Another round of NRL action is in the books.
But just as things are starting to get back to normal and larger crowds plan to return to stadiums, Queensland has thrown up a curveball.
We don’t yet know what impact that will have on the Storm, a Warriors team they played last week, and the Broncos who they’re due to play on Saturday. Until then, we still have a few points to cover from the round that was.
Repeat Set: Round 7
Bunker Chat
"So next year we might look at going to two captain's challenges, and the referee doesn't get to take everything up to the bunker” - Peter V’landys on 100% Footy
The NRL’s obsession with doing everything quicker than before has reached the Bunker with the potentially disastrous idea of only allowing teams to send two challenges for review per game as well as a referee wildcard - crazy.
Not only will it end up in outrage when a team misses out on two competition points because they’ve run out of challenges, but it could also take away some of rugby league’s great highlight plays.
How many tries in the corner will we have waved away to save a small amount of time, simply in an effort to appease those that are never happy with the game anyway?
Referees and touch judges have a tough enough time as it is. Now, despite having perhaps the best video referral system in sports available to them, we want officials to make, at times, irreversible decisions that are often decided by a blade of grass?
No, thank you.
Instead, how about asking the Bunker to be more decisive?
Patrick Herbert went close for the Warriors early on Friday night. Sent up as a try, the Auckland golf club I was in made up exclusively of Warriors fans watching the game conceded Herbert had dropped the ball on the first replay 25 seconds after the whistle blew. Herbert himself had given up hope of adding to his try-scoring tally after 50 seconds. Yet, it took another 30 seconds, so 1:25 in total, to reverse a decision the most one-eyed of viewers had accepted after 25 seconds.
Decisions have been made recently with little thought for repercussions. Think this one through, Peter.
Flying Under The Radar: James Fisher-Harris
The Panthers prop has his name overshadowed by the likes of Viliame Kikau, Nathan Cleary, and more recently, Isaah Yeo. But James Fisher-Harris lets his game do the talking.
Already a reliable performer for a number of years, Fisher-Harris is without doubt one of the best middle forwards in rugby league right now.
As a ball-carrier, he’s averaging a monster 197 running metres per game, good for the ninth-most running metres per game in the NRL. But we see big bodies pile up big metres in this competition every week. It’s Fisher-Harris’ developing passing game that is setting him apart from other middle forwards.
He doesn’t always look graceful doing it. Nor does it always come off. But the more Fisher-Harris uses his presence as a ball-runner to hold up the line before releasing a late pass, the better Penrith look.
At only 24-years old, Fisher-Harris is only getting better.
Warriors Head Coach Hunt
Well, it turns out removing “the one person holding the team together” while the club deals with issues like no other isn’t a good move for morale. In more positive news, the Warriors are at least looking at the right candidates to replace Stephen Kearney.
Danny Weidler claims they have put a few feelers out for Craig Fitzgibbon.
Fitzgibbon is widely considered the next rookie head coach in waiting. He’s an obvious target, really. However, with names like Geoff Toovey and Nathan Brown thrown up for the Warriors job, it’s at least comforting for fans of the Kiwi club to know that they’re eying up some quality candidates.
The chances of Fitzgibbon crossing the ditch are slim to none, though.
Why would he?
The Dragons job will be open for him soon enough if he wants it. So too will other Australian-based jobs with a better outlook than that of the Warriors.
Still, it’s encouraging to see the Warriors at least target the good coaches. Small victories, I guess.
Harry Grant: Really Good At Rugby League
Possibly the easiest ever pick for Breakout Player of the Year was missed by many, but Harry Grant is becoming a household name now.
A bloke that would otherwise be coming off the bench for the Storm is playing 80 minutes a week for the Tigers and is one point behind Jason Taumalolo in the Dally M Medal count after seven rounds.
There is a reason he looks gassed during every minute of every game. Grant ran for 168 metres on Sunday evening to average 98.8 metres per game this season. He’s made over 40 tackles in each of his five games for the Tigers, too.
Grant’s service out of dummy half is impeccable. So good that if he returns to the Storm and suffers the wrath of negativity the purple jersey attracts, every pass he throws will be considered forward by 15 other fanbases. He gets it out in front of the receiver every time. It’s played a significant role in Wests improvements through the middle.
He is always a threat to run out of dummy half but is already an excellent judge of when to go and when to pull it back. Grant is only 22-years old, but you can tell he’s been mentored by the best hooker to ever play the game.
He’s a joy to watch. The better he plays in 2020, the more Melbourne will do to lure him back in 2021. It feels like the Storm will replace Cameron Smith with the next best hooker in rugby league when he retires. In the meantime, we can all enjoy the things he’s doing for a club currently suffering the NRL’s longest finals drought.
Sharks Are Circling
That’s back-to-back wins now for the Sharks and a big ol’ pat on the back for this Shaun Johnson apologist.
Keeping an eye out for a new and improved Sharks attack with Matt Moylan, Wade Graham and Johnson linking up to start a match together for just the sixth time, the potential became clear.
Johnson did his thing; he leads the NRL in try assists and line engagements despite what anybody says about his perceived lack of involvement.
Moylan also chimed in with some nice individual play. He went exploring, and while the Manly defenders sat back and watched him, Moylan connected with a flying Jesse Ramien.
But the most encouraging signs came in the build-up to Braden Hamlin-Uele’s try.
A dangerous shift to the right edge early in the set laid the foundations for a return a few tackles later. Sione Katoa goes very close to scoring himself.
The Sharks then send the ball through the hands, back to the left edge. Most importantly, it goes through the six, nine, one and seven to get there.
Settling around the same line they did before the first shift to the right side, Chad Townsend throws a short ball this time. Joel Thompson - typically a strong defender - is wary of the backdoor pass to Johnson and on his heels; Hamlin Uele runs right over the top of him.
While only one game and against a depleted Manly side, it’s an encouraging start for the new-look Sharks spine.
Play of the Round
Shaun Lane is backing up an impressive 2019 season with a further improved 2020 campaign. He’s bumped his average running metres up from 109.9 per game to 151.37 per game in 2020 while doubling his tackle breaks to three per game along with 1.3 offloads. But, his influence is best highlighted in a three-minute sequence where he only touched the ball twice.
A beautiful long pass from Reed Mahoney and quick shovel on by Dylan Brown beats the inside defenders and forces George Williams out to Clint Gutherson. Another nice pass to a steaming Lane forces Curtis Scott around his ankles. Getting his arms free, it’s a relatively simple offload for Lane to send Michael Jennings across the line.
The Eels explored down that side of the field in the following set - a set in which Lane recorded one hit up. Soon presented with another good ball set, the Eels work to the same right-post position they had just scored from three minutes earlier.
Another Mahoney long ball and more quick hands from Brown gets it wide. This time, Scott squares up to Lane which also draws Bailey Simonsson onto Jennings. Gutherson once again makes the right decision.
While Lane didn’t touch the ball, he had just as much of an influence in that action as any of the ball-players.
This Eels left edge is a great watch and Lane, who had spent four seasons at three different clubs before landing in Parramatta, is a big part of their success.