The Tackle: Broncos shedding rockstar tag, fans left scratching heads over NRL’s lack of punishment ill-discipline

The Broncos have changed culturally under Michael Maguire, and the proof is plain to see in their preparation. Plus, fans are scratching their heads over the NRL’s lack of punishments for ill-discipline, and why the Bulldogs are the real deal.

Fans can’t be blamed for feeling like the NRL has gone soft on head high contact and ill-discipline this season.

Nothing screamed blatant ill-discipline more than Josh Papalii’s brain explosion in Townsville.

After being put on report for making head contact in a tackle for a second time, Papalii decided to pat referee Adam Gee on the chest as he walked past the match official, who had just penalised the Raiders forward.

It was a moment of ill-discipline that Papalii should have been penalised for, at a minimum.

But on Sunday, the match review committee merely hit Papalii with a grade one contrary conduct charge and a $3,000 fine.

Josh Papalii isn't punished for touching the referee

The NRL can’t have players touching a referee, whether deliberately or in the run of play.

Last year, the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley said it was never acceptable to push a referee after Jahrome Hughes was hit with a one-game ban for pushing Chris Butler.

The Papalii incident should never be acceptable either. A fine, instead of a ban, sets a dangerous precedent.

Last year, ‘forceful and direct contact’ became part of the NRL vernacular as the game put an emphasis on protecting players from high shots and dangerous tackles.

Jordan Riki was not sin-binned for this shot on Jack Bostock

Players who made high contact were rightly sent to the sin bin.

Now fans are left scratching their heads as to what it will take for a referee or video official to march a player for an illegal tackle.

If Jordan Riki’s shoulder to the head of Jack Bostock was serious enough for a two week ban, the Brisbane forward should have been sent to the sin bin on Friday night. Yet, he wasn’t.

Reed Mahoney escaped sin bin for this effort on Dan Atkinson.

Canterbury’s Reed Mahoney led with his shoulder while Cronulla’s Dan Atkinson was laying on the ground defenceless. Mahoney should have also been sent to the bin. But again, no action from either the on-field referee or video bunker.

He also collected Toby Rudolf with a swinging arm earlier in Saturday night’s clash.

Reed Mahoney high shot.

In both cases, the Bunker could have intervened but didn’t.

Sitili Tupouniua was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder on Braydon Trindall but that call came in the 80th minute, leaving fans to wonder if it came in the opening exchanges where Christ Butler would have come up with the same decision.

The Bunker should have also overruled Ashley Klein’s decision to send up Moses Leota’s try as a ‘no-try’ for a possible knock on.

Replays showed there was no separation between the ball and the hand of Leota when the put down was shown in real time.

The NRL knows rugby league is now more than just a sport, it’s in the entertainment business and wants to protect the spectacle from the Bunker over policing the game – something that fans decry.

But that can’t come at the expense of turning a blind eye to ill-discipline and head high shots.

The Storm struggled without Jahrome Hughes against the Dragons. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

HALVES WOES 

The losing sides from Round 4 proved why a general halfback is worth their weight in gold.

Penrith looked totally out of sorts in the Rabbitohs loss with a rookie halves combination of Jack Cole and Trent Toelau – rather than champion halfback Nathan Cleary pulling the strings.

Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes failed to wrestle the game back from the Bulldogs, with Toby Sexton and Bailey Hayward taking complete control for Canterbury.

Melbourne were tackled 46 times in St George Illawarra’s red zone but only managed one try a single try without Jahrome Hughes to pull apart the Dragons’ defensive line.

It makes Manly’s decision to let Daly Cherry-Evans slip through their fingers even more egregious. Halfbacks don’t only win games, they make or break premiership campaigns.

It’s easy to see why the Roosters, who are still without Sam Walker (ACL), are likely to make a play for Cherry-Evans.

Error riddled and impatient against the Titans, neither Sandon Smith or Chad Townsend were able to be that calming influence, a trait Cherry-Evans can bring alongside a halves combination with Walker in 2025.

The hits keep coming at the Panthers. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

PANTHERS MAIMED 

The knocks just keep coming for Penrith.

If three-straight losses for the first time since 2019 wasn’t bad enough, blockbusting winger Brian To’o left the field against the Rabbitohs with a hamstring injury.

Without fullback Dylan Edwards (groin) and Nathan Cleary (concussion), it’s hard to judge whether or not Penrith are in a so-called free-fall.

What is obvious is the uncharacteristic errors, leaky defence and what Isaah Yeo described as a ‘lack of resilience’.

Ivan Cleary built a history-making four-straight titles on defence. But so far, the Panthers have conceded 118 points in just four games, compared to a total of 394 points in 2024.

Halfback Cleary will give the side a much-needed boost against the Cowboys at CommBank Stadium on Friday night. The 6pm timeslot is a nightmare for attendance. It could be the club’s lowest home crowd in years.

Daly Cherry-Evans’ move will bring scrutiny to Luke Brooks. Picture: Jonathan Ng

GROUNDHOG DAY

The days of being a whipping boy were supposed to be behind Luke Brooks.

The playmaker spent years as the multimillion-dollar chief halfback at the Tigers wearing the brunt of the club’s on-field woes.

At Manly, Brooks looks transformed playing to his strength as a running five-eighth and unburdened by the responsibility of steering the side around the park – one reserved for veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.

Brooks played his role perfectly on the left side of the field against Parramatta, having a hand in two tries in Sunday’s win.

But the departure of Cherry-Evans at the end of the year puts the spotlight back on Brooks, especially if the club fails to land the likes of Jamal Fogarty to take over in the No.7 jumper.

Regardless of the number on his back, if Brooks ends up being the senior playmaker in the halves alongside a rookie, he’ll face the same scrutiny he did at the Tigers.

The silver lining for Brooks will be the fact that at Manly he will be the chief of a far superior side than his days at the Tigers.

How superior will depend on Tom Trbojevic’s stay on the field.

The influential fullback left the field on Sunday with a MCL injury, and is set to miss this week’s clash against Melbourne.

LIKES 

BULLDOGS BARK

This columnist is not too proud to eat humble pie.

The Tackle wrote of worrying signs for Canterbury after the side’s loss in the last week of the trials as the Bulldogs to Brisbane on the back of clunky attack and leaky defence.

What is clear after four-straight wins is that the only signal being sent out of Belmore is that Cameron Ciraldo’s Bulldogs are the real deal in 2025.

The Bulldogs out-muscled the Sharks. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

There are no questions about the Bulldogs’ DNA under Ciraldo.

Canterbury are a tough, gritty, well conditioned and well coached outfit.

They out muscled and outplayed Cronulla – the side’s first real test so far this season – without the likes of Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau and Jacob Kiraz.

Ciraldo has refined his defensive and attacking structures, leaving any player who comes into the side clear on their role.

His men are also excelling in the all the effort areas like kick chase and scramble defence.

The Bulldogs are closing the gap between them and perennial frontrunners Penrith and Melbourne.

They face the Knights this week, in a match the Bulldogs should secure another two points before going into the bye in Round 6 and Burton (knee), Kikau (knee) and Kiraz (back) due back from injury the following week.

The Bulldogs get the chance to cement their place as a genuine premiership force by taking down Brisbane in a Round 8 blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.

TEAM-FIRST BRONCO

Last year, the Brisbane Broncos were accused of being many things – like being rock stars and being guilty of believing their own hype.

On the field, the accusation was that they were playing like a team of individuals and not a unit.

But if there was a single example of how far the club has come culturally under Michael Maguire, it is Deine Mariner.

Mariner was called on to replace the injured Kotoni Staggs in the first three rounds but was left out of the side when Staggs returned against the Dolphins.

That didn’t stop the talented outside back from putting his team first.

Mariner, dressed in his game day suit, picked up the tackle pads and ran through drills with his teammates in the rain during Brisbane’s warm-up at Suncorp Stadium.

Even though Mariner was axed, he went out of his way to contribute to the side’s final preparations.

It sends a new message to Brisbane fans, who last year doubted the club’s direction and attitude, that this Broncos team is a united front.

The boos from Roosters fans did not stop David Fifita from signing autographs after the game at Allianz Stadium.

MAGUIRE OUT FOR REVENGE

Revenge is a dish best served cold but for Maguire, it will be served in the coach’s box on Saturday night.

Maguire will take on the Tigers at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since being unceremoniously axed from the Concord club in 2022 after joining in 2019.

The premiership-winning coach had inherited a Tigers outfit that had failed to make the finals since 2011 but also one that failed to respond to Maguire’s uncompromising approach.

It’s a totally different story for Maguire at Red Hill. The Broncos are vastly improved on 2024 and players across the park are in career best form, like Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Gehamat Shibasaki.

The Broncos are also a side that is clearly buying in and playing for their coach.

They can repay their coach in kind by ensuring Maguire walks away as the victor on Saturday night.

But it won’t be without a fight.

The Tigers, who will be sweating on the charge sheet after Jarome Luai was put under report for a high tackle against the Warriors, are shaping as one of the more improved sides in 2025.

Jarome Luai was put on report for a high tackle. Picture: Fox Sports

MAN OF THE PEOPLE 

Titans powerhouse David Fifita copped a chorus of boos at Allianz Stadium from Roosters fans, who had not forgotten how he reneged on an agreement last year to join the Bondi club.

But to Fifita’s credit the frosty reception didn’t leave a chip on his shoulder.

Instead, the Titans big man was spotted mingling with Roosters fans, signing autographs and taking selfies after the match.

It was a nice classy touch from Fifita, who could have easily ignored fans on the way to the sheds to celebrate his side’s victory.

He even had a message for Angus Crichton, the man who Fifita was in line to replace at the Tricolours.

“It’s all love man, the crowd gets among it, it’s not personal … it’s all love between me and the opposite number 11 (Crichton), so no hard feelings,” Fifita said.

The Titans are chasing three-straight wins against the Dolphins on Saturday.

Latrell Mitchell and Jamie Humphreys will be unleashed against the Roosters.

RESURGENT RABBITOHS 

Wayne Bennett is preparing to unleash superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell (hamstring) for the first time this year against the Roosters on Friday night.

His injection will come at the expense of livewire Jye Gray, leaving the mastercoach with a huge call to make. Does he use Gray off the bench, where he can wreak havoc against a fatigued defence or leave him out completely.

Many put a line through the Rabbitohs when Mitchell and inspirational skipper Cameron Murray (Achilles) were ruled out before the season opener.

But Bennett has his unheralded team punching above its weight, playing a simple game plan built on high completion, and effort.

The Rabbitohs might not play finals footy, but already are vastly improved to the side that finished second-last in 2024.

Originally published as The Tackle: Broncos shedding rockstar tag, fans left scratching heads over NRL’s lack of punishment ill-discipline