The NRL ladder continues to be topped by a team with a negative for-and-against, and propped up by last year’s premiers. So how did the weekend’s games unfold?
Penrith versus Souths
Another wet night made this game a great cure for insomnia. The Panthers dominated the yardage game early and set up camp on Souths’ line in the first half but never really looked like scoring.
Souths only had to control the ball a little bit in the second half to score a try, which was which was enough to take out this snoozer. The try Nathan Merritt scored to break Souths’ try-scoring record had to be one of the easiest of his 145, only having to catch the pass and run two metres.
Gold Coast versus Brisbane
The football gods are shining their favour on the Titans this year. Shock premiership leaders, despite a negative for and against, the Gold Coast found themselves down 8-0 against the Broncos, who had won eight of the last nine south-east Queensland derbies.
The Broncos looked certain to wrap up the game but were held up by desperate defence on a number of occasions. On one such occasion, the Broncos’ attacking kick on the next play saw David Mead snag the grubber and race 100m to score at the other end – one of the most dispiriting plays in the game.
One thing that has become apparent during Ben Barba’s career is you can gauge his confidence level by how he approaches bomb receptions. When he’s on his game, he attacks them and quite often turns them into breaks, when he is low in confidence he lets them bounce, which often leads to disaster or hilarity.
Barba’s confidence is currently at about Basement 2 as he let (an admittedly difficult) one bounce in the 70th minute, which allowed Aidan Sezer to get through and steal the ball and the game.
Canberra versus Newcastle
These two haven’t played each other since all the way back in Round 2! Surely the draw can’t be that complicated that they can’t avoid having teams play each other twice within four weeks? On that occasion, Canberra snatched the away win, so it was only fitting that Newcastle return the favour here.
In 2012/13 Canberra went on a run of 12 straight wins at home. They have followed that with six straight losses at home.
Parramatta versus Easts
And it was déjà vu all over again, again, with yet another repeat match-up from Round 2, when the Roosters declared after rattling up 56 points.
There couldn’t be a better illustration of the topsy-turvy nature of this year’s competition than last year’s wooden spooners beating the defending premiers four weeks after being lapped. The Eels fans are now into the unchartered territory; expecting them to win, rather than hoping they get within 20.
With the Eels now 4-2, is this proof Ricky Stuart (2-4 with Canberra) really can’t coach or is it fruit of the hard decisions that Ricky took last season in sacking half the club? I’d wager there are some nervous officials in Canberra worried they’ve wasted $500k and thinking they should have gone for Brad Arthur instead, who is clearly doing something right.
On the other hand, the Roosters’ title defence is looking about as convincing as Mark Taylor’s ukulele playing on the Fujitsu ad.
Wests versus North Queensland
Last week the Tigers rode the support of a fervent 16,000 at Leichhardt to smash Manly. Fortunately it doesn’t take too much enthusiasm to down the Cowboys this year, with only 6,000 or so showing up to cheer Wests home.
The Tigers this season are clearly better off without the distraction of Benji Marshall, who is collecting splinters on the Auckland Blues’ bench.
New Zealand versus Canterbury
Nothing fires up a team like sacking the coach, ensuring those that have been slacking suddenly have to impress the new coach.
The Warriors started well, but the Dogs slowly wore them down and won by a field goal for the second straight week.
Manly versus Cronulla
A week after notching their first win of the year, the Sharks had the unenviable task of travelling to Brookvale to face Manly. The Sea Eagles were looking to bounce back after getting thrashed by the Tigers, and were finally at full strength, having both Stewart brothers on deck and welcoming back Jorge Tafua.
It took all of about three minutes for Tafua’s presence to be felt as he burst through and gifted Steve Matai the first of his two tries. Cronulla had nothing but futility in return and the game was over at halftime. Both teams just went through the motions in the second half, making it the second rubbish game shown on Channel Nine, with the Sharks only getting on the board in the 80th minute.
Melbourne versus St George-Illawarra
The last time the Dragons won in Melbourne, the Storm were captained by Senator-elect Glenn ‘Brick with Eyes’ Lazarus, and Anthony ‘the Man’ Mundine was somersaulting for the Dragons – back when both were taken seriously in their chosen occupation, rather than being used as punch lines.
Gareth Widdop, returning to Melbourne for the first time and hoping to make his mark away from the shadow of the ‘Big Three’, had Dragon fans partying like it was 1999 with a 24-10 lead with 15 to play. Unfortunately, partying like it was 1999 turned into a reliving of the 1999 grand final nightmare, as Melbourne recovered from what should have been a match-winning lead to storm home and take the lead at the death, with some assistance from the referees.
A week after Manly were awarded a try after the halftime whistle should have blown, the Storm were allowed to continue after the full-time hooter. With every decision seemingly taking five minutes of video ref replays nowadays, it seems incredible these mistakes can happen. Steve Price’s job probably rests on whether the Dragons can make the eight, so if the Dragons miss the final by one game, then it could be a career-ending decision.
Having said that, the Dragons only have themselves to blame, and wouldn’t have been in that position if they had played a bit smarter in the final 15 minutes.
Price said, “the footy gods weren’t with us.” Fans may wonder what St George have done to invoke their wrath, and I’d venture signing Josh Dugan may have something to do with it. The controversial fullback was seen as a steal when he was nabbed last season after being sacked by Canberra and then rejected by the Broncos. He may be seen by most as one of the Dragons’ best players, yet their record with him playing is 3 from 12 (25%), and 7 from 17 (41%) when he isn’t since the start of last year.
That’s how I saw it from the Couch, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Twitter: @Armchair_Guru
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The NRL's match officials announcement on Tuesday lunchtime is usually cause for little fanfare, but sparked debate this week with top ref Ashley Klein…
All the team list information for Round 8.
Braydon Trindall has been stood down from the Cronulla Sharks after failing an alcohol and drug test while driving on a suspended licence. The…
Cronulla co-captain Dale Finucane has announced his retirement from the NRL after "double-digit concussions" prompted him to call a premature end to his playing…
I’m sorry Newcastle, but this won’t be your year. Unless your whole approach can change. Kalyn Ponga’s Lisfranc injury may have cost him 12…
Paul Gallen on 100% Footy has questioned how the bunker, touch judge and referee all missed what should've been a sin-bin after a Wests…
