The Tigers and Warriors have gone from having no halves to an awkward embarrassment of riches, while the Bulldogs are struggling with a centre crisis.
And the Dragons have made a huge call to throw a rookie to the wolves against the Roosters on ANZAC Day.
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Read on for the key Talking Points ahead of Round 8.
Wests Tigers vs. Canberra Raiders, Thursday @ 7.50pm
New Zealand Warriors vs. Dolphins, Saturday @ 6.05pm
WHY TIGERS AND WARRIORS NEED TO PLAY LONG GAME IN HALVES HEADACHE
Both the Tigers and the Warriors have gone from teams struggling to settle on a halves combination to suddenly having an embarrassment of riches, which doesn’t always lead to consistency.
The Tigers lost Jarome Luai only to see Jock Madden and Adam Doueihi step up in his absence and shine for the Tigers as they went to the top of the table.
However, Luai’s return against the Broncos and the awkward decision to bring Madden off the bench and move Doueihi to the centres late in the game didn’t result in a victory.
Similarly, Luke Metcalf’s knee injury at the Warriors saw Tanah Boyd step up and form an exciting partnership with Chanel Harris-Tavita, as the Warriors started the season strongly.
However, Metcalf’s return has resulted in some growing pains, as Andrew Webster tries to get his best halves combination between the three players.
Luke Keary explained the simple fact is the best players have to play and if that means Metcalf needs to be given time to get back into form and build combinations so be it because if the Warriors want to win the premiership, they need their best players on the field.
“Luke Metcalf has definitely got to be there,” Keary told foxsports.com.au.
“(He is) coming off a long term injury, so it’s on Webster and Metcalf and Boyd and the spine to just figure it out because that is definitely going to be the best combination I think.
“But then short term it may not be, so Metcalf has got to figure out a way to get back quickly from that knee and it’s hard to do those. They take 12 to 18 months, so that’s going to be a little bit of a teething one.”
Keary sees the situations at the Tigers and the Knights in a similar way, but warned most successful clubs need a third option in the halves if injuries or representative duties strike throughout the season.
“I think Madden did a great job, but I think the other two in Luai and Doueihi are very good players,” Keary said.
“And Madden’s there as the back-up if needed, unless something happens to Doueihi or Luai.
“Sandon Smith at the Knights is probably a little bit similar. He was brought there as the No.14 and when Brown and Ponga and Sharpe are all fit, he’ll just go back to that role.
“This is exactly what you want out of that third half in your club. When they get put in you want them to perform and you don’t want the team to go backwards, so I reckon Boyd, Madden and Smith have done an outstanding job.”
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North Queensland Cowboys vs. Cronulla Sharks, Friday @ 6.00pm
NEXT STEP FOR SHARKS AMID INCONSISTENT START TO SEASON
The Sharks were being heralded as a major premiership contender after thrashing the Titans in Round 1, but their struggles since have clouded their title credentials.
Losses to the Panthers and Dolphins were followed by victories over the Raiders and Warriors, but they blew a 16-0 lead to go down to the Roosters before the bye, which has seen them slip to seventh on the ladder.
With the top four virtually a must for teams looking to go all the way, the Sharks need to find consistency over 80 minutes and week to week to push for a first title since 2016.
Luke Keary believes the Sharks have the squad to go all the way, but they need their key enforcers to put them on their back and lead from the front.
“They’re good, but they’re just behind the top teams,” Keary said.
“They’ve proven they’re a prelim team and they need to find a way to become number one and that’s through I reckon just a few of the forwards stepping up and saying they’re going to take it, like Haas and Carrigan did the back end of last year.”
Keary also feels the Sharks’ spine of Blayke Brailey, Braydon Trindall, Nicho Hynes and William Kennedy can match it with the best on their day.
However, he warned they need to work out how to deliver on the biggest stage or they will fall short of their main goal yet again in 2026.
“Then their spine, which I think is a very good spine and when they’re on there, they’re as good as any other spine and then they’re as good an attacking team as any other team in the competition,” Keary said.
“I think for them, the last step is just being able to get it done at the end and that’s as simple as, it doesn’t matter how it looks for them. You’ve just got to find a way to get to the grand final.
“I can’t tell you how that’s going to look. But they just need to be able to do it. Otherwise, they’ll be kind of stuck in that spot.
“And it’s not a bad spot. There’s a lot of clubs that would want to be exactly where they are, but it won’t get them the title they want.”
Braith: “Have some balls!” | 01:41
Brisbane Broncos vs. Canterbury Bulldogs, Friday @ 8.00pm
JEKYLL AND HYDE BULLDOGS HURT BY ONGOING SELECTION ISSUES
A week after the Bulldogs put in their best performance under Cameron Ciraldo to beat the Panthers, they produced one of their worst to go down to the struggling Eels and it has placed huge doubts over their title credentials.
The hallmark of premiership winning sides is consistency, but the Bulldogs can’t seem to string strong performances together this season and it is a worrying sign for their coach.
One area that is hurting the Bulldogs is their selection merry-go-round on the edges, which has seen Bronson Xerri, Stephen Crichton and Enari Tuala in and out of the side due to injuries and form.
Against the Eels, Josh Curran was called upon to play centre for the injured Tuala and had a shocker in a decision Braith Anasta feels Ciraldo would like back.
“It was a shock loss and he wasn’t shying away from it Cameron Ciraldo,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“From that great win against the Panthers and then air out of the balloon the next week against the Eels, who were fantastic, mind you. But that decision to play Curran in the centres, did he just get that all wrong?”
Paul Crawley pointed out that injuries have hurt the Bulldogs, but their lack of consistency is a growing issue for Ciraldo.
“He was put in a tough position because Tuala pulled out the day before the game and they’re also without Crichton, but I don’t think it worked,” Crawley said.
“But I listened to what Ciraldo said and he’s spot on. At their best they can be a contender. The problem this year is they’ve gone with two wins to start the season against the Dragons and the Raiders, then they’ve lost their next two to the Knights and the Rabbitohs, they’ve come up with the performance of the season to beat the Panthers, then they’ve fallen to a Parramatta side that’s missing a third of its squad.
“So you can’t get a read on the Bulldogs at the moment. The week earlier we’d said about their halves, best game Lachlan Galvin’s ever played. He was pretty good again on the weekend, but as a team they’ve got to narrow that gap.”
Gorden Tallis felt that shifting one of their second-rowers would have been a better option than using Curran in the centres.
“I think in hindsight he wouldn’t make the same decision,” Tallis said.
“You’ve got Kikau that plays out wide and runs like a centre, or Preston looks like a wider player and normally you can slip a wider guy out there. Curran to me looks like a middle.”
However, Tallis questioned why there wasn’t a young centre in reserve grade ready for a crack.
“What’s their reserve grade doing?” Tallis said.
“Back in my era, if you had an injury, the reserve grade centre came up. The reserve grade five-eighth. It didn’t matter who it was or how old you were, they came up.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio interjected: “Or Matt Burton to the centres and O’Sullivan in. Curran wasn’t beaten defensively, he just came up with too many drops.”
However, Crawley noted that a week earlier Ciraldo was praised for putting faith in their halves in the win over Penrith.
“In hindsight, the week earlier we’d praised him for giving stability to the halves and moving O’Sullivan out may have been the reason Galvin played so well,” Crawley said.
“I don’t think Curran played as many games for the Warriors in the centres as Cameron made out there, I think it was one.”
In reality, the biggest battle for the Bulldogs may be just on the horizon during the Origin period with Crichton and potentially Burton out of the side due to Blues selection.
“My actual concern is coming, State of Origin because this exposed they are a little bit thin out wide,” Riccio said.
“They get Stephen Crichton unavailable, which he will be unavailable through the Origin series, they start to scratch around a bit.”
It makes banking wins, including this week against the undermanned Broncos, all the more important and makes losses like the one to Parramatta that much harder to take.
Bulldogs’ inconsistency in the spotlight | 02:33
MADGE THRIVING IN BACKS TO THE WALL MODE AMID INJURY CRISIS
The Broncos are battling through a horror injury crisis, but if they can keep jagging wins like the one over the Tigers, it could be the making of their premiership defence.
Brisbane have 12 players unavailable this weekend, including the likes of Patrick Carrigan, Reece Walsh, Payne Haas and Ben Hunt, but it didn’t matter in their win over the Tigers last start.
While the Bulldogs will be a massive challenge coming off a disappointing loss, Luke Keary believes Michael Maguire would be enjoying the challenges his squad is facing at this stage of the season.
Keary played under Maguire during his South Sydney days and said his former coach would be “loving” the situation he finds himself in, taking foxsports.com.au inside what the Broncos dressing room would be like right now.
“Not loving the injuries, but he loves backs against the wall, no one thinks we can win,” Keary said.
“We’ve got all these injuries. He’ll be pumping up these young kids. He’ll have all the injured older players around the team helping out the young guys.
“You see how they performed last weekend and everyone thought they weren’t much of a chance against the Tigers.
“They’re going to be the same this week. He’ll have them up. He’ll always have them up. He’s proven he’s a winner. He’s a great coach.
“He’ll have all those young guys going. He’ll put a story around it and motivate the team in a different way, but he’ll definitely have them up.”
And even if the baby Broncos don’t beat the Bulldogs this round, the silver lining is freshening up his injured stars over the course of a long season to have them primed for a charge to back-to-back titles.
If the Broncos can stay in and around the eight through this tough period, they will be well placed to make a charge to the finals when the cavalry returns in the next couple of months and we all know how that worked out last year.
Reynolds criticises increase in 6 agains | 02:22
St George Illawarra Dragons vs. Sydney Roosters, Saturday @ 4.00pm
DEBATE OVER DRAGONS’ HUGE HALVES CALL AS FLANAGAN DROPPED FOR ROOKIE
As the old saying goes, if you always do what you’ve always done then you will always get what you’ve always got, and that sums up Dean Young’s huge halves call for Round 8.
Kyle Flanagan with over 100 first grade games has been dropped for debutant Kade Reed, who has a handful of NSW Cup games to his name.
There is no doubting Reed’s potential and he could be a 10 year half in the NRL, but whether he is ready to be thrown into the pressure-cooker of an ANZAC Day clash with the Roosters remains to be seen.
Braith Anasta summed up the enormity of throwing Reed into the NRL furnace for such a big game on the back of an 11-game losing streak for the club.
“Kyle Flanagan dropped for Kade Reed this is a huge call, ANZAC Day, massive game taking on the Roosters, sell out crowd, it’s the biggest of the of them all for mid-season games and the rookie comes in and he gets his shot and Dean Young makes an enormous call,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
However, Anasta also started his career as a teenager and feels it could work in both Reed and the Dragons’ favour.
“I can relate because I played young, I played at 18, 19 and I was a rookie and when I hear he’s only 19 and all that, I don’t care because that was probably some of my best years,” Anasta said.
“The thing is, when you’re young, you play with freedom. You go on the footy field and you don’t have the scars of yesterday. You’re coming from success and you’re playing with better players, so it’s actually easier for you until other teams work you out.
“It’s intimidating, it’s the bright lights, it’s the big stage, but like Dean Young said, you can’t keep doing the same thing.
“And you’ve only got to look at the stats in the previous halves and see, the amount of tries, try assists and linebreak assists to know that, they need to make change. And this kid’s been killing it, so it’s a great opportunity for him.”
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis agreed that Reed’s inexperience could be a plus going into such a big game, given he has no basis for comparison.
“He’s not going to have more nerves because it’s ANZAC Day,” Tallis said.
“He’s going to have the same amount of nerves. If he comes in next week and they say, you weren’t good enough to play against the Roosters, but you’re good enough to play next week.
“He can’t (feel more pressure) because it’s his first game, so he doesn’t know. And do you know what? You never know whether you’re good enough.
“He’s watched it and he’s dreamt of being in that environment. And you don’t know whether you’re good enough and the older you get, you still have the same nerves.”
However, The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio warned the decision could backfire on the Dragons, particularly in defence.
“I can understand the change, no doubt in the world and I’m really keen to see how he goes young Kade Reed, he looks as a super talent,” Riccio said.
“But there is an element of me, and I don’t want to pour cold water on it, this is a monster game. Victor Radley’s out in the green room and his eyes are already rolling about ANZAC Day.
“This is a game the Roosters absolutely go after. I just hope it doesn’t get ugly. He’s either going to be marking up on Angus Crichton or Siua Wong. They were in games (before). This one could get bad.”
However, Paul Crawley feels the huge halves call has more to do with sending a message to the playing squad, rather than simply trying to win the game against the Roosters, as the club resets under Young’s leadership.
“I think this is a selection call that probably divided us as much as it did the fans,” Crawley said.
“Some people look at the fact that Kade Reed has probably played less than 10 NSW Cup games, and then other people say, if you’re good enough you’re old enough.
“And I wonder if this is also to do with a message that Dean Young wants to send to the playing group after, there’s no doubt in the world that there was this perceived or genuine feeling that Kyle was favoured under his father. And I do think that this would send a message to the rest of the squad that we start today.
“Not just about Kade Reed’s ability, but about saying to the entire squad, we’re starting again here.”
Anasta agreed Reed’s selection and dropping Flanagan was a “clear message” sent to his players and a “statement” from the Dragons’ new coach.
Now it’s time to see if it translates to improved performances on the field.
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20-year-old gun to make Anzac Day debut | 03:29
ROOSTERS BACKLINE DILEMMA AMID VERSATILE STAR’S RISE IN NEW POSITION
Daly Cherry-Evans’ arrival at the club saw Hugo Savala lose his spot and a new halves combination with Sam Walker was always going to take time to develop.
Cherry-Evans’ arrival was likened to Cooper Cronk joining the club in 2018 and he went on to win back-to-back premierships alongside Luke Keary.
However, it is easy to forget the Roosters lost four of their first eight games in 2018, including the ANZAC Day clash with the Dragons.
Keary, who partnered Cronk back in 2018, can see similarities between that Roosters team and the 2026 version and explained it is more around the team coming together with new players, rather than the new halves combination on its own.
“They’ve improved a lot this first month,” Keary said.
“I remember a lot of the talk was about me and Cooper, but it was never about me and Cooper, it was about the team.
“There’s a big adjustment that we had to make as a team to play a different style and the style wasn’t about Cooper, it was just about winning.
“There was an adjustment for Coops coming and he hadn’t played in that system before, so it’s an adjustment both ways.”
Keary pointed out the fact the Roosters are improving each week is a good sign and the quality of their squad could give them a chance of emulating the 2018 Roosters side.
“I see a similar thing happening at the moment where Cherry-Evans played somewhere for a long time and he’s adjusting to how the Roosters like to play and those boys are adjusting to him,” Keary said.
“And then him and Sam Walker are in the middle of all that, which everyone will talk about which is fine, but I think they have improved and they are improving, which is a good sign.
“There’s a long way to go, but if they keep improving then you would like to think there is enough quality in that team where they are there or there abouts at the end.
“But they will be judged on how they finish this season like Cooper was.”
Meanwhile, Savala has gone from starting halfback to back-up and bench player and now to star centre, after taking over from the injured Billy Smith.
Smith has been named on the bench this weekend, but on form it would be very tough to drop Savala, given his performances in recent weeks.
Keary backed Savala to have an ongoing role in the team, but feels Smith deserves a spot in the side if he can get his body right.
“There will obviously be a decision there because Hugo’s done a really good job, great player,” Keary said.
“He can play that role off the bench for them. He can play in the middle as a lock. Obviously now we have seen he can play in the centres.
“He’s only played three games there, so we’ll have to wait and see on that one, but when Billy’s on we’ve seen he’s a very good player. He just needs to get himself healthy.”
“Hated each other!” ’91 Origin dissected | 04:13
Melbourne Storm vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs, Saturday @ 8.10pm
THE STORM TACTIC CHANGE THAT CAN END LOSING RUN
A club legend has urged the Storm’s forwards to tinker with their game style in order to get one of the NRL’s best players firing.
It’s no secret that when Harry Grant is running the ball, the Storm are at their best.
As Storm champion Cooper Cronk noted, Melbourne win at least 70% of their games when Grant has more than five runs (hit ups).
During the Storm’s current five-game losing streak, Grant has only hit that figure once – against the Warriors (five runs, 21 metres).
In the Storm’s only two wins of the season in Rounds 1 and 2, Grant hit the five run mark in both games.
Cronk believes that Grant has to show a little more but conceded he isn’t being helped by a play the ball speed which is slower than usual Storm standards.
To help improve that, Cronk called on the Melbourne pack to add a new wrinkle to their game.
“One of the keys is getting Harry Grant out. There’s no Nelson Asofa-Solomona anymore, Tui Kamikamica is out, Eli Katoa is injured, so I think the play the ball speed is less and less,” he said on ‘Matty & Cronk’.
“The stat we spoke about the other night, Harry Grant runs more than five times a game, the Storm win 70 per cent of those games.
“I think Josh King, Alec MacDonald, those type of forwards, they need to be a bit more creative with their ball playing. Little short passes, isolate players one-on-one and it leads to quick play the ball. That gives Grant the first look at something.
“I think at the moment, they are a little bit small and mobile but they aren’t generating that difference in the play the ball.”
Matty Johns agreed, arguing their yardage game right now is “a little too simplistic”.
“They just need to dress it up,” he said.
“They need a few subtleties in there to get them punching through because they don’t have that size at the moment.”
The Storm losing five straight is rare air. It just doesn’t happen. Nor does a Craig Bellamy side sit 15th on the ladder after two months.
However, as the Panthers showed last season, Melbourne ain’t dead yet.
Cronk believes there are some parallels between the 2025 Panthers and this year’s Storm.
“The more that I think about it, the more they are the Panthers 2.0. I’m trying to work out what’s going wrong with them and they tick most of the ingredients of what makes a good team,” he said.
“It’s not as if they’ve forgotten how to play. It’s almost like they’re stressed into being something more than their not.
“There were signs of life against the Raiders. Take the scoreboard out of it, there are things that said that they aren’t far away from victory.
“Most people with the Panthers, including us last year, were thinking what are the answers here?”
Are Melbourne Storm still an elite team? | 04:54
Newcastle Knights vs. Penrith Panthers, Sunday @ 2.00pm
PANTHERS’ HUGE TEST AMID VITAL STAR’S LONG INJURY LAY-OFF
Mitch Kenny has gone from unheralded Panthers gun to an acknowledged key cog in Ivan Cleary’s powerhouse in recent seasons.
And now everyone knows just how important he is, the fact he is sidelined for an extended period shapes as a huge blow for Penrith.
Kenny is facing a 10-12 week sideline stint after he was on the receiving end of an awkward tackle from Dolphins playmaker Kodi Nikorima.
This is where the Panthers’ savvy recruitment comes in.
In years gone by, the back-up hooker role has been an issue under Cleary, with the likes of Soni Luke and Luke Sommerton trying and failing to lock down that spot before moving on.
This year, the return of Jack Cogger, who is the No.1 back-up playmaker adds to depth in the position due to the fact he can fill in behind the ruck.
But the importance of one man has never been more prevalent – Freddy Lussick.
The 25-year-old was handed a one-year deal for the 2026 season after departing the Warriors, which shaped as a huge opportunity to rekindle the flames of his NRL career.
He hit the ground running in pre-season and clearly made an impression on his coach.
“He’s been unbelievable in pre-season,” Ivan Cleary said of Lussick.
“He’s one of the fittest guys I’ve ever seen. He turned up with a great attitude. He just made every post a winner every day.
“He possibly couldn’t do any more. (He) competed really hard, so I’m looking forward to seeing him get a chance.
“I think he was trying to be one (a starter), so I guess that was the point (of him working so hard).”
Lussick was also solid when filling in for Kenny who earnt a ban earlier this year, and former teammate Luke Keary was confident the hole left by Penrith’s regular No.9 won’t be noticed.
“Yeah, he’ll just do a good job for him. He’s a great defender, fit, tough. He’ll just do a really solid job. They’ll know what they’re going to get out of him every week,” Keary said.
“He’s just going to do his thing for 12 weeks. It’s a good replacement for Mitch for that time.
“You’ve got a steady guy, tough hooker. He can play 80 minutes, get through a heap of work for him, and hold it down while Mitch isn’t there.”
Matty & Cronk analyse Dragons downfall | 04:06
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