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NRL Notepad: Deciphering A Press Conference
The Notepad breaks down what is important heading into the upcoming round of the 2026 NRL Season.
Jason Oliver
April 17, 2026
Coaches in the NRL don’t like to give too much away when speaking to the media after a game. Not only is it a bit of a chore to do in defeat, but they also know most of the others in the job are tuning in, listening for anything that might help.
But every so often we can glean something useful, so we’re reading between the lines ahead of Round 7.
What's on the watchlist this week?
Eels v Bulldogs
Picking The Spots
Cameron Ciraldo is a coach that often offers some intersting insight into the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the thought process heading into games. His chat after the game is worth watching no matter the result.
The Bulldogs fell short against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 5, but he did offer some insight into the plan they entered the game with:
“There's a lot to like about what we were doing and sticking to the plan. Part of that plan of our attack was trying to complement our defence as well and and take some juice out of South's key players. I thought we were doing that really well which hopefully was going to pay us back late in the game and unfortunately we just weren't able to keep doing the second half because of the the penalties."
Latrell Mitchell is arguably South Sydney’s most key player, and the Bulldogs worked hard to get him involved in the game on their terms.
They repeatedly looked to get him involved in tackles, searching for him in yardage and forcing repeat efforts out of a player who hasn’t defended in the front line a lot in recent seasons.
