Photo: Penrith Panthers facebook
AFTER 22 rounds of rugby league this season, there are growing opinions that the winner of this year’s competition has narrowed down to two stand out clubs. Penrith (West) and the Roosters (East).
After the weekend of footy it’s hard to argue. Obviously, there are other clubs who have looked likely this year (Warriors) and some are warming for the contest (Sharks, Bulldogs, Dolphins, Knights) but I tend to agree with the majority that this season’s victor will come from one of two teams, that being East v West, Chooks and Panthers.
The Roosters 82-12, (I’m still shaking my head over this result, even feels weird writing the number 82 when mentioning an NRL game) slaughter of North Queensland had every league lover reaching for their stats book, and seeing you had to go back to 1935 to have seen the last time a team scored that many points, with Sam Walker’s personal haul of 36 points also entering the annals.
The scary thing about the Roosters record breaking night was that their skipper James Tedesco only played the first 40 minutes! If he played the entire game, we may have witnessed a 100 being scored! The Roosters have the perfect blend of experience and youth, whilst also adding two of the best buys of the season in Daly Cherry-Evans and Reece Robson. Their prop, Naufahu Whyte has gone to the next level as a front-rower and starts the go-forward for Trent Robinson’s men, while then allowing their backs to do their thing.
Robert Toia, like Whyte, has also reached another level of his play that is worrying for anyone playing against him or marking him. The blossoming of rookies Hugo Savala and Salesi Foketi is also eye-catching, but it’s their Origin stars that has them as a genuine title contender.
The Panthers are very much in the same boat. After a month or so of tepid performances, they roared back into form in Mudgee last Saturday with a more than impressive performance against the Canberra Raiders, thumping them 42-18.
When the Panthers win well, you’d always deduce that Nathan Cleary has had a bellringer of a game, and you’d be right. But it wasn’t just he who ran amok, his ensemble also came to the party in Mudgee.
In particular it was the Mountain Men’s forwards who set up the comprehensive victory. Smith and Leota up front, Liam Martin (scoring his first double of his career) and Isaiah Papali’i on an edge, and Mr Consistent Isaah Yeo all ‘doing their do’. And like the Roosters without “Teddy” Penrith’s Dylan Edwards was also missing from the Panthers clinic.
Now that the torrid Origin campaign is well and truly in our rearview mirrors, you get the feeling that the 12 players from both of these two powerhouses who featured in State of Origin this year have finally gotten over their physical and emotional wounds, the scene is now set.
There is still a hell of a lot of footy to be played this season and the machinations are endless, but it’d take something totally left field to stop the Panthers taking on the Roosters in the first week of October this year. But, I wouldn’t totally discard it happening. As we know in this game that never sleeps, anything can happen and often does!
MG (random Westie) OAM
