Forgotten man in Eels statement; defining moment in Dogs’ new dawn: Talking Points

It was a wild and wacky Round 13, with the first Origin-affected round of the season throwing up upset results in four of the five games, none more shocking than North Queensland’s win over the Roosters.

Mitch Moses and Clint Gutherson returned for the Eels, leading their side to a much-needed win over the Sharks. Is there still enough time for Parramatta to make a run towards the top eight?

The Dogs were missing key players but that didn’t matter much in what was a statement win against an in-form opposition.

Meanwhile, a Raiders veteran stepped up in a huge way in a heart-stopping win over the Dolphins, staking his claims for a possible extension from the club.

Read on for the key Talking Points from Round 13.

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DO THE EELS DARE TO DREAM?

The Eels looked like a completely different team when they upset the table-topping Sharks on Thursday night.

It seems all they needed was their superstar halfback Mitchell Moses and inspirational leader Clint Gutherson and all of a sudden the team had a bit of swagger again.

It’s been a horrid couple of months for the Eels. They hit a freefall when Moses injured his foot, winning just one of eight games prior to Thursday.

A frustrated Moses sat on the sidelines with a foot fracture as the pressure mounted on the team — and coach Brad Arthur — before Gutherson soon joined him for a month with a knee injury.

Ultimately Arthur paid the price for the Eels’ poor performances and was sacked after the Magic Round loss to the Storm.

Moses made his long-awaited return in Round 13 alongside Gutherson and their impact was undeniable, with Matty Johns saying Moses in particular made a “big difference.”

Moses set up two tries, got two linebreak assists and his kicking game was on point, while Gutherson finished with a try assist, a linebreak assist and 245 running metres.

Moses’ return even had an effect on Dylan Brown, who has had to be the main man in the 29-year-old’s absence.

With his halves partner back, Brown was freed up to lean into his strengths — running the footy.

Brown scored a try, had two linebreaks and finished with just under 100 metres.

Meanwhile, Brendan Hands — who was brought back into the team at hooker by interim coach Trent Barrett — provided some spark out of dummy-half, while Bailey Simonsson and Will Penisini carved up on the right edge.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard finished with his second-highest metre count for the season and Junior Paulo had one of his most dominant games of the season, which was topped off with a try.

It would be naïve to think the Eels are back on track after one performance, but when you look at their next run of games, maybe there is a chance they turn the season around.

The Eels take on the Bulldogs and Roosters before the bye in Round 16. They then face the Knights, Rabbitohs and Titans before another bye in Round 20.

There’s a decent chance they could come out of that period with four wins — plus four points from the byes.

The big test is beyond that when they go up against the Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Roosters and Broncos in successive weeks.

DEPLETED DOGS SET UP SEASON WITH DEFINING WIN

Two sin bins and a Josh Addo-Carr injury wasn’t enough to destabilise the Bulldogs against the Knights — and former captain Michael Ennis believes the 32-2 win will be one the team looks back on later this season.

Canterbury-Bankstown headed up to McDonald Jones Stadium as underdogs. Not only were Newcastle coming off a bye, but they were also on a four-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were without their three best players in Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton (both on Origin duties) and Viliame Kikau (finger injury).

Throw in the fact that Connor Tracey was sin-binned in the sixth minute and then Toby Sexton was binned in the 53rd minute and the game truly was the recipe for a disaster for the Dogs.

Except it wasn’t. The didn’t concede a single try — in fact they were so dominant that they scored during both the 10-minute periods when they were down a man.

Ennis, who played 136 games for the club, called the win “absolutely brilliant” because it was “tenacious and tough” in defence.

“It’ll be a game that I think Cameron Ciraldo will look back on throughout the year and really lean on the ticker and the courage his team showed tonight without their biggest stars,” he added.

In the absence of the star trio, plus with Addo-Carr sidelined due to a hamstring injury, it was stand-in captain Reed Mahoney, who rose to the ocassion.

Mahoney set up two tries and made 44 tackles — five misses — in the win. He also got under the skin of a couple of his opponents.

“Reed Mahoney was superb… he was a standout,” Ennis said.

“It was all off the back of their little No.9. Crafty around the ruck, he controlled the game with his kicking game, would put it into the corner and really frustrated the Knights’ outside backs.

“But then close to the line he’d come alive out of dummy-half, asking questions. I thought he was sensational.”

Fox League’s James Graham, who is also a former captain of the Bulldogs, was seriously impressed with the efforts of the forwards.

“The Bulldogs’ defence was so good,” he said.

“Their middle forwards worked tirelessly. They might not come up with big numbers on the stats sheet in terms of metres run, number of carries, even number of tackles made.

“But they just work so hard for one another, it’s so pleasing to see.

“To give this game and win a little bit more context, this is the Knights off a bye, coming in fresh. Playing against a team that’s down to 12 players for 60 minutes — that’s a momentous effort from the Bulldogs.”

POOR SHARKS HABITS EVIDENT AFTER TWO STRAIGHT LOSSES

Is it time to worry about the Sharks?

A question like that would have seemed outrageous two weeks ago after they defeated the Roosters 38-30 in Magic Round, but even in that game, we saw some bad habits creep in defensively that have since come to the fore in two subsequent losses.

The Sharks were thrashed 42-0 by Penrith last week and then backed that up with a 34-22 loss to the out of form Eels.

Cronulla will finish Round 13 sitting in second spot and will welcome back Nicho Hynes and Cam McInnes from Origin duties next game, so it’s hard to be overly critical, but the fact they’ve conceded 106 points over the past three matches is a worrying sign.

Stand-in skipper Teig Wilton said as much following the loss to the Eels.

“We haven’t been honouring the fundamentals of the game at the moment and we’ve been paying for it,” Wilton said.

“There have been too many mental lapses.”

Coach Craig Fitzgibbon was disappointed by his team’s defensive effort against Parramatta.

“We were really flat and got jumped for energy. It was a flat performance,” he said.

“Just poor defensive lapses, like really simple stuff. Out of position, missing tackles, falling over each other and just a flat energy there… It was uncomfortable.

“We let ourselves down – backfield errors and penalties, six agains, just flat, just poor details, poor focus.

“It was a flat performance, so I’ve got to work out why.”

Down 28-10 in the second half, the Sharks did well to wrestle back some of the control with two tries to make it 28-22 before the Eels scored a game-sealer minutes later.

“A little bit of false hope (were those two tries). We were in control for that period but we weren’t in control for enough periods.

“They controlled most of the game everywhere really.

“We all needed to turn up, and apply pressure but we didn’t do that.”

SAVVY RAIDERS VETERAN PRESSES FOR EXTENSION WITH ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ PERFORMANCE

With rumours swirling 2024 may be Jordan Rapana’s final year in the NRL, his Round 13 showing against the Dolphins proved he’s still got so much to offer the Raiders.

Entering the round, the Raiders fullback hadn’t kicked a field goal in his 209-game first grade career.

In the space of 10 minutes, he kicked two – one to tie the game with three minutes of normal time remaining and another to win it for Canberra in the second period of extra time.

Add to this 96 run metres, two tackle breaks and a crucial try saver on young Dolphins halfback Isaiya Katoa at the death and it was a performance that in the eyes of the Fox League panel proved the Raiders must do everything to keep their star man beyond this year.

“They can’t let him go. They need to give him 12 months,” Cooper Cronk said.

‘If it’s Jordan’s decision that he wants to move on, but all means [go]. But if he wants to play on, I think the Raiders have to sign him up.

“Look at tonight’s game and what he did the moments he did that affected the outcome of that performance – the try saver, he kicked the field goal to tie it up, and he hit the match winner too.”

Canberra Raiders great Mal Meninga agreed, saying: “I think he’s got at least another year in him.”

Earlier in the post-game coverage, young Canberra halfback Kaeo Weekes sung his fullback’s praises, explaining how when the game is on the line Rapana is part of a core group of experienced Raiders upon who their young halves lean.

“We lean on our older boys there. Paps [Josh Papali’i, Taps [Joseph Tapine], Rapa [Jordan Rapana], Starlo [Tom Starling], Huddy [Hudson Young] when he’s here,” Weekes said.

For this reason, Meninga is unequivocal in his belief Canberra must do everything in their power to ensure Rapana re-signs.

“I think it’s important they try to keep Jordan there for at least 12 more months with those young kids around,” Meninga noted.

“You heard Kaeo talk about the impact that Jordan has on his game, particularly through the course of the 80 minutes. He’s a very good talker. He’s helping those young halves direct play.”

In his post-game press conference, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart was full of praise for Rapana.

“Honestly, Jordan is an unbelievable competitor,” Stuart said. “He’s just a warrior. I love coaching him.”

While Stuart explained “the boys love playing with him” he conceded “it’s getting hard and harder for him but he keeps putting his body on the line, keeps turning up. His instinct is second to none.”

Speaking on Rapana’s crucial try saver on Katoa, Stuart explained those types of plays are all effort.

“For his age and his speed, because he has lost a bit of speed with age, it comes from heart,” he said.

While nothing remains certain in the future of Jordan Rapana, what is known is the impact he’s having right now on this young Canberra Raiders outfit.

COWBOYS COACH SAYS BIZARRE SCHEDULE QUIRK TO HELP RATHER THAN HINDER HIS TEAM

Don’t look now, but the Cowboys have quietly been building a picket fence, with their upset win over the Roosters their third in a row.

Their opponents may have been missing five players to Origin duties, but North Queensland were without a league-leading six this weekend.

“Easily,” Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater said when asked by Matty Johns post-game if that was the team’s best win of the season.

“So happy with how we fought back in the second half and it’s a true reflection of what we need to be each and every week.”

Defence had been an issue earlier in the season for the Cowboys, but it’s an aspect which is steadily improving.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten puts it down to better ball control but made an interesting point that with the exception of the Panthers, all the “good teams” are conceding points due to rule changes that have sped the game up.

“We haven’t put ourselves under too much pressure with our ball control and that’s why our defence is better,” Payten said.

“We were making simple, fundamental errors too often in yardage and giving the opposition far too many chances at our tryline.

“I think you’ve seen the shift in the game since the season started with all the rules and the speeding up of the game, that possession is key.

“The good teams are still conceding 20 points plus a game and when I say the good teams, I’m talking about the top four. Penrith may be a little bit of an anomaly but everyone else is conceding points based on possession because of the rules and the speed of the game.

“So it catches up with you if you’re not clean with the ball.”

Payten was then asked to comment on his side’s tricky draw over the first half of the season.

The Cowboys and Roosters are the only sides to have played in all 13 rounds to date.

The Roosters have the bye next weekend, while the Cowboys have their first of three byes in Round 15.

North Queensland have also already played four games in Sydney.

Payten said he has no issues with the scheduling, but forecasted the late byes will only be good for their final hopes as teams jostle for position late in the season.

“The first ten rounds (including Pre-Season Challenge) we were on the road seven or eight times,” he explained.

“The environment up in Townsville can be warm so our guys have to be smart around recovery

“The bye isn’t too far away. I’d like us to continue with the energy and positivity of how we play our footy.

“We have six guys in the Origin arena. Our byes have always traditionally been around that space and then another one in the back end of the year, so it gives us a chance to freshen up at a key time of the season.

RECALLED DRAGONS STAR IN UPSET

Down three stars in Ben Hunt, Zac Lomax and Jaydn Su’A, the Dragons weren’t expected by many to beat the Panthers on Saturday, even though their opponents were missing five players to Origin duties.

Penrith still fielded the likes of Izack Tago, Sunia Turuva, JAmes Fisher-Harris, Mithc Kenny and Moses Leota, so still had plenty of class across the park.

Yet, the Dragons, who trailled 10-0 at halftime, outscored the Panthers 22-0 in the second half to earn a much-needed win in Penrith.

The Dragons had Jesse Marschke (in just his fourth NRL game) in the No. 7 jersey.

The 26-year-old had to wait a long time for his first taste of NRL, but has been solid off the bench in the three games he’s played in this season.

However against the Panthers, Marschke was needed to play halfback in Hunt’s absence.

Marschke had a mixed first half, but he really came home strongly in the second forty.

He had two try assists, three tackle busts and a line break after halftime to help the Red V halt a two-game losing streak.

While he’ll likely lose his starting spot when Hunt returns, Toby Couchman pushed for selection next week with an impressive performance off the pine.

Couchman debuted last season and played 15 games for the Dragons, but was featuring for the first time at NRL level in 2024 on Saturday night.

He powered through four Panthers defenders to score a try under the posts to open the account for the Dragons early in the second half and finished the game with 70 run metres and five tackle busts in just 39 minutes.