I am following along with the Lachlan Galvin story as I am compiling this.
The tone was set to be very different, with a focus on Perth. That said, that has shifted with the breaking news.
Round Six produced some shock results, a Dally M bolter, a sign that Perth isn't far away and so much more.
Below are 20 talking points from Round Six:
1. I cannot believe the news that is breaking re Lachlan Galvin. He was set up to be the star in Tiger Town for the next decade. I had him as best on ground yesterday. Honestly I was expecting it to drag out a little bit but ultimately Galvin would be the face of the club for the next decade.
2. At the time of typing, no reason has come out yet, but the Tigers are absolutely crazy to confirm Galvin won't be at the club after his current contract. You have months to change the kid's mind. No one else can speak to him. Giving up because your feelings are hurt ruins everything positive they've built over the past few months.
3. A severe apology to Dogs fans, who sit atop the NRL table without dropping a game ... but the Storm are the best team in the comp right now. The manner of their wins combined with the quality of opposition means anyone seeing the Storm next on the fixture list should be very, very worried.
4. A Perth team is only a matter of time. I've previously mentioned not buying into accounts that the bid was "dead". The NRL wouldn't be taking Origins and NRL double-headers to Perth if there was no plan to end up with a Perth Bears side. This was all about money and demands from both sides. It won't be long.
5. I will expand on this in the coming days in our return of "Origin Watch" but the Maroons have cause to worry re their number one stocks. That statement would be laughable considering the talent on offer up north, but only Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is showing Origin-level form right now. Billy Slater will be hoping the next few weeks see a change in fortune for his options.
6. Another week, another obvious forward pass missed, another set of officials bailed out. Two weeks in a row Tyrell Sloan has scored a "try" from an egregious forward pass only for the referees to be bailed out late. I'm a big defender of officials in this very column but these obvious forward passes are making it very difficult.
7. I'm just going to come out and say it, I have genuine worries about Des Hasler. He named a winger to debut, only to shift him to the bench and move a second rower to centre. Just play the winger on the wing! If he's not up to it, don't select him. Sometimes I think coaches overthink these moves to be clever. It's not working on the Gold Coast.
8. For the life of me I can't understand why the Raiders are willing to let Jamal Fogarty go. Another club who are finally heading in the right direction and Fogarty had played a big part in that. I know young Ethan Sanders looks the goods but we've seen two young halves struggle across multiple clubs.
9. The Bulldogs NRLW side will debut this season. They've signed well but in two or three years I expect their side to be scary good. Their junior women's sides scored a combined 641 points in the regular season while conceding a combined 113. Both are through to Prelims in their respective competitions.
10. A lot has been made of the Knights attacking worries early in 2025. Strangely I've seen some place blame on young Fletcher Sharpe. He is supremely talented and will take time to become the finished product in the six. I blame the Knights who threw him to the wolves without an established number seven to assist. These moves only work when there's an experienced partner to take over while the young gun learns. I'm not even convinced the Knights have a number seven.
11. That Angus Chrichton penalty won't attract anywhere near the attention it should. The pure stupidity of foregoing an easy ten metres to turn and put a hit on a defender cannot be understated. The fact that he raised an elbow and turned the ball over via penalty. The level of force wasn't overly high, which saved him from the worst Sin Bin of the season.
12. Were Dane Gagai and Starford To'a sent to the bin for not getting along? There was nothing in that altercation that should have lead to anything above a penalty. I understand trying to de-escalate a situation but this was heavy handed to say the least.
13. Ahh while we're going all in on officiating this week, how bout that penalty try? Xavier Savage looked as perplexed as the rest of us as he was awarded a try. I don't know, maybe it was the score being a blow out at the time but it just felt harsh. Maybe that was the "crackdown" theme of the week?
14. I honestly thought the NRL would charge Jack Wighton with a hip drop just to quell the blow up re the penalty on the day. I know, how very conspiracy theorist of me. I actually didn't hate the call as much as many others.
15. With Origin talk set to dominate the headlines over the next month, on form it sure would be difficult to overlook James Tedesco right now. He is holding the Roosters together. Dylan Edwards was probably the only Panther who could really hold their head high on Thursday night thought. Good problem to have.
16. I found myself looking at the phone less during this week's round of games. Does anybody else follow along on X or other social media during games or is it all attention on the rugby league? Be fun to see everyone's take. I think I enjoyed it more this weekend not checking the timeline after every decision or try.
17. I don't want to single out any players but the names being linked to the Cowboys vacant number nine spot next year are not inspiring.
18. A few people have rushed to point out the Storm's second half on Sunday was less than stelar. The obvious reason is that halfback Jahrome Hughes was off the park. I tend to lean into the fact that it's incredibly difficult to be at 110% on every play when you're up by 30.
19. It has taken multiple injuries but we may finally see the debut of Lewis Dodd this weekend. I'm actually more excited now given the many twists this tale has taken than I would have been if he'd debuted in Round One.
20. I know better than to count Penrith out. They've lost five games in a row, sure, but just give these new kids another month to learn the system. As a fan of, well not Penrith, I hope they don't squeeze into the eight.
