Prop by the Sea
You gotta love footy – Round 19
The Courier Mail Bronco headline on Monday talked about the Wallabies! WHAT? I suppose the Broncos did play Friday night, so they were two pages in with The Broncos Barometer. Also Hammer gained another headline alerting us to the fact that his post try celebration was not a dolphin but a shark, a totem representing his family’s Torres Strait heritage.
Round 18 was short given the Origin this week. It started off with a match between the Bulldogs and the Broncos. I only got to see the last 20 minutes of it when the score was Bulldogs 18 Broncos nil. What a turnaround from there, when the Broncos scored 22 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes to make the Bulldogs look pedestrian. For the Broncos to have their second win over the Bulldogs this year was a plus and Mam certainly looked good. It certainly raises some concerns for the Bulldogs as both teams had four players out.
The first game on Saturday had the Raiders up against the Dragons. The Dragons certainly had their chances but were unable to convert them. At the same time, the Raiders do have genuine speed, and they showed that again. They now sit on top of the ladder on their own. Likewise in the second Saturday night game, the Cowboys certainly had opportunities against the Storm, but again, could not convert those into a victory. It is a worrying trend for the Cowboys as they slide further down the ladder.
On Sunday there were two games and the first was a boilover of Polly and kettle proportions. It was hard to believe that the Tigers would beat the Roosters. But with a hat trick of tries to the 3 Fainu brothers they were able to get to a solid lead of 20 points to nil before the Roosters scored a couple of tries to get back to 28-10. In the end the Tigers held on long enough to win 30 points to 28. A memorable win and certainly aiding their coach Benji Marshall in keeping his job. Finally, on Sunday the last game of the round had Manly up against South Sydney. Manly always seemed to be just ahead of the Rabbitohs and another coach was able to breathe a sigh of relief in Siebold as he desperately needed that win. Trbojevic, scored a double early in the game, as they got to a 20-point lead and from there the Rabbits tried hard but just could not complete their passages of play well enough.
Round 19 is also impacted by Origin and has seven games. It starts off with a match between the Sharks and the Dolphins. The Sharks just have not been good enough recently, but it is a big task for the Dolphins away from home. I think the Sharks might just get away with this one.
On Saturday, there are three games starting off with the Knights playing the Storm. Even though the Storm are affected by State of Origin, it is hard to see the Knights beating them given the form they had been in recently. The second game has the Dragons up against the Roosters. The Roosters were poor last week, especially in the first 30 minutes. And I think they will be back on track this week to put the Dragons away. Likewise, in the final Saturday night game, the Bulldogs will be back at full strength, and they will be playing the Cowboys away. I think they also will be back on track against the Cowboys who have been disappointing.
Sunday has three games. The most important of which is the first one where the Warriors must win against the Tigers. You would think at home the Warriors would be too strong, but the Tigers just showed enough last week to say they may be on the improve. The Warriors are without their half back Metcalf and he has been a loss. The second game has the Eels against the Panthers, and I am fairly sure the Panthers are about to start a long surge towards the finals. I cannot see them slipping up in this one. The final game has the Titans up against the Broncos. The Titans are at home, but they will really have to improve to be competitive in this match. The Broncos are also starting the climb up the ladder, with Mam running back into form and Hunt coming back into the side.
Origin
I am attending (or will have attended) the third game of the 2025 State of Origin series when you read this and for the first time I will have seen all three games. This one looks more than a contest, more than a game even, given there is a heaviness to Game 3. It is a match of pride, sweat, and potential myth, and Queensland, in my opinion will be steadfast and unyielding.
The stands at Accor will be New South Wales’ sky blue, and filled with anticipation, and expectation. I am expecting our props—the silent sentinels—led by Papali’i to charge into the blue wall of the ruck to set the foundations of a win.
New South Wales, all sharp lines and intent, will trouble us but Game 2 defensive mistakes will have been addressed. The first twenty minutes will be like a chess match with every run met with a crunch, every tackle echoing around the ground. Our Queensland forwards must dig in and if they can control the middle, the siren will sound and the Maroons will write another chapter, stacking victory upon victory, as sure and steady as the cars queued up to buy their Yatala Pies for the big match.
Top Eight (in order)
2 Melbourne 5 Broncos 6 Panthers 8 Manly 9 Roosters 10 Cronullaargh 12 Cowboys
16 Rabbitohs
Fact / Stat for the day – Teams Winning Despite Fewer Tries
There have been several matches in the last month where a team has scored fewer tries than their opponent but still emerged victorious due to goal-kicking and/or penalty conversions—a statistical quirk that underlines the importance of goal kickers. West Tigers over the Roosters, Melbourne over South Sydney and Queensland over NSW were all winners via goal kicking and Souths losing by 6 points to the Bulldogs when they scored 4 tries apiece and the Tigers losing 4 when they scored 3 apiece reinforce this key component.
Tipping Stats- All I can say is that I continue to fall although the good news is that my band of tipsters are still behind me. I am now approaching 90000th – a far cry from the top 12000 just 6 weeks ago!
Vale
John Moore a well-known Queensland Rugby League identity passed away recently, and his funeral was held in Cairns where he was a legend at the Brothers Club, the Cairns District RL, Northern Pride, NQRL, Cowboys and QRL. Many league identities gathered at Cairns Brothers for his wake with his four sons to tell and listen to stories of his life. John was 87 and a friend to many.
You gotta love footy!
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You totally nailed it Prop – for the second Origin match in a row.
Oh prop, the poetic prose of your final paragraphs on origin cut deeply into my blue and bleeding heart this morning as I face the reality of another year of hearing about how the “under-dog” Queenslanders triumphed in the face of seemingly unsurmountable odds. It is once again the lot of a cockroach living in the maroon wilderness to bear the shame and loss of a team that could have done so much better. ?
Spot on about the QLD defense, prop. Defense and ball control a great combination. NSW never seem to use their subs very well? One of the all time great wins.
I give some of the credit to Aaron Woods – never ever stir the nest before the job is done – otherwise the nest will gather its forces and bite back big time.
It will go down as one of the great origin games and series for Queensland. Interestingly Nsw won 4 out of 6 halves yet still lost- it shows the value of the team over the individual-Andrew you have been here long enough now that I won’t think any less of you if you choose now to wear maroon and Karl – clearly Woods might keep quiet in the future but media people need publicity.. As for you Big Bob Aukus it seems as though subs are areal issue for you but I agree. Daley barely used Young even though both back rowers were shortened up
I don’t know Prop, while do genuinely value your opinion of me I’m not sure that if the roles were reversed and it was you residing in the land of the roach you’d be keen to don the sky blue.