New-found defensive resolve and strong Round 15 performances have positioned the Cowboys and the Rabbitohs as outside chances at a 2024 finals push.
While Jarome Luai and Jahrome Hughes were instrumental as their side’s withstood immense opposition pressure to claim victory, with Luai’s performance once again pleasing his new employers.
Elsewhere, yet another Hopoate has shown he can cut his teeth in the NRL, with his form potentially pushing an Origin star into a new position upon return to first grade while Broncos coach Kevin Walters is confident his side will return to the top, despite recent form suggesting otherwise.
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Read on for all of the Round 15 talking points!
THE BATTLING BRONCOS
The Broncos have fallen outside the top eight and coach Kevin Walters has another headache to handle with star forward Jordan Riki serving a two-game ban.
Brisbane are already without halfback Adam Reynolds (bicep) until late in the season and superstar fullback Reece Walsh has also been unavailable through Origin and injury.
They’ve lost three straight for the first time since 2022 but Walters has no doubt the reigning grand finalists can return to the mix and deliver a drought-breaking premiership.
“I’m very confident (we can fight back to the top four). I’ve seen what these boys can do,” he said.
“It’s just their attitudes. We’re just not quite right at the moment. But we’ll keep working on it.
“And when we get it right, you’ll all know. You’ll see it.”
Walters conceded after the match that Riki was lucky not to be sent off over the off-the-ball hit on Souths star Cameron Murray that got him suspended.
“He was a bit off (against the Rabbitohs) – he’ll be the first to admit it – and we’ll have a discussion with him,” Walters said.
“We need everyone (on deck), with two more Origins to go.”
Walters is refusing to blame their slump on his missing players but he did concede he was frustrated with his side’s attack.
“We’ve got the worst completion rate in the competition. Which makes you do more work in defence. I’m frustrated. I can’t imagine how the players are,” he said.
“We’ve got to hold the ball and build pressure. And that’s going to help our game so much. Until we do that. This will keep happening.”
Broncos skipper Pat Carrigan said he wasn’t worried by the team’s form slump.
“I look at the quality of footy we play no matter where we’re sitting on the ladder, that’s just my personality and the personality of the group and what Kev drives within the group,”
“It’s just addressing the little concentration lapses and the mental errors were having at the moment, but I’m pretty sure fourth and ninth are all on the same points.”
Brisbane have a bye this week before facing the Warriors and Penrith.
Kevvie not making excuses for Broncos | 06:45
COWBOYS PRIMED FOR LATE-SEASON RUN
They’ve copped plenty of heat for their form this season, deservedly so at times, but the Cowboys are actually pretty well-placed entering the back half of the season.
The Cowboys recorded a resounding victory over the Raiders on Friday night – their eighth of the season.
Despite sitting outside of the top eight, only the Panthers, Sharks and Storm have more wins than North Queensland this season.
The Cowboys are the only team in the competition yet to enjoy a bye but that will change in Round 16.
It’s a crucial week off for the Townsville-based side, who are likely to have six players named in the Origin squads for Game II.
“It’s a really important win given we still have two games left of Origin,” coach Todd Payten said in his post-match press conference.
“We’ve been on the road 11 out of 17 games including our trials so the bye has come at a good time.
“The players minus the Origin boys will get the chance to recharge and go again.”
Over the final 12 weeks of the season, the Cowboys will play nine times and have three byes.
Six of those games will be played at home.
The late byes and favourable run of home games in the final three months of the regular season means the Cowboys should be as energised as any team when finals start.
Of course, they’ll have to make the top eight first, but their roster is as talented as any.
From where they are now and what they have to face for the rest of the season, they really should be playing finals football in 2024.
Payten amazed by Kyle Feldts acrobatics | 04:46
RABBITOHS’ RESOLVE RETURNS
For most of the last 18 months, South Sydney have looked lost and a shell of the side everyone knows they can be.
In recent weeks, they’ve turned a corner, exemplied by their impressive 22-12 win over the Brisbane Broncos in Round 15.
By halftime, Ben Hornby’s side were 18-0 and flying. Though that’s not to suggest they had it easy in the first 40. Brisbane had 46% of possession and a handful of sets inside the Rabbitohs 20, while Richie Kennar was sin binned in the 30th minute.
Yet, there was a resilient edge to the South Sydney goal line defence, one which suggests the side now have as much pride in keeping sides scoreless as they do in scoring themselves.
Speaking on Fox League’s coverage, former Bulldogs captained James Graham labelled the first half as “their best 40 minutes (this season).”
“What impressive me the most about South Sydney was the view that they looked united, they looked together for the very first time in a long time,” he said.
“They looked like they cared about one another, they cared about the result.
“The amount of opportunities the Broncos created where they just got through the line but South Sydney players were there to shut them down.”
For 66 minutes, the Rabbitohs held a Brisbane side that’s scoring four tries per game this season scoreless.
Granted, this is a Broncos outfit without Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds, but there was still enough firepower, and opportunity, to breach South Sydney’s defence.
Former Broncos lock Corey Parker believes South Sydney’s Round 15 performance is night and day to some of the outings they had earlier in the season.
“From what it was to where they are right now, they are a completely different footy side,” Parker said.
“The intent and desperation we saw from their defensive line, we haven’t seen for a long period of time and it is starting to come back.
“That was their best performance in a long, long time.”
South Sydney have now won their last three matches and sit two wins outside the top eight. Their new-found defensive resolve and ever-present attacking potency mean they can beat anyone on their day.
Could this mean the Rabbitohs are back?
Rabbitohs buying in under new coach | 04:02
‘SELFLESS’ API RESCUES TIGERS FROM HALVES ‘CRISIS’
From a little fish to a big pond to a big fish in a little pond, Apisai Koroisau’s move to the Wests Tigers was always going to come with its challenges.
After the Tigers lost nine consecutive games to reel at the bottom of the NRL ladder, the 31-year-old would have been sick and tired of answering the same questions during post-match press conferences.
Thankfully for Koroisau, he had plenty to smile about after leading the Tigers towards a drought-breaking victory over the Gold Coast Titans in front of a boisterous crowd at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers’ usual playmakers were unavailable for the Round 15 clash due to injury, so coach Benji Marshall was forced to improvise, slotting Koroisau into halfback.
And the Blues representative didn’t disappoint in the new role, sealing victory with a grubber kick in the 76th minute that set up Fonua Pole’s decisive try.
“He deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done at the Tigers,” former Melbourne Storm star Cooper Cronk said on Fox League.
“He went from the best team to the worst team, and that’s hard to do when you’re at his age when you’re playing the position that he does.
“But he’s never shirked his responsibility. He’s led from the front, and in the time that he’s been there, every time the Tigers have won, I’m pretty sure Api has been in the top three players.
“He’s that influential that he just gets it done.”
The Tigers are in a rebuilding phase, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Koroisau looms as a crucial figure for the club in the coming years.
“(Koroisau’s) just the most selfless captain you could ever ask for,” Marshall told reporters in the post-match press conference.
”As a rookie head coach, I lean on him a lot — it’s unfair sometimes how much I lean on him.
“In a crisis where we were with no halves to choose from, he put his hand up to play there, which took him away from a position that he could be pushing for New South Wales selection.
“The team first mentality is why we love him so much. He hates the accolades, but he’s a big part in what we do.
“We love him.”
‘Just something about Leichhardt!’ | 01:40
HUGHES’ ‘CAREER BEST FORM’ SOFTENS MUNSTER’S ABSENCE
Cameron Munster is a big loss any side, not least Melbourne. Yet with the former of the Storm’s No.7 Jahrome Hughes, the star five-eighth’s absence is less notable than expected.
At 29, Hughes is entering the prime of his career, with coach Craig Bellamy of the belief his star halfback is in the best form of his career. Some wrap considering the heights Hughes has hit previously.
Speaking after his side come from behind to beat the Warriors in Round 15, Bellamy said:
“I thought Jahrome, he was outstanding.”
“He has been all year, to be quite honest,” he said.
Hughes was instrumental against the Warriors, setting up four tries and having some really smart moments, including a quick tap that resulted in Marcelo Montoya’s second half sin binning.
Speaking on commentary, Fox League’s Corey Parker said “Hughes is single-handedly picking apart the defensive line of the Warriors.”
Parker’s praise of Hughes didn’t stop there, with the former Broncos captain also stating ”in the absence of Cameron Munster, Hughes has stood tall.”
Half of Hughes’ tries and try assists this season have come in games he’s played without his enigmatic playmaking partner, with his leadership also proving crticial for the Storm in these last few weeks.
In recent seasons, the Kiwi international has risen as one of the NRL’s strongest No.7’s with an extensive bag of tricks that few playmakers in the competition possess.
This season it feels as if his game has consistently elevated to another level, leading to Bellamy stating 2024 is perhaps the peak of his halfback’s powers.
“Jahrome’s had probably his best season and he’s had some good seasons,” Bellamy said post game.
“He’s been a wonderful influence on the players but when you’re halfback, you have got big influence on the team, and he’s been doing a great job.”
With Munster not due back until Round 20, it’s critical Hughes remains fit and firing for the Melbourne Storm as they look to cement themselves as the NRL’s premier team over the back half of the season.
Do that and he may well establish himself beyond doubt as a halfback of the same calibre as Nathan Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans.
Storm continue winning run over Warriors | 02:15
HOPOATE’S TIMELY PERFORMANCE
Lehi Hopoate delivered a brilliant performance on Sunday, and it was a timely one with a big decision looming regarding Tom Trbojevic.
Manly’s marquee star is due to return from a hamstring strain in Round 18, and there’s no certainty he will take up his place at fullback.
Speaking during the week, Anthony Seibold conceded the club are considering shifting Trbojevic to the centres.
“We’ve had a number of conversations about position,” he said.
“There’s a little bit more change of pace as a fullback, but there’s a lot more contact when you’re playing centre.
There’s a number of things we need to consider and we’ve got a couple of weeks until we have to make that decision.”
Seibold also explained the decision won’t be just his to make, saying “he’s an elite player, so I don’t want to make the decision solely.
“We’ve been collaborating and communicating the whole time, but I want to do what’s best for Turbo.
“If it’s best to put him in the centres, that’s what we will do – but I still think his best position is fullback.”
Reuben Garrick and Tolu Koula have previously been an easy fix in the No.1 jersey, with Trbojevic having been riddled with injuries in previous seasons.
However, Hopoate, the 19-year-old son of former Sea Eagles winger John Hopoate has shown he’s well and truly made for first grade.
He ran for 168 metres, broke seven tackles, scored a try and tallied two linebreaks to go with a try assist in a fullback masterclass.
While Trbojevic is one of the game’s most dominant players, he’s shown in the past he can have as much of an impact in the centres, playing a roaming role for NSW in Origin.
So, with Hopoate delivering consistent performances at fullback and Garrick likely set for an 11-day concussion stand down, there’s no better time to make the big decision than Round 16.
Injury hit Sea Eagles soar into top 8! | 02:12
LUAI THE TIGERS’ BEST SELLING POINT FOR GALVIN
Much has been made about the future of young Wests Tigers star Lachlan Galvin in the past week, with the rookie five-eighth seemingly wanting out of the club.
While Galvin has come out and committed his immediate future to the Tigers, his contract only runs through until 2026, by which time he’ll be just 21.
Galvin is the kind of young star sides, particularly those struggling like the Tigers, must build their future around. But if recent events are to go off, the 18-year-old’s long-term future lies elsewhere.
Enter Jarome Luai, who arrives at Concord next season on a five-year deal that will see him lead the Tigers around the park until at least 2029, three years after Galvin’s current deal expires.
For the Tigers, there is no greater priority than locking their young five-eighth down long-term. The best way they can do that is showing him a highlights package of his future halves partner, starting with his exceptional Round 15 performance against the Knights.
As has been the case in Nathan Cleary’s absence this season, Luai was once again the Panthers’ main man, getting his fingers on the football often, and to great effect.
Not only was he at his deceptive best, particularly in the moments preceding his 33rd minute try, but Luai also continued to display all the qualities of top-quality traditional halfbacks, such as Cleary.
He steered his side around the park, barked orders and instructed his forwards into the right position, then engaged the line deep to free his outside men up. It was textbook halfback play from a typically unorthodox playmaker.
With the boot too Luai was extraordinary all night. His long kicking game, particularly early in the second half when Newcastle were on the ascendancy, was quality all afternoon, while his short kicking game either created scoring opportunities or forced line drop outs and built pressure.
On Fox League’s halftime show, Braith Anasta was full of praise for the Penrith No.7, stating he was “the best player on the field.”
Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary agreed his Blues teammates had been the game’s standout player “by a mile.”
There shouldn’t be any part of Lachlan Galvin that watches performances like Luai’s against the Knights and thinks the Samoa and Blues representative half won’t extract the best out of him in the coming years.
For the Tigers, who will undoubtedly be looking to look their star rookie down on a deal as long, if not longer, than Luai’s, the performances of their future playmaker may just be their greatest selling point when push comes to shove.
Galvin showdown poor reflection on Benji | 02:51