Latrell Mitchell, Adam Doueihi headline 12 NRL grudge matches
Rugby league is built on rivalry and highly anticipated showdowns. Michael Carayannis takes a look at the top grudge matches as the new NRL season heats up.
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Is it Brailey versus Brailey? Latrell up against the Roosters? Or Luciano Leilua up against St George Illawarra? We took a look at the best grudge matches in the game.
Rugby league is built on rivalry and highly anticipated showdowns. Michael Carayannis takes a look at the top grudge matches heading into the new NRL season.
Luciano Leilua (Wests Tigers) v St George Dragons.
Round one, March 15 at WIN Stadium
Luciano Leilua will get the first chance of any NRL player to extract revenge on their former club this season. The Wests Tigers recruit will face off against his junior club St George Illawarra tonight after being shown the door by the Dragons despite having a year left on his deal. He felt he had no future at the club and spoke openly about the “tension” at the Dragons when he first arrived at the Tigers.
Tonight he will run out onto WIN Stadium as a Tiger for the first time in the final match of the opening round of the NRL season having played 43 top grade games for the Dragons.
“It’ll be emotional for me playing against my junior club but I’m really excited,” Leilua said. “I don’t need to prove anything. I just need to be the best version of myself.
“There is no hate there. It was what I needed to do in the next chapter of my career. Especially being in Sydney and having such a great coach as Madge (Michael Maguire). He has been so good to me and put a lot of trust in me by saying he wanted me. I’m really excited. It’s good to be somewhere where you want to be.”
Leilua will play in the top grade alongside big brother Joey for the first time after both players headlined the Tigers off-season recruitment drive.
Joey will get a chance at revenge when he faces the Raiders in round nine after Canberra squeezed him out in favour of Curtis Scott.
Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers) v South Sydney
Round 10, Sunday May 17 at Leichhardt Oval
Doueihi was left rattled when he was told the Rabbitohs were going to land Latrell Mitchell and offer him Doueihi’s No.1 jersey. Doueihi had just made the fullback jersey his own but was suddenly on the outs despite having a contract until the end of the 2021 season.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett made it clear Mitchell was his fullback and offered the opportunity for Doueihi to leave Redfern. Doueihi eventually joined the Tigers – a club who had a sour taste in its mouth given their failed pursuit of Mitchell. Doueihi said the prospect of playing his former club was “exciting.”
“I’ll try and mouth off to some of them and see if they bite back,” Doueihi said.
“The two halves -Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker. Cody has a big blow up in him. I’ll try and get to him and see if he bites back.
“The door closed somewhere but the door opened here. I’m fortunate it did open here because it’s a club I’ve always loved.”
Jayden Brailey (Newcastle Knights) v Blayke Brailey (Cronulla Sharks)
Round three, Saturday March 28 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Two brothers squaring off against each other always has intrigue. But when they play the same position and one brother took the spot of the other it makes the battle even more interesting. The Brailey brothers are considered the best up and coming hookers in the game and are as impressive off the field as they are on it.
They achieved a rare feat when they both took the field for the Sharks last year. But when Cronulla opted to tie the younger Blayke down, Jayden – the established starting hooker at the Sharks – knew his time at his junior club was coming to an end.
He made the switch to Newcastle which sets up a thrilling round three clash where both are expected to start in the No.9 jerseys.
“I can’t wait,” Blayke said. “It’s the one game that I’ve circled out of all of them. I’ve never played against him. Playing against him will be funny.
“Once a week we speak about it. We’ve asked our parents who they are going to go for.
“I’m going to be planning a few sledges before the game to throw at him. It’ll be weird especially seeing him in the Newcastle jersey. We couldn’t have planned it any better. We always thought it would happen but when it does it’s going to be an unreal moment.”
Valentine Holmes (North Queensland) v Cronulla Sharks
Round 10, Saturday May 16 at Sunshine Coast Stadium
Holmes walked out on the Sharks with a year remaining to follow his NFL dream. Former Sharks skipper to publicly declare his disappointment for Holmes’ early exit. He didn’t quite cut it with the New York Jets and Cronulla’s worst fears were realised when he opted to re-join the NRL but sign with North Queensland. Privately it was what Sharks officials were thinking would happen all along. Holmes wished he had his time over again.
“I could’ve handled it a bit better,” Holmes said.
“It is what it is. It’s two years ago now. So I’m sure people have got over it. People break contracts all the time nowadays. It doesn’t really matter any more I guess.
“It’s not like I went to another NRL team straight away. I could’ve handled it a bit better. We still have a WhatsApp group so we talk. It’s always good to see the boys again.”
Latrell Mitchell (South Sydney) v Sydney Roosters
Round three, Friday March 27 at ANZ Stadium
Like the rivalry between South Sydney and the Roosters needed any more spite. But Mitchell’s defection was the biggest talker during the off-season. He was a star at the Roosters, winning two premierships along with gaining representative honours.
But when the Roosters pulled their contract extension it sparked a frenzy. While Mitchell has been gracious towards the Roosters since his exit you can expect plenty of heat on and off the field in the lead-up to this clash.
Blake Ferguson (Parramatta Eels) v Josh McGuire (North Queensland Cowboys)
Round three, Saturday March 28 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
The Parramatta flyer and the Cowboys forward are yet to square off since a heated exchange during last year’s Origin decider. Ferguson was left furious with McGuire’s sledge which was considered so vile that Ferguson’s Blues teammate David Klemmer confronted McGuire in a fiery push-and-shove in the tunnel at halftime.
The Maroons lock continued his tirade at Ferguson until Klemmer’s intervention. Ferguson and McGuire exchanged barbs again at full-time. This time, though, the Blues winger didn’t hold back, telling the Cowboys forward words to the effect of “don’t you ever say that shit again or I will f … ing drop ya.”
Ryan Matterson (Parramatta Eels) v Wests Tigers
Round five, Monday April 13 at Bankwest Stadium
Before there was the Latrell Mitchell-saga, all the headlines were about Matterson’s future. After just 12 months he was unhappy at the Tigers and wanted an immediate release from the final two years of his deal.
The problem, the Tigers didn’t want to lose one of their most consistent players. Matterson fell foul of the playing group with club legend saying Matterson’s move was motivated by money.
He was granted leave while the rest of his Tigers teammates trained on after they were bundled out of the competition last year.
The Tigers were also left fuming the Eels wouldn’t return the favour after Wests secured highly fancied prop Stefano Utoikamanu from next year. The Tigers wanted him immediately.
Api Koroisau (Penrith) v Manly
Round 15, Friday June 26 at Panthers Stadium
Koroisau said he was left “hurt” by Manly’s decision to move him on. Despite being the first choice hooker for the past four years, Koroisau was told to look elsewhere as the Sea Eagles favoured the younger Manase Fainu.
Koroisau returned to Penrith after spending a season at the club in 2015 while Fainu looks like missing the year with a serious shoulder injury which criminal chargers hang over his head.
Danny Levi (Manly) v Newcastle
Round five, Thursday April 9 at Lottoland
Levi had one of the most dramatic fall from graces. He went from Kiwi Test hooker to fringe first-grader in the space of 12 months after falling foul of former Knights coach Nathan Brown.
Newcastle then went and signed Jayden Brailey leaving Levi in limbo.
“There were some really challenging times when I thought I was doing enough to play first grade and then all of a sudden I was dropped,” Levi said.
Only signed a one-year contract, so playing for his long-term future.
Addin Fonua-Blake (Manly) v Canberra Raiders fans
Round four, Friday March 27 at GIO Stadium
The Sea Eagles firebrand earnt the ire of the Raiders faithful when he taunted Canberra fans last year.
Fonua-Blake was captured waving at Raiders fans and gesturing for them to have a cry after the Sea Eagles beat Canberra in the nation’s capital.
The gesture prompted Canberra boss Don Furner to tell Fonua-Blake to “grow up”.
Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) v Shane Flanagan (Dragons assistant coach)
Round seven, Saturday April 25 at SCG
Not so much a grudge match but certainly one for bragging rights in the Flanagan household.
Shane Flanagan makes his return to coaching this year as an assistant at the Dragons while his son Kyle has made the switch to the Roosters to fill the No.7 jersey of Cooper Cronk.
Shane handed Kyle his top grade debut at the Sharks in 2018 but now they will be on opposing sides.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Parramatta Eels) v Penrith Panthers
Round 25, Sunday September 6 at Panthers Stadium
Campbell-Gillard will have to wait until the last game of the regular season to try and get his shot at revenge at his former club.
The ex-Kangaroos prop was shown the door after 114 top grade games at Penrith despite having a deal until the end of 2024.
He joins neighbours Parramatta with a point to prove in a bid to resurrect his career saying he “hated rugby league” last year.
Originally published as Latrell Mitchell, Adam Doueihi headline 12 NRL grudge matches