The Tackle: Paul Crawley reveals his likes, dislikes from the final week of NRL pre-season trials

The NRL has handed down its judiciary sheet from the second week of NRL trials - with Bulldogs enforcer Tevita Pangai under the spotlight after a performance that left him looking like a liability, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.

The NRL trials are done ... now for the main event.

There sure were some warning signs to come out of the weekend. And equally, there were some wonderful moments that set up a highly anticipated countdown to the season ahead.

These are Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes to come out of the final week of the trials.

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Tevita Panga Jr's Bulldogs career has got off to a questionable start.

DISLIKES

Canterbury’s Tevita Pangai Jr has escaped a suspension for his brain snaps in the trial against Cronulla.

Pangai Jr was placed on report and sin-binned for two incidents but is free to play in the Bulldogs’ season opener against North Queensland on Sunday week.

While he escaped a sanction this time, Pangai’s discipline remains an issue for the Dogs as they try to climb out of rugby league’s cellar.

Pangai could be the most feared forward in the NRL. But right now his career is at the crossroads, and unless he grows up quick he could end up being a real liability for Trent Barrett this season.

And there was just no excusing his school yard bully boy antics when he went after Royce Hunt in Monday night’s clash against Cronulla.

He started out trying to tear Hunt’s jumper to shreds but ended up in the sin bin and on report for carrying on like an absolute knuckle head.

As Greg Alexander said on Fox League, it was a brain snap that could easily lead to a judiciary charge. Just what the Dogs need on the eve of the new season from one of their top recruits.

“If he didn’t make contact with the head he went within a whisker,” Alexander said.

“He wasn’t on a mission to run hard, tackle hard. He was on a mission to get sent off. He will come that close to being suspended. He was fortunate that the elbow and then the two punches did not make contact. But he was trying hard. What is he thinking.”

Of course, the great shame is if Pangai could pull his head in he could be not only as dangerous but as effective as any forward in the game.

IS PONGA LOOKING DISTRACTED?

There’s going to be a lot of extra attention on Kalyn Ponga this season as decision time on whether or not the Newcastle captain takes up an option to stay at the Knights next season draws closer.

But Adam O’Brien will be hoping Ponga doesn’t let it distract him from what is right now a crucial period for his coach and his club who have been left with one of the NRL’s least experienced spines following Mitch Pearce’s departure and Jayden Brailey’s injury.

And the Knights would be hoping they get a lot more bang for their buck in the opening round against the Sydney Roosters than the two runs for 21m their main man finished with in Sunday night’s 24-10 final trial loss to Melbourne.

Ponga was listed at No 8 on the NRL Rich List last year on $1 million, but they reckon he could command as much as $1.4 million-a-season to move to the Dolphins (where he would also command enormous third party interest).

Kalyn Ponga needs to deliver for the Knights - but might also have to weigh up a huge offer from the Dolphins this year. Picture: Getty

BUNNIES’ BLAME GAME

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have a problem they can no longer ignore. Someone at the club has to tell Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker their hot-headed attitude is not doing the best by them or the team.

And it is no use everyone from within (starting at the top with chief executive Blake Solly) continuing to push this message that it’s not a problem, because it clearly is.

I remember writing the same concerns last April that Mitchell and Walker needed to get the rubbish out of their game because “their propensity for a brain snap has the potential to ruin the Rabbitohs’ premiership dream this year if they don’t change their ways”.

Yet in this last week I got the feeling ‘here we go again’.

It all started when Mitchell created headlines with his stunning outburst over the six-match ban he copped for smashing Joey Manu’s cheekbone, making out like he was the victim and taking absolutely no responsibility for his actions (blaming the media for its sway on the match review panel).

To top it off, Solly then came out and made his own outlandish comments in Mitchell’s defence, saying players were encouraged to speak freely and openly (I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s delusional).

Then on Saturday night, Walker again let his emotions get the better of him when he had a run-in with his former teammate Jaydn Su’a in the trial against the Dragons.

Latrell Mitchell has sat out the NRL trials.

On the grand scale of on-field blow-ups this was relatively minor.

But what got me was even after Walker ended up copping the penalty he still wanted to argue with the ref, claiming “he pushed me first”, like he was a kid in the schoolyard trying to get out of lunchtime detention.

While it was quickly forgotten in the aftermath of the Dragons’ comprehensive Charity Shield win, it just confirmed to me that Walker is still running around with that chip on his shoulder.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the passion, instinct and incredible skill these two play with, Walker’s halves play and Mitchell’s dominant running game, it is a huge part of the reason Souths have been as successful as they have in recent years.

But that doesn’t make it right to close your eyes to the reality, because we all saw last year what can happen when Mitchell and Walker allow their emotions to run wild.

And with Adam Reynolds now gone, one thing the Rabbitohs need is a cool head, not their most influential backline stars acting like hot heads.

CRACKDOWN DOUBLE STANDARDS

No wonder fans get so frustrated and angry with the double standards at play in respect to the NRL’s crackdown on dangerous and illegal play.

We saw it again when James Tamou and Lindsay Collins stayed on the field after two sickening incidents.

Yet several other players were sin binned for far more minor offences (in one instance the video ref even stopped the game to take play back to the other end of the field to sin bin Jaiyden Hunt).

James Tamou’s hit on Sam Walker was dangerous.

Then to top it off Tamou escaped with an inexcusable one-match ban for his diving tackle into the legs of a defenceless Sam Walker, while Collins got off with a fine for his ugly dive into the back of Jackson Hastings’ legs.

I’m not saying Tamou and Collins set out to intentionally maim their opponents, but their actions were certainly reckless, and could have easily resulted in catastrophic injuries similar to what we saw with young Haze Dunster last weekend (that cost Tyrell Fuimaono a five-match ban).

PLAY-THE-BALL LOTTERY

This is another pet hate. How can we watch hundreds and hundreds of play the balls game after game, weekend after weekend, season after season, where players don’t touch the ball with their feet.

Yet in the Broncos-Cowboys trial the ref pulls up two and issues penalties. Either make them all touch their foot on the ball or don’t, but don’t turn it into a lottery.

Could Anthony Milford have saved the Broncos all the angst over their five-eighth dilemma?

THE LOST BRONCO

Adam Reynolds appeared to let the Broncos’ biggest secret out of the bag post match when he said don’t forget about Albert Kelly in the race to be Reynolds’ starting halves partner for round one. Kelly was named to play five-eighth against the Cowboys but was ruled out with Covid.

It’s got to be said in his absence neither Billy Walters or Tyson Gamble really made the most of their chances, while young Ezra Mam only got a run late and is obviously a work in progress.

But it got me thinking again if the Broncos would be regretting letting Anthony Milford go at the end of last year (especially if they could have kept him for a fraction of the $1 million salary he was previously on) given his style would be perfectly suited alongside a halfback like Reynolds.

Milford is currently stood down as he fights charges in court, but is still expected to play for Newcastle if the gets the green light from the NRL integrity unit.

PANTHERS DEPTH TESTED

No way in the world will I be writing the Panthers off after one lacklustre trial.

But one thing Saturday night’s belting by Parramatta did expose is that the depth of the reigning premiers is going to be seriously tested this year if they happen to lose a few key players.

In fairness, they had Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, James Fisher-Harris, Liam Martin and Dylan Edwards all missing in this game. But throw in the fact they have also lost Matt Burton, Paul Momirovski and Kurt Capewell without bringing in like-for-like replacements.

It was a tough day at the office for Panthers.

HELLO, IS ANYONE HOME?

The NRL has spent so much time educating players about the dangers of concussion and implementing new protocols to improve player welfare.

But I can’t help but laugh (and cringe) every time I see a teammate or a rival player tap someone on the head after he’s copped a heavy knock. I know it’s a show of affection, but maybe a pat on the shoulder would be suffice.

LIKES

EELS’ BIG MONEY GAMBLE

You could go through the performance of just about every Parramatta player who took the field on Saturday night and it would give their long suffering fans reason to hope this can be the year they finally break that premiership drought.

But the one performance that could be more crucial than any was that of five-eighth Dylan Brown, who recently took up the option to stay at the club.

It’s been reported Brown’s new deal is worth in excess of $800,000-plus for next year, which is huge money for a bloke who last year failed to set the world on fire.

But going on the running game Brown turned up with against the Panthers, the 21-year-old finally looks ready to break out of the shackles that have been holding him back, because there wouldn’t be a No 6 in the game faster than this bloke.

Could this be the season Dylan Brown breaks out?

HUNT PROVING AN OUTSTANDING LEADER

For all the criticism Ben Hunt cops, he is a hell of a footballer when he is on his game, and is fast developing into an outstanding leader.

The biggest knock on Hunt since he joined the Dragons always relates to his whopping $1.2 million salary, yet he showed again that when all his teammates are pulling their weight equally, Hunt is still up with the game’s absolute elite.

And how exciting was it watching the mix of young and senior players Anthony Griffin has brought together at the Dragons with the likes of Tyrell Sloan, Cody Ramsey, Zac Lomax and Junior Amone playing behind a pack that has the experience and belief to back themselves against any opposition.

Now the Dragons have shown us what they are capable of, they need to do it week after week.

RAIDERS’ BIG GUNS FIRE

Canberra is another team who could easily jump out of the bottom half of the ladder this year. But if that is to happen they will need Jack Wighton and Josh Papalii back to their best.

Playing his first game alongside new halfback Jamal Fogarty, 2020 Dally M player of the year Wighton sure showed some promising signs when he fought back from some early bad luck to guide the Raiders to a 18-16 win over the Sea Eagles.

Papalii also had a big game up front, but what I found particularly interesting was Ricky Stuart’s interview on Fox where he explained how big Papa went into last season drained because of his off-season boxing commitments. It was refreshing honesty.

Josh Papalii looks set for a big season.

HASTINGS’ LOOKS THE GOODS

If Jackson Hastings’ first up performance is any indication, he is going to add some real life to the Wests Tigers this year.

I know the Roosters were missing some pretty handy players with James Tedesco, Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Angus Crichton and Siosiua Taukeiaho sidelined, but even so the Tigers’ overall performance was a giant step forward from what we saw the previous week in the loss to Manly.

Luciano Leilua was the most impressive of the forwards, but Hastings’ combination with Luke Brooks also looked like it could really develop in the months ahead.

I could even see Hastings evolving into that Victor Radley-type ball playing lock role when Adam Doueihi returns mid-season, given Hastings is listed at 95kg on his Tigers’ club profile.

NRL’S BIGGEST EVER MOTOR

There wasn’t a great deal of positives to take out of the Broncos’ performance, but I can’t ever remember seeing a rugby league prop with a bigger motor, or as much athleticism, as Payne Haas.

Seriously, you go back through the decades and we’ve had some tremendous front-rowers. The likes of Glenn Lazarus, Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach, Paul Harragon and Mark ‘Spud’ Carroll, Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva, through to Matt Scott and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

But Haas is just phenomenal how he churns through so much work, and not just the amount but the quality of it. He again played the entire first half on Saturday night, running 129m.

To think Haas is still only 22 with his best years way ahead of him.

Scott Drinkwater is in a fight for the Cowboys’ No.6 jersey.

COWBOYS’ FIVE-EIGHTH DILEMMA

Todd Payten’s decision to make Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater fight it out for the No 6 jumper could be the secret to unlocking the Cowboys this year.

It was a huge shock to most when Dearden got first crack on Saturday night, but he was outstanding alongside Chad Townsend. And with the challenge put to him, Drinkwater really stepped up with an equally impressive second half.

In my opinion, Drinkwater is most dangerous of the two, but there were also times last year when he would drift in an out of games like he just didn’t care (and his defence has also been a massive issue).

But now he knows he’s in a fight, it just might be the making of a player that so far hasn’t lived up to his enormous potential.

SAAB’S BREATHTAKING SPEED

Wouldn’t you love to see the NRL’s fastest players line up in a 100m match race. And from what we saw again from Jason Saab playing alongside young speed machine Tolu Koula, the towering winger would still be the Sea Eagles’ representative if each club could only have one racing.

It was astonishing to watch how easily Saab cruised up behind Koula when the youngster set sail for the tryline after scooping on a loose ball. It was as though Saab still had a couple of gears left in him. Though I certainly can’t remember a faster centre/wing combination.

BELLYACHE UP TO OLD TRICKS

Craig Bellamy is an absolute genius in how he can find a player who has been thrown on the NRL scrapheap and turn their careers almost overnight.

And the Storm super coach looks to be working wonders again with the likes of unwanted Bulldog Nick Meaney and St George Illawarra offcut Tyran Wishart who both appear in line for starting spots in round one.

Meaney is on track to become Melbourne’s new version of Nicho Hynes, while young Wishart has been outstanding filling in for Harry Grant at hooker.

Originally published as The Tackle: Paul Crawley reveals his likes, dislikes from the final week of NRL pre-season trials