NRL Finals Week Two - Them Thoughts
Oh Jack, I think this calls for a cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehooooooo
Week two of the NRL Finals might not have delivered the highly competitive affairs that some may have wanted, but then again we got to enjoy two teams playing at their very best. The Roosters were able to absorb a ferocious start from the Bulldogs forwards and then simply had too much attacking prowess, which when at their clinical best is a joy to watch. The Cowboys simply ran rampant against a flat Sharks side who showed that they aren't quite ready to be in that NRL upper echelon conversation just yet.
Roosters vs Bulldogs
Some don't like Phil Gould but I don't mind him. Regardless of how you feel about Gus, he was bang on about Jackson Hastings who Gould said has great fifth tackle options. That means that when Hastings has the footy on the last tackle, he usually lands a kick on a dime and/or makes the right decision as to which kick to use. Hastings had two try assists, both from kicks as he bombed perfectly for Shaun Kenny-Dowall in the first half despite being 40-odd metres out and then repeated the dose to serve Kenny-Dowall up a hat-trick with another pin-point kick.
That offers up a scary thought as the Roosters are perfectly positioned to deal with James Maloney's departure next season. And they've got some talented options to replace Roger Tuivasa-Sheck as well.
Tuivasa-Sheck, who is on equal pegging with Jonathan Thurston right now. Tuivasa-Sheck was once again a standout performer with only Kenny-Dowall coming close to Tuivasa-Sheck's 200 plus running metres and Kenny-Dowall only had 155 metres to his name. 10 tackle busts for Tuivasa-Sheck and a try in which he put the side-step away and opted for the swerve instead; that's probably scarier than his step because he showed a nice little boost to get round Brett Morris.
Kenny-Dowall has undoubtedly gone through a tough period, but if the mark of a man is how he responds to adversity then Kenny-Dowall is a rare breed. Over the past two weeks Kenny-Dowall has run for 298 metres, made 17 tackle busts and scored four tries. To be honest, he looks to be in the same form that made him one of the best centres in the NRL but he's been doing this on the wing with Blake Ferguson inside him. Kenny-Dowall has enjoyed time as one of the best centres in the NRL and is now up there as one of the best wingers as well.
The Roosters are travelling along nicely because they have a a bunch of players who are currently in the form of their lives. Kenny-Dowall and Tuivasa-Sheck could be in that conversation, so could Hastings but there is also Dylan Napa who is their leading enforcer as well as Boyd Cordner who has been a shining light since Origin.
Cordner lined up against Frank Pritchard who has been and was again one of the Bulldogs' best. Cordner got the wood over Pritchard which is no easy task but his size and footwork will be something to keep an eye on as the Roosters head to Brisbane.
Damien Cook must surely get a consistent run in the NRL next season. That will probably mean that Cook leaves the Dogs who already have Michael Lichaa with Cook shining as one of the Bulldogs' more potent attacking weapons.
Sam Moa ran for more metres than everyone except Cordner and Aidan Tolman, despite playing only 37 minutes - Cordner and Tolman both played 80 minutes.
Cowboys vs Sharks
Kyle Feldt isn't quite on Kenny-Dowall's level, but Feldt has stepped up late in the season replacing Mathew Wright. Feldt is a noted try-scorer and has slotted in nicely on the right wing for the Cowboys; I like him.
The Cowboys enjoyed 62 percent of the footy which does provide some reasoning for the epic number of carries from Matt Scott (16), James Tamou (19), Jason Taumalolo (18) and Gavin Cooper (18). Shit, I might as well extend the invitation to Scott Bolton as well who came off the bench and carried the footy 16 times. To be honest the whole Cowboys forward pack put up impressive numbers and I think this had a lot to do with how the Sharks beat the Cowboys the last time they were in Townsville. On that night the Sharks came back to win as they steamrolled the Cowboys through the middle and I'd bet on the Cowboys remembering that performance.
Paul Gallen and Andrew Fifita were the only Cronulla players with more than 10 carries and more than 100 metres.
Jonathan Thurston bounced back nicely after last week's loss, that's not good for the Melbourne Storm. It's what everyone would have expected though from Thurston so no dramas but Thurston wasn't at his wizard-like best because he didn't need to be. Thurston didn't need to do anything that only he can do (I can play tunnel-ball so whatever) as his forward pack laid the platform and the role players around him perfectly executed their jobs.
One of those players was Michael Morgan who brushed of a pre-Finals injury to again show that he might be the perfect halves partner for Thurston. That's mainly due to Morgan's ability when he tucks the footy under his arm and runs, which is his greatest asset and with his nifty skills as well, he allows Thurston a bit more time and space.
I can't big up Morgan as a perfect halves partner without highlighting how fucking awesome Lachlan Coote also is. This is what makes the Cowboys such a dangerous team right now as the stars have aligned to give the Cowboys two fine sidekicks to accompany Thurston. Coote isn't the sort of fullback that Tuivasa-Sheck is, but he's so well rounded that he's almost as good a fullback as Tuivasa-Sheck.
Coote finished this game with 94 metres off 10 carries - 9.4 metres per carry, five tackle busts, two offloads, a line break and a line break assist while also using his left boot for five kicks and 194 kicking metres. Thurston had nine kicks for 88 metres as Coote took charge of the long distance kicks and did so perfectly, pinning the Sharks deep in their own territory.
Kane Linnett is still my favourite low key best centre in the NRL. There's nothing flashy about Linnett, but he's solid on both attack and defence and he enjoyed running at Cronulla's left edge outside Thurston and Gavin Cooper. Linnett's opposite Gerard Beale who was impressive last week missed five tackles this week and Linnett will be an important cog for the Cowboys this weekend.