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The NRL trial program came to a close on Sunday with North Queensland potentially losing a key forward for an extended period from their win over Canberra at Queanbeyan while Parramatta were far too strong for the Gold Coast at Ipswich with the 10-point scoreline flattering the Titans.
Here are the key takeaways in the final pre-season action before Round 1 kicks off at the end of next week.
Canberra have been tipped to be strugglers in 2024 and the Cowboys are considered finals candidates and even with the usual caveat that comes with trial form, if you were judging the teams for most of the 80 minutes, particularly the first half, at Seiffert Oval on Sunday, then you would be forgiven for thinking the opposite predictions were true.
North Queensland did enough in the second half to run out unimpressive winners as Canberra coach Ricky Stuart cycled through his bench while Todd Payten kept many of the Cowboys’ big guns on the field.
Experienced forward Coen Hess went off with a knee injury and there are fears he has done significant damage with the Cowboys star to get scans on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.
Coen Hess is tackled by Canberra Raiders defenders. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
The Raiders rested first-choice halfback Jamal Fogarty for Round 1, giving Ethan Strange and Kaeo Weekes a shoot-out for the No.6 jersey left vacant by Jack Wighton’s switch to South Sydney.
Strange came up with a smart solo try to open the scoring when he kicked in behind the line to regather before Weekes hoisted a high kick which Kyle Feldt fumbled for Xavier Savage to touch down.
Feldt made amends when he collected a Scott Drinkwater cut-out pass to score North Queensland’s first try before Raiders centre Matt Timoko stood up opposite number Valentine Holmes from a scrum win to restore Canberra’s momentum.
Cowboys centre Zac Laybutt touched down after Drinkwater made the most of a stretched defensive line to cut the deficit to 14-8 at half-time and the scores were level five minutes after the restart when Murray Taulagi scooted down the left flank after a Thomas Mikaele bust.
Mikaele staked his claim for a spot in the 17 for the Round 1 trip to Brisbane against the Dolphins when he crashed over under the posts to give the Cowboys the lead after Griffin Neame reeled in a Chad Townsend bomb into the sun.
With the Cowboys keeping their main players on the field, Drinkwater exploited a weakened defensive line to send another pinpoint pass over to an unmarked Feldt for his second.
Strange spent a spell in the sin bin ater flipping Mikaele onto his head in a three-man tackle which could cost him the halves gig for Round 1 if the match review committee comes down hard on him.
Despite being a player down, the Raiders cut the gap to six with Nick Cotric muscled his way through the defence midway through the second half.
Cotric then gifted the Cowboys the ball from the kick-off by catching it mid-air before landing over the dead-ball line and Feldt felt the joy of a hat-trick from the ensuing set to make it 30-20.
Raiders forward Peter Hola powered through a Jack Gosiewski tackle to bring the home side within striking distance heading into the final eight minutes.
They had a chance to snatch victory in the 76th minute after a long break downfield but rookie playmaker Adam Cook panicked as the cover defence converged with a woeful kick to save the Cowboys’ blushes.
Mikaele thumped the Steeden over the stripe in the closing stages to record an unlikely hat-trick for a front-rower who has not scored a try in 67 NRL appearances.
J’maine Hopgood looks to pass in Ipswich. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Parramatta couldn’t have been more impressive in polishing off a lacklustre Gold Coast outfit at Ipswich on Sunday as they look to surge back up the ladder this year after taking a huge step back in 2023.
The Eels are putting faith in coach Brad Arthur and the majority of the same squad which fell away to finish 10th last season after their breakthrough Grand Final appearance the previous season.
If they can keep Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown on the park, unlike last year when the Kiwi five-eighth missed a large chunk of the season due to a criminal charge, the Eels are definitely finals contenders and the star halves pairing were central to this triumph over the Titans.
Linking with back-rower Bryce Cartwright and fullback Clint Gutherson, they helped conjure up four first-half tries as Parra surged to a 20-4 advantage at the break.
The only concern for Arthur was a hamstring strain to centre Bailey Simonsson and a back issue which also ended back-rower Ryan Matterson’s match early.
For the Titans there are plenty of worries that could have new coach Des Hasler tearing his trademark long hair out.
With veteran playmaker Kieran Foran resting for Round 1, Tanah Boyd and Tom Weaver steered the team around the park but were thoroughly outplayed by their opposing halves.
Hasler is already facing the prospect of going into their season opener against the Dragons with a depleted squad due to injuries to Jayden Campbell (knee) and David Fifita (pectoral) and based on Sunday’s showing, he has several selection headaches of the bad kind.
Second-rower Beau Fermor’s successful return from an ACL tear was one of their few genuine highlights.
The Titans’ tenuous defence was exposed in just the third minute when Will Penisini benefited from Cartwright’s classy offload before Phil Sami equalised for the locals by finishing off a right-side raid featuring a clever Boyd pass over the top of two decoy runners.
Parra led 104 when Maika Sivo strolled over in the corner and it was 16-4 midway through the first half when Junior Paulo served up a meat pie on a platter to fellow front-rower Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
Cartwright extended the Eels’ buffer to 16 at the break when he chased a Moses in-field kick before AJ Brimson, who will line up at right centre this season after alternating between five-eighth and fullback, scored a long-range try against the run of play after a Sivo fumble.
The Eels kicked back into gear with a well-constructed team try ending in Moses putting Gutherson into space before J’maine Hopgood sprinted over under the posts for a 26-8 advantage.
Alofiana Khan-Pereira showed the blinding acceleration which made him one of the NRL’s top rookies in 2023 to peg the deficit back to 14.
Fellow winger Jojo Fifita addead a late four-pointer as well but it was little more than window dressing with the final scoreline flattering Gold Coast.