Monday Bunker: NRL’s protected species, Sharks’ silver lining
MONDAY BUNKER: Injury could allow an exciting opportunity for Newcastle sensation Kalyn Ponga, why Penrith can challenge any team and more — our writers analyse the weekend’s big talking points.
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WITH Round 21 of the competition now done and dusted, our team of rugby league writers analyse the NRL’s talking points in the Monday Bunker.
WORRYING SIGNS AGAIN FOR BEATEN BRONCOS
CANTERBURY 36 BRISBANE 22: Bulldogs take bite out of Broncos’ dreams
WHAT to make of Brisbane?
They get rolled by the Warriors and stomp Penrith. They outlast the Sharks and falter against the Bulldogs.
This loss to Canterbury was truly odious. The Bulldogs hit harder, hustled more and generally looked like they had far more to play for.
Perhaps the epic with Cronulla took it out of Brisbane, but if they’re a team with premiership aspirations these kind of performances just won’t do.
Darius Boyd, after two good games at centre, had an absolute shocker. He bombed an easy try and looked slow and cumbersome in defence.
Wayne Bennett mentioned he may yet switch the veteran back to fullback, but such a move would rob the Broncos of much of the attacking spark they’ve shown since Jamayne Isaako took over in the No. 1 jersey.
The Broncos have the talent to surge to the top four, but much like the Tigers they seem to play better against top sides.
They must decide what they want to be. Do they want to be a fun attacking side who fall over at the worst times? Or do they want to be a true title contender?
They can’t be both, and at the moment they’re the former.
— Nick Campion
INJURY OPENS DOOR FOR EXCITING KNIGHTS SWITCH
NEWCASTLE 16 WESTS TIGERS 25: Brooks brilliance keeps Tigers in finals hunt
The Knights cannot win a trick in the injury stakes but their misfortune could deliver a win for fans.
A question mark hangs over Mitchell Pearce’s fitness and should he be ruled out of their trip to Auckland to play the Warriors, there is a chance Kalyn Ponga may start in the halves.
Coach Nathan Brown refused to comment on what his back-up plan was should Pearce be ruled out, but said Brock Lamb was no certainty for a recall simply because of the position he plays.
“I’ve only seen half of reserve grade so I haven’t seen enough of that one to see if Brock’s earned the right to play first grade again and we’re not in the business of giving away first grade jumpers anymore at this club,” Brown said.
“(Ponga at five-eighth) are things that can be discussed.
“Nick (Meaney)’s done well when he’s come up … his first grade game from one to two was a lot better. There’s a number of things we can look but we’ll wait to see how Mitch is over the next couple of days.”
The loss to the Tigers takes the rest of 2018 into planning for 2019 for the Knights and Brown would love to have his spine in place for that. Frustratingly, he’ll still have to wait. Connor Watson is almost certain to miss the game against the Warriors and Pearce remains an unknown.
On top of that Ponga is still not 100 per cent, Brown revealing the fullback hasn’t trained properly for about five to six weeks.
— Fiona Bollen
STORM SKIPPER STILL UP TO OLD TRICKS
SOUTH SYDNEY 30 MELBOURNE 20: Brutal Bunnies storm home over premiers
We saw it again last Friday night. Octopus Cam Smith is still up to his old tricks and, even better, getting away with more than ever before.
And while Melbourne’s go-slow tactics weren’t enough to stop the rampaging Rabbitohs, it is a fair enough question to ask why the so-called GOAT is allowed to play by his own rules.
We’ve said for years that Smith was a protected species and Friday night proved it beyond any reasonable doubt.
Sam Burgess pleaded to referee Ashley Klein in the first half: “We’ve got to address the wrestle”.
But then in the second half it reached farcical proportions when Smith got tangled up in a tackle on George Burgess for what seemed an eternity but still wasn’t penalised.
As Andrew Johns said in Channel 9 commentary: “He’s too good Cameron Smith. How many arms and legs has he got?”
Phil Gould then responded: “Well, no other player in the game would have got away with that.”
But then everyone laughs as if it’s the greatest joke in the game, but okay because Cam is the GOAT.
We’ve had this penalty crackdown all season and now we are approaching the finals and it seems as though we are back to square one.
You’re entitled to ask what has been the point of it all.
Meanwhile the Rabbitohs still managed to produce their best performance of the season ahead of another blockbuster this Friday night when they take on arch rivals the Sydney Roosters.
The inspired performance of Sam Burgess along with a super effort from the towering twins George and Tom provided the momentum and on the back of that Damien Cook ran riot.
Everywhere you look the Rabbitohs are firing — halves Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker were also excellent and that teenager Campbell Graham just gets better and better.
And like Billy Slater said after the game, they are without probably their best player in Greg Inglis.
It’s hard to believe this is almost the same roster that was labelled “predictable” under Michael Maguire.
Most people didn’t have Souths anywhere near the top eight in their pre-season predictions.
On Friday night Phil Gould declared they could win the comp.
Anthony Seibold has done an outstanding job.
— Paul Crawley
WARRIORS ACE RTS STILL A GUN NO. 1
STI 12 WARRIORS 18: Out of puff? Dragons’ top four spot in danger
Who’s your Dally M fullback of the year?
After a somewhat slow start to life as a Rooster, James Tedesco has roared to life on the back of a super State of Origin campaign.
Valentine Holmes is similarly soaring as he develops as a No. 1 on the run.
Kalyn Ponga on Friday added yet another clip to the ongoing highlight reel that is his debut season in Newcastle, while Billy Slater is still, well, Billy Slater.
Throw in Tom Trbojevic, Alex Johnston, Matt Dufty … it’s a pretty handy field.
Just don’t sleep on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. The Warriors fullback was simply superb on Saturday when he inspired his side to victory against the Dragons in Wollongong.
RTS ran for a barely believable 323 metres from 21 carries, busted seven tackles, made a linebreak and threw an offload as the New Zealanders got their top-four tilt back on track.
But it was a brilliant play without the ball that was the standout, as Tuivasa-Sheck dislodged the ball from a try-bound Tim Lafai to protect his side’s lead against a desperate Dragons outfit.
“It was a huge play and there’s been a number of times this year Roger has come up with a play like that,” Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said.
“This week I could see it in his body language he was determined to lead the way. His carries today, that defensive effort on Tim Lafai. That epitomises what Roger is all about.”
The former Rooster has been crowned Dally M fullback of the year before — back in 2015. Injury and the poor form of the Warriors have hindered him in subsequent years, but if Saturday is any sign he’s well and truly back in the frame again.
— Dominic Burke
TITANS STAR NOT LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
PARRAMATTA 28 GOLD COAST 12: Eels ensure spoon battle goes down to wire
Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan should give halfback Ashley Taylor a rocket.
Taylor is one of the highest-paid players in the NRL but he is part of the reason the Titans are in the NRL cellar.
Granted, Taylor can only be as effective as his forward pack, but his individual decision-making against Parramatta on Saturday night was poor.
He missed two tackles that led to Eels tries and some of his options in attack were below-par for a playmaker rated a future State of Origin halfback.
Right now, Brennan would just settle for Taylor steering the Titans to victory against Penrith this Saturday and keeping the Coast out of wooden-spoon territory.
It will be a big occasion for Brennan, who faces his former Penrith employers.
The Eels, meanwhile, are refusing to give up hope of avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon.
They remain last on percentages but if Corey Norman and Jarryd Hayne produce the touches they showed against the Titans, the Eels could continue the Dragons’ form slump this Saturday at ANZ Stadium.
Hayne famously inspired an Eels upset of the Dragons in the 2009 finals series and would relish tormenting the Red V again.
— Peter Badel
REPORTS OF JT’S DEMISE GREATLY EXAGGERATED
ROOSTERS 26 NORTH QUEENSLAND 20: Chooks win sets up Bunnies blockbuster
Johnathan Thurston has not played one too many seasons.
Thurston has been criticised heavily throughout North Queensland’s season from hell.
The Cowboys legend has struggled to bounce back to his best following a major shoulder injury last year and his farewell season has been one to forget.
The Cowboys are in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon, but Thurston showed against the Roosters on Saturday night that he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Thurston played a huge role in the Cowboys fighting back from a 26-8 deficit, only to fall agonisingly short of a terrific comeback victory.
The Cowboys have been woeful across the park in 2018, but it is Thurston who has been the focus of their struggles.
If the rest of the Cowboys team was firing and Thurston was struggling, then it would be fair to say he should have retired last year.
But his form struggles have been exacerbated by North Queensland’s overall form.
Thurston, 35, has four games left in the NRL before he is gone forever and fans should make the most of watching one of the game’s greatest ever players.
There is still a highlight or two left in him before he hangs up the headgear.
— Travis Meyn
SILVER LINING FOR SHARKS IN SHOCK DEFEAT
CRONULLA 32 MANLY 33: DCE dents Sharks’ top four hopes
Cronulla’s 32-point haul against Manly was their second highest attacking tally of the season.
There’s no coincidence it came in the same game co-captain Wade Graham returned from injury.
In Graham, there was a silver lining for Cronulla in Sunday’s one-point loss to the Sea Eagles.
While the defeat was subpar for a team with ambitions of hoisting the trophy on grand final day, defence hasn’t been an issue.
Cronulla sit ninth for points scored in 2018 and haven’t quite hit their straps with ball in hand this season.
Graham’s inspiring return on the left edge injected creativity into what has at times been a one-dimensional attack this year.
Graham assisted and scored four pointers within 16 minutes of the game kicking off.
His return showed how vital the versatile back-rower is to Cronulla’s title prospects.
Pressure eases on Matt Moylan — both as a creator and kicker — and the calming presence of their skipper balances out the sometimes shambolic attacking unit.
Meanwhile, Valentine Holmes continued his meteoric rise as a fullback.
Shane Flanagan’s decision to at times switch Holmes with winger Josh Dugan in the number one role was bamboozling.
The Sharks shafted their integral pointscoring figure away from a position he’s dominated for almost three months.
Bizarre, and hopefully a mistake Flanagan won’t make in the run to the finals.
— Tim Williams
PANTHERS FAR FROM PERFECT BUT STILL A CHALLENGER
PENRITH 40 CANBERRA 31: Comeback win has Panthers tracking top four
CANBERRA and Penrith are two sides of the same coin.
The Raiders are a little more unorthodox, a little wilder, a little more likely to swing between the sublime and the ridiculous.
The Panthers are a little tougher, a little more battle-tested, a little more likely to keep their heads when things get hot.
But their differences are skin deep while their similarities run down to the bone.
Penrith’s 40-31 win at the foot of the mountains was both teams living their best 2018 lives. The Raiders roared out to a lead playing some breathtaking attacking football before Penrith, a week after one of the great escapes of the season, did the same late on to win.
That’s four times in a row these two have engaged in ding-dong, back and forth battles with lots of points, some top shelf attack and epic finishes. Penrith have won all four. They are the idealised version of the Raiders, with all the attacking class and none of the mental scars the Raiders have accrued over the last two seasons.
As similar as these two teams are, they’re heading in opposite directions.
Canberra are trapped in a mental hell of their own creation and a chronic inability to close out games has turned a once promising campaign into a grim march towards the mercy of the off-season. They are too wild to succeed but too good to fail.
Penrith have a real shot at the top four given the struggles of St George Illawarra.
Their defensive deficiencies may stop them going all the way but they have the fire to challenge any team in the competition on their day. They aren’t imposing, but they are intimidating and shape as a wildcard for the finals.
— Nick Campion
Originally published as Monday Bunker: NRL’s protected species, Sharks’ silver lining
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