The Gold Coast Titans were the big winners this week when they topped a very ordinary Parramatta Eels 42-4.
In what was a weekend of upsets again many games were close at half time but blew out in the second half.
The round kicked off with two Sydney games on Friday at Leichhardt Oval and ANZ Stadium. The Tigers faced a huge uphill battle against the Cowboys in torrential rain and managed to steal their first win in 8 weeks with a try in the corner to edge out the Cowboys 22-20.
Meanwhile I was out at ANZ for the huge blockbuster between the Bulldogs and the Broncos. On a sunny Sunday afternoon this game would attract over 25,000 people even though the visitors are from interstate. But as it was a night game, on very cold Autumn evening, the crowds did not come. I got there at 630pm, an hour before the game and grabbed coffee for Mum and I, and even though the ground opened an hour and a quarter before my arrival, I was the Barista's first customer.
There's usually a last minute influx of people just before kickoff but it didn't happen this time. For the first time since becoming a member there were less people than memberships out there.
Only eleven thousand people turned up for it, very disappointing. Football has always been a winter sport, maybe not always at night, but it's not even winter yet. Toughen up people and have a think of how hard it is to play in those conditions without the usual home ground support.
The best part was the Bulldogs players really turned up and they dominated the Broncos from start to finish. It was a great bounce back after last week humiliation with the Knights as they turned around a 36 point loss into a 10 point win 24-14.
Ben Barba is showing more spark with every game and Aiden Tolman and James Graham are leading the forwards with Eastwood, Kasiano and Pritchard not far behind.
Still in 10th Place on the ladder but if they play like this every week then we really will give that top 4 a shake.
Saturday saw the shock 19-0 victory by the Panthers over the Dragons, and the Sea Eagles just edging out the Raiders 16-10. Then in the big top 4 encounter, The Storm clawed their way back into the winners circle holding off a less than best Roosters 26-18 and moving into second place.
Apart from the Titans victory, Sunday also saw the upset of the round when the last placed Warriors beat the Knights 28-12 in a second half blitz. The Knights really have no consistency this year.
The round winds up tomorrow when the first placed Rabbitohs take on the Sharks. A win will see the Bunnies kick ahead 3 points clear of the pack.
They announced the NSW team tonight for the origin series and it was extremely disappointing to see who was chosen to represent the state. Far too many players were selected by name and not form and its pretty disgusting to see the likes of Hayne and Farrah in the side. The Morris brothers are in there and they simply are not good enough at the moment. Brett Morris has only just returned from injury and Josh is having a poor season so far. I think the first game will be a shocker. But then with a coach like Laurie Daley what should we expect. He hasn't exactly had a coaching career to speak of and yet he gets a job like this. Ridiculous and no wonder QLD has won it several time in a row.
This is the last NRL REVIEW for Sundays as it will be moving to Mondays from Round 12 onwards.
Next Sunday will be by second Blog Report to examine the figures and stats of the last 6 weeks of viewers.
Have a good week.
J G S
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