NRL key takeouts: Round 11

Newcastle Knights 12 lost to Brisbane Broncos 36

The Broncos marched to five straight wins, and what made it extra special was they did not have their little general Adam Reynolds calling the shots.

Brisbane’s defence has been excellent in recent weeks, while it was Selwyn Cobbo and Corey Oates who blew the game apart with some barnstorming runs out of their own half straight after the break. Cobbo deserves to be in the Queensland Origin conversation and is an excitement machine. Newcastle had a dud call go against them, but it is beggars belief a team with so many stars sits so low on the ladder. Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai posed threats on the right, and Anthony Milford will be a good buy, but they are a team shot with zero confidence. There is only one way you regain that.

Christian Nicolussi

Wests Tigers 36 bt Canterbury Bulldogs 22

Signs of life for Canterbury, and yet still so much of the same old as a 6-1 first half penalty count and mindless errors made for a miserable first half.

Conceding two tries from dummy-half to kill off their comeback is another significant pointer to where this side is at. But with their halves given a genuine chance to steer the attack, Matt Burton orchestrated more points than the Dogs have managed all season and they should be better for a full week under Mick Potter. Jackson Hastings continues to be the source of all things good for the Tigers as a precise, targeted game plan was executed perfectly for 40 minutes. The other 40 is the issue.

Dan Walsh

Parramatta Eels 22 bt Manly Sea Eagles 20

Bloody Manly. They deserved this one. They ran hard, tackled hard and refused to let a lop-sided penalty count get the better of them for about 78 minutes.

The loss of Tom Trbojevic cannot be overstated. But as long as Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran remain fit, the experienced pair will make sure their side are in the contest every week. Parramatta refused to go away, and have some outside backs starting to return, including fan favourite Maika Sivo who bagged a double and almost had a hat-trick in his comeback. Mitchell Moses will never forget the pressure kick he nailed from the sideline.

Christian Nicolussi

St George Illawarra Dragons 24 bt New Zealand Warriors 18

The Dragons have shown glimpses of promise this season. They’ve also shown more than a few signs of concern.

Central to their inconsistency has been the uncertainty through the spine, in particular at fullback. Tyrell Sloan was given first shot at the No.1 jersey, then Moses Mbye. However, the answer may have been found in Cody Ramsey. He scored one try, set up another and was almost faultless in defence against the Warriors on Saturday. He drew plaudits from his captain and coach. On the back of Saturday’s performance, Ramsey looks certain to keep the spot for next week and Anthony Griffin suggested it could be his to lose.

Dominic Bossi

North Queensland Cowboys 36 bt Melbourne Storm 6

Wow. Even more surprising than the result was the manner in which it was achieved. Despite losing Jason Taumalolo and Kyle Feldt early, North Queensland totally dominated.

Yes, the Storm were missing plenty of troops, but you had to be impressed by the dominant second-half display from the Cowboys. The knock on the northerners during their impressive early run has been that they haven’t beaten any sides of note. However, after snaring the scalps of Parramatta and now Melbourne, they can no longer be ignored. Jeremiah Nanai continues to score for fun and a win against Penrith in Penrith this week would be an even bigger statement. It’s not yet time for panic at the Storm; that can begin if they lose their next assignment, to a Tom Trbojevic-less Manly.

Adrian Proszenko

Sydney Roosters 12 lost to Penrith Panthers 32

The Panthers won this in the space of 11 minutes before half-time with three tries. The Roosters went with the premiers the opening half hour, but the class of Isaah Yeo and Jarome Luai rose to the top.

The only thing that will disrupt the momentum is the Origin series with up to seven Panthers in Blues contention. Thankfully, their NSW Cup side would still give it to a handful of NRL strugglers. Little errors by the Chooks, like knock-pons or one-on-one strips were punishable by points. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves lost his cool and only placed a bigger target on his back moving forward when it comes to the officials. Victor Radley’s lock forward replacement Nat Butcher punched out a whopping 50 tackles.

Christian Nicolussi

South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 lost to Canberra Raiders 32

Can the real South Sydney please stand up? After the Jekyll and Hyde effort against the Warriors during Magic Round, this was just all ugly from Jason Demetriou’s side, who are barely clinging onto eighth spot with a winning record below 50 per cent.

Conversely, the Raiders backed up their phenomenal win over the Sharks by making this a one-sided game, and they should be primed to climb into the finals picture during the State of Origin period with limited representation. Milestone man Josh Papali’i and fellow front-rower Joe Tapine were stellar for the Raiders up front, and Jack Wighton provided a none-too-subtle reminder to Brad Fittler about his NSW claims in a return from suspension. The Rabbitohs need captain Cameron Murray back pronto.

Adam Pengilly

Gold Coast Titans 18 lost to Cronulla Sharks 25

Craig Fitzgibbon’s hunch that Australian sevens player Lachlan Miller would cut the mustard in the NRL was spot on. Miller showed great footwork at the line and has almost certainly done enough to be in Cronulla’s 17 somewhere each week for the rest of the season.

It wasn’t a pretty win but Sharks teams of old would have found a way to lose that game. Captain Wade Graham and halves Matt Moylan and Nicho Hynes were solid. If they’re injury-free, Cronulla can remain in the top four. As for the Titans, their attack lacked spark. They face a difficult month – Gold Coast don’t play a bottom eight team until July 1 (Newcastle in Newcastle). They’re still in wooden spoon territory if they dish up more of the same.

Tom Decent

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