NRL round 15: What we liked and disliked from every game

Tom Naghten, Lachlan McKirdy

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NRL round 15: What we liked and disliked from every game image

Rugby league is becoming a wildly different game - as evidenced by two games over the weekend with 80 points or more.

Melbourne, South Sydney and Manly all put up big scores against some poor opposition, while a couple of other games went down to the wire.

As always, we've highlighted the good, the bad and the ugly across all eight games.

Here's what we liked and disliked from every game in round 15. 

South Sydney Rabbitohs 46 - 0 Brisbane Broncos 

What we liked: Xavier Coates' desperate effort

Going up against South Sydney's red-hot left side is tough enough as it, nevermind when your team's on the back foot all night.

Broncos winger Xavier Coates did all he could to prevent a complete rout at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night, including some try-saving interventions.

Forget tackle of the year, Coates' first-half effort on Dane Gagai was one of the best you'll ever see.

Gagai looked all but certain to score when he pinched an intercept but, after a desperate length-of-the-field chase in which he had to weave around Alex Johnston, Coates threw Gagai into touch inches before the line.

Just a shame they couldn't save the other eight tries.

What we disliked: Another primetime blowout

You hang around all week to watch a game that was only ever going to have one winner.

A combination of the new rules, poor scheduling and a lobsided competition resulted in yet another thumping in a prime timeslot.

Now, we get it, the Broncos are the main attraction in the lucrative south-east Queensland market, but if the games are rubbish, does it matter which team is playing?

Up to round 15, Brisbane have had 10 Thursday or second game on Friday fixtures, they've lost seven of them by 29 or more points.

Cronulla Sharks 26 - 24 North Queensland Cowboys 

What we liked: Will Kennedy's heads-up play

Cronulla fullback Will Kennedy has elevated his game to another level in 2021. 

His attacking prowess has been there for all to see this season, as it was again in Townsville on Friday night. 

A little shimmy with ball in hand created enough space in the first half to help Ronaldo Mulitalo cross over in the corner. 

But it was his effort to keep a penalty kick for touch in that really stood out. 

He lept from inside the field of play and was a couple of metres over the sideline before knocking the ball back into play. 

Kennedy also managed to make a couple of big defensive stops and is likely to be in the Dally M votes yet again. 

What we disliked: Reece Robson's sin-bin

It's a shame that one incident can become such a talking point out of a match. 

But the decision to sin bin Reece Robson on Friday night was a bizarre one. 

Aiden Tolman was clearly falling and Robson was doing everything he could to tackle the Cronulla forward low. 

No one is disputing that the tackle was high and most would have probably accepted it was a penalty for accidental high contact. 

Yet The Bunker found that there was reason to send the dummy-half to the sin-bin. 

Penrith Panthers 38 - 12 Sydney Roosters

What we liked: Panthers' Origin stars excite on a wet night in Penrith

Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai, Brian To'o and Isaah Yeo. All four put in fantastic performances as they reminded us just what Penrith are capable of this year. 

After two losses in a row, it was imperative the Panthers bounced back and against the Roosters it was a great opportunity to show what they were made of. 

Down 12-0 early, all it took was one little shift in momentum and suddenly everything was looking up for Ivan and his players. 

Nathan Cleary steered the side expertly around the park, while Brian To'o was typically industrious. 

Now they have to try and win without them again in round 16 when they go back into Origin camp on Monday.

What we disliked: Robbo left frustrated at Taukeiaho's sin-bin

'Where was he supposed to go?'. 'He can't disappear!'. 

They're comments we've heard a lot since the ref's high-tackle crackdown and Trent Robinson was the latest one to echo those sentiments on Friday night. 

Siosiua Taukeiaho was sent to the bin after collecting Nathan Cleary high midway through the first-half. 

Cleary was very obviously slipping into the impact, but Taukeiaho's bicep still made high contact. 

"No mitigating factor" was the reasoning given by referee Sutton. We might be hearing more of that across the coming weeks...

Newcastle Knights 10 - 6 New Zealand Warriors

What we liked: Knights more composed with Pearce and Clifford pairing

It was a pretty messy affair overall but you'd have to say assessing Newcastle's performance that the composure of Mitchell Pearce had a noticeable influence. 

They looked more organised in attack and more confident overall with the experienced halfback back in the line-up, having been sidelined with a pec tear since round four.

While there have been question marks over Pearce's future, even with a deal signed until the end of next year, Saturday's performance alongside new half Jake Clifford showed there's something there between the pair that could flourish with more games.

It was an important two points in the wet in front of the fans at McDonald Jones Stadium, and one for Pearce and the Knights to build a possible late finals run off. 

What we disliked: More debate over sin bins for unavoidable high contact

The calls for changes to the way unavoidable high contact is ruled gathered steam in this game after Lachlan Fitzgibbon was binned for a harsh incident involving Kodi Nikorima.

After struggling to contain the ball, Nikorima ducked down to regather split seconds before a tackle from Fitzgibbon, which eventually saw the Knights second-rowers arm make contact with the Warrior's head.

No doubt there was clear contact with the head but replays showed Fitzgibbon making a genuine attempt at a low tackle.

After the furor following Sio Siua Taukeaiho and Reece Robson's sin-bins on Friday night, which came from similar circumstances, Braith Anasta demanded a rethink from the NRL.

“There’s no intent (to do harm to Nikorima) whatsoever," Anasta said.

“I think we have to get to the stage where if that is the case – if it’s unavoidable, there’s no intent or mitigating circumstances the player should not be sent for 10 minutes in the bin.

“We’ve had some ordinary calls in the last 24 hours and it needs to stop. We can’t get to finals or Origin and have this happen. I think it’ll impact our game too much.”

St George Illawarra Dragons 22 - 20 Canberra Raiders

What we liked: Tyrell Sloan's dream debut

Is there anything better than the scenes when a player scores a try on debut?

There were emotional scenes in the sheds pre-game as Tyrell Sloan's grandmother Colleen, who raised him as his parents dealt with addiction and incarceration, presented him his jumper.

When Sloan got on the end of a brilliant team try in the second half, the entire Dragons team couldn't hide their jubilation for the 19-year-old.

Those celebrations spilled out into the crowd as his family revelled in the local boy's success. How bloody good.

What we disliked: 18th-man confusion

It's not the end of the world but the circumstances which handed Xavier Savage a first-grade debut only to have it ended 11 minutes later when it was revealed Canberra had incorrectly used their 18th man were all a bit amateur hour.

"In regards to that mess up there at the start of the second half, that was my fault," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.

"I thought if a player gets put on report, I'd use my 18th man. 

"I had an outside back on the bench and I thought 'oh good' and then the NRL ground manager- there's a lot of confusion goes on, there's been a lot of rule changes this year and I get the mistake, I made it, so that's how that occurred.

"You can't blame him [ground manager] either, it's an error, we make errors, if you want to jump onto every error we made, no one would have a job."

Park footy maybe, but you'd think the NRL would have its act together.

Melbourne Storm 66 - 16 Wests Tigers

What we liked: Storm flex their muscle

If ever there was an example of a team's across the board strength, 10 different players getting on the scoresheet will just about do it.

It seemed like Melbourne at times were lining up to cross the chalk, with every member of the starting forward pack except Tui Kamikaca scoring a try in the 50-point rout.

The TIgers actually scored three of the last four tries to make the scoreline slightly more respectable, but they were aided by some injury dramas for Melbourne.

Even with Brandon Smith, Reimis Smith and Tom Eisenhuth going off injured, the high-flying Storm were at a canter on the Sunshine Coast.

The season is looking more and more like a match race between Melbourne and Penrith every week.

What we disliked: Everything about the Tigers

85 tackles. That's how many the Tigers have missed in the past two matches.

Forgetting the difficult conditions on Saturday, you're not going to win many, if any games, dishing that up.

To put it in perspective, the Broncos are the competition's worst offenders for missed tackles and even they average less than 20 per match.

Skipper James Tamou hit the nail on the head post-game.

“Obviously it’s pretty disappointing, I think there’s a lot of underlying issues that we’ve got to sort out and it started last week against Parramatta,” Tamou told Fox League.

“We’ve got a habit at the moment, we think we’re going alright and then we let things like this happen, so the Storm taught us a valuable lesson here tonight.

“Last week we missed I think over 40 tackles and it was obviously a short turnaround and something that we needed to address and I think that showed tonight."

Yep, it certainly did.

Parramatta Eels 36 - 10 Canterbury Bulldogs

What we liked: Sean Russell's double on debut

As we alluded to earlier in regards to Tyrell Sloan, there aren't many better things in rugby league than a bloke scoring on debut.

And for Parramatta winger Sean Russell, he was able to cross twice in his side's big win over the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

A local junior from the Rouse Hill Rhinos, the 19-year-old had a bunch of mates in the crowd at Bankwest Stadium cheering him on as Clint Gutherson put him over.

Brad Arthur even said after the game that it was obvious how badly they wanted to see Russell score, describing it as 'important' in the club's culture for rookie players. 

What we disliked: Bulldogs' second-half fadeout

Plenty of things went against the Bulldogs in the second half, but they were still nowhere near good enough.

After leading 10-6 at the break, Canterbury looked a real chance of making it two wins on the trot for the first time since 2019.

Unfortunately for Trent Barrett, they struggled with their ball-handling in the latter stages of the clash and also had Luke Thompson sent to the sin-bin.

The penalty try awarded to Mitchell Moses certainly changed the momentum of the game, which is another example of poor discipline from the Dogs. 

Manly Sea Eagles 56 - 24 Gold Coast Titans

What we liked: Tom Trbojevic, as per usual 

Seriously, this guy is just insanely good.

Three tries and three try assists in the second half, Tommy Turbo took his side to a huge comeback victory against the Titans on Sunday afternoon. 

The 25-year-old single-handedly got the Sea Eagles back into the game as they scored 48 unanswered points.

If he can stay on the field for the rest of the year, he could be a moral for the Dally M Medal. 

What we disliked: Titans' flimsy defence

They looked like they were going to find a victory after 40 minutes - and then it fell apart.

Gold Coast have no issues in attack - they scored 34 against the Roosters last weekend, and another 24 on Sunday in the first half alone.

But their issue is clearly on the other side of the ball, and it is something that Justin Holbrook needs to fix as soon as possible.

They missed 31 tackles against the red-hot Sea Eagles, and struggled to get the momentum back once Trbojevic and company started to find their groove. 

Tom Naghten, Lachlan McKirdy