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Bloke In A Bar

BLUES BLOWN AWAY 44-24! WHAT CHANGES DOES NSW NEED NOW?!

18 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What were the main highlights of the Queensland vs NSW game?

1.229 - 30.769 Denan Kemp

Welcome to another sort of back in my day. Sandal the cat couldn't be here. Renny Mature doing some fucking weird charity stuff. Charity. Weirdo. Weird. Cringe. Cringe. Code Sports are having an end of financial year sale coming up. Sorry, no, it's now. It's here. Use code E-O-F-Y. 19 bucks for the whole year. You will not regret it, guys. Use it now. It's ending. It's literally ending soon.

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31.07 - 37.556 Denan Kemp

And I know a bunch of you are going to message me after it ends. Please, can we have it back? Once it goes, it goes. Okay, Guru, I'll go straight to you, mate. How are you feeling?

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37.576 - 43.302 Jordan Kounelis

Pretty devastated, mate. I got home at about 1 o'clock last night. I think I stayed at the ceiling until about 3.

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44.665 - 45.808 Denan Kemp

Dark, dark place.

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45.848 - 64.068 Jordan Kounelis

Were the lights on? No, lights weren't on, but I don't know, maybe they should have been. It was, yeah, last night was a tough night. You came in at halftime and. I know you said some bullshit. Oh, you're playing well. Everything's going well. You should be confident. And I said to Matty, I was like, no. I fucking, I've lived this on so many occasions.

Chapter 2: How did the hosts react to the performance of NSW players?

64.488 - 74.4 Jordan Kounelis

You walked out the door and me and Tom Jager looked at each other and sort of went, he doesn't get it. He doesn't fucking get this annual event we go through. And it played out the exact same way last night.

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74.42 - 79.947 Denan Kemp

Holy shit. So fucked. Mate, I thought your first half was pretty good. Yeah, it was not too bad. Pretty good. Yeah.

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81.132 - 90.204 Denan Kemp

Last 10 wasn't great. Like you got rolled a little bit through the middle, but it was still okay. And then the second half, well, the second half was the second half, wasn't it?

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90.504 - 97.994 Jordan Kounelis

Yeah. We'll get to it throughout the show, but I thought it was just a couple of moments. We were talking in the green room before that Billy Slater just absolutely nailed last night.

98.014 - 98.595 Denan Kemp

Yeah.

98.615 - 100.778 Jordan Kounelis

And I think it once again just speaks to the differences.

101.669 - 102.25 Denan Kemp

In coaching?

102.43 - 102.871 Jordan Kounelis

Coaching.

Chapter 3: What coaching strategies did Billy Slater implement during the game?

182.929 - 186.554 Jordan Kounelis

I don't know. We got out enthused.

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187.195 - 190.5 Denan Kemp

Fucking miss me. Especially in Origin. Like it's hard to hear.

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190.52 - 196.849 Jordan Kounelis

What the fuck are we talking about? We got out enthused in Origin? Yeah. And it happens every time we lose a game apparently?

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197.25 - 197.43 Denan Kemp

Yep.

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197.811 - 203.579 Jordan Kounelis

I find it infuriating. I don't know. Am I missing something here? I just think it's a throwaway line that you can say so you don't get in trouble.

203.78 - 208.947 Matty Johns

Yeah, it's the rugby league version of Love Island's genuine. We're genuinely in love.

208.927 - 215.299 Denan Kemp

Or it's like the positive full credit to the boys. It's the negative like cover for, I'm just going to say something that kind of makes sense.

215.54 - 226.24 Matty Johns

There is lingo in rugby league. Like we know people used to make jokes of it, but it's also evolving. People are evolving the lingo to, you know, out enthused, you know.

226.421 - 238.678 Denan Kemp

What an opportunity this is to go up to Suncorp. It's like, hey, brah. can we talk about the game that just happened instead of like deflecting straight on to like, this is actually where we want to be. Like this is actually, we actually want to be here because we get a greater opportunity at Suncorp.

Chapter 4: What are the implications of the game for the upcoming decider?

245.346 - 255.138 Matty Johns

Okay. You know, and we learned that through that eight in a row series. Like, you know, those series were, they were hard to deal with. Like, how did you feel through that, through those years? It was tough. Nathan? Really?

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255.839 - 267.731 Matty Johns

I found it rather. Exciting. Like what could you do after that? It was horrific. But leading into the series, it was very exciting. Leading into the series every year because we had the opportunity to end it.

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270.834 - 276.179 Jordan Kounelis

I was a kid. I live in a different part of New South Wales to you. Yeah. I live in a darker part of New South Wales.

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276.199 - 284.327 Denan Kemp

It was such a great opportunity. Like, fuck yeah, we're down 6-0 in the last six years. We get to fucking break the 16-year drought. The 16-year drought. Hell yeah, let's do it.

284.392 - 289.417 Matty Johns

We handle a series at someone else's home better than Queensland would.

289.437 - 292.701 Denan Kemp

Maybe, maybe. We'll never know. Well, at least this stage, we don't know.

292.721 - 314.444 Michelle Jawando

I'll never forget in, would it be in what, 06, 07, 08, 09? After 2010 series, Daryl Broman was on the footy show saying, I reckon we can win 10 in a row. After that, they won five in a row. And I was just so furious. And the arrogance to say that we're going to win the next five series in a row is just off the charts. And they freaking almost did. They won four of them.

314.464 - 316.626 Michelle Jawando

And also they lost one, then won a bunch of other ones.

Chapter 5: How did player selections impact the game's outcome?

399.314 - 415.412 Jordan Kounelis

You have, I think you just have more of a thing in your DNA as far as just stepping up and making it fucking work. Whereas like, for example, like give, give me a rogue in the NRL. Like I look at Kurt Donahoe at the dolphins. He, he like comes across to me as like a Ruben Cotter type guy that I think in origin, he'd do really well.

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415.848 - 419.614 Jordan Kounelis

Could you imagine, like, it'd be burn the village if we picked Kurt Donohoe over.

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420.573 - 422.935 Denan Kemp

like any of them. Well, you'd never pick Kurt Catewell.

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423.115 - 423.876 Jordan Kounelis

No fucking way.

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423.916 - 444.294 Denan Kemp

We wouldn't even look at Kurt Catewell. Yeah, it's a great point. And like, I think a good point to that. Now, granted, I know it's a bit more complicated because Moses came back in, but I feel like Strain showed all the makings of a road, like the makings of an aggressive fucking in your face. Fuck you. I got no respect for you. I'm going to take the dominance over you before you do it over me.

445.075 - 457.729 Denan Kemp

And then you've got things like, for example, Cam Murray only getting 45 minutes. Like these decisions that are like very, I don't know. Like, yeah, I just feel like when they do present themselves, you just don't grab them with both hands and go, let's cultivate this.

457.909 - 478.896 Denan Kemp

Look, for example, because of some little foibles in his game, you go, let's throw the baby out with the bathwater instead of going, okay, there's, you know, there's a little error here or there or whatever, but he fucking breaks games. And Hudson Young finally has been given like a bit of leeway of like, you're in the side each week. And he nearly got turfed multiple times.

478.876 - 486.67 Denan Kemp

And you're seeing the benefit of it. Again, I know it's just a theory and maybe it's too ephemeral to kind of like pin down as to what I'm trying to say, but that's the vibe I'm getting.

487.932 - 497.09 Jordan Kounelis

You know, talking to Tom Yager last night, at one point during our podcast, he said a sentence that was like, I wish we had a Ruben Cotter. Like I almost fell off my fucking seat. You got Cam Murray.

Chapter 6: What criticisms did the hosts have regarding NSW's tactics?

593.727 - 607.951 Matty Johns

we blew it with Appie. Like it was too late by that point. Like it was probably Robson's game by that point. I feel like he had a real opportunity there for probably 10 minutes before halftime to get on the field and then have that chunk in the middle of the game. I thought he could have offered us a bit more.

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608.552 - 620.912 Denan Kemp

I think it was 17 minutes to go that Strange got. Like that's, the game is still, like you literally just had one of the great comebacks. I know a player got sent off or whatever. Yeah. In the modern era, you can put on three or four tries in 17 minutes.

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620.932 - 638.777 Jordan Kounelis

Just on Appy as well, I'd love to know going into that game, what was our plan? What was our plan of when we were going to use Appy? We're hearing reports they wanted him there for game one. He got parachuted straight into this side now. And in hindsight, I agree with you. I think the moment Cam Munster goes off the field, is that not your green light?

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638.817 - 639.258 Denan Kemp

Go now.

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639.579 - 655.413 Jordan Kounelis

Now's the time to get Appy on. We didn't. And like for... Even that sentence there, Jack, where we're like, oh, it got to the point where we missed our shot. I'm like, how? Nothing went wrong. Everything went to plan for the first until Staggs was sent from the field. What was the plan with Happy?

657.057 - 676.53 Matty Johns

That was our opportunity there. I'm not sure what the plan was, but I set it probably a month out that no matter who our starting hooker was, I always had Appy at least on the bench and he was going to have that sort of period. That was his sort of role. But that opportunity, like for me, the defining moment of the game was that 10 minutes when Plath went into the halves defensively.

676.651 - 682.78 Denan Kemp

Yeah. And Sam Walker's long kicking game was, outside of that he was perfect, but his long kicking game is poor. It was poor at least in this game.

682.76 - 701.882 Matty Johns

And Tino came back from his HIA. Like that was probably the defining moment of the game that, you know, if we had copped some points, if we had got a try before halftime there, I honestly think we'd probably go on and maybe win it. Yeah. But like you felt it at halftime when they then, Jojo Fafita dragged us over the sideline and they defended it.

701.862 - 715.756 Matty Johns

Because like Billy's, it was almost like a soccer tactic. He like pretty well not bringing Reese on and putting Plath in. It was like a message across the board. We're parking the bus here. We're going to get to halftime. 30 seconds into the second half, we're going to get Munster back. And then we're going to go all out attack.

Chapter 7: How did Queensland's players perform compared to NSW's?

765.813 - 788.294 Jordan Kounelis

And I think once again, this for me anyway, it comes back to, I love Laurie Daly, champion fellow, champion of our state. But like, I just, what I can't make sense of, and I've seen a lot of people coming after Laurie Daly on social and all that stuff, which sure, he should be held accountable for his decisions. But boys, I'm looking past that at this point. Who put him there? Yeah, absolutely.

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788.414 - 806.703 Jordan Kounelis

Why 10 years ago did you make the decision he's not our guy? In 10 years that he doesn't coach and the game changes more than it ever has before, do we then go, oh, he's our guy now? What happened in that 10-year period to convince you he was the guy that should come back in and coach this side? Like, Daley's copping it left, right, and center, sure.

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806.743 - 810.488 Jordan Kounelis

But look, mate, there has to be some accountability on the people above that made that decision.

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811.048 - 816.134 Denan Kemp

What the fuck? No, I'm with you. And, like, selections as well. He's not the only one selecting the players, and he's not the only one.

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816.254 - 833.665 Jordan Kounelis

With all due respect to Daley's first stint, like, it wasn't great. He ended the streak. Like, sure. I think there's a bit of context around that as well. The comment of Jared Hayne, Cooper Cronk gets injured. They won the next three in a row after that. Was it the prime minister's 13 team he coached? Was it the indigenous all-stars?

833.685 - 837.991 Jordan Kounelis

Like what happened in that 10 year period that they went, yeah, actually he is our guy.

838.011 - 842.518 Denan Kemp

Instead of a guy like Matt King or something like that, who's an up and coming guy that's done everything as an assistant coach.

842.838 - 851.611 Jordan Kounelis

You might've got it wrong with Matt King. I don't know. But at least you're trying something new that is like, you went back to something that you proved didn't work. Am I off the mark?

851.672 - 869.547 Denan Kemp

No, not at all. It's a great point. It's a great point. Like you've got to look at, you know, was there enough information to suggest that he was the guy for the job? Yeah. And the information at this stage, unless there's stuff that we don't know, would suggest he's not the right guy for the job considering his resume in origin. Yeah. As a coach, not as a player.

Chapter 8: What adjustments should NSW make for the next game?

941.648 - 944.132 Matty Johns

I think they actually did lock him in two years, didn't they?

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944.472 - 946.455 Denan Kemp

They did. I thought he was a part-time job.

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946.475 - 951.583 Michelle Jawando

Yeah, he was locked in part-time for two years. But he was kind of like, I want the Broncos job.

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951.843 - 958.594 Denan Kemp

Maybe they couldn't have stopped him. I think that's probably my point is more as like this whole part-time coach role. Like I just can't believe it.

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958.874 - 973.317 Matty Johns

It's also hard to like, you don't know if it's either when Madge had that second year option, was it in the Broncos interest to have him not as the blues coach or was it in the blues interest not to have him as Broncos coach? And he had to make a decision on that. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know who had the power there to dictate

973.297 - 993.202 Denan Kemp

I think Broncos probably did. I think Broncos would have said, if you're coming as coach, you're not coaching the Blues. I think having a current Blues coach as a Broncos coach, I know it's a bit old school, but it would be a little bit weird for a Broncos Queensland club. Not that it should matter, but it is. I think it does. I think Origins just... Its own beast. I think it matters.

993.362 - 996.09 Denan Kemp

I more mean like the look of it. Yes, I agree.

996.15 - 1003.671 Matty Johns

I'd actually argue that you could actually have the Queensland head coach at a Sydney club, but the other way around wouldn't work.

1003.691 - 1005.717 Jordan Kounelis

The other way wouldn't work. I agree, yes. Yeah.

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