Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 17 Recap
The Origin series has been decided for another year and we saw NSW sink to some spectacular new lows. They were outplayed and outsmarted by a much more enthusiastic opponent and it was tough to watch. As mentioned on here before, I’m not too fussed about Origin as Souths is my main priority but even still, it was a bit of a trainwreck even for the neutral fan. With only the dead rubber remaining, I’m sure there’s a bunch of NSW players who probably should have featured in the series already switching Fittler’s number to ‘ignore’ when he inevitably calls. Getting past all that, it’s great to be back with an almost full NRL round. Let’s recap what happened.. As always, I’ve covered all the games with an extended look at the Souths match, not that I wanted to…
Dragons v Warriors
For the first time in forever, the Warriors had a prime time TV game and they were keen to impress it seems. St George-Illawarra normally save their best for their Win Stadium matches but with the constant drama that surrounds the club, it was all a bit too much. After a tight start where both sides traded a try each, it quickly became all Warriors. The Kiwi team strolled through a disinterested Dragons side who were not up for the fight at all. Journeyman winger Dallin Watene-Zeleniak picked up 4 tries out of the 9 his team scored in a very dominant display.
This sets up an absolute blockbuster clash against the Rabbitohs next week at Mt Smart. There’s no doubt the place will be packed and the in form Warriors will be pumped to take a big scalp. As for the Dragons, well there’s only 10 weeks to go…
Dolphins v Eels
The first match of Super Saturday looked close on paper, well at least to me it did. I saw this as an opportunity for the Dolphins to bounce back or at least improve in front of their home crowd after some bad losses. The Eels had other ideas though, racking up an obscene amount of points in the first half, 42 in fact. Statisticians and commentators were reaching for the record books as Parra piled on the points. I’m not sure what’s happened to the Dolphins, the side which showed so much grit early in the season seems to have disappeared. Maybe they spent all their pennies early? The Eels, however, continue on their winning ways registering their 5th win a row with a bye next week.
Panthers v Knights
In a nightmare for tipsters and punters, Penrith decided to rest all of their Origin stars for this clash against Newcastle. It didn’t matter though as the Panthers got over a full-strength Newcastle at BlueBet Stadium. The score was close at times but this never looked like anything but a Penrith win. As much as I dislike them you’ve got to admire the Panthers’ talent and professionalism. It doesn’t matter who pulls on the jumper, they just know their role and get the job done.
It’s a different story for the Knights though. It’s a major worry that Newcastle took a full-strength Penrith to golden point a few weeks ago and were unlucky not to win. This time around it was an 8 point loss to a team that featured a bunch of Panthers reserve graders.
Storm v Sea-Eagles
The final game of Super Saturday saw a pretty easy win by Melbourne over Manly. The Sea-Eagles started fast and looked to be a chance in the contest but as they so often do when they’re without the Turbos, they fell apart. The result wasn’t really a surprise but it was a decent win for Melbourne given they were without Munster and were under some early pressure. Jahrome Hughes stood up in his absence and was easily the best on ground.
Broncos v Titans
With the Origin clash and the sole match on Friday we had three games to look forward to on Sunday. The first was yet another Queensland derby with Brisbane hosting the Gold Coast. The media and the TV networks always try and build these games up. To me it’s never as good as a big Sydney clash. I suppose the Queenslanders like it though so good luck to them.
Didn’t see much of this one. I was on the way to the Bunnies game but the Titans held on to beat Brisbane in a tough 18-12 victory. It’s rare for the Gold Coast to show any resilience at any stage but it’s amazing what sacking your coach after a victory can do. The new level of accountability on the glitter strip seems to have had an impact!
As for Brisbane, I’m sure they’ll be back. They’ve only had the one bye and have had a stack of Origin players coming and going. No doubt the likely addition of Ben Hunt for the remainder of the season will only make them stronger…
Rabbitohs v Cowboys
In game 2 of Super Sunday I was off to watch my Rabbitohs take on the Cowboys at Accor. North Queensland are a team we normally go well against and despite their resurgence, I was pretty confident we could get the win.
I couldn’t have been more wrong however as Souths put on display which could be described as ineffective at best. The Rabbitohs started well early. We couldn’t however, score points or build any pressure with a lot of our kicks not finding their mark. The Cowboys slowly ground us down until the tries started to come. Once again, our defence was left wanting. Scott Drinkwater split our line for fun and Valentine Holmes heaped on the points. It was a difficult watch and not the way I was hoping to spend my Sunday.
To me, Souths seem tired and injured. I was hoping the bye would help us but it appears as it hasn’t at all.. A lot of aspects of our game were ordinary but I thought our halves lacked a fair bit. Failing to build any pressure puts pressure on everything else. Cody was very rusty after having some time off. Lachy didn’t have his best match despite scoring our only try. I have to admit that I was slightly surprised at our signing of Jack Wighton a while ago, thinking it was good but a little unnecessary. But after these last few games, it’s clear how much he will add to our team in 2024.
Good To See Tom
In one positive, it was good to see Tom Burgess return and get through the game. We’ve missed his impact an awful lot and he’ll only get better with more game time.
It doesn’t get any easier with a big match against the flying Warriors at a jam packed Mt Smart next Friday but what a way to get back on track? That Souths side that was so impressive up till only a few weeks ago is lurking somewhere and is just dying to resurface and make us Rabbitohs proud again.. I certainly hope so as I’m starting to find it hard to put ‘lipstick on a pig’ each week in these recaps!
Roosters v Raiders
It’s always a small consolation for footy sickos like me when the Roosters get beat after Souths put in a stinker. It’s not much to cling to but it’s all I have currently. In this match the Raiders raced to an 18-0 lead. They looked like they were going to put the spluttering Chooks to the sword. But as anyone who has watched even the smallest amount of footy knows, Canberra never does anything easily. They were able to hold on though against the fast finishing Roosters and get another win for their tally. They’re travelling well, not so much the Roosters who have a tough one against Manly at Brookvale to look forward to next round. I suppose at least Victor Radley didn’t get sin-binned this round. He probably struggled a bit fitness-wise without his usual 10 minute break.
Join me next week for Uncool Dad’s Round 18 Recap on Bunnies TV. We have a full round of NRL to look forward to starting from Thursday night with the Sharkies hosting the Dragons. With the madness of Origin in the background for a while it will be good to focus on the NRL. Hopefully the Rabbitohs can reverse their form and get the win against the Warriors. It will be difficult of course but in a way it’s a perfect set-up. As always, I can’t wait!
Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 17 Recap.
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
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