An average winning margin of 21, one try scored by the losing sides on a bludger of a Sunday and are we in for more of the same on Anzac Day? Here are your talking points from Round 7 so far.
The gaps are getting bigger
Wests Tigers aside, there was little to no excitement this weekend unless you love to watch the domination of an opponent. The only game in the balance with 10 minutes left was Souths and Wests Tigers, with Cronulla holding Manly at arm’s length after blowing them into a 34-0 netherworld early.
For and against is crucial for teams wanting finals spots and top four places. Right now things are pretty tight on the wins and losses, but negative for and against is going to be lethal for clubs from 9th place down.
These are teams who want to reach the lower parts of the eight but with their differential so far in the toilet, wins are the only currency and right now, they’re broke.
You are what your ranking is
Fair expectations for Newcastle and Canberra are at least around the finals places but both sides were diabolical on Sunday, continuing a recent form troughs.
Newcastle have scored 24 points in their last month of games and let in 106. Canberra’s once trademark defence has conceded just 3 points fewer than Canterbury – it’s one try away from being the worst in the competition.
These two are 14th and 15th and there’s no hard luck involved. You can’t look at their rosters and say they don’t have the talent to be competitive, but right now they’re playing shockingly and there’s a lot of talent being wasted.
How do you turn such bad form around?
Thank you, Wests Tigers
We say a warm and hearty thank you to Wests Tigers, the one true underdog side who turned up and had a crack over the weekend.
Their second win on the trot was again built on energy and commitment, shown up in Jacob Liddle’s effort to cut down Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Ilias and deny him a score.
Even though the Tigers started the year winless their defence hadn’t actually been bad in comparison to those around them. They just hadn’t scored points to go along with that effort.
Don’t get me wrong – there’s still a lot of points to be made up, and that may happen by continuing to get the ball to Jackson Hastings. The offseason recruit was great in both wins and has served to free up Luke Brooks too. Coach Michael Maguire was torn to pieces for swapping his halves, but the results and play speak for themselves.
The Tigers’ wins over Parramatta and Souths were stirring, emotional moments after their dud start, enjoyed by all except those on the other end of the winning field goal. Is that sustainable?
The Tigers have the Dragons, Manly and North Queensland in the next three. How many of those are winnable now?
Time for some copy/paste?
It seems every week we’re going to need a Siosifa Talakai talking point.
The Sharks centre turned in one of the most spectacular performances on Thursday against Manly and poor Morgan Harper: two tries, three try assists, eight tackle breaks, three line breaks, 262 run metres… sheesh. What a career change he’s had since moving from the second row.
Now we look to see 15 other clubs sizing up who they can move to try and replicate Craig Fitzgibbon’s success. The Titans tried it with David Fifita with less impact for a period on Saturday, but Fifita’s one of maybe very few who could make it work.
Who’s going to try it next?
Please turn up, Dragons and Warriors
We need at least one good Anzac Day contest to paper over the rest of these bludgers. Can the underdogs provide some inspiration today?
The Roosters are a bit wobbly as they work into the season and may play into the Dragon’s grinding style, while New Zealand are showing some spirit in the face of adversity. Having said that, Melbourne are in that ruthless mood they tend to find from time to time.
The glory of Peter V’landys
Last week’s comments section saw me make a somewhat reckless promise to have a Peter V’landys related talking point if Wests Tigers beat Parramatta. Well, here it is.
V’landys did well to keep the train on the tracks during COVID-19 and everything it brought with it.
I was also pleased to see him talking in the press about playing a game over in the USA, an untapped rugby league resource I’ve been banging on about here for years .
Sure, I’d like a full USA scouting and engagement strategy rather than a likely one-off game to promote the NRL’s gaming sponsors, but long term strategic action for the benefit of rugby league isn’t a V’landys thing, and that’s how it is.
(I tried to be nice, I really did.)
Quick hits
– Around 2015/16 Penrith and Canberra were the two ‘upstart’ teams to challenge the Storm and Roosters. It looked like a long time and high quality rivalry that would be decided in big finals… What different paths they’ve taken.
– How about Canterbury debutant Jacob Kiraz? Seven broken tackles, 133 metres and some banging cramps after 60 minutes. He was one good thing to come out of the Bulldogs’ fade in Brisbane.
– Has Todd Payten finally got his North Queensland team rowing in the direction he’s pointing? Darwin’s climate may help the Cowboys against Parramatta this week.
– Payne Haas ran for 254 metres and spent some time off the ground being treated for an injury!
– Remember when you watch the Anzac Day games today and listen to the broadcasts – sport is not war, and could not be further away from it.
– State of Origin speculator season is now open – feel free to call out your Origin selection bolters.
To the next
Round 8 presents a few games that on paper might be much more closely contested.
Brisbane host Cronulla, South Sydney play Manly on the Central Coast and St George Illawarra play Wests Tigers in what might be a low key belter.
Newcastle’s freefall lands in Melbourne, who are not known for their hospitality to battlers. The Gold Coast and Canterbury can expect similar issues as they front up to Penrith and the Roosters respectively. Warriors versus Canberra on Saturday afternoon is probably a better one for the radio than your eyes.
The best game shaping up is Parramatta facing the born again North Queensland on Saturday night in Darwin – that will be worth a look.
What have you made of round seven to date, Roarers?
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Yeah I know all about BJ. But he was a big body that could bust open defences and make things happen. Yes he had the occasional brain explosion but his positives outweighed the negatives for mine. We no longer have his X factor. Losing BJ, Bateman, Sezer, Hodgson and George Williams in recent seasons is huge in terms of what they brought to the team in terms of experience, ability and knowledge of the game. There have been some promising signs. Young Schneider is still developing - he's been resilient in defence but I'd like to see him try more in attack. Young Starling is also developing as well but is finding it hard to contribute for the full 80. Its tough when two of your key spine positions are occupied by two players who are still learning their trade. And the side didn't give up against Penrith even though the scoreboard may show otherwise. There is still some pride in the jersey. I'm unsure about the cause of the fadeouts in second halves. They did come back against the Titans to win earlier in the year but why they fall apart after looking strong in the first 40 in other games is a mystery. They had the same problem in 2017 and 2018 when they lost a bunch of games they were leading in. Ricky has to take ownership of this and fix it.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Geoff,BJ was a rocks an diamonds player - when he was Bad ,he was Very Bad.It’s hard to put a finger on the Poor Form of the Raiders.CNK is only a shadow of his former self, but he’s not the only problem.Apart from Jack ,I just don’t see where the attack comes from,maybe Starling will fill the void.Teams need more than just one/two players to be creative.The other fundamental problem is they are just not resilient in the 2nd Half.Soon as the heat’s applied after Oranges -they just(dare I say it) Fade
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Sport and war analogy’s are very painful and after Mondays game we need to apply a rule to Broadcasters and headline makers around the use of the word “classic” when referring to the quality of a game. A game can’t be a classic if one team makes more errors than scores points.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Bigger than the 70 points from the Storm is that the turnstile Cowboys over the last few years, outrank them in defence.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
True, but still 17 years of nothing. I was out by two in the years and you were out by a couple in the count. A draw and must have missed Panthers beating them this week. 367 164/1/202
no one in particular
Roar Guru
he didn't coach an NRL team in 2011 or 2012.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Fittler only played til the GF in 2004, so thats 17 seasons passed, and Stuart has coached no premierships since then. I agree with your actual point though. He needs to go.
Eel Be Right Mate
Roar Rookie
These last 2 weeks have been a vitamin B shot for the tigers. Can they build a platform on it? Camaraderie and self belief are what drive the confidence x factor, which is so essential for success on the battlefield.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Yep AJ as I was just pointing out a few of the ordinary things that they are doing. it’s very ordinary as are many of the efforts that are being put in every week! Especially when we could have won this game but and as usual, they messed things up and Arrow ends up with a FG attempt? That is very ordinary and just not good enough. Btw, JD is beginning to sound like Madge his last year at the Bunnies and its not looking good and I wonder if that is the case? Good on yah mate.
AJ Mithen
Expert
Relax Steve - as I said, the Tigers gave us the only decent game of the round so far in a sea of bludger performances. Bunnies have made double figure errors every week - the fewest errors they've made in a game so far is 12! You can't have that...
Rob
Guest
AJ isn’t a half and he’s playing beside a kid learning his trade in the NRL. Poor line speed and lack of depth? I think they’re taking short cuts in attack and defence to often.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Hey AJ, the Tigers are on 13th spot, with 86 for, 148 against, diff -62 what’s there to thank them for? All you blokes just like to sensationalise nothing, yes the Tigers were better on the night and flumed another game which doesn’t make them anything as the Bunnies are very ordinary and a rabble, especially with their kicking game and especially with FG’s (except for Trell’s 45m one in the Storm game) but what do you expect when Adam Reynolds was let go, and Ilias replaced him, who’s really a rookie and has only had 8 games in the NRL and has replaced the best FG, positional kicker and GK in the NRL, the results that the Bunnies are getting in 2022 is to be expected.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Since Fittler retired Ricky has a record of 164-201, and only 4 winning seasons in the 15 he has coached in that time Canberra need to do it, but they won't
souvalis
Roar Rookie
That’s fair. First run out there against the current best center in the state who was up shutting him down very, very quickly. Give him a bit more time. AJ hasn’t been the factor we know he can be playing in the 6.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Good summary Albo. I have the Sharks a bit higher than you are rating them. Up there with the Roosters and the Eels - in the next line behind the Panthers and Storm - who are clearly ahead of everyone else. The Raiders have had to play the Storm and Panthers in the past few weeks and the Panthers were well ahead of the Storm for mine. The Storm tend to just do enough with bursts of good footy to score points but have a tendency to coast and let the opposition back in. They take to foot off the accelerator and give opponents a sniff. I don't see that from Penrith who were absolutely relentless and ruthless on Sunday.
Rob
Guest
The only try the Titans scored was Fafita’s hands. I do think singling out Fafita out for the Titan’s poor edge defence is a bit harsh. On stats Fafita made more tackles than Holmes ran 2 less metres but had one less carry? Holmes didn’t score and got monster a couple of times. Okay Drinkwater got on the outside of him but where is the cover. Holmes and Taulagi ran excellent inside outside lines for Drinwater. Hard to defend if cover doesn’t come and it was perfectly run play for Drinkwaters elusive running. I have know idea why the winger came in on the Cowboy’s first try? The ricochet of Proctor for Taulagi try wasn’t really bad defence rather lucky bounce. Titans don’t move the ball with enough speed to the edges. AJ, Osako don’t give Fafita good early ball in space unlike Talaiki is getting from Hynes, Moylan and Kennedy. The difference is substantially better Taliaki’s impact.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
I watched the Knights and Raiders games and the difference in the defensive attitude of both teams was chalk and cheese. At least the Raiders defence was having a crack – even if they let in 6 tries. Hardly surprising given the amount of possession Penrith had. It could have been double that. Having said that the coaching of Ricky Stuart needs some attention here. The Raiders have gone from losing a Preliminary Final in 2020 to second last in 2022. How can a team’s fortunes plummet so quickly? Losing John Bateman and George Williams didn’t help – but was losing them poor player and team management? Ricky should have moved heaven and earth to ge them to stay. And personally I wouldn’t have let BJ Leilua and Aiden Sezer go after the 2019 GF. George showed some form in 2020 but went MIA in 2021. We still miss BJ’s influence in the centres. And Ricky’s mismanagement of the squad list is evident with Croker currently chewing up cap space in the seconds; a declining Whitehead signed for another two years and ageing halves in Sam Williams and Matt Frawley chewing up more spaces in the squad that could have been filled by younger talent. Losing your first choice half back for 4 months before the season starts and hooker for the season 10 minutes into the first game doesn’t help. But the Raiders are relying too much on too few. Tapine, Papalii and Wighton are carrying this side. Young Schneider and Cory Horsborough are having a crack but the back 5 need to do a hell of a lot more. I can’t believe the loss of form of CNK – is he carrying an injury or is it a loss of confidence? Ricky just doesn’t appear able to get enough out of the team at his disposal and O’Brien is having the same problem at the Knights. Some tough questions need to be asked about whether they are the right people to be guiding their teams at the moment.
Albo
Roar Rookie
I want the Tigers to do well too, Chuck. My second favourite team. I'm not yet convinced they have turned the corner yet ?
Chuck
Guest
Hey Albo, your comments on the Tigers May well be all too true, but let’s give them some love for now, poor buggers have been really battling, I most certainly am not a Tigers fan but am happy to see them get a couple of wins under the belt. On your second paragraph, can only agree with everything you said. Thanks for summing up my thoughts exactly. Lest we forget.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Regarding the Tigers ' resurgence' , I can't get overexcited just yet. Not sure I have seen a team with so much good fortune go for them in back to back games ? Not sure they can rely on opposition teams to return error counts of 15-8 and 16-3 each week, or for the bounce from a kick or a dropped ball to always jump into their hands perfectly , to give them a chance of sneaking a one point win ? But I have to acknowledge their own error count has improved and Hastings has provided some much needed direction. I am just not convinced their form turnaround is permanent as yet. There is a long way to go in the season but early on, it is looking pretty much like last season with a couple of good teams dominating as expected (Panthers & Storm), a couple of teams expected to figure at the backend ( Parramatta, Roosters), a couple with finals queries ( Manly & Souths), and a couple emerging to contend (Sharks & Cowboys). The other 8 teams are in need of a run of good form to force themselves into the finals picture.