Wests Tigers broke their six-game losing streak but Benji Marshall was not in a laughing mood despite the win as he fired off at the media over recent coverage of their struggles.
He was fired up over a report that he was involved in a flare-up at training with Adam Doueihi which added to the pressure on the club following the mid-season departures of Lachie Galvin and Tallyn Da Silva.
They registered their first win since Round 9 at the start of May with a typically hot and cold performance over a depleted Roosters side, racing to a 28-10 before hanging on 30-28 on the back of the goal-kicking of none other than Doueihi.
In Sunday’s later game, Tom Trbojevic torched a tackle-shy South Sydney side as Manly flew past the Roosters into eighth spot with an emphatic 30-12 triumph at Brookvale.
Rabbitohs recruit Brandon Smith made his club debut after a mid-season switch from the Roosters and he looked understandably rusty in his first match since late last season.
He limped off with five minutes left after he was the victim of a hip-drop from Matt Lodge, a similar tackle to the one which wrecked his knee last year – the Manly prop should cop a hefty suspension for his troubles and should have at least been banished to the sin bin.
Souths coach Wayne Bennett confirmed Smith had suffered MCL damage and was looking at another 6-8 weeks out.
1. Benji blasts media over Doueihi drama
There will be no more behind-the-scenes documentaries at TigerTown but a 2025 version would be fascinating viewing.
They have been flying high after rising to seventh earlier in the season and then down in the dumps after six losses on the trot.
Throw in the drama surrounding Galvin rejecting their contract offer, teammates lashing out on social media, then his exit and Da Silva’s decision to follow him out the door and it’s enough to fill any doco with more drama than a daytime soap.
And even in victory on Sunday, the off-field tension took the spotlight with Marshall teeing off at coverage of his team, particularly the news cycle over the past week since a Sydney Morning Herald report about a heated moment at training recently when the coach joined the defensive drills and dropped Doueihi.
“That was untrue and not fair and it starts because we’re losing and then it gets reported and every podcast jumps on it and every news article jumps on something that’s not true. The thing with me and Adam is crazy,” Marshall said.
Terrell May is tackled. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
“We have to defend that. It just puts pressure on the club that we don’t need from something that’s not true.
“Again, letting juniors go. We didn’t let any juniors go. They didn’t want to be here. That’s where it’s at and we want guys who want to be here.
“You’ve got to have a good group of leaders who are driving the ship and today they were outstanding.”
Marshall was also far from pleased with the way in which his side failed to close out the result much earlier even though they were without co-captains Jarome Luai and Api Koroisau.
“It’s not enough. I’ll be honest, we had a three-try lead there at one stage and let them back in a little bit,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to win, but if we just keep accepting that, then that’s where we’ll be at. I think there’s a lot more upside in us and a lot more things we can improve on.”
2. Roosters run out of troops
The Roosters were one of three clubs who have been the biggest losers from this year’s Origin draw robbing them of their stars.
Along with Manly and the Bulldogs, they have been scheduled to play each round before Origin and with Lindsay Collins, Robert Toia, Angus Crichton, Connor Watson and Spencer Leniu playing all three midweek matches, that’s a lot of salary cap to leave out of even the biggest sombrero.
Victor Radley (concussion), Sam Walker (thumb) and Nat Butcher (knee) were also unavailable and then centre Billy Smith was a late withdrawal with a knee complaint.
Trent Robinson called in Ethan King to join Tom Rodwell, Hugo Savala, Salesi Foketi, Blake Steep, Benaiah Ioelu, Max
McCathie, Taylor Losalu and De La Salle Va’a so that rookies outnumbered the rest of the 17-man line-up.
Despite all these absentees being replaced by newbies, the Roosters still nearly managed to pull victory out of the fire.
The loss is a costly one as it sends them out of the top eight and with a 7-8 record, their chances of sneaking into the top four are fading but Robinson has plenty of depth up his sleeve to call upon with all this young talent on the roster.
3. Turuva terrific as Tigers cling on
After 67 matches on the wing, Sunia Turuva proved he can be a more than handy back-up option for the No.1 jersey at the Tigers.
Turuva was thrown the role due to Jahream Bula’s hamstring injury, Heath Mason suspended and Adam Doueihi being needed in the halves and the former Panther patrolled the back brilliantly, apart from one elementary fumble from a high kick downfield.
Wests dominated the early stages with Charlie Staines, Latu Fainu and Sione Fainu getting over the stripe before the Roosters cut the gap to 20-10 at the break when Daniel Tupou flew above the pack and Mark Nawaqanitawase danced past several defenders from close range.
Samuela Fainu completed the brothers’ hat-trick when he touched down early in the second stanza but a few careless moments from the Tigers allowed the Roosters to storm back into the contest.
Savala crossed in the 55th minute before Nawaqanitawase added another to make it a six-point margin.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good – after the Tigers twice botched setting up for a field goal, they were gifted two points from a late shot on Terrell May, which proved to be the difference after James Tedesco scored with less than 60 seconds on the clock and the Roosters were unable to conjure up a last-gasp miracle from the restart.
4. Turbo here, there and every … where
His injury history is similar to Roy Kent’s wretched run at the end of his playing career in Ted Lasso.
And Tom Trbojevic bobbed up here, there and every-something-where at Brookvale Oval on Sunday to torment the Bunnies.
The bold move by Anthony Seibold to finally pull the trigger on moving his injury-prone star from fullback to centre was something of a Hail Mary move with his job on the line but it has worked so far in back-to-back wins over the Tigers and Bunnies.
But the Sea Eagles will face much stronger opposition after their bye next weekend with the Storm, Bulldogs, Roosters and Raiders ready to make or break their playoff hopes.
They absorbed early pressure against Souths before Trbojevic swung from right centre to create an overlap on the left for Reuben Garrick to open the scoring.
Trbojevic skipped through soft defence for the second and when Garrick stepped past more grab tackles, Manly took a 14-0 lead into the sheds.
When Trbojevic sliced back against the grain while roaming on the left edge to touch down again three minutes into the second half, the 20-point buffer was always going to be too much for the Bunnies to bridge.
“The way he was able to inject himself on both sides of the field is not something a lot of centres can do,” Seibold said.
“He’s done it at elite level, hasn’t done it at club level. But I’ve really liked what I’ve seen.
“I want to have a look at (whether we’re a better team with him at centre). My gut feel is it was another step in the right direction.”
5. Souths slump into spoon territory
Sunday’s loss means South Sydney are only avoiding last spot by virtue of a slightly better for-and-against record than Gold Coast.
Now that’s gotta be the most mediocre humble brag in premiership history.
They get two points from a bye next round so they can breathe easy for now but with eight matches remaining, they are in a scrap to avoid the club’s first wooden spoon since 2006 and the first of Bennett’s coaching career which stretches back to 1987.
With Latrell Mitchell on Origin duty and Jye Gray sidelined with a broken thumb, Bennett opted for Alex Johnston at fullback but he was ineffective and surely Jack Wighton, who has a much better record in the No.1 jersey, would have been a better option.
Bennett is standing by Lewis Dodd publicly but the high-priced playmaker was left on the bench for most of the match and the odds are lengthening of the English halfback remaining at Redfern long term.
The Rabbitohs have been competitive for the most part of all season but with veteran five-eighth Cody Walker in and out of the line-up, missing again with a groin problem, young blood is needed.
Bennett was fuming over Lodge’s tackle on Smith and the lack of action from the officials.
“It’s up to them to decide, but we’re not playing with a lot of luck, and we didn’t get any there from that decision either,” Bennett responded.
“I’m frustrated by a lot of things right now, but it’s not going to do me any good.”
The Kick: Did Bunnies err in choosing Bennett over Ben?
Bennett’s coaching record is second to none and he’s shown in the past that he can turn a good team into a great one (St George Illawarra, 2010) or create a club from the ground up (Brisbane, 1988 and Dolphins 2023).
But when it comes to an ageing squad in need of regeneration, South Sydney may have been better served by investing in a young coach at the beginning of their career in Ben Hornby than a record-breaking guru in his mid 70s.
Hornby did an admirable job as caretaker last year when Jason Demetriou was turfed early in the season and he could give the team a rapid rebuild like his former teammate Jason Ryles is doing at Parramatta.
Souths vastly over-rated their talent in thinking the addition of Bennett could be the missing ingredient to turn them into title contenders.
The pre-season Achilles rupture to Cameron Murray probably torpedoed their chances of getting anywhere near the pointy end of the ladder but as blasphemous as it may sound, bringing Bennett back may only end up delaying the inevitable roster overhaul that’s required to rejuvenate the Rabbitohs.
with AAP
