Cronulla Sharks' weak underbelly has been exposed again on the eve of the finals
The Dragons exposed Cronulla’s fatal flaw
The Dragons deserved their derby win because they beat Cronulla at Cronulla’s own game: they ran harder, tackled harder, fought for quick play-the-balls and stayed connected when the match tightened. That is not clever tactical alchemy. It is the boiler-suit football the Sharks failed to bring.
Cronulla are devastating while rolling downhill, but their six-game winning run had disguised the problem everyone suspected was still there. Once the young Dragons pack gained control, the Sharks had no plan B, their attack became sideways and their halves produced contrasting responses: Braydon Trindall kept trying to kick his side out of trouble, while Nico struggled without front-foot possession.
Hamish Stewart, Ryan Couchman and Loko Pasifiki Tonga are part of a young pack beginning to understand its power, while Jacob Liddle tore through the middle and Clinton Gutherson supplied the voice from the back. The Dragons will pay for their poor start with the spoon, but their recent football has been better than that of several teams above them. Cronulla, meanwhile, blew a genuine chance to finish in the top two. September will not offer them an easy two points and a cup of tea.
Cleary must now take complete control
Penrith’s injury blow is substantial, but I am not burying the Panthers when Nathan Cleary is entering the sweetest phase of his development as a playmaker. He is the game’s best shot-caller and, with more of the operation now falling to him, I reckon another level is available if he dictates where Penrith go, how they get there and who touches the ball.
The injured Panther does not require surgery and has not been ruled out for the season, although four regular-season games remain and a torn pectoral is no minor inconvenience. In the meantime, Lindsay Smith is the sensible replacement at lock: he already works through the middle, plays long minutes and refuses to compromise Penrith’s defensive structure, even when scrambling to recover ground.
The more left-field alternative is moving a Lussick into No.13 once Mitch Kenny is ready, but Kenny’s return looks closer to the finals after a setback. Penrith do not need a reinvention. They need Cleary steering and Smith doing the thankless work beneath him.
Ricky was right — but years late
Ricky Stuart’s public spray at Corey Horsburgh was warranted, yet the uncomfortable question remains: why draw the line now when the same behaviour has been tolerated and protected before?
Horsburgh’s problem is not aggression. Give me a middle forward prepared to sail close to the edge every week. His problem is timing and control — the backchat, the needless penalties and the slap around Dane Gagai’s ear when Canberra already had a penalty coming. Those are not acts of intimidation; they are donations to the opposition.
Ricky backs his players, creates diversions and absorbs pressure for them, which is one reason they play so fiercely for him. But protection cannot operate only while it suits the coach’s narrative. Horsburgh has blown games and lost the plot before, while I’m pretty sure there was a long period last year when the pair were not speaking before they reconciled and Horsburgh produced an outstanding season.
He is signed through next season, but I suspect he will not be at Canberra then. As for any bullying argument over the press-conference criticism, spare me. A coach publicly holding a player accountable for public indiscipline is not bullying.
Manly’s coach is not the problem
Manly’s season is a pass mark and their coach remains the long-term answer, regardless of the five consecutive losses that have all but killed their finals hopes. He inherited a divided dressing room, the existing staff and a roster with enormous limitations, then improved virtually every player who pulled on the jersey after the opening three rounds.
When a key forward goes down there is no like-for-like replacement, the lower grades reveal an underdeveloped pathway and too many players are not doing the jobs they were selected to do. Losing Luke Brooks was deeply deflating, while Brandon Wakeham’s transition from half to hooker has made his absence far more significant than anyone expected.
The next recruitment cycle is critical. Manly need a couple of front-rowers and three or four mature, hard-headed footballers to guide the young back-rowers and the Large brothers coming through. Get that wrong and this is not a one-season wobble; it could become five years of expensive wandering.
Melbourne responded; Brisbane surrendered
Melbourne gave their season some dignity while Brisbane surrendered theirs. Oryn Keeley was terrific, while Sua Folongo remains rocks and diamonds but is benefiting from Billy Slater’s weekly work on the finer points of fullback play.
Craig Bellamy continuing next season is the right call. He was never likely to accept this ending, while Billy Slater will not take over next year and remains the club’s preferred successor, whether he ultimately wants the job or not.
The Match Review Committee’s handling of Munster’s tackle on Taniela Paseka was ridiculous. The charge changed within hours after Manly’s medical prognosis changed; charge the act once and judge it consistently, rather than creating an incentive for clubs to manage the timing of medical information.
Brisbane’s response was the opposite of Melbourne’s. The Dolphins simply kept coming through Izzy Konatawa, Kurt Donoghoe and Max Plath. Brisbane dropped their bundle.
Souths are finals fodder — and forget the bronze medal
Souths might reach September, but I reckon they would merely make up the numbers.
The Rabbitohs cannot stop momentum once it turns, which leaves their clash with Canterbury carrying enormous consequences. The Bulldogs cannot afford to lose, while Souths can virtually close their season. Even if the Rabbitohs finish seventh or eighth, I think they are gone in week one because good teams possess someone who changes the momentum when everything starts sliding. Souths currently do not.
That is also why the proposed third-versus-fourth playoff before the grand final should be binned immediately. Rugby league players spend the season trying to win the premiership, not regrouping after elimination for a participation trophy while bandaged up and waiting for surgery. The likely result would be a makeshift side, possibly filled with reserve-graders, playing a full-contact match nobody wants. Finals are supposed to hurt. Leave the bronze-medal picnic to another sport.
