NRL Agenda: Players’ doing fans a disservice over November 1 stubbornness

The players spoke about compromise when negotiating their CBA but they won’t listen to the fans about the game’s deadline blight. All the big talking points in our new Monday NRL column.

Kevin Walters is feeling the heat heading into the 2023 NRL season. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Check out all the big talking points from around the rugby league world as we count down to the 2023 season kick-off in our new Monday column — NRL agenda.

Daily Telegraph’s NRL podcast bite

Half a dozen high-profile players will run out this weekend with their futures pledged to other clubs. The latest is two-time Penrith premiership winner Spencer Leniu, who is set to sign with the Roosters from next season. The players refuse to budge on the November 1 system, but they can no longer deny the issue is becoming a serious sore point for fans. The players spoke a lot about compromise when negotiating their CBA with the NRL but appear unwilling to do the same when it comes to meeting fans halfway on this issue. Players aren’t keen on moving the tampering deadline from November 1 to June 30. They don’t want any kind of trade or contracting window either. But what about the fans, and what they want?

The big selection call

Wayne Bennett resist the temptation to ease Isaiya Koata into first grade and name the teen prodigy at five-eighth alongside Sean O’Sullivan at halfback against the Sydney Roosters. Yes, Katoa only has three senior games to his name after starting for Tonga at the World Cup, but the only way for the playmaker to grow his game is to start adding notches to his NRL belt. If Katoa is the future at Redcliffe, the future must start now. Trial form always comes with the same warning, that simply, it cannot be relied on. But Anthony Milford, with everything to play for and a young buck in Katoa nipping at his heels, has hardly set the world on fire at the Dolphins. Bennett is heralded as a ‘player whisperer’ but at first look it appears that even the veteran coach’s masterful people skills have not been enough to get the best out of Milford. Not yet, anyway.

Isaiya Katoa is ready to go for the Dolphins.

Under pressure

Don’t be fooled by Kevin Walters’ two-year extension at Red Hill, the Brisbane coach is under the pump. Losing two young guns like Herbie Farnworth and Thomas Flegler would sting on any day, but losing them to the Dolphins and Wayne Bennett is just rubbing salt into the wounds and raises questions about the Broncos coach. Not too long ago, Selwyn Cobbo and Tyson Gamble were hardly complimentary of Walters’ coaching exploits. How much of the defection of Farnworth and Flegler had to do with the coach at the helm?

Next week Anthony Griffin will say “hold my beer” to Kevvie when it comes to being under pressure, with the Dragons boss getting a slight reprieve from the column because his team has the bye first up. St George Illawarra’s bumbling on and off the field, does not bode well for ‘Hook’. As the drums of discontent beat louder, there‘s an air of ‘do or die’ for Griffin in Wollongong.

Kevin Walters is feeling the pressure heading into 2023 season. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

SuperCoach move you should make

Harry Grant was last year’s top average hooker and he comes at the hefty price of $816,500. But when you consider he finished as the eighth best player in SuperCoach, for an average of 77.6 points per game, and is set to take on a greater role in Melbourne’s spine after the exit of Brandon Smith to the Sydney Roosters, Grant feels like a must have in your SuperCoach team. Grant should see at least 65 minutes each week, and with no Ryan Papenhuyzen in the spine, should also have more attacking input while on the field in addition to his solid base numbers. Grant’s high ceiling also gives SuperCoaches a solid captaincy choice.

What I’m looking forward to this round

You’d be dead inside if seeing the Wests Tigers show promise in the trials didn’t bring you at least some joy. All of a sudden the competition’s whipping boys, the ones with the record of the longest finals drought are showing signs of life. The Tigers made easy work of Canberra in week two of the trials. And they still have wily hooker Api Koroisau to be injected into the spine and fearless competitor John Bateman into the back-row. Tim Sheens’ men have a very winnable clash against the Titans on Sunday and the chance to prove what they showed in the pre-season wasn’t a blip on the radar. But, hold on Tigers fans, there is a very good reason why you shouldn’t get ahead of yourselves in the first week of the competition. More on that later.

Market Mover

Has Dominic Young played his last game for Newcastle? Money is on the table for Young to make the immediate switch to the Roosters but the Knights are hoping for a player swap - who blinks first? The Knights are believed to have sounded out Nat and Egan Butcher, as well as boom forward Siua Wong, which the Roosters, rightly, rejected. When Josh Addo-Carr asked for an early release and started exploring options in late 2019, Storm officials were open to the request but made it clear he would not be allowed to walk away if the club was left in a worse off position. Newcastle will be left in a worse off position if Young, who is playing his best football, is allowed to leave before the season’s end. The Knights need to find the same gumption as the Storm, dig their heels in, and deny any player swap that doesn’t immediately strengthen their roster.

The numbers game: Rnd 1 winners and losers

Manly and Canterbury hate Round 1. According to Fox Sports Lab, the sides have the worst record for season-opening wins since 2007. The Sea Eagles have lost 13 of their past season openers, to Canterbury’s 11 losses. Anthony Seibold’s troops get a chance to notch one back on Saturday. On the other end, surprisingly, it’s the Wests Tigers and Newcastle that run behind Melbourne for openers.

Originally published as NRL Agenda: Players’ doing fans a disservice over November 1 stubbornness