Gallen fires in the Sharks win. Source: Mark Nolan / Getty Images
IN his weekly column, Fox Sports expert and Canberra assistant coach Brett Kimmorley offers his thoughts on round 24 of the 2013 NRL Premiership season.
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Panthers v Broncos at Centrebet Stadium
Just when you thought Penrith's season was over they find form. Eighth position on the ladder is certainly highly contested with a number of teams vying for that spot. James Segeyaro has been the Panthers' buy of the season and showed just why that is on Friday night. He was outstanding every time he touched the ball. Brisbane had everything to play for but without Justin Hodges they struggled to create any team structure which had them looking like scoring points. The Broncos relied on a lot of individual brilliance from Sam Thaiday and Ben Hunt but Penrith showed why this season will be treated like a success for the club. Segeyaro, the emergence of Matt Moylan and others are signs for the future as Penrith continue to build. The news Peter Wallace will leave Brisbane at the end of the year and return to Penrith would have excited Panthers fans and perhaps some of the players knowing he will return in a matter of months.
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Rabbitohs v Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium
Semi-finals football came early with this game. It was a match where both sides had to play tough and work hard for their points. South Sydney have answered some critics over the last two weeks, showing they can play a tough style of football. Adam Reynolds was extremely solid. He has such a strong running game, keeps his composure and forced repeat sets which built pressure for the Rabbitohs. Greg Inglis returned from a knee injury and while he is not 100 per cent, having him in the team gives the players around him a lot of confidence. The Roosters may be favourites but the Rabbitohs are certainly knocking on the door. Canterbury-Bankstown tried extremely hard but I question their belief. They were a little lucky in the tries that they did score and failed to threaten the Rabbitohs often. Souths fans will be very proud of Friday's effort especially without two of their stars in Sam Burgess and Jeff Lima.
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Dragons v Wests Tigers at SCG
The Wests Tigers made a fair statement. I have to admit I thought it would be a close match and even anticipated a Dragons win. It shows when you have a halfback who can steer the side around, run and challenge the line how much better your football side becomes. I don't want to put too much pressure on Luke Brooks. He showed some good signs in his debut but we don't need to label him as the saviour of Concord or put the pressure of being the next Andrew Johns on his young shoulders. He was a shining light and I'm sure it helped Brooks having Benji Marshall in the side and he played well in the centres. I think the second tier salary cap needs to be reviewed. These young kids should be allowed to earn their apprenticeship when injuries occur or when they are a player of the future. Mick Potter will be pleased with the performance. Over the last few weeks he made some comments that he wanted to change their style of football and we saw the start of that with Benji Marshall out of the halves.
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Titans v Warriors at Skilled Park
This was an outstanding game of football and unfortunately for the Titans, it is the same old story, injury has cruelled them all year. Mark Minichiello became the first Titans player to reach 150 games but took a massive head knock early in the match and we never saw him again while Ashley Harrison injured his wrist. The Titans were courageous and played well in their last home game but they ran out of puff. The Warriors were handed a lot of penalties with the Titans trying to slow the ruck down and were able to find some class and score. Shaun Johnson had some wonderful touches of the ball but I would have liked to have seen him spend more time with the ball. Konrad Hurrell was back to his damaging best with Kevin Locke all class at the back. The Warriors now join the Titans on 24 points to stay in the hunt for eighth place. It was an exciting game with a try disallowed at fulltime. I think we need to look at the video referees review system. I have an issue with the officials saying 'no try' and asking the video box to find evidence to over-rule it. I am not convinced that Kevin Gordon placed the ball on the dead ball line and even if he did, I believe the Titans should have been awarded a penalty for the Warriors player sliding in with his legs. I don't think the referees even witnessed the contact from the legs. The Titans were hard done by on Saturday.
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Cowboys v Knights at 1300SMILES Stadium
Only a few weeks ago the Cowboys were unhappy and playing extremely poor under Neil Henry. Unfortunately player power has a big role to play in football these days and since the news broke that Henry will not be at the club next season, the players are happy and it is showing in their form. The Cowboys are now playing to the potential we expected of the Cowboys as they wait to play under a new coach. They were too fast and out-enthused Newcastle. Unfortunately they have lost Ray Thompson for the rest of the season to a broken jaw. It has come at the worst time as the Cowboys have struggled in that position and looked to have finally got the combination between the one, six, seven and nine firing on all cylinders. The good thing is they have an easier run toward the finals and can make it into the six. Newcastle's season has come to a halt and they may be without Kade Snowden for some weeks as a result of the shoulder charge. I hope the judiciary doesn't go too hard on him as there was no malice in the hit. I thought he was hard done by in being sent off when we have seen many similar incidents this season where there was no send off.
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Raiders v Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium
It has been a big week for Canberra with Andrew Dunemann taking over as interim head coach. The Raiders showed some nice resolve and fight but didn't take their opportunities when they were presented. I thought the Raiders were a lot closer to winning the football game than they would have a few weeks ago but they were never able to get to within that six point margin to make Manly nervous. Anthony Milford was brilliant in the halves. He was classy, creative and extremely tough but poor execution from the Raiders eased pressure and the class of Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans shone through. Manly were given four opportunities to score in the first half and took all four of them. The Sea Eagles were missing a number of players but in the end their ability to win was courageous.
Storm v Eels at AAMI Park
Melbourne led 10-4 five minutes shy of half time. I was thinking Parramatta are putting up a great fight, but 60 minutes into the game the flood gates opened. The top four sides are all showing their class, their execution, ability to score points and defensive nous. Billy Slater was outstanding. He created a lot of havoc for Parramatta in the last 20 minutes and it will be interesting to see when the pressure will start to mount on Ricky Stuart. The Eels are horrible. They lack fight and leak an enormous amount of points. The time has almost come for Stuart to be put under pressure and for people to look at how much he has helped the Eels this year. This year the Eels have gone backwards from when he took over the club and next season we need to see some change.
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Sharks v Roosters at Remondis Stadium
Gorden Tallis says: What an upset from the Sharks and what an important win. Cronulla needed to fire a short across other teams' bows because it's a four-team race at the moment and sides like Cronulla and the Bulldogs have been snapping at their heels. You need to be ready for a war when you play the Sharks and the Rooster went to Shark Park in hot form and didn't quite dig in. Earlier in the week, Paul Gallen, said 'we will beat them,' and as a player, to say that to the media; for one you have to mean it, and two, you don't want to show your cards. Cronulla don't fear the top sides and that's a great mentality to have.
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