The good, bad and ugly of NRL Round 16.
The good: Panthers tipped to make stunning run to finals
The bad: Ryan Hoffman launches fresh swipe at Aaron Woods
The ugly: Time for Sharks to make difficult call on Nicho Hynes?
Andrew Johns reckons Panthers can still win fifth-straight title
Are we witnessing one of rugby league’s greatest ever revivals? Penrith’s stirring 10-point win over the Warriors has ignited talk of a late-season finals run and a potential shot at a fifth straight title.
The Panthers are now eighth and have every other team looking over their shoulder after stringing together three consecutive wins, the latest victory over the Warriors away from home and without their Origin stars. Talk of another grand final appearance would have seemed farcical just a month ago when the premiers were languishing at the bottom of the table after losing to Newcastle in Bathurst.
Coach Ivan Cleary said at the time: “It’s not where you want to be. We’ve already shown this year that we have the potential to be doing much better, but you can only rely on potential for so long.” The four-time premiership winner then – prophetically – added: “But the ladder doesn’t really matter until July or August.”
Andrew Johns not only believes Penrith will make the play-offs but could successfully defend their title from the lower half of the top eight. “If they are fully fit, they could win it from outside the top four,” he declared. We will know a lot more about the Panthers after they take on competition leaders Canterbury in an absolute blockbuster on Thursday night.
Ryan Hoffman turns on former NSW teammate Aaron Woods
It was the feud that dominated talk in the lead up to Origin 2. And while Queensland coach Billy Slater says he has moved on from the “grub” furore started by ex-NSW prop Aaron Woods on Triple M, others are not so keen to put it to bed.
Slater’s former Storm teammate – and ex-Blues forward – Ryan Hoffman labelled Woods “a coward” while arguing State of Origin doesn’t need manufactured drama to attract attention and publicity. “To say that for the benefit of providing spice for Origin, that’s rubbish,” Hoffman told the ABC’s Outsiders program.
“Media around Origin time is absolutely horrific (and) both states are guilty of it. There is enough to talk about in these games without having to throw ridiculous comments about. Aaron Woods was a coward for standing behind a microphone and throwing that out there. Billy Slater showed courage, going out there on a microphone and talking about responsibility.”
Hoffman’s scathing comments should make things interesting when he runs into Woods at the next Blues’ player reunion.
Sharks fans demand changes after loss to Broncos
Cronulla fans have been demanding coach Craig Fitzgibbon take a more ruthless approach to his under-performing side and start calling players out for poor performances. And while he didn’t single out individuals for criticism following Sunday’s collapse against Brisbane, it’s clear he’s had enough of some repeat offenders.
Million-dollar man Nicho Hynes was again guilty of going MIA when the game was on the line, while Will Kennedy, Braydon Trindall and Ronaldo Mulitalo all made errors at critical times. There were also more than 30 missed tackles as the Broncos came back from 16 down to snatch victory.
An agitated Fitzgibbon was clearly upset with the performance of his key playmakers. “Our discipline in defence has been poor for weeks and our discipline with the ball (and) decision making has been poor,” he said.
“You’ve got to pay attention the whole game and not have these moments and unfortunately we had too many of them. We’ve been unsettled the whole year for different reasons and we’ve got to do something about it.”
Greg Alexander, a former champion halfback, said of Hynes on SEN radio: “Nicho’s already under pressure. He’s under pressure every set. They were in a position to win (against Brisbane) and couldn’t get it done. They bumbled around and made errors. They’ve now dropped to sixth. It’s time (for them) to stand up.”
