NRL Tackle: Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes, Roosters can power into the finals
The Roosters may have a tough run to the finals, but they also have the muscle to make a statement — check out PAUL CRAWLEY’S likes and dislikes from weekend action.
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Paul Crawley runs the rule over Round 21 of the NRL season, revealing his Likes and Dislikes in The Tackle column.
LIKES
ROOSTERS ENFORCER SETS A MEAN STANDARD
At 33, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves still provides tremendous inspiration for the Sydney Roosters.
And isn’t Matt Lodge eating it up since his arrival at Bondi.
There’s just no doubt Lodge’s willingness to try and prove himself playing alongside an absolute warhorse like Waerea-Hargreaves is providing huge motivation.
The Roosters’ bookends were outstanding against the Broncos and really set a great platform.
Waerea-Hargreaves was acting like the jail yard enforcer out there, finishing with 15 runs for 141m, while Lodge had 13 for 130m and his fast play-the-balls are making a massive difference.
With Lindsay Collins and Sio Siua Taukeiaho expected back as early as next week, the Roosters look set to make a charge.
They have a tough run home against the Cowboys, Tigers, Storm and Rabbitohs. But they look primed to make a statement.
You also can’t put that game to bed without mentioning the performance of Joseph Suaalii, who has to be a Kangaroos’ certainty for the World Cup if he stays fit.
NRL’S TOUGHEST POUND FOR POUND PLAYER
Ricky Stuart’s post match outburst at Jaeman Salmon stole the spotlight away from one of this season’s bravest performances.
If you were judging the NRL’s toughest pound-for-pound player right now it would be impossible to go past Panthers’ fullback Dylan Edwards.
The somewhat underrated No. 1 was absolutely unbelievable in his milestone 100th game, clearly playing injured and copping some absolute bellringers.
But he put it all behind him to deliver some astonishing efforts like when he backed up to score a try while holding his shoulder area in absolute agony.
It was a hell of a win from the Panthers who were missing Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and Viliame Kikau.
With Edwards and Api Koroisau leading the way, stand-in playmaker Sean O’Sullivan was also outstanding showing what an asset he will be to the Dolphins next season.
And won’t Koroisau also make a difference at the Tigers.
LATRELL MAKES NRL LOOK EFFORTLESS
What about Latrell. The South Sydney fullback has a phenomenal ability to make the game of rugby league look ridiculously easy.
The soft hands and the vision, the power and the incredible athleticism.
Mitchell played just over 60 minutes against the Warriors and from just eight runs finished with only 51m.
But that still included two tries, two try assists, four tackle busts, two line breaks and two line break assists.
We said it last week, even though his overall output doesn’t stack up against the busy fullbacks, almost every touch makes such a huge difference.
SHARKS’ UGLY WIN A GREAT SIGN
If there is one thing that stands out above everything else in the performances of the Cronulla Sharks this year it is the obvious respect this team has for their rookie coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
Because it is reflected in everything they do.
That win over the Dragons wasn’t their most clinical performance but it was still a really memorable victory given the circumstances.
Taking on a Dragons team playing for their finals survival, the Sharks were without Dale Finucane, Matt Moylan, Will Kennedy and Sione Katoa, while they lost Connor Tracey to that sickening concussion and Blayke Brailey to the sin bin.
But still they just dug in and got the job done.
In the end they only scraped home 24-18 but it was as gusty as they come with arguably the buy of the year Nicho Hynes leading the way yet again. Hynes is another bolter who has to be pushing for a World Cup spot.
BROWN CAN BE THE NEW KENNY
Young Jakob Arthur certainly held his own taking over from the injured Mitchell Moses in Parramatta’s comprehensive win over Manly.
But the fabulous performance from Dylan Brown brought back memories of the Eels’ greatest five-eighth Brett “Bert” Kenny.
When Brown goes out with a run-first mentality, he is a joy to watch.
And if keeps it up like he did against Manly, where he had six runs for 138m that included a super solo try, he could really emerge one of the game’s biggest stars in the finals.
Clint Gutherson was also tremendous as was Shaun Lane.
It sets up a cracking showdown this Friday night against the in-form Rabbitohs.
It’s an especially big test for the Eels’ right side of young Arthur and Will Penisini to see how they aim up against Souths’ rampaging left with Latrell, Cody Walker and Alex Johnston looking more dangerous by the week.
Johnston now has 21 tries in his last 14 games. It’s an astonishing strike rate.
DRINKWATER SHINES AGAIN FOR COWBOYS
Scott Drinkwater is rapidly emerging as one of the game’s next genuine stars.
Drinkwater crossed for another double against the Bulldogs to make it eight tries for the season along with 14 try assists.
The Bulldogs tried hard but it was Drinkwater who owned the big moments when it mattered most.
He finished with 10 runs for 122m, two tries, seven tackle busts and three line breaks.
This is the same bloke who was flat out getting any outside interest before this season kicked off because he was considered a defensive liability.
Now the talk is the Cowboys fullback could fetch $700,000-a-season on the open market with the Dolphins and Knights among the clubs keen to get him.
Although you couldn’t see the Cowboys letting him go now.
But how they adjust their salary cap to keep Drinkwater, Valentine Holmes and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow will be the trick.
DISLIKES
BRONCOS IN DANGER OF FREEFALLING INTO FINALS OBLIVION
The Brisbane Broncos have now lost two straight and dropped four of their past seven games.
And their lacklustre effort against the Roosters has really dealt their top four hopes a savage blow.
With so much on the line, you just expected more coming up against a side shaping up as a serious premiership threat.
On 26 competition points, they now sit in seventh spot and are just leaking too many points.
Kevvie Walters needs to be really careful from here and get the players’ minds back on the job or they could really fall off a cliff in the coming weeks.
They take on the Knights next Saturday which should secure enough points to ensure a top eight finish.
But after that they have a tough run home against the Storm, Eels and Dragons, and on current form they are no guarantee to win any of those games.
It’s been such a wonderful season until now. Let’s hope they don’t blow it from here.
SEND OFF CONFUSION EXPOSES EMBARRASSING INCONSISTENCIES
The NRL has dropped the ball badly again on trying to clean up foul play.
What message are they trying to send to players in the countdown to the finals in respect to these embarrassing inconsistencies of what constitutes a send off and what doesn’t?
How Dragons enforcer Tariq Sims stayed on the field for his sickening high shot on Sharks’ Connor Tracey is just inexcusable, while Panther James Fisher-Harris also should have been marched for wiping out the Raiders’ Ryan Sutton.
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In Sims’ case Tracey was unconscious before his head hit the deck, and while the Dragons star showed immediate remorse, it came too late.
Sims is now facing a four-match ban if the takes the early guilty plea for the grade three careless high tackle charge, which means he won’t get to play again for the Dragons before he departs to the Storm next season.
But Sims has only himself to blame.
He has a history of sailing too close to the wind and it was clear from the early exchanges he was out there to make his presence felt.
It was a similar situation with Fisher-Harris who took out Sutton almost the moment he arrived on the field.
Fisher-Harris has also copped a grade three careless high tackle charge and is facing between two and three matches out depending on whether he takes the early guilty plea.
But that equates to a sin bin after what happened to Sutton?
A week earlier we had Tom Burgess sent off for a tackle that wasn’t in the same ball park as either of these tackles.
We also had Nathan Cleary justifiably sent off for his spear tackle on Dylan Brown, even though Brown sprung to his feet uninjured.
No wonder there is absolute confusion.
It will be interesting listening to NRL head of football Graham Annesley justify these continued inconsistencies at Monday’s football briefing.
WHY RICKY APOLOGISED TO FAMILY, BUT NOT SALMON
I love Ricky Stuart. I love his passion and emotion.
I also realise that while sometimes those qualities can be his greatest strength, it can also be his biggest weakness.
Ricky speaks from the heart like few people I have ever met.
In this instance he’s got it horribly wrong.
He should not have said what he said about Jaeman Salmon at the post match media conference on Saturday night, where he labelled the Penrith back-up half “a weak-gutted dog”.
It followed Salmon striking out with his boot twice at Raiders dummy half Tom Starling, copping Starling in the groin first up before a whack to the head.
Even so, the actions did not come close to justifying Ricky’s reaction.
But knowing Ricky as I do, I immediately knew there must have been some deep-seated personal reasons for him saying what he did.
It came out later that one of Ricky’s sons had gone to school with Salmon and at one point there had been an alleged incident at a junior football game between the two that caused Ricky’s son ongoing issues.
Ricky has never got over it as a father.
Ricky released a statement on Sunday where he conceded as much: “I was speaking as a father and not as a football coach. My reaction was to a family situation that I thought I had dealt with, clearly I haven’t.”
I think if we knew the full circumstances it would certainly help get a better understanding of Ricky’s rage.
He would not go into the exact details when I contacted him on Sunday.
But what I also understand is that Ricky has been a first grade NRL coach for 20 years now, and in all that time he has never reacted as personally or as venomously about anything or anyone.
That probably gives us the best indication of where his heart is at on this.
He also said in his statement that he was “truly sorry” for bringing unwarranted attention on his family and the game, but what he didn’t do was apologise to Salmon.
Make of that what you will.
I totally understand that Penrith would be extremely upset of how this has unfolded, and their concern understandably would be to their player.
How the NRL deals with it is up to them.
The governing body has an obligation to make it a workplace that is safe and fair for everyone, and Ricky’s reaction can’t be justified or excused.
But what is quite obvious is that on this occasion Ricky’s crime was born out of the passion of a father, not the responsibilities and obligations of a football coach.
In a game as raw as rugby league sometimes you can’t justify what happens, you just have to try and understand it.
TIGERS DESPERATE FIGHT TO AVOID SPOON
Just when you thought Wests Tigers had turned the corner, they have found themselves smack bang back in the fight to avoid the wooden spoon.
Though for Newcastle that nail-biting 14-10 victory should be enough to keep Adam O’Brien in a job at least to start next season.
After a week where the Knights mentor was looking like he could easily become the next coach sacked after a disastrous week for the club, O’Brien had to survive a car crash of a second half performance from his team before eventually escaping with the two crucial competition points.
It moves the Knights to 14 points and in 13th spot, three wins clear of last placed Gold Coast.
But for the Tigers it’s still well and truly game on with four rounds of the regular season to go. They are running 15th and only one win clear of the Titans.
And the Tigers’ run home isn’t easy. They face the Sharks, Roosters, Dragons and Raiders. The Titans take on the Sea Eagles, Dragons, Knights and Warriors.
It sets up a thrilling finish for all the wrong reasons.
SMITH’S HIP DROP NOT AN ACCIDENT, IT’S NASTY
What about the excuses for Brandon’s Smith’s nasty hip drop on big Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
Fair dinkum, don’t let anyone con you, this was an unavoidable accident.
The hip drop is an illegal tackle.
It’s horribly dangerous.
It’s avoidable.
And the sooner we get every hip drop out of the game the safer it will be for all players.
But slapping Smith with an $1800 fine is just not adequate.
You could clearly see the moment it happened big Tino was in awful pain.
He was lucky he didn’t break his leg just like Jackson Hastings did the week earlier in his run-in with Pat Carrigan.
Or Cronulla’s Will Kennedy who suffered a syndesmosis injury that will sideline him for at least four weeks even though South Sydney’s Junior Tatola escaped any sanction.
It’s like the match review panel is trying to make it as difficult as possible for players to understand this tackle is just not acceptable.
Craig Bellamy said after the game he hoped Smith didn’t get judged on the “hysteria” of the previous week.
I don’t see how serious and avoidable injuries like the ones suffered by Hastings and Kennedy can be labelled “hysteria”.
It shouldn’t matter if it is a one-man hip drop like Tatola’s, a two-man like Smith’s or a three-man like Carrigan’s. They are all equally dangerous.
Until the NRL gets consistency across the board, players will continue to be seriously injured.
WOEFUL WARRIORS HAVE GIVEN UP
The first half performance from the Warriors against the Rabbitohs was one of the most inept we have seen from any side this season.
It was a defensive effort just that stunk of a team that has given up for the season.
And it was sad watching the New Zealand club’s greatest champion Stacey Jones trying to explain it after the game as the interim coach.
Everyone knows the Warriors players have been through a tough time living away from home during Covid.
But if they want to continue to play in the NRL they really need to have a good look in the mirror.
It was 36-6 at halftime and it wasn’t as if Souths were that great.
Only the Bunnies taking their foot off the throat and Latrell Mitchell being replaced with almost a quarter of the match remaining saved the Warriors from a greater embarrassment than the final 48-10 scoreline.
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Originally published as NRL Tackle: Paul Crawley’s likes and dislikes, Roosters can power into the finals
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