This week's Real or Not looks into the brilliance that is the Storm spine, considers the controversy surrounding the release of Zac Lomax from his Dragons contract and wonders what happened to the "Premier Breed" Bulldogs.
Read on as we tackle some of the big talking points in this week's NRL Real or Not.
It really is all about the spine
REAL: One of rugby league's finest club spines had not played together since 2022, thanks largely to injuries to Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen. Together, Harry Grant, Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster and Papenhuyzen ran onto AAMI Park on a brisk Thursday night to take on the visiting Brisbane Broncos, who were missing a key of vertebra of their own.
The game turned out to be a back-and-forth thriller, with neither side nailing down their defence, nor skipping clear enough to feel secure at any point. In the end, it was the Melbourne spine that prevailed, with the fab four involved in everything the Storm did well on the night.
The Broncos were right in the contest, even without star fullback Reece Walsh, but the loss of Adam Reynolds to a hamstring injury at halftime proved to be the straw that broke the Broncos back.
Just how influential are the Storm spine? For the answer you need only look at their centres; with last year's departure of representative-class Justin Olam to the Tigers, the Storm have been left with Nick Meaney and Reimis Smith, both capable first graders, but neither exactly stars of the game. It was very evident during the victory against the Broncos that the Storm attack often died on reaching either of these two, with lost possession or simply an opposition tackle. The Storm spine have worked out the solution to this backline deficiency, either Hughes of Munster will kick to the wingers or they will run plays where Papenhuyzen joins in and cuts the centre out.
The salary cap won't allow the Storm to have world class centres on top of their world class spine, so they make do with solid performers who do their jobs in defence and try not to get in the way too much in attack. That maybe a little harsh on Smith and Meaney, who do have their occasional highlight-reel contributions, and are far from the worst in their positions.
With the spine finally back together, the Storm are at their best and will prove to be genuine premiership threats again.
Dragons should be consistent on releasing players
NOT REAL: The Dragons have agreed to terminate the final two years of disgruntled outside back Zac Lomax's contract, allowing him to explore his options at the end of this season. The Dragons also added that they would consider an immediate release only if it came with the trade of a similar level player.
Lomax has reportedly been unhappy after finding himself on the wing in new coach Shane Flanagan's line-ups. Lomax sees himself as a fullback or at least a centre.
Queensland coach Billy Slater has taken a swing at the Dragons during his podcast, suggesting that they were being inconsistent.
"I remember when Ben Hunt asked for a release at the Dragons everyone was having a go at Ben Hunt and actually having a dig at his integrity ... but then Zac Lomax wants to do it and everyone's like, 'Ah, OK, we'll look at that if we can get a player in return'," Slater said.
"For the club to have double standards like that, it's got to work for both parties. It's a little bit double standards when you're accepting to or you're open to releasing one sort of player ... but you're not going to look into a Ben Hunt situation. What works for one doesn't work for the other at the moment."
Apparently in Slater's world every player who asks for a release should be granted one, or no one should. Surely with a player's signature committed to paper, it is totally up to the discretion of the club whether they insist on the player honouring that contract. A player's value to the club can only be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Using Slater's two examples, it would be much easier to replace Zac Lomax, than it would have been to replace Ben Hunt.
Twenty years is a long time, not as long as 38 years, but it is still a long time
REAL: Not long after the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs won the 2004 NRL grand final 16-13 against the Sydney Roosters, one of many memorabilia pieces released was entitled "The Premier Breed". It was a typical lithographic print with coloured photos of the players and moments from the grand final, along with everyone's autograph. As those players gather to celebrate the 20th anniversary of that victory it is ironic, and would have been totally unexpected, that the "Premier Breed" Bulldogs have been incapable of winning a title since.
There have been some ups and downs since 2004, crowned by two grand final appearances against Melbourne Storm in 2012 and South Sydney in 2014, neither of which the Bulldogs were really expected to win. Since 2014 they have played finals football only twice, in 2015 and 2016. It has been an embarrassing mess of coaching changes, poor recruitment choices and administrative nightmares over the past ten years, with fans left wondering whether the Bulldogs can ever be the force they once were.
With Phil Gould at the helm and Cameron Ciraldo coaching, the club has been on a complete roster clean-out. No player that was in the top 30 two years ago remains and yet still the results are not materialising. Now the media is whipping up clouds of discontent between Gould and Ciraldo, clouds that the two claim are non-existent. And yet 2024 already looks dead in the water as far as playing finals football. How many years will Bulldogs fans have to wait to see their next Premiership?
With apologies to all Eels fans.