|
This week we saw a Dragon bite the nose of a Dog, a veteran Knight turn on the magic feet for a try, a Dolphin virtually admit to a forward pass that ultimately cost the Warriors a win, and the Storm's form slump continue. Read on as we take a look back over some of the biggest hits and misses.
MISSNo winners in Flanagan bite case Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan has been sent directly to the NRL Judiciary to answer to the change of Dangerous Contact, after Stephen Crichton lodged a complaint with referee Gerald Sutton midway through the second half at Kogarah. Video footage of the incident shows Crichton on top of Flanagan following a tackle. Crichton, for whatever reason, is seen pressing his face firmly against Flanagan's whose arms are pinned as he struggles to get to his feet an play the ball. The uncomfortable closeness and contact ends with Flanagan closing his mouth around Crichton's nose and Crichton pulling away with his proboscis looking a little worse for the encounter. Kyle's dad, Dragons' head coach Shane Flanagan, believed his son was innocent of biting, a despised and often heavily punished act. "Kyle said he didn't do it - and I believe him," Flanagan told The Daily Telegraph. "He's not that type of person. Crichton can say whatever he wants. He shoved his head in Kyle's face on the ground. They're saying he bit him ... come on. "Kyle's fine - he's not worried about it." Kyle Flanagan is likely to receive several weeks suspension, but his defence will argue that he felt threatened by the pressure of Crichton's head on his face and had only one way to end the situation. Historically, however, the argument that the body part was placed in the mouth therefore the bite was unavoidable, has not carried much weight. 
HITSharp play from Gagai gifts Sharpe his fourth try Knights winger Fletcher Sharpe had a day out against the Tigers, scoring four tries, but his fourth was all the work of veteran centre Dane Gagai. Gagai took a pass on halfway, he sliced through the defence, stepped of his right foot, his left foot and his right foot again. By the time he was finished the dazzling footwork he had three Tigers defenders wrapped around his little finger, almost literally. As fullback Jahream Bula joined the attempted tackle, Gagai flicked a perfect pass onto the chest of Sharpe who ran over untouched. It was the perfect combination of sheer pace and blinding deception from Gagai. 
MISSAsk Jake if his try assist was a forward pass The best try of the Dolphins' first half came when Jake Averillo put in a skip step near halfway before skirting his opponent and haring off downfield. As he drew the fullback his support on the inside had moved slightly ahead of him, but he shot him the ball anyway. Not only did the pass look forward, but Averillo gave it away, snapping his head around to see where the touch judge was and whether he had stopped to signify a forward pass. The on-field officials found nothing wrong with the pass and Kodi Nikorima raced away to give the Dolphins a 20-6 advantage at the break. At that point it looked as though it would be just one of many Dolphins tries against the listless Warriors, but a second half resurgence saw the game go to golden point extra time. The Dolphins were able to slot over a match-winning field goal, making the first half forward pass by Averillo a very expensive officiating miss.
HITPanthers incredible in winning the unwinnable The Eels were their own worst enemies against the Panthers at home on Friday night. The struggling club did enough to beat the reigning premiers several times over. With seven minutes remaining in the game and Panthers backrower Liam Martin in the sin bin, the Eels led 34-20. Against any other team, it was an unassailable lead, there just wasn't enough time to score three times. But this was Nathan Cleary's Panthers. Panthers winger Brian To'o led the way, scoring the first of the three tries needed in the final four minutes to take the lead. The Parramatta defence had packed up early and allowed the Panthers to run all over them in the closing minutes. Eels inspirational captain Clint Gutherson had a chance to send the game into golden point extra time, but the part-time goal kicker snapped hooked the ball trying to make sure he made the distance from beyond the 30 metre line. It was a horror end to what should have been a night of celebration for the steadfast Eels fans in attendance.
MISSStorm struggles continued against the Bunnies Melbourne Storm are currently in a bit of a form rut, as evidenced last week in their shock loss to the Dragons. In the first half against the Rabbitohs on Thursday there was further evidence, with star players not quite doing star player things. Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen had a couple of early shockers. Firstly he put through a grubber kick from well inside Rabbitohs territory, with the ball racing through the in-goal area to gift the Rabbitohs a 7-tackle set. Not long after that he telegraphed a cut out pass so badly in attack that Rabbitohs winger Fletcher Myers was able to run onto it as if it had always been meant for him. Papenhuyzen turned and chased and looked likely to run the youngster down, but he never really gained on him at all as Myers crossed for the first try of his NRL career. The Storm were able to overcome their early struggles to record a solid if less than impressive victory. Papenhuyzen himself made amends with some sparkling play. Still, they'll need to step it up another level if they are to have any hope of beating the Panthers in Thursday night's blockbuster.
HITSharks shine as Titans prove to be a flash in the pan The Sharks shook off some recent indifferent form to put the Titans well and truly in their place. Gold Coast, who had been performing like a side determined to make a late run at the Top 8, were blown off the park in front of their home crowd. With over 10 minutes remaining in the first half the Sharks had built a 30-0 lead. The ease with which they carved up the Titans defence was embarrassing, but the Titans have been making a habit of second-half revivals. They managed to restrict the Sharks to three tries in the second half, but were unable to breech Cronulla's formidable defence. The Sharks, who have a fight on their hands to remain in the Top 4, took the vital two points to keep the Bulldogs at bay, for now.
|
