The Tackle: Matches that matter leading into the finals, NRL bunker lottery continues, Craig Bellamy tactic that could end Brisbane’s season
Penrith might have greater issues than just slipping down the NRL ladder, with one Dylan Edwards moment during their loss to the Raiders leaving the Panthers and their fans with genuine reason for concern. WATCH THE MOMENT.
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FATIMA KDOUH’S likes and dislikes from round 25 of the NRL.
DISLIKES
PANTHERS STUMBLE
Only a fool would write off Penrith’s title hopes after two-straight loses but one Dylan Edwards moment in the loss to Canberra would have left Panthers fans with a case of the jitters.
Sporting a heavily strapped knee Edwards was uncharacteristically beaten in defence as Canberra’s Albert Hopoate blew past the fullback for a try in the 59th-minute.
Edwards was clearly hampered by the knee injury that sidelined him for a month after the Origin decider. Edwards is as tough as nails and played the 2021 grand final with a broken foot.
But with halfback Nathan Cleary already out with a hamstring injury, the fitness of the Penrith’s key men must be keeping coach Ivan Cleary awake at night. The no.7 won’t be rushed back but now that Penrith has slid down to fourth on the ladder, and at risk of slipping out of the top four entirely, his return now feels more urgent.
Then there’s the more pressing matter of how Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy found an edge against Penrith two weeks ago by nullifying the game’s best backfield runner in Brian To’o – and that Canberra borrowed from that blueprint this weekend.
The Storm targeted To’o, kicking to the winger on the last and effectively taking him out of plays two and three, where he does the most damage trucking the ball up field. The Raiders attempted similar tactics and Jamal Fogarty targeted To’o – one of the shorter wingers in the game – with his towering bombs. It paid off, with Xavier Savage outleaping To’o for the first try.
BUNKER LOTTERY CONTINUES
The head-high bunker lottery is not only leaving fans frustrated but disillusioned with the game – and with the finals only two weeks away the NRL needs to find a solution and fast.
Every week the reasons why a dangerous tackle is, or isn’t, a sin bin are seemingly less clear. Buzz words coming from officials like “moderate” force and “mitigating” factors are not providing any more clarity and are only leaving fans confused.
It’s also leaving bunker officials looking for reasons not to put a player in the sin bin, like in the case of Stephen Crichton.
The fact Crichton made direct contact with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s head should have been enough to send him to the sin bin.
Leave the mitigating factors for the match review committee to determine after a more extensive look at the tackle.
There will always be genuine accidents in the game and there should be scope for the referee to rule on such accidents.
But if an independent doctor determines a player has to come off the field for a head injury assessment as a result of a high tackle then the offending defender should also go to the sin bin.
It also puts an onus on the defender to lower their target zone.
While the delay in sin binning South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray for his careless high shot on Tyson Frizell, which ruled the Newcastle forward out of the game, again frustrated fans, the bunker did ultimately make the right call.
The bunker also made the call to sin bin Knights rookie Sebastian Su’a for a direct shoulder to Davvy Moale’s head, even if the Rabbitohs prop seemingly showed no ill-effects as a result of the tackle.
It was initially missed by referee Chris Butler but the bunker reviewed the incident and Su’a made direct contact to the head. It didn’t, and it shouldn’t, matter that Moale wasn’t left wobbly on his feet. Direct contact should be the determining factor.
Then there’s the matter of consistency.
The bunker was to again right rule retrospectively against Sean Keppie for taking out the legs on Knights fullback late after a kick. But this time, Keppie was only put on report. No penalty, no sin bin.
If the bunker can review the Su’a incident after the fact and find it a sin bin offence, then Keppie should have at a minimum been penalised.
At the start of the year, contact to a kicker’s leg was a clear sin bin. On Saturday night, it wasn’t.
One solution to improve consistency is to install a team of specialist bunker officials, rather than rotating through every NRL referee. Eight different referees would have sat in the bunker at the conclusion of round 25.
Having the same people in the bunker every week will help reduce the variability in the decision making process and hopefully introduces more consistency on similar incidents.
JWH HIT WITH LATE BIN
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is facing another stint on the sidelines after the video bunker continued its trend of sin binning players after a delay to review the incident.
Similar situations unfolded on Saturday night when Cameron Murray was marched for 10 minutes on review, with the bunker picking up a late and high shot on Tyson Frizell.
The sin binning of Newcastle rookie Sebastian Su’a was even more delayed after the bunker the time to review a shot on Davvy Moale that was completely missed by the on-field officials. Su’a was sent to the bin in the set after the illegal tackle happened.
Waerea-Hargreaves suffered a similar fate after collecting the head Titans hooker Sam Verrills with his shoulder on Sunday.
The enforcer could be seen telling a Roosters official on the sideline that Verrills had dropped into the tackle before contact.
While that might be true, the contact from Waerea-Hargreaves was directly to the head.
Waerea-Hargreaves had only just returned from a four-game suspension for a shot on St George Illawarra’s Max Feagai.
Given the veteran forward’s judiciary history, Waerea-Hargreaves now faces another lengthy ban on the eve of the finals series.
The delayed reviews, which have become a trend over the weekend, appear to be a reactionary response to the fallout from Canterbury skipper Stephen Crichton escaping a sin bin for his high shot on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
If it is the new way that the bunker will rule on head high contact, there must be a commitment to continue that process even into the finals series.
Otherwise, the NRL will be again accused of an inability to find any consistency with how high contact should be ruled on, and treated, during a game.
MIND GAMES AND MANIFESTATIONS
Brisbane’s finals fate doesn’t rest in the manifestations of Kevin Walters but the tactics of Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy.
The Broncos’ faint top eight hopes are alive after a win against Parramatta and Walters believes a final appearance isn’t a matter of ‘if’ but when.
The Broncos are now in a four-team log jam on 26 points still vying for the final spot in the top eight.
The problem for Walters is Bellamy’s intention to rest a host of stars this week against the Cowboys in Townsville only to name a full complement against the Broncos in round 27 at Suncorp Stadium in preparation for the finals.
“I think no one goes to Townsville. I think they’ll rest a lot of players this week against the Cowboys and have that captain’ run game against the Broncos,” former Storm great Billy Slater said on Channel 9.
“That will be a big game too, a big occasion, I think everyone will play that game.”
A win against the Dolphins, after a gritty against Parramatta, will give the Broncos a physiological boost into the final round but a full-strength Storm will be a level above either previous opposition.
The Broncos will need to produce their best to upset the Storm but haven’t shown enough mettle defensively in 2024 to trouble the minor premiers. There’s a chance Walters will also still be without Payne Haas (foot) and Reece Walsh (hand).
Even Bellamy admitted that resting players ‘isn’t a real good look for the competition’ but the Storm have earned the right to make that call after sewing up the minor premiership and faced with a five-day turn around into the Cowboys clash in Townsville.
The Storm coach confirmed he will rest troops this week but is undecided about the Broncos clash.
No one will be watching, or manifesting, team list Tuesday next week more closely than Walters.
JOHNSON CALL
There’d be no more poetic end to the NRL career of Warriors star Shaun Johnson than to travel to the Shire and sink Craig Fitzgibbon’s Cronulla this week.
But there is already speculation Johnson’s final home game in Auckland against Canterbury will be his last ever.
Fitzgibbon unceremoniously ended Johnson’s career at Cronulla as soon as he was named head coach back in 2021, informing the 267-game veteran that the club had signed Nicho Hynes and he wasn’t part of future plans.
The move shocked Johnson at the time.
There is no suggestion of bad blood or animosity between the pair but if Johnson doesn’t travel to Australia the rumour mill will go into overdrive. The headlines will write themselves.
Fans in New Zealand gave the 33-year-old a fitting farewell and surely Sharks fans will treat Johnson with the same esteem this week. Let’s hope Johnson feels the same.
LIKES
DRAGONS LOSS BREATHES FIRE INTO FINALS RACE
The final two rounds of the regular season have turned into a high stakes battle for five sides after St George Illawarra’s local derby loss on Sunday.
The Dragons, in eighth spot on 28 points, scuttled the chance to cement a top eight berth and no one would have cheered the Red V’s demise against Cronulla more than Brisbane, the Dolphins, Newcastle and Canberra – who are now still alive on 26 points.
Adding even more intrigue is the fact that each of five teams in the running will play one of the other sides still vying for a shot over the final two rounds.
It all kicks off in Saturday’s Battle of Brisbane between the Broncos and Dolphins in a winner takes all affair in front of a sellout crowd at Suncorp Stadium – with the loser all but done for 2024.
There’s also a sudden death feel for the Knights against the Titans and for Canberra in their clash against the Roosters.
The Dragons will need a win against Parramatta to keep a two-point buffer on the other four sides heading into round 27.
Cronulla’s win has relegated three-time premiership Penrith to fourth spot on 36 points with Canterbury, on 34 points, knocking on the door on the top four.
TIGER CUBS ROAR
The Spoonbuster is on for the Tigers and coach Benji Marshall can thank the club’s rising rookies.
After a shock win against Manly, the Tigers will avoid a third-straight wooden spoon if they can overcome Parramatta in the final round of the season at Campbelltown Stadium.
Rookie five-eighth Lachlan Galvin was in fine touch against the Sea Eagles but it was the way he combined with rising playmaker Heath Mason that would have left long-suffering Tigers fans most excited.
It would have also left fans believing that the future has finally arrived for the struggling club.
Galvin and Mason have long been the club’s future hopes after dominating the Harold Matthews (under-17s) Cup competition in 2022 for the Western Suburbs Magpies.
Now the same Campbelltown juniors will play a massive part in lifting the Tigers from the canvas in the final round at the same stomping ground that the teenagers announced themselves as future NRL stars.
Already six players from that title winning under-17s have made their NRL debuts and it’s clear the club’s success can be built on the likes of Galvin, Mason, Tallyn Da Silva, Jordan Miller and Kit and Luke Laulilii.
BACKFLIP CUP
The Backflip Cup was a fizzer after Angus Crichton showed why he is one of the best backrowers in the game leaving nemesis David Fifita in his wake at Cbus Super Stadium.
Fifita had one hand on Crichton’s Roosters jumper in May before an 11th hour backflip to remain at the Titans.
So it’s no surprise Crichton, with a new mean looking haircut, turned up on Sunday afternoon like a man on a mission.
The only problem was that Fifita failed to rise to the occasion, and what was billed as a tantalising clash between the duo, ended in complete dominance by Crichton.
Crichton finished the game with three tries, 122 metres and five tackle busts, in an 80 minute powerhouse display, to not only reaffirm his stature as an elite forward but that he has also now overtaken Fifita in the backrow stakes.
Fifita on the other hand struggled with the Gold Coast heat and only managed 58 minutes, where he made 75 metres and six tackle busts.
It’s hard to believe the Roosters almost let Crichton walk in the process of trying to secure the services of Fifita.
NAS MOVES
Nelson Asofa-Solomona has gone from the chopping block to Melbourne Storm life member in a move that will effectively end speculation about his career at the club.
Asofa-Solomona was rightly nervous when general manager of football Frank Ponissi called him into his office last week. The giant forward thought he was in trouble, and you wouldn’t blame him for believing the meeting had to do with his future.
Instead, Asofa-Solomona’s 200-game milestone was rewarded with the honour of a life membership alongside Cameron Munster and Christian Welch.
It wasn’t that long ago that Asofa-Solomona, who is signed until the end of 2028, was believed to be shopped around to rival clubs.
Asofa-Solomona responded in kind to the honour, producing one his best performances for the Storm this year as he tormented and dominated the Dolphins through the middle third of the field.
It was the kind of dominance Bellamy needs in his forward pack and with the addition of Stefano Utoikamanu in 2025, has the potential to be one of the most formidable prop combinations in the NRL.
MOVE OVER STICKY
Ricky Stuart can steal the show at a post match press conference but on Saturday he was outdone by Elliott Whitehead’s young daughter Nola.
Nola joined Whitehead for what was his last ever post match press conference at GIO Stadium, blowing kisses at the journalists in the room and high-fiving her emotional father.
The Canberra skipper was left in tears at the full-time bell, after knocking off premiers Penrith, as the realisation that he had just played his final game in front of a Raiders crowd sunk in.
After nine seasons in the nation’s capital and over 200 games for the Green Machine, the Englishman will call time on his NRL career at season’s end. Whitehead isn’t hanging up the boots yet, he’s agreed to join Super League side Catalans in 2025 on a one-year deal.
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