‘Act of petulance’ could cost Raiders gun big time
Corey Horsburgh is one of the Raiders′ big guns - but he still has the bad habit of losing his head under pressure, and rival teams know how to exploit it.
With the Raiders’ finals hopes hanging in the balance in the dying stages of a thriller against Newcastle on Sunday, veteran Knights centre Dane Gagai pushed the buttons of ‘Big Red’.
Corey Horsburgh is sent to the sin bin. NRL Imagery.
Gagai had words with the big forward and jostled him - and Canberra got the penalty from which they could have won the game.
But that wasn’t enough for Horsburgh - he gave Gagai a slap across the head and was promptly sent to the sin bin.
The Knights were clinging to a 26-24 lead at the time, and added a late try to Dom Young to end any hope of the Raiders playing finals footy this year.
Horsburgh has been told he can talk to rival clubs over the off-season - but he may well have blown his chances of picking up a rich deal with yet another act of petulance.
On Monday, the NRL handed the Raiders firebrand an $1800 fine.
Off-contract Souths star ‘should kick down the door’ of Bunnies boss
Cody Walker should kick down the door of Souths CEO Blake Solly and simply demand a new deal for 2027.
Souths are holding off re-signing the veteran five-eighth, who turns 37 in January.
But Walker showed exactly why the Rabbitohs needed him to hang around on Saturday night, when he held a shaky Souths team together in the final stages of a thriller against Parramatta.
In a remarkable game, Walker did much of the early damage as the Rabbitohs charged to a commanding 28-0 lead at half-time.
But as his teammates panicked in the second half as the Eels mounted a gallant fightback, it was Walker who kept his cool.
And he ensured victory in the 79th minute when Parra were set to mount one final surge for what would have been the biggest comeback win in premiership history.
The clever veteran had other ideas, booting a 40/20 that effectively sealed the result.
With a lot of young players in their squad, the Rabbitohs need Walker’s experience and he is fit and sharp enough to go around for another 12 months.
Cody Walker. NRL Imagery
Helter skelter football produces iconic weekend
August 8, 2026 will always be remembered in the game’s history as “Silly Saturday”.
Rarely have three games on the same day produced such crazy football with comebacks, chokes and remarkable scores.
In game one, Manly led 14-0 before the Storm piled on 42 straight points, eventually finishing 42-20 winners in Perth.
Then straight after that, the Battle of Brisbane was one of the classic games of the year, with the Dolphins coming from 24 points down to score a memorable 40-32 win.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow of the Dolphins is congratulated by teammates. Getty Images
In game three, Souths cruised to a 28-0 lead before just hanging on to win 28-24 over a brave Eels outfit.
The three games showed the need to play for the full 80 minutes in this new era of helter skelter football - and sealed the fates of two teams along the way.
Manly’s fifth straight loss means they will miss finals footy after looking great things to get there a month ago.
And the Phins have almost certainly qualified for finals footy for the first time with their superb fightback against ‘big brother’ Brisbane.
The Phins looked out of the hunt early, trailing 24-0 early, before mounting their amazing comeback.
There isn’t a more exciting team to watch in the league than the Dolphins and with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow unstoppable, they could do real damage in the finals.
Kieran Foran. Getty Images
Manly coach Kieran Foran was a dejected figure after his team’s capitulation to an injury-ravaged Storm team.
After such a promising start, they crashed and burned, with boom fullback Sua Fa’alogo leading the rout with his attacking skills.
The Achilles heel Dogs need to address
The Bulldogs need to over overcome their sluggish starts to matches to have any chance of sneaking into the finals.
In Friday night’s nail-biter against the Roosters, they trailed 8-2 at half-time and it was the fifth time this season they failed to score a single try in the first half.
They fought back and had a match-winning 18-8 lead late in the game before the Roosters stormed home for a two-point win, with that poor start by the Dogs coming back to bite them.
Cameron Ciraldo’s men played well enough in patches to take what would have been an invaluable two points but dropped their guard in the final 10 minutes and were punished for it.
Next week’s clash with Souths could decide their finals fate - and a stronger start is a must.
Viliame Kikau. Getty Images
Why Dragons fans would’ve celebrated Warriors win
Dragons fans in Sydney were cheering as loudly as Warriors fans in Auckland at Luke Metcalf’s triumphant return to the NRL on Friday night.
The Dragons-bound halfback was man of the match in a splendid 28-12 win by the Wahs over Penrith in front of a full house at Mount Smart in his return to the NRL after a couple of major injuries that put a cloud over his career.
After an ACL reconstruction last year and a hamstring problem early this season, there were question marks over the halfback’s immediate playing future.
But in only his third game of NRL in 12 months, Metcalf showed he’s still got it.
Only given his chance because of an injury to Te Maire Martin, Metcalf scored two tries and laid on another to prove the difference as the Wahs downed the premiership favourites in an emphatic performance.
Luke Metcalf scores a try against Penrith. Getty Images
Payten masterminds a sharp turnaround
It took just one week of soul-searching for the Cowboys to go from the joke of the league to genuine finals contenders.
After THAT 82-point mauling by the Roosters seven nights earlier, the Cowboys produced a 92-point turnaround to down the Titans 30-8.
It was the sixth-biggest turnaround from game to game in premiership history - and the Cowboys did it with style.
Coach Todd Payten deserves plenty of credit, making the players own the Roosters calamity and holding them accountable for making things right.
The Cowboys had plenty of stars but special mention must go to veteran big man Jason Taumalolo. He set the tone with the opening try after just four minutes, breaking a 69-game try drought that stretched back to the 2022 season.
