Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 21 Recap
After a week’s break up in Queensland with the family, I’m back to give you my take on all things that happened in Round 21. It certainly was nice to get out and spend some time in the warmer weather and be in a state that is mad for Rugby League. The fact that I was there when our boys lifted NSW over the line for their lone win made it even sweeter! Of course, I was a week early for the Rabbitohs game against the Broncos. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise! As always, I’ll give you a report on all games this week with unfortunately an extended look at our stinker at the Sunshine Coast.
Dragons v Tigers
For the second week in a row we got to see Wests in the prime time slot. This time though, everything was on the line as they took on the Dragons in the ‘Spoon Bowl’. You knew both sides were going to be up for this. The loser would surely be dead last in 2023 – a title no one wants.
As expected, the Tigers were more willing this week and probably had the better of the exchanges early. They were able to grab a 14-12 lead on the stroke of half time and the Wests faithful were hopeful. A try midway through the second half to St George-Illawarra was enough for them to get the lead and hold it till the end. The Tigers tried till the death. However when you have Brandon Wakeham and Daine Laurie as your starting halves, there’s only so much you can do. That little bit of extra firepower was enough for the Dragons to get the vital 2 points.
Warriors v Raiders
Two of the in-form teams of the NRL went head to head in the first of a very tasty Friday slate of games. The Raiders travelled to Auckland to get revenge after the Warriors pulled their pants down in the Jarrod Croker 300 game celebration a few weeks ago.
Things were tight early as both teams exchanged a solitary converted try until the Warriors started to gain control. Shaun Johnson had the ball on a string and continued his vintage form. It looked as if the Warriors were going to cruise to another solid victory. The Raiders then scored twice in the last 2 minutes with tries to Whitehead and Wighton to lock up scores! The Raiders even had a chance to win with a sideline conversion but missed.
Onto golden point we went and after a promising set from Canberra, an error with a kick gave NZ a seven tackle set. The Warriors marched up the field with precision and Johnson calmly slotted the field goal! A great game with 2 sides who are going to feature in this year’s finals when most gave them little chance at the beginning of the year.
Rabbitohs v Broncos
The Bunnies were back in a big way after the bye! There was a real buzz of excitement amongst Souths fans as finally our strongest team was named for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, we lost Latrell and Junior pre game but the side was still looking very strong. This was of course our first game in a series of home clashes that would take place a long way from our real home in Sydney. The Broncos also welcomed back a few of their big stars, setting things up nicely for a blockbuster clash.
From a Souths perspective, things got off to a decent start. We certainly didn’t seem quite on top of things but when AJ went over for a try in the 6th minute the signs were very promising. He had a fair bit to do in getting the ball over the line and it was a fantastic way to bring up 181 tries and outright 3rd on the all-time try-scoring table. To get past Menzies made me smile as I reckon a lot of his tries I saw him score live against Souths! Fantastic achievement from Alex, onward to Slater’s second spot.
It wasn’t long until the Broncos matched us with a try of their own with Kotoni Staggs steamrolling our defence after some Brisbane offloads. Is it just me or do we struggle more than most against offloads? In bizarre scenes, Marty Taupau almost took off Campbell’s head with a raised knee whilst running the ball. Taupau ultimately got 10 in the bin and we got a penalty goal but you have to wonder if the penalty should have been harsher.
Chaos
The sin-binning of Tapau seemed to hinder the attack of Souths as we started to overplay our hand and the errors started to mount. Ashley Klein ensured the nature of the game was chaotic with his usual flurry of inconsistent calls. The fact that both sides had lost their challenges early (Souths quite unfairly I thought) didn’t help Klein’s control on the game. Without the safety measure of the challenges, Ashley had free-reign. It was like leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank and the mysterious calls flowed freely. Here I am whinging about refs again. As I said last week, you only notice them when you’re down.
An easy try from Cobbo after we bumbled our way through the back end of the second half was matched by a ripper from Graham just before half time. We certainly have missed big Stretch and his 4 pointer gave us the lead and plenty of hope at the break.
The promise that Campbell’s try delivered was quickly evaporated in the second half. The Rabbitohs couldn’t do anything right. The dropped balls and poor passes became commonplace and the desire to get on top of the Broncos appeared to be lacking. In what has been a trend for quite a sustained period now, some of the tries that were let in were embarrassing. Possibly the only thing worse than Souths’ overall display was Hook Griffin’s commentary on Fox…
Kicked In The Guts
A try from Tass gave us some hope with around 10 to go but Brisbane put things to bed with a special kick-in-the guts 4 pointer from Adam. Typically, there has been a lot of blood-letting across Souths social media after the disappointing loss. It’s one thing you can rely on when things go pear-shaped at Souths. A few players have been singled out for their performances but the reality is no one really played well. When you complete at around 60%, no one is going to be at their best.
Luckily for the Rabbitohs, we have a reasonable draw to finish the season. The position we find ourselves in though means we pretty much have to win every game. We know we have a side good enough to do this but the time for words is over and it’s now time for action. Bring on the Tigers.
Titans v Roosters
After watching Souths lose, the Aussies struggle badly in the cricket and my AFL team Essendon get hammered, things got even worse in the sporting landscape. That’s right – the Roosters had a win and a big one at that. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually given the on-paper talent they possess. The fact that the Gold Coast have had so many close losses in a row probably also helped them.
The Chooks were on fire with the score 36-0 at one stage. The Titans, as they always seem to do when they cop a hiding, came back at the end to make the score a bit more respectable.
Knights v Storm
A jam-packed McDonald Jones Stadium crowd was on hand to cheer their boys on against the visiting Storm. Newcastle had racked up a few wins against weaker opposition and tonight was the big test. Melbourne silenced the huge crowd with two early converted tries. The Newcastle faithful were probably almost expectant in their disappointment but that’s when things completely turned.
The Knights scored an amazing 5 unanswered tries to take a big lead and have the Melbourne team completely rattled. The Storm comeback that everyone was expecting never really happened and the Knights got a massive win in front of their home fans.
This win keeps Newcastle’s slim finals hopes alive whilst Melbourne slump to another disappointing performance. Their finals spot is more-or-less guaranteed but they’ll want to end this inconsistency if they want to compete with the big guns like they used to.
Cowboys v Eels
In the final game of Super Saturday we had another good looking clash on the cards. The red-hot Cowboys were hosting the Eels in what loomed as a very important game when considering top 8 spots. The Eels had lost a few due to suspension which hadn’t helped their cause, North Queensland were intact and firing.
This was a tight tussle early but it wasn’t long before the Cowboys gained the ascendancy. They were in control for the majority of the match until two very late Mitchell Moses tries made things interesting. The Cows were able to register yet another win whilst Parra were decent considering their outs. Unfortunately for them, they have a tough one against the Storm next week in Melbourne.
Panthers v Bulldogs
The first game of the Sunday set was a very poor set-up for the Doggies. Penrith were at home on a dry track with the sun shining. Not just that, they had almost every one of their big guns, including Cleary, back and ready to put on a big show in front of their home fans.
Unsurprisingly, Penrith shot away to a massive lead quite easily with the score being 28-0 at one stage. To their credit though, the Bulldogs put up a brave fight and managed to get three tries of their own by full time. Sure, Canterbury gave Penrith too much space and they scored with ease but they also didn’t give up either. Final score Penrith 44 Dogs 18.
Sharks v Sea-Eagles
I couldn’t believe my eyes in the final match of the round as Manly ran in 30 unanswered points. The Sharks, coming off a huge loss to NZ last start, had made plenty of changes in the hope of a form reversal. It seemed like they had made no difference as the Sea-Eagles destroyed them on their right edge just as the Warriors had done the week before.
Things were looking very dire for the home side until the comeback started. Cronulla finally crossed and then grabbed another. A late rush of 4 pointers saw them with a chance to snatch it with 5 minutes to go. But just as it looked like they had all the momentum, Manly were able to hold on for a 30-26 point win.
Manly keep their slim finals hopes alive whilst Cronulla are in serious danger of sliding out of the 8. After smashing the worst teams of our comp when they’re at their lowest it appears they have difficulty with pretty much anyone else! They have Penrith out at BlueBet next week to test where they’re really at….
All done in what turned out to be a real topsy-turvy round. The finals race is really heating up with a few contenders dropping games and a few outsiders announcing their post-season credentials. In Bunnies land, we’re very much looking forward to getting back on track. As I’m sure you do, I hope it’s all business against the Tigers on Friday. Join me next Sunday night for Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 22 Recap where we’ll get to see what happens in the next drama-filled chapter of NRL 2023.
Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 21 Recap.
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
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