I took in this week’s round of NRL from Hong Kong. Yep, rugby league in China, baby! If only those Super League boys could see me swapping VB and meat pies for Tsing Tao and pork dumplings, it would probably bring a tear to John Ribot’s eyes.
Souths repeat Lazarus act to down Dogs
But once the dust settles and the MSG wears off, I’ll be staring at an NRL table which tells us a whole new story.
A few weeks ago I made the call on a Melbourne versus Roosters Grand Final. At the time the two teams that people felt most harshly done by were Manly and Parramatta, just like the Tooheys New ad which has been getting a revival thanks to YouTube.
But since then, only the Sea Eagles have shown they may be dropping an egg on my face (and potentially something else) from a great height as they seem to have found another gear.
The Origin series was particularly kind to Manly with only Brett Stewart being called away. But apart from their lack of representation having the obvious impact on the club of keeping their stars at home, it could also have two further fringe benefits down the line.
First, their perceived snubbing could well aid Des Hasler when he looks to put the wagons in a circle ahead of the finals.
Nothing gets a team more ready for a game than being told that no-one thinks they are good enough, and Manly love a siege mentality like no other. So I can see the Eagles really using the omission of Brent Kite and others to their advantage when they are taking on teams who have plenty of players with State tracksuits in their wardrobe.
Secondly, while other teams look at avoiding any sort of Origin hangover, the Eagles should be relatively fresh.
Their opponents on Friday, the Titans, must now be ruing that ever-demanding Scott Prince was included in the Maroons side as they face a season in freefall without their chief playmaker.
But the Sea Eagles just kept going, and the fact that they are top of both the attack and defence stats tells you that they play for the full 80 minutes.
I don’t know whether that is down to the calves’ blood or a team fashioned in Des Hasler’s own image, but it is something to take note of.
Stats aside, if you have a halfback like Matt Orford who can pull off that sort of flick pass to a fullback like Brett Stewart like they did on Friday when it counts, that could mean something.
Orford has always had his doubters. It is time to prove them wrong.
And that my friends, could be said of the entire Parramatta squad.
After they hammered the Tigers, plenty of fans were ready to proclaim they were ready.
They aren’t.
For some reason Parramatta, with all their promise, just don’t seem to have the grit and honesty to graft out the results they need.
There was a rumbling when they failed against Cronulla and some eyebrows raised when they scraped home against Melbourne’s young guns, but their defeat to Penrith must really have those who were death-riding the blue and gold unit grinning from ear to ear.
Let’s face it, Penrith are in a rebuilding mode and would be ecstatic if their season finished with a top eight berth.
They should have been cannon fodder for a team with Parramatta’s pedigree. Instead, they head back to the foot of the mountains with the two points.
What’s the matter Parramatta?
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