The 2023 NRL premiership just keeps on delivering the goods for footy fans.
Round 5 was the most extraordinary instalment yet, despite the shift away from the gripping low-scorers that characterised the opening month of the competition.
Six of eight games obliterated the total points line – three games saw 60-plus totals and five games produced 50 points or more, defying the 21-11 unders record across the first four rounds.
There were a few blowouts, but the enduring memory will be of the first NRL draw in three years in Mudgee, one of the all-time great comebacks capped by a sensational and controversial finish, and a golden point stunner featuring a last-minute try in regulation time and a booming field goal to win it.
Sunday, crazy Sunday
20 minutes into Sunday’s clash in the Shire, I was pencilling the Warriors in alongside the Dolphins under a heading about early-season surprise packets’ bubbles bursting.
Cronulla had raced to a 20-0 lead and the Warriors’ iron-clad defence of the first four rounds had deserted them.
But yet again, Andrew Webster’s version of the Warriors proved it is a different beast.
Digging in, sticking to the plan and chipping away at the Sharks’ seemingly insurmountable lead, the Warriors were within striking distance by the 55th minute and squared it up with 12 minutes to go.
A contentious last-minute penalty – on top of two hip-drop sin-bins that will get plenty of airtime this week – allowed Shaun Johnson to coolly boot the visitors into the lead.
They still had to survive a long-range penalty attempt from Nicho Hynes on the bell before they could celebrate a 32-30 epic.
Pulling off a win of that magnitude against a quality team with only 46 percent possession and 400-plus less running metres defies modern NRL logic.
Jazz Tevaga, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Wayde Egan were heroic – but Johnson was again the fulcrum of a Warriors victory.
The mercurial, maligned No.7 was sublime, laying on crucial tries either side of his solo four-pointer, calmly steering the side around and defending magnificently, before adding to his bulging catalogue of at-the-death match-winning moments.
No halfback has been better in 2023.
Topping that classic seemed near-impossible…but Canterbury and North Queensland gave it a mighty shake.
At the end of a gripping arm-wrestle, the Bulldogs conjured a sizzling Josh Addo-Carr try with 45 seconds left to lock it up at 14-all.
Matt Burton’s sideline conversion agonisingly hit the upright, but he produced a gutsy kick ahead to put the Bulldogs in position late in the first period of golden point, then sunk a booming field goal from out wide on the next play.
Rugby league, the greatest game of all.
Ivan Cleary’s proteges are both thriving in their first head coach roles.
Webster’s Warriors, 4-1 and second on the ladder, have been slashed to $2.00 to reach the NRL finals.
Cameron Ciraldo’s Bulldogs are still handy value at $3.20 to make the Top Eight; though only 3-2, it’s the club’s best start since 2016.
Both teams are $34 for the title but have proved they can match it with anyone.
Heavyweight statements
While a clutch of recent also-rans continue to stake their claims to NRL relevance, several big dogs chose Round 5 to flex their muscle after somewhat scratchy starts to 2023.
Coming off the bye, Sydney Roosters carved out a 28-20 win over Parramatta Eels that was considerably more convincing than the final scoreline suggested.
Two late tries to the Eels couldn’t detract from the authority of a performance achieved despite James Tedesco’s 24th-minute HIA exit.
Penrith headed to Canberra with a 1-2 record and just seven tries to their name on the season.
The two-time premiers opened their shoulders with a nine-try, 53-12 romp at the Raiders’ expense, however, piling on seven tries in the second half alone.
Completing the early trifecta, Melbourne produced easily its best display of a rocky campaign to date, grinding out an 18-10 result over South Sydney as an underdog.
Still missing blue-chip personnel, the Storm produced a trademark defensive display to stymie the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium.
The Panthers ($4.20) and Roosters ($5.00) continue to occupy the top two lines of the premiership market, while the Storm ($9.00) are lurking as the fifth favourites for the title behind the Broncos ($7.00) and Rabbitohs ($8.00).
Rolls Reece cruising towards Origin call-up
With just seven weeks until the teams are named for the State of Origin series opener and incumbent Kalyn Ponga unsighted since the opening seconds of Round 2 and no concrete timeline on his return, Reece Walsh is firming as a near-certain selection in the Queensland No.1 jersey.
The fullback wunderkind was once again electric as Brisbane pounded hapless Wests Tigers 46-12 on Saturday night, chiming in with two line-breaks and three try-assists.
Walsh has undeniably found a home at the front-running Broncos and has the potential to be one of the most influential players in the 2023 title race.
In four matches since missing Round 1 with injury, Walsh has scored three tries, made three line-breaks, produced six try-assists, broken 15 tackles and averaged 169 metres.
But he’s also been far more reliable and physical at the back – a perceived weakness during his time at the Warriors.
Robbed of a historic Maroons debut in 2021 at just 18 after a handful of NRL games, the 20-year-old is set to prove irresistible to selectors – Ponga or no Ponga.
Raiders on the ropes
Canberra fans are getting a nasty dose of déjà vu, sinking to a 1-4 record after a limp 53-12 home loss to Penrith amid a second-half capitulation.
Only once previously have the Raiders lost by a bigger margin at their home ground of 34 seasons.
The Raiders were in a similar hole last season, losing six of their first eight.
Of course, they rallied with seven wins from their last eight, scraping into the finals and rolling the Storm in a stunning elimination upset.
But is the clunky 2023 Green Machine capable of a similar turnaround?
The Raiders have conceded more points than any team in the competition and have scored the third-least.
Their desire to roll up the sleeves has apparently deserted them – on both sides of the ball.
The Jack Wighton contract saga could be the last straw for a squad whose premiership window is rapidly slamming shut.
The Raiders have plummeted to $4.00 to make the playoffs – the only 2022 finalist currently paying more than $2.40.
Knights of the realm
Newcastle sits on the second-last line of betting ahead of Wests Tigers for the premiership ($101) and to make the Top 8 ($7.00), but Adam O’Brien’s side deserves some recognition for the guts they’ve shown so far in crafting a 2-2-1 record.
The Knights have been in every game this year, despite being without three key players – the concussion-stricken Kalyn Ponga, the injured Adam Elliott and the suspended Jacob Saifiti – since Round 2.
Saturday’s 32-all draw against Manly in Mudgee took plenty of character and a healthy dose of brilliance after falling behind 10-0 eight minutes in.
Dominic Young’s sizzling four-try haul after being dumped to reserve grade a week earlier and initially not being named for Round 5 typified the ragtag Knights’ pluck.
One premiership point was the least they deserved – if the Sea Eagles had got up in golden point, the better team would have lost.
Newcastle faces a gruelling fortnight at home against the red-hot Warriors and the Panthers, but they won’t roll over and could provide some solid underdog value in coming weeks.