Innholdsfortegnelse for 2019 - Finals Week 3 i Big League Weekly Edition

THEY survived a suspension, passport issues, team list chaos and a slow start to win across the ditch, and the Dragons now have the chance to atone for last year’s heartbreak when they take on the Roosters in a standalone NRLW blockbuster at Leichhardt Oval. The Red V piled on 26 unanswered points last week to down the Warriors to put themselves in the top two and on the cusp of a grand final berth, but they were in a similar position last year only to fall to the previously winless Roosters to miss out on a place in the decider. Things have played out identically so far in 2019, but Dragons star Holli Wheeler said last year’s memories won’t affect them against a side she believes has what it…

The rain didn’t help, but what did you make of the performance in the grand final rematch against the Roosters last week? We adapted to the conditions really well with the wet weather. We knew we couldn’t be complacent coming into the game. We knew the Roosters would come out firing so we spoke about starting well and laying the platform in the middle to allow the backs to finish out wide. There were a few errors from both teams but I thought we responded well to the ones we made. The Roosters have a talented pack, but you dominated their starting props. In fact, you made 96 metres in the first half, while they managed just nine. Was that a directive from the coach? That comes off the back…

IT’S the emotional subplot to what shapes as the biggest game of the year. But try telling that to Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk, who will bow out of rugby league should his team lose to the Storm in Saturday’s do-or-die clash with Melbourne. The veteran playmaker says he’ll take a cold-blooded approach to what could be his final game in the NRL and won’t get caught up in the hype just because it’s against the club he spent the bulk of his career with. “Emotion can be a good thing, but it can also be bad,” he says. “When I’ve had occasions like this, I’ve just taken the emotion out. I know exactly what’s in front of me; I know it could be my last game; I know it’s my…

SEA EAGLES DEPARTING hooker Api Koroisau lamented a soul-crushing defeat to the Rabbitohs last week but believes the future is bright for Manly after proving the doubters wrong in 2019. Few people believed the Sea Eagles would be a threat this year, let alone come within a few minutes of booking a spot in the preliminary final. They were stoic as ever in the 34-26 loss to the Rabbitohs and looked likely to win at various stages, but they couldn’t handle the load of having Brad Parker and Jake Trbojevic sent to the sin bin in the second half. Des Hasler’s return as coach lit a fuse in the Manly side, and his influence will only grow with another pre-season at the helm. “We’ve been the underdogs throughout the season…

CALLS to expand the Holden Women’s Premiership are growing louder with every game played, but to what degree should the competition evolve in 2020? Clubs have received expressions of interest to be part of the NRLW competition as early as next season and a handful have returned serve by declaring they’ll push for a team by at least 2023. The talent pool has noticeably increased over the past 12 months and the game is no longer entirely reliant on players who have made a name for themselves over the past decade. A total of 26 players made their NRLW debut in Round 1 across the four clubs and the key now is to see a smaller percentage of turnover after last season, where more than 40 per cent of players…

ROUND 10, 2019 GIO STADIUM RABBITOHS 16 D. RAIDERS 12 South Sydney claimed their sixth win in a row when they defeated the Raiders by four points at GIO Stadium. The first half was littered with errors and penalties as neither side could find the line. Rabbitohs five-eighth Cody Walker scored the first four-pointer in the match after 50 minutes, before Raiders halfback Sam Williams levelled the scores nine minutes later. There was some feeling in the game with forwards Sam Burgess and Hudson Young getting into an altercation. After a tense battle through the middle, it was Mawene Hiroti (pictured) who scored the winning try in just his second NRL game. It was also the first four-pointer of his career and he hasn’t scored one since. A clutch one-on-one…

ROUND 15, 2019 ADELAIDE OVAL STORM 14 D. ROOSTERS 12 Despite its place in the middle of the Origin period, South Australians were treated to a near full-strength battle at the Adelaide Oval. The old cliché ‘it was a game of two halves’ may be regularly overused, but it describes this contest perfectly. The first 40 minutes was flooded with sizzling tries, while the scoring dried up in the second half. The Storm scored the game’s opening four-pointer after Kenny Bromwich swung wide on the last tackle for Josh Addo-Carr, who streaked down the sideline to link up with Ryan Papenhuyzen. However the Tri-colours took control of the game with the next two tries. A no-look pass allowed Daniel Tupou (pictured) to score in the 25th minute before Joseph Manu…

IF you had been asked to predict which teams would contest the 2019 Canterbury Cup grand final at the beginning of the finals series, it’s unlikely you would have picked a meeting between Newtown and Wentworthville after they qualified in seventh and eighth places respectively. But after three weeks of enthralling contests, these two sides will do battle for the 2019 title. The Jets will be eager to go one step further than last year, when they made the final but were beaten by Canterbury. They booked their ticket for the final game of the season with an impressive win over minor premiers St George Illawarra. Newtown shot out to a 22-6 lead early in the second half after Ronaldo Muitalo opened the scoring and Sione Katoa added two more…

THE 2019 finals series has produced plenty of surprises, and there may be more in store during Sunday’s grand final between Wynnum Manly and Sunshine Coast. After minor premiers Townsville were knocked out, second-placed Burleigh also exited the competition at the hands of the Sunshine Coast. The Falcons won an action-packed affair 23-16, courtesy of a late double by Jaiden Zanchetta, exacting some revenge after the Bears eliminated the Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup. The Sunshine Coast led early in the second half, before the Bears bagged three tries in the space of 10 minutes to take the lead. With time running out, Falcons captain Jack Wright set up Zanchetta, and Tyson Smoothy’s conversion leveled the scores. With five minutes remaining, Blake Wilson crafted the match-winning play. He scooted…

I’M surprised that the overwhelming narrative from last weekend’s semi finals has centred around refereeing decisions. Whether it’s Jake Trbojevic’s sin-binning (which, while on the softer side of sin-binnings, I believe was correct) or a renewed debate over the punishment for slapping, the fixation on officials is bordering on unhealthy. I could potentially also be spending too much time on Twitter. If we all remember correctly, the introduction of the sin bin for openhanded contact came in 2017, after it was deemed that although it was unlikely to cause much physical damage, slapping incidents during games were a bad look. It was decided by a panel of powerful people including Trent Robinson, Michael Maguire, Mal Meninga and Clint Newton. The players all bought in and incidents reduced dramatically. Cody Walker…

IT’S hard to find a silver lining when your season comes to a close on the back of a 32-0 defeat in enemy territory, but Parramatta youngster Dylan Brown provided one moment of brilliance which bodes well for the future. In the shadows of full-time, the Storm looked set to race in another try when Josh Addo-Carr broke into the backfield and linked up with centre partner Justin Olam for what looked like a certain four-pointer. But Brown had other ideas, sprinting from the other side of the field to drag down the PNG speedster a metre short of the line. Melbourne scored two plays later, but the desperate defence showed a hunger that Eels fans should be excited about. “He’s 19, he’s played two finals game and he’s probably…

8. Clayton Friend (1987) Livewire half Friend was snapped up by Norths after his two-try performance off the bench spearheaded New Zealand’s 18-0 victory over Australia in 1985. He paired up with Kiwis five-eighth Olsen Filipaina in the Bears’ line-up, but both were ultimately relegated to reserve grade. Friend found consistency under incoming coach Frank Stanton in 1987, however, and despite the Bears’ ninth-place finish he landed third in the Dally M standings behind Peter Sterling and Terry Lamb. His Sydney stint petered out, but he was plucked out of the Metropolitan Cup to play a try-scoring interchange role in another Test boilover against the green-and-golds in 1991. 7. Robert Laurie (1980) The Dally M was a more unassuming award 40 years ago – so modest, in fact, that until…

MOST people will say winning the Dally M Medal is the highest individual honour in the NRL, but they mustn’t have heard about the Big League Player of the Year award. Dubbed by everyone at the magazine as the most prestigious accolade on offer, the award goes to the player who polled the most votes during the regular season. As our readers know, our team provided a three, two, one system for every game in 2019 and it’s time to make the results official. Recent winners of the in-house player of the year award have included Cameron Munster and Jason Taumalolo, with this year’s top three decided by just two points. Before we unveil the 2019 champion, let’s take a look at who finished on top in the respective positions…

The annual Footyhead Awar is given to the player who Footyhead interviewed this season and who he judges to have played the best in 2019. Before the season, my crystal ball predicted this year would be all about the coaches. It predicted Des Hasler and Ivan Cleary would take their teams to the finals, having returned to coach again at the Sea Eagles and the Panthers. But the two most reliable coaches in the NRL have delivered again too, Craig Bellamy and Trent Robinson. Plenty of players have produced great games for the highlight reel, but who has been the most consistent? Who played a huge part in the success of their team? That’s what the 2019 Footyhead award winner has delivered. The contenders: Reuben Garrick and Curtis Sironen both played…

Form: The Raiders’ form-line does not inspire confidence with wins immediately followed by losses over the past six weeks. However, the three losses were narrow (all by four points) and only against the Warriors in Round 25 did they submit a performance that could be considered to be below standard. The Rabbitohs were far from convincing in their 34-26 defeat of the Sea Eagles last Friday but their recent results have included four wins and only one loss. History: The Raiders have established a dominant record over the Rabbitohs in all matches dating back to 1982, however this fixture has held few fears for the Rabbitohs in recent years. Their 16-12 win at GIO Stadium in Round 10 this season was their fourth win from their past five visits to…

Form: The Roosters have faltered only once in their past nine games and even then they were far from disgraced in a 16-10 loss to the Rabbitohs in Round 25 in a match that had no bearing on their final standing on the ladder. They’ve had a 15-day break since their last game, while the Storm were forced to take the hard road through the play-offs after dropping their opening qualifying final to the Raiders. History: The Storm hold a narrow lead (21-17) in overall results since 1998, however the Roosters have claimed victories in two of the past three encounters. They won last year’s grand final convincingly before a golden point win at AAMI Park in Round 6. The most recent clash resulted in a 14-12 victory for the…

BRISBANE are all but assured a place in next week’s grand final after their perfect start, but they’ll still like to keep their perfect record intact against the Warriors at the SCG. The Broncos remained undefeated with a 20-0 thrashing of the Roosters last Saturday. It was a slick team performance with five players – Amber Paris-Hall, Millie Boyle, Amy Turner, Julia Robinson and Tazmin Gray – cracking 100 running metres. Gun centre Amber Pilley fell one metre shy of the century but managed to cross for try in the first half. The Warriors will be hoping to turn things around after their disappointing loss to the Dragons at Mt Smart Stadium last Sunday, but they’ll need to win by a large margin against the undefeated defending premiers to have…

The Brisbane Broncos have not lost a game since the inception of the NRLW in 2018. Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has won his past seven games against Raiders counterpart Ricky Stuart. The Roosters have lost just once at the SCG in 2019. Elliott Whitehead will play his 100th NRL game. The Sydney Roosters are playing in their sixth preliminary final in the past seven seasons. Storm captain Cameron Smith requires one goal to become the first player to kick 100 goals in the NRL finals. The Melbourne Storm will play at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first time in the club’s history.…

RISING Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen looks back fondly on his time at the Wests Tigers when he served as an understudy to then fullback James Tedesco, but that friendship will be put aside when he tackles his former idol in the biggest game of his career. “He’d always say g’day if we walked past in the corridor. Those sort of people you always have a bit of a relationship with because you respect that, being a young player,” Papenhuyzen said. “We’re mates and we chat – we won’t be mates on the weekend – but after the game we’ll sit down and talk. He’s a superstar and I’ve tried to get a little bit of his game into mine this year.” As Papenhuyzen toiled away in the under-20s, Tedesco was…

IT was a bit of a circus having people ask me on a daily basis what my plans were for 2020, so it was a relief to announce on the weekend that I’d signed on for another season with the Wests Tigers. I wanted to wait until the season was finished and then assess where my body was at and if I had the desire to play on and put my body through another pre-season. It was a pretty easy decision in the end because this is probably the best my body has felt at the end of a season and I was able to play pretty much every game this year. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to trust my body like I do at the moment…

“We need to enjoy the moment – it’s something we’ve worked hard for – but it’s only a minor achievement. No one remembers the team who came third or fourth.” FROM playing reggies to leading Canberra to within one game of a grand final – it’s been a rollercoaster season for Aidan Sezer. It was just four months ago the Raiders halfback was unsure if he’d ever play for the Green Machine again. Sezer missed out on NRL selection between Rounds 3-11, and during his time in the wilderness there were multiple media reports he’d be leaving the nation’s capital. Little did he know, he’d return to the top squad and lead his side to a blockbuster preliminary final, while hitting arguably career-best form. It’s never nice being relegated to…

IF it wasn’t for a phone call from Wayne Bennett and a case of homesickness, there’s a good chance Liam Knight would be wearing lime green instead of cardinal and myrtle this Friday. This time last year he was making a name for himself at the Raiders, but after making the transition to Redfern in the off-season, Knight will be aiming to end his former club’s campaign this weekend. “It’s funny how things work out. I could’ve been playing for the other team,” Knight tells Big League. “It’s definitely going to be the biggest game of my career and I can’t wait for it.” When Knight received that initial call from Bennett, at first he was in shock the veteran mentor was on the other end of the line, but…

Though recent results are pretty evenly split and his team will start as underdogs, one thing you can almost guarantee is that South Sydney’s Cody Walker will be in the hunt for a try against the Raiders, having crossed the line in each of the past four encounters between the two – and he’s only played them five times. It’s an enviable strike rate and one that Ricky Stuart’s men will be acutely aware of, but whether or not they can stop him remains to be seen.…

Q You’ve been involved in some wild games at ANZ Stadium. How did that one against Manly stack up? A We gave them a lot of easy possession, but in the end we were good enough to get the win. I always thought that if we were able to get some possession at the right end of the field then we’d be good enough to win. I had plenty of confidence in all the boys that they could do their job. Q Does the tough fight give you confidence heading to Canberra? A You always go into a game with plenty of confidence. If we play the way we know we can then we’re a good chance. It’s Wayne’s job to come up a plan and that’s what he’ll be…

Q Can you believe the Roosters are just one game from another grand final? A It’s crazy, but we need to prepare for the prelim and focus on that game. If we look towards the grand final, we might not make it. But we’ve come so far again this year. Q At just 23 years old, you’ve already played in multiple finals series and represented your country. Are you being cautious to not take everything for granted? A I don’t think about it throughout the season, but when it ends, I’ll get away and see my family – that’s when I look back and reflect. I don’t take anything for granted. I’m just lucky to be at this club, they gave me an opportunity and they’ve blessed me and my…

ROOSTERS fans will be hoping history repeats when they take on St George Illawarra in the final regular season game of the NRLW competition. While they sit winless at the bottom of the ladder, last year’s campaign suggests there is still hope for the Tri-colours. In an incredible turn of events, the four matches played this season have mirrored last year’s results, and if things follow a similar script this weekend then the cellar dwellers could sneak into the decider as they did in 2018. On form they probably don’t deserve to be there after they were beaten 20-0 by the Broncos in a rematch of last year’s grand final. “I was probably more disappointed for the girls than at them because there’s a lot better footy in them, but…

FOLLOWING rampaging minor premiers Sunshine Coast’s shock exit from the competition, it will be Wynnum Manly and Burleigh who battle it out for premiership glory in the Queensland Cup decider this Sunday. The Falcons were heavy favourites to win the competition, having lost just one regular season game in a record-breaking campaign. Instead, they will not even feature on grand final day after being eliminated by Burleigh. In the end they lost more games in a three-week finals campaign than they did during the 23 rounds of the season. The Bears were serious underdogs, even after winning their qualifying final and earning a week off, but ended up blowing the Falcons off the park. Five-eighth Dylan Phythian was the star of the show with two try assists, while the kicking…