The Armchair Expert - Round 4

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Performance of the Round
No Jarryd Hayne? No worries. The Parramatta Eels pulled off their best victory in recent memory when they rolled the Rabbitohs. Against such a structured South Sydney defence, the Eels showed that the best way to punch holes in them is a bit of good old adlib footy.

Chris Sandow was at his unpredictable best and played his best game in the blue and gold jersey. His kicking game was on song and he led the team around the park in a commanding fashion. Although the backs grabbed all the headlines, it was the Eels forwards that set the platform against a usually dominant Rabbitohs pack. Manu Ma'u worked hard all night, having 16 carries of the Steeden and making over 25 tackles.

John Folau scored a double in just his second game of NRL and was an absolute menace all night with the ball. Unwanted by the Raiders, fellow winger Reece Robinson also put in another brilliant shift and is playing the best football of his career. Parramatta fans have a lot to be excited about in 2015, which begs the question; why didn't they play like this over the past six years when Hayne wasn't playing?

Two words: Brad Arthur.

Paul Carige Award for the Worst Performance of the Round
Canberra weren't terrible against the Roosters, but they didn't exactly set the world on fire. The Roosters were at their clinical best and punished the Raiders for silly errors with the football and defensive lapses. You can't knock the style of play they attempted, with Blake Austin and Jordan Rapana in particular running a muck at stages in attack. But for the majority the Green Machine lacked direction and execution. The lack of NRL experience in the halves could be to blame. Josh McCrone currently warms the bench but don't be surprised if he is pushed into the run on team in coming weeks.

Surprise Packet
The Dragons. What did Paul McGregor feed his players during the week? It was if a totally new 17 men came out to represent the Big Red V on Saturday night. Their attack was penetrating from the opening whistle and Manly was on the ropes the whole game because of it. They made metres with ease for large periods of the match and were a world away from their overly structured, stagnate ball play of the first two rounds.

One problem, the Dragons only scored one try for the third time this season. This time they were lucky enough to walk away with the two points but they need to convert their long awaited attacking play into points.

Russel Packer Medal for WTF moment of the Week
Although they finally broke through for a stirring victory against the Storm, Cowboys captain Johnathon Thurston did something very peculiar in golden point. In the Cowboys first set, Thurston went to take a field goal from 20 metres out but the Storm defence had raced up and prevented his planned shot. So JT stepped sideways and had a shot with his usually passenger of a left foot. It was only the fourth tackle…. If North Queensland went on to loose the Origin great would have been dirty with himself for not taking the tackle.

Ref Watch
After blasting the whistle-blowers last week, the men in pink had a fairly good weekend. Although I still would like to see the rule about signalling try or no try before a video ref decision.

Around the Social Media Traps
This week Souths hooker Isaac Luke dismisses some bad blood, A Parramatta young gun sings the praises of his teammates and the Dragons celebrate their return to the Gong.


http://www.enjoygram.com/m/950339537372386516_726896476


Thanks to all our #redv Members and fans for your support at WIN Stadium tonight for your help in getting us home with the 12-4 victory over Manly!
A photo posted by St George Illawarra Dragons (@stgidragons) on
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