When I look at the weekend of games just gone the first three letters of the alphabet stand out to me – A for Austin, B for Bennett and C for Cronk.
Plus, L for Lewis and W for the Warriors. Seriously, what would our lives be like if we didn’t have the Warriors? They provide the ultimate rugby league roller-coaster ride, and have done so since their inception.
Back to them later. For the moment, let’s focus on…
‘A’ is for Blake Austin
Many people think the Canberra five-eighth should have been given a run for NSW at some stage during the State of Origin series that’s just ended.
I wrote before Origin 2 that since Blues coach Laurie Daley had made it clear he wouldn’t be changing his halves from Game 1, Austin should at least be considered for the bench.
At the time, I asked Daley what his thinking was on Austin and he replied: “I think Blake’s a good player, but, for me, when I’m picking representative sides I want blokes who have played consistently well for a period of time.
“Otherwise, you could be giving representative jerseys out every four or five weeks to blokes who have just come through a bit of a purple patch.
“He’s got plenty of potential, he’s a guy who’s played really well, but he just hasn’t played a lot of football and you’d be reluctant to put him in a big game which he’s never experienced before and expose him to that.
“And one thing I’ve always wanted to do is make sure I know they’re ready rather than hoping they’re ready and I think that’s always been a key in Origin. That’s how I approach selections.”
It was hard to argue with Daley’s logic, and NSW did go on to beat Queensland in Game 2, but one effect that a 52-6 flogging in a series decider should have is to put all the cards on the table for the beaten side.
Austin starred again for Canberra in their win over Newcastle on Friday night. I can only assume that if he maintains consistently good form between now and early next season he will make his Blues debut then.
‘B’ is for Wayne Bennett
The master coach took his formula – which has worked everywhere for him except at Newcastle, and look at them again this season – back to Brisbane and the results have been excellent.
What Bennett has done with the Broncos may not be rocket science, but when you start putting all the parts together it is simply brilliant.
Bennett brought Darius Boyd with him as fullback, dispensed with Josh Hoffman and Ben Barba and went with Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt as his preferred halves. Then he played some early-season mind games with Sam Thaiday that brought the best out in the representative forward.
Brisbane lost 36-6 at home to South Sydney in the first round, but there was no hint of panic. It was early days. The aim was to get the defence right and the attack would come.
In the 15 games since Round 1, Brisbane have scored 365 points at an average of 24.3 points per game and conceded 220 at an average of 14.6. Overall, they have scored the most points of any team in the NRL and rank fourth best in defence.
The Broncos didn’t do anything spectacular to beat Canterbury on the road on Saturday night. They just did everything a bit faster, a bit smarter and with a bit more intensity.
Watching the game, I got the feeling from the way the Bulldogs were playing that they thought they were going to get on top of Brisbane eventually, but it never happened. And for good reason – Brisbane were just that little bit better at everything that mattered.
‘C’ is for Cooper Cronk
Melbourne are struggling at the moment, but halfback Cronk did his best to help get them the win they needed. But even he couldn’t come up with the necessary magic against the Warriors on Sunday.
In the lead-up to the Storm’s first try, the play in progress had barely begun before Cronk motioned for the ball to come back the other way on the next tackle.
He had identified a potential weakness in the Warriors’ defence and Melbourne almost scored, but once they hadn’t he went straight back to the other side and brilliantly hooked a kick around for Marika Koroibete to score.
We couldn’t hear what Cronk was saying, but when the camera focused on him addressing the rest of the team while captain Cameron Smith lined up the conversion attempt the message appeared to be very clearly defined.
Right near the end of the game, with the Warriors already having wrapped up a win, Cronk – backing up from Origin 3 – made a tremendous, long chase to prevent a runaway try. It was commitment in the extreme.
Cronk manages a game better than any other halfback in the NRL. His vision and judgement are extraordinarily good. I don’t know what he plans to do when he retires from playing, but if he went into coaching I’d be stunned if he wasn’t successful.
‘L’ is for Luke Lewis
This player of great ability and even greater character accepted Laurie Daley’s decision not to include him in the NSW team this year with tremendously good grace.
He was disappointed, naturally, but he accepted the coach’s decision to go with younger forwards without bitterness, and voiced his heartfelt support for the team.
Major illness and injury have not stopped Lewis from putting together a fantastic playing career at club and representative levels and on Sunday he played his 250th NRL game when his Cronulla side met St George-Illawarra.
Fittingly, the Sharks won and Lewis scored a try. His body has taken a battering over the years and he turns 32 next month, but his recent form has been great.
‘W’ is for Warriors
Wow, all of a sudden the Warriors are in the top four. Can they stay there? We can only hope so, because whether you follow them or not you’ve got to admit they bring an awful lot to the table in terms of entertainment.
Even when they are well on top they still sometimes err by giving the opposition a sniff at getting back into the game. That happened against Melbourne on the weekend, early in the second half. In a weird way, that is part of their appeal – at least for the neutrals. I can’t imagine Warriors fans like that part of the team’s make-up too much.
There was, of course, a freaky try included in their win over the Storm, with an incredible, back-flip pass from Nathan Friend followed by a flick pass from Shaun Johnson in the lead-up.
Crazy good.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Just as a backup in case Pearce unfortunately gets injured during his reign of winning the next 10 SOO titles without losing a single game and cementing his place as an immortal.
mac
Guest
Pearce. At best, he belongs in the origin for NSW Cup if they had one.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
No Epiquin, no. That's not true. That's impossible!
Gazzatron
Guest
I'm actually quite impressed with where the Warriors are placed at the moment. A lot has been made about the signing RTS and Isaac Luke for next year that a lot of people have forgotten about this year. They were missing Hoffman, Kata and the Beast against the Storm and still got the job done. Tomkins, Fusitua and Hurrell have missed a lot of games. Laumape, Henry and Lealuai are gone for the season. Kata, Vete, Lisone, Lolohea, Faitala-Mariner are in their first seasons of NRL. If everyone can stay fit for the rest of the season then I don't see why the Warriors won't take out the premiership this year. Also, Tomkins has copped a lot of flak for his play/hype/price tag etc but for me he's the key to getting the best out of Shaun Johnson. It's no coincidence that Shaun Johnson has been on fire and the Warriors win when Tomkins is on the park.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I think the strategy of picking Morgan over DCE and using him as a 2nd fullback on the left with JT when Inglis lined up on the right was a brilliant tactical decision. Whether it's Mal or those around him I reckon there's a lot more planning going on in the QLD camp then they let on.
nerval
Guest
My team, the Dragons have a pretty poor average gate. I'm one of those, probably a minority, who would prefer Illawarra and St George to be de-merged. What we have now is essentially half the numbers supporting the merged team as were there supporting both teams. St George is the game's most famous name and should never have been merged. As for Brisbane, I'm simply saying that for a team at the top of the ladder, and with everything going for them, it's depressing to see so many attendances in the 20,000s. Why shouldn't we expect a successful Brisbane Broncos to get gates commensurate to the top AFL teams - not only in Melbourne, but in Perth and Adelaide and, sometimes, even Sydney? Why has the standard been set so low in the NRL?
DB
Guest
Why is there interest in Austin when NSW already have Pearce?
Jay C
Roar Guru
Yeah. Sharks Dragons should be a blockbuster. Both teams in or around the 8. Good History. Local Derby.
The Prize_Man
Roar Pro
Mals job may be easy now but absolutely no one wanted to coach the maroons back in 2006.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
The Sharks drew less than 5,000 when playing in the worst storm in living memory. Apart from that, it's very rare for a Sydney side to pull less than 10,000.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I hate to break it to you Slei, but Glebe got the punt ages ago...
Jay C
Roar Guru
It shouldn't have been Raiders Vs Newcastle on a Friday night. You can't blame the Raiders for that. Who wants to watch Newcastle. Raiders V someone worth watching would rate through the roof I reckon. Maybe Roosters/Broncos/Souths/Manly even. They could have given them a leg up by playing their only Friday night game against someone people want to see.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
"...but I honestly support the game more than any team. If the Broncos had to go to ensure the survival of the game I would cope." Well, well, Jay C and I agree on something! I have no problems with my side getting punted or - more realistically - existing in the second tier competitions. Thats one of the benefits of supporting internationals over club football - you don't lose!
Jay C
Roar Guru
Obviously getting rid of the Broncos is not on the cards Tim, I just meant that if it meant the long term survival of the league I wouldn't be selfish enough to think they couldn't be removed. Again though you have shown your bias and are looking only from the negative angle. We must cut down the Tall Poppy for they block out our sunlight. In a perfect world We would have Brisbane East, Brisbane West, Gold Coast, North Queensland, Sydney City, North Sydney, East Sydney, South Sydney, Inner West Sydney, Greater West Sydney, Sydney South Coast, Canberra, Melbourne East, Melbourne West, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle, Auckland, Pacific Islands. That's 19 Teams, 20 rounds with Each team having a bye 1 week. Before you guys lose your absolute minds. This is a dreamers dream, but if successful would result in an epic domestic competition.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
To be fair sharks vs dragons is a good match up. (At least it's one I always look forward to) Raiders vs Knights might've been great in the late 90s but... Meh. I only watched after rage quitting a video game.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
I've been hearing the NRL are leaning toward relocation rather than expansion at the moment. Possibly even a mixture of both (unlikely). So by way of rumour and innuendo, I declare the new teams shall be: Relocation- The (very) west tigers (not that far west. Adelaide. So more like the Mid South tigers) The Wellington Dragons Expansion- Perth (seriously the Perth bid is absolutely perfect.) QLD somewhere. (Bris 2, Ipswich, CQ,) I for one liked the idea of the A-League and NRL creating a joint venture though that idea appears to have been thoroughly nipped in the bud.
GTW
Guest
Now wait a second, I'd like to argue with you about that, but....damn you may be right.
GTW
Guest
Austin can hit quite nicely thanks very much. I'm sure he could tackle that Creagh imposter into the ground, although it was proven that anyone can do that yesterday when Barba pile-drove him on the line. Canberra have defensive problems but are about the best in attack, a fair bit to do with Austin's size, swerve and step. If the bloody refs would give us a few less penalties it sure would help. By that I mean, treat the two teams equally, back the same distance and allow the same amount of time laying on the tackled player. On Saturday, I wouldn't be surprised if Fifita did a gridiron throw 25m into Fensom's head, and poor Fenno will still be penalised for the strip.
jamesb
Guest
Great player. Lewis and Austin should have been at least on the bench for NSW.
Tim Gore
Expert
The Broncos don't have to go Jay C, far from it. There just needs to be at least one other side in Brisbane. A well supported, bankrolled for the long term side. Having one side in a city of 2 million people, plus third party sponsorship, plus constant free to air television, plus god knows what else, makes an un-level playing field. To emulate the Broncos model elsewhere - as you suggest we should - we'll have one side in Brisbane and two in Sydney. Not what you'd call a cracking competition. So we'd need at least six sides. Four from Sydney, two from Brisbane. That way each side is based on one million population and there's plenty of third party sponsorship to go around. Of course Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle and the Cowboys get the flick immediately as their supporter/population bases and access to third party sponsorship aren't nearly big enough. Flick Cronulla and Wests Tigers of course. That leaves Parra, Roosters, Manly, Rabbitohs, Panthers, the Bulldogs and St George. South West Sydney can be represented by the Dradogs joint venture and the Eels and the Panthers can be amalgamated to form the Western Sydney Peels, then the Roosters and Rabbits into an unholy joint venture, with Manly by themselves. That I'd forgotten about the Gold Coast tells you all you need to know about their fate. BUT there still must be a new - well resourced, strongly backed, given equal chance, money pumped into it over ten years to ward off sabotage - side in Brisbane if the sport is to work in the long term.