In Round 13 of our regular weekly reviews of the NRL we look at an unusually unequal round, the wonderful (well for everyone except Eels fans) comeback from the Cowboys, and the form of two young halves.
Theme of the round: Blowouts
The salary cap has been remarkably successful at distributing talent across the competition, ensuring that on any given day any team can beat any team.
Generally speaking this results in mostly close games across the league, however this week proved a rare exception with half the games resulting in blow outs of 20 points or more.
Not since Round 1, where blowout scores are to be expected as new combinations make first contact with the enemy, have there been some many lopsided scores.
In fact of the 21 games this season that have been decided by 20 or more, nearly half were in Round 1 or this weekend.
Saturday in particular became shellacking Saturday, as the Warriors, Panthers and Knights all copped a hiding. Sadly for their fans, the Warriors and Panthers didn’t throw any punches, let alone land any. At least the Knights can claim to be in the game at various stages despite the final score.
Team of the week: North Queensland Cowboys
So that happened.
50-odd minutes into Monday night’s game, it seemed inevitable that we would be adding one more blowout to the list, with the Eels in command and up by 22 points over the Cowboys.
The Eels forwards, taking up from where they left off last round against the Panthers, were utterly dominant, marching the side down the field with ease.
What the Eels didn’t know was that Gavin Cooper recently met up with a shadowy figure at a deserted crossroads and sold his eternal soul for a truly ridiculous, match-changing hat-trick.
Of course there was more to the Cowboys’ comeback than some brilliant skill (and luck) from Cooper, and it was in large part the Cowboys forwards finally returning serve that got them back into the game, along with some standard magic from Johnathan Thurston.
The Cowboys now join the Broncos on 20 points and with 10 wins to date they now have their best Round 13 record ever, and look primed for a top-four finish and home finals.
Player of the round: Sam Williams
While his halves partner Blake Austin may be the one attracting evangelical support for an Origin jersey, Sam Williams was the true orchestrator of the Raiders’ much-needed win in Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
Williams was credited with four try assists on the day but also had a hand in a fifth as it was his inside ball that sprang Austin on the left edge before the latter grubbered ahead for Edrick Lee to score the opening try.
Those four try assists take him ahead of season-long assist totals for players of the calibre of Michael Morgan, Jarrod Mullen and Trent Hodkinson, despite having played fewer games than any of those more highly regarded players.
Williams also added three line break assists to place him in the top 10 halves in that category also.
Beyond pure playmaking stats, Williams’ overall control of the game impressed – in particular his kicking game was superb, as he racked up over 400 kicking metres on 15 kicks.
While Williams is nominally the left-side half, he played across both sides of the field as well as any halfback in the competition and generally had his halves partner Ragnar Lothbrok trailing behind him in support.
While Williams has always been an outstanding attacking player, questions about his defence saw him punted from first the Raiders and then the Dragons in quick succession over 2013 and 2014. However he has clearly worked hard on his defence and he now boasts a missed tackle rate of less than 15 per cent, which puts him in the middle of the pack as far as halves are concerned. It’s a trade-off the Raiders will be happy to take for his outstanding attacking contributions.
Williams’ remarkable performance in Newcastle came less than 24 hours after his presumed replacement at the club, Aidan Sezer, put in a man of the match performance of his own for the Titans. Sezer is slated to join the Raiders in 2016 and it has been long assumed that he would slot straight into the number 7 jersey for the club. However Williams’ recent form has demonstrated that he belongs in first grade and coach Ricky Stuart faces some tough choices at the start of next season.
Player of the round Part 2: Moses Mbye
In the week leading up to the Bulldogs’ match against the Dragons there was speculation that Trent Hodkinson’s long-term future at the Bulldogs could be in jeopardy as the club sought to retain the exciting Mbye.
If those reports were accurate then Mbye’s electric performance on Sunday will have turned up the heat on Hodkinson just that little bit more, while at the same time reiterating for the Bulldogs hierarchy what a special player they have in Mbye.
Mbye had a terrific game from start to finish but it was during the period that Hodkinson was off the field to make way for Josh Reynolds that he really stood tall. It would be hard to top the pure symbolism of Mbye first knocking down a sideline conversion then calmly slotting a field goal, given that both of those are skills for which Hodkinson is renowned.
Mbye has been something of a pinch hitter for the Dogs this year, playing in the centres or alongside either Reynolds and Hodkinson in the halves. All the while he has been far and away the team’s most consistent playmaking threat, with seven try assists to go with five line breaks and three line break assists.
It will be interesting now to see whether coach Des Hasler sticks with the form player in Mbye in the halves or he persists with trying to shoehorn Hodkinson, Mbye and Josh Reynolds into the team together.
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