Round 20 Talking Points: Resting Origin stars a huge gamble as Roosters lose touch of top eight

Resting Origin players is a big gamble, especially if it means short-term pain of a loss as you try to achieve the long-term gain of making the finals. 

The Roosters rolled the dice with James Tedesco sitting out the game against the Storm and they’ve now dropped to 14th on the ladder on the back of their 30-16 loss. 

It’s now looking unlikely that they’ll make the finals for the first time since 2016. 

Penrith decided to rest all their NSW stars on Sunday against the Dolphins at Redcliffe on top of Nathan Cleary’s hamstring being kept in cotton wool for an extra week. 

It looked like the move could backfire when the Dolphins hit the front in the second half on Sunday but the patched-up Panthers managed to rise again to get the job done.

Their halves, Jack Cogger and Jarome Luai, did a great job in executing their game plan, which always revolves around a strong field position battle. Izack Tago and Tom Jenkins were brilliant in attack and helped get the Panthers home in the last 10 minutes.

The Dolphins fought their way back into the game with Kodi Nikorima and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow showing some glimpses of great, attacking skill to threaten their opponents goal line. But they couldn’t quite close the game out as Penrith applied the pressure.

The Cowboys had five players involved in Origin III but given their precarious position in the race for the top eight they were all backed up on Saturday night at Brookvale and those players were tremendous in the 19-8 victory. 

It’s tough for players to back up for club duty a few days after Origin but it doesn’t stop there. 

These next couple of weeks after the Origin period can be tough on players as the physical and mental toll of the arduous campaign continues to have an effect. 

It’s a big concern for coaches at this time of year and they often reduce their rep players’ training loads and may ask them to complete only the captain’s run to help them recharge their batteries.

Coaches take a very individual approach to players after collaboration of the physio, the medical staff, the high-performance staff and the player to work it out.

Joey Manu reacts during the round 20 loss to Melbourne. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

A player like Reuben Cotter at the Cowboys has had three 80-minute Origin matches in the forwards but he’s young and fit so he might be able to recover a bit better and keep pushing through without missing a match.

Whereas Tedesco is close to a decade older and he’s had plenty of experience in how to navigate this time of year so he knows when he needs to rest up for a week so that he’s still firing at the end of the year.

Not having Tedesco in the team obviously hurt the Roosters’ chances against the Storm but they probably thought with Joey Manu moving to fullback they wouldn’t lose too much there, although that does mean that you’re weakening one of your centre spots.

The main problem for the Roosters all year has been their spine has been shuffled around nearly every week. Sam Walker’s been out for a couple of months at halfback and young Sandon Smith has shown some promised but he’s learning on the job.

Teddy’s been on Origin duty, Manu’s been switched around a few positions and Brandon Smith’s missed several weeks so Jake Turpin has had to take over at hooker. 

Victor Radley’s playing on the edge and I don’t think they’ve had the same formations together enough. 

Melbourne’s execution was spot on and they continually put the Roosters under pressure. With Harry Grant and Cameron Munster barely missing any time, they’ve kept their spine pretty much intact with a Test halfback in Jahrome Hughes and a smart fullback in Nick Meaney doing a more than handy fill-in job with Ryan Papenhuyzen out.

A team like North Queensland have had five players involved in Origin but their spine has been settled and that’s now five wins on the trot for them. 

Reece Robson has managed to play through his first couple of matches for NSW and the three other key guys – Chad Townsend, Scott Drinkwater and Tom Dearden have virtually been unchanged.

They’ve handled the period so far better than most teams.

Valentine Holmes was the pick of the five Cowboys who backed up from Origin in the 19-8 victory at Manly and it will be a huge home game for them next Saturday against Parramatta. 

The Sea Eagles have got a big pack but that can be their Achilles heel and the Cowboys’ more mobile forwards managed to get around them a fair bit.

Manly have arguably got too many big guys in the middle and if you don’t handle the ball well, their defensive movements can become a liability if they have to make too many tackles.

Knights in the fight for finals

Kalyn Ponga was a class above for Newcastle on Friday night in their win over the Wests Tigers, setting up tries and scoring one of his own in the 34-18 triumph.

It’s on nights like this one that you can see why he fits in so well in elite company at Origin level. 

He had a couple of hiccups last year and I think he’s grown as a person and as a footballer this season to live up to his reputation and price tag, and the Knights are reaping the benefits.

Kalyn Ponga scores. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

There was a bit of talk about him knocking back Queensland when Reece Walsh was suspended because he had wanted to concentrate on getting back to top form with Newcastle and that’s admirable after the amount of time he’s missed for the team over the past couple of seasons.

They’re up to 10th now and knocking on the door for the top eight. It’s not going to be easy for them to sneak into the finals but they’re capable if they can sustain some consistency. The last two weeks in beating the Bulldogs and Tigers is the first time they’ve strung two wins together all season. 

Newcastle have got Melbourne and Canberra over the next fortnight so that could make or break their chances. 

Bula the Tigers’ shining light

I can’t understand how the Tigers had the first try of the night taken off them when the bunker ruled a knock-on when Jahream Bula batted the ball sideways from a bomb.

When you’re down the bottom of the ladder those calls tend to go against you and it takes the confidence out of a team when it’s already low. 

One of the few highlights for the Tigers was Bula’s outstanding two-try effort. The rookie was responsible for a number of try saves and has some great natural instincts for a player of his age.

Warriors keep on keeping on

The Warriors surged past the Sharks on the ladder with another Shaun Johnson-inspired performance in Auckland on Sunday.

Their form has been really impressive this season and they were very dominant in winning 44-12 in front of their home fans.

They have improved their defensive output across the board and did well to keep the Sharks to two tries considering they average 29 points per game.

The Warriors have developed one of the better spines in the NRL with Johnson, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Wayde Egan and Luke Metcalf combining nicely as their team sits just outside the top four after 20 rounds.