With both clubs missing multiple Origin stars, Melbourne outlasted the Cowboys 26-20 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday evening.
Ryan Papenhuyzen was also ruled out of the clash with a hamstring complaint, forcing Craig Bellamy to shuffle his deck and deploy Nick Meaney at fullback.
Meaney starred with a try double and added 10 points with the boot.
The latest defeat of an uninspiring North Queensland campaign will see pressure mounting on coach Todd Payten as they failed to take advantage of a Melbourne team missing the likes of Harry Grant and Cameron Munster.
Earlier, Kaeo Weekes scored a fantastic hat-trick as the Raiders defeated St George Illawarra 28-24 at GIO Stadium to enhance their odds of their first minor premiership in 35 years.
The Dragons fought admirably but the Raiders’ class ultimately told with Shane Flanagan’s men remaining on the outside of the top eight looking in, as Canberra kicked clear of Canterbury at the apex of the NRL ladder.
Meaney shines with Storm stars missing
Nick Meaney took the opportunity to deputise for Ryan Papenhuyzen in the No.1 jersey with both hands, producing a clinical display as Melbourne extended their winning streak to five.
The stats sheet shows Meaney scored twice, and nailed four conversions and a penalty goal, but he was influential all night in the absence of the Storm’s stars with Jahrome Hughes solid but not quite at his brilliant best, while Tyran Wishart slotted in for Cameron Munster.
Despite a slump in the middle of the game, the less heralded Storm 17 nonetheless got the business done and return to Victoria with a top-two finish in 2025 well within their sights as Munster, Grant, Stefano Utoikamanu and Papenhuyzen come back into the side barring any further injury issues to their stars.
Payten in trouble as Cowboys’ season slips away
Todd Payten will feel his seat getting warmer after his side let a chance to bank two competition points against a weakened Melbourne outfit slip through their hands in Townsville. Sitting three points outside the finals, North Queensland are facing unfavourable odds to play post-season footy with the likes of the Roosters, Cronulla, Manly and Dolphins all looking more likely to lock in a top-eight finish.
Missing the finals is surely not a justifiable finish to 2025 for a team that went to week two of the finals last season and were tipped to challenge the likes of Penrith and Melbourne for the top four. Payten’s record is solid if unspectacular, but there’s really no excuse for the Cowboys’ awful defence and lack of consistency this far into his tenure.
The next few weeks will be telling, with clashes against Canterbury, the Dolphins and Cronulla looming as make or break.
Ricky’s Raiders march towards minor premiership
The opening 40 minutes in the nation’s capital were an arm wrestle but the Raiders kicked it up a notch after half-time, putting away the Dragons with four tries in 20 minutes as Kaeo Weekes crossed the stripe twice more to complete his hat-trick.
In positive signs for coach Ricky Stuart, the Canberra side have shown they can win in different ways and while their premiership credentials are yet to be rubber-stamped, the bean counters can almost bank the $100,000 reward for winning the minor premiership. The Raiders are effectively six points ahead of nearest challengers Canterbury, who’ve had all three byes while Canberra still have two rest weeks to come.
Sealing victory without talisman Josh Papalii and dynamic modern day forward Hudson Young on Origin duty would also please Stuart.
Perfect Weekes going from strength to strength
Weekes put in a scintillating individual display, earning high praise from former Maroons playmaker Cooper Cronk after completing an exciting hat-trick in the victory over St George Illawarra.
“If Rugby League Week was still giving (weekly player) ratings, Kaeo Weekes is a 10/10,” Cronk said on Fox League coverage.
“That was so good to watch. He was brilliant.”
In a season that few pundits had the Raiders making the finals, let alone competing for the premiership, Weekes is one of many players who have improved out of sight under Ricky Stuart, leaving fans wondering just how high the 23-year-old’s ceiling might be.
Gritty effort comes up short with Dragons in finals dogfight
Not many gave the Dragons much hope for the trip to GIO Stadium but to their credit, the Red V gave as good as they got in a tightly contested first half before being blown away by Canberra and especially Weekes shortly after the restart.
Clint Gutherson rolled back the years with an excellent kick to set up flyer Tyrell Sloan for an exciting try but aside from that, creativity was still a problem with the final score perhaps flattering the Dragons. Halves Kyle Flanagan and Lyhkan King-Togia struggled to create much of note, which has been a continuing trend with the exception of last week’s success against fellow strugglers Parramatta.
Flanagan was not impressed with a forward pass call that cost his side an early try.
“I thought we should have won,” Flanagan said.
“(It’s) lucky the rules are changing relating to press conferences because I’d be paying a fine (if commenting on the disallowed try). Everyone knows what was there and it’s tough. When you’re a side flying high like the Raiders, you see that they get the bounce of the ball.
“Where we’re at, the middle of the table, you just don’t get the rub of the green sometimes. It’s a tough one, and in the end that’s the difference.”
The good news for Red V supporters is the finals race will likely go down to the wire as eight or nine sides jostle for a few finals places before the season’s conclusion. The bad news is this team probably does not have enough points in them to finish the season on a hot streak.
The Kick: Family affair muddying halves dilemma
The drums have been beating for Shane Flanagan to drop playmaker son Kyle in favour of Lachlan Ilias, who’s led the Dragons’ reserve grade side to second on the ladder alongside promising half Jonah Glover. After their latest loss to a rampant Raiders side in the frigid national capital, that noise is unlikely to quieten with a disciplined performance from Flanagan’s men still significantly lacking attacking firepower.
Kyle Flanagan passes in Mudgee. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
There may be few greater feelings as a parent than seeing your child achieve their NRL dream but the situation at the Dragons is turning into something of a nightmare with St George Illawarra’s playoff drought likely to extend to seven seasons. Even if Flanagan believes he’s making the choice to keep Kyle in the side or drop him impartially, it’s hard to think Ilias hasn’t done enough for a recall.
Unprompted with a specific question, Ricky Stuart weighed in after his side toppled the Dragons.
“He led the charge in regards to getting that team back into that game. I think it’s a disgrace what so-called supporters and social media … the bullshit he has to listen to and cop,” Stuart said.
“It’s something I just don’t like. It becomes a game for the media reporting what social media says.
“You gotta have a look at some of these people who are actually. It’d be torture for his mother. I know his old man will handle it, but it would be torture for his mother and his sisters.
“You imagine if it was one of yours. That’s when it becomes real.”
With his long-term or potentially even short-term future at the club up in the air, Flanagan should have probably shaken up his halves pairing weeks ago. Going back to Ilias will not solve every problem, but surely it’s time for an adjustment before their finals chances are dead and buried.
