The Quarter-Season Report Card: We are a quarter of the way through the 2024 season and we assess how each team is travelling:
Brisbane (B-): Haven’t bounced from the gates as expected but all three losses against premiership heavyweights and have spent a lot of time without key back Reynolds and key forward Haas, but their attack is elite with 28-plus in five of seven.
Canberra (B): Early wooden spoon pick of many but found four wins in their first six. Had a ton of luck beating on bad teams/teams with key injuries but have won all games they should have competed in. Struggling on road and the injury to Fogarty a major red flag going forward.
Canterbury (B+): A historically bad defensive team last year, the Bulldogs have not conceded more than 26 all year. Attack is starting to click too with 30-plus in three of last five and much better moving away from block plays/Xerri left centre/Kikau early ball. Ciraldo still mad with bench use/Hutchison half/Salmon persistency but on the up. Tracey No.1 a must.
Cronulla (A): Had a concerning blip against the Tigers but otherwise perfect. Projected to benefit from a soft draw and have done so beating up on bad teams while not travelling. Scored 34-plus in last three. Notable that they have had plenty of injuries.
Dolphins (A+): Outstanding start to the season for the second-year team that has been gutted by so many injuries to be running third. Lost to Cowboys badly in R1 and Broncos but have four double digit wins in other games. Bostock emerging as elite wing. Katoa coming on. Losing six major players a worry going forward but very impressive start.
Gold Coast (F): Disastrous start as the only winless team through seven rounds. Utterly horrendous the first five weeks but should have won last two. Des Hasler belligerently sticking with some calls not helpful. Injuries only a minor excuse. Deserved spoon faves.
Manly (B+): The Sea Eagles have mixed form but most importantly they have lifted in their big games (wins v Souths, Roosters and Manly plus a draw v Warriors) and they have kept Turbo healthy. One of the more interesting teams as they do opposition analysis as well as anyone and have shown an ability to play many different styles. Looking legit.
Melbourne (A+): The Storm have not put a foot wrong this year. They have won five games with their only loss coming on the road to the Knights with none of their starting halves. There are two concerns going forward: all Storm wins have been by eight or under so luck likely to turn and the pack is looking very thin.
Newcastle (D-): The Knights projected as a team on the slide this year and they have not disappointed. Their two wins were against a castrated Storm and at home v the Dragons. The team is poorly coached and the halves chopping/changing is doing the team no favours. Legit bottom four team.
New Zealand (C): One of the more disappointing teams of 2023. Their 3-3-1 record has shown a propensity to play up or down to their opposition. Poor losses to Sharks at homeand Dragons last weekend. Lucky to get a point against Manly too. Have the cattle but struggling to find momentum.
North Queensland (C): The Cowboys look all kinds of fake and even though they sit inside the Top 8, there should be major concern. Their defence has been horrid, conceding at least 18 in every game and 27-plus in three of their last four. Not competed with a legit contender and lost last three on the road. Huge coaching worries.
Parramatta (C+): The loss of Mitchell Moses has changed the course of their season. Opened up well with wins over the Dogs and Eagles and a close-enough loss to Penrith. Since have lost to Tigers and been hammered by Dolphins and Raiders while sneaking a win over Cowboys. Outside back situation is a mess. Club not getting enough from big-money players like Matterson, Sivo, Campbell-Gillard, Brown.
Penrith (A): The Panthers know more than any team about timing so will be incredibly pleased with how their season has started. Two losses have been against good teams on the road, the latter without Cleary. Gone 2-1 without their star No.7. The Panthers machine just keeps on rolling.
St George Illawarra (B+): The standout wooden spoon favourite has well and truly overachieved. They have four wins including victories against Manly and the Warriors. Zac Lomax leads the Dally M despite being unhappy. Shane Flanagan has done a great job improving this ordinary roster. Unlikely to play finals but should be very proud of start.
South Sydney (F): Utterly horrific start to the year. Injuries have hit hard but underperforming stars a bigger worry. Coach has lost control and likely out of a job after next two losses. Conceding 32.67ppg. Team looks slow, poorly coached, unfit. Unhappiness obvious.
Sydney Roosters (B-): The Roosters have had a very difficult draw to start but despite the Leniu drama, players departing and injuries have a 3-4 record with w win over the Broncos and a hammering of rivals Souths. Close losses to Manly, Penrith and Storm acceptable. Dogs first half only real shocker. Plenty of upside.
Wests Tigers (C+): After back-to-back wooden spoons, the Benji Marshall era has started well enough. After a shocker in Canberra, the Tigers have not conceded more than 26 points in five since. Won v Cronulla and Parramatta and played well. The discovery of Lachlan Galvin, Richo as CEO and Benji carving his own coaching path all positives.
Betting Close Calls: This week’s betting close calls:
● The over 43.5 bettors in the Dragons-Warriors game fell just short with a scoreless final 11 minutes.
● Those who like an over and enjoy the 61+ points flair were left keeled over when the Eels-Dolphins finished on 60 points – with six kicks from 13 attempts landed.
● Tigers +14.5 punters were looking good all game before a late James Fisher-Harris try put the minus in the green.
● Over bettors in the Bulldogs-Knights game hit the over 42.5 in the final minutes when the Bulldogs shut up shop and Bradman Best strolled over
2024 Field Goal Update – 10: We got our first two-point field goal of the season when Zac Lomax landed a bomb on the stroke of halftime in the Dragons’ dominant win over the Warriors.
Fun Fact #1: Jack Hetherington has won 18 of his last 51 games.
Fun Fact #2: Jack Hetherington has been sent off once,sin binned six times and suspended seven times for a combined 18 weeks despite playing just 76 first grade games.
Fun Fact #3: Jack Hetherington has played more than eight games in a season just three times.
Willie M Team of the Week: This week’s team of louts, lunatics and lairs:
1.Chevvy Stewart (Can) 2.Greg Marzhew (New) 3.Rocco Berry (War) 4.Brent Naden (Tig) 5.Xavier Savage (Can) 6.Tyson Gamble (New) 7.Jackson Hastings (New) 8.Jordan McLean (Cow) 9.Joey Lussick (Par) 10.Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Par) 11.Jeremiah Nanai (NQ) 12.Bryce Cartwright (Par) 13.Adam Elliott (New) ——————————- 14.Luca Moretti (Par) 15.Sam McIntyre (NQ) 16.Simi Sasagi (Can) 17.Jack Hetherington (New)
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Coach: Adam O’Brien
Betting Market of the Week: Was Jack Hetherington ‘joking’ as some at Fox NRL suggested or was he shaping up to belt Reed Mahoney in an act of absolute thuggery?
$101: Joke / $1.00: Thuggery
Rumour Mill: David Fifita will likely opt out of his Titans deal and hit the open market and there will be no shortage of suitors with both the Panthers and Roosters having cap room. The Broncos are expected to sign Tevita Pangai Jnr in coming weeks. There has not been a lot of interest in Josh Schuster but a move to Newcastle would not surprise in the slightest.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Adam O’Brien is the personification of a mediocre coach and nothing showed this more than his selfish and ill-informed decision to play Kalyn Ponga against the Bulldogs. The club obviously needs him but playing a fullback who can’t run when he is critical to the club’s long-term future is utterly stupid. The fullback is now out an extended period of time, injuring his foot when clearly trying to cover for an injured upper leg. Pre-game he said he was just hoping to get through to half-time, yet the coach played him Ponga should never have played and any senior Knights official should realise that O’Brien will put his own interests ahead of those of the club. It is a sackable offence.
The Coaching Crosshairs: Brad Arthur’s time at the Eels will finish in 2024, make no mistake about that. His cards have been marked following the club’s humiliating defeat in Darwin. Those who have teetered or defended him no longer will. While Arthur maintains plenty of goodwill within the club, his failure to bring any true success and the apparent regression of this squad to the point they can concede eight tries in 25 minutes against Dolphins, the Arthur years are coming to an end. The club no doubt has its eyes firmly set on Wayne Bennett and Bennett would be interested given the talent on the roster but he will not in any way even consider the club while Mark O’Neill or the head of football has any oversight over the coach or the roster. Other potential contenders include, laughably, assistant Trent Barrett (on a personal note, Barrett coaching Parramatta would be the wettest of my dreams) and Broncos assistant Lee Briers. Briers has been the brains behind Brisbane’s rise and he will be in the mix for head coaching jobs over the next few cycles. It is all over for Arthur though, who will be given the decency to finish out the year but won’t be there in 2025.
Watch It: One of the great cult heroes of the Super League era was current Broncos assistant and soon-to-be head coaching candidate Lee Briers. No player loved a field goal more than the diminutive Welsh international, who kicked 70 one-pointers in his 380-game club career and famously kicked five in a single game that his Warrington side lost 16-11 to Halifax in. Watch some career highlights here.