‘Totally different’: Joey’s gut punch for Cleary’s axed sidekick
Blaize Talagi has copped another gut punch.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour ahead of Friday night’s top-four clash between the Panthers and Warriors, Andrew Johns pinpointed Jack Cogger as Penrith’s best option for five-eighth.
Nathan Cleary (left) and Blaize Talagi. NRL Imagery.
Talagi will partner Nathan Cleary in the halves in Auckland on Friday night, but only because Cogger remained in Sydney to be with his pregnant wife.
Talagi was dropped for last week’s clash with the Raiders in Mudgee, won by the Panthers 42-18, and Cogger again got the nod when Penrith named their round 23 squad on Tuesday afternoon.
Penrith went all chips in on Talagi as Cleary’s halves partner when Jarome Luai joined Wests Tigers after season 2024.
Almost two years on, the 21-year-old’s standing at the premiership powerhouse is uncertain.
“They’re a totally different team when Jack Cogger plays in the halves,” Johns said on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.
“If you think back to the [2023] grand final, when Nathan put on that clinic in the last 20 minutes, it was because Nathan went to that second layer, which brought out his running game.
“Having Cogger there takes a bit of responsibility away from Nathan and enables him to play freely, visually and run the ball.”
Cogger is contracted to Penrith until the end of 2028.
Talagi, on the contrary, will be out of contract on November 1 if he doesn’t re-sign before then.
“I thought against the Raiders, once again, Jack was first receiver straight into the attack, while Nathan played on that second layer to unleash his running game,” Johns added.
“Moving forward, if they stay injury-free, I reckon those two will be the pairing.”
Jack Cogger. NRL Imagery.
Johns tipped the third-placed Warriors to defeat the table-topping Panthers on Friday night.
But the eighth Immortal believes if the Warriors don’t beat the Panthers, they won’t win the premiership.
Andrew Webster, the former Panthers assistant who is now at the helm of the Warriors, could have the Kiwi club on the verge of its maiden NRL title.
“My knock on the Warriors has been that they haven’t got an X-factor. They haven’t got a Reece Walsh or a Cameron Munster who, in the big moments, just say, ‘Give me the ball, I’m going to win it’, like Nathan Cleary in the last 20 minutes of that grand final [in 2023],” Johns said.
“But the more I watch them, they don’t need that because they’re such a well-balanced team.
“I’ve been saying I don’t think they can win the competition without Luke Metcalf in the halves, but I think I’m wrong there. Te Maire Martin on the weekend against the Titans played one of the best games I’ve seen him play.
“They’re so well balanced, and their X-factor comes in those young tearaways like Leka Halasima, Jacob Laban and Demitric Sifakula off the bench. Jeez, I’ve been impressed with them. They’ve got these young tearaways, in particular Leka. Far out, he’s powerful.
“So they [the Warriors] are the real deal.”
As the ladder stands, the Panthers, Roosters, Warriors and Sharks make up the top four, in that order. But Isaiya Katoa’s Dolphins are only one win behind.
They will take on the Broncos in the Battle of Brisbane on Saturday night.
“We’re going to see where the Warriors are at this weekend,” Johns said.
“If they don’t beat Penrith, they can’t win the comp. Simple as that.”
