Brian Noble won three grand finals with the balls and lost in a couple as well in a 5 to 6 year period so I think that has to be considered a success.

Jake Arthur (Manly scrum half) is look for a SL move for 2026

I'd say the lack of announcement is insignificant. It's going to be the RL story of the week however it turns out so they were never going to announce on the weekend. If a decision has been made ( and it is possible they could still be working through details) I'd expect to see something Monday or Tuesday before Arthur's weekly presser, which will likely be Wednesday.

If there isn’t some kind of announcement before BA next sits in front of the journos, every question will be “are you staying or going Brad?”

Matt Shaw reporting negotiations still ongoing, with hope on both sides. I'd guess he's staying, but for how long? If I were Blease I'd be pressing for 3 years and be prepared to negotiate down to 2 years with a release trigger 27  (similar to Croft's) that has to be activated before a certain point in the season. We have a tonne of very well paid players coming off contract in 26 and Blease won't want his hands tied.

He's done great in terms of raising standards but I hope he covers some new ground if he stays. What he's done has largely worked this year but could easily go stale. Anyway, hopefully the soap opera doesn't drag on too much longer..