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Jarryd Hayne is back! The star fullback played what could be described as a big role for the Gold Coast Titans in their loss to the New Zealand Warriors and it raised a couple of big questions. This is The Roar‘s talking points from the weekend that was.
Did the Titans make the right call by signing Hayne?
Absolutely. And really, this stems deeper than on the field – it to off the field as well. Jarryd Hayne is a brand – he is not just a rugby league player. He is a walking, talking promotion machine.
You only had to look around CBus Super Stadium and see the 25,000 people there to realise how much of an impact he will have on a club who, let’s be honest here, have struggled over the years both on and off the field.
The Titans have barely had a crowd like that. Ever. And it can all be traced back to the influence of Hayne.
But on the field, he will have a huge impact as well. He played 52 minutes in his first game back and was strong from the outset – his first play was a try-saving tackle and apart from one error he did nothing wrong.
His level of play, really for a first game back was phenomenal and over two years, he is going to do some great things on the Gold Coast in a young team that is building strongly, but more on this later.
Will Hayne get back to his former glory, and what position fits?
Well, based on what we saw in his return game against the Warriors, there is no question that it is more than a distinct possibility.
As just mentioned, he had everything going for him. He was committed 100 per cent in defence, tried his heart out in attack and was always looking for a way forward.
He also played the second half in the halves which, with the Titans’ plethora of fullbacks, opens up an exciting new prospect – that he could permanently play there.
Even in his first game he seemed to take a leadership role at the back end, and there is no question his level of experience will be important to the young Titans team moving forward.
His kicking game was sharp, defence even better and he was always searching for an opportunity. He couldn’t pull off the win today, but moving forward it is exciting.
The question it does raise though is what do the Titans do with their young halves. Ashley Taylor, who has been one of the form players in the competition this year, could barely get his hands on the ball against the Warriors, and of course Kane Elgey still sits injured on the sidelines – so there are some very interesting times ahead for the club, both short and long term.
The Brisbane Broncos won, but it wasn’t good
Well, the Broncos won a game. That’s a positive for the club who were touted as premiership favourites I suppose.
They have been flat out ordinary in recent times and while defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons doesn’t exactly say a lot right at the moment, the Broncos needed to beat somebody, anybody. Even Newcastle would have done the trick right at the moment.
The first thing they needed to worry about was competition points, as they fell down the top eight at a rate of knots so picking up two of them was essential to steady the ship.
I’m not sure a lot improved for the Broncos. They seemed to struggle once again, admittedly not as badly, but they still struggled.
There was an increased effort no doubt about it from the Broncos, which is important, but without Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford firing, their finals trip will be short lived.
Sorry Benji, but it’s time to retire
Rubbish would be one word you could use to sum up Benji Marshall’s performance on the weekend. As a Dragons fan, it hurts like hell to watch the club go from failure to failure, and Benji is at the centre of it.
He had an abysmal performance on Thursday night, and it continues a very long season for the former Kiwi international.
Some Dragons fans will tell you that Gareth Widdop needs to go as well, and there is an element of truth to that because he hasn’t been much better.
But there needs to be a major cleanout, and it’s clear Marshall and Widdop don’t work in tandem very well, so Benji must be the one to go.
It’s a race of ten for the eight
The Sea Eagles and the Dragons lost on the weekend and they are done for the season. You can shout till you are blue in the face that it’s ‘mathematically possible’ but neither team is playing well, let alone well enough to win every game from here to the end.
That leaves ten to go into eight.
The two clubs currently on the outside are the Gold Coast Titans and Penrith Panthers. The Warriors sit seventh and I can’t see them falling out with three of their final four games at home, which means you could argue seven teams are locked in.
That leaves the Tigers, Panthers and Titans to fight for the final spot. Based on current form, it’s the Tigers or Titans while the interesting alternative is that the Broncos are knocked out if they don’t get their act together – remember they only sit on 26 and are far from home.
The Cowboys can’t win the premiership without JT – and Sharks can’t without Michael Ennis
Ok, you got me I’m cheating – I did use this as a point last week, but that was strictly JT.
Down at the Shire and the Cronulla Sharks have just had a monster winning streak broken. Full credit to the Canberra Raiders and their effort, but the Sharks look like a different team without Ennis on the park.
He has such a massive role to play in this side and without him firing, they will not compete with the best teams in the competition. They just don’t get that service out of dummy half, or the niggle game he brings with him.
Are the Titans premiership contenders and if not this year, next year?
Ok, so we have talked about Jarryd Hayne extensively in this piece already, but another question still needs answering.
Hayne is a genuine x-factor player and there is absolutely no denying that, but to insert the Titans as premiership contenders almost seems silly when most thought they weren’t even in with a fighting chance of making the top eight at the start of the season.
The question has to be asked, though.
The club has played out of their skin this year, and at the very least Neil Henry should be named Dally M coach of the year. He has taken a rabble of a club and transformed them into something very special.
Look, I don’t think they have the potential or cavalry to challenge this season. They are still young and inexperienced, being led around the park by Ashley Taylor and a bunch of young second rowers, headlined by Agnatius Passi and Leivaha Pulu.
Another year of footy under their belts and a full pre-season with Hayne? Sure, this Titans team can contend to bring a premiership for the Gold Coast.
I just can’t see their time being now, even with the inclusion of Hayne who added plenty this week and that will only get bigger in the next few weeks.
In saying that, any team who tries to take them lightly should they make the finals will be beaten, and beaten badly. They are a team that can play out of their skin and turn it on come any given night.
The Wests Tigers are rolling straight to September
Before I get onto what this point actually means, it’s worth mentioning – is there seriously a better sight in League than a packed suburban ground on a Sunday afternoon?
From an on-the-field point of view for the Tigers, this was the game that really counted. Sure they had knocked over the St George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels since they dropped Robbie Farah to reserve grade, but this was the challenge.
Taking on the North Queensland Cowboys on a Sunday afternoon at home, complete with Johnathan Thurston back on the park.
And they won. They did it. There was no Luke Brooks either which made the whole thing a heap more impressive. They ended up taking a 26-14 victory with Mitchell Moses and James Tedesco looking on fire.
Last week, we could speculate dropping Robbie Farah was the correct call – this week we can more than confirm that it will be the case, and Farah will most likely never been seen in a Tigers jersey again.
The win against the Cowboys moves the Tigers to within a point of the eight, and while they might only just scrape in – they need to win three of their last four games – it would be a fantastic achievement for them to close the season like that, meaning they would have won six of their final seven at the very least.
That leaves them in good stead for next year with a young, explosive and fantastic spine to lead the team forward.
Roarers, these are our talking points for Round 22. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde