Having seen the Roosters and Panthers snatch victory at the death from the Broncos and Bulldogs respectively, as well as the Dragons edge the Sharks by just two, Round 3 of the NRL has been a nail-bighter. So how will the remaining games unfold?
Sea Eagles over Eels (+12.0)
After their collapse against Melbourne in Round 1, Manly managed to win a tight game against the Rabbitohs in response. The team looked dangerous, even without Brett Stewart on the field, and their defence is good enough to minimise the scoring potential of any team in the NRL.
The Eels’ strong performance in Round 1 had people believing they’d started on the right track, but their defeat at the hands of the Roosters brought back all of last year’s memories. They were simply demolished and it doesn’t bode well for their season, particularly if they have that level of inconsistency all season.
For Parramatta, the return of Nathan Peats could be a catalyst for improvement. The forwards weren’t getting the same quality of service from Ken Edwards, who isn’t a traditional hooker, and need the consistency Peats can offer.
The big men led the way in the Eels’ win over the Warriors, but disappeared against the Chooks. However, the Sea Eagles’ forwards have also suffered from some inconsistency.
Manly will still be missing Brett Stewart in this match but they at least get their gun winger in Jorge Taufua back. The Sea Eagles’ backs should be particularly threatening and Jarryd Hayne could find himself busy in defence. However, the amazing talent of Semi Radradra has the potential to break through even the best defences in the league as he has four tries already this season.
Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran clearly outclass their opposite pairing and should provide their wingers with significantly more scoring opportunities. Big performances from Corey Norman and Luke Kelly are needed if the Eels want to keep up offensively.
If the Round 1 Eels show up, it’ll be a tough game. If it’s the Round 2 group, Manly won’t have any problems.
The Sea Eagles win this game but Parramatta will look a lot better than their performance against the Roosters, keeping this game respectable and within 12 points.
Raiders (-4.5) over Titans
Without Anthony Milford, the Raiders wouldn’t have won in Round 2. The electric fullback routed the Knights’ defence and makes the Canberra offense more dynamic. With plenty of young players coming through, this could be a talented team in the future – as long as the Raiders can hold onto those players.
After a somewhat unimpressive win over the Sharks, the Titans were dominated in Round 2 by one of the wooden spoon favourites in Wests. The Titans have been underperformers in recent years and might not be any good this year either. At least they know they can rely on the occasional long-range Albert Kelly try.
The Canberra props led the way in Round 2, with average metres of 120 for Brett White, Dan Tilse and Paul Vaughan off the bench. In contrast, the Gold Coast forwards couldn’t compete with the efforts of Wests.
With the re-signing of tackling-machine Shaun Fensom this week, the Canberra front and second row has become quietly dangerous. The clash with stars like Greg Bird and David Taylor will be particularly exciting to watch.
But most exciting will be watching two of the stars of the competition, Kelly and Milford – who have both notched up some impressive running metres over their first two games. Granted Kelly has two long-range tries, but he’s still managed 447 metres so far, with an average run of 16.5 metres. Both players are unbelievable runners and have the potential to break this game open.
Finally, there are skilful players in the back five of both teams but Canberra has been noticeably more proficient at try-scoring, notching up a 6 to 1 ratio compared to the Gold Coast.
The Titans’ defence was dreadful against the Tigers and playing in Canberra against Milford won’t be any easier. In fact, it’ll probably be even harder.
The Raiders are an underrated squad and should beat an uninspiring team from the Gold Coast without too many troubles.
Storm (-10.0) over Knights
Two win in two games by the smallest possible margin leaves Melbourne as one of three undefeated teams. Excluding their first half in Round 1, Melbourne have played fairly well, but they’ll be looking to kick into another gear against Newcastle. This season isn’t going to be the year the Storm falls from their position among the NRL’s elite.
Two losses in two games has quickly put pressure on Newcastle’s season as they continue to languish under their injury cloud. Though their effort against the Raiders was more spirited, it still doesn’t provide a lot of encouragement for their season potential. The team just lacks a lot of playmaking in the halves right now.
After beating two potential finals contenders, Melbourne is quickly looking like a title contender once again. The ‘Big Three’ are playing well once again and proving particularly adept at kicking field goals. Their fantastic playmaking ability must be the envy of the Knights, who have found it difficult to assume an offensive identity.
That said, Tyrone Roberts took a step in the right direction, if you ignore his defensive issues. The Knights need to toughen up in defence if they want to be competitive – allowing 28 points per game isn’t going to give them much of a chance. The way Anthony Milford dominated last week doesn’t bode well considering talented return man Billy Slater is their opponent at the back.
Newcastle’s second row was definitely disappointing after they were the stand-outs in Round 1 and Wayne Bennett will be hoping they have a better performance to consolidate the defensive line.
Without Jarrod Mullen, the Knights are merely treading water. With the task of travelling to a Melbourne side that has won both games of the season, there isn’t much good news for Newcastle.
The Storm finally avoid a one-point game by running up a big score against the Knights.
Record for Week 2 (Lines): 3-5
Record for Week 2 (Results): 4-4
A bit better than Round 1 but not exactly a record to be proud of.
Overall Lines: 5-11
Overall Results: 7-9
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