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Raiders rattle Panthers in the rain | 02:26
The head-scratching result of a last-minute NRL rule crackdown, the Raiders young gun who made a big selection statement and a question over the new-look Warriors. PAUL CRAWLEY breaks down the weekend’s key topics.
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PLAY-THE-BALL CRACKDOWN AN ABSOLUTE LOTTERY
The NRL’s crackdown on players making a “genuine attempt” to play the ball with their foot will lead to a stack of blow-ups if the inconsistency continues into the regular season.
We saw on the first weekend of the Pre-Season Challenge that it is an absolute lottery what will and won’t be tolerated under the new interpretations.
In the main, the majority of play-the-balls were a massive improvement on the rabble of last season when it basically became tunnel ball.
But despite there being a stack of glaring examples where there was no “genuine attempt” to make contact in both televised trials, only a few were pulled up and possession turned over.
For example, go back to the play-the-ball before the Warriors’ first try and Kurt Capewell clearly rolled the ball between his legs with no real attempt to make contact — and yet the try was still awarded.
But then another player makes the same mistake and he gets pulled up and loses possession.
I was just scratching my head.
There is some talk the NRL might even decide to allow the Bunker to review play-the-balls leading up to tries when the season-proper kicks off.
If that was the case, would Capewell’s play-the ball be acceptable or not?
I’m betting it wouldn’t, or at least it shouldn’t.
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I totally understand that the refs are damned if they do and damned if they don’t on this because no one wants to see the game constantly pulled up for play-the-ball infringements.
Yet the wording “genuine attempt” is so open to manipulation it basically allows any non-conforming player or coach a get-out clause to whinge when a call goes against their team.
Could someone explain what is so hard about making it black and white like it was for 100 years in rugby league and enforcing the bloody rule as it was meant to be: you either touch the ball with your foot or you pay the price?
You only had to see the number of players who managed to play the ball correctly over the weekend to understand that getting this back to the standards enforced in previous eras is not rocket science.
I genuinely feel sorry for the refs because they are the ones who will wear the fallout when the lack of consistency leads to blow-ups when competition points are up for grabs.
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RAIDERS UNLEASH A YOUNG HARRY GRANT
It was only an NRL trial, and the Penrith Panthers had their entire grand final team off the paddock.
But even so, Canberra fans should be excited by what we saw from young halfback Ethan Sanders and jack-in-the-box dummy-half Owen Pattie.
And while there has been plenty of talk about how Sanders will put pressure on veteran No. 7 Jamal Fogarty as the season rolls on, I will be shocked if Ricky Stuart doesn’t have Pattie running out in Las Vegas in the opening round.
This youngster who was last year’s Jersey Flegg player of the year has a flair that reminds me of a young Harry Grant.
The moment Pattie hit the field on Saturday night he didn’t waste a second, whether it be having a crack at a 40/20, spotting lazy defenders around the ruck, or never giving up on the play that rewarded him with his second try.
Tom Starling still deserves to be the Raiders’ starting-dummy half this year (at this point), but Danny Levi will sure have his work cut out holding Pattie back from making his NRL debut in Vegas.
Meanwhile, Sanders showed toughness and talent with how he bounced back from getting smashed early to really highlight his enormous potential with some classy moments.
His show-and-go before a great late offload to set up a try for Simi Sasagi was a really special play from a young halfback.
I wrote last week that I reckon Sanders and Ethan Strange have the talent to develop into Canberra’s best young halves pairing since Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley exploded onto the scene back in the late 1980s.
Throw in Pattie’s energy and creativity around the ruck and he could be what the Raiders have been missing since Josh Hodgson was in his prime.
Owen Pattie of the Raiders: pushing for a Round 1 spot in Vegas.Source: Getty ImagesJURY’S OUT ON WARRIORS WITHOUT JOHNSON
The major take coming out of the 12-all draw between the Warriors and the Sharks was the performance of halfback Luke Metcalf, who takes over from Shaun Johnson this season.
While Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was probably the standout for the Warriors at fullback, Metcalf looked comfortable taking on the chief playmaking role alongside Te Maire Martin.
He produced some good moments but we need to remember it was against an understrength Sharks line-up without their regular top-choice halves Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall.
The real test will come when Metcalf takes charge of one of the NRL’s most inconsistent teams week in, week out.
If the Warriors are going to bounce back from the disappointment of 2024, Metcalf and Martin need to have big seasons.
On what we saw here, the jury’s out for mine.
It was hard to get much of a read on the Sharks given they didn’t play Hynes and Trindall or star forward recruit Addin Fonua-Blake, among a stack of others.
