Crash Tackle: Spirited Bronco sparking finals charge

Robert Craddock looks at the big talking points coming out of the NRL, including how Jake Turpin typifies Brisbane’s battle to stay in the top eight.

• Colman: Time for Boyd to look at his legacy

• Gorden Tallis: NRL must stamp out grubby act

Each week, The Courier-Mail’s chief sportswriter Robert Craddock looks at the big talking points coming out of the NRL.

OFFSIDE

MOOSE NEEDS TO PULL HIS HEAD IN

The infuriating thing about the decline of NRL bad boy Josh “Moose” McGuire is that no-one above him is brave enough to pull him into line.

That is why we urge NRL boss Todd Greenberg to rise to the challenge and summon McGuire to his office for a stern chat in the same way he spelt out the facts of life to James Roberts in a private meeting in 2017.

McGuire accepted a three-week ban this week after pleading guilty to his latest “facial” massage and there is no sign he is reforming his grubby behaviour, which includes two other facial incidents this year. That old line trumpeted by his coaches “that’s the way he plays’’ no longer cuts it.

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Josh McGuire has shown no signs of reforming. Picture: Getty Images

COWBOYS LAMENT

Like an ageing star getting a makeover before a new show, the Cowboys urgently need a facelift before their new stadium opens next year.

The $250 million stadium located on the fringe of Townsville’s CBD will be great for league but the fizz will turn flat if the Cowboys’ attack continues to have that slow-motion look about it, as if the players are running through quicksand. The signature of Valentine Holmes could be the answer to many problems.

TOUGH TASK

Justin Holbrook has not even stepped through the front door of the Gold Coast Titans yet he is dragging a ball and chain.

Last week’s revelation that the Titans have just $100,000 to spare under their salary cap means they have little room to move in the recruitment stakes yet Holbrook’s contract spans just two years.

So, for his own sake, he needs to pump air into the ship and rise it from the ocean floor as soon as possible.

It won’t be easy.

Turning the Titans’ fortunes around won’t be easy. Picture: Getty Images

WE WANT MORE

Kalyn Ponga is one of rugby league’s finest players but you could understand if the ­Newcastle Knights are feeling numb and disappointed by the latest request from his manager.

Ponga signed on with the Knights for five years on a $700,000 a year deal when he had played just two first-grade games. He was exceptionally promising but it was still a significant gamble by the Knights.

Ponga’s management wants a new deal where the last two years of his current contract are upgraded to $1.5 million a year.

A simple question … had Ponga turned out to be Joe Average would his management have been happy for his contract to be adjusted in the opposite direction?

Kalyn Ponga wants a big contract upgrade — does he deserve it? Picture: AAP

A DIFFERENT LEAGUE

The gap in quality between the top five teams in the NRL and the rest is as wide as Sydney Heads.

Within minutes of the opening whistle, the Roosters-Raiders game on Sunday looked classes above the Broncos-Cowboys game on Thursday which never got out of second gear.

ONSIDE

BRILLIANT BENJI

Benji Marshall has been playing in the NRL for half of his life — 17 of his 34 years — and he is still one of the most watchable players in the game.

Benji Marshall has still got it. Picture: Getty Images

Stepping, dancing and prancing on those creaky old legs, he came within a whisker of getting Wests Tigers over the line against the Bulldogs at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

It’s a shame the Broncos couldn’t keep him on their list.

Imagine how useful he would be now.

PAY UP

The street corner whisper everywhere you went in the rugby league community this season was that Dean Pay was on borrowed time as Bulldogs coach.

Yet he has moulded a list compromised by salary cap excesses into a nuggety team whose players seem to be playing for each other and improving. New Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook can be inspired by him.

JAKE IN THE BOX

Jake Turpin may not be flawless as a Broncos half but his spirit and zest for the contest has been one of the most attractive features of Brisbane’s season.

Their attack has been disjointed for much of the winter yet that the Broncos have lost just one of their past five games is a credit to players such as Turpin who has been scrapping as if his life depends on it.

Jake Turpin plays with plenty of spirit. Picture: Getty Images

ETERNAL STAR

The pressure of being Newcastle’s “Minister for Everything” occasionally seems to wear down Kalyn Ponga but every game he leaves us with a memory of his rare gifts.

The Knights can barely win a chook raffle at the moment but Ponga’s competitive spirit flared against the Eels when he somehow managed to turn around and catch the pacy Clint Gutherson from behind with a daring, one-handed tackle on Saturday.

A FRESH VOICE

Anthony Griffin’s appearance as a late season match-day commentator for Fox Sports is a worthwhile move.

Apart from the fact that he has a clever tactical brain it adds interest for fans to unexpectedly hear a fresh voice in the commentary team.

Anthony Griffin has a clever tactical brain. Picture: Tim Hunter.