Eight talking points from NRL Round 20

If Round 19 was one of the best in recent memory in terms of close results and thrilling games, then Round 20 was the polar opposite. Nonetheless, the show goes on, and thee is still plenty to talk about as we approach the finals.

The Broncos run has been snuffed out
The Broncos failed their test on Friday night in a dismal loss to the Storm. There is no getting around that.

Excuses can be made. Sure they were missing a couple of players and taking on a good side who they have barely beaten at home in the history of everything, but to let in 40 points and only score a single try is a dreadful reflection on the Broncos as a club.

Let’s get something clear. It doesn’t end their finals push. The Broncos are still alive.

But it puts a significant dent in it, and they are going to need a lot to go right from here to sneak into the finals as they did at the end of last season.

I’ve commented in this column for the last fortnight that Broncos fans should be happy with wins over clubs like Canterbury and the Gold Coast, but to be cautious.

Sure, you can only beat what was in front of you, but the test to make the finals was always going to come at home against the Storm.

You could cop the Broncos faltering to a competitive loss, but the structure and general lack of clunkiness they had in the last fortnight had to be on display, as did a willingness to commit and defend their own line when the pressure went on, which, as is the case with every Melbourne game, it was always going to at some point of the contest.

But it wasn’t competitive in the slightest. Instead, the Broncos shot themselves in the foot, then continued to do so for 80 minutes in a crushing loss.

They actually did hold onto the ball reasonably well, and completing at roughly the same rate as Melbourne shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it was the fact they had no muscle up the middle third which impacted them, and again goes to show just how far the Broncos pack has to go before it can be considered one of the best in the game.

That, combined with a reluctance to try things in attack brought about the Broncos downfall, with an eventual line break count of ten to one, 39 tackle breaks to 29, and almost a 200-metre advantage for the Storm in post-contact metres.

That tells you all you need to know, with the Broncos slipping back out of the eight. With so much youth in the side, bouncing back away to the Cowboys next week before they play Penrith at home is crucial.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The Panthers must play more direct
It’s no secret that the Panthers have had attacking problems all season. They were blasted into prominence early in the season, but were really papered over during their recent seven-game winning streak, and that’s not all for the best at the foot of the mountains.

The Bulldogs aren’t a particularly good defensive side, but they still handled most of what Penrith threw at them with ease on Saturday night in what was a surprising, and extremely concerning if you’re a Panthers fan, upset win at Bankwest Stadium.

The attack for Penrith has really only been genuinely good a couple of times this year, the last of those coming against the Dragons when they ran up 40 points.

However, this is a side who have only been over 20 a couple of occasions, and their structure looks all wrong with the footy in hand.

It’s something Ivan Cleary and his side must address urgently if they want to play finals footy, because back-to-back losses have put their seemingly assured position in a little bit of trouble once again.

What we saw on Saturday was Penrith trying to take the easy work, going side to side each and every play, and not considering their options thoroughly.

While a part of that thought process may have been around the opposition they were facing, who have been incredibly vulnerable defending out wide in 2019, there is no real excuse for not changing tactics once things are clearly not working.

A fair amount of that blame has to go on halves Nathan Cleary and James Maloney, who need to be better at directing traffic and just getting what should be a very solid forward pack to do the hard yards in the middle third, get Penrith on the front foot and create time and space out wide.

The Panthers have unearthed some talent men in the outside backs this year, with Bryan To’o and Brent Naden bursting onto the scene, but it’s no good if they are constantly operating back against the grain or going for a space out wide that doesn’t exist because the defence have easily slid to cover a lazy, slow passing sequence on the back of average play the balls and no domination up the middle.

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Josh Papalii can be the Raiders finals X-Factor
The Canberra Raiders excellent pack of forwards has received plenty of plaudits this year, and deservedly so.

For an unheralded group that struggled severely in 2018 and changed it up by bringing in untested and unproven Englishmen like John Bateman and co, they have just gone gangbusters.

To go to Auckland and put on a massive victory over the Warriors on a Friday night, which included a five-day turnaround, is a testament to the way Ricky Stuart has built this squad.

No one can doubt the Raiders are premiership hopes now, and maybe better than hopes. It’s always been a thought that potentially they were just behind the top group, and maybe they still are short of the Storm and Roosters, who have found their way again, but with the way South Sydney are going at the moment, both Canberra and Manly may have jumped them.

But when it comes to September, it’s the start of a new season, and while the entire pack will come into focus, one Queensland veteran holds the key to the entire Raiders finals push.

Josh Papalii can turn games, as he did on Friday, running almost 200 metres and putting in a monster effort everytime he got his hands on the footy.

One of the trends throughout the top teams in the competition is the fact they all have big efforts from their middle third at the start of games to try and get on top of games, and Papalii can be just that, as he has for Canberra, Queensland and Australia in the past.

It’s not just his running though, where he has averaged 144 metres per game. He offloads, he breaks tackles, he tackles efficiently and is a constant threat to turn nothing into something by dragging extra defenders and getting a quick play the ball.

That’s not to say other Canberra forwards don’t have the same ability – they do. But when the whips are cracking in September, Papalii will be the man to make sure the green machine don’t turn into the green powder puff in the first 20 minutes.

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Where to now for the Titans?
The Titans simply can’t go on like this.

Letting in more than a half-century of points to the Roosters is never a good look, but this is now squarely on the players.

The old coach was moved on, and the squad now have no one left to blame but themselves for silly errors, dumb penalties and lazy attempts at tackling opposition ball runners all over the park.

There was no effort or intensity to defend their own line, and almost seemingly no care about the result that came out of the game against the tri-colours for the Titans.

I’m sure that’s not actually the case – the players are still professionals, but this is a club who are in all sorts of bother, and just haven’t had any sort of success since entering the competition more than a decade ago.

If they are going to continue turning the sort of performances in like they did on Sunday afternoon, then they might as well not rock up for their final five games, because the results could be finalised right now as something similar to today’s.

And, while I’m on this game – the Roosters have arrived again, sending a threatening reminder about what they can do with the footy.

They were wasteful last week against Canterbury, but this is a club who are going to be there and about come the pointy end of September.

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Has Briton Nikora been the find of the year?
The Sharks dominated the Rabbitohs on Saturday night in a stunning victory. They put the hammer down from the word go against South Sydney, playing a brilliant brand of rugby league, attacking when they could and using that defensive style Cronulla have become known for over the years when they needed to.

While it was a team effort, and the return to form of Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend in the halves against a worrisome South Sydney was promising, Briton Nikora is the man who deserves plenty of credit.

He has gone a little under the radar in this column during 2019, but the second-rower, who became their primary edge ball runner while Wade Graham was out injured, has been consistent in both attack and defence, and deserves all the good things which should be said about him.

Now, frankly, this isn’t an argument that can be proven by numbers. Even on Saturday he only had 82 metres, but when you consider 38 of them were post contact, it probably tells you the impact he has had on the Sharks.

Away from the numbers though, watching him play is just fun. He has an excellent vision of the game and where he needs to pop up in support, while he also reads defensive lines well and understands the angles to run, with his five tries and nine line breaks proving it.

Some of his ball running on Saturday evening was phenomenal, and there is a real argument that the 21-year-old is not just the find of 2019, but a contender for the rookie of year, made even more so by the fact he has only missed a single game, which for a forward playing 80 minutes in his opening season, is incredible.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Are Parramatta the sixth side into the 2019 finals?
The NRL finals are starting to take shape. With just a month of the season to go, five teams had already sewn up their spots coming into this season, and with the Eels win over the Dragons on Sunday afternoon, it should be a sixth.

They move to 24 competition points, and while, mathematically they aren’t there yet, the men in blue and gold probably only need one more win to secure their berth in the top eight, given the cut off looks like it’s going to be much lower than last year – somewhere around the 26 point mark.

So, to answer the original question posed – yes. A big yes. The Eels have come from the wooden spoon favourites before a ball was kicked to the top eight, and will play footy in September.

I say that with so much confidence because their run home comes with Knights, Titans, Bulldogs, Broncos, and Sea Eagles, with the first, third and fifth of those at home.

You’d say at a guess that, given the form of Newcastle and the way Parramatta play at home, they should win at least two, maybe three or even four of those final five games.

So, the question then has to be asked, just how far can Parramatta go?

They weren’t all that good on Sunday afternoon in disposing of the Dragons, but then, it was a scrappy game, as was their game against the Warriors last week.

It’s doubtful the Eels will go far in the final, but with such a relatively easy run home, they could end up on 30 points, which would at the very worst lock in a home final at Bankwest, and from there, anything could be possible.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Manly: Gritty one week, flashy the next
Maybe the most impressive thing about the way the Sea Eagles have played this year is their ability to go from grit and determination, to fancy and racking up the points the week after.

To go from the style of game they played last week against the Storm, where they had to fight, scrap, defend their own line and get the job done in an incredible game of footy, to then recover both physically and mentally, before coming out and belting the lethargic Knights, but not just belting, but putting the foot down and running up 30 points, shows how far they have come.

As I’ve said multiple times this year, the Sea Eagles are led by Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans when it comes to their attack, but the forwards enjoyed being able to roll upfield with ease and play the style they did, while the outside backs obviously benefited.

It was a complete team effort from the Northern Beaches men, and it’s something they have become known for throughout 2019, whether with backs to the wall, or sitting on the front foot.

It doesn’t seem to matter who plays, or what position they play in, they are getting the job done and putting in big effort after big effort to attack the top four as we approach September.

And while I talked about the Knights last week, is that it for their season? They were absolutely rolled by the Sea Eagles at Brookie, and even though they are still mathematically alive, the job has become tougher with another loss.

They don’t have the toughest run home by any stretch, but they are now looking at needing at least four of their last five, and given the way momentum is going, it’s tough to see that happening.

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

What is going on with the Cowboys back five?
There is something not quite right in Townsville, although, for most rugby league fans, that’s not going to come as an exactly groundbreaking statement.

For a side tipped to finish high last year, then widely tipped to improve this year, they have been disappointing over the last 24 months to say the least.

North Queensland aren’t going to play finals footy after their dismal showing on Thursday night against the Tigers, but they do need to start working out who is going to be in, and who is going to be out come 2019.

There is no doubt the pre-season loss of Ben Barba hurt them, but there should be a major focus on the top five.

Don’t get me wrong, the whole side stank up the room in the Round 20 opener, but the Cowboys back five had less than 70 kick return metres between them, across an entire 80 minutes of footy.

It doesn’t help then when the Tigers are kicking from attacking positions and able to chase through to put plenty of pressure on all the time, but the Cowboys simply weren’t getting their sets off to good starts, and then compounded it by making mistake after mistake.

Leichhardt hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the side, but next week’s Queensland derby is set up as an intriguing contest, purely because it’s unclear at this stage which side will rock up with the intent to play footy and win the game.

(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Roarers, what did you make of Round 20? Drop a comment below and let us know.

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