The NRL Tackle: Eels need Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown to deliver
With their season on the line Friday night there’ll be two players that Parramatta will want to show far more than they did last week, writes Paul Crawley.
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Paul Crawley reveals his likes and dislikes from a blockbuster first week of NRL finals in the NRL Tackle.
FINAL DISLIKES
On a weekend where the NRL’s biggest guns stood up under the blowtorch of finals pressure, two stars who would probably want their time over are Parramatta’s Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown.
Gutherson only finished with seven runs for 57m. Now compare that to Penrith’s fullback Dylan Edwards who had 19 runs for 165m.
For a fullback celebrated for his work ethic like Gutherson is, those numbers just weren’t up to his own standards.
Or what you’d expect from one of the competition’s top fullbacks.
While Brown had four runs for 41m and at no point remotely resembled the danger he has been throughout the season.
It was just so disappointing given the expectations on the Eels going into this game – and the fact they’d already beaten the Panthers twice this season.
At least before suffering his concussion there could be no similar complaints about Mitchell Moses who did everything in his power to put Parramatta in the contest.
If Moses fails to recover in time to take on the Raiders it will be Jakob Arthur who gets the call up.
Let’s at least hope Eels fans this time put the extra scrutiny on those who warrant it, not the rookie playmaker who in the past has been booed simply because he’s the coach’s son.
FINALS EXPOSE DRAGONS RECRUITMENT FAILURE
St George Illawarra supporters had every right to be filthy watching what was one of the great NRL finals contests between Cronulla and North Queensland.
It must be so disheartening knowing Cam McInnes, Reece Robson and Luciano Leilua were once their own.
All three played a significant part on Saturday night.
In McInnes’ case he was let go by the Dragons because Anthony Griffin basically didn’t think he was worth the $500,000 the Sharks were prepared to pay.
At the time it was common knowledge Griffin thought Andrew McCullough was better value for what Griffin thought was a similar style dummy-half.
Griffin privately didn’t think McInnes had the size or necessary fire power to develop into a middle forward worthy of that type of money. Yet it was McInnes’ huge heart that always made him the player he was at the Dragons – and that was on show as he ran that courageous line to score a vital try on Saturday night that put the Sharks in front midday through the second half.
The decision to let Robson go was different in that at the time Paul McGregor had made McInnes his captain and couldn’t keep both.
So Robson headed north to the Cowboys searching for opportunity, only for the Dragons to then let McInnes go.
Now there is talk the Dragons are prepared to pay big bucks to get Robson back.
Meanwhile, Leilua was another let go by the Dragons to the Tigers before they too allowed him to move on to the Cowboys.
Leilua was spotted after the game posing with a Tigers fan.
It just goes to show that in the right system all three have shown their real worth this season.
NRL SIN BIN LOTTERY EXPOSED
That’s not a punch, that’s a bloody joke.
How in the hell has rugby league descended into such a state that the Sydney Roosters’ Victor Radley can be sin binned for a so-called punch on South Sydney’s Taane Milne when the replay shows it is nothing more than a shove and a bit of a wrestle?
Yet last week we had the NRL postpone a two-game ban handed to Penrith’s Taylan May – that May now won’t serve until next year – because the ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys declared he didn’t want to stop May playing in the finals because it would rob the fans.
Fair dinkum.
If sin binning Radley wasn’t robbing the fans we should all give up trying to comprehend what direction the modern game is going.
You can understand that the NRL does not want to condone violence on the field.
But there is no way in the world anyone can possibly say with a straight face what May did to that teenager on a night out was not as bad as Radley’s little wrestle.
And how the bunker chooses that moment to come in and demand action to set some type of example is an embarrassment to everyone concerned.
We see high tackles every game do far more damage and yet still go unpunished.
The Rabbitohs scored soon after – and just to rub salt into the wounds Latrell Mitchell put his finger to his mouth and shooshed the Roosters fans after nailing a tough conversion.
Tom Burgess showed what a fair dinkum sin bin looks like when he cleaned up James Tedesco.
Burgess gone for 10.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) September 11, 2022
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Tedesco was ruled out for the game with the concussion. But Burgess wasn’t even sin binned.
He went for another a minute and then cleaned up Matt Lodge.
He then cleaned up Angus Crichton with an elbow in a legitimate play. It’s a deadset lottery.
CHAOS! Bunnies down to 11.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) September 11, 2022
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HOW EELS BOTCHED SHOWDOWN WITH ‘PROTECTED SPECIES’
You may as well hand the Penrith Panthers the trophy right now if opposition teams follow the lead set by Parramatta and continue to treat Nathan Cleary as a protected species by giving him as much freedom throughout the remainder of this finals series.
And the flip side of that is the Panthers have also showed the Canberra Raiders a weakness in Parramatta that Jamal Fogarty can also try and expose this week.
But first let’s go back to Friday night.
Seriously, why was Cleary’s kicking game not put under more pressure right from the get-go with a similar strategy to the blueprint Queensland employed during this year’s State of Origin series?
Where a team of ‘shooters’ were sent out with specific instruction of putting Cleary under as much heat as ‘legally’ possible every time he kicked the ball.
In Fox League commentary Cooper Cronk spotted it pretty much from the opening exchanges, and as the match wore on it was allowed to continue.
Brad Arthur conceded after the game the lack of kick pressure was what allowed Cleary to kick them to death.
There is no doubt the Panthers do a tremendous job giving Cleary protection he gets.
And their dominance of the ruck with and without the ball is what makes it extremely difficult to get at him.
But it was still one area of the game where the Eels really let themselves down because they simply should have come up with a better plan.
And poor Waqa Blake never stood a chance under some of those towering bombs, where Cleary was given all the time in the world to set the Eels winger up to fail.
But you can bet whoever is facing the Panthers in the preliminary final won’t allow Cleary the same latitude or at the very least they will die trying to stop him.
HIGH TACKLE INCONSISTENCY HAS US ALL DAZED
It’s mind-boggling trying to comprehend what warrants a sin bin or a suspension and what doesn’t when it comes to high tackles in the modern game.
On one hand you have Penrith’s Taylan May getting sin binned and now facing a one-to-two match suspension for what was labelled a grade two careless high tackle charge on Will Penisini.
But then how does Penrith teammate Spencer Leniu not get marched and only cops a grade one charge for what looked an equally dangerous shot that really rocked Isaiah Papali’i?
Meanwhile, Canberra’s Matt Timoko was forced off for a head injury assessment after a tackle from Melbourne’s Jesse Bromwich that apparently didn’t even warrant a penalty.
Yet the Raiders lose a player for a head knock?
Go figure.
Yet then Joe Tapine was put on report for an incident involving a falling Jahrome Hughes where Tapine did absolutely nothing wrong. Thankfully the NRL match review did not charge Tapine. But the lack of consistency across the board leaves you with no confidence in the system.
STORM WON’T WIN ANOTHER COMP FOR YEARS
The Melbourne Storm won’t win another competition for some time.
For years we’ve all been wondering when the Melbourne Storm’s dominance would finally end. Well, we just saw it.
It is almost impossible to imagine how the Storm will bounce back next year – likely to last with Craig Bellamy as coach – as such a competitive force given the players they are losing.
Out goes Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, along with Felise Kaufusi and Brandon Smith.
They’ll get Ryan Papenhuyzen back but that won’t fix all their problems.
On top of that Cameron Munster still has to make his decision on whether or not to join the Bromwich brothers and Kaufusi at the Dolphins.
Even though Munster is contracted for next season, if he decides to leave beyond that it will be a monstrous blow for Melbourne.
To Munster’s credit he never let his ongoing negotiations become a distraction this year.
But his importance to the team has certainly exposed that the Storm got it wrong leaving his deal until last to try and finalise.
In a beaten team Munster was a standout again.
FINALS LIKES
COWBOYS’ UNSUNG HERO DELIVERS WHEN IT MATTERS
There was no shortage of star performers for the Cowboys.
But the unsung hero lost in the post match celebrations was Scott Drinkwater.
If not for the fullback, the match would never have made it into overtime.
With just 15 seconds left on the clock, Drinkwater used his speed and skills to open up that gaping hole for Taumalolo to charge through, which ultimately led to Holmes snapping that amazing 45m winning field goal in the 93rd minute.
Chad Townsend was another who deserved praise for his outstanding game management.
Overall there were some incredible individual stats coming out of the game.
Taumalolo with 25 runs for 261m including a try and seven tackle busts, while Reuben Cotter had 22 runs for 158m as well as 48 tackles, second only to Reece Robson with 53 tackles.
Drinkwater had 19 runs for 185m including 10 tackle busts and that crucial try assist, and Peta Hiku was also worthy of a special mention after clocking up 28 runs for 274m that also included a try.
What an unbelievable effort from a team that finished last season 15th and are now one game away from the grand final.
RICKY’S RAIDERS CONTINUES A LASTING LEGACY
The late Peter Mulholland’s legacy continues to shine at Canberra.
And if Mulholland is looking down and watching right now, he would have a beaming smile on his face watching Joe Tapine’s amazing development.
Mulholland originally signed the young Kiwi as a teenager while at Newcastle nearly a decade ago.
Then when Mulholland moved to take over recruitment at the Raiders, he pinned a target on the talented forward with an offer the Knights were not prepared to match.
At the time there was a big blow-up when then Newcastle coach Nathan Brown threatened to play Tapine on the bench for NSW Cup if he didn’t sign a new deal.
But ultimately Tapine was allowed to walk – and the rest is history.
Tapine has gone on to become arguably the best prop in the game, producing another magnificent performance in the Raiders’ shock win in Melbourne.
Tapine finished with a game high 21 runs for 209m that included a try assist for Elliott Whitehead, while he delivered the beautiful ball to a flying Jack Wighton in the lead up to Matt Timoko’s early try.
Timoko was another of Mulholland’s signings who is starting to come of age.
The young centre showed outstanding self-belief taking on Cameron Munster and beating one of the world’s best players with a show of speed and raw power.
SHARKS GO DOWN BUT LOSE NO SUPPORTERS
It is going to be incredibly hard for the Sharks to back up after such a gut-busting effort.
But they showed why they are capable of it with an inspired performance even in defeat.
And Nicho Hynes can hold his head high after finishing with three try assists, while Blayke Brailey knocked up a game high 58 tackles, and the back five all had huge numbers with Ronaldo Mulitalo leading the way with 19 runs for 233m.
FORGOTTEN CONTENDER IN COACH OF YEAR DEBATE
Ivan Cleary should not be forgotten in the Dally M coach of the year debate.
While most think it has probably come down to a shootout between North Queensland’s Todd Payten and Cronulla’s Craig Fitzgibbon, Cleary’s Panthers continue to get better and better as the competition’s standout benchmark.
And from what we saw in the win over Parramatta, it is hard to see how anyone is going to stop them from claiming back to back titles.
While Nathan Cleary was just a class above everyone else on the field, Brian To’o was also phenomenal with 25 runs for 22m that included two tries, and upfront James Fisher-Harris was a beast leading the way for the forwards with 16 runs for 133m, while combing that with some brutal defence.
But above all, it’s just the ability of every single member of the Panthers’ squad to do their job so professionally that sets them apart.
And for that Ivan Cleary and the rest of the coaching staff deserve huge praise.
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Originally published as The NRL Tackle: Eels need Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown to deliver
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