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Round 3 saw video referees slip up, with some extraordinary try denials. We saw some sloppy defence at Auckland and Brisbane. We even saw some biffo, albeit bitch slapping.
There were some brave players, like Dylan Walker playing with a broken hand, and James Segeyaro with a minced mouth.
We still saw a heap of forward passes from dummy half, and we a new fixation at Brookvale, with walking off the mark being called up.
Let’s check out the teams.
Sea Eagles
They tried hard in a tough game played on a sand pit. They missed Jamie Lyon badly as his sub got wobbled off early, and they missed all their goal attempts.
Feleti Mateo has had two good games in a row, so surely he is due for the sack, while Daly Cherry-Evans was a bit off his game.
Manly played catch-up all game, yet at times they made great metres in their sets. Matt Ballin was unsung as usual, making 40-odd tackles and providing good service. Luke Burgess looked good at times and outshone his mate, Willie Mason.
Bulldogs
The Doggies had a hard-fought win against Manly, in a gritty but unappealing match, on a gritty and wet surface.
Sam Perrett had a big game and Tim Lafai won his duel with Steve Matai, while nabbing two tries. Moses Mbye had touches of class, especially when he parted the seas to put Perrett over.
Despite that, basically the dogs have no ‘clever’, no creation, just big roll from the forwards. They are a September team.
Broncos
Much improved this week. Forwards going forward gives Ben Hunt room to work and suddenly points get scored, with Antony Milford joining the party in attack. Maybe the old-school white collars made them think they were back in the nineties, because they just played really good draw-and-pass footy.
The Broncos’ tackle-break count was probably higher than the Cowboys tackle count in the first half. Are they better, or were the Cowboys just awful? Probably a bit of both, but scoring points sure improves morale.
Cowboys
For a team rated to make the top four, they have only taken three weeks to go from the penthouse to the other house. What drivel they serve up. Johnathan Thurston has to take a pooper scooper on the field to try and clean up the mess his forwards leave him.
James Tamou can get back on the bench, for reserve grade. Please don’t tell me to look at NRL stats because metres run after you are losing by 30 aren’t good metres.
Warriors
I expected them to go nuts, and for a while they looked like they would. Then the old Warriors returned after half-time to turn a slaughter into a win. The forwards drove Parramatta through the middle early and tries came from good runs from dummy half.
With possession at 80 per cent early they ran to 28–nil, but they should be concerned with the ease that the Eels slipped down their right defence in the second half.
Shaun Johnson is a target in defence for sure and certain. Sam Tomkins hobbling off must be a worry, as this seems to be ongoing – I now hear he is out for six weeks. Chad Townsend will be happy with his form, being involved in three tries.
Eels
Missing a winger shouldn’t stop your forwards from tackling. Losing both hookers to head bins didn’t help, but Parra weren’t in the game at all. They came back attacking the Warriors right edge in the second half with Manu Ma’u serving up some great stuff and they almost got close, but were never going to win.
They should not be too depressed as they have had three big games so far.
Raiders
The Raiders started on fire with crisp running. Paul Vaughan worked very hard early and Blake Austin carved up, scoring one and being denied another try. Then they lost all of their shape. After 65 minutes, they were running on the spot.
Jordan Rapana was excellent for most of the game, then played with wobbly boots. This is a big issue, as St George were very ordinary and there for the taking. Perhaps it is inexperience, but they need to learn to play for 80 minutes.
Dragons
What a great win, considering they had the game lost. They started terribly, and looked so uncoordinated. Inspired by Trent Merrin, they clawed themselves back into the game. When they lost Josh Dugan to the sin bin they fired up. Suddenly the ball was going through the hands and making metres.
Gareth Widdop went from pauper to prince in the second half. Jason Nightingale was excellent throughout the game, and Tyson Frizell worked very hard.
The jury still out on their standing, despite the great effort, as Canberra were running on the spot in the latter part of the game.
Storm
Clearly stung by my exclusive Sharks tip. Like Fonzie, I was “wrrrrrr…” And like Fonzie, Melbourne jumped the Sharks.
The left edge went really well, where Tohu Harris and Blake Green carved the Sharks up. Marika Koroibete looked the best player on the field, making numerous long runs and also some wonderful rescues form kicks.
While Cameron Smith had a party and Cooper Cronk brought the grog, Billy Slater forgot to bring the music this week.
Sharks
Absolutely disgraceful. I said tipping the Sharks was crazy, and it looks like I am crazy. They looked sharp and focussed for at least the first minute.
The Fifita twins continue to be destructive and dopey at the same time. Ben Barba let me down badly – he has no confidence and is not a first grader at the present time. Luke Lewis and Anthony Tupou did slightly improve the attack when they came on. Ricky Leutele needs more clean ball and Michael Gordon needs some gaps to run into.
Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs were made to work very hard by the Tigers. Greg Inglis was all class, and the halves were very busy. Dylan Walker is getting all the wraps for having a busted hand, but regardless he just played wonderfully. Issac Luke was fired up by Marty Taupau and sailed very close to the wind.
Souths did show they could be niggled off their game for a while, but when they concentrated on footy, they put points on the board. Glenn Stewart looks like an absolute brilliant buy so far.
Tigers
The Tigers played tough, worked really hard, tested the Bunnies, but ultimately were well short. They will also have problems with the judiciary for Pat Richards tipping Inglis on his head and Taupau shoving Adam Reynolds off the ball.
Robbie Farah works hard, but isn’t creating much and Luke Brooks seems overawed at the moment. For some reason Curtis Sironen was very quiet as well.
The Tigers look like they are being shackled, when they should be throwing the ball around and enjoying their footy.
Titans
The Titans might be upset by Dane Gagai’s try ruling, but if they had played to the whistle, or tried tackling him, there would be no issue. They shows glimpses of form, especially with the lead-up to Aiden Sezar’s try off Anthony Don’s run.
Greg Bird worked hard, as expected, and Dave Taylor was puffing after two minutes, as expected. Also, almost as per the script, they lost the game in the last few minutes, when they probably deserved to win.
It will be a long, long season if they just lose their good matches and get belted when they are off.
Knights
The Knights did what they have done for three weeks running: battled hard, fell behind, and scored late to claim victory. They looked disjointed for most of the game, yet scored three of the easiest tries you could imagine.
Kade Snowden continues to impress with his work rate, as did Korbin Sims. Sione Mata’utia continues to be a paradox – his running metres are great but his error rate at the back is worrying. The entire back five for Newcastle continue to make metres, and help their forwards stay fresh.
Next week they meet the Panthers, so that will be a test of their mettle.
Roosters
The Roosters demonstrated how far Souths are ahead of the field. They controlled their match against Penrith, and always looked that level beyond the opposition. James Maloney was vastly improved this week, and Blake Ferguson showed his attacking skills scoring twice against Jamal Idris.
Sam Moa was strong around the rucks, and Dylan Napa made his presence felt, especially by poor old Segeyaro. Boyd Cordner continues his good early form.
They will be happy to achieve all this without Jake Friend, whose crisp dummyhalf work is missed.
Panthers
The Panthers played well enough, without really challenging the Roosters. Yes, they were ripped off by the video ref, but they were already behind the eight ball. Idris was shown up badly against Ferguson, and coaches will be looking to use speedy steppers up against him. Josh Mansour gave the rear good go-forward, if you get my drift.
This week the Panthers bench were quieter because the run on forwards did not win the ruck. Segeyaro was dynamic while he was on the field. Penrith will learn, and improve and are still the third best side at the present time.
We have great news for the Sharks and Titans next week. One of them will win a game of football. The other interesting match-up will be the Knights vs the Panthers.
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