The Try To End All Tries: Rugby League has been played in Australia for over 115 years.
We are in the 117th premiership season and there may well have been better tries, there may well have been more dramatic finishes, but never in the history of the game has such an obscenely spectacular try been scored to win a game in such dramatic circumstances.
Xavier Coates performed what will be the moment of the season – it is one of Australian sport’s moments of the century.
Coates leapt from six metres out, contorted his body as he was hit and then planted the ball inside the field of play despite the rest of his body being outside the field of play.
It was a superman play that had the flight of Jimmy Snuka, the contortion of Graham Richardson and the drama of a kids birthday party with a drunk clown.
Long live Coates’ try – it will live in the annals forever and a day.
Chris Butler, Get Out of the Way: The new Henry Perenara of the NRL is undoubtedly Chris Butler, an official who is regularly picked despite being seemingly confused at every turn.
He was somehow handed the keys to the Storm-Warriors game and made a goose of himself plenty of times, highlighted by a penalty that he awarded almost a full Haley’s Comet sighting after the infringement referred to.
The most egregious of his involvements though was when he backed into Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes, stumbling and instigating a potential suspension for the star Storm No.7.
Positional play is incredibly important, Recognising an accident is also important and it is clownish that Hughes may miss this week.
Strike A Line Through the Keas: Bids are coming out of the woodwork now that expansion is back on the table but one bid that needs to be shutdown immediately is that of the South Island Keas.
Led by former NRL CEO David Moffatt – he who left midseason to watch the Tour De France and who was rissoled after just two years at the helm – one look at his wild and dangerous political rantings that include threatening Jacinda Ardern should end any hope of the bid.
The Right Man at the Helm: Last week I was lucky enough to sit down with ARLC Chairman Peter V’Landys.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Roar, V’Landys gave his vision for the game over the next decade.
In a game where leadership vision has been a week-to-week proposition, V’Landys has a genuine plan for the game.
The NRL has been ascendant under V’Landys and though he says he won’t be there in a decade’s time, the game must do all it can to keep him.
The most exciting prospect for the trainspotters it the likely introducton of a midweek cup.
Betting Close Calls: It was another big weekend for gamblers of all persuasions with last minute calls and key decisions leading to being on the right side of the gambling gods – or the wrong.
● Latrell Mitchell’s last play try meant nothing to the match but sent the game from under to over while it ruined 13+ punters
● Canberra’s on-field leadership refusing to take the two from in front of the posts with a minute to go despite coach Ricky Stuart signalling for them to take it left the game under the 44.5-point total
2024 Field Goal Update – 4: It was a fantastic weekend for the field goal with three field goals kicked and a few more missed.
Nicho Hynes kicked a completely disrespectful field goal to skewer the Bulldogs, Chad Townsend slotted his second for the season to win the Cowboys the clash with the Knights in golden point and then Daly Cherry-Evans secured victory against the Roosters with his 27th NRL field goal, making him arguably the best exponent of the NRL era.
Fun Fact #1: The only forward to kick over 30 premiership field goals is Ben Elias.
Fun Fact #2: No Gold Coast professional sporting team across the NRL, AFL or NBL have ever won a title in a combined 56 seasons.
Fun Fact #3: The best home winning percentage of any team in premiership history is the Hunter Mariners, who won seven of nine games at Topper Stadium.
Willie M Team of the Week – Round 2: This week’s team of geese, grubs and gronks:
1.Blake Taafe (Bul) 2.Charlie Staines (Tig) 3.Valentine Holmes (NQ) 4.Morgan Harper (Par) 5.Mikaele Ravalawa (Dra) 6.Tyson Gamble (New) 7.Jayden Sullivan (Tig) 8.Sean Keppie (Sou) 9.Phoenix Crossland (New) 10.Poasa Faamausili (Bul) 11.Tom Eisenhurth (Dra) 12.Jaydn Su’A (Dra) 13.Alex Seyfarth (Tig) ————————- 14.Jack Cogger (New) 15.Sam Hughes (Bul) 16.Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Dra) 17.Alec MacDonald (Mel) ————————– Coach: Jason Demetriou (Sou)
Betting Market of the Week: Which sport will have a thrilling show of athleticism, drama, excitement, brilliance and acrobatics that Xavier Coates managed against the Warriors in 2024:
- $41: American Football, Biathlon $51: Basketball $101: AFL, Soccer $501: Cricket, $5001: Rugby Union
Rumour Mill: Lachlan Ilias has reportedly been dumped by South Sydney this week with the club starting to realise they have backed the wrong horse.
Terrell May is in the sites of Canterbury with the Bulldogs set to bank the farm on the rising Roosters prop.
Melbourne are on the verge of signing Stefano Utoikamanu.
The Coaching Crosshairs: The future of Cameron Ciraldo at Canterbury – and that of General Manager Phil Gould – must surely be coming into focus after two horrible losses where Canterbury have shown complete ineptitude in attack.
There is no doubt that the Bulldogs are trying more this year but effort should hardly be the sole guide.
Cantebury has invested significant sums in talent and even though there are excuses around the lack of a halfback and the worst middle in the NRL – something Gould and the recruiters should have recognised – the fact remains that players are being played in the wrong positions, there is misguided loyalty to certain players, the assistant coaching hires have been abhorrent.
There is no identity in attack, there is a lack of football IQ and players are not being developed.
The excuses are running out fast, Ciraldo has the squad and the assistants he wants.
Yet the team has managed 14 points in two weeks and looks just as bad as the team three years ago that won three games.
Ciraldo may have a five-year deal but the seat is starting to get warm.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Benji Marshall’s coaching career did not get off to the start he would have hoped with a poor 32-12 defeat to the Raiders.
While he deserves plenty of credit for having the bottle to debut Lachlan Galvin, he made a massive mistake in playing Jayden Sullivan.
Sullivan is not a first grader, he has limited talent and matches it with consistent sub-par effort showings.
His display on Saturday in the first game of the season was embarrassing.
Credit to Marshall for hooking Sullivan after 55 minutes and he will almost certainly start Aidan Sezer this week but he cannot allow Sullivan near the top grade again.
The Tigers would be better off playing David Klemmer at halfback rather than Sullivan.
Watch It: Manfred Moore was one of Rugby League’s great cult heroes, an American with NFL experience who played just five games for Newtown but whose memory lives on to this day.
He famously threw a ball gridiron style over the grandstand at Henson Park.
He sadly passed away in 2020, here is a touching memorial to the great man – including a photo of him tossing the ball over the grandstand at 4.38.
Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oTOyAH37UY