The Mole: Cowboys fans entitled to be 'dirty' over outgoing star's shocking performance
Cowboys fans are entitled to be dirty on star centre Val Holmes and Dragons coach Shane Flanagan for having a lengthy meeting just days before one of the club's biggest games of the year.
Just a week after his best game of the season against the Tigers, Holmes produced arguably his worst.
He missed seven tackles in the heavy loss to the Broncos and was well and truly out-pointed by Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs.
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Holmes didn't look like he had his mind on the job, and having only days earlier been made an offer to return to Sydney with the Dragons, who could blame him?
Valentine Holmes was poor against the Broncos. Getty
The Cowboys are partly to blame for allowing him to negotiate with rival clubs despite being under contract for 2025. They should have told him to wait until season's end to explore his options.
The Cowboys are clinging to a spot at the bottom of the eight and were humbled at home by a Broncos side that finally hit top form after weeks of struggling.
Bittersweet moment for Wayne
There has been no bigger critic of golden point than Wayne Bennett but the concept may well have got the Dolphins into finals footy on Sunday.
In a thriller against the Warriors, a booming Sean O'Sullivan field goal in the 84th minute gave the Phins an epic 34-32 win.
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
The victory ended a month-long drought to leapfrog the Dolphins over the Dragons and into eighth spot.
The Dolphins have a far better for-and-against than the Dragons so if they can keep winning over the last few weeks of the season, a finals berth is theirs for the taking.
And maybe Uncle Wayne will think golden point isn't such a bad thing after all.
Early bolter for Blues
It's early days, but Jacob Preston is mounting an irresistible case for Blues State of Origin selection in 2025.
The dynamic back-rower has been one of the driving forces behind the Bulldogs' stunning turnaround this season and was in his element in the impressive win over the Dragons at Kogarah on Saturday night.
Preston showed off his powerful motor by never stopping for the full 80 minutes.
The energiser bunny of the Canterbury pack, the 22-year-old topped the tackle count and ran for over 100 metres as the Bulldogs powered over the Dragons.
The kid is Origin-tough and is doubtless catching the eyes of Blues coach Michael Maguire.
Finals berth Brooks has been waiting for
After a decade of frustration, Luke Brooks is so close to finals football that he can taste it, and his form is showing it.
Brooks was the most dangerous player on the field as the Sea Eagles stitched together an impressive 46-24 win over the Raiders in Canberra on Saturday afternoon.
The former Tigers veteran scored a smart solo try and had a hand in three others as the Manly speed machine blew the Raiders off their own field.
Brooks and Manly are a perfect fit – he's taken a lot of the pressure off fellow 'old man' Daly Cherry-Evans, and has given Manly's pacey outside backs Tom Trbojevic, Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick time and space.
Can Cleary be stopped?
Rival clubs have less than two months to work out how to stop the NRL's Harry Houdini - Penrith Panthers wonder boy Nathan Cleary.
The star halfback has masterminded two of the greatest escapes of all time in the past year – the 2023 grand final and Friday night's epic defeat of arch-rivals Parramatta.
Just like in last year's decider, the Panthers were dead and buried with 10 minutes left on the clock at Parra.
But just as Eels fans were preparing to pop the champagne corks, Cleary decided to press the "go" button. The results were devastating.
With Cleary at No.7, the Panthers are NEVER beaten and these two memorable performances will play with the heads of the likes of the Storm and Roosters in the final series as the battle for the title hots up.
Storm star's timely run
Ryan Papenhuyzen has put the premiership on alert. He's getting back to his best just in time for the finals.
The Storm superstar has had a wretched run with injury over the past couple of years but showed all his old zip in the 28-16 win over Souths at Homebush on Thursday night.
The pocket rocket has played just 29 games since the start of 2022 and there were fears he would never regain his speed and confidence after a series of major leg injuries.
But 'Paps' set Accor Stadium alight against the Bunnies with his electrifying pace off the mark in a danger sign to all the other clubs chasing the crown in the finals come September.
Fitz's defining victory
The Sharks' 44-0 win on the Gold Coast on Friday night will go down as one of the great coaching efforts of 2024.
Missing star halves Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall, the Sharks made the trip up the coast to face the in-form Titans as rank outsiders.
But coach Craig Fitzgibbon wasn't fazed. He gambled on rookie Daniel Atkinson and hooker Blayke Brailey as his halfback combination.
He brought Jack Williams off the bench for a rare starting role, and he finished man of the match.
To crown a fine night for the popular coach, he made a late change to his 17 to start with Toby Rudolf, and the big fella nailed the first try!
