Round 14 has wound up, the Origin teams are in and we have plenty to discuss.
Another round of refereeing howlers dominated to the point a player not wanting to run out for his side was quietly pushed aside.
Meanwhile the Maroons have made mass changes after a decade of preaching "pick and stick", the Warriors have unearthed and star and the Sharks stink!
Below are 20 thoughts from an amazing round 14 of NRL action:
1. The NRL released a ridiculous "last warning" statement to Des Hasler for correctly pointing out a series of errors made by the Bunker. The Bunker official was quietly stood down for the week. So rather than admit error in public and ask Hasler to leave it to them, they ran a public gag order and the error-ridden official will be back this week.
2. Before I say this I must be up front; I don't understand how Graham Annesley survived the supposed end of year review last year. That said, his coming out and doubling down that obvious refereeing errors were actually correct decisions is almost comical at this stage. Jarome Luai made contact with a kicker prior to the ball being kicked. Fair tackle.
How many times have we seen a player go to kick the ball, only to be whacked and miss the ball!? Not only is it play on and a knock on, but fans and commentators alike celebrate the hit. The difference this week? None, other than over jealous officials who forget their own rulings a week prior.
Contact is made BEFORE the kick
We literally can't tackle anymore pic.twitter.com/mjPXJd8UrB
— Dan (@suthodan) June 8, 2025
3. Which brings me to the fact that Dylan Brown has been sighted and faces a week on the sidelines for making contact with a referee. Ok, fair enough ... except 24 hours prior Jarome Luai ran into the back of a referee, knocking him over and everyone laughed about it. His penalty? Nothing. Two similar incidents, a day apart, yet wildly different outcomes. You have to see why fans get frustrated.
4. Let's go again. Remember a few weeks back when a certain referee ruled that a Sin Bin was mandatory following three straight six agains? I didn't know that rule existed to be honest. I was shocked over the weekend when that very same referee awarded three straight six agains without the "automatic" Sin Bin. Which is it?
5. Coming into the season the Sharks were one of the Premiership heavyweights. They've acted as such but haven't played as such. There are genuine issues within that Sharks side and I believe it all comes down to a lack of accountability. Players are never dropped but instead rewarded with new contracts despite other teams not wanting a bar of said players. I'll expand on this more on other platforms but right now the only thing Craig Fitzgibbon has going for him is the fact there's no better option out there. That's the only reason he's not under pressure.
6. Adding to the frustration was seeing local junior and the son of club legend Mitch Healey, young Sam Healey, tear up in Warriors colours. Healey was a huge part of the Newtown Jets (Cronulla's feeder team) reaching great success last year. He was not offered a deal by the Sharks. Meanwhile Cronulla retained the services of a 30 year-old career back up. You cannot convince me that Healey was not worth a long-term deal. The reason he wasn't? No one can offer up any argument I won't be enraged by.
7. Moving into the State of Origin arena, Billy Slater has confirmed what we all knew was coming; that Daly Cherry-Evans career in Maroon looks to be over. Tom Dearden comes in, a move I absolutely agree with on form. That said, the famous "pick and stick" mantra yelled from the rooftops Maroons officials and fans seems to have quietly been forgotten.
8. Kurt Mann has absolutely earned a call up while I can't fault Kurt Capewell's inclusion. That said, Ezra Mam as 18th man provides an unneeded distraction. Pat Carrigan off the bench is Brad Fittler-type areas. Billy Slater needs to win Origin 2 or he's done as an Origin coach. I know I'll eat these words but the QLD side names for Game 2 is not improved on Game 1.
9. Switching to the Blues, just the one change. An enforced one at that. Mitch Barnett will miss the rest of the season due to an ACL injury. Stefano Utoikamanu has been named on the bench while Max King will start. No shock considering Utoikamanu was drafted in as cover for Game 1. What is surprising is that Terrell May has not been selected again. Lindsay Smith and Keaon Koloamatangi are in as cover. I don't disagree with either man's spot in the squad but I do need someone to come out and tell me why May has been overlooked again.
10. What should have been a massive story is reportedly David Fifita refused to play for the Titans despite being cleared by doctors. Whether this is a "I need another week" type situation or him just trying to push for an exit, I suppose will come out at 4pm this afternoon. This should have been a massive deal though. He needs out of that club, yesterday!
11. How about that ridiculous, over the top slop we had to endure on Monday afternoon over Lachlan Galvin? They ran that awful promo about his clever forward pass (I am not kidding), three times in the build up and again at half time. I lost count of how many times they crossed to him sitting on the bench. All that was missing was that cringe Sonny Bill Williams style pre-recorded promo as he ran on.
12. Josh Papalii, undoubtedly, had the moment of the weekend. Scoring two tries and kicking a goal on the day he broke the record for most appearances for the Raiders, provided brilliant scenes. Even Ricky Stuart was having the time of his life on the sidelines. Sometimes rugby league delivers stories better than those that could be written.
13. Mal Meninga is being praised for taking "only" $600,000 to coach the Perth Bears. I'd argue a bloke who hasn't coached week-to-week footy in over 20 years is lucky to be on anywhere near that. We all know his Origin success, with the greatest side of all time, but "only" $600,000? Poor Mal.
14. Lucky the Dragons took that early penalty goal against the Dolphins on Friday night. Really set the tone for the rest of the game! Sometimes I think teams panic and try and add two points too early. Go for the try!
15. Huge news as it looks as though rugby league may appear at the Brisbane Olympics. I've been calling for the Nines World Cup to return but this could be even better. Running a Nines tournament at Suncorp following the Rugby 7s would be incredible. It puts the game in front of millions of eyes and puts the greatest game of all on the grandest stage.
16. Has anyone ever had a more Jekyll and Hyde performance that James Schiller last weekend? For 40 minutes he was the worst player on the park. In the second stanza, after being moved to the wing, he was simply unstoppable. I'd be naming him on the wing moving forward and insisting whatever he did at half time, he do before kick off. Wow!
17. Tom Trbjoevic looks set to ink a contract extension worth about $800,000 a season. Seems like unders on talent but massive overs on availability. It also seems like a contract worth of an elite centre. Which is exactly where I'd have Turbo play out the rest of his career to try and get the most value out of him. Good business.
18. Speaking of good business, the Sea Eagles moving on from Daly Cherry-Evans to Jamal Fogarty seems like an accidental masterstroke. At a big discount too. Sometimes you just luck into situations like this.
19. Kai Pearce-Paul's signing has finally been confirmed by the Tigers. I love this pick up. KPP is a special talent and walks into the Tigers side in the second row. Great pick up.
20. Adam O'Brien's comments and quick apology were those of a frustrated man. I'm not huge on booing your team off but if any team in the competition deserved it, it's the Knights. They came out and responded in amazing fashion in the second half but they've been dire all season. I'd dare suggest that a few of those boos may have been aimed at the embattled coach himself.
