Finals week two and it’s a straight sets debacles for Canberra and Canterbury, sent packing by great performances from Cronulla and Penrith.
You know the best place to discuss what’s just happened is your weekly taking points – let’s rip in!
Panthers perfection makes Canterbury crumble
While Penrith were clear favourites on Sunday afternoon, anyone who predicted a 46-26 final score needs to be studied for science. The champs killed the crowd and the game within 20 minutes, strolling through the dogs for multiple scores en route to a 36-8 halftime blowout.
You can give credit to Canterbury for not rolling over completely in the second half, but Penrith went into preservation mode as their finals plans come together incredibly well.
Casey McLean looked to have hurt himself during the second half and for a moment it looks like Liam Martin was in all sorts, but the veteran forward returned to the bench and seemed well enough.
Five in a row is most definitely on.
Sharks strangle the timid Raiders
After a season of expansive, chaotic attack, Canberra chose the worst possible time to revert to their hyper conservative, one-out-short-ball attack which gave them no value for many years.
Cronulla’s defence couldn’t believe their luck as Jamal Fogarty and Tom Starling kept sending short ball after short ball into a wall of three and four waiting defenders.
Cronulla worked it out quickly and stuck to their defensive tasks but also made the Raiders pay for wasting an early period of possession, surgically targeting the weak parts of Canberra’s defence which were highlighted so brightly last week for a convincing 32-12 belting.
KL Iro was magnificent, Addin Fonua-Blake tore Canberra up, Billy Burns and Teig Wilton had fun too. Losing Ethan Strange was a huge blow for Canberra, but he doesn’t solely bring the creativity and different looks the Raiders usually employ.
Cronulla will ride this solid defence into Melbourne where the Storm are hugely gettable.
Nathan Cleary celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Worst of the weekend
– Almost everyone’s edge defence sucks
Any attacker heading down Penrith’s left edge, Canberra’s right edge or any Canterbury edge found joy and prosperity this weekend. Fortunately for Penrith, they had Canterbury and were able to do as they pleased even though the Bulldogs found metres and points on their left.
Canberra had snuck through the season with a raggedy right side but under the finals spotlight their problems were magnified and routinely taken advantage of. The defensive combination of Jamal Fogarty, Matt Timoko and Jed Stuart was far too generous towards approaching attackers and the Raiders find themselves gone in two because of it.
Canterbury also went out in two after Penrith surgically took them apart in that fateful first forty. The Bulldogs have had all sorts of combination issues forced by injury and recruitment but while that can get you through a regular season, clearly everything needs to be sorted out for finals play.
– Two straight sets departures in one season is rare, but let’s not undersell the quality of the teams we’ve got in the remaining four clubs this year. No matter how high teams finish, no one is guaranteed anything.
Best of the weekend
– Nicho Hynes has copped it most unjustly over the years but he was great in Cronulla’s dismantling of Canberra. With Braydon Trindall taking the field kicking it has allowed Hynes to use his creativity – setting up tries, scoring one and regularly putting teammates through gaps, Hynes looked great.
– Cronulla have had two great finals from their hooker Blayke Brailey – 61 tackles with just one miss on Saturday night added with his usual slick service and great opportunistic runs when he noticed the Raiders dawdling around. He’ll have a great contest with Harry Grant this Friday.
Blayke Brailey of the Sharks is tackled (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
– Do we have two of the best backs in the game at the moment? Cronulla’s KL Iro was incredible at centre in the capital and Penrith winger Paul Alamoti wandered over for three tries as he continued his fantastic form of the last year or so. Special note for Brian To’o as well… Maybe it’s a top three?
– Jacob Preston and Hudson Young both fought hard in lost causes. Both have had arguably career-best seasons and signed off with another whole-hearted effort.
– The Sydney crowd of 56,872 was great to see on Sunday too, and credit to the Bulldogs fans who stuck it out to see their team off for the season. A good Canterbury team is healthy for the competition.
Next week’s games
Only three games left in season 2025 and we’ve got a couple of beauts next weekend, however weirdly they’ve been scheduled.
We begin on Friday in Melbourne, with the Storm welcoming the fit and firing Cronulla. The Sharks have had regular season joy against the Storm lately, can they take that into a game that matters?
We finish on Sunday afternoon in Brisbane with the Broncos and Panthers. On paper this is a doozy… But Penrith have been in the spoiling mood lately.
Paul Alamoti reaches out to score(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Random thoughts from week two of the finals
– Get set for a week of ‘no one rates us’, ‘no one thinks we’re any good’, ‘it’s us against the world, no one believed we would be here’ talk from clubs this week as they fight to be the underdog. It all gets quite tiresome.
– It seems impossible to be suspended the deeper we go into the finals. Toby Rudolf got a fine for a clear high shot on Joe Tapine. Let’s wait and see what happens to Brad Schneider for his cheap third man in tackle on Sunday. The way the NRL goes nowadays he’s sure for a fine
– Referee Ash Klein sin binned Hudson Young last week for ‘stirring up’ Reece Walsh, this week he penalised Jacob Preston for an ‘unnecessary’ simultaneous tackle as a Panthers player passed the ball. It wasn’t a penalty at all and led to Paul Alamoti’s game-killing third try. Based on his two outings this series Klein just cannot be allowed anywhere near these last three games of the year. There’s too much at stake.
– With the exception of Canberra v Brisbane, so far this finals series the AFL have been destroying the NRL in television ratings. It’s up to Brisbane and Penrith to get league back up close.
What did you make of the weekend, Roarers?
AJ Mithenhttps://https://ift.tt/27waDts Finals Week 2 Talking Points: Panther perfection and Sharks squeeze as the Bulldogs and Raiders get sent packing
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