Recap and review NRL action as it happens as Rugby League Writers hand out Round 3 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 3 game before digging into the biggest moments of the round on Monday and Tuesday.
Note: The grades are relative. NRL results don’t always paint an accurate picture of what happened on the field. An A grade for The Dolphins in 2023 will look a lot different to an A for, say, the Penrith Panthers. It’s a moving scale for each team as expectations and goals change throughout the year.
Thursday
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 34 def. Parramatta Eels 30
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles: B
Well, well, well… Do we need to adjust our expectations for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles? Most had them floating roughly either side of 8th on their NRL ladder but they’ve played like a Top 6 team in both games in 2023. It all looked quite 2021 in attack in this one. Tom Trbojevic was at the forefront of it all, popping up out wide in yardage, threatening down the edge in good ball, and even crashing over one-off the ruck as he so often did throughout his Dally M winning season. The difference to that season is in his brother. Averaging 15 passes per game in 2022, Jake Trbojevic has only let go of nine in two games to start this one. Overall, the Sea Eagles look dangerous in attack. Josh Schuster, in particular, really impressed in his first game as the full time five-eighth. In defence, however, there are some questions on both sides. Kelma Tuilagi on the left and Daly Cherry-Evans on the right were both targets on Thursday night. Still, the Sea Eagles had enough points in them and will no doubt have defence circled on the To Do list ahead of their Round 4 clash against the Rabbitohs.
Parramatta Eels: C-
It’s not quite panic stations for the Parramatta Eels just yet. While they are now 0-3 following this defeat, they’ve played some good teams during that stretch and have displayed positive signs throughout. Brad Arthur talked about “needing to execute our plan” after that match. That plan in attack seemed to centre around their left edge and running players inside and outside Cherry-Evans. They found regular success down that side of the field which ultimately sparked their late comeback. However, they left too much to do too late in the game by struggling to defend their own line and coughing the ball up too often early. That 30 points conceded in back-to-back games now. It’s a tough one to grade: A for attack, D- for defence.
Friday
The Dolphins 36 def. Newcastle Knights 20
Newcastle Knights: C+
The Newcastle Knights left it all out on the field last week. In the process, due to injury and suspension, they left a few players out there, too. With three debutants on the bench, the Knights ran out of gas in this one. They couldn’t turn a fairly strong start into enough points to play with late. The scoreboard doesn’t quite do Newcastle’s first 60 minutes justice. However, conceding 36 points is a concern regardless of who you have out on the field. Jackson Hastings looked comfortable controlling the side by Jayden Brailey’s absense was sorely felt as the Knights struggled to consitently fire a shot. Bradman Best displayed a few nice moments but didn’t see enough ball in the end. For the Knights, the result at home is a little bit too familiar to last season.
The Dolphins: A-
They’ve only gone and done it again. They did it in much of the same way they have done in the first two rounds, too. High completions (87%), strong in yardage (1,598m), and good enough in defence. The improvement came in attack as some of those clunkier shifts across Round 1 and 2 looked a lot smoother in this one. Jamayne Isaako’s try to win it with the ball moving through Sean O’Sullivan and Isaiya Katoa before Brenko Lee displayed some lovely hands summed up a lot of their development with the ball. Ultimately, it’s another workmanlike win for the Dolphins. They got into the grind early and played the Knights out of it by the end. Even losing Felise Kaufusi – who played out a bit of a shocker – couldn’t stop them from running up a score late.
Sydney Roosters 20 def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 18
Sydney Roosters: B
A character building win for Trent Robinson’s men. Absorbed a mountain of early pressure to be down 10-0 in the opening quarter but impressed to fight their way back into the contest. Enjoyed excellent service from their bench with Brandon Smith and Jared Warea-Hargreaves completely changing the speed of the ruck when they entered the match. With the yardage battle won, and the lion’s share of possession and field position, Easts fell into shape with their right edge in particular moving the ball smartly and Jaxson Paulo the beneficiary out wide. Like the Rabbitohs, ill-discipline gave their opponents a sniff once hitting the lead, but Easts did enough to hold on and claim the two points. A number of superb try saving efforts from James Tedesco and Joey Manu ensured the Roosters were always in the fight.
South Sydney Rabbitohs: C
Flew out of the gates to score 10 points inside 15 minutes with some trademark South Sydney attack. Dominated the yardage battle early which allowed Murray, Walker and Ilias to play over the ad line and at a static defence. Worked the ball smoothly to both flanks and had some joy around Luke Keary in particular on Easts left edge. Couldn’t maintain their hot start through to halftime, though. Ill-discipline and fatigue invited the Roosters back into the game both heading into the sheds and throughout the second half. Losing Hame Sele in the first minute might have been a factor in this, but South Sydney will rue the three tries they left out there in this one. The silver lining was their defence. Repelled an improving Roosters attack in back-to-back sets numerous times throughout the match and (aside for the Brandon Smith try) rarely made it easy for their opposition.
Saturday
Gold Coast Titans 38 def. Melbourne Storm 34
Gold Coast Titans: C+
The Titans enjoyed a perfect start in this game to immediately implement what they’d practised during the week. A pre-meditated early shift from deep inside their own half exposed a compressed Storm defensive system in just the third set of the game, and AJ Brimson provided the class to put Alofiana Khan-Pereira over untouched. Their left edge in particular worked smartly and in unison to begin with, as Kieran Foran, David Fifita and Brian Kelly threatened with some nice variation in attack. As fatigue and ill-discipline set in though, the errors piled up and so did the missed tackles. The Titans goal-line defence was awful to concede three soft, barge-over tries close to the ruck and invite Melbourne back into the game. They made the most of their luck to meet a Storm side far from their best in Round 3 but will need to improve significantly to beat the Cowboys next week.
Melbourne Storm: D
A woeful performance from Craig Bellamy’s men and one deserving of a rare ‘D’ grading. Conceded two early tries as the Titans executed an effective gameplan but were able to force their way back into the contest thanks to some bruising and aggressive defence (and thanks to an equally poor Gold Coast outfit). When they held onto the ball and embraced the grind, it was clear who the better side was. Harry Grant was a constant threat from behind the ruck and Jonah Pezet made a stellar start to his NRL career with a neat solo try and a handful of assists – he looks a real talent on his Round 3 form. Across the park though, the soft errors continued through until the siren as the Storm shot themselves in the foot, time and time again. It’ll be an unhappy video review session on Monday. For a club that prides itself on effort areas and high-percentage plays, some of the pushed passes and unforced errors we saw from the Storm in this one were inexplicable.
New Zealand Warriors 26 def. North Queensland Cowboys 12
North Queensland Cowboys: C-
Another frustrating performance from the Cowboys who don’t look comfortable in the grind as they did throughout the 2022 season. Started well to dominate field position and score early through debutant Tom Chester who looks a real talent, but poor handling and discipline prevented North Queensland from building any momentum. They defended their line smartly to begin with but as fatigue set in and the forwards rotated, the Warriors were clear winners in the yardage battle. Reece Robson tried his heart out on both sides of the ball but he couldn’t kickstart what is an underwhelming Cowboys attack to begin the year. Unforced errors in key moments certainly didn’t help, but North Queensland had enough ball to score more than 12 points in this one. Special mention to Heilum Luki who returned from an ACL reconstruction and had some good involvements late in the game.
New Zealand Warriors: A
The Warriors are moving the ball as well as any team in the NRL to begin the 2023 season and this was no different. They absorbed some early scoreboard pressure cooly and responded by muscling up in defence and forcing errors in the sweaty conditions before going on the attack. Tohu Harris, Addin Fonua-Blake and Dylan Walker got the mix right between pass and run which allowed Wayde Egan and Shaun Johnson to play on the front foot. They let the ball do the work as they moved North Queensland across the field and waited for an opportunity. Te Maire Martin was a constant threat down the left short-side, finding metres in yardage and setting up Marcelo Montoya twice in good-ball. Overall, an emphatic team performance. Completed their sets smartly and defended their line with intent to limit a Cowboys attack to just two tries – both from kicks – before managing the game to the siren. Let’s Gone.
“We’re 160 minutes into Andrew Webster’s tenure as an NRL head coach and the early signs are good.”
Take the Two NRL Round 2: Finding positives in the Warriors loss
Brisbane Broncos 40 def. St George Illawarra Dragons 18
Brisbane Broncos: B
The final numbers don’t paint a truly accurate picture for the Brisbane Broncos: 57% possession, 82% completion, 40 points, 2,059 running metres, 7 line breaks and 51.5 metres per set. They ran up a big score on the Dragons in the end, but not before spending time behind on the scoreboard in a game few expected to lose. Nine errors, five penalties conceded and four six-again infringements conceded is far too many. Do that against a top side, and they will play themselves out of the match before they know it. Reece Walsh again impressed although he did finish up with three errors. Adam Reynolds ended up as the key. His kicking game is something we take for granted at this point. His shape to kick before firing the ball wide is the sort of wizardry that has him among the best halfbacks in the NRL. While not perfect, it’s another win for the Broncos and sets up an absolute barnstormer next week against the 3-0 Dolphins.
“Despite only having 80 minutes to go on, the signs of a much-improved Walsh were clear and become so fairly early on in the game on Friday night.”
St. George Illawarra Dragons: C
The St George Illawarra Dragons deserve a strong A- for their first hour in this one. They defended exceptionally well despite trailing in possession and yardage while taking enough of their limited opportunities in attack to hold to be level at 18-all an hour in. However, the wheel fell off late. Not just a consolation try, but three more after falling behind. Losing a mark for all four from A-, a middling C grade feels right for a side that displayed some potential, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with one of the top teams in the NRL. Zac Lomax laid on an early try in another encouraging performance. Tyrell Slone is starting to look comfortable at the back. Jayden Sullivan scored a nice try in the first half. When the Dragons look for positives to take out of the loss, they’ll find a few individual performances to work with.
Sunday
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26 def. Wests Tigers 22
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs: B-
Far from perfect but certainly another step in the right direction for Cameron Ciraldo’s men. Dominated the yardage battle in the first half, in part thanks to Reed Mahoney’s craft around the ruck and in part due to a lacklustre Tigers defence. Canterbury’s back five were valuable contributors working out of their own end with simple one-off the ruck hit-ups, allowing Mahoney, Kyle Flanagan and Matt Burton to play over the ad line or kick with plenty of time. Made the most of their luck with two length of the field tries through Paul Alomoti, but scored some well constructed points, too. Burton is using Villiame Kikau with good variety while working upfield and when attacking the try line – the action to setup Hayze Perham was all class. Weren’t asked to do much in defence, but when they were Mahoney was everywhere. Once again he was among the Bulldogs best, along with Jacob Kiraz who is enjoying a superb start to the season. Leaking a few late tries detracted from what was shaping as an ‘A’ grade performance.
Wests Tigers: C-
The struggles continue for the Wests Tigers in 2023. Their lack of direction and cohesion in attack is crippling any good lead up work Api Koroisau does early in the set. The play died with Luke Brooks a few times on the left edge via a poor pass or mistimed run, and on the right Adam Doueihi struggled to adjust with two new players on his outside. Their attack came to life with 10 minutes to go when Koroisau finally found some support around the ruck and Brooks took his opportunities to run, but it was too little, too late for the Tigers. Looked at their best when generating second-phase play and changing direction around the ruck, but execution cruelled a miracle comeback. Their middle defence was passive to allow Canterbury to play with momentum and their poor completions gifted too many free shots on their line. Special mention to Brent Naden who threatened with every touch and Brandon Wakeham who has some nice involvements from the bench. It will be interesting to see where Wakeham fits into this side moving forward – he mightn’t be the long-term solution in the halves but he was too good to leave out next week.
Canberra Raiders 24 def. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 20
Canberra Raiders: B+
Finally a result befitting of their effort. The Raiders are still searching for the answers to a relatively inefficient attack. Three of their four tries came directly on the back of ill-discipline from the Sharks; cheap turnovers, penalties, and repeat six-again infringements. With consecutive sets on Cronulla’s line, the Raiders eventually found points but they left a few out there, too. Unlike in Rounds 1 & 2 though, this time Canberra were able to fight their way to victory. Corey Horsburgh epitomised the Raiders in Round 3. His linespeed in defence forced errors and built pressure, and his willingness to be involved in the play saw him crash over for a double. There’s still some concerns around Canberra’s edge defence – particularly around Corey Harawira-Naera on the right edge – and their attacking systems in good-ball, but the resilience and fight of Ricky Stuart’s Raiders is still well and truly alive.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: C-
Cronulla were their own worst enemies in this one. Starting props Toby Rudolf and Braden Hamlin-Uele stood tall from the kick-off to drag the Sharks upfield and on the attack. They looked likely in good-ball to begin with, particularly down their left edge through Matt Moylan and Will Kennedy. The ever-present fullback was everywhere in the first half, creating the extra number in Cronulla’s backline movements and leading the kick chase in defence. The Sharks couldn’t maintain the rage though. They doubled up on their errors too often to allow Canberra free passage into their half and spent most of the second forty working off their own try line. Braydon Trindall almost sparked a comeback with some top-shelf ballplaying while Cronulla were down to 12 men, but the Sharks couldn’t land the killer blow as the clock wound down. A brain explosion from Royce Hunt cost his team six points and himself 10 minutes in the sin bin which sums up an uncharacteristic and ill-disciplined performance from the Sharks in Round 3.