you want, but.
Speaker 1: The reality is is there like the nose on your face.
Speaker 2: Andrew Abdol will be in the UK soon and I
Speaker 2: don't think he's going to.
Speaker 1: Over there.
Speaker 2: I don't think he's going over there to drink cost
Speaker 2: of coffee. I think he's got some plans to try
Speaker 2: and get the NRL and Super League working a bit close.
Speaker 2: So what do you know about that, John, and where's
Speaker 2: it at and what's going to be going on.
Speaker 3: I think he's after a Greg's pasty, that's what. Okay,
Speaker 3: He's not going to go around the back of the bags,
Speaker 3: is he.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 3: It's a really interesting story broken by Danny Widler in
Speaker 3: The Sun Herald on Sunday, which I followed up and yeah,
Speaker 3: he's going to be Andrew is going to be in
Speaker 3: London for two three days in about I think it's
Speaker 3: about afford maybe ten days now. He's going to be
Speaker 3: meeting with Nigel Wood and Rodger Jones, and I think
Speaker 3: they're seen as a really positive step towards a potential
Speaker 3: takeover investment merger. However you want to frame it for
Speaker 3: the NRL buying a stake of Super League, you know,
Speaker 3: there hasn't been a formal offer yet. There is still
Speaker 3: a bullsh back from certain owners, I think Matt Ellis
Speaker 3: and Amamnanus more recently in the media of pushback a
Speaker 3: little bit. But I think there's also a general acceptance
Speaker 3: from a majority of superhot clubs that yes, if they
Speaker 3: can provide the money, which I imagine would be probably
Speaker 3: you know, more than two million per club. But also
Speaker 3: I'm saying that I think there need to be money
Speaker 3: that goes down to grassroots, that goes down to the championship,
Speaker 3: certainly money that goes to the promotion and the marketing
Speaker 3: of the sport, because that's something we're lacking. So yeah,
Speaker 3: it's positive the NRL are going for and there's still
Speaker 3: a lot of people. Lee, I'm sure you know a
Speaker 3: lot of people, a lot of fans in the UK
Speaker 3: who are against the NRL coming in taking over.
Speaker 1: For life of me.
Speaker 3: I mean, I understand it does depend on what the deal,
Speaker 3: how the deal is structured, and what the figures are,
Speaker 3: but there's no one else in the world, you know, Okay,
Speaker 3: maybe the hearns, but even in terms of the world,
Speaker 3: like if you know, they say there's other offers from
Speaker 3: private equity, and they may well be, but private equity.
Speaker 3: He just wants to make money, don't They just want
Speaker 3: to wear a profit, can actually put money in and
Speaker 3: expand the game and grow the whole sport, like we're
Speaker 3: such a small sport globally. You know, if the NBA
Speaker 3: wanted to come into I don't even know what the
Speaker 3: league's calling him and buy the British Basketball League and
Speaker 3: twin it with the NBA and they have NBA games
Speaker 3: in London that have sold out, it'd be huge for
Speaker 3: the sport.
Speaker 1: Well the NFL, yeah, well the NFL do it, but.
Speaker 3: They don't really care about the local league here. But
Speaker 3: it would be great. And I saw one comment, I
Speaker 3: will just become super League, just become a feeder league
Speaker 3: for the NRL that's been happening for the last fifteen years.
Speaker 1: It's not.
Speaker 2: And it's also a retirement home for the NRL.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean the delusion that some people have le
Speaker 3: I find staggering.
Speaker 2: Brian Foley the former development manager at Wigan, longtime development
Speaker 2: manager at Wigan, an actual uncle of Herbie Farmor, and
Speaker 2: he often comes over to Australia to watch Herbie's games
Speaker 2: and help him with his training. Send something quite lengthy
Speaker 2: to me. He likes to write things and send them
Speaker 2: to provide us and I will paraphrase some of this,
Speaker 2: but what I'll also do is hit you with the
Speaker 2: point and see what you think. So one of his
Speaker 2: points was that in Australia the NRL is a cultural
Speaker 2: juggernaut free from the specific class antagonism the stifles stifles
Speaker 2: the UK, and he asks, do do they truly understand
Speaker 2: what they're stepping into?
Speaker 1: That's a really good question.
Speaker 3: I don't know the inner mechanics of who's advising the RL. Look,
Speaker 3: I think I'm sure Peter Vane has has spoken to
Speaker 3: Blake Solly and Shane Richardson, people have worked in the UK. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it is, it is very much a class struggle here
Speaker 3: that it is in Australia. I mean Australia as a
Speaker 3: class system, but it's a much more egalitarian society and
Speaker 3: you get much more support, shall we say, from the
Speaker 3: big end of town in Sydney and Brisbane than you
Speaker 3: do in you know, in the UK and places like
Speaker 3: Leeds and Weekend et cetera. So it is very different,
Speaker 3: but I think there's also a lot of similarities.
Speaker 1: Eli.
Speaker 3: You know, rugby league is rugby league. You need you
Speaker 3: need people on the ground here who understand the cultural
Speaker 3: differences and how things operated, but you also need people
Speaker 3: with fresh eyedeas innovation, who aren't shackled by all the
Speaker 3: bullshit and the corruption and a backslapping that goes on
Speaker 3: in the UK rugby league.
Speaker 1: The cheerleading the.
Speaker 2: One saving grace in terms of the current NRL administration
Speaker 2: is Peter valandis is a political animal right. He apparently
Speaker 2: ended up in the same room as Joe Biden when
Speaker 2: Joe Biden was the US President and was having conversations
Speaker 2: with him. He's come from a racing background as well,
Speaker 2: and racing is a sport that's all over the world.
Speaker 2: There's some people who think is more powerful in New
Speaker 2: South Wales than the New South Wales premier. So I
Speaker 2: think we've got a political animal basically who can cook
Speaker 2: through some of those things as well, and hopefully he
Speaker 2: can he can get some cooked through in England. The
Speaker 2: next point Brian brought up was a big club bias,
Speaker 2: and he said there's a real danger that the NRL
Speaker 2: will focus only solely on the elite brands, marginalizing the
Speaker 2: smaller traditional teams that are the very foundation of the
Speaker 2: tribal history of rugby league in the UK. And I
Speaker 2: think that's something you said earlier. Yeah, I mean, just
Speaker 2: jumping back a second, I mean you're also forgetting elbow.
Speaker 2: The Prime Minister of Australia is a massive rugby league
Speaker 2: tragic and his government is giving rugby League six hundred
Speaker 2: million dollars three hundred million pounds to set up the
Speaker 2: p ANDNG team to fund development for Pacific rugby league.
Speaker 2: So yeah, on the flip side of that, let's not
Speaker 2: forget people trying to forget that the government in maybe
Speaker 2: not as much money, but the government in the UK
Speaker 2: does give rugby league, or has given rugby league a
Speaker 2: lot of money twenty million pounds, so forty million dollars
Speaker 2: for the last World Cup.
Speaker 1: Sport England gives the sport.
Speaker 3: Sixteen million over a five year period, so you know
Speaker 3: it's on a major sport in comparison to Australia, but
Speaker 3: there is still money coming in from a government.
Speaker 2: And a labor government is actually more likely to be
Speaker 2: more supportive of rugby league than a Tory one thing,
Speaker 2: and well, the Speaker of the House is a rugby
Speaker 2: league man.
Speaker 3: You say that Lee, and in theory it's right. But
Speaker 3: the whole working demand thing with Boris Johnson was basically
Speaker 3: give money and that was tied into the World Cup money.
Speaker 3: It was because you had swing seats in Workington and Lee.
Speaker 3: There were labor strongholds that went Tory. So the Tory
Speaker 3: government did actually give a lot of money to rugby league.
Speaker 1: But yeah, in theory I agree with it.
Speaker 3: Your second point, yeah, one hundred percent. I think there
Speaker 3: needs to be a whole national approach to rugby league.
Speaker 3: You can't just concentrate on certain cities of big clubs. Look,
Speaker 3: I think they need to have a school's you know,
Speaker 3: a big thing would be development officers and a schools
Speaker 3: a strategy for getting rugby league played into schools and
Speaker 3: I'm not talking about schools in Wigan and card and Hull.
Speaker 3: I'm talking about schools in Brighton and Chiswick and Newcastle
Speaker 3: and Cumbria and you know, you know, I'm I'm I've
Speaker 3: lived in South Yorkshire and you know regular league is
Speaker 3: down the road in Wakefield but it's almost non existent.
Speaker 2: You can walk through Manchester as a rugby league player
Speaker 2: in Nobile know who you are. Yeah, they're literally right
Speaker 2: next to Salford. Yeah, most of most of the cities
Speaker 2: in the UK. So you need to you need they
Speaker 2: need to have a grassroots approach as well, because while
Speaker 2: you can get the top division going and that will
Speaker 2: spur grassroots, you know, I think you need to work
Speaker 2: both of them, both angles at the same time. And
Speaker 2: also one thing that's probably in Look, we're not going
Speaker 2: an infinite pool of money, but you need to be
Speaker 2: pushing development in Scotland, in Wales and in Ireland as well,
Speaker 2: because there's no point if you're if you're Wigan Warrington,
Speaker 2: You're going to take a game to Dublin next year
Speaker 2: and you might look up with Andy Fowe and get
Speaker 2: heaps of coverage and you know, get lots of people
Speaker 2: in Ireland excited, But then you want to point to
Speaker 2: them and say, you know, you're a young kid, can't
Speaker 2: play for the Dublin Blues or go and play. You know,
Speaker 2: we're going to put money in and we're going to
Speaker 2: do clinics and schools because you don't just have to
Speaker 2: play Gaelic football and soccer and hurling and rugby union.
Speaker 1: You could play rugby league.
Speaker 3: So we've got to give them that pathway as well.
Speaker 2: Brian also mentioned that when Sky transformed the game in
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety five, there his words, we thought the Super
Speaker 2: League gear would solve everything, but politics and a lack
Speaker 2: of investment in the grassroots and outer area STiMi that growth.
Speaker 2: We cannot afford to make the same mistake twice.
Speaker 3: He's the smart man, Brian. Look, I wasn't when I
Speaker 3: said I wasn't around. I was alive, but I wasn't
Speaker 3: in the UK and working at the MEI at that time,
Speaker 3: and you, as we would have been a teenage fan,
Speaker 3: I imagine ly at that point would remember. But from
Speaker 3: what I've read, I think there was eighty seven million quid,
Speaker 3: wasn't it from Squat from scott too, But a lot
Speaker 3: of that went on players, so every club went professional.
Speaker 3: And what they didn't do the mistakes made them was
Speaker 3: they didn't ring fence some of that money for facilities
Speaker 3: or for development. And the other thing was with Morris
Speaker 3: Lindsay and his plans, they never went sort of all
Speaker 3: in on the mergers and some of the big changes
Speaker 3: that they wanted to make they didn't. He didn't get
Speaker 3: enough support, did he. So now we can argue whether
Speaker 3: Colder would have worked and all these mergers would have
Speaker 3: worked or not. But it wasn't the whole revolution that
Speaker 3: wasn't visaged. It was a kind of a half in
Speaker 3: half hour. So while super lieve it was a massive
Speaker 3: step forward and you know, a huge success in this
Speaker 3: early years, I don't think all the changes.
Speaker 1: That were made we were needed.
Speaker 2: And then Brian ended with we need the NRL's professionalism,
Speaker 2: but they need to respect our soul. We taught the
Speaker 2: game to the world. Yeah, I mean, that's that's fair.
Speaker 2: Ricardo Ball asked on X the looming NRL takeover is
Speaker 2: the signing of RTS from Wakefield the first signs of
Speaker 2: investment in high caliber antipody and players. Can I answer
Speaker 2: that first?
Speaker 1: You can?
Speaker 2: RTS was described by Andrew Voss two days ago. I
Speaker 2: was looking like he's on the way out in terms
Speaker 2: of his ability. So Ricardo's assessment of him being a
Speaker 2: high caliber Antipodean player potentially has to be questioned, because yes,
Speaker 2: he has been a high caliber player. But unfortunately Ricardo,
Speaker 2: I think it's we're getting somebody who's going to be
Speaker 2: maybe seventy percent of that player from assessments of him. Also,
Speaker 2: I don't think it's the first sign of any investment
Speaker 2: because clubs have been doing this for years. We could
Speaker 2: go back to Brett Kenny if we want them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean this is a signing that matter
Speaker 3: Loss has funded at Wakefield. The interesting thing you mentioned
Speaker 3: about Vossy and I listened to his radio show a
Speaker 3: week ago and.
Speaker 1: He was trumpeting how great a signing it was.
Speaker 3: So yeah, it just goes to show thanks and I
Speaker 3: love VOSSI Vossi's Voss's great, brilliant commentator. But yeah, look,
Speaker 3: I think rts we'll see how he goes. It's a
Speaker 3: little bit like the Joe Margrave signing last year. Whole
Speaker 3: car and I see Jared's regularly on Fox League Now
Speaker 3: and he said on I think it was the Sunday
Speaker 3: Night Manage John Show that he was running on fumes
Speaker 3: last year like he was literally, you know, he was
Speaker 3: at the tail end. There wasn't much to give. But
Speaker 3: what I think he did for whole k are in
Speaker 3: training and with those plas. He inspired those players. He
Speaker 3: taught them how to be winners. And you know, he
Speaker 3: brought a lot of off field things perhaps that they
Speaker 3: didn't have necessarily with his on field performances, you know
Speaker 3: when the Roosters won the comp in twenty thirteen, et cetera.
Speaker 3: So I think there can be good parts to the
Speaker 3: signing that aren't just about on field performance. Hopefully with
Speaker 3: Roger and I'll hold my breath. But much like Jared,
Speaker 3: you didn't really see him in the media. Yeah, and
Speaker 3: similar with Luke Carey, we super never really capitalized on
Speaker 3: apart from the on field they didn't capitalize the off
Speaker 3: field stuff.
Speaker 1: So they need to get Roger, you.
Speaker 3: Know, on talk sport, and they need to push him,
Speaker 3: and they need to give great access to him because
Speaker 3: you know, he's a former All Black, he's a dual
Speaker 3: code star and you know, I think he's a really
Speaker 3: good I've interviewed Roger before. I think he's a quite
Speaker 3: an articulate guy, a good looking guy, which always helps
Speaker 3: as well, and maybe, you know, hopefully he's got a
Speaker 3: fair bit of attack. But in saying that, you look
Speaker 3: at how Wakefield played yesterday. They look pretty bloody good.
Speaker 3: Max Joward had a great game, Oli Pratt was sensational.
Speaker 3: Jack Truman was phenomenal as well. So yeah, he's joining
Speaker 3: a good Wakefield team at the moment.
Speaker 2: There's some talk that leads are interested in Jackson Hastings.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I am. I heard from a few people.
Speaker 3: Jackson is off contract that so now's the only signed
Speaker 3: a one year deal. There's been no sort of statements
Speaker 3: about his future and leads have shown some interest in
Speaker 3: signing Jackson now. The director of rugby at Leeds is
Speaker 3: Ian Bleeze, who signed Jackson at Salford, very very close
Speaker 3: relationship with Jackson. And there's a fair bit of doubt
Speaker 3: about Brodie Croft's future at Leeds because he's also off contract.
Speaker 3: He's really keen to get back to Australia. There's been
Speaker 3: to talk about Perth showing some interest in him. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I spoke to a few people about this. Jackson didn't
Speaker 3: get back to me. Poor Rolie directed or comments to
Speaker 3: Aim and ganis who's filling in at the seas at
Speaker 3: the moment. But I think so Nows are keen to
Speaker 3: keep him, but I don't think they're able to match
Speaker 3: what leads are offering, so it will be an interesting decision. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Jackson Masin's obviously had how many clubs, I'd say six
Speaker 3: or seven maybe more Dragons.
Speaker 2: Manly Roosters, West Tigers, Newcastle Knights, Saint Helen's, Wigan, Salford,
Speaker 2: so that's seven.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Sam Burgess hasn't sound a contract yet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is the other one that I found interesting.
Speaker 3: Wigan didn't really want to say too much, sorry Wigan Warrington,
Speaker 3: Warrington didn't today. Yeah, I just don't write these things
Speaker 3: that you're saying, right, make sure you get a round
Speaker 3: on paper now. I try and I try and sub
Speaker 3: what I write. Yes, look, Warns are on ya this season,
Speaker 3: massive turnar around that club. Steve mcnamaraw as assistant has
Speaker 3: no doubt had a big impact. But they've changed the
Speaker 3: ross around and let mud have to go, you know.
Speaker 3: I think I think there's been a really impressive turnaround
Speaker 3: at Warrington. Obviously were early in the season and people
Speaker 3: say it's always their yearly are the same, the same
Speaker 3: usual slides, but look they looking good at the moment.
Speaker 3: And yeah, Burgess is off contract.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: You know, there's not really been anyone writing about this
Speaker 3: talking about it apart from myself, but I think it's
Speaker 3: a really interesting one because there is some chat about
Speaker 3: Steve McNamara's future now, whether perhaps there may be a
Speaker 3: vacancy at Whole FC, or there may be a vacancy
Speaker 3: at Leeds if Brad Arthur.
Speaker 1: Goes, which we already talked about recently.
Speaker 3: But Osa is also off contract and he's told Leeds
Speaker 3: that he will tell them on June twenty nine what
Speaker 3: he's doing, which is interesting.
Speaker 1: You could frame that a few ways.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I think Burgess, look, he applied for the
Speaker 3: Perth job. I think he wants to go back to
Speaker 3: Astra at some point. He's got two kids, two young
Speaker 3: kids who were in Australia with their mother. So yeah,
Speaker 3: it's an interesting one. Yeah. I think I think Sam's
Speaker 3: doing a really good job at Warrington this season. It
Speaker 3: was close to getting the sack last season but he's
Speaker 3: turned it around.
Speaker 2: He's obviously still a very young coach regardless regardless of
Speaker 2: what staff are on. He's the head coach, right, So
Speaker 2: anything that's happening in this exactly as much as as
Speaker 2: much as the coach gets too much blame when things
Speaker 2: are going wrong, sometimes we probably don't praise them enough
Speaker 2: when things are going right. And just what I said
Speaker 2: about Ivan Cleary with regards to Dobbin and read in
Speaker 2: the in the radio studio, we've got to say exactly
Speaker 2: the same. I think about Sammy Burgess. Recent results of
Speaker 2: promoted teams John are a bit of a concern.
Speaker 3: Just one I just said my insight we warrant in
Speaker 3: is I think last season things are a bit loose
Speaker 3: in a squad, and I think we saw that in
Speaker 3: Vegas and in other places. And I think Sambury just
Speaker 3: tried to install a bit of discipline. He was very
Speaker 3: matey with the players, tried to install a bit of
Speaker 3: discipline in that backfide, and that's why we saw the
Speaker 3: departure of Dafty, we saw the departure of Martin Clayton's
Speaker 3: assistant coach, and I think that change around has definitely
Speaker 3: helped to a more discipline squad and more consistent performances.
Speaker 2: So promoted teams Blue things are getting a bit tough
Speaker 2: now and depressed. A new goals by the name cock
Speaker 2: Womble twelve. He's my favorite tweeter with that name, cock
Speaker 2: Womble twelve. I don't know if that's twelve Cox or
Speaker 2: twelve wombles, or is the twelfth cock Womble. Is it
Speaker 2: too early to say that the fourteen team comp was
Speaker 2: a mistake? So over to you, Johnny Bye.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean we've talked about this since round one or two.
Speaker 3: It say it was a success. After Sorry, I've said
Speaker 3: over to you and I'm going to interrupt you on
Speaker 3: this podcast.
Speaker 1: We have been.
Speaker 2: Very, very keen to not dive in. And somebody speaking
Speaker 2: to the other day whose opinion I really respect, who
Speaker 2: wants me to get their name in one of my
Speaker 2: poems at the start and you'll know when you know
Speaker 2: who it is when I'll say it. He was saying
Speaker 2: he likes our podcast because we talk about the things
Speaker 2: that the others don't.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: What all the cheerleaders do is go, oh, super League's fantastic,
Speaker 2: blah blah blah. You know this is happening, And yes,
Speaker 2: there's some fantastic things happening. Great crowds et cetera. But
Speaker 2: quite frankly, they're putting lipstick on a pig and they
Speaker 2: have brought these teams in on shoe string budgets to
Speaker 2: lose Olympeak have got half the half the money that
Speaker 2: everyone else has yr half the money, half the money. Look,
Speaker 2: I can't argue Bradford have brought something to Super League.
Speaker 2: But I'm already looking at it now thinking there's a
Speaker 2: very good chance these three teams are going to be
Speaker 2: bottom in the Super League come the end of the
Speaker 2: year now, for sporting integrity purposes. For sporting integrity purposes,
Speaker 2: they were lucky last year in those three finished top
Speaker 2: of the championship even though all the money went into
Speaker 2: this grading system and this board who were looking at
Speaker 2: it and everything else. And then guess what teams they
Speaker 2: come up with? The three that ended up finishing the
Speaker 2: three top the top three in the competition. So look, yeah,
Speaker 2: we're starting to see the reality now.
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 2: Bradford against Leeds the other day, Leeds just needed to
Speaker 2: lift the antea a little bit and it was game over.
Speaker 1: Really.
Speaker 2: On reflection, they are starting to hit their apps a
Speaker 2: little bit now. I don't think they get the bodies
Speaker 2: smacked if they went to York again for the rest
Speaker 2: of this season. Even Huddersfield have come back, and that's
Speaker 2: part of that is I think because they've got more
Speaker 2: Super League DNA and the spine back.
Speaker 1: They got a spine back, that's right.
Speaker 2: And I just I think the reality is going to
Speaker 2: really kick in now. Was it was it you was
Speaker 2: telling me that York didn't name an eighteenth man.
Speaker 1: I was.
Speaker 3: I was at haddes Field on Saturday cover the game
Speaker 3: for the League Express. York didn't name it eighteenth men?
Speaker 3: You know, any names there, any name nineteen players? Usually
Speaker 3: you name a twenty one men squad. There any name
Speaker 3: nineteen players for this game, and York were missing. They're
Speaker 3: starting full back, they're starting wingerer, they're starting center, they're
Speaker 3: starting seven, they're backup seven, and there's some probably other
Speaker 3: squad players are missing. And look, you York were a
Speaker 3: championship team last year. Bar Paul Vaughan and Paul McShane.
Speaker 3: You know, their recruitment was very low key because they
Speaker 3: don't have a lot of money and they don't have
Speaker 3: a massive academy or a big junior system either, so
Speaker 3: they're punching about their way and this is not an
Speaker 3: attack on York. It's not an attack on Bradford or
Speaker 3: to lose, as you said, you already said Lee, two
Speaker 3: of those clubs are only getting half the money, so
Speaker 3: that's a farce. And then to lose have to pay
Speaker 3: nine hundred pounds for the travel as to Catlands for
Speaker 3: all the team.
Speaker 1: So you know to the fact.
Speaker 3: That Tuluse can win a single game or a couple
Speaker 3: of games, but they've lost five. They've lost five in
Speaker 3: a row now and as the season goes on and
Speaker 3: there's more injuries, your depth gets tested. It's going to
Speaker 3: get harder, and that's what we're seeing. You mentioned New York.
Speaker 3: They go to whole KR this weekend in the Cup.
Speaker 3: Now York have still got quite a few players out
Speaker 3: a whole hour that near fitness and starting to hit
Speaker 3: this strap. So that could be fifty points you know
Speaker 3: in my not be But and yeah, I think it's
Speaker 3: great to have Bradford back and the big crowds, and
Speaker 3: it's credit some max for interest. I really like to
Speaker 3: lose great people who run that club, and I think,
Speaker 3: you know, that's somewhere we need long time to be
Speaker 3: pushing rugby league in France, and I also think your
Speaker 3: fantastic stadium, good people running the club. And that's another
Speaker 3: that's a city, which is it's not a small town.
Speaker 3: It's a city with potential. And they need like cat
Speaker 3: Lens did in two thousand and six, they need, you know,
Speaker 3: three years or whatever to.
Speaker 1: Get their shit together.
Speaker 3: But if we're going to have clubs in we need
Speaker 3: to give them the full central central distribution. We need
Speaker 3: to give them time to recruit. Like the decision for
Speaker 3: who was coming up and the IMG was what October
Speaker 3: the season starts. Your preseason starts in novemberly, so can
Speaker 3: you imagine can you imagine the Perth Bears getting the
Speaker 3: go ahead to be in the NRL a month before
Speaker 3: their preseason starts.
Speaker 1: No, it's absolutely.
Speaker 2: Ludicrously people are worried about the Perth Bears and PNG
Speaker 2: already in Australia. Well, PNG have had you know, quite
Speaker 2: a few years. Look, yeah, I wrote this last year
Speaker 2: and I said a point. Look, I could be proved
Speaker 2: wrong at the end of the season. Maybe Bradford will
Speaker 2: finished sixth and the will finish seventh, and to lose
Speaker 2: or finish eight, then I'll be wrong. And if I
Speaker 2: am wrong, I'll hold my hand up and everyone can
Speaker 2: slag me off, but there isn't the depth of quality
Speaker 2: of player in England and everyone knows that because they
Speaker 2: intrigue in they sorry they I can't speak about it.
Speaker 2: They increased the level of Quoda players to ten because
Speaker 2: there is reserve graders. There's reserve graders playing in Super League. Yeah,
Speaker 2: there's when in history on Good Friday and it was
Speaker 2: fantastic theater, don't get me wrong, but when in history
Speaker 2: on Good Friday of Saint Helen's had to get two
Speaker 2: loan players from a fellow team in their division to
Speaker 2: play in the Good Friday Derby in the summer game,
Speaker 2: not in the winter game, because that would have been
Speaker 2: near the end of the season in the summer again. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and the decisions that have been made, you know that
Speaker 2: there's a consequence for them all. So look, I don't
Speaker 2: have a problem with Bradford York and to lose being
Speaker 2: in Super League. I would have liked them to have
Speaker 2: had a year to prepare. That would be so much
Speaker 2: better in a year's time.
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 3: I think if you're going to explain the competition, you
Speaker 3: do it you you know, and one of the reasons
Speaker 3: why we can fold it against it. You do it
Speaker 3: with analysis, and you do it with a plane and
Speaker 3: you you know, you you come up with a strong argument.
Speaker 3: You don't just do it on a whim and hopeful
Speaker 3: the best. And also, you know, people forget last year
Speaker 3: there were so many blowouts at the cordy of the competition.
Speaker 3: You had, you know, a whole car at the top.
Speaker 3: You had Wigan and I have far behind Lee.
Speaker 1: Were up there.
Speaker 3: But there was some terrible games last year and I think,
Speaker 3: you know, I don't think we've seen many terrible games
Speaker 3: this year, which has been great, but I think the
Speaker 3: fear is that things will get worse.
Speaker 1: A long year.
Speaker 3: Look at you look, look, I think carsif had tried
Speaker 3: really hard yesterday, but Wakefield absolutely dominated them. Yeah, Huddersfield,
Speaker 3: Huddersfield against York was very one sided and lott Cudtersfield
Speaker 3: are not a great team and haven't been a great
Speaker 3: team for a long while. You know, we had some
Speaker 3: you know, hif C we're pretty much dominated by the
Speaker 3: whole car. Wigan Saints was a great game, Catlyn still loose,
Speaker 3: was very competitive, Bradford Leeds was very competitive for most
Speaker 3: of it. But yeah, you I mean Warrington absolutely did
Speaker 3: a number on Lee. There isn't the quality across the
Speaker 3: whole competition to back up for in teams.
Speaker 2: Canada Rugby League News on X wanted to talk about
Speaker 2: wanted us talk about Huddersfield resurgence, and I think we've
Speaker 2: done that in those exchanges there. You've also mentioned I
Speaker 2: think coaching futures at a few Super League clubs. So
Speaker 2: the next thing we probably should look at is the
Speaker 2: England head coaching role because I think that comes into
Speaker 2: coaching futures as well. So by the sounds of it, John,
Speaker 2: it sounds like they wanted Willy Peters. But Willie Peters
Speaker 2: has made his bed and that will be in Papa
Speaker 2: New Guinea. On the panel including other people are Kevin
Speaker 2: Sinfield and Nigel Wood. My theory is that those two
Speaker 2: were massive fans of Wayne Bennett. It's a six month contract.
Speaker 2: Wayne Bennett lives in Australia. They won't even need to
Speaker 2: pay for a long haul business class flight. He'll already
Speaker 2: be there. He's somebody who can galvanize a side to
Speaker 2: come up with a better performance in a few weeks.
Speaker 2: He can also mentor a cup of younger coaches and
Speaker 2: past the Batton onto them. So why don't we just
Speaker 2: announce him now? John I think, I mean it may
Speaker 2: be wa't be. I don't think it will be.
Speaker 3: Who do you think it will be? I think it's
Speaker 3: most likely to be either Brian mcdowald or Brad Arthur.
Speaker 3: I don't think there's a huge amount of support for
Speaker 3: poor Early. I don't think he'd been interviewed previously. But
Speaker 3: just to jump backstep, I mean we're in what I'm
Speaker 3: just sorry, I'm just checking the press reality.
Speaker 1: It was said on the first of April. We're in April.
Speaker 3: World Cup starts in October and the Ashes finished in November.
Speaker 3: Why are we just unveiling an interview panel now for
Speaker 3: six months? Six months till the World Cup. I mean,
Speaker 3: even Wayne Bennett he'll have some knowledge of some of
Speaker 3: those players. I mean there's even an advantage there. He
Speaker 3: was the coach but one of England, the last coach
Speaker 3: but one, so I think he did a fantastic job
Speaker 3: to the final and really competitive and then you know
Speaker 3: the Great Britain Tour was a disaster. But look, I
Speaker 3: just you know, we've got a panel here and this
Speaker 3: was put to me by someone. Kempvi Sinfield is on
Speaker 3: the panel Kempvi Sinfield obviously forming the captain one of
Speaker 3: the best players Leeds of all time. You know, great
Speaker 3: work for charity, but he does work for the r F.
Speaker 3: You is that a bit odd? Like you wouldn't get.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: You wouldn't get Joseph Saul on a panel to pick
Speaker 3: the next Kangaroos coach, would you. It's a bit that's
Speaker 3: a bit of an odd one. And then we've got
Speaker 3: someone who worked in hockey. We've got Abu, a cuckoo
Speaker 3: who's leaving his position, and we've got Mark Lovering.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: It's yeah, I just find it as another sort of
Speaker 3: indicator of how badly the sports run.
Speaker 2: Yeah, last round, the Easter weekend round, Huddersfield thirty four
Speaker 2: York fourteen tries for Huddersfield Clune, Eveld Zen and Gag
Speaker 2: Guy with two. Wolford Zen and kicked three goals. Russell
Speaker 2: kicked two goals. York fourteen came from Roberts and not
Speaker 2: Aloma and Williams and a goal to Roberts. Did we
Speaker 2: cover this game the other day?
Speaker 1: We didn't.
Speaker 3: This was Saturday. It was pretty it was a pretty
Speaker 3: one sided game. Hardersfield were pretty dominant throughout. Obviously with
Speaker 3: Evel's back. It was Adam Swift's first game of the season.
Speaker 3: Adam Klune very good, Zack Wolford very good the hooker.
Speaker 3: So you know, with your with you one, your seven
Speaker 3: in your nine back, Yeah, has Wild look a different team.
Speaker 3: I think, you know, the changing of the coach seems
Speaker 3: to have relieved. I don't know if it's a relief pressure,
Speaker 3: but the player seem a lot happier. And yet York
Speaker 3: just missing a lot of players. I think that's four
Speaker 3: lost in a round now for York. Yeah, it's getting tough.
Speaker 3: It's getting tough for York. I think they've overachieved early
Speaker 3: on and yeah they're sort of coming back to the park.
Speaker 3: But obviously he takes some of those key spying players
Speaker 3: out for York and this is you know, the reality
Speaker 3: that we see as well. So yeah, great if you're
Speaker 3: you're a Haddersfield family and Finn obviously auditioning for the job. Look,
Speaker 3: he's not got a huge amount of experience. I don't
Speaker 3: think he would be the right choice at Haddersfield. I
Speaker 3: think they need an experienced coach to take that club.
Speaker 3: But you know, I think there's issues off the field
Speaker 3: at Haddersfield, which we've talked about and written about at length.
Speaker 2: Before the back Super League victories for the first time
Speaker 2: since last August, Warrington forty two and.
Speaker 1: Unleash.
Speaker 2: They were unleashed Warrington forty two, Lee six. They weren't
Speaker 2: on leaf Lee tries for Warrington, Smith too from Ashton,
Speaker 2: Bentley filled in Williams and Powell seven goals to snade.
Speaker 2: Lee's points came from Cook who scored a try and
Speaker 2: kicked a goal and that win took Warrington to the
Speaker 2: top of the ladder and with everyone else on ten
Speaker 2: points as well. Your thoughts on that game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was one at the same time as the
Speaker 3: Haddersfield game, so I didn't watch it at length seeing
Speaker 3: the highlights and watched the same versus Press. A very
Speaker 3: good performance from from Warrington. They've also played a game
Speaker 3: less so may forget because they were scheduled to play
Speaker 3: Whole K.
Speaker 1: I win HOLEK or in Vegas.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Mark Sneah was back so you know you and
Speaker 3: Owen and they were missing a few forwards as well,
Speaker 3: so warranted. So I just yeah, Warrington done really really well,
Speaker 3: even the game they lost to Leeds they were, they were,
Speaker 3: they played well in that game. Yeah, I think the
Speaker 3: question is more Lee, so weirdly with the Challenge Cup
Speaker 3: Lee and I'm talking Leon, not the Leopards here. Warrington
Speaker 3: and Lee will play again in the Challenge Cup in.
Speaker 2: What venue is that? Warrington? Again, that's a really good question. Actually,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure the picture.
Speaker 3: I'll get to that later, but yeah, look, I think
Speaker 3: Lee are missing some key players, particularly a Pape and
Speaker 3: they're two fullbacks. But I don't think their recruitment this
Speaker 3: year has been as good as in previous years and
Speaker 3: they're struggling as a club. Yeah, I mean I think
Speaker 3: Warrington going to that Challenge Cup game as massive, massive favorites,
Speaker 3: so it'd be a huge job set if Lee beat
Speaker 3: The next weekend.
Speaker 2: Catalan's thirty three to lose twenty six tries from Sexton
Speaker 2: the Rala tours called du which is French for two
Speaker 2: coatrick fatarpe laolu tol ga.
Speaker 3: Guy?
Speaker 1: Is that how you say it? Pot? Just calling PLT.
Speaker 2: PLT goals from Sexton who kicked four of them, and
Speaker 2: a dropped goal from Leaming to lose scored twenty six
Speaker 2: through Ash hamp Bolt. You saw me and Paul Selly
Speaker 2: and the goals with them. Rouge, who scored three Catalan Dragons,
Speaker 2: survived a bit of a scare, I think from to
Speaker 2: lose later in the game, but they had fallen sixteen
Speaker 2: nilled down prior to that to lose, and then scored
Speaker 2: three tries of their own. It's to lose his fifth
Speaker 2: in a role this season. Defeat that is not looking good.
Speaker 3: Yeah, look, they were right in this game. I think
Speaker 3: they were a little bit unlucky with a few decisions.
Speaker 3: This was a fantastic game. The only problem was when
Speaker 3: the coverage would carry out or buffer or whatever. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I thought it was a great derby. The store for
Speaker 3: me has been Solomona Fatape and I'm sure I'm probably
Speaker 3: been out now incorrectly, but I think he'd come over
Speaker 3: from the West Tide. I don't know how much he
Speaker 3: played at the Tigers because he wasn't a playoffs for me,
Speaker 3: but he's been sensational.
Speaker 1: He's just got this ability to as a.
Speaker 3: Center, you know, draw his man and the winger and
Speaker 3: pop an off load while taking two players in contact.
Speaker 3: And he did it a couple of times on Saturday.
Speaker 3: He's a great talent and Yeah, top game, but again,
Speaker 3: as we said before, with to lose, I think it's
Speaker 3: just going to be harder and harder for them week
Speaker 3: in week out. The Lens have got the better squad
Speaker 3: on paper, a lot more experience at this level and
Speaker 3: greater depth.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: He played nineteen games for the West Tigers in twenty
Speaker 2: four and twenty five. Castleford nil Wakefield thirty four True
Speaker 2: all scored, Smoothie scored, Pratt scored two, Scott scored one
Speaker 2: and Joey kicked three goals. That's a fifth straight win
Speaker 2: in all competitions for wake who were one of those
Speaker 2: on the cluster of ten and Casford fall to the bottom.
Speaker 1: Not a good day for cass.
Speaker 3: Everything they seemed to try early on just didn't go
Speaker 3: right there, just no luck sort of went their way
Speaker 3: and Wakefield's big pack just brand right. I thought Lino
Speaker 3: and Truman were excellent, Oli Pratt was was really really good.
Speaker 1: Max Gaouet and.
Speaker 3: Maybe spurred on by the something of arties playing for
Speaker 3: his future, was was really really good. And yeah, if
Speaker 3: you're a Wakefield fan, you're in You're in heaven. You know,
Speaker 3: they got Wigan in a cup And if you're betting right,
Speaker 3: now you'd be saying Wakefield are looking pretty good for
Speaker 3: that one wigging with back to back losses, and Wakefield
Speaker 3: have got a good record against Wigan in recent years.
Speaker 3: They we seem to knock them off at at Bellevue.
Speaker 3: But yeah, this was Yeah. I feel I feel a
Speaker 3: bit for Cass because I think we're really competitive for
Speaker 3: most of the game and then just towards the end
Speaker 3: they were just falling off tackles and I think the
Speaker 3: last try the Triman scored did. The defense on Pratt
Speaker 3: was very very poor and Ryan Carr didn't mince his
Speaker 3: words again post game. But yeah, Wakefield just very very
Speaker 3: good five wins as you wrote, as you said, yeah,
Speaker 3: great push up the table for the trim.
Speaker 2: Simon Paul regular contributor to keep them coming mate. Video
Speaker 2: referee reviewing system is more time consuming than last year.
Speaker 2: This plus an unnecessary captain's challenge, is a big turn off.
Speaker 2: We need less video ref interventions. Ref should give, not give,
Speaker 2: or go to the video ref, which would mean most
Speaker 2: wouldn't go to the video ref.
Speaker 3: Please discuss, discuss. I don't really agree with that personally.
Speaker 3: I liked the fact that it's given and then it
Speaker 3: goes up. I don't think it takes longer. I think
Speaker 3: it takes less than last year.
Speaker 1: And while we.
Speaker 3: Don't want, you know, video referees, you know, fifteen minute deliberations,
Speaker 3: people seem to forget. And I'm old enough and I'm
Speaker 3: sure you are lay about all the horrendous decisions that
Speaker 3: we used to have in the past, you know that
Speaker 3: either didn't.
Speaker 1: Get awarded or got awarded when they were obvious. You know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the same thing. There's a lot of
Speaker 3: people pushing it back against the Captain's challenge. I don't
Speaker 3: have a problem with it. I like the system. I
Speaker 3: think it's a personal preference.
Speaker 1: That's just me.
Speaker 2: Somebody wants us to talk about development in London the South,
Speaker 2: that's mister h history.
Speaker 1: I saw that there wasn't really it was just talk
Speaker 1: about it. There wasn't really.
Speaker 2: Well, I think you're having a way. I think you're
Speaker 2: having a way because we spoke about the NRL investment.
Speaker 2: I mean the South isn't getting serviced because the development
Speaker 2: officers have been caught, so there's lesson.
Speaker 1: Yeah in the South.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they've been cut. They've been cut for ages, you know.
Speaker 3: I think and I think the new owners at London Broncos.
Speaker 3: One of the things that they've tried to do since
Speaker 3: taking over the club, I think it was September last
Speaker 3: year is reconnect all the different rugby league elements in London.
Speaker 3: So you know, the Homer Smith Hillberlhoys are connected to
Speaker 3: the Broncos and you know the amateur clubs. I don't
Speaker 3: know that. I don't live in London and I don't
Speaker 3: cover the club closely enough to know exactly what's going
Speaker 3: down in that market, but I do know there are
Speaker 3: a lot of people in the capitol who are passionate
Speaker 3: and involved in rugby league, of fans of rugby league,
Speaker 3: and yeah there's you know, you were talking about Bill
Speaker 3: Lalen before the whole hooker who basically won the game
Speaker 3: for Saint Helen's. Yeah, he's from London. He's a London
Speaker 3: Broncos player. You know Clipe Peas Paul who was you know,
Speaker 3: on an edge for the West Tigers what two hours ago.
Speaker 1: He's a London product.
Speaker 3: Like you know, there's so much that that market can
Speaker 3: give the sport, you know, through talent. So yeah, we
Speaker 3: need to be we need to be pushing, you know,
Speaker 3: the amateur game in that part of the country we need,
Speaker 3: we need development offices. They've been cat as you said,
Speaker 3: in the Midlands, they've been cut in in London, and
Speaker 3: they've been in other areas in Wales and Scotland, et cetera.
Speaker 1: So we need fanding for that to come back. NRL.
Speaker 2: Since we did our Friday Pod, we've had Saint George
Speaker 2: Dragons fall to another defeat.
Speaker 1: Poor Shane Flanagan looked like looked like he was going
Speaker 1: to drop dead.
Speaker 2: To me, he was breathing, having breathing, heavily agitated. Look pale.
Speaker 2: I didn't like the look of whatsaw quite frankly, and
Speaker 2: I think what I wanted him to resign basically because
Speaker 2: he didn't look healthy to me, and obviously as well
Speaker 2: last week he had his son knocked out on the
Speaker 2: field for five minutes and I think that and I
Speaker 2: think the pressures get into him.
Speaker 1: You left out Ilawara there. You just killed the whole
Speaker 1: region of rugby St George. Yeah, I used to live
Speaker 1: in the Ila.
Speaker 3: No, in all seriousness, I didn't see the press I look.
Speaker 3: I think final again, there's no doubt he can coach.
Speaker 3: He's one of he's one of our old grand follower
Speaker 3: Caronal and that was a tremendous feat. But look, he's
Speaker 3: also you know, we had the peptide scandal, we had
Speaker 3: the thing where he was banned and he was working.
Speaker 3: He we talked about agendas before. He's a coach that
Speaker 3: seems to have very strong relationships with certain people in
Speaker 3: the media. He worked at Fox Sports, I've already seen.
Speaker 3: I think it was a bulldog Richie defending him, much
Speaker 3: much like Anthony Sebold and Isaac Moses client who had
Speaker 3: a lot of defenders in the media. And I think,
Speaker 3: you know, you can't judge the Seabold sacking by result
Speaker 3: from Karen Forum, but I think that was the right decision.
Speaker 3: Now fun again, Look, the Dragons is a tough gig,
Speaker 3: isn't it. They seemed since sort of Mary McGregor left
Speaker 3: or you know, during that they just seemed to be
Speaker 3: a club.
Speaker 1: Well you could say since Wayne Bennett left the ben clubs.
Speaker 3: They did have some good insane I did have some
Speaker 3: good periods when Widow was there and Graham was there.
Speaker 3: I think they were in the eighth I can't remember
Speaker 3: exactly what it was at twenty sixteen, seven eighteen. It
Speaker 3: seems like a million years ago. But yeah, it's a
Speaker 3: very tough going there, and you know, chef shamef. You
Speaker 3: don't want to see any coach struggle or under pressure.
Speaker 3: But you know that that seems to be a club
Speaker 3: that needs a bit of a reset. And yeah, you know,
Speaker 3: results are king. He's been there a while now, and
Speaker 3: I think it was interesting early. Was it was it
Speaker 3: round one or before the kickoff he said we're not
Speaker 3: going to win the comp this year. Yeah, yeah, like
Speaker 3: I think a little bit. Look, I can understand it
Speaker 3: because he's on hundred percent correct win this year, but
Speaker 3: maybe he was been too honest there for his own
Speaker 3: good and mainly that gives subconsciously does that give the
Speaker 3: players an out?
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: You're the you're the coach, Lee. Yeah, I thought that
Speaker 3: was an interesting comment. Stop stop looking at your sorry sorry.
Speaker 2: I mean a few times I thought he's been too
Speaker 2: negative in after game press conferences. He's focused on the negatives.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'll give you one example. They go to
Speaker 2: with the Bulldogs who finished top four last year at
Speaker 2: Las Vegas. They lose on Golden Point and they had
Speaker 2: a real good chance there. To just praise his players
Speaker 2: and say how good it was and you know, if
Speaker 2: I was a Saint George fan that day, had have
Speaker 2: been proud of the team, put it that way, and
Speaker 2: he looked at other things and he did that a
Speaker 2: few times last year too. The other Saints. They host
Speaker 2: Catalans this in the Cup at eight pm.
Speaker 1: Who's winning that? John?
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a that's an odd one because Catlens seem
Speaker 3: to have gone back to this stereotype of previous is
Speaker 3: where they travel the UK and they're very poor. St
Speaker 3: Helens will be riding the high after their derby win,
Speaker 3: but they're still missing a ton of good players, hence
Speaker 3: the whole k alone. So I think this could go
Speaker 3: eight away, but I'd probably be leaning towards Saint Helen's
Speaker 3: at home off the back of that derby winn and
Speaker 3: you know, a real big chance for a trophy. Now
Speaker 3: what we're in quarter finals, aren't we say? You're only
Speaker 3: you're only two more wins away from a from a
Speaker 3: round to Wembley.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think I think the Saints.
Speaker 2: York traveled to whole k Are at one thirty pm
Speaker 2: on Saturday, and Lee traveled to Warrington, So it's Warrington
Speaker 2: at home five point thirty on Sunday. I think you've
Speaker 2: already given your prediction for both of those. Wait for
Speaker 2: Wigan one PM. I definitely think this is a huge
Speaker 2: chance for Wakefield and I think Wigan could be the bounce.
Speaker 2: It's the game that around that one.
Speaker 3: Look wigging under pressure Wakefield, absolutely flying Wakefield with a
Speaker 3: great record against Wigan in Bellevue in for the last
Speaker 3: three or four years.
Speaker 1: A danger game for Wigan.
Speaker 3: Pressure on Maddy Pete to get his team up for
Speaker 3: this one and to get a result, and Darryl Powe
Speaker 3: will be licking his lips. Yeah, a huge game. I'm
Speaker 3: just I'm disappointed. I don't think I'll be able to
Speaker 3: get to this one because I've got a family commitment.
Speaker 3: I'm hoping to be at Warrenton Lee on Saturday. But yeah,
Speaker 3: by far, I think I think Saturday could be a
Speaker 3: sorry Friday Nights game could be close the Catlands game.
Speaker 3: I think we'll see big whole KR victory and probably
Speaker 3: an easy Warrington victory barring a minor miracle on Saturday.
Speaker 1: But yeah, this way Field working game.
Speaker 3: Is a is a juicy one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, fascinating to see how it plays out.
Speaker 2: There'll be no after the hooter this week because it's
Speaker 2: Cup weekend, so another another weekend off from We've done
Speaker 2: quite a future. To be fair, Hey, you're getting your
Speaker 2: nails down. I don't may. I've got great nails. Actually,
Speaker 2: many women compliment me on my nails and all we.
Speaker 1: Do is wash normally normally. That's good normally.
Speaker 2: In terms of the analysis video normally do for Super League,
Speaker 2: I've prepared one today and then I had a real
Speaker 2: tricky technological problem, so they may not be one this week.
Speaker 2: It depends. So if you don't see one, you understand why.
Speaker 1: John. Where can people get you?
Speaker 3: They can get me on Exit Johnny d Davids, and
Speaker 3: they can get me on Facebook at John Davidson Turnalist.
Speaker 3: They can get me in the paper, and they can
Speaker 3: get me on Patreon at Rugby League hub dot com,
Speaker 3: long breeds and
Speaker 2: I'm admin at Rugby League Coach dot comdatay you on
Speaker 2: email at Rugby League Coach on socials Rugby League Coach
Speaker 2: dot comdatay you website, take care of everybody,