Roosters win with brains & bruises
The middle decided everything
The Roosters won this premiership in the middle, not with a miracle at the death. Newcastle made an extra 100 tackles while the Roosters completed at 90 per cent against 75, averaged 50 metres a set against 39 and controlled 58 per cent of possession.
That is punishment, not merely possession. Naufahu Whyte and Lindsay Collins laid the platform, while Spencer Leniu's shot on Dom Young knocked the ball loose before the next set produced the equalising try. Rugby league is a collision sport. The six-again rule has stripped out plenty of wrestling, its one great contribution, and the Roosters put the collision back.
Newcastle needed the size it was missing. Tyson Frizell was dominated in the middle, and without Phoenix Crossland the replacements defended well but offered no dummy-half strike. Poor last-play options kept handing the pressure back.
The Knights' scrambling edge defence was wonderful. I thought the dam would burst; instead they kept competing. I think exhaustion ultimately got them. Bravery deserves applause, but it cannot manufacture go-forward.
Winning beats sentiment
Cherry-Evans justified his recruitment with one cold decision. The Roosters weren't seriously rattling Newcastle's defence when he took his kick, unpressured and directly in front. I thought the timing was perfect.
Sam Walker and Cherry-Evans shared the work without overplaying their hands. I reckon ego was the only thing that could have wrecked that partnership; instead, they put winning first.
Hugo Savala stayed despite bigger offers elsewhere, then sat on the bench without getting on. I think that would sting. But a premiership club cannot organise its biggest night around sparing somebody's feelings.
The coach's four wins from four grand finals are brilliant. So is the willingness to refresh himself, whether through deliberate breaks or disappearing into the bush without a phone. I think that focus on today keeps his coaching fresh, while the club still plans its year through to the grand final.
The salary cap does not spread talent as neatly as we're sold. Managing it takes skill. The Roosters have that skill, and their recruitment serves a purpose: premierships, not participation certificates.
Ponga's brilliance isn't an exemption
Ponga should have been sin-binned. The shoulder went into Victor Radley's face, and that incident had meant ten minutes all year. The contact was more of a brushing than a flush hit, but the standard still mattered.
Adam Gee's response was that it had been reviewed: penalty and report. Ponga subsequently received a grade-one charge. Neither changes the consistency argument.
I was comfortable watching him remain out there. That does not make the decision consistent. Saying the correct punishment could potentially wreck the grand final is an entertainment argument, not a refereeing principle. Where does that exemption stop?
James Tedesco was right to challenge it, and he was also a worthy Clive Churchill medallist. Ponga was phenomenal, but Tedesco's 380-odd metres came through an effort performance. I thought he wanted to establish who owned the number-one argument. He made a mighty case.
Mark's departure leaves a hole
Nawaqanitawase is a genuine loss to rugby league, not just a winger taking another job. Two grand-final tries are a fine farewell, but his value goes beyond finishing.
He has a playmaker's hands and an unorthodox instinct that makes him hard to coach against. That double-tap try was skill, not a fortunate ricochet; he weighted it perfectly because he understood what was around him.
I can understand Japan. A weekend report put his earnings at about $1.7 million a year in Australian-equivalent money. Nobody should pretend that is an easy offer to reject.
When his two years there finish, the new broadcasting deal's salary cap will be in place. You could nearly argue he would be worth that money here. Perhaps a club could turn him into a fullback. He might make that transition. Reducing him to a wing position misses the talent.
Compassion isn't a production plan
I don't need a concert before a grand final. I need the NRL to make a decision and own it. No entertainment? Fine. Put the football on. Want a show? Plan one. This last-minute scramble was not a plan. It was panic with a lighting budget.
Amy Sharke did a good job. Give her that. The performers weren't the problem. The people deciding what the night was supposed to be were.
A borrowed football anthem. A song with no obvious rugby league connection. Heartfelt moments stitched together and called entertainment. Where was the idea? Where was the preparation?
Then came Jai Arrow.
Rugby league is looking after Jai tremendously well. It should. Having Nathan Charles there, after he confirmed his own motor neurone disease diagnosis during the week, was a genuinely thoughtful touch. None of that is the argument.
The argument is what the NRL does with that compassion. I was uncomfortable seeing Jai's story pressed into service again to carry the pre-game show. Supporting a bloke is one thing. Using his hardship to give a rushed production emotional weight is another.
And it creates a convenient shield. Criticise the show and suddenly you're supposed to feel guilty. As though questioning the organisers means questioning the bloke they're honouring.
No. I won't buy that.
You can care about Jai and still call the production poor. You can applaud the support and demand better judgment from the people running the night.
Compassion deserves its own place. It isn't a substitute for preparation. And it isn't cover for people who left their homework until the last minute.
Australia has strike, not excuses
The Kangaroos have a strong squad, but Ethan Strange's omission still puzzles me. An extended-squad place, if that's where he is, means training and waiting for a call. It is not selection.
Selwyn Cobbo was unlucky too, with the selectors choosing Bostock instead. Yet six debutants and the return of Tedesco, Latrell and Tommy Turbo give Kevin Walters plenty of big-match weapons for the Rugby League World Cup.
I think Mitch Moses starts at halfback with Nathan Cleary injured. Walker will initially watch, but he will get tournament minutes.
Australia's lock has delayed surgery I thought he might need for his torn pectoral muscle. He believes he can still contribute, and I think Australia needs him. Between Tedesco and Reece Walsh at fullback, Walters has choices. That is a strength, not a headache.
