The Bunnies made a surprising call at fullback and it’s sparked an interesting debate about the future of Latrell Mitchell.
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Are two back-to-back grand final defeats the reason behind Melbourne’s uncharacteristic form slump?
Read on for the key Talking Points ahead of Round 7.
DRINKWATER DILEMMA AS COWBOYS ON VERGE OF TOP FOUR
North Queensland Cowboys vs. Manly Sea Eagles, Thursday @ 7.50pm
The Cowboys are winners of four straight and on the cusp of the top four.
It’s a fair feat given a month ago, the pitchforks were out for Todd Payten after two losses to start the season.
There have been several players who have been outstanding during their four-game streak, notably Jaxon Purdue and Scott Drinkwater but more on them in just a bit.
One name who has probably flown under the radar is the club’s $1 million man Jason Taumalolo.
The veteran prop has dealt with a few injury setbacks in recent years with Payten electing to manage Taumalolo’s minutes.
That decision has reaped rewards in 2026, with Taumalolo among the game’s best props this season, producing several game changing second stints.
Over the past four weeks, Taumalolo is averaging 170 running metres per game.
Cooper Cronk, who shared the 2016 Dally M award with Taumalolo, says the gun forward’s fitness levels have been key to the Cowboys’ success.
“I thought maybe the way that the game changed in terms of possession and restarts might have affected someone like Taumalolo,” Cronk said.
“But I think he deserves a huge rap, because he’s obviously fitter than he’s ever been. There was probably a part where he’s at his best through 2016 when he won the Dally M that he was playing long minutes and still delivering.
“I think Todd Payten’s now worked out the secret sauce, playing for a certain period, getting him off and then getting him back on to do the same thing. He is influential in the way the Cowboys are playing at the moment.”
Drinkwater has been the Cowboys’ most talked about player of late with his future up in the air.
With the Cowboys re-signing gun junior Purdue on a long-term deal, Drinkwater has been told by club brass that he’s been given permission to leave at the end of this season.
Drinkwater is under contract until 2027 but the expectation is the Cowboys want to shift Purdue to fullback next year.
It’s a move that surprises both Cronk and Matty Johns.
“I’m really surprised by that. Every time that Purdue and Drinkwater work in combination, they look terrific. I’m really surprised they’re going to allow Scotty Drinkwater to go,” Johns said.
“To be fair, Drinkwater was probably part of the problem at the start of the year … errors and defensively. But I’ll tell you what, he’s part of the reason why the Cowboys are on fire at the moment, too.
It’s hard to argue with. Across the past four games, Drinkwater has recorded three tries and seven try assists.
Teams like the Dragons and Bears are interested but Cronk believes that the fullback will only thrive in certain systems.
“A dangerous player is someone who has got a point to prove. And if he is being moved on, he’s put his name in the shop front window because he’s playing really well,” Cronk said.
“But I think Drinkwater needs to be selective of where he goes. He is a type of guy that if he gets forward momentum with some good halves … if he’s on the back foot trying to come up with those plays … he needs to go to a club where he’s going to have athletic players to complement what he’s already doing, like the Cowboys.”
Broncos young guns ready to fire | 01:45
GRAND FINAL HANGOVER AFFECTING STORM AMID UNPRECEDENTED SLUMP
Canberra Raiders vs. Melbourne Storm, Friday @ 6pm
The Storm go into a clash with the Raiders, who have been one of their bogey sides in recent years in the worst form slump of Craig Bellamy’s career.
The Storm looked like title favourites after beating the Eels (52-4) and the Dragons (46-20) to start the season, but they haven’t won since.
Narrow losses to the Broncos (18-14) and the Cowboys (28-24) were followed by thrashing by the Panthers (50-10) and the Warriors (38-14), which has seen them slide from the top four to the bottom four inside a month.
Despite the key losses of Eliesa Katoa and Xavier Coates and some defensive issues on the edges, the Storm still have a roster many teams would die for.
Storm legend Cooper Cronk feels the hangover from two straight Grand Final defeats can’t be underestimated.
“You look at the Melbourne Storm and I don’t think there’s anything physical wrong there,” Cronk said on Matty and Cronk.
“Coach is great. They’ve arguably got three of the best players in the game in Munster, Hughes and Grant.
“Defensively, there’s some questions around that at different stages, but Craig Bellamy knows a defensive game plan.
“Completion rate, they’ve got the best completion rate in the competition, so it’s nothing physical in what I’m seeing.”
Cronk warned that players could be second guessing themselves and their approach after losing two grand finals in a row.
“I lost a couple of Grand Finals and I second-guessed myself the following year,” Cronk said. “Luckily enough, I managed to win off the back of it. I think if you lose two Grand Finals, subconsciously, do you start second-guessing yourself around does this actually really work? “What I’ve been doing for the last year, individually and collectively, can we do this again?
“I think it’s going to take Melbourne Storm, not necessarily to throw everything out, I think they’ve got to double down on what they’re good at, be stoic enough to say, ‘Yes, this is good enough’, and be better at delivering their performance.
“I just can’t see it any other way other than the pressure or the hesitation of losing two Grand Finals is playing a part in something.”
Manly stars flying high under Foran | 01:39
BULLDOGS REVEAL BLUEPRINT TO BEAT PANTHERS
Dolphins vs. Penrith Panthers @ 8.05pm
The Panthers have gone from talk of an unprecedented undefeated season to vulnerable in the space of a week, after the Bulldogs exposed some weakness in their game.
The Panthers were in ominous forum, but were bullied and beaten by the Bulldogs in a convincing 32-16 shutout.
Blaize Talagi was badly exposed in defence missing six tackles as the Bulldogs’ back-rowers made four of the team’s eight linebreaks in the five tries to three upset.
Cooper Cronk feels the Bulldogs have given the Dolphins this week and every other team the formula to beating the best side so far this season.
“I think Cameron Ciraldo’s showed the blueprint of how to beat Penrith,” Cronk said on Matty and Cronk.
“In its real simple form, the line speed of the Dogs’ middle forwards was outstanding.
“When Penrith got in trouble last year, they struggled to get over the advantage line and the Dogs forwards’ line speed met them at the advantage line and didn’t get them to get that forward movement.
“They just were fit, fast, and when they’ve defended really well the Dogs, this has been their blueprint.
“On the flip side of it, when they’re attacking, they used their back-rowers really well, so if you want to attack Penrith, the best defensive team, you better have powerful back-rowers to attack their halves.”
As a result of the Bulldogs’ relentless line speed, Cronk noted they “forced” the Panthers and Cleary in particular to “not pass the ball when they wanted to”.
“You hardly ever see that. They are up on the ad line,” Cronk said.
“Go watch some vision of when Penrith got in trouble last year. We were talking about them going sideways and doing a lot of drop-off plays, which allowed the defence to stop them on the advantage line if they read it.
“Whereas now they’ve been a bit more direct, not so many drop-off plays, trying to take advantage of that forward momentum, but what the Dog did, they stopped it.
“Their line speed and fitness just to go up and back, up and back, and still have impact in their defence was the key to their win.”
Drinkwater to leave + Foran to stay on? | 26:02
DEBATE ON LATRELL’S FUTURE AFTER SHOCK SOUTHS CALL
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs. Dragons, Saturday @ 5.30pm
Entering this contest, there’s plenty of attention and heat on the winless Dragons … and rightly so, as Red V coach Shane Flanagan sits on a ticking time bomb.
However, another intriguing subplot leading into this game is South Sydney’s decision on who will replace fullback Jye Gray.
Many expected Latrell Mitchell to be the obvious choice given he’s played most of his career at the back. Instead, Wayne Bennett went off-Broadway.
Bennett has turned to Matt Dufty, a former Dragons fullback who hasn’t been seen in the NRL since 2022.
Dufty spent four seasons in the Super League before moving back to Australia at the end of last year.
Signing a NSW Cup deal with the Bunnies for this season, Dufty’s excellent form in ressies coupled with the Gray injury has opened the door for the 30-year-old to return to the NRL.
Bennett says Dufty has performed with a chip on his should and has impressed all the right people at Souths this season.
“I think he’s pretty pleased with himself,” Bennett said.
“He came back, nobody wanted him, he was trying to get a club, he turned up here, he was friends with (assistant coach) Ben Hornby, and we thought he could be good for us.
“He’s been playing really well. Reserve grade is a pretty high standard.
“He’s really fit, he’s trained well, so it won’t be an issue.
“He also played with us in the trials and went well. He’s energetic, he’s good.”
While Bennett and the Bunnies’ coaching staff have all the confidence Dufty will do a job in Gray’s absence, the decision to keep Mitchell out of fullback is a touch puzzling.
Given the club literally needed to chase an NRL exemption for Dufty to play, are Mitchell’s days of playing fullback at Souths numbered?
According to foxsports.com.au’s Paul Crawley they are, who noted a couple of lapses from Mitchell when he replaced Gray against the Raiders last weekend.
“I don’t think right now you can play Latrell at fullback,” Crawley said.
“He does some wonderful things but he can also cost you.
“His runs back out of trouble, well he is getting the ball and passing it to the wingers. Jye Gray is half his size, runs back like a bull out of a gate.
“I think Latrell needs to pick his act up.”
HIGH FLYING TIGERS OUT TO PROOF BRILLIANT START IS NO FLUKE
Wests Tigers vs. Brisbane Broncos, Saturday @ 7.35pm
Heading into Round 7 the Wests Tigers are equal first on the ladder with the Panthers as they look to end the longest finals drought in the NRL stretching back to 2011.
Their 42-22 victory over the in form Knights saw them win their fourth game from five starts with a 20-16 loss to the Rabbitohs their only defeat this season.
However, a look at their draw so far shows they have beaten the Cowboys (44-16), the Warriors (32-14), the Eels (22-20) and the Knights.
While the Warriors and the Knights were in the top four when they beat them the Tigers and the Eels were well out of it and they have had one bye, so there are bigger battles ahead.
It leaves fans wondering is this fast start an anomaly of the draw or is Benji Marshall’s side a genuine top four team and premiership threat in 2026?
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read feels the Tigers are trying to keep a lid on the hype, but warned with every mounting victory they are proving themselves the real deal this season.
“We’ve got to keep our feet in the ground because it’s only been six rounds, but the signs are so promising, I think they are here to stay,” Read said.
Bulldogs premiership winner Braith Anasta agreed the Tigers are a genuine top four hopeful and the way they have been beating teams with their brilliant attack both at home and away should put the rest of the NRL on notice.
“They’ve been phenomenal and I don’t think it’s a fluke,” Anasta said.
“They’re here, they’re playing great footy and the best is ahead of them. Yes, they are going to have some challenges as the year goes on and they play some high-quality teams.
“But just the style they are playing, their enthusiasm, their teamwork.”
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis noted the Tigers have improved their defence markedly, but they are also learning how to win on both sides of the ball.
“They’ve won with their attack, they’ve won with their defence, so they’ve found different ways to win which hasn’t been the Tigers of old,” Tallis said.
However, the Tigers have a tough run of games against the Broncos, Raiders, Sjharks and Storm in the next four weeks and The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie warned, we have been down this road before.
“I’m happy the Tigers are doing well,” Ritchie said.
“It’s a breath of fresh air in rugby league. But can we not get too carried away. We’re six rounds in.
“We’ve accepted 15 years of mediocrity from this side. All I’m saying is after five games this year, I’m not prepared to act like this is their year. I’m not convinced.
“We’ve down this path before with the Tigers, I hope they do well. I haven’t (seen them play like this) for a while, but they’ve had patches throughout those 15 years where they have been above expectation. I’m just not getting as excited as other people.”
However, if the Tigers can beat the defending premiers this week at home and the Panthers lose to the Dolphins in Darwin, they will be outright first on the ladder and people will have to start taking them seriously sooner or later.
Tied 1st – Tigers blast past Knights | 03:11
TOUGH TASK FACING RYLES AMID ‘SURPRISING’ EELS DEFICIENCY
Parramatta Eels vs. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Sunday @ 4.05pm
It’s been a tough season for the Eels for many reasons.
Injuries have been brutal, with several starters out for at least a couple of months, including Bailey Simonsson, J’maine Hopgood, Jonah Pezet and Isaiah Iongi.
Play on the park has been poor. While there have been a couple of good wins, they’ve lost four of six with two of those defeats being by 26 points or more.
Defensively, they are porous. Across their six contests, the Eels are conceding 37.7 points a game.
It is the leakiest start in Parramatta’s history, and the third-most points conceded by any side through the first six matches of a season in the NRL era (since 1998).
In fact, the Eels are at risk of posting their worst-ever defensive season, surpassing the 31.4 points per game they conceded in 1995.
It’s a figure that’s simply too big and given it’s happened under the watch of Ryles, a sharp defensive mind, is hard to fathom.
“Their defence surprises me because Rylesy come from the Roosters and the Storm so defence to him means a lot. I know that,” Braith Anasta said on NRL360.
“He would pride himself on that so he has a lot of work to do because their defence has been poor all year, even when they had a full strength side.
“It’s something that needs to be fixed. He’d be devastated with the way they’ve started defensively.
“I don’t think the attack is going to be a problem but the other side needs to be fixed.”
Unfortunately for the Eels, things don’t get easier this weekend.
While the Bulldogs’ attack sputtered to start the year, they looked dangerous when putting 32 on the previoulsy unbeaten Panthers last week.
If the Dogs are able to hold that form, it will be another long 80 minutes for Parra fans.