NRL 2023: Dubious call denies Titans against Parramatta, Reagan Campbell-Gillard in hot water over ‘unprovoked dog shot’
Just a week after being penalised in golden point, the Titans have found themselves on the other side of a dubious call which decided their game against Parramatta. See all the Round 20 likes and dislikes.
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Paul Crawley reveals his likes and dislikes from blockbuster round of NRL action in the round 20 Tackle.
ROUND 20 DISLIKES
DID DOUBLE STANDARDS ROB TITANS?
How’s this for double standards.
Adding insult to injury, the Titans were on the wrong side of a dubious call that decided the match.
It comes a week after referee Grant Atkins was praised for calling the Titans’ Erin Clark offside as the Dolphins Jamayne Isaako attempted a field goal in golden point.
The Dolphins slotted the subsequent penalty goal from in front of the posts to sink the Titans.
It appeared several Eels players were clearly offside as Tanah Boyd attempted his first field goal attempt to level the scores with only minutes left on the clock.
But this time referee Chris Butler left his whistle in the pocket as the Eels escaped with a crucial one point victory. A penalty goal would have been huge to the Titans’ hopes of staying in finals contention
The Titans would have every reason to feel robbed.
HOW WAS STAR EEL NOT SENT OFF?
You talk about an unprovoked dog shot.
Parramatta enforcer Reagan Campbell-Gillard was lucky not to be sent off for a shocking first half incident involving Gold Coast’s Chris Randall.
The NSW Origin prop could be in big strife after he was sin binned for leading with his knee directly into Randall’s back.
Andrew Voss labelled it on Fox League commentary “ill-discipline personified”.
“He didn’t slip, he didn’t fall, it’s a reckless act,” Voss said.
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It came just minutes after Eels winger Maika Sivo was also sin binned for a high shot on Titans centre Jojo Fifita.
Even though Parramatta escaped with a courageous comeback 25-24 victory on the back of a Mitchell Moses field goal to remain in the top eight, it will be interesting to see how the NRL’s match review committee reacts on Monday, with the Campbell-Gillard incident in particular a really ugly look.
It brought back memories of the shocking incident involving the Roosters Drew Hutchison in 2021 when he suffered a punctured lung that led to a public apology from Parramatta’s Dylan Brown.
How Randall didn’t suffer a serious injury was just pure luck.
It was the clearest send off we’ve seen in years.
How he escaped with a sin bin defies belief.
SHARKS’ SHOCKING RECORD EXPOSED AGAIN
The Cronulla Sharks have emerged the NRL’s ultimate top eight imposters.
And the brutal 44-12 belting by the Warriors was the sort of crushing defeat that has the potential to leave serious mental scars heading into the backend of the season.
Take nothing away from Andrew Webster’s giant killing Warriors because they were absolutely brilliant in an eight tries to two demolition that showed exactly why they are worthy top four contenders.
But the Sharks were so awful there are now some legitimate questions being asked if the team that went into the round in third spot will even stay in the eight, given their horrendous record against finals bound teams.
Fox Sports Stats show it was the Sharks’ sixth defeat in seven games against current top eight competition this season.
And it’s a shocking record that stretches back the last five years.
In 2022 the Sharks were four from 11 against finals opposition. In 2021 it was two from 11. In 2020 it was zero from nine. And in 2019 just three from 12.
It’s a genuine issue that must really be weighing on Craig Fitzgibbon in the countdown to the finals given four of the Sharks’ remaining seven games are against finals bound teams.
Their run home kicks off with the Sea Eagles on Sunday followed by the Panthers, Rabbitohs, Titans, Cowboys, Knights and Raiders.
If they don’t turn it around they could be the team that drops out with 14 teams still a mathematical chance of making the eight.
SMITH DIVIDES NRL
Brandon Smith continues to polarise Sydney Roosters fans as debate rages over whether he is a hooker or a lock.
But there were some fans who also weren’t too impressed with Smith’s interaction with his former Melbourne Storm teammates after the Sydney Roosters’ potentially season-ending 30-16 loss at the SCG.
Smith was caught on Fox League cameras sharing a laugh with a few of the Storm boys immediately after the game.
It also coincided with Smith’s return from injury in a game where the Chooks were fighting for their finals survival.
Joey Manu was also seen having a chat and a smile with New Zealand teammate Jahrome Hughes, although you could clearly see the disappointment etched in Manu’s face.
Smith, though, walks to a different beat and he looked like he was having a great old chat as he swapped stories with Harry Grant, Cameron Munster and others.
I personally think it was not the big deal some thought it was because this is exactly the free-going personality Smith represented before he signed with the Roosters.
And his interaction here certainly wasn’t over the top, or what you’d call disrespectful.
But I know there are also plenty of old school fans out there that hate it when any players are seen joking with rivals on the field after any loss, let alone in a game as important as this was to the Roosters.
And that’s what’s upset some fans here, perhaps understandably.
While it’s not the crime of the century, sometimes players need to read the room and understand how emotionally invested the fans are as well.
For them, this was their entire season that just crashed and burned.
And that leads to the bigger issue here because Smith is just one of many big name players who haven’t performed to their price tag this season.
For that reason there is going to be some incredibly tough conversations coming up for Trent Robinson if the Roosters ultimately miss out on the playoffs.
Smith is on a three-year deal worth $800,000 and there are huge questions if he will ever make it as a week-in-week-out dummy half, or would the Roosters be better off playing him at lock? But where would that also leave Victor Radley long-term, even though Radley is currently playing on the edge?
There is also the ongoing debate over whether Manu or James Tedesco should be the long-term fullback, however unlikely it is the Roosters will ever push Tedesco aside.
Luke Keary is another under the pump with a year to run on his deal.
But while Keary continues to give it all he’s got, can the Roosters expect his halves partnership with Sam Walker to work when Walker returns from injury given how they struggled earlier in the season?
One thing’s for sure, Smith sharing a laugh with his former teammates is not the biggest issue the Roosters are facing at the moment.
TIGERS ON BRINK OF WAR
The infighting at Wests Tigers just gets more embarrassing by the week, with the ongoing rift between Benji Marshall and new head of recruitment Scott Fulton officially out of control.
And don’t let anyone try and con you that this can be fixed by bringing Marshall and Fulton together for crisis talks this week.
All the propaganda in the world won’t fill the gaps in this toxic relationship.
The Marshall/Fulton standoff has bubbled to the surface as the Tigers prepare to face the Dragons on Thursday night in a potential wooden spoon playoff.
The latest issue relates to the potential recruitment of Aidan Sezer, with Marshall wanting Sezer and Fulton wanting to sign Jack Cogger.
Fair dinkum. What a mess.
How can a club move forward if the coach-in-waiting and the recruitment boss can’t even agree on a halfback?
I’ve said it before, it is not Fulton’s fault that he was put in this predicament after Tim Sheens and Marshall were not consulted prior to Fulton’s appointment.
But surely chairman Lee Hagipantelis and chief executive Justin Pascoe can’t expect this now to be resolved with a bit of window dressing and positive PR.
And while Marshall has come out previously and said he has no intention of walking away, Hagipantelis and Pascoe will want to be very careful here because the one thing the club can’t afford is for Marshall to get so frustrated that he feels his position is untenable so they can keep Fulton who was their appointment.
Make no mistake, this has the potential to go nuclear sooner rather than later.
Because anyone you talk to says it is impossible to see the Marshall/Fulton partnership ever working.
BULLDOGS’ $750,000 LIABILITY
You can only feel sorry for Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo after watching another brain explosion from his $750,000 prop Tevita Pangai Jnr.
It’s just mind boggling to think any NRL forward would be so naïve to think it is OK to push a pass on the first tackle after his team scored a try while he was running the ball back from the kick off.
But when it comes from one of the club’s highest paid players, it is just inexcusable.
Ciraldo labelling it “amateurish” after the 44-24 loss to the under-strength Broncos was the understatement of the season.
It’s like Pangai is the big kid in under-8s whose old man slips him $5 every time he offloads in a game.
But this is NRL level, and Pangai is now 27.
He’s not a kid anymore. Surely it’s time he woke up to himself.
The trouble for the Bulldogs is Pangai still has another season to run on his existing contract.
What other club would pay that money for a bloke who just can’t play with any consistent discipline?
RECKLESS KNIGHT NEEDS TO GROW UP
Another player in desperate need of a discipline overhaul is Newcastle’s Jack Hetherington.
Seriously, that face slap on Will Smith early in the second half could really have cost the Knights if they had been playing any other opposition in the comp than the Tigers.
Thankfully on this occasion it didn’t come back to bite his team because they never looked in any genuine danger of losing this game.
But it was the seventh time in his career that Hetherington has either been sin binned or sent off. It’s time to grow up.
ROUND 20 LIKES
UNWANTED BLUE DESERVING OF DALLY M FAVOURITISM
If you were having an early throw at the stumps for this year’s Dally M Medal, it would be hard to go past Dylan Edwards.
While Edwards couldn’t get a look in for NSW during the State of Origin series given James Tedesco’s mortgage on the Blues No 1 jumper, the ever reliable Panthers fullback again showed what a tremendous asset he is for the back-to-back premiers in the 24-14 comeback win over the Dolphins.
Without their Origin players, the Panthers also proved why they remain the team to beat this year regardless of who is on the paddock, with rookie winger Thomas Jenkins this time securing the comeback victory with two late tries while filling in on Brian To’o’s right wing.
DEARDEN TAKES SCHUSTER TO SCHOOL
There is not a more underrated or undervalued player in the NRL than livewire Cowboys five-eighth Tom Dearden.
Especially when you line up Josh Schuster’s $800,000-a-season salary compared to Dearden, who didn’t even rate in this year’s NRL Rich 100 list.
But you only had to look at the respective input of the 22-year-olds in the Cowboys’ 19-8 win to recognise the biggest difference between not just the two players but the two teams.
Schuster’s stat sheet was completely bare until he set up a try early in the second half, before finishing with three runs for six metres.
Meanwhile, Dearden finished with nine runs for 69m metres that also included a try assist.
And while flying Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater understandably stole the headlines after another spectacular performance, Dearden’s desire to compete on every single play deserves almost equal recognition.
If the Sea Eagles are to maintain any hope of staying in finals contention they need to beat the Sharks next round.
To do that they need Schuster to take the game by the scruff of the next. Not stand back and wait for it to come to him.
BRONCOS DESERVE HUGE CREDIT
There was not a more impressive performance over the round than that of the understrength Broncos.
There was a lot of talk after the game about who the Bulldogs were missing, and the adversity they had to deal with after losing Toby Sexton.
But the Broncos were missing Reece Wash, Corey Oates, Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas, Jordan Riki and Tom Flegler.
Yet even without six of their best they absolutely cantered to victory with Adam Reynolds putting on a masterclass ahead of the huge showdown against his former club the Rabbitohs this week.
What a game this promises to be with Latrell Mitchell expected back from injury.
ORIGIN OMISSION COULD SAVE KNIGHTS
Billy Slater’s decision to leave Kalyn Ponga out of his Queensland Origin team will be a massive blessing for the Knights on the run to the finals.
But you’d imagine watching Ponga cut the Tigers to pieces on Friday would have had NSW coach Brad Fittler breathing a sigh of relief.
When Ponga is at his best he is in the top five players in the game.
And even though I said last week I thought it was too late for the Knights to make the playoffs, if Ponga can continue on the run of form he is in who knows. At worst it will certainly make it very interesting.
They are still three competition points outside the top eight on 21 points with seven games to play, kicking off with the Storm at home on Saturday.
The expectation is a team will need 34 points to make the cut.
That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for the Knights.
STORM ORIGIN STARS SHINE
You have to take your hat off to the Melbourne Storm’s big guns Harry Grant, Cameron Munster and young Xavier Coates for backing up after Origin.
While the Roosters rested James Tedesco, Grant and Munster went out and turned on a clinic, while Coates scored a hat-trick including a spectacular leaping try off a well-measured kick from Melbourne’s star five-eighth.
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