NRL Tackle Round 13: Forward pass howler in Raiders vs Roosters, Nathan Brown’s coaching future in doubt
Manly star Jake Trbojevic would have been hurt after his Origin axing, but he handled it like a champ, inspiring his team to a brilliant win. See all of Round 13’s likes and dislikes.
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If the NRL wants to persist with the bunker then surely it is time to allow the bunker to rule on blatant forward passes.
The call to allow a try to Paul Momirovski off a clear forward pass from Angus Crichton in the Roosters’ loss to the Raiders was a shocking decision.
Thank God it didn’t decide the game.
But that doesn’t make what happened right.
There is absolutely no excusing the fact that the touch judge was right in line with the pass as it happened and didn’t make the call.
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Equally embarrassing was that referee Adam Gee was also in great position but ignored it.
Instead they allowed the try to be scored, knowing under the current guidelines the bunker could not go back and rule on the pass.
Yet everyone watching at home on TV and on the big screens at the ground could clearly see it was a howler.
It’s just not good enough.
CHOOKS HIT BACK 🔥 But was it forward?
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STUNNING WARRIORS’ ADMISSION FLOORS LEAGUE GREAT
Has Nathan Brown just signed his own coaching death warrant with a bizarre post-match confession that stumped Kiwi legend Benji Marshall?
It came when the under fire Warriors coach conceded after watching his team slump to its fifth straight defeat: “We by no means haven’t entered every game this year where we have gone out there thinking we are going to win every contest, but we’d certainly like to compete in every contest”.
On Fox League Marshall, who is usually very reserved with his judgment and criticism of coaches and players, was clearly stunned.
“I was quite puzzled,” was how Benji put it.
“I know when I played I went into every game at least thinking I could win the game, or trying to win the game, not just trying to compete.
“So if that sort of thing is filtering through the side, that is not a good thing. He is definitely under pressure.”
It is the type of comment that you would just never expect to hear from a coach of any professional sporting organisation.
But it obviously gives an insight into where the Warriors’ are at after another awful effort against the Sea Eagles, who themselves were coming off three straight defeats and without Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans.
The 24-0 halftime scoreline was the Warriors’ biggest opening deficit this season, and it was another performance where star playmaker Shaun Johnson just went missing.
The Warriors now face the Sharks and the Panthers before their first game back in New Zealand against the Tigers.
On current form it is hard to see how they won’t be trying to avoid eight straight losses in that round 16 clash.
No one is disputing the Warriors haven’t had it tougher than any team during the past two Covid interrupted seasons.
But there is also no hiding from the fact they have been completely underwhelming again this season, and it just can’t go on without someone taking accountability at some point.
WHERE TO NOW FOR A TITANIC MESS?
Things just go from bad to worse at the Titans.
Up against a Cowboys side without four Origin players, the Titans dominated the opening 20 minutes before capitulating — going down 32-6.
It was an especially humiliating scoreline given who the Cowboys were missing.
It is hard to comprehend how this is basically the same Titans team that made the finals last year, yet are now 15th as pressure mounts on Justin Holbrook.
Holbrook refused to concede the season is done and dusted, but they have now conceded 332 points in 13 games (an average of 25.5) which is the second most of any team behind only the Warriors.
HAS DUFTY PLAYED HIS LAST NRL GAME?
Bulldogs fans must be getting sick of watching poor discipline bring them undone.
At least interim coach Mick Potter has shown he won’t sit back and cop it without consequences following Matt Dufty’s demotion.
Nevertheless, it was again a pushed pass from Paul Vaughan coming out of his own end that was the final nail against the undermanned Panthers.
At least the Dogs stayed in the fight until that point in the second half when they were only trailing by four points, though let’s not forget the Panthers were down six Origin players.
Credit to Josh Addo-Carr and Matt Burton who both played strongly after their Origin snub.
Meanwhile, you get the feeling Jake Averillo’s move to fullback could be the end of Dufty’s NRL career.
Potter said after the game he expects Averillo will get another crack next round against the Eels, and Potter looked to be thinking Averillo’s move could become permanent.
Given Dufty is leaving at season’s end, it will make it very hard for him to fight his way back.
LIKES
JAKE ALL CLASS AFTER ORIGIN SNUB
What about how Jake Trbojevic handled his Origin axing.
You can only imagine how much the tough Manly lock would have been hurting after his shock dumping.
Yet despite it he went out and gave everything, on and off the field, and did it with absolute humility and dignity.
There was a moment when the Sea Eagles had skipped 24-0 clear against the Warriors with 10 minutes to go in the first half that summed up Jake’s motivation and inspiration perfectly.
As Reuben Garrick was lining up the conversion Jake pulled the team together for a passionate pep talk as though his life depended on it.
Then after the game he spoke with such sincerity about how the “silver lining” of getting dumped was that he got to captain his beloved club.
That pride was there for all to see as he stopped and chatted to fans after the game for what seemed an eternity.
I struggle to see how NSW is a better team without just his presence, let alone what he brings as a footballer.
THE SMOKESCREEN PLAY
Jamayne Isaako’s heads-up, smokescreen play from the kick-off to start the second half was a beauty and nearly gave the Titans something to cheer about on a forgettable night against the Cowboys.
Isaako launched the restart into a cloud of smoke lingering from halftime fireworks, the kick clean bowled Chad Townsend who lost the ball completely.
Thankfully for the Cowboys, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown mopped up the ball in the in-goal. There should be plenty of fireworks in Originon Wednesday night, will the Blues and Maroons bring out the smokescreen play? Time will tell.
OLAKAU’ATU’S SHOW HE’S A BLUE IN WAITING
If form is now the main selection criteria for NSW, then surely Manly’s Haumole Olakau’atu’s rampaging first half should have someone like Tariq Sims looking over his shoulder if he doesn’t aim up on Wednesday night.
Running off Kieran Foran who really took charge in DCE’s absence, the giant forward ran amok with one of the most dominant individual halves we’ve seen this year.
By halftime Olakau’atu had clocked up 113m that included a try, six tackle busts, a line break and a line break assist.
The other play of the game was Morgan Harper’s try saving tackle on Jack Murchie which showed tremendous desperation from the player who has fought back from being hooked in humiliation earlier this season after that horror night against Cronulla’s Siosifa Talakai.
PROOF PANTHERS ARE BETTER THAN LAST YEAR
A lot of the pre-match focus for the Panthers was on who’d come in to replace the six Origin stars, with Kurt Falls ultimately rewarded with a memorable performance.
Yet it was the senior players left behind who took up the slack to show just how much the premiers have matured since this time last year when they went down in both games during the Origin period.
Api Koroisau was tremendous putting more heat on Damien Cook, as was James Fisher-Harris and Viliame Kikau.
While stand-in skipper Dylan Edwards again showed what he means to the Panthers with 14 runs for 177 metres, including a try.
Although you got the feeling speaking to the media at the post match press conference wasn’t Edwards’ highlight of the week.The poor bugger couldn’t get out of there quick enough.
COWBOYS’ INCREDIBLE DEFENSIVE EFFORT
It’s just astonishing to think the Cowboys had the competition’s worst defence last year and were leaking an average of 31 points a game.
Compare that to the 42 points in the second halves of 13 games this year, while averaging 12 a game overall.
Even with their Origin stars missing they still showed such resilience and commitment to their defensive systems, constantly turning up for each other against a Titans side that was completely frustrated out of the game.
That opened it up for the likes of Scott Drinkwater, Murray Taulagi and Hamiso Tabuai-Fodow, while Tom Gilbert and Heilum Luki were outstanding.
But it’s all comes off the back of effort in defence, which is the hallmark of all the great teams over generations.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Dally Ms have gone behind closed doors. For the rest of the season, News Corp’s NRL experts will do their own 3-2-1 votes for every game and publish a composite scoreboard.
Titans v Cowboys
3 Jason Taumalolo
2 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
1 Scott Drinkwater
Panthers v Bulldogs
3 James Fisher-Harris
2 Viliame Kikau
1 Matt Burton
Sea Eagles v Warriors
3 Haumole Olakau’atu
2 Josh Schuster
1 Toafofoa Sipley
Raiders v Roosters
3 Joey Manu
2 Joseph Tapine
1 Xavier Savage
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