Six favourites saluted in an NRL Round 8 pointsfest that featured four thrashings of 24-plus margins, while the two upsets provided a huge boost to a pair of battlers’ hopes of a mid-season revival.
But in a chronically unpredictable premiership, there’s a clear group starting to emerge as the likely 2024 top-four contenders.
Premiership hopefuls put on attacking exhibitions
Overs punters had a field day on Thursday and Friday as the first four matches of Round 8 produced 50-plus points – including a pair of Anzac Day blockbuster blowouts that witnessed totals of more than 70.
Sydney Roosters have emphatically shaken off the offensive rust that saw them ranked 15th in the NRL for points scored in 2023, crushing in-form St George Illawarra 60-18.
Sam Walker was the fulcrum of the Roosters’ blitz, while Joey Manu and Nat Butcher both picked up doubles in the 10-try drubbing.
Not to be outdone, Melbourne also piled on 10 tries in a 54-20 demolition of hapless South Sydney later that evening.
Xavier Coates had a hat-trick before halftime and the Storm led 36-4 two minutes into the second half, before a merciful three-try flurry from the Rabbitohs added a smidgen of respectability to the scoreboard.
Cam Munster headlined an untouchable collective performance from the Storm spine with a try and four try-assists.
The absence of Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo failed to halt Brisbane’s flow in a 34-10 win over Wests Tigers.
The best-on-ground return of Adam Reynolds – and some customary flashes of breath-taking Reece Walsh brilliance – provided the polish and highlight-reel moments for a victory underpinned by a supreme display of goal-line defence for the first 70 minutes.
Table-topping Cronulla continued its march with a 40-0 shutout of a Canberra side reeling from the long-term injury to linchpin Jamal Fogarty.
Tries flowed at regular intervals, but the Raiders being held scoreless at GIO Stadium for the first time in 12 years would have been the most pleasing aspect for Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
Though less convincing, Manly’s 32-18 defeat of sin-bin-stricken Parramatta and Penrith’s effort to hold off a North Queensland rally 26-20 confirmed a very clearly defined bunch of title contenders.
The Panthers ($3.20), Broncos ($4.25), Storm ($6.50), Roosters ($11), Sharks ($13) and Sea Eagles ($14) are all very nicely placed ahead of the hectic representative period, with only the seventh-placed Roosters outside the top six on the table.
Warriors on the ropes
Touted as a red-hot premiership chance by the likes of Billy Slater, Phil Gould and Paul Gallen just three weeks ago, the Warriors have plummeted to 12th on the ladder and $17 in the grand final winner market.
In a bewildering drop-off, the Warriors escaped with an extremely fortunate draw at home to Manly, were trounced 30-12 by the Dragons in Wollongong and crashed 27-24 to the previously winless Titans in front a sold-out Anzac Day crowd at Mt Smart – despite racing to a 12-0 lead after seven minutes.
The Titans racked up 27 unanswered points with alarming ease before the Warriors embarked on a comeback midway through the second half.
The gritty, grinding and disciplined hallmarks of the Andrew Webster era have gone out the window in the past fortnight, replaced by a torrent of cheap penalties and a goal-line resolve that has to rank with the worst in the NRL.
Dynamic workhorses Addin Fonua-Blake and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad continue to put in enormous shifts, but the overreliance on Shaun Johnson to produce their points is reaching epidemic proportions.
Webster will be working overtime on a 10-day turnaround to freshen up his squad and iron out the deep creases in their performance on both sides of the ball – because it’s crunch time in Newcastle on Sunday ahead of clashes with the Roosters, Panthers and Dolphins before their first bye.
Cowboys’ courage in defeat
As North Queensland trailed Penrith 24-4 a couple of minutes into the second half in Townsville on Saturday night, the flat-track bully prophecy swirling around the Cowboys appeared to be fulfilling itself.
It seemed a mere continuation of heavy recent losses to the Broncos and Sharks, in between beating up on the NRL’s lesser lights who allow their effervescent attack to flourish.
But instead of crumbling under heavyweight pressure again when the floodgates seemed certain to open, they produced a revival that could provide the necessary platform for the Cowboys to mount their bid for a finals return on.
The hosts unlocked the Panthers’ iron-clad defence on three occasions with brute force – as well as holding the premiers try-less for the last 36 minutes – to close the gap to four points, before ultimately going down 26-20.
The Cowboys, on the eighth line of premiership betting at $23, can make some serious headway on the table in the pre-Origin period with matches against the Dolphins, Titans, Rabbitohs and Tigers over the next month.
Armstrong-inspired Knights strongarm Dolphins
As far as dream NRL debuts go, Newcastle fullback David Armstrong’s first-grade initiation against the Dolphins has to rank among the most memorable – and crucial – of recent times.
The Knights’ season was in tatters after a 32-6 loss to the Bulldogs and a three-month injury setback for marquee man and captain Kalyn Ponga, having won just two of their first seven games.
Enter Armstrong, a lightweight Moree product who has been in hot tryscoring touch for the Knights’ NSW Cup side.
The 23-year-old opened his NRL account with the first try in the eighth minute and barely put a foot wrong thereafter, finishing with 189 running metres, two line-breaks and 11 tackle-breaks to headline a gutsy 18-14 win at Suncorp Stadium.
While Armstrong scooped the maximum six Dally M votes, he’s no Ponga – but the embattled Knights, who are also missing Tyson Frizell, stepped up collectively to compensate for the absence of their No.1 pied piper.
On the third-last line of premiership betting at $81, the Knights opened as relatively short $2.30 underdogs at home to the Warriors this Sunday, though the likely addition of Jacob Saifiti and Greg Marzhew to the casualty will test their depth further.
Hynes firms for pivotal Blues call-up
Cronulla has scored 82 points and conceded just six in the past fortnight against North Queensland and Canberra, surging to a 6-1 record, admittedly with the aid of a gentle draw.
Unsurprisingly, Nicho Hynes has been the cool-headed architect of the Sharks’ early-season cruise – and a dominant display against the Raiders, including a try, a try assist, three line-break assists, 202 running metres and 25 tackles, propelled him to the top of the Dally M Medal leaderboard.
Hynes, desperate to add to his Origin tally after an agonising centre cameo off the bench on debut in last year’s series opener, must have his nose in front for the troublesome NSW No.6 jersey to partner Nathan Cleary.
Incumbent Cody Walker is struggling in a Souths team running last and strong contender Mitch Moses remains sidelined by injury, while the Blues appear likely to move on from Jarome Luai – the best-credentialled of contenders wearing the No.6 at club level and in decent form – after past failures.
Following this weekend’s clash with the up-and-down Dragons, where he will be opposing Queensland utility Ben Hunt, Hynes gets three daunting – but ideal – audition opportunities in the lead-up to game one selection.
In three successive games that also double as belated chances to prove the Sharks’ title credentials, Hynes will lead his team (with rookie Daniel Atkinson alongside him in the halves) against the Storm, Roosters and Panthers.
If Hynes emerges from that minefield – which features direct clashes with blue-chip No.7s Jahrome Hughes, Sam Walker and Cleary, along with Blues five-eighth reps Luke Keary and Luai, and Maroons No.6 talisman Cam Munster – with his reputation enhanced, pencil him in for a maiden Origin start.