Latest news with #JamieSoward
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Officially lost the plot': Premiership winners level damning accusation against NRL
Jamie Soward has led a chorus of criticism against the state of some of the modern rules in the NRL, taking exception to incidents in two games on Saturday. Controversy erupted in both the Dragons v Sharks and Roosters v Dolphins games over refereeing decisions that had fans and commentators shaking their heads. The first occurred when Cronulla were awarded a penalty try when the Bunker official ruled that Tyrell Sloan tackled Teig Wilton in the air and prevented him from scoring. Sloan leapt to try and catch the ball, and ended up holding Wilton up over the line when the Sharks winger came down with it. But the Bunker official ruled the Dragons winger deliberately switched from trying to catch the ball to tackling Wilton in the air, which would have been extremely difficult in a split-second. The call to award a penalty try went against the precedent set all year, in which similar incidents have drawn penalties or sin-bins but never a penalty try. Taking to social media, Dragons premiership winner Soward declared the NRL and it's officials have "officially lost the plot". He wrote: "WHAT A JOKE. No contact on kickers. No contest in the air. What are we doing?" In commentary for Fox League, legendary premiership winners Kevin Walters and Steve Roach were both dumbfounded. "Come on. That is breaking new ground now," Walters said in relation to the ruling. Roach added: "That is a ridiculous try being awarded there. That is terrible. It wasn't dangerous. One of the great things about our game is not only those who score the tries, but the blokes who can stop them." Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was exasperated despite his team scoring a 22-14 victory. "I'll have a busy day on Monday (speaking to the NRL) because it's making it so hard on us," he said after the game. "I won't say any more on it, but I was really disappointed with a lot of decisions." Sin-binnings cause controversy in Roosters-Dolphins game Unfortunately for the NRL it wasn't the only drama to come out of Saturday's games. There was also controversy when two players from each team were sin-binned early in the Roosters' 64-12 thrashing of the Dolphins. Roosters prop Spencer Leniu sparked a melee when he squared up as if to fight Aublix Tawha after his side's second try. Leniu and Tawha were sent to the bin for 10 minutes, as were Naufahu Whyte of the Roosters and Francis Molo of the Dolphins. RELATED: Raiders rocked as young Canberra star signs with Penrith Panthers Jett Cleary could be handed NRL debut in stunning development Speaking after the game, Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf questioned why any of his players were binned. 'A couple of minutes before that we had a very slightly high tackle and blokes run in everywhere to get a penalty," he said. 'I don't get how we're allowed to do that. And the opposition score, two of their players come over with pushing, we're standing in the dead-ball area, two guys come over pushing and shoving and shaping up. I don't know what our blokes are supposed to do, so I just can't understand those sin-binnings at all.' Referee Gerard Sutton had warned both captains just before the incident that players would be binned for running in. Roosters coach Trent Robinson agreed that "four off was a lot" of players to bin. 'It seemed like possibly one from each side would have been enough because nothing really happened," he added. Soward was once again left fuming, declaring the four sin-binnings changed the complexion of what had been a brilliant start to the game. "Not one punch thrown," he wrote. "2 desperate teams with the season on the line. Surely we have to expect some intensity in the game. That is a joke. 4 players in the bin. Seriously we have lost the plot." We have officially lost the plot on the tackled in the air. WHAT A JOKE No contact on contest in the are we doing? — Jamie Soward (@sowwowofficial6) August 9, 2025 Not one punch thrown. 2 desperate teams with the season on the line. Surely we have to expect some intensity in the game. That is a joke. 4 players in the bin. Seriously we have lost the plot. — Jamie Soward (@sowwowofficial6) August 9, 2025
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'None the wiser': Laurie Daley's worrying admission as NSW Origin mistake exposed
NSW coach Laurie Daley says he's 'still none-the-wiser' about what the Blues could have done differently to avoid a humbling Origin series defeat against Queensland. That's despite widespread criticism about the Blues' tactical shortcomings and a glaring mistake they made during the 24-12 defeat to the Maroons in last Wednesday's series decider in Sydney. Former NRL star Jamie Soward and league podcaster Nathan Durkin - AKA the Rugby League Guru - discussed the Blues' questionable tactics after the Game 3 defeat. And both agreed with the likes of league Immortal Andrew Johns that NSW failed to cope with the Maroons' line speed and rushed defence, or come up with a 'Plan B' to their opponents' suffocating defence. They couldn't fathom why it essentially took until the end of the game for NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai to identify the space behind Queensland's defensive line by kicking short to set up a try for Brian To'o, especially when they'd used the tactic to good effect in Game 2. "What they (Queensland) were doing was working, so you've got to do something to counteract that and we just never did it," Durkin said on the Rugby League Guru podcast. "It took us 70 minutes to start kicking in behind and f***ing shock me, Brian To'o scores." Soward agreed, adding: "And we had the formula in Game 2. To'o got the first try and then Crichton got a try in Game 2 doing that, where they look out the back... we had the answers there." The Blues' inability to adapt and move away from a structured style that simply wasn't working has been scrutinised around the league world. But speaking on Sky's Big Sports Breakfast on Monday, Daley worryingly admitted that he's still at a loss to explain how NSW let the series slip and will need to conduct a thorough review with the Blues' coaching staff to figure it out. "(I'm) just trying to recover from Wednesday night. It'll take a while to get over," Daley said on Monday. "We expected a better performance, obviously, just trying to scratch my head on why, why we had a performance like that. The first couple of days were tough. "But you've just got to go through the review, which won't be great, at some point, and look to be even better than what we were." The NSW coach said after Game 3 that his side lost "the moments" in the Origin decider but has failed to address many of the key issues that critics have identified. Daley said he took 'full accountability' for the loss and has been backed by NSW bosses to continue in the role after declaring he's the right man for the job. But his Origin coaching record now stands at just one series victory in six campaigns, with calls growing louder for Daley to be replaced and the coach trying to get to the bottom of his latest series defeat. "That has to start with the coaches, me in particular. I've got to look at myself and make sure that I go through what I did to see whether that was the best I could have done," he said. "Are there other things that I could've done that could've made a big difference? "Going on what I felt after the game, I'm still none-the-wiser because I just was so happy with the way that we prepared and the way that we went about it ...Our preparation was as good as I've seen." But after a series loss rated by pundits among the side's darkest hours, alongside the 1995 and 2020 series losses, Daley accepts that the buck ultimately stops with him. RELATED: Nathan Cleary lifts the lid on father Ivan's act after heartbreak Sam Walker's future cast into doubt after news about father and uncle Cooper Cronk calls out worrying Reece Walsh moment for Broncos "I have to take full accountability for all that because I'm the leader," he said. "I get that, I understand that, people's frustrations. That's what you want around State of Origin, you want people to be emotional about it because they care." with AAP
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy great Jamie Soward took his team to a grand final win - now he says the club doesn't even have his phone number even though he worked for them last year
Dragons legend Jamie Soward has taken aim at his former club ahead of an upcoming players' reunion, claiming team bosses don't even have his contact details. The ex-Saints halfback, who led the club to a grand final win in 2010 and later coached their NRLW team, has shed light on a rift that has left fans stunned. Soward says things are so bad that club bosses had to ask a third-party contact for his details to invite him to an upcoming premiership reunion. 'There's [a former players' day] coming up next month, which this sums up for me,' he told James Graham's The Bye Round podcast. 'They had to ring someone, a mutual person that works at the club, to get my details to invite me to it. Really? I worked there last year. 'I've never felt welcomed back after I left. Even when I was coaching, I've never felt welcome back. And they can say what they want to say. That's how I feel.' Soward, who racked up 141 games for the Red V, revealed that notable club figures didn't reach out to him after he was sacked as the NRLW coach. 'There's people there that knew me before I came back into coaching that I would talk to, that see around the traps, that when I got let go, didn't check in on me, didn't see anything at all,' he said. 'And rugby league is a really small world. If you really, really hate someone, that's hard to come back from. But there's guys there that I expected to reach out. 'I had guys from other clubs - former players, Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Dean Young - rang me personally. "Flanno" rang me. But there's other people in that organisation that looked at me and just treated me like [they did in 2013].' Soward joined the Panthers on a four-year deal in 2014 after the Dragons decided to only offer him a one-year extension. 'People say, "Why'd you leave the Dragons?" The Dragons got rid of me,' he said. 'They didn't want me there in 2013, which is fine. When one club is offering you four years, and a club you've won a premiership with offers you one year without any resolution to sit down and say, "Where do you want to get to?"
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Arrogance from them': Dragons' inexcusable move towards premiership hero
Jamie Soward has revealed Dragons bosses didn't have his phone number or email address to invite him to an upcoming players' reunion, despite the fact he was the club's NRLW coach just last year. Soward will forever be a Dragons legend after helping the club to a drought-breaking premiership in 2010. He played 141 games for the Red V between 2007 and 2013, but his time at the club ended in messy fashion when he was only offered a one-year deal. The halfback finished his career with stints at the London Broncos and Penrith Panthers, but returned to St George Illawarra as the club's NRLW coach in 2021. However that too ended in acrimony when he was sacked last year. The 40-year-old previously opened up on his heartache to be sacked, and revealed how his wife and daughters had picked him up in the aftermath. But speaking this week on 'The Bye Round' podcast with James Graham, Soward offered stunning new insight into how bad his relationship with the Dragons has become. The former NSW State of Origin player revealed club bosses had to contact a third party to invite Soward to an upcoming reunion, which will mark 15 years since the 2010 premiership. "There's [a former player's day] coming up next month, and this sums it up for me," he said. "They had to ring someone, a mutual person that works at the club, to get my details to invite me to it. I worked there last year. I went 'surely you've got my email and phone number'." Graham, who played at the Dragons from 2018 to 2020, revealed he got the invite via email. "To me it's arrogance from them," Soward said. The 40-year-old also revealed there were certain people within the club who didn't reach out to him when he was sacked as NRLW coach, although NRL coach Shane Flanagan and assistant Dean Young did. "There's people there that knew me before I came back into coaching that I would talk to, that see around the traps, that when I got let go, didn't check in on me, didn't see anything at all," he said. "And rugby league is a really small world. If you really, really hate someone, that's hard to come back from. But there's guys there that I expected to reach out. I had guys from other clubs, former players, Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Dean Young rang me, personally. 'Flanno' rang me. But there's other people in that organisation that looked at me and just treated me like [they did in 2013]." View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Bye Round Podcast with James Graham (@thebyeround) Soward's form declined in 2012 and 2013, and the club opted to blood some youngsters rather than re-sign him long-term. The Dragons offered him a one-year extension, but the Panthers were willing to offer four. "People say, 'Why'd you leave the Dragons?' The Dragons got rid of me," he said. "They didn't want me there in 2013, which is fine. When one club is offering you four years, and a club you've won a premiership with offers you one year without any resolution to sit down and say, 'Where do you want to get to?'... That's what I'm filthy about." RELATED: Shock contender named to replace Nathan Cleary in Origin 3 Wonderful family reveal amid sad news about Steve Mortimer Speaking last year after being let go as NRLW coach, Soward said: "I've got a wife and two very strong girls at home that have been my rocks, and the players within the group, pretty much everyone reached out. I'm not the first coach to not coach again. Was the timing great? No. Was it done the right way? I disagree with how it was done."
News.com.au
19-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Matty Johns drops uncomfortable truth about Origin ‘disgrace'
Matty Johns has turned the tables on the swirling criticism directed at referee Ashley Klein following Queensland's nail-biting win on Wednesday night in Perth. There have been calls for Klein to be stripped of officiating duties for the State of Origin series decider with NRL commentators left up in arms over a one-sided penalty count in the Maroons' favour during Game 2 at Optus Stadium. On the back of the penalty avalanche, Queensland charged to a 26-6 half time lead before holding on for a famous victory, setting up a decider back in Sydney. Former NSW players Jarryd Hayne and Jamie Soward were among the commentators to be left gobsmacked that the penalty count stood 8-0 in Queensland's favour at half time. The count ended 10-2. However, Johns on Thursday dropped a brutal truth that the penalty count was justified. 'Us New South Welshman, most people will point to that and go look at that, but I tell you what, we were f***ing undisciplined,' he said on the Backstage with Cooper and Matty Johns podcast. 'That's it. Don't blame the referee. We were undisciplined.' However, it was the cheap nature of some of the six-again ruck infringement penalties that caught the eye of other commentators on Wednesday night. Hayne took to X in the first half, posting: 'This is why Origin is the greatest game in this country!!! Regardless of the pressure teams face, it is the team spirit that truly matters. 'Ps 7-0 pen count. Did some individuals attempt to influence the referees to force a decider?' Former NSW playmaker Soward wrote: 'That will do me. Ash doing his best to get in the way here.' According to the popular 'Oracle' profile on X, it was the first time in Origin history that a team was awarded the first nine penalties of a match. There was no doubt the Blues didn't help themselves with poor discipline but such a lopsided penalty count is rare in Origin with penalties usually only blown for blatant transgressions. Queensland were questioned over meeting with the referee before the first game, so it remains to be seen if they had another chat prior to game two in Perth. Blues skipper Isaah Yeo was pictured in a tense exchange with Klein during the match, presumably about the penalty count. Daley was blunt when asked what he thought of the penalty count. 'I can't tell you what I honestly think, so I'm not going to,' Daley said. Yeo believes there were a number of penalties that were warranted against the Blues, but he believes the 50/50s went against them. 'There's certainly a few that we were shooting ourselves in the foot with and they were just penalties,' Yeo said. 'Other ones are 50-50. Some nights you get them, some nights you don't. So what you can't do is you can't go drop the ball early in the next set early in the tackle count when you've got the ball. 'So obviously I'd like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemy at times as well.' However, the biggest enemy for NSW was Zac Lomax's boot. NSW scored five tries to Queensland's four, but the Eels star hit the posts twice and converted just one two of his five shots on goal. That's what proved the difference, at least in the eyes of some. For others, Klein's whistle is being viewed as Queensland's man of the match. Leading NRL reporter Dean Ritchie wrote on X: 'Well, well, well. Never thought I'd see the perfect Origin team. Penalties: Qld 8 NSW 0.' He pointed out NSW had to wait 45 minutes to be awarded their first penalty and then went on to score shortly after. Aussie sports broadcaster Adam Hawse wrote on X: 'Klein's whistle will give us all nightmares, but Blues were own worst enemy in first half. Poor discipline. Poor handling. No control. 'I think Ashley Klein's streak of 11 Origins in a row has come to an end.'
