Is it wrong to say this NRL season has been the most meh in recent memory?
The quality of play on the field has been just fine, the Warriors have been the feelgood story of the year and the Dolphins’ hot start ensured the talent dilution which comes with expansion has not been a problem.
But this season has been missing an engaging narrative – good or bad, rugby league thrives on drama on and off the field but it’s been an overwhelmingly vanilla season apart from the odd incident here and there.
To be frank, the players’ game-day media boycott has not been much of a factor when it comes to the lack of excitement around the NRL.
They said little of note when they’d walk to the sidelines flanked by a reporter asking softball questions about a hard sport and apart from the odd character who is still left in a competition filled with robots, the post-game live crosses seem to follow a script of “yeah, we done good but full credit to my teammates” and “we was more happy we kept them to zero points than scoring 70”.
The NRL is perhaps marching to the beat of the humdrum in that there’s a sense of inevitability that the Penrith machine will power away to a third straight premiership.
Stephen Crichton celebrates scoring a try for Penrith against Canterbury. (Photo by Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
When the mighty Parramatta Eels of the early 1980s last achieved this feat they had to get through a murderers’ row of opponents from the nasty Newtown Jets, a slick Manly side and Canterbury’s Entertainers who then morphed into Warren Ryan’s mongrel Bulldogs.
These Panthers don’t have an opposition team among the other finals contenders who has more than a puncher’s chance of landing a knockout blow in the playoffs.
Which is not to say that Ivan Cleary’s side is a lay-down misère to win the trophy. It’s a foony game, this rugby league, as they say in the other part of the world where there’s a fully-fledged professional competition.
Brisbane, Souths, Parramatta and the Cowboys have beaten them this season and they could upset the natural order in the finals, along with Melbourne and possibly the Warriors, if they play out of their skins and the Panthers are below their best.
Penrith are even one of the three teams in 2023 who have lost to the Wests Tigers and that was when all their big guns were on deck.
But they are a paltry $2.40 bet to win the premiership as we head into the final five rounds of the season, Nathan Cleary is back to his best after a hamstring layoff and they’re showing no signs of slowing down despite several stars leaving for lucrative deals elsewhere in recent years.
They’ve lost a couple of lesser lights this week for 2024 with back-up halfback Jack Cogger returning to Newcastle and Jaeman Salmon becoming the latest Panther to reunite with Cameron Ciraldo at the Dogs.
Spencer Leniu, one of the most improved players in the NRL this year, linking with the Roosters and Stephen Crichton also heading to Canterbury are also body blows.
But with Dylan Edwards confirming on Wednesday that a contract extension was imminent, Daine Laurie rejoining the club to replace Cogger as the back-up playmaker and Jarome Luai likely to stay, the house that Ivan built is not on shaky foundations.
Another factor behind the July-August doldrums is that the post-Origin lull has been longer than ever due to the combination of the series being won by game two in June and there being an extra round in club footy this year.
Even before each side went through the motions of Origin III, the NRL was still an afterthought for a lot of fans. And when the Blues saved face by winning game three, the club competition was in that awkward phase of it’s still too early for the race for the finals to be a focus.
(Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
A shorter season may not add up financially for the NRL bean counters but it would at least shorten this purgatory period.
The constant empty promises surrounding the CBA deal being sorted and the supposed opening-round blockbuster in Las Vegas next year have been excruciating.
Most fans would like to kindly be woken up on these matters when there is actual news to announce on either front.
The majority of punters think the players earn a decent quid while when it comes to the middle-aged grey men in even greyer suits who control the purse strings, their trustworthiness in the eyes of the public ranks alongside used car salesmen.
Rugby league supporters care more about getting some clarity around Test fixtures. Whatever momentum the international built up last year at the World Cup has quickly evaporated where we’re now at the point that it’s August and matches that are supposed to be happening in two months are not locked in.
An announcement is supposedly imminent but so was an end to the CBA last October when Andrew Abdo and Peter V’landys opted not to go to the World Cup so they could bring an end to the standoff with the RLPA.
Part of the NRL malaise of recent weeks has been beyond head office’s control with the Ashes and Women’s World Cup taking plenty of eyeballs away.
Mary Fowler. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Formulating the draw is an extremely difficult task but the schedulers would probably take a mulligan if it was on offer after putting St George Illawarra vs Wests Tigers up a couple of weeks ago as the Thursday night game for Channel Nine up against the Matildas’ World Cup opener and the Ashes.
With five rounds to go, the NRL finals are now close enough for the battle for the top two, top four, top eight and to avoid the wooden spoon are now to recapture attention.
Apart from the Tigers looking like they’ve sewn up that last one, the jockeying for the positions that matter will keep fans of the 14 remaining finals contenders interested at least until the old mathematical chance is extinguished.
Whether it’s the Panthers falling short or a Cinderella team like the Warriors making a deep playoff run, this season needs a few twists and turns heading into the final two months of the competition to break out of its funk.
Heyou
Roar Rookie
‘Meh’ is me. My team has ‘only one notable player’ notable for what? Inconsistency? Asking for a two year early release after his coach mate got sacked? Apart form my team being in the death throw doldrums, my long habit of watching every game of every round has come to a screaming halt. The used car salesmen in the nrl upper management are untrustworthy. They keep making new rules and more new rules to plug up holes in the new rules. All these gambling betting ads and inserts are embarrassingly over the top. The game officials are either struggling to find fair and above board consistency of adjudication what with the oft changing rules and laws and their open ended interpretations, or they are looking rife with confirmation bias or maybe all of the above… I don’t know really. I’ve just got a case of sour grapes and disappointment with the grubby ruck, the grubby tactics, the stops and more stops in the game, the players getting in the ref’s ear about every little thing and mouthing off at the poor hard done by blokes. The bunker is still bumbling along. The commentators can’t even agree on the rules and laws and the game officials’ interpretations and policing. They say things like …’ well by the letter of the law that is a correct ruling’ and their offsider comes up with… ‘oh you’ve gotta be kidding! That’s not a rule. That’s not a shoulder barge any day of the week’ or… ‘That’s a professional foul every other day of the week’. These commentators have their own biases being ex players and it seeps through into their commentary and can be very monotonous and one must reach for the remote to press mute mute mute! So old school me is in the ‘meh’ stage of the game that is not as great as it once was before the horse racing bloke came along. If my team was doing better I might be less ‘meh’ My clock alarm is preset for footy for every game of every round and I haven’t erased those alarms yet… wow is me lol :laughing:
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Throw in the Eels losing Mahoney, Papali’i, Niokore, Kaufusi Opacic and signed.. Hodgson…
The Barry
Roar Guru
“Your argument falls flat when you claim that the trouble is dilution of talent and lack of depth and then talk about the Sharks , Cows , Roosters and Souths. None of these teams are weaker than last season and the Roosters are substantially stronger.” That’s not true though. The Sharks lost first graders Tolman, Fifita, Metcalf, Miller and Ikuvalu. They only recognised first grader they signed was Kaufusi from the Eels. Their depth has definitely been impacted The Cowboys lost Hammer, Gilbert, Lemuelu, Condon and a couple of squad players. They signed Gosiewski, Tamou, Shibasaki, McIntyre and Valemei. Their outs are better quality than their ins Souths lost Nicholls, Nikorima and Paulo and didn’t sign anyone Roosters signed Brandon Smith, Turpin, Paulo and Brown and lost Taukeiaho, Suluka-Fifita, Gildart, Verrills, Atoni, Tapuha and Lodge. Quality wise pretty level but has probably impacted their depth…
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Yes - the suspensions and injuries are probably related.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Ch 9 commentary is painful.
Rellum
Roar Guru
ACLs are down by half this year. I would think most injuries are from hip drops and the extra caution given to concussions
Succhi
Roar Rookie
It feels like there have been a lot more injuries and suspensions to key players this year. I think the comp is competitive, but I think the games have been average. I put this down to the overuse of the 6again rule, the Channel 9 commentary and game scheduling.
Nick
Roar Rookie
There was a kid in my year at primary school, and he was pretty thick (although, he really did try and I will always respect him for that) and upon seeing a stray dog, he would without fail insist that he knew that dog and call out to it. Perhaps once in every 20 he would be right.
The Barry
Roar Guru
In the spirit of not making a choice is a choice… Not predicting is a prediction… :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Each week we will have a club dropping out of top 4 and top 8. How is that not exciting?. Warriors finally aiming up, let's hope it's permanent! I must admit to being a sore loser with SOO with the blues just looking for ways to lose but what does that have to do with the NRL? Every year it takes 1 or 2 rounds to shake off the Soo and get back into the NRL but hey this year we have the girls getting us back in the mood. Go you tigers.
Chris
Roar Pro
For the back to back, arguably threepeaters, regular season fighting for spots should seem like afterthoughts. Respect.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Wow ! Giggling..
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Nice deflection of a debate. You're the one claiming that a log jammed table is due to largely to a lack of talent and depth but how does that explain that teams, who aren't lacking talent or depth compared to last season, aren't sailing along in the top 4? By your reasoning they should be doing better. As for coach Cleary. There is nothing wrong with you claiming that the Panthers were doing well based more on Ciraldos role as an assistant last season than Cleary but it sounds like you were just making things up. How did you work that out? I tend to think Ciraldo can do well at the Dogs , like any coach when they get the right roster and have a good run with injuries but if he does I won't be nominating one of his assistants as the real reason they're doing well because it would be a fairy story. Plenty of coaches have won titles but they typically do it with one of the top rosters and Cleary is no exception and neither is Ciraldo.
Artesia
Roar Rookie
Not this Panther fan.. the possiblity of achieving something not done in 40 years, the closeness of the competition meaning that it could totally not happen... I don't know any Panther fan who thinks this post-Origin part of the season is meh!! I
Nick
Roar Rookie
But I'll bet on Monday after the Grand Final you'll say you predicted that winner.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
What i said: “The dilution of talent has impacted quality in my opinion. We have a log jammed table for several reasons and most can come back to a lack of player talent/depth contributing to many mediocre games and many inconsistent performances” What you say i said “Your argument falls flat when you claim that the trouble is dilution of talent and lack of depth…” I am happy to discuss maturely differing opinions. I repeatedly say above that I don’t expect others agree with me. But in order to have those conversations, you need to be mature and accurate and not make things up, which you can’t do, so i think we’re done here. And Cleary won his first premiership with a super talented, well constructed roster after coaching over 300 first grade games. Good luck to him. I’m sure i have undervalued his ability. But i’m happy to give Ciraldo more than one season where he is coaching one of the weakest rosters in the league before dismissing him and what his contribution was to the development of that squad.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Your argument falls flat when you claim that the trouble is dilution of talent and lack of depth and then talk about the Sharks , Cows , Roosters and Souths. None of these teams are weaker than last season and the Roosters are substantially stronger. You were regularly claiming last season that Ciraldo was really coaching the Panthers and they would struggle when he left. I don't understand where you pluck some of your ideas from.
Adam
Roar Guru
Surely the NRL needs a relatively quiet narrative?
Adam
Roar Guru
Don't get me started on how much they've gone up this year!
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
I will admit it is an empirical assessment, i don't have the time or inclination to argue stats as we all know we can use stats to make any argument on a topic like this. For me watching the teams at the bottom: the Tigers, Dragons and Dogs. They have all been woeful. The Dogs have some excuses around injury tolls, but it again speaks to depth. The Tigers were tagged for huge improvement, and everything about the way they play - attacking formation and structure, defencive structure, it is awful - and they have one of the most highly credentialed coaches ever. The Dragons, are a political mess and they now find themselves as a club with one notable player and 2, maybe 3 young players who may amount to being better than average players. The Broncos, Panthers and Warriors have been consistently very good. Sure all teams have off nights, but they are the only teams you could say have been consistently up to the mark of what we would view as a Top 6 or 8 team. The Storm's worst is probably average, but below that, the Sharks, Cows, Eels, Roosters and even Souths - big guns from last year - when they lose, they often really stink. Like really stink The Titans can't play 2 good games in a row and Manly.. they have played in 8 games this year decided by 16 points or more and won just 3 of them. Consistency? They've played in 8 games decided by 6 points or less, and i am not going to tell you I watched all of those games, but a few that i recall watching v Tigers, Roosters home to Cronulla and even the draw with the Knights, were not well played games. Close yes, but not games the coach would have been happy with regardless of the result. Even if we were to say, the Dolphins were a success story because everyone thought they would be lucky to win three or four games and they are probably going to end up with 8 wins - 9 at best. You look through the roster and you have to say that outside JMK and the Hammer, maybe Issako, did many players really play way over and above expectations on a regular basis? I'd say, no, yet they have won at least twice as many games as anyone expected. Having seen some of those wins, it isn't usually because they played outstandingly well. Without writing a thesis, that is the fundamental basis. Like i say, i suspect most would disagree and even if some do agree, they might say that maybe a dip in quality to some degree is ok if it makes for more parity and keeps some supporters engaged later in the year as their team has a punches chance of making the 8. That's fine. We need to be wary though as comps like the NYC bared the colours of the clubs we loved, and it died a very quick death because of quality.