Round 14 of the 2025 NRL season has wrapped up, so we’re looking over the results and digging into three big takeaways from the weekend.
Around The NRL
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are one of the toughest teams to pick each week at the moment. Wildly inconsistent, they look like premiership contenders at their best, and like they’ve only just met each other at their worst. Round 14 produced a bit of both as they blew a 16-0 lead to the Newcastle Knights. Leaving the field for oranges under a chorus of boo’s from the crowd, the Knights responded to mount a comeback – completed with a Kalyn Ponga try in golden point.
Friday Night Footy failed to produce the goods as both the Melbourne Storm and Dolphins did it easy.
First, the Storm surged to an 18-4 halftime lead over the North Queensland Cowboys. While the visitors threatened to make a comeback, Melbourne soon put an end to it on their way to a 38-14 victory. Later, the St George Illawarra Dragons kicked an early penalty goal before conceding 50 unanswered points to the Dolphins who put themselves into the Top 8.
Watch all the highlights as the Dolphins take on the Dragons in Round 14!#NRLDolphinsDragons pic.twitter.com/hotz2thDvE
— NRL (@NRL) June 6, 2025
The Warriors made a statement in the Shire with a comprehensive 40-10 win over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. It moves the Kiwi club up to 3rd on the NRL ladder ahead of their Round 15 bye.
Equally as dominant, the Brisbane Broncos thrashed the Gold Coast Titans 44-14. Pat Carrigan moved back into the #13 jersey while Reece Walsh made his return from injury, and the Broncos looked a lot better for it.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs rolled out a near full-strength team on Sunday afternoon but proved no match for the Canberra Raiders. In a storybook afternoon for the club, Josh Papalii bagged a double as he passed Jarrod Croker for the most games in Raiders history.
📽️@FOXNRL pays tribute to Josh Papalii ahead of his record-breaking game this weekend.#Papa319 #WeAreRaiders pic.twitter.com/hdQHT8Zetq
— Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) June 5, 2025
While the Wests Tigers kept it close and coach Benji Marshall claimed them to be the better side, the Penrith Panthers broke the line seven times and should have scored more in their 18-14 victory. Too many errors (10) and penalties conceded (7) provided Nathan Cleary and the Panthers too many opportunities with the ball not to cash in.
Finally, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs kicked off the Lachlan Galvin era with a 30-12 win over the Parramatta Eels. Toby Sexton thought Galvin was joking when he ran onto the field to inform the halfback he would be playing hooker. In his place, Galvin scored the last try of the game to cap on an impressive 80 minutes for the top-of-the-table Bulldogs.
A TRY FOR THE NEW BULLDOG… LACHLAN GALVIN 🗣️#NRLBulldogsEels Telstra Moment of the Match. pic.twitter.com/FErQJ0KQlc
— NRL (@NRL) June 9, 2025
3 Takeaways From Round 14
O’Brien Sparys His Fans
“I know the scoreline’s not what they want, but to boo the effort that went into the first half from a young team … the people that boo don’t know anything about rugby league.” – Adam O’Brien
He might not necessarily be wrong in a footy sense. His team, under it’s current construction, weren’t so poor they should have heard booing this week of all weeks. Still, there will have been a few people watching who cringed upon hearing his comments, knowing the backlash to come from a passionate fan base.
Former Knights player Matty Johns quickly went into bat for those in the stands:
“I tell ya what mate, those Newcastle people from days when I played right through … we used to get boo’d off sometimes and you cop it, because those fans turn up even when it’s pissing rain, hail or we’re sitting bottom of the ladder. They always turn up and they pay their money and they’ve supported that side for so long, I think they’re entitled to air their grievances.”
O’Brien eventually apologized, but for a coach already under pressure, it will take some time to earn back the faith from the fans who felt targeted by his comments. Another game at McDonald Jones Stadium against the Sydney Roosters in Round 14 is where they’ll start.
Hasler Sprays His Team
Gold Coast Titans coach Des Hasler was issued his ‘final warning’ for criticizing referees last week after claiming “Kasey got it wrong, again.”
Des Hasler is feeling the wrath of the NRL, issued a final warning for criticising match officials. #9News @AdamJackson_9 pic.twitter.com/E8bNWkMY7R
— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) June 5, 2025
This week, after being hammered by the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium following “the most disappointing 40 minutes we’ve played this year”, Hasler turned his focus to his players.
Asked if he is the coach to turn the club around, Hasler responded bluntly:
“The players turn the club around. It’s about turning up and playing well. We didn’t do that. We missed that opportunity tonight. We missed that opportunity. And that’s just not good enough. And they know that.”
The Titans are languishing at 17th on the NRL ladder. For all of the excitement they can offer with the ball in hand, they’re playing with the worst defence in the competition. The constant turnover in the spine hasn’t helped as Hasler tries to land on the best way to use three fullbacks in a 17. Defence on the edges is particularly concerning, too.
Hasler is right; the players will ultimately be the ones to turn the club around. Is he the man to inspire it, though?
Benji Sprays The Refs
As Hasler did last week, Benji Marshall will be getting a letter in the mail and a final warning for his comments around referees following the Wests Tigers’ loss to the Penrith Panthers.
“The game is so hard and demanding. And I actually feel sorry for our players because they didn’t actually get to decide tonight. I thought two calls, the first one on Jarome, on last, making a tackle. I thought it was outrageous. That decision took them to 12-10.
“And the second one, he got done for an escort, which I thought was bad too. And then they scored off the back of that set. Just let them decide. Let them play.”
While he is somewhat justified in questioning the penalty on Jarome Luai for taking out the kicker, the 39 tackles his team missed did more to decide the game than the referees. A five-eighth missing 11 on his own and causing his centre to jam on the edges had a bigger impact.
Tom Jenkins has a hat-trick! 🐾#NRLTigersPanthers Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/9pWR2GHDMT
— NRL (@NRL) June 8, 2025
The Tigers are improving, but as seen in conceding another try from a scrum in similar fashion to what they did last week, there is still a lot of work to do. Marshall is happy with the effort and anticipates a change in fortune following four consecutive defeats. Their contact in defence will be the first place to trigger that change.