NRL Round 26 and NRLW Round 9: Is resting players before finals ethical?

 

 

What do you think about clubs resting players leading into the finals? I feel for the punters who have bought tickets in advance in good faith to see the best players take the field. But what do they get? In the case of Penrith this weekend, they get a Seconds team! Melbourne Storm are also giving a handful of regulars a week off to freshen up. Actually, the Penrith situation interests me. They’re not out of top four reckoning, albeit unlikely, but this move appears to concede that they’ll be in the lower half of the eight and will have to win four finals in a row to defend their title. That being the case, they’ll need every bit of energy they can muster, hence the mass resting of players makes sense. But what if they chalk up a win this weekend? I expect they’d see that as a bonus – 2 competition points plus key players rested! How good would that be? But to get back to my original question, I just don’t like the optics. Is it ethical? Ethics? In the quest for a premiership? As Sir Humphrey asked poor Bernard, “When did you acquire this taste for luxuries?”

NRL

If Round 25 of the NRL didn’t energise you then I don’t know what floats your boat! Action galore, a whiff of controversy, big score lines, nail-biting finishes, a couple of tries that must rate among the season’s best, milestones that don’t come along too often – and we still aren’t sure of the finals line-up with 2 rounds to go. You can’t ask for much more than that.

 

Thank goodness I changed my tip for the Rabbitohs v Dragons match last Thursday morning. You have to admire the Bunnies for their end of season burst, made all the more admirable given their injury list. Such energy and teamwork. Latrell who? The Raiders showed they are worthy of their place atop the ladder after their win against the Panthers. True grit! And what a try to seal the deal! Was it a case of younger legs outlasting the Panthers who are finding it difficult (at the moment) to keep up the pace? You have to marvel at Melbourne who keep finding a way. And the Crichton ‘no try’? A correct call as per the rulebook even though it looked ok at first glance. Three cheers for the Sea Eagles who made DCE’s day in their shootout with the Dolphins (who are still an outside chance of finals). The Warriors got back on track and are now assured finalists. When Mitchell Moses chooses to play football instead of play act, he’s one classy performer. And, as a result, the Eels looked all energy, style and skill against a surprised Roosters outfit who, it seems, do rely a lot on the fitness of Sam Walker. It doesn’t get any easier against the Storm this week. The Broncos had a training run with Walsh both exhilarating and exasperating. Is Staggs pushing for a Kangaroos spot? And the Cowboys overcame a lot of obstacles, including a ‘try of the year’ contender, to come from 12 points down, away from home, to get the chocolates against the Wests Tigers who are now officially out of the finals race.

 

Round 26 

Tonight the Bulldogs play the Panthers in what would have been/should have been the match of the round. The Dogs are down a couple of players too, but not by choice. Let’s hope such a talented player as Crichton concentrates on his footy skills rather than trying to assert his presence through unsavoury tactics. Clean up your act before you get 10 in the bin (or worse) and really hurt your team. Given the team selections, it’s hard to go past the Bulldogs.

 

The Warriors/Eels clash tomorrow evening should be a beauty. The Wahs finally found some form last week while the Eels have had a late season surge with their eye-catching win against the Roosters last week possibly their best performance of the year. Don’t be surprised if they repeat their performance across the ditch. I’m not ready to put my trust in the Warriors just yet (the loss of Metcalf has been a big issue) while Ryles is priming his charges for a strong run in 2026. I’ll go with the Eels. The late game is the match of the round, Melbourne Storm v Sydney Roosters. The Roosters were awful last week and will be without Walker, the key to so much of their success. But they have to win to stay in finals contention. The Storm are resting a few (and Harry through suspension) and rarely lose at home. My instincts tell me that Melbourne have a loss coming up and that it just might be this week. Going against form, team selections, logic and my self-imposed refusal to tip against Melbourne (especially at home), I’ll stick my neck out and go for the Roosters. Aarrgghh!

 

Saturday afternoon footy kicks off with the Raiders playing host to the Wests Tigers. The latter have given their fans something to hope for in 2026 while the former are giving their followers plenty to hope right now! The Tigers will give them a good run but, in the end, I think the well-oiled Green Machine will get the job done. The Dragons play the Sea Eagles in the twilight game with the teams coming off vastly different results from last weekend. The Dragons were at their worst, the Sea Eagles at their best. So form says Manly, but not before a few flutters along the way. The late game features the Cowboys at home to the Broncos. I liked the character shown by the northerners last week while the Broncos did what they should have to the Knights. Drinkwater v Walsh. The former is the more composed player, the latter the more mercurial. Perhaps Brisbane have too many guns at this stage.

 

Sunday starts with the Sharks against the Knights and, surely, this is one way traffic – Sharks. Then the Dolphins meet the Titans – the former banged up, the latter stuffed! At least you can see scoring firepower among the Dolphins and they have the incentive of a possible finals appearance. Dolphins for me.

 

The Rabbitohs will clock up 2 points for the fourth week in a row as they have the bye.

 

NRLW

Round 8 was yet another training run for the Roosters and Broncos while the Cowboys continued their good form to be the big improvers of the season. They now sit third ahead of the Knights and Sharks. The Raiders are finishing well but have left their run too late. A couple of key clashes in this weekend’s fixture will sort out the finals line-up.

 

Round 9 starts with the Raiders taking on the Wests Tigers with form suggesting that the Raiders will finish the season on a high note while the Wests Tigers will look to do better in 2026. The Dragons and Warriors will likewise reflect on disappointing performances when they meet with the Warriors as my pick to come out on top. It will be interesting to see how the energetic Cowboys go when they meet the unbeaten Roosters in the match of the round. Realistically, though, how can you go past the Roosters who, I’m sure, are gunning for an undefeated season. The Sharks v Knights game will help sort out places in the finals configuration. This should be a good game between, respectively, a team that knows how to win against a team that expects to win. I’ll go with the Knights. Form tells us that the Broncos should easily account for the Bulldogs. The Titans and Eels will both look to finish the season on a high having missed out on finals footy. I’m leaning slightly towards the Titans.

 

A final reminder of the forthcoming annual Tom Brock Lecture to be held at the Petersham RSL on September 1. See the details here.

 

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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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