Why do the media call Xerri a star? I like the bloke but he's just a battering ram who makes no real attacking contribution. Needing to go back to cup to try to improve his game is exactly where he's at IMO.

So far so good if that Raiders form holds. Saints v Storm should also give us some info cause I reckon Saints defence against us in Vegas was pretty committed.

We have to put max pressure on the Canberra halves, especially Strange. A big game from Preston v Hudson Young would be great, including for his SOO chances. The long break after Vegas is probably good for us over the season but we have to be outsiders for this game with our lack of match...

We played the Dragons on Saturday arvo in NSW Cup Rd 1, after I posted.

Sorry if it's been mentioned earlier but why isn't SOS playing NSW Cup this weekend?

Thompson (allegedly) did his calf in the week leading up to All Stars on 15 Feb. 10 weeks would see him back around round 8 or 9 so, with our bye in rd2,the best case scenario is he only miss's 6 or 7 games. Unfortunately the timeframe on a calf injury for a big bloke could change for the worst.

Flanno Snr's gone from peptide, salary cap, secret conversations cheat to darling of the media. Looks like he used his time in the media well to kiss a lot of arse's and get them to swallow his one-sided narratives. Also hard to cop serial head kicking bomb catcher and protected species Billy...

Fair point.

Referring to Hayward as Howard (my mistake) turned into a bit of a tangent. I'm just calling him Bailey from now on.

Bennett seems to like players looking for a bit of redemption for whatever reason. He’s also moved a few players on from his clubs when they need a change. Topine couldn’t ask for a better mentor right now but I doubt he’s going far as a player.

The reserves might change but, barring injuries, it looks like the plan is to rotate 3 forwards off the bench for the first 50-60 minutes at least (probably hold Curran back) then decide who the final interchange player will be. Wouldn't be surprised if Tuala comes in for AJ, or maybe Curran...

Rugby League is a game of wrestling. Glad it's over and there's no silly precedent.

Speaking of trials, just saw on the highly professional NRL website that Brad Arthur is listed as Parra coach for yesterdays Roosters trial.

I wonder if teams still need to nominate 18th man or can choose from the unused bench players (usually 18 & 19).

He just says words. They could mean anything.

The Morris boys look nothing like Danny Partridge. Old Stevie had that sort of no-neck running style like Toy boy but he was twice as fast.

I was surprised at SOS's pace. I thought he was more at Sexton's pace but he can accelerate pretty quick over a short distance and get through the line. We haven't had a half, or dummy half, for ages who can put the defence in 2 minds like that. If he stays at half it would finally give Galvin...

Yeah he was good there but we need a half now more than Penrith did then.

SOS looks like he’s found the exact right system at the right time of his career. Kurt Mann Mark 2 maybe? It was a decent hit-out. Some of our defence against their kick returns was a bit rusty but we looked fit.

He needs to go back to Mario Kart.

Top 6. There’s still big question marks over the halves, dummy half, front row, and depth in the outside backs - all from an attacking perspective. But it’s definitely Ciro’s team now. If the halves don’t work or if blokes like Bailey and Hayes can’t go to the next level, it’s on him. If it...

Yeah he started poor and then got much better, but they all looked rusty to start with. Sua's a work in progress with plenty of potential. Hopefully we aren't forced to rush him.

Fletcher Baker looked willing at the start but knocked up after 10 mins. Hughes was underwhelming. Underhill was pretty busy when he was on during most of our scoring period. I thought he was the pick of our props.

It will be good to see the boys running around again and get a chance to see a few young ones. I'm most interested in Hughes and DSF and Kum Tong who are most likely to be in contention for NRL spots.

Looks like the woman in the Dogs jersey was an innocent bystander (so her face is blurred). The 2 with their back turned are the alleged crim's (East Asian appearance.) It was just another way for Rupert's slimy minions to implicate us in something negative.

Mahoney at DH lacked options, his distribution was slow, and he had zero running game. Some of that's on the coach and his team-mates, but whatever attacking potential our backlines got in it, it was never going to be ignited by Mahoney. There was nothing that stood out with Mahoney in attack...

The team that concedes has the choice, so if you concede a try you can choose to receive the kick off rather than give it back to the team with momentum.

Maybe the NRL thinks games will stay closer for longer? It is a weird one. It could lead to less of those multiple-try momentum shifts which we conceded a few times last year.

Surely we won't let Thompson play all-stars or a trial unless he's 100% recovered from whatever issue he had. I get Curran playing, and I'm all for the players getting the chance to represent their cultures, but an expensive first year marquee under a fitness cloud is a different story.

To me he's a more confident and experienced version of Sexton. Kind of like Blake Green when he came back from England. Strikes me as a great clubman who'll contribute in a few different ways. He plays a steady controlled game but I reckon he'd need a more creative 5/8 than Burto for the...

Wonder if Buzz will make a come back on Laundy Radio and start kissing our arse?

Yeah I really rate him too. I was at the trial Vs Brisbane in Redcliffe when he was injured last year. Before the injury he looked really fit and he was leading our defensive line-speed. I think with a touch more agro in him he'll be a valuable part of the front row rotation.

Where do they get this shit - Hughes was injured for most of '25 and rarely started when he did play.

I thought that too (much leaner) from few training photos. Hopefully it's not an illusion and he gets a bit more agile again.

Webster's been auditioning I reckon.

Galvin was often getting the ball standing still and got swamped plenty of times last year, even when he was playing 2nd receiver. Regardless of how much quicker he is now, or where he plays, he's not quick off the mark and needs room and to be moving when he receives. He'll be better with the...

Just about every carry Critta takes is a tough carry. He always needs to get taken down and never concedes in a tackle. Herbie gets more involved in general play mainly because the teams play different attacking structures. Both are great centres but the leadership Critta brings is...

He's stood out in his age groups and good judges rate his potential. That's all I've got for now apart from hope.

It'll be last years team apart from Thompson to start with. The team I'd love to see at the end of the season, with a fair bit of wishful thinking thrown in, is... 1. Dykes - after hitting the ground and reaching his potential quickly 2. Kiraz 3. Critta 4. Burton - shows he's still fast...

Underhill gts a few raps on here but doesn't get many mentions compared to our other young forwards. I haven't seen much of him but the club must rate him to be signed for that long.

It's hard to tell what his ceiling is at hooker but if he really excels, it's a nice problem to have. I guess the plan is for the junior system to start providing cheaper players to replace blokes like Hayward if they get too expensive and don't fit our needs.

Curren is good at changing the angle through the middle, staying balanced in the collision and getting his arms free. But for some reason he doesn't offload much. Hayes is similar. Meanwhile Kiraz offloads every second carry. I don't get why our forwards don't offload more and create more...

At least it's toned down a fair bit since last off-season. Maybe when we win a GF there'll be a couple of days of Kennel peace, but that's about it I'd say.

For me the first 10 metres is the most important for Galvin. He didn't seem able to accelerate quickly through gaps or in tight spaces and was caught with the ball plenty of times at first or second receiver. Hopefully the extra speed over 60 translates to better acceleration off the mark as well.

Surely not the end bit.

Might as well bring back Tricky Trindall and Soloman Haumono too if it's spicy off seasons you want. I'd pick Baa if I could only have one past player, but Turvey or and Ricky Stuart would be pretty valuable. A Robbo or an Ogre wouldn't be bad either. Maybe Brad Clyde or SBW. I reckon all...

We haven't had much luck with Thompson's. 4 years for no return is the latest precedent. The lack of any other media reporting on this one makes it sound like a rumour only.

Roberts had a couple of games where he looked like superman but in the rest he just played like the non-tackling hog that he was. I hope you're ok Marki. If Roberts sent you grey and bald, you must near on have dementia after the Hasler/Pay/Barrett show.

Our culture these days seems to be about weeding out laziness regardless of background, but it's good to have leaders like Kiks and Critta. I don't think we can judge Zyon too much on last season. There's a lot of blokes in front of him but he knows what's needed now so let's see what he does...

The player in the graphic looks like Ryan Tandy.

It'll take a couple more years before our junior pathways provide enough good cheap youngsters to afford quality across the park IMO. A top tier fullback would be great and I'd love a better one to come along, but Tracey's our best right now and fits with Gus's current cap approach - while he's...

That's the backline I'd pick. I'm happy for O'Sullivan to get a few games while Woods is getting ready. I think O'Sullivan's a bit over-rated just based on a few decent games at Penrith during Origin a few years back, but he's a huge step up on Hutchison (as a back-up half) and can at least...

Me too but I don’t think $500k’s worth of tax free money is on offer in France. Port Moresby won’t suit a lot of players and families, but I jdon’t think they’ll struggle to recruit at all.

Plus they get a month or two at home each year and plenty of trips away. I can see plenty of players being happy with a tax free, & pretty much bill-free, life for a while. Partners or families could travel any time they want with the extra cash. I can see some players at all stages of their...

We just want to have the best team possible. Growing our own juniors better that other clubs is a big part of that but we still need to fill gaps with high quality signings at times. It's never totally one or the other, but it does feel good to have juniors coming through good systems and being...

Reed gave everything for us but his dummy half work was ordinary for a long time. I'm not sure Bailey is a step up but we needed to move on from Reed.

He stood in the line and offloaded a couple of times in 2024. It looked natural and I thought he'd build on it, but he seemed to put it away completely this year. He can stay nicely balanced in the collision and has rangy arms so hopefully Ciro gives him an offload licence next year. Kiraz can...

Roosters defence was awesome that year and, after flogging Wests by 40 in the major semi, they were expected to tackle us out of it - same as manly in 95. Personally I don’t reckon Easts deserved to be favorites but the Fulton factor was big with the punters.

Roosters were big favorites in ‘80.

I haven't seen the one about, 'some people' wanting Bailey in the halves, before. Might've been in a private discussion between djdeep and his computer?

Artificial unintelligence.

Karl was built tougher than Galvin so had more potential to play different positions IMO. There's a good chance we wouldn't have bought Galvin if Karl worked out, but I think for both signings it was more a matter of swooping on a high quality player that was available and worrying more about...

Woods and Todd No one can tell me Galvin isn't a better 5/8 than Burto, or that Burto isn't a better centre than Xerri. If Woods can step up to FG, it can unlock the backs. We need to get over the addiction to Burto's big kick and get halves who can do something with the ball once we get in...

I don't like the 19 day turn around after vegas, and playing Raiders in their first home game after that. But there's always plenty of little challenges in a season and the team needs to start winning more of those.

Good to see JAC doing better now but it's more to do with him being held accountable and learning from it, than changing clubs. Ciro didn't force him onto the meat only diet and that's what made him sluggish IMO.

Thompson brings a high workrate mainly, at a pretty decent level. That's a good thing but he'll help build a platform, not be a game-breaker. I think our forwards will compete fine (please Todd stay fit and reach your potential!) We just need our halves to start managing games and creating and...

Sounds like a guess from the journo but I'd be surprised if Curran doesn't get some higher offers than what Gus wants to pay him. He's bench at best with Thompson coming so I expect he'll leave after '26. Todd, Hayes, and Latu easily cover any loss IMO, even if Mann retires after next season...

We just gave him a few seasons at 5/8, and half a season at halfback, to make him a better centre.

Hayward's a decent 14 but full time DH? He may improve with a full off-season but we're pretty thin there if he doesn't (definitely not Paix though). Another outside back wouldn't hurt either. We've got plenty of forwards and enough halves options so I reckon we just need to see how they go...

I love Tracey's guts but agree he's not a premiership fullback, and we do need some speed and size. But if we had a pair of halves who could create, or at least one, those other things wouldn't be as important.

Never a frown with Golden Brown

I can just imagine it. Endless speculation about whether he'll cut and go to Rugby, and damage-control from his old man's social media while waiting (not for long) for his next head knock. No thanks.

Ginnane's like a 3 year old among the grown ups thinking he's the cleverest one in the room. Explaining very simply the reason for a possible squad change is now a dark art? What a f..kwit. Poor man's gossip columnist at best.

Turpin's a good back-up. His Tassie Devil impersonation this year when he came on as a sub was a bit odd but he's much better than that. I can still see Ciro looking for another back-up option though before next season starts.

We're playing inconsistently with combinations still forming. There's no perfect prep for finals but we need another good hit-out - no way should we rest players. If Canberra win their first final their top players will only have one game in a month leading into a prelim, which isn't a great...

Dogs 34-6. Kiraz MoM.

That's already the media's line but I'm pretty sure the daily news cycle is the last thing on Ciro or the teams mind. Fan's might get upset about what they write but the players just need to keep turning up and getting better

I don't care what team they put out there. It's a smart move by Cleary cause they're playing a knock-out final anyway and are only thinking about that. We will win but it's dangerous for us if we don't attack the game like we're playing premiership favourites. We need to trust our grinding...

just noticed Todd scored but only played [emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]] mins in Cup. I hope he’s not injured again. Anyone know? Sent from my iPhone using The Kennel mobile app

The best teams push the boundaries. Doesn't always work but on balance it's the best approach. My guess is a lot of penalties to lower teams are in the second half when they're behind. Unforced errors, and not being able to defend them, is a bigger problem.

Our defence has held up pretty well this year but when we concede, teams are getting a roll on and we let in multiple tries. Seems to me more like on-field leadership problems in those moments, or we just don't have someone around the dummy half or first receiver area who can take control. I...

I goon edged once. Got about a centimetre from the bottom of the McWilliams Royal Reserve, painted the room purple and passed out. Can't say it improved my health much.

Yes I agree we still need cover for Bailey. He can play 80 but if he goes down or we need to move him in a reshuffle, we don't want to be wasting Mann at hooker. He changes our momentum when he comes on at lock and we need to keep that. Mahoney's also way better fresh and I reckon can still add...

Tony Williams was walking in the end.

We just need to win games with what we've got, and we can. Even in the Entertainer days we weren't the fastest, we just knew how to use the ball. I'd say all but a couple of coaches would swap their player on that list for the slow Kiraz.

King still going strong at the end was inspiring too.

I wouldn't have Tuala in the top 3 but he deserves a mention. 2 nice finishes but everything he did was solid.

Hayward will give quicker service at the start. I like it, but it’s our defence that needs to lift most.

Imagine playing wet weather footy in wet weather?

If our defence is committed we smash them. I liked Ciro in the press conference saying we need to defend strong in the first half and go from there. Geez I'm glad we're building our team around Critta and not Luai. It's the master and the shit apprentice when it comers to leadership.

True. I just reckon we'll weather the hard draw we've got and for and against could be important to finish ahead of Canberra. I don't think Melbourne's form is anything special but they'll beat us on points difference if we finish equal.

Canberra can't improve their for and against with a bye.

Great re-signing. A slightly bigger version of Simon Gillies with the same work ethic. He's gonna be a big hitter in defence for us. Please get Todd now.

Offloading like its 1995! I hope it wasn't a one week thing. A player like Todd will thrive if we play that style. Galvin and Burto upped the tempo which helped. Not sure what the headline of the story means but we don't have to sacrifice defence for attack. We can do both no problem.

Ennis is a fan of Ennis. He’s been involved with Canberra and Manly most recently and he kisses their asses constantly on the basis that if they do well, he’ll take some credit. He’s one of those commentators who always reminds you of when they were right.

It's like the Bulldogs-Panthers Vs the Tigers-Panthers. I agree on the margin and Kiraz.

Pay and Barrett were both steady as she goes sort of coaches. They were both thrown to the wolves a bit with our rosters, but they were never gonna build something new. Ciro came in with a clear goal as a coach and knows how to achieve it. It matches our old values but it's new. Having Gus...

Very insightful Johnnny

Galvin isn't trying to be the man and is playing a better team game than I thought he could. The progress last weekend was excellent. He still looks a bit clunky at times, still being pretty new, but the team potential now is a lot higher.

Kiraz could drop back. It would weaken a strength but someone experienced back there would be better.