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Opinion
Round 18’s results played out largely as expected, with some teams pushing their season forward, others barely hanging on and some now done and gone out the back door.
Here come your talking points from the weekend’s NRL.
It didn’t really matter too much because the Roosters dusted St George-Illawarra by 28, but five-eighth Joseph Manu was the focus after seemingly pulling up lame and grabbing his knee before springing to life and racing through Dragons defenders Blake Lawrie and Billy Burns, who had relaxed when faced with someone who seemed to be submitting.
The play ended with Manu putting a kick in for Paul Momirovski to score and the NRL world exploded with cries of ‘cheating!’ and ‘what an effort to fight through cramp!’
Let’s make one thing clear for those in doubt – Manu admitted post game he was somewhat bunging it on, saying “My calf has been a bit tight for the last few weeks, but it was just a bit of carry on too.”
Plenty were unimpressed, particularly as the game was all but finished (the converted Momirovski try made the score 48-26). Just as many, though, feel there’s nothing wrong with getting one over an opponent.
What’s the lesson here? Sneaky plays like Manu’s are ok? Refs should penalise him for staging? Lawrie and Burns should have mercilessly drilled an opponent who appeared to pull up injured?
Who cares because it doesn’t matter in the scheme of rugby league? All of the above?
Manly, Parramatta, Brisbane and Cronulla took the opportunities presented to them to consolidate their places in the top eight, with the Sea Eagles riding another beauty from Daly Cherry-Evans to rout a disappointing Newcastle 42-12.
Parra’s run of the mill 28-18 win over New Zealand kept them in touch with the top four and Brisbane did the same, pushing through for their 16-12 win over a spirited Gold Coast.
Cronulla travelled for a good win over an Origin impacted but still high quality Cowboys side, a win which may prove critical when the top four spots shake out.
Also worth a mention are South Sydney, who beat Canterbury 36-28 in the game of the round, a rollicking, entertaining affair from minute one. While they went down, the Bulldogs are a great team to watch as they get themselves together after such a horrible start to the year.
Has there been a defending premier in such good shape post Origin?
The Panthers’ 18-16 win over Wests Tigers was significant in a few ways. Firstly, they did it while resting seven State of Origin players.
Secondly, they’re now four games clear on top of the standings and thirdly, they’ve come through the Origin period undefeated and without any major injury worries.
The Panthers are so far ahead of the pack they can mess around with combinations, lineups or whatever they want to do. They’ve earned the right to do that, as Wests Tigers caretaker coach Brett Kimmorley somewhat clumsily acknowledged after their game.
With so much of a lead heading into finals there’s not much value trying to read into how Penrith are playing and if they’re going well or not – everything from here on is making sure they’re still in this shape when it’s business time. The rest of this regular season doesn’t matter.
Melbourne had their first choice spine for the first time since Round 9 and still couldn’t nab two points against an undermanned Canberra.
It’s worth noting Melbourne had a number of tries disallowed, fumbled over the line or pulled up just short but the result was a disaster from top to bottom, especially with yet another serious injury to fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, who fractured his kneecap in a clash of knees with Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton and is out for the season.
The Storm remain in the top four on the strength of their for and against but they’ve now lost three in a row for the first time in seven years and it’s not an easy ride for the rest of the schedule.
Like I said last week, I’m not writing the Storm off because I’m not an idiot and they’re a phenomenal club. But hooley dooley they need to break this run of outs against South Sydney this week, who they’ve only lost to once since 2014.
Ryan Papenhuyzen. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Once again we were treated to a darkened stadium for the Bunnies/Bulldogs belter.
It may well be the way the lighting is set up for sporting events, but at times it looks like a suburban ground where some globes have blown.
– Canberra are now seven wins and five losses against Melbourne at AAMI Park, including four wins on the trot. No other NRL club (besides Melbourne) has a winning record at AAMI Park.
– Another Canberra one – they’ve now scored a try in 223 consecutive games and own the NRL record outright. Their streak started in Round 17, 2013.
– Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien was captured punching an innocent (electric) fan in the coaches box during their lamentable performance in Manly. He’s contracted till the end of 2024. At what point do Knights fans expect a significant improvement?
– Well played Canterbury’s Declan Casey, who returned from being knocked out in his Round 16 debut to score his first NRL try and make a good impact for his team. He’s one of a great crop of Bulldogs youngsters coming through.
– Trouble for the Roosters with bad injuries to Siosiua Taukeiaho (cheekbone), Sitili Tupouniua (knee), Billy Smith (knee), with both knee injuries being ACLs. Maybe that carnage was why the Dragons backed off Manu?
Round 19 offers some big time matchups that can make or break seasons with time running out for many clubs.
Parramatta will face off against Brisbane on Thursday in a top four shaping matchup. Friday night sees St George-Illawarra host Manly in a genuine four point game, then the Roosters head to Newcastle where they need to bank the win.
Saturday begins with New Zealand headed to the capital for a game that means more to their Canberran hosts, a rested Panthers face the ambitious Cronulla and South Sydney welcome Melbourne in what could be a belter.
Sunday is a tad more sedate with Canterbury hosting the Gold Coast and Wests Tigers headed to the far north to face the Cowboys.
What did you think of the weekend’s NRL, Roarers?