Monday Buzz: The highlights, lowlights and talking points from the weekend’s rugby league action

MALONEY’s masterclass, more penalty madness and two early candidates for buy of the year — it’s all here in Phil Rothfield’s wrap of the weekend’s rugby league action.

James MALONEY NRL Round 4. North Queensland Cowboys Vs Penrith Panthers at 1300smiles Stadium. Picture: Alix Sweeney

PHIL Rothfield runs through the highlights, lowlights and talking points after another bumper weekend of rugby league action.

HIGHLIGHT

James Maloney’s magnificent game for the Panthers against the Cowboys. I can’t recall an opposition halfback outpointing Johnathan Thurston so comprehensively.

Maloney had his best game as a Panther against North Queensland.

LOWLIGHT

The 54 penalties that ruined two games of Good Friday NRL football for fans at ANZ Stadium and Shark Park and hundreds of thousands watching on television.

LOWLIGHT II

The security guards on the turnstiles at Shark Park on Friday night who stopped one fan from entering the ground with a bottle of water in his bag.

BUY OF THE YEAR

The NRL season is only four rounds old but surely it’s already a two-horse race for the buy of the year between the Warriors five-eighth Blake Green, who was sensational against the Roosters on Saturday night, and James Maloney who had a blinder against the Cowboys.

Blake Green has been superb for the Warriors.

NRL’S FOLLY EXPOSED AGAIN

The two teams the NRL has banned from playing in the elite women’s competition had huge wins over the weekend. The Cronulla Sharks girls demolished Wentworthville 108-nil. The South Sydney Rabbitohs beat the Bulldogs 46-8.

SULI ON THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION

Dumped Wests Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs players Moses Suli is making good progress at the Manly Sea Eagles. He hasn’t missed a training session and has lost three kilos. He will play NSW Cup next weekend and coach Trent Barrett is tipping he’ll playing NRL later in the season.

SWITCH ON

Catch you Monday night on NRL 360 with Ben Ikin and Paul Kent to discuss all the big rugby league issues. Canterbury Bulldogs coach Dean Pay will be live in the studio.

COWBOYS PLAYMAKER PROBLEM

The Cowboys have a real problem with champion halfback Johnathan Thurston.

Since his return, Paul Green’s side is playing nowhere near as well as they did in the 2017 finals.

At the same time Michael Morgan, the man who engineered last year’s run to the grand-final, is playing nowhere near as well as he did in the finals series.

Thurston is overplaying his hand.

That’s not a criticism but a reflection on his fierce competitive streak.

He’s trying to do everything and it’s not working for the Cowboys.

He’s getting frustrated and making uncharacteristic errors.

Somehow, coach Paul Green has to ensure Morgan gets more football.

The pre-season competition favourites have the in-form New Zealand Warriors in Auckland next weekend. It’s a tough assignment and they desperately need a win.

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REBORN WARRIORS LOOK FINALS BOUND

Hands up if you tipped the New Zealand Warriors to win the wooden spoon in 2018.

Your columnist did. So did colleagues Dean Ritchie, Paul Kent, Nick Walshaw and Christian Nicolussi.

A lot of us in the media were also tipping Stephen Kearney would be the first coach sacked.

He has done a fantastic job to turn this Warriors side is a serious football team.

Wins over the Rabbitohs, Titans, Raiders and Roosters are the proof of that.

Sure, they’ve had a soft draw but the win over the Roosters on Saturday afternoon would not have been more impressive, especially as they did it without superstar halfback Shaun Johnson.

It’s early days but the Warriors look like they are heading to the finals.

Working in their favour is the fact they are unlikely to have players involved in State of Origin while other clubs are understrength for six weeks of the season.

Originally published as Monday Buzz: The highlights, lowlights and talking points from the weekend’s rugby league action