It’s frustrating, these State of Origin impacted rounds.
Some sides are missing half a dozen players, half the comp is on a bye, the annual drop off in quality makes games a tough watch … but there’s zero appetite from NRL head office to do anything about it.
So let’s push through this week’s talking points.
Let’s get this out of the way
Mid-morning Sunday we all got the (unconfirmed, let’s note) news surprising absolutely none of us: Lachlan Galvin is to leave Wests Tigers and head to Canterbury immediately on good but not great money for three years plus the rest of 2025.
If you were foolish enough to trust anything that comes from Phil Gould’s mouth when it comes to players being recruited to his team, maybe the lesson is finally learned.
By the time you read this, actual confirmation of the move and a $165,000 transfer fee may have happened, but at least this debacle will be done with.
Cameron Ciraldo gets his man, we’ll see how good Galvin actually is and we all learn whether the Bulldogs’ culture is strong enough to handle the circus that’s on the way.
Lachlan Galvin. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Origin-impacted NRL is no good
Five games this week, four of them utter horror shows – unless you’re a fan of the winners of course.
The Dolphins massacred the league leader Canterbury 44-8 in a result that no one saw coming but highlighted how ridiculous it is playing so many teams shorthanded. No one in the NRL will ever change it, but this period is just not great.
Parramatta handled Manly 30-10 and looked entirely unbothered doing so. It was a great performance by Dean Hawkins filling in at halfback for Mitchell Moses, with four try assists and quality kicking to keep the Sea Eaglesoff kilter.
I said a couple of weeks ago I’ve had my fill of these Sea Eagles, and nothing has changed my mind. They’re a mile from contending.
The Eels have evolved a lot as the months pass and I reckon might be able to mess with some teams’ finals plans. It’s worth pointing out how the addition of Dylan Walker has helped too – his veteran presence has been good value.
Do the Eels dare to dream of a resurrection all the way to the top eight? That’s crazy talk, surely. Technically, they’re one win away from eighth spot, but a terrible for and against of -100 sets them back a long way.
Slightly shorthanded Newcastle once again beat what was in front of them, taking care of the much more shorthanded Penrith 25-6 in Bathurst.
Dylan Lucas ran riot with three tries, Penrith missed a whopping 50 tackles – they’re unrecognisable from their usual set-up, and deserve to sit bottom of the ladder.
The Knights, for all the sledging and crisis, are a win against a decent team away from being in the top eight.
Rounding out the bludgers was Cronulla falling on their faces yet again, towelled up 42-16 by the Roosters. Trent Robinson’s men have taken eight points from a possible 10 in their last five weeks and this was perhaps their most impressive win.
A big deal was made during the week of the Sharks being relatively untouched by Origin, but they gave little more than a squeak in a performance that really leaves their 2025 status bordering on ‘pretender’.
Slightly Origin-impacted NRL is wonderful
Who would have guessed that the one game Origin barely touched was the pick of the bunch?
Canberra’s 16-10 win across the ditch in front of a rabid full house in torrential, soaked conditions was their best win of the year, topping their Magic Round miracle against the Storm.
It was a slog, a battle frustrated by three sin bins, 13 penalties and 11 set restarts – but it was an engrossing, tough contest.
It was also full of trademark Raiders stupidity as the green machine did everything they could to hand the win to the Warriors with dumb late penalties, in particular by hooker Tom Starling.
New Zealand were coming off a run of three wins by under a try, so they may have been due a close loss, but their attack didn’t look too threatening even with a player advantage a couple of times. Andrew Webster will be paying close attention to that in the film room.
Canberra and New Zealand stay in the top four, two games clear of fifth placed Cronulla.
Round 12’s random thoughts
– Didn’t see much cheek from resident Cronulla smartarse Ronaldo Mulitalo this week. Maybe he was out of breath while getting starched by the Roosters and spending 10 in the bin too.
– I’ve said it before will say it again – Raiders winger Savelio Tamale is a beast. His chest-first runs out of defence were a huge part of Canberra getting clear of trouble in New Zealand. My NRL rookie of the year. Why couldn’t the Dragons hang on to him again?
– Rookie Rooster Mark Nawaqanitawase continues to impress. He’s been a great pickup and while there’s an error here or there, you can’t deny his value to the Chooks’ attack.
– He’s got great support from the ageless Daniel Tupou, who helped himself to two tries amidst the usual offloads and linebreaks. Tupou turns 34 in a month and looks like he could go for five more. What a player.
– New Zealand’s (dare I say) all black kit looked fantastic on Sunday night. They’ve got some good tailors over there.
– Happy 250th to Parramatta prop Junior Paulo. A well earned milestone for a quality worker.
– Rumours arose around the traps this weekend that Bulldogs hooker (and formidable pest) Reed Mahoney is a chance to be axed because his teammates don’t like his poor discipline. But like the man himself says, isn’t that just ‘Bulldogs footy’?
– Veteran Canberra prop Josh Papali’i has really settled into a high impact role off the bench this season – he’s worth another year for sure, the question will be whether it’s in Canberra.
What lies ahead
The week will be all about State of Origin game one on Wednesday at Lang Park. Check out the best Origin coverage here on The Roar – Tim Gore and I will be covering the player ratings for each team, so get your best insults ready for the comment sections!
Thursday is the women’s State of Origin Game 3, with NSW looking for a 3-0 whitewash. These games have rated massively on TV and although it’s a dead rubber this will be no different.
Remember the Origin caveat for the NRL weekend – rep players might come back, or they might not. Let’s see how it plays out.
The regular season returns Friday with St George Illawarra and Newcastle. Can Newcastle beat a team close to full strength? Let’s find out together.
Saturday’s triple header starts on the Gold Coast with the Titans hosting Melbourne, followed by North Queensland and Wests Tigers in Townsville then Manly and Brisbane at Brookvale. Loser goes home for 2025 in that one, basically.
Sunday is another three games with South Sydney and New Zealand in a sneaky fun one, Penrith and Parramatta in a sneaky interesting one, then the Roosters and Canberra in a genuinely good one.
Canterbury, Cronulla and the Dolphins all have the week off.
What did you make of round 12, Roarers? Whatever of it there was…
