Round 21: The Lesser Known Overseas Threat to the NRL

What began as a trickle is now a steady downpour and threatens to become a deluge. The NRL/ARL/NSWRL’s status as the code’s premier club competition is being increasingly eroded by the NRL’s relatively stagnant financial state.

Whereas once it was only the occasional high-profile player or the aging star that chose to move to Rugby Union or to the English Super League, now we are seeing more players – of all skill levels – looking to ply their trade in more lucrative settings.

The threats to the quality and quantity of NRL rosters from England and Rugby Union are well-known by all League followers. The potential damage from the new threat of French Rugby Union has some suggesting the NRL can no longer compete, should merge with Rugby Union, or that any merger would be ultimately futile when the NFL finally realises the size and strength of athletic talent on our shores.

While some people need to step back for a second and think about how silly they sound, Rugby League has to realise it is part of the global sporting village now (just as Uncle Rupert and co. always – and only – wanted I’m sure) and must be prepared for codes/leagues from larger markets to lure their best players away.

One can imagine the white board at NRL headquarters contains all known threats: English Super League, Rugby Union, NFL and the AFL.

But what about Sumo Wrestling: the 1000-pound gorilla in the room…literally? Since Rugby League bid farewell to the National Panasonic Cup in the late 1980s, Japanese interest in the game was confined to having the Toyota name attached to Cronulla’s home ground.

This minimal contribution seemed destined to remain until after an impromptu Saturday afternoon karaoke session for some visiting Toyota executives in June last year. These execs thought they had hit the jackpot: they found a bar which served sake as well as showing Rugby. Alas, the bar attendant thought they were referring to the NRL: the execs were baffled not only by this foreign game, but also by the unusual attire. Skin tight lime green for half the players and skin tight blue and gold for the others – what countries were these two teams representing?

However, before an explanation could be sought, the execs became transfixed with the action on the screen. Specifically, two rather heavy-set players, Weyman and Riddell. The skin tight uniforms did not flatter them at all; they did not share the much more athletic builds of their team-mates. But the dislike between them was unmistakable; the execs could not help but picture them in much more forgiving attire, trading blows and verbal barbs in front of a much larger crowd than the few thousand at Bruce Stadium that night.

The execs returned to their sakes when Weyman was sin-binned that night and the tension between Weyman and Riddell never returned to pre-sin-bin levels as Canberra thrashed the Eels, but these execs would never forget their first game of NRL.

Senior management at Toyota was sceptical of sumo talent emanating from somewhere as unexpected as Australia, but once they saw the vision of Weyman and Riddell, they decided then and there Toyota would become financially involved with Rugby League: the potential was enormous. As discussions progressed during 2007 for a National U/20’s competition – with significant exposure on Fox Sports – Toyota saw their opportunity and the Toyota Cup was born.

Hang on, you might say, Weyman signed with the Dragons for 2009 and 2010. This is true. But look a bit deeper. The red and white, the aging emperor (known as Bennett-san), followers who remember ancient victories like they happened yesterday: the Japanese influence at the Dragons is unmistakeable. When Mick Weyman is the next player to run (relatively speaking) from the NRL and he fools everyone by arriving in Tokyo, remember where you heard it first.

To bring an end to the world’s longest segue, as a tribute to the looming Japanese threat to our great game, this week’s Tuesday Roast will feature the ancient Japanese poetry known as haiku.

Manly v. Penrith

Manly rebounded
Even short-handed, they don’t
Lose two in a row

Manly missed Anthony Watmough and Glen Stewart badly in last week’s loss to the Roosters. They fell behind 18-0 early on and were never in the hunt. Watmough was still missing (as was Lyon and King) but Stewart returned this week. His impact was immediate and significant. Stewart’s size and skills gave Manly’s attack another dimension, as they jumped to an 18-0 lead of their own.

Penrith was missing their own top-shelf second rower in Frank Pritchard, but while Penrith was brave, Manly’s imposing display in the first 25 minutes was too much for them. The enigmatic Pritchard would probably not have made much difference. Penrith brought an excellent away record (8 wins in their last 11 away games) into this game, but they never significantly troubled Manly in this one.

Manly take on Melbourne this Friday night in what looks like a grand final preview. Melbourne shared the spotlight with Manly in Round 21:

Melbourne v. Gold Coast

The banged-up Titans
Were like lambs at the slaughter;
A crushing Storm win

Even though Gold Coast rushed Mat Rogers back and even though Melbourne was playing their 3rd game in 11 days and backing up from a tough game in the wet in Auckland (and the ensuing long flight), this was never close. The 24.5 points start offered on FootyTAB was cancelled out before half-time. The jury is still deliberating as to how Gold Coast could have thought Josh Lewis would do any better than Brad Davis in the sacrificial lamb half-back role against the imposing Storm defence.

Bring on Friday night: Manly has won the last 2 v. Melbourne at Brookvale, but both of these games were played during Origin season. No excuses this time.

The Dragons love excuses, mostly because they perform better when they have them. They performed admirably for most of Saturday night, but fell (again) to Cronulla in a close one.

Cronulla v. St George Illawarra

Gutsy Dragons’ win
Was on, but bad play / good luck;
Sharks by (just) again

The Dragons were missing Gasnier and Ryles and had to make do without Morris (fullback) for most of this game. However, as long-time Dragons supporters will tell you, some of their best performances can come without many of their big names (Gasnier, in particular, seems to be doing his best Trent Barrett impression in his last days as a Dragon).

Cronulla enjoyed the majority of possession and field position in this game, but could not cross the Dragons’ line; they butchered several good chances (how Pomeroy didn’t score with only Jamie Soward to beat still boggles the mind) as the Dragons’ defence held firm.

This pattern continued into the second half, as early Cronulla attack was repelled by continuing hard work from the Dragons and salt was rubbed into the wound when the Dragons scored from a rare venture into Cronulla’s area.

But Cronulla didn’t lose focus. A combination of Dragons’ mistakes, poor refereeing decisions and some good luck for Cronulla saw the Sharks come back into the game. They dominated possession and field position over the game’s final 25 or so minutes and overhauled a 12-point Dragons lead.

Cronulla didn’t totally dominate play during this time: the Dragons made some good plays, such as tackling Brett Kearney into touch as he returned a kick with about 10 minutes to go. But each time, they made a mistake of their own to give Cronulla more ball: in this case, Chase Stanley dropped the ball the tackle after the scrum which followed Kearney’s mistake.

As the Dragons often do, they were stung by losing the lead and almost won the game in the last minute. They elected not to try for a field goal and extra time (which, given their record in close games, was probably a good idea) and instead went for the win. A broken play in the game’s final minute was an unlikely source for Cronulla’s defence to be stretched; the Dragons had an overlap. In hindsight, perhaps putting the ball through hands would have been more successful, but the surprise grubber kick from Matt Prior came within centimetres of being another Morris try.

Cronulla held on for yet another close win – incredibly, their for-and-against is only +15 despite winning 7 more games than they’ve lost – but it was a crushing loss for the Dragons. They look set to have even more excuses next week: Poore and fullback Morris will be out, Gasnier and Ryles may not be back, it will be their 3rd game in 11 days on Friday night and this game is against the Tigers, who have a good record against the Dragons.

The Roosters are a more conventional team than the Dragons: they win and lose when most expect them to do so. So even though they fell behind to the Cowbores, a Roosters win was never in doubt.

North Queensland v. Sydney Roosters

The Cowbores tried hard
But they suck: easy Chooks’ tries
Meant a comfy win

A glance at the ladder confirmed the Roosters needed to back up their win against Manly with more of the same against the Cowbores. They started quite well, but the Cowbores amazingly responded with four tries before half-time. Sione Faumuina is a frequent and easy target, but he was having a significant impact on this game, while the Roosters’ defence of cross-kicks was again called into question as the Cowbores scored several far-too-easy tries by this source.

But the Roosters didn’t panic: they kept the Cowbores scoreless from this point on and added four tries of their own in the game’s final 50 minutes or so to win comfortably.

The best teams are often noted for doing only what is needed to win games, but Brad Fittler would probably prefer Round 22 opposition more lively than Parramatta to give his players a test.

The New Zealand Warriors overcame the difficult test of beating Melbourne in Round 20, but a tricky game awaited them in Round 21. Souths had lost two straight since their great winning streak, but they welcomed back Isaac Luke and it quickly became apparent they were stung by their poor effort in Newcastle last week. The Warriors too put in significant effort, but errors cost them dearly. Still, the overwhelming feeling after the game was one of dé ja vu.

Souths v. New Zealand

This time, Souths snuck home –
(What goes around comes around)
– But got the bad call

Round 7 2007: New Zealand got out of gaol against Souths at Homebush, but were robbed of a try, when the video referee deemed Steve Price’s standard prop play (the hit-and-spin: turning into the defensive line and passing back to a team-mate in the process of making a hit-up) unfairly prevented Souths’ defenders from tackling the Warriors’ try-scorer. This abysmal ruling saw the NRL immediately (again) tinker with the obstruction rules.

Round 20 2008: Souths scored an impressive long-range try midway through the second half. The referee was within milliseconds of awarding the try, but an impassioned appeal from Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli convinced him to go to the video referee. The try was correctly denied, but Rovelli’s actions would not have been out of place on the cricket field. While the try was correctly denied, the review should never have happened. The on-field officials completely missed Craig Wing’s miniscule but pivotal involvement in the play: that should have been that. Souths should have received the try.

Thanks to Rovelli’s actions, the Warriors stayed in the game and probably should have won. Their effort – often a concern when playing lowly-ranked teams – was there, but their bad hands cost them possibly 3 tries. Ultimately, Souths’ goal-line defence won them the game in one of the more entertaining games played this season.

On Sunday, Brisbane and Canberra’s game also fit this description. Brisbane had looked decidedly apathetic in recent weeks. Even the challenge of playing Cronulla saw them coast for much of the game, content that a small lead was enough. But against Canberra, they produced a vintage display against a Raiders’ effort which would have beaten many others in the NRL.

Brisbane v. Canberra

Canberra’s momentum
Came to a halt: Brisbane turned
Back the clock, looked great

After years of having a loaded playing roster, the salary cap, the challenge to their SEQ monopoly and the need to have a younger, quicker roster has seen Brisbane undergo a significant transformation in the last two years. They still have some of the NRL’s best talent, but they lost a heap of big-match experience when the likes of Webcke, Berrigan, Tate, Carlaw, Civoniceva and Thorn all moved on.

The resurgent Raiders, like many opposition teams do, brought their best to Suncorp and liked their chances, but they probably weren’t counting a Brisbane effort last seen in late 2006. Canberra was brave and might have had a shot at winning if they scored during a 15-to-20 minute period early in the second half when they ambushed the Brisbane line, but the rest of the NRL should be scared if Brisbane can produce play like this again when needed over the remainder of the season.

You could have said the same about the Tigers’ effort if they were playing someone other than the Bulldogs.

Wests Tigers v. Bulldogs

Fifty-six points: Far
Too easy for the Tigers
Put these Dogs to sleep

After the Tigers’ thrashing of the Bulldogs, Bulldogs’ CEO Todd Greenberg mentioned some supporters of other teams are feeling sorry for the Bulldogs’ current plight. It is a very tough time for the Bulldogs, but last night’s “effort” by Parramatta should ensure there is no sympathy coming from Eels’ supporters: they have more than enough problems of their own.

Newcastle v. Parramatta

Knights: too big, too strong
Parra: a shell of last year
Hagan has to go

Parramatta is now in strong contention for the most disappointing team of 2008; the Cowbores are up there with them. It is worth noting that the coaches of these teams – Michael Hagan and (formerly) Graham Murray – are known for their reserved approach and rarely raise their voice at their team. Not surprisingly, both teams’ attitude has fallen off markedly in 2008. In hindsight, both Parramatta and the Cowbores allowed the significant talent of a few individuals paper over the cracks of what were rotting fundamental structures.

There is little doubt that Hagan and Murray can both coach and little doubt that many players from both Parra and the Cowbores are still extremely talented, but there is also little doubt Parramatta needs to try a different tack. As the old saying goes, it’s easier to sack a coach than a heap of players (especially if some of those players are on major coin).

Imagine a Ricky Stuart-type at Parramatta. Or even Brian Smith. He is in the middle of transforming what was an older lazy team at Newcastle into an intense, physical, deep and young team which will come closer to a premiership in the next three years than Parramatta ever will. Perhaps Riddell should join Weyman in the Japanese Sumo League next season.

On that note, it’s sayonara for this week.

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