BENNETT’S INACTION IN LATRELL BLOW-UP
Wayne Bennett is arguably the best man-manager in the game – but he got it very wrong in Friday night’s fiery Rabbitohs v Roosters clash.
In the most spiteful game of the year, a dreadful tackle by Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell shattered Joey Manu’s cheekbone, ending his season.
Mitchell got sin binned when he should clearly got sent off – and when he returned to the field the game became a bitter, angry affair.
There were cheap shots, sledges and flare-ups – much of it because Mitchell had lost his cool.
He scored a try and then slam-dunked the ball onto the turf in a belligerent manner and kept carrying on like an angry man.
And this is where Bennett stuffed up – he should have taken Latrell off the field once it was obvious he had lost his composure.
The Rabbitohs were a mile in front of the wounded Roosters and there was no need for him to stay on the paddock and dig himself into a deeper hole in the eyes of the public.
Had Bennett hooked his star fullback, many of the ugly scenes we saw in the final 15 minutes would have been avoided.
PONGA, PEARCE LEADS KNIGHTS HOME
The Knights are now certain finalists following their last-gasp win over the Titans – but they need to be much better to match the premiership’s big guns.
For much of the 80 minutes, the Knights struggled for continuity and their attack was clumsy and out of synch.
But so long as they have the guys I have dubbed ‘The Two Ps’ – Ponga and Pearce – the Knights have the strike power to be a threat.
The pair were the shining lights in the hard-fought win – without them the Knights would have struggled to score a point.
Ponga is a genuine superstar who can score a try out of nothing – as he did on Thursday night – and Pearce remains one of the NRL’s best number sevens.
DEARDEN BREAKS HUGE LOSING-STREAK
The player I’m happiest for after the weekend is little Cowboys number seven Tom Dearden.
Dearden’s confidence would have been at rock bottom after 25 straight losses over three seasons as a starting halfback at the Broncos and now Cowboys.
But the youngster produced a man of the match performance to break his long losing streak in the Cowboys’ impressive win over the hapless Dragons.
Dearden scored one try, laid on several others and came up with some big plays in defence in a performance that would have seen him smiling for the first time in a long time.
RAPANA STANDS TALL FOR RAIDERS
There are few better clubmen in the NRL than Raiders utility back Jordan Rapana.
In a must-win game against the Warriors on Friday night, Rapana proved the difference.
A noted try poacher, he scored the decisive try late in the Raiders’ unconvincing 28-16 win.
Throw in 225 running metres, a try assist and four goals as fill-in kicker, and it’s easy to see why the under-rated flyer is so popular with fans in the ACT.
VETERAN PLAYMAKERS SHINE LATE
Two veteran playmakers seemingly returned from the wilderness with their best displays in recent memory in the exciting Sharks – Broncos clash.
Much-maligned Broncos million dollar man Anthony Milford, who was good the previous week, took his game to another level and was the most dangerous player on the park.
He showed the sort of form that made the Broncos shell out massive dollars to sign him from Canberra years ago and almost got the young Broncos home.
But some touches of class from his opposite, Matt Moylan, ensured the Sharks took the points.
Moylan – like Milford the brunt of much criticism in recent years – started on the bench and wasn’t quite as spectacular as the Broncos ace.
But two or three touches of class from Moylan proved the difference as the Sharks hung on for a vital 24-16 win.
EELS ENDS MELBOURNE’S STORM
There were some crazy scores over the weekend – none moreso than Parramatta’s stunning upset over the Storm machine on Saturday night.
The Storm went into the game as unbackable favourites and the loss ended a run of 30 straight wins north of the NSW-Queensland border.
Parra were great across the park but the try that decided the result came from an unlikely source – hooker Joey Lussick.
The try was Lussick’s first in the NRL for four years – and it was one he will never forget, ending the Storm’s historic 19-match winning streak.