Round 21: "That's A Big Call!"

“That’s a big call. That’s a big call!” Feral Thurston was stunned: his team-mate Luke O’Donnell was just sent from the field in May last year for using an elbow as a weapon whilst in possession of the ball. This hadn’t happened since….maybe Craig Smith (when he used to visit the judiciary a handful of times per season) but Cement Gillespie certainly was dismissed similarly in the late 1980s. Even more amazingly, O’Donnell was sent off by a rookie referee.

However, O’Donnell could not have struck Luke Lewis in the throat any more sweetly if he had tried and he had acquired a reputation over many years for raising his elbow at inopportune moments (most notably when he inflicted similar pain on to Michael Monaghan’s jaw in 2003). In fact, Feral’s “big call” was anything but; instead, it was exactly the right call and one that had to be made.

Below are 10 “big calls” from Round 21:

St George Illawarra against Melbourne will likely be considered as the most interesting match of the season…unless they meet again in the semi finals.

Not only was this match a chance for the Dragons to exact some revenge over a long-time tormentor, but it would be a great test of their ability to win in big games. Early on, the Dragons started strongly and took the lead, but Melbourne responded with a level of play not seen from them…perhaps ever. They were clearly pumped at the prospect of defeating the probable minor premiers and this was seen in their level of intensity and well-thought-out strategy. Also, history has shown they are rarely able to play at this level in the few weeks after the Origin series concludes.

Not long after the Dragons took their lead, Melbourne responded with two tries, the second of which pitted Inglis and Soward together in a scene which was probably not far off Soward’s worst nightmare. As he did in their Round 1 meeting, Soward went high trying to tackle Inglis and copped the brunt of Inglis’ strength, but he somehow stayed in the play. The only weapon he had left to stop Inglis scoring was the Slater kick; this (just) failed, but the referees rubbed salt into the wound by giving a possible 8-point try.

Dragons coach Wayne Bennett would have been delighted at Melbourne’s approach to this game; whether the Dragons won or lost, this game was going to be a great test for his relatively young team. The Dragons responded before half time as Soward found Sailor out wide, but Soward was perhaps still understandably affected by the intensity of the Melbourne effort and this was reflected in his second missed conversion of the game.

Even though they lost Sika Manu to a broken leg early on, Melbourne looked to have a great chance to win this game. Cameron Smith was causing havoc around the ruck, Dallas Johnson somehow found the energy to have an excellent game and Billy Slater continued his brilliant form. However, the Dragons (largely) kept their composure, maintained their intensity and (with a few pieces of luck) kept Melbourne scoreless for the remainder of the game while scoring three tries of their own.

At times they appeared a little….anxious and probably expended a bit more energy than they normally would (due to the semi-final-like game arriving earlier than expected), but for the Dragons to achieve such a win was a significant step. Yes, they were quite lucky that Tomane’s acrobatic effort for a try for Melbourne was disallowed for no good reason (it was not possible to see his elbow out of the field of play when he touched the ball down), but it was a stirring Dragons’ victory…and a possible pre-cursor to perhaps an even better game in Week 3 of the finals if the Dragons finish 1st, Melbourne finish 4th and results go as expected.

Jamie Soward: was this the game where he finally confirms his brilliance in big games?

This game was not just a test for the Dragons, but it was a huge test for their prolific but somewhat inexperienced (at least in big matches) five-eighth Jamie Soward. His skills and talent are not in doubt, but the fact that such a player was kept away from the Origin blowtorch in a year when NSW was crying out for talent suggests those in the know where unsure of Soward’s ability against the very best and uncertain if a bad game at this level would severely stunt his development.

Soward has dominated the lesser lights in recent weeks but he quickly became aware of the difficulty of the task in front of him on Friday night. It wasn’t just the looming spectre of Inglis and his lethal palm, but a battle-hardened, smart team full of big-game players who wanted nothing more than to shoot down this season’s best team so far.

The task for Soward became even more difficult when he sustained a shin injury early in the second half and it appeared he needed to leave the field for treatment. Eventually, a combination of his own pride and determination and a fire-up from Wendell Sailor saw Soward overcome his demons (at least on this night) and lead his team to a famous win. The pinpoint long passes, the accurate kicking game, the much-mimicked but quite precise goal kicking ability and his blinding speed were all on display in the second half. He probably needs to come through another half-dozen or so games such as this to prove himself to the people that matter, but overall, it was a very positive night for Soward.

Steve Turner: the worst signing for the Bulldogs since Brett Howland (or Leon Bott)?

Apart from Soward’s resilience and the video referee blunder to disallow Tomane’s try, the other talking point after this game was Steve Turner (Melbourne’s other winger) and his quite pathetic attempt to outpace Ben Creagh and score what would have been a very important try.

Turner gathered a loose ball with about 15 minutes left and saw a very generous sideline gap. He executed the standard in-and-away on Darius Boyd and had no defenders in front of him. Any winger worth his salt should score in this situation, but after 30 metres or so of sprinting, he inexplicably slowed up and slightly headed infield.

At this point, Dragons’ second rower Ben Creagh — the closest defender, but realistically no chance of catching a winger in a sprint — received a burst of hope; now he had a chance of collaring this excuse of a player and the worst NSW Origin player in history. Turner realised his mistake, but couldn’t accelerate away from Creagh. Hornby joined in to stop Turner’s progress and after the rest of the Dragons arrived and repelled the Storm in that set of tackles, the Kogarah Oval crowd rose as one, a great win was as good as sealed…and Turner’s reputation as a joke was confirmed.

Replacing one of the great wingers ever (still) with Steve Turner? Usually the Bulldogs make astute signings, but this one is way off the mark. Time will tell whether Turner will be as useless as other pathetic wingers Brett Howland and Leon Bott or hooker Michael Sullivan (all of whom came via the Cronulla Sharks: no coincidence there) but look out for Turner to be playing lots of park rugby league next season.

It might be a little late, but it looks like the Gold Coast’s annual decline has begun.

It’s hard to blame the Gold Coast for playing at such a high level for so much of this season. They are understandably so keen just to make it to September after disappointing finishes to their first two seasons, but in doing so (probably), they may very well have burnt themselves out.

Sure, the Cowbores’ effort against them on Friday night was one of the better ones seen this season, but the Titans were so far off the pace. Usually, their intensity and consistency of effort — especially at home and against good teams — means they are always a great chance of winning, but it became apparent after a few minutes on Friday night this was not the usual Titans. They threatened to score early and start well, but their attack was lacking. Even when try opportunities presented themselves (to Minichiello and Gordon), there was not the hunger and effort to score. You know when Matt Bowen stops you from scoring one-on-one that something is not right.

Granted, Gold Coast was without several important forwards (Laffranchi, Harrison) as well as Mat Rogers, but they have made do without injured players at different times all season. They will likely improve when these injured/suspended players return, but it’s hard not to see the Titans limp across the line unless they can find another gear (as the top teams do).

Feral Thurston >>>> Prince

In a way, the struggles of the Titans against the Cowbores were represented by the tough night Scott Prince had against Feral Thurston. Prince is a very experienced, skilful and capable player…but he doesn’t have the extra gear for big games. He’s just not enough of a Feral. Interpret that however you like, but Feral Thurston…he might not always produce when needed, but when he does produce, he leaves pretenders like Prince in his wake.

Prince tried to bring his team back into the game, but it was never going to happen. Some say he is unlucky not to have played many Origin games due to Lockyer and Feral, but there is a feeling he might not be much good at the Origin level, not at this late stage of his career anyway. Look for Cooper Cronk to take over from Lockyer when Lockyer retires from representative rugby league next season and for Prince Charles to regret the extremely long tenure of Queen Lockyer.

Cowbores played great…almost as great as their cheerleaders think they always play.

It was an excellent and very timely performance from the Cowbores. Feral was very good, but Matt Bowen was even better. He dominated at both ends, with several try-saving tackles followed up by tries and try assists.

However, to say they (and he) were overdue for such a game was an understatement. After their highly fortuitous late-season run in 2004, they had a better season in 2005 but couldn’t overcome the might of the Tigers, losing heavily to them three times in the season’s final few months. Since then…they threw away a brilliant start in 2006, they somehow made it to the prelim final in 2007 without any decent forwards and with Feral playing without two shoulders and stunk it up in 2008.

Yet the Cowbores somehow escape any media criticism for their lack of results. Mention the Cowbores to most media commentators and have your sick bucket at the ready…”Matty Bowen, what a player, an excitement machine!!!!....Thurston to Bowen, what a combination!” These comments might be credible if they were accurate for more than a few times a season.

If they could play at somewhere near the level they showed on Friday night, they would be a legitimate shot at a premiership and deserving of their massive amount of kudos. But there has rarely been a bigger ‘if’ in the history of the world…

KHunt’s greatest skill might be his evasiveness…but he’s no Michael Jordan.

Much has been said on Karmichael Hunt’s jaw-dropping mid-career code change. Most of the good points have already been made a number of times since last Wednesday (for an excellent summary of everything KHunt, see Phil Gould’s article from Sunday’s SMH) but there are some left to be made.

To paraphrase a point made by Gould, if KHunt wanted a challenge, he could have stayed at the Broncos and helped them out of the rather massive hole they are currently in. Signing Folau for $400m or whatever ludicrous amount they paid for him whilst letting key forwards Stagg, Hannant, Ennis and Eastwood leave (and keeping Joel Clinton) has proven to be an incredibly bad decision from what is usually a smart club when it comes to player signings. Did Bennett approve of this before he left? Or did he approve knowing it would ruin the club which didn’t want him any longer? Whatever the reason, KHunt showed on Saturday night he does not possess the aptitude or the attention span to stick around when times are tough and do the hard work.

KHunt mentioned that he made an impromptu trip to Melbourne the day after Brisbane’s game against the Tigers in Sydney. How did he throw his team-mates and club officials off the scent? A visit to his dealer perhaps? (This would have met with Hodges’ seal of approval). This was just a few days after Joel Clinton brought a girl back to his hotel room (which cost him a massive fine); surely lying to your team-mates is the worse offence???

Speaking of KHunt’s attention span though, it has been documented on several occasions that he is not a fan of watching NRL at all; he’d rather be on his PlayStation or watching NBA. Hopefully, KHunt’s decision was not influenced by Michael Jordan and his stint playing baseball over 18 months in the mid 1990s. Not because Jordan was a failure at a game he loved as a child, but because Jordan’s time away from basketball has been rumoured to be a gambling-related suspension (rather than time away from basketball due to burnout).

Given KHunt’s rather dubious extra-curricular activities, he may be trying a little too hard to be Like Mike, but it’s hard to see KHunt returning to the NRL in two years and dominating the game like Jordan did. Farewell KHunt; hope the toilet cubicles in Melbourne are large enough for you.

Penrith, Newcastle, Parramatta (in addition to the Gold Coast) took a trip in the NRL time machine — but had differing views on what they saw.

The Gold Coast’s return to their form of late 2007 and 2008 has already been discussed, but the time machine was in use for a number of other teams this weekend.

Newcastle is a very similar team to the Gold Coast; quite young (as a combination), well coached and overachieving (until the last few weeks). It is perhaps not a surprise both teams have (finally) dropped off, but it is probably somewhat more disturbing for Newcastle, given their team was relatively more intact than Gold Coast’s and they were up against less talented opposition. While it can be understood that the Roosters had the motivation of playing for their 2010 coach and losing the wooden spoon, Newcastle’s effort was just not good enough.

In years gone by, Penrith was always a risk of losing when expected by most to win, while they were also a risk of winning when expected by most to lose. These traits looked to have disappeared this season and they were more ‘predictable’ than they had been but the last two weeks has seen their notorious inconsistency return.

Their impressive win in Townsville was followed up by a woeful first 52 minutes against the Warriors, but somehow Penrith escaped from this amazing game with a point. The return of their inconsistency may not be a problem this week (when they play the Dragons), but they will need to perform well against the likes of Brisbane and Souths if they are to play in September this year.

Finally, Parramatta have been very poor against lesser NRL teams this season and some expected a fired-up Cronulla would continue this trend, but Parramatta’s great run of success at Woolooware and a winning streak and solid form which reminds many of their late run in 2006 was further built upon on Sunday as they thrashed the gallant Sharks.

Hayne and Watmough are…well…’men against boys’ does not do them justice

Put simply, Jarryd Hayne and Anthony Watmough are running rampant over their opposition each week at the moment. Parramatta and Manly have played some impressive teams in recent weeks but this has not slowed down Hayne or Watmough. They also dominated the latter State of Origin games and have continued their form into this part of the NRL season — very few players can claim this last point.

More impressively for Hayne, his form has largely occurred without any significant help from his team-mates. As Parramatta’s winning run has continued, so has the help Hayne has received, which bodes well for the Eels, but early on, he was almost a one-man band.

Watmough is part of perhaps the best forward pack in the NRL, but his all-round efforts — his defence is hard-hitting without being hit or miss, his dummy half runs and hole running are both exemplary — mean he can have a significant influence on a game without making the highlights on the news. But he was everywhere against the Tigers last night, scoring tries, at dummy half, in defence and for 80 frenetic minutes as well.

It is hard — very hard — to repeat as NRL premiers (Or…to soar without wings and a sense of direction is extremely difficult).

Unfortunately for Watmough, his team is hard-working but dumb. Manly should have handily defeated the Tigers last night, but failed to exploit the holes in the Tigers’ hard-working but ultimately sloppy defence until it was too late.

Also, their attack near the opposition goal-line was once again dumb. Too much sideways movement and a poor kicking game from Matt Awful and Jamie Lyon meant the Tigers’ new-found verve in defence was very effective in the first 50 or so minutes.

However, Manly’s endurance and greater physical capability meant they were able to come home extremely strongly once it became apparent the Tigers were happy with 19 points on the board. Tony Williams — The Comatose Giant — awoke from his year-long slumber to score an incredible try (then fell asleep once again) but it was Watmough and his skilful hole-running which dramatically cut into the Tigers’ lead.

Manly’s other winger, David Williams, almost scored after TCG’s effort to start the years of work needed to make up for his horrific first-half blunder but was just pushed into touch. For those who missed it, Robbie Farah miscued a field goal late in the first half and the ball fell to Wolfman. Channelling former Eel Paul Carige and his infamous semi-final blunder from 1998, Wolfman decided a long kick straight to the Tigers was the best play here. Unfortunately, Benji Marshall decided against the field goal attempt (as took place after Carige’s blunder), which would have been a brilliant moment.

While the theatre of the moment was not lost on anyone watching the game, this may prove to be the end of the Wolfman. Perhaps his best characteristic was his ability to shrug off mistakes and continue to run the ball fast and hard. Origin tested him as he hadn’t been tested before, but no matter how many mistakes he made and how many times Inglis palmed him off, his self-confidence remained strong. But in the second half last night…David Williams (sans beard) was a wreck. The Tigers sensed this and pressured him relentlessly; fortunately he made no more howling errors (like Carige did).

Those with a greater sense of history would remember fellow winger Steve Mavin and his catastrophic display against Canberra in week 2 of the finals in 1987. After a number of blunders and Canberra on the way to a cricket score, he was replaced and left the ground quickly. Mavin’s career was not as doomed as Carige’s but Wolfman would hope his career is not like either...but it could be possible.

Despite all of Manly’s problems, they still should have won, as the Tigers faded. Alas, Matt Awful missed one field goal and was on the way to a horrendous miss, before the charge-down gave Manly the ball again inside the last minute. The Tigers’ defence was shot and stranded on the line; Awful didn’t know whether to shape for the field goal and the certain win in golden point or the match-winning try as the ultimate knockout punch. Both options were very available, but Awful went for the lowest percentage option and failed with his fling pass to TCG.

In many ways, this game represented Manly’s season so far: a wonderful team on paper, looking (at times) world-beating, but just off their game enough in some key areas so that success is so close but yet so far. At their best, they could very well repeat as premiers, but the effort they’ve had to expend this season after their slow start, the additional workload of their Origin players and the accrued ‘miles on the clock’ means that a Manly premiership win will be somewhat harder work than it was in 2008. Perhaps the return of Brett Stewart will be the catalyst they need (and will help them to put either Wolfman or TCG — or both — into reserve grade), but it would be no disgrace after all they’ve had to endure if they do not repeat as premiers; it is extremely difficult.

See you next week.

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