Your talking points might be a day late, but that’s just an extra day to get down and sift through the mess that was NRL Round 23.
Here come your weekly observations and examinations.
Flanagan chows down
Canterbury centre Stephen Crichton’s nose was clearly bloodied, still images of the incident don’t look great and the case was referred directly to the judiciary. Dragons halfback Kyle Flanagan is in all sorts after finding Crichton’s nose in his mouth, and my god the takes that have surrounded this issue have been mind-numbingly bad.
Sides have been taken, you’re either team ‘Flanagan had no option because Crichton jammed his nose into his mouth’ or team ‘Flanagan is more animal than man and should be suspended for months’.
Apparently Crichton isn’t going to give evidence at the hearing and Canterbury haven’t even made a complaint, but that won’t factor into the NRL’s decision here.
The same thing happened with Jack Wighton and Tyson Gamble last season and Wighton got banned for three games, using the same argument Flanagan will.
Not a lot changed
Better efforts in losing outings from Parramatta, New Zealand and Brisbane showed there’s still a bit of life and energy left approaching the end of the year. The Eels blew a massive lead/got hosed by refs in coughing up a 14-point lead in seven minutes but were great for the other 73 minutes.
New Zealand fought back from 20-6 down against the Dolphins but couldn’t hold on in golden point, and Brisbane teed off on the shocking Cowboys in what’s ultimately a fruitless result for their finals dreams.
Melbourne had yet another by the book win over South Sydney, taking the points 28-16. Cronulla shredded the Gold Coast 44-0 and the Titans once again showed they cannot be trusted to do good things more than one time in a row.
St George Illawarra again couldn’t back up after a great performance, taken down 28-10 by Canterbury who didn’t feel even slightly threatened at any time. Canberra were horrible going down 46-24 against Manly, who came off the bye full of speed and a thirst for points. The Sea Eagles could have put 60 on them if they’d felt like it.
Newcastle stayed in touch with the finals with a casual 34-18 result over Wests Tigers, but it’s hard to imagine the Knights hauling themselves into a position of consequence.
Fletcher Sharpe scores a try. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
All up, the round ended with everyone where they were before, but a few concerns for the likes of Canberra, North Queensland and St George Illawarra.
The top four remain in place, but there’s a few match-ups coming in the next few weeks that could rattle around who’s where.
Save Reece Walsh, save the NRL
Been more than a bit of comment around about the Broncos fullback in the last little while, so why not chuck my bid in. Walsh was great again in Brisbane’s 42-18 belting of the Cowboys in Townsville – making metres, breaking tackles, laying on tries and line breaks, you name it.
When he’s going, he’s fantastic. Walsh’s biggest problem on the field though is that his opponents know this, too.
So he gets that ‘superstar’ attention with every touch, whether it’s blatantly late hits, shoulders to his chest after passing, some ‘extra juice’ in the tackle, just a touch more ‘contact’ when he’s trying to attend to bombs, grubbers and everything else.
It’s all part of it, I suppose. He’s the best player on the opposition and it’s in your interest to slow him down or as they say in boxing – make those early deposits that will accumulate interest during the rest of the fight.
But Walsh gets battered every game. He’s just 22 years old and has already had bad concussion issues. He’s 88 games into his career and in most of those he’s been dragging himself from contest to contest because of that aforementioned treatment.
I know it’s cool to hate on Walsh, to say he’s a ‘pretty boy’ who ‘doesn’t want it enough’, is ‘soft’ because he yelled at a teammate and he’s better looking than you.
Reece Walsh reels on the ground after taking high contact from Joseph Suaalii in Origin 1. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
All this bullshit shows is that you don’t watch what he does, how he plays and how he’s targeted, or you don’t care because it’s easier to join the crowd and sledge away.
With the level of physical punishment he’s absorbing every week it’ll be a miracle if he’s still in the game when he’s 24. Maybe it’s time to look a bit more closely at the attention players like Walsh are getting.
Good games next week
There’s some really good match-ups coming up in Round 24. Let’s hope the on-field product matches the potential on the paper.
We begin Thursday night in Penrith, with the Panthers and Melbourne. This could be anything. If Penrith win by six or more they’ll take top spot, if Melbourne win they’ll probably get the JJ Giltinan Shield.
Don’t forget though, these two are expecting on playing each other during the finals once or twice so there’s not going to be much laid on the line in terms of set plans and strategic moves. Still, it’ll be fun to watch.
Friday’s pub dinner is eaten while Manly and the Warriors go at it, the Sea Eagles a top-four chance. Primetime Friday is the Roosters and Parramatta, who are giving a good account of themselves.
Saturday’s slate features Canterbury hosting the Dolphins, which has a big impact on finals jostling. North Queensland and the Raiders are the twilight game, Wests Tigers and South Sydney the nightcap in what might be a sneaky good one.
Sunday is a meaningful one when the Dragons host the Titans in the race for the bottom of the eight, then Cronulla welcomes Newcastle to there construction site with the home team looking to stay top four, the visitors on their last chance to grab the lower finals places.
Cronulla need to win to keep a stranglehold on the double chance. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Brisbane has the bye and while two free points is nice, it’s not a miracle solution to their finals problems. One more loss and they’ll be ‘officially’ done in 2024.
The NRLW has some beauties this weekend, too – Brisbane and Canberra kick us off in the Saturday early game, followed by North Queensland and the Gold Coast which should be a ripper.
Sunday’s games see the Dragons and Roosters get amongst it, the Sharks and Knights in a curtain raiser for the men’s game before Wests Tigers and Parramatta take to Campbelltown on Sunday night.
Round 23’s random thoughts
– Penrith snagged young gun Blaize Talagi from Parramatta wth a three-year deal, disappointing those who thought the champions were haemorrhaging players and about to come back to the pack.
– The NRL has ticked off on what I thought was a pretty obvious obstruction in Penrith’s 36-34 comeback win over Parramatta, but it’s worth keeping an eye on their blue shirt trainer, who spent almost the entire second half on the field barking directions and getting up quite close to the play. We know what happens when trainers get too close…
– Congratulations to St George Illawarra, now clear holders of the NRL record for consecutive games conceding a try. They’re on a 214-game streak going back to Round 23 of season 2015. They’ll have this for a while, too, because the closest live streak to this is Canberra on 131 (back to Round 14, 2019).
– Why do South Sydney play games at Homebush? It’s barren, dark and almost silent. Their match-up with the Storm was a throwback to the COVID era.
What caught your eye this weekend, Roarers?
AJ Mithenhttps://https://ift.tt/JLNWMY8 Round 23 Talking Points: Flanagan chows down – and we need to save Reece Walsh
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