We’re almost through the State of Origin period, and there are definitely some signs of wear and tear among the early frontrunners.
Let’s dive into your NRL talking points for round 17.
The NRL’s audit is underway
Penrith knocked over Canterbury 8-6 in far and away the best game of the year on Thursday night.
It was tough, engrossing, maddening (if you’re a Bulldogs fan) and gripping from minute 1 to 80.
After their well publicised slow start, the Panthers are back to work as the league’s auditors – when you play Penrith you are going to get a full, in-depth pressure test of your structure, your strategy and your commitment to the contest. Fail the examination and you’ll get beat.
This game was the standard that all contenders have to match from now on. The line has been drawn.
Cobbo cops it and proves Brisbane’s mental health talk is worthless
Three weeks ago, your talking points saluted Brisbane’s blackout jersey, done for a self-promoted ‘mental health round’.
This was in their press release ahead of the game:
“The Club will use its brand, the biggest in Australian sport, to drive change and conversation around mental health.
“It comes as the sporting fraternity wraps their arms around the AFL’s Selwood family, following the tragic death of premiership winner Adam Selwood.”
So what better way to drive change and conversation around mental health than standing by as one of your players’ personal issues are aired in the press?
That’s what happened on the weekend to Selwyn Cobbo, who announced he had signed with the Dolphins next year, the odd man out after the Broncos’ salary cap pressures.
Cobbo promptly had a bucket of dirt tipped on him about his commitment to playing, his fitness, welfare, and of course ‘homesickness’, which you can read however you want.
I must have missed Brisbane’s response, standing up for their player and strongly condemning it all.
I reckon Cobbo will be a revelation at the Dolphins.
Selwyn Cobbo. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Are Canberra running out of legs?
The green machine made it six wins in a row and took top spot on the ladder with their 22-18 escape in Newcastle, but there are signs season 2025 is starting to wear on Ricky Stuart’s crew.
They’re in a similar position to Canterbury last year – future plans have clicked into place a little earlier than expected and the wins are coming, but as opposition lift their game and the season takes its toll, they’re just decelerating a little.
Falling over the line against the 13th and 14th-placed teams in successive weeks after leading both games 16-0 at halftime is a concerning fortnight.
Premiership contenders deal with lowly opposition without issue, but Canberra are starting to struggle to put teams away, scoring a total of six points in their last two second halves.
They will finish top four and they should finish top two, but if they’re not going to put games out of reach when they have the chance, the ‘soft’ draw they have for the rest of season will be anything but.
Latrell Mitchell should move clubs
I love Latrell Mitchell. Love him.
He’s my favourite player from a team that’s not mine, and provides box office value in every single game he plays.
But he has got no support at South Sydney. His teammates are all over the place, either injured or out of form, and basically the responsibility for anything good rests on his shoulders.
Recruiting Dally M Medallist Jack Wighton in 2024 was supposed to push the Bunnies right back into premiership contention, but they were horrible last year, then battered by injury in 2025.
While they fought hard initially this season, those injuries and the NRL grind has gotten on top of them, and there isn’t really much sun rising for 2026 either.
If I was a team in a contending window I would be giving Mitchell’s agent a call.
Imagine how well he’d go again with a decent team around him where he wasn’t the only player who can do something – we’ve already seen it at the Roosters and in the early days at Souths.
Latrell Mitchell is tackled. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
The Warriors won’t make the top four
A 26-12 loss in Brisbane was New Zealand’s second in a row, and they’ve copped possible long-term knee injuries to halfback Luke Metcalf and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to boot.
After riding high in the top four on the back of a bunch of close wins, it looks like the Warriors are feeling the pinch. They’re now only two games ahead of the fifth-placed Broncos, with the Roosters and Panthers in hot pursuit.
To be honest, the Wahs don’t look like they’re going too well. It’s clear they’re worried, and the pressure is palpably building, shown out in coach Andrew Webster taking a most uncharacteristic swing at Saturday’s refs post-match.
Their next three games are the Tigers, Knights and Titans. None of those are a guarantee now, and my money is on the reborn Panthers to overtake the Warriors into fourth place by season’s end.
Round 17’s random thoughts
– Cody Walker should take the rest of the year off after leaving the field during Saturday night’s 50-28 belting by the Dolphins with a fifth soft tissue injury for the year. His club’s nowhere near the finals – it’s time for a ‘career break’, a long-term proper rest, and injury rehab so the veteran is ready to rock in 2026.
– Manly won 26-12 over Wests Tigers in a horrible game. Let’s leave it at that.
– Parramatta will be much better in 2026 as Jason Ryles’ systems embed further. A 34-20 loss to St George Illawarra doesn’t look great on the scoreboard, but there are definitely green shoots coming through.
– The Dragons won that game in front of a great Wollongong crowd of 18,191, but at what cost? They now face a spell without Christian Tuipulotu with hamstring trouble, Luciano Leilua did a quad, Hamish Stewart failed a HIA and Toby Couchman dislocated his right shoulder and is done for the year.
– Cronulla won’t miss the finals, but they deserve to. 30-6 losers in Melbourne to cap a 1-4 run for their last five games. Should they be better? Why would we think so?
– Not much to read into wins by the Dolphins and Cowboys, taking care of the Rabbitohs and Titans respectively. Those are wins you’re supposed to have.
Good games next week
Seven teams are on a bye, so let’s do our best to get excited as State of Origin takes its second-last bite out of the competition.
Having said that though, it may only be five games, but there are some fairly interesting contests.
There’s no Thursday game but a potential belter on Friday as the Broncos head to Sydney to face Canterbury. They clouted the Doggies last time they met, so let’s see how this one goes.
A banged-up Dragons head to Canberra to provide what’s usually a tricky match-up. I’ll be at that game, so ideally it’s an entertainer – come and say hi!
On Saturday night, it’s the Cowboys hosting the Storm, while on Sunday arvo it’s the Roosters and Tigers, then Manly and South Sydney wrap the weekend.
Those first two games should go to type, but the Bunnies and Sea Eagles might be a good one.
What did you take from round 17, Roarers?
