SMITHY: Upsets set up an intriguing round

I can’t wait for Round 20 to unfold. After a crazy round last weekend, the response of some teams intrigues me enormously.

Tonight the Knights get a chance for a big scalp at home to the Roosters in what has been a disastrous season for them.

It’s hard to believe how poor Newcastle were on such an important occasion.

Emotion abounded but the Titans handled it well, while a team full of experience and tough nuts fell apart. They will surely come meet the defending premiers with pride at stake. Those veterans and that physical hard edge across the board are needed to confront the top dogs of smash-mouth footy.

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The Roosters used their bye to reconfigure their focus. The Panthers were not in the race when met with such power and speed. Can the premiers do it again if the Knights at last find top gear? I think so.

Can the Panthers bounce back after being outclassed, despite their lofty ladder position? They’re playing the Sharks, so probably.

The really big match this weekend is the Warriors at home to Manly. As regular readers here would know, I love watching the Eagles do their thing. As tough and physical as they are every week, it’s their ability to play footy that thrills me. The way they can keep the physical components going nearly all the time but still work out strategically how to undo their opponents proves they are a classy outfit.

On the other hand, the Warriors’ bubble popped after leading at Brisbane last weekend. Midway through the first half it looked like the form of the Kiwi team was strong, beating the Broncos to everything early on. But when the chips were down and Brisbane got a sniff, they appeared lost as to how to steady the ship.

More importantly, when they really needed points to kick clear, they didn’t seem to know how to go about it. Without physical dominance what could they do?

Manly know how to keep scoring or start scoring without physical dominance or even majority of possession or field position. It will be great to see this match-up, particularly to see what lessons the Warriors learnt in that loss. Will they be prepared for Manly’s plan for this game or will they do what they do best, knowing that Manly will have done their homework on that too?

We all know what the Dogs will do this weekend after that embarrassing and highly surprising second half collapse to the Tigers. They are a proud team and we see a revamped and refocused group who can really change it up with variety in how they approach from one week to the next.

The Dragons’ little form bubble popped on Monday night too. While the scoreboard was pretty close for much of the game, Manly dominated most aspects.

Coach Paul McGregor looks to have changed the feel in the team by unleashing some more flexible and enterprising attack. Unfortunately when the opposition is up for it and smart about what they do, as Manly most certainly are, the Dragons looked lost.

Instead of that sparkling early attack, ‘Mary’ needs to have addressed the smorgasbord right-side defence his side currently offer.

Jason Nightingale stands 20 metres behind the rest of them all the time, Benji Marshall remains without resolve or apparently any awareness of his role in this system, and Josh Dugan plays like a wounded soldier 20 minutes into the game. Fixing that is some task.

Then again their opponents, the Tigers, may do what they do best and ignore the opportunity the Eagles feasted on.