NRL Round 5 preview: Who is rugby league’s biggest loser?
AFTER Mason Lino won his first NRL match after nine earlier attempts last week, we ask the question of who is rugby league’s biggest loser? Plus full previews of every match for Round 5.
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BIG shout out to Mason Lino, patron saint of the Auckland Vulcans, for earning his first NRL victory last week in New Zealand’s upset victory over the Roosters.
Lino, who made his NRL debut in 2015, had played nine first grades before last week and lost the lot of them. Most of them were heavy losses as well, with only one of his previous defeats coming by less than 12 points.
The Samoan international has some way to go to catch Scott Prince, who lost more games than anyone else in NRL history. Prince played in 300 NRL matches, won 132, drew two and lost 166 games from 1998 to 2013.
The former Cowboy, Bronco, Tiger and Titan is seven losses ahead of former teammate Mark Minichiello.
Paul Gallen has a chance of catching Prince — he’s lost 157 matches so far in his long career. If he plays on next season he’s a great chance of breaking the record.
John Morris and Luke Douglas round out the top five with 158 losses each.
Adrian Vowles, a talented outside back with the Gold Coast and North Queensland from 1993 to 1996, has the dubious distinction of worst winning percentage for any player who appeared in at least 50 games.
Vowles, who made one State of Origin appearance for Queensland, won 12 and drew one of his 79 first grade games for a 15.82% success rate.
Western Suburbs cult hero Trevor Cogger played far more first grade footy than Vowles but enjoyed precious little success — he won only 34 of his 159 matches for the Magpies from 1981 to 1991.
Of current players, the struggles of the Knights over the last few years has resulted in many career win percentages plummet, but nobody’s got it worse than Danny Levi.
The Kiwi rake scored a win, a draw and 23 losses from his first 26 first grade games and still has just six career victories from 49 matches.
SHARKS vs. ROOSTERS
Cronulla’s attack has been anaemic to say the least but when they defend like they have in the last two weeks that doesn’t seem to matter.
Two tries in two weeks is usually a recipe for disaster, but the Sharks have managed to grind their way to back to back wins.
The return of Matt Moylan will change up the attacking structures — Trent Hodkinson hasn’t been spectacular but he’s been steady as a rock over the last two weeks.
For the Sharks to justify jettisoning James Maloney for Moylan, the former Panther needs to turn it on sooner rather than later.
Reports of the Roosters hitting top gear may have been exaggerated, as they reverted back to a lot of old habits against the Warriors. There is still a lack of refinement about the Tricolours, the lapses of concentration that dogged them last season can still flare up at inopportune times.
It was easy to see the frustration of Cooper Cronk as the Roosters crumbled around him last week and despite the best efforts of the former Melbourne man and fellow import James Tedesco, it wasn’t enough.
Cutting the errors and getting things going up the middle is the key for the Roosters, as it will be for the rest of the season. But that’s easier said than done, especially against a Sharks team who has played the Roosters very well in recent seasons.
DRAGONS vs. RABBITOHS
The Dragons could have won by 50 last week such was their dominance over the Knights. Little has changed for them since the season opener against Brisbane — the Dragons possess a very deep forward pack and play with focused and controlled aggression all through the 80 minutes.
Such a platform would make it easy for any backline but the Red V boast the hottest halves combination in the NRL. Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt are getting better by the weeks and compliment each other perfectly.
Matt Dufty is also improving and is becoming better and better at linking with the rest of the spine. Throw in the form of Euan Aitken and Tim Lafai and the Dragons are one of the most well-rounded teams in the NRL.
South Sydney played with a great deal of spirit last week and the return of Adam Reynolds will give them a greater fluency. However, losing Sam Burgess, who has been truly immense over the last two weeks, makes a difficult proposition almost impossible.
Burgess remains the Bunnies most important player, especially for a match up with a pack this rugged, and his loss is a hammer blow.
TIGERS vs. STORM
It’s strange to be previewing a match that was only played a few weeks ago, but such are the vagaries of the NRL draw.
When the two teams met in Round 2, Elijah Taylor was the best player on the field and his loss shapes as a major obstacle for the Tigers.
Taylor, who is sidelined by a hamstring injury, played a major role in locking down the middle of the field and leading the line speed in the epic 10-8 win three weeks ago. Matt Eisenhuth is a good replacement and a fine player in his own right, but he’s not a suffocating defensive presence like Taylor.
Melbourne will be smarting after last week’s gutter war with the Sharks and will be smarting for vengeance and a return to form. Look for Billy Slater and Cameron Smith to take a more central role in the attack, especially with Will Chambers on the sidelines.
The go-to man for the Tigers will continue to be Esan Marsters, who has been their most damaging attacking player all season. With excellent footwork and gift for ball-playing and offloading, the young centre can break any game wide open.
WARRIORS vs. COWBOYS
The Warriors are favourites to win a game against an almost full strength Cowboys in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen, what a time to be alive.
New Zealand’s win, on the road, against the Roosters, without Shaun Johnson was as fine a performance as any in the club’s history and proof they just might be the real deal this season.
Stephen Kearney has completely switched gears from last season — where the Warriors were bogged down in their obsession with completions last year, this year they’re embracing what makes them dangerous. Offloads and ball movement are the order of the day, and the influence of Blake Green and Tohu Harris is plain to see.
Green has deservedly attracted all sorts of plaudits, but Harris has been just as influential. The Kiwi international had to beat The Curse Of Joining The Warriors, which has claimed many a star player, and The Curse Of Leaving Melbourne, which has laid low some of the biggest names in rugby league.
North Queensland have looked off the pace in each of their three losses, but there is too much talent on show for the tide not to turn at some stage. Jason Taumalolo could demand a greater share of the ball now Jordan McLean will miss some time and the more Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan play, the more they’ll work their way back to full fitness.
KNIGHTS vs. BRONCOS
After three straight weeks on the road, the Knights return to Newcastle with the shine well and truly coming off their campaign.
Two wins from four matches is the best start the Knights have enjoyed since 2015, but disappointing showings against the Roosters and Dragons have caused expectations in the Hunter to be turned down ever so slightly.
Brisbane will be hell bent on making amends for last week’s shock loss to the Titans, but the Knights will fancy their chances. The Broncos forwards have been inconsistent across the opening month of the competition and if Newcastle aim up through the likes of the impressive Herman Ese’ese and the Saifiti twins they could find some joy.
The Knights have leaked points out wide all season and while Brisbane’s attack has sputtered mightily, they have the talent to get the job done. Matching up James Roberts on Shaun Kenny-Dowall and getting Jack Bird early ball against Sione Mata’utia should be priorities.
TITANS vs. MANLY
Garth Brennan made the first big call of his coaching career in benching Bryce Cartwright and running with a middle of Ryan James, Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace and Gold Coast looked so much better for it.
All three of the above players are capable of playing big minutes and gave the Titans a drive and tougher edge they’d sorely lacked in the first three rounds of the competition. Kevin Proctor and Will Matthews round out what is a pretty damn good forward pack and with Ash Taylor working off that kind of platform plenty of things are possible.
The form of Kane Elgey, who has never quite hit the heights of his rookie season, would have been of particular note for Brennan. On paper, the fleet-footed Elgey is the perfect halves partner for Taylor but things haven’t quite clicked. Last week was Elgey’s best game since his knee injury and Brennan will be keen on more of the same.
So far, Manly have been lights out at home and awful on the road. Heading to Gladstone without Tom Trbojevic seems to indicate they’ll be closer to the latter than the former, but their win over Canberra last week was very impressive despite the Raiders own struggles.
The expected inclusion of Dylan Walker will be key — Walker has the ability to tear the opposition apart and his opposite number, Dale Copley, has been caught out defensively more than once this season.
EELS vs. PANTHERS
Anthony Griffin looks to have finally landed on a forward rotation which suits his Panthers and the results were spectacular, with Penrith securing their best win of the season against North Queensland last week.
James Tamou is playing the best football of his Panthers career since his switch to the bench, as did Moses Leota in his first game of the season. With sustained go-forward up the middle, the Panthers look like a different beast and Griffin has eased the workload on Trent Merrin and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who remain his two most important forwards.
In terms of strike out wide, the inclusion of Viliame Kikau has given Penrith a new dimension. Corey Harawira-Naera is a fine hole-runner in his own right, but Kikau is an athlete of rare ability and could shortly become one of the most destructive backrowers in the competition.
Parramatta had a strong final quarter against the Tigers, but it must be asked why it took them 60 minutes to get going in the first place. Corey Norman began taking on the line, a move that made all the difference, and early ball to the Jennings brothers at last gave the blue and golds some attacking teeth.
Brad Arthur made mention of the lapses in discipline which dogged the Eels all day, and that’s something they’ll need to sort out quickly before this one. Giving Penrith a host of opportunities is to invite disaster.