Magic Moments From Magic Round

Magic Moments From Magic Round

In between the trays of XXXX and boxes on boxes of soggy hot chips, I managed to take a few notes (mostly mental ones) throughout the NRL’s Magic Round weekend.

What a weekend it was.

We had tries on debut, veterans winding back the clock, big men scoring first at big odds and crowd-favourite wingers bagging doubles and hattricks in every corner.

To recap the best weekend on the rugby league calendar, lets reminisce about some of the magic moments from the 2023 NRL Magic Round.

Valynce Te Whare

A genuine cult-hero in the making. Valynce Te Whare’s NRL debut couldn’t have been scripted better, bagging a double in The Dolphins runaway win over the Cronulla Sharks and bringing Suncorp Stadium to its feet.

There were a few defensive concerns for Te Whare to look at in the review, but let’s focus on the positives for now.

The balance, power and agility in this action can’t be coached.

Te Whare does things somebody his size should never be able to do and not only that, he makes it look easy. He’s as raw a talent as we’ve seen in the NRL so it’s important we stay patient.

He’s unlikely to play out the totality of the 2023 season but The Dolphins are onto a good one here.

‘Our F***ing Home’

The Brisbane Broncos welcomed the rugby league community into their home in NRL Round 10 and looked good playing host on Friday night.

They racked up a score against the embattled Manly Sea Eagles with all the big names having key involvements.

Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Tom Flegler ravaged through Manly’s middle to dominate in yardage and inject fatigue into the Sea Eagles defence.

The dummy-half rotation of Billy Walters and Corey Paix made the most of that momentum to threaten around the ruck in yardage and good-ball.

In attack, Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh combined beautifully to set up Selwyn Cobbo and Jesse Arthars on the edges.

Cobbo completed his second Magic Round hattrick with a runaway intercept try late in the second half, much to the delight of the home fans at Suncorp Stadium.

Few look better when rolling down-field like the Broncos do in 2023.

Big Man Season

We’ve seen a few big boppers get off the nudie so far this season and Magic Round was no exception.

Addin Fonua-Blake scored the first try at big odds in the Panthers v Warriors game on Saturday, taking his tally to an impressive four for the season.

Fonua-Blake is taking full advantage of New Zealand’s ballplaying skills through the middle of the field this year.

Tohu Harris has been the best in the business for a long time now and his combination with Fonua-Blake has been a highlight of the Warriors 2023 campaign.

Big Spencer Leniu fired right back in the second half, bashing his way through the line following a Panthers linebreak.

Too often we see players waste the space and take a settler on the tackle after a linebreak, but Leniu knew what was needed to help Penrith seal a narrow and controversial win.

Trell Mitt & Cody Walker

I wasn’t being biased when I put South Sydney at the top of the NRL Club Rankings last week.

I am being biased when I call this my favourite try of Magic Round.

Every fan will have their own Magic Moment from last weekend and this was mine.

The awareness to react to his teammate and the skill to produce the scoring action was even more impressive in the flesh. Latrell Mitchell can do things no other player in the NRL can do and this is the latest example.

He’s being afforded opportunities to execute actions like this because of all the little things South Sydney are doing right in the lead up.

It’s those little things – line speed, kick chase, ruck control – that kept Melbourne’s key men out of the contest in Round 10, and it’s what has them sitting outright second on the NRL ladder at time of writing.

Glory Glory!

The Sivo Chant

Parramatta played out their worst 80-minutes of the season in Round 10 but that didn’t stop crowd-favourite Maika Sivo crashing over for his first hattrick of 2023.

The flying Fijian brought Suncorp Stadium to life every time he crossed in the corner for the Eels, as the crowd erupted in the familiar “Sivo! Sivo! Sivo!” chant.

He iced a classic Eels left edge movement in their first attacking set of the game, before some nice skill from Bailey Simonsson helped him to a hattrick.

Sivo’s 13th try of the season took him to outright leader in the 2023 NRL try scorer tally, two tries clear of Campbell Graham and Alofiana Khan-Periera (both 11).

He and the Eels as a whole haven’t been at their best so far this year, but Sivo is still one of the elite finishers in the NRL.

Old Dogs, New Tricks
  • Foran’s Double

He was listed as questionable all week and was far from full-fitness coming into this game, but that didn’t stop Kieran Foran winding back the clock for Magic Round.

His willingness to wear a shot from the defence to create space for his outside men is at the core of his game, but on the weekend Foran found himself in that space to post a rare try scoring double.

He’s had a leading role in David Fifita’s career season and is the primary reason for the Gold Coast’s lethal left edge in 2023. No one straightens an attack like ‘Foz’ and the veteran five-eighth was back to his best in Round 10.

  • Jarrod Croker

As a hopeless rugby league romantic, I’m loving watching Jarrod Croker getting into his work for the Raiders this season.

The veteran centre is four games back from an NRL hiatus and the Raiders are suddenly on a four game win streak, he’s not the sole reason for their revival, but he’s playing his part.

One try and five conversions from ‘Toots’ helped the Raiders to a four-point win over Canterbury on Friday night, bringing Croker’s first-grade tally to 296 NRL games.

You’re lying if you say you’re not already looking ahead to Round 14 in what could be his 300th.

  • Andrew Davey

The NRL journeyman went full circle in Round 10 when he ran out for the Parramatta Eels on Sunday – the club he debuted for three years ago in 2020.

Since then he’s played just 32 first-grade games between the Eels, Sea Eagles and Bulldogs as injuries have hampered his development.

When fit, Davey is a smart line-running edge forward who can play a role for Parramatta this year. Great to see him score his first try in Eels colours.

New kids on the Block
  • Isaiya Katoa

Katoa is going from strength to strength in his debut season.

Most encouraging about his development is how Katoa is taking to the finer details of the halfback position.

We know he’s got great footwork and ball skills, but Katoa’s vision, game management and deception are all qualities we usually look for in a veteran half.

He’s not registering try assists for all his try involvements either – Tesi Niu’s four-pointer from Magic Round is a good example.

He knows which defenders to engage and how to create the space a few channels wider, even if he isn’t throwing the assist pass himself.

  • Jayden Sullivan

56 minutes. 40 receipts. Two tries. Two linebreaks. Four tackle busts.

That’s how you make the most of your first-grade opportunity.

With Ben Hunt shifting to hooker and Sullivan coming on in the halves, the Dragons roared to life. Sullivan’s footwork and agility made a mockery of the Tigers defence as St George mounted a desperate comeback.

They didn’t do enough to get the two points in Round 10, but Sullivan surely did enough to buy himself a little more time in the top grade.

We didn’t see much of it in Magic Round, but Sullivan’s juniors combination with Talatua Amone and Tyrell Sloan could become a key element of the Dragons attack, moving forward.

  • Alofiana Khan-Pereira

As soon as he got his fingertips to that Clint Gutherson pass, I stood up and pointed to the far try line. No one is catching Alofiana Khan-Pereira in open space, and that’s exactly where he found himself to score his second of the night.

His first was better though.

Making the most of some Kieran Foran wizardry down the short side, Khan-Pereira oozed class and confidence to beat Gutherson with a chip-and-regather as the Titans ran out to an early lead.

He’s a try scoring machine and a perfect finisher for the Titans left edge this season.

  • Jacob Preston double

What a debut year Preston is having.

Few rookie forwards handle the physicality and work rate of first-grade like Preston is, he’s relishing the tough stuff (avg 35.9 tackles per game with a 96% efficiency) while offering a hole-hitting threat close to the line for Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton in attack.

Preston has become a real silver lining to the Viliame Kikau injury and will have the Bulldogs backrow stocks in good stead for season 2024.

What were your highlight moments from Magic Round? Let us know in the comments below.

Written by Oscar Pannifex | rugbyleaguewriters.com