NRL Tackle: Corey Norman opens up on NRL future
Our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 14 of the NRL, including St George Illawarra playmaker opening up on his future plans.
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It was another huge round of the NRL and the top eight appears to have comfortably separated itself from the rest of the competition.
News Sport’s top rugby league reporters share their likes and dislikes from all the action.
TIGERS V BULLDOGS
LIKE:It was difficult not to enjoy this game. It was loose but entertaining. Wests Tigers led 22-6, Canterbury then scored 22 unanswered points to lead 28-22 before Wests Tigers came again with a late try, goal and field goal to snatch victory. Wests Tigers have a horror draw and will need to improve ten-fold but they did find a way to win on Sunday. It wasn’t convincing but it was two competition points – and they remain alive in this competition. Benji Marshall showed his class yet again by posting three try assists.
DISLIKE: Some of the defence was NSW Cup standard. There were seven tries scored in the first half, entertaining stuff but clearly a defensive standard unacceptable at NRL level. The chasm between these two teams and the top sides is substantial. Both sides had momentum at different stages but threw it away. That is the difference between the top sides and the weaker teams. Bulldogs and Tigers players just couldn’t find the discipline and killer instinct to strangle the other out of the game.
Fox Sports key stats: This was the first time since 2005 Wests Tigers have won both games in a season against the Bulldogs. They are now back in ninth on the ladder; no team in the NRL era has spent more weeks in ninth position.
— Dean Ritchie
KNIGHTS V SEA EAGLES
LIKE: When Kalyn Ponga is on, few in the game can do what he does. And luckily for Newcastle fans heading into the business-end of the season, it looks like the superstar fullback has taken his game to another level for the run home. Ponga was breathtaking and tough laying on two tries with magic passes, while running for 175m that included nine tackle busts in the 26-24 win over Manly. And backing up from what was arguably his best ever club performance in last week’s win over Wests Tigers, it’s a massive shot in the arm for a club that hasn’t played finals footy since 2013. With six rounds of the regular season remaining, the sixth-placed Knights’ destiny is in their own hands – and Ponga is a player who can make something special happen.
DISLIKE: What an awful year it’s been for injuries in 2020. And the disastrous run has continued Manly’s Brendan Elliot the latest casualty suffering a season-ending ACL knee injury. Daniel Saifiti was also forced off midway through the first half in the big Newcastle prop’s first game back after five weeks sidelined with a knee injury. There was hope last night Saifiti’s injury could be just a scar tissue scare and he might be right to take on the Cowboys next Sunday.
Fox Sports key stats: Manly led 12-0 after 10 minutes. It was the first time this season Newcastle has won when trailing by 12, and first time Manly has lost when leading by 12. Manly has now lost 15 from 22 without Tom Trbojevic in 2019-20.
— Paul Crawley
RAIDERS V BRONCOS
LIKE: Interchange impact is crucial in the NRL today and Canberra duo Corey Harawira-Naera and Joe Tapine were superb off the bench. In just his third game for Canberra after his drama at the Bulldogs, Harawira-Naera carved up the Broncos. He amassed 164 metres, with three tackle busts and two line breaks, while Tapine was a constant menace with his second-phase, producing three offloads and charging for 147 metres in a barnstorming display. Throw in John Bateman’s penetration on the edges and the Raiders are back in serious contention for a premiership tilt.
DISLIKE: Brisbane’s second-half brain explosions point to a cultural problem. Perhaps the only way to stop the Broncos winning the wooden spoon is cutting back NRL games to 40 minutes. Brisbane’s first half was their best in months, but it looked like they took valium at the break. The Raiders won the second half 30-0 as the likes of Darius Boyd, Brodie Croft, David Fifita and Kotoni Staggs came up with some shocking one-on-one misses. If defence is attitude, the Broncos have lost all desire to compete when the going gets tough. They are mentally fragile.
Fox Sports key stats: George Williams scored a try and set up 3 others. He now has 11 assists for the season.
— Peter Badel
COWBOYS V RABBITOHS
LIKE: This was a game the Rabbitohs could and should have lost, but skipper Adam Reynolds was never going to let that happen. It was his individual brilliance that got the ball rolling with an early try, and when the game was there to be won, he made sure his fingerprints – and toeprints – were all over the result. The game looked over when he missed a sideline conversion at the death, but he made up for it moments later when he coolly slotted a penalty from wide out. Then, with time expiring, he landed the killer blow with a clutch field goal to sink the Cowboys, just as he did in 2018 when South Sydney snatched an unlikely 21-20 win from the jaws of defeat. It was a huge show of leadership from somehow who bleeds red and green.
DISLIKE: A dejected Josh Hannay lamented a series of “boneheaded plays” that cost his side the game, and you get the feeling he was in part talking about Kyle Feldt. Not only did he miss four conversions and allow Alex Johnston to score two tries down his wing, but he was the one who conceded a senseless penalty on the fifth tackle that saw Reynolds level the scores with three minutes remaining. Feldt will always be remembered as the man who scored the most famous try in North Queensland history, but he had a shocker on Saturday. North Queensland worked so hard and should have won, but instead they’ve lost seven on the trot.
Fox Sports key stats: This was the Cowboys’ seventh straight loss and is North Queensland’s worst streak since losing a club record 13 straight in 2008.
— Martin Gabor
SHARKS V TITANS
LIKE: Well there wasn’t a whole lot to like from this match. The Titans showed all their good and bad in the first half while it wasn’t until the Gold Coast were reduced to 12 men did the Sharks come alive. Shaun Johnson and Blayke Brailey were among the best for the Sharks with Johnson laying on two tries. The finishing of Sione Katoa also impresses.
DISLIKE: Pretty clear cut this one. The bite which resulted in Kevin Proctor being sent from the field in his 250th game. Proctor had a shocker. He bombed a second half try when all he needed to do was pick up a bouncing grubber in Cronulla’s in-goal. He gave away a few penalties in the first half too, but the Titans skipper reserved his biggest blunder for his bite on Johnson. His NRL career now hangs in the balance too. Off-contract at season’s end and facing an extended stint on the sideline could prove costly.
Fox Sports key stats: Brian Kelly chalked up enormous numbers in a losing side. He ran for over 150 metres, busted 8 tackles, made 2 linebreaks and set up 4 others.
— Michael Carayannis
EELS V DRAGONS
LIKE: A defiant Corey Norman has vowed to stay and fight to keep his place in the starting side. Norman had a mixed night in the No.6 jumper after being recalled following his axing in round 13. But the playmaker insisted he will see out the rest of his time at the Dragons despite speculation he is unwanted by the club and could be off to the English Super League. “I spoke to my manager and cleared it up and I’m no chance of going over there. I’m still contracted here for another year and I’m keen to stay here,” he said.
DISLIKE: The bunker returning to the spotlight. In the first instance, St George Illawarra forward Kaide Ellis was denied a try in a close call after he was ruled to have knocked on before crashing over with the scores locked at 12-all. In the second half, Parramatta hooker Reed Mahoey’s acrobatic effort was also denied after the on-field referee sent it to the bunker as a try but the No.9 was ruled to have grounded the footy on the dead-ball line. “Hundred per cent,” Mahoney said when asked if he thought he had scored.
Fox Sports key stats: Jordan Periera was immense for the Dragons, running 21 times for almost 230 metres and busting 14 tackles.
— Fatima Kdouh
WARRIORS V PANTHERS
LIKE: Club records don’t come easily. And a proud Ivan Cleary is right to say it is a “feather in the cap” of this exceptionally blended team to have done what no Penrith side has since the club was formed in 1967 – and make it nine consecutive wins. When you consider some of the great names who have played for the Panthers over the years, that’s a massive achievement. From the era of Tim Sheens to Roycey Simmons, Greg Alexander, Brad Fittler, Steve Carter and Craig Gower, there have been some wonderful Penrith players and leaders over the years. By the time he’s done Nathan Cleary will rank among the very best. The patience and poise he is playing with at 22 is phenomenal.
DISLIKE: It’s just such a great shame that the ugly racial abuse directed at Brent Naden stole the spotlight away from what was another fantastic and gutsy effort from the Warriors. In defeat and playing against a massively lopsided possession, the Warriors simply refused to buckle under the pressure from the competition leaders. Everyone involved , from stand-in coach Todd Payten to skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and all the players, should be applauded for the way they have toughed out an exceptionally difficult season.
Fox Sports key stats: Penrith has scored the first try in 13 straight games, and has not conceded a single point in the opening 20 minutes of its matches since Round 1.
— Paul Crawley
ROOSTERS V STORM
LIKE: Melbourne’s unbelievable ability to continue winning game after game, year after year, with different personnel. Even without stars Cam Smith and Cameron Munster, the Storm demolished the Roosters 24-6. What is Craig Bellamy’s secret potion? Jahrome Hughes sustained a groin injury but he has become just about the most improved player in the NRL. Yes, they faced a depleted Roosters team but Melbourne came to do one thing – get the job done. And they did it with typical Bellamy efficiency.
DISLIKE: The injuries which rocked this match. Luke Keary, Mitch Aubusson and Lachlan Lam sustained horrible injuries for the Roosters, as did Hughes and Suli Vunivalu for Melbourne. The Roosters now have 11 players missing through injury. Trent Robinson loves a challenge but securing a three-peat with such a depleted squad would be the crowning achievement in his already brilliant coaching career.
Fox Sports key stats: This was the first time the Storm has won a match missing both Cameron Smith and Cameron Munster since Munster came full-time into the squad.
— Dean Ritchie
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Originally published as NRL Tackle: Corey Norman opens up on NRL future