The Synopsis - NRL Round 12

Panthers vs Eels

Parramatta finally got rewarded for their new found enthusiasm, with a solid win over Penrith at Pepper Stadium. In matches against Brisbane, Melbourne, New Zealand and South Sydney, the Eels had demonstrated that they had the desire and the ability to match it with the best teams, but had not managed to get the two points. Friday night was different. After starting quickly and surging to a 14 - 0 lead, the visitors seemed to back off and by the 59th minute the score was 14 - 14. There is no doubt that in the modern game, momentum created by repeat sets, either from scoring or opponent error, gives teams a sustained advantage. The question, with 20 minutes left and scores locked up, was, which team would use the opportunities that came their way and secure the win. As the game progress it became clear, that night was to be Parramatta's night.

Within just two minutes of Penrith equalising, an Eels' right sided attacking raid finished with a scrappy grubber kick by Brad Takairangi. Most of these kicks are collected by defenders or dribble across the touch line / dead ball line. Miraculously this kick was scooped up by Sami Radradra who slid across the line for a try. Five minutes later Radradra scored again and the local fans started heading for the exits, Parramatta 26 - Penrith 20. Both Parramatta and Penrith will struggle against teams at the top of the table because they lack consistency in attack and their defences do not put opponents under pressure. Both teams missed more than 30 tackles.

Titans v Rabbitohs
Half time at Robina Stadium on Saturday afternoon saw statisticians, the South's Coach and fans stunned as their team left the field four points adrift of the Titans, 6 - 10. The visitors had dominated possession 62% - 38%. They had a completion rate over 80%. The penalties were running 6-2 in their favour and the home team had dropped the ball 5 times. The Rabbitohs had carried the ball 41 times inside the Titans red zone and the home forwards had to make 60 extra tackles. Despite their flood of ball and field position the team from Redfern had been repelled time after time.

The second half was a nail biter for all concerned and both team had opportunities to score. South Sydney showed that experience and structure will win out, as they scored three tries to the Gold Coast one and finished the match six points ahead, 22 - 16. One extraordinary statistic, that will keep both Coaches awake reviewing videos to the early hours was South's having 60 tackles inside the home teams red zone, compared to just 13 for the Gold Coast at the other end. Despite this amazing goal line defensive effort, the Titans continue to miss the most tackles in the NRL.

With Greg Inglis off the field suffering from concussion, South's at times looked lost as they tried to find a way through the defensive line, but, for the second week in a row, they did just enough to get the two competition points.

Raiders v Broncos
The last play before half time, in the match between Canberra and Brisbane, saw Canberra pressing for a left side try, only for a misdirected pass to end up in Brisbane hands. 7 players, 7 passes and 1 kick later, a 95 metre try was scored by Brisbane winger Lachlan Maranta.

It had been a half of football that both Coaches and teams would rather forget. Brisbane had made 9 handling errors and Canberra had conceded 7 penalties. While all this was happening, both teams had scored two converted tries and 12 - 12 was going to be the score at oranges. That last second, unconverted try, gave the Brisbane team a four point lead, instead. As equal leader in the NRL, the Brisbane Broncos have settled down into a professional unit, with a strong spine and players with real skill and pace. All of these attributes were on show in the second half as Canberra attempted to close the 4 point gap. At the 57th minute Brisbane winger Corey Oates scored a try in the corner and their lead doubled to 8, (20 - 16). Canberra continued to try but bad luck and missed chances saw Brisbane extend its lead to 10 with a penalty goal (64th Minute) and then 12 with another, (74th Minute). Final Score Brisbane 24 - Canberra 12.

As the clock ticked down, the Raiders became more desperate and yet another match where they conceded a start to their opponents, had escaped them. This game they were down 0 - 12, last week it was 0 - 26, two weeks ago against St George it was 0 - 12 and even in the match that made their reputation for attacking football (against the Tigers in round 7) they were behind 0 - 22. Unless this changes, wins will be rarities for Ricky's boys from Canberra.

Cowboys vs Sea Eagles
The North Queensland Cowboys were chasing a 9th win in a row, with 6 players backing up from the representative match on Wednesday. The Manly Sea Eagles, despite their lowly position were close to full strength.

For the local fans and those watching on cable, the closeness of the score kept them interested. At no stage did either team get more than 6 points ahead of their opponents. After a converted try to Cowboys Mathew Scott in the 4th minute, Sea Eagles winger Jorge Taufua scored two unconverted ties, taking Manly to an 8 - 6 lead. It took another 35 minutes for the Cowboys to cross for their second try and a 12 - 8 score-line. Manly hit back 6 minutes later and carried the 14 - 12 almost to the end. But the home team would not be denied, at with 16 seconds left on the clock the Cowboys started a set 5 metres from their own line. On the 5th tackle they broke through on the half-way mark and fullback Lachlan Coote was felled just 2 metres from the try line. He played the ball to Jonathan Thurston whose pass found Gavin Cooper, who scored wide out securing the win. 18 - 14.

I highlighted the last set, not only because of the winning try, but also because Manly missed four tackles, as the Cowboys travelled 93 metres, downfield. The Cowboys and Sea Eagles had had 40 sets each. On average Manly missed one tackle in every set, allowing the home team to make almost 50 metres each time. Those figures ignore the 13 sets that were not completed, thus in completed sets the Cowboys averaged closer to 70 metres each time they had the ball and added 10 more with a kick. The Sea Eagles were restricted, by better defence, to a minimum of 43 metres per set and 54 metres at best, while missing half as many tackles. This was the pattern on the night. North Queensland with less ball, did more with it. For Manly, this is the "one that got away".

Warriors vs Knights

New Zealand fans and commentators alike were up for a win, hoping that their team might score three wins in succession for the first time this season. Sam Tomkins was returning at Fullback and while the Warriors had some good players out injured, they still had a strong squad.

Newcastle has fallen on hard times and yet again injuries to key personnel handicapped their efforts. First, club captain and utility Kurt Gidley pulled out and was replaced by Carlos Tuimavave, then replacement hooker Tyler Randall, was forced to play most of the match in the halves after Tyrone Roberts was injured.

The match see-sawed starting with two quick tries to NZ for a 10 - 0 lead. The Knights scored in the 18th minute cutting the gap by 4. The Warriors would lead by 10 points three more times in the match, at the 24th, 49th and 69th minutes. Despite this, the Knights would not lay down and fought back every time. In the 76th minute they crossed to make the score Warriors 24 - Knights 20 and there were times in the last 5 minutes that they might have snatched a win.

The bottom end of the top 8 is filled with teams that have a hard luck story to tell. From Penrith and Canterbury (8 and 9) to the Knights, Titans and Sharks (12, 13 and 14) the season is 2 wins away from being OK and just 2 losses away from the wooden spoon. Newcastle had led the competition after 4 rounds but have lost 7 out of 8 since. First choice half, Jarrod Mullen can't return soon enough.

Dragons vs Sharks
The Sunday afternoon match at Kogarah Jubilee Oval was promoted as a local derby and expectations were high among pre-match commentators for a low scoring, tight contest, (based on both St George and Cronulla), being at the bottom of the try scoring lists and with reputations for solid defence.

The first 34 minutes was a battle for field position with both teams hoping for opportunities to score and Cronulla, particularly, using grubber kicks as their weapon of choice at the end of any attacking sets. As a supporter of the Sharks with 40 years standing, I was worried, and turned to a mate and said that I hoped my team held on till half time, which would interrupt the flow of the Dragons' game. Within 60 seconds a try was scored and the 12 - 6 halftime score was as close as the teams would be.

St George ran riot in the second half with experienced hooker, Cronulla's Michael Ennis claiming to his coach that he'd spent the whole second half, tackling. The final score St George 42 - Cronulla 6, was indeed, a true indication of the gulf between the teams. Cronulla, under pressure from the start made errors that junior footballers don't make. Twice the kicker, kicked the ball out over the dead ball line at the kick off and near the end, Ennis, in attempting a short kick-off, failed to kick the ball the mandatory 10 metres. It was one of those days that Professional Rugby League players dread.

Roosters vs Storm

After round 7, I wrote that the match between these two teams in Melbourne was the best I'd seen so far. That remains the case. Six weeks ago the completion rates were above 90% and Melbourne won with a last minute field goal.

On Monday night both teams made more errors and completed around 75%. This game was different because the Roosters, who are an excellent night time team were on top from the beginning and were just too good for Melbourne. In Round 7 Melbourne missed just 17 tackles and in this game it was 33. In April the possession was almost equal, in this game the Roosters had 59% to the Storm 41%.

One Easts player scored no try's and made just one tackle, but Fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck ran for over 250 metres and was at times impossible to tackle. His work coupled with the class and dependability of utility player Mitch Aubusson meant that the Roosters outside backs were able to score tries in the 2nd and 8th minutes as well as the 55th and 63rd minutes, while the Storm never really went close.

The final score was Easts 24 - Storm 2.