This is one hell of a wacky competition we’ve got all of a sudden. What’s going to happen next?
Are Melbourne going to crumble to a heavy loss at the hands of Canberra to finish off a round that has been extraordinary in terms of results?
To be fair, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Raiders won that game. While the Storm are on top of the table, Canberra were in third place entering this round and are playing at home. Last week, they beat second-placed Cronulla on the road.
But it would be a shock if they beat up on Melbourne. After all, there is no better team in this competition than the Storm when it comes to knowing how to stay in the contest. It should be a close one.
So what about those stunning upsets so far? South Sydney beating the Warriors 41-22 – and on the road at that. St George Illawarra, previously one of the most barren teams in the competition, coming up with 32 points against Cronulla’s 18. And Sydney Roosters knocking over North Queensland, 22-10.
I know, it’s the Warriors. They have a history of mostly being inconsistent at best and defying all manner of logic at worst. They are meant to occasionally leave us shaking our heads at their results. But this one was definitely in the defying all manner of logic category.
Again, I know the Rabbitohs were unlucky not to have beaten Melbourne on the road the week before, but this was a game in which the result was huge for the Warriors as far as making the finals was concerned. And they were playing at home.
But after the Warriors scored the first try of the match they then proceeded to concede five tries before halftime and trailed 31-6 at the break. Seriously, even when you’re talking about the Warriors, where does a performance like that come from?
Before their game against Cronulla, St George Illawarra had scored just 257 points in 20 games at an average of 12.85 points per game this season. The Elephant Man had more chance of scoring than them. But suddenly they came out and nearly tripled their average against Cronulla.
How did that happen? Well, it probably says more about how the Sharks are going at the moment than it does about the Dragons, but you’ve got to admit the Dragons were good. Still, the result, with the Dragons racking up 30-plus points and winning by 14, was amazing.
The only other team the Dragons have scored at least 30 points against this season is Newcastle, who are a punching bag for anyone who gets on the same field as them. Twice, the Dragons have scored zero.
If you were being ultra nice, you would call them conservative in attack. If you were being fair dinkum, you would call them horrible.
North Queensland came to Sydney for the second week in a row and lost. Last week a Wests Tigers side that was on the rise beat them. This time, it was the 15th-placed Roosters, who had been towelled up 38-18 by Penrith the week before.
Granted, the Roosters do still have plenty of good players and Mitchell Pearce was back to steer them around, but the thing that stood out about this match was how flat North Queensland were and how the Roosters consistently beat them to the punch in most aspects of the game.
The Cowboys are the premiers, but their defence is taking on water. Johnathan Thurston tried his heart out, but he looks like he could do with a rest.
Ideally, he should be told to have a week off and go and relax somewhere well away from Townsville. Recharge the batteries. But it’s too late for that now.
There are only three rounds to go after this one and the Cowboys look likely to miss out on the top four. They need to quickly steady the ship and start building momentum.
The Cowboys remain a huge threat at their best, but against the Roosters they were firing blanks.
matth
Guest
Fair points
Joe
Roar Rookie
Just goes to show how key injuries can change the way a team performs. Inglis has been playing busted all year, has a four week break and comes back in great form along with the additions of a match fit John Sutton and Reynolds they look a very different team. Reynolds kicking game in particular was ridiculously good. The Chooks finally get their key players on deck and match fit and beat the Cows who were missing Granville and Winterstein. Sharks lose Ennis one week and everyone says they can't win without him, he returns but they lose Gallen and still lose. That said the Dragons were mighty impressive with their attack finally kicking into gear off the back of some great forward play by Sims, De Balin and Leilua and Packer providing some much needed size with Dugan returning at the back. Lets see what other surprises are in store for the week when the Raiders play the Storm. The only surprise as you mentioned would be if the Storm gave up more than 20 points as they haven't done that so far this year.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
I had 0/6 in the tipping until The Panthers pulled me from the abyss.
rakshop
Guest
Huge cowboys fan but unless they finish top 4, they cant win the premiership. The Cowboy's season is now tied to the Bulldogs. If the Bulldogs can beat the Broncos this week, I think that is the end of the Cowboys chances for back to back. If there is one team in the comp that desperately need to finish in the top 4, its the cowboys, for two reasons. One, if they dont, they would have to win AT LEAST three knock out matches outside of Townsviille. And two, they wont have to travel as much if they have to play either week 2 or week 3 of the finals at home (as per 2015).
Clinen
Guest
Well said mate
Agent11
Guest
This season is starting to really turn on its head. 3 weeks ago it was Storm, Cowboys and Sharks then daylight. If the Raiders can win tonight then they will be the form team of the comp. The Bulldogs and Broncos are still marching along without being impressive but I would not want to face either of them in the finals. The Panthers and Titans are unpredictable and could do anything. I think the Tigers are gone with no Teddy and who knows what will happen with the Warriors...
Peter Mc
Roar Rookie
Cooper looked spent for most of the game. He is solid and probably deserves a rest moreso than others - at his best he is a game breaker.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I'm sure no coach in the NRL takes notice of SuperCoach stats. SC numbers are basically a weighted statistical analysis of a players contribution. So they're not the ball all and end all but they do represent an objective tool to look at a players performance. From a guy who normally scores in the 60+ range (and beyond) they show that since coming back from his hamstring injury his involvement and effectiveness has been way down. Of course you don't necessarily need SuperCoach to tell you that but I think in this case they're an accurate reflection. It's easy for all of us to be star coaches on a Monday morning but with the benefit of hindsight I wonder if Green wouldn't have been better served giving Thurston the Tigers game off as well.
AGO74
Guest
But.....they do want to turn it around quickly....
AGO74
Guest
They didn't lose against Titans - arguably they were closer to winning it in extra time than Titans. Tired on back of short turnaround against raiders who were motivated and ordinary against dragons. Only one really ordinary performance in my opinion.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Good points KC I'm just being a nervous nellie I guess, I admire your optimism. I have faith that they can turn it around in the time left but geeze it's going to be close.
Rob
Guest
The NRL is a very even competition. The Roosters, Manly, and Souths have quality squads but have been missing good players for long periods. The Broncos and Cowboys have been up for a long time. Their off season was shorter than other teams with a lot of players backing up through the Rep period. Personally as a Cowboys supporter Paul Green has let his good players down by not giving them spells and sticking with players that were not preforming. Hess, Kafusi, Bowen, Asiata, Jahrome Hughes and Chudleigh have been under utillised. The Broncos will be better for Thaiday, Gillett, Glen, McCullough and Parker having a rest while younger players have found their feet. St George have been good in defense most of the year but have only now realized you need to pass the ball around like the Tigers to score points. Something the better placed teams on the ladder are now becoming scared to do? Ball control improves when people are looking to keep the ball alive.
AGO74
Guest
Sharks and Titans both lost last week coming off short turnaround from epic draw. The sharks were ordinary on Saturday - easily their worst since manly loss in round 3. No need to call it so early on wheels falling off on the back of one ordinary performance.
steveng
Roar Rookie
The Cowes looked slow, lethargic and JT just didn't seem to get his boys out of their dream to do anything against the chooks yesterday. This should be a big concern for Green as this sort of form just wont cut it in the finals. But the Roosters outplayed the Cowboys all game and the Roosters shouldn't be in 14th spot if they would have pulled their finger out early on, just like the Rabbits. Lets see what will happen in 2017 to both of these teams???
AGO74
Guest
I don't even think they were close to be honest. The roosters bombed a couple of tries yesterday.
Clinen
Guest
Think Sharks have finals on their mind. Not playing bad per say but the intensity is lacking. Titans, Raiders and Dragons have all wanted it more in recent games against Cronulla. Hope they recapture the desire to win soon.
AGO74
Guest
Not convinced of Broncos until they play Bulldogs. They have won two in a row but against the dragons and the eels (the latter of whom the wheels have fallen off). A win against a top team is a reflection of how they are going.
danwain
Guest
I think it's the slump they had to have, however it's a worry that it has come so late in the season
Kingcowboy
Guest
No offence meant here Albo but I take zero notice of points scored in supercoach. I am pretty sure Coach Green doesn't look at fantasy football to see how his players are going wither. We have hit a rough patch but only four weeks ago people were saying how good we looked against the Dogs. I was at the Storm game and I was happy with that performance. We have struggled against the Tigers and Rooster but we are the champs for a reason. We will come good.
Renegade
Roar Guru
I wouldn't say there's trouble in paradise.... History shows It's very hard to stay up for 30 weeks when everyone is gunning for you as the reigning premiers.