The fourth instalment of the NRL’s Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium certainly did what it says on the tin, producing a string of memorable encounters, nail-biters, controversy and – after the first three matches went to script result-wise – four upsets in the last five clashes.
Queenslanders right at home in Magic Round
Amid widespread calls to shift Magic Round to Sydney, Melbourne or richly-deserving Auckland in future, the NRL’s four Queensland-based clubs would undoubtedly vote for the marquee event to stay put in their home state.
Brisbane kicked off the weekend’s maroon-wash with a dominant 32-6 defeat of an insipid Manly on Friday night that saw Payne Haas and Reece Walsh move further ahead in the Dally M standings.
The Dolphins kicked off the procession of boilovers via an extraordinary 36-16 beatdown of in-form Cronulla on Saturday, while on Sunday struggling North Queensland carved out an equally remarkable 20-6 win over Sydney Roosters.
Gold Coast capped the Sunshine State cleansweep with a 26-24 eclipse of Parramatta in an absolute thriller on Sunday night.
It’s the second straight year all Queensland teams have come away from the Suncorp Stadium extravaganza with a victory. Meanwhile, it’s maintained the Broncos’ lead at the top of the NRL ladder, catapulted the Dolphins and Titans into the Top 8 and pulled the Cowboys out of their spiral.
Dolphins find right Valynce
If this year’s Magic Round will be remembered for one thing – besides an increasingly chopped up Suncorp Stadium surface that resembled midwinter Orana Park in the 1980s by Sunday – it’s the Dolphins’ thrashing of the Sharks and more specifically a sensational debut from an instant cult hero.
Burly centre Valynce Te Whare, plucked from New Zealand provincial rugby union obscurity and named in the 2022 Queensland Cup Team of the Year, scored a barnstorming try in each half to dominate what could have been a very difficult one-on-one assignment opposite Siosifa Talakai.
While the 22-year-old was the clear headliner, the team’s performance again highlighted Wayne Bennett’s ability to get more than the sum of their parts out of the Dolphins and inspire career revivals.
Third-string five-eighth Kodi Nikorima scooped the maximum six Dally M votes with a pair of try-assists as the Dolphins stormed to a 30-0 lead, while the likes of Tom Gilbert, Felise Kaufusi and Jarrod Wallace led an excellent engine-room effort with captain Jesse Bromwich sidelined.
The Dolphins’ price in title betting has been slashed to $26, while Cronulla slipped to the fifth line at $10.
The Sharks, who rolled into the weekend second on the ladder and on an imposing three-match winning streak, may be keen to request the bye for Magic Round 2024.
Last year Craig Fitzgibbon’s side was flying before being pumped 30-10 to a then-battling Canberra outfit in Brisbane. More encouragingly, the Sharks lost only two more regular-season game to land second and loom as a daunting Round 11 obstacle for the flailing Sea Eagles this Sunday.
Sizzling Souths
South Sydney is closing in on Penrith in premiership favouritism courtesy of five straight wins and leaving three fellow contenders in their wake in the last three rounds.
Following a late escape against the Panthers and a convincing road win over the Broncos, the Rabbitohs returned to Suncorp Stadium and put the Storm to the sword 28-12 on a weekend when multiple big guns were rolled.
With Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell adding consistency to their trademark game-breaking brilliance, the Rabbitohs’ second-tier stars and comparatively unheralded role-players are thriving.
Walker put an early stamp on the match with a fifth-minute try, while he and Mitchell both chalked up two try-assists to earn five Dally M votes apiece. Overall, it was a major turnaround from their most recent loss – an 18-10 upset to the Storm in Sydney in Round 5.
Souths, outright second on the NRL ladder, have been backed into $4.25 for the title, just behind the Panthers ($4.00).
Warriors put on a brave face
One New Zealand (formerly Vodafone) CEO Jason Paris is clogging up NRL news feeds after launching an online tirade against the match officials who helped consign the Warriors to an 18-6 loss to Penrith in Saturday’s rugged encounter.
The NRL will investigate the comments from the boss of the club’s major sponsor, while Warriors CEO Cameron George has declared he will be seeking a meeting with the NRL to discuss the way his team’s recent matches have been handled.
Rookie coach Andrew Webster’s previous good-natured, straight-bat response to questionable calls gave way to a more through-gritted-teeth outlook post-match after the controversial sin-binnings of Jackson Ford (hip-drop) and, in particular, second-gamer Demetric Sifakula (striking).
The Warriors’ frustration was magnified by several Panthers high shots that went unpunished.
When it has come of the back of a raft of bad Bunker calls on Anzac Day and the dubious decision not to penalise Sitili Tupouniua for a shoulder charge – moments before he scored the Roosters’ match-sealer at Mt Smart – it’s hard not to empathise with the growing frustration across the Tasman.
The injury-plagued Warriors were again gutsy, hanging in until the dying minutes yet again despite being consistently buried by an avalanche of misfortune.
The resurgent club were headed for outright second on the ladder when they led the Storm 18-6 a couple of weeks back. But the upshot of their three losses to heavyweights in the space of 11 days is the Warriors are now 11th with a modest 5-5 record.
Friday’s Sydney showdown with desperate Canterbury becomes hugely important ahead of a much-needed Round 12 bye. The Warriors have drifted from $34 to $51 in premiership betting on the back of Saturday’s defeat.
‘Hook’ hooked?
Noise around the NRL traps is St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin can start cleaning out his desk – and at this stage it would come as little surprise as the Dragons sunk to a fifth straight loss in Magic Round, 18-16 to Wests Tigers.
The Saints could have, perhaps should have, won all five games – they went down by six points or less in each, and led or had a share of the lead in four of those.
No team in the NRL has become more efficient at beating themselves than the Dragons, who are now equal-last on the ladder with the Tigers.
It’s easy to feel sorry for a coach in these situations, but a solid chunk of the blame has to be apportioned to Griffin for St George Illawarra’s lack of late-game resolve and cluelessness when the game is on the line.
Griffin’s baffling call to dump Zac Lomax, among others, last week backfired with the players selected in their place showing no more inclination to turn up for the embattled mentor.