Almanac Rugby League – NRLW 2021 Round 5 and NRL 2022 Round 3

NRLW 2021 Round 5 and NRL 2022 Round 3

 

As Matt O’Hanlon wants to say, ‘You’ve just got to love footy!’ Both the women’s and men’s competition are a feast of fascination following a weekend of great games.

 

In the NRLW, the Broncos suffered only their second loss in four seasons when their ‘little sisters’, the Titans, beat them by two points. To be fair, Brisbane was missing Boyle, Bass and Upton (sounds like a rock band) but full marks to the Titans for hitting hard early on and then resisting a strong Brisbane fight back. Veteran Stef Hancock was a standout for the Titans as she showed the way up front and bagged another try. A loss now will do the Broncos more good than another regulation win with the finals just 10 days away.

 

In the other games, the Dragons belted the Knights 40-4, the competition’s biggest ever winning margin. Emma Tonegato was outstanding for the Dragons while the return of Kezie Apps provided punch and leadership. The Dragons were very impressive as they moved the ball wide and often. The size of the win was enough to see the Dragons go top of the table ahead of the Broncos. For the Knights, Kirra Dibb competed strongly but it was a poor team effort.

 

The Roosters, missing the injured Jess Sergis, had enough ball to put this game away a couple of times but the Eels kept coming back. In the end, the Roosters just pipped the Eels after first missing a gettable penalty kick and then surviving a failed Maddie Studdon field goal attempt. Thanks to the cool temperament of the underrated Zahara Temara, a late field goal snatched a 19-18 win for the Chooks.

 

Player of the week: Emma Tonegato.

 

In this weekend’s final minor round, the Dragons meet the rejuvenated Roosters on Saturday with a win essential for the Chooks if they want to make the finals. But the Dragons are on a hot streak and I think they’ve got this one in hand. On Sunday, the improving Titans meet the struggling Knights. A win will cement a place in the finals for the Titans while a loss could see them drop out of calculations.

 

I’ll go with the Titans.

 

Finally, the Broncos host the Eels, both last round losers. I expect the Broncos to bounce back in front of their home crowd.

 

Round 2 of the NRL produced several cracking games and a couple more upsets. The Storm v Rabbitohs clash was a battle and a half with the Storm in full control for 65 minutes before a few passes finally stuck for the Bunnies and Mitchell produced a big play to get back to 14-all at full time. But Paps wasn’t having any of that and replied with a wobbly field goal to get the Storm home in coach Bellamy’s 500th game in charge.

 

Were the Panthers a bit lucky to get home against a somewhat hard done by Dragons outfit? Perhaps. But the score line read 20-16 at the bell. The Roosters showed up this week and promptly belted the Sea Eagles who are really struggling. Luke Keary has quickly resumed his key role for the Chooks and Sam Walker is loving it.

 

The Titans downed the Warriors in possibly the least inspiring match of the round. ‘We’ll take the win’ is about the best you can say for the Gold Coast outfit. The Sharks surprised the Eels in an absolute nail biter, Nicho Hynes showing what a good investment he will be at Shark Park. Parra should not have let this one slip and will front up cranky this week. The Cowboys produced the other surprise of the week with a strong win over an unusually out of sorts Raiders outfit. Jason Taumalolo is finding form, thankfully, and that can only be good for the northerners. Now he has to be consistent.

 

The Knights were missing several big names but still smashed the simply awful West Tigers by 26-4 in Newcastle. Jake Clifford and Adam Clunes looked great behind a winning pack, Dane Gagai is in rare form and Tyson Frizell a monster in both attack and defence.

 

The Bulldogs and the Broncos had a ding dong tussle before the Broncos prevailed by 16-10. Adam Reynolds earned a big slice of his recruitment cheque as his calming influence in the closing stages held the Broncos together when, for the last few seasons, they would have collapsed. The Bulldogs are a far better outfit this season and will be in the winner’s circle soon.

 

Player of the week: Tyson Frizell.

 

In this weekend’s Round 3, the Dragons v Sharks derby should be a cracker based on recent form with a winner likely to emerge very late in the game. I think it might be the Dragons. The Tigers v Warriors clash fails to excite I’m afraid and I fear a poor crowd will reflect this. I’ll stick my neck out and go for the Tigers at home. The winless Rabbitohs take on the rejuvenated Roosters in a match with a lot of hype in the lead up. The Bunnies finally showed a few flashes in the closing stages of their game against the Storm but will need to be switched on from the get go if they are to match it with the Roosters who have regained self-belief. The Roosters for me.

 

On Saturday, the top of the table game between the Panthers and the Knights is the feature match of the round and will give us an idea of just how far the Knights have come this season. It’s hard to go against the Panthers but the Knights have been irresistible so far. If they’re back at full strength, they just might do Penrith a favour by inflicting a loss on the defending premiers. I can’t see that happening just yet, so I’ll stick with the lads from Penrith.

 

The Storm and the Eels meet in Melbourne with the Storm down on personnel and the Eels smarting from their – after the siren – loss last week. I sense a rare home loss for the Storm. The underperforming Raiders and Titans game at GIO Stadium should see Canberra get back on track as the Titans just can’t get enough out of their roster. By contrast, ‘Sticky’ will have his lads raring to go after their insipid effort last week.

 

On Sunday, the Queensland derby, the Broncos v the Cowboys, promises to revisit ‘the old days’ when barely a point separated them for several consecutive seasons. I’ll stick with my Broncos as I think they may have found a new life in 2022 that just might take them into the finals. Albert Kelly’s form has been a bonus and his instinctive style of play provides a good foil for the more structured methods of Adam Reynolds.

 

Finally, the winless Manly are home at Brookie to host the improving Bulldogs. If the locals can’t get the Sea Eagles home, then they are in deep do-do. I think that will be enough while the Bulldogs will have to wait a bit longer for their next win. Isn’t Matt Burton a very good player?

 

So, my winners this week are the Dragons, Tigers, Roosters, Panthers, Eels, Raiders, Broncos and Sea Eagles.

 

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