That Saints Pod 2025 Episode 2.

Listen as the lads dissect Saints two opening games and look forward to Wakefield and Hull KR in the next couple of weeks. Thoughts on Matty Lees new deal and a look at the potential NRL takeover of Superleague.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello and welcome to the second edition of That Saints
Podcast for twenty twenty five season. We're recording tonight just
after round two of the Super League Quality chapter from
Saints Fans. From long, long, lifelong Saints fans, it says
he and I wrote that who's with us today? And
Graham Cunliff, I hope you can name me this week
after last week's Gremlins took effect, Adiosti Livan's back with

(00:30):
us there for his first appearance this year. Hello, po,
I'm pretty good. We've got Paul Rigby and Darn Riby
with us as well. Evening Chaps. Stey Afford is on
the injury list this week and Gas Tinsley is serving
a one match band for a late cry off. Feel

(00:51):
free to field, free to rebus him all night. Right,
So where are we up to last week? A couple
of weeks ago we previewed the season looking at the
Salford and Castford game, and today we're going to be
looking at those performances and discussing them in detail. We'll
be looking at Mattia Lee's the news on Matty Lee's

(01:13):
new contract, having a little look at the captain's challenge,
and happened to look into the proposals for the NRL
to take over at Super League. Well, that's a boucher,
not that it's about to happen, but it's beyond the
rumblings and the rumors for the last couple of years.
So let's have a look at the first game against Salford.

(01:34):
It was a bit of a well, a bit of
a non event really, because what turned out to happen
was that Salford basically played the reserve team and some
academy lands and got a sound eighty two nil thumping.
What did we think of that, lads? Really? That what
actually happened in the team's elections there.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
I thought, I thought we did everything we could and
should have done when we was just before kickoff, and
then I said that I want some minimum seventy points
out of this because if they'd have gone older the
lump to the Goons, that's what the Goons had done.
And I thought that in the past couple of years,

(02:17):
maybe the Saints and situation like that, maybe like get
forty points in front and then kind of switch off. Yeah,
but they didn't. They kept going. There was ruthless, there
was efficient, There was some nice little cameos from some
of the big players. And I also liked that after
the game, I think it was Tristan Sailor in particular,

(02:40):
mm HM said that how disappointed he was because of
who they were playing, and that they know that that's
not good's not wrong, but they still did it in
the manner that they needed to do. They didn't just say, well,
we're playing a ship team here, will not bother try
in the Yeah. And I think that amount of points
when you look at what's happened to us the last
two or three years regarding points difference. In September, it's

(03:04):
cost us tops bat twice. Yeah, and points difference meant
that we went away to Catalan instead of playing so
at home in the semi.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Final made all the difference that.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Boys scored in the last second was that that's for me,
is like three points on the league table rather than
too It's like it's worth an extra points.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, yeah, the points all day longer.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Your thoughts on you again, I've got to Gazz because
I think we had two weeks ago we had predictions
off us all of what that game was actually going
to be without knowing the team at that point. Gaz
actually predicted. I think it was seventy zil so he
is actually now one up on all of us in
the predictions league. Sorry, can't you won't last?

Speaker 1 (03:51):
They won't you to be abusing, cried off and it
won't last.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
But no, in all seriousness, When when the squad was
was announced, obviously later on in the week a bit
of flute there by gas. But when the squad was announced,
obviously everyone's wondering what's going on and you know how
that's going to affect us. But you're right, ady, Saints

(04:17):
were absolutely professional, went about the business, They did everything
that they had to do and you know from it
we've got a big healthy points difference. And you know,
any other team would have done the same thing, whether
it be Wigan, Warrington, I know they're all the same.
But we have to remember as well, Wigan probably wouldn't

(04:39):
have won the League Leader Shield last year if Salford
went in the field an inexperienced team against them. So
horses for courses for me, and you just got to
play what's in front of you.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
And what goes around comes around or something like that.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
Adi and darn say it's it wasn't a great situation.

Speaker 4 (04:58):
For me in But like you said, Saint Step, the play,
didn't they And I thought they did really well. I
thought the week before when we played west All I
was a bit concerned because I thought we should have
put more points on them, But the main name of
that game was to get out, get away from the
game of a victory, no injuries, and that's what we did.
And then I thought, we're professional about this over game,
put as many points on the board as we could,

(05:18):
which we've k not seen over the past seasons. And
then we moved on to Castwood, which.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Were going to come on to shortly.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
So just for the record performance all around, and it
was quite Yeah, just for the record, there were tries
fifteen tries in total, one from Delaney, backslor person or
four from Sailor, Lomax, Felt Robertson, two nose too, Syon
and Murphy in eleven out of fifteen goals of Percy.
So you can't actually complain about.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
The only thing I can't complain about Murphy gain injured.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, do you do you think that it's because of
the lay seasons are now and the lack of preseason
friendly so we say, well, we've got so much changes
in the coaching staff and pivotal positions have changed. I
was quite when Sulford's squad was announced. There was a
part of me, I'll be honest, that was like, I'd

(06:08):
love to see a great game, but Sulford could probably
do a number on us. It's like, in the last
few years they've given us some good iidings, and I
thought it fitted our circumstances.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, we Saturday two weeks ago, didn't We We discussed
that game with thinking we were going to be playing
the lights of Snead and you know some of the
big boys that played Selford, and we all said it's
you know, we'll be lucky if we win by ten
points and we'll be happy with that, you know.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
So yeah, I'll tell you what I will add in
about Salford. I've always had massive respect for Rolling and
what's always done. But I think he's like a kid
with a slap tark who Spatta has done me out
when at first, and when you saw that interview we
did on Sky, halfway through the interview you're really feeling
for him, until then he starts throwing comments in like

(06:54):
well you can't put half a reserve team in with
half a first team.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Well, Christ, that's what we had to do most last season.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
And I think he's surely his reputation a bit for
me that he's I've lost, I've lost.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
A bit of the respect And yeah, I'm not quite
I'm not quite sure what happened. Did he have to
put half and half in? I did? You could? Could
he have put half and half rather than he could?
They were getting it, weren't they, because because he.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Was five million, he could have gone up to one
because of the amount of money that they were.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
Anyway, well, probably he couldn't put.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
The exact same team as he put out the previous week.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
But is it because he threw his dummy out of
the pram and and and threw a team sheet in
the reserves that they then said, right, that's your team sheet.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
He presented two teams to the r f L and
he said it's either this team or that team. One
of them was the team that we got. The other
team was full strength Solford on the r FL said
we've told you you can't go full strength Alford because
of the circumstances. So he's seeing his ass sent that
other team out and it'll be just deserts if they

(08:05):
miss out on the playoffs for points difference, it just
serves him to be a list. It's ridiculous. I agree
with what I don't often agree with John Wilkin. Like
John Wilkin, I don't often agree with him with his
fourth right views. When I thought he was banged on
with what he said about.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Well, I think he I think Wilkin. I think he's
developing into the man that gets told what to say
and sort of crime try and create some sort of controversy.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Wasn't it a good pund that comes on and then
six months down the line you.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Think, don't Wilkin was brilliant on BBC.

Speaker 4 (08:36):
Brilliant when he first come on to the scene. Was
it any BBC Sky Sports? And six twelve months later
he just joined the rest of today. It's like talking
nonsense like Barri and Terry, even.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Like Steve Oh and then he did towards the end
it was all sensationalism all the time and a bit
like the shock jock thing, say something to get a reaction. Yeah, yeah,
I just don't think because he's magnificent, his guy.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
He's good guard by game. You can see sometimes when
it comes into some of the games. You can see
he's obviously he's not speaking from the art. He's saying
what he's been I feel like he's gonna do the
same way. Kevin Brown is a good one at the minute.
He because he does. Kevin Brown could listen to but
you're just hoping that.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
Would have the same line.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
It's straight down the middle, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Kevin Brown same a handful.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
But Leon Price is really good to listen to a
few games.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, so an unsurprising comfortable win, hated two miler. What
about the fast Salford fans were great, by the way.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
I was going to say credit to the Sulfur fans
because they stuck with him and they charged the lads
onto the to the very end. And you know, there's
a healthy crowd. I'd say there's probably about a thousand there.
I don't know, eight hundred, one thousand maybe in the
in the crowd.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
They always have they always have to have said over
the years, grable, you guys, will they come joined us
more recently, But Sulford fans for me, have always been
in the same category. I'd put them as Witness fans.
Not a great number of them, no matter where Witness
or Sulford go to play Rugbilly, no matter what the competition,
no matter what situation they're in, they will still have

(10:04):
that same hardcore no matter what. And then you get
a few angers on it's yeah, they're good. They're a
small fan base, but they're a fiercely loyal fan base. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah, One thing from the game, I thought the club
did a great, great effort with the obviously fan fair
and everything before the game, the fireworks going off, the
light show and everything was going on the pitch and
everything I thought was fantastic. But what was this point about?
It was seeing I think it was twelve thousand and
when you consider like a thousand of them, eight hundred whatever,

(10:37):
it was the Salford fans. We're talking eleven thousand Saints
fans you want to be especially for first game of season.
I know we weren't that good last season, but.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
Do you think he was in the squads as well,
which probably might might have put like one thousand fans
off or fifteen possibly, But imagine, you know, we imagine
the players walking out first game of season fifteen thousand fans.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
What if it? Cash your mind back? Boys on our
little WhatsApp group, that we all have when those fixtures
came out and the first thing we were talking about
was this is the first five fixtures Saints have got.
This is as good as a start of the season
as we could have won. Let's batter the publicity of
the Salford game, thinking what we was going to get. Yeah,

(11:20):
we've got two what should be winnable away matches and
then we've got two a mighty own matches. Let's batter
these first fat and they didn't do a damn thing
slate they could have done, like is a five match package?

Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, they did that absolutely. I've been thinking about this,
say because obviously like we've had the home bargains and
aren't we worthy of worth like filled it with own
bargain staff and it's been a great success back against
like Catalan and teams London who don't bring any fans.
But everything I know, it's all social media now, but
every time I went on social media, the first thing

(11:54):
I saw was advertising Saints and Salford. So I don't know, now,
from a club, what more they could do. You know,
we're promoting maybe because I don't know what they're doing
and I don't know what they're not doing But for
me that first game this season, wouldn't it be fantastic
for the place to walk out like fifteen sixty thousand people,
it's full stadium. You know, I think it's just lacking

(12:16):
that bump for the.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
For don't you think I get what you're saying with
that with social media? But it's like, so those around
this table that's going to see that, Yeah, yeah, of
course we're the same cow. We're the same ones that
keeping keep having our ticket the league.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yeah. Yeah, that's so that's where it's gone.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
There's one hundred and twenty thousand other people in samet
Tallen's that they don't go and watch the Saints. One
hundred and twenty thousand people in our town don't watch
our club and that we're doing something badly wrong.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Now there was nothing they might then a lot of
them might be in the pub watching it.

Speaker 3 (12:50):
Yeah, you might be right there. You know. Maybe the
club are doing doing enough, maybe they're not. But when
you see Wigan twenty two, I was fantastic, absolutely brilliant.
I don't like Wigan, but they've done a job.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
It was the league game, though, wasn't that.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, it's a league game, but you know Lee brought
four thousand there, you know, Wigan filled their ends. Wiggan's
a bit different. Obviously one won the Grand Final, didn't they. Yeah,
but take Wakefield eight thousand they you know, their average
was what four thousands a couple of years just in Castleford.
Just come up Lee, they're all buzzing Lee against Field

(13:28):
Field bring a you know, a cow bell and one
man and they filled. You know, they brought said that
was eight thousand. So if they're all eight thousand Castleford, Wakefields,
you know, Lee, we should be fifteen because we're a
bigger club and that's what's disappointing for me. Our first game.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
Turned on to a big point super they say our
brilliant attens have been in a monthst time. They dropped
that down to the normal, normal numbers and then you'll
get your high numbers for your wanting to and your Wigan.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
Do you know. Yeah, but our attendancies in the last
thirty years pretty much haven't changed. Even with all our success.
We're doing something or should I say for something we're
not doing I mean, I hate to say it, but
you look at what Wallington have done from the wilder
school days. Attendancies now pretty much what they were nos

(14:21):
the road, aren't they You look at Waddington have let
you say, have gone from three and a half four
thousand to the same sort of size crowd and it's
the social media thing they do that. But where was
it for the weeks and weeks? Just I just, I
mean you can always come back to ticket places.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
Well, we're the most expensive club to support, according to
the Super League table of the ticket prices. If you
want to sit in your posh seats aid down the side,
it's costs about five hours more than well, well you know,
if you like or whoever it was, I don't know,

(15:03):
I don't know what was picnic.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
Oros, booths, boos, calling from you you start with me now, dazzling. Yeah,
well there's a guy who came at the Sulfur game,
just bought a one on match ticket and he said

(15:27):
to Steph, he said, if you don't mind me asking,
how much you see isn't tickets for the seat? So
she said three seventy three, six nine whatever it was,
So that's not bad. Yeah, that's with the renew for
those seats. He was a new supporter. It is like
over four and a half hundred pounds is it really?
I'm sure it's fat.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
I think it.

Speaker 2 (15:47):
STEP's sitting about four hundred and sixty quid. That in
a stage, that in a stadium that's got seven thousand
empty spaces every single week is a joke. It's an
absolute joke. Full enough.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
Well, Adele came with us and my step daughter as
well and her boyfriend and I paid twenty seven pounds
for adel stand in the West Terrace? Is it which
stands twenty seven pounds and klister is fifteen inch but
we paid under sixteen prices for that? How is your brother?

(16:25):
Just have to tell you what girls we paid? We
paid and I think that was about I think that
was about twelve pounds something like that. So you know,
well is it? What My point is is, yeah, it's expensive.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
It's expense. It is. We need to be looking at
something to get these.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
Well, if I if I can just bring something on that,
I've just bought tickets for the Leads game, the Cup game.
My two seats, kids seats. We got them fifteen inquid each.
I think they've actually thought about this. And for the
Leeds game, the tickets are going to be the company.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
RFL prices aren't the same as the internationals.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
From the RFL.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
For the Cup, the playoffs and international matches. The RFL
does it all and the clubs get a fifty to
fifty splitter. What sold the league revenue for the league
matches the clubs? Yeah, well in cup competitions and playoff matches, right,
because otherwise then you can be looking at, oh, well
they always get drawn at home. There there's some backhanders

(17:30):
going on in your costs are covered and then it's splitty.

Speaker 1 (17:34):
I certainly think there's on the ticketing issues, there's a
lot to be things.

Speaker 4 (17:39):
To look at, and like you said, if you if
you think the stadiums each week, you can say the
price will worth it, but like you said, you're paying
x amount and then there's somebody coming just picking the
games each week.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
It's the problem comes if you take the gamble and
reduce all your ticket practices, you still have twelve.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
Thousand ended that a few years ago, and then.

Speaker 1 (17:59):
Then you've just wiped the club out virtually unless you've
got the sugar Dad. He's going to chip in.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
And I think Huddersfield did a season six for about
fifty quid and something that they still got two thousand
men and a car bell there. So you know it's
tough because I sometimes your debate and you've had this
discuss here, like your work working shifts. If you don't
any seasons especial if you guys sat down and you
lose your seats, but you don't have to miss like

(18:25):
three games and it's not really.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
Worth you having you If I missed three games, Paul,
it costs me just short of fifty quid a match.
That's which is a joke, you know, as bad. I mean,
we've got Premier League football clubs within twenty minutes driver
saying selling's that it's fifty five quid and we all
few about the Premiership football and the place.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
Of their tickets creeping up, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, Like I say, if it was if we had
a terrace on the sidelines, I don't like watching games
behind the sticks. If it was a terrace on the
sidelines like Waddington have with that south stand, I wouldn't
have a season ticket because I miss minimum two or
three games a year due to work commitments. But if
I want to sit with guards and Peter, I've got
to have that season ticket.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
But there's still an argument that we missed a trick
with the near ground of having that scaff down the side.

Speaker 4 (19:16):
Yeah, because you look at like leads at south stand
it's brilliant. You've got to see better perfect you've got
the standing in front, and for me it creates a
better atmosphere when the West stands at four voice.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
It's great. But it's only the big games. It's the
big games, to be fair.

Speaker 4 (19:30):
A lot of people did say about when your nose
your road knows, you're always a good atmosphere, but you
take take your backs there. It's only the big games
that knows your road really, But if you did have
the terrace and down the side, it sounded better at
knows your road because you were down the side and
if something did kick off or fans went up, you
could hear it more on the TV the gantry than
you could if you were behind sticks.

Speaker 3 (19:51):
But yeah, I do think the mister trip not having
the standing on the side and so on.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
The Other thing I've got to say as well, when
it comes to atmosphere at our ground is that since
just in Orbit we've been playing boring rugby league, bording
rugby league leans to a board crowd.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
That's going to change this season.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
So I hope so, because the first game and when
we moved on to the second game, there is some
really promising So.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
I think I think we can probably it's a good point.
It's a good point to do that. I think we
were started with an eighty two nil and what wasn't
a competitive game? And I think when I saw that,
I think it was the nights before was it Castle?
We went to whole k Are and lost by golden point.
I'm thinking we're him for a game next week and

(20:36):
I was genuinely genuine thought it'd be a real test
for us on on Friday night Saturday, wasn't it Saturday night?

Speaker 2 (20:43):
Well?

Speaker 4 (20:44):
To step up to the plate continue we played West
Dolland so under twelves previously, to step up to that
the way Castles played the before against for Saints to
step up to that level somewhere it was.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
It was for the record, it was a castle for
six Saints. Forty six tries from Bachelor, Felt, Lomax, Parsi, Warmsley, Robertson,
the couple Wellsby and Bennison and five out of nine
for Percy. Three perhaps have saved themselves and naked run
at the end of the season already.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Haven't we brilliant? It was fantastic and lean, Yeah, he
cut that first ball.

Speaker 4 (21:24):
He was wrong because last year I thought it was
a bit of fire when he was coming on and
he looked overweighted. Not that he couldn't be asked, but
he just looked like his head was more not in
it than it wasn't it. But I thought when he
when he turned up on Saturday ninety, he looked like
he was.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
Just broadly frank. I thought we might have struggled in
the first twenty minutes together footthall, but bang bang bang fo.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
It's always a tough place to go there because the
crowd on top of you and everything. But from you know,
all the way through the squad, they were, they were superb.
The only player that I thought wasn't on form was Bachelor.
I thought he had a pretty poor game after he
scored his try. But you know you're then picking at

(22:05):
you know, you starting nit picking, and you know, I
thought he had it. He was all right. But you know,
out of all of them, I thought Bachelor probably was
the was the weakest link.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
N nit picking as a at risk of getting a
right hand off speaking, I think that the Batch was
out with that injury. I don't think he's deserving of
his place in the team.

Speaker 3 (22:29):
Well, especially when you've got a lot of other players
pushing on you.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
I don't think Batsley did anything last year to deserve
to get that number twelve.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
He was. He was injured twice last year, wasn't he
To be fair to him, he.

Speaker 2 (22:42):
Had played a lot of games since his injury.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
He's another one where before his injured fantastic, weren't he,
and then he didn't come back as well as he
was playing.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
I have I have a theory on Batch. As much
as he's been brilliant for us, but we signed him
as a Wakefield player and he worked hard and Graham
got to know him in the very early play early
stages of enjoying his Saints, and Graham was always like
this lad works hard and he worked his way into
the team. He had a brilliant run in a brilliant

(23:13):
team having a lot of success. So I think that maybe,
and with all due respect to him, the team was
elevating him to play above himself. He had his injury,
he's come back in because it was a long term
injury to a slightly different team, and I think he
has regressed to the player that we signed rather than
the player that he became. And that's just I honestly,

(23:36):
God's honestly believed that Matt Whitley is a better rugby
league player than John Batchelor.

Speaker 4 (23:41):
I've said it a few times in the past. I
felt sorry for Batcher and Whitney last year because they
were playing game plans that weren't the game plan. They
were playing as pop forward actually a Whitley and Batchelor
were playing eighty minutes. They weren't running any wide lines
and running the twenty meter in the opposition twenty. They
were running in their own twenty and making the add hard,
which isn't the game. So I think now we've got

(24:03):
a forward park touchwards and they kick on from satur Day,
we've got back to and Whitley running lines outside, then.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
I think you've seen the best of them.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
I just felt like them two alone, we're playing out
the position last year.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
That's well.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
I think we're playing a completely different game. I think
that what's been found so far is that we've got
more Nouse on attack and we're actually playing with them
at a pass.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
I thought it was fantastic. At Castofford, I thought we
came out and we looked, we looked better than we've
looked for a long time. And it was the speed
the Yews I thought, I thought Warms it was majestic.

Speaker 3 (24:40):
It was fantastic.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
And when you go back to the Sulford game, he
played the full forty minutes of the first half, I
think he looks fitter than he's done for a long time.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
If you look at the players, though we've just set
who are under who, you basically say the end of
this year, would you any the contracts from Parsy Warms
up there and both of them Low Max again, you'd
be like.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
The fantastic game.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
If it wasn't for the way I think personally, if
it wasn't for the way Lawmacks and Sailor played Wellsby
was like the greatest player on the planet there, but
he was only working off the back.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Of what yeah, Low Max and Sale Well. I'd say
if if Benison had an extra yard of pace that
backwards kick from Sailor, we would have been talking about
that in ten twenty years. It was absolutely he was
he was absolutely Were you thinking what the hell is

(25:36):
he doing? I just wish Benson would have got there
for his sake and Sailor's sake.

Speaker 1 (25:42):
I think I think Benison didn't realize quick enough.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
I think he did. I don't think he realized what
was actually happening, But I think because there was there
was so much sort of emphasis on Sailor and I
thought Sale had had a cracking game, but he seemed
to get snubbed out a lot. It gave Wellsby the
space to do what he does best, and I think
that's what we were lacking last season, is that extra

(26:07):
like Wigan have got it with friends Field. Yeah, we're
going to got it with Friendship field. If you're looking
at one of them and the other ones off, you know,
and we need that Whereby you know, you've got Johnny
the hopefully directing traffic, You've got Tristan doing is but
you've got Wellsby off the back of that. You know,
you're looking around you thinking about who's going to get
the bone next. That's exciting, you know.

Speaker 2 (26:27):
I think I loved with the Wellsby and Sailor was
a short kicking game.

Speaker 4 (26:31):
Yeah sure, he was concerned last podcast saying who can
take charge of kicking?

Speaker 1 (26:36):
And it was. It was great. It was good.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
And the one the kicking on late the third or
fourth tackle, because it can be any let's put. They
were just magnificence and it was exciting to watch. It
was great to see. It was against Salford.

Speaker 4 (26:48):
We're saying, I know we're only playing the Rounder twelves,
but you're seeing Sailor take take the charts, take a
lead were this time it kind of like Sailor.

Speaker 3 (26:57):
Would Sailor and well change position, didn't they.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
I feel like we've got that under asked lead this
year where you don't know who's going to get the opposition,
you don't know who's going to step up and do that.
You've got sail On Wellsby and that phrase up low
match just to play his game.

Speaker 3 (27:11):
I thought low Mats had a great job in doing that.
Or he's been under pressure the.

Speaker 4 (27:14):
Past few seasons, but if he's been our goal to
man and we're expecting to do something, he's at the
age where he can make that break and do what
he's done probably five years ago. Low Max is now
he can study the ship and you've got Sailor and Wellsby.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
I think over the last couple of years there's been
too much pressure on Johnny to to make the breaks
and to take the line and every time and to
make that that that that final short pass when he's
going to get clobbed. He's the only one getting clobbed
doing that because nobody else was doing it for the last
four years. And I think now he's got he's got
Wellsby and he's got Sailor really excited. Robertson add robertson

(27:54):
the next pointing.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
We're just so excited by that.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
This is the sort of the major elevance in the
rumor of who's playing censor. I've said on social media
and a long time that Lad's got the build of
the center.

Speaker 4 (28:05):
We said on the first podcast, we said last year,
and Saints have come to a bit of stick, why
haven't he signed center and straight away if they're going
to go out and give Harry Robinson a chance.

Speaker 3 (28:15):
Which he did. Yes he's not a center, but no
as Wells and Wells we come through, but Wells.

Speaker 4 (28:19):
We played center wing fallback ass and look at look
how he's turned out.

Speaker 3 (28:23):
If Harry Robinson and I think he's going to be,
he's as good as.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
Well he was at his age I think very similar
build as well game.

Speaker 1 (28:30):
He reminds me, I mean, you're probably old enough to
remember young Paul Laughlin as a fallback.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
I do.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yeah, I'm definitely old enough to remember because I can
remember Jeff Pimlington.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Is.

Speaker 2 (28:43):
You could remember Lockers making his debut, but.

Speaker 1 (28:50):
He turned into eating into a five blous international center.
And I think looking at the way Lockers started, he
was ten stone wet through, wasn't he when he first
came under Tea and then as he grew, when as
he built, And.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
To take someone who could kick late Lockers now, because
we are missing far too many come to that has
made any difference.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
I'll come to that in the Yeah. But another thing,
I think Robertson could do the same project, same career projection.

Speaker 4 (29:19):
Another thing we mentioned about the contracts of bringing it forward,
that's possibly out the likes Robinson and other players, because
in the past Saints might sit back and go not
we'll leave Robinson another six months and then playing. But
now that other team's coming sniffing around. Obviously signed a
four year deal, they'll probably turned out and said we
need to play these kids. Give him opportunity.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Not good enough, He's signed twice in the last six months,
hasn't he didn't he sign a contract extension last year
and then he's just signed another one.

Speaker 2 (29:46):
Now I would imagine the first one was to keep him,
the second one was somebody else might have been willing
to pay him.

Speaker 4 (29:53):
Possibly that on the book of what we said last
podcast might have not just Saints, but encourage a lot
of other teams to play young kids because if they're
worth playing. But then it comes back down to your
looked at the squad on Saturday nights and straight for
you thought, what we've had this year, which we've not
had in years gone by, is strength and depth.

Speaker 1 (30:13):
What we don't get the benefit of it is having
a look at the inside accounts and facts and figures
in the club. Because there was all this shock and
horror a couple of weeks ago with Sambo and Johnny
Vaughan may be leaving and going to they may or
may not, I don't know it's definitely yet. But suddenly
then we've we've been able to increase the contracts of
those the three young lads I.

Speaker 4 (30:34):
Know a few talk to me about like horror and
then by because they're taking like quota spots aren't they are?

Speaker 3 (30:40):
They were then too worth giving them an extra year.

Speaker 4 (30:42):
But by all accounts, what the ways that Conrad horrors on,
which isn't a great deal. It's probably is he worth
the contract? This year will tell. But at the end
of the day, if he's not, he's been dropped already.
Robinson's starting when Conrad, if he does get an opportunity,
then he's got to fight for this black and that's what.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
We've not had as a Saints team for years gone by.

Speaker 4 (31:03):
Yeah's got to come in and hit the ground running
and earn his place when the last few years he's
known he's coming in and nobody else is good enough
to take his place, so he's not having any competition.
And that's same with a lot of the other players.

Speaker 3 (31:14):
It's a long season, isn't it. And you're going to
have injuries like we were, like we had last year.
But you know the fact that you just mentioned them
by there and by we would have been lost without
him last year.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
Lost?

Speaker 3 (31:25):
Do you know what to have to have him by
not even making seventeen that that is great for the club.
It is great because it like you said, Paul, it's
it's competition for places it's not all about those, is there. Yes,
And when we're going to have I don't stop. Yeah. Yeah,
but last last season, Paul, we we would have been absolutely.

(31:46):
I'm not we're stuck without him. You know.

Speaker 1 (31:50):
Well you're saying we're stuck with him.

Speaker 3 (31:53):
Well, I'm not saying we stuck with him, but I
can guarantee at some point this season we're going to
call upon those.

Speaker 4 (31:59):
Yes, if he's going to play, he's going to fight
for his place. Absolutely what we did have and I
thought it was fantastic on Saturday, And if he stayed fit,
I think he'd be unbelievable as I can you sign Wingfield,
he goes under the radar.

Speaker 3 (32:15):
Here's one hell of a player.

Speaker 4 (32:16):
How you come on and played prop for so many
minutes and then finished the last fifteen playing nine.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
He's good at nine is big for the nine, but
he's good when you're talking about the depth. And you
mentioned cobrad Uddall. The one we've yet to see is Dad.
No from people who watch and allegedly would know, he's
as that as excited about him as the Robertson And

(32:42):
for me, Connie's he shot his duff.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
He was Connie was brought in as a stop gap
and then ended up playing a full season and then
becoming an integral part of a team that was winning.

Speaker 4 (32:53):
He's done a good job at the minute. He's overweight
is that's why exactly fat is getting fit. But for me,
I can't looking for what he's done for the club
when it was in the World.

Speaker 3 (33:03):
Cup Challenge in Australia.

Speaker 4 (33:05):
Fantastic game, good Friday's a couple of good Fridays. He's
doing wigging around beginning the season last year, I thought
we played on the field and turned them around with
lot Conrad was back of that single turning them around.
If he's fit and he's on form, he's a great player.
But I think he's overweight to not doing it, then
he deserves a patch. But it's the only issue with Conrad.

(33:25):
I think people's had the shapes because he's taking up
a coat spot exactly the thing.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
But I think with Corney, I'm all for getting him
out and getting him fit and getting him getting in
game time because Roberts they're going to need the rest.
He's not He's not fully fully grown to have a
full season, and Percy will get injured at some point.

Speaker 2 (33:46):
If Gas was here. I'm pretty damn confident now with
get him fit. But when it comes to wigging away
well into the way, Gas will always tell you that
inside the opposition twenty I don't know is our best
chance of school in the drive.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yeah, because he is virtually unstoppable from twenty. But this
this comes to squad rotation as well done it, you know,
And this is what we didn't see at the beginning
of last season. Were you know, when we were playing
the likes of London, you know, or Huddersfield or some
of the lesser seams, if you like, we didn't see

(34:25):
the squad rotation. It was the same players and they
mid season got burnt out and then injuries start creeping in,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. What I want to
see now from us is is that bit of squad
rotation were you not. I'm not saying like change the
whole you know, format of the squad, but just then
one or two players dripping in, dripping out and it

(34:46):
keeps that fire alive with with the with the squad,
you know.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
But if you if you can't afford to rotate, you
minimize the risk of the likes of Percy getting injured.
If he gets arrest every two or three weeks, Johnny,
you will get is personal.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
Used to use Kevin idol. Yeah, if you've got a
game that you pretty much should win and you know
the opposition a week, I wouldn't even bother it. Just
tell Percy put your bubble up on, but you got
on and get back in your box because we need
you for finals.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
Yeah, need you for the big James very surprised wtting
them kicked to be fair out, especially when you've got
John Benison on the team. Felt kicks, Robert robertson kicks.

Speaker 1 (35:25):
Well, this is just a Percy's kicking at sixty six
percent at the moment after two games, which is actually
not good enough.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
It's not it looked not not when you get to
the tight again.

Speaker 4 (35:35):
The other side, I know they've not started great, but
there's one two from two and he's to be fair
the point I'm making he started off very rubbish, but
they brought him re smart and haven't the whole k.

Speaker 3 (35:48):
I work with the.

Speaker 4 (35:50):
Yeah, that was the worst side of them and they've
gone up to like eighty eight or ninety percent Rechmartin,
but yeah, he's coming. I think he's missed more than kicked,
but they've upgraded there with the percentage of kicking that
could cost in the bigger games. And I hope we
give somebody an opportunity like Felt or I don't think

(36:11):
Benderson's not gonna be there and we've got a full
stanch squad, but he's okay for kicking now if he's
why he's playing. But when we've got a full schanch squad,
Felts are going to be there, so' not give Felt
a chance? And the Robinson is going to be your
long term center and he can kick as well.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
Give an opportunity.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
Well, I think Whitby kicker when he gets him.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
I was just going to say about Whitby. I hope
that at some point, when the time comes to make
a change.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
In the halfs don't just put Jack in the halfs
addiot fall back and being Ben Davis.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
Back from cast.

Speaker 3 (36:45):
It's a players already come back, and I.

Speaker 2 (36:49):
Want them to give this. I want to see Whitby,
you know what I mean. It's should be third time
looking for us. Daddy Richardson let us down and himself down.
Lewis Dodds cashed in and fur places the open works
for him.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
Carl Eastman as well.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
Was another bott thing. So one of these scrafts has
got We've got await the jack pop because every one
of these is so close. Danny Rich, I thought.

Speaker 3 (37:18):
Richard when they both come on to the scene, I.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Thought, Danny rich come man and turned out being a dickhead,
not like.

Speaker 1 (37:26):
You, not sleeping a low blow.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
Sleep.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
I think it's because you didn't send him.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
A Christmas car.

Speaker 2 (37:42):
Chris, my god, we're supposed to come around.

Speaker 1 (37:52):
That's the family feud. Who argument right, So let's have
a look the next two pictures before we do in
the end of the or back again. Two crackers coming
up now, Wakefield away next Saturday afternoon, I think, I
think that's right, and then whole k are at home.
These are two well we Wakefield of a few, they

(38:15):
look good for me. The last two others I think
they want leave. Didn't he the first game? Yes, and
they've just got narrowly beaten.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
They were unlucky against at the start of the season.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
I was concerned when the pictures come out and sought
with cast we'll go guns players and against us and
then Wakefield away.

Speaker 3 (38:35):
I thought there should be to win a bug games.

Speaker 4 (38:37):
But well, shuddle the way we set out against Cass
last week actually will have to Waitfield and they will put.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
Points on them.

Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah, well I think you have. I mean the way
we played against Cass, I care if you play the
same way, I think we'll have the same result.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
I don't think. I don't think we'll have a quicker
as quick as a start against Wakefield than we did
against Casts, But I do think, yeah, I do agree,
we'll probably come away with that with a win, you know,
fifteen to twenty points. Maybe, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
It's going to be interesting to see at the end
of the Castleford match when Jack's getting interviewed and he
said that victory ad what did he say? Lebally has
paused all over it. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see
how much variety we bring to different games, because it's
right in the first couple of games the last few years,
we've got to game five and six and it's just
copy paste, copy paste, and when it doesn't work, we

(39:30):
don't want to do exactly.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
But going back to the original point about play rotation,
that can help with that as well. Because you're bringing
fresh flooding. You don't want to stale sort of stagment
starts the season you want to and sorry, going back
to the to the castle of a game. I know
we moved on. But one thing I did notice was,
I know it's a simple and Paul will probably look

(39:52):
at me like, I've got two heads here, but when
you're watching, when you're watching the game, you've got ben Inson,
You've got Syrn and then you've got Percy. This is
an attack. So is that a tactic where they're putting,
you know, the second row out in the center position,
just to mix that with the defense of what they're
going to do now, because you know it's not a

(40:13):
standard so on a format. And I noticed that about
three or four times. I think I put it in
our group. Do you know when when they're attacking, Syrnon seems
to be standing in the center position a lot and
then they switched and rotated.

Speaker 1 (40:25):
So that's an attack. Coach was coming and put his
ideas in. Yeah, so it's only two, it's only game
two or game three coming up. Once it all gets
emerged into a fluid movement. Yeah, in a whole game
that could be. But that's got to be.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
Part of some move that that they're coming up with
or they're trying to trying to get over the line.
But yeah, I think Wakefield will be a convincing win.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
I sometimes think as well that I don't want to
say you can never accuse him as a lack of effort.
But when both of you was the the players had
somebody to be scared of if they didn't do the job.
I can imagine that if you don't do his Libery
as has been training, you know, all week, I can
imagine he can be a bad tempered get on the

(41:11):
training pitch. And I think Paul Wellens is one of
the nicest blokes anybody anywhere will ever meet that would.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
Be possibly as down for like it is too too nice.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
And I'm just wondering if Librey is because Carol. Yeah,
because and because they've had such disconnect, because they've got
no connections whatsoever to the club and they couldn't play.
I mean we're going about Liberty has been so he
only played after doesn't matches twenty odd years ago. But
that disconnects and that little bit of dog, because Librey
has has got a dog. He was added as a player.

(41:42):
He had a bit of dog in him. And it's
I think the players need that to keep them on
the toes, if you will.

Speaker 3 (41:49):
Both Wellsby and Sailors both.

Speaker 4 (41:51):
Done interviews now and both of them have mentioned done
and Sailors said libraries was the main fact of that
the club. So something must be happening. Obviously the players
are taking that on board. And like Darren Agy just said,
then if we're coming up with different tactics and different
formations for the games, the opposition don't know what we're doing,

(42:12):
and in the past few years we've known what would
even the fans of note we're doing. We're gonna Borrington.
We changed our game plan to boring four or five
drives and the kick and just playing tactical rugby in
procession presented rugby. Sorry, but with this new style, hopefully
we get a star. We like mix it up and
we throw the ball about, and we're not scared to

(42:32):
do that against just not the letter clubs, but the
big clubs.

Speaker 2 (42:36):
First, the first couple of weeks when he was here,
myself and dad and had an opportunity to spend an
evening listening to lib Ers. I don't know what you
think does, but within half an hour of being in
that room, Every single person that room would have gone
to war with lib leers. And he wasn't giving it
the big and he wasn't tough thumping. He was just

(42:56):
talking rugby league and speaking his thoughts. And after that
off an hour forty five minutes, everyone was like, Wow,
this is what.

Speaker 1 (43:04):
We need, that's what we want.

Speaker 3 (43:07):
We all walked away from excited for what we're going
to say. You know, you know, you know, I know
we've only played two games. What's so far, so good?
And what what I'm really, you know, glad to see
is it's the whole team pushing up as one. You know,
last season there was times where we look so disjointed

(43:27):
and you know, I know we've run away with two
games there, but everyone looks like at any one point
that they could, you know, get over that line for
a try and and you know, you're you're excited, but
with what's going to come up next?

Speaker 1 (43:41):
But are we thinking two wins in the next two games?
And I don't see why we shouldn't do you.

Speaker 3 (43:47):
Know what, I don't think Okay, I've had a few
changes and from what I've seen so far, they're not
as dominant as they were last season. Yeah, and although
I do like okay, and and I do like watching them.

Speaker 1 (44:02):
If Mikey Lewis is out there, they're not.

Speaker 3 (44:03):
Quite Mikey Lewis is a massive, massive, big, big, big
miss for them. But I think, certainly from the games
I've seen so far, the whole I've been in, I
don't know, I don't think they've got quite that bite
that they had about them last season. And maybe they'll
they'll grow into that because not too much has changed,

(44:26):
but you know, we'll see. But yeah, going back to
your point, I think to two wins that, especially at home.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
I would sooner play whole k are at this stage
of the season because once Willie Peters has had that
team going for a few months, because they've got some
fantastic players, I think the back end of the season
they'll be looking at a different.

Speaker 3 (44:46):
That's when we're playing them away, though.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
Playing them away at any part of the season with.

Speaker 3 (44:51):
Obvious season as girls till they rubbed off on you.
Its motivational speak the week before was brilliant.

Speaker 1 (45:04):
Okay, a couple of things. That's a tidy up for
this week. Matthew Lee's a new four year deal after
all the rumors fly around about his sign for Warrington,
He's going to the wig and all that rubbish.

Speaker 2 (45:15):
Yet another magical bit of business delayey Lee's the youngsters
that we've already spoken.

Speaker 1 (45:19):
No problem, had fantastic news for farm as far as
it's a different prop to Warms, he's a different property.
As far as to say he's an eighty minute man.

Speaker 2 (45:26):
As much as I've been the biggest Morgan Knowles fan
in the world, but we've not heard its crickets. Were
Morgan's concerned. But if we could only have the cap
space and the finance wherewithal to keep either Matty Lee's
or Morgan Knowles, I think Matty Lee's is more important
for our team than Morgan Knowles. And that's no slight
on Morgan Doves. I'm a massive Morgan Doles fan, but

(45:47):
Matty lees Is it's now his pack. I feel that
way because Big Al's not going to be doing it
for another two three years.

Speaker 1 (45:55):
Well, I think Big I'll play less minutes each game.

Speaker 2 (45:58):
But I think that are two big bombs that we
were concerned about Matty Lee's and Morgan Doors that that
would have been my preference. Obviously, I'd love them both,
but if it's just one. Yeah, yeah, I think he's No,
I agree, you're valuable to us.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
Yeah yeah, no, it was he twenty seven, twenty seven seven,
so he's not even technically hit his prop prime. Yeah, prime,
which is supposed to be thirty two thirty three is.

Speaker 1 (46:22):
Like a lot of them. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (46:23):
When the rumors are going around the boy week about
wigging and Warrington sniffing around, I wasn't overly concerned about
going the NRL. Well I was, but obviously if he
went there an RL and child to leave Saints, that's
where I'd prefer him to go rather than we're going
to Warrington.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
But with the Rooms and Noles going.

Speaker 4 (46:37):
Matt Lee's signed a four year deal is absolutely massive
for us because he's such a big player.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
But it's on top of he's twenty seven, it's on
top about the young lads signing four year deals as
well and a fresh and a fresh new wingfield. The
loss of Nose if he does go at the end
of this year is no big deal, isn't.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
It Towards as a team which one would have been
the bigger lost. Matty LEAs of organ.

Speaker 4 (46:59):
Doors very similar, think they play well together and the
way the talks going and rooms are.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
Going around nose have done deal to go to Australia.

Speaker 4 (47:09):
But if he turns around and side and signs new
deal and fantastic, But it's a tough one that both
for me, the both of us each other.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
But there's not many props around there like Matty Lee's wall,
We've We've also, We've got hope if we've got Delainey
and Lee's Now.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
I would say there with Matty Lee's and Morgan Knowles,
is that Matty Lee's is a better plot forward than
Morgan Knowles is a loose forward.

Speaker 3 (47:37):
Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (47:38):
Does that make sense?

Speaker 1 (47:39):
That's fair comment.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
And if Morgan Knowles does move on, then I think
we look at try to get a player in a
position that we can develop into a ball playing forward
instead of another prop.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
And I think the problem, I think the problem with
not necessarily a problem, but one of the differences that
Matty has calmed himself down and it's just been a
record over the last twelve months is a lot better
than it was. And Morgan has still managed to get
himself banned for the game, and even though he went
he went off injured.

Speaker 2 (48:08):
I think matter these will have more longevity than Morgan
knows as well, because Morgans already had some more mighty
shoulder surgery's done in his career, and Morgan seems to
be he just seems to hurts. It hurts himself to me,
he gets he's not injury prone, but he's more likely
to have a big rebuild.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
The matter you mentioned before, Graham about the you know,
the youngsters that have signed up with the added bonus
of now Matty Lee's signing long term, like we just
mentioned the Delainey Stevens. You look at the next five
years for saying, and Robertson as well, you know Wellesby
of hopefully we can keep hold of Wellsby. You know,
he's tied down and with a few added extras along

(48:50):
the way there over the next five years, I do
believe we've got the making of another championship winning team
for the next On.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
Top of that, we've got as a he says, dagonal
and will be Yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:02):
We're not even really a step away.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
Lewis Burf is only twenty two.

Speaker 3 (49:06):
Yeah, we forget you forget that.

Speaker 4 (49:08):
He's he's been over to Australia, come back and the
age of his actives.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
So it happens to all the teams. You know, we
Saints have been so fortunate over the years that we've
we've you know, probably past sort of like eight years
where we've had a top quality side. Yes, last season
we dipped a bit, but I do believe now we're
on the rise. And you know, the likes of Lakes
of Wigan and Warrington. You know that Wigan I think

(49:34):
over the next few years will start losing someone then.

Speaker 1 (49:37):
And what's sounded with Wigan they we we did, we
did the four, we did the four, have done two.
I'm not so sure they'll get a three. But there's
their squad is tight.

Speaker 3 (49:49):
Yeah, you've got we've got after players like sixty eight deals.
If players do fail and.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
You've got some taste for six years.

Speaker 3 (49:58):
It seems we've got excitedlast year Wigan that this is it,
this is the best things since I spread. But at
the end of the day, something always challenges you, and
especially when you're at the top of your game, especially
when you're top of the league, teams see that as
their grand final.

Speaker 1 (50:13):
Every week, Well leaded a job on them.

Speaker 3 (50:16):
Yes, so every week we're going to going to come
up against now because they are the sort of like
the hierarchy now in the league. If you like, they're
going to have teams coming up against them, going right,
this our grand fan we want to beat with because
they're the best team of your liking. In inverted practice,

(50:36):
you know, we had some really tough opposition in games
that you weren't really bat aye of that. But you know,
we'll obviously, we'll see what happens in the future.

Speaker 1 (50:45):
But yeah, all right, so that's great news. Actually on
board for four more years. Captains Challenge. We brought it
in because Australians put it in at one point. At
one point I think it was eleven eleven captains challenges
and eleven eleven wins for the referees, and there were

(51:07):
a couple of ones that could have gone either way
that went to players or went to captains. Yesterday in
the Sunday game for.

Speaker 4 (51:14):
The season, I thought it was a good idea. After
those two weeks, I'm like, you just put them ten
minutes on the end of the game.

Speaker 3 (51:22):
At the end of the day.

Speaker 1 (51:23):
Over here, I suspect we are still relying.

Speaker 3 (51:26):
On Do you know what I'm gonna I'm going to
give the referees because you know you just said about
the stats there, about these captains challenges. Now everyone has
seen that this work now in the Super League. And
to be further, referees made that decision fair enough and

(51:49):
it's been the correct decision.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
Interesting to see how many challenges are successful Indian. Yeah,
but this to be it comes back to that age
old thinks that I do all about you, man. I
got a sense to watch a game and I watch
it in the flesh and I think the referees had
an absolute shock and it's a gob shady and then
I go on, I want to watch it back and

(52:12):
he's got pretty much right.

Speaker 4 (52:14):
Thinker will defend the rash. For the first two weeks,
I thought they'd been really good.

Speaker 3 (52:18):
I thought the referees go into the wigging game when
Field went in under the sticks and I was watching
that on TV and I said to miss I said,
I know he's Robbie thinking Marshall pulled it out. He
had two stabs and I said, he's ripped that and

(52:39):
I said they hope. I hope they challenged this because
that would have been a prime example there where a
try would have been disallowed as it was the referee
actually pulled it up.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
But haven't you got to can't you only challenge a decision,
because that wouldn't have been a decision, was it.

Speaker 3 (52:56):
You can challenge anything anything, You can challenge anything. Yeah,
you can challenge at anything. So for me, I was like, rightly,
you've got to challenge that because that was rip But
I could see on the CV every you know surely
and one of their players could see it as it was.
The referee went hang on a minute, referee, video ref
can you go back to that incident there? He went back, Marshall,

(53:17):
one pole at the ball, two poles at the ball.
It was ripped out, so you know, to give the
referee some credit since it's come in.

Speaker 2 (53:28):
Well, the other thing I think they've been told to
sharpen up on and so far they seems to be
doing is like the petulance the ship hours that he
has the awful and say so if you think that
was leam Farrell got a yellow card for booting the ball,
for not even booting it away, just like tapping it
at an extra fifteen foot. But there's no need to
do that, so we SimBin he got symmind and like

(53:50):
the rubbing people's.

Speaker 1 (53:52):
Oh that drives men.

Speaker 2 (53:56):
Just don't continues because I do you do with Paulo?
I thing even though he's ay.

Speaker 1 (54:02):
The season, but to be for too fair? You know
what I was like with years ago? And then I
did when did the course? When whats his name came
to be interviewed on this show.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
It as tired. I came on with us a few times,
didn't she? She always used to.

Speaker 1 (54:18):
Say that, Yeah, I think it was in this And
I've sat with him in the stand a few times
when it's been in a quiet game and it's you
look at the game differently once you've done the course,
and you do I mean, no ref, no game is there.

Speaker 2 (54:32):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
Yeah, I think it's it's good.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
Advances in scottis dispansing but also saying, I don't know,
don't owe me to.

Speaker 3 (54:39):
This was the league game day. Most of the games
there was one in the last five minutes, but I
think one of.

Speaker 4 (54:48):
The teams just called Captain Challenge just to waste two
three minutes. I'm thinking that's quite clever that because they
got three minutes break there, We're all forward to the
rest and then then cracked on venture was solid?

Speaker 3 (55:01):
Was it?

Speaker 2 (55:01):
Lee?

Speaker 3 (55:02):
I can't remember it was.

Speaker 4 (55:04):
And I thought their play but at the same time
that shouldn't be allowed to I think, I don't. I
think that had got over rule, but they were just
doing it to time waste.

Speaker 3 (55:12):
Adele said to me, is this going to be my
eight months now? Every weekend from Thursday to Sunday, we're
watching every Super League game? I said, yeah, pretty much.

Speaker 1 (55:22):
Yeah, yeah, you're not got to tell in the bedroom,
she can go to bed early.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
Yeah, the couch.

Speaker 1 (55:36):
But one like one last thing. I always to have
a brief chat about the state of our game, and
that should the NRL take over Super League and or.

Speaker 2 (55:45):
The Rugby League.

Speaker 1 (55:46):
And it's been rumored for a couple of years. And
did a bit of research on this because I don't
know what. Well, nothing, nothing's actually happened same yet. But
if you look at the finances, I look at some
of the finances, eighty cent something over seven hundred and
fifty million dollar turnover for the NRL last year. Well

(56:11):
it isn't The figures aren't available, but I did. I
looked at them. I looked at the turnovers of the
Super League clubs and I did them all up, and
it's not a hundred million so you've got there's a
couple more clubs in the NRL, isn't it in the league?
I think they have They got sixteen, but they have

(56:32):
the advantage of being at the big sport in Australia.
We're not the biggest sport obviously in the UK. But
Peter Landys has stated that strong RL in the in
England is crucial for the international game. It would bring
more financial stability, it would enable us to grow the
great internationally. We'd have a lot better collaboration and organize

(56:55):
the games and the events together, better cooperation, and we've
done the game with mutual agreement rather than having any
self interests that interfere with international rugby et cetera. And
every single club in the Super League made losses last
year and the year before. I think I think it's

(57:17):
inevitable personally.

Speaker 2 (57:18):
Don't get don't be misled by the Landers. The Landers
is interested in nothing but making money for the NADEL.
But if part of that means improving Super League to
making more money than then let's go for it. He's
right when he says that he won't make a move
until we approaked in. Yeah, but with one of the
statistics that got me is In recent years cricket and

(57:39):
Ozzie ruels in parts of Australia were bigger sports in
rugby league now. They did survey and over sixty percent
of all Australians that were surveyed have said that rugby
league is the number one sports.

Speaker 3 (57:50):
Yeah, what I don't want it to because if it
does happen, and it does, you know, go through obviously
a lot a few years down the line, probably sure.
But what I don't want to happen is Super be
a feeder, petition reserve team the NRL. I can see
that happening, and that'll be a sad shame because all

(58:11):
that will happen is all the top players will just
get pooled.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
And I've always thought that. I've always thought exactly the same.
But I think the land Is is that savvy. That
would be his easy option. But this is a country
of nearly seventeen million people. Either look at how much
money you can make in a country of fifteen million people,

(58:35):
and this is a country we are literally not point
not one percent, and if he can just improve that
by a fraction in the biggest game, because he's a
money making genius, what he's done with the NRL to
trump cricket rub union and as he reels in that
country he's done well. Don't like him, but he does.

Speaker 1 (58:55):
I think, well, I think we needed, we need we
need a knight on a white horse at some point
because the way the clubs are going on, the club
are surviving on the good will of an owner because
they just they're just the money.

Speaker 3 (59:09):
Like looking like hudders failed with Davy. I mean, you know,
bless him, but I don't think that. How long how
long is left as Davy got before he pulls his
money out? You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (59:19):
And as well, welcome to Dallan's happy.

Speaker 3 (59:26):
Seriously though, missus day, if you're listening, how many more
years he got before he goes? Right?

Speaker 1 (59:33):
I wonder why he was going with that and pull
him whatever.

Speaker 3 (59:36):
Money so you know, before he pulls his money out field,
then that you have not got the giants go to
be gone. So you know you're right grain were you know,
missing it in rugby union with some of the clubs
they've you know, they're no longer no longer head, they've
they've gone down.

Speaker 2 (59:52):
This might be why Davies I'm showed read a couple
of years ago there was he wants to get stage
and built for like a little small twelve thousand.

Speaker 4 (01:00:01):
Going to Halifax was finishing the Halifax Stadium and revamping that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
But that's the more the size, because otherwise I just
feel it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
Late that I just feeling wont for Halifacts. You're right,
you've got a lot of you know, people who Rugby
League rely on to put money into it, so it
needs it needs a better business plan.

Speaker 4 (01:00:23):
The more people who are involved and want to get
take over believe in fair play. If you want to
come and do that, then for play, there's going to
be reals in place and say.

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
And to be protections for the for the for our
game as such.

Speaker 4 (01:00:34):
But also we could see some of the best of it.
That's what they're going to not feed the league because
that would be we wouldn't want that. But you can
also see some of the best young r L starts
playing over it league and doing as as long as
it wasn't like they're coming over six months and they're
going back.

Speaker 3 (01:00:52):
Some of the kids signed.

Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
Signed for a season or two seasons and you.

Speaker 4 (01:00:56):
Send the best of them and they went back to
the n R you think great. It is fantastic Jamie
Lyon's coming over, or just say English and stuff like
that you're thinking fantastic.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Yeah, okay, right, thank you very much. Lad note we'll
call it quits tonight and we'll see you in a
couple of weeks. Thanks Daron, no problem. Thanks, thank you,
and we'll see you in a couple of weeks.