Team sheet blunder sums up Dragons; new contender in Blues halves battle: Talking Pts

An embarrassing team sheet blunder summed up the Dragons’ horror season, while Reece Walsh firmed for a Queensland nod as the Broncos bounced back.

Meanwhile, the Blues are suddenly flush with halves options to partner Nathan Cleary in the State of Origin opener.

Read on for all the key NRL Talking Points in Round 7.

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WALKER, HYNES STORM INTO ORIGIN CONTENTION

With Origin just over six weeks away, selection conversations have begun and the spotlight has been shone on one position in the NSW backline — five-eighth.

Jarome Luai has played five out of the last six Origin games in the No.6 jersey, winning the series in 2021 before going down in 2022.

The 26-year-old has been a vital cog in the most dominant team of the last three seasons, the Panthers, winning back-to-back premierships and featuring in three grand finals.

However, his ability to stand tall in the big moments has come under fire despite an impressive World Cup campaign, leading Samoa to second place.

Brad Fittler has a huge decision to make regarding who will partner Nathan Cleary and the form of two players can’t be ignored — Cody Walker and Nicho Hynes.

Walker has been on fire for the Rabbitohs and coach Jason Demetriou labelled him “the best five-eighth in the game” after their Dolphins demolition.

“I’ve said it before, when he gets himself in the game like he does, he’s the best five-eighth in the game. He’s a pleasure to coach when he’s in that kind of mood,” Demetriou said.

The 33-year-old assisted three tries and scored one of his own to secure a 36-14 win with 30 second-half points.

Coming into Round 7, Walker had only recorded three try assists but had crossed the line four times.

Walker has previously played four games for the Blues and was dropped only one game into the 2019 series before playing all three games in the 2020 series loss.

During that period, Walker has arguably been one of the game’s best five-eighths and Wayne Bennett said “Cody (Walker) is one of the most skilful players that I coached” during the week.

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‘I DON’T CREATE THAT’: Griffin responds to pressure after latest ‘frustrating’ loss

BIG HITS: ‘Scintillating’ Walsh shines for Broncos; Tino’s ‘tough’ sin bin turns match

‘F**K ME DEAD’: Gagai slammed for ‘mouthing off’ as he cops dissent penalty

Meanwhile, Hynes made an instant impact in his return from a calf injury against the Dragons in Round 4 and came up with yet another statement performance in Friday’s win over the Roosters.

Hynes came up with a game-changing play in what NSW advisor Greg Alexander said was an “amazing” second half from the Cronulla halfback.

He finished the game with a try assist, two linebreaks, two linebreak assists, four tackle busts, two offloads and 127 running metres.

Although he’s wearing the No.7 at club level, he showed during his time at the Storm that he can fill a number of positions — including five-eighth.

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon was asked in the post-game press conference if Hynes was ready for Origin and he threw his support behind the 26-year-old marquee playmaker.

“He’s fearless. He doesn’t die wondering, he just gets out there and goes for it. He could handle that, he’s ready for that. It’s not up to me to make the selections of course but I tell you what he’d go down swinging.”

Hynes was asked the same question and while he admitted representing the Blues is a “dream” of his, he stressed that to be in contention he has to consistently perform at club level.

“It’s been a dream of mine forever. I’ve been involved in the last couple of years as 18th man so I’d love to get just one jersey number smaller,” he said.

“Just to run out onto that Origin arena would be awesome but you can’t be up for selection if you’re not playing good football for the Sharks.”

TEAM SHEET BUNGLE SUMS UP SORRY DRAGONS

The Dragons’ tough start to the season was summed up by an embarrassing selection bungle that saw them robbed of an interchange before a ball had been kicked against the Raiders.

The Dragons named hooker Jacob Liddle to start in jersey No.9 an hour before kick-off, but utility Moses Mbye in jersey No.14 actually started the game at dummyhalf.

Under NRL rules that constitutes an interchange if a team runs out a different team to the one they are required to submit an hour before the game begins.

While there were plenty of other reasons the Dragons lost 20-14 to the Raiders in another lacklustre display, Matty Johns believes the amazing oversight sums up where the club is at, at the moment.

“I think at the moment what sums up the plight of the Dragons is they named Jacob Liddle to start at hooker, but Moses Mbye took the field,” Johns said on Sunday Night with Matty Johns.

“That straight away cost them an interchange. Like how does that happen?”

Bryan Fletcher was in shock that such a blunder could happen in an NRL game.

“When I heard that I couldn’t believe it,” Fletcher said.

“It’s a bit like the Tigers when something is going wrong it seems to continue.”

“Like the saying when it rains it pours and then it hails,” Johns added.

Despite both sides struggling in attack in a first half that was on track to be the first scoreless first 40 minutes since Round 19 of 2021, the Dragons still had their chances.

Hudson Young was sin-binned giving the Dragons one final play to score against 12 men, but Ben Hunt chose to hit Josh Kerr for a hit-up in a confounding decision.

“They had a late attacking opportunity,” Johns said.

“The Raiders were down to 12 men at the end and the Dragons had two or three tackles from a scrum but couldn’t muster it.”

Nathan Hindmarsh believes the Dragons should have tried almost anything other than a forward hit-up with the game on the line and the opportunity to force golden point.

“That last option there where they just hit the forward there and he couldn’t get rid of the ball,” Hindmarsh said.

“There could have been something. Like even put up a kick and “Hail Mary” it, but don’t just hit a front-rower to get wrapped up and waste the time.”

The Dragons have now slumped to 13th with just two wins from six games to start the year heaping more pressure on under fire coach Anthony Griffin ahead of a crunch board meeting on Tuesday.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Dragons in an ANZAC Day clash with the Roosters the following Tuesday.

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WALSH’S ORIGIN BID GATHERS STEAM AS BRONCOS BOUNCE BACK

The Broncos bounced back from their first loss of the season with a convincing 43-26 win over the Titans as Reece Walsh continued his push for a Queensland Origin debut.

Walsh had 106 run metres, seven tackle busts, two linebreaks, two try assists and a try and his play over a 15-minute burst in the second half single-handedly turned the match in the Broncos’ favour.

Cooper Cronk believes Walsh is ready for the Origin arena, but in an ominous warning for the rest of the NRL he thinks he has only scratched the surface of his potential.

“I don’t think Reece has hit the ceiling in terms of what he can improve,” Cronk said.

“In terms of his performances this year of course he can play Origin.

“He has got the acceleration, the footy IQ, the awareness and the confidence and the swagger to turn up in big moments.

“But if you want to see improvement, Origin is based on hard work and effort and defence.

“And you might not get many opportunities in Origin, but when you get your opportunity you need to be ready.”

The Broncos now sit two points clear of the Panthers on top of the table with the best points differential (plus 86) in the game.

Bryan Fletcher believes the Broncos were already an attacking juggernaut without Walsh, but his game has taken them to another level.

“My best performance of the week was Reece Walsh,” Fletcher said.

“You can’t buy speed and this kid has got it.

“Just everything he does he is doing it at 100 per cent.

“They have got a lot of prowess in their attack without him, but he just adds that X-factor.

“He can, run, pass and kick. He is an absolute beauty.

“You would think he will be fullback for the Maroons in a couple of weeks.”

Matty Johns believes a happy dressing room is important and Walsh is doing as much with his energy off the field as he is on it and it is rubbing off on his teammates.

“It is his exuberance around the field,” Johns said.

“He is a scallywag and every dressing room needs a couple.

“I saw him the other night and he was buzzing around and giving blokes a kiss on the cheek and revving the boys up. A football side needs that.”

The Broncos now have a tough run of fixtures against the Eels, Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles, Panthers and Storm that will test just how far this team has come from last year.

COWBOYS EARLY SEASON WOES CONTINUE

The Cowboys surprised the NRL world with a third placed finish in 2022, with many predicting Todd Payten’s side to win the wooden spoon.

With no expectation on their shoulders, North Queensland thrived but their 2023 campaign has been nothing short of disappointing.

The Cowboys have won only two of their first seven games, beating only the Raiders in Round 1 and Titans in Round 4.

Payten’s side have now lost three games on the trot after going down to the Warriors 22-14 in a scrappy affair.

The Warriors made more errors, were forced to make more tackles in their own 20-metre zone and completed at a rate nine per cent lower than their opponent.

But still, the Cowboys couldn’t capitalise and failed to secure two vital competition points.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Payten said the loss came down to defence.

“I am disappointed with the result… in the end they just defended their line better than we did,” Payten said.

“I thought we had plenty of opportunity, we asked some really good questions… we are getting close, but close is not good enough.

“We had too many yardage penalties, we had four in the first half, one after half time, if you want to win you can’t be doing that.”

Captain Chad Townsend echoed his coach’s opinion and also highlighted the volatile conditions at Mt Smart Stadium.

“Defensive resolve on the line, I thought both teams had their chances with the ball, it was tough conditions, wind was swelling,” Townsend said.

“It was quite hard to throw long passes, but they showed a little bit more desperation on the tryline than we did.”

The Cowboys are now fixed in the bottom three on the ladder and face three tough opponents in their next three fixtures in the Knights, Sharks and Roosters.

Payten’s side lost only seven games in 2022, but are facing the real prospect of passing that number by Round 10 in 2023.

The Cowboys coach also made a peculiar switch an hour before kick-off, bringing Jake Granville into the starting front row.

Payten explained he wanted to save an interchange and allow Reuben Cotter to stay on the field for the whole second half.

However, the move backfired with the Warriors’ forward pack dominating the middle early in the contest.

“We pushed Reuben back to the bench to save an interchange, he was always going to finish the game so it gives us a bit of flexibility with the ruck rotation,”

“Jake has been really good for us the last fortnight, a little bit of reward for the way he is going for us.”

MANLY ANSWER CRITICS IN BRUTAL BATTLE OF BROOKVALE 2.0

The critics had their knives out for the Sea Eagles after two losses and a draw in their last three games, but they proved they can be a force in 2023 with an upset 18-8 win over the Storm.

Matty Johns believes Manly showed what they can do when they simplify their game plan and focus on commitment in defence.

“When you talk about this game the first thing you have got to talk about is the physicality,” Johns said.

“Haumole Olakau’atu and Josh Aloai do a shot on Justin Olam and I have never seen Justin Olam rattled like it.”

Bryan Fletcher agreed the Sea Eagles built their win over the Storm on their defence after a horror outing in that department against the Panthers last week.

“The week before against Penrith, Manly missed 48 tackles,” Fletcher said.

“It is funny when you watch a video and what it can do.

“We always say defence is an attitude, but the line speed Manly had, Melbourne were never in that game.”

Nathan Hindmarsh noted how Manly kept two of the best players this season in Cameron Munster and Harry Grant out of the game.

“Munster had a quiet night at fullback and Harry Grant I think they kept him to four runs for the game,” Hindmarsh said.

Johns believes the criticism levelled at Manly inspired them to prove the doubters wrong and commended the influence of Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic.

“It was slippery conditions, but it is the old thing, criticism sharpens the sword,” Johns said.

“Manly had a lot of criticism the previous two weeks, so they were right up for the occasion.

“Daly Cherry-Evans was the best player on the field by a way.

“He was outstanding. It was his running game. You know he is on when his running game is on.

“I thought Tom Trbojevic was very good as well. On Tom’s first run you saw him poke his nose through and you could tell he was on.”

“People don’t give Cherry-Evans enough credit for how strong his running game actually is,” Hindmarsh agreed.

“As a half you have got to mix it up. A lot of halves these days are just passing halves.”

KNIGHTS PROVE THEY HAVE NEW STEEL IN PANTHERS HEART-REAKER

They may have gone down 16-15 on the back of a clutch Nathan Cleary field goal in golden point, but there are signs the Knights have turned a corner under coach Adam O’Brien.

Newcastle were arguably the better team on the night and only lost due to the brilliance of the Panthers, Blues and Kangaroos magician.

Knights legend Matty Johns believes the better team lost, but paid tribute to the excellence of Cleary to pull the Panthers out of the fire.

“Tyson Gamble kicked the field goal and then Nathan Cleary kicked one to send it to golden point and that seven tackle set when they marched their way down, you just had the feeling Nathan was going to get it done and eventually he did,” Johns said.

Bryan Fletcher believes the injuries to key Knights players including Kalyn Ponga have galvanised the team and got them playing for each other.

“The Knights that was their best effort of the year,” Fletcher said.

“They didn’t get the win, but there are a few players coming back including Kalyn Ponga.

“They have really adapted with him not being there. They are playing a real simple game based on all those little effort areas.”

Johns praised the Knights players for giving their fans what they expect every single week and now the challenge is to find that consistency in their performance.

“They were really good, they were fantastic actually,” Johns said.

“There was a big crowd there and that is a fact, over the years the fans don’t turn up demanding a win, but they demand effort and that’s what they gave them.

“It was really good and for them I can imagine it was heartbreaking but if you are taking the Premiers all the way to the line, there is a lot of good stuff going on.

“They are a lot fitter this year and their attitude is fantastic.”

The Knights have the chance to climb back into the top eight with fixtures against the Cowboys, Eels and Titans as well as a bye in the next four weeks and Ponga will be back on deck to help the cause.