NRL midweek mail R19: Leota weighs up options
Clint Gutherson has shrugged off retirement rumours, while Damien Cook has flagged two Dragons teammates as potential Blues players.
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Clint Gutherson has shrugged off retirement rumours, while Damien Cook has flagged two Dragons teammates as potential Blues players.
Well, the ridiculous upsets continued last week and there are plenty of tough decisions to make again this week.
The NRL season moves beyond State of Origin, with teams set to battle it out for finals positions over the long run home. There are several teams who are surprisingly out of the running, but still plenty of hope left for others.
Just the five games over the weekend, with Origin players missing, and we had some incredible upsets.
Cronulla winger Sione Katoa scored a hat-trick in a 28-16 win over Brisbane, their eighth loss in a row, that has all but ended the defending premiers' NRL finals hopes.
Newcastle have started life without Jesse Southwell in victorious fashion, grinding past Cronulla 18-4 in a heated start to the NRLW season.
Clint Gutherson has shrugged off retirement rumours, while Damien Cook has flagged two Dragons teammates as potential Blues players.
Every NRLW season begins with optimism for footy fans. New recruits arrive, combinations are formed and every club believes this could finally be their year.
Sometimes this exercise can feel like banging my head against a brick wall -- thanks Panthers!
State of Origin takes one final shot at messing up the NRL season, with just the five games to be decided this weekend. We start the round with what could have been a fantastic game between the Panthers and Rabbitohs.
We had another fascinating round of NRL action with the Panthers losing to a fired-up Cowboys side, the Sea Eagles thumping the battered Storm, and the Dolphins continuing to impress with a win over the Warriors.
We are back to a full round this weekend as the NRL season really starts to sort the wheat from the chaff. There are some teams that are out of the Top 8 who are really reaching desperation time, with teams above them disappearing into the distance.
There are several very tough games to tip this weekend, as teams in form meet and others that are struggling take on teams they would normally beat.
Ronaldo Mulitalo always wants to put his "nuts on the line" during play, but says he would have been a "cry baby" had he let his stoush with Mark Nawaqanitawase continue beyond full-time.
Latrell Mitchell's return from a back injury, and game-three State of Origin hopes, have been thrown into doubt after he left a crucial South Sydney field session.
One day after breaking his arm, Blayke Brailey wrote a note on the door of his house that told him he would be back playing rugby league in three weeks.
It was an interesting post-Origin round with the depleted Panthers losing to the lowly Titans, the Warriors winning in Christchurch, the Bulldogs thieving a victory over Manly and Roosters firmly putting the Sharks in their place.
Mark Nawaqanitawase has returned from his whirlwind State of Origin debut to star in the Sydney Roosters' 27-8 defeat of Cronulla and claim bragging rights over frequent tormentor Ronaldo Mulitalo.
With Origin II under our belts, the NRL season powers on through June, as the temperature tumbles and the ladder sorts itself out. This week three teams have the bye leaving seven games to be decided.
We've rounded the halfway point of the NRL season and Game II of State of Origin is just about here! As ever, there is plenty happening around the clubs. Isaac Issa has it covered in his Midweek Mail.
Another post-Origin round coming up with players backing up or taking rests, making it tough to tip. Recent weeks have proven that the surest of things are just as likely to lose as any other team.
What a disappointing weekend for fans of teams that started the year with so much promise. The Broncos, Raiders and Warriors were all well short of the standard expected from them, as they suffered costly losses.
State of Origin II is on the horizon and so Round 15 of the NRL season contains just the five games. Once again, tippers will be relieved to have just the five games to get right, but some of the teams that are playing are still short-staffed.
Cronulla have blown the NRL's top-four race wide open with a courageous and epic 10-8 victory over the high-flying Warriors in Auckland.
We're rounding the halfway point of the NRL season in between Games I and II of State of Origin and, as ever, there is plenty happening around the clubs. Isaac Issa has it covered in his Midweek Mail.