There's never a quiet moment in rugby league and with the 2018 NRL season just around the corner, The Repeat Set is here to deliver your weekly dose of insight.
MORE: NRL Leaks: Sydney Roosters recruit Cooper Cronk is missing that Melbourne Storm magic
Read on below for all the info...
Knights setting sights on top four
Forget scraping into the top eight – Newcastle cult hero Nathan Ross has revealed the three-time wooden spooners are targeting one of rugby league’s great resurrections.
“I’d go as far as to say we’d have our sights set on the top four,” the Ross Dog told Triple M’s Grill Team.
“We’ve learnt how to play football with our backs to the wall. It was a huge improvement last year from the year before and we’re looking to replicate that this year.”
The winger’s confidence stems from one player – Roosters recruit Mitchell Pearce.
Ross said: “He will give us a little bit of polish to close out games. He brings talk to our team and he is on every single play.
“He’s a natural footballer.”
Newcastle great Matthew Johns has the Knights finishing at the bottom of the top eight, but was beside himself when he heard the confidence in Ross’ voice.
“If we make top four, God can take me now. I’ll incinerate myself,” he declared.
Scandal on the horizon?
Could a Barnaby Joyce-type scandal ever rock rugby league?
A number of people within the game will be hoping the answer is an emphatic NO, as they have much to lose.
Journos have talked for years about the many dangerous liaisons going on between some senior figures and those working below them.
For now it’s been all hush, hush.
But these are different times we live in so don’t be surprised if something scandalous emerges in the near future.
Turbo teed up for new role
He’s rated one of the best fullbacks in the game, but could Tom Trbojevic be the answer to Manly’s five-eighth shortage?
Plenty of good rugby league judges reckon Turbo could handle No.6 duties if first-choice pivot Lachlan Croker fails to fire.
“The real great players can play in any position. Nowadays there’s not much of a difference between fullback and five-eighth,” Matthew Johns says.
Trbojevic has played all his junior football at fullback, centre or wing and his preference is to play No.1 at Manly.
The Repeat Set this week asked Tom if he’d be up for a shift of position but he diplomatically preferred to endorse Croker.
He has previously stated he would give a move to five-eighth ‘my best shot’ if called on.
Early season results may eventually force Trent Barrett’s hand.
Slap on the wrist stinks of double standard
Mitchell Pearce must shake his head every time a player is hit with a limp lettuce leaf over an off-field incident.
Parramatta’s decision to ban Tony Williams for just two weeks following a serious DUI charge was laughable, particularly when T-Rex was no chance of figuring in the early rounds.
The NRL Integrity Unit appear to have green-lighted the Eels’ Claytons ban by doing nothing.
Now compare Williams’ light slap on the wrist to Pearce’s punishment for simulating sex with a dog.
The NSW No.7 copped an eight-week ban, $125,000 fine from the NRL and was stripped of the Roosters’ co-captaincy.
Williams went mid-range drink-driving with his wife and three young children in the car, later admitting to drinking 10 schooners and four vodka shots.
Now, you tell me which is the greater crime?