1
Set of Six: Is it time for the NRL to expand into Western Australia?
With the Western Force’s days seemingly numbered, is the door open for a new NRL franchise to swoop in and pick up the oval ball fans who would be left without a team? This and more in this week’s Set of Six.
Has normal transmission resumed?
After a few rounds of topsy-turvy results and unpredictable upsets, Round 4 saw things return to relative normality. The Broncos and the Storm each eked out another win, Penrith obliterated the Knights and the Warriors racked up another listless defeat. The top eight has a familiar look now, with only the Dragons and Sea Eagles continuing to confound pre-season expectations with several solid performances. The only presumed contender currently lying outside the eight is the Canberra Raiders, who have endured a run of losses to fellow heavyweights Brisbane, North Queensland and Cronulla. The bottom three teams on the table – Warriors, Knights and Tigers – all seem like fair picks to fight it out for the wooden spoon. Suddenly the season seems to be taking shape.
Is Luke Keary the buy of the season?
It’s probably a bit early to be handing out accolades like ‘Buy of the Year’ but Keary’s impact on the Roosters (and their undefeated record) is undeniable. Departing Souths under a cloud after a drunken bust-up with owner Russell Crowe, Keary’s combination with a rejuvenated Mitchell Pearce and fellow underrated acquisition Michael Gordon has given the Roosters attack definite shape, something it has lacked since the departure of James Maloney. Importantly, Keary has taken advantage of the array of attacking weapons the Roosters possess, already equalling his 2016 season total of try assists by round four. The Roosters are seldom down for very long and after a miserable 2016, the smart acquisition of Keary and Gordon looks set to have them back on track to contend for the finals.
ADVERTISEMENT
[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1473723640″]
Are the Dragons contenders or pretenders?
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the first month of the season is the strong form of the St George-Illawarra Dragons. Coach Paul McGregor was a favourite to be the first fired, but four rounds in he looks more likely to win Coach of the Year than join Jason Taylor in the unemployment queue. Despite the lack of players with ‘star’ reputations, the Dragons have forged a winning style on the back of a tough and uncompromising forward pack fronted by the granite-like Paul Vaughan, rugged Tyson Frizell and emerging lynchpin Jack De Belin. Elusive centre Euan Aitken is one of the most underrated players in the comp and continues the tradition of attacking weapons established by Matt Cooper and Mark Gasnier. While the halves combination of Gareth Widdop and Josh McCrone don’t have the reputation or skill set of some other duos around the NRL they have taken advantage of the strong platform laid by the formidable forward pack. It might not continue but the Dragons are definitely making the most of their early season opportunities.
Can Ivan Cleary turn the Tigers around?
After the sacking of Jason Taylor, NRL Twitter managed to whip itself into an absolute frenzy of speculation and outright fabrication – Ivan Cleary was the favourite to take over the job until Des Hasler was going to be fired and Cleary was going to take over at Belmore, taking the Tigers’ ‘Big Four’ with him until he wasn’t. Now it seems like Hasler will remain employed by the Dogs and Cleary is headed to Concord Oval, a result which would be a win for the Tigers. Cleary was a calm and stabilising presence during his time at the helm of the Warriors and the Panthers and has shown an aptitude for taking young, flighty teams and turning them into playoff contenders. There are definite question marks about whether he possesses the tactical nous to lead a team to a Premiership but for a club like the Tigers which has enjoyed little success, a boatload of turmoil and a revolving cast of coaches in recent years a little stability in the form of Cleary is just what the doctor ordered. Hopefully, his signing will convince the ‘Big Four’ to re-sign so the club can get back to the business of winning games.
Is it time for the NRL to expand to Western Australia again?
The imminent implosion of Super Rugby’s Western Force seemingly opens the door to the possibility of expansion once again – if the Rah-Rahs abandon Perth then it makes all the sense in the world for the NRL to swoop in and try to pick up any oval ball fans left without a team. Perth already has NIB stadium, a modern venue ideal to host an NRL franchise and the time difference would open another lucrative broadcasting window. The NRL has resisted expansion since the 2007 introduction of the Gold Coast Titans but the time feels right to add another pair of teams – particularly in regions that could expand the NRL into a truly national competition. Critics would point to the failure of the Western Reds as evidence that top level rugby league can’t survive in WA, but the Reds were victims of the fallout of the Super League war and the Storm have long since proven that a team can thrive in hostile territory outside rugby league’s traditional heartland. Rugby union in Australia is at crisis point and it would be foolish if the NRL didn’t try to take advantage. Adding a franchise in Perth and another in Brisbane seems like a slam dunk.
Game of the Week
Melbourne Storm vs Penrith Panthers
It’s an old boxing adage that styles make fights and this match is the perfect NRL example of how clashing styles can make for a compelling contest – the stolid and well-drilled Storm versus the youthful exuberance and attacking flair of the Panthers. The Storm are established contenders, while the Panthers were a chic pick to challenge for a grand final berth. If the Panthers can hand the Storm their first loss of the season then they will certainly establish themselves a serious Premiership possibility. The Storm have made their reputation on grinding down high octane attacks with their regimented defence – if the Panthers can challenge Melbourne’s vaunted defence then this could be one of the games of the year.
Picks (season record 20-12): Broncos over Bulldogs / Roosters over Sea Eagles / Cowboys over Rabbitohs / Sharks over Knights / Raiders over Eels / Storm over Panthers / Warriors over Titans / Dragons over Tigers.
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments