NRL Magic Round judiciary: Papa set for ban after hip drop, Rapana and Tapine charged
Canberra forward Josh Papali'i will miss next week's clash with the Sydney Roosters after he was banned for a week for his part in…
It was an entertaining first week of NRL finals, with two clinical performances and two upsets making the premiership puzzle that much harder to solve.
The Roosters looked untouchable in their 30-6 swatting of Souths, Parramatta re-wrote the record books against Brisbane with a whopping 58-0 demolition, Manly proved they can still be competitive without Tom Trbojevic and Martin Taupau after a convincing 28-16 win over the Sharks, but it was Canberra who stole the spotlight with their stunning 12-10 upset win over the Storm.
So, after a wild weekend of finals action, who was the biggest winner from it all?
Did Melbourne’s premiership chances go up in smoke after their qualifying final loss?
We got Roar rugby league expert AJ Mithen on the Game of Codes podcast to name Week 1’s biggest finals winner, before making a call on whether Melbourne can still win the premiership.
The implications of Melbourne’s loss are huge, with a Roosters-Storm grand final no longer on the agenda. Presuming Craig Bellamy’s side get past the Eels – which is no guarantee – they’ll need to knock off last year’s premiers in the preliminary final.
Visit our Game of Codes hub to catch the full episode and be sure to subscribe and review on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever else you’re listening.
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Canberra forward Josh Papali'i will miss next week's clash with the Sydney Roosters after he was banned for a week for his part in…
Canberra raised a few eyebrows when they re-signed Ricky Stuart earlier this week to a long-term contract extension but perhaps they know what they're…
Things got a bit heated after the final whistle, with the Raiders securing a 24-20 win over the Bulldogs.
Viliame Kikau produced this horror blunder from dummy half with his opposite number Hudson Young scoring soon after up the other end.
Josh Papalii was sent for ten after this hip-drop tackle on Viliame Kikau. Fans were torn over just how bad it was. https://twitter.com/Fireupnrl/status/1791392199185514588
It all went downhill for the Raiders after leading 12-0. Jordan Rapana and Josh Papalii were sent to the bin.