NRL 2021: Likes, Dislikes and best players form every match of round 21
They fell to another defeat, but there was at least one positive for the Broncos and coach Kevin Walters. Likes, Dislikes and votes from every match.
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Our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 21 of the NRL.
LIKES: The Knights are a genuine finals team when Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga are orchestrating the one-two punch in Newcastle’s backline. Pearce has played just seven games this season due to injury but he was at his mercurial best against the Broncos with four tackle busts, a line break, a try assist and the four-pointer which gave Newcastle a crucial 12-8 lead at halftime. Pearce has had injury dramas but they may just leave him fresh for a finals tilt. For the Broncos, Herbie Farnworth must stay at centre with Kotoni Staggs next season. At 104kg, he is perfectly built and terrorised Newcastle with 190 metres and seven tackle busts.
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DISLIKES: Brisbane have had an impressive recruitment drive for next season but they won’t play finals if they don’t sign a big bopper to support Payne Haas. The NSW Origin enforcer looked a one-man band as the only Broncos forward to post 100 metres against the Knights. The Broncos need one more hard-headed front-row recruit to slot alongside Haas in the starting engine room. Meanwhile, coach Kevin Walters must start Albert Kelly at No. 7 for the final month. Starting halfback Brodie Croft had zero runs for zero metres. When Kelly replaced him at the hour mark, the Broncos suddenly had some spark in their attack.
– Peter Badel
DALLY M
3 – Mitchell Pearce
2 – Tyson Frizell
1 – Herbie Farnworth
LIKES: Ricky Stuart has spoken a lot lately about his team’s “want” to win, which has been key in the Raiders’ four victories from the last five. No-one epitomises that “want” more than Jordan Rapana, who has been outstanding on both sides of the ball since moving to fullback. Rapana’s involvement was high against the Dragons and his determination to be around the footy got the Raiders their first try. With the race for the last two finals spots so intense, it is the players who grab their moments who will decide the spots. Raiders half Sam Williams grabbed his moments well with his kicking game, setting up a try for Jack Wighton and securing a key 40/20 when the game was on the line. That is what the Raiders need more of.
DISLIKES: The Dragons have been shooting themselves in the foot ever since BBQ-gate and they found another way to do it against the Raiders in a must-win game. They had enough ball in the first half to win two games but errors at key moments cost them. This is a team that has run out four completely different combinations in a row, due mostly to the costly Covid bubble breach at Paul Vaughan’s place. Corey Norman, back in his favoured five-eighth position, summed up the Dragons’ year. He looked like a world beater on occasions with a try assist early, but kicked the ball dead when the Dragons needed to turn the screws. The Dragons just didn’t want to win the game as much as the Raiders.
– Joel Gould
DALLY M
3 – Jordan Rapana
2 – Josh Papalii’i
1 – Josh McGuire
LIKES: South Sydney has the big-game players needed to make a dent in this year’s finals series. A spine of NSW Origin representatives Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook, Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds is as dangerous as they come when they are on song. Walker has racked up an incredible 31 try assists this season and is a menace on the left edge, particularly when he combines with Mitchell. The Rabbitohs need to find another gear when the finals roll around but they have some serious talent in their team and a master coach in Wayne Bennett. Can they challenge a full-strength Melbourne and Penrith? That remains to be seen.
DISLIKES: Parramatta powerbrokers have some big decisions to make on what is needed to turn the club into a genuine premiership threat. While the Eels have taken some big strides forward under coach Brad Arthur in recent years, they seem to fade late every season and bow out without a bang. The Eels are on a slippery slope right now with four losses from their past five games and look like they don’t have the answers to snap out of it. They are struggling with injuries and another promising season has gone up in smoke. The power figures at Parramatta have to decide whether Arthur is the man to lead them to the promised land or will they forever be stuck in this situation.
— Travis Meyn
DALLY M
3 – Cody Walker
2 – Latrell Mitchell
1 – Josh Mansour
LIKES: The Warriors have got the building blocks of a finals team of the future with starting props Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge looming as a dynamic duo. Fonua-Blake has embraced the captaincy and can be the game’s most devastating prop. He has all the skills, as does second-rower Josh Curran who is blooming into an all-round gun. Rookie teenager Reece Walsh stood up to take control when the game was on the line. It is a trait he shares with Roosters half Sam Walker and why Queensland’s Origin future is bright. If the Sharks had 17 players with skilful fullback Will Kennedy’s attitude and nous they would have won the game. His development this year has been stellar.
DISLIKES: The Sharks were toothless and just plain dumb in the second half against the Warriors and with Kane Evans in the bin twice should have rammed home their advantage. Coach Josh Hannay took the blame for declining a kick at penalty goal at the death when the Sharks trailed by two but the young halves Connor Tracey and Braydon Trindall panicked when attacking opportunities presented themselves. Meanwhile, the brain explosions of Warriors forward Evans – who fell hook, line and sinker for master sledges from Will Chambers – only needed Benny Hill music to accompany them. It was good for a laugh, and fortunately for Evans his team prevailed otherwise he would have been walking back to the team hotel from the stadium.
– Joel Gould
DALLY M
3 – Addin Fonua-Blake
2 – Reece Walsh
1 – Will Kennedy
LIKES: James Tedesco has spent his career making defenders look silly. On Saturday, he found out what it’s like to grab nothing but air when Matt Burton sped past him to open the scoring. It was the start of something special by Burton who scored two tries, broke the line three times and ripped apart the Roosters’ right edge. His left foot step evoked memories of a young Brad Fittler in a Panthers jersey, but just like Freddy, his time in the golden west will be short-lived. The Prince of Penrith has a couple of months left, and he will play a big part in their premiership push before he packs his bags to become the Baron of Belmore.
DISLIKES: Referee Gerard Sutton was 100 per cent right to send Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to the sin for a professional foul in the first half. But Roosters coach Trent Robinson was equally correct to call out the inconsistency around the interpretation. Waerea-Hargreaves held on far too long to buy his side a couple of seconds to get the defensive line in order. There were no warnings, but it warranted 10 in the bin. However, that course of action is generally reserved for the final few minutes of matches or on the back of repeated infringements. The Panthers employed similar tactics later in the game but no action was taken. As Robinson said, all people want is consistency.
– Martin Gabor
DALLY M
3 – Matt Burton
2 – Viliame Kikau
1 – Joseph Manu
LIKES: The Storm strangled Manly out of this match in what was a finals-style game. It was professional and ruthless. Centre Justin Olam is a beast. His two tries, punishing defence and kamikaze runs were just terrifying. The ace up Melbourne’s sleeve in their back-to-back title quest is Harry Grant. He came off the bench and proved the difference with his energy and creativity. Manly’s tactics were spot on as they moved the ball around and troubled the Storm with the variety of their attack. Hats off to Tom Trbojevic. The Storm harassed him all night, and did a good job of it, but he still came up with two try assists, four line break assists and seven tackle breaks.
DISLIKES: Des Hasler summed it up when he said “26 sets is not going to cut it”. Manly lost because they disrespected possession. The Storm had 10 more sets and in a finals-style game, as this was, that was telling. Manly hooker Lachlan Croker needs to lift his involvement. He had one run, and when you are up against Harry Grant and Brandon Smith that is not good enough. Not good enough either was the right side defence of the Storm with Dean Ieremia and Reimis Smith missing nine tackles. Finals teams will have noted that weakness. If Tom Trbojevic and Reuben Garrick can team up again in finals and get more cracks at that duo it could be Melbourne’s fatal flaw.
– Joel Gould
DALLY M
3 – Justin Olam
2 – Tom Trbojevic
1 – Harry Grant
LIKES: The Tigers attacked like they’d met each other for the first time on Sunday, but one man who was immune to the clunkiness was Adam Doueihi. The emerging star has been their best player all season and showed again that he is the future. He took the line on and made several half-breaks, finishing with 97 metres when only three teammates cracked triple digits. He also kicked perfectly to set up Tommy Talau and was flawless off the kicking tee. It’s been a tough year for the Tigers, but Doueihi can hold his head high.
DISLIKES: Jack Hetherington has had so many dates with the judiciary that he’ll receive a free coffee with his next visit. People praised him for standing up to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves last year, but he’s gone nuclear ever since. On his day he’s a solid prop who can set the platform through the middle. But those days have been limited due to his awful rap sheet. He had the crazy eyes on Sunday, first giving away a penalty while his side had the ball for throwing Luciano Leilua to the ground. But of more concern was a late high shot on Alex Twal that saw him placed on report and sent to the sin bin. Given his record, any charge could see him suspended for a number of weeks. It’s not fair on his teammates.
- Martin Gabor
DALLY M
3 – Adam Doueihi
2 – Luciano Leilua
1 – Nick Meaney
LIKES: The David Fifita ploy off the bench has proven to be a master stroke by coach Justin Holbrook. The damaging backrower continues to be a danger every time he touches the ball. Even with less minutes, he managed to outplay his opposite backrower – none other than Jason Taumalolo – which is no easy feat. It’s no coincidence that this tactic has come at the same time as Gold Coast’s three-game winning streak. All eyes will be on how Holbrook decides to use Fifita against the Rabbitohs. It was also good to see Ash Taylor finish off a fine Titans try that involved two kicks from winger Corey Thompson.
DISLIKES: Cowboys coach Todd Payten attempted to change things up by putting barnstorming middle forward Taumalolo in the backrow. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t have the effect he would have hoped after the Tongan torpedo had a relatively quiet match by his high standards. Taumalalo made 106 running metres from 14 runs. It was relatively low when you compare it to his opposite backrow number, Fifita, who finished the match with 117 running metres, a try and eight tackle busts in less minutes. Payten admitted after the match that it was a “starting point” for Taumalolo. “Our ball possession (on Sunday) limits his impact in the game,” Payten said.
– Chris Honnery
DALLY M
3 D Fifita
2 T Sexton
1 T Fa’asuamaleaui
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