Roosters, Storm and Rabbitohs have the forwards to overcome Origin battles
The biggest takeaway from Magic Round was the gulf between the Roosters, Storm and Rabbitohs and the rest. And the big three have the forwards to cope with State of Origin’s collateral damage, writes ANTHONY GRIFFIN.
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It is becoming more evident that only three teams can win the competition this year.
One of the big reasons for this is the quality and performance of their forwards.
The Roosters, Rabbitohs and Storm forwards are dominating and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon, especially during the Origin period.
Magic Round only reinforced the gulf between the leaders and the rest of the competition. Having all the teams playing at one venue reinforced another theory of mine — the 30-minute on-field warm-ups before games aren’t required, especially for referees.
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Several teams had to warm up in the dressing sheds, including the Storm and Rabbitohs, just like they do before Origin games and grand finals. They didn’t miss a beat.
But back to the Big Three.
The Roosters have been able to put a space between themselves and their opposition very quickly.
Like in a lot of their games this season, they led the Raiders by a big margin at halftime last week.
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Siosiua Taukeiaho was unstoppable. He ran for 263m and has formed a damaging front-row partnership with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Boyd Cordner and Angus Crichton are two of the best edge backrowers in the game. Although they have a gruelling Origin period ahead of them, Roosters coach Trent Robinson will be able to nurse them through the back end of the year to ready them for the playoffs.
The Roosters also have good depth after unearthing the likes of Sitili Tupouniua this season.
The Rabbitohs forwards were outstanding last week against a quality Cowboys pack.
All the starting forwards, except hooker Damien Cook, ran for more than 100m. Tom and Sam Burgess both topped 150m.
The scary thing for the rest of the competition is that other than Cook, the Souths pack may not be affected by Origin.
They are also getting great bench contributions from George Burgess, Liam Knight and Cowboys recruit Ethan Lowe.
They are building nicely and providing an ideal launching pad for Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker to weave their magic.
Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona responded to a hurry-up from coach Craig Bellamy with one of the best performances of his career as the Storm destroyed the Eels up the middle last week.
Cameron Smith then had enough time and space to put on a clinic with Cameron Munster and co.
They can be a little underrated at times, but the Melbourne forwards are quality, hardworking players who know what’s required to win big games.
It looks like Felise Kaufusi will be the only Storm forward required for Origin duty, so that will ensure there aren’t many disruptions as they build into the back end of the year.
A lot can change during an NRL season.
These three clubs are almost certain to provide playmakers and outside backs to Origin teams.
They will have to navigate their way through this period and hope for no major injuries.
However, on form they are almost certain to be still sitting at the top end of the ladder two months down the track.
Just like last weekend’s Magic Round, I think these forward packs will continue to dominate their opposition.
When it comes to finals and grand finals, they all know what’s required, including during the warm-up.
And they still have more gears in them when needed.
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