The Tackle Round 7: Golden Point lottery needs change after Knights-Panthers match
While most NRL punters love the theatre of golden point, Newcastle’s heartbreaking loss to Penrith highlighted the unfairness of the concept.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Almost everyone loves the theatre of golden point. But the unfairness of the concept was again highlighted by the brutal way the Newcastle Knights didn’t even get to touch the ball during the final minutes of their heartbreaking loss to the Panthers.
And for the Knights to walk away with nothing after what was probably the bravest and best performance by this club in the past decade again exposes why the NRL should come up with a better system.
This is no knock Penrith who showed absolute professionalism and class to close out the game in the first set of the golden point period, when Nathan Cleary slotted a 40 metre field goal to seal the victory.
But for the Knights it was totally wrong that they weren’t at least given a chance to respond, or even touch the ball, all because Tyson Frizell lost the coin toss when the match was sent into overtime.
That’s what you call a lottery, not fair play.
I would much rather see an extra time period played out in full like it is during the NRL finals series.
Even in soccer they went golden goal for a while but now it has gone back to an extra time period to try and at least make it a fair contest.
The NRL needs to pull their head out of the sand and do the same.
The Knights played their hearts out for 80 minutes and they and their long suffering fans simply didn’t deserve to lose in those circumstances.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST DALLY M VOTING AND LEADERBOARD
DISLIKES
DUBIOUS TACTIC SOURS CLEARY’S MAGIC MOMENT
Ivan Cleary made the point post match that the Panthers were nowhere near their best against the Knights.
But they have become so accustomed to winning they just find a way. And this was another example of that with Nathan Cleary’s match-clinching field goal in extra time another incredible clutch play.
As Andrew Johns said on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show: “For the kids at home it is no fluke, he works hard … he constantly practices and in the big moments he stands up at all levels”.
It was almost on par with Cleary’s effort to send the round 4 game against the Eels into golden point.
I still thought it was a shame Cleary went down after getting tapped on the chest/chin by Lachlan Fitzgibbon after kicking the field goal to lock the scores in regular time.
He’s such a superstar of the game, he obviously wasn’t hurt, and you’d love to see him put himself above those milking tactics. It would have left a bad taste if the game had been decided on that incident.
BRAIN DEAD DRAGONS PUT ANOTHER NAIL IN GRIFFIN’S COFFIN
They don’t call them coach killers for nothing. And what a cruel way for poor old Anthony Griffin to have another nail banged into his coaching coffin.
In a heart-stopping end, the Dragons very nearly stole a miracle after a Tautau Moga intercept try off a shocking Jack Wighton ball set up a grandstand finish.
But ultimately it was a series of brain dead mistakes earlier in the game that cost the Dragons most.
Whether it was dumb penalties, or errors in general play, they shot themselves in the foot at almost every opportunity.
It was just another setback in Griffin’s fight to keep his job that now looks a lost cause ahead of Tuesday’s board meeting.
The thing is, this is Griffin’s third season at the club and they have had a huge discipline issue throughout the journey.
While you can’t accuse them of not having a go, too many Dragons players have got away playing by their own rules for far too long. The next coach the Dragons appoint needs to bring with him a big broom.
KNIGHTS’ HEARTBREAK EXPOSES GOLDEN POINT UNFAIRNESS
WHAT WAS THE BUNKER THINKING?
The most ludicrous call of the round had to be the decision to allow Campbell Graham’s try after the South Sydney centre bowled over an unsuspecting Euan Aitken (video below).
Seriously, for anyone to suggest this was a legitimate contest between two players competing for the ball is outrageous.
Aitken had his opportunity to compete for the ball taken away the moment Graham pushed him in the back and knocked him to the ground.
And for the Bunker to then come in and rule in the Rabbitohs’ favour just makes you shake your head. I don’t think they’d let that play decided a grand final, or you would certainly hope not.
Campbell Graham gets his second of the night following a terrific kick from Lachlan Ilias! 💥
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) April 13, 2023
📺WATCH #NRLDolphinsSouths on Ch. 502 or stream via @kayosportshttps://t.co/KU6O1WswuO
âœï¸BLOG https://t.co/5tU7PYOf8m
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/goWvV8FsmLpic.twitter.com/SdWUme30wu
LUAI NEEDS A HAIR TIE, NOT A PENALTY
As if the Knights weren’t ripped off enough, to see Tyson Frizell penalised for accidentally pulling Jarome Luai’s hair was laughable.
If Frizell had done it deliberately perhaps you could understand the referee blowing his whistle.
But in this instance Frizell basically had no other option because the Panther’s long locks were swinging wildly down his back as Frizell attempted to make the tackle from behind.
If a player wants to have long hair that’s their choice.
But it shouldn’t give him a tactical advantage. Make him wear a hair tie, or live with the fact he might get it accidentally pulled at occasionally.
ROOSTERS NEED TO MAKE TOUGH CALL ON MANU
Joey Manu remains the NRL’s most under-utilised superstar playing in the centres.
You only had to watch the way Nicho Hynes took the game by the scruff of the neck to realise why the Roosters are short changing themselves not at least giving the Kiwi Golden Boot winner a crack at playing in the halves.
We all understand that with James Tedesco in the team Manu can’t play his preferred fullback position that he was so dominant in at the World Cup.
But surely Manu would make the Roosters an even more dangerous team if he was moved to five-eighth and let Luke Keary and Sam Walker decide who should be Manu’s halves partner on form, given Keary and Walker both play very similar roles as it is.
Whereas Hynes finished with 10 runs for 127m including four tackle busts, two linebreaks, two linebreak assists and one try assist, Keary had three runs for 30m with two linebreaks and a try assist, while Walker had two for 14m.
Manu had 11 runs for 70m, three tackle busts and no linebreaks, line break assists or try assists. He just seems so wasted locked into the centres given his incredible talent.
COWBOYS DUNCE THEMSELVES WITH SILLY TACTICS
What were some of the Cowboys players thinking trying to put Shaun Johnson off his game by jumping up and down when the Warriors playmaker went for a penalty conversion late in the 22-14 win?
It’s not rugby union fellas, and if Johnson had missed he would have been entitled to another crack anyway.
But it probably gives you an indication where the Cowboys’ minds are at right now because as a unit they are a shadow of the team that captured our imagination last year.
For a team that finished top four, they have been so disappointing with only two wins through the first seven rounds.
RADICAL FIX FOR SIN BIN EMBARRASSMENT
The NRL desperately needs to overhaul the farcical sin bin crackdown and either let players return after a try is scored, or when 5 minutes have elapsed.
But the way it is now with a standard 10 minutes regardless of how serious the offence is destroying what have been otherwise outstanding games.
Fox Sports Stats show there has already been a staggering 42 sin bins in the 7 rounds, which is the most of the NRL era.
To put it in perspective this time last year there had only been 28 sin bins at this point and 16 in 2021.
But if you go back a decade in 2014 there had only been three sin bins after seven rounds. We had three in Friday night’s game between the Roosters and Sharks.
What’s worse, too often the punishment just doesn’t fit the crime.
We saw the Dolphins destroyed in the period Kenny Bromwich was off the field for what could be described as a dumb but not overly dangerous contact on the Rabbitohs’ Taane Milne.
Maybe that warranted a penalty, but 10 minutes off the field was madness.
Well, so does the governing body need to be mindful of their responsibilities _ and all these sin bins are killing the show, and driving fans crazy in the process.
Most people agree the quality of footy this year has been the best we’ve seen in years, perhaps going back as far as before Super League in the early 1990s.
But too often great games are being ruined by trigger happy refs who in fairness are only acting on their obvious orders to clean up the game.
It’s the NRL’s responsibility to come up with a solution because this is out of control.
Plenty of people in the past have suggested introducing a five minute sin.
Another option would be to let the player return after a try is scored, or at the very least for incidents not involving foul play where the victim is wiped out of the game for a category one concussion.
But they can’t keep heading down the same track and expect fans, players and fans just to cop it.
LIKES
FIVE WEEKS WILL DEFINE BRONCOS’ SEASON
The Brisbane Broncos have already shown why they have the talent to become genuine premiership contenders in 2023.
Now it’s time for Kevin Walters to show how much he has improved as a coach as the Broncos enter a period that could ultimately define their season.
With question marks still hanging over them to a degree following last season’s embarrassing capitulation where they lost five of their final six games to crash out of finals contention, the Broncos now sit alone at the top of the table after seven rounds with everyone spruiking their form.
But the big test will come over the next five rounds starting with Parramatta next Friday night in Darwin followed by the Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles, Storm and Panthers.
It’s a draw that will determine exactly where the Broncos are at heading into the Origin period, where they are likely to have as many as eight players in contention for Queensland and NSW.
It’s fair to say there are five major factors why the Broncos are in a far better position than they were to end last season.
For starters the coach seems so much more comfortable in his ability and it is obviously rubbing off on his players.
Throw in the fact they didn’t have Reece Walsh last year, Adam Reynolds was clearly playing injured, Pat Carrigan missed four games through suspension from round 20, and Payne Haas has returned to his devastating best.
In respect to Walsh and Haas in particular, they are standouts in their individual positions across the entire competition right now.
On Saturday night the electric Walsh scored a try and had two try assists as he inspired the second half fightback, while Haas finished with 20 runs for 194m in an unbelievable performance that had Mal Meninga comparing him to the great Glenn Lazarus.
RABBITOHS LOOK READY FOR BIG TEST
Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell turned on a masterclass to ignite the Rabbitohs’ thumping 36-14 comeback win over the Dolphins.
Now we wait to see if they can back it up against the Panthers in Thursday night’s blockbuster at Accor Stadium.
You only have to go back to round 2 to recall how Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai led the Panthers to a convincing 16-10 win over the Bunnies on a night Mitchell had a storming finish but left his run too late.
Meanwhile, Walker had another forgettable game against his bogey team who went out with a clear intention of getting under his skin.
Walker has been outstanding in recent weeks, playing with a calm head to finish with a try, three try assists and four linebreak assists against the Dolphins.
But the real test will be whether he can keep his cool in the big games when teams like the Panthers want to rattle his cage.
MOVE OVER SUAALII, DOGS YOUNG GUN IS HERE TO STAY
Don’t you love how rugby types like to think pinching Joseph Suaalii is going to have some massive long time impact on the NRL’s production line of talent.
Seriously, for every Suaalii who wants to chase his fortune elsewhere, there will always be another young gun like Paul Alamoti on the NRL’s horizon.
And how good was it seeing the former Milperra Colts junior score his first try for his senior NRL club on what was an otherwise tough day for the battling Bulldogs.
At 19, Alamoti is actually five months younger than Suaalii and yet hasn’t received near the hype, despite Josh Addo-Carr tipping him to develop into one of the world’s great centres.
Even in defeat the Dogs didn’t turn it up against a Parramatta team that cruised to a comfortable victory but haven’t hit anywhere near the form that took them to last year’s grand final.
TURBO RESPONDS TO INJURY FEARS
What a turnaround in form that was from the Sea Eagles after the belting they copped off the Panthers.
And it was great to see Tom Trbojevic start like he did in the shock win over the Storm.
The champion fullback obviously went out with the intention to let everyone know the concerns over his hip flexor injury were not as bad as some of us feared, and his first few runs were outstanding.
But there is also no denying after that Turbo still wasn’t anywhere near his absolute best and this is going to be a work in progress.
He still finished with 21 runs for 189m with a try which was a huge improvement on the 10 runs for 78m against the Panthers.
WARRIORS ARE THE REAL DEAL
Who would have thought after seven rounds the Warriors would be sitting third and on equal competition points with the Panthers after five wins in their seven games?
It’s been this season’s most heartwarming revival under the guidance of new coach Andrew Webster.
And the turnaround in Shaun Johnson has been unbelievable, while the Warriors’ effort across the park has to be admired.
Dylan Walker had a great game, as did Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga.
That was their fourth win against a top eight opponent from last year.
Yet the biggest test will be on Anzac Day in that traditional blockbuster against the Storm at AAMI Park. On what we saw this round the Warriors are entitled to give themselves a real chance of causing another boilover.
More Coverage
Originally published as The Tackle Round 7: Golden Point lottery needs change after Knights-Panthers match
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.