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What did we learn from round 19 of the 2012 NRL Season? Here are the five big points, starting with a plea for an 18th man to be introduced.
Amongst all of the knockouts, an 18th man makes sense
On Friday night Parramatta prop Fuifui Moimoi was literally knocked out the contest by his Bulldogs opposite number Sam Kasiano in the first tackle at ANZ Stadium. While Kasiano was penalised and put on report, and will not play this weekend pending an NRL judiciary hearing, Parramatta were penalised to a far greater degree – they were left without a 17th player for the remaining 79 minutes.
After the match Eels coach Stephen Kearney rightfully called for the NRL to introduce a rule that would allow an 18th man to substitute a player that is injured by a tackle that is put on report. The Moimoi injury, which didn’t cost the Eels the game against a very impressive Bulldogs outfit who probably would have won anyway, follows a very similar incident from round 18 where Ben Ross of the Sharks was knocked out by Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves early in the contest.
While Waerea-Hargreaves missed the following week’s game against the Rabbitohs, the Sharks spent most of the contest against the Roosters playing one man down. Bring in the 18th man option pronto. It makes sense.
Manly continue to struggle against the lesser lights
Five of Manly’s seven loses this season have come against teams that currently sit outside of the top eight – Dragons, Eels, Titans, Panthers and Newcastle. On Saturday evening Manly were put to the sword 32-6 by a more enthusiastic and desperate Newcastle Knights team at Hunter Stadium. It was the Eagles largest loss of the season.
Interestingly, all of their other losses to teams on the bottom half of ladder have been by a margin of nine or more points. In each of these contests the boys from the beaches have been well and truly beaten, something that will concern their first year coach Geoff Toovey. With a relatively tough run in to the finals, the Eagles will be desperate to turn around a very inconsistent 2012 season, beginning with Friday night’s blockbuster against the Des Hasler-led Canterbury Bulldogs at Brookvale Oval.
Thurston makes post-Origin surge
By his lofty standards, 2012 hasn’t been the greatest of seasons for Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston, but his recent performances have been ominous. Last season’s Golden Boot Award winner has somewhat struggled to adapt to his switch from halfback into the five-eighth role, but that all changed in State of Origin three where he put in a dominant performance.
Thurston continued his excellent return to form with a brilliant performance against the competition leaders the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night at AAMI Stadium. Thurston controlled the game expertly, leading his team to a 20-16 victory, with two game-breaking try assists. He looks ready for a blockbuster end to the season.
Free spirited Saints still struggle for points
Dummies, quick passes and offloads. St George-Illawarra looked more like the Harlem Globetrotters in the first 20 minutes of their contest against the Sharks on a sunny Sunday afternoon, rather than the team that possesses the worst attack in the NRL.
Despite appearing to cut loose from their usually predictable selves, the Dragons managed just six points in the first quarter of match – a period of total dominance that should have yielded a far greater reward against a shell shocked Sharks outfit – and just 18 for the entire game. In the absence of injured pivot Jamie Soward, Kyle Stanley looked lively until he suffered a season ending injury early in the game, while the Nightingale and Morris positional swap achieved mixed results.
The Dragons should receive credit for their improved ball movement, but ironically their best player was forward Trent Merrin who ran hard and straight all day. He, and a couple of questionable refereeing calls, proved the difference between victory and defeat, and condemned Cronulla to a 10th straight loss at WIN Stadium.
It ain’t over until it’s over
With less than five minutes left on the clock the Sydney Roosters led their traditional rivals, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, by a seemingly comfortable 10 points at ANZ Stadium on Monday night. The game was effectively over when the ball was put into touch by Roosters halfback Mitchell Pierce just 6 metres from the opposition’s try-line from the next set of six. But no one told the Souths players, who rushed to the scrum and scored a quick try through runaway winger Nathan Merritt.
Even with the deficit reduced to four points, the clock looked like being Souths greatest enemy – there was only 50 seconds left when Braith Anasta delivered a kickoff to big Dave Taylor. Five passes later and Souths were over adjacent to the posts. An Adam Reynolds conversion gave Souths a ridiculous 24-22 victory. It also gave the Bunnies some sweet revenge against the Roosters, who defeated their fellow foundation club in round one in eerily similar circumstances.
Monday night’s comeback was left so late that many of the Souths fans were already in their cars driving home as total chaos broke out at ANZ Stadium. What a game and what a competition!
Individual Performance: Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys)
Match of the Round: Roosters v Rabbitohs
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