This week’s review is a seven-game review because I didn’t watch Monday night’s game between the Eels and Titans. For your sake, unless you’re a diehard Eels or Titans fan, I hope you didn’t either. Hashtag bludger.
Theme of the week – Comeback kids
Its crunch time in the NRL, with almost every game having ramifications for the top eight.
This week saw several important second-half comebacks from teams vying for positions in the finals.
The Rabbitohs and Sharks both overcame determined opposition in Penrith and the Warriors respectively to keep their winning streaks alive, while the Dragons got a much-needed win against the forlorn Knights to arrest their precipitous slide down the ladder.
Even the already eliminated Tigers overcame an early 10-point deficit to stun the Storm at Leichardt and put a dent in the latter’s top-four hopes.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs and Raiders, two other teams in the mid-table jostle, were on the wrong end of comeback games, with the Bulldogs coming oh so close with their own comeback and the Raiders on the wrong end of a blistering Cowboys second half.
Team of the week – Manly Sea Eagles
Who saw that coming? Now, now don’t be fibbers, no one did.
I can honestly claim that I tipped the Eagles, who have been in outstanding form recently, but I certainly didn’t imagine that they would stomp the top-of-the-table Broncos in such emphatic fashion.
The Eagles forwards remain a motley crew of youngsters, veterans and fringe first graders. But for the time being that forward pack only needs to play to a draw with the opposition to give a backline that remains among the strongest in the completion, time and space to operate. Even without Steve Matai the Eagles backs were imperious, with Jamie Lyon turning back the clock with his best performance of the season.
A week after sacking their coach for… reasons… the club is only one win outside the eight, and while their for and against is still a problem, there will be some increasingly nervous teams above them.
With the Rabbitohs and Roosters both on the home stretch, along with the Raiders, Sharks and Eels, the club will have certainly earned it should they finagle their way into the eight.
Player of the week – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
I can give you the raw numbers (210 metres on 17 carries), but while they were impressive they don’t begin to tell the story of how influential the big Kiwi was.
With his front row compatriot Sam Moa out injured, and his team trailing after getting out to an early 22-0 lead, Waerea-Hargreaves returned midway through the second half and changed the course of the game with his powerful running and aggression. His epic line drop-out return in the 66th minute was a sight to see and changed the tone of the game as the Roosters came from behind to win.
Waerea-Hargreaves can be a frustrating player to follow. At times he seems to get caught up in one-on-one battles to the detriment of his role for the team, but when he is focussed there is no more destructive front rower in the competition.
A fond 2015 farewell to – the Newcastle Knights
At halftime on Sunday afternoon it seemed like Newcastle may have delayed the executioner for one more week, but a second-half surge from the Dragons was too much for the beleaguered Knights to hold back.
Later this week I’ll post my full Knights season review, but for now let’s just take a moment to remember all the times that Kurt Gidley was inexplicably picked for NSW.
Elimination watch – the Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans
While it may not have been entirely what the local authorities in Darwin were hoping for when they arranged to bring the Eels versus Penrith game to town, this game will have some meaning because the season will be over for whoever loses.
The prize for the team that does win? One more week of mathematical eligibility.
Meanwhile, for the Titans every week is ‘win or go home’, so despite the solid performance at home on Monday the club must now win again in Melbourne of all places to avoid the chop. Things aren’t looking good.
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