NRL Tackle: Paul Crawley reveals his likes and dislikes from NRL Round 2
David Fifita was benched with 15 minutes remaining against the Warriors - but that’s not the biggest concern for the Titans. Read on in Paul Crawley’s LIKES and DISLIKES from round 2.
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Round 2 of the 2022 NRL delivered several nailbiting results and the emergence of representative bolters.
But it was again refereeing inconsistencies that dominated the narrative.
PAUL CRAWLEY reveals his likes and dislikes from round 2.
NRL TACKLE DISLIKES
IS THERE DIVISION AT SOUTHS?
It seemed a curious decision for Jason Demetriou to bring up Anthony Milford following South Sydney’s loss to Melbourne.
And it certainly made me question if there a split in the camp over the call not to follow through with signing Milford as a back-up to Lachlan Ilias.
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Of course Milford had agreed to join Souths for one season before the club went cold on the idea after Milford was involved in an off-field incident that is still before the courts.
Yet when Demetriou was asked how he thought Ilias’ partnership with Cody Walker was tracking he made a point of reminding everyone why the club wanted Milford in the first place.
“I think people forget Anthony Milford was signed here for this year and that was to take a bit of pressure off Lachie to allow him to grow into that role and he has been thrown into it,” Demetriou explained.
I don’t think anyone forgets, but again it was Souths who went cold on the deal.
Or was it the board and not the coaching staff?
It makes you wonder if everyone was on the same page.
The fact is Souths still don’t have a genuine back-up if Ilias does needs a rest at some point in the near future.
And the next two weeks aren’t going to get any easier with the grudge match against the Sydney Roosters followed by the grand final rematch against Penrith.
There is already speculation Latrell Mitchell could even be switched into the halves at some point.
Ilias was always going to be a long term project after the club made the call not to give Adam Reynolds a new deal and Demetriou conceded the Rabbitohs will need time to adjust.
I just hope Ilias doesn’t end up suffering a similar fate to what has happened to Kyle Flanagan at the Bulldogs.
WESTS TIGERS’ ‘DUMBEST PLAY’
If Wests Tigers players want to know why they continue to get such a lack of respect across the entire NRL, Michael Maguire needs to get the whole team to sit down and watch a replay of co-captain Tyrone Peachey’s first half sin-binning.
Peachey showed absolutely no discipline when he went overboard pushing and shoving Jake Clifford in a tackle, before reaching through and slapping the ball out of Chris Randall’s hands at dummy half.
In Fox commentary Corey Parker let rip with a spray you rarely here from a former player.
“It is so frustrating for Tigers fans,” Parker fumed.
“Tyrone Peachey is their captain and he comes up with one of the dumbest plays to get his team 10 in the bin … this is a guy when you put as captain you want your teammates to follow … you want him to set an example. If this is the example that the captain of the Wests Tigers is setting they are in for an enormously long year.”
DRAGONS FARCE EXPOSES BATTLING CLUBS’ ANGER
No wonder battling NRL clubs don’t think they get a fair go.
A week after Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook took aim at the NRL for the Titans not getting an even crack when it comes to the 50/50 calls, it was well and truly exposed at Kogarah again on Friday night.
And St George Illawarra has every right to be filthy.
Privately, the Dragons have been told over the weekend that they were on the wrong side of several crucial calls during their 20-16 loss to the premiers.
And the first half sin binning of Jaydn Su’A wasn’t the only contentious call that went against them.
The Dragons were also told Zac Lomax should not have been sin binned when he took a player off the ball because it was not a genuine try scoring situation.
While if Ben Hunt would have stayed down after late contact he could have also milked a sin binning.
Throw in the fact the Panthers got three set restarts but the Dragons just one, when it was clear to all watching the game the Panthers were getting away with blue murder at the ruck.
But let’s go back to the Su’a sin binning because that is the call that was ultimately match-defining.
The hit on Panthers playmaker Sean O’Sullivan was not late. It was not even high.
And it should not have been a penalty, let alone a sin bin.
Yet because O’Sullivan stayed down Su’A was marched.
It was a disgraceful call.
Su’A had no way he could have pulled out of that tackle.
And that is not just me saying it but almost everyone who was watching the game, including Fox Sports’ experts Gorden Tallis and Benji Marshall, agreed.
Marshall even revealed how the producers at Fox broke down the timing from the moment O’Sullivan passed the ball to when Su’A hit him.
It was literally 1/6th of a second.
When Su’A was sin binned the scores were 6-all. When he returned the Panthers led 20-6.
But to rub salt into the Dragons’ wounds, O’Sullivan was allowed to return to the game.
After what had happened to Victor Radley and other players in round one it makes a mockery of the new concussion protocols.
The NRL had sent a memo to all clubs before the season kicked off stating that under the revised rules involving independent doctors a player would be classified as a category one (meaning he could not return) if he stayed down after contact and could not get up.
Which is exactly what happened with O’Sullivan.
WHY WASN’T SHARK SIN BINNED?
The NRL has landed in another controversy with Cronulla back rower Teig Wilton facing a two-match ban despite not being sin binned for his dangerous kick pressure on Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses.
It was another awful incident that was very similar to the one Wests Tigers prop James Tamou did on Roosters young gun Sam Walker during the trials that also cost Tamou a week.
If Wilton enters an early guilty plea for his grade two dangerous contact charge he can also escape with a one match ban.
But the real issue is why was he allowed to stay on the field on Saturday night?
But it was pure luck Moses didn’t end up with a serious injury.
It was a terrible decision.
Yet it’s all forgive and forget when Wilton later goes over for the match-winner and the Sharks are celebrating.
We said it during round one that a player is going to get seriously injured if the NRL doesn’t take a tougher stand on some of these dangerous tackling techniques that are creeping back into the game.
Meanwhile, Parramatta’s Ray Stone will escape with a $1000 fine for his cannonball on Nicho Hynes. North Queensland’s Tom Gilbert is facing a $1500 fine for a crusher tackle on Canberra’s Semi Valemei.
TITANS STARVE MOST EXPENSIVE STAR
Justin Holbrook said after the win that the reason David Fifita was benched with 15 minutes to go on Saturday when the Titans-Warriors match was still in the balance was because the $1 million man was suffering cramps.
And that is completely understandable given it was a hot day and you just had to see Matt Lodge throwing up on the sideline how tough the conditions were for the players.
But my concern is that even before Fifita was taken off he was completely shut-out by the Titans just not giving him a chance to get involved.
I wonder if it would be worth putting a bonus clause in Jayden Campbell’s contract, say an extra $2,000, for every time he gives Fifita early ball.
What’s the use of paying him $1 million-a-season if you don’t use him?
And spare me the cramps explanation because it was the same last year.
STAR WARRIOR’S DISAPPEARING ACT
Speaking of strike weapons going MIA, Reece Walsh did his own disappearing act in the final minutes when the Warriors had one last shot to snatch victory.
If Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was out there you’d reckon he would have tried to touch the ball every play in that final set to get his side home.
But Walsh just stood behind the play barking the occasional orders but didn’t inject himself once.
Obviously he was completely out of gas and it was his first game back from suspension so he will improve.
RAIDERS THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY
Canberra’s performance in Townsville really showed some worrying signs with their discipline atrocious.
No one is ignoring the Raiders were missing both first choice wingers in Nick Cotric and Jordan Rapana, as well as their first and second choice halfbacks in Jamal Fogarty and Brad Schneider, and first choice hooker Josh Hodgson.
But that’s making excuses.
The fact is their discipline, ball handling and execution was shocking and they thoroughly deserved what they got from the team most have labelled favourites for this year’s wooden spoon.
Hudson Young’s brain-dead sin binning was the perfect example of how they shot themselves in the foot all game.
MANLY NEEDS TURBO PLAN B
They were good enough last year to blow away the majority of teams but just couldn’t beat a top four team.
And Sea Eagles fans are entitled to be wondering if they have come up with a plan B over summer given how Penrith and now the Roosters have closed down Turbo.
In fairness to Tom Trbojevic they are just not getting any go forward and they were also completely out-enthused by the Roosters across the park.
But there is just no hiding from the fact it has been a worrying start.
In the Sea Eagles’ favour is that they get a chance to play themselves back into some confidence when they take on the Bulldogs this Sunday.
STRIP RULE ‘SO UNFAIR’
The stripping rule is one of the worst in the game. Bulldogs centre Braidon Burns has three players on him, one focusses on the ball and the others drop off. Next second Herbie Farnworth is sprinting away for a try that locks the scores. It changes the game. Great play by Farnworth, still so unfair.
NRL TACKLE LIKES
BRONCOS, DOGS LAUGHING STOCK NO MORE
In the battle between the 2020 and 2021 NRL wooden spooners, that will go down as a classic.
The Bulldogs were tremendous. The Broncos equally as spirited and committed.
Matt Burton was wonderful. His kicking game extraordinary. That pass to Josh Addo-Carr at the death almost stole the game. What it shows is that Burton can be a match winner and his time is now.
And Adam Reynolds, well, you don’t reckon Souths would want him back tomorrow?
I won’t say Tevita Pangai was better than Payne Haas, but he was a hell of a lot better than he has been. Yes, he will be in strife for his early kick pressure on Reynolds but in the end he played the game the Bulldogs need from him.
And what you can say about both teams is that a season that started out just two rounds back with many tipping their coaches Kevvie Walters and Trent Barrett would be up in the fight to be first coach sacked are no longer in danger.
They aren’t fighting for the wooden spoon anymore, they’ve already shown enough to suggest the top eight is not beyond them.
HARRY LEADS ROOS REP RACE
If Mal Meninga was naming his Australian team tomorrow Harry Grant would win the race for the No 9 jumper by the length of the Randwick straight.
The Melbourne Storm hooker was fantastic in Thursday night’s win over South Sydney while Damien Cook was benched for the final minutes with after struggling with a calf injury.
In fairness to Cook he is so well marked these days and there is no question teams use every trick in the book to shut him down, including constantly not standing square at marker.
But in saying that Grant is also heavily targeted but it doesn’t stop him causing finding a way to just go for it.
Grant finished with 147m from 10 runs including two try assists and throw in 40 tackles. Cook had 4 runs for 27m including one try assist and 45 tackles.
BONE-JARRING HITS
One of the real highlights over the opening two rounds has been some of the good old fashioned rib rattlers that have been on show.
You just come to expect it from a bloke like Jake Trbojevic. But what about the Dragons-Panthers showdown at Kogarah on Friday night.
That tackle from Dragons’ prop Francis Molo on James Fisher-Harris was just a ripper, or the one from Jack Bird on Liam Martin, or the return fire from Martin on Bird. Blake Laurie’s on Brian To’o was another. It sure beats watching wrestling which we put up with for over a decade.
KIKAU’S MILESTONE CELEBRATION
It was a wonderful tribute watching the emotional video Penrith put together to celebrate Viliame Kikau’s 100th NRL game with his family. And the big Fijian made it more memorable with a great effort play and skill to pick the ball on the charge for the opening try before finishing with a first half double.
BANTAM CHOOK UP FOR THE FIGHT
No one knows halves play like Andrew Johns and I loved the way he summed up Sam Walker’s effort on Friday night.
The Roosters halves copped it for their first up effort but seeing the Walker-Luke Keary combination at work against Manly probably put to bed any fears that this hasn’t got the makings of a tremendous partnership.
Keary is such a phenomenal footballer and with him running the show it frees up young Walker to inject himself when he sees the chance.
Just the way he plays with such joy and adventure, as Johns told Channel Nine: “You can see Sam Walker has been educated by his dad (Ben) and his uncles.
“He hasn’t come through a junior system where he is super structured, can only play this area from this area of the field and can only play a block play …
“He sees something he backs himself. He kicks early, he throws long balls. It is refreshing to see a young halfback come through with all the tools and using all the tools.”
Another young five-eighth who really showed what an excitement machine he is going to be this season was AJ Brimson in his first game in a long time at five-eighth.
It was breathtaking watching him set up that first try in the opening minutes with his explosive speed, and he backed it up with the beautiful pass for Phillip Sami’s try that just showed his touch of class.
HYNES HYSTERIA WORTHY OF A CELEBRATION
Nicho Hynes doesn’t get everything right and I’m not sure he is a natural halfback. But what he does is even when he makes a mistakes he just dusts himself off and he goes again, and again and again.
And eventually it went a long way to getting Cronulla home in a cliffhanger against Parra.
Which is what made those celebrations so special when he calmly slotted the winning conversation and the whole joint just exploded.
The way his new teammates swamped him with this obvious show of affection defied the fact this bloke only joined the club over the off-season.
MOSES PARTS HIS RIVALS
Anyone who remembers the 1980s and watching blokes like Phil Blake, Steve Mortimer and Steve “Slippery” Morris in action would have loved Mitchel Moses’ chip-and-chase effort in the countdown to halftime.
With a corked thigh and absolutely nothing doing, Moses just took it upon himself with Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown playing superb supporting roles.
It didn’t get Parra home in the end but it’s the kind of off-the-cuff magic you just wish you could see more of in modern footy.
JT NEEDS A REPEAT AGAINST BRONCOS
So Jason Taumalolo has shown everyone that’s he’s still got it in him. Now North Queensland’s $10 million man needs to go out and do what he did against the Canberra Raiders again when he runs out against the Brisbane Broncos in next Sunday’s Queensland blockbuster at Suncorp.
This was easily Taumalolo’s best game under Todd Payten’s coaching, and the influence it had on all of his teammates highlighted exactly why it is so crucial that the Cowboys keep the big Tongan and don’t let him leave.
A lot of people who tipped the Cowboys for the wooden spoon would be having second thoughts after watching the development of some of these super exciting talents like Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Murray Taulagi, Tom Dearden, Jeremiah Nanai, Griffin Neame, Heilum Luki explode in the big league.
It is going to be so exciting watching them against their great rivals who have their own crop of outstanding young guns coming through.
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