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Opinion
Two blowouts, one of which was most definitely expected and one of which was most definitely eyebrow raising. Here come your NRL finals Week 2 talking points.
The sky’s the limit for Parramatta
The Eels head to Townsville to face the Cowboys after a reasonably bruise-free outing against Canberra. Everything went right for the blue and gold as their forwards ran riot, ploughing through Canberra’s vaunted pack while Mitch Moses and Dylan Brown feasted on the uncertainty they caused among Jordan Rapana, Seb Kris and Xavier Savage.
It was a bloodbath on the field and the stats sheet too. Almost 750 more run metres and made Canberra work for 109 more tackles. It was as comprehensive a win as you’d like.
Maybe the only blip was leaving Mitch Moses on the field for the last 20 minutes when the game was done rather than sitting him down.
The post-game told a story too – Brad Arthur and the rest of the team were focused on what’s ahead, rather than getting too caught up in what they’d just done. This is a team who know they’ve got the potential to challenge Penrith, and they don’t want to miss another opportunity.
Canberra hit their ceiling
Much was made of the Raiders’ win streak to end to the regular season, of Ricky Stuart teams never falling short of a preliminary final, of Brad Arthur’s teams never making it past finals Week 2, of Canberra with momentum after beating Melbourne in Melbourne for the fifth straight time and Parra losing to Penrith, but everyone overlooked one pretty important thing…
Parramatta are significantly better than Canberra.
That’s why the Eels finished in the top four and Canberra scraped into eighth. That’s why Friday’s game was essentially over after 15 minutes on the way to a record 40-4 loss for the green machine, their biggest ever.
Who knows how the season could have panned out if Jamal Fogarty and Josh Hodgson were fit all season, but none of that matters now. Canberra need to re-sign Joe Tapine, make tough calls about who needs to move on and above all, get more skills and fitness work into their young backline.
The Sharks didn’t shake the cynics
A straight-sets exit after copping 32 and 38 points was a horrendous finish for the second-placed Cronulla, giving credence to the murmurs about a convenient fixture which they used to its full advantage.
Their defence couldn’t hold up under the fiercest scrutiny and a clearly annoyed Craig Fitzgibbon will spend the off-season plotting how to strengthen their output against the best of the best.
Mind you, Cronulla were a field goal away from winning in Week 1 and having a week off before facing Parramatta, so let’s not ignore that. They finished second with a rookie coach and new combinations all over the field.
They’ve laid a great foundation while no one was looking, now they’ve gotta build the house while everyone else is showing up swinging sledgehammers.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Latrell Mitchell is just what the NRL needs
Which individual right now produces such flair, unbelievable plays, maddening errors, show-stopping goalkicking with an outsized influence on a game? It’s Latrell.
With Mitchell in the attack, Cody Walker and Lachlan Ilias grow both in confidence and as a threat to the opposition. Defensive eyes are all over the place as they try to second guess how Mitchell is going to inject himself. Cronulla had no idea how to handle Souths’ energy and unpredictability in their 38-12 smashing.
You can see the cogs turning when Mitchell has the ball in hand – thinking through five possible moves before deciding which way to go. Sometimes that leads to outright calamity, but more often it leads to Rabbitohs line breaks, fast attacking moves and points.
He’s a hero, a villain, a showman and a brute – often in the space of a few tackles. He proves a lot of stats used by most to judge fullbacks don’t really matter. The player you hate but you’d love him with your team. And just what this finals series needs.
A cautionary tale about head injuries
Cam Murray and Mitch Moses both played this weekend after ‘recovering’ from severe head contact in Week 1. It’s not a great look.
Not good for the game or the player, who will understandably do anything they can to play because it’s the finals and there’s a premiership on the table, for god’s sake.
But I dare you to watch Mario Fenech’s story last night and think the NRL is still doing the right thing by its players when it comes to head injury.
Aidan Sezer is going to miss the UK’s Super League Grand Final because he was knocked cold by a horrendously dirty play by John Bateman. Sezer is now stood down for a mandatory 11-day period. He might feel okay, but there’s no chances being taken and that’s as it should be.
Will the NRL ever bring in a mandatory concussion standout protocol like Super League (and most other sports around the globe)? Of course not.
They’ll say Mario Fenech is of a different era, of the Wild West when anything went, but again we saw this week that talk around concussion in the NRL has changed, but the actions haven’t.
Quick hits
– Again: Why is it only when we get to finals that grounds start playing inane music at every single stoppage? I must be getting old, because it’s completely unnecessary and detracting from the fan experience.
– Two games in two great stadiums which shone on broadcast and created a great environment for the players. Who woulda guessed?
– Canberra won 8/10 to get to eighth spot, but during that they only played two games against top-eight sides for one win (Melbourne) and one loss (Penrith).
– Xavier Savage scored a snorter or a try to ‘not nil’ for Canberra, continuing Canberra’s world record streak of 232 NRL games with a try scored.
– Got a quick hit of your own? Whack it in the comments.
To the next
Preliminary final weekend can traditionally provide close games, heartache and stories for generations. What will we get for 2022?
Parramatta tackle North Queensland on Friday night, the hosts fresh from a week off but not without their defensive concerns. Will the Eels be able to work for a full 80 in humid conditions forecast to be in the mid 20s?
Saturday night has potential to be a classic when Penrith dares South Sydney to come and take their crown. Penrith are unbackable favourites, but the Bunnies are in a spoiling kind of mood. Can they work a miracle?
What did you make of finals Week 2, Roarers?