The Panthers got their first look at life after Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris, while a star recruit has the Sharks licking their lips.
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Meanwhile, the Warriors have a major halves dilemma with life after Shaun Johnson getting off to a rocky start.
Read on for the Talking Points from Las Vegas.
CLEARY’S NEW CHALLENGE AS PANTHERS YOUNG GUNS FILL BIG HOLES
The production line rolls on.
Another two big-name departures, with Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris moving on, and another two Panthers juniors step up to fill the void.
Now, it remains to be seen whether Jack Cole remains in the five-eighth jumper for the rest of the season, with Blaize Talagi waiting in the wings and offering more upside as a dynamic runner and ball-player.
But Cole, while having one nervous moment when he kicked on the third tackle early in the game in prime attacking territory, was otherwise solid in his first game of the season filling in for Luai.
The Orange product had a try assist and linebreak assist but his defence and physicality has always been the most impressive aspect of Cole’s game.
It was a similar story for Nathan Cleary early in his career. The poise and elite passing game wasn’t there early but he made his tackles and didn’t need to be setting up tries to be having an impact.
In that sense, it makes Cleary the perfect mentor at this point of Cole’s career and when people constantly talk about motivation for the four-time premiers, new challenges like this can only help the Panthers halfback, which is a daunting reality for the rest of the NRL.
“I see it as really exciting to try bring him up and allow him to realise his full potential,” Cleary told Fox League after Sunday’s win over the Sharks.
“He’s got all the attributes to be a great first grade player and I think he showed that in his toughness and defence and that’s what you want from a young half and all the other stuff can come off the back of it.
“It’s been fun working on our combination through the pre-season and I’m sure it will develop throughout the year.”
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Cleary bounces back from brutal tackle | 00:34
Cole doesn’t have the same freakish athleticism that makes Talagi such an exciting young prospect but as long as he continues to get all the basics right, it may be a case of the talented teenager biding his time.
If there is one question mark over Cole it is his kicking game, as Luai was able to offer Penrith a much-needed second option in the latter stages of his career to ease the pressure on Cleary.
On Sunday, Cleary had 644 kicking metres to just 24 for Cole.
As for replacing Fisher-Harris, there doesn’t seem to be any debate on who is best-suited for that challenge.
Fresh off making his international debut for the Kangaroos, Lindsay Smith put in a workhorse stint at prop as he run for 121 metres off 18 carries to go with 45 tackles and just one miss against Cronulla.
Cleary said the young front rower, who like Cole has come through Penrith’s pathways, has “gone to another level”.
“He’s sort of seen that opportunity with Fish leaving to go into that starting role and take another step forward and I thought he has been amazing,” added Cleary.
“He showed that again tonight.”
WEBSTER’S WARRIORS LOOMING HALVES CALL
While the arrival of four-time premiership winner James Fisher-Harris somewhat filled the leadership void, Shaun Johnson’s retirement still left a glaring hole in the Warriors’ line-up.
Specifically, it posed a question as to who would step up and take command of the attack and become the primary kicker.
Johnson himself went from game breaker to organiser in the latter stages of his career and like starting halves Luke Metcalf and Chanel Harris-Tavita, leaned on his running game as his strength.
But for the most part, the Warriors had a steady head to complement Johnson as he matured.
While it’s obviously only early, Sunday’s game suggested both Metcalf and Harris-Tavita could do with an experienced halfback alongside them.
Matty Johns described it as a “big test” for the pair as the Warriors forwards were dominated early in the game, which meant neither Metcalf nor Harris-Tavita had the time and space to operate.
Metcalf had just one the one run for seven metres in the first half while Harris-Tavita had two carries for 15.
“Primarily they’re runners of the football and this is one of the problems when they’re not what you’d call a natural playmaker, is that the first thing that disappears is the running game,” Johns said.
“Often when you’re run first the pass then comes,” Braith Anasta added.
But on Sunday, Metcalf – perhaps forced into a role that he wasn’t completely comfortable in or at least will still be learning for a few weeks – was not able to test the defence with his running game.
Do Warriors regret their Vegas stint? | 09:45
There were a few solid kicks to the corner that helped ease the pressure on the big men, but as a whole once the Warriors got into attacking territory there seemed to be a disconnect in the spine.
“The Warriors look all at sea, they’re directionless, they’re unorganised,” Anasta said.
That was particularly true when Joseph Tapine was sent to the sin bin, giving the Warriors a one-man advantage, and yet on one play when they had clear numbers right the ball instead went from dummy-half to the left.
While it was the hooker that sent it that way, it was an example of a moment where the Warriors needed an experienced playmaker like Johnson calling the shots.
Webster will likely stick with his current partnership, giving the pair time to develop alongside each other.
“I just can’t quite get a read on the Warriors yet. As for as their spine is concerned they are a bit like Newcastle, losing Shaun (Johnson),” Johns said prior to the Vegas fixtures.
“Then you’ve got Luke Metcalf, Te Maire Martin and Chanel Harris-Tavita and the three of them are primarily runners of the football.”
Webster’s decision to pick Harris-Tavita over Martin also surprised many, with the former Panthers and Broncos gun having impressed to close out the 2024 season.
But the question is how long 29-year-old Martin may have to wait before getting his shot in the post-Johnson era?
Fitzgibbon finds positives after defeat | 07:17
RECRUIT STARS AS SHARKS SHOW THEY MEAN BUSINESS
The Sharks may have gone down 28-22, but they showed they are closing the gap on the Panthers and Addin Fonua-Blake could be the missing piece of the puzzle.
The Sharks fell one game short of a grand final appearance last season after they were beaten by the Panthers 26-6 in the preliminary final, but they could have beaten the four-time premiers in Round 1.
“I thought it would be a cracking game really, high intensity, particularly the first half and then when the game was on the line,” Fitzgibbon said.
“It’s a really good first hit out for us, but obviously they’re four time premiers for a reason.
“They know what to do when it gets into those situations and those stakes and then they just got too far ahead.
“They were able to close a little bit better than us and we had plenty of lessons and it’s probably been better than the last few times we played them, so we’re getting closer.”
Bryan Fletcher believes Fonua-Blake showed he could be the key signing to turn the Sharks into title contenders after he scored a freak solo try as Cronulla fought back from 24-10 down to make it 24-22 with a chance to steal it.
“The Sharks didn’t lose any admirers, I thought they played really tough,” Fletcher said.
“Fonua-Blake is the number one prop in the world and who is going to benefit from that is the playmakers.
Cleary on ‘spectacular’ Vegas atmosphere | 10:43
“I thought Trindall was great and he did this last year in that semi-final and he and Nicho Hynes are going to benefit from Fonua-Blake.
“He gets the quick play-the-balls and he is that big that his late footwork is very sharp, so he could be the missing link for the Sharks.”
Mal Meninga paid tribute to Fonua-Blake and the fighting spirit of the Sharks after an inspired performance in a thrilling season opener in Las Vegas.
“I love the stability of the Sharks and they have actually added to their roster with Addin Fonua-Blake who had a super game,” Meninga said.
“When they needed him he scored that try at the end of the game.
“The stability will hold them in good stead if they don’t get any injuries they could be head for a really good season.
“Tonight could have been anything and they just kept coming back.
“They looked down and out halfway through the second half but they found a way to get back in the game.”
Fonua-Blake ran for 142 metres to go with 25 tackles and his stunning try that was reminiscent of Andrew Fifita in the 2016 Grand Final and his coach was impressed.
“We put him back out there for some impact and he gave us that,” Fitzgibbon said.
“I thought he was hard to handle.
“I think everyone in the first sort of 20 minutes, that was like really good, intense footy, so we probably couldn’t get enough momentum or control to show what he’s capable of.
“But I thought he owed his gloves up really well in that period and then obviously when the game was on the line, he found a spark for us that we needed.”
Sharks seek clarity after ‘costly’ call | 01:23
FROM DOGHOUSE TO PENTHOUSE FOR RAIDERS STAR
The story of Canberra’s win yesterday was the performance of winger Xavier Savage.
The Cairns product, who was once earmarked as the club’s fullback of the future, was terrific on the right wing in 2024 and if Sunday is anything to go by, he’s in for a career year in 2025.
Savage was unreal against the Warriors, scoring two first half tries, running for 210 metres and recording six tackle busts.
His skipper Joe Tapine loved the way Savage helped the Raiders out of their own end with some tough carries to take pressure off the forwards.
While the 22-year-old is at the top of his game at the minute, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the prodidgeous talent.
Coach Ricky Stuart made the stark admission in a press conference last season that he was ready to let Savage walk pre-Christmas 2023.
“I was ready for him to find another club,” Stuart said after Canberra beat Souths in July of last year.
“But he was the one who made the change and made some different decisions in regard to how he prepared and how he trained and you can see that in his physicality now.”
Savage debuted for Canberra as a 19-year-old in 2021, but it was during the following season when he burst onto the scene.
Savage played 19 games for Canberra in 2022, 14 of those at fullback as the Raiders reached the semi-finals.
It was expected Savage would wear the No. 1 jersey going forward, but a broken jaw in a 2023 pre-season game curtailed those plans.
He was sidelined for two months, but Stuart only picked Savage in first grade once in 2023, with the talented flyer spending almost all of the season in NSW Cup.
Stuart detailed why in his post-match press conference following the Raiders’ 30-8 win over the Warriors in Las Vegas.
“Xavier is maturing. I’ve had to handle some tough days with Xavier, building him up and maturing him into an NRL player,” Stuart revealed.
“He’s a great young bloke and he’s paying some dividends now to the boys who trusted him too.
“I kept on saying two or three years ago, but there was a reason I didn’t keep on playing him. You guys (media) had seen the exciting machine and were pumping him up in the media but I pulled him back. I couldn’t play him.
“I don’t blame you guys because he is exciting. You see the glimpses but I was seeing where he was switching off.
“He doesn’t switch off as much anymore but again that’s just growing up and getting experience.”
Stuart is well-known for having the utmost faith in his players and backing them publicly for representative honours.
He believes Savage has what it takes to reach that level.
“He’ll be pushing for rep selection,” Stuart said.
“He had a great year last year but he’s got to go to another level this year.”
Savage scores after escaping sin bin! | 00:43
HAS A NEW NRL COACHING CANDIDATE BEEN UNCOVERED?
He is under contract with Wigan until the end of 2030, but Warriors coach Matt Peet is sure to garner interest from NRL clubs if he hasn’t already.
Peet’s three-year reign as Wigan coach has been outstanding, guiding the Warriors to two Super League titles in 2023 and 2024 as well as a World Club Challenge in early 2024 since being hired in 2022.
He oversaw his team make a statement in the opening match of the Las Vegas quadruple-header, with Wigan thrashing Warrington 48-22.
Given it’s Peet’s first professional head coaching job, to lead Wigan to the level of success they’ve achieved, it’s a massive effort.
Peet’s deeds haven’t gone unnoticed by Fox League’s Matty Johns.
Writing for Code Sports last year, Johns predicted Peet will one day coach in the NRL.
Johns wrote that Peet was keen on the vacant Parramatta job before it was filled by Jason Ryles.
“A left-of-centre candidate. Rumours are circulating that Peet is interested in the Eels position, even though he’s extended his deal at Wigan,” Johns wrote in an article on June 7th 2024 rating the Parramatta coaching candidates
“Peet has proven himself to be an elite coach in a short amount of time. He’s in his third season at the helm of the Warriors and already won a Challenge Cup, Super League title and beaten Penrith in the World Club Challenge, and picked up coach of the year honours.
“It’s little wonder Wigan gave him a seven-year extension taking him until the end of 2030.
“Tactically astute and loved by his players, Peet will coach in the NRL one day.”
Fabulous French powers Wigan win | 01:26
WHAT THE JILLAROOS’ BIG VICTORY HIGHLIGHTED
It was incredible to watch the Jillaroos face the England Lionesses on the biggest stage.
However, Australia’s 90-4 victory made one thing clear — more international players must be drafted into the NRLW.
The NRLW has grown leaps and bounds since its inception in 2018, with the talent pool increasing alongside the audiences watching at the ground and on screens.
While a competition based in Australia is inherently going to be largely made-up of Australian players, to continue to grow the women’s game, international football must follow the NRLW’s suit.
At Allegiant Stadium, the Lionesses were dominated by a Jillaroos outfit that looked streets ahead of their opponents.
Every player in the Australian outfit is a regular NRLW starter, while there was a handful of players who ply their trade on Aussie shores from the English outfit.
Speaking after the game, England coach Stuart Barrow admitted his team were “shocked” with the pure pace that the Jillaroos played at.
“It was a shock for a lot of our girls today,” Barrow said.
“(Australia) blew them away from the first five minutes because they haven’t experienced anything at that intensity in the domestic and in our internationals that we have previously played.
“We tried to tell them that was coming. We watched a lot of video and tried to replicate that intensity in training but until you actually get out there and feel it… that caught the players by shock.”
The more international players in the best competition, the more they will improve and take their skills and experience back to international camps and squads.
The last time the Jillaroos were beat was on October 28, 2023 but before that, Australia’s latest loss was way back in May 2016.
Since 2016, the Jillaroos have recorded 88-0, 92-0, 82-0 and 84-0 wins over nations like Canada, France and Papua New Guinea.
But their latest flogging of England showed it’s time to grow the international game.
Do Australia need a tougher opponent? | 11:24
RICKY’S GENIUS TACTIC LEAVES WARRIORS GASSED
Matty Johns picked Warriors playmaker Luke Metcalf to light up Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, noting the “fast track” and the way a running halfback like Luke Brooks took advantage of the conditions last year.
Instead, it wasn’t Metcalf but the Raiders’ speedsters causing all kinds of problems as the Warriors’ big men struggled to keep up.
It started in the first half with starting hooker Tom Starling, who has always had speed to burn around the ruck.
Starling, who had been scheming out of dummy-half early in the first half, had his best moment of the game in the 27th minute as the Warriors defence opened up through the middle.
Jackson Ford had been called out by the referee for being offside and Starling took full advantage, running right into the gap left by the Warriors second-rower as Marata Niukore came up empty-handed.
While Starling was eventually brought down, the Raiders capitalised immediately through Xavier Savage in the right corner.
Speaking of Savage, he was putting the Warriors defence in two minds with both his pure speed and playmaking through the middle, as was the case when he set up Matthew Timoko’s try in the second half.
On that occasion, the ball came to Savage from dummy-half and the Raiders winger shaped to pass to Jamal Fogarty, which slowed down the Warriors defence as they anticipated the switch of play.
Instead, Savage passed to Hosking who was in a gap, forcing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in and leaving Timoko open on the outside.
For Johns, that move was the perfect example of a well-executed game plan from coach Ricky Stuart, who constantly had players in motion and used second-phase play to move the Warriors middles around.
“All the way through this game they’ve had bodies in motion, running at angles, it’s the little blokes that have done the damage,” Johns said.
“If a playmaker gets the ball the defence is on high alert… but often times when it’s a winger they relax. They think they’re just going to the go for the yardage.”
‘It will be a tough comp if we run last’ | 03:41
HOW ALLEGIANT STADIUM’S ROOF HELPED TEAMS PILE ON POINTS
Though Allegiant Stadium has a shorter, narrower field, the closed roof delivered the players a fast, dry surface – and the players duly poured on points at the US$2 billion NFL venue.
After a 72-point bonanza in the Wigan v Warrington Super League clash, Canberra scored three snappy tries against the Warriors in the first half of their NRL season opener.
“A narrow field, a lot was made of it last year – but as it turns out, you can’t underestimate what a (difference) a dry pitch makes. It allows the playmakers to just push the ball around,” Matty Johns said on Fox League after the Raiders’ third four-pointer.
“We saw the English game beforehand, 48-24, plenty of points. The playmakers, it allows you to play football.”
The Raiders ended up winning 30-8, before the Jillaroos were the biggest contributer’s to Sunday’s points tally.
The Australian women beat the England Lionesses 90-4, coming desperately close to their biggest ever win which came against France, with a 92-0 win in 2022.
Then to cap off the Vegas venture, the Panthers beat the Sharks 28-22 in a clash that saw 50 points scored.
That took the total to a staggering 254 points scored across the four games.
Allegiant Stadium was dubbed the ‘Death Star’ in the build-up to Sunday by Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane, thanks to its jaw-dropping futuristic features.
The turf field, for one, is retractable – being brought in and out as needed for football fixtures.
Sydney’s Accor Stadium has been touted for a $300 million retractable roof, which could be an absolute game-changer for what is a notoriously slippery venue; especially given that it hosts NSW State of Origin games and NRL grand finals.
Tapine flattens Barnett, sent for 10 | 01:02
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