Should the minors become more major?; Sam Burgess needs to control himself; and in praise of retiring heroes
Finals race finally decided …
The dogfight for the final two finals spots has been on for weeks and the equation has read like primary school division; from the 'seven into two won't go' of a few weeks ago, to the 'four into two won't go' we faced before the weekend. But now we know. The Knights, who always had their noses in front (and have been under the radar all year despite Wayne Bennett standing at the helm), finished seventh after thumping Parramatta on Sunday. More remarkably, eighth spot was taken by the Cowboys who six weeks ago crawled out of their grave, grasped a shovel in their soil-stained hands and began caving heads in. Since reanimation, their rich vein of form —six wins on the trot— was just enough to push them ahead of both the Gold Coast Titans (brilliant one week, forgettable the next) and the New Zealand Warriors, who ended the season with a whimper.
Regarding the Warriors, do they just need a long course of psychotherapy or is it that they actually believe the sentiment we tell our kids, the one about having fun being more important than winning? In any case, they're gone, almost forgotten, and we've finally got our eight and first round of finals (all times AEST):
Friday night, 7.45pm: Souths (2) v Melbourne (3) at ANZ Stadium, Homebush. Saturday, 4pm: Cronulla (5) v Cowboys (8) at Allianz Stadium, Moore Park. Saturday, 7pm: Roosters (1) v Manly (4) at Allianz Stadium. Sunday, 4pm: Canterbury (6) v Knights (7) at ANZ.
… But the form lines are a little less clear
So we know who's going to the races but how do you read the form when over the past few weeks even the top four teams have, like Smaug the Magnificent, exposed patches of soft belly amid their armour? On Friday night the Roosters arrested a two-game mini-slump with a tough win over a Souths outfit who for the first time in three weeks seemed a little unsure on their feet, like a horse in socks negotiating a polished parquetry floor.
The Storm, meantime, got back in the winners' circle against the Gold Coast but only after Cooper Cronk sprayed field goal attempts like an angry skunk, finally nailing his fifth. And what to make of Manly? Just a week after snotting Melbourne and looking like the new bully on the block, Penrith, though out of the running, give them an atomic wedgie. Were the Sea Eagles subconsciously cruising home, caring little whether they played the Roosters or Rabbitohs next week? Funnily enough, only the Cowboys, now the neutral fan's great hope, have a solid form line (and how happy they must be that the NRL changed the finals format in 2012 meaning they will play the Cowboys this weekend instead of the Roosters). But they can't win from eighth? Can they?
Minor premiers' still have minor status
The curious thing about having a finals system is that the best team of the year doesn't always win the premiership. One off-day during the finals, one egregious refereeing decision, one significant injury or suspension, one dodgy kebab the night before, one misreading of the fixture list meaning you turn up at the wrong ground wondering where everyone is, and all your good work can come undone. Admittedly, many (perhaps most) people love the uncertainty of this, and the hope it gives their team, but if you're after the fairest way of determining the best team of the year it has to be the first-past-the-post system (after a full home-and-away season) used in most soccer competitions around the world.
Of course such a system will never again be used in the NRL. There's too much money made out of finals, and Australians are too used to their drama and excitement, to imagine any circumstance in which they'd be scrapped. Nevertheless I wonder if we give enough credit to the minor premiers. As it is they get $100,000, two guaranteed home finals (a benefit also afforded the team that finishes second), and, as we saw with the Sydney Roosters on Friday night, they get to parade the famous JJ Giltinan Shield. But is it enough? Should the prize money be significantly more? Should the minor premiers go straight to a semi-final (as they used to do in the old top five format)? Should the status of the minor premiers be somehow elevated. All grist for the watercooler, admittedly. In the meantime, well done Roosters, but know this: If you don't win the grand final few will remember your deeds this year.
That Sam I am, that Sam I am, we may not like that Sam I am
Sam Burgess is in the news again — and again it's for all the wrong reasons. Though seemingly a genial fellow, with a sense of humour and a good camera presence that's already seen him become a regular on the Fox Sports couch, Burgess has lately been undermining himself with some disagreeable deeds on the field.
During Friday night's battle for the minor premiership, the Rabbitoh was at the centre of two incidents. One in which his fingers appeared to come in dangerous proximity to James Maloney's eyes, the other when he reacted poorly to a cocked elbow by Rooster Jared Waerea-Hargreaves on Burgess's team-mate Chris 'God Save' McQueen. On that occasion, with Hargreaves tackled, Burgess appeared to kick out at him (albeit weakly) then thrust a knee his way (which didn't appear to make contact, but I seem to recall ex-Dragon Wes Naiqama once being suspended for an attempted trip). To top it off he then pushed Waerea-Hargreaves's head into the turf, like he was testing its bounce. As Souths await any intervention from the NRL match review committee, coach Michael Maguire may need to have a quiet chat with him, if he hasn't already. And not only because his inability to keep the red mist at bay may one day cost his team. There could be even more at stake than that.
The end comes around all too fast
His eulogies were written weeks ago but Benji Marshall played his last NRL match on Saturday night. And while he's not quite the player he was, the now former Tiger will be sorely missed, for over the past decade he lit up league like no other. With a sidestep that swept through the school playgrounds of NSW and Queensland like the Rubik's Cube craze of 1980, Marshall played the game with a devil-may-care sense of joy, the way we image we might if we had a fraction of his ability.
Marshall is not the only player moving on or retiring. Cowboy Matt Bowen, electric on his day, has played his last home and away NRL match, and he'll be hoping to go out on a most unexpected high note – as will other finals bound players Jason Ryles, Dallas Johnson, Danny Buderus, Ben Ross and Matt King. Aside from them Scott Prince, Joe Galuvao and Steve Turner have also now retired while Dragons premiership winners Nathan Fien (Thirroul Butchers), Michael Weyman (Hull) and Matt Cooper (possibly mixed martial arts) have also pulled stumps on the NRL. This trio of family men, among others, are a reminder that for every mug lair NRL star making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, there are plenty more keeping their noses clean and doing their best for themselves and their families while their bodies can hold together. And it's for this reason we should never begrudge a player chasing the dollars. Loyalty is admirable, but the years go by so fast.
NRL
Rugby league
Sydney Roosters
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Australia sport
Paul Connolly
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