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Set of Six: Why we're fizzing for Panthers vs Roosters this weekend

By Jarret Filmer
Panthers Roosters (Photo: Getty Images)

The Knights are back, approximately a hundred players are already out injured, and why Round 26 can’t come soon enough.

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Broncos vs Cowboys is the great NRL rivalry of modern times

The clash between the Broncos and the Cowboys was the subject of almost State of Origin level hype and, somehow, it improbably lived up to it. North Queensland’s Johnathan Thurston engineered his second extra time victory in as many weeks and further proved his credentials as the best to ever lace boot. This epic gold point clash was the fourth such finale between the two Queensland side in the past three seasons including the now classic 2015 grand final. While there is a strong argument that golden point is too taxing a conclusion for regular season contests ditching the extra period would deprive fans of these epic clashes. Broncos vs Cowboys is the reason we watch rugby league – it’s just a pity that we will be forced to wait until Round 26 for the re-match.

The casualty ward is already overflowing

The injury bug continues to bite and it seems like teams dealing with injured stars could be the dominant theme of the 2017 season. North Queensland Cowboys stalwart Matt Scott has been lost for the season with an ACL tear while human headline Jarryd Hayne suffered an ankle injury that could see him on the sideline for a month. Other key players including Canterbury’s Will Hopoate, Warriors’ Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Parramatta’s Corey Norman will spend some time on the sidelines.It’s only round three and some teams are already finding their depth sorely tested. How teams deal with their crocked players could tell the story of the season.

The Knights are back, baby!

The feel-good story of the week was the Newcastle Knights finally recording a win over the battered Gold Coast Titans, a scant 336 days since last tasting victory. In recent years the boys from the Hunter have found themselves in the salary cap purgatory, playing a squad of journeymen and rookies while trying desperately to dig themselves out of the mess left by the Wayne Bennett-Nathan Tinkler era. Despite a line-up featuring only three players with over 100 NRL games under their belt and only an average of 46 caps per squad member the Knights displayed ample heart in their come from behind win over the Titans. With a win over the Rabbitohs the Knights would record back-to-back wins for the first time since August 2015 and exceed their win total for the entirety of 2016 by round three.

The Doggies are still in this

The Bulldogs might be winless after two rounds but it’s quite possible that both losses came against the two best teams in the competition – the perennially resolute Storm and the suddenly rejuvenated Roosters. This Friday’s showdown against the Warriors in Dunedin gives the Dogs the chance to put some runs on the board against an opposition struggling for momentum and with a poor record away from their Auckland home. Will Hopoate and Kerrod Holland’s injury-enforced absence sees the introduction of highly-touted rookies Brad Abbey and Marcelo Montoya, a move that might ignite the Dogs turgid attack. Bulldogs coach Des Hasler is already under the pump with repeated rumors that the Dogs won’t renew his contract past this season. Despite their well-documented woes in the halves Canterbury features one of the best packs in the comp and if the notoriously caustic Hasler can inspire his misfiring halves combo of Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye to a better performance the Dogs are capable of big things. A win over the stumbling Warriors would quiet the whispers for another week.

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Will Hopoate and Kerrod Holland’s injury-enforced absence sees the introduction of highly-touted rookies Brad Abbey and Marcelo Montoya, a move that might ignite the Dogs turgid attack. Bulldogs coach Des Hasler is already under the pump with repeated rumours that the Dogs won’t renew his contract past this season. Despite their well-documented woes in the halves Canterbury features one of the best packs in the comp and if the notoriously caustic Hasler can inspire his misfiring halves combo of Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye to a better performance the Dogs are capable of big things. A win over the stumbling Warriors would quiet the whispers for another week.

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Match of the Round: Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters at Pepper Stadium

The Panthers and the Roosters enjoyed completely different fortunes last season – the Panthers were the promising up-and-comers who saw their finals campaign end at the hands of fellow upstarts the Canberra Raiders. Meanwhile, the Sydney Roosters were a rep-laden underachiever that saw their season go up in flames before a ball was kicked when key playmaker Mitchell Pearce was caught out in a compromising position with a dog.

Now both teams look like they are headed in the same direction in 2017 and this round three clash shapes as an early test of both sides’ final credentials. Luke Keary is shaping as the buy of the season and his combination with a rejuvenated Pearce give the Roosters a dynamic playmaking axis. The Panthers rebounded after their week one atrocity against the Dragons by obliterating the Tigers and showing off their violent attacking prowess. Penrith general manager Phil Gould’s vaunted ‘five year plan’ to return the Panthers to glory has received a lot of flak but the sheer depth of the Panthers squad is testimony to the care and planning that has gone into assembling the team – despite having Josh Mansour, Peta Hiku and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on the sideline the Panthers still boast a three-quarter line of Dean Whare, Waqa Blake, Tyrone Peachey and Dylan Edwards.

Both sides favour a free-flowing, attacking style of football and a riveting showdown in the centres between Peachey and Blake and Roosters Latrell Mitchell and Joseph Manu looms as crucial to the outcome. The Panthers’ demolition of the Wests Tigers made their round one loss to the Dragons look like an aberration. If they can repeat the dose against an emerging Roosters team they will confirm their status as a premiership favourite. On the flipside, the Roosters will be looking to nail another pelt to the wall and the highly-rated Panthers would represent a bigger trophy than either the Dogs or the Titans. You can’t win a Premiership in March but a big win here could confirm either side’s status as a contender.

Picks (season record 9-7): Storm over Broncos / Bulldogs over Warriors / Titans over Eels / Knights over Rabbitohs / Cowboys over Sea Eagles / Raiders over Tigers / Sharks over Dragons.

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Jon 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 4 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 9 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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