NRL Round 10: Four-day footy fest in Brisvegas!

 

 

Brisvegas is the place to be this weekend as the NRL puts on one of its biggest weekends of the season. Starting with a stand alone Women’s State of Origin clash tonight, 2024’s edition of Magic Round follows to provide fans with a 72-hour marathon of rugby league at Lang Park. To paraphrase Roy and HG, “Too much footy is never enough footy!”

 

As for the Fifita, Crichton and Bennett sagas, it’s a long way until 2025 with plenty more rumours and feints to come. I refuse to be drawn into the shenanigans.

 

But first a recap of NRL Round 9: The Dolphins aren’t going away with a gutsy, come-from-behind win over the Sea Eagles but, in all honesty, it looked like a game between two middle of the ladder sides. The injury to Turbo wrecks Manly’s season – again! The Panthers were below par but still good enough to hold off the improving Bulldogs. The loss of Cleary will test the premiers both during and after the Origin period. The Broncos are doing well to cover for injuries and played some good footy in awful conditions to inflict more pain on the struggling Eels. The Knights continued their good run, albeit against modest opposition. The Dragons dominated the woeful Rabbitohs but have yet to show much against top of the table sides. The Sharks were the big story of the weekend as they accounted for Melbourne in Melbourne. Maybe they are the real deal after all. We’ll find out more this weekend. The Roosters are the form side of the comp and only getting stronger. Internal issues about the future of their roster constitute their biggest worry at the moment. The Warriors look gone, and the injury to Johnson will cruel their hopes too. The Titans and Cowboys got interesting in the last 10 minutes, otherwise it was not much of a game. The best to come out of it was the sterling defence of the Titans throughout, especially in those last couple minutes when they foiled at least a couple of ‘certain’ tries to the Cowboys (who didn’t deserve to win).

 

Women’s State of Origin, Game 1:

The big change this year is a three game series to decide women’s State of Origin – long overdue for players and fans alike. Last year’s drawn series left a feeling of incompleteness, so let’s see how a longer format works out. With only State league games under their collective belts so far this year, State of Origin is a big step up for the players tonight. Both teams have an overall familiar look about them but the absence of the Southwell sisters for NSW came as a surprise. I think this game is worth watching for the clash of the fullbacks alone. They’ve had some ding dong goes in years past, so I’ll be keen to see how that pans out. The game looks to me like NSW speed versus Queensland grind with the latter looking for counter-attack as their scoring weapon. Any side with Sergis and Kelly in the centres spells trouble for the opposition. Can the likes of Brigginshaw, Aiken and Upton reprise past glories to get the Maroons home? My gut tells me that the tide will turn Blue this year so I’m tipping the Blues by less than 10. To see the teams, click HERE.

 

Magic Round:

The Raiders and Bulldogs get the round underway tomorrow evening. Both sides have promised better times in 2024 without making a genuine statement on the paddock. While the Doggies show suitable intent, my feeling is that the Raiders have the greater capacity to turn intent into scoreboard superiority. So I’ll go with Canberra. The late game has the Sea Eagles playing ‘at home’ to the Broncos – at Lang Park! Check out Prop’s thoughts on this situation. The loss of Turbo is potentially crippling to Manly while Brisbane seems to be able to cover its losses more comfortably. With the home crowd cheering them on, I’ll go with the Broncos.

 

Saturday’s triple header starts with the gutsy Titans taking on the improving Knights. This could be a beauty but probably won’t be because of injuries on the Coast. Has the Fifita saga reached its conclusion? Probably. Let’s hope so for the Gold Coast’s sake. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will be enough to get them home this weekend. The Knights are building a good case for finals footy and, coupled with the absence of both Foran and Brimson for the Titans, it should be enough to see Newcastle take the points. The evening game is the match of the round with the Sharks up against the Roosters, a clash of the two form sides of the competition. The Sharks did a good job on Melbourne last weekend while the Roosters are just getting stronger and stronger in recent weeks. Hynes is a doubtful starter for Cronulla. I don’t think they can win this one without him. If they do, then they deserve equal favouritism with the Panthers at this stage of the season. If he plays and they lose, then the questions will start about their premiership credentials. I’ll go with the Roosters because I think they have too much talent and experience across the paddock. Plus they’ll be out to show Fifita what he’s turned his back on! The late game is a match-up of two sorry stories – the Rabbitohs v the Cowboys. How the once mighty have fallen. I suppose we’ve come to expect little from the Bunnies this year – how sad is that? The Cowboys have been so far below par that it takes a certain degree of courage (or stupidity) to back them against anyone at the moment. Toss of the coin? Urrgghh – Cowboys.

 

Sunday’s early game features another crumbling side, the Warriors, against the steamrolling Panthers. The latter may not have been at their strongest or best recently, but that’s still better than most sides. Penrith, easily! Then the Storm, and Harry Grant in particular, will be out to show that last week was an aberration. The Eels will hope to be competitive but, without Gutho, I can’t see them getting close. Get on the Storm. The round concludes with the Wests Tigers up against the surprise of the season (to date), the Dolphins. It’s hard to see the Sydneysiders scoring sufficient points to win whereas the Dolphins have shown a capacity to score 25+ points regularly. With Hammer back and Farnworth hitting form quickly after being out for a while, they look all the more lethal with Kodi Nikorima enjoying almost career-best form. I’m on the Dolphins. Just spare a thought for Trai Fuller, the Dolphins’ (and the NRL’s) standout player of the past month.The return of the Hammer has Fuller out of the top 17. He either plays fullback or he doesn’t get a go. A sad state of affairs for a player who is the type who brings fans through the turnstiles. It’s not fair.

 

Stock up on supplies during today, then get comfy and savour a weekend with so much on offer!

 

 

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To see the full 2024 season draw for the NRLW click HERE.

To see the details for State of Origin in 2024 click HERE.

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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