NRL Round 17: What we liked and disliked from every game

Tom Naghten

•

Liam O'Loughlin

•

Mark Molyneux

•

Kye Kuncoro

•
NRL Round 17: What we liked and disliked from every game image

There's a new competition leader after the Broncos were upset at home while the undermanned Panthers got the job done over Newcastle.

The Warriors continue their good form with a big win over the Dragons, entrenching themselves in the top four.

Meanwhile, South Sydney and the Roosters' struggles continued while the Dolphins have some work to do ahead of their clash with Brisbane next week.

MORE: NRL urged to close 'loophole' as Ben Hunt linked with Broncos switch

Here's what we liked and disliked from every game in NRL Round 17. 

St. George Illawarra Dragons 18 - 48 New Zealand Warriors

What we liked: The hyphens put on a show

The Warriors trio of double-barrelled surnames were at their best as they put the hapless Dragons to the sword.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was the one to earn the most plaudits, crossing for four tries and running for more than 200 metres in one of the best individual performances of the season.

While fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad didn't get on the scoresheet, his performance was just as instrumental, finishing with three line-break assists and seven tackle breaks.

In the pack, Addin Fonua-Blake set the tone for his side, running for 193 metres, 60 of those post-contact, claiming a try assist and three offloads.

What we disliked: Dragons high-ball struggles

St George Illawarra were found wanting in several areas on Friday night but they give the Warriors particular joy when it came to defusing kicks.

Mikaele Ravalawa and Tyrell Sloan had nights to forget, each coming unstuck under the high ball, directly leading to tries.

Ravalawa finished with three errors, as did teammate Zac Lomax, while Sloan came up with three missed tackles.

If the Dragons are to turn things around, they'll need to get the simple things right first.

Dolphins 20 - 48 Parramatta Eels 

What we liked: Parra's attacking prowess on the edges

While they didn't go on with it in the second half, the Eels were entitled to put the cue in the rack after their efforts in the first 40.

You can take your pick for the players who caused the most headaches but, in addition to halfback Mitch Moses and fullback Clint Gutherson, our vote goes to the backrow trio.

Bryce Cartwright was at his offensive best, seemingly poking his nose through the line and getting an offload every time he got his hands on the footy.

J'maine Hopgood continued to make his case as one of the buys of the season, causing all sorts of problems for the Dolphins middles, while Andrew Davey on the opposite edge got things going, running a great line to get through and open the scoring.

What we disliked: Dolphins' first-half defence

It's rare to see a Wayne Bennett-coach side with such a stark lack of defensive effort.

After they opened the scoring, the Dolphins let in three incredibly soft tries, the likes of which Kodi Nikorima, Isaiya Katoa and Euan Aitken, among many others it must be said, will not want to watch again.

Time and again the Dolphins were opened up on the edges, whether it was defensive misreads or simply poor tackling attempts, the Eels found a weakness and kept going there, putting up 42 points in the first half.

Penrith Panthers 20 - 12 Newcastle Knights 

What we liked: Tyrone Peachey winds back the clock

Every Penrith player warrants a mention for their performance during their side's win which saw them complete 39 of their 41 sets during an impressive performance. 

Without Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Stephen Crichton and Brian To'o, the Panthers second-string outfit proved just how good the club's system is with a game full of adventure and that usual defensive grit. 

Tyrone Peachey, in particular, was brilliant as he caused his counterpart Dane Gagai nightmares all night. 

The veteran has proved to be a handy pick-up from the Tigers this season, filling in for Izack Tago when he was injured and deputising for Crichton in this one as he scored a quickfire double in the first half. 

The centre was everywhere, making strong carries out of yardage, getting the better of Gagai physically and providing a constant threat to finish with two tries, one try assist and 194m. 

What we disliked: Knights sink to third loss in a row

At virtually full-strength Newcastle must have entered into their clash against a heavily depleted Panthers outfit full of confidence. Yet they simply could not match the relentlessness of the Panthers. 

While Ivan Cleary's second-string side completed at near perfection, the Knights couldn't hold onto the ball. 

They completed at just 64 per cent as Kalyn Ponga was banished to the periphery of the game when Penrith applied their chokehold in the second stanza. 

Coupled with 13 errors and an ill-disciplined display, which was highlighted by Jack Hetherington needlessly lashing out and getting sent to the sin bin, the Knights never really gave themselves a chance in the arm wrestle. Their final hopes are now hanging by a thread. 

Melbourne Storm 24 - 6 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

What we liked: Xavier Coates backs up after Origin to steal the show

In a rather turgid match, Xavier Coates provided plenty of highlight reel moments, including his second try in the corner where the winger once again defied gravity to put the game beyond doubt. 

Drafted into Billy Slater's Origin side after the injury to Selwyn Cobbo, Coates took his chance on Wednesday night and appeared to have a huge surge in confidence for the Storm just three days later. 

He once again provided some great carries out of yardage, just like he did in Origin II, while finishing with a double, eight tackle busts and just shy of 200m. 

Coates' ability to finish has never been in any doubt but the youngster is starting to improve his overall game to establish himself as one of the best wingers in the comp, according to fellow Queenslander Harry Grant. 

What we disliked: Manly's lack of firepower in attack inevitably proves costly

Manly started the game brightly and took a surprise lead but in the end their effort came to nothing as their lack of quality came back to haunt them. 

With Tom Trbojevic ruled out for the rest of the season with a pec injury, the Sea Eagles began their post-Turbo life looking devoid of ideas in attack other than to give it to Daly Cherry-Evans and let him try and fashion something. 

The skipper tried his heart out after his exploits for the Maroons but with such a significant piece of Manly's puzzle consigned to the sideline, Anthony Seibold's men found themselves running into a brick wall. 

"Defensively we were strong and turned up for each other," the coach said. 

"Second half our accuracy and detail in attack put too much pressure on our defence.

"I thought we were brave defensively, but not good enough from an attacking point of view."

Brisbane Broncos 12 - 18 Gold Coast Titans

What we liked: Fotuaika lays the platform

There's something about a team under a new coach.

After moving Justin Holbrook on mid-week, the Titans went out with a simple gameplan - run hard and kick long.

While he left the second part of that to Tanah Boyd, front-rower Moeaki Fotuaika embodied the first.

The Gold Coast big man played a mammoth 69 minutes, stepping up in the absence of teammate Tino Fa'asuamaleaui to lead the pack.

Fotuaika ran for over 200 metres, including 76 post-contact, to help his side win the battle in the middle of the park.

What we disliked: Walsh loses his cool

Reece Walsh is a brilliant footballer but he should be punished for the way he addressed the referee late in the Broncos' defeat.

When protesting a decision from Chris Butler, Walsh could be heard dropping a C-bomb on the broadcast audio.

The star fullback can expect to hear more over the matter.

Perhaps it was symptomatic of a wider issue for the team.

“Attitude. We need to fix it and fix it in a hurry,” Walters told reporters post-game.

“We haven’t earned the right as a club to come here and put that performance on.

“We didn’t really look like fixing it in the second half… it’s not who we’ve been and I don’t like that team that played today. That’s not who we are.”

They'd want to hope they can fix it before they take on the Dolphins in another local derby on Saturday night.

MORE: Kevin Walters filthy at Brisbane effort in derby loss

South Sydney Rabbitohs 6 - 31 North Queensland Cowboys

What we liked: Scott Drinkwater's attacking display

Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater was in everything on Sunday evening as his side strolled to a big win over the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium.

Drinkwater ran for 216 metres, had two linebreaks, three try assists and an incredible 11 tackle breaks.

In this sort of form, the Blues could do a lot worse than Drinkwater at the back.

What we disliked: Souths all at sea in defence

What's happened to the Bunnies?

Just over a month ago, they were the high-flying premiership favourites. Now, they've won one from their past five.

It's easy to point to injuries to key personnel, but even their effort areas are down, particularly in defence.

Souths missed 41 tackles, made 13 errors, gave away eight penalties.

Halves Lachlan Ilias (six missed tackles) and Cody Walker (five) were the worst offenders on that front.

Meanwhile, completing at just 69 per cent, the Rabbitohs never gave themselves a shot to win that game.

They're now averaging a tick under 33 points conceded over the past five matches.

MORE: Who is the most successful NSW Blues coach?

Sydney Roosters 18 - 20 Canberra Raiders

What we liked: Raiders aerial assault

The last thing an out-of-form James Tedesco needed was to sit under some swirling high balls but that's exactly what the Roosters fullback had to deal with courtesy of Jamal Fogarty.

Canberra peppered the Roosters backline with swirling bombs and it worked a treat, with their only two tries of the match coming on the end of kicks.

While they may have run out of puff slightly in the second half, it was enough to earn them a hard-fought two points on the road and have them knocking on the door of the top four.

What we disliked: Roosters can't get going in attack

It's been a tough week for fans of the Blues and the Roosters who've had to watch both teams fail to capitalise on possession when in attack.

Tedesco is the common denominator across the teams but there's got to be more to it than that?

Young half Sandon Smith is still finding his feet at the top level while veteran five-eighth Luke Keary is struggling to find his best form.

The main issue on Sunday evening appeared to be Joseph Manu - he wasn't getting enough football.

Every time the Kiwi international got involved, he looked dangerous, scoring either side of the break to keep his team in it.

Once again, Trent Robinson has plenty of work on his hands to get his side going.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.

Liam O'Loughlin

Liam O'Loughlin Photo

Liam has been with The Sporting News since 2019, helping lead both NRL and cricket content, as well as delving into the world of combat sports and NFL. A true rugby league tragic, he has spent the past 20 years playing, coaching and volunteering for his beloved junior club, Penshurst RSL. 

Away from work, Liam has a lifelong passion for all things pro wrestling and has travelled abroad to attend showcase events for WWE, AEW and NJPW. 

 

Mark Molyneux

Mark Molyneux Photo

Mark Molyneux is a freelance writer covering the NRL and UFC for Sporting News Australia. He has previously worked in the music industry and as a teacher around the world.

Kye Kuncoro

Kye Kuncoro Photo

Kye is a content producer for Sporting News Australia.