Following the first round of Super League action, the games kept on rolling. What were the major talking points from Round 2?
1. Vikings massacre the Rhinos
There were three outstanding performances this weekend and Widnes Vikings top my list with their total destruction (56-12) of last year’s treble winners, Leeds Rhinos.
It’s clear the Rhinos are struggling and question marks need to be raised about their recruitment – pre-Brett Ferres that is. Their injury toll is mounting but this was all about the quality of the Vikings’ performance.
The style and fluency of the Vikings’ rugby took the Rhinos apart and Widnes are looking down from the very top. It was the shock result and performance of the weekend.
The Vikings were widely tipped to finish in the bottom two this year and they still might, Wakefield won their opening two fixtures last year and we know what happened after that.
2. Red Devils put St Helens to the sword
The Vikings’ performance was closely followed by the Salford Red Devils opening the round on Thursday night with their own destruction job, 44-10, on Saint Helens.
There were so many outstanding performances. Halfbacks Michael Dobson and Robert Lui controlled the game with Lui looking extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands. He rightfully took the man of the match award.
The most exciting performance, though, came from Ben Murdoch-Masila. The big forward, signed from Penrith Panthers where he couldn’t get near the NRL side in 2015, completely destroyed the Saints. They just could not handle his powerful running out wide.
Defensively, the Red Devils also looked solid whereas the Saints were all at sea and, at times, looked like they had taken the field together for the first time.
The only downside for Salford must have been the attendance of 4389, which was lower than the corresponding Round 2 fixture last year when the Red Devils got hammered by the Saints. The Red Devils have an exciting team now and the fans need to show their support.
3. Hull FC searching for consistency
Hull FC produced a second consecutive dominant display and comfortably defeated Catalans Dragons in the south of France – their first win there since 2010. They played some great rugby and scored some outstanding tries and never really looked in trouble.
This performance has sent my Hull FC friends into raptures and some of them have booked their grand final tickets already. I said last week that this game would be a good marker for these two teams for the coming season and Hull showed they have real promise and belief while the Dragons where disappointing.
I thought the Dragons would challenge for a top six place this year but they will need to improve hugely on this performance to achieve that. I also can’t understand why the Dragons are selecting Tony Gigot over Morgan Escare at fullback. Gigot is a very good player but Escare gives his side the x-factor they are lacking.
For Hull FC, consistency has got to be the target. They have the squad and ability to challenge for a top-four place but need to win tough games on a regular basis.
4. Call for tackle bans
In the wake of Mark Percival’s knee injury suffered against Salford on Thursday night, Saints coach Keiron Cunningham has called for a ban on the type of tackle that caused the injury.
Percival will miss at least 12 weeks
In the wake of Michael Shenton’s season-ending knee injury and the resulting four-match ban handed out to John Boudebza, it was clear that Adam Walne’s tackle was very similar to Boudebza’s.
The result was the same, Percival will miss at least 12 weeks.
The difference was that Walne was not put on report, and it was the same referee who put Boudebza on report. The match review panel found that Walne had no case to answer – confusing to say the least.
Don’t get me wrong, Walne did not deserve a ban but the match reviewp anel has to be consistent – in this case it hasn’t been. And if we are to ban the type of tackle that has resulted in two bad knee injuries then there is only one way to do so.
Tackling from behind in a situation where a player is held up by one or two defenders must go. Defenders must be instructed to tackle from the side or in front, however impractical that may be.
Also, staying on the disciplinary front, I was surprised to see there was not even a mention of Olivier Elima’s late challenge on Hull FC hooker Danny Houghton.
Houghton was lifting his head from a seated position and the Dragons forward dropped his full weight onto his neck and compressed his chin into his chest – a potentially dangerous offence. It was penalised, but it deserved further scrutiny.
5. Injuries taking their toll
We have just completed Round 2 and already injuries are decimating some teams. Hull Kingston Rovers started the season with an understrength squad low on numbers, but they are now seriously struggling with injuries and suspensions to six players.
Backrower James Donaldson has been lost for 10-12 weeks with a dislocated wrist while injury-ravaged prop Mitch Allgood is having a scan on an injured thumb. Moves into the loan market may be required.
Huddersfield Giants have six first-teamers out including the influential Danny Brough, Joe Wardle, Eorl Crabtree, Scott Grix and Craig Huby and have suffered the immediate retirement of Luke Robinson in the last week. But they need to be congratulated for the resilience they showed in taking the Wigan Warriors down to the wire on Friday night.
Champions Leeds Rhinos were without Stevie Ward and Jamie Jones-Buchanan for the start of the season but are now missing Beau Falloon and Danny Maguire with Carl Ablett, Ashton Golding and Tom Briscoe also likely to miss the World Club Series match with North Queensland Cowboys on Sunday.
The only club without injuries at the moment are the top of the table Vikings. It’s a tough sport, but what do we do about player welfare that we don’t do now?
6. Video referee’s absence raises questions
It’s been said before and I need to say it again – video referees need to present, in some form or another, at all Super League matches, not just those on Sky TV.
Tom Lineham, Kallum Watkins and Denny Solomona all scored tries in games which were not covered by Sky cameras, and each of them could have been wiped out with a second look.
It is difficult for officials watching and running at full tilt to be 100 per cent sure when players are diving through the air at high speed in a tangle of bone and muscle.
There are cameras of some form at all games – therefore, why can’t we have an official set up somewhere in the ground who can play the footage back and be in contact with the referee? It doesn’t need the big screen and surely won’t cost a lot of extra cash.
Either have a video referee at all games or scrap it entirely, have a level playing field and just accept that the officials are human and will get it wrong sometimes.
None of the tries I mentioned had any influence on the final scores, although Lineham’s knocked the stuffing out of any potential Hull KR recovery and put the game beyond them.
Have a look at the photograph below and tell me Lineham’s right foot was not in touch – and look where the linesman is!
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