Sexton’s stunning retort to Galvin blow; DCE disaster as Billy’s Origin error exposed — Talking Pts

It may have been a reduced round due to Origin, but there was still plenty of action and upsets across Round 15.

The Bulldogs are no closer to finding Matt Burton’s halves partner after both Toby Sexton and Lachlan Galvin impressed against the Rabbitohs.

The Dolphins have emerged as premiership smokeys, while Shane Flanagan’s Dragons were exposed against after surrendering yet another 12-point lead.

Read on for the biggest talking points to come out of Round 15.

Cronk: Katoa "among the BEST" | 03:11

CIRALDO’S HALVES HEADACHE NO CLEARER

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has a $2 million headache on his hands.

Under immense pressure to hold his spot following the arrival mid-season signing Lachlan Galvin, halfback Toby Sexton produced his best game of the year against Souths on Sunday.

Off-contract Sexton has been asking for an extension all season and the club hasn’t obliged, but they signed 19-year-old Galvin to a three-year deal worth over $2 million.

With incumbent five-eighth Matt Burton away in Blues camp, both played in the halves against the Rabbitohs and they both played well.

But it was 24-year-old Sexton who was the more impressive of the pair, illustrated by his opening try and a busy first 40 minutes.

On form, Toby Sexton should partner Matt Burton in the halves after the bye.

But based on the club’s future, the sooner they get minutes into Lachlan Galvin in the No.7 jumper, the better.

Ciraldo admitted Sexton’s performance had “possibly” made things harder for him moving forward but he praised both players following the 24-18 win.

“I thought in particular in the first half, I thought they were both great,” Ciraldo said.

“Lachie’s a different style of player to what we’ve had and he just plays, plays with freedom.

“And I thought Toby had his best first half of the year as well. He was direct, he was challenging the line.

“I thought it was great signs for both of them. Great for them two to gel.

“There’s been a lot of talk about a lot of outside noise, but those guys just put the team first and worked really hard together as a unit.”

Ciraldo was asked if he’d seen that outside noise affect his halves, in particular 19-year-year old Galvin.

“No, I haven’t seen it affect them. Like, everyone has pressure on them in every walk of life,” Ciraldo said.

“Everyone has to deal with some sort of pressure and I’m just really happy with the way those two have dealt with theirs over the last couple of weeks.”

Ciraldo speaks on halves "outside noise" | 05:45

‘POOR’ DRAGONS DEFENCE CALLED OUT AS SLOAN SET FOR NSW CUP

Nathan Hindmarsh took aim the Dragons after another lacklustre defensive effort saw Shane Flanagan’s side slump to a second-straight loss.

The Dragons conceded 30 points against the Sharks on Thursday night after letting in a whopping 56 points against the Dolphins in their previous game, for a total of 86 points conceded in their last two games.

Speaking on ‘The Late Show with Matty Johns’, Hindmarsh called the Dragons out for being “poor” in defence” and warned they won’t win many more games if they don’t clean it up.

“Patches, not too bad, but the poor patches outweighed the good patches by a long way and that was the same as last week as well,” he said.

“You don’t want a patchy defensive line.

“You got a patchy defensive line, you’re not going to win many games.”

The Dragons led 18-6 at halftime against the Sharks, before letting in 24 unanswered points in the second half to lose 30-18.

Winger Tyrell Sloan, meanwhile, was consistently peppered by high kicks from Braydon Trindall and had a tough night in his return to the top grade.

Sloan had been dropped last week only to earn a recall with the Dragons’ NSW Cup team on bye while injuries in the backline forced Flanagan’s hands.

But it sounds like the speedy winger may be set for a longer reserve grade stint if Flanagan’s comments after Thursday’s game are anything to go by.

“Confidence is probably something that he is down on a little bit at the moment,” Flanagan said.

“We’ve got to find it, he’s got to find it.

“(The Sharks) ran a little bit harder in the second half and got good field position, and then all their kicks were contestable kicks.

“You’ve got to be better defensively and make them kick long and they didn’t kick long, they were all contested kicks and we didn’t handle the contested kicks.”

Flanno missed "starting wingers" | 04:50

CONTRASTING FORTUNES FOR DUMPED QLD ORIGIN STARS

Friday night’s game against the Titans was a chance for Daly Cherry-Evans to put a tough week behind him and prove he is far from finished in the Origin arena.

Instead, he and the Sea Eagles struggled as Cooper Cronk highlighted a couple of mistakes in Cherry-Evans’ kicking game as Manly suffered a comprehensive defeat.

With the Sea Eagles down 22-8 early in the second half, Cherry-Evans put in a poor kick that was caught by the Titans in-goal, earning them a seven-tackle set and went uncontested by the Manly chasers.

“That’s a poor error from Cherry-Evans,” Cronk said in commentary for Fox League.

“That’s a poor miss. He had to get that right. There was a little bit of momentum building for his team and he had to pin the Gold Coast Titans in their own end.”

Then later on, with the scoreline the same, Cherry-Evans messed up a grubber kick, booting the ball dead and granting the Titans another seven tackles.

“That’s a couple of kicks in the second half, that Cherry-Evans (hasn’t executed), and it’s cost his team,” Cronk added.

The Titans went on to win 28-8 and instead of Cherry-Evans it was fellow dumped Queenslander Beau Fermor who sent the strongest message with 159 metres, three tackle busts, 38 tackles and a try-saving effort on Haumole Olakau’atu.

That was despite a poor effort on Reuben Garrick’s opening try, but Fermor didn’t let that early moment define him as Greg Alexander noticed.

“You saw him hang his head... but he recovered pretty quickly and well,” Alexander said.

Fermor only played limited minutes off the bench for Billy Slater in Game 1 and Michael Ennis said his effort on Friday night was proof the Titans forward is the kind of player that thrives with a more extended role.

“Tonight shows what Beau Fermor is about. If you’re going to play him, you play him 80 minutes,” Ennis said.

“He’s that type of backrower.”

Titans flip the script as DCE struggles | 04:35

GOLD COAST SOAR AS MANLY SLUMP TO NEW LOW

As Fox League’s Greg Alexander put it post-game, Manly couldn’t have started the game any better.

Buoyed by the presence of superstars Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans, at a time of year the duo are usually occupied with Origin duties, many expected Manly to run riot on the Gold Coast.

When Reuben Garrick scored in the fourth minute, Alexander’s expectation appeared to be turning into reality. Manly, it seemed, were on the path to bouncing back.

Their lead didn’t last 10 minutes. A burst of Gold Coast tries, from wingers Allan Fitzgibbon and Alofiana Khan-Pereira, put the hosts firmly in the lead. Garrick crossed again in the 25th minute, by which time the damage was already done.

Halfback Jayden Campbell scored after half an hour, giving the hosts a 22-8 lead when halftime came. 11 minutes before time, Chris Randall scored, sealing a 20-point loss for Anthony Seibold’s side.

Former Sharks hooker Michael Ennis believes the steadying presence of Kieran Foran was instrumental not only in the attacking performance of the Titans as a whole, but also those of two star men.

“They looked danger. Foran was in control of a lot of things,” Ennis said post-game.

“I thought with Foran talking control tonight playing as that general, it freed up Jayden Campbell, it freed up (AJ) Brimson. We saw Brian Kelly and Khan-Pereira cause dramas.”

Playing in what many believe his best position, Brimson had arguably his strongest game of the season, running for 247 metres, breaking the line twice, and creating one try. Campbell, wearing the 7 but with freedom to play, ran for 89 metres and laid on one line break assist and one try assist.

DCE reflects on Origin dropping | 05:55

It helped the understrength Titans pack chipped in, with five running for over 100 metres, compared to just two from the Sea Eagles.

Ennis also noted the strength of the Titans’ defensive performance, with Des Hasler’s side scrambling well to prevent Manly adding to their try tally, despite the visitors being tackled 28 times in their attacking 20 - compared to 19 tackles for the Titans.

While Foran shone against his former club, one of his great mates Daly Cherry-Evans struggled. As did the rest of his side, who have lost three of their last four.

That horror run has included losses to the Titans and Knights, both of whom have struggled throughout this season.

Alexander believes the last fortnight is clear evidence Seibold’s side have a mountain of work to do if they want to claw their way back into finals contention.

That relief may come in the coming weeks. Manly have a bye in Round 16, followed by games against the Rabbitohs and Tigers, before another bye in Round 19.

While it appears a fortuitous run for a side desperately needing form, but Alexander warned the results they need are “no guarantee with the way they’re playing.”

Flyer's double leads Titans to upset win | 02:07

ARE THE PHINS COMPETITION SMOKEYS?

Across their last three games, the Dolphins have outscored their opponents 158-18. Read that again. 158-18.

To put it another way, they’ve scored nearly 82% of the Knights’ total points this season is just three games.

Considering they started the season 0-4, leading many to fear the Wayne Bennett curse had struck once again, that is a remarkable turnaround for Kristian Woolf’s side. Factor in the notable absences against the Cowboys, including Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Gilbert, and Max Plath, and their 54 points in Townsville is even more incredible.

Post-game, Kristian Woolf admitted he’s not changed anything about his coaching methods from earlier in the season. Put simply, it’s finally starting to click for the Dolphins. They are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel that could spit them out into finals football for the first time ever.

Should they get there, recent weeks will have the rest of the competition on notice. Few sides are as potent as the Dolphins when they’re firing. Few sides are capable of scoring right across the park as effectively as them.

That should be a scary proposition for every side ahead of them, especially when considering how wide-open this year’s competition is.

Speaking post-game, Woolf noted his side have a “great ability as a team to score points.”

In particular, the Dolphins coach singled his halves, Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima, out, stating the duo have a “great ability to find points.”

Bostock stars with FOUR for the Phins! | 02:20

Katoa in particular leads his side around the park so beautiful, playing deep and late to afford his outside men maximum time to do damage. Against the Cowboys, his partner in crime Nikorima had one of his finest games in years.

The veteran No.6 ran for 76 metres, had two line breaks, two line break assists, and two try assists to go with a four-pointer of his own.

Yet they aren’t the only attacking weapons at Woolf’s disposal. In Townsville, Jack Bostock blew the Cowboys away with four tries, and could have had a fifth, while Kodi Nikorima, Herbie Farnworth, and Jake Averillo all capped exceptional performances with a try.

For all their attacking exploits, it’s the unsung work of the Dolphins’ middles that places these creators in the field position to influence the scoreboard.

Against an admittedly Origin-hindered Cowboys pack, four Dolphins forwards made more than 100 metres: Francis Molo (153), Oryn Keeley (106), Connelly Lemuelu (130), and Mark Nicholls (124). Two more, Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and Felise Kaufusi, came close.

Even more impressive about the Dolphins’ recent run has been their defensive work, holding their opponents to just 18 points.

“When we’re defending really well, that’s when we’re at our best,” Woolf said post game.

“It’s nice to sit there and see us play with a real confidence, but we need to make sure we turn that around and defend well.”

Safe to say, they did just that in Round 15. And while greater tests will come for the Dolphins, their current trajectory should have the competition’s top sides fearing the damage they could do come season’s end.

Woolf reacts to ANOTHER epic Phins win | 04:46

ENORMOUS PRAISE AND BIG PREMIERSHIP CALL ON DOLPHINS PHENOM

Last week, Matty Johns declared Isaiya Katoa “could be one of the great halfbacks” and the high praise has kept coming for the Dolphins halfback, with soon-to-be Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga admitting there has “not many better than him at his age”.

Meninga has played with Ricky Stuart. He’s seen Andrew Johns play. Alfie Langer. Peter Sterling. The list goes on. So, it’s no throwaway line.

But Meninga branded the 21-year-old a “serious talent” after he spearheaded the Dolphins’ blowout win over the Cowboys.

Former Clive Churchill Medal winner Cooper Cronk, meanwhile, went as far as to predict Katoa “will be part of the Dolphins’ first premiership”.

“This young kid on screen right now is toying with opposition defences,” Cronk said of Katoa, who leads the league in try assists (19) and total try involvements (34).

“He is waving that ball around like it’s a magic wand and he is making them do things that they don’t want to do.

“I know Origin is on Wednesday night, there’s Cleary, Dearden, you’ve got Luai, you’ve got Munster. I’m telling you right now, they would all be watching what this kid’s doing because he’s doing some very special and cool stuff.

“This ball-playing, someone his age shouldn’t be doing it. This is a 10-year halfback playing for the Dolphins and I know there was talk about them and Cherry-Evans and things like that, but this kid, he’ll be a part of the Dolphins’ first premiership.”

Katoa, who leads the league in try assists (19) and total try involvements (34), had his development blocked at Penrith before the Dolphins pounced to sign the 21-year-old.

Although James Hooper said signing Katoa in the first place wasn’t even the smartest move the Dolphins made.

“I think it illustrates why the Dolphins went and found him as a teenager and signed him unsighted,” Hooper said.

“He hadn’t played a game in the NRL, took the risk on him and then where they were really smart was they extended him out until the end of 2028 last year because they knew the trajectory that this young bloke was on, what a superstar he’s going to be.”

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