Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 14 Recap
Origin is done and dusted and I can’t say I was too surprised by the result. I thought there were some seriously odd selections and a lot of out of form players in the line-up. The obsession with ‘combinations’ which means basically anyone who has pulled on a Penrith jumper gets a start is clearly not working. It will be interesting to see what happens… At the end of the day though I only really care about Souths and they won this week, which means this report will be much easier to write! Let’s recap Round 14…
Tigers v Raiders
A truly bizarre match to start the round on Friday with the Raiders just holding out the Tigers 20-19 at Campbelltown. For those that didn’t see it, this game was all Canberra until the 68th minute when the Tigers went on a scoring spree to level the scores at 18 all. This comeback was partly due to the sinbinning of Tom Starling but also due to the Raiders’ inability to win a game easily. Luke Brooks, who is actually starting to look like an NRL half, slotted a field goal to give the Tiges the lead. It’s amazing how you can improve when your million dollar contract is at its end… The craziness was not over though with a penalty to the Raiders late which gave them a penalty goal. This was a tough one for Tiges fans but it was a fair call. It was very much similar to the Good Friday game years ago when James Graham took out poor Reyno. Raiders scrape home again whilst the Tigers look like they have a bit to offer.
Warriors v Dolphins
I have to admit to not seeing much of this game but this was the second week in a row where the NZ side had things in their favour. This time around however, they got things right. The match was tight in the first half but the home side ran away with it in the second. I think the old fox Bennett didn’t mind dropping this one. As we know at Souths, it’s a marathon not a sprint with Bennett and he will have grander plans for his impressive new side.
Rabbitohs v Titans
The previously high-flying Bunnies were coming off back-to-back losses and would have been keen to get back to their winning ways against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium. The Gold Coast had had 2 weeks to think about their capitulation to the Dogs and would have been feeling the same.
As they tend to do, the Titans started on fire scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes. As a Souths fan, this wasn’t a great watch. The Gold Coast strolled over in easy fashion, something that’s been happening far too often to Souths in this last little period. Thankfully, Souths were able to hit back fairly easily through tries to Keaon and AJ. The good work was undone quickly however as the Titans did the same. The game resembled an oztag pre season match as both sides traded tries. This lasted all the way till half time with the obligatory opposition try coming in embarrassing fashion seconds before the break.
Sure, Souths had scored easily when they were in striking distance but this was far from impressive to watch. The intensity that was present throughout the first 11 rounds or so had disappeared and our defence and forwards looked to be struggling. To me, it just seems like they need a rest. After all, it’s been 14 rounds without a bye when others have had two. I suppose it would have to catch up with you eventually…
Souths 2nd Half
Onto the second half and the introduction of Mitchell and Suluka-Fifita changed Souths’ fortunes once again. These guys are our best forwards at the moment and are leading the charge when things go flat. The Rabbitohs piled on the points with 5 unanswered tries leaving the Titans in disarray. Our forwards turned it up and Cody and Cookie ran riot. Everything was as it should be again!
Some other notable points from the game.. The injuries to Jai and Cam did not look great, particularly Jai.. It’s timely that Siliva Havili and Davy Moale’s returns are just around the corner. They may find themselves in 1st grade sooner than they thought.
AJ of course got another hat-trick which took him past Brett Morris in the all-time record. It will be a happy day for me if and when he goes past Steve Menzies. I reckon 30 of his 180 tries were against Souths.
Keaon was immense in his 2nd game back and would surely be very likely to be wearing a blue jumper in a couple of weeks.
Cody remains in exquisite form. Now that Clearly is injured, coach Fittler has a chance to bring Reyno and Cody back together to try and revive the series against Qld. Those that read the recap will know that I was calling for this weeks ago… It makes too much sense to actually happen though.
The important thing is Souths got the win. They have a match coming up against the Dragons next Saturday and then they finally get to have their well deserved first bye…
Sharks v Broncos
It appeared on paper that the Sharks had a great opportunity to knock off the comp front-runners in this match up with the Broncos. Brisbane had a stack of players backing up whilst Cronulla only had Hynes who had a 15 minutes to forget on Wednesday. As mentioned before here, this Brisbane side is a different beast. Led by their general in Reynolds, they dismantled Cronulla to grab the win. All Broncos backed up and put in, indicating their commitment to the cause. I’m not sure if this would have been the case in the past? The Sharkies had plenty of opportunities but couldn’t execute when it mattered.
Roosters v Bulldogs
Off to a well-attended Central Coast Stadium for the Roosters v Doggies clash. Pre-season comp faves the Roosters were desperate to get back on track after some abysmal form of late. Canterbury have been all effort this season so this looked to be an interesting match-up. This is exactly how it turned out too with the Chooks edging home by a field goal. Tedesco was shocked into some form after a bludger of an Origin and Addo-Carr turned it on too. There was nothing in this though and even though the Roosters won, Canterbury may take more out of it.
Cowboys v Storm
The NRL continues to be harder to pick than a broken nose. The Cowboys, who have been on struggle street of late, put the cleaners through the Melbourne Storm up in Townsville. The Storm were flat as pancakes but it seems the Cows got a real boost from the Origin result. A few of their players were some of Queensland’s best on Wednesday and it looks as if their form rubbed off on the team. A huge result for NQ, disappointing for the Storm. Some of Bellamy’s spittle and vitriol may reach us down here in Sydney after that result.
Panthers v Dragons
After the resurgence of a lot of the Origin guys who struggled this round, this match seemed like a set up for a big Penrith win. Nothing ever goes as planned in the NRL however and the Dragons had other ideas. I expected them to roll over after a couple of good performances after Griffin was sacked but to their credit, they were very good. I suppose Penrith were too given they lost Cleary. Panthers scrape home, Dragons continue to fight.
Join me next week for Uncool Dad’s Round 15 Recap on Bunnies TV. We have a full round of NRL to look forward to starting from Thursday night. I will be reporting from Melbourne of all places! I might even go along to the Storm/Sharks match on Sunday and be a Random Souths Guy for a day. Watch out for that cardinal and myrtle standing out proudly like it always does on the TV coverage!
Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 14 Recap.
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
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