Broncos star’s brutal teammate call-out; burning Doueihi question won’t go away — NRL Talking Points

The Broncos’ season went from bad to worse after a horror loss with one of their stars delivering a brutal message to his team.

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Meanwhile, the Tigers were brave but again fell short after a tough few days for the club. With the losses piling up, a big question around the recent drama remains.

Read on for all of the talking points out of Round 22!

BRONCOS STAR’S BRUTALLY HONEST MESSAGE AMID ‘SHOCKING’ SLIDE

If you thought the Broncos’ season couldn’t get any worse after their slim finals hopes were dashed last weekend up in Townsville, think again.

Back at home and with nothing to lose, the Broncos were thrashed by Newcastle in what was one of their worst performances of the season.

The Knights are no slouches and will likely play finals footy this season, but it is still a pretty embarrassing result for the Broncos given the talent on the park.

NRL legend Cooper Cronk believes it was the sort of performance that should have the Broncos facing the heat once again this week.

“I think now the heat is going to come for the Brisbane Broncos. Coming off a premiership, not too many teams have done that and missed the finals again,” Cronk said on Fox League.

“While there was a mathematical chance it has kept the wolves at bay, but I think it’s going to be a big week in Bronco town.”

The Broncos have been ravaged by injuries this season and that has to be taken into account when analysing where their 2026 campaign went so wrong.

However, they fielded a mostly full strength team against the Knights, who were missing their $1.3 million man Dylan Brown.

Broncos star Kotoni Staggs wasn’t willing to make excuses post-game.

In a brutally honest reflection of where the team are at, Staggs didn’t pull any punches.

“What we planned to do tonight … I don’t think we nailed it on the head,” he said.

“I think he (Madge) will go through that, but at the end of the day I think it’s the players that step on the field that need to have a good look at themselves and what they need to do.

“Whether it’s (to) turn up with a better attitude or do some more video, whatever it is. But at the end of the day it’s more relied on us players that step foot on this field.”

Coming off the high of a drought-breaking grand final win, the Broncos’ premiership hangover was evident early.

In what was a sign of things to come, Brisbane were upset by Hull KR in the World Club Challenge and never recovered.

Cronk theorised why the Broncos season have fallen “shockingly” short of the lofty expectations.

“They were on the highest of highs and almost set up for a chance at some sort of dynasty under Michael Maguire. Reece Walsh did his thing. Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas, arguably Adam Reynolds, are all rock stars at their positions,” the multiple premiership winner said.

“For them now with four or five rounds to go to have no chance of making the finals, the only thing I can put it down to is they have all the ingredients to be a top-four team for a long period of time and when you slightly dial back the accountability, when you slightly dial back the areas to improve or hard work as an individual, it then plays a part in the team.

“If you dial it back two per cent and then every player does that you’re going to be a fair way below where you were … maybe, and this is my opinion, the hardest parts of the game they didn’t focus enough on. Defend for long periods of time, kick chase, hold the ball and pressure the opposition.

“I’m not talking about set plays and scoring tries. I’m just talking about the hardest parts of the game. When you don’t do that consistently enough, you get found out.

“In pre-season and in the early parts of the year you build good habits that you can build on at the back-end of the year.

“Look at Penrith for example. If you don’t build enough good habits, bad habits kick in and it will catch you out when you don’t want it to.

“I just don’t think the Brisbane Broncos have created enough good habits over the course of the season.”

MIXED VIEWS ON DOUEIHI’S RETURN TO TIGERS

Adam Doueihi returned to the Wests Tigers’ first grade fold in the side’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss to Parramatta on Sunday.

Not surprisingly, the spotlight shone fiercely on the halfback’s individual performance – and the results are in.

Fox League’s Matty Johns reckoned Doueihi did enough to put the past nine days behind him, in which he elected to sit out of a clash against Canberra after being named out of position by Benji Marshall at lock.

“All eyes on Adam Doueihi. He was really quiet in the first 60 but in the last 20, well he almost got them home,” he said on Sunday Night with Matty Johns.

“Everything that’s gone on, has this been put to bed? I get the sense it has, but I think the results are still going to bubble along.”

Doueihi’s contribution in the game included one try, one field goal, eight runs for 96 metres, one line break and 14 tackles.

While Johns was relatively satisfied with the way the under-fire half finished the game, colleague Cooper Cronk was less convinced – describing the performance as ‘okay’.

“I was very excited to see how engaged and determined Adam Doueihi was to start this game. He only had eight tackles in the first half and two runs. I thought he would’ve been far more involved than that. I thought he would have been inspired,” the former premiership winner said.

“In the second half, he really started to have an impact on this game. Six runs in the second half, six tackle busts, one try, and the try assist. And when he scored the try, there was a hell of a lot of emotion and intensity in the way that he got up and celebrated because he has been under pressure for a lot of different reasons the last two weeks.

”He came out and had a couple of moments, but overall it was an okay performance from Adam Doueihi.”

The Tigers earn a welcome reprieve – both in terms of playing and the ongoing media scrutiny around the club this past month – with a bye in Round 23.

According to Cronk, the week off should be used to rejuvenate the club and its players, potentially helping them to finish the remaining season strongly.

“For Benji Marshall and the team, well look, the bye week can be used to freshen up players and getting some extra work in,” Cronk said.

“They need to find some type of mojo, something that inspires them for the back end of the year because their sponsors, their players, the supporters love their club. They need to give something back to the Tigers faithful in the back end of this year.”

UNSUNG ROOSTERS HERO … AND THE BIG CHALLENGE TO COME

Following a record 70-point win, it’s difficult to pinpoint one or two players, however the performance of a hulking front rower was praised following the Roosters’ 82-12 win over the Cowboys.

His effort also proved how well-rounded this Chooks team is as they approach the finals where a potential grand final showdown could ensue against the all-conquering Panthers.

Naufahu Whyte has emerged as one of the game’s premier props.

While James Tedesco and Sam Walker got most of the praise after the massive win, Whyte ran for 149m from 16 runs, with four offloads and two tackle breaks.

Fox League’s Cooper Cronk said the Roosters’ “absolute clinic” was set up by hard running early.

“If you look at their start to the game, it was Reece Robson, Naufahu Whyte, James Tedesco with the power game through the middle and then they got the attacking possession and opened up the field for Walker to do his thing,” Cronk said.

“There’s one stat that isn’t recorded, and that’s play-the-ball speed. He (Whyte) took on every middle forward of the Cowboys and they couldn’t stop him.

“Most of the good stuff the spine did was after a big Naufahu Whyte, or a Victor Radley, short pass. This team has a really good balance.”

“He (Whyte) toyed with them. Men against boys stuff,” commentator Andrew Voss added.

The Roosters may have beaten up a poor Cowboys outfit, but the real test will come when they face Penrith in a fortnight at CommBank Stadium.

The Roosters have only beaten Penrith once since they won the 2019 grand final.

And on many occasions, the games have been one-sided in Penrith’s favour.

Can they crack their Penrith hoodoo?

While they play them in a few weeks, it’s likely they’ll have to beat them to win the title later in the season.

“They’ve just got all the ingredients and Trent Robinson in his years that he’s won a comp, he has just timed his run to perfection and you feel like the Roosters are projecting in the right way,” Cronk said.

“Take the opposition (Cowboys) out and look at what you did well and pretend that’s Penrith and you need to do it again in September.”

‘I DON’T THINK THEY BOUNCE BACK’: GREAT’S BRUTAL COWBOYS VERDICT

It was described as their “darkest day” and Cooper Cronk fears the Cowboys won’t recover from the 82-12 smashing at the hands of the Roosters on Thursday night.

The Cowboys were awful as the Roosters strolled in for 14 tries to score 82 points, which was the third most of all-time, and just nine points behind the record set by St George in 1935.

Cowboys captain Reuben Cotter said it was the “most embarrassing game” he’d ever been a part of.

The Cowboys were well set up ahead of Thursday night’s disaster, having got themselves into the top eight on the back of three wins from their previous four games.

Added to that, the Cowboys only had to travel outside of Queensland once for the remainder of their season.

But there may be no coming back after the Roosters pulverised them.

Speaking on the Fox League Debrief post-game, Cronk was worried the loss may be something the players won’t get over.

“I don’t think they bounce back from this,” Cronk said.

The Cowboys came into the game off an emotion-charged win over bitter rivals the Broncos the previous Saturday and coach Todd Payten said he was worried about how they bounced off that win.

“A couple of things worried me in the warm-up. I watched us and then thought they just moved faster and tackled a little bit harder in the warm-up,” he said.

Cronk believes the Broncos win played a part in Thursday’s nightmare.

“I’m going to say that the five-day turnaround had a big part in this. They were lacking intensity and physicality from the word go and if you go look at it five days ago against the Brisbane Broncos, it was one of the better performances from the Cowboys all year long,” Cronk said.

Payten said post-game that he wouldn’t even watch the match back with his players, hoping to wipe it from their memories and focus on the Gold Coast game next Thursday night.

Cronk thinks they have to address the shocking loss, then put the onus on the senior players to drag the team out of the mess they’re in.

“I don’t think you can just say, ‘Oh, move on’, and I don’t think you can bring the hard stick to them and say, ‘What are we doing here?’ but defensively they were poor. They were ordinary,” Cronk said.

“You would do your normal week. You’d do your normal recovery, but I think this would be a (Tom) Dearden and (Reuben) Cotter-led discussion.

“It’s not Todd Payten going through videos and (saying) ‘what we did wrong or right’. There wasn’t much right done.

“But it’d be player-led …’Look what we did against the Brisbane Broncos. It’s in our kit bag. We know how to play like this. Bring that next week’.

Cronk said the Cowboys were looking for someone else to do the hard work “and they got caught out big time”.

COULD STORM UNLEASH YOUNG GUNS IN LOST SEASON?

The Melbourne Storm are set to miss the NRL finals for the first time since 2010.

But the disappointment could provide the club with an opportunity to look towards the future.

Their 36-22 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday night all but confirmed last year’s grand finalists would miss out on a top eight spot for the first time in 16 years, but it also showcased a glimpse of the youth coming through the ranks.

The Storm’s spine is ravaged with injuries, with Melbourne missing its big three in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant through injury. Tyran Wishart, Trent Toelau and debutant Hayden Watson filled the space.

Watson in particular impressed, tasked with filling the boots of the 2024 Dally M medallist in Hughes and leaving many – including his coach – excited at what the next decade could look like for the Storm despite their struggles this year.

“As far as a halfback goes, that was probably as good a debut I’ve seen from a halfback, especially at his age,” coach Craig Bellamy said.

“He was on the tough side there too … You’ve got [Viliame] Kikau there and [Stephen] Crichton and those guys out that side, but I thought he did a really good job with the ball and also without the ball as well.”

Those comments were echoed by former premiership half Kevin Walters on Fox League, who is expecting to see Watson get more playing time as the senior halves sit out with injury.

“He looks to be very dynamic. He’s a good ball runner, he kicks the ball well, I thought his passing looked sharp and he did a good job on Kikau, defensively,” Walters said.

“He was pretty impressive, the kid, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him.”

With the Storm’s chances at finals football effectively evaporating, it’s begged the question as to whether Melbourne give their senior spine members an early off-season to freshen up.

After all, it could give the club an opportunity to give their youngsters some time in the top grade.

While Munster, Hughes and Grant are all locked in as the Storm’s first-choice options for next year, there is a question mark over Munster’s future given his links to the PNG Chiefs.

With that in mind, Watson — who is locked in at the Storm until the end of 2030 — could be his long-term successor even if he has come through the grades as a halfback.

“Did he play well enough to put Jahrome Hughes on ice for a bit? Give him a rest. He’s had hamstring injuries that he’s carried the last sort of month or so. He’s had a few injuries,” former Rooster Braith Anasta queried on Fox League.

“Well, if he’s had hamstring awareness or tightness, played a game, missed a game, played again – that says that he’s on the edge of re-injuring a little bit,” former Storm premiership half Cooper Cronk replied.

“He would like to play if he’s fully fit, but it wouldn’t be ‘must play’ next week,” Cronk said.

Jai Bowden is another youngster who is up-and-coming for the Storm, featuring briefly off the interchange bench in Friday night’s loss for another NRL debut.

The 19-year-old former Queensland Under-19s hooker had nine minutes off the bench, making 11 passes from dummy-half without any errors in a solid short stint.

CRONK’S BIG CALL AFTER REMARKABLE BULLDOGS TURNAROUND

Canterbury’s victory over the Melbourne Storm has convinced NRL legend Cooper Cronk that they are capable of making a deep finals run come September and make the preliminary final.

Already viewing the Bulldogs as one of the competition’s best defensive teams, Cronk believes that their improved attack has added another layer to their premiership credentials.

As the race for the finals continues to heat up, the former Origin halfback not only believes that they will finish in the top-eight but also sees them as a side capable of causing damage in the upcoming finals series.

“I would back them to win a couple of finals games,” Cronk said.

“The Dogs last year, when they were at their best (with) that line speed, that defensive stuff, they fell apart with their attack, but I think there is a new dimension to their attack.

“I don’t know if the Cowboys can bounce back from what they did last night and someone has to take advantage of that.

“They seem to be the best team to be able to do it.”

Cronk also put the question to Kevin Walters, asking him whether the Belmore-based side can do enough over the remaining rounds to make the finals.

They face a challenging run home, with clashes against the Roosters, Rabbitohs, Dragons, Panthers, and Broncos.

In these five matches, they need to at least win three to keep their finals hopes alive.

“Yes, I think they can get three wins there,” was the answer from Walters.

The prediction from Cronk and Walters comes as Bulldogs halfback Lachlan Galvin continues to receive plenty of praise for his development, having evolved his game.

“I think he’s changed the way he’s played a little bit,” Cronk added.

“He was trying to play a circa-Nathan Cleary with Jaeman Salmon controlling the first couple of tackles.

“Remove Jaeman Salmon a little bit and (he) made him a ball-running middle. He’s getting over the advantage line more than he was before.

“His kicking needs to improve, but he’s got a lot of noise around this young man. But if you just watch the way he combines with (Jacob) Preston the way he runs the football he’s going to be a good player for a period of time.

“He’s got something.”

WHY PANTHERS ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ IS ‘COACHING 101’ FROM CLEARY

It was the selection call that wasn’t all that surprising and yet at the same time was a big decision from coach Ivan Cleary given how the Panthers are travelling this year.

Sure, the past month or so had been hardly convincing but this Penrith side is a far cry from the one that stumbled its way to just three wins from its first 11 games last season.

Yet, even as the Panthers clearly established themselves as the team to beat in 2026, there was a glaring weakness that teams continually targeted this season and it was specifically five-eighth Blaize Talagi who found himself under pressure.

So, with a more than dependable back-up in Jack Cogger returning from suspension, Cleary made the call to give Talagi a refresher in NSW Cup.

Will he be back next week? Cleary doesn’t know for sure.

He told reporters after Saturday’s win over the Raiders that it will “probably be a bit of time” in reserve grade before Talagi is back in the NRL.

“But that depends on lots of things,” he added.

“I’m not too sure. He played well today from what I saw, but I didn’t see the whole game. It’s just part of his journey and if he’s back next week then he’ll do a great job.”

While Cleary didn’t want to commit to any return date for Talagi, premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk said he has little doubt the young playmaker will figure in the finals.

That is despite Cogger’s impressive cameo in the 2023 grand final, where he straightened up Penrith’s attack after Jarome Luai went off injured to help inspire that dramatic comeback against Brisbane.

Ultimately, Cronk doesn’t think this is going to be a lengthy NSW Cup stint for Talagi. Instead, he called it “coaching 101” from Cleary.

“Yes Blaize has deficiencies defensively. Yes that left edge got targeted against the Eels. But this in my opinion is coaching 101 from Ivan Cleary,” Cronk said.

“Get one of your star players who hasn’t played well, send them back to reserve grade for a week or two.

“Jack Cogger is rock-solid and consistent. I don’t think he’s going to partner Nathan Cleary come September.

“I think this is a play from Ivan Cleary for Blaize Talagi to realise that, ‘Hey, we’re in a really good position. You improve your defence, we might just win a championship’.

“If he fixes the areas he needs to improve he will be the six for Penrith.”

Cronk’s premiership-winning teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, meanwhile, called it a “bit of a wake-up call” from Cleary, describing Talagi as “a bit of a chink in the defensive armour”.

“If he’s going to go away and work on his tackling technique … he’ll be back and better for it,” Waerea-Hargreaves added.

While there has been plenty of talk about Talagi’s future given he is one of several Panthers players who can talk to rival clubs from November 1, Cleary’s comments after the win over Canberra suggested this is only a short-term demotion for the 21-year-old.

In fact, the way Cleary spoke about the decision to drop Talagi made it sound like demotion may even be too strong a term.

Instead, it is “just a step” in the young five-eighth’s journey according to the Panthers coach, who said Talagi has “done well” to consistently keep his spot in first grade up until this point.

“He’s done well to be able to go this long before something like this happened,” Cleary said.

“(It’s) his first full NRL season. He gets targeted every week. He’s only 21. It’s not like he’s been that bad.

“I think for his journey it’s a good time to just step out of the limelight a bit, just go and play some footy and work on a couple of things.

“It’s just part of his journey, so whether it’s now or eight weeks ago doesn’t really make any difference I don’t think.

“So it’s just important that he goes and does that and then we’ll see where that lands. He’s probably good enough to be in our best 19, but I just think it’s better for him to play Cup at the moment.”

‘MAN ON A MISSION’: PONGA CHANGE PROVES HOLBROOK IS COACH OF THE YEAR

Justin Holbrook’s ability to unlock Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga as a threat for Newcastle could be key to him winning coach of the year in his first year at the club.

Ponga is having one of the best seasons of his career so far after a staggered last couple of years due to injury, with his coach seemingly cracking the code as to how Newcastle consistently unlock the Maroons fullback.

The 28-year old was at his dazzling best once again in their 30-6 win over the Broncos on Saturday night, having a hand in two try assists as well as two line break assists and four tackle breaks to go with 20 carries.

Considering Newcastle are a team coming off the wooden spoon in 2025, their current position inside the top eight is certainly welcome, and it seems the coach and fullback connection is working to perfection according to the Fox League panel.

Former Storm and Roosters premiership halfback Cooper Cronk believes Holbrook has been the perfect man to unlock Ponga’s potential at the Knights.

“If there’s one person that you need to inspire at Newcastle, it’s Kalyn Ponga,” Cronk said on Fox League.

“He has ricocheted his influence, his confidence, and his belief across that team because if Kalyn doesn’t believe they can win it, I don’t think Newcastle believes.

“But Kalyn’s walking into every stadium in this country at the moment thinking he can be the best player on the field.

“Justin Holbrook has done a really good job at allowing Kalyn to be in the best positions to have his influence on the team.”

Former Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves echoed Cronk’s statement, not surprised at the positive effect Holbrook has had.

“I was lucky enough to be coached by Justin Holbrook, and honestly like he just has this charisma about him,” Jared Waerea-Hargreaves said on Fox League.

“He walks in every single day with a smile on his face, and you go up to a place like Newcastle and you’ve got a couple of rock stars. Honestly, it brings the best out of you.

“You look forward to going to training, and I guess playing for a guy like ‘Justo’, because he gets it.

“He’s good to have around, he’s obviously a guy that you want to play for.”

Maroons and Kangaroos legend Greg Inglis believes that while Holbrook has clearly found a game plan which has worked for Ponga on the field, it’s off the field which has proved the crucial difference for the Knights.

“He’s (Ponga) been looking like he’s a man on a mission, but he’s very happy away (from the field),” Inglis added on Fox League.

“Those little celebrations off the footy (field) … that inspires the team, that’s what makes you win championships.

“He’s (Holbrook) obviously bringing some happiness away from footy. As you guys know, when you’re having (fun) away from footy, you play your best footy on the field.”

The Knights are daring to dream of a remarkable turnaround from last place in 2025 to making a finals appearance this season.

They face the Canberra Raiders, Gold Coast Titans, Manly Sea Eagles and New Zealand Warriors on their run home, before having a bye during the final round of the season.

Should they make the finals, a week’s rest during the final weekend of the regular season would prove crucial in pushing for a run into the finals.

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