Tuesday, 4 May 2021

Late Mail: NRL Round Eight

 It's time for my eighth round-up of the NRL, let's see what happened this weekend...

We kicked off with a barnstorming affair between Canberra and the Souths, which saw Wayne Bennett's team come from behind to make it seven wins in a row. On Friday, Melbourne cruised past Cronulla before the Brisbane Broncos came from 0-22 down to record an incredible win over the Gold Coast Titans. Penrith made it eight out of eight, maintaining their 100% start with a comfortable victory against Manly. The Bulldogs couldn't build on their maiden win from last week and were beaten by the Eels, while the Roosters had no issue in brushing aside Newcastle, but were left heartbroken by major injuries to prop Lindsay Collins and winger Brett Morris, who is currently top of the NRL scoring charts, with coach Trent Robinson admitting that Morris' ACL injury is likely to be a career-ending one. The Warriors got a big two points after a narrow win over the Cowboys and the round was finished with Wests putting in an impressive display to beat St George away from home.

Round Eight Results
Canberra Raiders 20-34 South Sydney
Melbourne Storm 40-14 Cronulla Sharks
Brisbane Broncos 36-28 Gold Coast Titans
Penrith Panthers 28-16 Manly Sea Eagles
Canterbury Bulldogs 10-32 Parramatta Eels
Newcastle Knights 4-38 Sydney Roosters
New Zealand Warriors 24-20 North Queensland Cowboys
St George Dragons 8-16 Wests Tigers

The Panthers are still out on top on 16 points, ahead of the Eels and Souths on 14, with Roosters and the Storm behind on 12. The Dragons and the Warriors are on eight points, with Gold Coast, Manly, Raiders, Knights and Cowboys on six. Cronulla, Wests and Brisbane have four, while the Bulldogs remain bottom on two.


Top Five Players of the Round

5) Brian To'o (Panthers)
Another wonderful performance from the world's best winger. A great try, three offloads, two line breaks and six tackle busts.

4) Benji Marshall (Souths)
Again, he ran the show for Souths on Thursday as they came from behind to beat Canberra. He's 36 but he could still be doing this at 56, he's that good.

3) Clint Gutherson (Eels)
King Gutho got two tries, using his excellent support play to great effect, and was also busting tackles for fun - eleven in the game.

2) Jamayne Isaako (Broncos)
Brisbane's full-back was absolutely instrumental in their comeback win over the Titans, with two superb tries, owing largely to his perfect support play.

1) Sam Walker (Roosters)
This young man is getting better and better. A try and four assists this week and Shaun Wane is going to have a real headache if this continues.


Top Five Tries of the Round

5) Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)
Pace, pace and more pace. One of the fastest players in the world races the length to score for the reigning Premiers.


4) Dylan Edwards (Panthers)
It's all about the brilliance of Brian To'o. His double tackle bust gets him away before he manages to find a great offload to Burton, who kicks ahead for Edwards to score.


3) Alex Johnston (Souths)
It's just all about Benji Marshall, isn't it? An absolutely stunning bullet pass from the veteran half-back gives Johnston an easy finish in the corner.


2) Josh Morris (Roosters)
A brilliant run from Victor Radley has him in acres of space, where he offloads to Sam Walker. Walker produces a pinpoint kick for Morris to cross the line.


1) Xavier Coates (Broncos)
What a try this is. Jamayne Isaako with a terrific line break, before Herbie Farnworth releases the winger to unleash his pace and finish in the corner.



Team of the Round

Full-Back: Jamayne Isaako (Broncos)
Arguably the most influential player of the weekend as he almost single-handedly orchestrated the Broncos' comeback with two tries of his own and a hand in every score. 

Winger: Maika Sivo (Eels)
It's six tries in his last three appearances and the Eels' winger was in fine form again this weekend, with a brace of scores.

Centre: Reimis Smith (Storm)
Smith put in the perfect centre's performance, making three line breaks and five tackle busts, and it was this, as well as his support play, that enabled him to score a hat-trick.

Centre: Josh Morris (Roosters)
On an awful weekend for his twin brother, Josh Morris put in a marvellous performance. A hat-trick of tries and finding himself in the right place at the right time to finish a glorious team move.

Winger: Brian To'o (Panthers)
The world's best winger with another supreme display. A try, two line breaks and six tackle busts too as he set up Edwards' try.

Stand-Off: Benji Marshall (Souths)
Talk about rolling back the years. A quite captivating individual show from Benji, with a stunning bullet pass for Johnston's try. What an incredible athlete.

Scrum-Half: Sam Walker (Roosters) 
This boy just keeps on amazing me. After Jake Friend and Luke Keary's injuries, I thought the Roosters were done. But the 18-year-old Englishman is leading the charge for them, with a try and four assists this weekend.

Prop: Payne Haas (Broncos)
A monstrous prop forward's performance. Played 62 of the 80 minutes and made 76 post-contact metres as well as not missing a single tackle all day.

Hooker: Harry Grant (Storm)
The Storm were back to their best in their win over the Sharks and as always, it revolved around their hooker - though not Cameron Smith. Harry Grant is doing a respectable job of replacing the retired legend so far.

Prop: James Fisher-Harris (Panthers)
Another prop who put in an exemplary shift. Didn't miss a single tackle, made 83 post-contact metres and 197 metres altogether.

Second Row: Keaon Koloamatangi (Souths)
A really immense showing from Souths' back rower. An assist, a line break, a tackle bust, 63 post-contact metres and 38 successfully completed tackles.

Second Row: Isaiah Papali'i (Eels)
The Eels have a lot of strike players but Papali'i is one of the most consistently impressive. Another assist at the weekend as well as four tackle breaks.

Loose Forward: Brandon Smith (Storm)
A very versatile player who has the quality to play at 9 or 13, he stood out at loose forward this weekend, bagging a try and 108 metres in just 48 minutes.


Next Time Out...
A truly mouthwatering clash on Thursday as Souths host Melbourne in a rerun of Round One, which was Souths' only loss of 2021 so far. Friday sees the Panthers take on Cronulla, before another huge game as the Eels clash with the Roosters. Canberra play host to Newcastle before Wests take on Gold Coast. There is a Queensland Derby as the Cowboys are visited by the Broncos on Saturday, before New Zealand travel to Manly and the Dragons play the Bulldogs on Sunday.

@ALooseWire

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