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Opinion
Results from the weekend’s NRL played out pretty well to script, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty to get stuck into. Here come your talking points from NRL Round 5.
Again, the NRL ties itself into high shot knots
A lot of contention about the Junior Paulo hit on Gold Coast five-eighth AJ Brimson but it was high and a 1-2 week suspension is fair. The frustration, as written and discussed all over the place for years, is how inconsistent these decisions are. Pinging Parramatta’s front rower while clearing other similar (and worse) shots is what’s causing all the problems.
I’ve written before if the NRL are serious about protecting the head they’d introduce a process like the one in union, where referee and bunker step through a list of triggers before making a decision. This still has its problems but is a lot simpler than the NRL’s chook lotto. Actually, calling the NRL’s approach to high contact chook lotto is paying it a compliment.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The big boys take care of business
Early fears for another round of blowouts were tempered somewhat as the form teams did what they needed to win and nothing more. Melbourne, South Sydney and Penrith won games barely worth reviewing and while Parramatta gave the Gold Coast a late look, they controlled the game when they needed to.
Even Cronulla weren’t setting the world on fire during their 30-4 wiping of Wests Tigers, it’s just the Tigers were utterly abominable.
Run-of-the-mill wins are the ones upon which top four plans are made and with upsets hard to come by, teams with premiership intent have to make sure they take care of business when they should.
Having said all this, the average winning margin for the round was still 13.3, which is high but fades compared to last week’s 21.1.
Good and bad from New Zealand
The Warriors have put together a sneaky three-game winning streak, their golden point win over North Queensland slotting them into the top eight and banking them critical premiership points in games against lower-third teams Brisbane, Wests Tigers and now the Cowboys. Their win on Friday night was full of merit, coming back from 18-6 and showing plenty of grit.
That was the good news.
The bad is how the Warriors handled winger Marcelo Montoya’s homophobic slur against Cowboys opponent Kyle Feldt, something which everyone knew about during and after the game. Montoya was charged with a contrary conduct offence, referred directly to the NRL judiciary and it was only then the Warriors decided to make a statement and issue an apology.
It took far too long to act as the Warriors seemingly hoped the world would move on. Be better.
On its website the @NRL state they support #LGTBTIQA+ people and are vocal supporters of eliminating discrimination. I have waited for a statement from @NRL, @NZWarriors or my old club @nthqldcowboys – but nothing! https://t.co/M5Sdez9bKA
— Ian Roberts (he/him) (@didiforget) April 10, 2022
Ground security takes the weekend off
A streaker in Robina, more in Cronulla and all of them were able to get within centimetres of players before ground security had stood up from their chairs. One of them even lit a flare, for god’s sake. Anything could have happened. The way the flare got disposed of as well (in the funnel of a fire extinguisher!) was incredibly dangerous.
Monica Seles was stabbed by an intruder in 1993 while security dawdled around. In a world of dickheads after their 15 minutes, you’d hope security at any ground in Australia would have their antennae up – and the media not super keen to promote the morons who do it.
Roosters claim their first NRLW title
Congratulations to the Roosters, your 2022 NRLW premiers. They beat the Dragons 16-4 on the back of tries to Yasmin Meakes, Isabelle Kelly and Olivia Higgins in front of 7855 fans in Redcliffe, a good turnout for an all-NSW final played in Queensland. Kelly’s try in particular was a beaut with plenty of hands to it.
Rugby league remains undefeated #NRLWGF #SBFsRLRU pic.twitter.com/EtRaYzqyvg
— Big T (@TheBiggestTiger) April 10, 2022
Well done too Sarah Togatuki – winner of the Karyn Murphy medal for being named player of the match.
It’s the Roosters’ first title at their third go. It was a great game and a fitting conclusion to a thriving NRLW season. Let’s see if head office backs up the supportive talk as expansion, better resourcing and pay gets a boost in the year ahead. For now, it’s on to the Women’s State of Origin in June.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
It’s a bad year in the TV commentary box
Regular readers would know I’ve been laid out after Achilles surgery so I’ve had more time on my hands to watch more rugby league. Try as I may, I can’t get past how poor some of the television commentary is in 2022.
On Sunday, Fox NRL duo Andrew Voss and Greg Alexander went off for two minutes about how a Cronulla try would be reviewed and likely called back, missing the fact the try was confirmed about 15 seconds after the grounding. Were they calling at the ground? I don’t know, but I do know second-guessing the referee instead of calling the game seems to be in the job description for NRL commentary.
Add that to earth-shattering special analysis like, “The team that defends better will win,” from Shane Flanagan, and Steve Roach (along with others) seeming to think ‘malice’ needs to be part of whether a high shot should be penalised or not, and again the rugby league viewer is shortchanged.
Commentators: call the game. If you want to referee, go do the accreditation – you might learn something.
Analysts: explain to us how and why teams are doing what they’re doing, and explain strategic changes teams could try to get back into a game. It’s an amazingly simple job.
Rant over. For now.
Quick hits
•Kyle Flanagan had the first try assist of the year by a Canterbury halfback.
•The constant rain in New South Wales is leading to some super choppy playing surfaces, considering it’s only Round 5.
•Canberra actually played okay against the Storm, but again handed their opposition a game on a platter of horrible ball control and dumb play. There’s a decent team in the capital somewhere, if they can stop hitting the self-destruct button…
•Brisbane are fighting hard and are definitely better than their 2021 unit.
•Good teams know when to use their captain’s challenge, others do not. We’re seeing more waste out there than a McDonald’s carpark.
•Manly continue to advance in the face of doubt, winning their third straight game on Friday against Newcastle.
•What’s going on at the Knights? After some creditable early play, they’ve tanked it in the last fortnight. Any 2022 hopes are in peril when you see their next three weeks – St George Illawarra, Parramatta then Melbourne…
To the next
Round 6, pretty much a quarter of the season done and a belter of a game lined up with Cronulla travelling to Melbourne Saturday night.
A settling South Sydney can move into the top eight with a win over Canterbury, Manly can keep tuning up against the Gold Coast, Canberra and the Cowboys have a genuine four-point game and so do the Dragons and Knights.
South Sydney can move into finals spots if they beat Canterbury, and it’s a ‘real deal’ test as the Warriors face the Roosters, who remain eminently gettable early on.
What did you make of NRL Round 5, Roarers?