NRL Tackle: Matt Dufty and Dragons spine give hope for recovery mission
Our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 15 of the NRL, including positive signs for struggling St George Illawarra.
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Welcome to The Tackle, where our rugby league writers reveal what caught their eye — good and bad — in Round 15 of the NRL.
KNIGHTS v COWBOYS
LIKE: Take a couple of brilliant fullback plays from Kalyn Ponga out of it, and it won’t go down as one of Newcastle’s most inspiring performances. But the best thing to come out of the 12-0 win over North Queensland on Sunday for Newcastle fans is that it all but locks up a place in the top eight for this season. And for a club that hasn’t played finals football since 2013 that’s a good enough reason for Knights fans to start the week in a good mood. The question going forward is how much improvement the Knights have in them? They will need to lift to another level on what they showed against the Cowboys to have any hope of troubling the top teams, although the class of Ponga is always a threat. He set up the only two tries with his silky skills.
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DISLIKE: Rugby league can be the best — but it can also be so cruel. And you couldn’t help but feel sorry for poor Blake Green whose forgettable season has now had the worst possible ending. The former Warrior suffered a suspected ACL knee injury in just his third game with Newcastle after he twisted awkwardly in a first-half tackle. That’s season over for Green who is also off contract at the end of the year. Green, who turns 34 next month, is at his seventh NRL club but it could be his last. If the ACL is confirmed, that would rule him out for basically the entire pre-season, which won’t make it easy to pick up a new club. It was also a rotten blow for the Knights who are already without Jayden Brailey (ACL), Andrew McCullough (hamstring) and Connor Watson (Achilles).
Fox Sports key stats: This was the first time the Cowboys had been held to nil since 2012, ending the longest current scoring streak of any team (221 games). It was also the lowest scoring match since the season restart.
PAUL CRAWLEY
BULLDOGS v WARRIORS
LIKE: How can you not praise the courageous Warriors? Behind 10-0 and then 14-6, New Zealand could easily have fallen in a heap, as has been the club’s way for decades. Away from home, away from family, away from friends and based in a foreign country, the Warriors somehow found some inner strength to topple a disappointing Canterbury. Only the Warriors really know how challenging this season has been on the NSW Central Coast. To record six wins from 15 games is a monumental effort.
DISLIKE: Canterbury’s defensive left edge fell apart badly during the second half, conceding three tries. The Bulldogs were once known for their ruthlessness. Ahead 10-0, the old Canterbury would have crushed the Warriors. But this side seems to have a soft edge, infuriating interim coach Steve Georgallis. The Bulldogs played some dumb footy and remain anchored to the bottom of the NRL ladder. Maybe that’s where they belong.
Fox Sports key stats: The Warriors are undefeated this season when scoring more than 12 points in a game. Canterbury is on track for its worst winning percentage in a season since 1964 after slumping to a 13th loss.
DEAN RITCHIE
RABBITOHS v SEA EAGLES
LIKE: The Rabbitohs’ first half when they raced in 38 unanswered points for the first time in the club’s history. You would think that meant the likes of Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Latrell Mitchell starred. But instead it was Campbell Graham who laid on two tries before scoring two of his own. Alex Johnston had a double, while Adam Reynolds and Bayley
Sironen were also impressive. Wayne Bennett described it as the best first half he had witnessed in the modern era and it was hard to argue. It was special.
DISLIKE: Manly’s season. The Sea Eagles are all but gone in a year which promised so much. Injuries have been cruel on the Sea Eagles and robbed them of crucial players at big moments but that does not excuse some of their efforts on Saturday night. Their season is on life support. They have dropped four points out of the eight and face Melbourne on Sunday with a host of players still sidelined.
Fox Sports key stats: South Sydney has won all eight games against teams in the bottom half of the competition since the resumption, but is none from five against top-eight sides in that period. Manly has lost 11 straight games at ANZ Stadium — its longest losing streak at a venue.
MICHAEL CARAYANNIS
TIGERS v ROOSTERS
LIKE: How good is Siosiua Taukeiaho going? The Tongan international showed why he’s one of the most underrated players and best props in the game during the Roosters’ win over the Wests Tigers. The Tricolours are packed with superstars and Taukeiaho probably doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He recorded 127 running metres, 38 tackles and two line-break assists — but his biggest play of the night was a stunning offload for Drew Hutchison to score. Running out with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, he and Taukeiaho are arguably the best prop duo in the comp at the moment and are key to the Roosters’ premiership defence.
DISLIKE: Wests Tigers big man Russell Packer just isn’t up to first grade anymore. It’s never a good sign when your starting prop misses as many tackles as the number of runs he makes in a game. Although he was only given 23 minutes of game time, he made just three runs and totalled a measly 16m — only four of them post-contact. And to top it off, his final play of the game was giving away a penalty and burning the Tigers’ only challenge, which came back to hurt them several times later in the game. A former New Zealand international, he’s had a great career but no longer warrants a spot in the NRL anymore.
Fox Sports key stats: The Morris twins, who turned 34 on Sunday, scored doubles for the first time playing in the same team. The Roosters led 20-0 at halftime. In 200 games under Trent Robinson, this was the 46th time they had held their opponents to nil at halftime, easily the most of any team in that period.
MICHAEL BLOK
TITANS v RAIDERS
LIKE: Josh Papalii’s ankle tap on runaway Gold Coast halfback Jamal Fogarty will go down as one of the great tackles in NRL history. The 120kg Papalii never gave up as he chased Fogarty for 60m before producing a desperate dive to bring down his opponent, who was certain to score from a 20m restart. It was the type of play that defined the character of the Raiders and why they can avenge last year’s grand final loss. Five-eighth Jack Wighton will be a menace in the finals and their forward pack is outstanding. Titans fullback AJ Brimson was sensational with four line breaks and will be one of the NRL’s elite fullbacks next year.
DISLIKE: The Titans seem to take a step forward and then a step back. While they have shown some promising signs over the past month, they find a way to play themselves out of games. They started on fire against Canberra but quickly surrendered momentum on the back of too many errors. Compounding their problems were injuries to Nathan Peats (calf) and Keegan Hipgrave (ankle), while Anthony Don (ribs), Jai Arrow (shoulder), Ash Taylor (quad) and captain Kevin Proctor (suspended) are also sidelined.
Fox Sports key stats: Canberra has won five of six matches since losing star hooker Josh Hodgson for the season with injury. The Titans’ loss means that teams have won just three of 14 games (21 per cent) the week after playing the Sharks — the hardest act to follow in the NRL.
TRAVIS MEYN
BRONCOS v DRAGONS
LIKE: The development of the Dragons’ spine gives the Red V hopes of a recovery mission next year. Fullback Matt Dufty, halves Corey Norman and Adam Clune, and converted hooker Ben Hunt all showed some superb touches in St George Illawarra’s disposal of the Broncos. Dufty’s 20m cut-out pass for Mikaele Ravalawa’s try was one of the passes of the season, while Hunt and Norman put the boot into the Broncos with some booming kicks at critical stages. Interim coach Dean Young impressed in his debut after replacing the sacked Paul McGregor as he looks to bring a more consistent edge to the Dragons.
DISLIKE: Broncos prop Joe Ofahengaue has reached the crossroads as an NRL footballer. As an Origin prop, Ofahengaue should be leading the way for the Broncos but his defence on Friday night was embarrassing. He came up with consecutive misses in the Dragons’ opening two tries for a 12-0 lead and from there the Broncos were always going to struggle playing catch-up on the back foot without confidence. Ofahengaue was shown up by rookie lock Pat Carrigan, who was simply superb, amassing 195m and 46 tackles in a heroic display. If the Broncos had more men like Carrigan, they would not be in wooden-spoon territory.
Fox Sports key stats: Young is just the 13th winner from 35 mid-season coach changes in the NRL era. It was Brisbane’s sixth straight loss and the Broncos have conceded at least 28 points in all of those defeats.
PETER BADEL
PANTHERS v SHARKS
LIKE: James Tamou deserves some consideration for a NSW Origin recall four years after he last donned a sky blue jersey. At 31, he’s playing some of the best football of his career and he’s become the rock on which Penrith’s 10-game winning streak has been built. The big man is averaging 139m per game, his best return since 2013, and he was at it again in the win over Cronulla, cranking out a game-high 162m from 20 runs. Tamou’s experience and leadership as captain have done Penrith wonders this year and his hard work to revive his career is a credit to him.
DISLIKE: The Sharks’ record against top-eight sides has become a real concern. The loss to Parramatta two weeks ago was disappointing given the Sharks scored more tries than the Eels but their past two meetings against Penrith, in which they have been outscored 94-36, are a measure of how far they still have to go before they can be counted as title contenders. The Sharks are still a finals team but the next few weeks — when they face Newcastle, Canberra and the Roosters in quick succession — will tell us where they are as a team.
Fox Sports key stats: Penrith is the first team to win 10 straight in the regular season since the Sharks (15 straight) and Canberra (10 straight) in 2016. Seven of the 14 teams to win 10 straight in a season in the NRL era (1998+) have made the grand final. Four of those won the competition.
NICK CAMPTON
EELS v STORM
LIKE: The Eels found a way to win — somehow. It wasn’t pretty, nor comprehensive, but the Eels are scrapping and fighting to remain in the top four. Some clubs peak too soon but Parramatta is positioning itself nicely to lift a peg or two in time for a grand final charge. Parramatta’s defence was resolute again, albeit against an injury-ravaged Storm, yet its attack was clunky. The Eels will now refocus their game strategy in coming weeks to improve and refine their attack.
DISLIKE: The perception that some Parramatta players stayed down uninjured to attract a penalty. We’re not doctors so we can’t comment with any authority but feigning injury is unsporting and not what our game stands for. Eels coach Brad Arthur was adamant his players would never lay down. Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy disagreed. It sets up an expected spicy rematch in the finals.
Fox Sports key stats: Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored 22 tries in 20 games at Bankwest Stadium. That’s the best strike rate of any player at any venue in the NRL era with a minimum of 20 games. Melbourne was kept scoreless for the first time since 2014 and for just the sixth time in the club’s history.
DEAN RITCHIE
Originally published as NRL Tackle: Matt Dufty and Dragons spine give hope for recovery mission
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