Recap and review NRL action as it happens as Rugby League Writers hand out Round 7 scores and grades for all 16 teams.
While not every game of every round throughout the 2023 NRL season is hyped up as a blockbuster, there is always something to take away from the 80 minutes.
Here, we’re summing up every Round 7 game before digging into the biggest moments of the round on Monday and Tuesday.
Note: The grades are relative. NRL scores don’t always paint an accurate picture of what happened on the field. An A grade for the up-and-coming New Zealand Warriors now look a lot different to an A for, say, the struggling North Queensland Cowboys. It’s a moving scale for each team as expectations and goals change throughout the year.
Thursday
South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 def. The Dolphins 14
The Dolphins: B-
The Dolphins couldn’t have started this one any better. Kodi Nikorima’s first kick of the game drew an error from Taane Milne on his own line, and Nikorima punished that error to pass Euan Aitken over down the short-side one tackle later. With a six point lead, the Dolphins embraced the grind to work through their sets and get to a kick. They played with most of the ball in the first half but for all their territorial dominance, they only cracked South Sydney’s line once more through Jeremy Marshall-King. As the game continued and fatigue set in, the Dolphins struggled to contain Souths around the ruck and the points began to flow from there. A sinbinning to Kenny Bromwich was the nail in the coffin; the Dolphins conceded three tries in that 10 minute period, putting the contest to bed. Overall, it was another tough, patient performance from the Dolphins but they lacked the necessary firepower against a quality defensive side.
South Sydney Rabbitohs: B+
Again the Rabbitohs put themselves under early pressure to concede points in the opening minutes. The response was convincing, though. Souths maintained their discipline throughout a tough first half to keep within eight points at the break, despite having just 41% of the possession. It was much of the same to begin the second half, but South Sydney remained patient and slowly swung the momentum with a strong yardage game and a good kick-chase. Some lovely involvements from Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell eventually won Souths the lead, particularly during a 10 minute period while the Dolphins were down to 12 men. Campbell Graham was another standout, continuing on his stellar start to the season. While far from a perfect performance, the Rabbitohs ability to absorb defensive and scoreboard pressure before icing their opportunities in attack impressed.
Friday
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22 def. Sydney Roosters 12
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: B+
The Sharks made the most of some Roosters ill-discipline to trouble the scoreboard early. They kicked themselves into attacking territory and found some luck when a Nicho Hynes offload gifted Matt Moylan an opportunistic try beside the posts. Despite coming away with points on this occasion, the Sharks didn’t look likely with the ball in hand to begin the match. They struggled to work out of their own end without the help of the whistle and their ball movement in attack was clunky. Some moments of individual brilliance from Nicho Hynes created isolated scoring opportunities in the second half, and Ronaldo Mulitalo and Blayke Brailey proved good enough to capitalise on them. The Sharks grew into the contest as the game went on, dominating Easts through the middle and defending their narrow lead to the siren. Their goal-line defence was tested in moments but they comfortably handled whatever the Roosters threw at them, on either edge. A tough win.
Sydney Roosters: C
Another mixed performance for Trent Robinson to dissect in the review. Easts soaked up some early scoreboard pressure to drag themselves back into the game smartly, despite Nat Butcher watching on for 10 minutes. Their ball movement was clunky at times, but they had some joy targeting the spaces around Nicho Hynes in good-ball. Twice the Roosters generated some ruck speed around Hynes early in the set before coming back there late and scoring through Egan Butcher and Brandon Smith. An effective plan in attack and an 88% completion rate should’ve seen the Roosters pull away with it, but poor execution in Cronulla’s red-zone continued to waste their good field position. The Roosters fifth tackle options were poor and their ill-discipline in defence prevented them from building any sustained pressure. A couple of late tries to the Sharks came with the weight of possession and field position as the Roosters handed their opponents the win rather than grinding out a result of their own.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 18 def. Melbourne Storm 8
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles: B
We talked about Kelma Tuilagi being a target in the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles defensive line before the match but it was Jonah Pezet who ended up the obvious early target in this one. Manly found plenty of success around the rookie halfback in yardage to get up the field. Having absorbed some early goal line pressure, Daly Cherry-Evans caught makeshift fullback Cameron Munster out to chip over the line for Tom Trbojevic to open the scoring. Manly‘s defensive intensity can best be summarized in one tackle: Haumole Olakau’atu folding Justin Olam in half and sending the Papuan off for an HIA. Olam spent more time off the field in the second half after referee Gee fell for some Cherry-Evans theatrics and sent the Storm centre to the bin. Still, the Sea Eagles couldn’t add to the scoreboard. Controlling the later stages and forcing the Storm to work out of their own end, the pressure finally turned into points as Lachlan Croker crashed over with six minutes to play. Far from pretty, this ended up a significant win for the Sea Eagles after last week. We’re still no closer to determining whether or not they a legitimate Top 8 team, but they’re closer this week than they were the last.
Melbourne Storm: C
The Melbourne Storm lacked polish early but stayed in the game through their middle. Christian Welch is still underrated and his work rate played a big part in Melbourne’s ability to whether an early Sea Eagles storm. However, there is going to come a time when the Storm not being able to grind out a win and instead looking flustered under pressure is no longer un-Storm-like. When completed sets and a period of pressure was required, the Storm coughed up possession, allowed easy metres and gave away soft penalties. Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant and Cameron Munster are elite attacking players but they were never given a chance. Melbourne earned only 14 tackles inside the opposition 20-metre line to Manly’s 34. They were dominated up the field and were short of answers under pressure. The Storm are a top side in the NRL and a Top 8 certainty, but are short of premiership contention based on this result.
Saturday
New Zealand Warriors 22 def. North Queensland Cowboys 14
New Zealand Warriors: A
The Warriors band wagon is gathering speed. Down two spine players and a fair portion of their pack, New Zealand once again dragged their opposition into a dog fight and relished the challenge. A patient game plan with the ball was backed up by some resilient goal-line defence, as the Warriors allowed North Queensland 55 tackles inside their 20m-line for just 14 rugby league points. The only thing more impressive than the Warriors defence was their execution in attack. Twice they absorbed pressure on their own try line before marching upfield and scoring themselves. There was a shade of luck about Dylan Walker’s match-winning try, but this was a deserved win for the Warriors who were the better team, throughout. They enjoyed great service from their outside backs in yardage, and Shaun Johnson and Tohu Harris moved the ball smoothly in attack from there. Lets Gone!
North Queensland Cowboys: C
The Cowboys looked more comfortable in the grind in Round 7 than they have all season. Their attack is still a few shades off it’s 2022 form but North Queensland exhibited patience in this one to build pressure rather than throw for the knockout punch. They played with most of the ball in the first half but despite the weight of possession could only put eight points on the scoreboard. They looked most likely through Tom Dearden on the left edge but when the attacking shapes didn’t work, the Cowboys resorted to the boot. They forced four drop-outs across the 80 minutes to camp themselves on North Queensland’s line, eventually producing points when Valentine Holmes latched onto a Scott Drinkwater grubber to tie things up. That’s as good as it got for the Cowboys, though. They had multiple chances to win it in the final quarter but poor execution and an inspired defensive performance from the Warriors cruelled any chance of a comeback. This was certainly a step in the right direction for the Cowboys but there is still a ways to go.
Penrith Panthers 16 def. Newcastle Knights 15
Newcastle Knights: B+
The Newcastle Knights piled up points early but few came through repeatable actions and their lack of attack hurt in the second half. Having benefited from some opportunistic points throughout the first 40, Newcastle rarely looked like scoring after halftime, and the defence couldn’t quite hold up. Keeping the Panthers to 16 points is an achievement in itself. This is one of the best attacking teams of the last four years and a premiership contender in this one. However, the high of playing at home and the new-found effort in defence wasn’t enough to contain the defending premiers. The Knights will take a lot out of this performance. It’s one that should see them flirt with the fringes of the Top 8 if they can replicate it for the remainder of the season. Their lack of points looks set to cost them more often than not, though.
Penrith Panthers: B
The Penrith Panthers, gave up 57% of possession in the first half while giving up a 14-6 lead. Allowing the Knights to play with too much ball with favourable field position put the Panthers on the back foot despite their ability to look like the better team when the game entered a grind. As possession moved towards a 50:50 spilt and the Panthers turned the screws, the Knights couldn’t keep up. The Panthers, after finishing the first half well behind in the possession stats, finished the game with 57% possession. They’re a possession-based team, and while the game ended much closer than it should have with the Panthers making 14 errors, the plan worked in the end. Nathan Cleary guided the team around the field and Spencer Leniu deserves a lot of credit for his 166 metres off the bench. The back five played their part in yardage to get the Panthers up the field, too. It doesn’t look like it on the scoreboard, but the win carries all of the usual signs of a Panthers victory.
Brisbane Broncos 43 def. Gold Coast Titans 26
Gold Coast Titans: C
The Titans had an early plan to move the ball in yardage. They found easy metres on the edges while Moeaki Fotuaika played out a career game through the middle to win the ruck for his team. Tanah Boyd kicked them into good field position smartly from there. They looked dangerous on both edges in attack, but sent most of their traffic down the left-hand side through Kieran Foran and David Fifita. The veteran five-eighth combined nicely with his backrower early on, varying the shapes to use Fifita as a pass option, decoy or ball runner. Alofiana Khan-Pereira was the eventual beneficiary in the corner. After producing a clean opening 40 minutes, ill-discipline killed the Gold Coast in the second half. They matched Brisbane when they held the ball but silly penalties or errors undid all their good early work to invite Brisbane back into the game. They couldn’t navigate a sinbinning to Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in the 61st minute, conceding two tries with their skipper on the sideline to put the game beyond reach. A disappointing result in the end, but the Titans can learn a lot from the way they started this one.
Brisbane Broncos: B-
Like last week, the Broncos lost this one in the middle early on. They had first crack at Gold Coast’s line before enduring a lengthy period without the ball to open the contest. Brisbane defended their line well throughout this period but the issue was allowing the Titans to get there in the first place. They let Gold Coast roll through the middle or find cheap metres on the edges, and a try to Herbie Farnworth against the run of play disguised Brisbane’s struggles going into the break. They made up for it in the second half though. Brisbane wrestled back momentum through the ruck which finally invited Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds into the contest. Faced with a 12-man defensive line and with the game in the balance, Walsh‘s speed and Reynold’s control pulled the Titans apart, sealing the result with 15 minutes to go. Conceded a few late points to cap off an inconsistent performance overall, but the Broncos showed that even on an off-night in 2023, they’re good enough to win games.
Sunday
Canberra Raiders 20 def. St George-Illawarra Dragons 14
Canberra Raiders: B-
The Raiders fumbled their way through the opening stages to make eight errors and miss 13 tackles in the first half. Their ill-discipline hampered what was otherwise a dominant yardage game through the middle of the field. Like their opponents though, the Raiders attack was clunky in good-ball. Hudson Young and Joseph Tapine earning back-to-back forced drop-outs sums up Canberra’s issues in attack to start this game. They improved in the second half, scoring with some lovely shape through Jamal Fogarty and Sebastian Kris on the right edge. Fogarty took control as fatigue set in, using his long kicking game to win territory for his team. Handling errors continued to invite St George back into the game, but a special individual effort from Hudson Young finally secured the result with five to go, stripping the ball and racing 80+ metres to score. Far from a polished performance, the Raiders did enough right in the key moments to take the two points in this one.
St. George Illawarra Dragons: C+
A poor completion rate detracted from a promising first half from the Dragons. When they did hold the ball, St George threatened in attack whilst also never really looking likely. An ad-lib style of football in the red-zone prevented them from getting to good areas on the field to attack from. As a result, they didn’t capitalise on favourable match-ups on either edge; namely Moses Suli on Jarrod Croker and Jack Bird on Elliott Whitehead. A try on halftime to Tauta Moga finally broke the deadlock and another well-worked backline movement took advantage of a Nick Cotric sin bin to put Matthew Feagai over in the corner. Some resilient goal-line defence in both halves kept the result within reach until the 75th minute when they earned a fresh attacking set on Canberra’s line. Instead of punishing the Raiders error though, St George conceded possession on tackle two and allowed Hudson Young to score a length of the field try against the run of play. The Dragons had another shot with less than a minute on the clock, but again their good-ball attack left a lot to be desired.
Parramatta Eels 30 def. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 4
Parramatta Eels: B+
The Eels played out a dominant first half to win this game before the break. Reagan Campbell-Gillard led from the front to help Parramatta slowly win the middle, overcoming a spirited display from Canterbury’s pack early on. Mitch Moses capped off his forwards good work to put the ball into corners and ask Canterbury to work it off their line. As the ruck loosened up, Parramatta went looking for the offload. Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson both triggered try scoring actions by generating some second-phase play as Moses and Will Penisini ran riot against a retreating defensive line. It felt like the Eels could be working towards a cricket score, but they kept patient and played to the plan. Successfully enduring a second-half surge from the Bulldogs, the Eels once again won the middle early and scored points late. They made too many errors to earn an ‘A’ grade, but overall played out a professional performance.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs: C
The Bulldogs came to play in this one. They were aggressive in defence and matched it with Parramatta’s pack in the opening quarter. Canterbury’s effectiveness in yardage wasn’t mirrored by their attack in good-ball, though. Reed Mahoney, Matt Burton and Kyle Flanagan struggled to create positive actions with the ball and their fifth tackle options were poor. Too much of their attack was one-out and the kick-it-and-hope approach didn’t work as Clint Gutherson swallowed up everything Burton threw at him. As the injuries piled up (Jacob Kiraz, Jake Averillo), the Bulldogs couldn’t maintain the rage. They showed great resilience to not go away in the second half, but as fatigue set in the Eels pulled away. A positive return to first-grade for Tevita Pangai Jnr comes at an important time for the injury ravaged Bulldogs. The big prop offloaded at will and can become a real weapon combining with Mahoney around the ruck.