NRL 2021: Broncos v Bulldogs clash looming as must-win for both Kevin Walters and Trent Barrett
Round 3 features some potential classics, but one game is arguably more important than any other. And for the sake of their loyal fan bases - and coach’s sanity - a win is vital.
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Thursday’s grand final rematch between Penrith and Melbourne will generate plenty of headlines this week.
But the clash between Canterbury and Brisbane looms as the most important match of the round in relation to the respective clubs’ seasons and any hope they can give their passionate fanbases.
New coaches Trent Barrett and Kevin Walters are chasing their first win of the season and, if it doesn’t happen on Saturday, the sides could remain on a long winless streak and end any hope of a finals appearance in just round three.
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While there is no doubting the Bulldogs have at least improved on last year, they are still well short of a top-eight side. Post Brisbane, they face South Sydney and Melbourne – both at home – before a winnable match against North Queensland on the road.
Losing to Brisbane – who were clearly outplayed by Gold Coast on Friday – could mean Barrett will have to until round six to record his first win as a Bulldog. By that stage, forget about finals, they will be doing their best to avoid the wooden spoon.
Barrett conceded as much.
“Next week is really important,” Barrett said.
“Brisbane are in as similar position. I can’t look any further ahead than that. It’s not about the ultimate outcome. There is a process. We need to fix the patches in and out that aren’t up to scratch. The minute I start looking ahead I’ll lose focus on what we need to fix.”
Canterbury is far from the finished product but showed periods within matches they are on the improve, even if they are winless.
The next month of football for the Broncos is even more bleak. After hosting the Bulldogs on Saturday, they travel to play Melbourne and South Sydney before matches against Penrith, Parramatta and a return leg against the Titans.
They are seriously facing being 0-8 to start the season if they do not beat the Bulldogs.
Canterbury and Brisbane were locked in a wooden spoon battle last year. Only Brisbane’s implosion saved the Bulldogs of finishing last. Brisbane’s roster remains largely untouched from last year except for the inclusions of veterans John Asiata and David Mead.
The Bulldogs went in hard on the player market and have some big additions coming next year in Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr.
Brisbane are now in the midst of 13-game losing streak and forget about being the worst Broncos team of all-time, they are on track to be one of the worst side’s in NRL history – having not won a match since last July. The Bulldogs have won just two in that time.
The Bulldogs fans are clinging onto hope after positive signs in the opening two matches but that will be dashed if they start the season 0-3.
Cleary knock opens door for Burton to step up for GF rematch
Nathan Cleary is racing the clock to be fit for Thursday’s grand final rematch, prompting Panthers coach Ivan Cleary to put Matt Burton on notice after declaring the Canterbury-bound half has “the world at his feet”.
Nathan Cleary failed to finish the game after coming from the field for a head injury assessment after being tackled high by former teammate Dallin Watene-Zelezniak in the final nine minutes.
Watene-Zelezniak was put on report and sin-binned but Cleary was hopeful he would be fit to play the Storm on Thursday. He needs to be cleared by a specialist but given it is just five days until the Panthers next game, Cleary is in extreme doubt.
“I feel fine,” Cleary said. “I remember all the game so it’s not too bad. I’ll just have to wait and see.”
If Cleary does not play Burton will line up for his first match of the season. Burton has been in the middle of a very public tug-of-war for his services after inking a long deal with the Bulldogs.
While the Bulldogs want an immediate release the Panthers have remained firm.
Ivan Cleary said he thought Burton could put aside any off-field distractions and line-up against the Storm.
“There was a period in the pre-season where I thought he was distracted,” Cleary said. “We spoke. “Since then he has been really good, trained really well, playing well. I don’t know if he is getting dialogue from Canterbury or not. All I can see he is happy, training hard and playing well. I don’t think he’s distracted.”
Cleary joked his team had claimed the Matt Burton Cup by defeating Canterbury but was clearly frustrated by some of the public commentary surrounding the 21-year-old’s future.
Burton again starred for Penrith’s reserve-grade side (see story below), laying on two tries and producing two line breaks in their 28-8 win against Mounties.
Cleary said he was “not surprised any more” by the talk surrounding Burton’s future given it has been ongoing.
“To say we’re not thinking of the kid is wrong,” Cleary said. “He would prefer to play first grade of course he would. We feel like we look after our players and Matt is one of those. He has played 11 reserve grades – six first grade games. He has just turned 21 and has the world at this feet. Who knows, the Dogs might thank us this time next year.”
Cleary referenced Jarome Luai’s growth having had to bide his time in reserve grade and learn off the likes of former Kangaroos five-eighth James Maloney. The Panthers will also be without hooker Api Koroisau after he broke his wrist in their round one match against the Cowboys.
LUAI HAS LAST LAUGH AFTER VERBAL STOUSH
By Michael Carayannis
So this is how you treat your mates. The rivalry between emerging halves Kyle Flangan and Jarome Luai has been years in the making as they rose through the junior ranks as highly-touted players.
It exploded on the field at Bankwest Stadium with Luai claiming bragging rights after laying on two tries and looked largely unimpeded by the wet conditions.
The sidenote to Penrith’s 28-0 victory against Canterbury was the constant banter between Luai and Flanagan, who despite playing with different numbers, featured on the same side of the field.
It is not the first time the pair have locked horns in first grade with Luai sin-binned during a heated altercation last year with Flanagan at the centre of the flare-up when was at the Roosters.
Luai insists there was no issue with the pair off the field.
“It’s just how we play,” Luai said. “We love competing against the best. We are pretty good mates off the field. Hopefully he goes all right this year.”
When Viliame Kikau scored his second try off a dummy half pass from Mitch Kenny, a handful of Panthers players made a bee-line for Flanagan. First it was Stephen Crichton and then Dylan Edwards who launched a spray on the Bulldogs new No.7.
Luai and Flanagan also came close enough to touching noses before they were separated by teammates.
Flanagan said he enjoyed coming up against Luai.
“We came through the juniors together,” Flanagan said. “It’s always good to challenge yourself against other halves. It’s always good to have that rivalry on the field.
“We tried to channel our football down there (left) to take the energy out of them. They scored a try there and it’s on me.”
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett was critical of his side for letting Kikau’s tries in, including the opener after five minutes.
“I thought the first (Kikau) try we were in a position to stop,” Barrett said. “The second try we don’t go for intercepts here. We need to go to bodies. They were two ones I’m disappointed with. We need to stop them.”
While Flanagan is still finding his feet at his new club, Luai is thriving. His left edge combination with Crichton, Kikau and Brian To’o is now among the competition’s best.
Ivan Cleary said Luai had evolved his game.
“He is confident,’ Cleary said. “He has worked really hard. He sat behind a few players – Jimmy Maloney for a couple of years. His body is better he is more confident and stepping up to the plate.”
DWZ LOSES HIS HEAD IN BANKWEST WIPEOUT
By Adam Lucius
Canterbury coach Trent Barrett knows Penrith’s attack inside out.
But knowing it and stopping it is another thing altogether as the Bulldogs coach found out at a wet Bankwest Stadium on Saturday when his new side was soundly beaten 28-0 by the team he helped reach last year’s grand final.
And it was one of the former Penrith attack coach’s star pupils — Jarome Luai – who provided the pain. The gifted five-eighth was a few seconds ahead of every player on the field, tormenting the Dogs with each touch of the ball.
He held up a pass up for Viliame Kikau to cruise over after just five minutes and showed his quick thinking and skill just before the break to set Tyrone May up for the Panthers’ second try.
Drifting across field with seemingly not much happening, Luai dummied before pirouetting and heading back to his right and stabbing an inch-perfect left-foot kick into the in-goal.
The ball sat there perfectly for May to dive on it for a memorable four-pointer.
It was killer blow on the stroke of halftime for the Bulldogs, who had rolled up their sleeves and got down and dirty to thwart just about everything thrown their way.
The trailed 10-0 after 40 minutes but were blown away in the second half, conceding a further three tries.
Luai’s partner-in-crime Nathan Cleary, another to have worked closely with Barrett, wasn’t far
behind as the best player on the field, while Kikau was a constant menace on Penrith’s celebrated left edge.
HIGH SHOT
Canterbury winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak can expect a short holiday courtesy of the NRL judiciary after flooring Cleary with a nasty swinging arm to the head.
Cleary was running freely and heading towards halfway after fielding a kick late in the game before he was collared by DWZ, dropping instantly to the ground. As a groggy Cleary was escorted from the field, Watene-Zelezniak was placed on report and sent to the sin bin.
With the NRL taking a dim view to any contact with the head, the Dogs winger is looking at time out of the game.
“Everyone saw what happened – I will leave it at that,” Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said. “All signs at the moment is he (Nathan) is pretty good. He passed a SCAT test.
“He’s got some protocols to go through but we’ve got Matty Burton sitting in the background. Maybe this is his week.”
RECORD TERRITORY
The Bulldogs tackled their hearts out but simply did not throw enough at Penrith with the ball. On the rare occasions they made it into the Penrith 20, the set would die out with little or no threat.
Canterbury fans will point to the fact it took until the 69th minute for the blue and whites to receive their first penalty of the season, but it does not completely camouflage the problem.
Halfback Kyle Flanagan tried hard enough but again failed to provide the spark his side needed.
The Dogs can’t escape the fact they have won just one of their past 11 games. And it is now nine-straight losses at home – the leanest home run in the club’s 86-year history.
“I’m disappointed for the players,” Barrett said. “For long periods in the game we were really competitive. The longer the game went, they (Penrith) showed their class. But there are holes in our game I’m not happy about.”
GIVE AND TAKE
Talk about an anti-climax.
Canterbury thought they had scored a contender for try of the year and drawn level with Penrith midway through the first half before it was all snatched away from them.
After watching several replays of a move which featured two kicks, a freakish out-the-back fling pass and several sets of hands, the Bunker ruled there had been a knock on in the lead-up to Cory Allan crossing.
Bulldogs players who were back in their own half awaiting the conversion were called back upfield for a handover.
“Had that try gone our way … it was something we needed to give us a bit of confidence,” Barrett said.
BURTON MASTERCLASS HAS DOGS SALIVATING
By Nick Campton
In his first meeting with his future club, Matt Burton showed precisely why the Bulldogs are so keen to land him early and the Panthers are just as set at keeping him at Penrith for as long as they can.
Even in torrential conditions, Burton’s class was obvious in Penrith’s 28-8 win over Canterbury’s feeder club Mounties at Bankwest Stadium.
He set up Penrith’s first try with a well-weighted grubber for Izack Tago and gifted his centre a second with a sharp cut-out pass just before halftime.
Burton’s running game came to the fore in the second half as he crashed over from close range to score, showcasing his sharp left foot step.
Penrith are still viewing this as a development year for Burton and coach Peter Wallace said during the week that defence and consistency should be the 21-year old’s main focus.
On the first count Burton delivered in spades, making 18 tackles without a miss and even though he wasn’t the only young Panther to shine – Tago’s speed and fluid running impressed and light-stepping backrower Billy Burns was another standout – there was no doubt Burton was the star of the show.
“I thought he was really good, all the things we talked about during the week he executed really well. Defensively he was good, made all his tackles, he kicked well, ran the ball well, you couldn’t ask for much more,” said Panthers coach Peter Wallace.
“I can imagine how hard it must be for him and a lot of it is background noise, it doesn’t come from him.”
“He’s got a great attitude, he trains hard and always has a smile on his face. He’s a really good kid. It’s not an issue for him, it’d be good if it could stay out of the media and then it won’t become an issue.”
His skill would be a huge benefit for a Canterbury team that is still finding their way in attack, and it’s easy to imagine him pairing well with Bulldogs halfback Kyle Flanagan.
This is the rare transfer saga with no villains. Penrith are right to keep Burton for this year, because he’s as good a back-up half as any team could ask for.
Canterbury are just as right to try and do whatever they can to engineer an early move short of kidnapping the Dubbo product.
If anything, the fault is with the transfer system that allows players to sign with their new team a year in advance.
But until a proper transfer window is introduced it’ll still be open season and players in Burton’s will be forced to wait for their future to really start.
A mid-season move still seems unlikely, but Burton developing into one of the NRL’s top playmakers feels assured – even if he’ll have to wait a while longer before he gets the chance.
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