The Synopsis - NRL Round 22

George takes his weekly look back at the week that was - NRL Round 22.

Broncos (48) vs Bulldogs (88)

After round 19 all teams had ratings completed for inclusion is these write - ups. The Broncos were the highest rated (48) and Bulldogs were fourth (73). Since then the Broncos continue to ride high in the ratings but the Bulldogs have drifted 15 points.

The match was an early example of the sort of close football that we will see in the finals. Just three tries were scored by each team and the two point margin is found in the missed conversion of Corey Oates first try in 6th minute, but no one could have predicted how important that kick was going to be. When Corey Oates crossed again at the 23rd minute the home team shot out to a 10 - 0 score, but I was sitting with a Bulldog fan who just wouldn't accept that the Broncos were a ten point better team. Perhaps the next 20 minutes proved him right as the Bulldogs scored 10 minutes before half time, Aiden Tolman and 5 minutes after Sam Perrett, to grab a 12 - 10 lead.

In the next 20 minutes an increasingly frustrated Broncos made errors as they tried to overcome the Bulldog pack that had asserted its authority and given its team winning momentum. That momentum culminated in a converted try to Josh Morris (65th minute) giving his team an eight point lead. Try as they might the home team could not bust the Bulldog defensive line. With 52% of the possession the result might have been different but as the match headed toward full time it was clear that the confidence of the young bronco's had ebbed away. Corey Parker scored under the black dot at the 70th minute, but just once in the last 10 did his team go close to scoring the winning try, but it was ruled no try. Final Score Bulldogs 18 - Broncos 16.

Tonight, Coach Wayne Bennett, would have seen two worrying stats from his team:

1. His Broncos missed more than 30 tackles for only the second time this year.
2. They made 13 errors, their highest mistake rate since round 2.

Meanwhile, opposition Coach Des Hasler must have smiled as his squad made just 5 errors, missed only 12 tackles and ran the ball for 1750 metres which puts them up with the Cowboys who lead the NRL in this vital area.

THE RUN HOME: Brisbane on 34pts will play finals football and may hurt other contenders' chances over the next month. They play St George (R 23), Sydney Roosters (R 24), Souths (R 25) and Melbourne (R 26). Canterbury on 24pts will have to fight all the way. They play the Gold Coast (R 23) South Sydney (R 24), Newcastle (R 25) and New Zealand (R 26).

Sea Eagles (125) vs Rabbitohs (70)

The Sea Eagles comparatively poor rating is based on their season prior to and including round 16, when they last played and lost to the Rabbitohs. They have won half of their seasons eight wins since then. Prior to round 19 they rated 136, since then their rating has improved to 125. Their kicking game is rated 2nd and error rate is in the top six. The Rabbitoh's have also improved their rating, particularly by improving their ball running and conceding fewer penalties.

Manly were fastest ‘out of the blocks' and their enthusiasm was recognised by and built upon by the loud and proud crowd at ‘Fortress Brookvale'. Souths kicked a penalty goal 5 minutes in, but they hadn't been allowed to settle into their match rhythm before Jake Trbojevic (8th min) and then Peta Hiku (16th min) crossed for Manly, creating a 10 - 0 score line. The nature of the first try was particularly worrying for the visitors, as the young Manly forward stormed through the Souths defence off a pass from Kieran Foran to score without a hand laid on him. The Rabbitohs tried hard over the next 25 minutes but it was clear that the Sea eagles were flying high and making much more ground with the ball, set for set. (By the end of the match Manly will have run the ball for 1838 metres compared to Souths 1311.) When Peta Hiku scored his second try at the 35th min, his team were set to take a 14 - 2 score into the half time break.

The Sea Eagles stretched their lead out past two converted tries when Jamie Lyon kicked a penalty goal 12 minutes into the second half. If the Rabbitoh's fans were hoping for a comeback, their confidence would have been shaken when (for the third time tonight) Manly's right side attack overwhelmed their opponents giving Peta Hiku his hat-trick of tries and the team a 22 - 2 lead. (61st min).

Matt Ballin, the Sea Eagles 80 minute per match hooker was instrumental in their last try as he moved out from dummy half, passed to Jake Trbojevic and pointed him at the try line. The young tyro brushed aside Chris Grevsmuhl, Greg Inglis and Tom Burgess to score beside the posts setting up a 26 point lead. Souths winger Alex Johnston got a consolation try to reduce the deficit to 20 points, but it was their biggest loss since the Tigers ambushed them back in mid-June.

THE RUN HOME: Souths on 28pts have the hardest run into the finals, with matches against Nth Qld (R 23), Canterbury (R 24), Brisbane (R 25) and Sydney Roosters (R 26). Meanwhile, Manly on 22pts play Canberra (R 23), Parramatta (R 24), Sydney Roosters (R 25) and Cronulla (R 26).

Warriors (92) vs Dragons (92)

With both teams rated 92 we needed to drill down to find the differences between them. The Warriors kicking game was rated 16th but they were 5th or better in Line Breaks, Tackle Breaks and conceding penalties. The Dragons had the 3rd best kicking game, 3rd best defence and conceded less penalties. Hidden away in those stats we see that the Warriors had scored 68 tries to Saints 52, prior to this match.

This match was the Warriors second since losing star ball-player, goal kicker and match manager Shaun Johnson. It was the second last time the New Zealand lads would play at home and Fox Commentator (former St George international) Mark Gasnier said he thought that the body language of the Warriors, was of a team, that couldn't wait for the season to end. Given that they were, along with 4 or 5 other teams, fighting for a finals spot, that observation was remarkable.

St George Illawarra snapped their losing run last week when the defeated Newcastle but even they must have known that this match was the real test for them. The Warriors have a big strong forward pack and some extraordinary players in the backline, but, as a confidence team they can ‘drop their bundle' when the flow of the match goes against them.

There were only two tries in the first half and neither was anything to write home about. Last minute replacement for Dylan Walker, Justin Hunt (7th min) scored in the corner from an excellent long pass and then Mitch Rein (22nd min) scored by running from dummy half and reaching out backwards over his head. The last part of the first half saw an increasingly frustrated Warriors, kept at bay, by the type of goal line defence that we saw from Saints earlier in the season.

The second stanza was a dream for the visitors as they managed to score four tries between the 47th and 57th minutes. Jake Marketo caught a shallow chip kick and planted it for try 1. One minute later Peter Mata'utia finished off a 70 metre run for try 2. At the 51st minute a long pass to Gareth Widdop saw him score untouched to collect try 3 and an excellent pass from Widdop put Tyson Frizell over for number 4. At that stage the Warriors heads were down and they were beaten, but there was 23 minutes left on the clock and they had a reputation for fast scoring. However, as the clock ticked down it was obvious that the home team were defeated in almost every area. They were out kicked and out run. The made more errors and gave away more penalties and while the Dragons scored 6 tries, the Warriors scored none.

In the last quarter of the match the Dragons "put their cue in the rack" and instead of looking for more tries, they kicked two penalty goals to take the final score to 36 - 0.

THE RUN HOME: St George-Illawarra on 24pts have rebooted their season and face Brisbane (R 23), Penrith (R 24), Gold Coast (R 25) and Wests (R 26). New Zealand on 22pts meet Penrith (R 23), Nth Qld (R 24), Wests (R 25) and Canterbury (R 26)

Sharks (98) vs Cowboys (51).

After round 19 the Cowboys rated 57, second only to Brisbane and since then have shaved six points to rate 51. In 8 areas they are rated 3rd or better. The Sharks rate poorly in line breaks (15th) and scoring points (12th). They also concede too many penalties (11th) and their kick metres are poor (11th) but when the do break the tackle (4th), they run plenty of metres with the ball (3rd) and can offload to create opportunities (3rd).

Cronulla started well tonight. They converted a penalty (2 - 0) at the 12th minute and ten minutes later dummy half Michael Ennis faked to the right and twisted around passing to Jeff Robson who was running to the left, he passed to Ricky Leutele who scored as the defence backed off waiting for him to pass to his winger. The conversion created an 8 - 0 score and when Jack Bird stepped of his left foot and beat Jonathan Thurston to score at the 31st minute the home fans were starting to think the impossible. Cronulla took the 14 - 0 score into half time.

Four minutes into the second half the Cowboys kicked the ball down field on the 6th tackle. It was cleaned up on the 10 metre line by fullback Michael Gordon who side stepped a tackle attempt by Ethan Lowe to find himself with virtually no one between him and the try line, 65 metres away. Although chased by Lachlan Coote and herded toward the left corner he wasn't netted. The unconverted the try gave his team an 18 - 0 lead, with almost a full half to play.

When Cowboys winger Antonio Winterstein scored in 49th min and Kane Linnet grabbed a try in the 51st, followed by a simple penalty two minutes later, the 18 - 12 score line brought back memories of that Saturday night in Townsville, six weeks ago. The Sharks coaching staff and fans breathed a little easier when (at the 60th minute) centre Gerard Beale caught an offensive kick from Thurston and ran 95 metres to score untouched to set up a 12 point lead for the Sharks, 24 - 12. They might have reached for the oxygen again at the 73rd minute after Matthew Wright pounced on a Jonathan Thurston grubber and with the maestro's conversion, there was only a 6 point difference. The match hung in the balance until Wade Graham crashed over in the 80th minute and "Up Up Cronulla" burst out of the p.a. system at 100 decibels.

THE RUN HOME: The Cowboys will play finals football and may hurt other contenders between now and then. They play Souths (R 23), New Zealand (R 24), Melbourne (R 25) and Gold Coast (R 26). The Sharks on 28 pts have reached the level that most pundits say is a ticket to September but they have four matches that will impact on the make-up of the top 8. They play Melbourne (R 23), Wests (R 24), Parramatta (R 25) and Manly (R 25).

Eels (145) vs Panthers (132)

The ratings for both these teams have fallen away over the last three weeks, but they were never terrific. Parramatta have three single figure ratings. They are equal 8th (with Penrith) in matches won and 9th in offloads and errors. Penrith have been 1st in offloads all year and they clearly decided to emphasise this aspect of their play. They are 9th in line breaks and tackle breaks but 10th or worse in all other areas.

This match was very poor both as a spectacle and in terms of the competition for points. I am absolutely certain that the people of Darwin deserved better. Perhaps next year when Parramatta return.

In the first 76 minutes of the match, just two try's were scored. At the 18 minute Penrith centre Waqa Blake, having missed out earlier, took a pass two metres from the line and dived over. The try was not converted. Five minutes into the second half leading try scorer Semi Radradra took the ball 5 metres out, after some neat play by his inside men and crossed untouched. The try was not converted.

The match see sawed for the next 30 minutes with the 4 - 4 score, the main factor that kept dedicated viewers and Darwinians alike watching as both teams tried desperately to grab an advantage.

As the final hooter beckoned, Parramatta fullback Reece Robinson picked up the ball from dummy half (on his 10 metre line) and ran toward the opposition. He didn't need to break a tackle as a gap in the line opened up and he sprinted 90 metres to score. With conversion the score became 10 - 4 and that was final score.

THE RUN HOME: Mathematically Parramatta could aim to participate in the finals but they will not do so. They play Sydney Roosters (R 23), Manly (R 24), Cronulla (R 25) and Canberra (R 26) and they will lose all four. Penrith (as they have an 80 point advantage) are hoping they finish ahead of Newcastle (avoiding the wooden spoon) but they also are unlikely to win any of New Zealand (R 23), St George (R 24), Canberra (R 25) and Newcastle (R 26).

Storm (81) vs Titans (162)

The Storm rating is slipping. They are struggling with line breaks (10th), tackle breaks (13th) and offloads (11th) - all crucial to offence, not surprisingly the offensive rating is (8th). Luckily their defence is rated (2nd) and they are rated (1st) for errors. The Titans has slipped 7 points and they are rated last (16th) in 5 areas. They miss the most tackles, make the most errors and concede the most penalties in the NRL.

Melbourne did more than enough to bag the two points for this match. However they clearly were not switched on for the first 30 minutes. Titans 5/8th Aiden Seizer opened the scoring with a penalty goal (9th min) and when Kane Elgey scored (17th min) having backed up his dummy half and fullback for a 50 metre try there was an audible groan from the crowd. The 0 - 8 score flashed up on the AAMI park scoreboard and it was clear Melbourne were not in the game. As half-time approached the home seemed to click into action and Matt Duffie (only a few matches back after injuries and surgeries that would finish most other players) took a pass from Cooper Kronk and bounced off the goal post pads to score. With the conversion the half time score was 6 - 8.

All serious league followers know that the bloke from Portland (NSW) Melbourne Coach Craig Bellamy can be an ‘angry ant' when his team doesn't deliver what he knows they can and I would not have wanted to be one of the Storm 17 this afternoon. Whatever he did (at half-time) it worked.

Melbourne scored converted tries at the 43rd, 52nd and 58th minutes to post a 14 point lead, 22 - 8. At the 66th minute Titan fullback Josh Hoffman scored a try, but it was from a kick that Storm players made a complete mess of. The score was 22 - 14. Four minutes later Will chambers scored the first of three Storm try's in 8 minutes and Cameron Munster grabbed his second and third for the match to stretch the score out to 36 - 14. Melbourne won by 22 points but their opponents were weakened by injury and the knowledge their season is finished but they have four more matches to play.

THE RUN HOME: The Storm 26 pts are hoping to finish in the top 4 and play Cronulla (R 23), Newcastle (R 24), Nth Qld (R 25) and Brisbane (R 26). The Titans will be hoping to upset finals plans of Canterbury (R 23), Canberra (R 24), St George (R 25) and Nth Qld (R 26).

Knights 117 vs Roosters 63.

The Knights ratings have slipped over the last couple of weeks. After round 19 they rated 103 but they have slipped 14 points. They are 16th in defence and are 15th in +/- differential. The Roosters have improved from 69 to 63. They are 1st in +/- differential and 1st in defence.

At half time today, the Knights had missed 16 tackles, compared to 2 by the Roosters. They had conceded 4 penalties to their opponents 1 and on top of that, made 4 handling errors to the Roosters, 2. Consequently they had just 36% of the possession and completed just 71% of their sets. With 64% of the ball and a completion rate of 91%, no one was surprised that the Roosters led 26 - 0 when the ‘oranges' were passed around, after 40 minutes.

What was surprising was how the second half panned out. Within 90 seconds Roosters fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored his third try and with the conversion his team led 32 - 0. But that is where the Roosters surge peaked.

Within 3 minutes Newcastle centre Sione Mata'utia (44th min) scored using his strength to get across the line and with a fine conversion the score was 32 - 6. Fifteen minutes later, as the last quarter started home viewers started jumping for their remote controls devices so they could make sure, that what they thought they saw, actually happened. First a simple grubber kick into the Roosters in-goal area was missed completely by the usually reliable Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Knights replacement forward Joseph Tapine (61st min) got the try, which was converted for a score of 32 - 12. Just three minutes later Roger Tuivasa-Sheck miss-judged his attempt to take a high kick, it bounced into the hands of Kurt Gidley who passed to fellow Knights veteran Jeremy Smith (64th min) who scored beside the posts for a score of 32 - 18. A Roosters error, five minutes later, forced a scrum 10 metres from their line. It was won by the Knights and captain versatile Kurt Gidley (70th min) pushed his way close enough to place the ball over the goal line for their third try in nine minutes. It was game on. Sadly for the now apoplectic Newcastle home crowd, the conversion was missed, but the score was now 32 - 22 and a miracle beckoned. But this is Rugby League, not football and there would be no ‘hand of god' moment.

At the 75th minute, while attacking the Roosters line, the same Kurt Gidley who had personally lifted his team into contention was penalised for running behind his own players, he cursed the referee who promptly penalised him a further 10 metres and with the Roosters free kick, the match was moved back into the Knights half. Rooster's superstar 5/8th (and future Shark), James Maloney, took the opportunity and crossing out wide, he ran the ball back into the middle to score close to the posts. With the conversion, the final score became 38 - 22 which was very different to that expected by most after the first 40 minutes. The second half comeback everyone had witnessed, showed real spirit and grit. I'd reckon the Newcastle crowd went home energised and happy, even though their team had lost and will likely collect the wooden spoon for 2015.

THE RUN HOME: The Roosters will play finals football and may hurt other contenders' chances as they prepare. They play Parramatta (R 23), Brisbane (R 24), Manly (R 25) and Gold Coast (R 26). Newcastle dreading the wooden spoon play Wests (R 23), Melbourne (R 24), Canterbury (R 25), and Penrith (R 26).

Raiders (89) vs Tigers (133)

The Raiders rated 7th overall and had improved by 10 points over the period. They rated 1st in metres gained by kicks and 2nd in points scored but they are 14th in metres gained running the ball and 13th in defence. The Tigers are rated 14th overall and have very few areas to highlight.

When two sporting teams, filled with youth and enthusiasm (and some experienced players as well) clash, there is bound to be fireworks and excitement. We got these last night in the match at GIO stadium in Canberra. I wasn't able to watch live but sat glued to the screen for the full 80 minutes this morning. The home team had proved that the home advantage is (for them) mythology, as they had won just 2 of 9 home matches prior to Monday, while winning 6 from 10 on the road. Unlike their opponents the Raiders had a very strong motivation to win this match as they still could (and many think should) participate in the finals.

Canberra scored three tries. Two, in the first half, to front rower Shannon Boyd (27th and 38th minutes) were power in every definition of the word. The Canberra forward joined Manly's Jake Trbojevic in re-defining the role of the modern front rower. They are now (and will be in future) expected to score, not just eat up the metres to put the backs into the position to get all the glory. The third try was scored by Jarrod Croker (66th min) who finished off a 100 metre effort started by fullback Jack Wighton, who passed to (English born) hooker Josh Hodgson who neatly slipped the ball to Croker who streaked away from the Tigers defence.

Wests scored four tries. The first to Sauaso Sue (13th min) was a power effort similar to Boyd. The 2nd and 4th tries were the direct result of the blinding speed of James Tedesco. He scored one and set up Luke Brooks for the other. Pat Richards scored the 3rd try in the sequence when he raced onto a ball on the left edge to score untouched.

However, the match was defined (and perhaps decided) by the try that wasn't scored in the 52nd minute. Canberra led 12 - 8 and had been crash tackling the Tigers at their end. The visitors called upon their big kicking winger Pat Richards to get them out of trouble. He kicked the ball long and high and it rolled almost 75 metres. Canberra's fullback Jordan Rapana collected the ball and passed to Sisa Waqa who stormed 40 metres down the left edge of the field and with support players inside kicked the ball to the centre of the field. With three Raiders and one Tiger in the zone, the ball bounced and bobbled around the 10 metre line. Canberra's Blake Austin was first to the ball and he tried to kick the ball toward the goal line, presumably to score for his team. He missed and Mitchell Moses the lone Tiger on the spot, fell on the ball. If Blake Austin had more experience under his belt he would have fallen on the ball instead and used the six tackles his team would have had to get that try. But it was not to be, the four points went begging. His team lost by two. Final score Tigers 20 - Raiders 18.

THE RUN HOME: The Tigers on 18pts won't be in the finals BUT if they play with the speed and skill exhibited last night, may hurt the plans of others. They play Newcastle (R 23), Cronulla (R 24), New Zealand in (R 25) and St George (R 26). The Raiders on 20pts (like Parramatta) mathematically could reach the finals, they play Manly (R 23), Gold Coast (R 24), Penrith (R 25) and Parramatta (R 26).