Robbie Farah move makes sense for Wests Tigers — and NRL must explain another howler
WHY do Wests Tigers want Robbie Farah back, other than the emotional reasons? Sitting in 10th place, and with the arrival of Moses Mbye, a hungry world-class hooker could save their finals chances.
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AFTER watching Wests Tigers get absolutely lapped by Canberra last weekend, I totally get why Ivan Cleary has agreed to take Robbie Farah back.
But I’m struggling to see the benefit for Anthony Seibold, even if it frees up some immediate salary cap for South Sydney.
With the Tigers now in 10th position and four competition points adrift of the top eight, Farah and the arrival of Moses Mbye has the potential to take the Tigers’ attack to another level.
And you only had to look at the difference in the Raiders on the back of Josh Hodgson’s return to see the impact a world-class hooker can make.
The Tigers have struggled to fill the spot all season using Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet and Jacob Liddle.
Maybe it’s an omen, but as Fox Sports Stats’ Aaron Wallace pointed out after the Farah announcement, it will be 665 days from when Farah last sat on the scoreboard at Leichhardt Oval to his likely run-out at the same venue against Gold Coast on Sunday week.
Now if it was 666 days, that might have posed a problem for suspicious types.
Ivan Cleary has run the numbers
— Aaron Wallace (@wallyscr) June 20, 2018
The tigers have never made the finals without Benji and Robbie pic.twitter.com/babvIeBo9V
Incredibly, Farah has played 247 games for the Tigers and will now get the chance to celebrate his 250th game against South Sydney in round 19.
But Rabbitohs fans will be hoping that releasing the 34-year-old doesn’t come back to bite the Bunnies in the countdown to the playoffs.
Welcome home, @robbiefarah! ðŸ #OnTheBus pic.twitter.com/Q86HWamOBo
— Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) June 21, 2018
There’s no question a premiership window has again opened up for the Bunnies this year, who sit in second spot on the NRL ladder.
As good as Damien Cook has been, it’s an absolute luxury having a former international as back-up during Origin and in case of injury.
Seibold has made no secret of the fact Farah was reluctantly released, but the decision was made in Farah’s best interests.
Obviously Seibold also has a rap on Billy Brittain as being the dummy half who can fill the void if Cook does happen to go down.
Brittain is a 24-year-old yet to make his NRL debut, but he played under-20s for Seibold back in their days together at the Melbourne Storm.
He also played in the Brisbane Broncos system and was captain of the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup in 2016 when just 21.
DEAD-SET HOWLER
THE NRL dodged another bullet this week with State of Origin taking the spotlight away from a deadset howler that demands an investigation.
Although it didn’t matter to the end result, how in the world the video officials at Campbelltown last Sunday denied a try to Canberra’s Shannon Boyd just defies belief.
Given referee Grant Atkins sent it up as a “try” — and did not ask for grounding to be reviewed (but for a possible obstruction) — there is just no question the try should have been awarded.
Yet the only possible explanation could be that the video officials thought it had been sent up as a “no try” and determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to overturn the decision.
But if they can get this so horribly wrong, what’s to stop them stuffing up another one that does end up costing a team two competition points down the track, or potentially in one of big end-of-season games?
In my view it’s just as bad as the sin-bin timing fiasco down in Melbourne back in round 11.
COMPO DEAL
TODD Greenberg said last month that he wanted to see evidence of a repayment plan from Matthew Lodge to the victims of his New York rampage.
Well, Lodge delivered on Wednesday. Now it’s time for everyone to let this bloke get on with his life.
There is no way in the world anyone could or would condone what Lodge did to that family in 2015.
But he has not put a foot wrong since and it’s been three years.
Lodge said: “I think about what happened every day and it drives me to be a better person, father and member of society.”
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