Uncool Dad’s NRL Round 9 Recap
The floodgates opened for a brief period this week with a bunch of blowouts to start the round. However, just when you thought the teams were starting to break under the pressure, order was restored in the NRL with the backend of Round 9 being super tight. There were some very interesting results this week including an upset for the ages that I’m pretty sure no one saw coming! Let’s recap Round 9.
Thursday
Thursday’s match was a replay of last year’s qualifying semi-final with the Cowboys taking on the Sharkies at Shark Park. Cronulla had been going along quite nicely whilst the Cowboys had been struggling. Despite this, the Cows were coming off a tough win against Newcastle last week and I expected them to put up a fight. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This game was seriously one way traffic. The Sharks scored tries at will as the Cowboys bumbled to error after error. End result: Sharks 44 = cruising, Cowboys 6 = struggle street.
Friday
Onto Friday and the Eels, who were coming off an ordinary loss to the Broncs in Darwin, were up against the improved Knights at Commbank. This game wasn’t dissimilar to the Thursday one with the Eels registering an effortless win. No one can explain why or when this is going to happen but Parra were really dialed in for this one. In contrast, the Knights resembled their inept 2022 version.
The Eels really targeted Kalyn Ponga and were very successful. One of the NRL’s highest paid players put in a shocker and you have to wonder if five-eighth is really his spot? The Knights fans have 2 weeks to think about it as they miss out on the Magic Round festivities with their bye scheduled.
Friday Game 2
The second Friday match was a real blockbuster with the ladder leading Broncos taking on the in form Rabbitohs at Suncorp. The game was tight to begin with until Cam Murray was sin binned for the Bunnies. This seemed to wake up my Rabbitohs and from then on, we dominated in every facet of the game. Our forwards led by the returning Junior Tatola absolutely destroyed a Brisbane pack that was missing Payne Haas. On the back of this, Rabbitoh superstars Mitchell, Graham and Walker carved up Brisbane to register an impressive win.
I read a media report on the weekend where the Rabbitohs were described as “ruthless” in the headline. I don’t think we’ve been called ruthless ever except for maybe at the end of 2014 but probably not even then. However I really did like the sound of this description.
Saturday
As mentioned in the preamble, the close contests returned after the floggings of Thursday and Friday. First up was the Raiders hosting the Dolphins at a packed McDonalds Park in Wagga. This was a high scoring match with the Raiders doing their usual trick of blowing a big lead. This suited the Dolphins of course who were up for their reliable habit of a stunning comeback. We ended up in golden point at 30-30. Solid Raiders half Jamal Fogarty was able to slot a field goal early on in extra time and the win was Canberra’s.
It was an emotional time after the game for Jack Wighton who signed with my Rabbitohs during the week. The Raiders obviously aren’t happy about losing their best player to an already stronger rival and I feel for their fans. It’s not great for them but I certainly know what it’s like. Almost every decent player the Bunnies produced for the first 30 years of my Souths supporting life ended up playing in different colours.
Saturday Game 2
The Titans travelled to Brookvale on a very wet Saturday in Sydney to take on Manly. The Sea-Eagles were Turbo-less but most expected them to still grab the win. Gold Coast had other ideas and when they got in the lead they stayed in the lead. Unlike last week against the Dolphins, the Titans were able to hold out the home side and now have a very handy 4-4 record for season 2023 so far.
Saturday Game 3
Off to Bathurst for a Penrith home game for the final Saturday match. The lowly Tigers were their opponents and the conditions were absolutely atrocious. Despite the bucketing rain, the Panthers were supposed to make light work of the battling Tigers particularly after they’d just dropped a game the week before. What transpired was hard to believe. I had to check if I was in an alternate reality as Wests Tigers completed two almost perfect halves of wet weather footy.
Led by off-season signing Koroisau, new fullback Bula and even Luke Brooks(!!), the Tiges put the back-to-back premiers to the sword! The Panthers looked a shadow of their former selves and struggled in the conditions. It seemed most of the team were waiting for Cleary or Yeo to get them out of trouble and some very bad errors resulted. Enjoy Tigers fans – it’s been a very long road.
Sunday
The weather in Auckland on Sunday looked as bad as it was in Sydney on Saturday. The Roosters handled the conditions a lot better than the Warriors. There were a few controversial moments here and there but really the Roosters were far better. The away team were able to grind out a 14-0 win and they would be satisfied that they were able to produce a tough win.
Sunday Game 2
Finally, we were off to Wollongong for the Dragons v Bulldogs clash. St George-Illawarra usually save their best for their beachside stadium but the Dogs were able to outlast them.. Canterbury still have plenty missing but just had more desire to win.. They’re a side on the up who want to get better whilst St George-Illawarra seem like they’re divided, lost and just waiting for coach Griffin to be sacked. The difference in attitude was the difference in the result so simply, Dogs got the win.
Join me next week for Uncool Dad’s Round 10 Recap on Bunnies TV where we get to be a part of the awesome footy experience that is Magic Round in Brisbane! It looks like so much on TV and I’ve promised myself to be there one year. Hopefully soon!
Uncool Dad’s NRL Round 9 Recap.
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
Add comment