There’s been two massive injury blows for the Roosters and Storm, with both Joey Manu and Xavier Coates set for extended sideline stints.
Now Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy have headaches on their hands to replace the star duo, while the Knights have finally unleashed an off-season recruit.
Elsewhere, the Dragons are preparing for a huge clash against the Roosters and Shane Flanagan’s red-hot outfit are out for redemption.
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Here are the biggest talking points following Round 17.
WEBBY’S HALFBACK HEADACHE AS MARTIN STARS AGAIN
In four games with the No.7 on his back Te Maire Martin has 11 try assists and two tries, with the Warriors winning all of those games, including in Round 17 against the Broncos.
Coming off the back of a club-record 60-point loss to the Titans the previous week nerves around Go Media Stadium were understandably high. A win would ensure the Warriors finals dreams remained alive.
And win they did, with Martin’s hands all over everything good about the Warriors’ performance.
He set four tries up, including two for halves partner Chanel Harris-Tavita, kicked exceptionally well, directed his side around the park and remained poised and calm when the game around him threatened to descend into chaos.
In essence, without him it’s hard to see a Warriors win, even with the Broncos performing poorly.
Speaking post-game, Fox League’s Corey Parker signalled out Martin’s “stability and variety in his game.”
“He doesn’t just have one trick, he’s got more than one.
“He just makes this team seem to flow a lot more fluid than what we’ve seen at different stages.”
Australian coach Mal Meninga agreed the Warriors appear “a lot more settled with him at No.7 and Harris Tavita at No.6.”
It leaves a question mark around the future of veteran halfback Shaun Johnson, who is off contract at the end of the season and has been plagued by injuries throughout 2024.
Last year, Johnson’s career-best form was one of the key reasons for the Warriors’ revitalisation, notably his kicking game and ability to play deep and straight in the line.
However, this year hasn’t been kind to the veteran halfback. He was singled out on NRL 360 last week for his poor form, and how it stifled Te Maire Martin, and the Warriors blunt attack, against the Titans.
All of the blame for the Warriors indifferent form this year does not rest of Johnson’s shoulders. At times there forward pack has lacked go forward and failed to lay a solid foundation for the halves to operate on.
Against the Titans only Jazz Tevaga ran for more than 100 metres, with Addin Fonua-Blake limited to 46 from five runs against Des Hasler’s side. A week later AFB, Mitch Barnett and Dylan Walker all ran for 150 plus.
From this Te Maire Martin was able to thrive, linking up well with his halves partner Chanel Harris-Tavita, with Meninga believing the side is better balanced with those two in the halves.
“I just feel they flow a lot better as a team when those two (Martin and Harris-Tavita) are at No.6 and No.7,” Meninga said.
After his stellar performance, Martin credited the work of his forwards and outside backs for putting the Warriors in good field position and executing whenever they had a shot at points.
Martin also expressed enjoyment at playing alongside Harris-Tavita.
“He’s a natural freak and it’s good to play alongside him,” Martin told Fox League.
“We’re enjoying it. There’s a lot more to build on in our combination.”
Speaking post-game to Fox League, Warriors centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck insisted Johnson is absolutely someone the Warriors need this season.
But given how their side clicks, and the form of the man replacing them in the No.7 jersey, the question Andrew Webster must find the answer to in the next few weeks is are the Warriors stronger with, or without, their star halfback?
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Warriors down undermanned Broncos | 04:10
ROBBO’S BACKLINE CRISIS DEEPENS AFTER SUPERSTAR’S INJURY
The Roosters suffered a setback to their premiership hopes after star centre Joey Manu fractured his hand in the team’s win over the Tigers.
More will be revealed about the seriousness of the injury in the coming days, but it’s likely that Manu will miss at least a month.
The versatile Connor Watson moved into the centres to cover the loss of Manu.
The Manu injury worsens the Roosters’ backline crisis even further and will provide a headache for coach Trent Robinson.
With Joseph Sua’ali’i (suspended), Billy Smith (injured) and Junior Pauga (suspended), against the Tigers, edge back rower Sitili Tupouniua started at left centre with Manu on the right.
Tupouniua will more than likely keep his spot with Michael Jennings the favourite to be recalled into the side to take Manu’s place.
Jennings has missed a few weeks with a triceps injury but made a successful return in the Roosters’ NSW Cup win over the weekend.
Jennings has mixed his form in first grade this season, but at a position decimated by injuries, he will likely get the nod.
“We’re running out of centres,” Robinson lamented in the post-match press conference.
“He needed a run but he played really well (in NSW Cup) so that’s a positive.”
With that said, there are a couple of young guns who have impressed.
Ethan King is a versatile 21-year-old who can play fullback, centre or wing who is close to making his NRL debut.
He was the Roosters’ 18th man in their past two games and could be called upon by Robinson.
Much less likely of being promoted to first grade is teen sensation Tyreece Tait, who has only played in four NSW Cup games. However, the NSW under 19 representative made quite the impression in reserve grade over the weekend in the centres, scoring four tries.
Chook thump terrible tigers | 03:52
PRYCE THE KNIGHTS’ MAN
It took 17 rounds, but finally Adam O’Brien unleashed his second English recruit this season.
Will Pryce’s NRL debut was a raging success, scoring a try and delivering in the five-eighth jersey to steer Newcastle to a big win over the Eels.
The 21-year-old joined the Knights ahead of the 2024 season, having played 44 games for the Huddersfield Giants across three seasons in the Super League.
Pryce is the son of Super League legend Leon Pryce, who played over 400 games in the English top flight, coming across to Australia with high expectations.
His expectations were so high the Knights were happy to hand him a contract that sees him earn $400,000 in 2025 according to the SMH’s Michael Chammas.
Pryce is a dynamic ballrunner and showed he’s got a kicking game to match against Parramatta, and with a strong back-end of the season he could lock himself into the No.6 jersey.
What’s more is Tyson Gamble is without a contract for the 2025 season, while Newcastle’s roster could be set for a big shake-up amid the arrival of recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan.
For O’Brien, Pryce’s debut was “special” for the rising star and his family.
“Huge, big moment. We’ve been lucky all the kids that have debuted this year have all come in and played well,” O’Brien said in the post-match press conference.
“Will was one of them, but to see him great a try on his debut, get the win with his family here, special.
“Sometimes when you’re losing footy games you can get feeling sorry for yourself, then you forget about moments like these that you get to share, it’s awesome.”
With a $400,000 salary for a largely untried player, there’s always expectation.
However, if Pryce continues to develop this season and become a first grade regular, that 2025 salary could shape to be a bargain.
For Pryce to show his kills, O’Brien also had to eat his words after claiming the gun five-eighth wasn’t ready for the rigours of first grade at the start of June.
He was responding to claims from league legend Andrew Johns who said the Knights “need” to pick the rising playmaker.
“I don’t want to make any knee jerk reactions now, although I did change the spine up earlier in the year a few times,” O’Brien said.
“I think Will’s still learning the game out here to be honest. I don’t know how many games Joey has watched of NSW Cup, but he (Pryce) hasn’t had many back-to-back good ones.”
Sorry for swearing! Pryce HYPED post win | 00:48
TWO-HORSE RACE TO REPLACE COATES
The race to replace Xavier Coates in the Queensland backline is down to two in veteran Dane Gagai and rising star Selwyn Cobbo.
The Maroons can ill afford another injury in the outside backs after Storm winger Coates was scratched from the Origin decider on Saturday night.
Coates injured his right hamstring for the third time in eight months and the latest was the most significant tear, with a lengthy sideline stint expected.
Dane Gagai was the Maroons 18th Man in Game II after Selwyn Cobbo was dropped, or rested depending on who you believe, for that clash.
Queensland great Corey Parker expects Billy Slater to recall Cobbo for the decider in Brisbane.
“It’s a huge blow, Xavier Coates is a terrific young man, wears his heart on his sleeve and his emotions on his face,” Parker said.
“(He knew straight away) and he won’t be a part of Queensland’s squad for their deciding game at Suncorp Stadium.
“If Cobbo is fit and right, we’d probably expect him to go straight into the centres and maybe a Val Holmes out onto a wing.
“It’s a huge blow for Queensland, Coates has been in terrific form, he’s such a wonderful player, he brings so much to that football side and he’s going to be on the sideline for a period of time.”
But former Maroons coach and current Kangaroos coach believes Slater could opt for the experienced Gagai, who hasn’t played Origin since 2022.
“It’s a difficult one, obviously Dane Gagai was there as 18th man in the second game and Dane can play right centre and Val can play right wing,” he said.
“Then you’ve got Selwyn and Murray Taulagi on their left as their only options left, let’s hope nobody else gets worse.”
What’s it like having Munster in the box | 11:20
CAN IMPROVED DRAGONS DELIVER RETRIBUTION ON ROOSTERS?
Following the 26-6 win over the Dolphins, Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was already looking to next weekend’s clash against the Roosters.
It’s clear that Flanagan and his players still have a bad taste in their mouth after the Roosters put 66 points on them on Anzac Day.
When asked if the team was looking forward to the chance to redeem themselves and make a statement against the Roosters, Flanagan didn’t mince words.
“My word. It’s already been mentioned in the sheds. There’s a chance for a bit of redemption,” Flanagan said in his post-match press conference.
“I thought we got off to a really good start against the Roosters that day, we scored the first try and were up for it before their halfback kicked us off the park.
“We need to be really good next week. It’s a really good challenge for us and after today’s result, it’s a good place for us to be and let’s go see how we go against another top four side in the Roosters. We’ll know where we’re at.”
Defensively, the Dragons have improved mightily over the course of the season.
It was Round 2 where they allowed 38 points to the Dolphins in a heavy loss. Three months later, and it was the Dragons’ defence which won the them the return clash against the NRL’s newest team.
“It’s the players out there making the tackles. We have a good defensive system, good coaches in there doing their job,” Flanagan said.
“In Round 2, we were just growing as a football team and I’d like to think in every game we play (we’ve improved).”
Flanagan says the challenge now is to back it up against the Roosters.
“It’s been well publicised that when we’ve played really well then we haven’t played so well the next week. We’ve been a bit inconsistent, he said.
“As a footy team we’re a lot better defensively and you saw that today. From the team in round 1-2 to the team you saw today, there’s been a lot of improvement.”
Over the past four games, the Dragons have allowed just 60 points (15 per game).
Skipper Ben Hunt says that their stout performances have been a result of players taking some time in learning a new system under Flanagan.
“We have good defensive systems but we took a bit of time to learn them and buy into them,” Hunt said.
“W showed today when we stick to our systems, we can do a job.”
Flanno opens up on big win in 200th game | 07:06
DOLPHINS SET FOR KEY SPINE SHAKE-UP AFTER DOUBLE BLOW
Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King could be looking at a bit of time on the sideline after limping off the field with a foot sprain.
Marshall-King picked up the injury in a tackle after carrying up the ball and looked to be in noticeable pain.
He came straight from the ground and during the halftime break, cameras showed Marshall-King’s right foot in a moon boot.
“The fact he is in a moon boot straight after the injury is worrying signs for the Dolphins,” Cooper Cronk said on Fox League.
In an added blow for the Dolphins, bench hooker Kurt Donoghue was sin binned in the second half for a high shot and could be looking at a suspension.
This creates somewhat of a dummy-half dilemma for the Dolphins, with the top two hookers on the depth chart likely to miss some time.
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett quickly earmarked Marshall-King’s replacement going forward.
“Probably Max Plath,” Bennett said.
“He’s playing really well. He’s a wonderful young player for his age and does a great job.”
Plath has played at lock forward this season but has spent time at hooker throughout his short career.
Classic Bennett chats mid-season slump | 03:13
LAURIE THE ‘REAL HIGHLIGHT’
While the Panthers went down in Round 17, there was one big shining light in the way of fullback Daine Laurie.
In the past, Penrith have been hailed for their ability to find the perfect man to replace Nathan Cleary in the halves when he’s injured or on representative duties.
However, with Dylan Edwards now an Origin star, Ivan Cleary had to find a fullback solution and Laurie has well and truly stepped up to the plate.
The 24-year-old made the move back to the Panthers ahead of the 2024 season, having spent three seasons at the Tigers.
Prior to that, Laurie played three games for Penrith, making his debut during the 2020 season and he knew the Panthers was home.
Filling in for Edwards at fullback against the Cowboys, Laurie was in everything and delivered an impressive statline.
He tallied 216 running metres, eight tackle breaks and one offload and Cleary made a big reveal in the post-match press conference.
“He was outstanding, a real highlight tonight,” Cleary said.
“I thought a lot of guys tried really hard and he was probably the pick of them.
“He took his opportunity and he has done that each time. It looks like I’m going to have to get closer and closer to finding a spot in the team for him.”
So where could he fit?
He’s the obvious fill-in for Edwards, but Laurie’s also a chance of slotting into other spots in the backline also.
The versatile star can play five-eighth at a push and is likely the club’s fifth or sixth choice option, however could slide up that pecking order after Round 17.
Meanwhile, he can also fill in at centre and on the wing, potentially replacing Sunia Turuva once he departs for the Tigers despite the emergence of rising stars Jesse and Casey McLean.
However, his most likely position for the remainder of the season is at No.14, playing the same role that Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nicho Hynes did at the Storm in the past.
Both players were injected into the contest against tired legs, causing chaos in the middle whilst also being able to fill in for injured players.
Cleary refuses to blame missing stars | 06:16