Kade Reed’s Debut and the Challenges of NRL
Kade Reed made his debut for St George Illawarra in a 62-16 loss to the Roosters on Anzac Day. It was the first time many fans saw the club’s promising halfback, and it quickly became clear that he wasn’t matching the physicality of other players in the league.
Reed, a junior from the Western Suburbs (Wollongong) Red Devils, didn’t have his height or weight listed on his NRL profile page. However, it was evident that he was at a disadvantage in terms of bulk compared to most NRL players.
When asked about his weight, Reed said: “Seventy-eight kilos, 79.” He acknowledged the challenge of competing in the NRL, where he often faces opponents with 20-30 kilograms more than him. “I just need to put the work in to get the weight on and work on my defence techniques, and different stuff like that. I know I’ll get that weight on and get that side of the ball better.”
Interestingly, his listed weight is the same as Roosters’ Sam Walker, who won the Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal during the match. Despite the heavy defeat, interim coach Dean Young has already given Reed the No.7 jersey for the next game against Newcastle, showing confidence in the young player.
Reed said the vote of confidence “gives me plenty of confidence” and felt he wasn’t scarred by the lopsided scoreline on debut. “Obviously, as a team we need to get better, but I don’t think so,” he said.
His debut was tough, with a try and a try assist taken off him by the bunker. Despite missing a game-high six tackles, Reed felt he belonged at NRL level after his first 80 minutes. “I felt like there were a couple of things that I’d done throughout the game where it was just playing my natural game, and it worked,” he said.
He also had a highlight play early in the game, throwing a 30-metre double cut-out pass that resulted in a try to winger Matt Feagai. However, the video referee detected a tiny knock-on in the lead-up from teammate Tyrell Sloan.
“Obviously, I thought it was a try, I didn’t see [the knock on] at the time, I didn’t even know ‘Sloany’ jumped for it,” he said.
Reed’s debut came at the expense of Kyle Flanagan, who was dropped as halfback a day after his father and coach, Shane, parted with the club. The new playmaker said there were no hard feelings between the pair. “Me and Kyle have always had a really good relationship, and we still do. Nothing has changed between me and Kyle. Kyle’s disappointed he’s not playing, but he’s happy for me too. He’s always looked after me and been really good to me, Kyle.”
Scott Drinkwater Joins the Dragons
North Queensland fullback Scott Drinkwater has spoken for the first time since signing with St George Illawarra, describing his relationship with interim coach Dean Young as a “big factor” in his decision. Drinkwater was contracted to the Cowboys for next year, but was given permission to explore other opportunities after the club earmarked Jaxon Purdue as their long-term No.1. That resulted in the 28-year-old accepting a three-year Dragons deal from 2027.
Drinkwater said the bond he shared with Young, a former Cowboys assistant, from their time together in Townsville helped seal the deal. “He was very important, I spoke to him a couple of times,” Drinkwater told this masthead. “I felt like in 2022-23, while Dean was here, I played really good footy. Even though he was the defensive coach, he’s got a lot of smarts about the game and he gave me a lot of confidence before every game.”
Dragons fullback Clint Gutherson also played a crucial role in Drinkwater’s decision. Gutherson publicly stated he wanted Drinkwater to join the club, even though it meant vacating his preferred No.1 jersey. It was a sentiment Gutherson also conveyed directly to Drinkwater. “Before he said that or messaged me that, I know Gutho and expected that’s the way he would probably go about it,” Drinkwater said. “He’s such a great guy. All the messages and those things, it’s nice to hear. He’s a person I’m keen to play with just with how hard he competes. He’s a really good leader and a guy I hope stays in that squad.”
Drinkwater said the chance to reunite with former Cowboys teammate Valentine Holmes, as well as a series of conversations with Dragons chief executive Tim Watsford, swayed him towards the joint-venture outfit. “I had a good combination with Val when he was here, that’s another person who excited me,” he said. “Speaking to Tim as well, we had a great chat and I loved what he had to say. He’s got high hopes and he sounds like a guy who is bullish about achieving his goals. We had some good communication.”
The Cowboys have climbed into the top eight after winning five of their past six. The Dragons, meanwhile, are on a 12-game losing streak stretching back to last year. The Red V trumpeted Drinkwater’s signature last Friday, hours before the club was trounced 62-16 in their traditional Anzac Day encounter against the Roosters.
Asked if he had cold feet after that result, Drinkwater said: “Not at all. I’ve been part of a team that’s turned it around from almost coming last to make the prelims that year. I’m not really focused or worried about what the Dragons are doing this year, I’m all in with the Cowboys. I owe them and they deserve to have my full attention. I’ve made it clear to myself that’s how I want to go about it, I’m going to dial in with the Cowboys for the next five months. I appreciate the opportunities I’ve been given to live in Townsville, I’ve been here for eight seasons.”
Jacob Preston’s Painful Journey
Canterbury’s NSW Origin hopeful Jacob Preston has been playing with painkilling injections in both AC shoulder joints since the start of the season as he prepares for a shift to the left side of the field to cover injured teammate Viliame Kikau.
Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton made a miraculous return from an AC joint injury last weekend, but said he had a new appreciation for Preston’s pain threshold given he had been doing something similar most weeks.
Preston is one of the front-runners to start on the right edge for NSW in Origin I next month, but is expected to be just as effective when he moves to the left for Kikau (pectoral) for Friday’s clash with the North Queensland Cowboys.
“I had a needle before the game and again at half-time, I’ll probably keep doing that another couple of weeks; it was pretty sore 48 hours after the game … nobody talks about it, but he [Preston] is going through two ACs right now, and has been needling both sides,” Crichton said.
Melbourne Storm’s Struggles and the Path Forward
Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp says the Storm is “a proud club who will stick together”. And they only need to look back 12 months for inspiration to turn their horror start to the season around.
“It’s probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever been in my footy life,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said after the 48-6 loss to South Sydney on Saturday night. It was the heaviest defeat for the club at AAMI Park, and left them with just two wins from their opening eight games.
To put Melbourne’s start to the year into perspective, however, the Panthers were 2-6 last season before they exploded to life and made it all the way to the preliminary final, where they lost narrowly to eventual premiers Brisbane.
“Let’s hope history repeats, but it won’t happen by simply hoping,” Tripp said.
