The Tackle: Likes, dislikes, Dally M votes from Round 2 of the NRL
Our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 2 of the NRL, plus check out the Dally M votes from every game and full leaderboard.
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The show must go on. There were no crowds but the NRL season continued apace and there was plenty of action to digest on another big weekend.
Welcome to The Tackle, where our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 2 of the NRL.
BULLDOGS v COWBOYS
Dally M votes: Jason Taumalolo 3, Josh McGuire 2, Coen Hess 1. Judge: Johnathan Thurston.
Like: Jason Taumalolo is the greatest forward anywhere in rugby league. Despite Canterbury offering up the type of defence usually associated with, say, Lionel Hutz, the Cowboys No.13 was incredible. By the finish, Big T had churned through a staggering 318m, while also making six tackle busts, one line break … and white chalk outlines of several Dogs defenders. Call him a prop, a lock, doesn’t matter. The bloke is No.1 everywhere.
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Dislike: Lachlan Lewis is already under pressure to retain Canterbury’s No.7 jersey. Despite opening the game with a 40/20, then doubling down with a try, things quickly got away from this young playmaker who was eventually benched with 25 minutes still to play. With Jack Cogger available and Jeremy Marshall-King also able to play halves, young Lewis needs to work overtime on both his running game and overall match control to keep his spot.
— Nick Walshaw
DRAGONS v PANTHERS
Dally M votes: Nathan Cleary 3, Josh Mansour 2, Matthew Dufty 1. Judge: Dene Halatau
Like: It’s early days but Api Koroisau would be early favourite for buy of the year.
As Nathan Cleary said after Penrith’s thrilling escape against St George Illawarra: “He is the most underrated player in the comp”.
This season’s other major recruits include Latrell Mitchell, Valentine Holmes, Brodie Croft, Ryan Matterson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, George Williams, Curtis Scott, Jesse Ramien, Danny Levi, Adam Doueihi and Joey Leilua.
Koroisau is really taking the pressure off Cleary who has also had a terrific start to the season.
While Damien Cook would not be in danger of losing his NSW No 9 jumper if State of Origin goes ahead, Koroisau would be a great back-up option.
Dislike: It’s broken record stuff but again the Dragons key playmakers blew it.
Ben Hunt and Corey Norman are letting Paul McGregor down because there is only so much the coach can do for a team.
The Dragons have had enough opportunities to win both games against Wests Tigers and Penrith but they just get in a state of panic when the result is on the line.
And it all comes back to Hunt and Norman who are most likely the NRL’s most expensive halves combination.
At least this week the Dragons get their inspirational hooker Cam McInnes back from injury and Tariq Sims from suspension when they take on Canberra.
— Paul Crawley
BRONCOS v RABBITOHS
Dally M votes: Thomas Flegler 3, Patrick Carrigan 2, Kotoni Staggs 1. Judge: Billy Moore
Like: The fearlessness of Anthony Seibold’s Baby Broncos. The likes of David Fifita, Payne Haas and Tom Flegler are still so young they are unable to legally enter an American pub but the 20-year-old triumvirate fear no-one. There was a sentiment the NRL’s more seasoned forward packs would bully Brisbane’s young guns this year but Flegler and Haas belted the Rabbitohs in midfield on Friday night. In the absence of Brisbane’s No.1 prop Matt Lodge (knee), Flegler produced the best game of his career, amassing a whopping 170 metres with seven tackle busts. He had more metres combined than Souths’ starting bookends Tevita Tatola and Tom Burgess, who managed just 148m between them. Fifita is a terrifying sight on the edges, Haas could probably play 100 minutes without breaking a sweat and Flegler loves the tough stuff. As Flegler said later when asked if he fears the NRL’s senior props: “No ... they are only human”.
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Dislike: Wayne Bennett’s fullback experiment with Latrell Mitchell. Sorry, but Mitchell’s journey in the No.1 jumper is not looking promising. For the second consecutive week, Mitchell was ineffective at fullback, making six runs for 60 metres. Compare those numbers to the game’s greatest fullbacks such as James Tedesco and the now-retired Billy Slater, who consistently punch out in excess of 150 metres per game. There is no doubting Mitchell’s talent — his first-half pass from a scrum for a Souths try was a cracker — but he lacks the fitness and aerobic capacity to handle the relentless demands of fullback play. Mitchell must return to the centres this week for a grudge match against his former club the Roosters. At centre, the Rabbitohs can inject Mitchell’s monster frame at the right time without the pressure of being part of their playmaking spine.
— Peter Badel
WARRIORS v RAIDERS
Dally M votes: Josh Hodgson 3, Elliott Whitehead 2, Jarrod Croker 1. Judge: Gary Belcher
Like: This game never reached any great heights and it wasn’t hard to see why.
The Warriors are stuck in limbo and it was a scorching hot day on the Gold Coast for a 2pm kick-off.
If there was a positive to come out of it, the performance of Canberra’s new-look backline has been promising.
Winger Nick Cotric was sensational with an incredible 16 tackle busts, but it was his defensive combination with Curtis Scott that impressed coach Ricky Stuart the most.
Cotric and Scott have struck up a close bond off the field according to Stuart and the Raiders are reaping the benefits on it following a dramatic pre-season for the former Storm centre.
The Raiders have had a soft start to 2020 with games against the Titans and Warriors but they have got the job done.
Dislike: How long can the Warriors go on like this for?
It was always going to be a tough season for New Zealand, with many tipping them to claim the 2020 wooden spoon.
But it’s got a hell of a lot tougher since they have been unable to return to New Zealand on the back of strict travel restrictions.
The Warriors don’t have much of a choice, really.
For the NRL to continue as an eight-game competition, they have to stay in Australia.
That means they could be stuck here for six months, with many unable to see family at all.
This is going to be an incredibly tough period for a team that doesn’t have much talent or hope of being a title contender.
The emotional toll of losses is going to compound what is already a tough mental battle.
— Travis Meyn
ROOSTERS v SEA EAGLES
Dally M votes: Tom Trbojevic 3, James Tedesco 2, Addin Fonua-Blake 1. Judge: Ben Ikin
Like: We all know how brilliant Tom Trbojevic is with ball in hand – he’s won so many games because of his sizzling attack – but wasn’t it great to see him win it for the Sea Eagles with arguably the best defensive performance of the season.
He produced two game-saving tackles in the second half, highlighting his commitment to never give up on a play.
The Roosters were certain to break the deadlock when Luke Keary casually strolled over, but Turbo didn’t give up and pulled off a miraculous tackle, which resulted in the Keary dropping the ball.
Moments later the NSW Origin star then pulled off a Scott Sattler-like cover tackle on veteran Brett Morris to save another certain four-pointer.
Dislike: It’s usually funny when a fan from the crowd yells out just before a player attempts a kick, in a bid to put them off, but it came across as poor taste when the Manly bench did it as Kyle Flanagan attempted a match-leveling goal.
With no fans allowed in the stadium across the entire NRL, players can hear everything that comes from the grandstands.
The Sea Eagles reserves (and some officials) thought it was a good idea to distract the Roosters kickers throughout the game.
It didn’t have any major impact on the game but it wasn’t a good look.
— Michael Blok
SHARKS v STORM
Dally M votes: Jesse Bromwich 3, Scott Sorensen 2, Tui Kamikamica 1. Judge: Luke Lewis
Like: The fact the Storm can win a game despite being outplayed for about 65 minutes of the match. The Storm dominated the opening 10 minutes and the last five. Aside from that they just managed to stay in the contest. They did this through their defence. Outstanding goal-line defence and turning up for each other proved pivotal. It was particularly evident in the first half when they withstood a barrage of pressure but only conceded two penalty goals. The game management of Cameron Smith helped them close out the win.
Dislike: The clunkiness of Cronulla’s attack. Another opportunity missed now the Sharks sit 0-2 to start the season. Their right hand edge desperately missed back-rower Briton Nikora who has ruled out with an injury just before kick-off. His combination with Shaun Johnson is a key component of their attack. Johnson created plenty of opportunities for his outside men but they just couldn’t capitalise. The Sharks had to score at least once in the first half but they failed to do.
— Michael Carayannis
TIGERS v KNIGHTS
Dally M votes: Jayden Brailey 3, Mitchell Pearce 2, Daniel Saifiti 1. Judge: Matt Elliott
Like: Not a lot to like about a poor standard game. It was like a glorified training session at times. Both teams made multiple mistakes and looked shabby and untidy in defence. Newcastle had more firepower but was still dissatisfied with the win. Wests Tigers had a poor first half but did well to stay in the game with a late try bringing them to within just six points of Newcastle.
Dislike: Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma cost his side two tries but failing to compete in the air. Twice Newcastle bombed to him and twice Nofoaluma refused to lift off, gifting the Knights two decisive tries. Newcastle should have led by 12 to 16 points by half-time after a dominant opening stanza but just kept inviting Wests Tigers back into the game with horrible errors. Sitting behind the Leichhardt media box, you could hear the frustration of Knights coach Adam O’Brien.
— Dean Ritchie
TITANS v EELS
Dally M votes: Mitchell Moses 3, Michael Jennings 2, Clint Gutherson 1. Judge: Justin Hodges
Like: Parramatta’s halves combination is becoming one of the most dominant in the competition. Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown controlled Sunday’s match against the Titans with ease. The pair steered the side in a second half demolition job, with Brown notching up a double and Moses with a first half four-pointer. Not only that, but their running game makes any defensive line nervous. Combined, the pairing clocked 257 running metres — more than the entire Titans forward pack. Moses calls the shots while Brown simply has the freedom to run as he pleases and the combination works.
Dislike: Gold Coast’s defence was just woeful. They finished the match with 45 missed tackles which allowed Parramatta to simply build momentum and end up running away with the game in the end. The silent stadium allowed anyone in the stadium an ear into the Titans defensive calls on the line and there were a number of them that left players out of position. Granted, the Titans did have to make wholesale changes across the park because of injury but Parramatta’s two early tries in the opening 10 minutes were too easy. They also threw in the towel late in the game, which allowed Parramatta to score five unanswered tries.
— Chris Honnery
DALLY M LEADERBOARD
Jason Taumalolo 4
Elliott Whitehead 4
Tom Trbojevic 3
Thomas Flegler 3
Payne Haas 3
Nathan Cleary 3
Mitchell Moses 3
Liam Knight 3
Josh Jackson 3
Josh Hodgson 3
Jesse Bromwich 3
Jayden Brailey 3
Jack Wighton 3
David Klemmer 3
Cameron Smith 3
Benji Marshall 3
Apisai Koroisau3
Tui Kamikamica 3
Mitchell Pearce3
Clinton Gutherson 3
Shaun Johnson 2
Scott Sorensen2
Patrick Carrigan 2
Mitchell Barnett 2
Michael Jennings 2
Josh McGuire 2
Josh Mansour 2
James Tedesco 2
Isaah Yeo 2
David Nofoaluma2
Brodie Croft 2
Reed Mahoney 1
Paul Vaughan 1
Matthew Dufty 1
Kotoni Staggs 1
Josh Papalii 1
Jarrod Croker 1
James Fisher-Harris 1
Jahrome Hughes 1
Daniel Saifiti 1
Coen Hess 1
Cameron Murray 1
Addin Fonua-Blake 1
Originally published as The Tackle: Likes, dislikes, Dally M votes from Round 2 of the NRL
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