Blues’ coach Brad Fittler faces a huge halves dilemma should Nathan Cleary be rubbed out of Origin II with a hamstring injury, with three replacements emerging.
Meanwhile, James Tedesco has answered his critics in emphatic style to lead the Roosters to a drought-breaking win and cement his Blues spot.
Read on for the key talking Points from Round 14.
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CLEARY IN DOUBT FOR ORIGIN II AS BLUES FACE HUGE NO.7 CALL
Blues coach Brad Fittler faces a huge dilemma on who will play halfback in Origin II after Nathan Cleary suffered a hamstring injury against the Dragons.
With Origin II just 17 days away, Cleary would need a minor miracle to play and looked despondent after being forced off early.
Blues Adviser Greg Alexander didn’t like the look of the usually tough Cleary’s body language.
“You could tell he was in trouble immediately, you could see by the look on his face that’s more than just a twinge,” Alexander said.
“He tried to take off there and you could see him hobbling and when it was tested he was immediately off the field.
“Nathan Cleary is a tough footballer so you’re thinking that something like that, to force him off and be so noticeably bad, there’s got to be some serious issues there.”
Cooper Cronk agreed that Cleary’s injury looks worse than a grade one as the Panthers await the results of scans.
“Yeah that’s more than just a twinge, that’s sharp pain. When you do your hammy that sharply and pull up and hobble, it tends to be significant,” Cronk said.
“The other part too is the body language, he looks like he knows something pretty serious has happened there and Origin is not too far away, so huge concerns.”
Braith Anasta believes Cleary is in huge doubt for Origin II and questioned who the Blues should consider to replace him in the must win clash at Suncorp Stadium.
“It looks serious and it looks like he will be in serious doubt for Origin II up at Suncorp Stadium,” Anasta said.
“With the Blues backs already up against the wall, what are the other options here? I know it is early, but what are the other options for No.7?”
Cronk believes Fittler has three options to replace Cleary if he is ruled out of game two.
“I’ll leave Brandy out of this one because he is a part of it, but Hynes has obviously been in tremendous form in the No.7 jersey for the Sharks,” Cronk said.
“You have got Mitchell Moses who played one game in 2021. Then you have got Adam Reynolds who is doing great things at Brisbane and the game is at Suncorp and he knows that Stadium very well. So they are probably the three.”
“Some good options and some questions to be answered for NSW,” Anasta said.
As Fittler has shown a preference for combinations, the Blues may consider a reunion between former Souths teammates Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker to work with Latrell Mitchell, who is expected to return.
However, that would be a tough call on both incumbent Jarome Luai and Nicho Hynes, but the Blues can’t afford to make the wrong decision with the series on the line in Brisbane.
Matty Johns believes Hynes deserves a chance, but would also consider having Walker in the side for his combination with Mitchell.
“The obvious bloke who deserves a chance is Nicho Hynes,” Johns said on Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
“He is the Dally M medallist. He was No.14 in game one and was only given an opportunity at right centre. He is the obvious one.
“But there is so much that goes on now. What does this mean for Luai?
“If we are talking about combinations I want Cody Walker in the squad, particularly with Latrell coming back in the side on that left side.”
Cleary hobbles from field with injury | 01:41
TEDESCO ANSWERS CRITICS IN STATEMENT
James Tedesco emphatically answered his critics in a match winning performance in the Roosters’ 25-24 win over the Bulldogs.
Tedesco put the disappointment of the Blues’ Origin I loss behind him to finish with 173 metres, eight tackle busts, a linebreak, a linebreak assist, two try assists and a classy double to lead his side to victory.
Braith Anasta believes Tedesco answered his critics in style.
“James Tedesco had the weight of the world on his shoulders throughout the week on the back of that NSW Origin loss in game one,” Anasta said.
“We spoke about it pre-game. We said that he would stand up. We said that he is a champion. We expected him to respond, but I don’t think we expected him to respond like that.”
Greg Alexander called the criticism of Tedesco ridiculous and believes he deserved more after what he has achieved in the game over a long period of time.
“It was good to see, it really was,” Alexander said.
“He was under pressure because of all the noise around it, but it was interesting to hear him say what he wanted to focus on.
“As a footy player sometimes you can forget what your role is especially as a fullback or a halfback. You get caught up in other people’s roles. You get caught up in focusing on things that you shouldn’t.
“Teddy said, that the captaincy and everything was weighing on his shoulders for the Roosters and I guess it was poor form from the club side itself.
“We haven’t seen the best of James Tedesco. There has been games where he hasn’t been at his best and he admitted that, but a couple of poor games for his standard, doesn’t give everyone the right to jump on his back and say, that’s it you’re finished and you don’t get any more chances, you’re out.”
Cooper Cronk believes Tedesco showed how a player can get back on track when out of form and stood tall in the best way possible.
“It is a great insight to see one of the best players in the game show how you bounce back,” Cronk said.
“I loved his answer about getting back to instinct footy, his style because when there is a lot of noise around you good, bad or indifferent, the only way to answer that or get through to the other side is to do what you are good at.
“Instead of bringing in the captaincy and bringing in the NSW side of things and listening to the outside noise, double down on what you are good at and that’s instinctive footy.
“James Tedesco at his best is stepping up, forward momentum, work through and support play and he did that.
“He had 18 runs, 180 metres, broke tackles, scored tries and set them up. The fancy stuff comes when you put your eyes on the opportunity in front of you and you go for it and that’s what Tedesco did.
“When you are out of form stop focusing on the areas you need to improve and focus on the areas you are good at and do them.
“Then all of a sudden when you do all the things you are good at, then the areas you need to improve and the things the critics are saying, they are the areas that get fixed and they notice.
“But go back to the areas you are good at, simple as that.”
Anasta believes Tedesco answered the critics as the champions do.
“That’s how champions respond,” Anasta said.
“It shows the character of him because a lot of players when you receive criticism you get down on confidence. He said it himself, he felt that pressure not only at Origin level, but at club land.
“But you can go backwards too and he has just gone, stuff this let’s go.”
Alexander agreed that Tedesco got back to what has made him so devastating for so long.
“That’s why he is James Tedesco,” Alexander said.
“That’s why he is one of the best players we have had in the competition for many years now.
“Coaches say, go back and watch some tries. Go back and watch periods of your career when you were really good and it does remind you what you are good at and what you need to get back to.”
Teddy answers critics – 3 minute double! | 00:48
HAAS’ RED HOT BRONCOS BUILDING FOR DEEP SEPTEMBER RUN
Coming off the back of two-straight losses to Melbourne and Penrith, Brisbane entered the Origin period at risk of undoing all their good work at the start of the season.
Instead, the Broncos have made statements against the Warriors and Sharks to maintain their spot inside the top four and send a message to the rest of the competition.
It would have been understandable for Brisbane to drop its Round 13 clash against the well-rested Warriors in Napier, down key forwards in Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan and Tom Flegler along with fullback Reece Walsh and winger Selwyn Cobbo.
On the contrary, the likes of Corey Jensen and Tristan Sailor stepped up in their absence while the calming influence of Adam Reynolds once again proved crucial in a nervy 26-22 win.
That win highlighted Brisbane’s depth while its most recent victory — a clinical 20-12 effort against Cronulla — spoke to the defensive resilience that could take the Broncos all the way.
Even in the defeat to Penrith last month, Brisbane did particularly well to keep it so close given all the opportunities the defending premiers had.
And on Saturday night the Broncos once again stepped up to consistently repel one of the league’s best attacking units as Flegler, Haas, Carrigan and Walsh all successfully backed up.
It had premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk declaring on Fox League’s post-game show that Brisbane has “all the ingredients” to be a serious title contender this year.
That did come with a proviso though as Cronk said the Broncos will need to avoid a similar late collapse to the one that saw Brisbane tumble down the ladder in 2022.
“They’ve got all the ingredients, they’ve got all the foundations,” Cronk said.
“They’ve got the threats to make some noise in September. The coach has done a good job. One of the best compliments you can give a coach is are all the players on the list improving, the young guys have, some of the old guys are playing some of their best football too.
“The only question mark I have against the Brisbane Broncos is what happened last year, but I don’t think we can answer that until we get 19 rounds into the competition.
“Right now, I think they’re a better team this year than they were at this stage last year, when they were sitting in the top four.
“They are sitting at the top of the competition now so a big piece will be how their good players get through Origin.
“But how much effort and consistency do they have in their game to go on and go one better than what they did because you can’t just gloss over the last six rounds last year when they only won one game and they fell out of the eight.”
Cronk believes the key for the Broncos is prop Payne Haas, who is on track to being one of the best if not the best front-rower the game has seen.
“He is the best front-rower in our game,” Cronk said.
“He is a bit like the stage you say about Nathan Cleary. Destiny is in his own hands.
“If he continues on this trajectory, with the work ethic he has got, the mental toughness and the readiness for every game, who knows what this kid can achieve because he is literally dominating the game from the front row position.
“You could throw that comment at only a handful of front-rowers throughout the history of our game.
“He is only in the early stages, but if he can put this over the next 10 years it is, bow in the presence of greatness.”
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Broncos sink Sharks to reclaim top spot! | 01:58
TITANS BLOW ANOTHER LEAD AS HORROR TREND CONTINUES
If NRL games lasted just 40 minutes, the Gold Coast Titans would be one of the best in the competition.
This season, they have scored 178 points in the first half and conceded only 106 for a points differential of +72.
But once they emerge from the sheds for the second half, it’s a completely different story.
And not a pleasant one.
In the second half, the Titans have scored 108 points and conceded an alarming 229 for a worrying points differential of -121. That’s a 193-point swing.
The glaring issue struck yet again in the Titans’ 46-28 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday.
The Titans led 22-16 at the break before the Bunnies piled on 30 unanswered points in the second half to swing the contest in their favour.
Even though it’s been a recurring theme for the team this season, Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook seemed lost for answers.
“I think we’re defending really well in the first half,” Holbrook said in the post-match press conference.
“When we’re clear on what we want to do, we’re doing it well. We sit second in the comp at half-time defensively.
“It’s not the whole game, it’s what’s happening when we’re not winning moments and not thinking clear, then we’re making different decisions.”
Titans skipper Tino Fa’asumaleaui pinned the blame for the second half slumps squarely on the players.
“It’s just frustrating that we can do it for 40 minutes, we just can’t back it up in the second,” Fa’asumaleaui said.
“It’s definitely not the coaches, it’s the boys mentally. We’ve got to get over that hurdle.”
How Holbrook and his troops fix the issue remains to be seen, but time is slowly running out for the Titans to find a solution and remain in the mix for finals footy.
Souths claim huge win amid injuries! | 02:22
RED HOT RAIDERS BENEFITING FROM ORIGIN DUO’S RETIREMENT CALLS
The Raiders have given the rest of the NRL an idea of how much easier club footy could be without Origin stealing all the star players.
The Raiders beat the Tigers 20-19 for their seventh win in eight games to move them to equal third on the ladder on competition points and sixth overall.
Dan Ginnane noted how devastating Josh Papalii has been despite retiring from Origin on the eve of this year’s series.
“Josh Papalii retired from Origin two weeks ago,” Ginnane said.
“Whether he sensed he wasn’t going to be picked or whether he sensed he just couldn’t do it.
“He said no to the Maroons jumper, but his form is as good as ever. 130 metres, 14 runs he was outstanding.”
Shane Flanagan believes the Raiders are benefiting from having two Origin calibre players in Papali’i and Jack Wighton playing with them week in and week out without the distraction and physical toll of Origin footy.
“He is so powerful and he has got good footwork and he can offload and obviously he is a leader of this football team,” Flanagan said of Papali’i.
“The thing for me with the Canberra Raiders is they have got two players in Papalii and Jack Wighton who have ruled themselves out of Origin this year and the Canberra Raiders are the big benefactors of that.
“Two players that are fresh and they don’t have to go through that Origin build-up and they are just playing for the Canberra Raiders week in and week out.”
Raiders hold off Tigers late-game charge | 02:52
‘BLUEPRINT’ FOR COWBOYS AS PAYTEN EXPLAINS BIG FELDT CALL
Michael Ennis called it the “blueprint” that the Cowboys have to follow from now on.
A half-time directive from coach Todd Payten, imploring his back five to step up and up their aggression to ease the pressure on the North Queensland forward pack.
“He’s actually called out the back five of the Cowboys,” sideline reporter Brent Tate said on Sunday.
“He wants them to play with more aggression.”
That they did, with all five of North Queensland’s backs running for over 100 metres in the 45-20 win over Melbourne.
In the second half alone the Cowboys’ back five combined for 404 metres, 18 tackle busts, five linebreaks and four try assists.
Speaking in his post-game press conference, Payten expanded on that half-time message, telling reporters that success in the “transition game” is particularly important moving forward.
Cowboys smash Storm to revive season! | 01:00
“I just asked the team to throw away finesse and go back to brutality and playing direct,” Payten said.
“Diving into our kick chase or kick sprint and just the first three tackles takes a lot out of our middles and then asking the back five to be really direct when they’re carrying those first three plays. That transition game is really important and we got it right.”
Semi Valemei was impressive in his club debut, delivering exactly what Payten wanted with some strong carries as the former Raiders winger scored three tries and ran for 144 metres.
“He scored three tries, ran the ball really hard, he’s really hard to handle,” Payten said.
“It was a really positive start for him.”
Valemei came in for Kyle Feldt, with Payten explaining that the veteran’s decision-making in defence influenced the call to drop him.
“When Feldty’s at his best, he makes us a really good team,” Payten said.
“He’s just had some defensive decision lapses which is the reason why we made that change.”