The 2024 NRL season is inching closer to finals football with a lot of the Top 8 already set in stone after Round 25.
The Wests Tigers displayed more positive signs for the future with a hard-fought 34-26 win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Going down 16-0 will concern coach Benji Marshall. However, yet another effort to mount a comeback finally ended with reward for this young group.
The referee and bunker officials both being dropped after Friday night sums up the game better than anything. Ugly and frustrating in every regard, the Warriors, in particular, weren’t rewarded for their effort while going down 34-18 to the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in Shaun Johnson’s last game at Mt Smart Stadium. The Brisbane Broncos were made to work hard to keep their season alive on Friday night. It all looked over with the Parramatta Eels leading 16-0 after 11 minutes at Suncorp Stadium. With everything to play for, the Broncos fought back to take the chocolates with a 30-24 win to now sit 9th on the NRL ladder.
Match Highlights 🎥 – #NRLBroncosEels
The Brisbane Broncos fought back from a 16-0 deficit to post a 30-24 win against Parramatta and in the process, keep their faint finals hopes alive. pic.twitter.com/29y4m13NNc
— NRL (@NRL) August 23, 2024
Few gave the Canberra Raiders a chance against the defending premier Penrith Panthers, but that’s when Ricky Stuart’s men are at their best. A strong second half saw the Raiders claim a 22-18 victory, giving themselves the slightest of chances to play finals football. Meanwhile, the Melbourne Storm have clinched the minor premiership with an emphatic 48-6 win over the Dolphins. The wheels have fallen off the newest NRL club with finals now all of a sudden unlikely.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs threatened to make a game of it early, but had no answer for Kalyn Ponga and the Newcastle Knights in the end. Newcastle is still a slim chance at playing finals football. Their attack is developing well enough to be threat with Ponga, in particular, looking dangerous throughout the 36-16 win.
While the Storm secured the minor premiership, the Sydney Roosters made another claim as premiership contenders. Trent Robinson’s side made light work of the Gold Coast Titans to win 48-22 at Cbus Super Stadium. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks did similar with the St George-Illawarra Dragons. Still without Nicho Hynes and with the Dragons fighting for their place in the Top 8, the Sharks dominated from start to finish in their 38-10 win.
Player Spotlight: Shaun Johnson
His Warriors lost at home to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Round 25, but it’s the home that sums up the man: Shaun Johnson Stadium.
Players retire every year. Greats of the game have come and gone to celebrations of varying degrees, but Johnson’s influence on rugby league in New Zealand meant he needed something unique. Something that might not ever happen again. After all, we’re unlikely to ever see another Shaun Johnson.
The Warriors will find their halfback one day. History suggests he will also go by SJ. While he never lived out his dream of lifting a premiership trophy, Johnson’s work is done. He took the work of Stacey Jones at the Warriors in the early stages of the club and took rugby league to New Zealand. It’s no coincidence that they can finish outside the Top 8 in 2024 and still become the first in NRL history to sell out every home game.
Johnson’s evolution as a footballer is what makes him so impressive. His speed and step put him under the spotlight early on in his career.
Massive news from across the Tasman tonight.
Shaun Johnson has announced his retirement from the NRL.
We wish SJ well in a strong career post football after giving us a decade and a bit of some brilliant footy we will never forget. pic.twitter.com/abWexY7Mib
— The League Scene (@LeagueScenePod) August 5, 2024
When age started to catch up with the halfback, he became one of the best organisers in the competition. Arguably, the best year of his career came in 2023 at 32 years old, when he should have been rewarded with a Dally M Medal.
267 games down. One to go.
Fittingly, it comes against the only other club he ever played for when the Warriors take on the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Saturday.
NRL Team of Round 25: Melbourne Storm
Not only are the Melbourne Storm the Team of the Round, but the team of the 2024 NRL season.
With a massive 48-6 win over the Dolphins, Melbourne made it look easy while clinching their sixth minor premiership in 14 years.
It’s the 18th win at home in their last 20 games, and the Storm did it while breaking the line a whopping 16 times – the most of any team in any game this season.
Match Highlights 🎥 – #NRLStormDolphins
Storm players weren't aware they were playing for the minor premiership until it was in their grasp as they turned in a ruthless performance to triumph 48-6 against the Dolphins. pic.twitter.com/JYFFtMBvIA
— NRL (@NRL) August 24, 2024
Firing off 36 unanswered points allowed Craig Bellamy to rest captain Harry Grant as the Storm cruised. Jahrome Hughes made yet another strong claim to win the Dally M Player of the year with 189 running metres and two try assists. Ryan Papenhuyzen is back to his best, running for 173 metres, breaking the line four times and handing out three try assists.
Not only did Melbourne dominate with the ball in hand, they took that energy into their defence missing only 19 tackles in 80 minutes. In contrast, they forced 54 misses and 21 ineffective tackles out of the Dolphins.
Injuries have hampered Penrith this season. Still, they’re a forced to be reckoned with. The Storm deserve to be considered the benchmark right now, though. They’ve been the best team all season and seem to only be getting better as the finals approach.
Highlight Reel
Dom Young is quick. He’s undoubtedly one of the fastest players in the NRL. Still, Alofiana Khan-Pereira turned Young inside out and accelerated away from him like he’s a regular Joe on Sunday afternoon.
Is Khan-Pereira the fastest man in the NRL?! 🤯
#NRLTitansRoosters @Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/akKwfnEMyT— NRL (@NRL) August 25, 2024
Numbers Game
The Sea Eagles were their own worst enemy on Thursday night. Regardless off the opposition, 15 errors, eight penalties and three infringements will make any game a lot more difficult than it needs to be.
0 is the number from the first game on Friday. It marks the number of sin bins in the game despite the clear Grade 2 charge, which has ended Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s season going relatively unpunished. Patrick Carrigan is the chassis to Brisbane’s chaos engine. He once again led the way on the ground to finish with a game-high 215 running metres.
Xavier Savage has struggled for consistency throughout the early stages of his NRL career but seems to have found a home on the wing. He looked good again while scoring two tries, running for 198 metres and breaking seven tackles. Corey Horsbugh also have a good account of himself with 73 metres and 29 tackles in 44 minutes – his first action in the NRL since Round 5. Nelson Asofoa-Solomona celebrated his 200th first grade game with a try, 124 running metres and five tackle breaks.
It's Nelson's Night ⭐️@GrilldBurgers pic.twitter.com/Y16wuJQ7G6
— Melbourne Storm (@storm) August 25, 2024
The Rabbitohs playing with 54% possession but only managing two linebreaks and 16 points is a massive cause for concern moving forward.
Angus Crichton is a different beast right now. He’s arguably the best backrower in the NRL right now and staked a further claim on that tag with three tries, 158 running metres and four tackle breaks on Sunday.
From the very first set of the game, the Sharks flew up the field. Through the middle and down the edges, they played with strength and at speed. It translated into almost 800 more running metres than the Dragons on the day.