Reality behind Kev disrespect; Poms’ Aussie saviour after stars run riot — Talking Pts

The rugby league season came to an end on Sunday afternoon.

The Kangaroos won the Ashes series and New Zealand reigned supreme in the Pacific Championships, but there’s still a host of big questions left unanswered.

Read on for the Talking Points from the Ashes and Pacific Championships.

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GRANT STARS IN PLAYER OF THE MATCH DISPLAY

Harry Grant starred in the Ashes series finale to prove the difference between the two teams as Australia won 30-8 to cap a 3-0 Ashes whitewash.

Grant finished with a whopping 88 run metres to go with five tackle busts, two offloads, two linebreaks, a linebreak assist and a crucial try, as well as a game high 40 tackles in the middle.

Matty Johns lauded Grant’s performance behind a strong Kangaroos pack, which set the platform upfront.

“He’s been fantastic, really good and it’s a reward for our forwards, I think his dominance in this series it’s been a by-product of our forwards’ dominance,” Johns said on Fox League.

“You’ve seen this game, we beat England through the middle.”

England great Josh Hodgson agreed Grant had the luxury of playing behind a dominant pack and believes he should have been the player of the series.

“You can be the best hooker in the world, but if you haven’t got that go-forward and that bit of aggression to get you those quick play of the balls to get opportunities, it don’t matter,” Hodgson said.

“All good No.9’s know they need forwards, and he’s got some great craft, and he just never stopped scheming.

“And as we saw in that try there, one marker, fullback out of position, he spots it straight away.

“He’s had some unbelievable games this Test series, and I say that through a gritted tee, being an Englishman, but he’s played really well and he’s probably my man in the series, to be honest.”

Hodgson noted Munster was allowed to shine due to the work his Storm teammate did around the ruck.

“When you’ve got such a threat like that, it helps your halves because if you’ve got the markers all looking in, worried about Harry jumping out every two minutes, it gives them a bit more freedom to pull off the ball and call it when they need the footy,” Hodgson said.

“He’s had a great year for Melbourne, and he’s finished it off with a great series for Australia.”

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ROCK STAR WALSH GROWS GAME IN SPECIAL DEBUT SERIES

Reece Walsh may not have got player of the series, but he played a massive role with four tries in his maiden Kangaroos series and helped grow the game with his rock star approach.

Walsh had 117 metres, five tackle busts, a linebreak and a classy double in the third Test, but it was his willingness to buy into the spirit of the tour that impressed Bryan Fletcher.

“I think he just understands it,” Fletcher said.

“Although what he does on the field is, he’s a superstar, but it’s off the field as well.

“You can see the impact he can have. He saw the kids lining up, these kids over in north of England, so he’s the closest thing we have to a rock star at the moment.”

Walsh was heavily sledged by the England fans, but Fletcher believes that is par for the course, given his standing in the game and the way he plays.

“I think he’d get that over here, too,” Fletcher said.

“I think with Tall Poppy syndrome over here, I think he’s been getting used to it and I think he’s going to have to get used to it, because he’s going to be around and in the spotlight for a very long time.”

Johns praised Walsh and all the Kangaroos team for being so giving of their time to meet the fans over in England and grow the profile of the sport.

“I watched the news here the other night and it just showed the impact and how gracious this Australian side have been and the players especially,” Johns said.

“There was a great shot of Cameron Munster. There was a mother there with a child and the poor kid had brain cancer and Munster and a couple of the players, Keaon Koloamatangi as well, went all the way over, stood there, spoke to the kid, brought all the players over to meet him.

“So this tour has been, as far as the Kangaroos and the players, more than just about winning the series. It’s about selling the game and they’ve done that brilliantly. They’ve been a class act.”

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BROWN’S $13M STATEMENT

Dylan Brown was excellent in the group stages of the Pacific Championships, but the real test came in the form of a must-win final against Samoa.

It’s fair to say he passed with flying colours.

The gun playmaker signed a 10-year, $13 million contract to join the Knights in 2026 with the Newcastle club hopeful he can lead them to the finals.

It looks likely he will partner Fletcher Sharpe and wear the No.7 — playing the role of the dominant playmaker in a side that won the wooden spoon.

It’s a big ask to inspire a monumental turnaround, but if Brown can carry his Pacific Championships form into the NRL, Newcastle could be dangerous.

Brown, alongside superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga and Sharpe could forge a scary spine that could certainly produce points.

On Sunday afternoon, Brown showcased the full extent of his playmaking abilities, recording nine tackle breaks, five offloads and three try assists.

It was his run-first mentality that allowed him to be the gamebreaker, and he also tallied 169 running metres.

“Dylan Brown, the story of the Pacific Championships,” Michael Ennis said.

“As he heads up the freeway towards Newcastle, they have themselves a player in supreme confidence.

“He has been brilliant, he has been such a threat, it’s remarkable.”

After taking a look at his statistics, Andrew Voss also made a bold claim.

“He’s getting to Reece Walsh, grand final performance areas here. I have never seen a five-eighth with these numbers, ever,”

“Who has done that before?”.

So, needless to say, the Knights will be desperate Brown can continue his form in the famous blue and red jumper.

KEVVIE SHOULD GET RESPECT HE DESERVES DESPITE ATTACK WOES

The Kangaroos’ attack was clunky all series, but the 3-0 series result should get Kevin Walters the respect he deserves, despite doubts around his future as Australian coach.

Fletcher believes keeping the nucleus of the team together heading into the World Cup can have the team firing in time for the 2026 tournament.

“When Harry Grant spoke about it, he said, the cohesion was obviously not there in the first couple of games,” Fletcher said.

“We saw this towards the end of that second half, where they started throwing the ball around a bit.

“So he’s right. If they can keep the nucleus of this side together, and because we’ve got the World Cup obviously next year, it’s only going to help our cause.”

Johns praised the impact of Walters and Gorden Tallis to get the Kangaroos on the same page to win the series 3-0 on short notice.

“Gorden Tallis said, this side they can coach themselves, but it’s a great achievement for Kevvie, but also Gorden,” Johns said.

“Because taking a touring team away is not easy. Particularly these players, you’ve got to pull all these players together.

“You’ve got to teach them, well, not teach them, but you’re hoping that they can suppress their egos. And everyone has their wants and needs.

“And the other thing is, at the end of a very long season, finding the balance between having a great time and playing great football.

“Bob Fulton was the best at it. You would go over there and some of the best times of your life, but you won.

“Now, Bozo used to say all the time, listen we’re gonna have a great time, but to have a great time, we’re gonna train hard. And from what I understand, Kevvie’s had the same philosophy.”

Fletcher has no doubt Walters should be the coach heading into a World Cup year.

“Absolutely yeah three-zip,” Fletcher said.

“I think he’ll definitely be the coach moving forward, surely.”

Johns agreed it shouldn’t be a debate based on the Ashes series whitewash.

“Surely he starts to get the respect he deserves, Kevvie,” Johns said.

“Now, there’s been times that people for whatever reason, I mean, he got the Broncos to the grand final. From the position he got him in, they should have won that game.

“But, he just doesn’t get the respect he deserves and this is another example. As soon as he arrives back, they should sign him on for the World Cup.”

Hodgson pointed out that England beat two of Australia’s southern rivals, which makes the Kangaroos’ performances even more impressive.

“England beat Samoa and England beat Tonga and Australia have gone over there and beaten England 3-0,” Hodgson said.

“So, I don’t know really what more he could do. And I know England will be disappointed, but Australia put it to him and he certainly got them going.”

Walters was criticised for not using six players on the tour, but Fletcher defended that decision given players don’t want to give up the jersey when they get it.

“I think we’d won two in a row, the fact that those blokes wanted to (play), it’s very hard to go over and win three-nil in any form,” Fletcher said.

“And the players that have done the job in game one and two, they didn’t want to give their jersey up.

“So, I can understand there was people making conversation or making noise saying, oh, they’ve gone over there and they’re not going to get a run. Well, at the end of the day, we want to win, and we’ve done the job.”

Johns warned that with a year to go until the next World Cup, no one has a mortgage on the jersey anyway and the players will have to deliver next season to be picked.

“We talk about cohesion and combinations, just because we’ve won this series three-nil doesn’t mean that incumbency spills over the World Cup.

“At the moment, we’ve got some young guys in the game, like Ethan Strange and you see the improvement of Mitchell Moses year by year. Those jerseys still are for grabs.

“And we’ve got young players in the game getting better at million-miles an hour, so those players they’ve got a big task to hang on to their jerseys.”

MUNSTER PLAYER OF THE SERIES

All the talk was around Reece Walsh and Nathan Cleary ahead of the series, but Cameron Munster outperformed both to be crowned player of the series.

Munster was player of the match in game two, with Walsh winning the honour in game one and Grant in the third.

However, Munster was the most consistent player across the series and deserved the honour, according to Hodgson.

“I think it’s a testament to how good of a player he is, that he’s been so consistent year on year,” Hodgson said.

“And as you said about Queensland, it was a bit of devastating news for him, and he managed to go on the field and put out an unbelievable performance and get Queensland over the line, and him and Harry Grant have been unbelievable this Test series.

“Then you’ve got two players like that in your side, it just makes everyone around them look even better.”

Johns praised Munster for evolving his game as he gets older, given his speed isn’t what it once was and forecast longevity for the Storm and Queensland star amid the subtle tweaks.

“You see the adjustments he’s made to his game,” Johns said.

“Munster’s spilling into his 30s now, starting to move into his 30s, and the other thing is he’s had a lot of hip and groin problems, pelvis problems.

“So that can rob Munster of his greatest attribute, his running game. You can see he’s lost a metre, but importantly for Munster, he’s altered his game.

“He’s a lot more thoughtful in how he plays and picking and choosing his moments. I think the feature of this series from Munster hasn’t been his running game, it’s been his kicking game.

“So he’s making that adjustment, which for playmakers gives you longevity.”

Munster is now one of the favourites for the Golden Boot after taking out the player of the Ashes series award, which will be announced next month.

FORAN BOWS OUT A CHAMPION

It was fitting, for a player of Kieran Foran’s stature, to go out with a win.

The veteran five-eighth declared he was set to retire at the end of the 2025 season, but that didn’t rule out a last-chance saloon with his beloved Kiwis.

After an injury to Jahrome Hughes, a spot in the halves opened up in fairytale scenes and Foran forged a strong partnership with Dylan Brown.

While Foran will join the Sea Eagles as an assistant coach next season, he leaves behind a strong legacy on the field that includes a premiership and 34 Test for his country, winning the Pacific Championships in his last.

“I was as nervous as heck today to be honest,” Foran said after the victory.

“I just so badly wanted this, it’s been a pretty difficult year for myself up north.

“I got asked to come in here given Jahrome Hughes’ injury by Stacey and I just found it would be the icing on top if we could win this Championship.

“I wanted it so badly for New Zealand, it has meant to much for me playing for my country... I just wanted to finish with a win with the guys here today.”

Foran also paid tribute to head coach Stacey Jones, who gave him the opportunity to have one last crack.

“I have to remind myself and pinch myself that I am being coached by Stacey Jones,” he said.

“He was an absolute idol of mine as a young kid growing up in New Zealand... he is just such a calming influence.

“You can see why he was such a great player and a great halfback because nothing phases him.

“That’s how he coaches, he has got this ability to stay calm under pressure. Even at halftime, 14-6 down, he was full of optimism.

“I really do feel blessed he backed me, coming in here at the end of my career and giving me an opportunity to lead the boys around.

“I feel extremely luck to end on this note.”

WHERE TO NOW FOR DISAPPOINTING ENGLAND

England had high hopes of springing an upset, but after a 3-0 Ashes series loss, they are left to pick up the pieces ahead of the World Cup, with coach Shaun Wane under pressure.

Reports suggest Broncos coach Michael Maguire could be in line for the England post a year out from the World Cup.

England were brave in defence and up for the fight, but their attack needs a lot of work if they want to be serious about contending for the World Cup title.

Hodgson believes England will be hurting and now know the level they need to get to in order to challenge the Kangaroos at the World Cup.

“Probably tactically there’ll be some things they would like to change looking back at it, but I think it just gives them that level of understanding, how long the Australians can stay at such a high pace,” Hodgson said.

“As we saw at the end of this game today, they put on a couple of tries in the last 10 or 15 minutes. It was pretty close until the last 15, I think it was 18-8.

“So just the standard that they can hold for that length of time, and it’ll probably give the English boys a bit of a thing to say, that I want to go to another level the following year.

“We’ve got a World Cup, and if we want to win it, everyone individually needs to go up a little bit more.

“We’ve got some fantastic players in our team and some real strike, and unfortunately in England, just because the game’s not as big as over here, we just don’t have the same amount of depth, which can be a bit of a challenge if you get a couple of injuries.

“A big 12 months for the boys, and they’ll be really hurting. I feel for them and it’s been a really tough camp, I know hard it is when you get beat for your country and this is the Ashes.

“It’s been a tough camp, but I think they’ll get a lot of lessons from this and I imagine Shaun Wane will stay.”

Fletcher believes the effort is there from England, but they need to get fitter so they can match Australia for 80 minutes.

“I think their effort was there,” Fletcher said.

“The fact that in every game they were good for 60, 65 minutes, and then there was a last sort of 10, 15, which is what we work on.

“In the NRL, it’s all about getting to that last 10 minutes and you’re sort of testing yourself out.

“What I found when I played over in England, it was exactly that. The first 60 minutes was as hard as an NRL game, but it sort of just drops away towards the back end.

“And then their attention to detail, the errors and the tiredness just comes in, and that’s when we sort of make the score look a lot better for us than what it really was.”

Hodgson agreed the score line flattered Australia at times throughout the series.

“I think the score didn’t really reflect the game and I thought they were a little bit the same last week.

“I thought we really took it to them, and if you look at the score line, it looks like it probably wasn’t as close as it was.”

Hodgson was surprised with a number of selections that England made and forecast potential changes ahead of the World Cup.

“I thought Morgan Smithies the first game would have been in there,” Hodgson said.

“I’m not sure whether Nicholson at Canberra was injured or not, because he didn’t get a selected. Then Luke Thompson, who was at the Bulldogs, who was back at Wigan, obviously played NRL a bit, obviously knows the standard. I thought he’d maybe got a selection.

“And then Jake Connor, I know there was a lot of controversy about him in England. I played alongside Jake in 2018 when we beat the Kiwis in the Test Series, and he was arguably should have come into the squad.

“He was arguably probably one of the players of the game, and he got Man of Steel over there, which is the equivalent to the Dally M here, and got left out of the squad, so that was a surprising one.

“But if you’re a coach, you’ve got to pick the team that you think’s going to do the job, and you can’t cater to everybody, because then if you get beat, you’ll be looking back with a bit of regret, so Shaun’s got to pick the team.”

Hodgson believes one man has to come straight back in when his ban ends.

“Victor Radley too, that hurt not having him there,” Hodgson said.

“The thing about him, he wears his heart on his sleeve wherever he plays. He’s a traditional sort of English player, tough, loves the physical side of it, so we really missed him through the middle too.

“But now it’s going to be a big 12 months for us. Morgan Knowles coming out here to the Dolphins, I think that’ll help us. Definitely will raise his game, and I thought he had a decent series.”

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