Professional sport can be cruel, especially and coaches.
Sunday’s NRL double-header demonstrated that cut-throat nature with besieged coaches Adam O’Brien and Des Hasler watching their teams go down in devastating fashion as they fight to save their jobs.
Leka Halasima scored one of the most remarkable tries you will ever see after collecting a last-second chargedown from a field goal attempt to run 40 metres past four defenders to sink a dagger into the hearts of Newcastle 20-15.
Journeyman halfback Jack Cogger had scraped a long-range field goal over the black dot to lift Newcastle to a 15-14 lead and Tanah Boyd tried to level the scores on the last play of the game but the ricochet bounced perfectly for the Warriors to conjure up an astonishing four-pointer after the siren.
There was similar late drama in the earlier game – Benji Marshall had mixed feelings after his Tigers trumped the Titans 21-20 with a last-minute Adam Doueihi field goal, labelling it his team’s worst performance of the season despite the dramatic victory.
Taylan May made his first NRL appearance since Round 10 last year in his Wests Tigers debut due to off-field assault allegations and Marshall said his “class and X-factor” will be valuable attributes to his rebuilding club.
Leka Halasima celebrates. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
1. Last-minute mayhem as Warriors get up
The Warriors had several straightforward chances to win that they botched before their miraculous final play propelled them to victory.
Tanah Boyd had taken two earlier shots at field goal which went astray and his second one led to a penalty right in front from 33 metres out right in front with barely more than a minute on the clock because Jackson Hastings was not square at marker.
He sprayed it wide but because it went over the dead-ball line, the Knights had to restart at the 20 with a deep drop-kick.
And that was enough for the Warriors to work the ball back into range. Boyd ambitiously went for a two-pointer but after it was denied by Hastings again but Halasima was perfectly positioned to pounce on the bouncing ball.
The impressive rookie forward then sprinted through the scrambled defensive line, stepped around Dane Gagau and carried Bradman Best over the line for a highlight reel play which will be almost impossible to beat for try of the year.
2. O’Brien heartbroken after ‘pretty shitty week’
After the week they had endured, the Knights were happy just to be out on the field.
Injured captain Kalyn Ponga was reportedly set to leave for rugby on Monday but a few days later he was posting on social media that he was committed until the end of 2027.
It was hardly the most emphatic or rapid response from a player who has always seemed to be invested in Newcastle as long as they keep shelling out big bucks.
And this was on top of further reports that the club has lost patience with Adam O’Brien and will be showing him the door at season’s end even though he has two more years left on his deal.
After competing hard for the entire 80 minutes and being the better team on the day, they did not deserve to lose to the Warriors and the players slumped to the ground in agony after Halasima’s Hail Mary.
They breed them tough in Newcastle but this will be the most bitter of pills to swallow.
O’Brien said 12 of the players were in bed in the 24 hours leading into the game after a bout of gastro swept through the squad.
“The narrative out there that we’re a basket case is really unfair,” he said before adding that his players “haven’t lost their fight, their resilience, their competitive spirit – they’ve got that in spades.
“I’d love nothing more than for our staff, these players first and foremost and all those people who turn up and chant that Newcastle, I would have loved for them to win tonight – the smile on their faces would have capped off a pretty shitty week.”
3. Bradman gets hundred but Newcastle bowled over
The Warriors drew first blood when Adam Pompey won the race to a kick but a Jackson Hastings bomb was batted back to Fletcher Hunt for the Knights’ reply.
Bradman Best’s quick hands in his 100th game to Greg Marzhew led to Dane Gagai touching down and the Knights worked the same move to the left with the former NSW centre sending his winger on an untouched run to the corner.
The Warriors levelled at 12 apiece 10 minutes in the second stanza when Demitric Vaimauga plunged over but a Wayde Egan offside penalty led to the Knights edging in front with their first successful kick at goal for the afternoon.
James Fisher-Harris expertly used a captain’s challenge to catch Jack Cogger for a high shot for the Warriors to square the ledger with 13 left.
Boyd’s first field goal attempt was a shocker and Cogger looked to have sealed a much-needed win for the Knights with five minutes left before the frenetic finish brought the home side to their knees.
4. Terrible Tigers triumphant
They were celebrating long and hard after Adam Doueihi’s field goal booted them to victory but the Tigers are kidding themselves if they think they can somehow sneak into the finals.
This was a match that both teams did their best to lose with several bone-headed plays, particularly in the second half, but the Tigers managed to hold their nerve slightly better than their cellar-dwelling opponents.
Even with the match there for the taking they nearly coughed up possession in the set leading up to Doueihi’s field goal, which was an ugly, low-trajectory shank which became a thing of beauty for everyone clad in black, white and gold at the famous old suburban venue.
Taylan May made his club debut for Wests after he was stood down last year following assault allegations which brought his time at the Panthers to an abrupt end.
His talent is not in question and it took him just 12 minutes to score, cancelling out the opening try to Titans winger Jaylan De Groot.
Jeral Skelton put the hosts up before Phil Sami and De Groot again crossed the stripe for the Titans to lead 14-12 at the interval.
After coughing up the lead from two penalty goals, including one for not packing a scrum in time, the Titans went up via an AJ Brimson try but the Tigers spun the ball wide with four minutes on the clock and even though Skelton’s sideline strike went unconverted, there was still just enough time for Doueihi to make amends with a one-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock.
“You’ve got to own those moments when the game’s on the line,” coach Benji Marshall said.
“I thought today was our worst game. I didn’t think we played anywhere near our standards.”
5. Tino injury leaves Titans on one leg
Gold Coast captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was relieved after fearing he had torn his ACL for a second time.
He limped off after 25 minutes of Sunday’s Leichhardt Oval and after undergoing knee surgery last year, there were concerns that he would be again needing a reconstruction.
At one stage he was warming up on the sideline trying to get back onto the field but he was kept in cotton wool.
The Maroons forward will get scans on Monday but Titans officials believe he could have only suffered lateral ligament damage, which could mean a month on the sidelines rather than a season-ending stint on the sidelines.
With the Titans in a dogfight to avoid the wooden spoon, his absence makes that mission infinitely harder.
When he went off at Leichhardt, veteran Reagan Campbell-Gillard stepped up and the Titans should have closed out the win when they led by six with just a few minutes remaining but they are on the bottom of the ladder for a reason.
The Kick: Des blasts ‘pretty dumb’ team
With his 500th NRL game looming next week and the axe expected to fall on his tenure at the Titans in the near future, Des Hasler has given up trying to make excuses for his players.
He blasted pretty much everything they did in the second half as they blew a 14-12 lead at the break after deciding to run into a strong breeze to start the match.
Given the opportunity to question decisions by the referee in the post-match media conference, he deflected the attention onto his players – “we bumble, we fumble, throw balls over the sideline, get carried over the sideline, we miss tackles and we complete nine of 15.
“I’m really disappointed with that performance. It was pretty dumb.”
Des being Des, he couldn’t help himself, claiming Belinda Sharpe missed three knock-ons but “I’m not going to be blaming it entirely on the referee’s performances”.
