Ex-Wallabies winger Mark Nawaqanitawase dazzled in his NRL debut as the injury-ravaged Roosters regrouped to show they can make a dent in the playoffs by polishing off South Sydney 36-28 to ensure they can finish no lower than third on the ladder.
Nawaqanitawase scored an early try in an impressive first-up performance just weeks after representing Australia at the Paris Olympics in rugby sevens as the Roosters bounced back from the season-ending injuries suffered by Sam Walker, Victor Radley and Brandon Smith last Sunday.
Like Walker and Smith, Eels star Dylan Brown could be missing a large chunk of the 2025 season with club medicos concerned that he tore his ACL in their 60-26 triumph over the Tigers.
Parramatta consigned Wests Tigers to a third straight wooden spoon in a skittish contest at Campbelltown powered by each team’s desperation to avoid finishing in the NRL cellar.
Brown hobbled off early in the second half after twisting his knee awkwardly while trying to make a tackle with interim coach Trent Barrett saying they were hopeful it was an MCL injury not an ACL tear.
“We’re a bit concerned. Fingers crossed for Dylan because he’s been terrific for us. Hopefully he will be OK,” he said.
“They think it might be an ACL but we’re hoping not.”
1. Marky Mark’s funky launch
Former Wallabies star Mark Nawaqanitawase did more than enough to show that he is set to be a success in his new code.
With size, speed and strength, he personifies the triple threat of the modern cross-code star.
He got involved early in the contest in attack and defence and was rewarded for his enthusiasm in just the eighth minute when he sailed high to claim a Luke Keary cross-field kick for the first try of the match.
“That was Israel Folau-like, just the way he climbs up,” Fox League expert Michael Ennis gushed while watching the replay. “Look at the athleticism.
“Keary puts it on an absolute dime and he climbs over the top of Tyrone Munro. His mates are going berserk.”
A bunch of Roosters fans painted the rookie winger’s surname on their chests, each featuring a letter – 14 in all.
He was an aerial target throughout the match for the Tricolours and importantly, he was solid in defence apart from a slip which gifted Souths their first try to Jye Gray.
Mark Nawaqanitawase on the run at Accor Stadium. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
2. Roosters regroup after carnage
The Roosters have been written off left, right and centre after losing Walker, Smith and Radley to injury but coach Trent Robinson is relishing the challenge of silencing the critics.
Sandon Smith slid into the halves alongside Keary and they controlled the match well although Souths didn’t throw too much at them apart fom a few flashes of Cody Walker brilliance.
Connor Watson slotted in nicely at hooker and in many ways he will provide more impact than Brandon Smith in the role.
But overall Easts were clunky – Spencer Leniu had a serious case of the fumbles and it became contagious among his teammates.
After Nawaqanitawase and Gray traded early tries, Junior Pauga’s first-half double cancelled out Walker’s try from close range as the Roosters went 14-10 up at the break.
Sitili Tupouniua scooted over five minutes after the restart and a couple more four-pointers to James Tedesco meant the contest was effectively over by the 55th minute.
Pauga added two more to his tally but hurt his leg as he touched down for his hat-trick although the Roosters will welcome back regular wingers Daniel Tupou and Dominic Young next week when they kick off their finals campaign.
They are all but certain to finish third unless Penrith somehow lose at home to the Titans on Saturday night with Penrith to host the Roosters in week one of the playoffs.
3. Bunnies glad their season from hell is over
South Sydney’s season looked good for all of 35 minutes. They led until just before half-time in Las Vegas and after being swamped by the Sea Eagles, they won just seven of their next 23 encounters with Jason Demetriou getting the punt as coach by the start of May.
Latrell Mitchell’s injury and suspension dramas ensured Souths never got going while the season-long absence of Campbell Graham, coupled with serious injuries to Tevita Tatola, Jai Arrow and Alex Johnston, meant they were always going to struggle even if they found form.
A five-game stretch during Origin when interim coach Ben Hornby got a few troops back and corrected a few of Demetriou’s errors, namely bringing Jack Wighton into the halves, was the only bright spot in their season from hell.
Souths arced up for the first half against their traditional rivals on Friday night and with Tom Burgess playing the last match of his 249-game Rabbitohs career before heading to Huddersfield, they had enough motivation to ensure the scoreline did not blow out too badly, rallying with 18 late unanswered points.
After Munro showcased his speed for a long-range try, Burgess bagged a consolation four-pointer in the dying stages and grinned from ear to ear after scraping an ugly conversion over the crossbar.
Parra’s win over the Tigers propelled the Eels ahead of Souths on the ladder, dropping them to second last.
4. Eels too slick for tackle-shy Tigers
Both teams presented plenty of evidence to underline why they were playing off to avoid the wooden spoon with kick-offs going out on the full, dopey captain’s challenges and a raft of errors flowing thick and fast.
Like toddlers overhyped on the reddest of cordials, both teams were up for the contest but did not know how to harness their energy towards the ultimate goal avoiding the spoon for being naughty.
Parra managed to get their act together either side of half-time to convert a 22-10 lead at the break into a 60-26 triumph and rise above South Sydney into the dizzying heights of 15th spot.
The Eels struck first via Maika Sivo before Lachie Galvin showcased his class twice in the space of 14 minutes with a grubber for Josh Feledy and a bullet pass to Junior Tupou propelling the Tigers to a 10-6 advantage.
After Api Koroisau had booted a kick-off out on the full, Asi did likewise for Parra in a clear case of Daejarn vu.
Asi made amends with a four-pointer to draw level and when hooker Brendan Hands backed up a Dylan Brown break, the visitors were up by six.
Parra went 22-10 up at the break when rookie Tigers fullback Heath Mason spilt a bomb and was palmed off by Will Penisini as he motored to the stripe.
Alarm bells really started ringing within a minute of the second half when Bryce Cartwright plucked a no-look Latu Fainu pass to present Penisini with safe passage towards a 16-point buffer.
Shaun Lane is tackled. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
Fainu pegged the deficit back to 10 after messy lead-up work but Koroisau was sin-binned for a lifting tackle on Clint Gutherson to usher in a Cartwright try in the 53rd minute which took the wind out of the home club’s sails.
Even with Brown hobbling off with a knee injury, Sivo scored again during Koroisau’s stint on the sidelines before Gutherson touched down twice to notch his century in the NRL and blow out the final margin.
Parra prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard notched a rare try and even got a kick at goal in his final match before likely heading off to the Dragons next year as the Tigers fell in a heap.
5. Tigers shouldn’t shed a tear despite flogging
Galvin’s rousing rookie season, the arrival of Panthers duo Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva, along with the accelerated development of a bevy of young Tigers cubs have set Wests on a trajectory to shed the wooden spoon next year.
Benji Marshall has shown he can galvanise this young squad and even though they finish 2024 with a third straight wooden spoon, there is much more cause for optimism than the past two calamitous campaigns.
Isaiah Papali’i and Stefano Utoikamanu have opted out of their deals for the greener grass of Penrith and Melbourne respectively and to be frank, the Tigers were not getting much bang for the massive bucks those two were burgling from their salary cap.
Sharks prop Royce Hunt is locked in for three years and his Raiders sparring partner Corey Horsburgh looks like he’s on his way – they will both have a point to prove, unlike Papali’i and Utoikamanu who only seemed to be at Concord for the contract cash.
When Tony Sukkar got on the field in the second half against Parramatta, he became the 12th Tiger to make their debut in 2024 – not all of them will turn into regular first-graders but an investment in youth is a better bet than the club’s previous policy of overpaying for has-beens.
“We’re going to go through a full review and work out where we need to improve,” Marshall said. “But I think it’s quite obvious. We let in too many points. Our attack got better towards the back end of the season, but we need to find a balance there.
“People probably look at success now and having overnight success. But we’re looking at trying to have success for a long period of time. Not just winning one year and going missing for the next three.
“We’ve got a plan in place that we’ve been backing since we came in, about the development of our players.”
The Kick: Parra salvage pride but still well below par for the season
Heading into Round 1, 2024 was shaping up as a make or break season for Parramatta.
They broke. Brad Arthur was gone as coach by the halfway mark and with linchpin Mitchell Moses playing just eight matches in blue and gold due to foot and bicep problems, they were never going to make the finals but they still grossly underachieved to finish with a 7-17 record.
Incoming coach Jason Ryles is turning over the roster and bringing in new off-field staff to jolt the Eels back into finals contention but there is still plenty of work to do in order for the club which made the Grand Final just two years ago to go anywhere near the playoffs in 2025.
St. George Illawarra Dragons
v
Canberra Raiders
NRL : Head To Head
Sat, 7 Sep 2024, 15:00
Canterbury Bulldogs
v
North Queensland Cowboys
NRL : Head To Head
Sat, 7 Sep 2024, 17:30
Penrith Panthers
v
Gold Coast Titans
NRL : Head To Head
Sat, 7 Sep 2024, 19:35
Manly Sea Eagles
v
Cronulla Sharks
NRL : Head To Head
Sun, 8 Sep 2024, 14:00
Newcastle Knights
v
Dolphins
NRL : Head To Head
Sun, 8 Sep 2024, 16:05
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Young guns Ethan Sanders (Raiders) and Blaize Talagi (Panthers) are shooting through, offset by the arrival of Dragons star Zac Lomax and Panthers fullback prospect Isaiah Iongi.
The Eels need more oomph in their pack. Campbell-Gillard is set to switch to St George Illawarra but there is a lack of skill and strength among their forwards which will make it virtually impossible to compete with the top teams next year.