Tigers aim to break Campbell Town hoodoo, Origin sides named and Bulla drama rolls on

James Hooper was joined by Matty Vautin and Brandon Savage on Rugby League Insider for a wide-ranging Wednesday episode covering the Tigers' bid to end their Campbell Town hoodoo against the Broncos, the Jahream Bulla saga, early Origin side selections and a Wednesday Wind Up that somehow ended with a deep dive into Eric Clapton.

Tigers eye historic Campbell Town win

The West Tigers host the Brisbane Broncos on Saturday night at Campbell Town Stadium, a ground they have never beaten the Broncos at in the history of the joint venture - a streak stretching back to a draw in the very first game the club ever played in the year 2000.

Vautin, a lifelong Tigers man, urged some calm amid the excitement surrounding equal-first on the ladder.

"We need to cool the jets on the Tigers. They are going to have some losses in them in the next four weeks. They've got Broncos, Raiders, Sharks, Storm. I think the Broncos get them this weekend. I just think they're going to have a little too much strike."

Hooper pushed back, pointing to the broader pattern of hoodoos being broken across round six and arguing this Tigers side looks genuinely different to previous false dawns.

"This year, from an outside point of view, to me it looks different. I'm loving Benji's mojo. I'm loving the way he's channelling Joe Hasham and Wayne Bennett on the sidelines. No emotion, doesn't let whatever's going on in the game fluctuate him."

He also praised Apiata Koroisau's underrated leadership, describing him as one of the competition's best dummies in a tight battle with Brian To'o for that unofficial title.

"He's got that craft and guile out of dummy half. He's constantly reading the ruck perfectly. He knows when to run, and then some big back rower comes in to decapitate him and he just does the limbo underneath."

Jerome Luai's return from injury, with Jock Madden moving to 14, was seen as the obvious and correct call, with Hooper noting Benji's depth options in the halves as further evidence of how far the club has come.

Bulla drama continues

The Jahream Bulla situation remained a talking point, with the panel revisiting Phil Gould's on-air description of the Tigers fullback as "creamy, so fluid, like apple pie on a Sunday afternoon."

Vautin was largely dismissive of the significance of Gould's comments, arguing his colourful language is simply his broadcasting style.

"He speaks in these very colourful, almost riddle-type ways. That's kind of his emmo. It's what makes Gus unique. He's complimented so many players in the past. If it all falls through and Bulla stays at the Tigers, do we all owe Gus an apology?"

Hooper was more pointed, arguing the precedent set by the Lachlan Galvin saga makes the question entirely legitimate: "Everyone knew what was going on with Galvin for a fair while. Gus was consistently waxing lyrical about what a gun Galvin was in the months leading up to it. Because there's precedence, I don't think we'll see anybody apologising to Gus."

The Connor Tracy two-year extension, which the Bulldogs pointed to as evidence they're not pursuing Bulla, drew scepticism from Hooper.

"Is he going to win Canterbury a comp as a fullback? Probably not. If they go and get a Scott Drinkwater, can they win the comp? Every day of the week. Don't be surprised if Canterbury can buy a more elite fullback. Connor's that versatile — he could play wing, centres, utility off the bench. That's a very real possibility."

Origin sides named

With 43 sleeps until game one, the panel named their early State of Origin selections.

Vautin opened for Queensland, going with Hamole Olakau'atu at fullback, Jackson Peru and Marangi on the wings, Robert Toia and Shibasaki in the centres, Cameron Munster at six and Tommy Dearden at seven. Harry Grant at hooker was, as he put it, "goes without saying." He included Helum Luki and Finn Fuyaki as debutants in his back row, with Corey Jensen and Kobe Heatherington as big boppers off the bench.

"Cameron Munster is my six. He probably couldn't be playing worse at the moment, but chuck any of these guys in that Queensland system and they'll be good to go."

Hooper named his Blues, going with Dylan Edwards at fullback, Brian To'o and Campbell Graham on the wings, Latrell Mitchell and Steven Crichton in the centres, Mitch Moses and Nathan Cleary in the halves and Payne Haas front row.

"I've been saying Mitch Kenny should be playing Origin for two years now. No one listens. But I promise you if you put him in there, he will not let you down."

He went with Hudson Young and Jacob Preston in the starting back row, with Cameron Murray at lock, calling the Preston inclusion a no-brainer off the back of his performance against the Panthers.

"You're never going to get a better Origin audition than that. To me he screams Origin. He's only 24 years old and he will do the state so proud."

Savage named his own Blues side, going with Tommy Turbo at fullback ahead of Dylan Edwards, and controversially slotting Isaiah Yeo into the front row alongside Payne Haas.

"The best Origin series Isaiah had was when Maguire was coach and he got given one job — just cart the ball through the ruck. That's it. It put the defence in two minds because they were expecting it to go out the back to Cleary."

He also included Talasius Duncan on the bench, championing the Rabbitohs youngster as a genuine multi-position threat.

"I'm sick of the edge back rowers coming on and playing middle when it's not their natural position. At least with Talis you can genuinely bring him on in the middle. He's just got that dog in him."

Wednesday Wind Up

Hooper's Wind Up took an unexpected turn, riffing on Gould's "creamy" description of Bulla by Googling the word, which returned a Danish teen pop duo from 1999, a mushroom pasta sauce, and eventually a conversation about Eric Clapton's band Cream.

The panel also noted that Reese Walsh had commented on a Kenty Blitz clip with "30 seconds of my life I'll never get back" — with Latrell Mitchell reportedly liking the comment — which Hooper took as a sign that Fanatics TV's orbit continues to expand.

"He commented when there were only about 500 views on it. He is definitely watching."

The episode closed with a brief foray into the world of icks, with Vautin declaring two penalty field goals when a player is in the sin bin as his personal ick, and Savage nominating the Broncos victory dance that Queensland fans do as his — before quickly remembering he went to last year's grand final and had a wonderful time.