The Rugby League representative season kicked off last night with two committed, gallant teams pitted against each other.
While the first half was a stalemate, the portents of Kiwi doom were being laid under the surface. Here are the Dr’s top five points of interest:
Tommy W
The first is an off-the-ball incident, but forces its way into the top five with a bullet … Tom Waterhouse has been much maligned for his performances on Channel 9 so far this NRL season.
However, he made went some way to rectifying it last night with comedy gold.
His gaffe when reporting the odds for City/Country is up there with the best, and as the poster in the office kitchen says, a good belly-laugh is worth 10 minutes on the rowing machine!
Thank you Tom, I did an hour on the not-rowing machine.
Poor penetration, completions and errors
The Kiwis lacked attacking thrust early and their defence didn’t make up for it, sowing the seeds for what was to come.
The Aussies had far more penetration, carrying the ball over nine metres per run to the Kiwis’ seven in the first half hour. This chewed up a lot of energy for the New Zealanders.
Provided a team can stay close or ahead on the scoreboard and fortune falls their way, they can overcome it.
The Warriors almost did it to the Raiders last week, though they led for most of that match. But the moment the opposition receives favourable rulings or is able to pull away, that tiredness can result in quick points.
While this ‘ball-carry’ gap narrowed slightly for the next 20-25 minutes, it ended the match at 1.7 metre difference, which would be far and away the worst in the NRL competition.
It may seem irrelevant at the time, but four tries in less than 10 minutes was the result.
A completion rate that would also be the lowest in the NRL, and an error count 50% higher than the NRL average are not the ways to overcome poor attacking thrust.
The right and wrong side of the referee
The Kiwis really didn’t have the rub of the green either, and couldn’t make up for the absence of some of their big names who will make them a very different proposition in the World Cup.
For example, Hodges’ knock-on on the try line led to a bizarre penalty to the Aussies, the Inglis try could just as easily have been ruled obstruction, and a dropped bomb by Perrett, which went backwards, saw the ball turned over to the Aussies in a great attacking position.
Points and pressure were not going their way.
Look out NSW!
Justin Hodges try near the end was a classic – classic – Queensland try. It was pure hunger to get the ball, and nothing was left to chance in the effort to score.
With State of Origin around the corner, NSW have immediately been put on notice.
The Great Gallen
What’s going on with Gallen? He continues to run like a steam train and defend like a brick wall.
But now he’s popping balls here, he’s popping them there.
Putting team mates through gaps like a a sneaky halfback has never been his strong suit, but he looks to have added this to his game.
Was he channelling Gavin Miller or something? Surely he can’t be getting better?
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