Wayne Bennett warned players against strike action following a media blackout in Round 19 as their bitter pay war with the with NRL drags on.
The Bulldogs’ signing of Toby Sexton appears to be a masterstroke, with the playmaker impressing in his new club’s win over Souths.
Canberra collected their 11th win of the season but there’s a glaring problem Ricky Stuart must address if his side are going to be genuine premiership contenders.
Read below for all the latest Talking Points from Round 19.
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Redcliffe Dolphins Press Conference | 05:48
FOX LEAGUE PODCAST – ORIGIN TEAMS & RECORD LOSSES
Fox Sports journalists Darcie McDonald and Eamonn Tiernan dissect all of the big ins and outs after NSW and Queensland announced their teams for Origin III. They also dive deeper into the Tigers’ and Bulldogs’ horror Round 18 losses. Listen NOW >
BENNETT WARNS PLAYERS IN NRL-RLPA WAR
It was a weekend full of close games with little-known players starring in the absence of State of Origin stars – but fans were denied hearing from them.
Round 19 marked the first week of the media boycott due to the latest impasse between the Rugby League Players Association and the NRL on a new collective bargaining.
RLPA boss Clint Newton has suggested strike action is a possibility if the NRL doesn’t return to the negotiating table, but Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett warned players against it.
“Personally, I couldn’t back that. There is more than us in this game and they are called the fans and they don’t deserve that,” Bennett said.
“When it’s all said and done, the players have been guaranteed their income and that deal has been done, they just have to tidy up some other stuff so yeah, I couldn’t support them going on strike.”
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has been steadfast on the fairness of the deal offered to players since the media boycott was announced last Thursday, labelling it a “landmark” deal.
“We believe our offer was a fair one,” Abdo said.
“We believe it did accommodate the major concerns that have been raised but that’s now up to the Commission (ARLC) as to what happens next.”
Bennett says the players have genuine grievances on a couple of sticking points, one of which includes the NRL’s ability to increase the length of the season without approval.
“Looking from the outside looking in, a couple of the (issues) aren’t that hard. I don’t know how many are on the table, I only know about three or four of them but it’s not that hard if someone wants to give a little bit,” Bennett said after the Dolphins’ win over the Titans on Sunday night.
“Extra games and the possibility of the game doing that, I just can’t see why that would be that important to the game. We have a tremendous competition now and we’ve got State of Origin, Test matches and indigenous games so we will fill everybody’s wishes.
“It should be sorted, I mean the NRL obviously has a position as well but the good thing is they are not fighting about the money.
“I’m not sitting at the meetings so I don’t know but I know this much, they have to find a way to resolution because it’s not in anybody’s interest.”
The boycott is set to continue through Origin III on Wednesday and possibly longer.
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SILVER LINING FOR BULLDOGS LEADERS AMID MASSIVE TURNAROUND
One of the greatest halfback of all time believes Bulldogs mid-season recruit Toby Sexton may hold the keys to unlocking his new halves partner Matt Burton.
Sexton enjoyed a stellar debut for Canterbury on Saturday night just days after joining the struggling club from the Titans.
Sexton and Burton combined beautifully in the halves as they dismantled the Rabbitohs in a thrilling 36-22 victory.
“(Sexton) obviously has got a very good temperament because he had a good balance in his game,” Cronk said.
“Going through what he’s gone through (moving down this week), he’s had a couple of runs, a couple of line breaks, but his biggest glowing endorsement is Matt Burton had one of his best games of the year and you’ve got to give Burton credit because he stood up and was the go-to man but he was assisted by his new halfback.”
They say a week is a long time in rugby league and the Bulldogs proved that saying true by bouncing back from a 66-0 loss to beat the Rabbitohs.
Cronk also singled out co-captains Burton and Reed Mahoney for special praise and believes the hard times will be the making of the duo as players and leaders.
“It is probably a little early for Mahoney and Burton in terms of their leadership journeys,” Cronk said.
“It is probably a little bit early for putting Burton in at halfback, but I tell you what they will learn the lessons from what has happened.
“Burton will be a better five-eighth for having worn the No.7. He will be able to help and work through a game a little bit better because he has been exposed to those moments, so that will complement him down the line.
“And what Reed is going through he will be a much better captain and player down the line, so they are invested in the future right now.”
The Bulldogs are in a tough rebuilding phase, but Cronk believes they have shown enough glimpses of promise to provide hope for the future for their long-suffering fans.
“While it (their consistency) is not great, tonight was terrific and the last two weeks were poor, but I think there is something to work with,” Cronk said.
“Ciraldo has to have picked up a lot of good things from his time at Penrith and you have got to have a little bit of faith in your journey.
“The Bulldogs have been inconsistent, but their good has been pretty impressive and their bad has been not great, but there is something there to work with.
“They have beaten the Storm, the Cowboys and now the Rabbitohs, so they have shown they can beat the best and now the challenge is to improve their consistency.”
TIGERS’ HUGE HOLE EXPOSED AS SHARKS’ UNSUNG HERO RUNS RIOT
The Tigers were brave to bounce back from their 74-0 loss to the Cowboys, but their Achilles heel was again ruthlessly exposed by the Sharks.
The Tigers were right in the contest at 12-12 at halftime, but lost the second half 24-0 and Matty Johns believes their lack of creativity in their spine makes it very hard to stay in the fight with the top teams.
“The Tigers had a serious dig they really did, but without Luke Brooks and Api Koroisau they are just at the mercy of the opposition,” Johns said on The Late Show with Matty Johns.
“They really lacked creativity without those key spine players.
“There were three or four straightforward opportunities for repeat sets and they couldn’t get it done,
“That’s bread an butter for a half. Koroisau is a big loss. That middle of the season when they had the revival they were building their attack around Koroisau. With those two blokes out it is just huge.”
Bryan Fletcher believes Nicho Hynes was the difference between two fairly evenly matched sides, with the Tigers struggling to convert pressure into points.
“The effort was there from the Tigers, but the class of the Sharks shone through,” Fletcher said.
Milne stunned after sin-bin confusion | 01:19
“Nicho Hynes has been playing great this year for the Sharks.
“The loss of Brooks has been massive for the Tigers. They get down the opposition’s end and they just look out of ideas.”
Gorden Tallis believes the Sharks are one of the most dangerous sides in the competition on their edges and singled out back-rower Briton Nikora for special praise.
“Cronulla are very good when they go to their edges,” Tallis said.
“Briton Nikora is having an outstanding season. He comes up with the right plays.
“Three tries for the centres Siosifa Talakai and Jesse Ramien and three for Sione Katoa on the wing, so that says how good they are on the edges this season.”
Johns agreed Nikora’s ability to straighten the attack on the edges opens up countless opportunities for his centres and wingers out wide.
“Nikora is excellent,” Johns said.
“If you watch that right side the Sharks always strip the defence short and he starts it all with that straight run, it is a beauty. That line just forces the defence in and the flyers out wide take advantage.”
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Sharks sink Tigers in second half run | 02:15
LOMAX SILENCES THE NOISE
Dragons gun Zac Lomax has had a turbulent season so far at the Red V, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a mammoth performance against the Raiders.
The 23-year-old was dropped by sacked coach Anthony Griffin before reports emerged incoming coach Shane Flanagan had granted the star centre permission to negotiate with rivals.
Lomax’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026 season and the young gun is reportedly earning around $800,000-per-season.
Despite the noise surrounding his future, Lomax let his on-field performance do the talking in his side’s 36-26 loss against Canberra.
He came alive in the second half to finish with two tries, four tackle busts and a linebreak a linebreak to go with 190 running metres.
Legendary halfback Cooper Cronk believes the best is yet to come for the young centre.
“You’d just love to see more of that from Zac each week with more consistency because his ability to beat players one-on-one and set up wingers with a flick pass,” Cronk said.
When it comes to the hardest part of the game, jeez he’s good at it, but do the easier parts more consistently and you probably become a better player.
“If he’s at the Dragons, or if he gets moved on, there’s just something there that you think that you can get something out of Zac.”
Lomax has previously been touted as an Origin player in waiting, having been included in the NSW extended squad in 2020.
Flanagan previously denied reports he would allow Lomax to depart the club.
“I want all my players to want to be at the club and Zac Lomax is exactly the same as Ben Hunt – he won’t be leaving the club at anytime soon,” Flanagan said on 2GB.
“I’ve spoken to Zac, I want to work with him, I want to improve him and he needs to play better underneath me and that’s my job.
“We won’t be considering letting any players go.”
However, the former premiership-winning coach has a big job on his hands to shift fortunes at the Red V and a huge roster overhaul looms ahead of the 2024 season.
Raiders survive scare to defeat Dragons | 02:27
RAIDERS’ WORRYING PATTERN CONTINUES
They wound up leaving Wollongong with a handy two points on Friday night, courtesy of a 36-26 win against the Dragons, but it was again an unnerving experience for the Raiders faithful after their side was guilty of yet another second half fade out.
Heading to the main break with a 24-6 lead, the Raiders seemed to be going through the motions while the Dragons looked hungry, scoring three tries in a six minute period to bridge the margin to four points with 15 minutes to play.
Canberra would score a try with seven minutes to go to seal the game and extend the lead to ten, which remarkably, is the Raiders largest winning margin of the season. That’s quite the stat considering they’ve posted 11 victories in 2023.
“The Raiders were more complacent tonight than the Dragons were great,” Cooper Cronk said on Fox League after the match.
While realising the importance of the two competition points in a very tight season, Stuart was incredulous post-match due to his side’s “patchy defence” and lack of smarts throughout the second forty minutes.
“We should have put them away tonight,” Stuart said on Triple M.
“To let them back into that game there with some lapses in defence … it’s frustrating because the momentum changed and we couldn’t get it back.
“We hung in there and got the two points but it’s not the way I wanted to win tonight.
“I sensed a confident football team with a lot of belief (at halftime). It’s not the courage or character of the individuals; there are areas of our games we didn’t defend well.
“We got to a ten point lead and then we want to try and go around them and score a try again there with six or seven minutes to go. It’s crap. We got to be smarter than that.
“We have to fix it ASAP. It’s getting into the back end of the season now and we need to keep pushing forward.”
With 26 points, the Raiders find themselves firmly in the top eight and will likely play finals footy, however against the better sides at the business end of the season; a complete performance over 80 minutes will be required.
Fox League’s Yvonne Sampson said post-match that Stuart will have to challenge his side to not lose their concentration.
“What does Ricky Stuart think when he’s watching these second halves. Obviously it’s not just this season; this has been a long time thing for the Canberra Raiders,” Sampson said.
“How do you keep them concentrated because the deeper we go into this season and we hit finals, the Raiders won’t have the luxury of affording to switch off in the second half.”
Canberra Raiders Press Conference | 04:30
RELIABLE ROOKIE KEEPS TOP FOUR HOPES ALIVE
The Warriors have kept their top four hopes alive after Luke Metcalf produced the best 80 minutes of his young career to help his side to a dominant 46-10 win over the understrength Eels.
On a night where Shaun Johnson celebrated his 200th game for the Warriors, it was his halves partner playing just his sixth match for the club who stole the show to help his side bounce back from last week’s disappointing loss at home to Souths.
The 24-year-old was simply unstoppable on Saturday night, scoring two tries and setting up another in the first half as the Warriors raced out to a 30-4 lead at the break thanks to a four try burst in the final 14 minutes.
Johnson has carried the team on his back all year but it was Metcalf who stood tall when he took the line on to open the scoring before winger Marcelo Montoya bagged a quick double.
The five-eighth then added his second when he ran through a disjointed defensive line, and he would have had a first half hat-trick had he not spilt a Johnson grubber over the line.
“I thought the best part of Luke’s game was how reliable he was,” Warriors coach Andrew Webster said.
“It wasn’t flashy. It looked flashy because he’s brilliant – he’s fast and he moves well – but it was within the way we wanted to play. Luke shines when he does that.”
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Warriors run riot to defeat Eels | 02:15