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Opinion
The result in a rugby league game is never as simplistic as coming down to who wants it more but sometimes an old attitude adjustment can do a world of good.
We saw in a few matches this week that the team that has rolled up the sleeves and been willing to do the hard work has got the job done even if their form beforehand wasn’t the greatest.
The best example was Manly beating Melbourne at Brookvale on Friday night.
After letting in 32 against Newcastle and 44 to Penrith, there were questions surrounding Manly’s defence but you could see from the word go against the Storm that they were up for the contest.
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They were willing to put their shoulders into tackles with intent and the Storm were never allowed to settle into a groove.
Tom Trbojevic. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Cronulla’s another team that has been up and down but they also benefitted from a vocal home crowd to get past the Roosters earlier that night.
It doesn’t always have to be pretty, sometimes you just have to get the job done. And when you are struggling for confidence, complex game plans need to be put away and you need to go back to basics.
The Raiders showed that on Sunday too in Canberra when they just held out St George Illawarra.
And a team that’s been doing it all season is the Warriors who are now sitting pretty in the top three with Penrith and Brisbane.
Their captain, Tohu Harris, and veteran halfback, Shaun Johnson, are showing the way for the younger Warriors and their new coach Andrew Webster has brought over a lot of the systems and standards that have worked so well for Penrith the past few years.
I think the Warriors played with a bit more spirit to be honest. They look a much fitter, more energetic and a have a better connection in defence.
They’ve got a real group mentality and they look happier being back home after three years on the road.
Doing the hard work doesn’t necessarily mean being physically tough. It’s the stuff like getting your line speed right, hitting hard with your first contact, a strong kick chase, being disciplined and taking the hit-ups out of your own end early in a set.
Jason Taumalolo. (Photo by Andy Jackson/Getty Images)
Teams have had a few seasons now to get adjusted to the six-again rules and the best ones are the ones who can hold out repeat sets, especially on their own line.
A couple of the teams that haven’t found their mojo this season like the Roosters and the Cowboys need to have a look at what they’re doing in these areas.
Those two sides were expected to be premiership contenders this year but they have struggled to hit their stride in the first seven weeks of the season.
Newcastle were another team that fired up in front of a big home crowd on the weekend and if not for Nathan Cleary’s class, they would have accounted for the premiers.
Penrith were clever using their captain’s challenge to reverse a call that would have left them down to 12 players for 10 minutes.
I don’t think I’ve seen a team March downfield for a field goal in extra time as quickly and clinically as Penrith did.
They decided they were going to hit the ball up hard for four plays from the kick-off and then Cleary stepped up with the boot.
The Knights were out on their feet after getting through a mountain more defence than Penrith in the second half and they didn’t do much to repel them as they carted the ball into field goal range.
Nat Butcher. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
There’s a lot of sin bin use going on at the moment which is fine as long as it’s a professional foul or a blatant incident.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson wasn’t happy with Nat Butcher getting binned for a hip-drop on Briton Nikora even though he didn’t make contact with his legs and the Sharks forward was not injured.
That’s fair enough, I reckon.
Whether it’s late contact or a deliberate act to give away a penalty, it’s got to be genuine beyond any doubt for the sin bin to be used because it’s having a huge impact.
Some players are in line to win Academy Awards for “acting” at this year’s Dally Ms and it needs to be stamped out.
Jai Arrow being back from injury at the Bunnies is a massive boost and he got through plenty of work in the win over the Dolphins on Thursday.
Souths lost Mark Nicholls in the off-season and Tevita Tatola has been in and out with injuries so they’ve missed Arrow.
Having him there allowed players like Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell to produce their slick attacking skills.
The Dolphins did well in the first half and are a real solid tradesmen like team but didn’t have the class in attack to upset the Rabbitohs.
Parramatta are another team that have gone back to basics and were too clinical for the Bulldogs.
It’s no secret that the Eels have returned to form with something like their best pack on deck with Junior Paulo (who returned from suspension) and Reagan Campbell-Gillard (who scored his first try of the season) setting the platform.
Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown (and Clint Gutherson) looked much more comfortable playing behind dominant forwards and showed good control in attack.
The Dogs were never really in the hunt and were already missing key players Josh Addo-Carr and Viliame Kikau before they lost Jacob Kiraz early and Jake Averillo was on one leg for most of the game.
Their major recruit Reed Mahoney had an unhappy day and copped plenty of feedback from his teammates along with the Blue and Gold Army.
Michael Hagan is a former dual-premiership winning first grade player and current assistant coach of Australia's Kangaroos team. Hagan played 183 games for Canterbury and Newcastle and represented Queensland five times. He transitioned into a successful coach and took the Knights to a premiership in his first year in charge back in 2001. He went onto coach 205 NRL games and six times for Queensland in Origin.