Lachlan Galvin is the best young player Gus has ever seen: Six Tackles with Gus - Ep27 | NRL on Nine

Welcome welcome to six tackles with Gus for another week looking at Round 26 of the competition two weeks to go and then it's into finals time on the schedule today is the NYC the National Youth competition on the way back Tom troit wants to take a pay cut the NRL say no why plenty of great ask Gus questions and some excellent games this week to have a look at welcome Gus Matthew Thompson how you doing very good that's good you're sweet 100% it's warm today I I walked out with my on it happens at this time every year everyone gets sucked in see you get the weather gets warm you think the summer's coming two weeks time it'll be freezing cold again it teases you we traditionally get rain the first weekend of the finals there's a little bit of rain gets cool again but all of a sudden you get excited because you can feel that warm puffer breeze on your cheek it's been particularly un seasonally warm this week but that's uh that's not uncommon soon the Westerly winds will come that lets you know September's coming around yes I've lived through this period for a number of years you're an expert on it by the sounds of things you know what else is not we'll all be in we'll be all in sweaters and jumpers again next week you see it's a shame you know it also just around the corner spring racing yeah it's nearly started that's what you got any horses running around this spring my horses are like my footballers they're all injured in the padic what do you mean who's injured Kurt man done poor and Blake Wilson's done his ankle and oh is he it's a shame no good Steve Cotton's out this week danger game we'll talk about all of that we have some great ask us questions i' I found this Oregon is the best question we've ever had it's not even related to football I'm going to throw it at you off the top because this could go anywhere okay one of our loyal listeners fig tree Russo jents you can have a meal beer coffee Which sports player would you have lunch with? SLR of golf whatever you want with a sports person alive or dead who would you choose a sports person alive or dead what anywhere in the world anywhere what a great question Sports person alive or dead anyone okay come back to me on that Sports person alive or dead what would you ask them what would you sit and talk about what do hell would it be I don't know I don't know I think I'd like to go back and talk to Richie Beno about Cricket in the early days and then the World Series and that'll be fun the back of years I think that would be unbelievably good I'd love to go and talk to the greats of golf like Jack Nicholas [Music] um you know the really great golfs I'd love to go back and have a a conversation with clyve Churchill I'd love to talk to Norm proven about the the dragons era because that's where I grew up following football this is a very illustrious dinner you're collating here yeah you know all those sort of things and that's sort of in our neck of the woods that's sort of you know um what about any great uh racing people would you talk to what about would you have a lunch with TJ Smith or someone yeah I'd like to go back and and have a talk to some of the old jockeys about what they used to get up to a bit colorful Georgie Moore or someone like that uh TJ wouldd be a wonderful one to talk about I used to go when I was young and I used to go to the races I used to go and stand by The Stables there at uh at Ram week because TJ Smith would be settling up horses and owners and pters and everyone would be coming to have a chat to him and so this you'd go to the races and you'd go up that part of the the course you know I would always go and look at the horses I love looking at the horses I love horses and I'd always go and look at the horses in the horse stalls I get there early and go and look at all the horses and then I'd run off and do what I wanted to do for the day which was usually drinking and gambling but um I was there for the love of the horse and uh um you know later in life I've Had The Good Fortune to have shares in horses and race a few horses it's all for fun um yeah I loved horse racing yeah be to talk to some of those old jockeys for the old days and um I mean Bart Cummings I think would be an interesting uh an interesting conversation oh interview Bart Cummings once did you he had some great quotes over the years B Cummings he was fantastic yeah yeah that's a that's well I'll tell you what I'll give you the rest of this podcast to think about some others maybe some overseas people but I I thought about this when I saw the question yeah Keith Miller yeah he's an amazing story isn't so this is a Don Bradman I guess i' I'd want to go back and talk about Don Bradman and the body line series and the Depression years and and all those sorts of things um you know depends how far you go back there's so many legendary stories that uh I never got to meet any of those people or even see them play or play cricket you know you mentioned Richie Benner we have the great Fortune here and I do a bit of cricket stuff during the summer we don't have the rights anymore but we still did the odd show and Ian Chapel he's he is the best he's the best company his stories are just in brilliant and he's got incredible recol and he's a great Storyteller I I actually um back when I first finished coaching and my first one of my first 4ay into the media was working in radio and I work with uh Peter Bosley May used to do the sports show in the evenings my first job in media was to produce that show Gus was it really and um a couple of evenings U during the course of the year he would bring Richie Beno in and Richie Beno would ask questions from you get asked questions from the public but from the time he sat down Richie he would totally tape everything he would run the whole show you know off off microphone he would be running how long that would go and what this would do and he was just so professional so calm and his turn of phrase was brilliant like sometimes it would be two-word answers to the question and then he' just cut them off and and let him go and uh yeah absolutely he was um the pro the professional's professional I remember when I first started commentary here at Channel 9 Carrie Packer gave us a uh used to have a little booklet a commentary booklet I've heard about the booklet yeah a little commentary booklet and in that booklet um he and um Richie Beno had written advice for commentators about what you should and shouldn't say or when you and when you shouldn't talk um over that time was quite uh would be quite brilliant at the time that would be invaluable if you still had that lying around some you think about you think about Richie bner because they you know the criet goes for 6 hours a day there's three 2our sessions and there's a lot of commentary in between and then you know bits of panel for the lunch break and a bit of panel for the tea break and pregame the thing I love about Richie Beno the most was back in the old days that you never used to see the cricket live from England like Ash's Cricket live from England but every night at 11:00 there'd be a postday show to summarize a d and he would come in and introduce the action and commentate on the action I used to sit up and live for that I would live for him giving the day activity in the in the Cricket World Around the as it so yeah Richie was one of the but I I'd imagine he'd have a thousand stor and Chapel would have a thousand well whenever we have a a bit of they were a bit of a brat pack weren't they Chapel more oh yeah but whenever we have like a gathering of the sports department in Chapel always comes yeah and I just make a be live for him and we just sit there and talk Cricket the whole time it's a it's fabulous one wonderful recollection of the history and he'll argue with you like he loves to have a debate he wants to argue about but he's passionate about it absolutely but Miller right now this is rival podcast but I will give them a plug PL called Titus O'Reilly I've listened to a couple does a podcast with Mick Malloy Sports bazarre they call they did a three or four part series on Keith Miller and his whole career about how what they call Miller's luck have you heard about Miller's luck yeah I've listened to it he's he's care like War everything incredible figh pilot but he had this he had this incredible Knack of cheating death in freakish circumstances n lives and that that influenced his attitude towards his Cricket for the rest of his career like he could have captained Australia but he didn't care because they were like why you so why are you so Carefree said I've cheated death about 10 times why do I give a about what happens on the cricket field had nine lives it's an extraordinary story you have to listen to it it's but mate do you know he he was they didn't think he would be able to play cricket at any great level because he was too small they had to get him a cut down bat like he was a and you look at the the photos of him throughout his career he's 6' three you know lario like but what a world was so different the world was so different back in those days world is so different back in those days you can go on YouTube and you can look back what life was like in the 40s 50s 60s there's actual pictorial or Video Vision it's grainy and it's it's certainly not high quality but it and I certainly remember back to when I was a kid what the world was like here in Australia and K 60 years now 60 years ago the 60s everything was in black and white um Jordan we should ask they have some enhanced color ones yeah yeah absolutely you spent a lot of time on YouTube you spent a lot of time on YouTube great entertainment you have meetings sign players and look at YouTube we should ask the audience that question um I got a couple of supplementary ones for you on the back of this yep a player you played with that you could sit down that you one you'd choose sit down and have a have a beer with a player that I played with yeah um oh you're going to say Tommy aren't you no I'm not no no I'm going to say my good mate Kenny Wilson yeah um who passed away recently um but a lot of those you know there was some I lost some great mates and people my age and the older you get the more funerals you go to unfortunately that's uh that's just part of life but um Kenny Wilson in particular because he was so influential on me when I was a young blood Kenny Wilson came to play with penth or he was playing with the Panthers when I first started at the penrith Panthers back in 1976 wow that's such a long time ago now and um he was very influential he was influential in getting me to new town and um when I first started my coaching career he was my Reserve grade coach for the first year in ' 88 when went the comp at uh at Canterbury and he's always been a a great mate and Mentor didn't get to see him as much as I wanted to lateer in life but that's just how life goes sometimes funny black Kenny Wilson wasn't he hilarious hilarious he he is responsible for about three or 400 nicknames in rugby oh that's right yeah you've told me very funny and smart ad Dapper dresser very yeah very very clever like loved a game of cards loved a bet um love the game of golf what about a player you coached to have a beer with uh player I coached to have a be I like them all um nothing really stands out I haven't seen Andrew Walker for a while I'd like to catch up with him uh MD Singh just to see what he's doing now I think he's up in North queens now working in the mines in indigenous welfare and all sorts of things uh there's a lot of people you don't get to catch up with over a long period of time but I got to have a beer with all them I like them all that'll be a good good drinking session yeah I'm actually going out next week to have a beer with uh the big man Daryl Broman Brad war and Jimmy Jones from penth we're going to have a little afternoon together next Wednesday after the podcast there you go well we supposed to have lunch with Daryl that day and he brushed me and now I'll find out why I'm going out to the you have been exposed we're going out to the log cabinet penth and we're going to have an oldfashioned Panther day we're just going to sit down have a few beers and a bit of lunch and Daryl likes a little dabble on the races on your a little bit of get together you've been found out just to catch up the big man Jones problem is I'll come home and my stomach and maor will be aching from laughing all day no that'll be to be a fly on the wall Brad W one of the toughest footballers ever played with Brad wall gey was a not a big man Brad War but a front rower I'm glad we asked that I knew we'd go down some interesting pass so we'll ask we'll ask the audience and next week we'll come back and we'll give some of the audience responses okay Players Sports people that you would love to have had a be with there there's you know I haven't G to America we might have to do the podcast early next week so I can get out to log cabin and get myself settled in yeah okay I won't be able to drive home I know that much uh yes or no yes no no no no no no no no de de Mar on Tuesday M might have to do the podcast on Tuesday yeah certainly can't do it Thursday we'll do it Tuesday I I don't drink a lot these days very giving yourself a hammering next next Wednesday I very rarely have a drink these I haven't had a drink for 20 years but you know there might be a couple of days a year I I when I was at the Panthers and we had the oak Panthers the boys from Oak um you've told me about them they're notorious for giving you a Hing we had two days a year where we have and we've still been doing it ever since I left PS and never left Oak as well but we still have a couple of years days a week where Stories from the Vault we'll have a lunch and a few drinks other than that I don't really have a drink at all I don't drink at home and I don't really drink socially anymore I haven't done for a long long time too busy too busy I got to get up and go to work the next day and I'm always driving around and I like to be driving I don't like to be driven anywhere um but we're having a little bit of a reunion get together with the big man Jimmy Jones and Brad War next week be good if anyone's in the area like the of the Hall of Australia the low cabin takings that day they're about to explode well it's Al's Hotel so we're keeping it All in the Family yeah nice yeah it's very very lovely to look heavin lovely they done it up I remember when it burned down yeah I know I was at penth when it burned down you wouldn't believe this this true story so it used to be a wedding reception area they had a wedding reception the Old Log Cabin my brother and got married there when I when I was working in the poker machine industry we used to have our club Managers Association lunches at the Log Cabin Hotel on the corner there you know and all the local back in the 80s when I was working in Pok machines all those clubs around the Western Sydney area we built off the gaming dollar off the poker machines dollar you know and um we actually have Club manag association we have a little log cabin and the log C it would end up with me going across the other side of the river and betting on whether or not I could drive a golf ball from one side of the river and hit the roof of the long cabin you know which I did on a number of occasions we always got money out of it but what do you mean you you made it yeah plenty of times yeah what yeah that's a big hit yeah a how would you have done that yeah I did it full of drink too I can tell you yeah it's yeah yeah I could yeah I could do it couldn't do it now that's a long drive yeah back in the old days and and the standing on a boat River I was at I was um I was working for Panthers and um all of a sudden news come across that the Log Cabin had caught on fire what year was that be about 14 I'm saying it was 15 years ago yeah uh oh hang on no I had I had a 30 about 20 12 or 13 or something I reckon I reckon a decade ago yeah yeah so anyway the log came and then on social media this young girl is destroyed absolutely distraught because she's due to get married there that weekend her wedding reception was there right and she was distraught and what am I going to do and you know and the blog cabin's burned down and I got in touch with her through social media and I said contact me and and she contacted me and I said look at penth Park there I said we've got the Chairman's Lounge there I said how many people you got coming to the thing she said 150 people so we took her up to penth Park and we showed her where the Chairman's Lounge was there and she ended up having her wedding and recession at uh she got married at Park in the chair that's fantastic in the Chairman's loung and it ended up being we ended up um the club ended up um accommodating weddings in its conference area and its reception areas and they built some photo areas photo show shoot areas around so we started accommodating more more weddings in the area but Log Cabin was a very place for wedding receptions and all that and it was Charming the old style so I got all all the staff at Panthers Le Club I said can we dress this up for a wedding in in two days you know and they worked their butt off and got it done oh that was good very good had a lovely re I never heard from them again but well didn't she send you thank you C I can't remember probably did but if if you're listening to our podcast you can thank Gus now yeah but we we I contacted her through social media the night the long cabin burned down I said listen don't panic I said we can put you in penth park couldn't fit him in at the L club we fit him in pen well done so they had they had their wedding up in the old chairman lands there overlooking the ground turn the lights on for them so they could see the pitch the only thing could be better as that Greg Alexander walked down the aisle yeah that would have been great uh are we into yes or no yes we are um Jerome Hughes has been the best player in the comp this year well he's certainly one of them Yes No No No he's certainly he's had an outstanding season hasn't he and you know Melbourne storm runaway leaders in the competition when you have a team as successful as what they've been and dominant now on the Premiership ladder I mean they're resting players two weeks out from the finals uh you look to the reasons as to why they have been dominant and it's you know Monster missed a lot of football penous missed a lot of football you know Harry Grant's off playing origin and doing all those sort of things so on his shoulders he has pushed the Melbourne storm to to extraordinary Heights again what a what a remarkable Club what a remarkable record they've got um in in their history um I just someone just sent me some stats through actually about um the career performances of of the Melbourne storm under Craig Bellamy and five min premierships in nine years yeah so the number of weeks spent in top position and top four positions over the years and they're like more than double their nearest competitor to be in first place on the competition uh they've spent 152 weeks of something or other in the in in first position the nearest one to that now is the Panthers at 71 52 weeks that's 3 years 370 weeks in the top four now this is since 2002 so weeks spent in the top four since 2002 the Melbourne storm under Craig Bellamy have spent 152 weeks in first position nearest is Panthers now with 71 who are going through an extraordinary era then you go to Bronco at 69 and rooster at 43 so all the big guns are there Panthers have made an extraordinary run in the last few years and of course had success in the early 2000s as well so what about the top four top four 370 weeks 370 weeks in the top four since 2002 that's six years nearest rival Panther on 212 followed by Bronco oh no Broncos 245 now nearest rival is Broncos on 245 and roosters on 221 but the difference between the melbour storm and their nearest Rivals Panther's more in more recent Times Obviously but see Panthers have made the eight eight of the last nine years now um so they're going through an extraordinary run in their history Broncos they were a Powerhouse they were the the Premier Club in the league for a long time years week 370 weeks in the top four since 2002 you know I think they only came into the competition in 99 98 they won the comp in 99 99 yeah they won of the 99 152 weeks in first position that's Tiger Woods like that's crazy that's insane yeah what a stat um I'm tipping Jerome here for the delm I just think he's been so so good well yeah um depends if they rest him over the next couple of weeks I think there's a couple of close contenders yeah he might play this week James Tesco will went behind closed doors with Edwards leading but he missed a bit of footy hasn't he yeah well there there's been a few um V army kick out was leading it at some stage of the jaob Carz was leading it yeah uh I'm conscious they may sneak into the eight the year however for 2025 the Broncos need Adam Reynolds on deck for the whole season to contend well what what do you call contend top eight contention Premier to win to win the title to win well I said that at the start of this year they needed to win one in the next couple of years before Adam Reynolds retires he's not easily going to be replaced um and I don't know you know like the shortage of experienced all our top halfbacks they're all going to be retired in the next 2 or 3 years um we're all looking for the next ones coming through that can be game managers and Premiership winners and um you know the stand out there is obviously clear and Loui they've split up that combination now with Loui going to the Tigers and um jeram Hughes has got some time left in him but uh Shan Johnson's now retired Cherry Evans Ben Hunt Chad towns and they're all getting a little bit older um and Adam Reynold certainly so if obviously if they can't make a run and win it this year and I think Adam Reynolds that'll probably be his last year next season they certainly need him on Deck um but you know the Broncos need a lot of things it's not just Adam Reynolds the Broncos need a lot of things um to not have a repeat of what we've seen this year I'm sure they will they'll work it out K Fels off to England will he be known as a Cowboys Legend you don't give me any no no NOS anymore everything's you know who makes the questions that imile over there this BL seriously he's he's a glass half full man so keld will forever be a legend because he scored the try that took at the Grand Final to Golden point just on that he's a legend could have ended his career on that night that's right could have said well call off the jam I'm done I'm done okay what about this Co fil's the greatest Winger ever even Co F would say that Kyle felt one of my favorite sayings about him is he makes it the uh the difficult look easy and he looks the very easy look very difficult at times but he's been a tremendous performer for that club and done he's got some extraordinary highlight reel extraordinary highlight reel and then you can throw the other he can put a low light reel together as well he can put a fair blooper tape together as well Kyle phelt but uh yeah it was interesting he's headed off to the UK Super League I think yeah you know talking recent times of the NRL becoming more uh involved with the UK Super League which I've been sort of prophesizing for a number of years but uh I think it would really help and I think players like Kyle fil going to the UK is is good for the game over there and good for him to extend his career and he's been a wonderful performer for the Cowboys and he will ever forever be remembered for that uh for that try in the dying seconds of the Brisbane had a Premiership in their grasp they had one hand on the trophy they had two hands on the trophy they just hadn't picked it up and Kyle phelt scores in the last few seconds of the game incredible and they lost it um my next question the Cowboys are the finals Dark Horse yes there's a few Dark Horses you know I still think we're looking beyond the obvious I do too I do too pth are spitting their wheels a bit well melin Storm they keep doing you know like Melbourne storm do what Melbourne storm do I've just been saying for a while that I think the roosters could easily get to September and just blow everyone away it it it it actually could be ridiculously easy for them you know when we get there I I can't help but think they've got a few more gears left in them there's a couple of more levels back in them they they ease of scoring points is just um it's just ridiculous uh however the hardened battled experienced finals teams of rooster of U Panther and milman storm will still be extremely hard to beat it'll come down to player availability and and fitness uh Melbourne are there they're now planning their finals Assault 2 weeks early they're resting 11 players or something or other this week against the Cowboys monster and papow have put their hand up and said they need time on the field which is great from their perspective um but the Cowboys too Cowboys have got the ability to accumulate points I mean two weeks ago they absolutely flogged the camber Raiders who then come out the next week and beat Panthers I mean that's pretty good form yeah and on their day can score points against anyone um yeah so the Cowboys are certainly a chance if the top one's falter you know like everyone's been talking about you know the last 12 years you know minor premierships have been shared beyond Behind three clubs Brewers and Melbourne in particularly and then in more recent times obviously the Panthers but um you know and there's a reason why those three clubs are where they are and they're so consistent and there's a reason why other clubs aren't in that Echelon and that consistent so they're still the three teams to beat when they get there what we've seen is some improvement from other clubs uh during the year um you know the sharks have been in the top four now for the last couple of years and they'll be looking to make a better Fister at this season and they put in a really good performance although under strength against the dragons last week uh the Bulldogs have have um better they exceeded probably everyone's expectations this year with where they're finishing on the ladder and where they they hope to finish and and then you got Cowboys manly really good sides and dragons no one was tipping them everyone was tipping dragons to be wooden spoon as I said to you if they wouldn't spin as I walk to Wong that won't be happening yeah um and there they are still in the eight with two rounds to go and then you've got some really good credential teams who were expected to figure like your Broncos and Newcastle Knights after last year your warriors after last year your Titans um who are outside the eight at the moment and that's probably a bit of a surprise so I'm going to say this put it on tape a team from outside the top four will make the Grand Final this year that is my bold prediction well I said to you earlier in the year like that everyone says oh you got to be in the top four to win the competition that's because that's who's won the comp ition we haven't in the nrrl era we haven't had a team from outside the top four win the Premiership but I'm saying it's a very small sample you know it's a small sample size that eventually some team will do it some team outside the top five outside the top four will win the Premiership yes will win the Premiership um and probably um you the two the two best teams in the competition Melbourne and Panthers what I've said about them is they're still the the two best teams they're still going to be the hardest beat come finals time because they've perfected finals football and they've got that experience but neither of them are as good as what they've been in previous years now it still might be good enough to win this competition um but there's a chance there for Roosters and sharks and these teams to make a bit of a run come finals it'll come down to Bulldog it'll come down it'll come down to player availability strength you know strength and it'll come down to refereeing it'll come down the refereeing if we continue this sin binning and everything we're going through it's you know that's all very very difficult to handle at the moment um talk about more about that another time but it's you know I think things will settle down hopefully as of this weekend but um yes but the answer to your question yes Cowboys are one of the Dark Horses mhm um so the other one is manly and I was sort of bullish I thought that they were a great chance to do something in the finals I'm not so sure after what happed at lart last week NRL deny Turbo pay cut request but the big story this week's turbo wanting to take a pay cut now he's doing that to try to uh repay the club's loyalty if you will lot of money 750 over 2 years the NR an act of good faith it's being described the NL said no can't do it so salary cap stringently policed as it needs to be why can't he do it well it it's been a rule ever since we've had salary cap that you know once you've signed your contract then you can't reduce the value of that contract during the term of the contract um even though it may well be legitimate even though his intentions may be right even though there's good grounds for it I mean you can you can apply but you'll always get knocked back for it the general what and what they worry about is public perception they worry about what public or media might intimate and they don't want to open up loopholes for other clubs to use so whether you wanted to do it on medical grounds form grounds as Turbo's done you know he's had a lot of injuries and missed a lot of football whether it's because they want to try and keep a team together and can't afford to keep everyone together because what have you so there are all these you know worthwhile motivations for for a senior player taking a pay cut at his stage of his career to keep a team together because I haven't been playing because I've been out injured um because my form hasn't I don't feel like my forms warranted there were any number of reasons why they might do that but the league worries about two things Mo mostly media perception mostly media perception and the media perception could well be argued that all right Turbo's going to take a pay cut but they'll pay him off the book somewhere else but they could do that anyway they could be doing that anyway why is him taking a pay cut why why why does that because because there'll always be the accusation that that like he generally he's generally prepared to take the pay cut and you can't have payments outside the salary cap guaranteed by the club right so let's let's say he's on a million and he wants to take $500,000 on just any player right and then the club illegitimately gives him back that $500,000 but then takes advantage of the salary space it creates but they could do that anyway but they could be paying him they could be paying him 1.2 million and 200,000 that in a in a circumventing the rules you run the risk of being caught and I don't think anyone wants to do that these days and they don't want the other part of it is they don't want to open a loophole for every player to do it so so all of a sudden I've signed a player who didn't come up to scratch let's say I sign a play for a player for a million dollars and he just can't play right he's just not worth the money anymore and he's terrible and you never signed any of them Etc well you don't want to be taking too many mistakes of that money but um you know you can make a million mistakes at 100,000 you don't want to be making mistakes at 500,000 or more U and you know and clubs have made mistakes at that at that level simply because of player availability desperation trying to buy success trying to get a quick fix to their Solutions players get over paid managers have got the the the upper hand in all these sort of negotiations uh you know boards trying to get reelected so they're trying to have a good news story about players and there's all sorts of things that all the emotion that goes into to signing players for for and then what they try to do is fix the contract amount all right he's not worth that amount of money how can we get out of that contract well usually they have to pay for him to go and play somewhere else or they send him to England or they try and you know get around their salary cap that way or they just have to ride the contract out until it's gone and and go from there but if you opened up a loophole where a player could ask for a pay cut or the club could argue for a pay cut based on any number of reasons to free up salary cap space to do other things then that's a loophole yes and they don't want people to walk through the loophole so so the so that that's the reason Tom the Tom D this is typical Tom yeah by the way this is typical Tom and I think he's being um I think he's being over overly uh how can I say sensitive to his situation there I mean there's not a club in the league that wouldn't pay Tom dich is what he's on right now if they could get his services to their Club no doubt you so there's there's no chance that the NRL are going to accept a pay cut from Tom trovich when he he would be worth if he put himself on the open market now he would be worth every cent and I don't know what M he's playing I don't what sort of contract he's on there would be a club that would pay that money for Tom Troy which today so you you can't justify a pay cut under the salary cap at this stage is there scope going forward for the NRL to look at a circumstance where they could provide salary cap relief if a marquee player so a big big money player has a long-term injury yeah I think I think legitimate injury yeah like legitimate injury and we and we've got you know what I'm saying is that sometimes you know we've got two extremes you've got to have a career-ending medical injury right to get you we got plenty of those that have done it either through serious injuries repeated injuries or um in later times concussion and even mental health has been thrown up as reasons why players will retire early um and you try to protect those players and and look after them in that in that sense if you had a career- ending injury but um there are also sometimes players that have had repeated injuries um we had a situation at Panthers many years ago with Sam McKenry Sam McKenry had like um three or three and a half years four years uh of repeated ACL it was the same ACL they just couldn't fix it they just couldn't get it right he was such a big man they could they tried um they tried grafting they tried um um uh getting a ligament from a kadava they tried all sorts of different operations to do it and they could never get it right he only ever lasted 10 minutes when he came back and we were able to argue for um his uh removal from the salary cap uh after about two or three years because the original injury could not be fixed but we had to go through a lot of U Back and Forth with the N to get that done in the end they conceded yes that was right he then came back during that period even though he was medically retired uh from the salary cap at the Panthers and tried his luck again in New South Wales cup now I'd left by then and I don't really know how he performed but he I saw him at Panthers a few weeks ago he come out and gave me a big hug he's driving trucks and living his life and and he's in retirement now and um and going really well but he he had a terrible run and there have been plenty of players over the years that have had repeated injuries and probably never get back to where or feel as though they're not going to get back to their same level of performance and what about this for a scenario there should be an appeals committee to to sort of look at that yes yes that's what I'm getting at what if J talk about what they worry about mate is setting a precedent or a loophole for someone else to walk through no I appreciate that but what if what if say jro and I'm not trying to mock Jerome Hughes we just talked about him say he breaks his leg in round one next year he's gone for the year right don't say that call him call him call him Matt Thompson the game's leading player Matt Thompson breaks his never thought any of that um okay and who whoever is out for the season right now that million dooll player at a club is you just got to wear the bad luck or should there not be some system where whoever Club can go to the inter so look we've lost our main man this year can we have some kind of relief so we can try and get a replacement yeah well that that they argue that you've got a 30-man squad and you should have depth in those positions and there are things that just happen in football injuries happen and etc etc and it's you know if they were going to replace D Hughes who are they going and get to replace him you can't do that um yeah I I think that's rubber the green sometimes you know but if it happened over a couple of years and you got no value out of the player and you've worn him in the salary cap a couple of times and there should be an appeals committee to be able to remove them and then if the player player later in his in after a couple of years restores himself and is able to come back and play then it shouldn't necessarily be career injuring uh career ending I'm going through this with a young fellow at the moment that we had in our at the ballog club and we very protective of his future and his welfare but being so young it's it's very hard to rule him out for life at this stage of his life and uh Etc so it's you know there are extraordinary circumstances where you where you need to be able to go to the league and talk about it and in the most part they're quite receptive in the most part they'll sit and talk about it but the thing they're worried about is precedent if if we if we allow this here how could some other club use it and probably not as genuine in their circumstances by citing that this this was this was given so I understand that part of it as well because the bottom line is more often than not clubs have made mistakes on big contracts and can't get out of them and it affects the culture of the club and it affects the performance of the club and it perfects relationships and all that sort of thing and the only way to get out of it is just pay them up and let them go and and move on with life and and just take the hit if you make those mistakes you've got to wear them um in this circumstance this is not Club driven this is Tom driven yeah this is Tom feeling guilty for his time out of the game and and when he's out of the game the effect that that has on the team right he's you know like Tom at his absolute best is worth every cent and more of whatever they're paying him and I don't know what they're paying him and he is but his absence certainly affects the performance of the team so what he saying well if I was on less and they had someone else to replace me or whatever it is or he feels a little bit guilty that he's you know he's manly like we all do that we pay every cent we look after their have we look after their families and even when the players out injured um The Players career contract is protected by the CBA and uh and all those sort of things so um the liability is with the club and you get a player like Tom who feels guilty about that right and so he's genuinely come forward and said listen you know I haven't played enough football you know and I see what happens when I'm not playing and I feel guilty about not playing and if I get injured again the same thing could happen so he's genuinely come forward with a compassionate plea and that's typical Tom but there's no loophole in the league for that to happen you know it's like let's let's let's say let's go to an extraordinary length all right let's say um down the track after years of earning really really good money and Nathan clear by the time he's 3132 says I want to take a pay cut so we can keep the next wave of kids coming through yes all right so where I think the balance comes there is in discounting long serving players absolutely the long serving players should be discounted heavily particularly if they started with you at a young age so Nathan clear who started at the Panthers when he was 14 and 15 in the academy or a Tom tabich who's a local Junior League player who's come right through the whole system ever by the time they're getting to this stage of their career their full cop in the salary cap should not be there now there is discounts but it's it's limited all right you you um I think the maximum for the whole clubs around 300,000 I think oh that's nothing I think there a 10% deduction I think the the largest deduction is about 10% of long- serving player to a maximum of 300,000 like the Panthers potentially could have3 or4 Million worth of discounts you know but 300,000 in an 11 A5 million salary cap is not all that big a percentage and it doesn't make that big a difference and most clubs would qualify for it in some way but conversely 3 or 4 million is a lot of money in the context of a salary cap but that's the reward you get for investing in development which encourages every club that particularly if you are a Development Club yes yes and it it also penalizes the ones that do do nothing in development and have to buy to recruit to bring people in abut so that's where the balance comes so my argument it is rather than having this player come here like that by the time he gets to these contract I would be saying 50% of his money should be discounted into the c% absolutely you know and you can pay him what you like right or it should be by the time it gets to this point um there is a maximum in the salary cap you know for for that type of player so the maximum that he has to you have to put him in the cap for if he's been with you for 10 years and done this and done that the maximum he has to be in the cap is 400,000 you can pay him 4 million if you want right but that's where you get to in the cap and I'm just plucking numbers out yes no but I think the sentiment is very understand I if you sat down and looked at it and looked at long serving players for clubs which rewards consistent and long term it rewards um you know investment in your development it rewards players staying with the club and it rewards players to clubs to look after those players longer term as well rather than having to get rid of them at the back end of their career now some of these players are playing until they're 32 33 34 um if they were with the one club now Jerome Hughes wasn't with the one Club Jerome Hughes was with a number of clubs you know Ted townsman was a number of clubs Shan Johnson left clubs and went back you know but there are a couple that stay with long Ben Hunt moved from Broncos to to dragons he doesn't get the discount but let's say Ben Hunt stayed with the Broncos for 15 20 years the most Ben Hunt should be in the cap is 400,000 sure and and the most and the rest of it's all discounted and that then allows them to get the Next Generation coming through and if that player then Falls over and gets injured as like in the case of Tom deit then you do have replace and and as a professional game we should do you think Manchester United's got one Striker and one goalkeeper yeah 100% do you think the Dallas Cowboys got one quarterback but these are the most important positions in the game and we've got to have depth in these important positions otherwise what happens look at what happened to param when Mitchell Moses fell over their season virtually ended at that time by the time it got back he couldn't rescue them all right now we've got to we've got to NRL Salary Cap invest in develop this is why you know the news come out this week about replacing the NYC competition that's a conversation for a whole another day because you know we'll talk about that later at length but um the the salary cap model is still not right the supplementary cap which is the cap outside the cap is still not right the development caps are still not right the people who put these in place were not development minded they're not development people they' never had to do it themselves all right the people at the calace know how this should work and it would work a hell of a lot better if your people at the coace came up with the decisions on how much and how where these players get paid but what it should all be doing is looking towards long serving players getting to the peak of their career and their big money and you make those decisions but there's always that Avenue to Discount that the longer they've been with you so that you can keep investing back in your future and that our club should have depth of talent it shouldn't get to the point where a Tom trbovich misses games and they you know they win 10% of their games during that time for sure it could shouldn't get to the point where Mitchell Moses falls out of the Paramount side and they don't win a game while he's out it shouldn't look like that you know with all the other professional codes around the world there is a depth of talent in all positions not just ke positions in all positions you look at all the NFL franchise how many quarterbacks have they got yeah well I can't answer that but a lot on yeah but a lot on their roster you know and like pictures in baseball I don't how long's Tom trovich been playing I don't know must be well he he a bir as a so he played he played I can tell you now I can tell you now he played in the under he played in the NYC Grand Final in 2015 for Manley against Panthers I think he debuted the next season in 2016 so that's eight years so eight years so you know by the end by the end of this contract which would be his ninth or 10th year um in the in the league with with Manley he should be at a maximum figure of 4 or 500,000 in the cap and pay him what you like yes why should they have to lose a player at they shouldn't and the other part about this is the league wants to go to 20 teams the players have to come from somewhere at the moment the hus of development is entirely with clubs but what is the incentive don't there is no incentive well this is correct there is no in this is what has to be looked at where are the players going to come from we need when when they got rid oh mate I don't want to a rabbit hole here but I pleaded with the league years ago not to get rid of the NYC competition and when they all stupidly made the decision to get rid of it I actually held a meeting out at the Panthers Academy I got all the um Todd Greenberg and Dave trodden and all the people that were in charge of all this decision and Brian Canen and all that got them out there into the boardroom out I said please don't do this please don't do this there's got to be another way they went and did it anyway and it was to the detriment of everything and I said to Panthers we are not going to change we will stick to what we're doing and thank God we did and I said to Todd greenber I said what is it what is the incentive for me to have panthers spending all this money on development and Junior League and doing the program from baist out to Duo and all that sort of thing where they've got players and and and running this academy uh which you know the Panthers was the first to build that style of Center of Excellence you know for itself out there at Panthers and everyone else one what is the incentive I said in the next 10 years we're going to have eight or 10 of the best players in the game that have come through this system and and come through the how do I how do we keep all those players right firstly the way the market is and the way the Market's going to be and secondly what is the reward for Panthers for long-term development in that and why would they keep going what why do I keep Panthers from doing this how can I justify the expenditure and Todd Greenberg's um U solution was well we should pay Panthers to develop the talent I said so the Lee is going to earn the development he said yeah he said I said so what's the figure I said if I said to you it's costing Panthers $2 or3 million a year to develop this Academy and develop the Junior League do you think you would replenish for that and then those pan players can go anyway they're going to repr produce him for the game not Panthers he said yeah I said he I don't think Panthers will wear that no but he was thinking that you know the development clubs like them the league would pay for that development to keep them doing it otherwise there was no incentive to do so under the new system that they were going to bring in but then if you were to have a central system you need a draft to go with it absolutely which we're not set up for but we could be in 15 20 years time but no one thinks that far down the track I've had these conversations with Andrew Andrew ABDO over and over again just yeah but I'm saying but but what we made a decision at the time when they got rid of the NYC competition and brought in this ridiculous supplementary cap and these development contracts which are ridiculous and trying to tell everyone what you know what kids were worth and how much we should be paying them and and and trying to make a decision on kids in their teenage years which was absolutely ludicrous it's still ludicrous to this day there are so many kids that have that have shut out of the system because of this ridiculous supplementary cap um but I I remember sitting down with the Panthers boy we had the presentation from Shane richardon in the league and I said I don't care what they say we are going to stick to what we're doing we're going to stick to what we're doing and and thank God we did um and now they're saying they're going to go back and put the NYC competition back in now this is all started with the Tom Dage thing but there should be more rewards for development more rewards for long serving players more discounts in the salary cap for long serving players and our game needs to get to the point where one player missing from the team doesn't mean they can't win a game for six weeks while he's out and and how how guilty you think that makes Mitchell Moses feel and this is where Tom this is where Tom tro is just coming from he feels guilty I'm sure the fans are disenfranchise too yeah he's had two or three seasons of bad luck and bad injuries and all those sorts of things you know same things happened at Melbourne with Ryan penhouse and he's had some terrible injuries over the last couple of years all right it's it's just difficult but you know in these particular cases where the kids come through the system and they stay with the club long term now by the time by the time Nathan clear who died in 2016 by the time 20126 comes around Nathan clear should be at a maximum of 400,000 in the Panthers salary cap they should be able to play him 40 million a year if that's what they want to do I can even remember back to Matthew Jones leaving Newcastle because of salary cap Cameron Smith Cooper Kon Billy Slater when they're playing with the Melbourne storm look at the long serving careers that they had but by the back end of their career they should have been on a limited amount in the salary cap the discounts that they offered and there's no reward for that development look at what Panthers set up there was no there's been no real reward every year they've had to lose how many Premier ships do you think they' have won if they didn't have to lose kryon and Bert and kick out and cor and and and these players right through how many would they have won you know they might still win this year anyway they might be too good but I'm just saying you you get me on my favorite subject there and this whole supplementary cap cap outside the cap development cap development contracts is so unworkable it's not funny and it and it's controlled by people that have never done development in their life the endeth the lesson drop mic why did you get me on that I didn't mean to anyway but the the development thing we've talked about it before it's just AskGus it's it's a no brain I I just can't believe it ask us Scotty B where's Shawn Johnson stand in terms of the best kiwi players ever yeah well a couple come to mind uh obviously Stacy Jones has seen as the Hallmark there Ruben wik and those types of players legendary players Mark Gran was a great kiwi player and um you know there's been a number of them down through the years but I think Shawn Johnson like Ben Marshall created a whole new wave of Child Support or children kids support for the game careful yeah but that's what I'm saying like it kids gravitate towards it I'll tell you one thing about kids I'll tell you one thing about kids all right they don't necessarily follow teams all right and I went through this exercise when I first went to Panthers when I went first went to Panthers I went out to all the schools and you'd sit there in the schools and we go ahead and visit the schools and I remember this distinctly I'd sit in the classroom and say who follows rugby league and all the hands would go up right who follows the Panthers none I say what who do you follow we follow paramanda we follow Tigers we follow mbour we follow the Cowboys we follow the Bulldogs why um Benji Marshall Billy Slater yes M Bowen um all Shan Johnson sha Johnson kids gravitate right kids love small players who make Big Blocks look stupid that's what they gravitate towards kids that they identify they identify with the small skillful player yeah that does brilliant things in the kicking and the chip and Chase and the the passing and the scoring of tries and the speed and and all those kids are enited with individual Brilliance they don't necessarily support a team in their early years like when my son was coming he he loved Nathan Blacklock why because he did back flips when he scored a try that's what they gravitate to Anthony mandin and those sort of kids Jared Haynes and all those sort of players um they would that's what kids gravitate towards little kids little The best teenage footballer Gus has ever seen players they make big players look stupid and Shan Johnson made a lot of big players look stupid throughout his career and he was a favorite following we didn't see enough of Shawn Johnson the Australian public didn't see enough of Shawn Johnson throughout the the Stellar part of his career mainly because not everyone in Australia's Got pay TV and they didn't appear on free to Air TV all that often the warriors were not a free toar TV um commodity over here for a lot of years so a lot of sha Johnson so a lot of Shawn Johnson's football was not seen by the bulk of rugby league supporters I mean payv only has a certain amount of reach in in in viewership and you know people who couldn't afford pay TV never really got to see Shawn Johnson a lot maybe we saw him two or three times a year if he played rep football against Australia but um you know he's got a highlights real as good as anybody and he's uh maybe one of the top kiwi players of all time they had some great harves I just wrote five down here Jones Marshall Freeman foren Johnson yeah well they're all all great players here's the Rookie of the Year asks Holly the Rookie of the Year the Rookie of the Year is um the young black of the Tigers Lan galin Lan galin might be the best teenage football I've ever seen come again might be the best teenage football I've ever seen really yeah Cy that's a massive rap you've seen more than Mone might be the best and that's that's a big statement because I've seen some really really good ones what stands out in your estimation of G incredible incredible maturity game knowledge and execution um of things that even the greatest Playmakers weren't doing at that age even the greatest Playmakers weren't doing it at that age let alone in a team that's running last in the competition and struggling right let alone there it it's he's quite extraordinary and I've had the great pleasure of of coaching and and um and seeing some of he Co Brad fitler as a teenager yeah great Brad fitler was not doing this at that age Brad fitler was a completely different player Brad fitler was playing in the centers at that age he was a he was a ball Runner with a a wicked Sid step and and a physical frame and you know Brad fitler didn't become a playmaker until he was 25 26 you know where he became a mature playmaker um I even remember the John's play the John's play were skillful but they weren't like this kid they weren't game managing um you know Andrew will talk to you about it Andrew knows better than me the difference between him and Lan Galvin at that age Greg Alexander was one of the greatest Junior footballers I ever saw one of the greatest talents but a brilliant individual Talent so fast and make people miss and it's a different era back then and 5 meter Rule and etc etc but Greg Alexander didn't have the playmaking N against better defense systems today than what they were back then and it's I don't like comparing eras because rules change and systems change and Fields change and strength of rosters and full-time professional Etc but honestly Lan Galvin by the time he has retired God willing touchwood and I don't want to mock him Lan galin will earn more money out of rugby league than any player in history that's going to be my prediction I think he's the best turn AG footballer I've ever seen just come up with a headline well now I've said it before I've said it before I um you know I I just I just I I think what he's doing is absolutely extraordinary well he's playing halfback he's he's touching we call the game that though last week he touched the ball four times a set on not only playing not only playing halfback he's doing it on both sides of the field down the middle of the field he's kicking um he's running the ball he's Fearless he's T he's a he's I got a shock when I met him he's like 6'2 6'3 yeah and he's a baby he is he doesn't gr into himself when you meet him you just don't you don't contemplate him going out on the field in a first grade fixture like you just don't you don't think of it he's like a yeling and and if he was playing with some of the the big clubs he probably wouldn't be you know he's been thrust into it at the at the the Tigers because a lot of young fellas have been thrust in before their time what do they look like in 3 years and I think that would normally harm players I said you to it's you know they've been rust and the it's not going to harm this kid he's not he's actually risen to the challenge of it he played through injury had a fractured hand for a number of weeks but kept playing I mean he there is something about this kid that is just very very special now I hope I don't mock that but I don't think I could I don't think you will I don't think I can mock it gee I'm happy they've kept him you know all the all the talk this year was going to go I'm so glad he stayed it would have been just a a devastating blow for that club Lan Galvin Rookie of the Year best teenage footballer ever who are the other options I don't know trying to think I think Lan galin stands out for me oh well there's the lad from camra that strange yeah he's had a really good year had a really good year yeah lockman galin for me though it's just the standout I'm just totally he's a lock y um Marley and Me uh the podcast that offers a unique glimpse into the lives of your favorite athletes Marley Silva one of the Rising Stars here delves into the personal stories Rabia League's biggest names focusing on who they are as individuals not just their onfield achievements episode one Marley sits down with Newcastle KN Superstar kin pong at to discuss family he's upbringing in his culture mhm there you go fascinating stuff it'll be great to listen to Marley and Me See all all the greats right your Cooper kks your Jonathan thirst your Brad fiters your Darren lockas um um Kum pongers and all that sort of thing think about where they were at years of age they weren't doing this they just weren't they just they just weren't I'm just telling you from my experience I'll be dead and gone when he finishes his career but what some saying he might be right you would be gone that soon you're an idiot um Mike drop another one this has been good stuff uh no trivia because we're running too long today this has been very good he'll play for 20 years I don't think I'm going to last 20 years he's he's 19 R's going to 39 by then they'll be plan you'll be you'll still be here in 20 years Sports Science by then they will still be playing at 40 years of age you to be running the Bulldogs in 20 years you might have had two other clubs by then I'll be long gone baby you'll be you'll be flying all matches nrlw round 6 live and exclusive NRLW preview on 9 and N now plus Marley and ran with the nrlw weekly podcast which does far more Justice to the competition than we do and it's presented by light and easy um oh yes 11:00 Saturday I called the Titans they absolutely routed The Roosters on the weekend goodness me they're a good football team that Titans team I reckon they win the comp they are they're very very good side Grand finalist last year but they're up against the unbeaten sharies it wasn't it wasn't predicted last year but they were um a team that just took all before them went through to the Grand Final and they play The Undefeated sharks who I got to say are getting better by the week they're not an overly big side the Sharks but um they' got some really talented players there and they they've earned they really good over the dragons the other night as well they had a big win in camber they came from behind and their season sort of building and they're two wins clear of their nearest rival after only five rounds five from five so if you want to see women's rugby league at its absolute best trust me 11:00 on Saturday morning Titan versus sharkk could B be the female game of the season Josh is sending me updates from his comp game today 16 points after n what's he 16 after 9 three wipes no good Jam wipes kill his golf game yeah he said me ww he's remember at ww it's windy ww it's a go track what are you talking about he's a member there it's windy today isn't in the N hole course ww where's where's Ware opposi I'm thinking of the wrong one opposite the fo field I'm thinking of the oppos the triangle I'm thinking of the wrong one b is all right Bon Ridge a good course down there uh eels dragons 1245 I'm thinking one in the city oh more no no more Parks no no the one down um n0 go track little nine Hole Golf Course down there near um oh not Kila no no no no in the city in the city down near double Bay oh oh ranwick valara next to next to Royal Sydney yeah Yesa wara no Ware not wara no W Ware is out near near you yeah no it's all rightware is good it's not not it's not easy actually it's tight no yeah waraa is a track a little practice track I'm surprised the developer hasn't got his hands on wara Golf Club in eels dragons 12:45 then Sunday Knights tigers at midday Broncos Cowboys 145 and I'm doing the double at alian on Sunday I'm doing the roosters Raiders and the men's and the women so am I very good well my favorite s talford playing for the Raiders so I'm looking forward to seeing that round 26 Thursday night NRL preview and tips footy uh Cowboy storm now it's a blessing in disguise for the Cowboys isn't it two rounds to go round 26 and Melbourne resting 11 blocks yep um they're in the finals anyway now where's this what's this ladder say so should they win they go to 34 oh no but they're behind the Bulldogs on for and against so they'll St play they played the Bulldogs in the last round oh and the Bulldogs have got a tough game against Manley they got Manley this week so the three teams that are looking for that fifth and sixth position actually play each other in the next fortnite well fifth or sixth for Cowboys is pretty important isn't it you up to Townsville well if you finish fifth or sixth you get a home semi if you finish seventh you don't yes so they'll all probably play each other in week one of the finals if if not one of them can force their way into the top four but particularly North Queensland hosting is a big Advantage Bulldogs got a tough draw there CU they play both Manley and C boys you''ll be primed for the finals anyway um North Queensland Gus t malalo and n both back uh well we're on to the men's are we y yeah well Storm have rested all their players they still got monster and penous you won't be able to take them lightly um um I will favor Cowboy this's just too much to play for at the moment Friday 6:00 a core last week I said the Sharks and the Bron uh sorry dragons was game with the Millennium they won by 30 so I'm going to say this is game with the Millennium this is a cracker what a game certainly is no kryon of course because of suspension you mentioned the injury to Kurt man which is most unfortunate but you got a little bit of depth there haven't you now who's uh Hughes and King in the front row um Matt loders back now I didn't even realize Matt loder was still there he hasn't played since early in the year but he's on the bench for Manley he's been playing for Blacktown in the South WS cup the last couple of weeks uh cracken game cracking game yeah bigd yeah I think you know 6 o00 on a Friday night's not the most ideal time slot had that been played on the weekend Saturday night or Sunday afternoon I think we'd have got 50,000 to it you know I think upwards a 30 at the moment I understand there's a lot of uh conjecture around a fixed draw for the full 30 weeks or 27 weeks of the competition and what that does at the back end of the year and which games are important and which ones aren't um it's pretty hard to work out in February what the competition is going to look like at the back end of the year but this is a game that probably should be in prime time somewhere okay uh Friday night fo from penth Panthers versus souths alamot back in the centers now it looks like Teru has reclaimed his place on the wing good player Dan Lor but I don't think it's his go on the wing was you was difficult for him he's not a Winger no he's a full back 5'8 um and tera's proven and they want a premise ship with Tera yes and um alamon back after injury slick backline see look this gray Monroe on the wing he's fast M has gone good good player Tyron M yeah good player good player he's been out pretty much all year until now he's a young fullback isn't he he's a he's not a Winger he's a fullback uh yeah Panther too strong there particularly coming off the loss to Raider the week before I think Panther will get that right at home okay param you calling that one yep I'm going out to call that one I'm calling five games this week if you take the radio into consideration I'm doing I'm doing four very Gooding Friday Saturday Sunday and Sunday night I'm doing Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Sunday right it serves you right for going to the Olympics get your pound of Flesh E's dragons dragons have to win have to win but gee they're they're a nuisance Valu par yeah well the last couple of performances they led the Panthers for a long way they blew broncos off the park in the first part of their game but just couldn't contain them in the end uh at the end of the day I mean the dragon situation is in their own hands everyone talking about the the race for the eight is wide open but you know the dragons have got and Raiders for the last two games you know who conceivably both out of you know calculations so you know the ball's in there court if they want to play finals football they just should win those two games simple as that and I think they will I think they'll have no problem beating the ears on Saturday night who are probably looking forward to the end of the season there's a lot of things happening at param at the moment um not just around playing but staff and all sorts of things saw that he named his whole new regime coming in um the end of one year and the Jason RS era has probably begun early because there they've got to get active and start talking contracts and players leaving and players staying and staff leaving and staff staying so it's um it'd be a very difficult environment to try and keep motivated at the moment uh I think they'll they'll fall well short of the Dragons Ambitions on uh on Saturday afternoon M well should param matter cause the upset then this next game is massive massive dolphins Broncos so ree Walsh did have surgery but will be available next week if they need him I believe in fact they were they were talking he was going to be be a right for this week but he hasn't been named so sailor stays at fullback they've got pay har on the extended bench uh oh Jeremy Marshall King has come back that's a good inclusion um the matches at sunor it'll be chalkers it's a sellout all those years of rejecting a second Brisbane team because of what ever competition's good mate competition keeps everyone up to their toes and here it is the local Derby dolphin V Bronco Bennett V Bronco so if the dragons lose if that happens and bruan win they're up to 28 on equal eighth and in fact they'll be in the E because the BR dragons areus 120 yeah dragons have got a terrible forign against shocking yeah terrible forign against um and similarly the Dolphins G so winner if the dragons lose winners in the eight y the winner if the dragons lose yes I don't think dragons are everyone's talking it up obviously and we want to keep it interesting for the last round but I think I think it'll be dragons will just win their last two games they should they should win their last two okay they what about this what about this one at Sun um interesting interesting you know Bronco got absolutely flogged up in Townsville and then came down the other night and had a big win oh no Broncos flogged fled the Cowboys the Cowboys in Townsville yeah after getting fogged by a couple of teams two weeks in a row was just a big turnaround in form uh then had the buy um I don't know I don't know about dolphin I don't know whether there's anything left there um I'm going to tip Bronco could you imagine with the Broncos snuck into the eight um Saturday night sharies Warriors I think the Warriors had that big send off for all their players and the Sharkies are Trucking along yeah sharks are going good have they got any of those players back this week is niiko going to play is he been named uh I think he's on the extended bench and mulalo and catar in um mulalo mulalo no hind in 22 yeah uh be interesting to see whether he plays this week uh Warrior this is the last game of the season for the warrior of course um so they got the Buy in the last round so they had their send off for their players last week at home this is their last game of the season away from home um sometimes last game of the season and pressure off and can't make the finals they can produce a performance but shark again top four two months to play for at home I'll go with shark look out very impressive last week the shark very good big and strong look out nor these Warriors will be down there uh 2:00 Sunday Newcastle versus the Titans the kns well I mean you know if the teams above them faulted they're not completely out of the picture as well yeah they got a terrible for and against aren't they the night um I think uh I just can't get my head around what's happened with the Titans who were terrible at the start of the year then a mid-season Resurgence and then in recent weeks just falling off the face of the Earth again they're a much much better team than they show much better team than they show um is this the Knight's last game at home this year no they got two games at home to finish two games at home so old boys is the follow week M um the knights really needed to beat the Sharks two weeks ago and they fought every they should have won that game down at Shark Park and then came out last week and was successful against sou uh I think they'll be too good here they'll be hoping the results go that way go that way in front of them they're not out of it they a mathematical chance but they can only do their part by 2:00 Sunday they'll know pretty much where they stand uh they should be too good for the Titan and the Raiders beat the Panthers last week and they take the roosters down at alian well it's good form came out of nowhere I mean they got flogged the week before up in Townsville didn't they like weren't even in the hunt then suddenly came down and took down the the premier the bounceback factor this year has been profound the come home up and down a lot of teams go through win loss win loss but some of the teams like so there's the dragons in the eight look at how many terrific performances they've had this year where they've been beaten by 60 and 50 and 40 and and then they just win the next week like it's kind of like they goldfish they just got bad memories it's kind of they overcome it very very quickly and and and then there's enough games in this if you knuckle down there are enough games in this competition to win there's an example dragons are going to make the top eight with a minus 124 against tell me the last time that happened that's a funny funny game rugby league funny competition uh rooster Raider I think rooster are in second gear I think they're in second gear I just I'm just starting to come to the conclusion that they could well get to September and just blow everyone away and funnily enough on Sunday is the 1st of September there you are there it is so they've arrived at September all right weather's warming up so I'm going to go oh sorry that's all right uh where are we I'm going to go uh Cowboy Panther Dragon Bronco but that's a danger Game Shark Knight rooster should shoot pretty straight Josh Morris 18 points after 10 and if you're playing with him he'll be punishing you about all theories about the golf swing Etc thank you um that was that was your best performance All Year guys who who wins him or Brett in a game of golf I I actually haven't played with Brett um Josh is off 14 M he goes okay he plays enough what are you off seven but I'm not playing like it at the moment if you playoff seven you can go anywhere in the world and enjoy any course haven't been enjoying at the M lately my pting has been up to well because your expectations of riding your ability this is correct this is correct don't get carried away uh that's it for six tackles with Gus we're back next week and it'll be the last week before the finals I'll see you over the weekend this year NRL on 9 is your One-Stop shop for all foot that's right Freddy not about the highlights Action 7 days a week billing G podcast get on your drive on the way home Immortal Behavior grab a sit on the couch for that and of course my favorite fredd in the a the best footy brains the biggest games don't trust the algorithm subscribe to NRL on9 and get all your entertainment there