Tallis: O'Donnell walks fine line

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IN his weekly column, Fox Sports expert and Canberra assistant coach Brett Kimmorley offers his thoughts on round 23 of the 2013 NRL Premiership season.

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Broncos v Eels at Suncorp Stadium

Brisbane were strong enough to look like they were never going to lose this game but it was far from an exceptional game. Jarryd Hayne is extremely important to the Eels side and after losing him to injury it shows they are a few players short of being a competitive side. Ben Hunt had yet another solid game in the halves for the broncos while Josh Hoffman played the role of fullback perfectly. I love the way Hoffman plays. He is a very aggressive runner of the footballer. I know Brisbane are looking at Ben Barba and Anthony Milford for next season but I can't see any reason why you wouldn't play Hoffman in the custodians role. The win gives the Broncos another week of hope to make the finals. It is a matter of whether they can keep winning without their strike centre Justin Hodges.  

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Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs at BlueTongue Stadium

This was an exceptional game of football. South Sydney showed me enough against Melbourne last week that they weren't far off from returning to their best. With the return of Greg Inglis and John Sutton, the Rabbitohs had the confidence to trust their game plan again. I gave Luke Keary a wrap last week and want to do the same again this week. The Rabbitohs execution became a lot crisper when Keary came onto the field and Sutton shifted into lock. Manly coach Geoff Toovey was upset with some of the decisions made by the officials in that game and I believe his anger is warranted. It was hard to agree that Steve Matai did not score a try. Take a look at the video and tell me what you think but from my point of view that was a try and some of the penalties were certainly questionable. The Sea Eagles will walks away extremely confident that they can match the Rabbioths and have the ability to beat hem should they meet in the semi-finals.

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Raiders v Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium

This game was a lot closer than what the score line showed. Canberra were denied three tries which would have made the game extremely close and showed he Bulldogs were not as crisp as you would have thought. Individually Josh Morris was brilliant at fullback and showed why the club is hopeful they have found their replacement for Ben Barba. The Bulldogs showed the difference in class when the Raiders failed to score, the Bulldogs were able to go down Canberra's end on three occasions and score immediately. The Raiders lack a do-or-die attitude. Anthony Milford got the home side back in the game while Josh McCrone played well but ultimately Josh Morris, Adam Reynolds and a Sam Perrett hat trick were the difference.

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Cowboys v Titans at 1300SMILES Stadium

North Queensland are playing carefree football and on a roll. All throughout the pre-season, the Cowboys were surrounded by a lot of heap and it is only since Neil Henry found out he would not be coach of the club next season that they started to live up to the expectations. They have a talent roster led by Johnathan Thurston who stayed busy all night. It will be interesting to see whether the Cowboys do make the finals as they have a relatively smooth run into the finals and could really scare some sides. For the Gold Coast, they looked fatigued and were not able to back up the solid defensive effort we saw against the Bulldogs last Monday night. 

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Dragons v Sharks at WIN Stadium

Andrew Fifita was probably the last person you would expect to score the match winning try toeing the ball ahead and then chasing it into the in-goal. It goes to show how gritty Cronulla are in what has been a drama filled season. In the past, the Sharks would have lost that game but they have a far superior football team this year. Todd Carney has continued his form while Jeff Robson and John Morris were exceptional. Over the last few weeks the Dragons have shown some promising signs in attack. Adam Quinlin has been a major reason behind that and again was dangerous in attack over the week. The Dragons have new halves arriving at the club next year but Quinlin is doing plenty to push his case for a spot in the team next year.  Jason nightingale was strong as was Brett Morris who continued his try scoring record at Wollongong.

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Warriors v Panthers at Mt Smart Stadium

After Penrith touched up the Warriors earlier in the year, you would have expected the home side to lift with a place in the finals still a possibility. David Simmons and Josh Mansour enjoyed two tries each down the edges. Luke Walsh appeared to have plenty of time to be a ball player and when you give Walsh so much time to ball play and kick, he will hurt the opposition. The Warriors had plenty of opportunities in this game but they failed to come up with the right plays at the right time. Penrith made the most of their chances which is something that cost the Warriors. The Warriors season is still alive but it makes the competition for the final few places in the top eight a lot tighter. 

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Knights v Storm at Hunter Stadium

Newcastle came out of the blocks in front of a wonderful home crowd. The Knights led two tries to one in the first half but unable to converts their tries. You need to convert your tries against Melbourne. The turning point in the game was the Cooper Cronk professional foul on Darius Boyd. The Knights took the penalty goal on offer to lock up the scores at 10-all. Regardless of whether it is a dirty or clean professional foul – it is a professional foul and Cronk should have spent 10 minutes in the sin bin. Cronk put in a cross filed kick for Billy Slater during the 10 minutes after that incident so that incident had it been handled differently could have completely changed the game. In my opinion to not sin bin Cronk was the wrong decision and a turning point in the game. The Knights should be extremely proud of the effort they put in regardless of the outcome. Jarrod Mullen was wonderful agin in what has been a very big year for him under Wayne Bennett. 

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Tigers v Roosters at Allianz Stadium

Sydney Roosters forward Luke O'Donnell was placed on report for a dangerous 'cartwheel tackle' on Wests Tigers centre Tim Simona.

"What was he thinking?," Matt Johns asked.

Former Brisbane hardman Gorden Tallis replied; "He walks on that white line or that red line. It doesn't take much for him to get fired up.

"He has that x-factor. If you're playing against him you're a little bit worried." 

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