Six become four, don’t write the Roosters off and Braydon Trindall brilliance: The NRL 7 Tackle Set

So long Manly, ta ra Cowboys.

The top eight has become a six and now a four after two more teams were eliminated over the weekend. In truth, the right two teams left at the right time.

There was a feeling that whoever won this weekend – for the record, the Sharks and Roosters – were only earning themselves the right to lose next week to Penrith and Melbourne.

That still persists to some extent, but they play footy on fields, not in feelings, and both sides will leave nothing out there. Whether that matters or not is an entirely different matter against the two standouts all year, who have just had a week off to recuperate.

That’s next week’s problem though – here’s how the second week of the Finals went down.

A good week for…

The Roosters, who comfortably defeated Manly to earn a trip to Melbourne next weekend.

This was a bit of a procession thanks to a horrendous slice of luck early on for the Sea Eagles – more on which later – but Easts still had to put the game away and did so in style.

Last year, they were held together with sticky tape due to injury and still pushed the Storm all the way, so there will be more than a little hope of a rerun at AAMI Park on Friday night.

At their best, they produced some great tries against a Manly team that refused to quit, but Melbourne are on a different level in terms of readiness.

That said, things are warming nicely. James Tedesco is back to his very best after much criticism, which can cover the creativity gap left by the absence of Sam Walker, and the backline remains formidable. Joey Manu, on his last ride before departing to rugby union, is also looking ominous.

Discount the Chooks at your peril.

A bad week for…

Manly, though in truth, it wasn’t really.

They lost Tolu Koula in the first tackle and saw Jake Trbojevic go down in the second. Thereafter, the game was pretty much done.

It was the same story as their last visit to Allianz Stadium, in which Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab both exited inside the first half.

All the stats tell you that losing a back inside the first half to a HIA is a tank on win probability and it’s happened to Manly twice this year at the same stadium.

The Sea Eagles won their Grand Final last week in defeating the Bulldogs and would have been absolutely thrashed by Melbourne in Melbourne, so nobody in maroon and white was especially downhearted at full time.

After two years away from postseason footy, it’s progress and perhaps what is most telling is that the Sea Eagles have added just one player for 2025 so far. They clearly think they’re onto something and are looking to keep the cohesion going. It’s a strong plan.

Standout

Braydon Trindall bestrode Allianz Stadium on Friday night as the driving force behind Cronulla’s crushing of the Cowboys.

He was pulled down for a penalty try that kick-started proceedings, scored another before the first half was out and generally ran the show.

This is a guy with all the talent in the world but who hasn’t always been able to get on the field to show it. Since coach Craig Fitzgibbon unceremoniously ditched Matt Moylan to bring Trindall into first grade on a permanent basis, he’s been rewarded on the pitch – albeit with a little off-field drama.

The halfback tested positive for cocaine while driving and found himself banned as well as ostracised for a brief period. Now, he appears to be doing all he can to make that up to his teammates on the field.

Washout

There’s a long list of players from the Cowboys who would fit the bill, but Scott Drinkwater looms largest.

The fullback is emblematic of the wider problem at North Queensland, which is that they’re, as Australia’s certainly don’t say, all fur coat and no knickers.

This is a side that can be very flashy but has the softest of underbellies, much like their fullback. He’s good for three or four outstanding moments per game, but is a defensive liability.

It’s a little unfair to single him out – Jeremiah Nanai is just as guilty – and it could be that the major issue is actually coach Todd Payten, who has produced one defensively resilient team in four seasons in charge.

A record of two finals appearances out of four years is quite good, but the Cowboys have never been a serious threat in any of them.

They’re now in the Cronulla zone of flat-track bullies, and while they might point out that massive clubs like Souths and Parramatta aren’t even that, the game is about winning, not coming fifth.

READ NEXT: England star named in star-studded player-voted 2024 NRL Dream Team

Everyone is talking about…

The teams that aren’t there.

Melbourne and Penrith got the week off by winning their finals last time out and it will be a minor miracle if they aren’t the Grand Finalists come this time next week.

In fact, you’ll get 14/1 on the Sharks playing the Roosters in the showpiece, whereas the two favourites winning is just 8/13. Barring Nathan Cleary stepping on a cricket ball or Jahrome Hughes drinking nerve tonic, it’ll be a Storm-Panthers showpiece.

That, in many ways, is both the correct answer and the poetic answer. They’ve been the best two all year, by a distance, and deserve to play off for the crown.

For fans of narrative, it was Melbourne who defeated Penrith in 2020, the last team to do so, which makes them prime candidates to break the streak and stop the four-peat.

But nobody mentions…

The New South Wales Cup – even though it’s set up for a historic Grand Final next week.

Newtown defeated Canberra’s seconds on Saturday to claim a spot in the NSW Cup Grand Final against Norths – and if it’s narrative you’re after, come on down.

These are rugby league’s most famous rejects, once rugby league heartlands but now heavily gentrified areas where the footy clubs go about things very differently to most.

It’s vinyl record rugby league, where hipster families (and their dogs) sip craft beer, eat from food trucks and, sometimes, watch the game.

Crucially, they’ve found a spot in the structure that is perfect for what they are, which is heritage brands in an area where the NRL isn’t as hegemonic as it is everywhere else in Sydney.

For both to be in the final – a repeat of the 1943 NSWRL Grand Final – is a great achievement.

Forward pass

We’ve covered every base in the men’s game, so let’s focus on the women.

After ten rounds of regular season, the NRLW finals start next weekend and are delightfully simple: top four becomes top two become Premiers.

Brisbane were crowned Minor Premiers over the weekend by virtue of a better points difference than the Roosters, with the Knights – back to back champions – and Sharks also making the finals.

They were the clear best four all year, and only Parramatta in fifth came close to challenging. Now, we sort the wheat from the chaff and, if recent years are anything to go by, there won’t be much in it.

Brisbane play Cronulla and, in what should be a cracker, the Roosters take on Newcastle. Easts have often been the best team but fell short, whereas the Knights have proven experts in turning up when it counts.

READ NEXT: The 6 Papua New Guineans selected in a Super League Dream Team