NRL Tackle: Justin Holbrook paying for Gold Coast Titans’ recruitment fails
From Jarryd Hayne, to Ash Taylor and David Fifita, the Titans just keep getting their recruitment wrong and now another coach is about to be chewed up and spat out.
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From the day Brisbane signed Adam Reynolds the only negative was going to be whether his body would hold up.
While you can’t blame the busted ribs he’s now suffering on old age, Reynolds’ substandard performance in the loss to North Queensland has pinned a huge target on him going forward.
And it has also raised the question whether he is now a liability trying to continue to play in his current state.
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It’s like a boxer going into a fight with busted ribs and expecting another belting won’t make it any worse.
The Broncos have a massive decision to make this week on whether to again run the gauntlet and play their star halfback against St George Illawarra, or give Reynolds another week off to try and get himself right.
The tough little halfback was brave just to take the field against the Cowboys, but it clearly backfired on him and the team.
While Reynolds’ labelled his own kicking game “embarrassing’, he didn’t want to hear any suggestion the fact the Cowboys went after him had any influence on his overall performance.
But it clearly did given it was obvious to all that he just wasn’t digging into the line or taking the defence on the same as he has done all season.
The problem going forward is the Cowboys have now shown the Dragons that if you can put enough heat on Reynolds it is going to reduce his impact until he overcomes this injury.
But can he overcome it if he continues to play without giving himself more time to heal?
HOLBROOK PAYS FOR RECRUITMENT BLUNDERS
It’s sad to see another Gold Coast coach about to be chewed up and spat out.
When are struggling clubs going to realise you can’t just throw a young coach into his first NRL head coaching job and not surround him with the right experience.
Further to that, what management at the Titans also need to realise is that decisions made in recruitment and retention over years is what continues to drag this club down.
From paying Ash Taylor $1 million plus a season to making David Fifita the marquee man.
As soon as you pay overs for any one individual and they don’t aim up, you leave the whole roster vulnerable.
And sacking another coach won’t fix that.
The irony is Neil Henry was getting it right at the Titans by building a squad with a team-first mentality until they cruelled him by signing in Jarryd Hayne.
ROBBERY PROVES NRL NEEDS TWO REFS
If ever we needed more proof why the NRL must bring back a second referee to control the ruck this is it.
On a weekend of refereeing outrage another terrible call has this time robbed Canberra in a controversial 12-10 loss to St George Illawarra.
It occurred on the final play in Wollongong when Ben Hunt came up with what was ultimately a match-winning play when he shutdown Tom Starling at dummy half.
The trouble was it should have been a penalty to the Raiders in front of the posts, given Hunt was clearly never standing square.
To make it worse, it happened straight after Peter Gough had blown a six-again to the Raiders for another ruck infringement. Giventhat Hunt could have been sin binned.
That’s a penalty any other part of the field!!! @NRL_Dragons got away with that one for sure #NRLDragonsRaidershttps://t.co/Dpv99m5aBf
— Julian Vella (@vella_jay) July 3, 2022
At the very least it warranted a penalty that would have locked the scores and sent the match into golden point.
Instead, referee Gough called fulltime with the Raiders understandably blowing up.
In fairness to Gough, it was a crazy finish in nightmare conditions and he was clearly rattled.
But if there was a ruck referee he would have been on top of this.
These type of decisions define seasons.
It’s just not good enough.
Got out of jail there. Well played by the raiders. Really highlights why the 6 again is redundant. They got 6 again with 10 seconds to go. A penalty would have tied the game up.
— Dragons Supporters (@M_B_D_S) July 3, 2022
Raiders fans are right to feel cheated by that.#nrldragonsraiderspic.twitter.com/w9Q8GDiyZI
Remember the good ol days when they'd go around the grounds & Don Moseley would report on a nail biter & he'd say "Drama here Ray, Kelvin Jeffes has blown a penalty for offside at marker & the Raiders will kick a penalty to tie it all up." 6 agains are poison. #nrlDragonsRaiders
— Mr_Ives (@Mr_Ives_) July 3, 2022
REFEREE SHOULD ISSUE ROOSTERS A PUBLIC APOLOGY
The NRL should be embarrassed by the lopsided refereeing that absolutely destroyed the Roosters’ hopes in the hard fought loss to the Panthers.
This is not an attack on Gerard Sutton’s integrity but rather his performance on the night, for which the Roosters and their fans deserve a public apology.
And the NRL will only embarrass themselves further if they carry on with this ridiculous threat of fining Trent Robinson for saying what any impartial spectator would agree with.
It goes beyond the decision to penalise Sam Verrills for a so-called lifting tackle that was the most disgraceful penalty we’ve seen in years. And it didn’t stop at the questionable sin binning of Angus Crichton that was also an extremely tough call.
But more than that, it was just the way the Roosters continually came off on the wrong side of all the 50/50 calls that made this an infuriating game to watch.
And this goes to the heart of increasing frustration of so many fans about these inconsistent six-again calls for ruck infringements.
Even rusted on fans and experts struggle to comprehend what most of them are for, but they have such a massive bearing on so many games.
ARTHUR’S EELS EXPOSED OVER ‘COP OUT’ EXCUSE
Lost in the celebration of Latrell Mitchell’s stunning return for South Sydney was the fact this was another serious setback for Parramatta’s premiership campaign.
And Brad Arthur just can’t continue to escape scrutiny for these ridiculously inconsistent performances that are tearing apart the Eels’ best chance to win a title in more than a decade.
We’ve seen over the weekend how Justin Holbrook is the latest NRL coach fighting to save his job with Gold Coast on the bottom of the ladder and going backwards fast.
But for different reasons Arthur’s position is also coming to that point where he needs to justify that he can be the man who can lead this club to that long awaited premiership.
And it’s no good having a team capable of beating heavyweights Penrith and Melbourne when they can’t back it up against the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers, or a Souths team that was admittedly pumped by Latrell’s return but nevertheless humiliated in their most recent game against St George Illawarra.
You also can’t ignore this is Arthur’s ninth season and Parra are yet to make it past week two of the finals on his watch.
Arthur said after the game that effort wasn’t the issue against Souths.
But how does he say that when in the next breath he pretty much blamed the performance on a lack of effort from certain individuals, saying “on different weeks we’ve got different blokes owning their jobs”.
The fact is it is all just a cop out, because it was obvious to all from the opening exchanges that the Eels just didn’t turn up with the right attitude – and it has been their ongoing issue all season.
But just like the players Arthur needs to take accountability for his part because it is a coach’s job to get them ready to play.
STORM CULTURE LOSES ITS LUSTRE
No wonder Craig Bellamy was filthy at Melbourne’s effort in the shock loss to Manly.
That’s the third time this year the Storm have had 30 plus points put on them.
In years gone by it just didn’t matter who was missing from Melbourne’s line up, whoever was next man up would go out and find a way to get the job done, building wins on the back of defence.
But it would be hugely concerning for Bellamy with the Storm now fourth behind the Panthers, Cowboys and Sharks in points conceded this year.
LIKES FROM ROUND 16
DCE RESPONDS TO ORIGIN HEARTACHE
Daly Cherry-Evans cops criticism for being a flat track bully.
But his performance against the Storm coming off the back of Queensland’s Origin defeat was just another prime example of what an outstanding, tough and durable playmaker and leader this bloke really is.
And don’t get too carried away with Manly’s late capitulation after almost bombing another game at the death.
Any time any team take on the Storm and walk away with the two competition points it should be considered a job well done.
Especially a Sea Eagles side playing without one Tom Trbojevic.
KNIGHTS COACH COMES UP WITH A HUGE PLAY
There was plenty of rumblings coming out of Newcastle that Adam O’Brien would be in strife if the Knights fell to the last placed Titans.
But that win without Kalyn Ponga was their biggest of the season - and keeps them a mathematical chance of still playing finals this year.
Although they have another massive game coming up on Friday against the rejuvenated Bunnies.
It was great to see Edrick Lee write his name in the club’s history books with five tries.
Another not so memorable moment was when Mitch Barnett had a couple of teeth knocked out.
But the fact he stayed on the field was just another reminder of how tough these blokes are.
LATRELL SHOWS HIS STAR POWER
How good is it to have Latrell Mitchell back playing?
You just had to watch him in action on and off the field to realise what his star power means to not just South Sydney but the entire game.
While his performance in his first game since round five just showed what a huge difference he is going to make to the Rabbitohs’ run to the finals, it was also an extremely selfless act to rule himself out of NSW State of Origin contention so he can make Souths his priority.
And to top it off there were those fabulous scenes of Latrell walking around Accor Stadium after the game interacting with the fans to get photos and autographs.
It all just showed how much Latrell loves and cares for Souths.
NICHO STARS OVER BURTON IN GRITTY WIN
Matt Burton showed in Origin II what a weapon his boot is.
But it was no match for Nicho Hynes in the Sharks’ gritty win over the Bulldogs in really atrocious conditions.
Cronulla kept the Dogs scoreless in the second half to record their third straight win, while Matt Moylan also had another fantastic game to pretty much secure himself another two-year contract extension.
The win comes at an ideal time given the Sharks have a big month coming up with games against the Storm, Cowboys, Panthers and Rabbitohs that will really put their season in context.
The Dogs tried hard but losing Tevita Pangai early to an ankle injury did help.
COWBOYS’ SPINE LEADS THE WAY
Once again the Cowboys have showed us all why they are a genuine title threat.
And for all the credit that gets passed around, none deserve it more than the spine players who came into this season with so many questions marks hanging over the lot of them.
But it is just magnificent watching Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden continue to build their partnership, while Scott Drinkwater has always had the talent but he has really become so consistent with the way he injects himself into every game.
And at dummy half Reece Robson has been one of this season’s most underrated performers.
This was another really well executed win for Todd Payten’s team that are well on track to cementing a place in the top four.
No one would have thought possible at the start of the season.
WARRIORS CELEBRATE EMOTIONAL HOMECOMING
The pure emotion that greeted the Warriors as they walked out on Mt Smart Stadium was one of the most spine tingling moments we have ever seen at a regulation club game.
In front of a sold out crowd for their first game at home in 1038 days, this could not have made it more memorable.
Shane Flanagan labelled it a “semi-final type of experience”, but it was even more special just because of the heartfelt passion to finally have their football team back.
MANU PUTS MORE PRESSURE ON ROBBO
It’s just a shame the refereeing controversy at Penrith overshadowed a cracking match.
The Panthers’ performance again showcased why the reigning premiers remain the team to beat this year.
But in defeat the Roosters will also take a lot away.
Up front Siosiua Taukeiaho had his best game of the year and James Tedesco was just phenomenal again.
But also extremely impressive at five-eighth was Joey Manu.
A week after running 362m playing fullback for New Zealand, Manu looked just at home partnering Sammy Walker in the halves.
It’s a pity he’ll have to make way when Luke Keary returns from his concussion spell.
Manu is known as the NRL’s best centre but you’d argue he’s even more dangerous playing fullback or five-eighth these days.
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