Don’t be surprised if lawyers get involved in the farcical finish to the Cowboys-Tigers clash in Townsville on Sunday.
The Tigers are fuming at the way they were stripped of victory after the full-time siren by a highly questionable decision by the Bunker.
The Bunker had got plenty wrong before this howler, but what really upsets the Tigers is they believe the rules don’t allow the referee to refer a captain’s challenge to the Bunker when the referee makes no decision.
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The Tigers caught the ball from a short kick-off, leading by a point, when the siren sounded.
The Tigers jumped for joy at what would have been the upset of the season, but the Cowboys fired in a captain’s challenge and the referee sent it to the Bunker, which found a dubious ‘running off the ball’ scenario from the kick-off, giving the Cowboys the penalty that won the game.
The Tigers have already submitted a complaint to the NRL but are awaiting clarification from League HQ before deciding on their next move.
Don’t be surprised if it becomes a case of lawyers at 10 paces as they fight to gain the two points they believe are rightfully theirs.
Hunt shines again
Ben Hunt is challenging Jahrome Hughes and Nathan Cleary for the title of best halfback in rugby league.
Hunt has had a superb season in an inconsistent Dragons side and drove St George Illawarra to victory over Manly on Friday.
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Hunt scored the opening two tries of the game, kicked superbly and kept putting his runners into holes.
Coming on top of his heroics for Queensland at State of Origin level, Hunt is enjoying arguably his best season and is the hot favourite for the Dally M Medal.
Hughes and Cleary have had plenty of fine moments too, but on the score of consistency it’s hard to go past Hunt.
Bulldogs on the rise
When assessing contenders for Dally M Coach of the Year, Mick Potter would have to be a genuine chance.
No team has improved more than the Bulldogs since Potter took over from the hapless Trent Barrett, and Canterbury played some superb football in disposing of the Titans 36-26 on Sunday.
The transformation has been stunning. A team that struggled in attack is suddenly scoring tries for fun, with six scorching tries against the Titans.
Potter won’t get the Dally M gong, but for a coach who has totally turned his team’s season around in tough circumstances, he deserves massive praise.
As for the poor old Titans, they have now lost eight on the trot and it seems just a matter of time before they give Justin Holbrook his marching orders.
What’s going on at Melbourne?
Keaon Koloamatangi has come of age this season and has been leading the way for the Rabbitohs up front.
The big man took on the Storm pack on Saturday and was the most damaging forward on the field.
Koloamatangi scored the game’s opening try after less than two minutes and ran for 189 metres as the Bunnies scored a rare win against the team that has had the wood on them for ages.
The Storm have now lost four straight games for only the fourth time in 20 years, and while there are some injuries, coach Craig Bellamy admits he is lost for answers.
Penrith’s biggest comeback of the season
One thing we hadn’t been able to gauge about the 2022 version of the Panthers is their ability to come back from behind. Why? Because the Panthers hadn’t trailed by a double-digit score all season … until Saturday night against Cronulla.
The Sharks came out and rattled the Panthers, sprinting to a shock 10-0 lead after just 11 minutes.
Penrith was clearly on tilt and spent much of the first half on the back foot.
But Ivan Cleary got their heads back into the game in the half-time break and the Panthers fired back with 20 unanswered points to finish 20-10 winners, emphatically showing they can haul back a big lead.
Canberra’s season hanging by a thread
Big Joseph Tapine is the man capable of getting the Raiders into the finals.
The Raiders’ finals hopes looked all but dead and buried as they trailed the Warriors 14-0 at half-time on Saturday.
But Tapine took control up the middle in the second half, getting the Raiders going forward as they scored 26 unanswered points to finish up with the win.
Tapine ran for a game-high 189 metres, played big minutes and got away three crucial offloads.
His class broke the Warriors’ spirit after a fine first half and Ricky Stuart will be looking for more of the same in coming weeks.
New mark looms for Oates
Corey Oates is well on track for his most profitable try-scoring season in his 10 years in the big league.
The Broncos flyer’s career looked all but over last season when he suffered a series of injuries and managed just four touchdowns.
But Oates’ double in the 36-14 win over Parramatta on Thursday sees him on 16 tries for the season, just two short of his best-ever haul of 18.
And with the Broncos’ new general Adam Reynolds giving Oates plenty of opportunities, the Queensland Origin flanker should cruise past that mark in coming weeks.
Big, strong and fast, Oates is the prototype modern-day winger who makes the hard yards for his team, taking the pressure off his forwards.
At 27 and with plenty of injuries behind him, he isn’t the quickest winger in the game. But he is a fine positional player and his height makes him a threat under the high ball, a trait Reynolds is exploiting to good effect.
Tupou celebrations cap fine win
Speaking of veteran try-scoring wingers, Daniel Tupou just keeps on keeping on for the Roosters.
At 31 and in his 11th season in the red, white and blue, Tupou celebrated a milestone game with two tries against the Knights on Friday night.
Tupou equalled the great Brad Fittler’s tally of 217 games for the club to become the 10th-most-capped Rooster, and still looks to have plenty of football in his legs.
It was a fine win by the Roosters, who lost three players for the season last week and Joey Manu before kick-off.
Knights in crisis
How much longer will Knights officials tolerate their team putting up such limp performances at home? Something has to give soon.
An injury-ravaged Roosters side thumped the Knights 42-12 and plenty of fans were seen walking out of McDonald Jones Stadium well before full-time.
Newcastle is a town that loves its football team, but the friendship is being strained this season by the way the team is under-performing.
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