Harry headed to the top

In this week’s edition of Let’s Talk Sport Today Group’s Liam Emerton and 4RO’s Aaron Stevens are once again joined by Queensland legend Billy Moore to discuss the upcoming rugby league season.

Aaron: Welcome back again boys, Billy I wanted to get a quick-fire question out of the way.

Where do the four Queensland teams end up on the ladder?

Billy Moore: Great question. I was really impressed by the Broncos beating the nearly full-strength Cowboys outfit in what was only a two-point ball game.

The Cowboys probably should have won but I think they will still be the front runners.

They’re still going to be serious contenders in that top four.

From what I saw in the pre-season they will just build on what was a great campaign in 2022.

The Broncs are a bit rocks and diamonds. Obviously Payne Hass had a horrible family incident and I had questions if he would be able to focus.

Well he proved to me that it wouldn’t be a problem, if anything it might make him a better player.

They did it without Reynolds. I was impressed by Ezra Mam. If he continues to have the confidence to run the ball and take the line, the Broncs will have a real star there.

The key is that injuries are uncontrollable. But if Reynolds stays on the park there’s every chance the Broncos will do what they should have done last year and play finals football.

Aaron: So the Cowboys and the Broncos are, but do the Titans play finals football?

Billy Moore: If I hadn’t seen round two of the pre-season I would have said probably not but if Foran and Sam Verrills have the impact they were bought to have, then yes there’s no reason they can’t.

The year before in 2021 they were in the finals and they probably should have gone a little bit deeper into the finals.

Everyone had the same expectations for 2022 but they turned up a dud year.

Because they rolled the dice on a young spine and it didn’t work.

But now they have Verrills and Kieren Foran and those players in the spine are a year older and have another game under their belt.

So I believe there will be three Queensland teams playing finals football in 2023.

Aaron: And the Dolphins, will they dodge the wooden spoon? We all talked late last year and put Newcastle as our front runners and St George not far behind them.

The Dolphins are obviously in that mix too.

Billy Moore: They are and if they come second last they’ve done extremely well.

They’ve had 13 months to build a squad, the next youngest squad is the Titans at 15 years old.

If anyone finishes below the Dolphins, their whole retention and recruitment committees should be sacked for incompetence.

Everyone is saying that Bennett brought the Broncos in and they were stars straight away.

They didn’t make finals footy for five years. It was a battle for a long time.

They didn’t win a premiership until 1992. But that squad had 12 internationals and four State of Origin players.

Wally Lewis had four years before he retired, Allan Langer was in there and the list goes on.

This Dolphins side doesn’t have that, they’ve got some internationals, but they’re all a bit longer in the tooth.

The Dolphins don’t have the spine the Broncos had. They have Milford, how much does he have left in him?

The grind will really wear the Dolphins down. I’m hoping they don’t come last but the odds are stacked against them.

Liam: Billy, you were pretty high on our boy from Yeppoon Harry Grant, how are those boys from CQ, particularly those big ones at the Storm, how are they going to go mate?

Cam Munster, Harry Grant and of course Ben Hunt who is going to have a pretty tough year if everyone’s predictions go to plan.

Billy Moore: I feel for Ben Hunt. He’s having a wonderful period but he’s closer to retiring than he is starting out.

He’s not in his twilight but retirement is probably three or four years away.

He’s in career-best form and that’s saying something because he has had a wonderful career.

He’s going to find it tough without a doubt though.

The other boy, Harry Grant is an out-and-out superstar.

I think he’s the best number nine in the world right now.

And his ability to dictate the game and control the game, the quality of his touches is breathtaking.

I love to watch him play so he’s down as my 2023 Dally M Medalist.

He’s the benchmark of what you need to do.

Liam: Billy, give it to me straight. We’ve talked about Aaron’s side and how they will go.

What about my beloved Bulldogs? We’ve talked about the impacts a nine can have, well we picked up Reed Mahoney and we have the bulldozer Kikau.

How are my boys looking? Is making the top eight a possibility this year or is it an expectation?

We haven’t made the finals since I was in diapers I don’t think!

Billy Moore: Well they made the 2014 grand final…

Aaron: That’s when he was in diapers!

Billy Moore: Hahaha. Well, it all went downhill from there, didn’t it?

You mentioned Reed and Kikau, you’ve bought some wonderful players.

But now it’s time for that number seven Kyle Flanagan to step up.

He has had four or five years behind a steering wheel of an NRL franchise.

Sometimes he’s been pushed to the passenger seat or even into the boot.

He needs to show everyone that he is an NRL first-grade player who can lead the team around.

If he does that you know Reed Mahoney will do his job, big Kikau will do his, Burton will be unleashed and the Dogs will play finals.

But if the seven doesn’t do what he should do, the Dogs will be languishing just below between 9 and 12.

Finals are in contention and I bet if Gus was on the phone right now he would be saying he expects finals.

Well, you can expect finals but you’re going to need your seven to be more than a passenger.

Liam: Thanks for that Billy, I needed to hear that. Obviously, we can’t let you go without touching on Origin before the season has even truly got started.

I’m sure as a man born in New South Wales you’ll be rooting behind the Blues as they take out a 3-0 series win, is that how you expect it to go?

Billy Moore: Queensland can’t be competitive, you blokes are certainties!

We just struggle every year to turn up and you blokes deserve it.

Aaron: (laughing in the background)

Billy Moore: You blokes are a dynasty aren’t you?

You’ve won… oh wait you guys lost last year.

Aaron: Yeah they had one in a row!

Billy Moore: If you have a look at the schedule it goes Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney.

What you want to hope is that by the time it gets to Sydney it’s a live series.

The last time we got to Adelaide was in 2020 and it was an incredible win.

That was a great series for Queensland. Last year was another ripping series.

Cherry-Evans, he’s obviously from around your neck of the woods up there in Mackay.

He’s a great player, he’s won two of the last three in Origin and a premiership.

But those two games he led Queensland to a victory in across 2022 will go down as some of his finest moments.

He is another player who is close to the twilight but I think there’s another year left in him to squeeze some more magic into the Origin arena.

Queensland to win, we will be very respectful and acknowledge we’re going up against a great side but we certainly know we can win the series and that would be TWO IN A ROW!

Aaron: We are in for a cracking season in Origin and the NRL, and again I think it’s going to be closer than ever before.

Billy Moore: I couldn’t agree more.

Liam: Thanks for joining us guys, have a safe and enjoyable start to the NRL season and we really appreciate your time Billy.