South Sydney Rabbitohs, Jason Demetriou, Tyrell Sloan, Dragons, Brad Schneider, Panthers, Nathan Cleary’s replacement, Tristan Sailor, Talking Points, Round 4 – MASHAHER

The Bunker was back in the headlines during an action-packed Round 4 that produced multiple upsets.

South Sydney delivered their first win of the season to take the pressure off coach Jason Demetriou.

That left the Titans as the only winless team in the competition as they were thrashed again, this time by the Dolphins, which triggered an all-time Des Hasler spray.

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Penrith flourished once again as yet another Nathan Cleary replacement stepped up, while the Broncos returned to winning ways without two of their stars.

And Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s blistering performance at fullback has sparked the debate over his best position once again.

Read on for the key Talking Points from Round 4.

BLOW UP THE BUNKER

It’s been another controversial week for the NRL’s video review system and the ‘black and white’ obstruction rule, with some of the game’s leading coaches lending their opinion on the issue.

In Round 3, it was a disallowed Manly try which sparked plenty of debate, and just a week later there have been two controversial calls from the Panthers-Roosters clash and one from the Dragons upset win over the Sea Eagles.

All three, particularly the two from Thursday night have left fans and coaches confused.

On Thursday, a Roosters try was denied after prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was ruled to have obstructed Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards 20 metres away from the play as he had stopped in the last line of defence.

“He is required to stop prior to interfering with any defenders, at this point he stops Dylan Edwards from being able to slide and assist in defending this play, which is an obstruction,” Bunker official Chris Butler said when giving his decision of no try.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley has since admitted it was the wrong call.

“In the circumstances, the Bunker does have discretion to consider whether a defender could have prevented the try,” Annesley said.

“In my opinion, the try would have been scored regardless and the on-field decision should not have been overturned”.

What made the decision worse was that Sunia Turuva was awarded a try for the Panthers even though Liam Martin ran through as the lead runner and interfered with Sitili Tupouniua and Luke Keary as they came across in cover defence.

However, Annesley was reportedly comfortable with that decision.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson said post-game that he felt “like there were two different rulings”.

Robinson was critical about the inconsistency around the NRL’s black and white approach, as was Penrith counterpart Ivan Cleary.

“They were black and white with the obstruction because Edwards changes his line as well, and so they were black and white with the call. But on the one where there was an obstruction, they leave it to interpretation,” Robinson said.

While his team were on the right end of the two calls, Cleary couldn’t hide his frustration with the interpretation.

“I’ll say one thing – I feel like every time we’ve done a black and white interpretation in rugby league, it’s been a failure,” Cleary said in his post-match presser.

“I’m not saying that was the case tonight – I’m not saying yes or no – but every time we have, it doesn’t work. That’s just my opinion.”

Legendary coach Wayne Bennett also weighed in on the matter after the Dolphins’ win over the Gold Coast, singing a similar tune to Robinson and Cleary.

“I was concerned last week with one of them, I was concerned yesterday (Thursday) with one I saw last night,” Bennett said.

“It’s a bit of a concern. It can’t be black and white. If you look at last night’s, the referee has as much to do with it as anybody else, the position he found himself in.

“They won’t talk about that but if you look at the vision the referee certainly had an impact on what happened there.

“I’m not blaming him for that, the position he found himself in. You just can’t have it black and white, you’ve got to have some flexibility.”

Adding another complication to this issue is that it appears some defensive players are doing all that they can to take advantage of the way obstructions are policed.

During Saturday’s Dragons-Sea Eagles game, a Moses Suli try was disallowed after lead runner Luciano Leilua was ruled to have “impeded” Manly star Haumole Olakau’atu.

That prompted a “gee whiz” from Fox League’s Greg Alexander before his co-commentator Andrew Voss, said what everybody was thinking.

“Our players are getting pretty good at falling aren’t they,” Voss said.

“You can’t go near a player, you breathe on him and he falls over,” Alexander responded.

HASLER’S HAPLESS TITANS

Titans coach Des Hasler has now lost 10 games in a row, dating back to his time at the Sea Eagles.

And it’s hard to see where his next win is coming from with the Gold Coast next facing the Cowboys, Raiders, Sea Eagles, Warriors and Storm.

Hasler delivered an almighty spray in the sheds after his men were thrashed 30-14 by the Dolphins on Saturday night.

The Gold Coast became the first club in 22 years – and just the third in NRL history – to concede 28 points in eight straight games.

The Titans scored the first two tries but then conceded 30 unanswered points at home and cameras in the sheds caught Hasler tearing strips off his team.

The veteran coach at one stage walked straight up to Tanah Boyd and appeared to spray the out-of-form halfback.

Hasler was more composed in his post-match press conference but also didn’t beat around the bush when asked about his bottom-of-the-table side.

“I can line up the excuses, a list that long, but what’s the point… again we’ve leaked 30 points,” Hasler said.

“You could probably copy and paste last week. We’re not putting two halves together, we’re not executing well.

“In that first half we had a great opportunity to put them away, to put them to the sword. They had one in the sin bin and we came up with three dropped balls.

“We just can’t build any pressure. We’re not good enough yet, we’re still growing.

“Defensively we need to not put ourselves under so much pressure and it’s all to do with our attack. It’s inexcusable that we’re turning over possession.

“We have to get better, we have to put two halves together. There’s enough there that we’re showing, we just have to get better at it. There’s plenty there to build on.

“We start well, create some good platforms and then we give it all away. And it’s not going to get easier.”

Titans skipper Kieran Foran said it felt like his team have been “constantly defending” this season.

“We’re just not consistent enough with our attack at the moment, we’re coming up with silly errors early on,” Foran said.

“When we do get an opportunity down there we come away with points but we’re not down there enough and then eventually we get so exhausted from defending that we just leak points.

“We need to find a way to control the ball better… it just feels like we’re on the back foot constantly defending.”

DRAGONS FULLBACK ON FIRE

Shane Flanagan vowed to toughen up Tyrell Sloan in the off-season and the Dragons fullback has returned in 2024 a different player.

Sloan’s shoulders have filled out and he’s using them more in defence with the young gun now regularly putting his body on the line, while his attack remains as scintillating as ever.

The 21-year-old scored a double against the Sea Eagles on Saturday, taking his season tally to six tries in four games, and Sloan has now crossed in five straight games at WIN Stadium.

“Defence has been a big focus for us over the past few weeks, we had a few poor performances there but to come home here and put on a good performance for our fans, that was a massive effort from us,” Sloan said on Fox League.

“The boys start off the sets and hopefully I can finish them, that’s my job.”

Dragons skipper Ben Hunt set up Sloan’s second try against the Sea Eagles with a hook-back kick and he said the fullback is improving with every performance.

“Every week he seems to be getting a bit better and a bit better, his support game is one of the best in the NRL and he’s just trying to evolve his defensive game, he’s good at getting our numbers right,” Hunt said.

“We know he’s always been an attacking player and Flanno has been working hard on him defensively and he’s getting better.”

Andrew Voss asked his Fox League co-commentator Greg Alexander for his assessment of Sloan in 2024.

“He’s much better and tougher, there’s no doubt he’s more physical,” Alexander said.

“Last year I couldn’t argue with them not playing him because he just didn’t look right. I remember the night they played the Sharks in the wet and he got rag-dolled and thrown around like a seven-year-old boy. But you just can’t do that to him now.

“I think Shane Flanagan has mentally got him right, body wise he looks better, and he looks more confident.”

Voss added: “It will be exciting if they do get it right with him. I still go back to Anzac Day last year, he turned the game in a 20-minute period, it was all Tyrell Sloan.”

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CASUALTY WARD: Souths cop another blow; Warrior suffers suspected broken leg

YET ANOTHER HALFBACK FLOURISHES IN PENRITH

An injury crisis has struck some of the NRL’s biggest clubs, but the Panthers seemed to shrug off their misfortune on Thursday night.

Nathan Cleary (hamstring), James Fisher-Harris (shoulder), Scott Sorensen (knee) were all sidelined against the Roosters.

The biggest question mark created by that trio’s omission was the halfback role, with Brad Schneider filling the No.7 jersey.

He passed the biggest test of his career with flying colours, proving the Panthers have the depth needed to compete for a title, even without their biggest names.

The 23-year-old recorded a try assists, a tackle break and an offload and after a successful outing he looks set to become the newest No.7 to flourish under the tutelage of Ivan Cleary.

Jack Cogger and Sean O’Sullivan came before him, and now Schneider could be the next to earn his stripes as the stand-in playmaker at the foot of the mountain.

Schneider departed the Raiders in 2023, looking for regular starting minutes before signing with Hull KR in the Super League and eventually moving to the Panthers.

“All three are good players and good people, and I just think the rest of the team all do their job as well,” Cleary said in the post-match press conference.

“I don’t know if they see it as a bit of a challenge as well, we’ve got great leadership here and everyone just does their job.

“Whether you’ve got Nathan or Fish (Fisher-Harris) or Sorensen or whoever else in there, it’s all the same, we play as a team and everyone’s together.

“Maybe that’s how it works.”

What also highlights Penrith’s depth is the players who slotted into the forwards. Luke Garner filled Sorensen’s backrow spot, while Lindsay Smith also had to play on an edge after Liam Martin left the field due to a shoulder injury.

In the front row, Liam Henry has been excellent off the bench, particularly in defence, while debutant Mavrik Geyer also went about his business in solid fashion.

Experienced forward Matt Eisenhuth has also been an impressive player when called upon and once again did a job off the bench.

Meanwhile, Isaah Yeo was asked if his team’s style felt different with Schneider calling the shots and a new-look forward pack.

“It’s different in aspects and parts but our system and the culture we’ve got at the club it allows people to come in and do their job,” Yeo said.

“We expect that too, we expect that because of how hard they train and prepare and that will give them confidence to perform and do their job.

“It’s obviously different but in a sense it simplifies everyone’s role… we just really nail down on what we know works and what wins games.”

‘MASSIVE RELIEF’ FOR RABBITOHS AS WIGHTON LEADS THE WAY

“Relief” is the word three of the Rabbitohs’ biggest names used to describe how they were feeling after their win over the Bulldogs.

With an 0-3 start to the season pressure was mounting on the Bunnies and in particular, coach Jason Demetriou.

The message was simple for Good Friday — just win. And they did exactly that.

“It feels good,” Damien Cook told Fox League.

“We weren’t perfect… but we got the win. We had to find a way and we did.”

They were indeed far from perfect. They finished with an impressive 97 per cent completion rate but struggled to win the field position battle.

But the way the team rallied after a 48-6 horror loss to the Roosters is a “great sign,” according to Cook.

“There’s been a lot of outside noise and that win just showed we’ve come together as a group and we’ve stuck to the process we did in pre-season. We’ve worked hard this week.

“We wanted to get a win, not just for our team, but for the members too. It’s been a tough start to the year.”

When asked to sum up his emotions, star five-eighth Cody Walker said: “A bit of relief.”

He applauded the effort from his teammates and also referenced the week of training as the foundation for the win.

“Our focus was internal, we didn’t want to focus on what was on the outside,” Walker said.

“I thought we did that well, we had a very good week at training and the focus was just getting the basics right.

“We focused on our effort areas… simple running hard footy. I can’t fault the effort from everyone throughout the week.”

Front and centre of the effort plays was marquee recruit Jack Wighton, who was rewarded with a double to go with his two linebreaks, linebreak assist, five tackle busts and 130 running metres.

He said he felt “amazing” after his first win as a Bunny and the result was a “massive relief.”

“We’ve been working hard, we’ve been sticking together. Everyone knows it’s not the best start… we got the two points and that’s all that matters,” Wighton added.

“We’ve got the little man off our back now, we can have some fun and focus on the next job.”

Wighton was forced to sit out of the Rabbitohs’ first two games due to a suspension but his impact on the team away from the field has been immense, according to Walker.

“His professionalism over the pre-season has been evident and his intensity at training has been unbelievable,” he said.

“He was one of our best last week, to come in after having however many weeks off just shows the character and the player that he is.”

Fox League expert Greg Alexander was impressed with Wighton’s “unbelievable” kick chase, while Michael Ennis highlighted his must-win attitude.

“It doesn’t matter if you play Jack at fullback if Latrell was out, or at five-eighth if Cody was out, or at left centre, he is just the ultimate competitor,” he said. He’s supremely fit and he cares about the result. Every moment is a moment to win for Jack.

BRONCOS’ SAILOR ‘CONUNDRUM’

It’s never the end of the world for the Broncos when Reece Walsh goes down injured, because they know they have a ready-made fullback waiting in the wings.

Tristan Sailor seems to get better every time he takes the field and he delivered a huge performance against the cowboys.

Sailor has played only 10 NRL games to date and has taken inspiration from NFL legend Tom Brady according to Dan Ginnane.

“Tristan Sailor is a conundrum because he is stuck behind Reece Walsh, but every time we see him he is top shelf,” Ginnane said.

“He’s spoken in recent times about the speech Tom Brady gave a couple of months ago when he was touring here, he talked about his playing days at the University of Michigan.

“He couldn’t start but he stayed patient, he could have moved but he didn’t want to move, and Tristan has taken that same attitude.

“He wants to be here, he loves this club and he is happy to stay here and bide his time. But it must get hard.”

“Reece Walsh is electric, there’s not too many players like him, but they’ve got great back up here if he misses many games,” Cooper Cronk added.

Sailor is a different type of player to Walsh, but he delivers exactly what Brisbane need without their superstar No.1, reliability.

He ran for 183 metres, broke six tackles and didn’t make a single error in a near faultless performance.

While he’s signed until the end of 2025, he can negotiate with rivals come November 1 and he’s sure to have some suitors.

Reliable fullbacks are a hot commodity in the NRL and the Raiders could be on the hunt for a No.1 with Jordan Rapana coming to the end of his career.

However, young gun Chevy Stewart looks set to take over at the back, while the Bulldogs could also come sniffing around for Sailor’s services.

Even the Eels, who have made no secret of their desires to add some ‘X-factor’ to their squad, could look to add Sailor to increase their outside backs depth.

RTS STUNNER SPARKS FULLBACK DEBATE

The Roger Tuivasa-Sheck debate has kicked off once again after he starred at fullback in the Warriors’ win over the Knights on Easter Sunday.

With Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki unavailable due to injury, coach Andrew Webster turned to Tuivasa-Sheck — and he did not disappoint.

The 30-year-old came up with some big defensive plays and also finished with 23 runs for 278 metres.

Fox League host Braith Anasta said Tuivasa-Sheck looked “slick” in the No.1 jersey, Nathan Hindmarsh said he was “outstanding,” while Matty Johns thought he was dangerous with every touch.

“He was bought to play in the centres, but they needed him at fullback. Every touch of the football he made someone miss, every time he had the ball the crowd were on their feet,” he said.

But a “great head ache” has emerged for Webster, according to Michael Ennis, given Nicoll-Klokstad is due to return in Round 5 from a hamstring injury.

Nicoll-Klokstad helped take the Warriors to a top four finish and a preliminary final while in the No.1 jersey.

Greg Alexander declared during the Warriors-Knights game that Tuivasa-Sheck is “a better fullback” than he is a centre and believes that’s something Webster should consider because “it allows Roger to get involved in the game wherever – you don’t want him stuck on one side of the field.”

Corey Parker agreed that Tuivasa-Sheck was the “best on field” but added: “let’s not underestimate what they did last year with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at fullback.”

“It was highly talked about and he didn’t disappoint… he was terrific,” Parker said.

“Every time he carried the ball he asked questions of the defensive line. He came up with some really big plays, some really big tackles.

“We spoke about it, is it going to be Roger, is it going to be Nicoll-Klokstad? It’s a good head ache to have.”

Johns is of the opinion that it’ll be Nicoll-Klokstad in the No.1 because playing fullback every week could “wear (Tuivasa-Sheck) out” but added: “I can even see him play a bit of wing and just let him roam in whenever he wants.”

He was on the money because Webster put a pin in the debate in his post-game press conference when he declared Nicoll-Klokstad will return at fullback. He also revealed was Tuivasa-Sheck’s call to come back to the club to play centre.

But the coach laughed at the amount of questions he got about the selection call and even gave permission for them to keep coming… so don’t expect the debate to die any time soon.

CANBERRA FAIDERS

Ricky Stuart’s men worked hard to rid their ‘Canberra Faiders’ tag a few years ago, but it appears old habits die hard.

Heading into 2023, the Raiders had blown more double-digit leads than any other side in the NRL in the previous three seasons.

But they moved away from those capitulations last season with some gritty football to make finals for a fourth time in five years.

So when Canberra took an 18-0 lead against Cronulla at Shark Park on Sunday, most onlookers assumed they would go on with the job.

They did not.

The Sharks ran in 30 unanswered points before prevailing 36-22 to leave Stuart absolutely steaming in his post-match press conference.

“We played a patch of 12 or 14 minutes of half-decent football, outside of that we were embarrassing, it was awful,” Stuart said.

“We worked too hard in the off-season, that’s not us, that’s definitely not us, but tonight it was.

“We’ve worked too hard and changed a lot of those real bad habits that crept in there tonight and that’s what I’ve got to deal with now and get it back out of us because we started the season really well and that was abysmal.

“We won’t be forgetting tonight real quick, I can promise you. It was really poor and it’ll be dealt with.

“I’ve got my thoughts on it and that’s something I’ll talk to the boys about.”