Will Pryce shines again, Latrell Mitchell controversy, Englishmen star: NRL 7-Tackle Set
Will Pryce, Latrell Mitchell and Dom Young
The NRL has never had so many English players and, for the parochial among us, this weekend showed the best of them.
Dom Young got a hat trick, Kai Pearce-Paul scored his first NRL try and, in the women’s, Fran Goldthorp crossed the stripe too.
It might not quite be a record – Herbie Farnworth or one of the Canberra contingent was probably needed to have the most UK tryscorers in a weekend – but it was a bumper showing for the Poms Down Under.
That’s the trivia done, onto the footy. It was a big weekend at both ends as Melbourne upset Penrith to open up what should be an unassailable lead in first, and at the bottom, the Tigers closed in on Parra, defeating Souths with the Eels thrashed in a mudbath by the Roosters.
In between, there were movement everywhere, not least another statement from the Bulldogs. Here’s how it all happened.
A good week for…
Melbourne Storm, who all but sealed the Minor Premiership with a stunning victory at Penrith all the way back on Thursday night.
It was nip and tuck all the way and, as we will see, more than a little broke for the Storm – but you can’t take anything away from them when it comes to grit, defence and depth.
Guys like Tyran Wishart and Grant Anderson have been also-rans at times in their careers, yet as injuries have bitten Melbourne, they have blossomed into some of their best.
Wishart’s try broke the game open with 20 to play, and while it’s probably too early in his career for him to have a trademark, a jink back across the line to isolate a tired middle defender is fast becoming his calling card.
Often, Craig Bellamy’s system has involved raising the level of depth players to allow stars to shine.
This time, it was those depth guys, who realistically wouldn’t be on the field were everyone fit, who snatched a statement victory.
A bad week for…
Refereeing.
Though the Storm’s win was impressive, they were aided by a few dubious Bunker calls, not least the one that granted Anderson a try with Nathan Cleary impeded on the inside.
A night later at Brookvale Oval, the Warriors had an almost identical one wiped off because Daly Cherry-Evans is better at amateur dramatics than Nathan. DCE sold the obstruction and was rewarded, Cleary tried to complete the tackle and was punished. That smacks of being the wrong way around.
In that Manly game, referee Chris Butler totally lost the plot. The average NRL match has 80 sets, but he created 88 by blowing 24 infringements.
In the Bunker, they found evidence to put eight players on report, but when the charges dropped on Saturday morning, two were worthy of mention at all and nobody was banned.
Fast forward to Sunday, where ref Gerard Sutton chalked off two potentially match-winning field goals – one per side for Cronulla and Newcastle – for blocking infringements.
It’s not that he was wrong per se, rather that he seemed to be the only person who remembered this rule, which disappeared for 20 rounds and is now back.
Officials, obviously, have a very tough job and, in general, are overly criticised. This weekend, however, was hard to ignore. Let’s hope it gets better.
Standout
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Josh Addo-Carr, who produced one of the moments of the season on Saturday afternoon.
There have been calls for a 100m race at the Grand Final – as was once won by Lee Oudenryn over Martin Offiah in 1992 – and we got a sneak preview as the Foxx took an interception and headed for the corner, only to have the Hammer run him down and pull off an exceptional trysaver.
As the nicest man on the NRL internet, Wests Tigers superfan The Biggest Tiger, has coined for such moments: rugby league remains undefeated.
Jason Saab might have a word or two to say, especially if the long-striding Sea Eagles winger got 100m to prove his point. His teammate Tolu Koula was a junior sprint champ and his parents were Tongan Olympians, as commentators are legally obliged to mention three times per match.
Keano Kini, the Titans fullback, would be in with a shout and himself showed one of the best performances in the losing side this weekend, topping 350m in the Gold Coast’s defeat to St George Illawarra, including several long breaks.
Even our own Dom Young would be in with a shout, though his hamstrings remain an issue. He scored three this weekend but was given an early rest to save his legs, one of which was still heavily strapped
Washout
Latrell Mitchell, as per usual, after he was photographed dangerously close to what appeared to be white powder.
A ban is incoming from the NRL, likely the same one match that Val Holmes received for a similar incident, and potentially more internal punishment from South Sydney will follow.
This has been a turbulent season for a bloke who only deals in turbulence, with multiple injuries, bans and constant headlines, including positive ones such as his stellar showing in Origin 2.
His defence of Ezra Mam after his racial abuse, for example, was noble, and the NRL media in Sydney’s obsession with washed up former player and boxer Anthony Mundine ensured that a gesture of solidarity from a current player was strung out into a protracted spat with a known loudmouth, benefitting nobody but website traffic.
Getting into a slanging match with NRL360 host/player agent/permanently unmentioned conflict of interest Braith Anasta, however, didn’t help, and an inability to stay on the field positively impacting South Sydney has to be the main issue.
The Bunnies will never turn on Mitchell as long as he’s contributing on the field, and will always back up his activism, as they should.
This is his fifth season in Souths colours and he is yet to top 17 matches in any of them. When he’s there, he’s great – but he’s not there enough. That will be the kicker for his club, not white powder.
Everyone is talking about…
The new class of the NRL Hall of Fame – now including its first English member, Sam Burgess.
Sam was joined by a huge list including 70s hardman Les Boyd, Indigenous legend Lionel Morgan, Balmain hooker Benny Elias, ex-Broncos and Wigan star Steve Renouf and a raft of more modern names from the all-conquering Storm side of the 2000s, Benji Marshall, Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis.
Wayne Bennett and Jack Gibson also went in, opening a coaching side of the Hall.
Less mentioned were the 6 Women’s RL pioneers, who are finally rewarded for their part in the birth of the Jillaroos in the mid-1990s. It’s well overdue, especially given how great the NRLW has been for the game in Australia.
But nobody is mentioning…
Will Pryce, who laid on four try assists in NSW Cup but remains bombed out at Newcastle for reasons nobody quite understands.
The Knights lost to the Sharks from a winning position with Phoenix Crossland, a utility/hooker at 7 and Tyson Gamble, the definition of solid but unspectacular, at 6. Not for the first time, a bit of spark would have gone a long way.
They are now pretty much done for the year, as is Gamble who has broken his hand. Pryce, surely, must get the end of the year to show what he can do.
Forward pass
All eyes are on Wollongong next Sunday with the most pivotal Southern derby in years set to take place between the Dragons and Sharks.
St George Illawarra’s win over the Titans moved them above the Dolphins into 8th spot, while the Sharkies’ golden point special kept them in the top four.
With Manly and Canterbury in games they should win, the pressure is on Cronulla to keep their spot.
The Dolphins have a huge ask away in Melbourne, so a Dragons win could all but lock in their place in the post-season. It’s all to play for in the Gong.
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