Set of Six: All aboard the NRL free agency carousel
Johnathan Thurston is out, the Dragons are weirdly good, and some of the game’s biggest stars remain undecided over where they’ll end up next season. Jarret Filmer digests all the week’s talking points from the great game.
Is this the most entertaining NRL season in ages?
Concerns the NRL’s off-field sideshow would take centre stage and overshadow the on-field product were proven resoundingly wrong last week. First, the Panthers and Rabbitohs slugged out a one point arm wrestle on Friday night. Then the Raiders put on a freewheeling extravaganza of attacking football, blowing away an injury-ravaged Titans side with a Jordan Rapana masterclass. Super Saturday provided perhaps the most awkward sight of the weekend with former Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor joining the live panel to comment on his replacement Ivan Cleary completing an unlikely victory over competition heavyweight North Queensland at their Townsville fortress. The Kieran Foran comeback tour continued in another solid performance by the Warriors, a side better known for flashy inconsistency than
Super Saturday provided perhaps the most awkward sight of the weekend with former Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor joining the live panel to comment on his replacement Ivan Cleary, who completed an unlikely victory over competition heavyweights North Queensland at their Townsville fortress. The Kieran Foran comeback tour continued in another solid performance by the Warriors, a side better known for flashy inconsistency than
The Kieran Foran comeback tour continued in another solid performance by the Warriors, a side better known for flashy inconsistency than dour competence. And Melbourne and Cronulla slugged out a soggy Grand Final rematch that saw the boys from the Shire record a scrappy victory.
The NRL might the king of off-the-field controversy but the game on the field isn’t too shabby either.
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When will the free agency carousel stop spinning?
A veritable constellation of stars – Cronk, Foran, Tedesco, Woods, Johnson, Widdop et al. – remain unsigned for next year. This leaves nearly half the teams in the league uncertain about their long-term future, trying to assemble a premiership contender for next season while still trying to win this season. It’s a nearly impossible task trying to serve two masters and it seems certain that once the carousel stops spinning some club is going to find its 2017 derailed by impending player movements for 2018.
Will the Warriors keep improving if both Foran and Johnson are leaving? Can the Tigers continue to surprise if the Big Four find themselves replaced by an even Bigger Four? Modern NRL players are professionals who should be able to keep their standards high regardless of their playing future, but once a player announces they are leaving it is difficult for fans not to question whether they putting in 100%.
Can the Cowboys win without JT?
The sight of North Queensland lynchpin and rugby league messiah Johnathan Thurston going down with an injury will have sent a shiver down the spine of every league fan from Charters Towers to Mt Isa. Thurston is the most influential player since Andrew Johns and the Cowboys have a shocking record when he is out of the lineup. The Cowboys have already racked up a hefty injury toll with Matt Scott out for the season and Jake Granville out for another month. If Thurston is on the sideline longer than anticipated then the Cowboys could find themselves in a deep hole. The side does boast a cadre of impressive young talents including Coen Hess, Gideon Gela-Mosby and Kalyn Ponga. In Thurston’s absence they will need this young X-factor to convert potential to performance if they are to stay afloat.
Are the Dragons for real?
The table-topping Dragons are definitely the surprise of 2017. More prognosticators would have tipped them for the wooden spoon than the minor premiership prior to the start of the season. Instead, they have got off to a flying start by coupling their previously stout defense with a surprisingly inventive attack. n 2017 the Dragons have scored the second most number of tries in the comp (behind only the prolific Raiders) while conceding the second least amount of points. Often teams sporting a surprising record at this point in the season is usually a result of a soft schedule and a fluky explosion of
So far the Dragons have scored the second most tries in the comp (behind only the prolific Raiders) while conceding the second lowest points. Often a team sporting such a surprisingly good record at this point in the season is the result of a soft schedule and a fluky explosion of offense, but the Dragons have already beaten both the Sharks and the Panthers with a repeatable formula based on stout defense.
Widdop is on 🔥#NRLManlyDragons #NRL pic.twitter.com/sB40oOLGTD
— NRL (@NRL) April 8, 2017
Standoff Gareth Widdop could have become disheartened by a lack of a new contract, especially given the big contract handed out to Ben Hunt. But he has played out of his skin with a never-say-die attitude epitomized by his diving on a grubber to score a try when the result of the match was already beyond doubt.
Former Raider Paul Vaughan has been immense and is short odds to receive an Origin call-up while Jack De Belin seems to have pulled a reverse Samson act and only grown in stature once his ridiculous man bun was shorn. Centre Euan Aitken is probably one of the more underrated backs in the NRL, possessing a wicked step and the ability to make defenders miss.
Coach Paul McGregor was on the short list to be first coach fired but now he’s probably going to win Coach of the Year. Things change quickly in the NRL and for the Dragons that change is all positive.
Can the Knights turn improved performances into better results?
While the Dragons are the most improved team in the NRL the Knights are most certainly the unluckiest. While Newcastle were historically inept last season the only thing lacking for the boys from the Hunter this year is a bit of luck. The Knights were on the receiving end of a couple of refereeing howlers against the Dogs, and have recorded three other single-score losses this season (including a one-pointer to the Sharks). With a bit more luck they could be in thick of the playoff hunt right now.
Newcastle have made hard work of recovering from the Bennett-Tinkler era but they have done it the right way, putting their faith in talented juniors and trying to rebuild the club from the ground up rather than opting for a quick fix. Even if the Knights don’t make the eight this season their strategy should bear fruit in the years to come. Combined with canny acquisitions like North Queensland’s boom rookie Kalyn Ponga, the Knights prospects should improve considerably. This Friday they draw a stumbling Roosters side that has lost momentum after a fast start, giving the rejuvenated Knights ample opportunity to turn their positive play into competition points.
Game of the Week: Raiders vs Warriors
Super Saturday sees a showdown between two clubs who both have reputations as the ‘entertainers’ of the NRL. Interestingly, both clubs also come into the match with wins over both the Titans and the Eels. The Warriors have looked like a different team since Kieran Foran took the field, recording back to back wins for the first time since August last season. The Raiders, meanwhile, have shaken off a disappointing start to the season to record convincing wins in the past fortnight, fueled by an expansive attacking game keyed by the scintillating play of wing Jordan Rapana.
The Warriors need to prove they can win on the road against good opposition, while the Raiders simply need to maintain their momentum. If Canberra provides a dry track these two offensive juggernauts could put up a cricket score. Look for the Raiders to take on a crucial Warriors error late in the second half.
Picks (Last Week 5-3, Season Record 29-19): Rabbitohs over Bulldogs / Knights over Roosters / Broncos over Titans / Storm over Sea Eagles / Raiders over Warriors / Dragons over Cowboys.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Unsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
3 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
3 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
7 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
7 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
4 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
4 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
7 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
7 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
200 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
200 Go to comments