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Cowboys vs Rabbitohs: A lesson in teamship, consistency and passion

Adam Reynolds has re-signed with the Rabbitohs. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox) .
Roar Guru
15th April, 2016
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Last night’s match between the Cowboys and the Rabbitohs was always going to be emotional.

On the one hand, the Bunnies needed to find a way to put last week’s defeat to the Roosters well and truly behind them. On the other hand, the Cowboys were facing up against the previous premiers for the first time since winning the Grand Final themselves.

While it’s all very well to square off against the runners-up, there’s a different kind of intensity to taking on the previous winners. Add to that how clinically the Broncos managed to reverse the Grand Final when they took the Cowboys to golden point a couple of weeks ago, and North Queensland were certain to rock up at 1300SMILES with sometime to prove.

Things were considerably more stressful for Souths in that last night’s match marked the return of Adam Reynolds since he was injured in Round 1. Given that Reynolds was instrumental in the opening victory over the Chooks, it always felt as if he should return for the second clash against Sydney City last weekend. When he turned out to be a no-show at the last minute, it felt as if the Roosters were fated to reverse history, and sure enough the Tricolors brought in their most emphatic and dramatic win of the season so far, thanks in no small part to young gun Dylan Napa.

Last night, then, was a chance for Reynolds to prove why he’s such an asset to Souths. At the same time, as Andrew Johns discussed in a recent column in the Telegraph, this was also Reyno’s opportunity to make a case for Origin selection, constituting, as it did, his full-length debut for 2016.

Although I’m not a Souths supporter, I’m a big Reynolds fan, so what I’m about to say may be a little biased. While last night may not have compared to some of Reyno’s 2015 outings, I still felt it was a solid enough performance to make him a genuine Origin contender for 2016.

While I wouldn’t put Luke Keary in the same basket – yet – Reyno put in a consistent and powerful game in the halves. While he may not quite be at his peak, that’s often just the right moment to blood Blues players, and I find myself more and more intrigued by how he would look along Josh Reynolds in particular. Reynolds and Reynolds, Aeynolds and Jeynolds – whatever you call them, there’s a nice ring to it.

Last night, Reynolds’ kicking game was particularly on point. Not only did he convert two tries from Chris Grevsmuhl (9) and Sam Burgess (69) but he landed and converted his own try in the 76th minute. In addition, he was responsible – with Keary – for setting up Grevsmuhl’s opening try, bringing the Bunnies up to 6-6 for what momentarily felt like it might be a comeback for the cardinal and myrtle, not least because it represented the first six points conceded by the Cowboys at 1300SMILES in the last three games.

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While Reynolds was a bit of a powerhouse in the opening minutes, he was just as emphatic at the end, bringing in the last points scored before the final siren. Sometimes the last points scored by a losing team can be just as powerful, impressive and charismatic as the overall effort of the winning team. Placing and converting his own try in the final five, Reynolds stole the last-minute spotlight so often claimed by the Cows and by Kyle Feldt and Michael Morgan in particular, with Morgo planting one in the 71st but neither of the Cows entertainers able to upstage Reynolds thereafter.

At the same time, Reynolds’ final six-pointer felt like a symbol for Souths resilience, a reminder that the team has what it takes to deal with the sense of adversity that has gradually been creeping up on them this season, with Greg Inglis’ injury last night off a high shot from Matt Scott in the 66th minute forming yet another blow that Madge will have to negotiate over the coming weeks. It felt right, then, that it was a Redfern local whose actions bookended the game. Only Slammin’ Sam scored any points outside of Reyno’s help, and between them they felt as if they dominated the Souths’ pack.

Still, Burgess’ domination may be a matter of perception and even hype as much as anything else. One of the great strengths of the Cowboys is that they’ve got a stable of big men who know how to play hard, fast and brutal without ever having to style or market themselves as hard men in the process. Last night, Souths felt like the opposite: there’s so much hype around the Burgess brothers that the Bunnies don’t seem to feel as if they need to fight for metres like they once did.

While Sam Burgess can’t be overrated in principle, in practice even he’s felt a little bit like his image has got the better of his actual performance, while Luke and Tom always surprise me with their clumsiness and lack of judgement, given their larger-than-life media profiles. It doesn’t help, either, that the Burgess boys played such a big role in the 2014 Grand Final, since that victory seems to have taken some of the sting out of the Bunnies, resulting in a team that feels more and more complacent, something I never thought I’d say about South Sydney.

On the other side of the Steeden, I want to say that this wasn’t necessarily the Cowboys’ best game of the season – but that’s something I find myself saying about every Cowboys match. Truth be told, even when North Queensland are completely dominant, they never feel as if they’re driving full gear, since there’s a consummate relaxation and languour to their play that only comes when you have a team that is functioning beautifully as a team.

Key to that teamship, of course, is Johnathan Thurston, but the great paradox of JT as a leader is his ability to efface himself in the name of the team. Like the very greatest footy players and footy leaders – Cameron Smith, Darren Lockyer, Andrew Johns – he’s present everywhere, but visible nowhere, seeming to have a hand in every point in the game while never drawing attention to himself as a celebrity either.

Last night, Thurston had what I suppose you’d describe as an inconsistent game, at least for him. Only converting six out of eight (!) tries for the Cowboys, his kicking wasn’t quite as seamless as it usually is, but this was still a watershed night for the world’s favourite halfback. Scoring his 1007th point at 1300SMILES, he became only the second player in Australian Rugby League history to rack up 1000 points at his home ground, after Andrew Johns achieved the same at Hunter Stadium in the early 2000s.

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What Hunter was in the Knights’ heyday, then, 1300SMILES has become during the Cows’ reign – a real fortress, although even that seems far too militant a word for what has to be the most grassroots, low-key, homegrown venue in the NRL. Brookvale, Shark Park and AAMI are fortresses, whereas Hunter and 1300SMILES are more like CRL venues, making Newcastle and Townsville feel like big country towns whenever their footy teams play at home. The fact that these two stadia have proved to be the most galvanising in the game for two of the greatest players in the game should give Mike Baird pause for thought before he celebrates a centralised NRL too prematurely.

If last night wasn’t the Cows’ best game of the year, or even Thurston’s best game of the year, or even the best game played at 1300SMILES this year, then it certainly felt like the game in which 1300SMILES was most front and centre as a character and presence. That was especially clear in the first half, when JT put down a particularly sublime thirty minutes, racking up three conversions and kicking a grubber to himself for a beautiful try in the fifteenth minute.

Although Thurston was dominant, however, last night never felt like the Thurston Show – a Cowboys game never does – with North Queensland also bringing in tries from Cooper (5), O’Neill (27), Feldt (46), Lowe (58), Winterstein (60), O’Neill again (63) and finally Morgan (71). With the exception of some of the Cows’ earlier efforts, and some recent games by Parra, I don’t think I’ve seen a game this season in which the team took ownership of tries in such a collective manner, or in which tries were spaced out across the game in such an even and regular manner.

At the rate of one try roughly every ten minutes – and from such a variety of players – that’s perfectly and professionally paced football. It’s all the more refreshing in 2016, when so many teams have relied or one or two playmakers, and depended on – or been thwarted by – sudden, isolated surges as well as drastic differences in form between the first and second half. Of course, that’s the mark of a watershed year – young guns rising, veterans declining – but it’s also made for some fairly sloppy football.

With no penalty goals or field goals awarded to either side, though, the Cowboys proved that they’re still more than capable of clinical, efficient, economical football, and while that kind of win margin can sometimes be a bit boring to watch – after the first couple of tries, you get the point – there was something quite beautiful about seeing a team function so well as a team. After all, that’s what footy is all about.

So where to from here for the boys from Townsville? At this point it seems as if the sky’s the limit. I thought that Michael Jennings put in a pretty special 100th appearance against the Sea Eagles on Thursday night, but Justin O’Neill arguably outdid him for his centenary celebration last night, scoring two tries roughly the same distance into the first and second halves. Which of the two is dominant will be decided next weekend at 1300SMILES once again, in what is going to be a fairly desperate match for the Eels after competition points are docked.

For the Rabbitohs, things are also going to be pretty intense in the buildup to the clash against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. Having lost to the 2016 premiers, Madge is going to want to avoid losing to the 2016 runners-up. Given the strength of Brisbane’s forward pack, that’s going to be quite a challenge, especially if Inglis isn’t in form, in what promises to be a brutal start to Round 8 next Friday night.

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