NRL Lowdown: How is your team faring after Round 12
WHO starred, who struggled and who’s lurking on the edge? Find out how your team is faring in the Round 12 edition of the NRL Lowdown.
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WHO starred, who struggled, who’s on the fringe, who’s on the outer, who passed and who failed?
Get the very best analysis from our team of experts in the Round 12 edition of the NRL Lowdown.
SHARKS
HOW THEY FARED
Halfback Chad Townsend, with two minutes remaining and a Full House holding its collective breath, kicked a field goal to sink Canterbury 9-8.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Paul Gallen was outstanding in this one. Indeed, no matter your take on the polarising Sharks skipper, there was no doubting this game was all about him. Apart from making the play that decided the game — when he trucked the ball, impossibly, from his own in-goal with 65 minutes gone — Gallen also ran for 181m, made three line breaks and popped two offloads.
INJURY WARD
James Segeyaro (Broken arm, Round 18)
Tony Williams (ACL, Season)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
Forget who is lurking in the edges, because with Cronulla missing four Origin players, they were all here. Apart from Gallen, fellow veterans Luke Lewis and Chris Heighington were strong, Chad Townsend proved key in the halves and rookie Jayden Brailey was again solid in the middle — with his pass to Townsend for the winning field goal inch perfect.
REPORT CARD
A: The defending premiers are proving that, while the famed porch light may now be extinguished, the same cannot be said of the grit and fight that won them the 2016 title. On the back of their tough, absorbing style the Sharkies have now won four straight and seven of their past eight.
— Nick Walshaw
BRONCOS
HOW THEY FARED
Brisbane went down 28-10 to the Warriors but were without six of their State of Origin stars.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
James Roberts had the most mixed game of his career. In the first half, he couldn’t catch a thing and was steamrolled by Blake Ayshford for the opening try. In the second half he scored a double and always looked dangerous. It wasn’t the greatest statement of intent following his Origin exclusion, but it was certainly entertaining.
Ben Hunt showed flashes of his best on return but the absence of his regular playmaking partners shined through and he lacked support. Benji Marshall had more good touches than bad in his run on debut for the club.
INJURY WARD
Mitchell Dodds (Leg, Indefinite)
Andrew McCullough (Concussion, Round 13)
Sam Scarlett (Ankle, Indefinite)
Tevita Pangai Jnr (Hand, Round 14)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
Brisbane’s under-20s side lost to the Warriors 36-20, which doesn’t sound like a big deal until you find out New Zealand had lost their first 11 matches. Lacking several of their regulars the performance of fullback David Fauid was one of the few bright spots in a difficult match for the baby Broncos — he raced over for a try and looked dangerous in space.
REPORT CARD
C: This game is almost inadmissable evidence when considering Brisbane’s season because it wasn’t really Brisbane, it was Broncos/Queensland Cup United. Having said that, the return of Ben Hunt is a positive and they managed to run the Warriors close despite the deficit of talent.
— Nick Campton
ROOSTERS
HOW THEY FARED
They may have lost a host of players to State of Origin duties but the Roosters showed there’s fight left in them still with a spirited performance against the Raiders. The Tricolours failed to grab the competition points, going down 24-16 in the nation’s capital, but showed they can still produce a classy style of football without some of their biggest named.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Roosters skipper Jake Friend was solid in his 200th match, scoring the opening try and making a huge 56 tackles while veteran fullback Michael Gordon was best on ground for the visitors. Zane Tetevano, meanwhile, had a rough time as starting lock. The youngster wasn’t awful but bombed a certain try when he decided to run the ball himself instead of passing left and taking advantage of a three-on-one overlap.
INJURY WARD
Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Stood down, Indefinite)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
The Roosters had Mitchell Pearce, Boyd Cordner, Dylan Napa, Aidan Guerra and Blake Ferguson all out for State of Origin and none of the rookies slotted in to replace them really shone or made the most of their first-grade opportunities.
REPORT CARD
B: The loss didn’t affect the Roosters’ standing on the ladder and they played well against a virtually full-strength Raiders outfit despite being low on numbers themselves. You can’t read much into this performance except to say that the Roosters won’t be pushovers while their stars are on representative duties.
— David Campbell
RAIDERS
HOW THEY FARED
Canberra lost Josh Papalii to Origin, while the Roosters lost half their side.
Despite this, the Raiders escaped with a 24-16 win that could have easily been reversed had Zane Tetevano not produced one of the biggest bombed tries of the season with 20 minutes remaining.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
In a side littered with flair across the park, Luke Bateman is a man who continually goes unnoticed by almost all except Ricky Stuart.
Playing in the middle, Bateman concedes a few kilos to those around him, yet week in week out exceeds in his workmanlike role with very few accolades.
Aidan Sezer’s kicking game was classy, while he has begun to take on the line again with growing success.
Halves partner Blake Austin made a few key errors late in the game in both attack and defence when his side desperately needed composure.
INJURY WARD
Dave Taylor (Illness, round 13)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
The NYC boys produced arguably the most NYC performance of all time against the young Roosters.
Down 24-4 with 15 minutes remaining, captain Jarred Tuite’s 78th minute try sealed a remarkable 32-24 comeback win. Tuite was awarded match-of-the-match in the victory.
REPORT CARD
C-: Canberra’s title hopes took a major confidence hit on Sunday in struggling to overcome the depleted tri-colours.
While they are a team who can click come Round 26 and still win the comp, a result like this will surely linger if the two clubs meet in September.
Fortunately, they did add the all-important two premiership points to narrowly edge their way back into the top eight.
— Tim Williams
EELS
HOW THEY FARED
Given the players Parramatta are missing, the performance in the first half in particular against Souths was terrific.
No Corey Norman, no Michael Jennings, no Nathan Brown.
That’s three pretty handy players and the Eels still made the Rabbitohs look second-rate on their way to an 18-0 halftime lead.
The final score also flattered Souths because of two controversial refereeing decisions.
The Eels had a deadset try denied because of a horrible forward pass call, while it was hard to see how the bunker determined Alex Johnston grounded the ball fairly for his try.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Does Clint Gutherson ever have a poor game? It doesn’t matter where Brad Arthur plays him.
He was outstanding again on Friday night.
Mitchell Moses also looked a lot better in his second appearance for his new club and his kicking game caused all sorts of headaches for Cody Walker.
Another worth a mention was Kaysa Pritchard, this tough little dummy half is getting better by the week.
INJURY WARD
Matt Woods (Shoulder, Round 15)
Isaac De Gois (Concussion, Indefinite)
Mitchell Moses (Hip, Round 13)
Frank Pritchard (Foot, Round 18)
Peni Terepo (Pectoral, Round 22)
Nathan Brown (Ribs, Indefinite)
Corey Norman (Knee, Round 14)
Michael Jennings (Hamstring, Round 16)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
Nathan Brown (ribs) didn’t play against the Rabbitohs and it’s not known if he will be back for this Friday night’s game against the Warriors. Moses suffered a nasty bump on his hip injury but it is not expected to cost him any time on the sidelines.
Michael Jennings (quad) is due back in round 16 and Norman (knee) in round 17.
REPORT CARD
B+: Arthur wasn’t happy with the Eels’ second half but he would be happy to take home two crucial competition points.
After 12 rounds Parra are now six wins and six losses and have shown enough to tell us they can challenge any team providing they get more consistent over the full 80 minutes.
After the Warriors, they face the Cowboys and Dragons before the bye after State of Origin II.
By then they will have Norman and Jennings back.
— Paul Crawley
BULLDOGS
HOW THEY FARED
The Bulldogs went down 9-8 to Cronulla at Shark Park in a match that was high on drama, if a little low on quality.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Will Hopoate was again solid at the back while Danny Fualalo had a fine match at lock, filling in for the Origin-bound David Klemmer. In a rare chance in the starting side, Fualalo played 74 minutes and showcased plenty of mobility in the middle of the field.
The inability of the Bulldogs to score points, even against a defensive outfit as powerful as the Sharks, is a serious problem. Moses Mbye and Matt Frawley are just not combining well and unless there’s a one-on-one miss or a piece of individual brilliance, Canterbury just can’t cross the stripe.
INJURY WARD
Chase Stanley (Knee, Indefinite)
Josh Reynolds (Hamstring, Round 14)
James Graham (Neck, Round 13)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
Chase Stanley has returned from injury and is slotting goals from everywhere in reserve grade. While Josh Morris, Brenko Lee and Kerrod Holland have the centre positions sewn up Stanley could push for a wing slot in coming weeks should Des Hasler want to mix up the attack.
REPORT CARD
C —: The Dogs had a great chance to put another two points on the board but couldn’t come up with what they needed when they needed it most. Fans did not have huge hopes this season and after a small glimmer of hope with the arrival of Matt Frawley it seems they’re back to where they began.
WARRIORS
HOW THEY FARED
The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a comfortable 28-10 win over a depleted Broncos side in Auckland.
They jumped out to a 22-0 lead against a Brisbane side missing six State of Origin players plus injured hooker Andrew McCullough and despite a mini-scare when James Roberts scored back-to-back tries were never really troubled.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Shaun Johnson has copped a bit of stick for his lacklustre performances of late, so it’s only fair that he gets the plaudits for a much-improved showing. It was no coincidence that the Warriors looked far more threatening with Johnson back running the football — racking up 77 metres from seven darts with the football. Aside from scoring a try, Johnson busted five tackles, made a linebreak along with two linebreak assists and two try assists.
Ken Maumalo has had his troubles this season, but he was a powerful presence for his side against the Broncos. The giant winger carted the ball 20 times for 178 run metres, busted four tackles and crossed for a try.
INJURY WARD
Manu Vatuvei (Hamstring, Indefinite)
Solomone Kata (Hamstring, Indefinite)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
Outside backs Solomone Kata and Manu Vatuvei continue to recover from calf injuries, while youngster Junior Pauga continues his development in the NSW Cup. He scored a try in the Warriors’ 18-10 win over North Sydney and, with Tui Lolohea’s departure to Wests Tigers now confirmed, could be a step closer to a NRL debut. Former Raider and Cowboy Zac Santo joined the club last week to boost their depth in the outside backs.
REPORT CARD
C: Anything less than a comfortable victory against this Brisbane outfit would have been tough to swallow for Warriors fans who have had little to cheer so far in 2017. They got the win, but face a tough challenge against the Eels on the road — they’re yet to win away from home this season.
— Dominic Burke
RABBITOHS
HOW THEY FARED
The Rabbitohs were sluggish and listless in their loss to Parramatta and the final scoreline of 22-16 did not reflect the gap between the two teams.
WHO STARRED, WHO STRUGGLED?
Alex Johnston showed speed and strong finishing abilities for his double while Angus Crichton was excellent again, scoring a thrilling, length-of-the-field try in the second half.
The lack of attacking spark from the Rabbitohs spine was crippling. Cody Walker had one of the worst games of his entire life. Adam Reynolds is clearly playing with injury. John Sutton failed to impose himself on the game at all and Robbie Farah was wholly ineffective. The Rabbitohs can be as willing as you like, but without points their task becomes far too difficult.
INJURY WARD
Jason Clark (Ankle, Indefinite)
Connor Tracey (ACL, Indefinite)
Greg Inglis (ACL, Season)
Robert Jennings (Knee, Indefinite)
WHO’S LURKING ON THE EDGE?
The Rabbitohs escaped with a 28-26 win over Parramatta in the Under 20s with fullback Beau Cordtz standing out. Cordtz raced over for a double and broke 12 tackles in the narrow victory.
REPORT CARD
D: There are big problems at South Sydney. They’re languishing in 14th place and another defeat could end their finals hopes. The lack of points, the comical handling of the Burgess twins and the power struggle between Robbie Farah and Damien Cook are all issues that must be rectified as soon as possible.
— Nick Campton
Originally published as NRL Lowdown: How is your team faring after Round 12
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