‘Moment of madness’ shows why Roosters will cut firebrand loose
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Spencer Leniu’s moment of madness against South Sydney on Friday night will likely cost him much more than a spot in the Roosters squad for the start of the NRL finals series next weekend.
It’s part of the reason the Roosters will part company with the controversial forward for next season – watch him announce he is moving to the Parramatta Eels for 2027 and beyond in coming weeks.
Spencer Leniu during his side’s round 27 loss. Getty Images
Leniu had a brain snap that you wouldn’t accept at under 8s level, throwing the ball away when in possession after some heated words with Keaon Koloamatangi, gifting the Rabbitohs a penalty in the process.
A young Roosters pack was looking to the experienced prop for direction, but he gave them nothing.
Trent Robinson showed what he thought of Leniu by quickly hooking him from the field, restricting his playing time to a mere 31 minutes in which he made a paltry seven runs.
With a dozen or more players rested, the Roosters were always going to be up against it and ended up being thumped 50-20.
But the young Roosters were far from disgraced, giving their all against one of the NRL’s best attacking outfits.
The in-form Bunnies were a class above, but the Roosters managed some good tries of their own as fans got a glimpse of the club’s long-term future.
Souths did what they had to do but will have to fine tune their game before next weekend’s finals.
‘No-win’ situation finds happy ending
Dean Young was in a no-win situation when he replaced Shane Flanagan early in the year with the Dragons already red-hot favourites for the wooden spoon.
And while the Dragons did finish the season in last spot on Sunday, there can be little doubt that they are in a better position now than they were at the start of the year when Flanagan was in charge of seven-straight defeats.
Young ended up winning five games – a fair success rate with a poor roster – and developed some fine young forwards who are the future of the club.
Throw in six top-class buys and the Dragons fans can look forward to 2027 with a fair deal of optimism.
St George Illawarra finished a tough year with a morale-boosting 24-22 win over fellow strugglers Parramatta in Wollongong in the final round, showing plenty of spirit in a match they had little to play for.
Enigmatic winger Tyrell Sloan kicked a long-range field goal to win the game to go with a fine try and, as I’ve been saying for over a month, the Dragons need to find a way to rip up his deal with English team Castleford and keep him on board.
In a team lacking spark, Sloan has been top try scorer for back-to-back seasons and it’s madness to let him walk.
Canberra unearth future star
In a dismal season for Canberra, a star was born in the final game of the year.
Coby Black, a 20-year-old who joined the Raiders at the start of the year from Brisbane, made history as he led the Green Machine to a 50-30 win over the Cowboys, writing his way into the record books with a stunning debut.
Coby Black during his debut. NRL Imagery
Black scored two tries and booted nine goals for 26 points – the most by a player on debut in premiership history.
The youngster also laid on a couple of tries with a pinpoint kicking game and he has given Raiders fans reason to look forward to 2027.
Ethan Sanders has had a mixed season steering the Raiders around following the loss of Jamal Fogarty, but he will be under pressure all summer from Black following his memorable first-up showing.
North Queensland were on the back foot from the opening tackle when Reuben Cotter was sin binned and will need to do plenty of work this week to survive the knockout final.
‘Hard reset’ needed for Warriors
Warriors coach Andrew Webster will need to give his team’s defence a hard reset before the finals next weekend after they leaked points all over the park against an unlucky Manly side in their last hit-out before the big games on Saturday.
The Kiwi outfit missed a worrying 36 tackles in a 31-30 thriller against the Sea Eagles, as well as making eight errors.
Warriors players during the round 27 win. Getty Images
Their line was broken open time and again as Manly scored tries with alarming ease, and only a disallowed try when Tom Trbojevic held back a defender saved the Wahs from what would have been a shock loss.
On the positive side, the Warriors fought back well several times when all looked lost and had the smarts to set up the winning field goal for Chanel Harris-Tavita three minutes from full-time.
With the return of a couple of key men, they should do better next week.
Batman exposed without his Robin
Isaiya Katoa may be the Dolphins’ equivalent of Batman, but the star halfback clearly struggled without his sidekick Robin as the Redcliffe team limped over the line 24-20 against the Titans on Friday night.
Katoa and Kodi Nikorima have been as good as any halfback combination in the league this season, steering the Phins to their maiden finals.
But with the dynamic duo separated due to an injury to Nikorima, Katoa had his worst game of the year in something of a worry with the finals.
Dolphins star Kodi Nikorima. nna\liam.oloughlin
Katoa did some good things but was uncharacteristically sloppy for such a class player – he threw a couple of intercepts, gave away a penalty for back-chatting and was off his usual game.
Fortunately for the Phins, Nikorima should be back for the finals next weekend… and normal service will hopefully be resumed.
Hunt not giving up yet
Most experts up in Brisbane have Ben Hunt pigeonholed as No.14 or hooker for his farewell season in the NRL next year, but the veteran has other ideas.
Hunt, who turns 37 early in the new season, was simply outstanding in his favourite halfback spot in the last-up defeat of the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
The clever halfback wound the clock back a decade with his game management, running and kicking games and scored a solo try for good measure.
With Adam Reynolds now retired, coach Michael Maguire is expected to go with one of his young up-and-comers in the key halfback role next year, but Hunt has made it clear that he won’t give up the position without a fight.
