Origin Eligibility Row, the Penrith Tipping Point, and ‘Ask Kenty’

Today, Kenty and Woz dive into a potential State of Origin eligibility bombshell, question whether the Penrith Panthers have finally hit their tipping point, and round things out by fielding a stack of fan questions.​

The Origin eligibility bombshell

The NRL is weighing up a major change to State of Origin eligibility, centred on whether players from tier one nations such as New Zealand and England should be allowed to play in the series. Payne Haas has publicly stated he wants to represent New South Wales and then turn out for Samoa later in the year, something the current rules permit because Samoa is a tier two nation. To tidy up situations involving stars like Haas, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Kalyn Ponga, the NRL is considering throwing Origin open to all, including English and Kiwi players.​

Kent argues that would be a disaster for the concept, insisting Origin’s magic lies in its tribalism and the genuine “hate” between Queensland and New South Wales. In his view, bringing in short‑term “mercenaries” chasing the experience or the match fee would dilute everything that makes the spectacle special. Instead of expanding access, he believes the NRL should acknowledge the rise of Samoa, Tonga and PNG by elevating them to tier one status, which would automatically make their players ineligible for Origin on the principle that “you can’t have two masters.”​

The Penrith tipping point

Kenty also reacts to a notably honest interview from Ivan Cleary suggesting the Panthers may have reached a tipping point in their current cycle. After dropping three of their opening four games, Penrith’s once‑watertight defence is suddenly conceding close to 30 points a match. They are doing it while missing Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and James Fisher‑Harris, but Kent’s bigger concern is that the famed “next man up” system is creaking because too many fresh faces are being asked to step in at once. For the first time in years, the bookmakers have pushed Penrith out to third favourites for the title, behind the Broncos and the Storm.​

The DCE ‘smear campaign’

The fallout from Daly Cherry‑Evans’ decision to leave Manly continues to swirl. Wally Lewis has suggested Manly have a history of turning on their own, but Kent pushes back, arguing that while the club is clearly mishandling DCE’s exit, he doesn’t see that kind of “attack mode” as an entrenched trait. Responding to criticism from ex‑players such as Nathan Hindmarsh and Paul “Spud” Carroll over Cherry‑Evans not being a one‑club man, Kent says that while staying at a single club is admirable, DCE is simply doing what is best for his business and his family at this stage of his career.

Ask Kenty: fan questions

In the Q&A segment, Kent is asked who the game’s best referee is and replies that no official is currently “commanding the game”, suggesting the refereeing ranks are in a state of flux with Origin looming. On ruck speed, and a fan’s idea of rewarding players who stay on their feet, he laments the loss of the game’s old “natural rhythm” and suggests the NRL look back to the early 1990s, before the Super League war, to see how the sport was officiated when it was at its “aesthetic best.”​

Asked about automatic sin bins for any tackle that leads to an HIA, Kent warns that such a rule would invite “milking”, with players tempted to exaggerate symptoms to get an opponent removed. On Nicho Hynes, he agrees with a viewer that the Cronulla star plays his best football when paired with a genuine running five‑eighth, but notes the Sharks face a headache because Braden Trindall is in such strong form that they can’t realistically move or rein in him just to accommodate Hynes’ ideal set‑up.​

Watch the full episode on Fanatics TV.​