The Knights have earned the spotlight. Stop turning grand final week into a sideshow
Let the Knights army own Sunday
The Knights are giving the National Rugby League something it cannot manufacture: genuine excitement, built on an enormous climb from last place and supporters who cannot get enough of it.
Seventeen thousand at an open training session. That is not promotional fluff. I love the thought of that army marching into Sydney on Sunday, because this season deserves a finish that matches the emotion behind it.
The proposed Jai Arrow tribute needs more care. The report is that Australian singers will perform while he is brought on stage; whether that replaces or supplements the previously suggested fireworks and laser show remains unclear.
Helping Jai through fundraising and raising awareness of motor neuron disease is one thing. Presenting him as grand final entertainment sits uneasily with me. It also shields the organisers from criticism, because anyone questioning the production risks being treated as though they are questioning the cause.
Support the man. Get the distinction right.
Holbrook and Ponga deserve the silverware
Justin Holbrook has delivered the season's best coaching performance by a long way, and Kalyn Ponga stands head and shoulders above the other captains right now.
The catch is the calendar. Coach voting finished after round 27, and the Knights were sixth when captain voting happened. I think Andrew Webster will collect plenty of coaching votes, while James Fisher-Harris has done a tremendous job with the Warriors. Neither fact changes who deserves recognition today.
For the main Dally M award, I think Nathan Cleary wins from his hospital bed. He has had a very good year and led his team as expected, although Aaron Clark deserves serious consideration after his own excellent season.
Eddie Jones said Clark could transition instantly to the All Blacks. My response is simple: give him a deal that keeps him in league.
The ceremony itself needs rescuing. I remember the State Theatre night when nobody could leave and drinks stopped during proceedings. An awards night became a television production. No wonder players generally wait for a trophy phone call before attending.
Media warfare is not journalism
Media rivalry turned poisonous during Super League, and the game is still living with the camps it created.
I was a junior reporter at the Herald then. Before that, rivals could fight for stories and still be friendly at the football; afterwards, much of what got written became nasty.
The Dally M information-leak controversy showed how easily suspicion becomes a headline. People who compiled the points disclosed results, police investigated, and people involved were charged and convicted. Two detectives also came to my home seeking an interview.
Bryan Fletcher and I did not know those people, had never spoken with them and did not know the result through Fox. The relevant timing preceded Fox receiving it.
The Herald still put us on page one. I think it was stirring mud. Chase wrongdoing hard, but do not pretend proximity proves knowledge.
Sympathy cannot win a hearing
Phoenix Crossland deserved a technical defence, not an appeal to everybody's feelings.
He received four weeks and misses the grand final. I sympathise, particularly after hearing how upset he was while repeatedly apologising to Nathan Cleary, who reassured him it was an accident.
But I think his defence took the wrong route. Character and remorse do not explain the tackle. Cleary's dummy forced Crossland to switch from pressuring a pass to making a tackle, leaving him awkwardly positioned. A technique-based argument might have produced a downgrade. That is not blaming Cleary.
Connor Watson faces a different obstacle. He has been named, and we're led to believe an independent neurologist will assess him on Thursday, but selection does not equal clearance.
The Roosters claimed category 2; the match's independent doctor identified clear category 1 signs. I think that first clearance requirement will trouble him. His next-day symptoms and cognitive results remain unknown, and my understanding is that failing one criterion rules him out.
A first grand final is precious. Medical clearance is not a sentimental prize.
The Roosters got their timing right
DCE deserves credit for honesty, not punishment for refusing fake modesty.
He came expecting a grand final and has delivered everything the Roosters recruited him to do, with one job left. He and Sam Walker were not always getting it right during the year. They are now.
Sandon Smith played well last week, but I still think the Roosters made the right recruitment decision. Holbrook's three years assisting Trent Robinson also make this decider fascinating: I expect a chess match between coaches who know how the other prepares.
The Knights' final-round bye and the Roosters resting almost their entire squad worked out well. That does not justify inserting another week's break before the grand final. Injuries are unfortunate; the competition cannot stop until everybody is healthy.
Herbie Farnworth is another matter. Recruitment people are treating a Roosters move for 2028 as settled, but I would not call it signed off, and I do not think they can offer him a deal yet. Strong mail is not a signature.
Give Ryles certainty, then demand results
Parramatta extending Jason Ryles is a decision I can live with, because removing uncertainty gives everybody a clear understanding of where they stand.
That is not a declaration that the job is finished. Ryles has done good things without completely delivering the purpose for which he was hired. I suspect the Eels believe problems lie elsewhere and are starting to change those areas.
The exact reason for extending him still needs explaining. I cannot supply it for Parramatta.
Craig Bellamy continues next year, which will almost certainly be his last, but that does not establish a Melbourne move for Ryles. His manager could be playing that possibility. Certainty helps a club; invented certainty helps nobody.
