Axed star puts Origin hero under the pump with ‘inspirational’ performance
Could Dylan Edwards′ five-star performance in the game of the year to date sway Laurie Daley to bring him back for Origin II?
James Tedesco won the Blues the first game last Wednesday night with a late moment of magic - but was poor on Saturday night in the loss to the Storm.
Dylan Edwards in action against the Warriors. NRL Imagery
Edwards, with a point to prove, was inspirational as the Panthers held out a determined Warriors team in a fast-paced thriller at CommBank Stadium on Sunday
Missing Origin heroes Nathan Cleary, Brian To’o and Isaah Yeo, the Panthers were up against it but with Edwards handed the captaincy, he thrived.
It’s a pleasant headache for Daley and while Tedesco is probably still in front, the performance of the two star fullbacks next week could decide who gets the job in Melbourne.
Achilles heel strikes Roosters again
The Roosters need to take a long, hard look at how they approach the big games after their underwhelming 18-4 defeat against a weakened Melbourne team on Saturday night.
It takes the club’s record against the NRL’s two fellow powerhouses - the Storm and the Panthers - to a dismal three wins, 24 losses in their past 27 games.
The Roosters have a squad capable of going a long way in this competition - but they are no chance until they figure out what they are doing so wrong against Penrith and Melbourne on so many occasions.
Trent Robinson made no excuses for his team’s dreadful performance.
“We got what we deserved,” he said glumly afterwards.
Exciting fullback Sualauvi Faalogo was the Storm’s inspiration with over 320 run metres and a try.
A glimpse into the future for Dragons
Down Wollongong way they’ve been saying the Couchman boys are the future of the Dragons - and the pair showed just why in the stunning upset win over the Broncos yesterday.
In what must rate as the boilover of the year, the Dragons ended a depressing 15-game losing run with an epic 30-26 win over the premiers.
And leading the way up front were the Couchmans, who both shone against the powerful Broncos pack.
Between them, lock Ryan and prop Toby ran for 360 metres and made 77 tackles, paving the way for a great victory.
It hasn’t been an easy time for the duo coming into a struggling team - it was only Ryan’s fourth win from 20 NRL games - and his first in two years - while Toby took his win rate to 15 from 50 games.
The win will have given the pair confidence for the road ahead - and brought some much deserved joy to long-suffering Dragons fans.
The Broncos were down 30-8 midway through the second half and that was a better indication of the difference between the teams than the final four-point margin.
It was the Broncos of the bad old days in 2024 and Michael Maguire is certain to flog his troops at training this week to ensure there is no repeat performance.
Why Ciraldo would be scratching his hair out
Little wonder that Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo had a perplexed look on his face after Saturday night’s thriller at CommBank Stadium.
His team won the possession, completions, run metres, post contact metres, line breaks, tackle breaks and offloads yet somehow lost to Wests Tigers.
Ciraldo blamed the match officials for the defeat but I believe it was just one of those nights where all the little things went the Tigers’ way.
They seemed to get every bounce of the ball and every line-ball decision in a game they could easily have lost.
While all the stats favoured the Bulldogs, they still looked clunky in attack and the spine again gave very little in attack.
Knights star sends a message to Daley
Last year, NSW won Origin I, rested on their laurels and lost the final two games and the series.
Laurie Daley failed to pick players in form and if he has learned from that in the past 12 months, then Newcastle back-rower Dylan Lucas will come into reckoning for game two.
Dylan Lucas after a try. NRL Imagery
The powerful back-rower scored a try in each half and topped the Knights’ tackle count in one of his best displays for the club in the defeat of Parra.
Without him, the Knights would have lost to an injury-ravaged Eels team that showed plenty of grit.
Most of the Knights players looked like they thought they would just have to go through the motions to win - and it nearly cost them.
Luckily for the full house in the Hunter, Lucas had a different attitude and a few big plays from him got the Knights home.
The stuff that makes an Origin player…
Two halfbacks is a winning formula for Sharks
The Sharks have the luxury of having two match-winning halves - something few clubs in the NRL can boast.
With Nicho Hynes out, Braydon Trindall rose to the occasion against the Sea Eagles on Friday night, not for the first time.
The Sharks have won seven of eight games without Hynes over the past couple of years, largely because Trindall thrives on taking over as the main man in attack.
The classy five-eighth was runaway man of the match against Manly in the 28-22 win, setting up three tries and scoring another himself.
With injuries at an all-time high in the ‘six-again’ era, it’s vital to have depth and having two game-controlling playmakers in their line-up should guarantee the Sharks a top four finish.
