Feisty Foran
The rugby league world will be watching every move Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran makes – both on and off the field. Foran was clearly left stunned that Parramatta sought to change the terms of his $4.8 million contract, one that was touted as a new beginning for an Eels side that has been embarassed by recruitment gaffe after recruitment gaffe over the last decade.
The talented international now considers himself a free agent with the Eels attempting to register two different contracts with the NRL, a mess that could only happen at Parramatta. The Eels are desperately hoping that Foran will work his way through the issues and stick with Parramatta in 2016 but he is long odds now with the Sydney Roosters and Manly the two most likely clubs to win his signature next year.
A resillient player, Foran won’t let any of this distract him from the prospect of a South Sydney upset on Friday night. The same is unlikely to be true for Parramatta on Saturday though when they take on the Dragons with a sense of “here we go again” a very real chance to leave the club as flat as a board and ready to be picked off.
Tomkins too good
The New Zealand Warriors may still be feeling all warm and gooey about signing boom fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck next year but they should not undersell the impact Sam Tomkins has had on them this year. Though he has been limited to just four games through injury, the Warriors have not lost with the English superstar at the back. He has three assists to his name and gives the Warriors a north-south look in attack that they sorely miss without him.
He will play his fifth game of 2015 against the Raiders on Saturday afternoon and it will be close to as fit as he has been all year. Tomkins has been maligned during his time at the Warriors but if the club has finals aspirations this year they need their sublime custodian fit and firing.
No Thurston, no good
The North Queensland Cowboys are looking to extend their club record winning streak to 12 this weekend – which would put them in a tie for the 13th longest winning streak in premiership history – but they must do so without superstar half Johnathan Thurston. The three-time Dally M Player of the Year and the short-priced favourite for the 2015 gong – will be rested after a tough season and long Origin campaign.
The Cowboys have won just two of their last nine without Thurston in the side, a figure that would surprise few considering the dominant role he plays. It leaves the pressure of the streak’s continuation in the hands of props Matt Scott and James Tamou and rising half Michael Morgan.
Incredibly, seven of the Cowboys’ last eight wins have come by single digits. The failure to put teams away will certainly give Cronulla plenty of confidence heading into the match, a confidence that will no doubt be boosted by an impressive showing during their last trip to Townsville when they went down by a single point despite North Queensland going in the shortest priced favourites in NRL history.
Don’t forget Roberts
Speculation is rife in rugby league circles that Rooster Blake Ferguson will be parachuted into the NSW team, Will Hopoate the man likely to make way. It seems that his opposite centre on Sunday – Gold Coast’s James Roberts – has been forgotten. Unquestionably the form centre of the premiership over the first half of the season, Roberts seems to have been leapfrogged by Ferguson in Blues consideration. Up against Ferguson and Game II man-of-the-match Michael Jennings, the Titans speedster will get one last chance to impress on Sunday afternoon on what will be an incredibly fast track in Gosford.
Back to Belmore
There will be plenty of emotion among the Canterbury faithful on Monday night with the Bulldogs returning to Belmore Sports Ground for a premiership match for the first time since 1998. The Bulldogs will be expecting a monstrous crowd against the Storm – ironically the last team Canterbury met at their traditional home ground back in 1998 where a sliding Craig Polla-Mounter try in torrential conditions made the difference.
The NSW Government and the NRL can try to push a cookie-cutter stadiums approach that squeezes all games towards the big grounds but one of the major advantages the NRL has is the ability to still host matches at suburban venues. A horses-for-courses approach is needed. Big games need to be played at big grounds. But when a matchup is unlikely to draw, clubs should be able to leverage the charm, quaintness and history of suburban footy grounds. The Bulldogs have done that for this Storm clash on Monday and will hopefully continue to use Belmore when a sub-par crowd is forecast for ANZ.
