From The Couch: Round 11

Vale, Bob Fulton: Rugby League lost one of its finest players and most powerful ever figures on Sunday when Bob Fulton passed away at 71 after a long battle with cancer. It is hard to think of a figure who has wielded more power and touched more aspects of the game than Fulton. A sublime player who was named an inaugural Immortal, Fulton dominated coaching in the late 1980s through the late 1990s, winning two premierships with Manly and becoming Australia’s most successful international coach. He was a key powerbroker in the Super League War and was as influential at NRL HQ in the early era of the organisation as anyone. Even in his latter years he was a major radio personality on the Continuous Call team while having a huge influence over the NSW State of Origin team as the primary selector for most of this century. He was also a key advisor to Laurie Daley and was the power behind the Trent Barrett move to Manly. For a half-century, Fulton shaped Rugby League into what we know of it today. That is one hell of a legacy for someone who devoted their life to the game. 

Raiders Are Rotten: Hope is lost that any Canberra form slump was just that: a slump. The Raiders are cooked. Their effort against a Storm team missing nearly all its playmakers on Saturday night was downright embarrassing. The Storm were without Cam Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant – as well as backup half Ryley Jacks – yet still put 34 points on a hapless Raiders team that, while missing plenty of talent themselves, were incredibly soft. The ructions out of the club are very unsettling. It is clear a lot of players are not clicking with Ricky and that Stuart is not getting his message across to the group. He is going nowhere so the time is now for Canberra to get about rebuilding. 

Victor Is Vucked; Victor Radley is the exact type of player who is going to be castrated by the newfound enforcement of rules against head high shots. Radley is a small player who plays with a physicality that belies his size. He gets up. He also sees red. He surely broke an NRL record for reports in a game with four on Saturday. He equalled the NRL era record for sin bins with two. He is going to find life very difficult if he does not learn to cool his temper and adjust his technique. 

Suaalii Does Enough: Joseph Suaalii made his long-awaited NRL debut on Saturday night and while it was far from spectacular, he obviously did not look out of place. In a spiteful and strange match, Suaalii did enough defensively while he went very close to having a try assist. 

Trent From Punchbowl Knows More About D: It is fair to say laconic Australian icon Trent From Punchbowl knows at least an equal amount about getting an NRL side to defend as Trent Barrett does. Here are some damning statistics about Barrett’s defence:

• In 8 of 11 games this season, Canterbury have conceded at least 28 points
• In 29 of 73 games at Manly, Barrett’s teams conceded at least 28 points
• In 15 of his last 22 NRL games, Barrett’s teams have conceded at least 28 points
• Barrett’s defensive rankings: 12th, 11th, 16th, 16th
• The average score conceded by Trent Barrett coached teams is 24.39 across 84 matches

Interim Sharks coach – the much maligned Josh Hannay – concedes just over 26 points per game. He isn’t getting a full-time gig. Nobody gives the Sharks a chance with him in charge. Never mind the awful recruiting, the poor development of talent and the like. Barrett’s teams cannot defend. The evidence is damning. The Bulldogs are going nowhere with him in charge. 

The Charge Down Rule Is Ridiculous: The NRL needs to quickly amend its interpretation of the charge down rule. A charge down should be ruled whenever a player is rushing forward towards a kicker in a clear attempt to pressure said kicker. Attempting to suggest a player turning his back is not trying to charge down a kick is utterly ridiculous. It is very simple and needs to be fixed now. 

Origin I Teams: The teams that should be selected for both Queensland and NSW. 

Queensland

1.Kalyn Ponga
2.Valentine Holmes
3.Kurt Capewell
4.Dane Gagai
5.Xavier Coates
6.Cameron Munster
7.Daly Cherry-Evans
8.Christian Welch
9.Harry Grant
10.Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
11.Felise Kaufusi
12.David Fifita
13.Jai Arrow
14.AJ Brimson
15.Reed Mahoney
16.Moeaki Fotuaika
17.Jaydn Su’A

New South Wales

1.James Tedesco
2.Josh Addo-Carr
3.Matt Burton
4.Latrell Mitchell
5.Tom Trbojevic
6.Cody Walker
7.Nathan Cleary
8.Reagan Campbell-Gillard
9.Damien Cook
10.Daniel Saifiti
11.Angus Crichton
12.Liam Martin
13.Isaah Yeo
14.Ryan Papenhuyzen
15.Junior Paulo
16.Payne Haas
17.Victor Radley

Disgrace of the Week: The clown in charge of the siren at Bankwest Stadium is a low-down cheat. Deliberately sounding the siren on halftime when Reuben Garrick was coming in to convert Brad Parker’s amazing try should see the joker named, fired and forced to relocate to Yakutsk. 

2021 Field Goal Update – 13: Chad Townsend slotted the golden point winner against rivals St George Illawarra, making up for a heinous previous 83 minutes. 

Fun Fact #1: Bob Fulton was involved in five of Manly’s first six premierships as both a player and a coach.

Fun Fact #2: Bob Fulton won 67 games as Australian coach – more than double the 33 of second-placed Frank Stanton.

Fun Fact #3: Manly played in Grand Finals in six of the 11 years Bob Fulton played for the Sea Eagles. 

Betting Market of the Week: The line on next week’s Penrith-Canterbury game will:

$51.00: Remain at the early line of -31.5
$101.00: Finished under -30
$.01: Finish larger than -36

Rumour Mill: Three prominent Canberra Raiders – two of whom played on Saturday night –  were rumoured to have been drinking and gambling at the RUC in O’Connor on Friday. RUC stands for Rugby Union Club and drinking there is an act of treason on the Greatest Game of All. Nicho Hynes is expected to extend his deal with the Melbourne Storm. Brisbane are less than impressed that Tevita Pangai and Jamayne Isaako secretly met with a number of senior Wests Tigers figures last week. Matt Lodge looks set to make a move to Newcastle. 

Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: The Newcastle Knights may well be the worst coached side in the NRL based on their insipid display when having a significant player advantage against North Queensland on Thursday night. Despite having a two-player advantage for a notable period of time, the Knights belligerently carted the ball up and stuck it under the arm time after time after time, refusing to take advantage of their overlap. They won that period 6-0. It was some of the most idiotic, stupid football one could imagine. 

The Coaching Crosshairs: The drums are absolutely beating for Adam O’Brien at Newcastle and with Kalyn Ponga clearly not healthy and Mitchell Pearce out for an extended period, things are hardly bound to improve. The Knights are significantly under-indexing on their talent. Most concerning is the lack of player development with the likes of Tex Hoy, Phoenix Crossland and plenty others not coming on as they should. The Knights football department is now undergoing a review with the hiring of Anthony Seibild as a consultant particularly galling to Knights CEO Phil Gardner. It would surprise if O’Brien survived  the review. It would be stunning if Anthony Seibold was at the club. 

Jersey Watch: The definitive rankings of the Super League jerseys, from best to worst. 

1.Western Reds
2.Adelaide Rams
3.Hunter Mariners
4.Canterbury Bulldogs
5.Auckland Warriors
6.Cronulla Sharks
7.Canberra Raiders
8.North Queensland Cowboys
9.Brisbane Broncos
10.Penrith Panthers

Watch It: With the passing of Bob Fulton, we look back on one of his finest performances, a stellar showing in the brutal 1973 Grand Final against Cronulla. The game is regarded as one of the most violent bloodbaths in premiership history. It was Fulton’s brilliant speed and unparalleled anticipation that won Manly the match and the title that day though in one of the all-time great Grand Final performances. Watch it here.