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Pressure, eh. It does a lot to a team. Just ask Parra, the Raiders, the Sharks and, top of the list, the Cowboys.
This weekend saw a serious cleavage in the NRL between the top four and everyone else, with all four of the sides in the bottom half of the eight losing, while the next three down chasing all won.
The upshot is that the race is well and truly on: we have three teams on 11 wins, another three on ten and another two on eight plus a draw that, essentially, makes it nine. It’s quite ironic that those two, Manly and Newcastle, drew with each other. Both would have been disappointed at the time but it’s now the only thing keeping their season alive.
Chaos, as the wee fox in Lars von Trier’s Antichrist said, reigns. Let’s try to make sense of it all.
It was another week of ominous dominance from a Panthers side that cruised through Origin without a host of players – including their best one – and still only lost once, and that was in Golden Point.
The World Cup severely affected them early on in 2023, but you win nothing in March and everything in October. It’s them, then daylight at the moment.
Brisbane keep on keeping on as the best of the rest, being a lot better than the Roosters and thus able to beat them without ever really getting close to top gear.
At this stage it’s almost impossible that they won’t get a home final, which means they couldn’t play Penrith until the Grand Final, barring something very unusual happening. They’ll begin any game against anyone that isn’t the Panthers as favourites.
Defeated the Tigers to finally win a game of football, which is a start, but will need to be better again to make the top four. They should be better for the run with Latrell back in the side, and the fixture list is decidedly kind on the run-in.
The Bunnies remain third on potential ceiling, but they have to start living up to that potential sooner rather than later.
(Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
Melbourne were much better in their victory over Parramatta, aided by an opposition that was, politely, less good. The jitters about how good they actually are in relation to Storm sides of the past remain, but you know that when the whips start cracking, they’ll be there.
A weekend off for the Warriors, and the perfect time for it to arrive. They rest, then start their tear towards the top four with a series of highly winnable fixtures with only Manly among their remaining opponents even in the hunt for Finals, and likely out of it by then anyway.
North Queensland were well off the pace on Sunday and deserved everything they got. By losing, they draw themselves back into the battle for the top eight on a round where they could have pulled clear given results elsewhere.
They played last, too. They knew exactly what was possible and where the could have ended up, but totally blew it.
Losing Val Holmes to suspension, as they almost certainly will, and Reece Robson to injury, makes this a shocker of a weekend for the Cowboys.
Newcastle bound right into the Finals argument with yet another win, and one against a fellow contender too.
They’ve hit form at just the right time, with the backline firing and Kalyn Ponga close to his best. It’s a vibes train at the moment and they’ll take some stopping.
Oh, and their next two games are against sides with nothing to play for, before back to back showdowns with Souths and the Sharks. Currently four on the trot for Adam O’Brien, and no excuse not to be six on the spin by the time they get to face the Bunnies.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Parramatta lost again, lost badly and are only remaining in the chase due to results elsewhere. They need to find some form and quickly, potentially boosted by Dylan Brown coming back into the team.
Unfortunately for the Eels, they have a tough trot home and will have to likely get something out of either Penrith or Brisbane to stand a chance. That’s going to be very hard based on current form.
Canberra are still underwhelming, but then, were kind of underwhelming even when they were winning every week. If they don’t score from a kick at the moment, it doesn’t look like they’ll score at all.
It’s still totally possible for Ricky Stuart to turn this around, but let’s be real: if they did make the finals it’d be a week one defeat. Well, unless they travelled to Melbourne, where Canberra inexplicably always win.
Manly turned in one of their better performances for the year on Saturday, playing something approximating coherent football. The plan that Anthony Seibold has been trying to implement finally got a bit of a run, albeit aided by facing off against a poor Dragons outfit.
Still, green shoots. It might not be this year, but the signs are pointing in the right direction.
The Sharks are falling apart somewhat after another poor defeat. Losing to Penrith is no shame, but the manner of it, without troubling the scorers and without ever looking like doing so, was pretty damning for a team with some of the best attacking stats in the comp.
Will Kennedy is an integral part of that attack, too, and it looks like his season is done. Life support time next week against Souths.
(Photo by Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
Lost to the Broncos, which was predictable, and are just playing for pride at the moment. Of all the lower teams, they will likely be the biggest stumbling block for contenders – which might start with Manly at home on Thursday.
It was the Sea Eagles who all but ended their season at Brookvale Oval, so expect Trent Robinson to have his boys fired up to return the favour at the SCG.
‘A match already being forgotten before it’s been played’ was last week’s review of the Dolphins v Dogs, and lo, it came to pass.
It was mildly diverting while it took place and got a nice finish, but file it alongside the Carabao Cup and bilateral ODI series in the grand scheme of relevance.
The Titans won a game! And looked good in the process, too, knocking off one of the competition’s form sides. They’ll lose next week though, because that’s what the Titans do. Don’t trust them.
15 – Bulldogs (-)
Won, but should have lost, having played well enough that they should have won. Canterbury seem to be prioritising the NSW Cup, where, in fairness, they do have a very good chance of winning.
Not last, but still not very good.
Currently top of the NRLW with a perfect record. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.