Physical Address
Suite 5, 181 High Street,
Willoughby North NSW 2068
‘What’s he supposed to do there?!’ | 00:42
The NRL can’t ignore it has a crisis on its hands with overwhelming outrage from coaches, former players and fans in relation to the dangerous tackle crackdown and the overuse of the bunker to review alleged foul play.
And the incident that has pushed Wayne Bennett over the edge is the decision not to charge Jack Wighton for his so-called hip drop on Scott Drinkwater after a crucial penalty turned the match against the Cowboys.
Bennett is of the belief that it is just unacceptable that the onfield ref gets the call right but then has his power stripped by the bunker, who not only slow down the game but stuff up the decision in the process.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
But Bennett was even more frustrated on Sunday when he found out Wighton did not even cop a fine let alone a suspension for a call that had such a huge impact on the result.
While he would not comment publicly, take it as fact the game’s most experienced coach was riled up and ready to demand answers from someone at the NRL as to why the bunker has the power to overrule the onfield ref and yet get it so blatantly wrong.
Bennett has previously called for the NRL to pull back on the overuse of the sin bin for high tackle incidents and leave the punishment to the match review committee.
To put it in perspective, Souths were leading 10-6 with 24 minutes to go when Wighton nailed the Cowboys fullback within centimetres of the tryline to force a turnover.
Initially referee Todd Smith had no issue with the tackle because he called a scrum, and Drinkwater was not injured.
But that didn’t stop the bunker awarding the penalty to the Cowboys who then scored on the final tackle of the next set.
A stack of experts including Andrew Johns, Billy Slater and Steve Roach all weighed in on the tackle, adamant it was not a hip drop.
As Roach said on Fox League the moment the penalty was blown: “What is he supposed to do? He is trying to stop a try, there was nothing else Jack Wighton could do.”
Even Cowboys coach Todd Payten backed up Bennett after the game, saying it did not warrant a penalty.
WHY JT WAS WRONG TO CONFRONT LENIU
There is no disputing Spencer Leniu did his volatile reputation no favours when he came across disrespectful and out-of-control during his onfield blow-up with league legend Johnathan Thurston.
But what we all need to also remember is that NRL props aren’t paid to be choirboys.
And for that reason alone, Thurston himself must wear some of the blame for how this all unfolded in full view of the cameras at Suncorp Stadium.
Surely JT should have been experienced and smart enough to know the field of play is not the ideal place for an arbitration meeting with an angry front-rower under any circumstances but especially in front of live TV cameras.
TALKING POINTS: Broncos’ rockstar relapse as rivals eye $85k Rooster; why Panthers are plummeting
HARD TO WATCH: Coach says Knights have ‘the yips’ after attack stutters to worst in club history
‘BIAS THING’: NRL legend and Roosters star weigh in on anger driving JT, Leniu stoush
In hindsight, Thurston would have been better off letting it rest until tempers had subsided before trying to have a civil conversation with Leniu behind closed doors.
In saying that, well done to the NRL for not making a mountain out of a molehill or taking sides either way.
As Trent Robinson said after the game, it is okay for two men to have a difference of opinion.
Although you’d still hope the Roosters had the sense to pull Leniu into line privately and tell him in no uncertain terms that his actions were out of line and what is expected from a professional sportsman on any field of play.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
THE DAY THE RAGING BULL AND AN ANGRY TIGER ALMOST CAME TO BLOWS
For the record it’s certainly not the first blow-up between a former great working in the media and a current player.
I remember a conversation with the great Gorden Tallis a while back about a heated exchange he had with former Tigers captain Robbie Farrah after a game one day, when Farah allegedly threatened to fight the Raging Bull over something Tallis said on radio.
It’s probably a good thing Aaron Woods was on hand to make sure Farah didn’t go through with his threat because that would have made the Leniu/Thurston stoush look like a Sunday school picnic.
ROOKIE ROOSTER EXPOSES WALSH’S NO.1 WEAKNESS
If the kicking game of a rookie halfback like Hugo Savala can put Reece Walsh under pressure like he did throughout the Roosters’ shock 26-16 win over the Broncos, you can only imagine what Nathan Cleary or Mitchell Moses would do under the blowtorch of Origin.
Walsh has been a long way off his best for most of the season but on Friday night he was terrible under the high ball.
On one occasion Billy Smith jumped over the top of him to score, while Fox League’s Greg Alexander concluded after Walsh butchered another bomb late in the loss.
“He attacks the ball at 1000 miles an hour,” Alexander said.
“Like, he comes flying in …arms and legs scattered everywhere.
“He might just need to change his approach to some of these high kicks because he is dropping too many of them and it has happened all season.
“It has become a bit of an issue for the Broncos.”
Walsh is only lucky Kalyn Ponga’s form has also dropped off in recent weeks.
COATES BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF ‘THE GURU’
I can’t remember a more enjoyable performance from a rugby league winger than Xavier Coates’ exhibition in the Storm’s thumping win over the Warriors since the days of the great Eric Grothe back in Parramatta’s glory days.
What an amazing athlete this bloke is.
The speed, the power, the skill … it’s just phenomenal.
And he can soar through the air like Michael Jordan.
There are some great wingers in the game today but there’s none better than the 6’4 Storm flyer who was even given an early mark by coach Craig Bellamy with 12 minutes to go.
But not before Coates had clocked up 15 runs for 208 metres including two tries and two try assists along with six tackle busts.
DEARDEN FIGHTS TO RETAIN MAROONS NO.6
Cameron Munster showed again in the big win over the Warriors why he is short odds to get back the Queensland No 6 jumper after missing last year’s series through injury.
But gee that brave little Cowboys captain Tom Dearden is throwing down the challenge to keep his spot.
After a slow start to the season Dearden has really fired back in the last few weeks.
He was again in the thick of everything in Perth with two tremendous tackles that forced turnovers leading to back-to-back tries to young Jaxon Purdue.
It’s just a shame the Wighton hip drop controversy stole the spotlight after the game because it was a great effort from both teams.
MOMENT THAT SUMMED UP HOW FAR THE PANTHERS HAVE PLUMMETED
For confirmation how bad the Panthers are going just go back to that try Josh Kerr laid on for Connelly Lemuelu.
The Dolphins journeyman fair dinkum looked like Artie Beetson offloading over the top of two Panthers.
And what made vit more shocking was the fact those two Panthers were Liam Martin and Nathan Cleary.
So are the four-time reigning champs officially gone?
That’s now five losses on the trot to sit second last on the ladder and only ahead of Parramatta on points differential.
The way they are travelling just making the top eight will be an achievement now.
Don’t forget Origin is not to far away and that is only going to further test the depth of their squad.
TIGERS LOOKS THE REAL DEAL
On the flipside, is it too early to call the Tigers a serious finals hope in 2025?
No way.
Not when Benji Marshall has the likes of Lachie Galvin, Jarome Luai, Jahream Bula, Starford To’a, Adam Doueihi, Terrell May and Api Koroisau all firing.
The 20-4 win over the Knights pushes the reigning wooden spooners to seventh on the ladder heading into the Easter Monday clash against last placed Parramatta.
As for the Knights, they’ve now lost three straight and their attack is pedestrian with teams knowing if you shut down Kalyn Ponga the Knights couldn’t beat time with a stick.
And it doesn’t get any easier given they now take on the Sharks next who were impressive in their win over the Sea Eagles.
DRAGONS HALVES EARN A REPRIEVE
As good as the Dragons looked in the 38-16 win over the Titans, they now need to back it up against the out-of-form Sea Eagles on Thursday night before you’d want to get too carried away.
Although what this showed is that when they get it right they have strong defence and enough strike to at least fight for a top eight spot this year.
It was particularly pleasing seeing Lachie Isias bounce back after his disappointment the previous round in the loss to the Eels, while Kyle Flanagan had some really nice touches.
MORE FORWARD PASS CONTROVERSY
We’ve spoken a lot this season about forward passes that are being missed in the lead up to tries.
But what’s worse than seeing one forward pass go unchecked is seeing two go through to the keeper in the same play.
Seriously, you couldn’t help but laugh when Flanagan scored on the back of forward passes from Val Holmes and Clint Gutherson.
Although unlike last week I won’t be pushing for the bunker to rule on forward passes on the back of what we saw over the weekend.
The less the bunker is involved right now the better for everyone concerned.
BROWN GOES MIA AGAIN
Just when you thought Dylan Brown was ready to move on from all the controversy surrounding his monster $13 million deal with the Knights, the much-maligned Parramatta five-eighth went out and reminded everyone exactly why he can be the most frustrating player in the game.
A week earlier Brown finished with 11 runs for 126 metres in the golden point win over the Dragons where he was one of the best on ground.
This week in Darwin it looked as though he was ready for another big game when he scored early.
But after that he went MIA again to finish with three runs for 39 metres.
In goes without saying the Eels need more from Brown if they are going to be any hope of picking themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 12: Dylan Brown of the Eels passes the ball during the round six NRL match between Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders at TIO Stadium, on April 12, 2025, in Darwin, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesNRL’S GREATEST COMEBACK OF 2025
It was great to see Billy Smith celebrate two tries in the Roosters’ win.
This bloke has been to hell and back on the injury front and there was even mail going around at the start of the year that Smith was at the point where his next injury could end in retirement.
But to see him go out and play as well as he did against on the big stage at Suncorp just shows why the Roosters have maintained so much faith in the now 25-year-old.
BUTCHER UPSTAGES BRONCOS’ STAR PROPS
What about the effort from Nat Butcher after being pushed up into the front row to cover for the injured Lindsay Collins.
Up against the one-two punch of star Bronco props Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan, Butcher made the most metres of any forward on the field with 20 runs for 156m.
In comparison Hass had 17 for 141m and Carrigan 12 for 105m.
IS TEDDY READY FOR AN ORIGIN RECALL?
If you were picking the NSW fullback spot on form James Tedesco would be hard to ignore after another top-notch effort with 19 for 196m that included 13 tackles busts, a linebreak, a linebreak assist and a try assist.
It sets up a mouth-watering showdown with Blues incumbent Dylan Edwards when the Roosters take on the Panthers on Saturday.
While Edwards is struggling, you can’t forget he was tremendous for the Blues in last year’s series victory.
RAIDERS ENFORCER REMINDS BROWN WHAT HE MISSED OUT ON
Imagine how Eels assistant coach Nathan Brown would have been feeling sitting beside Jason Ryles in the box and watching Canberra captain Joey Tapine terrorise the Eels.
You may remember Brown coached Tapine at the Knights when Tapine was a young bloke and there was a fall out back in 2016 after the then rising backrower signed a rich deal to join the Raiders.
At the time the reports were that Brown had threatened Tapine he’d be banished to reserve grade for the rest of the season before the club agreed to an early release.
Nine years down the track and Tapine has established himself as one of the great front-rowers of the modern game.
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 03: Joseph Tapine of the Raiders in action during the round five NRL match between Canberra Raiders and Cronulla Sharks at GIO Stadium, on April 03, 2025, in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesAnd a player who week in week out turns up for work with an attitude that sets the tone for this rejuvenated Raiders outfit that is threatening to really make a statement in 2025.
That’s now four wins from their first six games for a team some rated wooden spoon favourites at the start of the season.
Not only do they have a really tough and dangerous pack but the speed in the backs is blistering, while Jamal Fogarty’s kicking game is second to none, and Ethan Strange is just a gun.
It would be such a shame if Fogarty ends up signing with Manly given how he has developed under Ricky Stuart from the player who’d arrived basically unwanted at the Titans.
WHY OLAKAU’ATU IS A DANGEROUS GAMBLE FOR BLUES
There’s no doubt rampaging Manly backrower Haumole Olakau’atu is one of the most dangerous attacking weapons in the game, and we all know how he can hit like a freight train.
But that said, he can still come up with some costly defensive moments that would have to be a concern not only for his club coach Anthony Seibold but also Blues coach Laurie Daley.
Olakau’atu produced another one on the weekend when he threw out a lazy arm on Sam Stonestreet just before halftime and gave up a soft penalty that led to Stonestreet’s second try and an 8-0 halftime lead.
It was an impressive performance from the Sharks with the back five instrumental, but Will Kennedy was the standout.
