Another NRL round has been won and done. Here are three talking points to come out of it.
Souths are gone
Heading into Friday night’s match against Penrith, the Bunnies knew they had to come away with two points. Despite looking the better of the two sides for a large portion of the match, they failed and languishing in 13th spot, look destined to miss the eight.
What has gone wrong with Souths this year?
Losing one of their spiritual leaders in John Sutton hasn’t helped but the Rabbitohs’ big names have been guilty of underperforming. Adam Reynolds hasn’t been able to recapture his brilliant 2014 form, the Burgess brothers have certainly drifted off a bit and Greg Inglis has at times looked uninterested.
The latter is defiantly the most concerning and coach Michael Maguire must address this before it gets out of hand. Souths ultimately just seem too tired to bother anymore and this year’s campaign looks dead and buried already.
Promising halfback Luke Keary’s bust-up with owner and subsequent defection to none other than the Sydney Roosters says it all really.
Should Brisbane be worried?
Brisbane’s 40-14 shellacking at the hands of Canterbury was a typical post-Origin performance. The Broncos looked tired all night and it showed as the Bulldogs proved both faster and stronger over the 80 minutes.
But this is Brisbane’s fifth loss in seven games and has put them on the cusp of falling out of the top four. Last year they only lost one in the same time period – but to be fair their schedule has been a lot tougher this time round.
Facing fellow contenders North Queensland and Cronulla both away during the Origin period was always going to be a steep mountain to climb.
But losses against the Warriors and Tigers do not make for pretty reading.
Fortunately for the Broncos they had plenty of points in reserve before Origin but they are almost up. The next three weeks will prove crucial to Brisbane’s premiership hopes.
This Friday they face top four rival Melbourne who are themselves coming off a poor second half showing against the Tigers. Craig Bellamy will have no doubt got them fired up to atone for that almost match-costing showing.
They then have the bye and make the trip down to Sydney to meet the Rabbitohs. While Souths are struggling big time, ANZ Stadium has never been a happy hunting ground for Brisbane.
Failure to register two points in either of those games and the Broncos will be in a battle to make the eight, let alone the top four.
Will the Dragons make the eight?
St George Illawarra looked comfortable in their 30-18 victory over Newcastle and now sit just outside the top eight after 16 rounds. The question is, will they get over the line come September?
At this stage, Parramatta’s impending loss of completion points will ensure the Dragons will but they’ll be nervously looking over their shoulder.
Both Gold Coast and New Zealand sit just a win behind on 16 points and have both shown form to justify finals football. The Titans have been pleasantly surprising in a campaign that many tipped would deliver them the wooden spoon.
The Warriors have been immensely frustrating but have started to put together some performances that show just how dangerous they can be. Their 36-18 win over Brisbane was a welcome boost and they took Cronulla all the way in this round’s nail-biting 19-18 loss.
The Dragons have last year’s finals experience to fall back on and know how to grind it out, something that will be invaluable over the next ten weeks.
Much will depend on just how potent Shaun Johnson and the Warriors’ attack becomes. Will they continue their run as per years past? Or will they stutter as per years past?
Only one thing is certain in a Warriors’ season, it will end in tears. The tricky part is figuring out which kind.
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.
Parramatta eased the pressure on coach Brad Arthur with an upset 27-20 win over the Cowboys at CommBank Stadium on Saturday night despite an…
Joey Lussick looked to have channelled his inner Mitch Kenny for a try directly off the Cowboys' short drop out - only for the…
Dylan Brown and Bryce Cartwright were placed on report in the first half, with Cartwright's forearm to the head of Tom Dearden incensing Chad…
Josh Schuster's days at Manly could be numbered after the big-money second-rower was granted permission to open negotiations with NRL rivals. Just 10 months…
The Raiders were given a trademark “Sticky spray” after their pathetic collapse against Cronulla last Sunday. Seven days later they did coach Ricky Stuart…
Playing talent is always important, yet creating a winning culture even more so.
