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Opinion
There are a couple of upsets, the grand final re-match and a small mountain of injuries to wade through. Round 3 in the NRL is complete, so let’s get into another edition of talking points.
I’d just like to make it abundantly clear before we continue, this article is a Broncos-Bulldogs free zone. The tape of the game should be burnt and fired into the sun, never to be spoken of again.
Anyway, let’s get on with it.
It’s time for a concussion substitute
It has been an absolute bloodbath this weekend. Injuries left, right and centre are going to cause well into the double digits of changes next week.
And while some will want this to be geared about the new rules, it’s not. I’m not sure many injuries have been caused by them.
Instead, it’s time to talk about concussion.
Saturday in particular was absolute carnage, and while injuries are part and parcel of the game, the strict nature of the HIA testing regime is rubbing plenty of players out.
Let me clarify – the HIA testing needs to be at the level it is. The brain and head are so important, and the NRL stamping down on the issue is of utmost importance.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But it shouldn’t be the main issue leaving teams with one or no players on the bench, as the Raiders and Sharks were on Saturday.
A concussion substitute is absolutely necessary so teams can, at the first instance of someone being ruled out with a HIA, keep 17 players.
It shouldn’t be able to be used for all injuries, and while that could encourage teams to rort the system, something must be done in a hurry.
NRL HQ made no issue of changing rules early last season, and there should be no reason this doesn’t follow suit.
Did the Roosters’ premiership hopes just go up in smoke?
In short, yes.
Scans have confirmed the worst for star half Luke Keary – a full rupture of his ACL and with it, the end of his season.
The man who was supposed to step up and guide the Roosters this year alongside a relatively inexperienced half in either Lachlan Lam or potentially Sam Walker down the track now won’t play again.
It’s a disaster for the Roosters, and while Lam will come back at some point along with their other injuries, there is simply no way the Tricolours can win a competition without Keary.
(Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
They are still supremely talented and should work their way into the top eight, even considering their loss to the Rabbitohs on Friday, but they can’t go all the way anymore.
He was a lock for New South Wales and probably the Australian squad at the end of the year, such is his talent.
Keary is simply that important, and while his numerical statistics are good, it’s the things you can’t see on a stats sheet that set him apart and make him the Roosters’ most important player – things like his decision making, ability to play heads-up footy and take on the line without fear.
Why did Manly re-sign Des Hasler?
This decision is looking stranger and stranger by the week.
While the Sea Eagles may improve once Tom Trbojevic makes his return from injury, they are going along like a unicycle with a bent wheel to start the season.
Even if they could be excused for the first two weeks due to the quality of their opposition, letting in 38 points to the Dragons on Friday is a whole new level of worry for Manly and their fans.
While their defence has looked shaky previously, this was supposed to be a game where, at the very worst, the Sea Eagles were competitive.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
But their fall from grace now seems to be all but complete. They couldn’t hang onto the ball, and while the Dragons improved in that respect during the second half, the Red V couldn’t either early on.
Despite the fumbling from both teams, it was the Dragons who ran away to a convincing lead by halftime and never looked back as Manly butchered chance after chance and let in a multitude of soft tries, to go with long-range breaks and communication in defence that would make a coach roll his eyes.
And yet, Des Hasler doesn’t seem to have any answers for the plight of his team right now.
The modern game may well have passed him by, and yet he sits with a contract extension.
Addin Fonua-Blake continues to go from strength to strength
Speaking of Manly, one of the key reasons they are struggling is that they still haven’t been able to effectively replace Addin Fonua-Blake.
His departure would hurt any club, but Josh Aloiai was never going to hold a candle to the work Fonua-Blake puts in week in and week out – work that the Warriors are now benefiting from greatly.
While Raiders fans will more than likely point at the referees, they might be best off checking the stats sheet.
Addin Fonua-Blake carried his team through the middle third as they stayed competitive with the green machine. The big prop ran for 175 metres, but more importantly, that came from just 15 runs.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
The average metres per run, as well as post-contact metres, of which Fonua-Blake had plenty, are often overlooked in this discussion, but they are the factors that often bear the most weight when considering the difference a player did or didn’t make.
It’s hardly a surprise to anyone, but the Warriors’ pack leader puts in similar numbers week in and week out, being one of the hardest men to stop in the game.
His solidness in defence is just an advantage, but he could well end up being the signing of the year, and if not, then certainly very close to it.
What’s going on in Newcastle?
The Knights probably weren’t expected to lose to the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
While the Tigers, much like the Sea Eagles, had only played strong opposition in the first two weeks of the season, the Knights are a team supposed to be building for a finals run at the back end of this season.
Not only that, but Newcastle were celebrating Mitchell Pearce’s 300th game in the top grade, on a Sunday afternoon at home.
The cards couldn’t have been stacked more against the Tigers, and yet they came away with the chocolates.
While their forwards held their own in the middle, it was the back five where they were able to win the battle, with all but James Roberts crossing the 100-metre barrier.
The Knights weren’t terrible at the back, but they didn’t seem to have the same punch as their opposition for much of the game, while the defence was a little sloppy at times.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
It was a game where Newcastle needed to make a statement after unconvincing victories over Canterbury and New Zealand to start the season. Instead, they lost, and the pressure will now build on the men from the Hunter.
It’s those unconvincing wins that should be of most concern. Three weeks into the season, the Knights are still yet to string an 80-minute performance together at the top of their potential.
There are glimpses, but glimpses won’t get you into the top eight.
Melbourne’s losses are nothing more than speed bumps
The stat doing the rounds on social media that Melbourne have only spent nine weeks out of the top eight this decade is quite stunning, but just goes to show the consistency of Craig Bellamy’s side.
He has them primed from the start every year, and they win more often than they don’t.
Well, 2021 is three weeks in and Melbourne are out of the eight as they attempt to adjust to life without Cameron Smith.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
While their match management might be lacking just a little, and they will be smarting from back-to-back losses, it’s not the end of the world for the men in purple.
This is a team who know how to bounce back, who know how to start winning again, and when Smith’s retirement is joined by Dale Finucane’s injury among others, it’s hardly a surprise they aren’t right at the top of their game.
All the signs are there that they will turn it around, and at any rate, losing by less than a try to Parramatta and Penrith, both away from home in two weeks, is hardly a disgraceful performance.
Bellamy will work them hard at training, but there is no need for the panic button.
The Sharks have found their Paul Gallen replacement
When Paul Gallen was first lining up his retirement, it looked like Jack Williams was going to be his long-term replacement.
Then, when Williams didn’t kick on, it looked as if Billy Magoulias might fill the void.
But now, three rounds into 2021, it’s fair to declare that Toby Rudolf has the Cronulla number 13 jersey locked away for as long as he should want it.
Sure, Cronulla lost to Parramatta and in the end it was quite convincing if you believe the scoreboard (it really wasn’t), but when you’re down to 13 players at halftime, that isn’t exactly a surprise to see the score get a little lopsided.
Rudolf wasn’t about to let the lack of players slow him down though, as he churned out his first 80-minute performance in the top grade, running the ball strongly and threatening to break the line often, while he also had an offload that was very much in the mould of the former Sharks lock and captain.
(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Not only that, but playing 80 minutes, and handling it fairly solidly, had Gallen written all over it.
The new-version Sharks lock still has competition for the position, but the runs were put on the board last year. That is what he is now capitalising on with position security. He won’t be getting dropped any time soon and it shows in his game, playing without fear.
Rudolf on his own, at his best, can be a monstrous advantage for Cronulla. Consistency will be the key, but he is off to some sort of start to the new year.
That’s the Titans we expected
The plight of the Cowboys is going from bad to worse, but the Gold Coast just gave us a taste of what the vast majority were expecting from them before a ball was kicked in anger this season.
The Titans, with all their new signings and plenty of potential already at the club, have had unconvincing results thus far. The shock loss to the Warriors in Round 1 still hasn’t been forgotten, and nor have the 70 minutes of the Broncos game when they weren’t putting a run of points on.
But on Sunday night, in Townsville, something was different.
The intent had seemingly gone up ten fold, their attack was faster and cripser, their defence was stronger and the results are there for all to see.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
The Cowboys were woeful, but to score 44 points, it doesn’t matter what the opposition are doing – at this level, that is a tough ask.
The Titans though kept the foot down for the full 80 minutes. They were patient when they needed to be. Justin Holbrook’s side made the most of every opportunity presented.
AJ Brimson, Jamal Fogarty and Ash Taylor, the combination that is likely to decide their potential in 2021, were on song from the word go, while the forwards dominated with relative ease.
It was a mauling, and it would be hardly a surprise if it wasn’t for the last time in 2021.
Roarers, what did you make of Round 3? Drop a comment and let us know.