Week two of the NRL saw drama aplenty as the season continued its barnstorming start down under. Torrential rain in New South Wales affected the conditions in a number of matches. Here's my round-up of the weekend's events...
This round started with a huge clash between the Eels, who inflicted the first defeat of 2021 on reigning NRL Premiers Melbourne Storm, courtesy of a late try from Maika Sivo in an end-to-end match in shocking conditions. The Knights made it two wins out of two to start the season after defeating the Warriors, despite former Warrington man Ben Murdoch-Masila scoring his first try of the year. The Titans recorded a comfortable victory over the Broncos in their big derby clash on Friday. The Panthers not only made it back-to-back wins to start the year but also nilled their opponents again, restricting the Bulldogs to zero points. Souths got their season properly underway with an away win over Manly, thanks to strong performances from Damien Cook, Adam Reynolds, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell. The Cowboys were resigned to two straight defeats after a much-improved performance from the Dragons in a close game, but there was nothing close about the Roosters' demolition of Wests Tigers, hitting forty points for the second week running. The final game of the weekend was the closest and most exciting, Sharks fighting from 0-12 down to Canberra to get themselves back in the game after a superb second-half showing, only to lament some terrible goal-kicking from Chad Townsend which helped the Raiders cling on to a two-point win. They, along with the Roosters, Panthers, Knights and Eels, are on two wins out of two, while the Broncos, Cowboys, Bulldogs, Tigers and Sea Eagles are still searching for their maiden victory.
Round Two Results
Parramatta Eels 16-12 Melbourne Storm
New Zealand Warriors 16-20 Newcastle Knights
Gold Coast Titans 28-16 Brisbane Broncos
Canterbury Bulldogs 0-28 Penrith Panthers
Manly Sea Eagles 12-26 South Sydney Rabbitohs
North Queensland Cowboys 18-25 St George Dragons
Wests Tigers 6-40 Sydney Roosters
Cronulla Sharks 10-12 Canberra Raiders
Top Five Performances of the Round
5) Titans (beat Broncos 28-16 at home)
Gold Coast bounced back from their opening day defeat to run the rule over the Broncos in the South East Queensland Derby, showing their quality all over the pitch.
4) Knights (beat Warriors 16-20 away)
The Knights have quietly gone about their business in the first two weeks but have picked up four valuable and deserved points. They edged out the Warriors in a close game on Friday.
3) Eels (beat Storm 16-12 at home)
Parra inflicted Melbourne's first loss since September 2020 on Thursday night in a topsy-turvy game. Clint Gutherson was magnificent defensively as the Eels landed a major punch early in the season.
2) Panthers (beat Bulldogs 0-28 away)
While the Panthers have only played the Cowboys and the Bulldogs so far, both of whom are wooden spoon contenders, they have kept both scoreless, which is very impressive. They look full of quality in both attack and defence.
1) Roosters (beat Tigers 6-40 away)
Another crushing win for the Roosters earns them performance of the week for the second round running. They dominated Wests from start to finish. I tipped them to be Minor Premiers at the start off the season and nothing has changed my mind so far.
Top Five Players of the Round
5) Brett Morris (Roosters)
Two tries for Morris after collecting some beautiful passes from James Tedesco and Luke Keary, and also an assist for himself after a gorgeous kick floated over the top. What a winger.
4) Damien Cook (Souths)
Souths' number nine was on fire on Saturday, running the show from dummy-half as Wayne Bennett's side got their first win of 2021.
3) James Tedesco (Roosters)
Last week's winner will have to settle for third spot, but another stunning performance. Two tries and some unbelievable passes in there.
2) Luke Keary (Roosters)
Orchestrated everything for the Roosters as they turned Wests over. Such quality with the ball in hand and at his feet.
1) Clint Gutherson (Eels)
The Eels getting a win over the Storm was the first eye-catching result of 2021 and so much of it was down to the defensive work of Gutho, who made some incredible try-saving tackles to preserve the victory.
Top Five Tries of the Round
5) Paul Momirovski (2nd try)
Elusive and evasive running, quick changes of direction and neat footwork. Terrific centre play.
4) David Fifita (2nd try)
Pace, power and strength from the second rower as he catches the swinging pass and makes his way to the line.
3) Mikaele Ravalawa
Ben Hunt gets the ball back after a cool offload from Josh Kerr, then flings a lovely pass out wide. Ravalawa has so much still to do, though, and some marvellous strength and physicality get him over the line.
2) Hymel Hunt
This try is all about Bradman Best. I love to see this from a centre: confident running, evasive movements and a glorious offload to set his winger away for a walk-in.
1) Brett Morris (1st try)
A try that just defines the Sydney Roosters. Brilliant hands from Luke Keary and Lachlan Lam to find Morris in space. He coolly rounds his man and finishes with ease.
Team of the Round
Full-Back: Clint Gutherson (Eels)
A sensational defensive effort from Gutherson to keep the Eels in the game on Thursday, making last-ditch tackles galore.
Winger: Brett Morris (Roosters)
We're only two rounds in but Morris is looking a near-certainty for a place in the Dream Team on the wing. Two tries and a beautiful assist this week.
Centre: Bradman Best (Knights)
Massively impressed with this young man. Created the winning try for Newcastle with a powerful run and a skilful, accurate offload.
Centre: Paul Momirovski (Panthers)
Two tries for Momirovski as the Panthers eased to victory in Canterbury, the second of which a superb solo effort as he evaded the challenge of a number of defenders.
Winger: Corey Thompson (Titans)
Very underrated winger. Such a small guy but always puts himself about with the bigger men around him. Made plenty of yardage as the Titans got their first win of 2021.
Stand-Off: Luke Keary (Roosters)
Controlled, marshalled and orchestrated everything as the Roosters ran riot on Sunday morning. Some wonderful handling to set up Morris too.
Scrum-Half: Ben Hunt (Dragons)
I was hugely critical of the Dragons last week but they improved a lot this time out and a lot of that was down to the influence of Ben Hunt, who had a great game and had a hand in all of his team's scores.
Prop: Lindsay Collins (Roosters)
Sometimes with the Roosters, it's easy to focus on the likes of Tedesco and Morris, but the work-rate and yardage that the props produce is massive. Great assist too.
Hooker: Damien Cook (Souths)
A constant threat from dummy-half for Souths. Got a try of his own but what was most impressive about his performance was his incredible chase and tackle when Manly looked certain to score.
Prop: Junior Paulo (Eels)
What a prop. The Samoa international had a brilliant game on Thursday as Parra's forwards kept on going in appalling conditions. His strength and power got him another try, too.
Second Row: David Fifita (Titans)
The second-rower got two tries as Justin Holbrook's men got their first win of 2021. His second try was everything that's good about Fifita - pace, strength, movement and power.
Second Row: Viliame Kikau (Panthers)
Like Momirovski, he got a double for the Panthers in their win over the Bulldogs. Kikau's positioning means he is always finding himself in dangerous areas and he capitalised on this twice.
Loose Forward: Toby Rudolf (Sharks)
He was on the losing side but the introduction of Toby Rudolf in the second half had a huge impact on Cronulla as they got back in the game. His metres and offloads were huge.
Next Time Out...
Round Three starts with a mouth-watering clash as we have the rematch of the 2020 Grand Final between the Panthers, who haven't conceded a point yet, and the Storm. The Dragons host the Sea Eagles, who will be looking to climb off the bottom of the table, before the enormous match on Friday morning - the Sydney Derby between Souths and table-topping Roosters. Canberra, who are also two-from-two, host the Warriors, on the same day as two winless sides do battle in Brisbane as the Broncos take on the Bulldogs. Saturday is rounded off with the Eels against the Sharks, while Sunday sees Newcastle host Wests and the Titans travel to Queensland to take on the Cowboys.
@ALooseWire
Great article ... really enjoyed 👍
ReplyDelete