Round 8: It's A Deadset Cliche-a-thon!

Round 8 in the NRL and there was a number of great matches as players jockeyed for position prior to rep selection on Sunday night. Most of the usual suspects gained selection as the selectors were loyal to those who had been there before but this didn’t stop a number of up-and-comers from giving their all over the weekend.

The round kicked off on Friday night on the northern beaches and Brookie Oval, where the grand final rematch saw Manly host the Storm. Melbourne said they weren’t looking for revenge, but you just knew a team like the Storm would be on a mission for this game, as shown when Dallas Johnson put Inglis into a yawning gap in Manly’s defence to open proceedings.

Manly responded when their custodian Robertson crashed over, but Melbourne took charge for the remainder of the half and opened up a match-winning lead. First, Turner went over for a rather soft try before the old firm of Smith and Slater went to work. Smith’s chip for Slater found the weak spot in Manly’s defence and the next play saw Matt Cross attack a backpedalling defence to make it 16-4 at the oranges.

Try as they might, Manly rarely threatened the Storm’s line after this. More Slater brilliance extended Melbourne’s edge but while the Wolfman went over soon after, that was the end of the scoring for the night. A fairly easy win to the Storm, but for Manly, questions over their attack without Brookie’s favourite son Brett Stewart will persist.

Meanwhile in Sydney’s golden west, Parramatta was carving up North Queensland. The Cowbores were extremely slow out of the blocks and an enthusiastic Parra was up 14-blot inside 12 minutes. Parra rested on their laurels somewhat for the rest of the half but the Cowbores couldn’t find any answers and failed to cash in on some good attacking ball.

The opening 10 of the second half saw Parra once again look sharp. It was Burt who flew down the sideline, but the kick from Jarryd Hayne which set it up. Hayne looked ominous after returning to his preferred position of fullback, putting in a man-of-the-match effort.

The Cowbores finally woke up in the final half-hour and posted three tries but it was too little too late and a drought-breaking win for the Eels and their small but boisterous home crowd.

The first of four games on Saturday once again saw Saturday afternoon rugby league come to the fore as the Titans welcomed the Bunnies to town. The Titans love playing at home, at their “fortress”, but looks can be deceiving as this game was less than five days after their last game (last Monday at Penrith). On the other hand, Souths’ last game was three days earlier. The rather warm and humid conditions on the Coast were a potential recipe for disaster for the home team.

This initial prognosis was confirmed during the first half as Souths made life tough for the Gold Coast. The pocket dynamo Preston Campbell opened proceedings, but Souths struck back and while not converting much of their dominance into points on the scoreboard, they threatened to drain the Titans of much of their energy. Souths led by 2 at oranges.

The second half saw renewed effort from the Titans but Souths would not back down and a classical battle ensued. Gold Coast had the lion’s share of the ball for much of the half but Souths’ defence held firm time and time again. Finally, Gold Coast pierced Souths’ defences but the Rabbitohs responded almost instantly via the hard-running Luke Stuart.

It appeared as though Souths would hold on for a courageous win against the odds (as well as some dubious refereeing decisions) but Gold Coast re-took the lead through Mat Rogers, were lucky that a late Rabbitohs attacking raid did not result in points before Laffranchi put the icing on the cake with a try in the dying seconds.

The second game on Saturday saw the Roosters travel to the Shire to take on the Sharks. The Gould-Stuart wars threatened to detract attention from this game where both teams were desperate for the two competition points, but actually, this game was in dire need of some excitement, because neither team provided much of it.

However, both teams showed glimpses of excitement in the early going but simple errors meant these opportunities were lost. It was the Roosters who were first to settle down and play some football and they put the first two tries on the board via long-striding Kiwi Shaun Kenny-Dowall. Cronulla responded with a welcome intrusion from the large goalpost pads. The rebound off these gave Cronulla a try and they trailed by just four points.

While the gap between the teams was just four points, the Roosters always looked in control and re-established their dominance early in the second half but through the unlikeliest of sources: Origin prop Nate Myles placed a delicate kick to the corner, brutally exposing Luke Covell’s Queen Mary-like turning circle and beautifully setting up Sam Perrett for a try.

At 18-6, the game was not over but it really should have been as the Roosters were by far the better team and had a number of fair tries denied by the officials. The last of these looks set to cost Freddy Fittler $10,000, but the failure of the Roosters to put Cronulla away allowed Cronulla to hang around and threaten a late comeback.

The last 10 minutes tested the nerves of the Roosters after Paul Gallen barged over but Cronulla never really looked like scoring again and a smartly taken field goal by Anasta sealed the victory for the Bondi Junction outfit.

Next up, the high-flying Broncos travelled to the Hunter to take on Newcastle. Newcastle stole defeat from the jaws of victory last week against the Tigers but they breed ‘em tough in Newcastle: coal miners, steel workers and the like. And Brian Smith loves nothing more than to beat the Broncos.

But Brisbane started strongly and when big Izzy soared above the pack to score Brisbane’s first, it looked to be business as usual. However, Newcastle slowly wrested control of the game away from Brisbane and it soon became evident that they were keener for a fight than their northern neighbours. Mad Dog MacDougall and Mullen gave Newcastle the lead before the storms moved in and Brisbane’s reluctance to get into a dogfight was exposed.

Brisbane’s hole became even deeper after Karmichael Hunt’s poorly executed grubber allowed Uate a saloon passage to a try and Newcastle an 18-6 half-time lead. Brisbane looked so disinterested that their best hope was probably for the game to be abandoned after a huge bolt of lightning knocked out half the lights at Energy Australia Stadium.

Alas, the game resumed – about half an hour later than normal – and Newcastle out-enthused Brisbane to a comprehensive 28-12 win.

The final game on Saturday saw the Mountain Men of Penrith travel to the Nation’s Capital to take on Canberra (dammit, couldn’t get foot of the Mountains in there somewhere). The signing of Luke Walsh was suggested by some to be the final piece of the puzzle for Penrith, but Canberra figured to be hungry for the two competition points with their lowly ladder position and a tough loss to the Bulldogs last week.

Penrith held a narrow lead as the second half wore on (thanks in part to an amazing sidestep by Michael Jennings) but Canberra almost set up camp near Penrith’s line and you felt a typical Canberra home win against the odds was coming up. Canberra finally cracked Penrith’s defences as Carney came down with the ball after a Campese kick and young Dugan had a chance to tie the game up.

Alas, Dugan missed the goal, Canberra turned the ball over after the Panthers lived up to their name in defence and the win was sealed by two of Penrith’s veritable treasure trove of young up-and-comers, Jarrod Sammut and Geoff Daniela.

Sunday’s first game saw the Warriors cross the Tasman to take on the Dragons in Wollongong. WIN Stadium has not proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Warriors, having only won there once and never against the Dragons, but they were out to make history on Sunday afternoon.

The Dragons started strongly but it soon became clear not only were a few Dragons suffering with injury but some carried injuries into the game. As a result, the Dragons’ flame was in danger of being extinguished. A somewhat lucky rebound of a Soward kick was nearly returned all the way by Mannering, but some smart work by the Warriors saw Ah Van crash over in the corner. A sneaky field goal by Stacey Jones gave the Warriors a 7-2 lead at halftime.

The Dragons had to fight off the tough Warriors but also the persistent injury bug if they were going to get the cash in this game. Sailor battled through pain, as did Cooper and Saffy but the Dragons had to make do without key back-rower Jeremy Smith. Much like the Titans, the Dragons struggled to put points on against a committed opponent and when they finally did trouble the scorer, they conceded points again almost instantly (thanks to Jerome Ropati).

But the Dragons persisted with their left-side attack and were ultimately rewarded when Ben Creagh crashed over. The conversion by Soward gave the Dragons a slender one-point lead and despite some nervous moments as the Warriors threatened to play golden point for the third successive match, the Dragons held on for the hard-earned win.

The final game of the round saw the Bulldogs and Tigers square off but what appeared to be a mouth-watering match-up was soured somewhat as the Tigers lost Benji Marshall to the flu in the hours leading up to the game.

This appeared to tip the ledger in favour of the Bulldogs and they were first to score through El Masri, but the dogged Tigers hung tough. Robbie Farah was on a one-man mission without his regular partner-in-crime and had a hand in all of the Tigers’ attacking plays but the Bulldogs were always one step ahead for much of the afternoon.

When dynamic centre Chris Lawrence succumbed to an ankle injury, the Tigers’ backline was unfamiliar to all but diehard Tigers supporters, but it was in the forwards where the Tigers lost the battle. Some smart work put General Patten through a gap before Michael Ennis set up Goodwin with a deft grubber kick on the next play. El Masri’s sideline conversion gave the Bulldogs a six-point lead with only minutes remaining.

Despite some Bulldogs errors and Farah responding in the battle for the Origin hooker spot setting up another try for Ryan, a crucial missed conversion by Gallant and the veteran savvy of the Bulldogs in winding down the clock saw them hold on for a two-point win. While the Bulldogs may not have many star players, their ability to grind out wins week after week certainly stands them in good stead come finals time. They look a lot like a champion team and not a team of champions – a stark contrast to the collection of egos at Belmore in recent seasons.

And with that fine collection of clichés, so ends this week’s Roast. I look forward to your company next week.

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