From The Couch: Round 15
Freddy Knows He Got It Wrong: The one positive outcome from Brad Fittler making sweeping changes to the Game 2 team is that he has conceded how much he got wrong in the opener. Sadly, he has not really identified what he got wrong, at least not fully.
There was a blow with Jack Wighton ruled out. Wighton should have been earmarked to replace Jarome Luai, who is seemingly viewed as safe as Wally Lewis was for Queensland in 1988. Alas, Matt Burton is a good replacement for Wighton, offering similar versatility and an ability to kick that Luai seemingly does not possess.
There was no doubt that Tariq Sims, Ryan Matterson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard all had to go.It is actually stunning Sims was ever picked in the first place. He was a terrible liability as a defender.
Jake Trbojevic has made a pretty compelling case for a recall.
That is where the good news ends.
He is sticking with Daniel Tupou for reasons that are unclear but must surely be a result of blackmail. If he thinks Tupou is a better option than Josh Addo-Carr then he is loopier than we all think. He has stuck with his belief that he needs to jam as many Penrith players in as possible including Luai and likely sticking with Liam Martin as a starter.
Angus Crichton has not been in outstanding form and is probably lucky to get a recall though it is a lineball call. Siosifa Talikai’s inclusion is completely bonkers though and screams of trying to jam a very round peg into a very square hole. Adding Victor Radley and Jordan McLean to the squad suggest Fittler has actually stopped watching Rugby League.
It was pleasing to see Fittler acknowledge how wrong he got game one. It is a shame he has hardly improved the situation in game two.
The Barrett Nightmare Has Ended: Mick Potter almost certainly will not be the Canterbury coach in 2023. He should never be forgotten by the Canterbury faithful though for what he has done for the soul of the club in less than a month since the Barrett era was finally ended 18 months after a beginning that should never have happened. In four games, he has ripped the shackles of the depressingly boring and inarticulate and unmodern styles of the Pay and Barrett eras. He has done so with the same roster, playing players where they should be and dropping others and allowing footballers to play football. The win over Parramatta was elite. The win over the Tigers was just fun. There is no hope of a finals run but Potter is breathing fresh air into a team and a fan base beaten down by bad football, awful results, horrific management and a frustrating run of broken promises. Potter is giving young players like Jacob Kiraz and Aaron Schoupp goes. I was so wrong on this but he is doing a very good job in making Jake Averillo a fullback. Burton is back. The young forwards getting runs are far better than some of the old hacks getting gigs under Barrett. Potter has done a wonderful job and much like a summer fling, it will be short and it will be sweet and will long hold a fondness to all Canterbury fans.
South Sydney in Spiral Mode: South Sydney may be one of the best run clubs off the field but their on-field showing this year is spiralling out of control and Latrell Mitchell’s return is only part of the solution. The Adam Reynolds decision may well be proven right but in 2022 it was clearly wrong (probably expected). Combined with the sharp downturn in form and reliability of Cody Walker and the clear underperformance of Lachlan Ilias, Souths do not have an adequate plan for the future to cover it. No team is handling the ball worse this year with their 13.3 errors per game 2.1 more than the second worst handling team. The lack of interest being shown by some outside backs (Jaxson Paulo) is as bad as the lack of discipline being shown by others (Taane Milne). Campbell Graham’s tackling is terrible. Cody Walker’s temperament is not becoming of a player of his talent. Some of the pack are being outright manhandled. There is clunkiness in attack, a real lack of effort in defence, no cohesiveness, a lack of discipline and mixed messaging coming from the coaching staff. Souths are in more trouble than their ladder position suggests.
Can Chris Butler Count to 10? The answer clearly is no after he allowed a Cowboys try to stand during their epic comeback against the Sea Eagles where he ruled Jeremiah Nanai had run 10m to put his teammates onside when he had taken three steps max.
2022 Field Goal Update – 19: A disgraceful weekend for field goals with not a single one kicked.
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Fun Fact #1: All three current interim coaches signed with Super League in 1995.
Fun Fact #2: Canterbury scored 30-plus in back-to-back games for the first time since 2019 (courtesy of Greg Alexander, courtesy no doubt of Aaron Wallace)
Fun Fact #3: The Bulldogs have scored 24 or more points in three of four games under Mick Potter. They reached 24 in four of 34 games under “attacking genius” Trent Barrett.
Betting Market of the Week: Who is the NRL’s pre-eminent Lionel Richie impersonator:
$1.70: Morgan Harper (Lionel Richie Peak)
$2.50: Xavier Savage (Lionel Richie reimagined on speed)
$4.00: Daine Laurie (Lionel Richie circa 2000)
Rumour Mill: The rumour mill is in overdrive that Brad Fittler has agreed to terms with Canterbury in a hiring that will rank just as bad as signing Trent Barrett. There is hope that this is all just fake news in order to smother inking Cameron Ciraldo. Cody Walker is expected to ask for a release to join the Dolphins in 2023.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou may have got a positive short-term result in hooking rookie Lachlan Ilias after just 23 minutes but he has caused untold long-term drama with it. Demetriou declared after the game that Ilias would start this week. That means nothing. A halfback is almost never hooked these days and Ilias must carry both the ignominy of it as as the scars of being the one hung out to try when he had plenty of assistance. It was a dangerous call made out of frustration but this looks far from the end of it.
The Coaching Crosshairs: Adam O’Brien cannot possibly survive this campaign. It may not be completely his fault given the team he has been given but it is very clear that this Knights team is not only going nowhere with him at the helm but is clearly not saddled with basic fundamentals like tackling technique, passing and catching and what lines to run. The first two tries conceded against the Raiders were stunningly inept with both given up off basic one-on-one misses on the goalline. He may survive until September but that will be it.
Watch It: It has been 25 years since Super League and here is one of their early commercials that they rolled out. It is horrendous, from the use of plain white jerseys to the inclusion of Jarrod McCracken. Watch it here.