The Tackle: Luke Metcalf featured on Damian Lillard’s story, high shot crackdown falls flat
Warriors’ golden-point hero Luke Metcalf has gone global, catching the eye of an NBA superstar and his 10 million social media followers. That and more in The Tackle.
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Fatima Kdouh reveals her likes and dislikes from Round 7, highlighting potential releases that could have an impact on three clubs.
ROUND 7 LIKES
WARRIORS STAR CATCHES EYE OF NBA STAR
It’s the clutch celebration made famous by NBA star Damian Lillard and the reason Warriors iceman Luke Metcalf has gone global.
Meltcalf sunk the Broncos on Saturday night with a 50-metre penalty goal in golden point.
He then pointed to his wrist, emulating Lillard’s ‘Dame Time’ celebration used by the Milwukee Bucks star, who has built a reputation for his fourth quarter clutch shots in the NBA.
Lillard shared Metcalf’s celebration with his 10 million Instagram followers after it was posted by Aussie Conor Daly, the NBA club’s head strength and conditioning coach.
It’s not the first time Metcalf has channelled an international sports star.
Back in March, he rolled out the “Shhhhh’ gesture - used by Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise to silence his opponents - after scoring a try on the death against the Sea Eagles.
CIRO’S BURNER
It’s the dig, and even possibly the burner account, that ended the NRL’s longest active try-scoring drought.
Max King crossed for his first try in 80 games in Friday’s clash against South Sydney and coach Cameron Ciraldo might have been the architect in more ways than one.
“It’s funny, Ciro said at the start of the year we’re a dangerous side when our front rowers are scoring tries,” King revealed.
“I don’t know if it was an underlying dig.”
King then went on to reveal he woke on Friday morning to find ‘some bloke’ had been trolling him, leaving comments on his Instagram photos, about the try-drought.
“I actually think it might have been Ciro’s burner account just trying to fire me up for the game,” King laughed.
HYPE-MAN
Most former players will settle with a coaching gig post career, but Shaun Johnson might have just landed himself the role of hype man.
Young Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf channelled Shaun Johnson on Saturday as he iced a 50-metre penalty goal in golden point.
And Johnson, sporting a Warriors jersey in the stands at Mt Smart Stadium, was loving every bit of it.
Johnson was spotted whipping the crowd into a frenzy. But there is more to the moment than meets the eye.
Johnson actually wore a Broncos jersey to Mt Smart Stadium after losing a bet. He even pleaded with Warriors fans not to “bottle” him if they saw him in the enemy colours.
But his former side’s spirited performance forced Johnston to back out of the bet and he swapped the Broncos colours for a Warriors jumper.
While Metcalf’s form is sending Warriors fans into a frenzy on the field, Johnson has turned hype-man off it.
Metcalf and Johnson, the halves combination that no one saw coming in 2025, could steal the show again this week in Christchurch when the Warriors take on the Knights.
PHINS UP AND AWAY
After leading the Dolphins to three-straight wins, youngster Isaiya Katoa is the form halfback of the NRL.
It’s a huge feat for a competition that boasts the likes of Nathan Cleary and Jahrome Hughes - scalps Katoa has claimed in recent weeks.
It begs the question, if Dylan Brown is worth $1.3 million per season on potential then what kind of price tag could Katoa command on the open market?
Katoa is signed until the end of 2028 but the Dolphins are interested in veteran no.7 Daly Cherry-Evans, which inevitably comes with questions about the youngster’s future at the club.
“Without a doubt,” Immortal Andrew Johns said on Channel 9 when asked if Katoa could be as good as Cleary.
“It’s frightening, where he could get to.”
A win against the Raiders this week, will be the Dolphins longest winning streak in the club’s short history.
ROUND 7 DISLIKES
CRACKDOWN FALLS FLAT
Referees and the video bunker were accused of being overzealous when the NRL said it would crack down on head high contact in round 5.
Three weeks later, the opposite is true.
Fans were left scratching their heads all weekend as to why match officials did not utilise the sin bin against a number of illegal tackles, that were not only high but had force.
Canterbury Viliame Kikau’s shot on South Sydney centre Campbell Graham would have been a sin bin in round five but on Friday it was merely a penalty.
Davvy Moale was also penalised for a high-shot on Kikau but again spared the sin bin.
This, in a game where Marcelo Montoya was marched for barely slapping Sean Keppie in a scuffle between the players.
If Montoya’s foul play was good enough for the sin bin, then both Kikau and Moale should have joined him.
Yes, sinbining the duo would have led to accusations by some commentators and fans that the Good Friday spectacle, in front of 65,000 fans, was ‘ruined’.
But it’s the poor tackling technique that so-called ‘ruins’ a spectacle, and that’s on the players not the referee.
This is an issue that the NRL, and match officials, must hold its nerve on.
On Saturday night, Roosters forward Naufahu Whyte should have also spent time in the bin for collecting Penrith’s Lindsay Smith flush in the face. Again, it was merely a penalty.
Smith was then later penalised for making minimal high contact on Dominic Young.
Whyte’s high shot carried far more force but somehow both attracted the same on-field punishment from the referee.
That is blatant inconsistency that fans decry.
WE WANT GALVIN
Jason Ryles might have refused to speculate on a touted early release for Dylan Brown to Newcastle but the Eels coach is all in on besieged Tigers youngster Lachlan Galvin.
Galvin’s break up with the Tigers took an ugly turn on Sunday after this masthead revealed his management had served the Concord club a legal letter over workplace bullying claims.
The Tigers had insisted that Galvin would see out his deal, until the end of 2026, after he informed the club he was not interested in a contract extension.
But that situation is becoming more untenable by the day, raising the likelihood that Galvin could exit the club immediately.
Ryles, after losing Brown to the Knights on a mega-deal worth $13 million, is ready to pounce.
“Our five-eighth left, so we are in a market for a five-eighth and Lachlan Galvin is an exceptional talent. So when the time is right we’ll be speaking with him,” Ryles said.
“There seems to be a bit of a connection there from when he was a kid and played here as a junior. That all comes into it.
“At the end of the day, it’s about what’s best for Lachlan and his family.
“Hopefully we will be one of those clubs that come 2027, he considers.”
But the messy saga could be in for another shocking twist.
There is growing speculation that if the Eels can get Galvin to the club immediately, Brown could also be released to join the Knights in 2025.
“Honestly, that is all speculation. I haven’t kept up with the news. I have been made aware that it has been pretty relentless,” Ryles said.
“I’m not going to add any speculation around that because I honestly don’t know. There hasn’t been anything discussed here, we are just focused on what we need to do tomorrow.”
While Parramatta and the Tigers headline Easter Monday at CommBank Stadium all eyes will be on Lidcombe Oval, where Galvin is set to take the field for the Magpies after he was relegated to reserve grade in the wake of the contract controversy.
Galvin has been under intense scrutiny in recent days.
His performance will undoubtedly be used as a gauge to determine whether the relationship between he and the club can be salvaged, or whether the 19-year old has already checked out.
MAGUIRE’S TELLING ADMISSION EXPOSES
Brisbane’s huge clash against Canterbury on Thursday night will be a litmus test for the club’s premiership credentials - which are looking shaky right now.
The intense exchange between Michael Maguire and skipper Adam Reynolds in the dressing room after the Warriors loss suggests the coach knows both of those things to be true.
But Maguire would also know a halves combination boasting over 630 games of NRL experience, in Reynolds and Ben Hunt, should have got the job done on Saturday night.
Maguire accused his side of not being smart enough, in particular his spine, in their golden point loss to the Warriors.
Poor discipline is one thing but the inability of his star studded spine to ice the game when it was there to be won is the real worry.
Hunt had a night to forget and was hooked from the halves to finish the game at dummy-half, where in the dying stages he failed to get a pass away to Reynolds, who set up for a field goal, sending the game into golden point.
The Hunt and Reynolds combination was touted as the ace in Maguire’s sleeve, as the competitive advantage that would give the Broncos an edge in 2025.
But seven games in and Maguire has admitted he is unsettled on his halves pairing.
“I just thought a bit of a change there when Hunty jumped into dummy-half and Billy (Walters) played at six just added something to us, and you’ve got to find those things,” Maguire said.
Maguire also switched Cory Paix, who had started at hooker all season, to the bench before kick-off.
Having depth and options in key options is never a bad thing but chopping and changing of the spine is fraught with danger and can hamper continuity and connection.
The options, and temptation to shake-up the halves, will only increase for Maguire when Ezra Mam returns from a nine week ban and becomes available for selection from Round 10.
Hunt was always touted for a switch to hooker on Mam’s return, expediting that move could work given Hunt, despite his halves experience, is not a natural five-eighth.
Maguire will be forced into at least one spine change with Reece Walsh to be rubbed out for up to six weeks with a knee injury.
The superstar fullback conceded the game winning penalty goal after his golden point kick-off went out on the full against the Warriors
There lies another sobering reality for Maguire.
Both Hunt and Walsh have a history of being rocks-or-diamonds players.
But pressure can make diamonds.
Brisbane’s spine gets the chance to turn that pressure into a statement against the Bulldogs in front of a packed Suncorp Stadium this week.
WALKER’S OFF, NOT HOOKED
South Sydney’s Cody Walker is unsigned beyond 2025 and is playing for his future.
So it’s easy to understand why the veteran five-eighth was visibly miffed at being taken off with 24 minutes left on the clock in Friday’s heavy loss to Canterbury.
“I felt like I could have played on for sure but the coach had other ideas, but it’s all good,” Walker said after the game.
Wayne Bennett, sitting right next to Walker at the time, was quick to explain he did not hook the veteran.
Rather, he could not risk the playmaker being injured when the game had been lost at that point.
Rabbitohs fans would have been heartened to see that Walker didn’t want that early mark, he wanted to keep fighting until the end.
While Bennett is keen to keep Walker, he has struggled recently with calf and hamstring injuries and that is surely playing on the coach’s mind.
Bennett’s halves could be in for another shake-up with halfback Jayden Sullivan (suspension) available for selection against Melbourne this week.
Sullivan’s inclusion is likely to end Mitchell’s two-week experiment in the no.6 jumper after Bennett finished the Bulldogs clash with Jack Wighton at five-eighth in a bid to spark his side’s attack.
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Originally published as The Tackle: Luke Metcalf featured on Damian Lillard’s story, high shot crackdown falls flat
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