Here are the talking points from an almost unbelievable first week of finals football.
Finals surprises
For a round of matches that had some big money outsiders, we were certainly kept on the edge of our seats this weekend. On Friday night the Broncos couldn’t handle the pace and power of the Roosters, and it is difficult to fathom how they were still in the game, let alone leading, with ten minutes to go. James Roberts would still be icing his chest after Latrell Mitchell buried his palm in it to break away for the match winner. The upshot, though, is that neither team would be happy with their performance. The Broncos need to fix their leaky defence in a hurry, and will be hoping Darius Boyd can return quickly to help in that respect, while the Roosters’ ability to maintain pressure and composure for the full 80 minutes continues to be an issue. The Eels did exactly as we all thought they would, giving the Storm an almighty fright but being unable to get their nose in front when it mattered. This team continues to grow, and still has some shots to fire in September. Melbourne, meanwhile, are Melbourne. Stubborn, strong, and winners. Can anyone stop them?
Then came the two sudden death games, and two massive upsets. Somehow Penrith managed to turn around the thumping they were given by Manly just a week earlier, and have gone through to week two despite being unloved outsiders. The Cowboys have been stumbling for weeks, and didn’t lead the Sharks until 85 minutes into their clash on Sunday, but found enough heart to kick the reigning champs to the kerb. Manly and Cronulla will still be in shock that their seasons are over, while Trent Barrett and Shane Flanagan have probably only just stopped the steam coming from their ears. So, as much as it pains us…
We need to talk about the refs
There is nothing worse in rugby league than the obsession with referee bashing, but it is difficult to avoid the impact a number of crucial calls had on those two games. There is no point analysing the merits of each decision, although Shane Flanagan gave it a fair crack in his press conference. Former referee Bill Harrigan has been scathing in his assessment of current boss Tony Archer and the present batch of whistle blowers, and the weekend’s officiating did nothing to allay his concerns. He is certain that Ashley Klein has reffed his last game for the year, and there is no guarantee that we won’t see more season-defining calls over the next few weeks. In fact, it is more likely than not. Everyone will be hoping it isn’t their team that is bundled out by a bad call, but this is nothing new. In fact, are we sure Mark McGaw grounded that ball in goal in 1987?
What’s next?
The stakes only get higher as we move into the second week of the finals. Penrith will have their tails up as they head to Brisbane on Friday night, while Wayne Bennett needs to ask himself some serious questions about how he prepared his team for their diabolical display against the Roosters. Regardless of Darius Boyd’s fitness, Kodi Nikorima must be allowed to get off the positional merry-go-round and reunite with Anthony Milford in the halves. Bennett’s Machiavellian selection antics left his team looking uncertain and disjointed. He needs to swallow his pride this week and let the boys play football. The Cowboys somehow need to find the guts and determination to produce another backs-to-the-wall performance, this time against an Eels team that will consider themselves unlucky to have been beaten by the Storm. You have to think the brave North Queenslanders will hit the wall at some point, and the Eels could do some serious damage if it happens to be this weekend. It’s bound to be another cracking weekend of finals footy!
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Words: Cameron Stokes
