NRL round 6: What we liked and disliked from every game

Joshua Mayne

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Tom Naghten

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Liam O'Loughlin

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NRL round 6: What we liked and disliked from every game image

A full Easter weekend of footy did not disappoint, with a mixture of underdog victories, come-from-behind thrillers, and technical masterclasses.

Here's what we liked and disliked from round six of the NRL.

North Queensland Cowboys 18 - 12 Canberra Raiders

What we liked: Holmes to the rescue

For the first 40 minutes on Thursday night, North Queensland's attack was legless. They were lacking spark and direction across the park, and things weren't looking much better early in the second-half. 

But after Heilum Luki crashed over to put the Cowboys within six points, Valentine Holmes rose to the occasion and earned his mega paycheck for the night, scoring a lovely try out of nowhere to level the scores.

Holmes - despite playing in the centres - has been allowed to roam around the field, similar to Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic for NSW, and it's paying dividends for his side so far this season. 

The 26-year-old ran for over 120 metres, broke six tackles and made two linebreaks in a quality performance. In the simplest form, Holmes was everywhere against the Raiders and was doing everything he could to swing the momentum in the Cowboys' favour. 

Jeremiah Nanai crossed for the match-winning try, but it was Holmes' who kept them alive when they looked dead and buried, before breaking the game wide open with a solo try. 

Special mention must go to Jason Taumalolo as well, who ran for a game-high 217 metres for the Cowboys. 

What we disliked: Worst captain's challenge ever

We sure have seen some bad captain's challenges since the rule came in during the 2020 season - but on Thursday night, Cowboys utility Reuben Cotter completely pulled the wool over his skipper's eyes when he convinced them to challenge this clear-cut infringement. 

Cotter was ruled to have stripped the ball from Joseph Tapine, but somehow believed the Canberra prop had lost control. 

He could not have been any more wrong. 

North Queensland gave away eight penalties in the first-half, but it was Cotter's that was by far the silliest - especially considering they burned their challenge in the process. 

Luckily for the young star, his side got away with a comeback victory in the second-half. 

South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 - 18 Canterbury Bulldogs

What we liked: Race for Kangaroos' No.9 jumper wide open

Many were tipping Melbourne hooker Harry Grant to nudge Damien Cook out of the position for the Kangaroos but the South Sydney man has other ideas.

Cook continued his excellent run of form with another stellar display against the Dogs.

The dummy half finished with three tries, including two in as many minutes in the first half to all but put the game to bed.

His defence was also on point, making 34 tackles without a miss.

What we disliked: Fans left frustrated

Whether it was forensic analysis of a play by the bunker, the seemingly harsh penalty of 10 minutes in the bin for Jeremy Marshall-King or the stop-start nature of the game, it made for tough, and at times, long viewing.

The contest, which started at 4pm, didn't finish until well after 6pm, thanks to several long delays, primarily while the bunker did its thing.

In the officials' defence, some of the blame must go to the players for repeatedly infringing.

Regardless, surely that sort of match raises eyebrows at NRL HQ.

Penrith Panthers 40 - 12 Brisbane Broncos

What we liked: Scott Sorensen is soaring

Nothing warms the heart of a rugby league fan more than seeing a forward in open space - and we got to see it twice from Scott Sorensen against the Broncos.

With the scores level heading into the half-time break, Sorensen was able to turn nothing into something, tearing away with a nice piece of footwork to score a solo try.

The 29-year-old produced another linebreak later in the game and finished with an impressive 223 run metres, as well as 25 tackles.

Sorensen has been a revelation for Penrith in the past 12 months.

A real late bloomer, the edge-forward continues to chip away and do his job each week - and you can tell just how much he means to his teammates based off their reaction to his third career try in the NRL. 

What we disliked: Sin-bins for 'slapping'

Really? This is what things have come to?

Striking to the head has no place in the game, especially with what we know about concussion - but to say that Dylan Edwards and Keenan Palasia deserved to be sin-binned is ridiculous.

The pair were involved in a scuffle early in the second-half on Friday night, which saw Palasia push Edwards in the face, before the Penrith fullback returned serve.

This wasn't exactly Minoru Suzuki and Samoa Joe slapping each other for 15 minutes on AEW Dynamite a day prior. 

They weren't even slaps - they were pushes to the face and the referee easily could have told them to calm down and allowed play to continue. 

Manly Sea Eagles 26 - 18 Gold Coast Titans

What we liked: Origin bolters stand up for Manly

It wasn't a perfect 80-minute performance by any means, but two men certainly stood out in Manly's fourth win of the year. 

Haumole Olakau'atu will be knocking on the door for Brad Fittler's NSW side this year, after starting the 2022 campaign in great form and continued it against Gold Coast. 

The second-rower crossed for two tries in the first-half, ran for 100 metres, made two linebreaks and 29 tackles in a quality performance. Without his edge partner from last year in Josh Schuster, Olakau'atu has really stood up and poses a threat with ball in hand, as well as striking fear into opposition players. 

In the backline, Reuben Garrick continued to make the most of his temporary move to fullback, showing his versatility and class while Tom Trbojevic remains sidelined.

Garrick finished with 122 metres, a linebreak and a forced dropout, and seemed to have his hands on the ball every set for Manly. 

He's probably not a front-runner to play for the Blues this year, but if there was an injury or two in the outside backs, Garrick could easily find himself on the wing. 

What we disliked: Half-game Titans at it again

You can't help but feel for Justin Holbrook this year. 

Week-in and week-out, Gold Coast look fantastic for half the game - but they are continually letting themselves down by their lack of consistency across 80 minutes. 

They've been starting fast in a few games this season but have fallen away in the second-half. This time around, they stumbled out of the gates and let Manly score four first-half tries. 

David Fifita was barely sighted in the opening 40 minutes, but came to life late in the piece and scored a good try. Toby Sexton tried hard but ultimately had a night to forget, while AJ Brimson came up with a couple of poor errors. 

They have now slumped to a 2-4 record after six weeks, and with clashes against the Panthers and Roosters not far away, Holbrook will want to see a vast improvement. 

Melbourne Storm 34 - 18 Cronulla Sharks

What we liked: Munster magic

With so much speculation regarding his NRL future, Cameron Munster's price-tag will be soaring after his performance against Cronulla.

The five-eighth was easily the best player on the field in a fantastic game between two competition heavyweights, and his solo try in the first-half opened the game up for Melbourne.

Munster finished with 172 run metres, made two linebreaks and set up a try against the Sharks, as their spine continues to go from strength-to-strength.

In a see-sawing clash between two good sides, Craig Bellamy would have been looking to his big guns to stand up in the big moments - and that's exactly what his biggest gun in Munster did on Saturday night. 

What we disliked: Sharks' ill-discipline proves costly

They were in the game for the majority of the 80 minutes and their completion rate in the first-half was impeccable - but Cronulla will be kicking themselves after some costly incidents.

Cameron McInnes and Siosifa Talakai were both penalised for rather soft high tackles during the game, and both incidents led to Storm tries. While the refereeing in those moments was questionable at best, the rules are there and the Sharks were on the wrong end of them. 

The first play of the second-half also spelt disaster for the Sharks, with the ball rolling over the sideline from kick-off and Justin Olam bursting through to score off the scrum moments later. 

But it was a simple error in the ruck from Jack Williams with the game in the balance really hurt Cronulla, with the Storm scoring two tries in quick succession after that moment. 

Craig Fitzgibbon's side gave away eight penalties and two six-agains across the 80 minutes, and as we have seen time and time again with the Storm, they will punish you for it. 

Sydney Roosters 22 - 14 New Zealand Warriors

What we liked: Reece Walsh's creativity

There is a lot to like about the Warriors' young fullback, but his creativity has shone in particular in recent weeks. Despite being on the losing side this round, he was still one of the best players on the pitch.

His game highlight was easily his clever kick to find Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on the wing before his teammate craftily found his way over the line.

It was Cooper Cronk-esque and kept the Roosters defenders on their toes for the remainder of the match.

What we disliked: More confusion around high tackles

Sydney Roosters enforcer Victor Radley was put on report for a high shot that involved Edward Kosi diving to the ground when escaping the in-goal.

It's a tricky part of the game to adjudicate, but both coaches even agreed that the Roosters lock shouldn't be suspended.

There might need to be some clarity provided around the topic ahead of next week.

St George Illawarra Dragons 21 - 16 Newcastle Knights

What we liked: Dragons show some grit

Had this match been played last week, the Dragons would have likely crumbled with their lead under attack multiple times throughout the match. This team was different, though.

Every player appeared to treat the match as a must-win, and an indicative performance followed.

With scores locked at 16-all nearing the end of the match, there was a notable calmness in the team. They took advantage of their opponents' errors and were able to score a field goal and try late in the game to secure an important result. It was a pleasant surprise.

What we disliked: A sharp downturn in Newcastle

After beginning the season promisingly with two wins in a row, the Newcastle Knights have gone on to lose four consecutive games. 

The ongoing Kalyn Ponga contract saga is unlikely to be doing them any favours, but there are still major concerns on the pitch. 

They had every chance to win this match, but it simply didn't appear as if they wanted the result as badly as their opponents. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

Parramatta Eels 20 - 21 Wests Tigers

What we liked: Jackson Hastings' 50th game masterclass

As far as milestone games go, Jackson Hastings' 50th NRL match was a special one.

Brought into the halfback position by Michael Maguire, the 26-year-old pulled the strings nicely in the middle of the field, working effectively with an under-fire Luke Brooks (who was moved to five-eighth). 

Every time the ball was in his hands he seemingly created an opportunity, often down the right side with David Nofoaluma.

His performance was capped off by a long-distance field goal that sailed through the posts as the final siren sounded, securing a memorable win for the Wests Tigers.

What we disliked: The match had to finish

Sure, the Eel's performance was lacklustre, but it made for a thrilling game of rugby league.

Fans had to wait five days from the start of the round for this one, and it was undoubtedly worth it. 

The back and forth nature of the match combined with the underdog narrative was a perfect combination, showcasing the best of rugby league.

The atmosphere was also terrific, with 28,336 fans filling Commbank Stadium in the second-highest NRL regular-season attendance at the ground.

 

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again. 

 

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.