NRL Tackle: Penrith continue to to set hot pace with one of best halves of league ever seen
There was a time when losing just wasn’t in Brisbane’s DNA. Now it seems it’s not only accepted, it’s expected. Our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 13 of the NRL.
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Welcome to The Tackle, where our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 13 of the NRL.
St George Illawarra v Sydney Roosters
Like: Matt Dufty has emerged as one of the redemption stories of season 2020, and after the diminutive playmaker was reinstated as the Dragons fullback. In the pre-season, Dufty revealed to News Corp Australia he only found out about his demotion from fullback after reading a report Zac Lomax was favoured in the no.1 jumper. According to Fox Sports Lab, since reclaiming the position, Dufty has been involved in 21 of the Dragons 40 tries this season – the highest percentage of any player. He was heavily involved again on Thursday night against the Roosters, where he scored a try of his own. Since Dufty became a regular in Rd 5 at fullback he has scored nine tries, set up nine more, busted 32 tackles and averages almost 132 run metres per game.
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Dislike: An ugly incident in the dying stages of Thursday night’s match reignited the debate about the send off. Dragons forward Jackson Ford clearly tripped Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary as he crossed the line to score. But instead of being immediately punished for the indiscretion, Ford was merely placed on report by the referee and was allowed to stay on the field. “He should be off. That’s the one that used to be a send off … this is the one where he can’t get to with his hand so he throws out the leg,” Phil Gould said. The match review committee charged Ford with a grade three tripping charge and will miss two weeks with an early plea. The incident raises the question: What does a send-off in the modern day game actually look like?
Fox Sports key stat: Siosiua Taukeaho stood up for an injury ravaged pack, making more than 220ms, two offloads and 34 tackles. Ryan Hall has now gone 11 games without a try, the longest drought for a debutant winger since the mid 1990s. Both teams completed 90 per cent of their sets, but the Roosters have not lost a game while completing 85 per cent or better since 2015. The Dragons had 52 percent possession, won the penalty count 4-1 and had 32 tackles to 21 in the opposition 20.
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– Fatima Kdouh
Manly v New Zealand
Like: Tohu Harris switched from the edge to the middle this season and he’s fast become one of the best lock forwards in the NRL. The Warriors middles are an inexperienced lot for the most part but Harris gives them a real touch of class. He was at it again in the win over Manly, churning through 182 metres with his footwork and mobility giving him an edge in the slippery conditions.
Dislike: The Sea Eagles’ injury crisis is fast reaching critical mass. Losing Tom Trbojevic is bad enough but Addin Fonua-Blake and Martin Taupau both failed to finish the match and the former is expected to miss the crucial showdown with Newcastle this weekend. Des Hasler didn’t want to hide behind excuses after the match but Manly could well be undermanned for the most crucial stretch of the season.
Fox Sports key stat: The Warriors scored back-to-back wins for the first time since rounds 9-10 last year. They’ve won all five games this season when scoring more than 12 points.
Conversely, back-to-back losses means the Sea Eagles have won just two of their past seven matches.
- Nick Campton
South Sydney v Brisbane
Like: Tom Burgess was always an easy punching bag at Souths. Despite being an international in his own right, big Tom spent most of his career in the shadows of superstar Sam and to a lesser extent George. But as the only remaining Burgess at the Bunnies, Tom has really taken ownership of the pack this year and his performances have rose to the challenge. While it’s been a bit of inconsistent year overall for Souths, Tom has led the way with his consistency. He produced another really solid game in Friday night’s win over Brisbane, scoring a well-deserved try and running for 144m.
Dislike: There was a time when losing just wasn’t in Brisbane’s DNA. Now it seems it’s not only accepted, it’s expected. Since returning from the competition shutdown the Broncos have lost 10 of 11 games, their only win against last-placed Canterbury. With Anthony Seibold now locked out of the bubble due to family reasons, surely someone above him needs to make a tough call about the direction this club is heading, regardless. The lack of leadership across the board has almost reached a crisis point in respect to duty of care, particularly for the younger players with a genuine fear this is going to have massive long-term repercussions.
Fox Sports key stat: Souths win back-to-back games for the third time this season, they have not won three straight in 2020. Brisbane have now lost four straight, and 10 of 11 since the competition resumed. Worse still, they are the first team since the Knights in 2016 to concede 400 points through 13 games of a season. Souths had 57 per cent possession on the back of a 10-4 penalty count. They made six linebreaks to five and had 32 tackles to 18 in the opposition 20. Latrell Mitchell ran for 174m — his best tally since round 8 last season. He set up a try, and made a linebreak. Payne Haas once again chalked up big numbers in a losing side. He ran for 18 times for 201m and made 34 tackles.
- Paul Crawley
Melbourne v Canterbury
Like: Watching Josh Addo-Carr in full flight is a sight to behold. Following a difficult season where he has struggled to find his best form, the Foxx found his feet again on Saturday to score two tries as the Storm ran riot. It is still unclear where Addo-Carr will be next year but it appears he is once again happy enough to be at the Storm for now. Addo-Carr’s performance might renew the Bulldogs’ interest in bringing the flyer to Belmore for 2021.
They desperately need an attacking spark – and who better than the Flying Foxx?
Dislike: It’s hard to believe a team coming last would be complacent – but that is exactly what interim Canterbury coach Steve Georgallis accused the Bulldogs of following their Melbourne mauling. “We were complacent,” Georgallis said. “We just thought it was going to happen. Unfortunately, we didn’t turn up and they did.” Apparently, the Bulldogs thought a Storm side minus Cameron Smith were going to be easy. Four tries in 13 minutes told them otherwise. With just two wins for the season, the Bulldogs are now in danger of crashing to their worst year since 1964. It’s hard to see where another win will come from, given they took the field on Saturday night with their strongest team, at least on paper, all year.
Fox Sports key stat: Seven straight wins for Melbourne ahead of matches against the Roosters and Eels. it’s the fifth year running they have won at least seven straight games in a season. The Storm haven’t lost to a bottom-four team since 2015 when the Knights shocked them 20-6, a 22-game run. They’ve also won 15 straight in Queensland. The Bulldogs’ 11th loss of 2020 is their sixth by 16 points or more. Both teams completed less than 70 per cent of their sets in a scrappy encounter. The Bulldogs conceded two tries directly from turnovers — they now have seven for the season, the most of any team.
- James Phelps
Newcastle v Wests Tigers
Like: The way Blake Green settled in at Newcastle so quickly. Having played at seven NRL clubs and two Super League teams, Green is used to adapting to new environments, but changing teams midweek is a whole new level. Wherever Green goes, he knows his role in the side. He understands he’s not going to be the “star” player at the Knights and he’s more than happy to assist Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga. On Saturday night, Green was able to control the match with his game management and sound kicking game, which freed Ponga to have an absolute blinder. The star fullback scored two tries, had two try assists, kicked six goals, ran for almost 200 metres and made five tackle busts. Russell Packer comforting a clearly distraught Adam Doeueihi post-game in the wake of the Beirut tragedy was a special moment.
Dislike: It was disappointing to see the Wests Tigers crumble on Benji Marshall and Chris Lawrence’s big night. The club legends were both celebrating 250 NRL games, but their teammates dished out one of the worst performances of the season — by any team. It was their lowest score since Canberra held them to nil in round 13 last season. Marshall and Lawrence are the heart and soul of the club and they deserved better. Yes, the Knights came firing — they’ve won all seven games when scoring first this year, but the Tigers players lacked resilience and fell apart. They’ve now lost three straight games — for the first time since rounds 16-18 last year — and five of their past six — and will struggle to play finals footy again this year.
Fox Sports key stat: Luciano Leilua (12 runs, 132m) was the only Tigers forward to run for more than 100m. Russell Packer had just four runs for 31m and was a reason why Newcastle ran for 350m more than their opponents. It was Newcastle’s biggest win since a 54-6 victory over the Eels in 2013. The Knights have beaten the Tigers twice this season by 18 points or more. For the Tigers, it was their lowest score since being held to nil by Canberra in round 13 last season. The Knights made seven linebreaks to two, and ran for almost 400 metres more than the Tigers.
-Michael Blok
Penrith v Canberra
Like: The Panthers’ opening half was one the most complete 40 minutes of football you’ll ever see. They didn’t touch the ball for the opening seven minutes but kept turning the Raiders away. But when they had a chance of their own they capitalised. Even the Roosters or Eels at their best wouldn’t have matched what Penrith produced in the first half. They recorded a club record equalling eighth consecutive win. The last time that happened was the premiership win of 2003.
Dislike: Some poor defensive reads from the Raiders. While Penrith were red hot in the first half, they were given some easy metres by a Canberra side who seemed to have lost their defensive edge. John Bateman was exposed for the first try then several other poor spacings in the line cost them points. Canberra are now battling to stay in the top four as injuries mount for last year’s grand finalists. The injury to hooker Siliva Havili is a big blow, having already lose Josh Hodgson to a season-ending injury.
Fox Sports key stat: Penrith’s 11 wins already equals last season’s tally, and it was the 10th time in 2020 they have conceded 14 points or fewer. Penrith still haven’t conceded a point in the opening 20 minutes of a game since round one. That’s the longest streak in any quarter of a match by any team in the State of Origin era. The 24-0 half-time score is Penrith’s biggest lead and the Raiders’ biggest deficit this season. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was tremendous for the losing side — two tries, 27 runs for 227m and eight tackle busts. Stephen Cricton scored in his eighth straight game to move into equal top spot on the try scorers list.
– Michael Carayannis
Gold Coast v North Queensland
Like: Gold Coast dynamo AJ Brimson who proved to be best on ground on Sunday afternoon. The star fullback put on a scintillating performance to inspire a 20-point victory over their Sunshine State rivals the Cowboys. The youngster was playing just his second game back after suffering a back injury and finished with 161 running metres, two tries, three linebreaks and a try assist. It will have Gold Coast fans salivating at the future of the club if AJ can continue his superb form. His ability to pop up wherever needed in the attacking line gave the Gold Coast plenty of options in scoring opportunities - something the team has lacked in previous seasons.
Dislike: The Cowboys defensive effort in 2020 has been their let down. The club now sit with the second worst points-against record (343) of any team, with the bumbling Broncos the only team worse than they are. There were far too many Cowboys players falling off tackles on Sunday afternoon. Not to take the shine away from Gold Coast’s clash performance, but the Cowboys allowed five consecutive tries to fall to a 24-point deficit after 43 minutes. From that point, it proved to be too big a mountain to climb to mount a comeback. The current form slump has the Cowboys facing a seventh straight loss when they face the Rabbitohs this weekend.
Fox Sports key stats: The Cowboys’ six-match losing streak is their worst since 2010. It was the fifth time this season they have conceded 30 points or more.
- Chris Honnery
Cronulla v Parramatta
Like: The tenacity and drive of 34 sodden players all hampered and hindered by atrocious conditions. The standard dropped away in the second half but it was an absorbing and enjoyable match which was a throwback to rain soaked games of the 1970s. Parramatta found a way to win yet again - a trait the Eels didn’t seem to possess in recent years. Victory keeps them inside the top four. Cronulla scored three tries to two and could probably argue several refereeing decisions.
Dislike: There were a couple of brain snaps, most notably a 20 metre pass to no-one from a goal line drop out in driving rain by Eels winger Blake Ferguson. You take some good with some bad when it comes to Fergo. There was some expected dropped ball in the second half with both sides walking away from Kogarah believing they should have won.
Fox Sports key stats: Mitchell Moses forced five drop outs - his equal career high the most on record is six by Corey Norman in 2017. It was also the first time since 2013 the Eels have won scoring less tries than their opponents.
- Dean Ritchie
Originally published as NRL Tackle: Penrith continue to to set hot pace with one of best halves of league ever seen