- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Canterbury continued their excellent campaign with a 30-10 win over the Dolphins in Bundaberg, condemning the expansion side to their 11th loss of the season with their finals place now in some doubt.
Later in the day North Queensland blew away the Raiders 42-4 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, running in seven tries to one to surely end Canberra’s season before the Wests Tigers snapped a miserable seven-match losing streak, surviving a very late scare to seal an 18-16 victory over South Sydney.
Here’s how the three Saturday games in the NRL unfolded.
When someone with the blistering pace of Josh Addo-Carr makes a line break with just open space in front of him, there is typically only one result. On a warm afternoon in Bundaberg, however, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow had other ideas. Kicking into another gear, The Hammer came from the opposite side of the field and produced a chase for the ages to take Addo-Carr into touch.
It wasn’t quite at the level of Scott Sattler’s iconic chase of Rooster Todd Byrne in the 2003 Grand Final but it was still a magnificent effort.
Perhaps with his eye on 2025 and beyond as the super coach returns to Redfern for another stint with the Rabbitohs, there’s been a shortage of Wayne Bennett’s magic dust in the back-end of the season.
The Dolphins have now lost four of their last five matches with their top-eight chances looking shaky with three clubs hot on their heels including the much-improved St George Illawarra, who will leapfrog Bennett’s side with a win over Gold Coast tomorrow afternoon at Cbus Super Stadium.
“We are not lacking belief. We are just lacking finishing the game with the execution that we need,” Bennett said.
For all the talk about Thursday night’s battle between Melbourne and Penrith being a Grand Final preview, it seems premature to say the 2024 premiership is down to a two-horse race already. Granted, the top two sides on the ladder deserve the plaudits they receive from media and fans after navigating the respective challenges they’ve faced.
But along with the Roosters, Canterbury are looking more ominous seemingly by the week. It’s no secret that defence is the backbone of Cameron Ciraldo’s revolution in Belmore and it held up again as the Bulldogs conceded just two tries – one of which can be put down to an individual error by Toby Sexton, whose errant pass found former teammate Jake Averillo who ran 75 metres to score.
It’s the defence that will be tested comes finals time. Will it hold up under the scrutiny of a Nathan Cleary or Jahrome Hughes?
Only time will tell, but Ciraldo can take comfort knowing that his side have points in them, too.
The back five were all directly involved in four-pointers at Salter Oval as Jacob Kiraz continued his excellent season with two tries and the ever consistent Matt Burton notched two try assists.
“We had 10 new players at the start of the year and I always thought it was going to be trial and error but I feel like we have found our groove the last five or six weeks,” Ciraldo said.
“I think we are capable of being a top-four side.”
Valentine Holmes scored a hat-trick and Jake Clifford made a successful return to the North Queensland line-up as the Cowboys put Canberra to the sword in Townsville on Saturday evening. With Maroons half Tom Dearden undroppable, Clifford has had to bid his time with soon-to-be Rooster Chad Townsend also preferred by Todd Payten.
Needing a response to last week’s disastrous defeat to Brisbane and to gain some breathing room in the bottom section of the top eight, the Cowboys produced a strong home performance with Clifford scoring a try and setting up a further two and Kyle Feldt adding two tries.
Holmes – who will wear the Red V of St George Illawarra next season after claiming he wasn’t wanted at the club – was a perfect seven from seven with the boot as North Queensland’s attacking threats showed exactly how potent they can be, improving to 13-9 which will all but guarantee a top-eight finish.
Payten’s side have proven they’re capable of scoring plenty of tries – and scoring them quickly – but conceding just one try will please the coach.
Whenever the Fox camera operators panned to Canberra coach Ricky Stuart in the coaches box the mood always seemed pretty somber. Desperate for a win to stay in touch with the eight, Stuart’s side were instead heavily beaten as the Cowboys ran riot with seven tries to Canberra’s one.
It has been a frustrating campaign in the nation’s capital as injuries have significantly affected Stuart’s ability to put out a strong line-up each week. That said, some of the performances have been substandard and today’s heavy defeat was no exception.
“Everyone’s got to have a look at themself,” Stuart said post-match.
“It’s nowhere near (what we’re capable of). That was a boys’ performance. In every single contest, we were smashed. I can’t use (inexperience) as an excuse. This year’s a learning period but you’ve still got to catch the football. Still got to make your tackles.
“I know that we’re a better football team than we were out there tonight, but I’m not going to protect those blokes in there.
“That was a real precious, spoiled type of game tonight, the way we played. We weren’t prepared to get uncomfortable, we weren’t prepared to do the grind and the hard work.
“We got into the arm wrestle in that first eight to 10 minutes and we were the first team to break. That’s what I can’t cop.”
A lot will have to go right for Canberra to scrape into the finals from here. They will need to be perfect in their three remaining fixtures – including tussles with Penrith and the Chooks – and hope for other results to assist them, too.
“DId you see the game tonight?” Stuart retorted when asked about his side’s finals chances. “Mate, do you want me to be honest? We’re a long way off those teams in the top eight.”
It’s been a long time coming but Wests are finally back in the winner’s circle after beating South Sydney 18-16. At this point of the season Benji Marshall’s young side are mostly playing for pride – but tonight’s win at least gives them a chance of climbing off the bottom of the ladder and avoiding an ignominious third-straight wooden spoon.
South Sydney almost snatched the two competition points with a dramatic 80th-minute try but Cameron Murray’s pass to Davvy Moale was ruled forward.
The mostly positive performance showed signs of how Marshall will attempt to return the club to relevance next season and beyond, with talented prospects Tallyn Da Silva and Lachie Galvin running the show in attack.
The best case scenario for the 2005 premiership-winning playmaker for the rest of the season is his best prospects manage to string a few wins together, fostering some confidence that can be built upon in 2025 when marquee signing Jarome Luai arrives at Concord.
“They showed a lot of fight and spirit,” Marshall said. “These guys care, we’ve been in the fight in a lot of the games and they’ve never given up to the death.
“With a little bit of sticking to the process and not putting ourselves under pressure, that helps. Whether you win by one or two, or by 20, at the moment we needed the win.”
A season that started so brightly in Redcliffe is now close to ending in disappointment as the Dolphins’ grip on a finals place loosened again in the loss to Canterbury. A top-four finish in just their second campaign at one stage seemed quite plausible but after conceding at least 30 points in three of their last four outings, the NRL’s newest side have blown their hopes of securing a double chance in the finals.
Should they get their campaign back on track in the final few weeks – where they take on minor premiership favourites Melbourne, their big brother Brisbane and Newcastle – and play finals in 2024, the season can still be considered a success. Bennett’s men will need to keep winning just to finish in the top eight and rely on results elsewhere going their way.
Incoming coach for 2025 and beyond Kristian Woolf has served arguably the most touted apprenticeship in the NRL and no doubt he will want to put his own stamp on the defence and the whole club when he takes over from Bennett. Expectations will be high, given Woolf’s reputation as a promising up-and-coming coach and the talented players at his disposal.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.