The Tigers sold a revolution and delivered another wreck
Leichhardt deserves more than nostalgia
Leichhardt Oval matters because rugby league grounds should carry scars, stories and soul, not resemble another concrete shopping centre. The current ground will be torn down, a new northern grandstand built and the facilities upgraded through $40 million in government spending.
The Farewell to Leichhardt concert is the right send-off, with the Angels headlining and Wayne Pearce and the Oz Icons scheduled from 1.15pm to 2pm. Pearce has form here: at his Balmain coaching farewell, the Hoodoo Gurus secretly switched off his microphone and amplifier because they couldn’t get him offstage. That is precisely the sort of lunacy Leichhardt has always produced. Protect it.
Origin distorted Mitchell Pearce’s career
Mitchell Pearce was a great player and rugby league judged him through the wrong lens. New South Wales chose him as the halfback it would persist with through early losses, but dumped the entire weight of defeat on him while he faced Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Darren Lockyer.
I reckon it beats any team from any era, yet Pearce became the punchline because New South Wales kept selecting him and kept losing. The strategy itself was sound; the same patience later worked with Cleary, who became the player everyone expected.
Pearce wore the damage instead. Origin arrived and he almost dreaded it. That should not erase an outstanding club career or the fact he remains one of rugby league’s genuinely good people.
Luai failed the leadership test
Jarome Luai missing the Tigers’ awards ceremony was ordinary. Full stop. A co-captain and the face of the club owes his teammates more, particularly after being recruited to lead standards beyond what happened on the football field.
The Tigers finished 14th and then 15th during his two seasons, having previously been 17th. That is movement, not transformation, and other quality recruits contributed to it. For the money and hype surrounding Luai, the club expected far more bang for its buck.
His form fell away, the Tigers did not see the required effort throughout the season and, since signing with PNG, his interest in the club vanished. Players love invoking family, professionalism and short careers when chasing contracts. Fine. Professionalism also means performing every weekend and honouring the jersey until the final obligation is finished. This week, the team did not come first. PNG did.
The Tigers keep protecting the wrong people
The Tigers’ dysfunction runs deeper than one departing player. Giving the coach a shortlist of assistants is reasonable because he retains the final say; publicly announcing the arrangement is gutless because it strips away his authority before the appointment is even made.
Still, he has not earned complete control. He chose former playing associates rather than establishing hard coaching relationships, John Morris was sacked after disagreeing with him, and the club finished 15th. Now the same system that delivered an extension wants everyone to trust its latest rescue plan. Spare me.
The Tigers have done this before. Michael Maguire entered with a plan to toughen the squad and remove those who could not handle it, only for complaining players to undermine him while officials urged him to ease off. Strong clubs back standards. Weak clubs appease whingers. Until the Tigers understand that difference, changing assistants or boards will merely rearrange the wreckage.
Holbrook has built what the Tigers cannot
Justin Holbrook has Newcastle improving because good coaching gives players clarity, confidence and a reason to stay. Even Kalyn Ponga, already an elite player with little room left to grow, has become more selective and more dangerous.
Newcastle beat Souths through fitness, speed and intelligence. Holbrook deliberately shifted Souths around, drained their energy and trusted Newcastle’s superior conditioning to bite in the final 10 to 15 minutes. It did. That is coaching, not motivational wallpaper.
Now Newcastle meet a Warriors side whose system appears to have broken down at the worst time. Their middle remains formidable through James Fisher-Harris and Mitchell Barnett, but opponents have repeatedly cut their edges apart, while Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin failed to create enough threat last week. Leka Halasima is not expected to play either. Newcastle are calm, composed and genuine giant killers. The Warriors are carrying the pressure of a 50,000-seat sellout.
The Roosters and Sharks have nowhere to hide
Neither the Roosters nor Cronulla deserves trust on current form. The Roosters have lost four straight, while Cronulla beating the Cowboys proved little because every other finals side would also have beaten that Cowboys team.
Trent Robinson at least understands the emotional battle. His post-match performance last week was a coaching lesson: no panic, no public flogging and no surrender to frustration. He read his players, protected Daly Cherry-Evans and quietly sent a message to match officials. Wayne Bennett gets praised for the same manoeuvre. Robinson deserves the credit too.
But composure does not repair execution. The Roosters failed to score while Nathan was off the field and remain two wins short of their stated ambition. Angus Crichton’s job should be brutal and simple: find Braydon Trindall, attack his right shoulder and keep doing it.
Cronulla have reached consecutive preliminary finals but keep falling short, having chosen not to add the extra player who might have freshened the roster. They have explosive football in them; they showed it when they tore apart a near-full-strength Dolphins side. The question is whether they can regenerate that emotional energy under finals pressure. Time has run out for excuses.
