Tigers gelling, Kenny's ban & Does Crichton get the rub of the green?

A massive news day in the NRL saw Warren Livingstone joined by Paul Crawley on Kenty Blitz to work through a packed agenda, from a health scare at Melbourne Storm to Manly's coaching chaos and a Bulldogs attack that's raising serious alarm bells.

Tui Kamikamica rushed to hospital

The show opened on a sobering note with breaking news that Melbourne Storm forward Tui Kamikamica had been hospitalised overnight with a suspected stroke. The Storm's medical are understood to be reviewing footage to determine whether a head knock from the weekend's game was a contributing factor.

"He's 31 years of age. His wife found him overnight and called an ambulance," Crawley said. "It's a huge blow for Melbourne from a football perspective, but far more important, it's very confronting for the whole team and his family."

Crawley drew comparisons to Cory Harawira-Naera's cardiac episode in 2023, which ultimately ended his career, and noted the Storm have already lost Eliesa Katoa to a serious injury this season. Fingers crossed for a full recovery.

See Ya Seibs

The sacking of Anthony Seibold dominated the discussion, with Crawley pulling no punches on how the club arrived at this point.

"He was a dead man walking from the time the season kicked off," Crawley said. "The decision probably should have been made last October," pointing to a roster ravaged by poor recruitment, a reported falling out with Jake Trbojevic, and an extension handed to Seibold at the end of last year that he described as unjustifiable.

"There was clearly discontent amongst the playing group... And it's blown up again, there's reports out there now that the final nail in Seibold's coffin was a reported dispute with Jake Trbojevic."

On replacements, Crawley assessed the three frontrunners. Matt Ballin has the Manly DNA and genuine coaching potential but lacks senior head coaching experience. Michael Ennis is ambitious and intelligent but is only in his first real stint as an assistant. Brad Arthur, Crawley said, is the standout option given his track record of rebuilding clubs through chaos at Parramatta.

His preferred solution? A tag team approach, pairing Arthur with interim coach Kieran Foran - similar to that of Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall.

"Arthur would hold the reins for the next few years and give Foran enough time to really do his apprenticeship. It could be the way to rebuild them and take them out of this mess."

On Joey Walsh, Crawley urged caution, warning the list of young halves burned by being rushed is a long one.

"If you're bringing a kid like that into the Penrith system and he has all that senior support, it's a different scenario... right now, it's fraught with danger."

The Teflon Bulldog

Next up, the Bulldogs' attacking woes, with Canterbury averaging just 15 points across their three games despite a roster built to win now.

Crawls questioned whether Steven Crichton's perceived preferential treatment from officials, citing multiple incidents across recent rounds including a forward pass try, a milked penalty, and a history of illegal plays that have gone unpunished.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone who seems to get the rub of the green and the best of the 50/50 calls more than Stephen Crichton," Crawley said. "Holbrook was entitled to go to the NRL this week and ask: does Steven Crichton play by the same rules as every other player?"

On the broader attack issues, Crawley was direct. Lachlan Galvin is not a halfback, and Shaun O'Sullivan is the only genuine seven in the system.

"They were playing better football when Sexton was there last year Reed Mahoney was the hooker. And the attack right now is not good enough to win you a premiership, let alone finish in the top four."

Dragons depth exposed

With Kyle Flanagan having been cleared of serious injury following his frightening head knock against the Titans, Livingstone turned attention to the Dragons' limited playmaking stocks.

King Tonga will step in at halfback, but beyond him the cupboard is bare. Joseph O'Neal has never played NRL, Cade Reed is two years away, and Daniel Atkinson had never played halfback at this level before this season.

"The new management came in, they spoke about signing a gun number seven and what they delivered was a guy that hadn't played NRL at halfback before in Daniel Atkinson."

Benji building something real

The Tigers' stunning win in Auckland drew genuine praise, with Crawley describing it as probably the best performance of the Benji Marshall era.

"There's just a composure about Benji now. He's offering that side something they haven't had for a long while, which is belief."

Adam Doueihi was absolutely brilliant, while Jock Madden's seamless performance, played just days after the death of his grandfather, moved the panel.

"After the game you find out his grandfather had passed away. He wanted to play, he wanted to make his family proud and he certainly made his coach proud."

Mitch Kenny gets one week

The Penrith hooker accepted a one-game ban for a hip drop tackle on Isaiah Yeo, who is now out for eight weeks with syndesmosis. Crawley acknowledged the inconsistency is difficult to justify given Ryan Couchman copped four weeks for a similar incident last week.

Livingstone asked: "From a fans perspective, what does this say to fans who are trying to understand the judiciary and the system where the Couchman brother got four weeks last week for a hip drop tackle, what's called a hip drop tackle this week gets one week."

"You do wonder, if Mitch Kenny was playing for the Dragons, would it have been a different scenario?" Crawley said.

Reese Walsh is back

A lighter moment saw Crawley paint a vivid picture of Walsh's halftime entrance in the Battle of Brisbane.

"He walked out like a rockstar about to walk on stage, the cockiness, the arrogance," he said.

"He dead set looked like he was on top of the world... And he went out there and performed. That's when Reec Walsh is at his best."

The Broncos' resilience through weeks of off-field turmoil also drew praise, with back-to-back victories over the Storm and Dolphins restoring belief at Red Hill.

Storm slide ahead of Panthers blockbuster

With Melbourne now on back-to-back losses and travelling to face Penrith on Friday night, Crawley issued a stark warning.

"They never lose three in a row. They haven't lost three in a row for years. And they go up against a side who right at the moment are so far ahead of the field it's not funny."

"It's Penrith first, daylight second. This weekend we'll see exactly where the Melbourne Storm sit."

Raiders' discipline costing them dearly

Last year's minor premiers sit 15th after four rounds, with Crawley laying the blame squarely on repeated ill-discipline. Corey Horsburgh's sin-binning against the Sharks directly led to two tries and ultimately the loss.

"From game one this year, Horsburgh and Tapine have been ill-disciplined. It's not too late to save their season, but if they keep carrying on the way they are, it will be before too long."

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