NRL Finals Week One - Them Thoughts
Being entrenched in the NRL is pretty cool, but throughout the season the vibe of going through the motions does get tiresome, especially by the time August and September rolls around. This is why we must give thanks to God, Jah, Buddha and Allah for blessing us with Finals footy because this weekend's actions showcased just what a different beast the Finals are.
Before jumping to some game-specific thoughts, the over-arching thought from week one of the NRL Finals was just how different it is to the regular season. The referees don't exactly put their whistles away as they tend to do during State Of Origin where players get away with far more than they do in the NRL, but it was pretty clear over the weekend that the referees do respect the fact that these are the Finals. It's similar to how you hear the NBA Playoffs being ref'd slightly differently with players allowed to get away with more physicality etc as little scuffles weren't blown up by a ref eager to keep a lid on things for example; the ref's generally allowed the players to dictate how the games panned out. Who cares about the refs though, here's Them Thoughts...
Roosters vs Storm
When Billy Slater was ruled out for the season, many people saw that as the end of the Storm's 2015 season. But not me! I gotta hi-5 myself here because I had a hunch with the Storm and they had my back, so shout out to them.
Part of that is thanks to Cameron Munster who has been simmering all season, getting better with each week before exploding on the bigger stage. Munster was in everything for the Storm and could have possibly out-played his more fancied opponent Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Munster had 10 tackle-busts and a try-assist, which will always go down nicely when you're the underdog in week one of the Finals. When the Storm pop back into the picture after a week off, I'll be interested to see how Munster goes with whoever their opponent guaranteed to pay him much more attention.
Tuivasa-Sheck was still pretty good; he averaged 10.35 metres per carry. Munster averaged 8.6 metres per carry.
Massive shout out to Shaun Kenny-Dowall. Imagine yourself going through a messy break up, being accused of a raft of criminal charges, needing help for mental illness and putting in a storming effort in the NRL Finals on the back of all that.
News of Matt Duffie's move to the Auckland Blues leading into this game was very interesting, he joins Kurt Mann who will join the Dragons next year in leaving the Storm. They were both solid against the Roosters and I suspect they'll be eager to leave the Storm on a high.
Another solid performer from the regular season who stepped it up a gear in the Finals spotlight was Sio Siua Taukeiaho. Look at a team like the Rabbitohs who haven't been able to switch things up after 2014, compare that to the Roosters who lost Sonny Bill Williams but Taukeiaho has flourished and he's given the Chooks a healthy dose of ball-running. He had four tackle-busts and 155 metres.
We've seen the Storm re-invent themselves slightly after struggling to match the NRL's beastly forward packs last season. This has come in the form of Nelson Asofa-Solomona who gave them immense impact off the bench and has the size to make the Storm a contender, in combination with Tim Glasby who is solid prop and Jesse Bromwich who's one of the best.
The Storm will benefit from the week off not only as a rest but with the minds they have down there in Melbourne (Smith, Cronk and Bellamy) I reckon they will be watching on intently this weekend.
If Mitchell Pearce comes back some time soon for the Roosters, expect Jackson Hastings to come off the bench; he's gotta be in there somewhere. Throughout the season Hastings has come off the bench to give Jake Friend a spell, it'll be interesting to see what happens here this weekend.
Bulldogs vs Dragons
Had this game been played in July, it would have been a shocker. Instead, it was a gritty Finals game.
It was entertaining for an NRL nerd like myself through the middle as the Dragons did their best to hold their own against this big Doggies forward pack. Essentially this was David vs Goliath and the Dragons forwards, led by Englishman Mike Cooper, Leeson Ah Mau, Trent Merrin and Jack De Belin stood up admirably, maintaining parity with the Dogs' pack.
However, there was a severe lack of the clinical attacking play that had made the Dragons a potent force during their peak this season. Even before Benji Marshall injured his leg, there wasn't much organisation and their set-plays didn't have the necessary level of execution. Gareth Widdop took the reins once Marshall left the field, but his value was mainly evident with his goal-kicking, not his classy play-making.
The Bulldogs also lacked a dominant half playing at their best, understandable given that Trent Hodkinson was ruled out for the season. It felt as though Moses Mbye and Josh Reynolds were both too used to playing alongside Hodkinson and lacked the ability to really take control, organise and produce the goods. They had highlights but had they displayed better efficiency and control they could have won this easily, instead the Doggies looked incredibly patchy.
I love Leeson Ah Mau and I'm so happy that he has emerged as a very good NRL prop.
To keep it all the way real, I'm not sold on the Doggies as a contender. This game showed the Dragons' limitations, but it also showed this weird lack of focus or drop in intensity from the Bulldogs that I've seen in moments throughout the season. They do however have a forward pack that can roll forward easily; when they want to.
Does anyone really dislike Sam Kasiano? He's from Auckland so yeah that's cool but he's always acting like a bully combined with a baby.
The best player from this game was easily Josh Dugan, as he was heavily involved with good reason. Dugan ran for 250 metres and averaged 9.37 metres per carry, showcasing the sort of disregard for personal safety that can only inspire his Dragons homies.
Broncos vs Cowboys
Jonathan Thurston is the best player in the game which makes him the Cowboys' puppet master and fair enough. However the Cowboys, like the Dragons and the Bulldogs lacked any sort of cohesion or killer instinct in attack. That's not something you will hear often as Thurston's super duper, but he wasn't up to his standard against the Broncos which limited the Cowboys' attacking options.
The Cowboys enjoyed plenty of the ball with 57 percent possession, ran for more metres, forced three drop-outs and had more off-loads than the Broncos but late in the first half you got the feeling that it just wasn't their night. Thurston was off with his kicking game and the Cowboys needed to be at their potent best to break down a stingy Broncos defence.
It's hard to pin-point how the Broncos are so good defensively, but maybe this effort from Jack Reed can help us understand. Reed mans up against Justin O'Neil and as soon as the Cowboys push the ball to winger Kyle Feldt who only has the tryline ahead of him, Reed boosts it to the corner flag.
The key here is that Reed doesn't wait to see what might happen, he just knows that there's an overlap and that Jordan Kahu is out of the play. Reed doesn't waste a second and turns a Cowboys overlap into another missed opportunity purely thanks to being switched on in combination with the willingness to make that extra effort.
This game was easily the fastest of Finals week one's games. Too fast at times.
Which is where the Broncos' little men came into the equation. I'm not sure if it's Wayne Bennett's plan to play at a hectic pace and tire the opposition out, or whether it just happens and Ben Hunt, Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima take advantage. Given that Hunt and Milford's main attribute are their running games, I'm gonna say that Bennett wants to make the most of their speed and footwork.
Hunt's right-foot step made a few defenders look silly, while Nikorima skipped out of dummy half with fresh legs to set up Milford who simply showed greater intent than a handful of other players to score. May the little bloke shine!
Obviously the Broncos' little men can only do what they do thanks to a forward pack who are exceptionally solid. If you want a clear example of Adam Blair's value as an NRL player, then his niggly holding down of Thurston behind the play should do the trick. Not only does this sum up Blair as a gritty professional who does a host of little one percenters to help his team, but it sums up the Broncos forward pack. Blair, Sam Thaiday and Corey Parker ooze experience and they know all the tricks in the book.
Much like Ben Hannant, who is enjoying one heck of a purple patch. The original Polar Bear came off the bench and ran for 147 metres, averaging 11.30 metres per carry.
Rabbitohs vs Sharks
Greg Inglis tried to emulate Josh Dugan, but had very little help from a Rabbitohs team that looked exceptionally stale.
That's how the Rabbitohs played #StaleBread.
Missing In Action - Chris McQueen: four carries, 19 metres in 51 minutes. That's not the performance of an Origin player, well should we now refer to him as a former Origin player?
I shall continue to sing the praises of Wade Graham who is in my books one of the low key best players in the NRL. Graham ran for 145 metres, made 22 tackles and put in three kicks while playing 80 minutes. My favourite memory of Graham from this game was on a 5th tackle, on the left edge with both Jeff Robson and Jack Bird set up on the right. Michael Ennis hit Graham who was left of the ruck on the short side where Graham put in a delightful kick deep into the Rabbits' half. Graham's got a great left boot, but with his halves on the other side of the ruck he enjoys no pressure and has time to let his boot do the talking.
Threats. The Sharks of 2015 have threats across the park which is an idea that I would have scoffed at early on this season. Whether it's Ennis and his shenanigans whether kicking, passing or running or Graham, Bird, Valentine Holmes or Michael Gordon ... or even Sosaia Feki, there's options. Luke Lewis is Luke Lewis so the Sharks have a threat down either edge and there's wildcards in Andrew Fifita and Ben Barba.
You could excuse the Dragons and Bulldogs for a lack of control in the halves while Thurston's allowed to have bad games (better than your average) every so often. The Rabbitohs however, well they were shocking which reflects poorly on Adam Reynolds who besides last season has largely struggled in big games.
Chris Heignington was once again epic. Much smaller than the average NRL prop, Heighington took every carry like it was his last carry ever, running for 102 metres and he made 24 tackles in 45 minutes. Compare this to Sam Tagataese who played 40 minutes, ran for 51 metres and made 18 tackles.
Some of you may refuse to, but I think we all need to bow down to Paul Gallen. He once again crossed the 200 metre mark, which is cool, a few players do that right? Well kinda.
In 16 games this season Gallen has run for more than 200 metres in all but three games.
In 13/16 games this season, Gallen has run for more than 200 metres.
In the middle of the park. Yeah.