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Sixties is back from the Ken Thornett Medal! He runs through the big night for the Blue & Gold as he and Forty20 review all of the award winners for season 2025.
The Tip Sheet then returns to its regularly scheduled previewing as the boys see how the Eels shape up across the NRLW, NSW Cup and HNWP. It is a love/hate relationship with the Raiders this week with the NSW Cup looking to overcome Canberra while the NRLW need a crucial assist from the Raiders if they are to make the finals.
No doubt there were several worthy winners of The Ken Thornett medal; no quibbles about Jack but I must say Junior would have done me; his minutes at times have been heroic and a couple of his passes in recent weeks would have done proud Arthur Bergson in his prime.
Zac Lomax must be laughing. It seems that the NRL have decided that blocking tactics on kick chasers in the finals will be scrutinised.
Once again all well deserved. And the KT medal going to a forward again in 2025? I like it. Bigger fellas deserve more props from the hard & dirty work they do. 😅
I really hope that the boys are lucky and there is minimal injuries in the pre season and off season.
A lot of young players at parra and have now had a taste of success winning games against strong opponent, and playing behind Moses’s kicking game.
While Williams, Iongi, Smith, Joash and a few others had break our years in 2025.
We still do not have a long kicking half besides Mitchel Moses in our roster.
We all saw what happens when Mitch is out. We get stuck in our own end. We rush & panic in sets to score and take on risky plays…
Because we aren’t confident to get to the last tackle kick and put the other team down in their own 20-30 off nearly every set like you can with Mitchel Moses.
What I would like us to see in the pre season?
Jason Ryles must identify who can kick long distance and have them practice it all off season – in preparation for games when Moses is out.
Souths came up with a similar tactic (and the blues did too a few times) by using up Latrel Mitchel’s long boot to gain field possession.
We’ve got Iongi at fullback and we’ve seen him put up a huge bomb before…
Can he kick it longer than Hawkins & Papalii?
We ultimately need to go into 2026 expecting Mitchel Moses to likely miss games and preparing ourselves a long kicker to help us.
Hawkins can do a job but his long kicking game isn’t up to NRL standards in terms of length. We immediately have a disadvantage against almost every team if our kicks only go say 40-50 meters and other sides can kick us to depth, keeping us on the back foot.
While im optimistic Moses could play more with his new emphasis on play making and kicking instead of running as much (in his own words)…
We cannot make a solid play at trying to win or at least compete for the premiership in 2026 without a long kicking game besides Moses boot.
If you look at one example in the bulldogs, after years of poor results, the long kicking game of Toby Sexton and high balls from Burton really changed the game for them – Sextons long kicking help make Ciraldos kick chase & defensive systems suddenly all work 2x better due to field positioning.
Can we slot Iongi into the 5th tackle options to help kick bombs or long kicks to help Hawkins if Moses is out?
Or can we recruit a 5/8 that can play 6 & 7 that ultimately has a really long good boot? Someone like Hugo Savala?
I feel like we would be dramatically more competitive at solidifying ourselves as a top 8 team regardless of Moses’s health if we had someone who could kick big meters like a Toby sexton or Hugo Savala.
We currently have a solid spine! Outside backs A+.
What’s missing? A long kicker for when Mitch Moses isn’t playing. Can we fill that hole by looking internally?
Can Lomax come in on tackle 4-5 and help put in a long boot?
I feel like we have to get creative here and really look for answers. Because all of the success we’ve had in recent weeks has been a TEAM effort for sure! But remove Moses’s kicking game? We would not of beaten any of those top 8 sides I don’t think.
Any suggestions on how we might solve this issue?
We obviously can’t find another Moses! But there’s plenty of players half as good as Mitch but their long boot keeps their teams in games due to their kicking.
The need for a very good long kicking back up to Mitch is very well made. When he was with us Jake Arthur did not have a good long kicking game but developed one after a pre season when obviously he did a lot of work. Maybe the same job could be done for Dean, Ronald and Joash
True Noel and like you said there’s evidence of some players gaining good length on kicks after a few off seasons or years of dedication practice towards it, Jake Arthur dis have a decent long kick
We will desperately need to recruit or work a miracle from within, as we cannot aspire to win premierships if we can’t beat top 4-8 sides the moment Moses is out
Ciraldo got a lot of praise at the dogs but it’s my view that their game only transformed once sexton came in with his solid game management but largely his long kicking
The eels desperately need to hedge their bets here, we need a second long kicker, recent years of days indicates Moses misses a lot of games
Recent years of data* suggests Moses will inevitably miss games…
And our win % and ultimately field positioning without him is very poor
Good post Muz, I always thought Moses and Burton would work well together. Burton is a running 6 with a big boot, Moses would suit Burton’s game.
You never know, the Dogs have created a problem they never had. Galvin never was and never will be a 7. He’s a 6 and Burton is on way too much coin to be playing in the centres.
Like me, I’m sure you’re grieving the Dogs loss last night. I feel horrible for their wonderful fans, their coach, Gould and Galvin who to his credit perfectly mimicked a passing machine at dummy half. Galvin has slotted into the team like barb wire into a sock.
Reed Mahoney I’m sure is grieving the most. Wow, this club can sell turds to a manure factory.
From Chinese dinners, the promise to captain the club to glory to being stripped of the captaincy, told to look for a new club, benched and finally dropped for the semis after playing in first grade all season. Now that’s a fairytale ending.
And Crichton, after faking lower leg injuries for penalties all season, he finally got to experience the real thing in the most important game of their season. Karma’s really is bitch.
Ciraldo, what’s up with his “do you feel lucky punk” expression on his face. Win something first dick, then you can act like a hard arse winning coach.
Good Saturday morning read. Have had similar thoughts on Galvin. Talented footballer but approximately here to the South Pole away from ever becoming Sterlo,Thurston, Langer or Johns.Showing nothing ‘extra’ over the basics. I suppose Gus will say ‘master the basics first’ to buy time. We all watched Sterlo as a schoolboy displaying the extras,the confidence, the instincts. Totally agree, Burton and Galvin are No 6’s.
And spot on with Mahoney, although I keep thinking we are going to be in a better place with Smith and DaSilva, so not too concerned by the Sang Choy Bow move thrown at him.
This is something I’ve learned with the passage of time – sometimes a lot of time has to pass before you know whether something that’s happened is the worst thing that could have befallen, or the best thing. The loss of Mahoney was a terrible blow at the time; we now seem on the cusp of having an outstanding hooker combination. The great loser from Reed’s move seems to be him. As far as Phil Gould goes, it seems that he’s very keen on you while he’s keen on you. I wonder if that fact one day will affect Lachie Galvin.
Noel, I would keep my son or daughter as far away from Gould as possible.
I’m so happy the Dogs extended his contract, more time to enjoy watching Gould slowly screw the club into the ground.
I was hoping Reed would return up until last season. I’m now glad he didn’t because Smith is very much a Reed type player who is younger, also has a big motor and is no where near his ceiling.
Young De Silva will be a revelation after a full preseason under Ryles. I’m looking forward to the two working in tandem.
Good post and fellas the dogs is a shit show
If they kept Sexton and Mahoney in and not unsettled?
They are probably sitting in prime position right now to get into a grand final
Would they beat the raiders or Storm in a grand final if they made the GF?
Likely not – but they do not look like a team who can make it past week 2 of the finals at present
Phil Guild sacked Ivan Cleary before – he moves the chess pieces around quickly, and is rumoured to be extremely sensitive and even comes off as having borderline personality disorder if you truly get to know him, and say one thing he dislikes, or don’t do exactly what he asks
Galvin is a 5/8 as Joseph said – Mahoney is still their best hooker – Sexton is still their best halfback in 2025
Every single club who disrupts the playing group during the season usually destroys their season (look at DCE @ manly this year, rainbow jersey saga @ manly) etc… too many examples to mention
Gus has treated Mahoney poorly and Sexton hasn’t been treated much better – I hope we don’t get Gus after the bulldogs eventually fall out with him…
Is he good? Sure. But he is probably only good for a few seasons then get rid of him before his behaviour and erratic attitude becomes a a problem
Reed is their best hooker by a country mile Muz. I could understand if Hayes was gun but he’s not.
Lol, imagine having sacking a coach who went on to win 4 straight comps and still going on your resume?
Glad we Are not dogs supporters mate
Reeds their best hooker, section their next half
Bulldogs are silly not playing them both, dogs fans & the board will not be happy if they go out in straight sets in the finals
And if next years a flop too they’ll all be under pressure for letting Sexton and Redd go to prioritise Gavin 🤣
Remember Gus sacked Ivan Cleary – this “genius” might of over played his hand again at the dogs by pulling these roster movements
We’ve expressed concerns about refereeing quality. I’ve just been watching the Warriors Penrith game. Oh my goodness!
Who got the benefit? Need you ask?
Indeed Noel, indeed!
noel I didn’t watch the game, but as usual the panthers would of got the referee bias going their way?
Really annoys you how much of a piggy back panthers get off refs.
A large part of the sports issue is bias towards top teams, if they can fix that teams like panthers won’t be able to dominate as easily
You can watch non-parra games, when panthers or storm etc face a bottom 4 side, exactly the same thing happens to them every time, the lower teams seem to lose every 50/50 call
Got to be some way they can improve the efficiency and consistency regarding referees decisions when lower ranked teams face top teams
If you notice the refs have actually started to lean our way in the last hand full of games as we started to look better and win games
A lot of 50/50 calls started to fall our way, where’s early – mid season? It honestly felt like every call was against us, there was minimal “run of the green”
rub of the green* … and that only started to happen for us after we beat top 8 teams and started to play better
Then Suddenly.. seemed like more 50/50 calls went towards us. Refs treat you better it seems if your team is not totally struggling
Muz I did notice a shift of attitude from the refs and the media as the season progressed.
The club signed more than a handy coach when they signed Ryles. I knew nothing about Ryles and I’ll admit, I underestimated his intelligence, his demeanour, popularity and the connections he has in the wider rugby league world.
Gould is no genius but what he does have is connections to player managers, a media profile and the ability to persuade sponsors and his club to financially support his addition to buying the latest shiny toys. This is the guy who had a long running feud with Issac Moses, they miraculously kissed and made up, months later Galvin is a Bulldog. His ego ultimately brings him undone, he’s the guy that can find a way to buy a Ferrari but runs into a tree because he thought he could drive.
Ryles doesn’t have his media profile and fortunately doesn’t have his ego. Ryles strikes me as a guy who can influence sponsors, player managers and our board to buy and retain the toys we need. He’s quickly becoming a media favourite.
One connection makes another, I believe Ryles understands the game outside the game.
I’m watching the finals with some jealousy, I feel our team is more than a match to the clubs I’ve seen so far. It’s such a shame the season was spoilt by key injuries starting round 1.
I’m hopeful for Ryles; all of his decisions, including some that initially I’ve counted have turned out winners – jury still out about Joash though certainly he’s defending well. I’ll be curious to see who of our blokes who would be free agents in 2027 we sign in the next six weeks and who we add to the roster.
Cley, we’re very close to being back after a couple of terribly disappointing years. Interesting to see if we can kick on.
Noel I hope Joash becomes the six we need. He’s a club and fan favourite. But Ryles has shown he’s not afraid to make a tough decision, he won’t hesitate to make a change in any position if he feels the team benefits.
Joash really is a “how do you solve a problem like Maria” conundrum. Where does he fit into the team if not in the halves?
I’m glad that’s a “problem” for the coaching staff to work out.
I really felt for The Warriors. They put in a tremendously determined effort.to have one try given against them off a double movement, another off a forward pass them, well behind, a desperation pass was intercepted for a try. They were truly well in it; now their season is over.
Noel, I honestly don’t know if the commentators are watching the same game. I watched that try several times and it was a classic double movement, it had it all. He was stopped dead, ball on the ground and made an obvious effort to promote the ball. Yet the Fox commentators had no problem, momentum took him over the line according to them.
Lucks a fortune but I often wonder if it’s the fortune buying the luck.