Laurie Daley gets it wrong, Magic Round wrap and is Ivan Cleary the GOAT?: 20 Thoughts from NRL Round 11

Magic Round! State of Origin teams drop! What a time to be a rugby league fan.

Except Magic Round absolutely fizzed and both Origin teams are laughable.

It's tough to be positive right now as a fan of the once greatest game of all.

That said, there are a plethora of talking points. Let's get right into them and treat this as group therapy.

Here are 20 thoughts from Round 11.

1. Laurie Daley continued to get it oh, so wrong! For those new here, I am a massive and outspoken critic of Daley's re-appointment as Origin coach and today's team reveal just confirms why. He has not picked on form, he has seemingly picked on random ... and from three years ago.

2. Jackson Ford was overlooked despite leading the Dally Ms for many weeks. Keaon Koloamatangi's name is missing despite bossing people in the Kangaroos jersey at the end of last month. Terrell May must have done something in a former life to continue to be overlooked. Meanwhile Victor Radley and Jacob Saifiti have been selected? I have no words.

3. Not to be outdone, Queensland coach Billy Slater has also put in an absolute shocker in his team selections. Tom Flegler, Jojo Fifita, Kurt Capewell and Ezra Mam are all shock selections. Jaxon Purdue and Tom Gilbert have been overlooked. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and Heilum Luki have been the form back rowers of the comp (QLD eligible) yet are overlooked for a lock and Kurt Capewell.

4. How about Briton Nikora "earning" an Origin jersey despite averaging under 50 metres per game this year for the Sharks? Nikora doesn't even deserve to be selected for his club side, let alone a rep outfit.

5. State of Origin use to be about rewarding form and picking the elite players. This year it seems to be about two blokes picking their favourites whilst trying to out "Origin" each other. This is the most negative I have ever seen fans react to the sides being named.

6. Magic Round 2026 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The Cowboys six-point win over the Roosters was the only close game across the weekend. There were plenty of highlight reel tries, as you'll get when teams are blowing others off the park. Not good.

7. That said, off field the concept has never been stronger. Every single mate I spoke to, to a person, said it was the best Magic Round yet. The NRL, and those affiliated, have absolutely nailed the party atmosphere. The panels, the podcasts, the parties. Brilliant stuff!

8. Ivan Cleary shook the NRL landscape last week in announcing he would not seek another contract as Penrith coach. He will coach this year, and next, before handing over to Peter Wallace. I love the succession plan as it sets Wallace up to continue to dynasty.

9. My feeling is that Ivan Cleary will be announced NSW Coach for 2028 and beyond and will oversee a run like we saw from Mal Menininga in QLD. It will be good, as a Blues fan, to see a coach who actually knows how to use all of those Penrith players for once.

10. Whilst on Cleary, is he the greatest coach ever? Four straight premierships in the professional era should not be possible. I'd argue it's an even greater achievement given the player turnaround at the club. He lost names like Crichton, Luai, Kikau, Fisher-Harris and still managed to win titles. For mine, he's the GOAT.

11. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are awful! Even their most passionate fans are starting to drop the defence and accept that things are not good in blue and white. Strangely, most of the anger seems to continue to be thrown at Lachlan Galvin. For mine, as an outsider, he has been their best player all season.

12. Are the bunker officials trolling fans? At this point, they are either flat chat not good at their job, or are overseeing the greatest stitch up of all time. Some of the sin bin decisions we saw over the weekend were unfathomable. Every time I think I've seen the worst Bunker howler, they offer up another. That Robert Toia "try" seems like it happened months ago now.

13. For all the many, many negatives that come out of the bunker, you have to wonder how many tries were given over the years despite obvious knock ons. NSW Cup continues to produce "tries" that would be ruled out on one replay in the top grade.

14. That Cody Ramsey try may have been the greatest moment of Magic Round. Anyone who has followed his story will have felt brilliant seeing him cross for his first try since returning to rugby league.

15. Haumole Olakau'atu in such good form that he was able to turn around, run backwards and body Alex Seyfarth. It reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Nelson ran backwards to run over another defender despite there being no need for it. It's that easy for Olakau'atu at the moment.

16. Ronaldo Mulitalo may be the most important winger in the competition. The difference in the Cronulla Sharks when he is on the park is out of this world. He is the heart and soul of that entire club and it showed on Friday evening. He is such a pest and must be so easy to hate as an opposition fan. As a Sharks fan though, he is impossible to dislike!

17. Kevin Walters being confirmed as Kangaroos coach just proves how little regard the position is held in right now. Mal Menininga quit the role to coach Perth. Walters was appointed despite being sacked from the Broncos and a less than stellar Origin run. It's largely a token role, given the amount of talent on offer, but it use to be the game's top job. Not so anymore.

18. How about that Woman's Origin game? Despite random fans buzzing in to tell you "no one cares" it pulled a monster rating and absolutely flattened the AFL Grand Final rematch being played across town at the Gabba. Teagan Berry's match winning tackle capped off a tight contest and saw the Blues retain the shield, in front of a huge crowd.

19. The one thing I didn't like from the game was a player being penalised for a hair pull. Tamika Upton's ponytail was clearly pulled, but it was hanging down to the small of her back, and was only grabbed as a player was reaching for her jersey. There has to be a rule where hair needs to be tied up.

20. The Dragons continued their aggressive recruitment drive in announcing Luke Metcalf joining the club next season. That's three million dollar (ish) players named, as well as Phillip Sami. Good business from the struggling Red V. That said, they've just dropped $900,000 on a guy who has 10 games of halfback to his name in the NRL. These are the types of risks the Dragons need to take though.