NRL Round 22 news 2023: Cowboys’ title hammer blow as Valentine Holmes faces big ban
The Cowboys’ finals hopes are reeling with Origin star Valentine Holmes faces being rubbed out for an extended period for yet another serious in indiscretion.
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The Cowboys copped an NRL premiership hammer blow as the spirited Titans snapped a four-game losing streak with a 22-13 upset win on the Gold Coast.
The Titans celebrated their first win in a month with a gutsy victory before 16,516 at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday afternoon and ended North Queensland’s six-game winning streak.
On a brilliant day for the under-pressure Titans, winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira broke the club’s season try-scoring record, bagging his 18th four-pointer to break David Fifita’s 2021 record.
Interim Titans coach Jim Lenihan celebrated his second win in six games since taking over from the sacked Justin Holbrook and proved Des Hasler will have plenty of potential to work with when he arrives next season.
“It’s about us gaining trust in ourselves to be able to defend out games,” Lenihan said.
“To not have a point scored against us in the second half was really pleasing.
“I thought we played well. Other than the first half last week (30-0) to Roosters, we’ve been working hard and trying hard to build some trust.
“It’s been a focus on us, more than anything. The mentality of who we are and how we want to be seen is important.
“We’re proud men, we’re a proud club. That’s the mindset we’re trying to get better at.”
NOT VALENTINE’S DAY
Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes will be lucky to play in the Broncos derby following a dangerous tackle on Titans fullback Jayden Campbell.
Holmes was whacked with an $1800 fine for a similar high shot on Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses last week.
However the Campbell incident appeared to be clear contact with the head and he is facing back-to-back charges.
If the match review committee hits Holmes with anything above a grade one high tackle he can expect to be rubbed out of the Townsville derby – and potentially longer.
Campbell was dropping but Holmes has to correct his technique because there is little margin for error and he is set to pay the price.
Cowboys forwards Coen Hess (late contact) and Luciano Leilua (shoulder charge) were also placed on report for marginal offences.
COWBOYS FALL OFF HORSE
Preliminary finalists last year, the Cowboys were the form team of the competition and mounting a late premiership charge following a slow start to the season.
North Queensland would have moved to fifth spot with a win and within striking distance of the top four with five rounds to go.
Instead, they fumbled and bumbled their way to a more determined Titans outfit, who held the Cowboys scoreless in the second half with their new-found defensive resolve after trailing 13-10 at the break.
The Cowboys remain eighth and could drop out of the top eight if they lose Saturday’s blockbuster Queensland derby to the high-flying Broncos.
History shows you must make the top four to win the NRL premiership and this loss could come back to bite the Cowboys.
“I’m really disappointed,” Cowboys coach Todd Payten said.
“We fought really hard in that first half to stay in front 13-10. We gave away far too many penalties and I can’t argue with the penalties.
“They ran harder, tackled harder and built pressure better than we were able to. The way we started the second half was unacceptable, with two tries in quick succession.
“That game was there to be won. A couple of our Origin boys looked a little flat. We were outplayed and that’s what disappoints me.”
CENTRE STAGE FOR AJ
The Titans need to bite the bullet and end AJ Brimson’s time at fullback.
Brimson is a gun No. 1 but his body isn’t coping with the workload of the most demanding position on the field.
Brimson suffered an abdominal strain in a nothing incident and left the field after 17 minutes, later returning at centre.
The Titans are a more dangerous team when Brimson and Campbell are both on the field and it’s time Lenihan made a big decision.
Lenihan must consider shifting Brimson to a less demanding position like centre permanently to get Campbell on the field from the opening whistle.
Campbell finished the game at fullback with a try and 194m from 63 minutes of action.
Brimson returned after halftime and there’s where his long-term NRL future lies. Lenihan only has to look at what Holmes has done since abandoning fullback to see Brimson’s potential in the position.
Regular NRL fullbacks Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell have also dominated at centre in State of Origin.
DRAGONS LAUNCH SCATHING ATTACK ON BUNKER
—Sean Teuma
Dragons coach Ryan Carr launched a scathing attack on the bunker, labelling it ‘ridiculous’ following his side’s narrow 24-18 defeat to Manly.
Highlighting two key incidents from the game at key moments of the contest, the interim St George Illawarra mentor took aim at Kasey Badger’s decisions that went against his side.
A potential try in the second half to Dan Russell was sent upstairs as no try from referee Chris Butler when they trailed by eight.
No clear angle was presented to show the ball on the ground, with Badger supporting the on-field decision, but Carr said he was left confused by the vocabulary used during the decision-making process.
“The wording that I was given was he’s got the ball down, we just need to figure out if he’s over the tryline,” Carr said.
“The next wording was Dan Russell is clearly over the tryline and it’s contradictory to a no try.
“In a big moment it hurts. You’re fighting as hard as you can to get a try.
“If the wording was different then fair enough. All the wording added up to it being a try. I need to figure out why it wasn’t given a try.”
The sin bin of Jack de Belin was most contentious, with the lock was penalised for a hip drop after the tackle was cleared by the on-field officials, incensing Carr in the coach’s box.
Manly winger Christian Tuipulotu suffered an MCL injury in the tackle and played no further part after he was taken off.
“Jack de Belin was sin binned. The game stopped for nearly two minutes for a guy to get his knee strapped,” he said.
“That’s not the rule. It’s play on. Either leave the field or play on.
“In that moment when they made an error on halfway, we lose not only possession and field position, but we lose a man.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous. And I feel so sorry for my players. I feel sorry for the fans who have to watch the game.
“I feel sorry for fans of rugby league in general, because that was a good game of footy out there, and a call like that has a huge bearing and impact on the game.
“It’s my job to stand up for my players and our club. I’m not going to back down from it, because it’s ridiculous.”
Carr said while he would seek clarification on the rulings, he admitted it wasn’t enough to overturn the feelings of the club.
“Me seeking clarification doesn’t help our members or our fans or our players and their families.
“The game’s gone now. It doesn’t help us. There’s a lot of people putting in a lot of time at our club to try and find a win for our fans and our members and themselves.
“For it to come down to that, the clarification doesn’t help me. It doesn’t help us. It doesn’t help the boys.”
Meanwhile, Manly gave inspirational captain Daly Cherry-Evans a milestone game to remember, holding back a late St George Illawarra charge to claim a vital two points and keep their finals hopes alive.
Cherry-Evans turned in another solid performance with strong defence, his trademark kicking game firing on all cylinders and even a successful captain’s challenge, as his side overcame a sluggish start.
It was a fitting way to celebrate one of the most credentialed careers in the NRL era.
“Chez and Crokes had a pretty emotional week,” coach Anthony Siebold said.
“We got the balance right with regards to acknolwedging and respecting what they’ve done for the club and having a focus on the game.
“He’s from Mackay. It shows what a regional kid can do. He’d be in the top three or four players for the club in their history.
“It was a great turnout. It was great to see so many people pay their respects to Chez.”
FINALS RACE HEATS UP AS KNIGHTS KEEP DREAM ALIVE
—Matt Cleary
Kayln Ponga put his thumb up - and rugby league breathed out.
Following a dangerous if accidental challenge for a high ball by Sebastian Kris during the Knights’ 28-6 domination of Canberra at GIO Stadium on Saturday, Ponga’s legs flipped into the air and he fell heavily, laying on his side for pregnant seconds.
As teammates showed concern for the concussion-prone superstar, Ponga took a knee, took a breath and put that thumb up.
When Ponga was able to return to the field following a head injury assessment for a separate incident, Newcastle Knights coach Adam O’Brien admitted relief – “for me, the whole town, KP, everyone who loves footy - really good.”
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart described the incident as an “accident” and praised the Knights custodian.
“You see Kayln put his finger up, he wasn’t injured,” Stuart said. “Sebby was still looking at the football and accidentally collided with him.
“To Ponga’s credit as a person he got up and said that he wasn’t injured so that was a nice sign of sportsmanship.”
LADDER LEAPERS
Newcastle leapfrogged Parramatta Eels into ninth place on the NRL ladder, just one point behind Cronulla (sixth), South Sydney (seventh) and North Queensland (eighth).
The Raiders remain in fifth position on the ladder, two points ahead of the three teams mentioned above – and with Newcastle rising fast after four wins on the trot.
SCHOOLBOY RAIDERS
The Raiders, at times, were comically poor.
Jordan Rapana was late on a drop-out to gift the Knights two points. A Raiders last tackle play was to pass the ball to the ground and then not dive on it. Phoenix Crossland did while also making 44 tackles. If there was a microcosm of the match there it was.
While Newcastle’s defence was swarming and strong, and reduced the Raiders to crashing it up, throwing passes while flat-footed or throwing up speculative bombs, the Raiders’ was, at times, pick your adjective: meek, tentative, passive, effete.
Stuart said “It was a very bad day”.
“But we’ve had three months of tough grinding football which has seen us get into a really good position on the ladder. Today, it wasn’t us.
“Without looking at any soft excuses, we’ll discuss it, have a good chat about it tomorrow morning.
“But we’ve had a big three months. And now just have to put it behind us as quick as we possibly can.”
HADOUKEN! STORM DEAL MASSIVE BLOW TO PARRA’S PREMIERSHIP HOPES
—Lance Jenkinson
Two-try hooker Harry Grant and scintillating halfback Jahrome Hughes put on a show as Melbourne Storm marked its 25th anniversary celebration with a bounce-back 46-16 thrashing of Parramatta Eels at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
Eager to atone for their insipid performance against the Knights, the Storm overcame a sluggish start to run away with a convincing victory and further strengthen their claims for a top four berth.
Grant and Hughes were worth the price of admission as they took the game by the scruff of the neck from the midway point of the first half and steered the Storm to victory.
The Storm had seven individual try scorers in the rout, striking a blow to the Eels top eight hopes.
Centre Sean Russell gave the Eels a perfect start with the game’s first try.
Russell had to stretch to eke out every millimetre to athletically plant the ball in the corner.
The Eels attack was humming early – chewing up metres at will on the back of Moses’s creativity and Junior Paulo and Andrew Davey’s punishing runs.
The visitors came close to doubling their lead in an almost identical fashion to their first try when Russell touched down only for it to be ruled dead after taking some chalk.
The Storm hit back through Grant, who sensed Eels minds wandering at marker, so he took route one straight to the tryline.
After a period of Eels dominance, the Storm began to take control of the game, thanks largely to the big three of Grant, Munster and Hughes.
But it was Grant who completely turned the game on its head with his proactively out of dummy half.
What a run from Jahrome Hughes!
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 28, 2023
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The 25-year-old made it a try-scoring double when he capitalised on some nifty work from Hughes attacking the Eels defensive line.
Grant then assisted on a Hughes try, scampering from dummy half to connect with Hughes, who somehow found a gap in the Eels defence to take the Storm’s lead to a huge 18-4.
The game had turned so quickly and the Eels looked shell-shocked, but former Panther J’maine Hopgood, the competition’s leading tackler and offloader, got the Eels back in it when he barged over the line off a flat pass from Ryan Matterson.
Hopgood was arguably the Eels best player on the night.
In the shadows of half time, Storm forward Eliesa Katoa scored in his first game back from an eye injury to make it 24-10.
Impactful Storm forward Josh King piled on the pain at the start of the second half, scoring under the posts from a smart inside pass from Hughes.
After a period of Eels attack yielded nothing, Hughes broke their hearts with a line break eventually leading to a Marion Seve try and the game was over as a contest with the Storm leading 36-10.
Luca Moretti crossed under the posts, but it was too little too late for the Eels, as Munster danced his way to the tryline shortly after, evading three Eels in the process to bring up 40 for the Storm.
Storm kicker Nick Meaney racked up 14 points through seven conversions.
Originally published as NRL Round 22 news 2023: Cowboys’ title hammer blow as Valentine Holmes faces big ban
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