Monday Buzz: Problem with NRL expansion plans

Incredible sportsmanship, why road teams are flying high and why the NRL must be wary of expansion — check out the talking points from another big weekend in rugby league.

Jason Taumalolo’s absence proved costly for the Cowboys. Picture: Alix Sweeney

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Check out the highlights, lowlights and talking points from another big weekend in rugby league.

HIGHLIGHT

The incredible sportsmanship of champion Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic. He spoke with huge disappointment on Fox Sports after the unlucky loss to Parramatta but refused to blow up or blame the forward-pass controversy for the loss.

HIGHLIGHT II

Latrell Mitchell’s long cut-out pass to send winger Alex Johnston over for a South Sydney try against Melbourne.

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Latrell Mitchell’s pass to set up an Alex Johnston try was a thing of beauty. Picture: Scott Barbour/AAP

LOWLIGHT

You can’t blame one player for the Brisbane Broncos’ 59-0 loss to the Roosters but Darius Boyd’s lack of effort to score what should have been a try from a kick was just appalling.

LOWLIGHT II

Watching a winger (Ryan Hall) feed a scrum and a halfback (Kyle Flanagan) pack into the front-row for the Roosters against the Broncos. In a year of radical rule changes why not make one more and just abandon the scrum!

FLYING HIGH

Flying in and out on charter planes on game days is obviously not a problem for NRL stars. Teams have won eight times and lost on only three occasions since it started in round two.

Jason Taumalolo’s absence proved costly for the Cowboys. Picture: Alix Sweeney

SACRED COW

Jason Taumalolo is worth even more than the $1 million a season that the Cowboys are paying him. They had absolutely no go-forward against the Sharks without him.

GRILLING MARY

Win lose or draw, under siege St George Illawarra Dragons coach Paul McGregor will appear on NRL 360 on Fox Sports on Monday evening after his desperation game against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Bankwest Stadium to answer all the relevant questions about his future.

CUT-PRICE JUDICIARY FINES

NRL judiciary fines have been cut by 50 per cent for the ­remainder of this season.

Although players will ­receive about 80 per cent of their salary for the full year, most will only be getting about half their normal monthly take-home pay between now and the end of the season.

The NRL agreed to the temporary reduction in fines to ensure players, particularly those on lower salaries, are not ­overly punished for grade-one offences which are often ­nothing more than accidents.

This will be monitored and if foul play gets out of hand, it will be looked at again.

WE SHOULD CUT REFS SLACK

It’s interesting there were 22 errors made by Manly and Parramatta players at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday evening.

Even Mitchell Moses and Tom Trbojevic made three each.

Yet a referee makes one and we’re all up in arms.

Manly were robbed of a fair try in the last minute from an incorrect call on a ­forward pass.

Referees have been making mistakes since 1908. They are human.

Just like the Broncos players who missed 37 tackles on Thursday night.

Mitch Moses made three errors in Parramatta’s win over Manly. Picture: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

TREAD WARILY WITH EXPANSION

The problem with expansion plans in the NRL is ensuring new franchises are competitive.

The TV networks hate blowouts. On Thursday night when the Roosters beat the Broncos 59-0, the ratings were way down on the previous week.

Brisbane’s blowout loss to the Roosters was a turn-off for TV viewers. Picture: Darren England/AAP

The Roosters played some beautiful football and scored some spectacular tries. I loved it but others didn’t and turned the game off in the second half because it wasn’t a contest.

We are never going to get golden-point extra time or last-minute thrillers in every game. But there needs to be an assessment of overall player depth if we’re to have two more teams.

Originally published as Monday Buzz: Problem with NRL expansion plans