Monday Buzz: Weekend highlights, lowlights

YOU’D think James Tedesco’s Blues jersey is his for year’s to come. Enter Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic. Plus more highlights, lowlights and talking points from the weekend’s sport.

Tom Trbojevic on the charge for the Sea Eagles. Picture: Phil Hillyard

CHECK out the highlights, lowlights and talking points from another memorable weekend in sport.

HIGHLIGHT

More footy teams (even the Broncos) are starting to use the short line dropout, the last genuine contest for possession in rugby league. It’s a great play and we’d would love to see more of it during the finals series.

LOWLIGHT

Three NRL finals at Allianz Stadium this weekend, the old venue that the SCG Trust admits is a death trap.

MORE MONDAY BUZZ: NRL boys club a disgrace for snubbing talented refs

Could James Maloney leave the Sharks for a new challenge?

WELCOME MATT

Just a thought: Matt Moylan to the Cronulla Sharks and James Maloney to the Newcastle Knights. Both clubs get great players, both players get the change they are looking for.

BRONCOS OR BUST

No wonder NRL bean counters wanted the Gold Coast Titans to hang on and beat the Roosters on Saturday. It would have meant a Broncos home semi-final at Suncorp Stadium and ticket sales of 45,000. Instead, they have to settle for half the gate takings at Allianz Stadium.

SHOOSH

Which humorous media personality has three cans of VB to calm his nerves before appearing on his weekly television show?

SPOTTED

Former New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals NFL star Kerry Rhodes in the Sydney Roosters’ dugout during Saturday’s match against the Gold Coast Titans.

OH DANNY BOY

The Danny Wicks fairytale is now complete. The former Parramatta Eels prop captain-coached the Grafton Ghosts to 32-12 victory over the South Grafton Rebels in the Group 2 grand final. They finished the season undefeated. What a wonderful redemption story. .

Tom Trbojevic on the charge for the Sea Eagles. Picture: Phil Hillyard

BLUE TURBO

Under normal circumstances, James Tedesco would have a mortgage on the NSW Blues fullback jersey for many years. But not when Tommy “Turbo” Trbojevic plays like he did against the Panthers on Saturday night. He’s a freakish talent.

360 VIEW

Catch you tonight on NRL 360 with the great Ben Ikin and Paul Kent to discuss all the pertinent rugby league issues and the countdown to next weekend’s finals.

WE MUST MARCH PLAYERS WHO CROSS LINE

I HAVE a real problem with the tackling technique of Roosters forward Zane Tetevano.

Earlier this season he put Bulldogs fullback Will Hopoate in hospital with a fractured cheekbone.

On Saturday he took out Gold Coast forward Ben Nakubuwai with a high hit. Nakubuwai was put in a neck brace, barely conscious, and left the field on a medi-cab.

Roosters forward Zane Tetevano faces a ban for a reckless high tackle.

The bunker put the incident on report and the match review panel has since hit him with a grade three reckless high tackle charge. He faces a three-match ban with an early guilty plea, and five games if he fights the charge and loses.

Yet he stayed on the field.

Turning a blind eye to foul play opens the door for a major incident in a grand final. What’s to stop a player bashing Billy Slater like Sia Soliola did, knowing he won’t even be sin-binned. It could be a premiership-winning play.

ALL EYES ON PANTHERS SKIPPER MOYLAN

WHEN Panthers coach Anthony Griffin sacked three players earlier this season for breaking a curfew, it was supposed to automatically fix the team culture.

Everything would be sweet. A statement had been made on club values.

Matt Moylan would learn from it, move on and become a better captain for it.

Or so we were told.

Coach Anthony Griffin chats with Matt Moylan. File photo

This is why I was against sacking Moylan, Waqa Blake and Peta Hiku for the round-six game they lost 21-20 to the struggling South Sydney Rabbitohs. It only punished the team, the fans and the sponsors.

Hefty fines would have been a more appropriate punishment.

They lost five consecutive games and it took the team weeks to recover.

And Moylan didn’t learn a thing from it.

Which is why he has a crisis meeting with Gus Gould at Penrith on Monday morning.

Panthers boss Phil Gould. Picture: Adam Taylor

It is also why Moylan was hauled in by Griffin and Gould last week and questioned about his injury rehab treatment.

The Panthers have limped into the finals.

It’s a whole new ball game from here on. All eyes will be on Moylan.