Round 24 is upon us, and things are seriously firming up. And when we say ‘firming up’, we mean ‘descending into total chaos’.
The NRL logjam is real and, really, we can only say who is definitely in – Penrith, Brisbane and the Warriors on 12 wins – and who is out, which is everyone south of the Dolphins, on eight for fewer wins.
Uncle Wayne’s battlers were the most recent to mathematically exit the scene last weekend, but they could wreak immediate revenge by doing the same to the Roosters in Saturday night’s headline clash at Allianz Stadium. Manly, too, are in last chance saloon and have the Panthers rolling into Brookie.
Our Match-ups special cares not for teams, however. We only care for individuals: where games will be won, and by whom.
Draftstars is our way of sticking the hard earned where our cakeholes are on individual battles, and with such a strong set fixtures coming up, there’s plenty of opportunity to do it. Let’s get stuck in.
Normally, we go for position v position, superstar v superstar…but that might not be where this game is won. Reuben Garrick and Brian To’o are both wingers, sure, but it would hard to call them like for like in what they do, and Garrick is going to play fullback anyway.
Instead, they make a good match-up because of what they do differently. If Penrith do well, it will be because they get their back five motoring and put on the sort of squeeze that has seen most teams strangled out of contests before they even get a chance.
If you think that’s likely to happen, then you better believe that the Samoan superstar on the wing will have plenty to do with it with metres first and tries second.
Garrick, on the other hand, represents the best of what the Sea Eagles might bring. If he goes well, he’ll get a lot of metres from the back, but crucially, a rake of line breaks, assists and, in all likelihood, points too. Remember all that goalkicking…
The pride of Gerringong is a dual threat player and, really, would start at fullback all the time if Tom Trbojevic didn’t exist. Behind Daly Cherry-Evans, he’s probably the most important player out there for Manly, so don’t count him out.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Few things get us fired up more than a battle of the generations, and there’s one a-brewing in the Shire this weekend.
Cronulla have ditched their own old stager in Matt Moylan and replaced him with Braydon Trindall, a half with potentially huge upsides given his potential. Anyone who had seen the NSW Cup – and the mighty Newtown Jets – knows that Braydon is far too good for that level.
Trindall plays second fiddle to Nicho Hynes in attack, but with a second-choice fullback behind in Connor Tracey, the 6 was forced to step up last week and destroyed Souths.
Given that the Bunnies at at least semi-decent and the Titans are horrible in defence, you’d have to back him to put on a few points.
He meets his match in Kieran Foran, the wily Titans five eighth who is now on a victory lap after proving literally everyone wrong by returning to his best at Manly, then extending that into an Indian summer on the Gold Coast.
Sure, the Titans leak points, but that won’t matter in fantasy games, and as the pilot of one of the competition’s best edges, Foran will be the man putting big Dave Fifita through holes and throwing cutouts to Alofiana Khan-Pereira.
Friday night’s blockbuster brings another ideological battle, with Pat Carrigan and Bryce Cartwright set to face off at the Gabba.
It’s a case of pick-your-poison in terms of backrowers: Carrigan is the ultimate workhorse, busting a gut for his side and picking up residual numbers everywhere through carries and tackles, whereas Cartwright is more of a moments player, liable to produce offloads and assists as well as nicking through himself, especially if Mitch Moses gets his kicking radar going.
But then again…after going 75 games without scoring, Patty is now on a two-game streak, having crossed the stripe in back-to-back games. Does that set him up for a hat trick? Carty, incidentally, went over twice last week for Parra too. It’s nip and tuck.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
There’s a distinct Kiwi flavour to Saturday night’s meeting at Moore Park: seven of the Dolphins’ 17 are from Aotearoa, with another five New Zealanders on show for the Roosters.
The old guard will be out in force, with both Bromwichs turning out for Redcliffe and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for the Chooks, with some of the up-and-comers on show too, by which we definitely mean Valynce Te Whare.
At the centre of it all will be the two number nines, who are in a straight shootout for the black jumper come the Tests at the end of the year. |
Brandon Smith is the incumbent, but has had an up-and-down season – alright, just down – while Jeremy Marshall-King has continued the form that got him picked for last year’s World Cup with another excellent year. If Michael Maguire was choosing today, you’d say it was the Dolphin’s to lose.
On Saturday night, however, they can duke it out for all to see. The Cheese will have a pack powering him on, and if he gets out, then expect fireworks. JMK doesn’t need any of that, however, and has all the deception in the world to sneak through.
Their first meeting, on the opening weekend, went to the Dolphins, but the Roosters need to win to keep their season alive. The desperation might be what gets Smith over the line.
Two of the NRL’s most loveable/irritating (delete as appropriate) larrikins are on hand to round out the weekend, with Jack Wighton’s Raiders making the trip to face Cam Munster’s Storm at AAMI Park.
Munster at home would be a banker almost every week of the year, but this isn’t a normal week, and indeed, isn’t a normal year.
This is Canberra in Melbourne, where they have the ultimate hoodoo over the Storm, and the Raiders in 2023, where they defy logic every week.
Cam has been well off his best at times this season, and will need to up his game ahead of the finals, especially given that the Storm could seal a top four spot with a win on Sunday lunchtime.
That said, Munster has often timed his best for the biggest games and is the sort of character who will love that challenge.
Wighton has also blown hot and cold, but his showings against the Storm are regularly among his best and, last year, produced one of his good days to lead Canberra home not once, but twice.
The Storm have lost five times in a row to the Raiders in Canberra. Can that change? Munster will have a big say in it if it does.
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