An Epitaph To A Wasted Season: No matter what way it is chopped, Canterbury’s 2026 season was a major disappointment and one caused not by bad luck or the vagaries of the draw or as a misstep on a rebuild but by unchecked arrogance, self-sabotaging obstinance and systemic failings. Phil Gould is deified at Belmore – much like he was at Penrith for a period – and deserves credit for cleaning house and bringing back a level of competitiveness to Canterbury not seen through the Pay and Barrett years. But much like he did at Penrith, the positivity of his impact ends when it comes to developing junior pathways and clearing out the deadwood. The Bulldogs have passed that point. And when it comes to managing the salary cap, assessing first grade talent and building out a roster to compete in the game played in 2026, he creates far more problems than he solves. And that is the heart of Canterbury’s problems: roster construction and salary cap management. The Bulldogs have invested stupid sums of money in outside backs, backrowers and props – all areas with talent that is somewhat relatively more readily replaceable – while rolling out the worst fullback and worst hooker in the competition to go with three five-eighths sharing the two halves positions. Putting the blame on the signing of Lachlan Galvin is wrong. Galvin has been arguably Canterbury’s best. He competes. He has an effective running game. His playmaking has improved. Extending Connor Tracey and dumping Reed Mahoney though are two of the dumbest decisions ever made and should prove that the game has well and truly passed Gould by. Wasting money on the likes of Leo Thompson, Kurt Mann and even Stephen Crichton, who has severely underperformed compared to his paypacket, killed the Bulldogs. Making a certainty of failure though was Cameron Ciraldo’s ridiculous obstinence that will cost him his job. Whether it is persisting with Jaeman Salmon, not playing Josh Curran, staying with Marcelo Montoya way too long, refusing to hold Connor Tracey accountable or continuing with the lightweight utility rotation around Kurt Mann and Jake Turpin, he has simply refused to accept reality. Bringing in Adam O’Brien to improve the attack was perhaps the greatest sign of his stubbornness: despite no recent history of strong attacking nous Ciraldo just believed in whatever fairytale he was told. O’Brien should have already been shown the door but will likely be back because Ciraldo is allergic to change. This Canterbury side was not built strong enough to contend for a title. It has enough talent though to play finals football. Finishing 12th on the ladder with an 11-13 record is an epic failure. Unfortunately for the Canterbury faithful, Belmore is now North Korea and there is no accountability with change coming at the whim of a megalomaniac dictator who does what he does on a whim.
The Broncos Are A Complete Joke: The Brisbane Broncos think their fans and everyone involved in Rugby League is an idiot. They think they can say something and the game will believe it. Suggesting they ran a review before the end of the season and without speaking to any of the players is the height of arrogance. And if one club should have no arrogance it is one of the richest clubs in the game that has underachieved for two decades. After the worst premiership defence in the NRL Era, your best prop walking out without waiting for an offer, a highly-touted assistant coach leaving, a legend of the game being treated with contempt and rumblings around the coach all season, a little humility and self-reflection is needed along with an ability to ask oneself the hard questions. Is Dave Donaghy running an effective organisation? Is Michael Maguire going to be the coach to lead us back to title contention? Why don’t quality players want to come here? Why are quality people walking out? Instead after asking no player the big part of the review is that the club needs a cultural mentor which, if anything, should say everything about the coaching and the oversight of it by the executive. The club is a clownshow and this faux-review and its laughable findings confirm it is the Richie Aprille of the NRL: ego, expectation, no talent.
Is The Bunker Running An Inside Joke Just To Make Us Angry? The arrogant ineptitude of those who carry out Bunker duties in the NRL is so bad that it has to be assumed that they are deliberately getting decisions wrong, overstepping their mark and missing the complete obvious. The NRL has been laughable in how they assess officials with claims that Chris Butler hits at 98% – which is still far too low – laughable. From the ridiculous penalty try awarded to Adam Elliott, overturning the Brian Pouiniu try and penalising Tom Trbojevic for competing for a bomb are just three decisions among many that should rightly be treated with contempt.
The Wildcard Weekend Concept is Idiotic: The NRL does not need a wildcard weekend and anyone talking it up as a pathway forward for the NRL is a fool. No competition should allow more than half its teams to play in the postseason, no matter what they call it. The AFL is rightly being mocked for allowing 10 teams out of 18 into the finals even if the wildcard weekend is not classified as such. The ideal finals situation is a Top 5. We are never returning. A Top 8 as it currently stands is the only format until the competition reaches 20 teams, at which point a return to the Top 10 could be considered. A look at the NFL though should be the guiding light: 14 of the 32 teams make the playoffs. Sometimes less is more. And it certainly is when it comes to finals berths.
The NRL Needs To Close The Gap in the NRLW: The NRLW is a truly fantastic product, one that has been brought along at the right pace to ensure the quality remains high. This season though has exposed a major problem with the NRLW: the gap between the haves and the have nots is far too big. In Round 10, three teams reached 50 points, making it six times this season a team has topped 50. A battle between two Top 4 teams saw the Titans win 58-0. The last eight matches between a Top 6 team and a Bottom 6 team have had margins of 28 points. The Roosters have been favoured by 30 or more points in nearly every game this season. It is wonderful to watch the Roosters, Broncos and Titans but the NRL needs to do a better job with the salary cap to ensure a more even talent distribution.
Hit of the Season: Latrell Mitchell laying out youngster Toby Rodwell, folding him in two like a fat bloke sitting on an old chair, was about as good a hit as one will ever see on a Rugby League field.
The One With Vonn: If you haven’t tuned into last week’s episode of The Advantage Line be sure and do so as special guest Yvonne Sampson was magnificent, giving insight into her journey to becoming Rugby League royalty as well as a look into her love of the punt. Find it wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XjOWkAFvUQ&t=190s
NRL Market Assessment: While we are in the fast lane of self promotion, give this piece I did looking at the player market and what each club needs to do and where they currently stand. Read it here. https://www.neds.com.au/blog/2026/08/nrl-market-assessment/
The Lack of Farewell Kicks Was Shameful: We sadly did not see a single farewell kick over the weekend – not one. Departing legends, retiring heroes … none got a kick. We nearly saw one when Josh Papalii was set to take a late conversion only for The Bunker to intervene and spot another ridiculous offside that they can somehow find with conclusive proof when they can’t see a ball put down. The farewell kick is one of the great traditions in Rugby League. One would hope it is not lost.
The Dumbest Player in League: Spencer Leniu is a complete and utter liability and surely consigned himself to the sidelines for his utterly ridiculous behaviour against the Rabbitohs on Friday night. Leniu managed to give away a penalty in possession of the ball and after significant warning from referee Ashley Klein by simply throwing the ball away and mouthing off at Keaon Koloamatangi. It was thoroughly unprofessional and gave a full understanding as to why the Roosters are looking to offload him. Coach Trent Robinson hooked him straight away and by the second half he was in his civvies – yet still making a complete fool of himself on the sideline. Leniu should not play finals. The Roosters should get rid of him. No club should sign him. He has got on his high horse since he was found guilty of racial abuse in Las Vegas but he has just shown himself to be thoroughly unprofessional since and any team that wants to engage his services will be deserving of what they get.
Referee Gradings: This week’s gradings:
- Grant Atkins (C-)
- Wyatt Raymond (D)
- Adam Gee (C+)
- Gerard Sutton (D-)
- Nick Pelgrave (D)
- Todd Smith (C)
- Liam Kennedy (D-)
- Ashley Klein (C-)
The Willie M Team of the Week: This week’s team of the weak and the woeful:
1.Connor Tracey (Bul)
2.Jacob Kiraz (Bul)
3.Riley Jones (Cro)
4.AJ Brimson (GC)
5.Robert Derby (NQ)
6.Stephen Crichton (Bul)
7.Toby Rodwell (Roo)
8.Spencer Leniu (Roo)
9.Tallyn Da Silva (Par)
10.Fonua Pole (Tig)
11.Viliame Kikau (Bul)
12.Haumola Olakau’atu (Man)
13.Reuben Cotter (NQ)
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14.Heath Mason (Tig)
15.Teancum Brown (Par)
16.Cooper Clarke (Mel)
17.Thomas Mikaele (NQ)
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Coach: Cameron Ciraldo (Bul)
The 2026 Field Goal Update – 22: Chanel Harris-Tavita kicked just the second field goal of his career to give the Warriors a 31-30 win over Manly before Tyrell Sloan landed the first field goal of his career, a booming two-pointer that gave the Dragons a shock 24-22 win over Parramatta.
Fun Fact #1: Three players scored their first try in the NRL over the weekend: Hugo Peel, Coby Black and Riley Jones.
Fun Fact #2: Cronulla and North Queensland will meet in the finals for the seventh time since 2013 – the most prolific finals matchup over that time and the most prolific finals matchup of the NRL era not involving Melbourne.
Fun Fact #3: Coby Black’s 26 points on debut was the most ever by a debutant and ties for third in the Raiders list of most points in a game. Only Mal Meninga and Terry Campese have scored more in a game.
Rumour Mill: A Parramatta player who has been in and out of the top grade the last two seasons is set to be dumped by the club after being caught in a sting leaking confidential insider information to the press. The player was not listed amongst the 10 to depart in a post last week. Bulldogs prop Max King is set to sign with the PNG Chiefs. The Tigers have been linked to Kurt Mann, Tyson Frizell and Sean O’Sullivan. Adam Pompey has been given permission to leave the Warriors.
The Coaching Crosshairs: The appointment of Darius Boyd as Queensland coach for the 2027 series is perhaps the biggest indication yet that State of Origin is losing its lustre and that the Queenslander mythos is nothing but myth. Boyd could not have been in the first half-dozen choices for the job with the most telling indicator being how few Queensland legends answered the bell. Astute coaches are not always available and Wayne Bennett has just one-season left on his Souths deal. Josh Hannay is the only other Queensland-born NRL coach currently employed. The failure of Cameron Smith or Johnathan Thurston to step up goes very much against the Queenslander spirit while the failure to bring in an actual coach is quite stunning.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: It was utterly ridiculous for teams locked into a position to play vital players and that particularly holds true for fragile teams in the bottom half of the Top 8. Souths had to play a strong team with a home final on the line and the Jai Arrow celebration but Cronulla and North Queensland playing any senior rep players or key cogs was utterly stupid. The Cowboys rolling out Reuben Cotter, amongst other, was the height of idiocy and now Cotter likely misses the elimination final after a high shot with his shoulder on the opening tackle.
Watch It: In the early 1980s Canterbury were known as ‘The Entertainers’ and the highly astute Garry Hughes broke down the premiership-winning team of 1980 four years later in this interview with David Morrow. Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifiPmDOFW1E