Armchair Expert - Round 7

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Performance of the Round

It's tougher to pick who put in the best shift this week than trying to pick the winner of the Melbourne Cup four months out from the first Tuesday in November. The Dragons and Broncos put on a belter of a top of the table clash at Kogarah, with the home side coming out on top. The Cowboys came from behind and wrangled the Warriors into the ground late for their fourth straight win.

The Storm and Roosters both played brilliantly in testing conditions down in Melbourne; it was high quality and finals like intensity with a Cooper Cronk field goal at the death being the only difference. Canberra came from 22 points down to produce the biggest comeback in their clubs history to get the biscuits against the Wests Tigers at Leichardt Oval. Or was it the Cronulla Sharks who without Paul Gallen and the Fifita's brothers stood up to the Burgess boys and a bruising South Sydney forward pack in the wildest weather an NRL game has been played in for some time?

All of the above can lay claim to the best performance of the round because it wouldn't be fair to split. It was an outstanding round of footy.


Paul Carige Award for the Worst Performance of the Round

It's feels harsh to give this award out this week but it has to be done. The Panthers played a bit silly against the Titans on the Gold Coast, which inevitably cost them late in the game. They threw far to many offloads in attack which lead to turn overs or knock-ons and it is hard to win any game of football if you surrender the ball so cheaply.

They should not have been beaten by as much as they did. The enjoyed more possession, missed less tackles, made less errors and conceded less penalties than the Titans but didn't play like the typical gritty Panthers. From the first whistle they thought they were wearing sweatbands and Nike Airs thinking they were the Harlem Globetrotters. The return of Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace should return this stuttering line-up into a genuine top four chance once more.


Surprise Packet

Benji Marshall. The last few weeks he has played his best football for four years and the Dragons are flying as a result. Paul McGregor has coached a lot of the silly errors out of him that he produced in his career at the Tigers, although without some of these silly errors we wouldn't have witnessed some of the exhilarating tries he has produced over the years. But Benji's biggest improvement has been without the ball, once upon a time he would hide on the wing so he wasn't found out in defence. He now defends three in and has been almost flawless the past month. He races up and puts massive mounts of pressure on his opposite half, and usually shuts down the play there and then. He might even find himself in a New Zealand jersey on May 1, who would have that?


Russell Packer Medal for the WTF Moment of the Week

How was the weather at Shark Park on Monday night!? Unbelievable stuff. Winds of nearly 90km/h and bucketing down rain made for great entertainment on and off the field. The ground was forced to lower the big screens in case they blew over, one end of the field resembled more of a Shark tank than park and just over 3,000 courageous souls braved the weather. They should be given free tickets for the rest of the season


Ref Watch

Kasey Badger, wife of NRL whistle-blower Gavin Badger, made her NRL debut on the weekend. She was a touch judge in the Titans-Panthers dual and passed with flying colours. Let's hope she makes it onto the field soon and shows the men how it's done, it would be a huge step forward for Rugby League. Good work Kasey.


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This week Sharks fans dress for the occasion, The Eels prepare to acknowledge our past and a long awaited debut is celebrated.

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