Last Chance Saloon
Those pushing their Origin claims will get one final chance in round 10 and no match will have greater ramifications than Friday night’s clash between Canterbury and the Sydney Roosters as the battle for the NSW halves positions reaches fever pitch.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has continually spoken of building a culture of loyalty within NSW selection – akin to that which has driven the success of the Maroons over the last decade – giving incumbents Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds the upper hand.
After a dreadfully slow start to the season though the Bulldogs pairing is under severe pressure from Roosters duo Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney.
Daley has concerns about the temperament of Reynolds – who has been suspended three times since last year’s Origin series victory – while Hodkinson has failed to spark a Bulldogs attack which ranks a lowly 11th.
Reynolds, in particular, is behind the eight-ball with Daley reportedly favouring pairing Hodkinson with Roosters halfback Pearce in a combination that will link the two No.7s.
Maloney is considered an outsider because of his suspect defence that has seen him miss more tackles than any other player in 2015.
Friday’s epic clash is certainly about much more than two premiership points.
Cowboys Keen To Avenge Humiliation
After a second round embarrassment at the hands of Brisbane, the red-hot North Queensland side will be very keen to exact a level of revenge in Queensland’s biggest derby.
The Cowboys were thumped 44-22 at Suncorp, their worst defensive performance since 2010.
It was a low-point for the highly-touted North Queensland side, who have kicked into gear since with six straight wins.
It is the Broncos who lead the premiership though with the old master Wayne Bennett bringing the magic back to Brisbane.
The Cowboys head into the clash marginal favourites and the numbers are on their side. Paul Green’s team have won two of the last three clashes and four of the last five in Townsville.
The revenge factor is also at play here. Over the opening nine rounds, five teams have met twice with the vanquished side claiming victory on three occasions.
Parra in Peril
Parramatta are a club on the precipice of disaster with a season that opened with much hope lurching into the all too familiar territory of bottom of the ladder woe.
After a spiteful board election that saw the chairman’s ticket returned in a dominant manner yet creating more disharmony, the Eels are stuck in equal last following a tough home defeat to Melbourne.
News got no better throughout the week when Cronulla blocked a supposed done deal to release Michael Gordon to the Eels.
Hosting the resurgent New Zealand Warriors on Saturday afternoon, Parramatta face a must-win scenario before the League sets in for the Origin period.
Already wooden spoon favourites and only having just emerged from a dark period that saw the club claim back-to-back 16th placings, another look at last placing could have huge repercussions on recruitment with the arrival of Kieran Foran the most pressing worry.
Any more losses before Round 13 and it would come as no surprise if Foran decided to stick with the Sea Eagles.
Souths in Search of Rare Storm Win
The South Sydney Rabbitohs may be the defending premiers but that will count for very little when they tackle bogey team Melbourne on Saturday night.
The Bunnies have won just four of 24 matches all up against the Storm, while averaging defeat by an astonishing 15 points a contest.
Even after Souths rose to premiership contention in 2012, they have recorded just the one victory against the Storm to go with four losses in excess of 13 points.
Ex-Storm assistant Michael Maguire has achieved plenty since taking over at Redfern but he has never been able to gain the upper hand on his former club.
With Melbourne flying high it seems unlikely this Saturday night will be any different.
Life Without Sam
Five-eighth Blake Austin has been the star of the Canberra Raiders’ surge up the NRL ladder but it was halfback Sam Williams’ re-emergence in first grade that was the catalyst.
Since being recalled in Round 5, Williams has guided Ricky Stuart’s Raiders to four wins in five outings with Canberra posting 29-plus in those four victories.
Canberra had scored 29 points in a game just four times in their previous 40 matches.
Playing through a punctured lung, Williams posted a try and set up another in the 56-16 demolition of the Titans. One of the most underrated – and seemingly toughest - No.7s in the game, Canberra must now get used to life without their chief organiser and provider.
With a huge clash against rivals St George Illawarra on Sunday, we will soon see how markedly different the Raiders are without their under-appreciated halfback.
