NRL Round 10 review: Dragons firing and the Cowboys' other half

Our weekly NRL review series continues after a weekend of remarkably close football featuring a statement game from the Dragons and a standout performance from one of the Cowboys’ supporting cast.

Theme of the week – Competitive balance
Despite the drivel trotted out by the ‘NRL in crisis’ crowd every few months, the NRL salary cap is remarkably effective at driving parity across the competition.

Round 10 provided all the evidence one would need that anyone can beat anyone and any game can be competitive.

On a weekend in which the AFL had five games decided by more than 40 points, two NRL games went to extra time and a further four games were within one converted try with as little as 10 minutes remaining.

However it’s more than just the close matches. The equality of the league as a whole was also on display in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon as the Canberra Raiders and St George Illawarra Dragons, who both started the season among the favourites for the wooden spoon, played a furious, high-quality match worthy of the prize of a top-four spot heading into Origin.

The NRL salary cap has a lot of (generally ill-informed and poorly thought out) knockers, but no other major competition comes near it for giving every fan of every team a realistic belief that this could be the year they make the top four, or this could be the weekend that their last-place team knocks off last year’s premiers.

Team of the Week – St George Illawarra Dragons
The Dragons and Raiders both entered season 2015 with essentially zero expectations between them (except maybe that a coach might get fired), so it was remarkable to see them come into the Sunday afternoon match in Wollongong in third and fifth respectively.

Both teams have performed well, though in the Raiders’ case it has been a more up and down effort, whereas the Dragons have been rock solid.

While both teams entered the game as would-be contenders, only one team left it in that shape. The final score line of 32-18 is probably a fair reflection, as aside from a short period either side of half time, the Dragons were in control throughout.

Predictably enough the two ex-Raiders, Joel Thompson and Josh Dugan, made huge contributions, and the Dragons’ starting forwards monstered a Raiders pack that came into the game with a lot of momentum. All five of the Dragons’ running forwards who started the game notched over 100m with the ball.

More importantly, the Dragons were able to limit the impact of the boy-mountain Shannon Boyd; one try, four tackle breaks and 95m being a modest return for a titan come to life. Frank-Paul Nuuasuala was another player who was completely neutered despite coming into the game on the back of three outstanding performances.

But it was the kicking game of Benji Marshall and in particular Gareth Widdop that was the difference in this one. Widdop was magisterial with the boot, whether it was finding ground with his long kicks or the finesse of his short kicking game inside the Raiders’ 20m line.

On two occasions Widdop calmly sidestepped an onrushing Raiders defender only to then move forward like Peyton Manning stepping into the pocket to pass, before putting in precision kicks for tries. The first was a perfectly placed chip kick tapped back by Eto Nabuli for a Joel Thompson try, while the second was the Dragons version of the Storm’s Billy Slater play, with Benji Marshall playing the part of Slater chasing an inside kick towards the posts for the match-sealing try.

Player of the week – Michael Morgan
At the beginning of 2014 Michael Morgan was just one of three candidates, along with Robert Lui and Ray Thompson, to play five-eighth for the Cowboys. However an ACL injury to star recruit Lachlan Coote provided Morgan with an opportunity to shine.

In Coote’s absence Morgan shifted to fullback and had an extraordinary season. Among fullbacks he trailed only Brett Stewart for try assists, Matt Moylan for line break assists, and he added 14 line breaks of his own.

Three rounds into this year Coote made his long-awaited debut for the club, with Morgan returning to the front line at five-eighth. I wrote at the time that the move had the potential to ignite the Cowboys’ season and so it has.

Of course a lot factors have gone into the Cowboys’ revival, not least of which has been Johnathan Thurston playing out of his damn mind, but the play of Coote and Morgan has been instrumental.

While Morgan is running the ball a little less and his playmaking has fallen away somewhat after returning to the frontline, his influence on the game is unchanged. Critically however he has adjusted well to his new role as complementary half to the wizard wearing 7. He has also adjusted to being limited to the right edge rather than having the roaming commission of a fullback and has balanced his responsibility as alternative playmaker with his instinct to support the ball carrier and profit from second-phase play.

This of course came to the boil in spectacular fashion on Friday night as Morgan put in a marvellous three try performance as the little brothers from the north joined the Broncos on the top of the NRL ladder.

Playing a complementary role to the ball-dominant Thurston, Morgan ran the ball effectively, kicked the ball well when called for and provided the finishing touches to Thurston’s virtuoso performance.

It’s no secret that the Origin period is likely to be challenging for the Cowboys given the absences and increased workload for players like Thurston, Matt Scott and James Tamou. In previous years the team relied heavily on Matt Bowen to contain the damage through the middle third of the season. This season with Morgan organising the attack and Coote at the back, the team has an opportunity to do more than simply tread water.