NRL Tackle Round 19: Ben Hunt is on track to storm to Dally M Medal
The Eels were awful against the Broncos – and they could easily go into free fall if they’re not careful, writes Paul Crawley. It’s why the heat is on three key men.
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Paul Crawley runs the rule over Round 19 of the NRL season, revealing his Likes and Dislikes in The Tackle column.
ROUND 19 DISLIKES
HIT HIGHLIGHTS NRL’S INCONSISTENCY
Just because you are a good guy should not mean you are above the laws of the game.
And it is a joke that Dale Finucane escaped without conceding so much as a penalty for his nasty head clash with Penrith’s Stephen Crichton.
To their credit the NRL match review committee came out on Sunday and hit Finucane with a grade three dangerous contact charge.
That means Finucane is now facing a two-match ban if he takes the early guilty plea, or three matches if he fights the charge at the judiciary and loses.
But all it has done is expose once again the glaring inconsistencies when it comes to ruling on dangerous and avoidable head contact, and also what direction the NRL is taking when it comes to the issue of player safety and welfare.
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There is just no possible way anyone could argue that Finucane’s actions weren’t extremely careless and even bordering on reckless.
So how referee Ashley Klein and the Bunker then allowed it to go unpunished on Saturday night when the tackle then copped a grade two charge is laughable.
The Penrith centre was immediately forced from the field and taken to hospital for emergency plastic surgery to repair the damage to his ear.
Meanwhile, Finucane went back and stood at marker and got on with the game.
I have no doubt if that tackle occurred on someone like Nathan Cleary, Adam Reynolds, James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses or Ryan Papenhuyzen there would have been action taken immediately.
Similarly, if it had been made by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jaydn Su’A, Felise Kaufusi or Tevita Pangai they would have more than likely been marched to the sin bin.
But it should not matter who the player is making the tackle, or who they hit, it is the action that made it dangerous.
Everyone knows Finucane is a champion bloke, and I am not saying he set out to intentionally lead with his head and cause injury like some players have been known to do in the past.
But that doesn’t deny the fact he shot out of the line to make a statement, and through his actions Finucane did not show enough duty of care for himself or Crichton.
ANOTHER KICK FOR WARRIORS FANS
The real losers in this Reece Walsh debacle are the Warriors’ long-suffering fans.
Interim coach Stacey Jones obviously has his reasons for doing what he is doing by not selecting his most dangerous attacking weapon in his starting team.
While Jones says it’s about Walsh’s defensive deficiencies, in the fair dinkum department there has to be a lot more to it than that.
Regardless, it’s the poor old fans who are getting short changed.
It was embarrassing having Walsh on the sidelines in Canberra pleading to get on but having to wait until the final quarter, after the Raiders had just gone 16-14 up.
Now the Melbourne Storm are trying to sign Walsh for the remainder of the season, which is wonderful for the Storm if they can land him after losing Ryan Papenhuyzen.
But surely Warriors management owe it to their fans to stand firm on this, especially after Walsh already requested an early release to move back to Brisbane next season.
EELS GOING INTO FREEFALL
The Eels were awful against the Broncos. Their forwards got annihilated and on the back of that Adam Reynolds just pulled them to pieces.
Reed Mahoney’s form has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, and Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown aren’t going great either.
It’s up to the three of them and Clint Gutherson to now take charge of this team.
It starts against the Panthers on Friday night, who the Eels beat earlier this season.
But with Parra’s top four hopes now clinging to a thread, if they don’t show vast improvement then it’s hard to see how they can recover.
After the Panthers, they take on the Sea Eagles at Brookvale on a Friday night, then they host Souths the following Friday before Canterbury, Brisbane in Brisbane, and Melbourne in the final regular season round.
They could easily go into free fall if they’re not careful.
MANLY CAN ONLY BLAME THEMSELVES
Des Hasler wasn’t happy about Manly finishing on the wrong side of a 9-5 penalty count in the loss to the Dragons.
But to be fair to the refs it’s been as bit of a recurring theme this year that the Sea Eagles obviously need to address if they want to save their season.
They really blew a great opportunity to keep their spot in the top eight, and it was their own poor discipline that really made it hard for them.
No doubt they had some other bad luck with Covid ruling out Jake Trbojevic, Lachlan Croker and Andrew Davey.
But they still just didn’t give themselves a chance with errors and poor discipline.
They now take on the Roosters on Friday night in what’s shaping up as a must-win game for both teams.
DO WE PUT A LINE THROUGH THE STORM?
The most concerning thing for the Melbourne Storm is that it’s even a mystery to super coach Craig Bellamy what’s going wrong.
It was almost unbelievable listening to Bellamy’s post match media conference where the coach with the game’s greatest winning strike rate conceded: “I am not confident we can turn it around”.
The Storm have now lost four in a row for the first time since 2015, while the last time they lost five in a row was in 2012 (when they ended up winning the comp).
But the team we are looking at now is a long way from the super side of years gone by where it was the likes of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater driving their culture.
It’s too early to completely write them off, but they certainly look down for the count.
ROUND 19 LIKES
BULLDOGS ARMY A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
What a wonderful sight to see the Bulldogs’ army back celebrating.
And if Mick Potter misses out on the head coaching job to Cameron Ciraldo, surely the club needs to keep him in some capacity.
They are playing such an enjoyable brand of footy under Potter, and it has really brought the entire club to life.
Like the players, the fans have been through the ringer in recent years.
But this late season revival has put a smile on all their faces.
And it was outstanding watching some of their younger fans lap it up after Josh Addo-Carr raced the length of the field for his first half intercept try.
TEDDY, LATRELL ON COLLISION COURSE
It’s no wonder Latrell Mitchell is getting the headlines he is after absolutely transforming South Sydney since his return from injury.
But James Tedesco’s form has been equally inspirational, if not as widely celebrated.
The Roosters skipper continues to just deliver excellence week in, week out, to show why he remains the benchmark No 1 in the game.
In the win over the Knights Teddy ran for a phenomenal 287m from 19 carries that included a try, seven tackle busts, three line breaks and three try assists.
Meanwhile, Mitchell had four runs for 60m that included three try assists, four tackle busts and a line break.
While Mitchell’s number don’t stack as well Teddy’s on paper, his overall influence goes beyond individual stats.
It’s crystal clear the way he just lifts everyone around him.
From Cody Walker to Alex Johnston, who now has 13 tries in his last six games.
It all leads to what’s shaping up as a massive final round clash when the Roosters take on the Bunnies.
BUNNIES UNSUNG HERO DESERVES PRAISE
Another skipper who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves is Cam Murray.
What an outstanding role model for the game the Rabbitohs lock is.
Always plays tough but fair, and never shirks his load.
After copping a nasty high shot from big Nelson Asofa-Solomono that really looked to rattle Murray in the opening exchanges, he bounced back with an inspirational effort.
Some of his bone jarring tackles really lifted his team while his quick play-the-balls and ball playing make him such an underrated weapon.
BRONCOS FREAK SHOWS HIS VALUE
As important as Adam Reynolds is to Brisbane’s premiership charge, what about the effort from the freak that is Payne Haas.
Up against fellow NSW Origin props Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Haas was the absolute standout for Brisbane against Parra.
He charged for 204m from 20 carries, while Pat Carrigan (14 runs for 118m) and Tom Flegler (17 runs for 147m) were also enormous.
RCG finished with 16 runs for 146m and Paulo 10 runs for 92m.
It’s astonishing to think the Broncos go into this round’s clash against Wests Tigers in the hunt for a top four finish.
Yet they finished last season in 14th spot, below the Tigers who were 13th on the ladder.
WHY DALLY M MEDAL IS HUNT’S TO LOSE
Ben Hunt, Dally M medallist.
Get used to that line. Because unless there is a major surprise coming up in the closing rounds, our tally has the Dragons captain way out in front to secure the NRL’s top individual gong.
And wouldn’t it be a well-deserved reward for a bloke who has copped it for years the huge salary he is on, but a player who never seems to give anything less than 100 per cent.
After a man of the match performance against Manly, our count moves Hunt to 29 points in the tally compiled by our match day reporters.
That puts him six points clear of Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes on 23. Dylan Edwards is on 21, Daly Cherry-Evans 19 and Mitchell Moses 18.
When the official count went behind closed doors after 12 rounds Hunt was leading on 19 points ahead of Isaah Yeo 17 and Hynes 16.
WIGHTON KEEPS RAIDERS SEASON ALIVE
Jack Wighton certainly isn’t known for his kicking game but he came up with two cracking 40/20s to help get the Raiders home against the Warriors.
Canberra started badly to trail 14-0 but scored off the back of both Wighton’s kicks, while halves partner Jamal Fogarty also played a starring role setting up both of Corey Harawira-Naera’s tries.
Big Joe Tapine had another tremendous game running for 191m.
PANTHERS HIT GROUND RUNNING
The Panthers’ NSW players didn’t have a great finish to the Origin series but they certainly looked refreshed and in their club return.
And the scariest thing about the win over the Sharks is the reigning premiers will only get better in the weeks to come as they put Origin in the distance.
Nathan Cleary and Api Korisau were outstanding the way they orchestrated the recovery after trailing 10-0 early, while Jarome Luai scored the match clincher to cap off what was a really patient if not flawless performance.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Panthers respond against the Eels this week given Parra are the only team to beat them this year.
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